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The Saturnian ‘Gas-Doughnut’ Hypothesis

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 August 2015

Thomas R. McDonough  and
Neil Brice
Thomas R. McDonough
Affiliation:
School of Electrical Engineering, Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y., U.S.A.
Neil Brice
Affiliation:
School of Electrical Engineering, Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y., U.S.A.

Abstract

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It is hypothesized that constituents escaping the atmosphere of Titan are unlikely to have sufficient velocity to escape from Saturn. Thus most of the material will enter into elliptical orbits which, at some point, cross Titan's orbit at a small angle. In total, this matter will form a ‘doughnut’ shaped feature, roughly centered on Titan's orbit and having dimensions of about 20 Rs (Saturn radii) in the Saturnian-equatorial plane and 10 Rs normal to this plane. It is assumed that the material is lost from the doughnut when it is ionized or is recaptured by Titan's atmosphere. The upper limit on the density of hydrogen in the ring is estimated to be about 103 cm−3, with up to 99% of the particles in the doughnut being recaptured by Titan.

A brief summary of the work which has been done on this problem is given, and areas needing further research are suggested.

Type
Part III Outer Planets and Their Satellites
Information
Symposium - International Astronomical Union , Volume 65: Exploration of the Planetary System , 1974 , pp. 483 - 485
Copyright
Copyright © Reidel 1974 

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