[X] My Assistant

[alan]

A quote from a DPS abstract Emily linked to in here latest blog

The inferred total mass of Saturn’s ring is therefore likely to be at least three times more massive than previously estimated, or three times more massive than the satellite, Mimas.

Wow, I had no idea they were that massive.

[nprev]

...none of which sounds particularly comfortable...ouch!

What's interesting here is how evolved the rings seem to be. At fine scales, they're certainly not just a random mass of rubble; should've guessed that after Voyager discovered all the thousands of ringlets. Does this give any insight as to their age?

[ugordan]

While we're at the subject of rings, one thing I've been noticing lately in ring ansae when looking at the unlit side of the rings is this phenomenon:

The view shows two enhanced views of left and right ansa from a recent (Dec 6) low phase mosaic. This effect is different from B ring brightness variations (which probably are due to saturnshine when viewed at high phase).

I'm sure it's been recognized before and I'm wondering if it might have anything to do with diagonal clustering of ring particles in the A ring that relatively recent simulations predict:

Figure shamelessly snatched from "Cassini Imaging Science: Instrument characteristics and anticipated scientific investigations at Saturn".

The idea is that the mutual shadowing of those diagonal arrangements produce different brightness when viewed from a low elevation above the rings. Thoughts on this?