NASA's Cassini spacecraft has detected a faint, partial ring orbiting with one small moon of Saturn and confirmed the presence of another partial ring orbiting with a second moon. This is further evidence that most of the planet's small, inner moons orbit within partial or complete rings.Recent Cassini images show material, called ring arcs, extending ahead of and behind the moons Anthe and Methone in their orbits. The new findings indicate that the gravitational influence of nearby moons on ring particles might be the deciding factor in whether an arc or complete ring is formed.Both Anthe and Methone orbit Saturn in locations, called resonances, where the gravity of the nearby larger moon, Mimas disturbs their orbits. Gravitational resonances are also responsible for many of the structures in Saturn's magnificent rings. Mimas provides a regular gravitational tug on each moon, which causes them to skip forward and backward within an arc-shaped region along their orbital paths, according to Nick Cooper, a Cassini imaging team associate from Queen Mary, University of London.
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