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Published Online December 16, 2004
Science DOI: 10.1126/science.1105356

Reports

Submitted on September 17, 2004
Accepted on November 29, 2004

Radio and Plasma Wave Observations at Saturn from Cassini's Approach and First Orbit

D. A. Gurnett 1*, W. S. Kurth 1, G. B. Hospodarsky 1, A. M. Persoon 1, T. F. Averkamp 1, B. Cecconi 1, A. Lecacheux 2, P. Zarka 2, P Canu 3, N. Cornilleau-Wehrlin 3, P. Galopeau 3, A. Roux 3, C. Harvey 4, P. Louarn 4, R. Bostrom 5, G. Gustafsson 5, J.-E. Wahlund 5, M. D. Desch 6, W. M. Farrell 6, M. L. Kaiser 6, K. Goetz 7, P. J. Kellogg 7, G. Fischer 8, H.-P. Ladreiter 8, H. Rucker 8, H. Alleyne 9, A. Pedersen 10

1 Univ. of Iowa, Dept. of Physics and Astronomy, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA.
2 Observatoire de Paris, 92195 Meudon, France.
3 CETP-IPSL, 78140 Velizy, France.
4 CESR-CNRS, 31028, Toulouse, France.
5 Swedish Inst. of Space Physics, SE-751 21 Uppsala, Sweden.
6 NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA.
7 Univ. of Minnesota, Dept. of Physics and Astronomy, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA.
8 Austrian Academy of Sciences, Space Research Institute, A-8042 Graz, Austria.
9 Univ. of Sheffield, Dept. of Automatic Control & Systems Eng., Sheffield S1 4DU, UK.
10 Univ. of Oslo, Dept. of Physics, Blindern, N-0316 Oslo, Norway.

* To whom correspondence should be addressed.
D. A. Gurnett , E-mail: donald-gurnett{at}uiowa.edu

Results from the Cassini radio and plasma wave instrument are presented during the approach and first orbit at Saturn. During the approach radio emissions from Saturn showed that the radio rotation period is now 10 hours 45 min 45 ± 36 s, about 6 min longer than measured by Voyager in 1980-81. Many intense impulsive radio signals were detected from Saturn lightning during the approach and first orbit. Some of these have been linked to storm systems observed by the Cassini imaging instrument. Within the magnetosphere whistler-mode auroral hiss emissions were observed near the rings, suggesting that a strong electrodynamic interaction is occurring in or near the rings.


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