Another moon with a weird equatorial girdle accumulation, Atlas, will be imaged fairly closely early on in April.
![[Image: Atlas_Rev09.2x.jpg]](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3e/Atlas_Rev09.2x.jpg)
Atlas has a thicker band as it has a slightly higher inclination as it orbits Saturn. I read am interesting paper about the similarities and differences how the foof accumulates on Pan and Atlas. Pan's band is more symmetrical around, Atlas's less so. Pan is fairly well centered between the ring edge inside and outside its orbit which makes for an evener deposition, Atlas is closer to one than the other, so it's buildup is greater on one hemisphere.
The 'foof' is expected to be in the micron to meter sized chunks. Cassini won't get close enough to resolve anything accreting.
As the material has accumulated on Pan it has 'dampened' out it's orbital eccentricity to a very low value. Atlas is perturbed significantly by another little moon, Prometheus, so it's orbit doesn't 'relax' to a similar degree. This affects how and where the material drifts on to it's surface differently from Pan. One gathers more on the Saturn facing and opposite side, the other more on the leading hemisphere and trailing.
Wild how they are so similar, yet also revealingly different.
Atlas has a thicker band as it has a slightly higher inclination as it orbits Saturn. I read am interesting paper about the similarities and differences how the foof accumulates on Pan and Atlas. Pan's band is more symmetrical around, Atlas's less so. Pan is fairly well centered between the ring edge inside and outside its orbit which makes for an evener deposition, Atlas is closer to one than the other, so it's buildup is greater on one hemisphere.
The 'foof' is expected to be in the micron to meter sized chunks. Cassini won't get close enough to resolve anything accreting.
As the material has accumulated on Pan it has 'dampened' out it's orbital eccentricity to a very low value. Atlas is perturbed significantly by another little moon, Prometheus, so it's orbit doesn't 'relax' to a similar degree. This affects how and where the material drifts on to it's surface differently from Pan. One gathers more on the Saturn facing and opposite side, the other more on the leading hemisphere and trailing.
Wild how they are so similar, yet also revealingly different.
The granting of a pardon is an imputation of guilt, and the acceptance a confession of it.
