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On a suspected ring external to the visible rings of Saturn |
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| Authors: | Bradford A Smith Allan F Cook Walter A Feibelman Reta F Beebe |
| Institution: | Department of Astronomy, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, New Mexico, USA;Center for Astrophysics, Harvard College Observatory and Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA;Laboratory for Optical Astronomy, Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland, USA;Department of Astronomy, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, New Mexico, USA |
| Abstract: | Reexamination of a photograph of Saturn taken on 15 November 1966, when the earth was nearly in the ring plane, indicates that ring material may exist outside the visible rings, extending to more than 6 Saturnian radii. Although the suspected feature on the photograph appears to be real, the possibility of its being a developed pressure mark or a chance alignment of grains cannot be ruled out. The observed brightness in blue light was estimated to be mB = 19.5 ± 0.5 per linear arcsecond, implying a normal optical thickness, , for ice-covered particles. For spacecraft passing through this region, the hazards are found to be minimal. |
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