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Ion winds in Saturn's southern auroral/polar region |
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| Authors: | Tom S Stallard Steve Miller Laurence M Trafton Robert D Joseph |
| Institution: | a Department of Physics and Astronomy, University College London, Gower Street, London WC1 6BT, UK b McDonald Observatory, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712, USA c Gemini Observatory, 670 N. A'ohoku Place, Hilo, HI 96720, USA d Institute for Astronomy, Woodlawn Drive, Honolulu, HI 96822, USA |
| Abstract: | We present profiles of the line-of-sight (l.o.s.) ionospheric wind velocities in the southern auroral/polar region of Saturn. Our velocities are derived from the measurement of Doppler shifting of the H3+ν2Q(1,0−) line at 3.953 microns. The data for this study were obtained using the facility high-resolution spectrometer CSHELL on the NASA Infrared Telescope Facility (IRTF) on Mauna Kea, Hawaii, during the night of February 6, 2003 (UT). The l.o.s. velocity profiles finally derived are consistent with an extended region of the upper atmosphere sub-corotating with the planet: the ion velocities in the inertial reference are only 1/3 of those expected for full planetary corotation. We discuss the results in the light of recent proposals for the kronian magnetosphere, and suggest that, in this region, Saturn's ion winds may be under solar wind control. |
| Keywords: | Atmospheres dynamics Aurorae Infrared observations Saturn atmosphere Saturn magnetosphere |
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