The Structure of Jupiter's Ring System as Revealed by the Galileo Imaging Experiment

摘要: The jovian ring system was observed during four orbits of Galileo's nominal mission, when 25 clear-filter images the rings were taken at spatial resolutions 23 to 134 km/pixel; appeared fortuitously in an additional 11 images. tenuous (normal optical depths<10−5) has three components: halo, main ring, and gossamer ring. The innermost component, atoroidal extends radially from approximately 92,000 about 122,500 km (near 3 : 2 Lorentz resonance) a full-width, half-maximum thickness 12,500 km; its brightness decreases with height off equatorial plane as planet is approached. Themain ringreaches halo's outer boundary across 6440 128,940 km, just interior Adrastea's orbit (128,980 km); edge, takes nearly 1000 develop full brightness. ring's noticeably around 127,850 vicinity Metis' semimajor axis (127,980 km). precise location nature periphery may shift slightly image image; same true for “notch” near Metis. faint, vertically extended component that thickens halo region Brightness variations ±10% are visible central be due vertical corrugations, density clumps, or “spokes” ring. Unexplained differences between near- far-arm brightnesses visible. We have discovered thegossamer lying exterior two primary components, each which fairly uniform: one originates Amalthea's (181,366 km) while other situated Thebe's (221,888 Very faint material continues past Thebe, blending into background 250,000 km. thicknesses comparable maximum elevations these satellites Jupiter's plane; view, present rectangular end-profiles greater intensities along their top bottom surfaces. seem derived satellites.