Other
Scientific paper
May 2005
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2005agusm.p21c..03a&link_type=abstract
American Geophysical Union, Spring Meeting 2005, abstract #P21C-03
Other
5737 Magnetospheres (2756), 7867 Wave/Particle Interactions
Scientific paper
Whistlers generated by lightning have been observed in the magnetosphere of Saturn by the Cassini Radio and Plasma Wave Science Investigation (RPWS). Two whistlers were observed as the spacecraft flew over the rings on July 1, 2004, and the third was observed on October 28, 2004, during the inbound pass of orbit A at a radial distance of 6.19 RS (Saturn radii). Of the three, the third has the best signal-to-noise ratio and is the main subject of this presentation. The whistler has a good fit to the well-known Eckersley law for the dispersion of whistlers, with a dispersion constant of 81.3 Hz1/2 sec. Since to a first approximation the whistler energy follows the planetary magnetic field line, the lightning that caused the whistler must be located at a relatively high latitude, roughly 66 degrees in this case. It is not known whether the causative lightning was located in the northern or southern hemisphere. However, the location of the spacecraft at 12.4 degrees north latitude and the relatively large dispersion suggest that the whistler passed through the dense equatorial plasma torus. If so, the lightning would be located in the southern hemisphere. Based on the measured dispersion and local electron density at the spacecraft, which was about 6.5 cm-3, the effective path length through the torus can be determined and is about 2.17 RS. Although not completed at the present time, we plan to use a Gaussian scale height model of the plasma torus to determine the north-south thickness of the torus from the measured dispersion. This model can then be compared with other estimates of the torus thickness, such as can be obtained from the plasma temperature using a centrifugal potential model. As more whistlers are detected during the Cassini mission, we should eventually be able to determine the north-south thickness of the torus as a function of radial distance.
Akalin Ferzan
Averkamp Terry
Gurnett Donald
Hospodarsky G.
Kurth William
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