Book contents
- Saturn in the 21st Century
- Cambridge Planetary Science
- Saturn in the 21st Century
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Contributors
- Reviewers
- 1 Introduction to Saturn in the 21st Century
- 2 The Origin and Evolution of Saturn, with Exoplanet Perspective
- 3 The Interior of Saturn
- 4 Saturn’s Magnetic Field and Dynamo
- 5 The Mysterious Periodicities of Saturn
- 6 Global Configuration and Seasonal Variations of Saturn’s Magnetosphere
- 7 Saturn’s Aurorae
- 8 Saturn’s Ionosphere
- 9 Saturn’s Variable Thermosphere
- 10 Saturn’s Seasonally Changing Atmosphere
- 11 The Global Atmospheric Circulation of Saturn
- 12 Saturn’s Polar Atmosphere
- 13 The Great Saturn Storm of 2010–2011
- 14 The Future Exploration of Saturn
- Index
- References
9 - Saturn’s Variable Thermosphere
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 13 December 2018
- Saturn in the 21st Century
- Cambridge Planetary Science
- Saturn in the 21st Century
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Contributors
- Reviewers
- 1 Introduction to Saturn in the 21st Century
- 2 The Origin and Evolution of Saturn, with Exoplanet Perspective
- 3 The Interior of Saturn
- 4 Saturn’s Magnetic Field and Dynamo
- 5 The Mysterious Periodicities of Saturn
- 6 Global Configuration and Seasonal Variations of Saturn’s Magnetosphere
- 7 Saturn’s Aurorae
- 8 Saturn’s Ionosphere
- 9 Saturn’s Variable Thermosphere
- 10 Saturn’s Seasonally Changing Atmosphere
- 11 The Global Atmospheric Circulation of Saturn
- 12 Saturn’s Polar Atmosphere
- 13 The Great Saturn Storm of 2010–2011
- 14 The Future Exploration of Saturn
- Index
- References
Summary
Our knowledge of Saturn’s neutral thermosphere is far superior to that of the other giant planets due to Cassini Ultraviolet Imaging Spectrograph (UVIS) observations of 15 solar occultations and 26 stellar occultations analyzed to date. These measurements yield H2 as the dominant species, with an upper limit on the H mole fraction of 5%. Inferred temperatures near the lower boundary are ~150 K, rising to an asymptotic value of ~400 K at equatorial latitudes and increasing with latitude to polar values in the range of 550–600 K. The latter is consistent with a total estimated auroral power input of ~10 TW generating Joule and energetic particle heating of ~5–6 TW that is more than an order of magnitude greater than solar EUV/FUV heating. This auroral heating would be sufficient to solve the “energy crisis” of Saturn’s thermospheric heating if it can be efficiently redistributed to low latitudes. The inferred structure of the thermosphere yields poleward-directed pressure gradients on equipotential surfaces consistent with auroral heating and poleward increasing temperatures. A gradient wind balance aloft with these pressure gradients implies westward, retrograde winds ~500 m s−1 or Mach number ~0.3 at mid-latitudes. The occultations reveal an expansion of the thermosphere peaking at or slightly after equinox, anti-correlated with solar activity, and apparently driven by lower thermospheric heating of unknown cause. The He mole fraction remains unconstrained, as no Cassini UVIS He 58.4 nm airglow measurements have been published.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Saturn in the 21st Century , pp. 224 - 250Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2018