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Titan's ionosphere: Model comparisons with Cassini Ta data
Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas, USA
Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas, USA
Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas, USA
Swedish Institute of Space Physics, Uppsala, Sweden
Department of Atmospheric, Oceanic, and Space Sciences, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
Space Sciences Laboratory, University of California, Berkeley, California, USA
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland, USA
Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, USA
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland, USA
Space Sciences Laboratory, University of California, Berkeley, California, USA
Applied Physics Laboratory, Johns Hopkins University, Laurel, Maryland, USA
National Central University, Chung-Li, Taiwan
Department of Atmospheric, Oceanic, and Space Sciences, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
Space and Atmospheric Physics Group, Imperial College, London, UK
Southwest Research Institute, San Antonio, Texas, USA
Mullard Space Science Laboratory, University College London, Holmbury St. Mary, Dorking, Surrey, UK
On October 26, 2004, during its first encounter with Titan (Ta), the Cassini Orbiter moved from the dayside to the nightside with a closest approach altitude of 1174 km. In situ measurements of the main part of Titan's ionosphere were made by the Langmuir probe on the Cassini Radio and Plasma Wave Experiment (RPWS), while the Ion and Neutral Mass Spectrometer (INMS) measured the main constituents of the neutral atmosphere. The results of model calculations of Titan's ionosphere for Ta encounter conditions (e.g., near the terminator) are presented in this paper. The paper includes comparisons of calculated and measured electron densities along the spacecraft track. Ionization both by solar radiation and by incoming energetic electrons from Saturn's magnetosphere are needed to obtain good agreement between the measured and calculated electron densities.
Received 15 April 2005; accepted 26 May 2005; published 25 June 2005.
Citation: (2005), Titan's ionosphere: Model comparisons with Cassini Ta data, Geophys. Res. Lett., 32, L12108, doi:10.1029/2005GL023249.
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