Nordheim, TA; Jones, GH; Roussos, E; Leisner, JS; Coates, AJ; Kurth, WS; Khurana, KK; ... Waite, JH; + view all Nordheim, TA; Jones, GH; Roussos, E; Leisner, JS; Coates, AJ; Kurth, WS; Khurana, KK; Krupp, N; Dougherty, MK; Waite, JH; - view fewer (2014) Detection of a strongly negative surface potential at Saturn's moon Hyperion. GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH LETTERS , 41 (20) 7011 - 7018. 10.1002/2014GL061127.

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Abstract

On 26 September 2005, Cassini conducted its only close targeted flyby of Saturn's small, irregularly shaped moon Hyperion. Approximately 6 min before the closest approach, the electron spectrometer (ELS), part of the Cassini Plasma Spectrometer (CAPS) detected a field-aligned electron population originating from the direction of the moon's surface. Plasma wave activity detected by the Radio and Plasma Wave instrument suggests electron beam activity. A dropout in energetic electrons was observed by both CAPS-ELS and the Magnetospheric Imaging Instrument Low-Energy Magnetospheric Measurement System, indicating that the moon and the spacecraft were magnetically connected when the field-aligned electron population was observed. We show that this constitutes a remote detection of a strongly negative (~ −200 V) surface potential on Hyperion, consistent with the predicted surface potential in regions near the solar terminator.

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