A Workshop on Observations

of the Saturn System
from the 1995-6 Ring Plane Crossings

July 25 & 26, 1997

Wellesley College
Wellesley, Massachusetts

The edge-on presentation of Saturn’s rings during 1995 and early 1996 provided an opportunity to study aspects of the Saturn system rarely observable from Earth. New results have been reported on the orbits and photometry of the smallest moons, thickness of the inner ring system and the nature of its atmosphere, structure of the tenuous outer E and G Rings, and determination of the rate of precession of Saturn’s pole. One of the biggest puzzles is the apparent shift of Prometheus in its orbit by 19 degrees. In addition, numerous observers have reported the discovery of new moons and/or ring clumps. The recent events probably provided our last chance to study many of these aspects of the Saturn system prior to the arrival by the Cassini orbiter in 2004.

Program

Program

Friday, July 25

Saturday, July 26

Workshop Details

The meeting is timed to precede the 1997 DPS meeting, to be held at MIT beginning Monday, July 28. Wellesley College is located in a pleasant suburban area about 13 miles west of Cambridge and downtown Boston.

The workshop will be stuctured around a series of ~30 minute contributed presentations, with plenty of discussion time interspersed. The deadline for titles and brief abstracts of presentations will coincide with the DPS abstract deadline, Wednesday, June 4, 1997.

This page will be updated regularly as new information becomes available.

Organizers

Mark Showalter (showalter@—)
Phil Nicholson (nicholson@—)
Dick French (local organizer, rfrench@—)