The F-ring of Saturn

The existence of a split and twisted F-ring, located outside of Saturn's A-ring, as observed during the Voyager Saturn fly-by, is reported. The peculiarities in the appearance of the F-ring are described, and include: (1) the presence of one or more loose strands of matter reaching up to 100 km away from it; (2) a fairly sharp kink or step in the main ring; and (3) the presence of local bright clumps and streaks in the otherwise rather dark ring. It is proposed that, the loose strands are probably the result of the action of the local magnetic field on sufficiently small charged particles of the ring; and that the sharp kinks and steps are a result of sudden changes in the solar magnetic field, carried by the solar wind, which compress temporarily the planetary magnetosphere.