Wavy edges suggest moonlet in Encke's gap

Citations Over TimeTop 10% of 1985 papers

Abstract

Voyager images have revealed radial undulations of the inner and outer edges of the 325 km wide Encke gap in Saturn's A ring. These waves are present at some, but not all, longitudes. Their locations and wavelengths provide strong indirect evidence for the presence of at least one dominant moonlet of about 10 km radius orbiting near the center of the gap. Implications for "shepherding" theory are discussed.

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