Search Publications
3D global multi-species Hall-MHD simulation of the Cassini T9 flyby
Neubauer, Fritz M.; Russell, Christopher T.; Gombosi, Tamas I. +8 more
The wake region of Titan is an important component of Titan's interaction with its surrounding plasma and therefore a thorough understanding of its formation and structure is of primary interest. The Cassini spacecraft passed through the distant downstream region of Titan on 18:59:30 UT Dec. 26, 2005, which is referred to as the T9 flyby and provi…
Tethys: Lithospheric thickness and heat flux from flexurally supported topography at Ithaca Chasma
Neukum, Gerhard; Thomas, Peter C.; Helfenstein, Paul +2 more
We have identified flexural uplift along the flanks of Tethys' Ithaca Chasma using Cassini stereo-derived topography. Modeling the topography as a broken elastic plate yields an effective elastic lithospheric thickness in the range of 5-7 km and, combined with the strength envelope of the lithosphere, a mechanical lithospheric thickness of 16-20 k…
SAID: Plasmaspheric short circuit of substorm injections
Mishin, E. V.; Puhl-Quinn, P. A.
We present magnetically-conjugate Cluster/DMSP observations of subauroral ion drifts (SAID) after the onset of a weak substorm on 18 March 2002 that confirm and expand on the previous Cluster/DMSP results. The outer side of the SAID channel is aligned with the plasmapause and its outer edge marks the dispersionless boundary of the electron precipi…
Source of whistler emissions at the dayside magnetopause
André, M.; Stenberg, G.; Vaivads, A. +4 more
Observations of whistler emissions are common in the magnetosphere near the dayside magnetopause. We show that one of the major source regions for these emissions is magnetic field minima that form along magnetic flux tubes at high latitudes. Using multispacecraft Cluster observations we experimentally confirm for the first time the existence of t…
Stability of hydrated minerals on Mars
Mustard, John F.; Bibring, Jean-Pierre; Poulet, François +7 more
The validity of recent identification of various hydrated minerals (kieserite, gypsum, hexahydrite, nontronite, chamosite, and montmorillonite) on Mars was assessed by exposing these minerals to simulated Martian surface conditions of atmospheric composition and pressure, temperature, and ultraviolet light irradiation. When exposed to such conditi…
Titan airglow spectra from Cassini Ultraviolet Imaging Spectrograph (UVIS): EUV analysis
Stewart, Ian; Gustin, Jacques; Ajello, Joseph M. +7 more
We present the first UV airglow observations of Titan's atmosphere by the Ultraviolet Imaging Spectrograph (UVIS) on Cassini. Using one spectral channel in the EUV from 561-1182 Å and one in the FUV from 1115-1913 Å, UVIS observed the disk on 13 December, 2004 at low solar activity. The EUV spectrum consists of three band systems of N2 …
Magnetic signatures of plasma-depleted flux tubes in the Saturnian inner magnetosphere
André, N.; Gurnett, D. A.; Lewis, G. R. +12 more
Initial Cassini observations have revealed evidence for interchanging magnetic flux tubes in the inner Saturnian magnetosphere. Some of the reported flux tubes differ remarkably by their magnetic signatures, having a depressed or enhanced magnetic pressure relative to their surroundings. The ones with stronger fields have been interpreted previous…
A Cluster measurement of fast magnetic reconnection in the magnetotail
Escoubet, C. P.; Balogh, A.; Dandouras, I. +11 more
Fast reconnection is crucial to magnetospheric substorms, solar and stellar flares and fusion plasmas. Ultimate confirmation of fast reconnection must be achieved by multi-spacecraft detections of the reconnection rate itself and associated dimensions of the diffusion region. Here we report a multi-spacecraft measurement of fast reconnection rate …
Energetic electrons injected into Saturn's neutral gas cloud
Krupp, N.; Krimigis, S. M.; Mitchell, D. G. +7 more
We demonstrate that the population of 20-410 keV electrons observed in Saturn's inner magnetosphere result principally from recent injections. Electrons at these energies appear to survive only up to a few days in the neutral gas cloud emitted by gas jets in Enceladus's southern hemisphere. Ions of similar energies have much shorter lifetimes in t…
Saturn's satellite Rhea is a homogeneous mix of rock and ice
Anderson, J. D.; Schubert, G.
A close flyby of Saturn's satellite Rhea by the Cassini spacecraft on 26 November 2005 can be used to infer its mass and quadrupole gravity moments. From these data we derive a mean density of 1233 ± 5 kg m-3 for Rhea and an axial moment of inertia consistent with an undifferentiated interior. The small density implies an interior made up of about…