Simultaneous Cassini VIMS and UVIS observations of Saturn's southern aurora

in EPSC-DPS Joint Meeting 2011 (2011, October 01)

Here, temporally simultaneous and spatially overlapping Cassini VIMS and UVIS observations of Saturn's southern aurora are presented. The pointing is fixed at a constant local time of 04:55, covering ... [more ▼]

Here, temporally simultaneous and spatially overlapping Cassini VIMS and UVIS observations of Saturn's southern aurora are presented. The pointing is fixed at a constant local time of 04:55, covering latitudes between 64°S and 82°S and longitudes between 127° and 186°. The spatial resolution is high, with 1 mrad covering ˜300 km, such that only a small part of the pre-dawn aurora is observed. Ultraviolet auroral H and H2 emissions from UVIS are compared to infrared H+3 emission from VIMS. The auroral emission is structured into three arcs - H, H2 and H+3 are morphologically identical in the bright main auroral oval (˜73°S), but there is an equatorward arc that is seen predominantly in H (˜70°S), and a poleward arc (˜74°S) that is seen mainly in H2 and H+3 . These observations indicate that, for the main auroral oval, the UV emission is a good proxy for the infrared H+3 morphology (and vice versa), but for emission either poleward or equatorward this is no longer true. Hence, given the highly dynamic nature of the aurora of Saturn, simultaneous UV/IR observations are crucial for completing the picture of how the atmosphere interacts with the magnetosphere. [less ▲]

Spectral morphology of the X-ray emission from Jupiter's aurorae

in Journal of Geophysical Research (2008), 113(A2),

Simultaneous Chandra X-ray and Hubble Space Telescope FUV observations of Jupiter's aurorae carried out in February 2003 have been re-examined to investigate the spatial morphology of the X-ray events in ... [more ▼]

Simultaneous Chandra X-ray and Hubble Space Telescope FUV observations of Jupiter's aurorae carried out in February 2003 have been re-examined to investigate the spatial morphology of the X-ray events in different energy bands. The data clearly show that in the Northern auroral region (in the main auroral oval and the polar cap) events with energy > 2 keV are located at the periphery of those with energy < 2 keV and coincide with FUV bright features. In addition, X-ray spectra extracted from the areas where the two event distributions are concentrated possess different shapes. We associate the > 2 keV events (similar to 45 MW emitted power) with the electron bremsstrahlung component recently revealed by XMM-Newton in the spectra of Jupiter's aurorae, and the < 2 keV emission (similar to 230 MW) with the product of ion charge exchange, now established as the likely mechanism responsible for the soft X-ray Jovian aurora. We suggest that the same population of energetic electrons may be responsible for both, the X-ray bremsstrahlung and the FUV emission of Jupiter's aurorae. Comparison of the > 2 keV X-ray and FUV (340 GW) powers measured during the observations shows that they are broadly consistent with the predicted emissions from a population of energetic electrons precipitating in the planet's atmosphere, thus supporting our interpretation. [less ▲]