Rings
- Science Objectives
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Saturn's dazzling ring system takes center stage here. |
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Cassini's Equinox Mission science objectives for the rings:
Objectives related to seasonal change:
• Determine production mechanisms of spokes & micro-scale properties of ring structure by observing at seasonally maximum opening angle near Solstice.
• Understand time-variability of ring phenomena on decadal timescales (Encke gap, D ring, ring edges, etc) by substantially increasing time baseline of observations.
• Focus on F ring structure and the distribution of associated moonlets or clumps, as sparse observations show clumps, arcs, and possibly transient objects appearing and disappearing.
Objectives related to new questions raised during Cassini's primary mission:
• Constrain the age of the rings by determining the meteoroid mass infall contamination rate, and by measuring the ring mass.
• Focus on still-unresolved puzzle of how narrow gaps are cleared, by performing deep searches for small embedded moonlets and studying gap edges.
• Determine particle compositional variations at high resolution across selected ring features of greatest interest.
• Conduct in-depth studies of ring microstructure such as self-gravity wakes, which permeate the rings.
• Perform focused studies of the evolution of newly discovered "propeller" objects.
Saturn's Rings at a Glance (Reference: USGS/IAU)
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Inner Edge |
Outer Edge |
Width |
| D Ring |
66,970 km / 41,632 miles |
74,490 km / 46,285 miles |
7,500 km / 4,660 miles |
| C Ring |
74,490 km / 46,285 miles |
91,980 km / 57,154 miles |
17,500 km / 10,874 miles |
| Colombo Gap |
77,800 km / 48,343 miles |
100 km / 62 miles |
| Maxwell Gap |
87,500 km / 54,370 |
270 km / 168 miles |
| Bond Gap |
88,690 km / 55,109 miles |
88,720 km / 55,128 miles |
30 km / 19 miles |
| Dawes Gap |
90,200 km / 56,048 miles |
90,220 km / 56,060 miles |
20 km / 12 miles |
| B Ring |
91,980 km / 57,154 miles |
117,580 km / 73,061 miles |
25,500 km / 15,845 miles |
| Cassini Division |
117,500 km / 73,011 miles |
122,050 km / 75,838 |
4,700 km / 2,920 miles |
| Huygens Gap |
117,680 km / 73,123 miles |
285-440 km / 177-273 miles |
| Herschel Gap |
118,183 km / 73,436 miles |
118,285 km / 73,499 miles |
102 km / 63 miles |
| Russell Gap |
118,597 km / 73,693 miles |
118,630 km / 73,713 miles |
33 km / 21 miles |
| Jeffreys Gap |
118,931 km / 73,900 miles |
118,969 km / 73,924 miles |
38 km / 24 miles |
| Kuiper Gap |
119,403 km / 74,194 miles |
119,406 km / 74,195 miles |
3 km / 2 miles |
| Leplace Gap |
119,848 km / 74,470 miles |
120,086 km / 74,618 miles |
238 km / 148 miles |
| Bessel Gap |
120,305 km / 74,754 miles |
120,246 km / 74,717 miles |
10 km / 6 miles |
| Barnard Gap |
120,305 km / 74,754 miles |
120,318 km / 74,762 miles |
13 km / 8 miles |
| A Ring |
122,050 km / 75,838 miles |
136,770 km / 84,985 miles |
14,600 km / 9072 miles |
| Encke Gap |
133,570 km / 82,997 miles |
325 km / 202 miles |
| Keeler Gap |
136,530 km / 84,836 miles |
35 km / 22 miles |
| Roche Division |
136,770 km / 84,836 miles |
139,380 km / 86,607 miles |
2600 km / 1,616 miles |
| F Ring |
140,224 km / 87,131 miles |
30-500 km / 19- 311 miles |
| G Ring |
166,000 km / 103,148 miles |
174,000 km / 108119 miles |
8,000 km / 4,971 miles |
| E Ring |
180,000 km / 111,847 miles |
480,000 km / 298,258 miles |
300,000 km / 186,411 miles |
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