The Control of Saturn's Kilometric Radio Emission by Dione.

Abstract

Observations of Saturn's kilometric radio emissions obtained by the voyager 1 plasma wave receiver during the encounter of the Saturnian system in late 1980 reveal a strong but apparently transitory control by the orbital phase angle of Dione. At 56 kHz the effect of the Dione control is particularly evident during a two-week period centered roughly on closet approach. The intensity of the Saturnian emission is suppressed sharply when Dione is in the local dust sector. We propose that the transitory nature of the Dione control is actually a geometric effect and that a time-variable plasma torus associated with Dione can explain most of the observed details of the Dione modulation by creating a shadow zone near the equatorial plane. (Author)

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
May 21, 1981
Accession Number
ADA102785

Entities

People

  • Donald A. Gurnett
  • F. L. Scarf
  • William S. Kurth

Organizations

  • University of Iowa

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Air Platforms
  • Space

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Astronomy
  • Contracts
  • Equatorial Regions
  • Frequency
  • Jet Propulsion
  • Military Research
  • Modulation
  • Orbits
  • Physics
  • Plasma Waves
  • Radiation
  • Radio Astronomy
  • Radio Waves
  • Space Systems
  • Spacecraft
  • Trajectories
  • Universities

Fields of Study

  • Physics

Readers

  • Mathematics or Statistics
  • Space Exploration and Orbital Mechanics.
  • Space/Atmospheric Physics.

Technology Areas

  • Space