Outer Edge of Saturn's A-ring Target Name:   Saturn Spacecraft:   Voyager 2 Produced by:   Calvin J. Hamilton Copyright:  © 2002 Calvin J. Hamilton Date Taken:   26 August 1981 Date Released:  18 February 2002 (Publisher Permission Request)

• Saturn's Magnificent Rings
• Saturn

The outer edge of Saturn's A-ring is detailed in this image obtained by Voyager 2 on August 26, 1981 just half an hour before closest approach, at a range of about 51,000 kilometers (31,700 miles). Resolution in this wide-angle view is about 4 kilometers (2.5 miles). The many sharp linear features parallel to the ring edge are most probably locations where ring particles are in resonance with one of the several small nearby satellites. Such regions are likely characterized by more intense particle collisions and a greater density of small "chips." The entire outer band of the A-ring has different scattering properties and therefore different particle characteristics than the main body of the rings to the upper left.