Phoebe ring of Saturn

E257500

The Phoebe ring of Saturn is a vast, tenuous outer ring composed of dark dust and debris likely originating from the irregular moon Phoebe, extending millions of kilometers from the planet.

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All labels observed (1)

Label Occurrences
Phoebe ring of Saturn canonical 1

Statements (47)

Predicate Object
instanceOf dust ring
planetary ring
affects dark coloration of Iapetus leading hemisphere
alignedWith orbit of Phoebe
associatedWith Iapetus albedo dichotomy
astronomicalBodyType circumplanetary ring
belongsTo Solar System
beyond E ring of Saturn
classification faint ring
color dark
composition debris
dust
contains retrograde-orbiting dust
discoveredBy Anne J. Verbiscer
Douglas P. Hamilton
Michael F. Skrutskie
discoveredUsing Spitzer Space Telescope
discoveryMethod infrared observations
discoveryPublication Nature (journal)
surface form: Nature journal
discoveryYear 2009
dustAlbedo very low
dustGrainSize micrometer-scale
dustOriginProcess micrometeoroid impacts on Phoebe
dynamics dust follows orbits similar to Phoebe
extendsFrom about 6 million kilometers from Saturn
extendsTo about 16 million kilometers from Saturn
hostPlanet Saturn
inclination about 27 degrees to Saturn’s equatorial plane
innerRadius about 6 million kilometers
isPartOf Saturn ring system
likelySource Phoebe
location outer Saturnian system
namedAfter Phoebe
observedBy Cassini–Huygens
surface form: Cassini spacecraft

Spitzer Space Telescope
opticalDepth extremely low
orbitalDirection retrograde relative to Saturn’s rotation
orbits Saturn
outerRadius about 16 million kilometers
region beyond main rings of Saturn
ringType outer ring
tenuous ring
shape torus-like structure
stability maintained by continuous dust supply from Phoebe
surfaceBrightness extremely low
thickness several million kilometers
visibility detectable mainly in infrared wavelengths

Referenced by (1)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Phoebe contributesTo Phoebe ring of Saturn