A Search for Plumes on Mimas, Tethys, and Dione

Details A Search for Plumes on Mimas, Tethys, and Dione A Search for Plumes on Mimas, Tethys, and Dione

Dec 2009

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2009agufm.p43f..03b&link_type=abstract

American Geophysical Union, Fall Meeting 2009, abstract #P43F-03

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[6280] Planetary Sciences: Solar System Objects / Saturnian Satellites

Scientific paper

The Saturnian satellite Enceladus is a geologically active body with massive plumes and profound effects on its environment. At least three other satellites of Saturn could be expected to exhibit activity (albeit to a smaller degree): Mimas, Tethys, and Dione. Mimas has a high orbital eccentricity and is in a 2:1 mean motion resonance with Tethys, while Tethys and Dione have both exhibited effects on the magnetosphere of Saturn that suggest the existence of plasma streams originating separately from both satellites (Burch et al., 2007, Nature 447, 833.) The plumes of Enceladus are visible as large forward scattering peaks in the moon’s solar phase curve, especially at infrared wavelengths. Cassini Visual Infrared Mapping Spectrometer (VIMS) observations of Mimas, Tethys, and Dione obtained at large solar phase angles were analyzed to search for similar plume activity. No forward scattered peaks in the solar phase curves of these satellites were detected. The upper limit on water vapor production for Mimas and Tethys is one order of magnitude less than the production for Enceladus. For Dione, the upper limit is two orders of magnitude less, suggesting this world is as inert as Rhea. Some evidence for a low level of activity (a few % of that of Enceladus) on Mimas and Tethys exists in images obtained at the same time as the VIMS data. This activity - if it can be confirmed - might be a possible tenuous “atmosphere” on these satellites that is the result of bombardment of particles from the E-ring, which has a peak density at Enceladus. Mimas and Tethys are the two closest satellites to Enceladus. Funded by NASA

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