CaltechAUTHORS
Published February 25, 2005 | Version public
Journal Article Metadata-only

Ultraviolet Imaging Spectroscopy shows an active saturnian system

Creators

  • 1. ROR icon Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics
  • 2. ROR icon University of Southern California
  • 3. ROR icon Jet Propulsion Lab
  • 4. ROR icon Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research
  • 5. ROR icon Central Arizona College
  • 6. ROR icon University of Stuttgart
  • 7. ROR icon California Institute of Technology

Abstract

Neutral oxygen in the saturnian system shows variability, and the total number of oxygen atoms peaks at 4 x 10^(34). Saturn's aurora brightens in response to solar-wind forcing, and the auroral spectrum resembles Jupiter's. Phoebe's surface shows variable water-ice content, and the data indicate it originated in the outer solar system. Saturn's rings also show variable water abundance, with the purest ice in the outermost A ring. This radial variation is consistent with initially pure water ice bombarded by meteors, but smaller radial structures may indicate collisional transport and recent renewal events in the past 10^7 to 10^8 years.

Additional Information

© 2005 American Association for the Advancement of Science. Received 23 September 2004; accepted 2 December 2004 Published online 16 December 2004. Thanks to H. Tollerud for assistance with data processing, L. Bloom for producing the manuscript, and J. Cuzzi and the anonymous reviewers for helpful comments. This work is one part of the Cassini UVIS investigation, supported by the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory Cassini mission.

Additional details

Identifiers

Eprint ID
48750
Resolver ID
CaltechAUTHORS:20140820-160446094

Related works

Describes
10.1126/science.308.5727.1413a (DOI)

Funding

NASA Cassini Mission

Dates

Created
2014-08-22
Created from EPrint's datestamp field
Updated
2021-11-10
Created from EPrint's last_modified field

Caltech Custom Metadata

Caltech groups
Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences (GPS)