The NASA-ESA Cassini spacecraft was released in 1997 and reached Saturn in 2004, carrying out the most substantial survey of the planet and its moons to date. The mission ended in 2017 when Cassini plunged into the Saturnian environment, after diving 22 times between the world and its rings.
Video of the Cassini spacecraft moving through the plane of Saturns ring system, developed by George Xystouris utilizing NASA Eyes. Credit: NASA/JPL
Approach and Findings
Lancaster University PhD trainee George Xystouris, under the guidance of Dr. Chris Arridge, examined historical data from the Langmuir Probe onboard Cassini, an instrument that was measuring the cold plasma, i.e., low energy ions and electrons, in the magnetosphere of Saturn.
For their research study, they concentrated on solar eclipses of the spacecraft: durations where Cassini remained in the shadow of Saturn or the main rings. During each eclipse, the Langmuir Probe recorded dramatic modifications in the data.
George said: “As the probe is metal, whenever it is sunlit, the sunshine can offer sufficient energy to the probe to release electrons. This is the photoelectric impact, and the electrons that are released are so-called photoelectrons. They can develop issues however, as they have the exact same properties as the electrons in the cold plasma around Saturn and there is not an easy method to separate the two.”
” Focusing on the data variations we recognized that they were linked with just how much sunshine each ring would allow to pass. Ultimately, utilizing the residential or commercial properties of the product that the Langmuir Probe was made from, and how intense the Sun remained in Saturns area, we managed to determine the modification in the photoelectrons number for each ring, and compute the optical depth of Saturns rings.
” This was a interesting and unique outcome! We utilized an instrument that is mainly utilized for plasma measurements to measure a planetary feature, which is a distinct use of the Langmuir Probe, and our results concurred with research studies that utilized high-resolution imagers to determine the openness of the rings.”
Future Visibility of Saturns Rings
Τhe main rings, which extend up to 140,000 km (90,000 miles) from the planet, but have an optimum thickness of only 1 km (0.6 miles), are to vanish from view from Earth by 2025. In that year the rings will be slanted edge-on to Earth, making it almost difficult to view them. They will tilt back towards Earth during the next phase of Saturns 29-year orbit and will continue to become more visible and brighter until 2032.
Professor Mike Edmunds, the President of the Royal Astronomical Society, added: “It is always great to see a postgraduate trainee included in using space probe instrumentation in a unusual and innovative method. Development of this kind is just what is needed in astronomical research– and a method which many former students who are in a variety of careers are using to help deal with the worlds issues.”
Reference: “Estimating the optical depth of Saturns primary rings utilizing the Cassini Langmuir Probe” by Georgios Xystouris, Christopher S Arridge, Michiko M Morooka and Jan-Erik Wahlund, 18 September 2023, Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.DOI: 10.1093/ mnras/stad2793.
A researcher has innovatively determined the optical depth of Saturns rings using Cassini spacecraft data, offering brand-new insights into their openness and structure. (Illustration of NASAs Cassini spacecraft in orbit around Saturn.) Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
A Lancaster University PhD trainee has determined the optical depth of Saturns rings using a new technique based upon just how much sunshine reached the Cassini spacecraft while it was in the shadow of the rings.
The optical depth is connected to the openness of an object, and it demonstrates how far light can take a trip through that object before it gets absorbed or scattered.
Cassini Mission and Research Collaboration
The research study, led by Lancaster University in cooperation with the Swedish Institute of Space Physics, was just recently released in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.
A researcher has innovatively measured the optical depth of Saturns rings utilizing Cassini spacecraft information, supplying new insights into their transparency and structure. They can develop issues though, as they have the very same properties as the electrons in the cold plasma around Saturn and there is not an easy method to separate the 2.”
Τhe main rings, which extend up to 140,000 km (90,000 miles) from the planet, however have a maximum density of only 1 km (0.6 miles), are to disappear from view from Earth by 2025. In that year the rings will be slanted edge-on to Earth, making it nearly difficult to see them. They will tilt back towards Earth throughout the next stage of Saturns 29-year orbit and will continue to end up being more noticeable and brighter up until 2032.
