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Complex structure within Saturn’s infrared aurora

Research output: Contribution to Journal/MagazineJournal articlepeer-review

Published
  • Tom Stallard
  • Steve Miller
  • Makenzie Lystrup
  • Nicholas Achilleos
  • Emma Bunce
  • Christopher Arridge
  • Michele Dougherty
  • Stan Cowley
  • Sarah V. Badman
  • Dean Talboys
  • Robert Brown
  • Kevin Baines
  • Bonnie Buratti
  • Roger Clark
  • Christophe Sotin
  • Phil Nicholson
  • Pierre Drossart
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<mark>Journal publication date</mark>11/2008
<mark>Journal</mark>Nature
Issue number7219
Volume456
Number of pages4
Pages (from-to)214-217
Publication StatusPublished
<mark>Original language</mark>English

Abstract

The majority of planetary aurorae are produced by electrical currents flowing between the ionosphere and the magnetosphere which accelerate energetic charged particles that hit the upper atmosphere. At Saturn, these processes collisionally excite hydrogen, causing ultraviolet emission, and ionize the hydrogen, leading to H3+ infrared emission. Although the morphology of these aurorae is affected by changes in the solar wind, the source of the currents which produce them is a matter of debate. Recent models predict only weak emission away from the main auroral oval. Here we report images that show emission both poleward and equatorward of the main oval (separated by a region of low emission). The extensive polar emission is highly variable with time, and disappears when the main oval has a spiral morphology; this suggests that although the polar emission may be associated with minor increases in the dynamic pressure from the solar wind, it is not directly linked to strong magnetospheric compressions. This aurora appears to be unique to Saturn and cannot be explained using our current understanding of Saturn's magnetosphere. The equatorward arc of emission exists only on the nightside of the planet, and arises from internal magnetospheric processes that are currently unknown.