HR: 16:45h
AN: P14A-06    [Abstracts]
TI: First Cassini Three-frequency Radio Occultation Observations of the Atmosphere and Ionosphere of Saturn
AU: * Kliore, A
EM: akliore@jpl.nasa.gov
AF: Jet Propulsion Laboratory, 4800 Oak Grove Drive, Pasadena, CA 91109 United States
AU: Schinder, P
EM: schinder@leprss.gsfc.nasa.gov
AF: NASA - Goddard SFC, LEP Code 693, Greenbelt, MD 20071 United States
AU: Flasar, F M
EM: mike@leprss.gsfc.nasa.gov
AF: NASA - Goddard SFC, LEP Code 693, Greenbelt, MD 20071 United States
AU: Asmar, S
EM: Sami.W.Asmar@jpl.nasa,gov
AF: Jet Propulsion Laboratory, 4800 Oak Grove Drive, Pasadena, CA 91109 United States
AU: Anabtawi, A
EM: Aseel.Anabtawi@jpl.nasa.gov
AF: Jet Propulsion Laboratory, 4800 Oak Grove Drive, Pasadena, CA 91109 United States
AU: Nagy, A
EM: anagy@umich.edu
AF: University of Michigan, SPRL 2455 Hayward Ave, Ann Arbor, MI 48109 United States
AB: The first Cassini radio occultation observations of the atmosphere and ionosphere of Saturn were made on May 3rd, 2005. The path of Cassini as seen from Earth (the occultation track), which had been designed to cross Saturn's rings almost diametrically, has also provided two near-equatorial occultations of the atmosphere and ionosphere at longitudes separated by about 180°. During each occultation, three coherent monochromatic radio signals at wavelengths of 0.94, 3.6, and 13 cm (Ka-, X-, and S-band respectively) were transmitted through the Saturn atmosphere and ionosphere, a capability unique to Cassini. The refracted signals were received at the Earth and recorded at the NASA/JPL DSN complexes at Goldstone and Canberra. Analysis of these signals has provided the electron density profiles in the near-terminator ionosphere and the pressure - temperature profiles in the neutral atmosphere, as well as the first three-frequency measurement of microwave absorbers in Saturn's lower atmosphere.
DE: 5704 Atmospheres--composition and chemistry
DE: 5707 Atmospheres--structure and dynamics
DE: 5729 Ionospheres (2459)
DE: 6904 Atmospheric propagation
DE: 6929 Ionospheric physics (2409)
SC: Planetary Sciences [P]
MN: 2005 Joint Assembly