INVESTIGADORES
BERTUCCI Cesar
congresos y reuniones científicas
Título:
Titan interaction with the supersonic solar wind: Cassini T96 observations
Autor/es:
BERTUCCI, C.; HAMILTON, D. C.; KURTH, W. S.; HOSPODARSKY, G. B.; MITCHELL, D. G.; EDBERG, N. J. T.; SERGIS, N.; DOUGHERTY, M. K.
Reunión:
Congreso; AGU Fall Meeting 2014; 2014
Resumen:
After 9 years in the Saturn system, the Cassini spacecraft finally
observed Titan in the supersonic solar wind. These unique observations
reveal that Titan's interaction with the solar wind is in many ways
similar to unmagnetized planets Mars and Venus in spite of the
differences in the properties of the solar plasma in the outer solar
system. In particular, Cassini detected a collisionless, supercritical
bow shock under ongoing reformation and a well-defined induced
magnetosphere filled with mass-loaded interplanetary magnetic field
lines, which drape around Titan's ionosphere. A study of pressure
balance across different plasma regions suggest the presence of fossil
fields similar to those detected during T32. Because of the upstream
conditions, these observations are relevant for other unmagnetized
bodies in the outer solar system such as Pluto, where kinetic processes
are expected to dominate.