PIA01953: Outer Edge of Saturn's A-ring


Outer Edge of Saturn’s A-ring

Caption:

The outer edge of Saturn's A-ring is detailed in this image obtained by Voyager 2 on Aug. 26, just half an hour before closest approach, at a range of about 51,000 kilometers (31,700 miles). Resolution in this wide-angle view is about 4 km. (2.5 miles). The many sharp linear features parallel to the ring edge are most probably locations where ring particles are in resonance with one of the several small nearby satellites of about 100-km. radius discovered last fall by Voyager 1. Such regions are likely characterized by more intense particle collisions and a greater density of small "chips." The entire outer band of the A-ring has different scattering properties and therefore different particle characteristics than the main body of the rings to the upper left.

Background Info:

The Voyager Project is managed for NASA by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.

Cataloging Keywords:

Name Value Additional Values
Target Saturn Rings A Ring
System Saturn
Target Type Ring Satellite
Mission Voyager
Instrument Host Cassini Orbiter Voyager 2
Host Type Orbiter Flyby Spacecraft
Instrument Imaging Science Subsystem (ISS)
Detector Wide Angle Camera
Extra Keywords Collision, Grayscale, Visual
Acquisition Date
Release Date 1999-04-11
Date in Caption
Image Credit NASA/JPL
Source photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA01953
Identifier PIA01953