Dynamics of dust ejected from Enceladus: Application to the Cassini dust detector

Details Dynamics of dust ejected from Enceladus: Application to the Cassini dust detector Dynamics of dust ejected from Enceladus: Application to the Cassini dust detector

Oct 1999

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1999jgr...10424111s&link_type=abstract

Journal of Geophysical Research, Volume 104, Issue E10, p. 24111-24120

Physics

13

Scientific paper

The satellite Enceladus is obviously the main source of Saturn's E ring. Up to now, different mechanisms of how particles are delivered from this satellite have been suggested. In this paper, we try to answer the question of whether these different launch processes can be distinguished by the cosmic dust analyzer (CDA) aboard the Cassini spacecraft. To this aim, the dynamics of dust particles just launched from the surface of Enceladus is studied numerically. We have integrated the equations of motion for a wide range of initial conditions including ejecta from interplanetary and E ring impactors onto Enceladus. According to our simulations, Cassini will encounter a significant dust stream about the time of closest approach to Enceladus. The duration and intensity of this expected enhanced impact rate onto the CDA depends on the way the particles are ejected from the satellite. The counting rate yields information about the distribution of ejecta sources on the surface of Enceladus. For instance, an anisotropy of the ejecta between the leading and the trailing hemispheres of Enceladus should be detectable, and impactors of different origin should be distinguishable. Furthermore, the vertical component of the ejecta velocities can explain the vertical extent of the E ring.

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