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Titan's Meteorology Over the Cassini Mission: Evidence for Extensive Subsurface Methane Reservoirs
Le Mouélic, S.; Rodriguez, S.; Sotin, C. +15 more
Cassini observations of Titan's weather patterns over >13 years, almost half a Saturnian year, provide insight into seasonal circulation patterns and the methane cycle. The Imaging Science Subsystem and the Visual and Infrared Mapping Spectrometer documented cloud locations, characteristics, morphologies, and behavior. Clouds were generally mor…
Models of Saturn's Equatorial Ionosphere Based on In Situ Data From Cassini's Grand Finale
Wahlund, J. -E.; Waite, J. H.; Cravens, T. E. +8 more
We present new models of Saturn's equatorial ionosphere based on the first in situ measurements of its upper atmosphere. The neutral spectrum measured by Cassini's Ion and Neutral Mass Spectrometer, which includes substantial methane, ammonia, and organics in addition to the anticipated molecular hydrogen, helium, and water, serves as input for un…
Thermal Structure and Composition of Saturn's Upper Atmosphere From Cassini/Ion Neutral Mass Spectrometer Measurements
Waite, J. Hunter; Hörst, S. M.; Perry, M. E. +4 more
Analysis of measurements of the H2 density in Saturn's equatorial thermosphere indicates temperatures from 340 to 370 K. The deepest measurements, obtained during Cassini's final plunge into the atmosphere, measure the thermospheric temperature profile. The measurements are well fit by a Bates profile with an exospheric temperature of 3…
Heliospheric Conditions at Saturn During Cassini's Ring-Grazing and Proximal Orbits
Krupp, N.; Jackman, C. M.; Roussos, E. +6 more
We surveyed energetic charged particle measurements by Cassini between 2016 and the end of the mission in order to identify transients of solar energetic particles and galactic cosmic rays. Such transients offer hints about the state of the heliosphere and valuable context for interpreting space weather phenomena in Saturn's magnetosphere. The per…
Saturn's Innermost Radiation Belt Throughout and Inward of the D-Ring
Krupp, N.; Roussos, E.; Mitchell, D. G. +6 more
Cassini discovered Saturn's innermost radiation belt during the end of its mission. The belt is populated with relativistic protons, probably up to the trapping limit of ≈20 GeV. It extends from Saturn's dense atmosphere into and throughout the D-ring. The A-C rings separate this belt entirely from the previously known radiation belts, suggesting …
Photometric Modeling and VIS-IR Albedo Maps of Dione From Cassini-VIMS
Buratti, B. J.; Clark, R. N.; Stephan, K. +6 more
We report about visible and infrared albedo maps and spectral indicators of Dione's surface derived from the complete Visual and Infrared Mapping Spectrometer (VIMS) data set acquired between 2004 and 2017 during the Cassini tour in Saturn's system. Maps are derived by applying a photometric correction necessary to disentangle the intrinsic albedo…
Energetic Neutral and Charged Particle Measurements in the Inner Saturnian Magnetosphere During the Grand Finale Orbits of Cassini 2016/2017
Krupp, N.; Dougherty, M. K.; Roussos, E. +6 more
We give an overview of the charged and neutral particle measurements during the Grand Finale of Cassini performed by the Magnetosphere Imaging Instrument, MIMI, on board. The first in situ measurements of MeV particles between the D-ring and the atmosphere of the planet showed protons with energies above 300 MeV with higher count rates when magnet…
Saturn's Planetary Period Oscillations During the Closest Approach of Cassini's Ring-Grazing Orbits
Dougherty, M. K.; Cowley, S. W. H.; Provan, G. +2 more
Saturn's planetary period oscillations (PPOs) are ubiquitous throughout its magnetosphere. We investigate the PPO's azimuthal magnetic field amplitude interior to the field-aligned currents, during the closest approaches of Cassini's ring-grazing orbits (October 2016 to April 2017), with periapses at 2.5 RS. The amplitudes of the northe…
Cassini CAPS Identification of Pickup Ion Compositions at Rhea
Coates, A. J.; Thomsen, M. F.; Jones, G. H. +9 more
Saturn's largest icy moon, Rhea, hosts a tenuous surface-sputtered exosphere composed primarily of molecular oxygen and carbon dioxide. In this Letter, we examine Cassini Plasma Spectrometer velocity space distributions near Rhea and confirm that Cassini detected nongyrotropic fluxes of outflowing CO2+ during both the R1 and R1.5 encounters. Accou…
Photometric Modeling and VIS-IR Albedo Maps of Tethys From Cassini-VIMS
Clark, R. N.; Stephan, K.; D'Aversa, E. +6 more
We report about the derivation of visible (VIS) and infrared (IR) albedo maps and spectral indicators of Saturn's satellite Tethys from the complete Cassini-Visual and Infrared Mapping Spectrometer (VIMS) data set. The application of a photometric correction is necessary to remove illumination and viewing effects from the I/F spectra, to compute s…