shepherd satellites

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Related to shepherd satellites: Roche limit

shepherd satellites

(shepherding satellites) Small satellites that gravitationally confine particles to a ring around a planet. In Saturn's ring system, Atlas orbits close to the outer edge of ring A, while ring F is confined by Prometheus and Pandora. Voyager 2 discovered Cordelia and Ophelia among Uranus' rings.

Collins Dictionary of Astronomy © Market House Books Ltd, 2006

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In their simulations using in part computer systems at the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan, Hyodo and Ohtsuki revealed that the F ring and its shepherd satellites formed as these small satellites with a dense core collided and partially disintegrated.

For example, the above formation mechanism can also be applied to the rings and shepherd satellites of Uranus, which are similar to those of Saturn.

Origin of Saturn's F Ring and Its Shepherd Satellites Revealed

Saturn's ring particles are held in orbit by the gravitational influence of so-called shepherd satellites. In Smith's view, the sharpness of both sides of HR 4796A's ring indicates that there might be more than one planetary-size body.