ENCKE DIVISION
The Encke Division splits the A Ring, the outermost of the major rings of . This gap is 200 miles (325 km) wide and is 83,000 miles (133,570 km) from the center of Saturn. It was named for Johann Encke, who discovered it in 1837.
The Encke Division in closeup
The Encke Division, also historically called the Encke Gap, is a perceived gap within the A Ring. Johann Encke himself did not observe this division, which was named in honour of his ring observations.
Pan is within the Encke Division in Saturn's A ring.
Small moons near the rings produce wave patterns in the rings.
While the largest gaps in the rings, such as the Cassini Division and Encke Division, can be seen from Earth, the Voyager spacecrafts discovered the rings to have an intricate structure of thousands of thin gaps and ringlets.
The Encke Division, or Encke Gap, which splits the A ring, is named after the German astronomer Johann Franz Encke, who discovered it in 1837. Pictures from the Voyager probes show four additional rings.
The two gaps in the rings that are visible from the Earth are the Cassini division and the Encke division. The Cassini division (between the A and B rings) is easily seen, but you would need a very powerful telescope to see the Encke division.
ring saturnian ring s_rings a ring b ring c ring d ring e ring f ring g ring a-ring b-ring c-ring d-ring e-ring f-ring g-ring cassini division titan ringlet maxwell ringlet cassini division huygens ringlet encke ringlet encke gap encke division ...
The black stripe in the outer part of the 'A' ring is the Encke division. The white stripe just outside the 'A' ring is the infamous 'F' ring, discovered by the Pioneer 11 space probe in 1979.
The view through the much narrower Encke Division, near the outer edge of ring A is less clear. Beyond the Encke Division (at left) is the faintest of Saturn's three bright rings, the C-ring or crepe ring, barely visible against the planet.
ENCKE, JOHANN
Johann Encke discovered the Encke Division in 1837. This division splits the A Ring, the outermost of the major rings of . This gap is 200 miles (325 km) wide and is 83,000 miles (133,570 km) from the center of Saturn.
A faint gap in the outer part of A is known as the Encke Division, although German astronomer Johann Franz Encke may never have seen the gap.
The rings are not perfectly circular and the gaps between the rings are not entirely empty.
The Encke Division lies near the outer edge of the A ring. The rings are made up of trillions of icy particles ranging in size from dust grains to boulders, all orbiting Saturn like so many tiny moons.
With improved telescopes, astronomers were able to see that one of the large rings was in fact, two rings (B & C) and there is a gap in the A ring (the Encke division).
 See also: Saturn, Rings, Earth, Gravitation, Planet
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