Occultation observations of Saturn's rings with Cassini VIMS

TL;DR

This paper details the methods and calibration procedures for occultation observations of Saturn's rings using Cassini's VIMS instrument, providing comprehensive data catalogs from 13 years of observations.

Contribution

It introduces a novel technique for onboard target acquisition and calibration, enhancing the quality and utility of occultation data for planetary ring analysis.

Findings

Complete catalogs of stellar and solar occultations are provided.

Calibration techniques improve data accuracy for ring studies.

Examples demonstrate the data's potential for understanding ring structure.

Abstract

We describe the prediction, design, execution and calibration of stellar and solar occultation observations of Saturn's rings by the Visual and Infrared Mapping Spectrometer (VIMS) instrument on the Cassini spacecraft. Particular attention is paid to the technique developed for onboard acquisition of the stellar target and to the geometric and photometric calibration of the data. Examples of both stellar and solar occultation data are presented, highlighting several aspects of the data as well as the different occultation geometries encountered during Cassini's 13 year orbital tour. Complete catalogs of ring stellar and solar occultations observed by Cassini-VIMS are presented, as a guide to the standard data sets which have been delivered to the Planetary Data System's Ring Moon Systems Node.