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| Paper: |
Surprises from Saturn: Implications for Other Environments |
| Volume: |
484, Outstanding Problems in Heliophysics: From Coronal Heating to the Edge of the Heliosphere |
| Page: |
16 |
| Authors: |
Coates, A. J. |
| Abstract: |
The exploration of Saturn by Cassini has provided many surprises
regarding: Saturn's rapidly rotating magnetosphere, interactions
with its diverse moons, and interactions with the solar wind.
Enceladus, orbiting at 4 Saturn radii (RS), was found to have
plumes of water vapour and ice which are the dominant source for
the inner magnetosphere. Charged water clusters, charged dust and
photoelectrons provide key populations in the 'dusty plasma'
observed. Direct pickup is seen near Enceladus and field-aligned
currents create a spot in Saturn's aurora. At Titan, orbiting at
20 RS, unexpected heavy negative and positive ions are seen in
the ionosphere, which provide the source for Titan's haze.
Ionospheric plasma is seen in Titan's tail, enabling ion escape to
be estimated at 7 tonnes per day. Saturn's ring ionosphere was
seen early in the mission and a return will be made in 2017. In
addition, highly accelerated electrons are seen at Saturn's high
Mach number (MA∼100) quasi-parallel bow shock. Here we
review some of these key new results, and discuss the implications
for other solar system objects. |
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