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Title:
An explanation for Neptune's ring arcs
Authors:
PORCO, CAROLYN C.
Affiliation:
AA(Arizona, University, Tucson)
Journal:
Science (ISSN 0036-8075), vol. 253, Aug. 30, 1991, p. 995-1001.
Publication Date:
08/1991
Category:
Lunar and Planetary Exploration
Origin:
STI
NASA/STI Keywords
NEPTUNE SATELLITES, PLANETARY RINGS, PLANETARY STRUCTURE, SATELLITE ORBITS, VOYAGER PROJECT, ASTRONOMICAL MODELS, STELLAR OCCULTATION, ULTRAVIOLET SPECTROMETERS
Bibliographic Code:
1991Sci...253..995P

Abstract

The Voyager mission revealed a complex system of rings and ring arcs around Neptune and uncovered six new satellites, four of which occupy orbits well inside the ring region. Analysis of Voyager data shows that a radial distortion with an amplitude of approximately 30 kilometers is traveling through the ring arcs, a perturbation attributable to the nearby satellite Galatea. Moreover, the arcs appear to be azimuthally confined by a resonant interaction with the same satellite, yielding a maximum spread in ring particle semimajor axes of 0.6 kilometer and a spread in forced eccentricities large enough to explain the arc's 15-kilometer radial widths. Additional ring arcs discovered in the course of this study give further support to this model. 
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