The Effects of Moons on Saturn’s Ring System
نویسنده
چکیده
The ring system of Saturn is a complex interaction between numerous particles, moons, and Saturn. A program was created to simulate the different aspects of the ring system and to study the effects of moons on the orbiting particles. Simply by considering both the force of gravity on each particle and collisions between particles, gaps formed at eight different resonant positions. I also studied the effects of collision elasticity and found that less elastic collisions cause the gaps to form more quickly. Furthermore, the effects of shepherding were studied by embedding an orbiting moon in the ring particles. By varying the mass ratio of Saturn to the moon, it was found that the smaller the mass ratio between Saturn and the moon, the larger the gap cleared in the ring and the larger the width of the ringlet formed in the center of the gap. It was also observed that resonances interior to the moon controlled the interior edge of gaps while resonances exterior to the moon controlled the exterior edge of the gaps.
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