Saturn: Search for a missing water source

Physics

Scientific paper

Rate now

  [ 0.00 ] – not rated yet Voters 0   Comments 0

Details

38

Planetology: Solar System Objects: Saturn, Magnetospheric Physics: Planetary Magnetospheres (5443, 5737, 6030), Planetology: Solar System Objects: Saturnian Satellites, Planetology: Solar System Objects: Dust

Scientific paper

The origin of the large hydroxyl radical (OH) cloud near the inner moons of Saturn, indicative of a surprisingly large water-vapor source, has represented a puzzle since its discovery in 1992. A new set of Hubble Space Telescope measurements is used to constrain the OH spatial densities and to pinpoint the source region. Our model indicates that the vast majority of the water vapor (>80%) originates from Enceladus's orbital distance. This may indicate the presence of a dense population of small, as of yet unseen, bodies concentrated near Enceladus; collisions between these fragments are the suggested mechanism for producing the necessary amounts of water vapor. We show that collisions between plasma ions and neutral molecules substantially inflate the OH cloud, and increase the OH loss rate, requiring a water source three times larger than previous estimates.

No associations

LandOfFree

Say what you really think

Search LandOfFree.com for scientists and scientific papers. Rate them and share your experience with other people.

Rating

Saturn: Search for a missing water source does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this scientific paper.

If you have personal experience with Saturn: Search for a missing water source, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Saturn: Search for a missing water source will most certainly appreciate the feedback.

Rate now

     

Profile ID: LFWR-SCP-O-965010

  Search
All data on this website is collected from public sources. Our data reflects the most accurate information available at the time of publication.