Search Publications
Electron density inside Enceladus plume inferred from plasma oscillations excited by dust impacts
Gurnett, D. A.; Kurth, W. S.; Wahlund, J. -E. +4 more
Enceladus' southern plume is one of the major discoveries of the Cassini mission. The water neutrals and water ice particles (dust) ejected by the cryovolcanic activity populate Saturn's E ring and the neutral torus, and they interact with the plasma environment of Saturn's magnetosphere. The plasma neutrality inside Enceladus' plume has been show…
Flapping current sheet with superposed waves seen in space and on the ground
Zhang, T. L.; Nakamura, R.; Volwerk, M. +4 more
A wavy current sheet event observed on 15 October 2004 between 1235 and 1300 UT has been studied by using Cluster and ground-based magnetometer data. Waves propagating from the tail center to the duskside flank with a period ~30 s and wavelength ~1 RE are superimposed on a flapping current sheet, accompanied with a bursty bulk flow. Thr…
A survey of hot flow anomalies at Venus
Coates, A. J.; Fedorov, A.; Barabash, S. +10 more
We present the first survey of hot flow anomalies (HFAs) at the bow shock of Venus, expanding on our recent initial case study. A 3.06 sol (774 Earth day) survey of Venus Express magnetometer, ion spectrometer, and electron spectrometer data was undertaken in order to identify Cytherian HFAs. Seven events were discovered, corresponding to a statis…
Evidence for the braking of flow bursts as they propagate toward the Earth
Dandouras, I.; Nilsson, H.; André, M. +9 more
In this article we use energy conversion arguments to investigate the possible braking of flow bursts as they propagate toward the Earth. By using E·J data (E and J are the electric field and the current density) observed by Cluster in the magnetotail plasma sheet, we find indications of a plasma deceleration in the region -20 RE < X…
Backscattered energetic neutral atoms from the Moon in the Earth's plasma sheet observed by Chandarayaan-1/Sub-keV Atom Reflecting Analyzer instrument
Barabash, Stas; Futaana, Yoshifumi; Wieser, Martin +8 more
We present the observations of energetic neutral atoms (ENAs) produced at the lunar surface in the Earth's magnetotail. When the Moon was located in the terrestrial plasma sheet, Chandrayaan-1 Energetic Neutrals Analyzer (CENA) detected hydrogen ENAs from the Moon. Analysis of the data from CENA together with the Solar Wind Monitor (SWIM) onboard …
MARSIS observations of the Martian nightside ionosphere dependence on solar wind conditions
Gurnett, D. A.; Němec, F.; Morgan, D. D. +1 more
Despite the absence of solar radiation on the Martian nightside, a weak, irregular, and variable ionosphere is produced there. The nightside ionosphere is thought to be maintained by two main sources: dayside-nightside plasma transport and electron precipitation. Observations by Mars Express (MEX) and Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) have shown that the…
Modeling radiation belt electron acceleration by ULF fast mode waves, launched by solar wind dynamic pressure fluctuations
Zong, Q. -G.; Rankin, R.; Degeling, A. W.
We investigate the magnetospheric MHD and energetic electron response to a Storm Sudden Commencement (SSC) and subsequent magnetopause buffeting, focusing on an interval following an SSC event on 25 November 2001. We find that the electron flux signatures observed by LANL, Cluster, and GOES spacecraft during this event can largely be reproduced us…
Magnetic fields in the Venus ionosphere: Dependence on the IMF direction—Venus express observations
Woch, J.; Wei, Y.; Zhang, T. L. +2 more
The structure of the magnetized ionosphere of Venus is investigated using the magnetometer and plasma (Analyzer of Space Plasmas and Energetic Atoms 4) data from the Venus Express spacecraft. Observations surveying the low-altitude (h ≤ 250 km) ionosphere were made at solar zenith angles ≥ 75°. The magnetic field permeating the Venus ionosphere at…
Density waves in Titan's upper atmosphere
Yelle, R. V.; Cui, J.; Müller-Wodarg, I. C. F. +2 more
Analysis of the Cassini Ion Neutral Mass Spectrometer data reveals the omnipresence of density waves in various constituents of Titan's upper atmosphere, with quasi-periodical structures visible for N2, CH4,29N2, and some of the minor constituents. The N2 amplitude lies in the range of ≈4%-16%…
Developing a self-consistent description of Titan's upper atmosphere without hydrodynamic escape
Bougher, Stephen W.; Hunter Waite, J.; Bell, Jared M. +4 more
In this study, we develop a best fit description of Titan's upper atmosphere between 500 km and 1500 km, using a one-dimensional (1-D) version of the three-dimensional (3-D) Titan Global Ionosphere-Thermosphere Model. For this modeling, we use constraints from several lower atmospheric Cassini-Huygens investigations and validate our simulation res…