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Detection of centimeter-sized meteoroid impact events in Saturn's F ringVoyager images reveal that three prominent clumps in Saturn's F ring were short-lived, appearing rapidly and then spreading and decaying in brightness over periods of approximately 2 weeks. These features arise from hypervelocity impacts by approximately 10-centimeter meteoroids into F ring bodies. Future ring observations of these impact events could constrain the centimeter-sized component of the meteoroid population, which is otherwise unmeasurable but plays an important role in the evolution of rings and surfaces in the outer solar system. The F ring's numerous other clumps are much longer lived and appear to be unrelated to impacts.
Document ID
20040142180
Acquisition Source
Legacy CDMS
Document Type
Reprint (Version printed in journal)
Authors
Showalter, M. R.
(Stanford University Stanford, CA 94305, United States)
Date Acquired
August 22, 2013
Publication Date
November 6, 1998
Publication Information
Publication: Science
Volume: 282
Issue: 5391
ISSN: 0036-8075
Subject Category
Lunar And Planetary Science And Exploration
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Other
Keywords
Flight Experiment
Voyager Project
long duration
unmanned

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