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Observations of Saturn’s Inner Satellites During the August 1995 Ring-Plane Crossing

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 April 2016

F. Poulet ,
B. Sicardy ,
J.L. Beuzit  and
P. Prado
F. Poulet
Affiliation:
Observatoire de Paris, Meudon, France
B. Sicardy
Affiliation:
Observatoire de Paris, Meudon, France
J.L. Beuzit
Affiliation:
Observatoire de Paris, Meudon, France
P. Prado
Affiliation:
European Southern Observatory, Chile

Abstract

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We present observations of Saturnian inner satellites, Janus, Epimetheus, Pandora and the new objects 1995S5 and 1995S6. Data were obtained with the COME-ON+ adaptive optics system mounted on the 3.6-m telescope of the European Southern Observatory, during the 10 August 1995 Earth crossing. During this time, the usually bright rings become faint, an ideal time to study the small inner satellites. Two unresolved objects have been detected. They have been identified with the objects 1995S5 and 1995S6, which have been detected on frames obtained with the Hubble Space Telescope, more than one day later. Astrometric reductions relative to the brighter satellites and the Cassini division yield planetocentric positions with accuracies of 015 and 026, respectively. These measurements, combined with the HST data, and the NIR photometric parameters point to the possible transient character of these objects, and provide a more accurate solution for the 1995S5 orbital parameters.

Type
Observational Techniques and Catalogues
Information
International Astronomical Union Colloquium , Volume 165: Dynamics and Astrometry of Natural and Artificial Celestial Bodies , 1997 , pp. 525 - 530
Copyright
Copyright © Kluwer 1997

References

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