The three separate components of Saturn's F-ring are seen in this image taken by NASA's Voyager l on Nov. 12, 1980, from a range of 750,000 kilometers (466,000) miles. Two prominent bright strands appear twisted and kinked, while the fainter, innermost third strand largely lacks such non-uniformities. The kinking appearance of the ring may be caused by the gravitational perturbations of two nearby satellites -- S-13 on the outside and S-14 on the inside -- or the effect may be caused by electromagnetic forces upon small F-ring particles.
The Voyager Project is managed for NASA by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
Name | Value | Additional Values |
---|---|---|
Target | Saturn | F Ring, Saturn Rings |
System | Saturn | |
Target Type | Planet | Ring, Satellite |
Mission | Voyager | |
Instrument Host | Cassini Orbiter | Voyager 1 |
Host Type | Orbiter | Flyby Spacecraft |
Instrument | Imaging Science Subsystem (ISS) | |
Detector | ||
Extra Keywords | Grayscale, Magnetosphere | |
Acquisition Date | ||
Release Date | 2000-05-23 | |
Date in Caption | 1980-11-12 | |
Image Credit | NASA/JPL | |
Source | photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA02272 | |
Identifier | PIA02272 |