Observations of plasmoids in Saturn's magnetotail

Details Observations of plasmoids in Saturn's magnetotail Observations of plasmoids in Saturn's magnetotail

Dec 2006

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2006agufmsm31c..07h&link_type=abstract

American Geophysical Union, Fall Meeting 2006, abstract #SM31C-07

Physics

2744 Magnetotail, 2756 Planetary Magnetospheres (5443, 5737, 6033), 2764 Plasma Sheet, 5737 Magnetospheres (2756)

Scientific paper

We will present plasma observations from the Cassini Plasma Spectrometer (CAPS) in association with plasmoids observed in Saturn's magnetospheric tail by the Cassini magnetometer (MAG). A plasmoid event is identified by a sustained (many minutes) reversal (northward turning) of the normally southward component of the magnetic field across the tail current sheet. During such intervals, CAPS observes enhanced fluxes of electrons and positive ions, indicating entry into the tail plasma sheet. The positive ions include both protons and water-group ions, indicating an inner magnetospheric origin. Their flow velocities include tailward as well as corotational components, as expected for a plasmoid structure in a rapidly rotating magnetosphere. Two alternative interpretations of these events are an Earth-like "substorm" model and a Jupiter-like "planetary wind" model.

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