Saturn ’ S Diffuse E Ring and Its Connection with Enceladus
نویسندگان
چکیده
Introduction: Saturn’s E ring is the second largest planetary ring in the solar system, encompassing the icy satellites of Mimas (rM = 3.07RS), Enceladus (rE = 3.95RS), Tethys (rT = 4.88RS), Dione (rD = 6.25RS), Rhea (rR = 8.73R), and Titan (rR = 20.25RS). Enceladus was proposed early on as the dominant source of ring particles [1], since the edge-on brightness profile peaks near the moon’s mean orbital distance. We now know that the cryo-volcanoes at the moon’s southpolar terrain are the main sources for the E ring particles [2]. Many features such as the ring’s blue color and the local ring structure can be explained by the dynamics of the plume particle ejection [3][4].
منابع مشابه
Cassini detection of water-group pick-up ions in the Enceladus torus
[1] This study reports direct detection by the Cassini plasma spectrometer of freshly-produced water-group pickup ions within the proposed Enceladus torus, a radially narrow toroidal region surrounding Saturn that contains a high density of water-group neutrals. This torus is produced by the icy plumes observed near the south pole of Enceladus. The ions are created by charge exchange collisions...
متن کاملIdentification of a dynamic atmosphere at Enceladus with the Cassini magnetometer.
The Cassini magnetometer has detected the interaction of the magnetospheric plasma of Saturn with an atmospheric plume at the icy moon Enceladus. This unanticipated finding, made on a distant flyby, was subsequently confirmed during two follow-on flybys, one very close to Enceladus. The magnetometer data are consistent with local outgassing activity via a plume from the surface of the moon near...
متن کاملThe Case for Enceladus Science
Enceladus is the only unambiguous example of a cryovolcanically active icy satellite identified in the outer solar system and can be used to study active processes that are thought to have once played a role in shaping the surfaces of other icy satellites. These processes include tidal heating, cryovolcanism, and ice tectonism, which all can be studied as they currently happen on Enceladus. Mor...
متن کاملDoes Enceladus govern magnetospheric dynamics at Saturn?
Instruments on the Cassini spacecraft reveal that a heat source within Saturn's moon Enceladus powers a great plume of water ice particles and dust grains, a geyser that jets outward from the south polar regions and most likely serves as the dominant source of Saturn's E ring. The interaction of flowing magnetospheric plasma with the plume modifies the particle and field environment of Enceladu...
متن کاملSeasonal variations in Saturn’s plasma between the main rings and Enceladus
[1] With the discovery by the Cassini spacecraft of an oxygen atmosphere over Saturn’s main rings, and a strong source of water products from the plumes of Saturn’s moon Enceladus, our picture of the physics of Saturn’s magnetosphere from the main rings to inside the orbit of Enceladus has changed dramatically. This region contains oxygen ions from the ring atmosphere and water-group ions from ...
متن کامل