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Cassini's Final Year at Saturn: Science Highlights and Discoveries
Author(s) -
Spilker Linda J.
Publication year - 2019
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 - 10.1029/2018gl080848
Subject(s) - saturn , astrobiology , atmosphere (unit) , physics , magnetosphere of saturn , rings of saturn , astronomy , geology , meteorology , planet , magnetosphere , magnetopause , plasma , quantum mechanics
Scientific findings and new discoveries from the international Cassini‐Huygens mission's exploration of the Saturn system are presented in this special issue of Geophysical Research Letters. In the mission's final year, Cassini dove through the gap between the rings and Saturn for the first time, returning new science in this previously unexplored region. Running low on fuel, Cassini's journey ended on 15 September 2017, as the spacecraft plunged into Saturn's atmosphere and vaporized. Just before the mission concluded, the Grand Finale orbits through the gap provided some of the highest resolution information on Saturn's interior and atmosphere, its rings and inner icy moons, and direct in situ sampling of this intriguing region. Initial results indicate that hydrocarbons appear to be descending into the atmosphere from the rings, that electric currents flow between the inner rings and Saturn, and that a new radiation belt exists in the gap and innermost ring.