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Enceladus: Cassini observations and implications for the search for life

Hansen, C. J.; Tinetti, G.; Hartman, H. +5 more

Aims:The recent Cassini discovery of water vapor plumes ejected from the south pole of the Saturnian satellite, Enceladus, presents a unique window of opportunity for the detection of extant life in our solar system.
Methods: With its significant geothermal energy source propelling these plumes >80 km from the surface of the moon and the en…

Thermal forces on planetary ring particles: application to the main system of Saturn

Vokrouhlický, D.; Nesvorný, D.; Dones, L. +1 more

Context: The motion of small particles in planetary rings is affected in the long-term by radiation forces. While the Poynting-Robertson effect has been extensively discussed and applied to the dynamics of micron-sized ring particles, studies of thermal self-acceleration of particles are only in their infancy.
Aims: We extend the pioneering wo…

Updated ephemeris of Phoebe, ninth satellite of Saturn

Emelyanov, N. V.

Context: The theoretical model of natural satellite motion may need improvement each time new observations of a considerable amount are accumulated over a significant time interval.
Aims: The goal of our work is to elaborate the ephemeris of Phoebe based on all ground-based observations available to date and readily accessible for any user via…

Energization of particles in Saturn's inner magnetosphere: Monte Carlo simulation of stochastic electric field effects

Durand-Manterola, H.; Martínez-Gómez, E.; Pérez, H.

Context: Our knowledge of energetic particles in Saturn's inner magnetosphere is based on observations made during the flybys of Pioneer 11, Voyager 1, Voyager 2, and recently by Cassini. The most important features of the energetic particle population in the inner Saturnian magnetosphere are: 1) the rings and the many large and small satellites i…