A new pattern in Saturn's D ring created in late 2011

TL;DR

Cassini images reveal a transient spiral pattern in Saturn's D ring formed by a disturbance in 2011, which gradually dissipated over several years, likely caused by an impact or electromagnetic disturbance.

Contribution

This study identifies and models a new transient pattern in Saturn's D ring, linking it to a specific 2011 event and explaining its evolution over time.

Findings

Pattern formed in late 2011 and dissipated by 2015.

Pattern's properties are consistent with a disturbance causing orbital eccentricities.

Event possibly caused by debris impact or electromagnetic disturbance.

Abstract

Images obtained by the Cassini spacecraft between 2012 and 2015 reveal a periodic brightness variation in a region of Saturn's D ring that previously appeared to be rather featureless. Furthermore, the intensity and radial wavenumber of this pattern have decreased steadily with time since it was first observed. Based on analogies with similar structures elsewhere in the D ring, we propose that this structure was created by some event that disturbed the orbital motions of the ring particles, giving them finite orbital eccentricities and initially aligned pericenters. Differential orbital precession then transformed this structure into a spiral pattern in the ring's optical depth that became increasingly tightly wound over time. The observed trends in the pattern's radial wavenumber are roughly consistent with this basic model, and also indicate that the ring-disturbing event occurred in early December 2011. Similar events in 1979 may have generated the periodic patterns seen in this same region by the Voyager spacecraft. The 2011 event could have been caused by debris striking the rings, or by a disturbance in the planet's electromagnetic environment. The rapid reduction in the intensity of the brightness variations over the course of just a few years indicates that some process is either damping orbital eccentricities in this region or causing the orbital pericenters of particles with the same semi-major axis to become misaligned.