Greifswald 2009 – scientific programme
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EP: Fachverband Extraterrestrische Physik
EP 14: Planets and Small Bodies III
EP 14.5: Talk
Thursday, April 2, 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.