| Literature DB >> 15604361 |
Larry W Esposito1, Joshua E Colwell, Kristopher Larsen, William E McClintock, A Ian F Stewart, Janet Tew Hallett, Donald E Shemansky, Joseph M Ajello, Candice J Hansen, Amanda R Hendrix, Robert A West, H Uwe Keller, Axel Korth, Wayne R Pryor, Ralf Reulke, Yuk L Yung.
Abstract
Neutral oxygen in the saturnian system shows variability, and the total number of oxygen atoms peaks at 4 x 10(34). Saturn's aurora brightens in response to solar-wind forcing, and the auroral spectrum resembles Jupiter's. Phoebe's surface shows variable water-ice content, and the data indicate it originated in the outer solar system. Saturn's rings also show variable water abundance, with the purest ice in the outermost A ring. This radial variation is consistent with initially pure water ice bombarded by meteors, but smaller radial structures may indicate collisional transport and recent renewal events in the past 10(7) to 10(8) years.Entities:
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Year: 2004 PMID: 15604361 DOI: 10.1126/science.1105606
Source DB: PubMed Journal: Science ISSN: 0036-8075 Impact factor: 47.728