Saturn's Rings: pre-Cassini Status and Mission Goals |
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Authors: | Cuzzi JN Colwell JE Esposito LW Porco CC Murray CD Nicholson PD Spilker LJ Marouf EA French RC Rappaport N Muhleman D |
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Institution: | (1) Space Science Division, Ames Research Center, NASA Moffett Field, CA 94035, USA;(2) Laboratory for Space Physics (LASP), University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado, USA;(3) Southwest Research Institute, Boulder, Colorado, USA;(4) Mathematics Department, Queen Mary and Westfield College, London, England;(5) Astronomy Department, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA;(6) Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA, USA;(7) Electrical Engineering Department, San Jose State University, San Jose, CA, USA;(8) Astromy Department, Wellesley College, Wellesley, MA, USA;(9) Geological and Planetary Sciences Department, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA |
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Abstract: | Theoretical and observational progress in studies of Saturn's ring system since the mid-1980s is reviewed, focussing on advances
in configuration and dynamics, composition and size distribution, dust and meteoroids, interactions of the rings with the
planet and the magnetosphere, and relationships between the rings and various satellites. The Cassini instrument suite of
greatest relevance to ring studies is also summarized, emphasizing how the individual instruments might work together to solve
outstanding problems. The Cassini tour is described from the standpoint of ring studies, and major ring science goals are
summarized.
This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date. |
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