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The global plasma environment of Titan as observed by Cassini Plasma Spectrometer during the first two close encounters with Titan
KFKI Research Institute for Particle and Nuclear Physics, Budapest, Hungary
KFKI Research Institute for Particle and Nuclear Physics, Budapest, Hungary
KFKI Research Institute for Particle and Nuclear Physics, Budapest, Hungary
KFKI Research Institute for Particle and Nuclear Physics, Budapest, Hungary
Southwest Research Institute, San Antonio, Texas, USA
Southwest Research Institute, San Antonio, Texas, USA
Southwest Research Institute, San Antonio, Texas, USA
Southwest Research Institute, San Antonio, Texas, USA
Mullard Space Science Laboratory, University College London, Surrey, UK
Mullard Space Science Laboratory, University College London, Surrey, UK
Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland, USA
Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland, USA
Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Montana, Missoula, Montana, USA
Centre d'étude des Environnements Terrestre et Planetaires, St. Maur-des-Fosses, France
Engineering Physics, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia, USA
Engineering Physics, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia, USA
Department of Space Physics and Astronomy, Rice University, Houston, Texas, USA
University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland
Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico, USA
Centre d'Etude Spatiale des Rayonnements, Toulouse, France
The Cassini spacecraft flew by Titan on October 26, 2004 and December 13, 2004. In both cases it entered the ionosphere of Titan, allowing exploration of its plasma environment. Using observations from the Cassini Plasma Spectrometer (CAPS) and the Cassini magnetometer along the inbound legs of both flybys, we examine Titan's global plasma environment. On both occasions CAPS detected plasma populations distinct from those of the Kronian magnetosphere at about 1–1.5 Saturn radii from the moon. Closer to Titan CAPS observed drifting ion ring distributions originating from Titan and, in addition, a corotating flow that was significantly decelerated around the moon due to mass loading. Near the moon, but above the ionosphere, very cold plasma was dominant. We also compare the CAPS data to those of Voyager 1.
Received 7 February 2005; accepted 4 May 2005; published 15 July 2005.
Citation: (2005), The global plasma environment of Titan as observed by Cassini Plasma Spectrometer during the first two close encounters with Titan, Geophys. Res. Lett., 32, L20S05, doi:10.1029/2005GL022646.
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