Jacques Gustin

Morphological differences between Saturn's ultraviolet aurorae and those of Earth and Jupiter

It has often been stated that Saturns magnetosphere and aurorae are intermediate between those of Earth, where the dominant processes are solar wind driven, and those of Jupiter, where processes are driven by a large source of internal plasma. But this view is based on information about Saturn that is far inferior to what is now available. Here we report ultraviolet images of Saturn, which, when combined with simultaneous Cassini measurements of the solar wind and Saturn kilometric radio emission, demonstrate that its aurorae differ morphologically from those of both Earth and Jupiter. Saturns auroral emissions vary slowly; some features appear in partial corotation whereas others are fixed to the solar wind direction; the auroral oval shifts quickly in latitude; and the aurora is often not centred on the magnetic pole nor closed on itself. In response to a large increase in solar wind dynamic pressure Saturns aurora brightened dramatically, the brightest auroral emissions moved to higher latitudes, and the dawn side polar regions were filled with intense emissions. The brightening is reminiscent of terrestrial aurorae, but the other two variations are not. Rather than being intermediate between the Earth and Jupiter, Saturns auroral emissions behave fundamentally differently from those at the other planets.

Multispectral simultaneous diagnosis of Saturn's aurorae throughout a planetary rotation

From 27 to 28 January 2009, the Cassini spacecraft remotely acquired combined observations of Saturns southern aurorae at radio, ultraviolet, and infrared wavelengths, while monitoring ion injections in the middle magnetosphere from energetic neutral atoms. Simultaneous measurements included the sampling of a full planetary rotation, a relevant timescale to investigate auroral emissions driven by processes internal to the magnetosphere. In addition, this interval coincidentally matched a powerful substorm-like event in the magnetotail, which induced an overall dawnside intensification of the magnetospheric and auroral activity. We comparatively analyze this unique set of measurements to reach a comprehensive view of kronian auroral processes over the investigated timescale. We identify three source regions for the atmospheric aurorae, including a main oval associated with the bulk of Saturn Kilometric Radiation (SKR), together with polar and equatorward emissions. These observations reveal the coexistence of corotational and subcorototational dynamics of emissions associated with the main auroral oval. Precisely, we show that the atmospheric main oval hosts short-lived subcorotating isolated features together with a bright, longitudinally extended, corotating region locked at the southern SKR phase. We assign the substorm-like event to a regular, internally driven, nightside ion injection possibly triggered by a plasmoid ejection. We also investigate the total auroral energy budget, from the power input to the atmosphere, characterized by precipitating electrons up to 20 keV, to its dissipation through the various radiating processes. Finally, through simulations, we confirm the search-light nature of the SKR rotational modulation and we show that SKR arcs relate to isolated auroral spots. We characterize which radio sources are visible from the spacecraft and we estimate the fraction of visible southern power to a few percent. The resulting findings are discussed in the frame of pending questions as the persistence of a corotating field-aligned current system within a subcorotating magnetospheric cold plasma, the occurrence of plasmoid activity, and the comparison of auroral fluxes radiated at different wavelengths.

The auroral footprint of Enceladus on Saturn

Although there are substantial differences between the magnetospheres of Jupiter and Saturn, it has been suggested that cryovolcanic activity at Enceladus could lead to electrodynamic coupling between Enceladus and Saturn like that which links Jupiter with Io, Europa and Ganymede. Powerful field-aligned electron beams associated with the Io–Jupiter coupling, for example, create an auroral footprint in Jupiter’s ionosphere. Auroral ultraviolet emission associated with Enceladus–Saturn coupling is anticipated to be just a few tenths of a kilorayleigh (ref. 12), about an order of magnitude dimmer than Io’s footprint and below the observable threshold, consistent with its non-detection. Here we report the detection of magnetic-field-aligned ion and electron beams (offset several moon radii downstream from Enceladus) with sufficient power to stimulate detectable aurora, and the subsequent discovery of Enceladus-associated aurora in a few per cent of the scans of the moon’s footprint. The footprint varies in emission magnitude more than can plausibly be explained by changes in magnetospheric parameters—and as such is probably indicative of variable plume activity.

Titan airglow spectra from Cassini Ultraviolet Imaging Spectrograph (UVIS): EUV analysis

u ! X 1 P g ), while the FUV spectrum consists of one (a 1 !g ! X 1 P g ). Both the EUVand FUV spectra contain many N I and N II multiplets that are produced primarily by photodissociative ionization. Spectral intensities of the N2 c4 0 1 P u (v 0 =0 )! X 1 P g (v 00 = 0-2) progression from 950-1010 A u are resolved for the first time. The UVIS observations reveal that the c4 1 P u (0) ! X 1 P (3) Stevens et al. (1994) developed a c4 (0, v 00 ) multiple scattering model for the terrestrial atmosphere and showed that c4 0 (0, 0) should be weak or undetectable near peak photoelectron excitation and that c4 0 (0, 1) should dominate over c4 (0, 0). This result was also inferred at Titan by Stevens (2001), who argued that c4 0 (0, 0) was misidentified at Titan and that two prominent N I multiplets produced primarily by photodissociative ionization (PDI) of N2 were present instead. This meant that the Titan EUV dayglow could be excited exclusively by the Sun. The key EUV emissions that could not be conclusively identified by UVS because of its low spectral resolution (30 A u ) can now be determined by UVIS with its higher spectral resolution (5.6 A u ). (4) Here we present for the first time UVIS EUV and FUV airglow spectra from Titan. We discuss the implica- tions of the spectra to the excitation sources on Titan using models of the EUV airglow. A subsequent paper will provide a model of the FUV airglow.

Simultaneous Cassini VIMS and UVIS observations of Saturn's southern aurora: Comparing emissions from H, H2 and H3+ at a high spatial resolution

Here, for the first time, temporally coincident and spatially overlapping Cassini VIMS and UVIS observations of Saturns southern aurora are presented. Ultraviolet auroral H and H2 emissions from UVIS are compared to infrared H3+ emission from VIMS. The auroral emission is structured into three arcs – H, H2 and H3+ are morphologically identical in the bright main auroral oval (∼73°S), but there is an equatorward arc that is seen predominantly in H (∼70°S), and a poleward arc (∼74°S) that is seen mainly in H2 and H3+. These observations indicate that, for the main auroral oval, UV emission is a good proxy for the infrared H3+ morphology (and vice versa), but for emission either poleward or equatorward this is no longer true. Hence, simultaneous UV/IR observations are crucial for completing the picture of how the atmosphere interacts with the magnetosphere.