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Science 25 February 2005:
Vol. 307. no. 5713, pp. 1226 - 1236
DOI: 10.1126/science.1108056
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Research Articles

Cassini Imaging Science: Initial Results on Saturn's Rings and Small Satellites

C. C. Porco,1* E. Baker,1 J. Barbara,2 K. Beurle,3 A. Brahic,4 J. A. Burns,5 S. Charnoz,4 N. Cooper,3 D. D. Dawson,6 A. D. Del Genio,2 T. Denk,7 L. Dones,8 U. Dyudina,9 M. W. Evans,3 B. Giese,10 K. Grazier,11 P. Helfenstein,5 A. P. Ingersoll,9 R. A. Jacobson,11 T. V. Johnson,11 A. McEwen,6 C. D. Murray,3 G. Neukum,7 W. M. Owen,11 J. Perry,6 T. Roatsch,10 J. Spitale,1 S. Squyres,5 P. Thomas,5 M. Tiscareno,5 E. Turtle,6 A. R. Vasavada,11 J. Veverka,5 R. Wagner,10 R. West11

Images acquired of Saturn's rings and small moons by the Cassini Imaging Science Subsystem (ISS) during the first 9 months of Cassini operations at Saturn have produced many new findings. These include new saturnian moons; refined orbits of new and previously known moons; narrow diffuse rings in the F-ring region and embedded in gaps within the main rings; exceptionally fine-scale ring structure in moderate– to high–optical depth regions; new estimates for the masses of ring-region moons, as well as ring particle properties in the Cassini division, derived from the analysis of linear density waves; ring particle albedos in select ring regions; and never-before-seen phenomena within the rings.

1 Cassini Imaging Central Laboratory for Operations, Space Science Institute, 4750 Walnut Street, Suite 205, Boulder, CO 80301, USA.
2 Goddard Institute for Space Studies, NASA, 2880 Broadway, New York, NY 10025, USA.
3 Astronomy Unit, Queen Mary, London E1 4NS, UK.
4 Centre d'Etudes de Saclay, Université Paris 7, L'Orme des Merisiers, 91191 Gif sur Yvette Cedex, France.
5 Department of Astronomy, Cornell University, Space Sciences Building, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA.
6 Department of Planetary Sciences, University of Arizona, 1629 East University Boulevard, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA.
7 Institut für Geologische Wissenschaften, Freie Universität, 12249 Berlin, Germany.
8 Department of Space Studies, Southwest Research Institute, 1050 Walnut Street, Suite 400, Boulder, CO 80302, USA.
9 Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences, California Institute of Technology, 150-21, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA.
10 Institute of Planetary Research, German Aerospace Center, Rutherfordstrasse 2, 12489 Berlin, Germany.
11 Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, 4800 Oak Grove Drive, Pasadena, CA 91109, USA.

* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: carolyn{at}ciclops.org

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THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES:
Saturn's Small Inner Satellites: Clues to Their Origins.
C. C. Porco, P. C. Thomas, J. W. Weiss, and D. C. Richardson (2007)
Science 318, 1602-1607
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The Equatorial Ridges of Pan and Atlas: Terminal Accretionary Ornaments?.
S. Charnoz, A. Brahic, P. C. Thomas, and C. C. Porco (2007)
Science 318, 1622-1624
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Cassini Discovers a Kinematic Spiral Ring Around Saturn.
S. Charnoz, C. C. Porco, E. Deau, A. Brahic, J. N. Spitale, G. Bacques, and K. Baillie (2005)
Science 310, 1300-1304
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