The Global Structure of Saturn's Magnetosphere

Details The Global Structure of Saturn's Magnetosphere The Global Structure of Saturn's Magnetosphere

Sep 2006

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2006dps....38.3505a&link_type=abstract

American Astronomical Society, DPS meeting #38, #35.05; Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, Vol. 38, p.548

Astronomy and Astrophysics

Astronomy

Scientific paper

From Pioneer and Voyager observations, Saturn's Magnetosphere was thought to be a relatively incompressible Earth-like magnetosphere, compared to Jupiter's high compressible magnetosphere and (magneto)disc-like configuration. We present Cassini observations, principally from the Cassini Magnetometer, which reveal a very different structure.
The jovian magnetodisc dominates the jovian middle magnetosphere and is thought to form due to centrifugal stresses acting on a cold dense ion population [Russell et al. 1999], although the role of plasma pressure anisotropies have been questioned [Paranicas et al. 1991]. The origin of these ions is the moon Io, orbiting deep inside the magnetosphere. Saturn also possesses a source of heavy ions and so one might expect the magnetic field to stretch into a disc. Arguments against the formation of this disc-like structure at Saturn have been based on the quasi-dipolar configuration of the dayside magnetosphere [Smith et al. 1981], however we argue that the solar wind prevents the formation of the disc at noon, and that the kronian magnetodisc forms tailward of 0900 SLT. Evidence that the disc-like configuration is caused by centrifugal stress is provided by a stress balance analysis which is in agreement with studies inside the quasi-dipolar region of the magnetosphere [McNutt et al. 1984].
Through modelling of Saturn's magnetopause, we show that the magnetosphere is roughly as compressible as Jupiter's magnetosphere, an effect which is a consequence of the disc-like configuration. We also present observations which argue that the solar wind plays a much stronger role, compared to Jupiter, in breaking the axisymmetry of the magnetosphere which results in a "bowl-shaped" current sheet geometry.
We conclude by discussing the role of spin-periodicities in Saturn's magnetosphere, current problems, and the role of future portions of Cassini's trajectory in furthering our understanding of Saturn's magnetosphere.

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