The cushion region and dayside magnetodisc structure at Saturn
File(s)
Published version
Author(s)
Staniland, NR
Dougherty, MK
Masters, A
Achilleos, N
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
A sustained quasi‐dipolar magnetic field between the current sheet outer edge and the magnetopause, known as a cushion region, has previously been observed at Jupiter, but not yet at Saturn. Using the complete Cassini magnetometer data, the first evidence of a cushion region forming at Saturn is shown. Only five examples of a sustained cushion are found, revealing this phenomenon to be rare. Four of the cushion regions are identified at dusk and one pre‐noon. It is suggested that greater heating of plasma post‐noon coupled with the expansion of the field through the afternoon sector makes the disc more unstable in this region. These results highlight a key difference between the Saturn and Jupiter systems.
Date Issued
2021-03-28
Date Acceptance
2021-03-02
Citation
Geophysical Research Letters, 2021, 48 (6), pp.1-9
ISSN
0094-8276
Publisher
American Geophysical Union (AGU)
Start Page
1
End Page
9
Journal / Book Title
Geophysical Research Letters
Volume
48
Issue
6
Copyright Statement
© 2021. The Authors.
This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
License URL
Sponsor
Science and Technology Facilities Council [2006-2012]
Identifier
https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/2020GL091796
Grant Number
STFC
Subjects
Meteorology & Atmospheric Sciences
Publication Status
Published
Date Publish Online
2021-03-10