Precession of Thee Ring of Uranus
نویسنده
چکیده
The boundaries of the E ring can be fit by aligned Keplerian ellipses. Differential precession due to the quadrupole moment of Uranus tends to destroy the apse alignment. We propose that apse alignment is maintained by the self-gravity of the ring. The required ring mass -5 X 1018 g which corresponds to a surface density at quadrature -25 g cm-2•
منابع مشابه
Precession of Inclined Rings
Differential precession due to the planet's quadrupole moment tends to destroy the alignment of particles in inclined rings. We propose that alignment is maintained by the self-gravity of the ring. This hypothesis predicts that 8i/8a>0 across the ring. If 8i/i0 <(1, 8e/e0 <(1, a8i/8a<(1, and a8e/8a< 1, a further prediction is that 8i/i0 = 8e/e0 • The a and /3 rings of Uranus may be used to test...
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