HR: 14:15h
AN: P43A-02    [Abstracts]
TI: A numerical approach for simulation of the dusty-gas Enceladus' atmosphere
AU: * Tenishev, V
EM: vtenishe@umich.edu
AF: University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, United States
AU: Combi, M
AF: University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, United States
AU: Waite, H
AF: Southwest Research Institute, San Antonio, Texas, United States
AB: In addition to being the major source of neutral components in the Saturian E-ring and, ultimately, heavy ions for the inner magnetosphere, Enceladus exhibits a geological activity that recently made it an object of intensive study. Cassini flybys performed in 2005, have provided a detailed map of its surface and have shown that most of the activity occurs in a region around the South Pole of the satellite. Solid grains, entrained by the outcoming gas flow, can be potentially dangerous for spacecraft instruments. Therefore, an accurate estimation of the grain velocity and size distributions is essential for planning of future flybys. This work presents results of the development of a kinetic two-phase model of the Enceladus' atmosphere consisting of the gas and the solid grains. The model is developed based on the Direct Simulation Monte Carlo method with both phases described in terms of their velocity distributions that allows us to calculate all major macroscopic parameters within the atmosphere and treat the acceleration of the grains by the rarefied gas. In this work, we present the model results for both phases and compare them with the Cassini dust and gas observations from INMS and CDA, respectively.
DE: 6213 Dust
DE: 6280 Saturnian satellites
SC: Planetary Sciences [P]
MN: 2007 Joint Assembly