Abstract
IT has been suggested1,2 that small satellites of diameter less than 50 km (moonlets) could exist within planetary rings, and could cause 'grooves' of low density in the adjacent ring material. Here we re-examine this hypothesis by comparing the numerical simulations of the gravitational influence of a moonlet on the radial density profile3–5with the occupation data collected by the Voyager ultraviolet spectrometer (UVS). We inspected by eye the UVS optical-depth profile of Saturn's rings to identify features similar to those predicted theoretically, and those examples found were analysed statistically to exclude the possibility of a chance origin. Six significant features in the radial optical-depth profile have been found, which could be caused by moonlets ranging in size between 7 km and 30 km, located mainly in the middle of the B-ring.
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Spahn, F., Sponholz, H. Existence of moonlets in Saturn's rings inferred from the optical depth profile. Nature 339, 607–608 (1989). https://doi.org/10.1038/339607a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/339607a0
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