Prof. Carl Murray Project Abstracts

BSc Project Abstracts

The structure of planetary ring systems
The planets Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune all possess ring systems of differing sizes and complexity. The aim of the project is to make use of the latest space- and ground-based observations to review current knowledge of the dynamical structure of each planetary ring system as well as the theories that have been proposed to account for them. The student would be expected to summarise the key features of each system, identifying the basic properties and the physical processes involved in determining ring structure at each planet. Any examples of the same processes operating in different ring systems should be identified. 

Saturn's F ring
Cassini images of Saturn's F ring show a complicated structure that is determined by a combination of the gravitational and collisional effects of nearby satellites. There are regular features due to the perturbing effect of the moon Prometheus but there are also several smalland large-scale "jets" which are the product of collisions with small moonlets orbiting nearby. The aim of the project is to analyse existing image mosaics of the ring using software tools developed in Mathematica. The student would be expected to write their own routines to characterise the nature of the ring and its changing appearance over time; this would include looking for periodicities in the ring as well as tracking the motion of clumps seen in the images. They would also be expected to draw conclusions about the nature and distribution of the objects affecting the ring. 

Ring-satellite interactions
There are several examples in the solar systems of planetary rings being gravitationally perturbed by nearby satellites. This is a computational project involving a numerical study of how the orbits of rings particles are affected by their encounters with a satellite with applications to real examples of ring- satellite interactions in the solar system. The student would be expected to develop their own code to study the time evolution of the orbital elements of the ring particles by solving the relevant equations of motion and then relate these to spacecraft observations of features such as edge waves, clumps, streamers and channels observed in ring systems. 

MSci Review Project Abstracts

The structure of planetary ring systems
The planets Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune all possess ring systems of differing sizes and complexity. The aim of the project is to make use of the latest space- and ground-based observations to review current knowledge of the dynamical structure of each planetary ring system as well as the theories that have been proposed to account for them. The student would be expected to summarise the key features of each system, identifying the basic properties and the physical processes involved in determining ring structure at each planet. Any examples of the same processes operating in different ring systems should be identified. 

MSci Research/Investigative Project Abstracts

Saturn's F ring
Cassini images of Saturn's F ring show a complicated structure that is determined by a combination of the gravitational and collisional effects of nearby satellites. There are regular features due to the perturbing effect of the moon Prometheus but there are also several smalland large-scale "jets" which are the product of collisions with small moonlets orbiting nearby. The aim of the project is to analyse existing image mosaics of the ring using software tools developed in Mathematica. The student would be expected to write their own routines to characterise the nature of the ring and its changing appearance over time; this would include looking for periodicities in the ring as well as tracking the motion of clumps seen in the images. They would also be expected to draw conclusions about the nature and distribution of the objects affecting the ring. 

Ring-satellite interactions
There are several examples in the solar systems of planetary rings being gravitationally perturbed by nearby satellites. This is a computational project involving a numerical study of how the orbits of rings particles are affected by their encounters with a satellite with applications to real examples of ring- satellite interactions in the solar system. The student would be expected to develop their own code to study the time evolution of the orbital elements of the ring particles by solving the relevant equations of motion and then relate these to spacecraft observations of features such as edge waves, clumps, streamers and channels observed in ring systems. 

The structure of planetary ring systems
The planets Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune all possess ring systems of differing sizes and complexity. The aim of the project is to make use of the latest space- and ground-based observations to review current knowledge of the dynamical structure of each planetary ring system as well as the theories that have been proposed to account for them. The student would be expected to summarise the key features of each system, identifying the basic properties and the physical processes involved in determining ring structure at each planet. Any examples of the same processes operating in different ring systems should be identified.