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Discovery of nitrogen in Saturn's inner magnetosphere
Author(s) -
Smith H. T.,
Shappirio M.,
Sittler E. C.,
Reisenfeld D.,
Johnson R. E.,
Baragiola R. A.,
Crary F. J.,
McComas D. J.,
Young D. T.
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
geophysical research letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.007
H-Index - 273
eISSN - 1944-8007
pISSN - 0094-8276
DOI - 10.1029/2005gl022654
Subject(s) - magnetosphere , saturn , titan (rocket family) , physics , magnetosphere of saturn , astrobiology , enceladus , ion , astronomy , atmosphere (unit) , nitrogen , plasma , planet , magnetopause , meteorology , nuclear physics , quantum mechanics
We detected N + in Saturn's magnetosphere in the range L ∼ 3.5 to ∼9.5 Saturn Radii (Rs) using data collected by the Cassini Plasma Spectrometer during Saturn Orbit Insertion and the following orbit (Rev A). The presence of N + in Saturn's magnetosphere has been a source of much debate since Voyager's detection of unresolved mass/charge 14–16 amu ions in this region. Two principal nitrogen sources have been suggested: Titan's atmosphere and nitrogen compounds trapped in Saturn's icy satellite surfaces (Sittler et al., 2004; E. C. Sittler et al., Energetic nitrogen ions within the inner magnetosphere of Saturn, submitted to Journal of Geophysical Research , 2004). The latter may contain primordial nitrogen, likely as NH 3 in ice (Stevenson, 1982; Squyers et al., 1983) or N + that has been implanted in the surface (Delitsky and Lane, 2002). In addition to our nitrogen detection results, we also present an initial examination of possible sources of these ions.