Search Publications
Cassini INMS observations of neutral molecules in Saturn's E-ring
McNutt, Ralph L.; Mitchell, Donald G.; Waite, J. Hunter +6 more
In 2008, the Cassini ion neutral mass spectrometer (INMS) investigation made in situ measurements of neutral species near Saturn's equatorial plane within 0.5 Saturn radii (RS) of the orbit of Enceladus. After removing the large background and modeling to interpret instrumental effects, the data provide rough constraints on the neutral …
Observation of the multifractal spectrum in solar wind turbulence by Ulysses at high latitudes
Wawrzaszek, Anna; Macek, Wieslaw M.
The aim of our study is to examine the question of multifractal scaling properties of turbulence in the solar wind at high latitudes. We analyze time series of the velocities of the solar wind during solar minimum (1994-1997, 2006-2007) at various heliographic latitudes measured in situ by Ulysses, which is the only mission that has investigated p…
Test of methods to infer the magnetic reconnection geometry from spacecraft data
Baumjohann, W.; Hesse, M.; Birn, J. +5 more
When analyzing data from a cluster of spacecraft (such as Cluster or MMS) crossing a site of magnetic reconnection, it is desirable to be able to determine the orientation of the reconnection site. If the reconnection is quasi-two dimensional, there are three key directions, the direction of inhomogeneity (direction across the reconnection site), …
Nature of the ring current in Saturn's dayside magnetosphere
Persoon, A. M.; Coates, A. J.; Dougherty, M. K. +6 more
We employ magnetic field and plasma particle data from two equatorial passes of the Cassini spacecraft spanning the radial range between ∼3 and ∼20 RS to investigate the nature of the ring current in Saturn's dayside magnetosphere (RS is Saturn's equatorial radius, equal to 60,268 km). We examine plasma parameters obtained by…
Direct measurements of the Poynting flux associated with convection electric fields in the magnetosphere
Tanaka, T.; Wygant, J.; Nishimura, Y. +6 more
Observations of Poynting fluxes associated with onset of convection electric fields are essential for understanding of electromagnetic energy transport from the solar wind toward the magnetosphere leading to changes in the convection electric field, which is one of the most fundamental parameters in the magnetosphere-ionosphere coupled system. We …
Interaction of Saturn's magnetosphere and its moons: 1. Interaction between corotating plasma and standard obstacles
Russell, C. T.; Khurana, K. K.; Gombosi, T. I. +3 more
The interaction of Saturn's inner magnetosphere with its moons ranges from the addition of significant quantities of gas, dust, and plasma, causing significant consequences for the dynamics and energetics of the entire Saturnian magnetosphere, to the simple absorption of plasma and energetic particles by the icy moons with non-electrically conduct…
Simultaneous observations of reconnection pulses at Cluster and their effects on the cusp aurora observed at the Chinese Yellow River Station
Lester, M.; Lockwood, M.; Dunlop, M. W. +11 more
While the Cluster spacecraft were located near the high-latitude magnetopause, between 1010 and 1040 UT on 16 January 2004, three typical flux transfer event (FTE) signatures were observed. During this interval, simultaneous and conjugated all-sky camera measurements, recorded at Yellow River Station, Svalbard, are available at 630.0 and 557.7 nm …
X line distribution determined from earthward and tailward convective bursty flows in the central plasma sheet
Dunlop, M. W.; Baumjohann, W.; Reme, H. +5 more
With TC-1, Cluster, and Geotail observations, we statistically analyzed earthward and tailward convective bursty flows (CBFs) from 7 to 31 RE to understand the distribution of X lines in the magnetotail. We also analyzed the effect of the solar wind condition on the X lines with ACE satellite observations. The statistical results show t…
Excitation of electron cyclotron harmonic waves in the inner Saturn magnetosphere within local plasma injections
Gurnett, D. A.; Coates, A. J.; Hospodarsky, G. B. +6 more
Strong electron cyclotron harmonic (ECH) waves have been observed by Cassini associated with local plasma injection regions in the Saturnian magnetosphere. Using measured electron distributions from the Cassini plasma spectrometer, we calculated local growth rates and path-integrated wave gain of ECH waves inside an injection event using the HOTRA…
Antiparallel magnetic reconnection rates at the Earth's magnetopause
Fuselier, S. A.; Trattner, K. J.; Petrinec, S. M.
Cluster observations at the Earth's high-latitude magnetopause are combined with magnetic field models to demonstrate that antiparallel reconnection was occurring at the magnetopause for an event on 3 December 2001. Over a 20 min period, the reconnection line passed over the spacecraft on two occasions. In between the encounters with the reconnect…