Heidelberg 2006 – scientific programme
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EP: Extraterrestrische Physik
EP 10: Saturn: Plasmaumgebung, Staub und Magnetosph
äre
EP 10.3: Fachvortrag
Wednesday, March 15, 2006, 10:30–10:45, B
Dynamics of dust particles in Saturn’s magnetosphere — •Uwe Beckmann1, Sascha Kempf1, Ralf Srama1, Georg Moragas-Klostermeyer1, Stefan Helfert1, and Eberhard Grün1,2 — 1MPI für Kernphysik, Saupfercheckweg 1, 69117 Heidelberg — 2University of Hawaii, 1680 East West Road POST 512c, Honolulu, HI 96822, USA
Saturn, the second largest planet of our solar system, is distinguished by a
pronounced ring system. Its enigmatic E ring is the largest planetary ring of
the solar system and extends from three to at least nine Saturnian radii
(Saturnian radius RS = 60330 km). Knowing the dynamics
of the micron-sized ring particles is key to interpret the measurements by
the Cosmic Dust Analyser (CDA) on the Cassini spacecraft.
Probably the E ring is also one source of the recently discovered Saturnian
dust streams composed of nanometer-sized solid particles. Since those
particles are accelerated to very high speeds within the inner Saturnian
system a dust sensor will mostly detect both kind of dust particles simultaneously.
Thus, a careful data analysis needs to be based on realistic model calculations
of the long term evolution of dust grains within a broad mass range.
Here we will report about first model calculations of the grain dynamics based on realistic magnetic field as well as plasma data.