Global Distribution of Saturn’s Cusp

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Abstract
Saturn's magnetosphere, shaped by solar wind interaction with its dipole field, differs from Earth's due to faster rotation and Enceladus's internal plasma sources. An ongoing focus of investigation is how the internal plasma sources and rapid rotation result in a different global magnetospheric picture. The magnetospheric cusp, a crucial interaction region between solar wind and planetary magnetic field, serves as an indicator of global magnetic configuration. Here we utilize Cassini observations from 2004 to 2010 to study dawn-dusk asymmetry in Saturn's cusp distribution with peak occurrence in the post-noon sector and signatures extending to post-dusk, resembling recent observations of Jupiter's post-dusk cusp. We further examine magnetic topology using high-resolution magnetohydrodynamic simulations to visualize the cusp asymmetry, providing a global view of Saturn’s magnetic topology near the magnetopause. This asymmetry of cusp distribution demonstrates how rapid rotation and internal plasma sources fundamentally alter magnetospheric configuration, offering insights for understanding other rotating planetary systems within and beyond the solar system.