JPL Logo
Image

Saturn's F-ring and Inner Satellite

April 11, 1999
Saturn's F-ring and its inner shepherding satellite (1980S27) are pictured in this closeup of NASA's Voyager 2 image acquired Aug. 25,1981, from a range of 365,000 kilometers (227,000 miles).

Saturn's F-ring and its inner shepherding satellite (1980S27) are pictured in this closeup Voyager 2 image acquired Aug. 25 from a range of 365,000 kilometers (227,000 miles). Features as small as 6 km. (3.7 mi.) across are visible. The satellite is elongated and irregular, with its longest axis pointing toward the center of Saturn (toward the upper right in this view). As seen here, the F-ring is thin and does not show the multiple, braided structure Voyager 1 saw last fall. Nor is there any indication of a band or kink in the ring at its closest point to the shepherd; such a feature would be consistent with some of the theories advanced on the formation of the braids. The Voyager project is managed for NASA by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.

Keep Exploring