Voyager 2 took this high-resolution image of Saturn's F-ring Aug. 26 from a distance of 51,500 kilometers (32,000 miles). This closeup view shows that the ring is made up of at least four distinct components. A higher-resolution scan through the F-ring, the result of the star occultation experiment conducted by the spacecraft's photopolarimeter, showed even finer structure in the ring. Voyager 1 showed a braiding effect not evident in this picture. The small black dots are reseau (reference) marks on the camera. The small bright dash in the middle right of the image is a star trail.
The Voyager Project is managed for NASA by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
Name | Value | Additional Values |
---|---|---|
Target | Saturn Rings | F 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 | Grayscale, Occultation | |
Acquisition Date | ||
Release Date | 1999-01-06 | |
Date in Caption | ||
Image Credit | NASA/JPL | |
Source | photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA01387 | |
Identifier | PIA01387 |