Abstract
Dust particles of 4 µm radius which are reported to lie in a ring at 1.8 jovian radii around Jupiter may be charged to −10 V, but any larger charge would lead to non-circular orbits, due to interactions with Jupiter's dipole magnetic field. Such dust will be scattered randomly in eccentricity and inclination by variations in Jupiter's magnetic field strength as seen by the dust particles. We report here that this scattering will effectively dissipate the ring in a time scale less than 100 yr; and that the ring must, therefore, be constantly replenished, as suggested by Burns1, or else it is a short-lived phenomenon.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 51 print issues and online access
$199.00 per year
only $3.90 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on Springer Link
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Burns, J. A. Bull. Am. astr. Soc. (in the press).
Owen, T. C. et al. Nature 281, 442 (1979).
Pilcher, C. Icarus 37, 559–574 (1979).
Hill, J. R. & Mendis, D. A. Moon and Planets 21, 3–16 (1979).
Goertz, C. K. in Jupiter (ed. Gehrels, T.) 32–58 (University of Arizona Press, Tucson, 1976).
Hill, T. W. J. geophys. Res. 84, 6554–6558 (1979).
Intriligator, D. S. & Wolfe, J. H. in Jupiter (ed. Gehrels, T.) 848–869 (University of Arizona Press, Tucson, 1976).
Johnson, T. V., Morfill, G. & Grün, E. Geophys. Res. Lett. (in the press).
Consolmagno, G. J. Icarus 38, 398–410 (1979).
Acuna, M. H. & Ness, N. F. in Jupiter (ed. Gehrels, T.) 830–847 (University of Arizona Press, Tucson, 1976).
Smith, E. J., Davis, L. Jr & Jones, D. E. in Jupiter (ed. Gehrels, T.) 788–829 (University of Arizona Press, Tucson, 1976).
Cook, A. F., Danielson, G. E. & Owen, T. COSPAR (submitted).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Consolmagno, G. Electromagnetic scattering lifetimes for dust in Jupiter's ring. Nature 285, 557–558 (1980). https://doi.org/10.1038/285557a0
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/285557a0
This article is cited by
-
The enigma of Jupiter's ring
Nature (1996)
-
The structure and dynamics of Jupiter's ring
Nature (1996)
Comments
By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.
