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Title:
X-rays from Saturn and its Rings
Authors:
Bhardwaj, A.; Elsner, R. F.; Waite, J. H.; Gladstone, G. R.; Cravens, T. E.; Ford, P. G.
Affiliation:
AA(NASA Marshall Space Flight Center, NSSTC/XD12, 320 Sparkman Drive, Huntsville, AL 35805 United States ; ), AB(NASA Marshall Space Flight Center, NSSTC/XD12, 320 Sparkman Drive, Huntsville, AL 35805 United States ; ), AC(University of Michigan, AOSS, Ann Arbor, MI 48109 United States ; ), AD(Southwest Research Institute, P.O. Drawer 28510, San Antonio, TX 78228 United States ; ), AE(University of Kansas, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Lawrence, KS 66045 United States ; ), AF(Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Center for Space Research,, Cambridge, MA 02139 United States ; )
Publication:
American Geophysical Union, Spring Meeting 2005, abstract #P44A-04
Publication Date:
05/2005
Origin:
AGU
AGU Keywords:
0310 Airglow and aurora, 6220 Jupiter, 6265 Planetary rings, 7519 Flares, 7554 X rays, gamma rays, and neutrinos
Bibliographic Code:
2005AGUSM.P44A..04B

Abstract

In January 2004 Saturn was observed by Chandra ACIS-S in two exposures, 00:06 to 11:00 UT on 20 January and 14:32 UT on 26 January to 01:13 UT on 27 January. Each continuous observation lasted for about one full Saturn rotation. These observations detected an X-ray flare from the Saturn's disk and indicate that the entire Saturnian X-ray emission is highly variable -- a factor of ~4 variability in brightness in a week time. The Saturn X-ray flare has a time and magnitude matching feature with the solar X-ray flare, which suggests that the disk X-ray emission of Saturn is governed by processes happening on the Sun. These observations also unambiguously detected X-rays from Saturn's rings. The X-ray emissions from rings are present mainly in the 0.45-0.6 keV band centered on the atomic O Kα fluorescence line at 525 eV: indicating the production of X-rays due to oxygen atoms in the water icy rings. The characteristics of X-rays from Saturn's polar region appear to be statistically consistent with those from its disk X-rays, suggesting that X-ray emission from the polar cap region might be an extension of the Saturn disk X-ray emission.
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