| A disturbance in the plasma flow behind Titan was detected by Pioneer 11. A year later Voyager 1 passed directly behind Titan. Voyager obtained data on an extended atmosphere of Titan which is responsible for the disturbance. A computer simulation that utilizes the parameters of the flow and the makeup of the upper atmosphere and ionosphere, in combination with the laws of plasma dynamics, has been generated and is presented here. Using this simulation an analysis of the system has been executed for different positions of Titan in its orbit and as a function of time at each place.;Different regions of the reaction are clearly depicted, including the flow upstream, a bow wave that apparently is not a shock and varies in intensity at different points in the orbit, an ionosheath, and a low density region inside a stretched ionosphere. The electric field looks as if a conducting ring were placed in the tail. The results of this study could be used in the planning of the Cassini mission. |
