Spokes are seen on the unlit side of Saturn's rings for the first time in this Voyager 2 wide-angle view obtained Aug. 28 from a distance of 3.4 million kilometers (2.1 million miles). In order to bring out the very faint detail in the B-ring, the image was specially processed for the spokes and thus does not show the true relative brightness of the other rings. The spokes are visible as bright wedge-shaped and tilted features in the outer half of the B-ring (center of image). A time-lapse sequence to be taken later this week will help resolve the question about whether the spokes are forming on the darkside of the rings or are lit-side features seen through the rings.
The Voyager Project is managed for NASA by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
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 | Wide Angle Camera | |
Extra Keywords | Disk, Grayscale, Visual | |
Acquisition Date | ||
Release Date | 1999-04-11 | |
Date in Caption | ||
Image Credit | NASA/JPL | |
Source | photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA01955 | |
Identifier | PIA01955 |