A new ring of material found


New ring found in orbit of moon Atlas
 
New ring found in orbit of moon Atlas
 
9 September 2004
 
A new ring of material, called S/2004 1 R, has been seen in the orbit of Saturn's moon Atlas.
 
It is seen here marked in red in this view of the region between the edge of Saturn's A ring and the F ring.

The image was taken by the NASA/ESA/ASI Cassini-Huygens spacecraft wide-angle camera on 1 July 2004, just after the spacecraft had crossed the ring plane following Saturn orbit insertion.

The maximum radial resolution is approximately 7 kilometres per pixel. The region from the A ring to the F ring spans some 3500 kilometres. The image has been enhanced to show the presence of faint ring material just beyond the edge of the A ring and in the orbit of Atlas (indicated by the dotted red line).

The moon Prometheus (102 kilometres across) can be seen close to the F ring at the lower left of the image.
 
 
The Cassini-Huygens mission is a co-operative project of NASA, ESA and ASI, the Italian space agency.
 
 
Credits: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute
 
 

 •  At Saturn and Titan (http://www.esa.int/SPECIALS/Cassini-Huygens/index.html)

More about...

 •  Saturn's rings (http://www.esa.int/SPECIALS/Cassini-Huygens/SEMSP6HHZTD_0.html)
 •  More on Saturn's rings (http://sci.esa.int/science-e/www/object/index.cfm?fobjectid=35135)

Related articles

 •  Rippled rings (http://www.esa.int/SPECIALS/Cassini-Huygens/SEMQFCQ3K3E_0.html)
 •  Christiaan Huygens: Discoverer of Titan (http://www.esa.int/esaSC/SEMJRT57ESD_index_0.html)
 •  Jean-Dominique Cassini: Astrology to astronomy (http://www.esa.int/esaSC/SEMJ2T57ESD_index_0.html)

Related links

 •  NASA JPL Cassini-Huygens site (http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.cfm)
 •  Italian Space Agency (ASI) (http://www.asi.it)