Bereiche | Tage | Auswahl | Suche | Downloads | Hilfe

EP: Fachverband Extraterrestrische Physik

EP 14: Planets and Small Bodies III

EP 14.5: Vortrag

Donnerstag, 2. April 2009, 17:00–17:15, HS-Ost Pharmazie

Ice volcanism on Saturn’s moon Enceladus: Connecting simulations with optical observations — •Peter Strub¹, Sascha Kempf¹, Uwe Beckmann¹, and Jürgen Schmidt² — ¹MPI für Kernphysik, Heidelberg, Germany — ²Universität Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany

Cassini observations of Saturn’s diffuse E-ring and the moons embedded in it have revealed a complex ice volcanism near Enceladus’ south pole. It turned out to be an important source of particles feeding the E-ring. In order to understand the complex interplay between the plumes and the E-ring structure, we have simulated the lifecycle of particles injected by the ice volcanoes on Enceladus and their propagation in the Saturnian system. Here we present simulated optical/infrared images and spectra derived from the simulations using a Mie scattering model. Matching with spectral data allows us to constrain the size distribution of the particles, which is a crucial constraint to the process of particle formation.