Geysers' Dust Dynamics Inside the Hill Sphere of Enceladus

• Published in: Geophysical research letters 2024-01, Vol.51 (1), p.n/a
• Main Authors: Flandes, Alberto, Mirón‐Enríquez, Pedro Elías, Ramírez‐Cabañas, Alma Karen
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Atmospheric particulates; cryovolcanism; Drag; Dust; dust dynamics; Dust particles; dust studies; Electric charge; Enceladus; enceladus moon; Flyby missions; Geysers; Grain size; Gravitational effects; Gravity; Gravity effects; Hot springs; Interpolation; Lorentz force; Lunar dust; Magnetic field; Magnetic fields; Moon; Planetary magnetic fields; Saturn; Saturn magnetic field; Trajectories
• ISSN: 0094-8276; 1944-8007
• DOI: 10.1029/2023GL105298

In this work, we study the trajectories of the dust particles ejected in the geysers of the moon Enceladus, inside its Hill sphere, where its gravitational influence dominates. Our goal is to determine the properties of the particles that escape from the moon or of those that eventually impact on its surface. The analysis considers the gravity of Enceladus, the Lorentz force due to Saturn's magnetic field and the gas drag from the geysers. The local magnetic field around Enceladus is derived from an interpolation of Cassini data from six flybys. In general, we obtain that grain sizes and launching speeds define whether grains escape, though the launching angle may also play an important role in some cases. Plain Language Summary Dust grains expelled from the geysers of the small Saturnian moon Enceladus follow particular trajectories determined by the different forces like the gravity of the moon, the gas drag of the geysers and the magnetic field of Saturn. In this work we study the dynamics of these grains inside a region around the moon, called the Hill sphere, where its gravitational influence dominates, in order to determine the effects of the different forces on the grains, as well as the properties of grains, like their size, mass and electric charge. Key Points We study the trajectories of dust grains from the geysers of Enceladus inside the Hill sphere of the moon We implement an interpolated magnetic field background to study the trajectories of dust grains We study the dynamic properties of dust grains that are able to escape from Enceladus