Detection of a strongly negative surface potential at Saturn's moon Hyperion.
Geophys Res Lett
; 41(20): 7011-7018, 2014 Oct 28.
Article
in En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-26074639
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 (â¼ -200 V) surface potential on Hyperion, consistent with the predicted surface potential in regions near the solar terminator.
Full text:
1
Collection:
01-internacional
Database:
MEDLINE
Type of study:
Diagnostic_studies
Language:
En
Journal:
Geophys Res Lett
Year:
2014
Document type:
Article
Affiliation country:
United kingdom