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Visual detection of 1981S13, Saturn's eighteenth satellite, and its role in the Encke gap

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Abstract

Careful inspection of many images taken by the Voyager spacecraft reveals the presence within the Encke gap of Saturn's eighteenth satellite. Its existence had been inferred from gravitational disturbances seen in Voyager data, and it falls close to the predicted orbit. Its shepherding effect is responsible for keeping the Encke gap open, and it may also be the progenitor of a narrow ringlet within the gap.

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  1. Center for Radar Astronomy, Stanford University, Stanford, California, 94305, USA

    Mark R. Showalter

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  1. Mark R. Showalter
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Showalter, M. Visual detection of 1981S13, Saturn's eighteenth satellite, and its role in the Encke gap. Nature 351, 709–713 (1991). https://doi.org/10.1038/351709a0

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