2019
DOI: 10.1016/j.icarus.2018.10.027
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Observations of the chemical and thermal response of ‘ring rain’ on Saturn’s ionosphere

Abstract: In this study we performed a new analysis of ground-based observations that were taken on 17 April 2011 using the 10-metre Keck telescope on Mauna Kea, Hawaii. Emissions from H + 3 , a major ion in Saturn's ionosphere, were previously analyzed from these observations, indicating that peaks in emission at specific latitudes were consistent with an influx of charged water products from the rings known as 'ring rain'. Subsequent modeling showed that these peaks in emission are best explained by an increase in H +… Show more

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Cited by 28 publications
(35 citation statements)
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References 54 publications
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“…At polar latitudes, the temperature decreases with latitude from 513 K to 373 K between 61˚ S and 86˚ S, and from 586 K to 437 K between 66˚ N and 86˚ N. The Voyager data point at 82˚ S was previously considered an outlier [5] but now agrees well with the observed polar temperature minima. Our temperatures also agree roughly with the temperatures inferred from column-integrated H3 + observations [6,7] . The magnitude of temporal and longitudinal variations in temperature is limited by the standard deviation, which we infer for 15° latitude bins over the course of the mission.…”
supporting
confidence: 87%
“…At polar latitudes, the temperature decreases with latitude from 513 K to 373 K between 61˚ S and 86˚ S, and from 586 K to 437 K between 66˚ N and 86˚ N. The Voyager data point at 82˚ S was previously considered an outlier [5] but now agrees well with the observed polar temperature minima. Our temperatures also agree roughly with the temperatures inferred from column-integrated H3 + observations [6,7] . The magnitude of temporal and longitudinal variations in temperature is limited by the standard deviation, which we infer for 15° latitude bins over the course of the mission.…”
supporting
confidence: 87%
“…Neptune's rings are of course less massive than Saturn's, but the implicated source at Saturn was the tenuous D68 ringlet [52]. The bulk of the ring mass flux measured by Cassini was concentrated at Saturn's equator, yet there were still substantial charged particle 'ring rain' effects on mid-latitude H + 3 concentrations [8,53]. Therefore, Neptune's rings as a source of ionospheric modification remain as a possibility.…”
Section: (C) Discussion Of External Influxmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…H + 3 is also highly reactive, however, and so can be removed by contaminants introduced into the pristine H + and H + 3 upper ionosphere. At Saturn, we now have ample evidence for an inflow of ring material modifying ionospheric chemistry [8,11,52,53]. All of the giant planets are also exposed to interplanetary dust particles (IDPs), primarily from various families of comets.…”
Section: Methods (A) Model Descriptionmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…Making use of modelling by Moore et al (2015), O'Donoghue et al (2019 deduced that the rings of Saturn would be fully eroded in between 168 and 1110 million years time at the current rate of water deposition. A much larger equatorial mass influx from Saturn's rings, primarily composed of neutral nanograins, was discovered by the Cassini spacecraft during its end-of-mission proximal orbits (Mitchell et al 2018;Hsu et al 2018;Waite et al 2018).…”
Section: H3o + In Planetary Atmospheres and Cool Starsmentioning
confidence: 99%