Saturn's rings - A new surveyObservations of radar returns from Saturn's rings, together with radio interferometry of their absorption of radiation from the disk, combine to require an effective radius of ring particles of about 6 cm or larger. It is suggested that the ring particles may also include, in addition to the known ice constituent, a mixture of the clathrated hydrate of methane and ammonia hydrate. A two-density model for ring particles is possible in which a matrix of low density contains many nodules of higher-density ice particles; in this case, radii nearly as large as the observed ring thickness would be possible. Improved resolution in radio observations at 21 cm or, if necessary, at longer wavelengths for narrow ring openings is perhaps the most useful method for determining upper limits on the particle size.
Document ID
19770058138
Acquisition Source
Legacy CDMS
Document Type
Other - Collected Works
Authors
Cook, A. F. (Harvard Coll. Observatory Cambridge, MA, United States)
Franklin, F. A. (Harvard College Observatory and Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory Cambridge, Mass., United States)