Interpretation of Electrostatic Noise Observed by Voyager 1 in Titan's Wake.
Abstract
During the Voyager 1 spacecraft flyby of Titan on November 12, 1980, an intense broadband low frequency electric field noise was observed in the inbound wake. This so-called 'sheath noise' is believed to be generated by an ion beam-plasma interaction between the ions in the corotational Saturnian magnetospheric plasma and nearly stationary plasma created by the ionization of Titan's atmosphere. The analysis is based on the information from Voyager 1 and reasonable assumptions. The results agree quite well with the observation. The analysis shows that the instabilityl only occurs where the density of the corotational ions is comparable to the density of ions originating from Titan's atmosphere. The growth rate is high enough to generate the observed noise, and the calculated and observed frequency ranges are in good agreement.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jun 01, 1986
- Accession Number
- ADA173996
Entities
People
- Donald A. Gurnett
- T. Z. Ma
Organizations
- University of Iowa