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A direct comparison between Aug 10 UT and Aug 11 UT images,
each with the same exposure time, clearly shows how bright the inner
rings have become.
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The faint E-ring is still visible in a deeper display of
the same image.
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This image can also be viewed with circularly symmetric
scattered light subtracted. The bright satellites are, left to right, Tethys,
Enceladus and Rhea, to the east of Saturn, and Dione to the west of Saturn.
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The A-ring has now become so bright that only very short exposures with a
CCD on a large telescope remain unsaturated. A 5 second R-band exposure,
taken about one hour earlier, was the longest exposure which didn't
saturate the inner ring. Note that the very bright disk of Saturn, and most of
the ring system which we usually see (A, B, C rings), are hidden behind the
occulting spot of the coronagraph. The very faint E-ring can still be seen in a
deeper display of the same image.
The observer was David Jewitt; the images were obtained with the University of Hawaii 2.2-meter telescope. Only minimal processing has been applied to these data.
Saturn Ring Plane Crossing Home Page
Please direct questions and comments about this Home Page to
Ron Baalke
ron@jpl.nasa.gov
