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Saturn's equinoctial auroras

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Saturn's equinoctial auroras. / Nichols, J. D.; Badman, S. V.; Bunce, E. J. et al.
In: Geophysical Research Letters, Vol. 36, No. 24, L24102, 12.2009.

Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review

Harvard

Nichols, JD, Badman, SV, Bunce, EJ, Clarke, JT, Cowley, SWH, Crary, FJ, Dougherty, MK, Gérard, J, Grodent, D, Hansen, KC, Kurth, WS, Mitchell, DG, Pryor, WR, Stallard, TS, Talboys, DL & Wannawichian, S 2009, 'Saturn's equinoctial auroras', Geophysical Research Letters, vol. 36, no. 24, L24102. https://doi.org/10.1029/2009GL041491

APA

Nichols, J. D., Badman, S. V., Bunce, E. J., Clarke, J. T., Cowley, S. W. H., Crary, F. J., Dougherty, M. K., Gérard, J., Grodent, D., Hansen, K. C., Kurth, W. S., Mitchell, D. G., Pryor, W. R., Stallard, T. S., Talboys, D. L., & Wannawichian, S. (2009). Saturn's equinoctial auroras. Geophysical Research Letters, 36(24), Article L24102. https://doi.org/10.1029/2009GL041491

Vancouver

Nichols JD, Badman SV, Bunce EJ, Clarke JT, Cowley SWH, Crary FJ et al. Saturn's equinoctial auroras. Geophysical Research Letters. 2009 Dec;36(24):L24102. doi: 10.1029/2009GL041491

Author

Nichols, J. D. ; Badman, S. V. ; Bunce, E. J. et al. / Saturn's equinoctial auroras. In: Geophysical Research Letters. 2009 ; Vol. 36, No. 24.

Bibtex

@article{242b3c5d186945c9bcb526f15bc4e868,
title = "Saturn's equinoctial auroras",
abstract = "We present the first images of Saturn's conjugate equinoctial auroras, obtained in early 2009 using the Hubble Space Telescope. We show that the radius of the northern auroral oval is ∼1.5° smaller than the southern, indicating that Saturn's polar ionospheric magnetic field, measured for the first time in the ionosphere, is ∼17% larger in the north than the south. Despite this, the total emitted UV power is on average ∼17% larger in the north than the south, suggesting that field-aligned currents (FACs) are responsible for the emission. Finally, we show that individual auroral features can exhibit distinct hemispheric asymmetries. These observations will provide important context for Cassini observations as Saturn moves from southern to northern summer.",
keywords = "Saturn, auroras, conjugate",
author = "Nichols, {J. D.} and Badman, {S. V.} and Bunce, {E. J.} and Clarke, {J. T.} and Cowley, {S. W. H.} and Crary, {F. J.} and Dougherty, {M. K.} and J.-c. G{\'e}rard and D. Grodent and Hansen, {K. C.} and Kurth, {W. S.} and Mitchell, {D. G.} and Pryor, {W. R.} and Stallard, {T. S.} and Talboys, {D. L.} and S. Wannawichian",
note = "Copyright 2009 by the American Geophysical Union.",
year = "2009",
month = dec,
doi = "10.1029/2009GL041491",
language = "English",
volume = "36",
journal = "Geophysical Research Letters",
issn = "0094-8276",
publisher = "John Wiley & Sons, Ltd",
number = "24",

}

RIS

TY - JOUR

T1 - Saturn's equinoctial auroras

AU - Nichols, J. D.

AU - Badman, S. V.

AU - Bunce, E. J.

AU - Clarke, J. T.

AU - Cowley, S. W. H.

AU - Crary, F. J.

AU - Dougherty, M. K.

AU - Gérard, J.-c.

AU - Grodent, D.

AU - Hansen, K. C.

AU - Kurth, W. S.

AU - Mitchell, D. G.

AU - Pryor, W. R.

AU - Stallard, T. S.

AU - Talboys, D. L.

AU - Wannawichian, S.

N1 - Copyright 2009 by the American Geophysical Union.

PY - 2009/12

Y1 - 2009/12

N2 - We present the first images of Saturn's conjugate equinoctial auroras, obtained in early 2009 using the Hubble Space Telescope. We show that the radius of the northern auroral oval is ∼1.5° smaller than the southern, indicating that Saturn's polar ionospheric magnetic field, measured for the first time in the ionosphere, is ∼17% larger in the north than the south. Despite this, the total emitted UV power is on average ∼17% larger in the north than the south, suggesting that field-aligned currents (FACs) are responsible for the emission. Finally, we show that individual auroral features can exhibit distinct hemispheric asymmetries. These observations will provide important context for Cassini observations as Saturn moves from southern to northern summer.

AB - We present the first images of Saturn's conjugate equinoctial auroras, obtained in early 2009 using the Hubble Space Telescope. We show that the radius of the northern auroral oval is ∼1.5° smaller than the southern, indicating that Saturn's polar ionospheric magnetic field, measured for the first time in the ionosphere, is ∼17% larger in the north than the south. Despite this, the total emitted UV power is on average ∼17% larger in the north than the south, suggesting that field-aligned currents (FACs) are responsible for the emission. Finally, we show that individual auroral features can exhibit distinct hemispheric asymmetries. These observations will provide important context for Cassini observations as Saturn moves from southern to northern summer.

KW - Saturn

KW - auroras

KW - conjugate

U2 - 10.1029/2009GL041491

DO - 10.1029/2009GL041491

M3 - Journal article

VL - 36

JO - Geophysical Research Letters

JF - Geophysical Research Letters

SN - 0094-8276

IS - 24

M1 - L24102

ER -