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Cusp observation at Saturn's high-latitude magnetosphere by the Cassini spacecraft

Jasinski, JM; Arridge, CS; Lamy, L; Leisner, JS; Thomsen, MF; Mitchell, DG; Coates, AJ; ... Waite, JH; + view all (2014) Cusp observation at Saturn's high-latitude magnetosphere by the Cassini spacecraft. GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH LETTERS , 41 (5) 1382 - 1388. 10.1002/2014GL059319. Green open access

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Abstract

We report on the first analysis of magnetospheric cusp observations at Saturn by multiple in situ instruments onboard the Cassini spacecraft. Using this we infer the process of reconnection was occurring at Saturn’s magnetopause. This agrees with remote observations that showed the associated auroral signatures of reconnection. Cassini crossed the northern cusp around noon local time along a poleward trajectory. The spacecraft observed ion energy-latitude dispersions—a characteristic signature of the terrestrial cusp. This ion dispersion is “stepped,” which shows that the reconnection is pulsed. The ion energy-pitch angle dispersions suggest that the field-aligned distance from the cusp to the reconnection site varies between ∼27 and 51 RS. An intensification of lower frequencies of the Saturn kilometric radiation emissions suggests the prior arrival of a solar wind shock front, compressing the magnetosphere and providing more favorable conditions for magnetopause reconnection.

Type: Article
Title: Cusp observation at Saturn's high-latitude magnetosphere by the Cassini spacecraft
Open access status: An open access version is available from UCL Discovery
DOI: 10.1002/2014GL059319
Publisher version: http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/2014GL059319
Additional information: ©2014. The Authors. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs License, which permits use and distribution in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, the use is non-commercial and no modifications or adaptations are made.
Keywords: cusp, reconnection, plasma, dispersion, Cassini
UCL classification: UCL
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Maths and Physical Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Maths and Physical Sciences > Dept of Space and Climate Physics
URI: https://discovery-pp.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/1420104
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