INVESTIGADORES
BERTUCCI Cesar
artículos
Título:
Orientation, location, and velocity of Saturn's bow shock: Initial results from the Cassini spacecraft
Autor/es:
ACHILLEOS, N.; BERTUCCI, C.; RUSSELL, C. T.; HOSPODARSKY, G. B.; RYMER, A. M.; ; ARRIDGE, C. S.; BURTON, M. E.; DOUGHERTY, M. K.; HENDRICKS, S.; SMITH, E. J.; TSURUTANI, B. T.
Revista:
JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH
Editorial:
AMER GEOPHYSICAL UNION
Referencias:
Año: 2006
ISSN:
0148-0227
Resumen:
The Cassini spacecraft commenced its tour of the planet Saturn on 1 July
2004 (GMT). During the insertion orbit, the Cassini magnetometer (MAG),
radio/plasma wave experiment (RPWS), and plasma spectrometer (CAPS)
obtained in situ measurements of the magnetic field and plasma
conditions associated with Saturn's environment. Analysis of the
magnetic field data indicate that Cassini repeatedly crossed a mainly
quasi-perpendicular bow shock boundary on both the inbound (post-dawn)
and outbound (predawn) legs. Modeling of the bow shock and magnetopause
crossing positions shows evidence for a magnetospheric compression
during Cassini's immersion in the magnetosphere. The magnetic signatures
of the bow shock crossings show the clearly defined "overshoot" and
"foot" regions associated with the quasi-perpendicular geometry. The
duration of the shock foot, considered in combination with the RPWS and
CAPS solar wind electron parameters upstream of the bow shock crossings,
indicates that the length scale for the bow shock ramp at Saturn is
about an ion inertial length. This is consistent with multispacecraft
observations of the spatial scale of the Earth's shock foot region. The
data are generally consistent with Saturn bow shock velocities up to
?400 km s-1 and shock structures governed by ion
dynamics.