Orbit of Mimas
Posted: 24.05.2008, 12:23
I'm not entirely sure if this is a bug, but Mimas seems to have a very high inclination to Saturn's equator... are the rings actually supposed to be this wide from the viewpoint of Mimas?
That looks about right.
It's not just the 1.6 degree tilt of Mimas' orbit you have to take into account, but the proximity of Mimas to the near edge of the rings, which allows a relatively small orbital inclination to open up a relatively wide visual angle across the rings. If you do the maths, you get a maximum visual angle between the near and far edges of the A ring of around five degrees, as seen from Mimas, which seems to accord pretty well with your screenshot.
Grant