HST Images of the Planet Uranus: Satellites and Ring System

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Session 43 -- SL-9, Comets, Solar System
Display presentation, Tuesday, 10, 1995, 9:20am - 6:30pm

[43.14] HST Images of the Planet Uranus: Satellites and Ring System

D.Currie,D.Dowling (U.Md), K.Seidelman[PI],D.Pascu,J.Rohde (USNO), E.Wells,A.Storrs (STSCI), B.Zellner (GSU)

Recent Hubble Space Telescope observations of Uranus have revealed at least five of the inner satellites which were discovered by Voyager, as well as the epsilon ring and additional ring structure. The images also show bright clouds or storms in the Uranian atmosphere and a bright region in the area of the south pole.

These new observations of the Uranian satellites were obtained on 14 August 1994 with the HST planetary camera. These observations, the first since Voyager II, should increase the accuracy of the satellite orbital elements of the satellites by a factor of ten or more. This will further the scientific study of unusual dynamical resonances among the moons. We also present photometry of the satellites and epsilon ring in filters F439W, F569W, F675W, F791W.

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