Joshua Dreyer nailed his doctoral thesis – material from Saturn’s D ring in focus

On November 1, Joshua Dreyer nailed his doctoral thesis Diving Deep into Saturn’s Equatorial Ionosphere with Cassini: Insights from the Grand Finale. The doctoral thesis was completed at the Swedish Institute of Space Physics in Uppsala and Uppsala University.

The thesis is based on analyzes of data from measuring instruments on board the Cassini spacecraft. After nearly 13 years in orbit around Saturn, the spacecraft ended its mission in 2017 with a series of daring dives between the rings and the upper part of Saturn’s atmosphere. This last part of the mission was called the “Grand Finale” and it is the data from parts of these dives that Joshua analyzed.

During the “Grand Finale”, a highly variable equatorial ionosphere dominated by a large influx of the ring material from Saturn’s D ring was revealed.

Joshua Dreyer’s thesis highlights insights into the environment and the effects of the infalling ring material.

On November 23 at 13.15 Joshua Dreyer will defend his doctoral thesis in Sonja Lyttken’s room at the Ångström laboratory in Uppsala.

Supervisor:
Associate professor Erik Vigren (main supervisor)
Dr. Michiko Morooka (assistant supervisor)
Associate professor Jan-Erik Wahlund (assistant supervisor)

Opponent:
Prof. Ingo Mueller-Wodarg, Imperial College London

Committee:
Eva Wirström (Chalmers), Lorenz Roth (KTH), Paul Barklem (Uppsala University), Jörg Gumbel (Stockholm University) and Thomas Leyser (IRF).

Click on this link to view the doctoral thesis