The Enceladus and OH Tori at Saturn

2006/06/14 by R. E. Johnson, H. T. Smith, Orenthal J. Tucker +4 · 2 citations
Physics and Astronomy · #Astro and Planetary Science #Planetary Science and Exploration #Stellar, planetary, and galactic studies #Enceladus #Physics #Saturn #Torus #Astrobiology #Astronomy #Titan (rocket family) #Atmosphere (unit) #Natural satellite #Astrophysics #Satellite #Planet #Meteorology

paper · pdf · doi:10.1086/505750

openalex publication_date 2006/06/14 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05

Abstract

The remarkable observation that Enceladus, a small icy satellite of Saturn, is actively venting has led to the suggestion that ejected water molecules are the source of the toroidal atmosphere observed at Saturn for over a decade using the Hubble Space Telescope ( HST ). Here we show that the venting leads directly to a new feature, a narrow Enceladus neutral torus. The larger torus, observed using HST , is populated by charge exchange, the process that limits the lifetime of the neutrals in the Enceladus torus.

Citations

• Cassini Encounters Enceladus: Background and the Discovery of a South Polar Hot Spot
• Identification of a Dynamic Atmosphere at Enceladus with the Cassini Magnetometer
• Enceladus' Water Vapor Plume
• Cassini Ion and Neutral Mass Spectrometer: Enceladus Plume Composition and Structure
• Diapir-induced reorientation of Saturn's moon Enceladus
• Cassini Observes the Active South Pole of Enceladus
• Cassini Dust Measurements at Enceladus and Implications for the Origin of the E Ring

Cited by

• Observations of the chemical and thermal response of ‘ring rain’ on Saturn’s ionosphere
• Rings of Saturn [wikipedia]