Saturn Auroral Images and Movies from Cassini UVIS

Cassini’s Ultraviolet Imaging Spectrograph (UVIS) has completed five years of study of Saturn’s atmosphere and auroras. Two long slit spectral channels are used to obtain EUV data from 56.3-118.2 nm and FUV data from 111.5-191.3 nm. 64 spatial pixels along each slit are combined with slit motion to construct spectral images of Saturn. Auroral emissions are seen from electron-excited molecular and atomic hydrogen. In 2008-2009 UVIS obtained data with the spacecraft well out of Saturn’s ring plane, permitting UVIS to obtain a number of short movies of the rotating auroral structures. In some movies a cusp-like feature is present near noon inside the oval. One movie from 2008 day 201 shows parallel linear features on the day side almost at right angles to the main auroral oval that appear, then lengthen, separate in the middle, and then fade away. The same movie also shows one bright "polar flare" inside the oval. A few of the most recent images were obtained at sufficiently close range that 2 spacecraft slews were needed to completely cover the oval. These images provide almost 100 pixels of information across the oval and clearly show multiple arcs of emission on the main oval and scattered emissions inside the oval. We will discuss these features, their locations, and possible interpretations. We also report on a search for an Enceladus auroral footprint on Saturn

The Cassini Ultraviolet Imaging Spectrograph Investigation

The Cassini Ultraviolet Imaging Spectrograph (UVIS) is part of the remote sensing payload of the Cassini orbiter spacecraft. UVIS has two spectrographic channels that provide images and spectra covering the ranges from 56 to 118 nm and 110 to 190 nm. A third optical path with a solar blind CsI photocathode is used for high signal-to-noise-ratio stellar occultations by rings and atmospheres. A separate Hydrogen Deuterium Absorption Cell measures the relative abundance of deuterium and hydrogen from their Lyman-α emission. The UVIS science objectives include investigation of the chemistry, aerosols, clouds, and energy balance of the Titan and Saturn atmospheres; neutrals in the Saturn magnetosphere; the deuterium-to-hydrogen (D/H) ratio for Titan and Saturn; icy satellite surface properties; and the structure and evolution of Saturn’s rings