Dynamics of Saturn's great storm of 2010-2011 from Cassini ISS and RPWS

TL;DR

This paper analyzes the 2010-2011 Saturn storm using Cassini ISS images and RPWS data, providing detailed insights into its development, evolution, and conclusion, marking the first in-orbit observation of such a storm.

Contribution

It offers the first detailed in-orbit observational analysis of Saturn's 2010-2011 storm using Cassini's imaging and radio instruments, revealing its dynamics and electrical activity.

Findings

Captured the storm's birth, evolution, and demise in unprecedented detail.

Linked electrostatic discharges to storm activity phases.

Enhanced understanding of Saturn's atmospheric convective processes.

Abstract

Saturn's quasi-periodic planet-encircling storms are the largest convecting outbursts in the Solar System. The last eruption was in 1990. A new eruption started in December 2010 and presented the first-ever opportunity to observe such episodic storms from a spacecraft in orbit around Saturn. Here, we analyze images acquired with the Cassini Imaging Science Subsystem (ISS), which captured the storm's birth, evolution and demise. In studying the end of the convective activity, we also analyze the Saturn Electrostatic Discharge (SED) signals detected by the Radio and Plasma Wave Science (RPWS) instrument. [...]