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Article Dans Une Revue Journal of Geophysical Research Space Physics Année : 2007

Polarization measurements of Saturn Electrostatic Discharges with Cassini/RPWS below a frequency of 2 MHz

Résumé

Early in 2006 the RPWS (Radio and Plasma Wave Science) instrument and the ISS (Imaging Science Subsystem) onboard the Cassini spacecraft detected a lightning storm on Saturn that lasted for about one month. The RPWS measured the so-called SEDs (Saturn Electrostatic Discharges), which are high frequency radio signals produced by lightning discharges. The ISS imaged a remarkable cloud system associated with these SEDs at a latitude of 35° South. Below the frequency of 1825 kHz the RPWS was in a mode capable of measuring the polarization of the SEDs. A surprising result was gained; SEDs appeared to be highly polarized (80%) and were exclusively right-handed polarized with a high degree of circular polarization. We will present an explanation for this diagnosis involving magneto-ionic modes and their differential absorption in the magnetoplasma of Saturn's ionosphere.
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hal-03742708 , version 1 (21-08-2022)

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Georg Fischer, Donald A. Gurnett, Alain Lecacheux, Wolfgang Macher, William S. Kurth. Polarization measurements of Saturn Electrostatic Discharges with Cassini/RPWS below a frequency of 2 MHz. Journal of Geophysical Research Space Physics, 2007, 112, pp.12308. ⟨10.1029/2007JA012592⟩. ⟨hal-03742708⟩
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