The energetic particle signatures of Saturn's G ring
Abstract
Since its arrival at Saturn Cassini has crossed the region magnetically-connected to the planet s G ring - the ring s L-shell - on four occasions and has grazed the region once During each of these periods the LEMMS sensor of Cassini s MIMI instrument detected a drop in energetic ion fluxes This is caused by the continuous absorption of trapped magnetospheric radiation by the G ring s constituent particles On day 248 of 2005 the instrument also detected a significant drop in energetic electron fluxes signifying the probable presence of a localised region within the ring of very high particle density These observations are an excellent complement to remote sensing observations of the G ring We present our interpretation of these MIMI observations comparing them with Voyager and Pioneer results and discuss how the results contribute to our understanding of the G ring
- Publication:
-
36th COSPAR Scientific Assembly
- Pub Date:
- 2006
- Bibcode:
- 2006cosp...36.3408J