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Plasma Observations Near Saturn: Initial Results from Voyager 2

Overview of attention for article published in Science, January 1982
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Article details
Title
Plasma Observations Near Saturn: Initial Results from Voyager 2
Published in
Science, January 1982
DOI 10.1126/science.215.4532.563
Pubmed ID
Authors
Abstract

Results of measurements of plasma electrons and poitive ions made during the Voyager 2 encounter with Saturn have been combined with measurements from Voyager 1 and Pioneer 11 to define more clearly the configuration of plasma in the Saturnian magnetosphere. The general morphology is well represented by four regions: (i) the shocked solar wind plasma in the magnetosheath, observed between about 30 and 22 Saturn radii (RS) near the noon meridian; (ii) a variable density region between approximately 17 RS and the magnetopause; (iii) an extended thick plasma sheet between approximately 17 and approximately 7 RS symmetrical with respect to Saturn's equatorial plane and rotation axis; and (iv) an inner plasma torus that probably originates from local sources and extends inward from L approximately 7 to less than L approximately 2.7 (L is the magnetic shell parameter). In general, the heavy ions, probably O(+), are more closely confined to the equatorial plane than H(+), so that the ratio of heavy to light ions varies along the trajectory according to the distance of the spacecraft from the equatorial plane. The general configuration of the plasma sheet at Saturn found by Voyager 1 is confirmed, with some notable differences and additions. The "extended plasma sheet," observed between L approximately 7 and L approximately 15 by Voyager 1 is considerably thicker as observed by Voyager 2. Inward of L approximately 4, the plasma sheet collapses to a thin region about the equatorial plane. At the ring plane crossing, L approximately 2.7, the observations are consistent with a density of O(+) of approximately 100 per cubic centimeter, with a temperature of approximately 10 electron volts. The location of the bow shock and magnetopause crossings were consistent with those previously observed. The entire magnetosphere was larger during the outbound passage of Voyager 2 than had been previously observed; however, a magnetosphere of this size or larger is expected approximately 3 percent of the time.

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Mendeley readers

Mendeley readers

The data shown below were compiled from readership statistics for 5 Mendeley readers of this research output. Click here to see the associated Mendeley record.

Geographical breakdown

Geographical breakdown
Country Count As %
United Kingdom 1 20%
Unknown 4 80%

Demographic breakdown

Readers by professional status
Readers by professional status Count As %
Lecturer > Senior Lecturer 2 40%
Student > Ph. D. Student 1 20%
Researcher 1 20%
Unknown 1 20%
Readers by discipline
Readers by discipline Count As %
Psychology 2 40%
Earth and Planetary Sciences 1 20%
Physics and Astronomy 1 20%
Unknown 1 20%
Attention Score in Context

Attention Score in Context

This research output has an Altmetric Attention Score of 3. This is our high-level measure of the quality and quantity of online attention that it has received. This Attention Score, as well as the ranking and number of research outputs shown below, was calculated when the research output was last mentioned on 20 June 2025.
All research outputs
#9,758,379
of 28,506,970 outputs
Outputs from Science
#55,429
of 87,119 outputs
Outputs of similar age
#6,187
of 33,840 outputs
Outputs of similar age from Science
#57
of 124 outputs
Altmetric has tracked 28,506,970 research outputs across all sources so far. This one is in the 42nd percentile – i.e., 42% of other outputs scored the same or lower than it.
So far Altmetric has tracked 87,119 research outputs from this source. They typically receive a lot more attention than average, with a mean Attention Score of 67.3. This one is in the 19th percentile – i.e., 19% of its peers scored the same or lower than it.
Older research outputs will score higher simply because they've had more time to accumulate mentions. To account for age we can compare this Altmetric Attention Score to the 33,840 tracked outputs that were published within six weeks on either side of this one in any source. This one is in the 24th percentile – i.e., 24% of its contemporaries scored the same or lower than it.
We're also able to compare this research output to 124 others from the same source and published within six weeks on either side of this one. This one is in the 6th percentile – i.e., 6% of its contemporaries scored the same or lower than it.