Structure of Titan's mid-range magnetic tail: Cassini magnetometer observations during the T9 flyby

BERTUCCI, C., NEUBAUER, F. M., SZEGO, K., WAHLUND, J.-E., COATES, A. J., DOUGHERTY, M. K., YOUNG, D. T., KURTH, W. S.

GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH LETTERS

American Geophysical Union

Lugar: Washington; Año: 2007 vol. 34 p. 1 - 4

0094-8276

We analyze the magnetic structure of Titan’s mid-range magnetic tail (5–6 Titan radii downstream from the moon) during Cassini’s T9 flyby. Cassini magnetometer (MAG) measurements reveal a well-defined, induced magnetic tail consisting of two lobes and a distinct central current sheet. MAG observations also indicate that Saturn’s backgroundmagnetic field is close to the moon’s orbital plane and that the magnetospheric flow has a significant component in the Saturn-Titan direction. The analysis of MAG data in a coordinate system based on the orientation of the background magnetic field and an estimation of the incoming flow direction suggests that Titan’s magnetic tail is extremely asymmetric. An important source of these asymmetries is the connection of the inbound tail lobe and the outbound tail lobe to the dayside and nightside hemispheres of Titan, respectively. Another source could be the perturbations generated by changes in the upstream conditions.