Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Letter
  • Published:

Shepherding model for Neptune's arc ring

Abstract

An incomplete arc ring has recently been discovered around Neptune1. Here, a model to explain the confinement of this ring is developed. The ring may be azimuthally confined near a triangular (Trojan) point of an undiscovered satellite of Neptune. Radial diffusion of the ring particles can be prevented by shepherding torques of another moon. Two satellites with diameters of 100–200 km would be sufficient to confine the ring; such moons would be too small to have been photographed from Earth.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Buy this article

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Nature 318, 505 (1985).

  2. Reitsema, H.J., Hubbard, W.B., Lebofsky, L.A. & Tholen, D.J. Science 215, 289–291 ( 1982).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. Goldreich, P. & Tremaine, S. Nature 277, 97–99 (1979).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  4. Smith, B. A. et al. Science 212, 163–191 (1981).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Holberg, J. B., Forrester, W. T. & Lissauer, J. J. Nature 297, 115–120 (1982).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  6. Borderies, N., Goldreich, P. & Tremaine, S. Nature 299, 209–211 (1982).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  7. Porco, C. et al. Icarus 60, 1–16 (1984).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  8. Porco, C. et al. Icarus 60, 17–28 (1984).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  9. Cuzzi, J. N. & Scargle, J. D. Astrophys. J. 292, 276–290 (1985).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  10. Reitsema, H.J. IAU Circ. No. 3572 (1981).

  11. Harrington, R. S., Pascu, D. & Seidelmann, P. K. IAU Circ. No. 3583 (1981).

  12. Dermott, S. F., Murray, C. D. & Sinclair, A. T. Astr. J. 84, 1225–1234 (1980).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  13. Greenberg, R., Davis, D. R. Am. J. Phys. 46, 1068–1070 (1978).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  14. Dermott, S. F. & Murray, C. D. Icarus 48, 12–22 (1981).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  15. Lissauer, J. J., Shu, F. H. & Cuzzi, J. N. Nature 292, 707–711 (1981).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  16. Borderies, N., Goldreich, P. & Tremaine, S. Planetary Rings 713–734 (University of Arizona Press, 1984).

  17. Lissauer, J.J., Shu, F. H. & Cuzzi, J. N. Proc. IU Colloq. No. 75 385–392 (1984).

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Lissauer, J. Shepherding model for Neptune's arc ring. Nature 318, 544–545 (1985). https://doi.org/10.1038/318544a0

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/318544a0

This article is cited by

Search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing