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H. B. Throop, C. Porco (SwRI), R. West (JPL), L. W. Esposito (CU / LASP), M. R. Showalter (NASA/Ames)
We report on fully-calibrated observations of Jupiter's main ring by the Cassini Imaging Science Subsystem (ISS) from the spacecraft's December 2000 flyby of Jupiter. Our 700 ring images have produced a phase curve from 0 to 120 degrees, and a red spectrum from 0.45\ \mu\rm m - 0.95\ \mu\rm m. We did not detect the halo or gossamer rings.
We have combined our new Cassini ISS observations with existing datasets of the Jupiter ring including those from Voyager, Galileo, and Keck. Using an iterative fitting routine coupled with a light-scattering model which includes small dust particles and large parent bodies, we simultaneously fit all of the data points to one size distribution.
We have then used a physical, evolutionary model of the Jovian ring to match this distribution. Our model includes production of dust by parent bodies, and loss of dust by drag and sputtering. We are able to successfully match observations of the ring and place constraints on its age, its total mass, and the relative importance of different physical processes.
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Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, 34, #3< br> © 2002. The American Astronomical Soceity.