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International planetary patrol observations of Saturn's rings. II - Four color phase curves and their analysisNew phase curves for Saturn's rings at an intermediate tilt angle B of about 17 deg are presented. Quantitative results for each of the A and B rings are reported in terms of the opposition effect, phase coefficient, and best logarithmic fit to the phase curve. There was no significant difference between the shape of the phase curves for the two rings in each of the four colors, and a four-parameter multiple scattering model of the rings was consistent with the observations. In this model, the difference in the phase curves for different colors can be explained by a variation in the single scattering albedo with wavelength. The observations allow the particles to have the same composition in the A and B rings, so that their different photometric behavior is explained by differences in optical depth and volume density in the two rings.
Document ID
19790067660
Acquisition Source
Legacy CDMS
Document Type
Reprint (Version printed in journal)
External Source(s)
Authors
Esposito, L. W.
(Massachusetts Univ. Amherst, MA, United States)
Lumme, K.
(Massachusetts, University Amherst, Mass.; Lowell Observatory, Flagstaff, Ariz., United States)
Benton, W. D.
(California Institute of Technology, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Image Processing Laboratory, Pasadena Calif., United States)
Martin, L. J.
(Massachusetts Univ. Amherst, MA, United States)
Ferguson, H. M.
(Massachusetts Univ. Amherst, MA, United States)
Thompson, D. T.
(Massachusetts Univ. Amherst, MA, United States)
Jones, S. E.
(Lowell Observatory Flagstaff, Ariz., United States)
Date Acquired
August 9, 2013
Publication Date
September 1, 1979
Publication Information
Publication: Astronomical Journal
Volume: 84
Subject Category
Lunar And Planetary Exploration
Accession Number
79A51673
Funding Number(s)
CONTRACT_GRANT: NGL-22-010-023
CONTRACT_GRANT: NGR-03-003-001
CONTRACT_GRANT: NAS7-100
CONTRACT_GRANT: NGL-06-003-052
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Other

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