Last sunlit images show very clearly bright knobs in the F ring...
http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/multimedia/imag...9/N00055991.jpg
http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/multimedia/imag...9/N00055954.jpg
Could be a small satellite embedded in it?
Full Version: F-ring knobs
Unmanned Spaceflight.com > Outer Solar System > Saturn > Cassini Huygens > Cassini general discussion and science results
The problem with those bright clumps that are very frequently spotted in the F Ring is deciding whether they are permanent satellites or just temporary clumps of material -- or even whether there is any sharp distinction between the two, since the feeling is growing that the entire current form of the F Ring assembly (incuding Prometheus and Pandora themselves) may be temporary and geologically very short-lived.
QUOTE (BruceMoomaw @ Mar 27 2006, 02:46 AM) 
The problem with those bright clumps that are very frequently spotted in the F Ring is deciding whether they are permanent satellites or just temporary clumps of material -- or even whether there is any sharp distinction between the two, since the feeling is growing that the entire current form of the F Ring assembly (incuding Prometheus and Pandora themselves) may be temporary and geologically very short-lived.
... yet ring moons show many craters, telling us they are ancient. Puzzling contradiction.
QUOTE
The Cassini spacecraft has revealed a never-before-seen level of detail in Saturn's F ring, including evidence for the perturbing effect of small moonlets orbiting in or close to the ring's bright core.
Scientists speculate that there could be several small moons with a variety of sizes involved in the creation of structures like the one seen here.
http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA08290
Scientists speculate that there could be several small moons with a variety of sizes involved in the creation of structures like the one seen here.
QUOTE (alan @ Oct 18 2006, 06:33 PM)
Wow! Oooh...... ahh......damn! That is so darn cool!
There is something about the ring detail closeups that just grabs me every time.
Anyone have any idea what this is? Could it be a backlit solid body?
Best viewed in the TIF located here
Best viewed in the TIF located here
Looks more like camera noise...though the spot a little above your arrow does seem to have the ring material pointing straight at it...
F ring is my favorite.
F ring is my favorite.
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