Recent results from HST and ground-based observations of Saturn's aurora

Details Recent results from HST and ground-based observations of Saturn's aurora Recent results from HST and ground-based observations of Saturn's aurora

Dec 2008

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2008agufmsm34a..02g&link_type=abstract

American Geophysical Union, Fall Meeting 2008, abstract #SM34A-02

Physics

3934 Optical, Infrared, And Raman Spectroscopy, 5706 Aurorae, 5737 Magnetospheres (2756), 7549 Ultraviolet Emissions, 7845 Particle Acceleration

Scientific paper

Current observations of Saturn's aurora performed from Earth-orbit with HST and ground based instruments more than complement the in situ measurements obtained by the Cassini spacecraft. These remote observations focus on two spectral windows revealing different facets of the same auroral phenomenon. The auroral photons captured in the ultraviolet bandwidth result from direct impact excitation of H and H2 by charged particles accelerated along magnetic field lines, while the thermal infrared emission involves additional steps in order to produce hot H3+ from the auroral energy. Each spectral window presents its own advantages. The high spatial and temporal resolution of the recent UV images obtained with HST make it possible to discriminate auroral sub-structures, such as short lived arcs and spots, and to map them into the magnetosphere where they can be associated with in situ observations. Infrared high resolution spectroscopy and emission-line imaging from ground observatories (IRTF, UKIRT) have more modest spatial resolution; however they recently pinned down emissions barely observed in the UV. Furthermore, they offer a direct measurement of the ion wind velocities in the auroral ionosphere. These ion flow patterns might then be used to untangle the origin of the auroral particles. The complementarity of observations obtained in the UV and IR bandwidths provides a powerful tool to study the auroral mechanisms in the Kronian magnetosphere and the atmospheric response to the auroral input.

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