The ionosphere of Saturn

A one dimensional theoretical model of the Saturn upper atmosphere and ionosphere was developed and used to study the effects of various free parameters on the structure and composition of the ionosphere. The model was used to solve the diffusion equations for all the major neutral species above the ammonia cloud tops: H2, He, H, CH4, CH3, C2H2, C2H4, and C2H6. It also contained a complete ionosphere model including the diffusing ion H(+) and the photochemical ions C2H5(+), HC5(-), CH4(-), CH3(+), CH2(-), CH(-), He(-), HeH(+), H2(+), and H3(-). Solutions to the neutral, ion, and electron conduction equations were also obtained. Photoelectron and electron precipitation processes were included by solving a two stream electron transport code. All components of the model were coupled together to provide a self-consistent solution to the structure, composition, and temperature of the upper atmosphere and ionosphere.