Cassini INMS Observations of Neutral Molecules in the E-Ring

Details Cassini INMS Observations of Neutral Molecules in the E-Ring Cassini INMS Observations of Neutral Molecules in the E-Ring

Dec 2008

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2008agufm.p32a..08p&link_type=abstract

American Geophysical Union, Fall Meeting 2008, abstract #P32A-08

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6033 Magnetospheres (2756), 6265 Planetary Rings

Scientific paper

The Cassini Ion Neutral Mass Spectrometer (INMS) investigation makes in situ measurements of neutral species and ions in the vicinity of the Cassini Orbiter spacecraft. Neutral water products (the hydroxyl radical OH) have been observed in an equatorial-plane torus that spanned most of the E-ring, and peaked at 4 Saturn radii (Rs). These observations indicate a significant source of water to the magnetosphere. Recent INMS measurements made while Cassini traversed Saturn's rotational equatorial plane between 3.9 and 4.5 RS produced the first identification of water in situ. These results compare favorably with models of neutral densities with Enceladus as the source. The INMS data also contain tentative detections of two other neutral species: H2 and CO and/or N2 at mass 28. Although the presence of these additional species is unsurprising, the apparent densities are an order of magnitude greater than predicted by previous simulations of the transport and destruction of Enceladus-source neutrals.

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