Cassini discovers seasonal changes in Rhea's exosphere

Details Cassini discovers seasonal changes in Rhea's exosphere Cassini discovers seasonal changes in Rhea's exosphere

Oct 2011

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2011epsc.conf.1651t&link_type=abstract

EPSC-DPS Joint Meeting 2011, held 2-7 October 2011 in Nantes, France. http://meetings.copernicus.org/epsc-dps2011, p.1651

Computer Science

Scientific paper

We present new measurements of Rhea's O2 - CO2 exosphere from Cassini's 11 January 2011 south polar flyby revealing time variability in the gas density and distribution at this Saturnian icy satellite (Figs. 1-2). The existence of an exosphere; first suggested by Cassini Plasma Spectrometer observations of outflowing pickup ions, was recently confirmed by in situ measurements from the Ion Neutral Mass Spectrometer (INMS) during Cassini's 2 March 2010 north polar flyby [1]. Like the Galilean moons Europa and Ganymede [2], Rhea's O2 is a chemical decomposition product of the surface ice due to irradiation by Saturn's magnetospheric plasma. Exospheric CO2 may be (i) synthesized from radiolysis involving surface-bound oxygen and endogenic and/or implanted organics, and/or (ii) may be due to escape of primordial CO2 from the ice.

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