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Measurement and implications of Saturn's gravity field and ring mass
L Iess1, B Militzer2,3, Y Kaspi4
1Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Sapienza Università di Roma, Rome 00184, Italy. luciano.iess@uniroma1.it.
Science (New York, N.Y.)
|January 19, 2019
Summary
Saturn
Area of Science:
- Planetary Science
- Astronomy
- Astrophysics
Background:
- Saturn's interior structure, wind depth, and ring mass/age are key to understanding its formation and evolution.
- The Cassini mission's final phase provided unique opportunities to study Saturn up close.
Purpose of the Study:
- To determine Saturn's gravitational field and the mass of its rings.
- To investigate the depth of Saturn's atmospheric winds and differential rotation.
Main Methods:
- Utilized radio link monitoring between the Cassini spacecraft and Earth during multiple dives between Saturn and its rings.
- Analyzed gravitational field data to infer atmospheric properties and ring mass.
Main Results:
- Saturn's gravity deviates from theoretical models, indicating atmospheric differential rotation extends to at least 9000 km depth.
- The total mass of Saturn's rings is estimated at (1.54 ± 0.49) × 10^19 kg, approximately 0.41 times that of Mimas.
Conclusions:
- Saturn's deep atmospheric dynamics are more complex than previously thought.
- The estimated ring mass suggests a potential formation age of 10^7 to 10^8 years, implying a relatively young ring system.
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