PIA02275: Saturn's Rings - High Resolution


Saturn’s Rings - High Resolution

Caption:

Voyager 2 obtained this high-resolution picture of Saturn's rings Aug. 22, when the spacecraft was 4 million kilometers (2.5 million miles) away. Evident here are the numerous "spoke" features, in the B-ring; their very sharp, narrow appearance suggests short formation times. Scientists think electromagnetic forces are responsible in some way for these features, but no detailed theory has been worked out. Pictures such as this and analyses of Voyager 2's spoke movies may reveal more clues about the origins of these complex structures.

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 B Ring
System Saturn
Target Type Ring
Mission Voyager
Instrument Host Cassini Orbiter Voyager 2
Host Type Orbiter Flyby Spacecraft
Instrument Imaging Science Subsystem (ISS)
Detector
Extra Keywords Disk, Grayscale, Magnetosphere
Acquisition Date
Release Date 2000-05-23
Date in Caption
Image Credit NASA/JPL
Source photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA02275
Identifier PIA02275