Cassini Dust Measurements at Enceladus and Implications for the Origin of the E Ring

• Published in: Science
• Main Authors: Spahn, Frank, Schmidt, Jürgen, Albers, Nicole, Hörning, Marcel, Makuch, Martin, Seiß, Martin, Kempf, Sascha, Srama, Ralf, Dikarev, Valeri, Helfert, Stefan, Moragas-Klostermeyer, Georg, Krivov, Alexander V., Sremčević, Miodrag, Tuzzolino, Anthony J., Economou, Thanasis, Grün, Eberhard
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) 2006
• Subjects: South Pole; South pole
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.1121375; https://www.science.org/doi/pdf/10.1126/science.1121375

During Cassini's close flyby of Enceladus on 14 July 2005, the High Rate Detector of the Cosmic Dust Analyzer registered micron-sized dust particles enveloping this satellite. The dust impact rate peaked about 1 minute before the closest approach of the spacecraft to the moon. This asymmetric signature is consistent with a locally enhanced dust production in the south polar region of Enceladus. Other Cassini experiments revealed evidence for geophysical activities near Enceladus' south pole: a high surface temperature and a release of water gas. Production or release of dust particles related to these processes may provide the dominant source of Saturn's E ring.