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Gravitational vortices and clump formation in Saturn's F ring during an encounter with Prometheus
Saturn rings are most beautiful and dynamic places in the solar system, consisting of ice particles in a constant battle between the gravitational forces of Saturn and its many moons. Fan, spiral, propellers, moonlets and streamer-channels observed by CASSINI in the F-ring have been attributed to en...
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| Format: | Default Article |
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2013
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| Online Access: | https://hdl.handle.net/2134/11830 |
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| _version_ | 1818174143457132544 |
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| author | Phil Sutton Feodor Kusmartsev |
| author_facet | Phil Sutton Feodor Kusmartsev |
| author_sort | Phil Sutton (1251015) |
| collection | Figshare |
| description | Saturn rings are most beautiful and dynamic places in the solar system, consisting of ice particles in a constant battle between the gravitational forces of Saturn and its many moons. Fan, spiral, propellers, moonlets and streamer-channels observed by CASSINI in the F-ring have been attributed to encounters by Prometheus on the F ring, with investigations of optical thickness revealing large populations of transient moonlets. Taking into account gravitational interaction between particles and a multi-stranded F-ring structure we show that Prometheus' encounters create rotational flows, like atmospheric vortices and the self-gravity enhances the accelerated growth and size of moonlets. Vortex patches form caustics, which is a primary cause of the transient particle density clumps of 20 km width and 100 km length, and they are elongated to cover an area of 1600 km by 150 km, which may eventually combine into a vortex sheet. |
| format | Default Article |
| id | rr-article-9409364 |
| institution | Loughborough University |
| publishDate | 2013 |
| record_format | Figshare |
| spelling | rr-article-94093642013-01-01T00:00:00Z Gravitational vortices and clump formation in Saturn's F ring during an encounter with Prometheus Phil Sutton (1251015) Feodor Kusmartsev (1251207) Other physical sciences not elsewhere classified Computational astrophysics Giant planets Rings and moons Fluid dynamics Physical Sciences not elsewhere classified Saturn rings are most beautiful and dynamic places in the solar system, consisting of ice particles in a constant battle between the gravitational forces of Saturn and its many moons. Fan, spiral, propellers, moonlets and streamer-channels observed by CASSINI in the F-ring have been attributed to encounters by Prometheus on the F ring, with investigations of optical thickness revealing large populations of transient moonlets. Taking into account gravitational interaction between particles and a multi-stranded F-ring structure we show that Prometheus' encounters create rotational flows, like atmospheric vortices and the self-gravity enhances the accelerated growth and size of moonlets. Vortex patches form caustics, which is a primary cause of the transient particle density clumps of 20 km width and 100 km length, and they are elongated to cover an area of 1600 km by 150 km, which may eventually combine into a vortex sheet. 2013-01-01T00:00:00Z Text Journal contribution 2134/11830 https://figshare.com/articles/journal_contribution/Gravitational_vortices_and_clump_formation_in_Saturn_s_F_ring_during_an_encounter_with_Prometheus/9409364 CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 |
| spellingShingle | Other physical sciences not elsewhere classified Computational astrophysics Giant planets Rings and moons Fluid dynamics Physical Sciences not elsewhere classified Phil Sutton Feodor Kusmartsev Gravitational vortices and clump formation in Saturn's F ring during an encounter with Prometheus |
| title | Gravitational vortices and clump formation in Saturn's F ring during an encounter with Prometheus |
| title_full | Gravitational vortices and clump formation in Saturn's F ring during an encounter with Prometheus |
| title_fullStr | Gravitational vortices and clump formation in Saturn's F ring during an encounter with Prometheus |
| title_full_unstemmed | Gravitational vortices and clump formation in Saturn's F ring during an encounter with Prometheus |
| title_short | Gravitational vortices and clump formation in Saturn's F ring during an encounter with Prometheus |
| title_sort | gravitational vortices and clump formation in saturn's f ring during an encounter with prometheus |
| topic | Other physical sciences not elsewhere classified Computational astrophysics Giant planets Rings and moons Fluid dynamics Physical Sciences not elsewhere classified |
| url | https://hdl.handle.net/2134/11830 |