Titan's induced magnetosphere under variable upstream conditions

BERTUCCI, C.; SILLAMPAA, I.; SITTLER, E. C.; SERGIS, N.; MODOLO, R.; RYMER, A.; TOKAR, R. L.; DOUGHERTY, M. K.; YOUNG, D. T.; KRIMIGIS, S. M.; KURTH, W. S.

Congreso; AGU Fall Meeting 2009; 2009

American Geophysical Union

Over the last 5 years, Cassini magnetic field and plasma observations in the vicinity of Titan have revealed that the properties of the moon's plasma environment are strongly influenced by the dynamics of Saturn's equatorial magnetodisk. As the magnetodisk flaps past Titan's orbit in response to changes in solar wind dynamic pressure and Saturn kilometric radiation phase, the pressure inventory of the flow ahead of the moon varies with implications on its atmopsheric escape. In this work we identify some basic properties of Titan's induced magnetosphere (size, shape) and, in sectors where upstream conditions are less variable, we compare the importance of the different pressure terms (magnetic, dynamic, thermal) at different altitudes to study the pressure balance.