A Workshop on Observations
of the Saturn System
from the 1995-6 Ring Plane Crossings

July 25 & 26, 1997
Wellesley College
Wellesley, Massachusetts

The edge-on presentation of Saturn's rings during 1995 and early 1996 provided an opportunity to study aspects of the Saturn system rarely observable from Earth. New results have been reported on the orbits and photometry of the smallest moons, thickness of the inner ring system and the nature of its atmosphere, structure of the tenuous outer E and G Rings, and determination of the rate of precession of Saturn's pole. One of the biggest puzzles is the apparent shift of Prometheus in its orbit by 19 degrees. In addition, numerous observers have reported the discovery of new moons and/or ring clumps. The recent events probably provided our last chance to study many of these aspects of the Saturn system prior to the arrival by the Cassini orbiter in 2004.

Program

Friday, July 25

• Session 1: Overviews of Data Sets
• Session 2: The F Ring and Prometheus

Saturday, July 26

• Session 3: Main Rings and Photometric Models
• Session 4: Searches for Satellites
• Session 5: Faint Rings
• Session 6: The Future

Workshop Details

The workshop will be stuctured around a series of ~30 minute contributed presentations, with plenty of discussion time interspersed. The deadline for titles and brief abstracts of presentations will coincide with the DPS abstract deadline, Wednesday, June 4, 1997.

• Abstract submission guidelines
• Housing information
• Transportation and directions
• First mailing (January 21, 1997)
• Second mailing (May 11, 1997)

This page will be updated regularly as new information becomes available.

Organizers

• Mark Showalter (showalter@---)
• Phil Nicholson (nicholson@---)
• Dick French (local organizer, rfrench@---)