Daphnis the Wavemaker
Explanation:
Plunging
close to the outer edges of Saturn's rings, on
January 16 the Cassini spacecraft captured this
closest
yet view of Daphnis.
About 8 kilometers across and orbiting within the bright ring system's
Keeler gap, the small moon is
making waves.
The 42-kilometer wide
outer gap
is foreshortened in the image by Cassini's
viewing angle.
Raised by the influenced of the small moon's weak gravity
as it crosses the frame from left to right,
the waves are formed in the ring material at the edge of the gap.
A faint wave-like trace of ring material is just visible trailing
close behind Daphnis.
Remarkable details on Daphnis can also be seen, including a
narrow ridge around its equator, likely an accumulation of particles
from the ring.
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Authors & editors:
Robert Nemiroff
(MTU) &
Jerry Bonnell
(USRA)
NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings,
and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris.
Specific
rights apply.
A service of:
LHEA at
NASA /
GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
