The dust environment near Methone, Anthe and Pallene
Abstract
The ISS (Imaging Science Subsystem) of the Cassini spacecraft has detected three arcs/ring along the orbit of the three tiny moons: Methone, Anthe and Pallene [1]. Latest result by the CDA (Cosmic Dust Analyzer) instrument onboard Cassini confirmed the Pallene dust torus. The goal of this study is to understand the dynamics of particles after they have been ejected from surface of these tiny moons. The considered forces are gravity from the oblate Saturn, gravity from Mimas and Enceladus (nearby massive moons), Lorentz force, solar radiation pressure, and plasma drag. Among these forces, plasma drag pushes particles into larger semi-major axes in the rate of ~ 100 km/yr for 10 μm particles. On the other hand, particles may temporarily trapped into resonances of Mimas or Enceladus. Such 'resonant lock' has been described by Dermott et al. 1994 for dust from asteroid belt temporarily locked by Earth resonances. This implies the higher number density of particles near resonances, such as the already known Methone and Anthe arcs. We will present the numerical simulation for the Methone and Anthe arcs as well as the Pallene torus and compare our results to observation.
- Publication:
-
European Planetary Science Congress
- Pub Date:
- April 2014
- Bibcode:
- 2014EPSC....9..666S