Saturn's ring current and inner magnetosphere

Modelling of the ring current in Saturn’s magnetosphere

The existence of a ring current inside Saturn’s magnetosphere was first suggested by Smith et al. (1980) and Ness et al. (1981, 1982), in order to explain various features in the magnetic field observations from the Pioneer 11 and Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft. Connerney et al. (1983) formalized the equatorial current model, based on previous modelling work of Jupiter’s current sheet and estimated...

Discovery of nitrogen in Saturn’s inner magnetosphere

[1] We detected N in Saturn’s magnetosphere in the range L 3.5 to 9.5 Saturn Radii (Rs) using data collected by the Cassini Plasma Spectrometer during Saturn Orbit Insertion and the following orbit (Rev A). The presence of N in Saturn’s magnetosphere has been a source of much debate since Voyager’s detection of unresolved mass/charge 14–16 amu ions in this region. Two principal nitrogen sources...

Injection of a bubble into the inner magnetosphere

[1] Magnetic reconnection in the magnetotail or other forms of current sheet disruption are believed to produce plasma bubbles, which consist of flux tubes that have lower entropy content PV than their surroundings. We present an initial Rice-Convection-Model-based simulation of the injection of a bubble into the inner magnetosphere and explore the consequences on ring current formation. As the...

Equatorial electron density measurements in Saturn’s inner magnetosphere

Transport of energetic electrons into Saturn’s inner magnetosphere

[1] We present energetic electron data obtained by Cassini’s Magnetospheric Imaging Instrument in the inner magnetosphere of Saturn. We find here that inward transport and energization processes are consistent with conservation of the first two adiabatic invariants of motion. We model several injections near local midnight, one injection has a maximum energy of hundreds of keV, that are consist...