1. Saturn's Magnetic Field at Unprecedented Detail Achieved by Cassini's Close Encounters
- Author
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Cao, Hao, Dougherty, Michele K., Hunt, Gregory J., Bunce, Emma J., Christensen, Ulrich R., Khurana, Krishan K., and Kivelson, Margaret G.
- Subjects
Astrophysics - Earth and Planetary Astrophysics ,Physics - Fluid Dynamics - Abstract
The last 22.5 orbits of the Cassini mission brought the spacecraft to less than 3000 km from Saturn's 1-bar surface. These close encounters offered an unprecedented view of Saturn's magnetic field, including contributions from the internal dynamo, the ionosphere, and the magnetosphere. In this chapter, we highlight the new picture of Saturn's magnetic field from the Cassini mission including the persistent yet time-varying low-latitude field-aligned currents, Alfv\'en waves planet-ward of the D-ring, extreme axisymmetry, and high-degree magnetic moments. We then discuss the implications and new questions raised for Saturn's innermost magnetosphere, equatorial ionosphere, and interior. We conclude this chapter with an outlook for the future exploration of Saturn and other giant planets., Comment: Peer reviewed and accepted for publication as Chapter 5 of a multi-volume work edited by Kevin Baines, Michael Flasar, Norbert Krupp, and Thomas Stallard, entitled Cassini at Saturn: The Grand Finale, to be published by Cambridge University Press. 15 pages, 10 figures
- Published
- 2023