Saturn kilometric radiation intensities during the Saturn auroral campaign of 2013

W. S. Kurth*, G. B. Hospodarsky, D. A. Gurnett, L. Lamy, M. K. Dougherty, J. Nichols, E. J. Bunce, W. Pryor, K. Baines, T. Stallard, H. Melin, F. J. Crary

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

14 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

The Saturn auroral campaign carried out in the spring of 2013 used multiple Earth-based observations, remote-sensing observations from Cassini, and in situ-observations from Cassini to further our understanding of auroras at Saturn. Most of the remote sensing and Earth-based measurements are, by nature, not continuous. And, even the in situ measurements, while continuously obtained, are not always obtained in regions relevant to the study of the aurora. Saturn kilometric radiation, however, is remotely monitored nearly continuously by the Radio and Plasma Wave Science instrument on Cassini. This radio emission, produced by the cyclotron maser instability, is tightly tied to auroral processes at Saturn as are auroral radio emissions at other planets, most notably Jupiter and Earth. This paper provides the time history of the intensity of the radio emissions through the auroral campaign as a means of understanding the temporal relationships between the sometimes widely spaced observations of the auroral activity. While beaming characteristics of the radio emissions are known to prevent single spacecraft observations of this emission from being a perfect auroral activity indicator, we demonstrate a good correlation between the radio emission intensity and the level of UV auroral activity, when both measurements are available.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)2-9
Number of pages8
JournalIcarus
Volume263
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Jan 2016

Keywords

  • Aurorae
  • Radio observations
  • Saturn, magnetosphere
  • Solar wind

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