HR: 1340h
AN: SM53A-1088    [Abstracts]
TI: Cassini Observations of Saturn's Magnetotail Region: Preliminary Results
AU: * Sittler Jr., E C
EM: edward.c.sittler@nasa.gov
AF: NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, 8800 Greenbelt Road Code 673, Greenbelt, MD 20771, United States
AU: Arridge, C
EM: csa@mssl.ucl.ac.uk
AF: University College London, Mullard Space Science Laboratory, Holmbury St. Mary, Dorking, SUR RH5 6NT, United Kingdom
AU: Rymer, A M
EM: abigail.rymer@jhuapl.edu
AF: Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, 11100 Johns Hopkins Road, Laurel, MD 20723, United States
AU: Coates, A J
EM: ajc@mssl.ucl.ac.uk
AF: University College London, Mullard Space Science Laboratory, Holmbury St. Mary, Dorking, SUR RH5 6NT, United Kingdom
AU: Krupp, N
EM: krupp@linmpi.mpg.de
AF: Max-Planck Institut fur Aeronomie, Max-Planck-Str. 2, Katlenburg-Lindau, 37191, Germany
AU: Blanc, M
EM: michel.blanc@cesr.fr
AF: Centre d'Etudes Spatiales des Rayonnements (CESR), 9, Avenue du Colonel Roche, BP 24346, Toulouse, F-31028, France
AU: Richardson, J D
EM: jdr@space.mit.edu
AF: Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Center for Space Research, Rm 37-655, Cambridge, MA 02139, United States
AU: Andre, N
EM: nandre@rssd.esa.int
AF: European Space Research and Technology Centre (ESTEC), Research and Scientific Support Department, Keplerlaan 1, Postbus 299, Noordwijk, 2200 AG, Netherlands
AU: Thomsen, M F
EM: mthomsen@lanl.gov
AF: Los Alamos National Laboratory, Space and Atmospheric Science Group, D-466, Los Alamos, NM 87545, United States
AU: Tokar, R L
EM: rlt@lanl.gov
AF: Los Alamos National Laboratory, Space and Atmospheric Science Group, D-466, Los Alamos, NM 87545, United States
AU: McAndrews, H J
EM: hazelm@lanl.gov
AF: Los Alamos National Laboratory, Space and Atmospheric Science Group, D-466, Los Alamos, NM 87545, United States
AU: Henderson, M G
EM: mghenderson@lanl.gov
AF: Los Alamos National Laboratory, Space and Atmospheric Science Group, D-466, Los Alamos, NM 87545, United States
AU: Cooper, J F
EM: john.f.cooper@nasa.gov
AF: NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, 8800 Greenbelt Road Code 673, Greenbelt, MD 20771, United States
AU: Burger, M H
EM: mburger@pop600.gsfc.nasa.gov
AF: NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, 8800 Greenbelt Road Code 673, Greenbelt, MD 20771, United States
AU: Simpson, D G
EM: david.g.simpson@nasa.gov
AF: NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, 8800 Greenbelt Road Code 673, Greenbelt, MD 20771, United States
AU: Khurana, K K
EM: kkhurana@igpp.ucla.edu
AF: University of California Los Angeles, Institute of Geophysics and Planetary Physics, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1567, United States
AU: Russell, C T
EM: ctrussel@igpp.ucla.edu
AF: University of California Los Angeles, Institute of Geophysics and Planetary Physics, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1567, United States
AU: Dougherty, M
EM: m.dougherty@ic.ac.uk
AF: Blackett Laboratory, Imperial College, London, UK 90024, United Kingdom
AU: Young, D T
EM: dyoung@swri.edu
AF: Southwest Research Institute, Division of Space Science and Engineering, 9503 W Commerce, San Antonio, TX 78227, United States
AB: Using Cassini thermal plasma, hot plasma and magnetic field observations for several intervals between the dawn meridian of Saturn's outer magnetosphere and Saturn's magnetotail region, we investigate the structure of the magnetotail, plasma and magnetic field properties within tail-like current sheet regions and ion flows within the magnetotail regions. We use Cassini Plasma Spectrometer (CAPS) Ion Mass Spectrometer (IMS), Electron Plasma Spectrometer (ELS) observations, MIMI LEMMS ion and electron observations and Cassini magnetometer data (MAG) to characterize the plasma environment. IMS observations are used to measure plasma flow velocities from which one can infer rotation versus convective flows. IMS composition measurements are used to trace the source of plasma from the inner magnetosphere (protons, H2+ and water group ions) versus an external solar wind source (protons and He++ ions). A critical parameter for both models is the strength of the convection electric field with respect to the rotational electric field for the large scale magnetosphere. For example, are there significant return flows (i.e., negative radial velocities, VR < 0) and/or plasmoids (VR > 0) within the magnetotail region? Initial preliminary evidence of such out flows and return flows was presented by Sittler et al. [2007a,b]. This talk complements the more global analysis by McAndrews et al. [2007].
DE: 2744 Magnetotail
DE: 2756 Planetary magnetospheres (5443, 5737, 6033)
DE: 5443 Magnetospheres (2756)
DE: 5737 Magnetospheres (2756)
SC: SPA-Magnetospheric Physics [SM]
MN: 2007 Fall Meeting