Voyager 2 Images of Saturn's Ring System
(August 1981)
The Cassini Division and the A Ring
(Color GIF, 239 kbytes).
Saturn's outer A Ring in false color, constructed from Voyager 2 green,
violet, and ultraviolet frames. The Cassini Division (lower right) is
distinctly less red than the A Ring. Also visible, as a sequence
of dark features in the outermost A Ring, is a series of orbital
resonances with Saturn's inner moons. The 325 km wide Encke Division
(upper left center) contains the tiny moon Pan. However, the cause of
the narrower Keeler Gap (closer to the outer edge of the A Ring) and the
gaps in the Cassini Division is not known.
The B and C Rings in False Color
(Color GIF, 306 kbytes).
The outer part of Saturn's C Ring (blue) and the inner part of the B
Ring (yellow) are shown here in false color. The color difference blurs
over the boundary between the rings. The Maxwell Gap and its eccentric
ringlet, which appears yellow due to image mis-alignment, are in the
left center of this frame.
Chemistry of the Rings
(Color GIF, 400 kbytes).
This highly enhanced false color view of Saturn's rings was assembled
from clear, orange and ultraviolet images. Possible variations in
chemical composition from one part of Saturn's ring system to another
are visible as subtle color variations. In addition to the previously
known blue color of the C Ring and the Cassini Division, the picture
shows additional color differences (red-green) within and between the A
and B Rings. The distance to Saturn was 8.9 million kilometers (5.5
million miles).
Spokes in the B Ring
(B&W GIF, 288 kbytes).
Voyager 2 image
FDS 43643.34
shows a distinct pattern of "spokes" in the B Ring, which is the broad,
bright, middle ring of Saturn's three main rings. The spokes are made of
dust that has been raised off of the ring particles, but the reason the
spokes appear is unknown.
The Birth of a Spoke
(B&W GIF, 91 kbytes).
Contrast enhancement reveals numerous spokes in the B Ring. In a
sequence of four Voyager 2 images (shown here as inset panels), a small
spoke is seen to appear in between several more prominent spokes. The
arrow in the fourth inset image points to the new spoke.
Spokes in Forward-Scattered Light
(B&W GIF, 67 kbytes).
After passing Saturn, Voyager 2 viewed the B Ring in forward-scattered
light. The spokes, seen previously as dark streaks, are now seen as
bright streaks from this
phase angle.
This indicates that the spokes are caused by tiny dust grains, comparable in
size to the wavelength of light.
Structure in the B Ring
(B&W GIF, 295 kbytes).
The B Ring is made up of narrow ringlets down to the limit of the image
resolution. Some darker spokes are also visible. The Cassini Division
is visible at upper right, and the A Ring is outside it; the C Ring is
visible at lower right. This Voyager 2 image
FDS
43904.47.
The B and C Rings
(B&W GIF, 296 kbytes).
A closeup of the transition from the faint inner C Ring to the much
brighter B Ring. Both rings show fine structure at many scales. This is
Voyager 2 image
FDS
43935.31.
Closeup of the B Ring
(B&W GIF, 146 kbytes).
This is one of Voyager 2's closest looks at the B Ring, from August 25,
1981 at a distance of 743,000 km. The contrast has been enhanced to
show the fine structure. The portion of the ring shown here is 6000 km
wide and features as narrow as 10 km are visible.
Closeup of the Cassini Division
(B&W GIF, 281 kbytes).
The Cassini Division, separating Saturn's A and B Rings, is maintained
by the 2:1
resonance
with Mimas. It was once thought to be empty, but this closeup view,
Voyager 2 image
FDS
43989.46, shows that it really contains several broad belts of material
separated by empty "rifts".
The Discovery of Pan
(Color GIF, 55 kbytes).
The 10-km moon Pan
shepherds
open the 325 km wide Encke Gap in the outer part of Saturn's A Ring.
This is the Voyager image in which is was discovered,
FDS
43918.04.
The region inside the green box is enlarged and enhanced as an inset at
upper right to show Pan more clearly.
F Ring and Shepherds
(B&W GIF, 82 kbytes).
Two tiny moons, Pandora and Prometheus, are seen here
shepherding
the F Ring. Prometheus, the inner shepherd, orbits faster and had just
overtaken Pandora before this image was taken.
F Ring and Prometheus
(B&W GIF, 78 kbytes).
This image shows Prometheus next to the F Ring. Prometheus is one of the
shepherd
moons associated with the F Ring. This image was taken on August 25,
1981 from a distance of 365,000 km. Note that the moon is distinctly
elongated.
Crossing the Ring Plane
(B&W GIF, 141 kbytes).
Image
FDS
44006.49 shows the F Ring
ansa
just before Voyager 2 passed through the ring plane on August 26, 1981.
The F Ring seems to be made up of a number of separate strands. In
addition, the whole region inside the F Ring is not black, indicating
that it is filled with fine dust.
The Foreshortened Rings
(B&W GIF, 72 kbytes).
The last image taken by Voyager 2 just before it crossed Saturn's ring
plane on August 26, 1981. The entire ring system is shown, but it is very
nearly edge-on and highly foreshortened. The F Ring shows up prominently in
the foreground.
Dark Side of the Rings
(Color GIF, 28 kbytes).
This color-enhanced Voyager 2 image shows the unlit side of the rings.
Since the broad B Ring is very
optically thick,
very little light gets through so it appears very dark here. The A and
C Rings let more light through so they appear brighter. The unlit side
of the rings is rarely visible from Earth, except during the period of
ring plane crossings such as occurred in 1995.
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Last updated Apr-16-2007