Ultraviolet imaging spectroscopy shows an active saturnian system |
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Authors: | Esposito Larry W Colwell Joshua E Larsen Kristopher McClintock William E Stewart A Ian F Hallett Janet Tew Shemansky Donald E Ajello Joseph M Hansen Candice J Hendrix Amanda R West Robert A Keller H Uwe Korth Axel Pryor Wayne R Reulke Ralf Yung Yuk L |
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Institution: | University of Colorado, Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics, 234 Innovation Drive, Boulder, CO 80303-7814, USA. larry.esposito@lasp.colorado.edu |
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Abstract: | Neutral oxygen in the saturnian system shows variability, and the total number of oxygen atoms peaks at 4 x 10(34). Saturn's aurora brightens in response to solar-wind forcing, and the auroral spectrum resembles Jupiter's. Phoebe's surface shows variable water-ice content, and the data indicate it originated in the outer solar system. Saturn's rings also show variable water abundance, with the purest ice in the outermost A ring. This radial variation is consistent with initially pure water ice bombarded by meteors, but smaller radial structures may indicate collisional transport and recent renewal events in the past 10(7) to 10(8) years. |
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