Supervisor : Dr Tom Stallard (t.stallard@ion.le.ac.uk)

Details of Project

Visual and Infrared Mapping Spectrometer (VIMS)

In the past, our understanding of the infrared aurora of Saturn has been limited by the relatively poor view we have had from ground-based observations.  However, since the Cassini mission has arrived at Saturn, observations made by the VIMS instrument has provided unprecedented views of the auroral region of the planet.  Here at Leicester, we have unique access to the Cassini infrared auroral data, allowing us to investigate the aurora in unprecedented detail.

The infrared aurora are controlled by both the neutral atmosphere and the surrounding magnetosphere, so that understanding these aurorae provide a lynchpin in our understanding of how the planet interacts with the surrounding space environment.

We would like an enthusiastic PhD student to analyse VIMS observations of Saturn's aurora in order to measure the intrinsic brightness of the aurora itself, as well as measuring the influence of the underlying neutral atmosphere. This will include the reduction and analysis of the Cassini data using IDL, identifying the auroral structure from images and modelling the physical conditions from  spectra.

NASA Infrared Telescope Facility (IRTF)

We would also like to compare this data with ground-based data taken on a number of telescopes, including the NASA IRTF and the Keck 10m telescope.  The student will have the opportunity to be involved in these ground-based observing campaigns, travelling to Hawaii to observe at Mauna Kea.

BBC: In pictures: New images of Saturn's shimmering aurora