#1
|
|||
|
|||
Saturns Rings
There is an observation that spokes appear in Saturns rings origianly from
Voyager but now from Cassini. It seems obvious that these are some optical effect and not a physical one. I believe the waves of light are producing this from interference basically or some interaction with the millimeter size particles or more. |
#2
|
|||
|
|||
On Sat, 17 Sep 2005 03:53:25 GMT, "Saturn" wrote:
There is an observation that spokes appear in Saturns rings origianly from Voyager but now from Cassini. It seems obvious that these are some optical effect and not a physical one. I believe the waves of light are producing this from interference basically or some interaction with the millimeter size particles or more. I'm not sure what the difference is between an optical and a physical effect (in my lexicon, optical effects are physical). And I think you are a bit loose with "obvious"- the cause isn't obvious to me, and you haven't added anything to make it so. Light from a continuum source is unlikely to show visible interference effects, particularly when interacting with particles much larger than its wavelength. This is the realm of scatter phenomena, and it isn't clear how they could produce fine spoke structures. The best explanation I've heard so far is that the spokes are the shadows of particles knocked out of the ring system by small bodies passing through them. The explanation holds up to modeling, and explains the random appearance and transient nature of the spokes. _________________________________________________ Chris L Peterson Cloudbait Observatory http://www.cloudbait.com |
#3
|
|||
|
|||
I recall that the ring scientists determined that the spokes were
particles that were electrostatically levitated above the ring plane. Their movement defied orbital mechanics, so they must be bound by electric charge. This was established shortly after the Voyager encounters, in peer-reviewed journals. Matthew Ota |
#4
|
|||
|
|||
Seems like I can remember (obvious problems can follow that statement)
reading that the spokes were due to small particles raised above the ring plane while they were in Saturn's shadow, and they weren't all that stabile. Marty |
#5
|
|||
|
|||
Saturn wrote:
There is an observation that spokes appear in Saturns rings origianly from Voyager but now from Cassini. It seems obvious that these are some optical effect and not a physical one. I believe the waves of light are producing this from interference basically or some interaction with the millimeter size particles or more. If it seems obvious, write a grant proposal, collect the data, and write the paper. Shawn |
Thread Tools | |
Display Modes | |
|
|
Similar Threads | ||||
Thread | Thread Starter | Forum | Replies | Last Post |
Saturn's rings have own atmosphere (Forwarded) | Andrew Yee | Astronomy Misc | 3 | September 20th 05 10:06 PM |
Cassini Finds Treasures Among the Rings and Small Satellites of Saturn | [email protected] | Astronomy Misc | 0 | February 25th 05 02:17 AM |
Saturn's Outer Rings May Be Eroding | [email protected] | Astronomy Misc | 0 | December 17th 04 12:35 AM |
Are rings of Saturn evidence of a young solar system/universe? | David Buckna | Amateur Astronomy | 24 | July 6th 04 08:30 PM |
Cassini Exposes Puzzles About Ingredients In Saturn's Rings | Ron | Astronomy Misc | 0 | July 3rd 04 01:47 AM |