Curious Currents of the Ringed Giant : Investigating Saturn’s low-altitude field-aligned currents during Cassini’s Grand Finale

Farr, Sam and Badman, Sarah and Provan, G. and Cowley, S.W.H. (2026) Curious Currents of the Ringed Giant : Investigating Saturn’s low-altitude field-aligned currents during Cassini’s Grand Finale. In: British Planetary Science Conference, 2024-06-19 - 2024-06-21, Space Park Leicester and Nation Space Centre.

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Abstract

Saturn's aurorae are driven by a system of field-aligned currents, coupling the magnetosphere and the ionosphere. We use magnetic field measurements collected during Cassini’s final 22 orbits, known as the ‘Grand Finale’, to investigate field-aligned currents flowing in Saturn's southern polar region. These measurements were made post-noon during northern summer, when differences in ionospheric conductivity between the two hemispheres will be significant. Following previous studies, we separate the planetary period oscillation (PPO) currents from the PPO-independent currents. We compare the magnitude and latitude of both sets of currents to measurements made in the northern hemisphere, also during the Grand Finale, and at other local times to identify possible seasonal influences and effects driven by magnetospheric dynamics such as tail injections. Using magnetic field measurements taken during Cassini’s ‘Grand Finale’ we investigate the field aligned currents over Saturn’s southern auroral region. We aim to develop understanding of FAC dynamics, structure, and implications of seasonal influences and magnetospheric dynamics.