Physics – Plasma Physics
Scientific paper
Dec 2009
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2009agufm.p41d..03b&link_type=abstract
American Geophysical Union, Fall Meeting 2009, abstract #P41D-03
Physics
Plasma Physics
[5422] Planetary Sciences: Solid Surface Planets / Ices, [6020] Planetary Sciences: Comets And Small Bodies / Ices, [6280] Planetary Sciences: Solar System Objects / Saturnian Satellites, [7823] Space Plasma Physics / Ionization Processes
Scientific paper
The discovery of water ice “jets” emanating from high southern latitudes on Saturn’s moon Enceladus by the Cassini spacecraft raises questions about the relationship of this small satellite to comets and Centaurs. The release of primarily water gas and dust from cometary nuclei is also restricted to “jets” or plumes and this activity has been observed in comets at distances much further than Saturn’s orbit, including comet-like activity and a resolved coma of the Centaur Chiron. Enceladus and Chiron have sizes that are much larger than typical cometary nuclei but their atmospheres are still largely unbound, similar to the exospheres of comets. With Chiron, Enceladus can be thought of a transitional object, intermediate to the tightly bound, thin atmospheres typical of planets and large satellites and the greatly extended atmospheres in free expansion typical of cometary comae. These objects represent a consistent evolution from the comet nucleus to larger icy bodies in the outer solar system with systematic effects of increased gravity. In other respects, the large size of Enceladus relative to comets and the presence of Saturn and its magnetosphere nearby, brings into question the validity of applying scaling laws to cometary results in order to understand the environment surrounding Enceladus. In addition, release mechanisms for the icy grains and gases at Enceladus, including liquid water mixtures below the cold, icy surface, are not thought to be applicable to comets. These issues and others are discussed as we offer an updated cometary perspective on our current understanding of Enceladus.
Boice Daniel C.
Goldstein Raymond
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