Saturn's equinoctial auroras

Details Saturn's equinoctial auroras Saturn's equinoctial auroras

Dec 2009

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2009georl..3624102n&link_type=abstract

Geophysical Research Letters, Volume 36, Issue 24, CiteID L24102

Physics

10

Planetary Sciences: Fluid Planets: Aurorae, Planetary Sciences: Fluid Planets: Magnetospheres (2756), Planetary Sciences: Solar System Objects: Saturn, Magnetospheric Physics: Planetary Magnetospheres (5443, 5737, 6033), Magnetospheric Physics: Auroral Phenomena (2407)

Scientific paper

We present the first images of Saturn's conjugate equinoctial auroras, obtained in early 2009 using the Hubble Space Telescope. We show that the radius of the northern auroral oval is ˜1.5° smaller than the southern, indicating that Saturn's polar ionospheric magnetic field, measured for the first time in the ionosphere, is ˜17% larger in the north than the south. Despite this, the total emitted UV power is on average ˜17% larger in the north than the south, suggesting that field-aligned currents (FACs) are responsible for the emission. Finally, we show that individual auroral features can exhibit distinct hemispheric asymmetries. These observations will provide important context for Cassini observations as Saturn moves from southern to northern summer.

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