Ground-based and spacecraft observations of lightning activity on Saturn

Abstract

In late 2007, Saturn electrostatic discharges (SED) were simultaneously observed at the radio telescope UTR-2 and with the Cassini spacecraft. Observations at UTR-2 were performed with a multichannel receiver in the frequency range 12–33MHz, and those performed on Cassini—with a swept frequency receiver that is part of the RPWS (Radio and Plasma Wave Science) instrument in the frequency band 1.8–16MHz. We got a very good coincidence between data of UTR-2 and Cassini. It is shown for the first time that ground-based radio astronomy lets us detect Saturn's lightning with a high degree of reliability despite terrestrial interferences. This is the necessary basis for further detailed study of the temporal and spectral characteristics of the SEDs with ground based radio telescopes. Based on six observation sessions, several parameters of SEDs were determined, in particularly a correlation of 0.77±0.15 between the average intensity of storms and the e-folding time.