title: Composition of saturnian stream particles.
abstract: During Cassini's approach to Saturn, the Cosmic Dust Analyser (CDA) discovered streams of tiny (less than 20 nanometers) high-velocity (approximately 100 kilometers per second) dust particles escaping from the saturnian system. A fraction of these impactors originated from the outskirts of Saturn's dense A ring. The CDA time-of-flight mass spectrometer recorded 584 mass spectra from the stream particles. The particles consist predominantly of oxygen, silicon, and iron, with some evidence of water ice, ammonium, and perhaps carbon. The stream particles primarily consist of silicate materials, and this implies that the particles are impurities from the icy ring material rather than the ice particles themselves.
authors.affiliation: Max-Planck-Institut für Kernphysik, Saupfercheckweg 1, 69117 Heidelberg, Germany. Sascha.Kempf@mpi-hd.mpg.de
authors.forename: Sascha
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kempf
authors.forename: Ralf
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Srama
authors.forename: Frank
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Postberg
authors.forename: Marcia
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Burton
authors.forename: Simon F
authors.initials: SF
authors.lastname: Green
authors.forename: Stefan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Helfert
authors.forename: Jon K
authors.initials: JK
authors.lastname: Hillier
authors.forename: Neil
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: McBride
authors.forename: J Anthony M
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: McDonnell
authors.forename: Georg
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Moragas-Klostermeyer
authors.forename: Mou
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Roy
authors.forename: Eberhard
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Grün
mesh_terms: D002244:Carbon; D005118:Extraterrestrial Environment; D006859:Hydrogen; D007053:Ice; D007501:Iron; D013058:Mass Spectrometry; D009584:Nitrogen; D010100:Oxygen; D000644:Quaternary Ammonium Compounds; D018539:Saturn; D012825:Silicon; D018531:Spacecraft
chemical_list: D007053:Ice; D000644:Quaternary Ammonium Compounds; D002244:Carbon; D006859:Hydrogen; D007501:Iron; D009584:Nitrogen; D010100:Oxygen; D012825:Silicon