Dr. Edward C. Sittler Jr.

NASA/GSFC, Code 673
Greenbelt, MD 20771

Phone: (301) 286-9215
Fax: (301) 286-1433

Email: Edward.C.Sittler@nasa.gov

PRESENT POSITION:

Astrophysicist, Geospace Physics Laboratory
Heliophysics Science Division
NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center

EDUCATION:

B.S. (honors), Physics, Hofstra University, 1972
Ph.D., Physics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1978

RESEARCH INTERESTS:

Dr. Sittler has contributed substantially to the understanding and observation of interplanetary and magnetospheric plasmas, both through instrument development and interpretation of the data. His association with Voyager 1 and 2 plasma instruments has resulted in many papers detailing the electron environments, magnetospheres, magnetotails, and other properties of the outer planets as well as a polytrope law for electrons in the solar wind. He has been Principal Investigator on both data analysis and instrument development proposals, has served as a member of the Cassini Science Working Group, and is Co-Investigator on the Cassini Plasma Spectrometer Experiment. He is the GSFC Study Scientist for Solar Probe. He is developing a new ion mass spectrometer for Living with a Star (LWS) missions and plasma wave antenna design for Solar Probe. He is also a Voyager, Wind and Polar Co-Investigator.

EXPERIENCE:

1980-present -- Astrophysicist, NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center
1978-1980 -- NRC Post-doc at Goddard Space Flight Center

SELECTED PUBLICATIONS:

  1. E. C. Sittler Jr., M. Thomsen, D. Chornay, M. D. Shappirio, D. Simpson, R. E. Johnson, H. T. Smith, A. J. Coates, A. M. Rymer, F. Crary, D. J. McComas, D. T. Young, D. Reisenfeld, M. Dougherty, N. Andre, J. E. P. Connerney, and J. D. Richardson, Preliminary results on Saturn’s inner plasmasphere as observed by Cassini: comparison with Voyager, Geophys. Res. Lett., 32, No. 14, L14S04, 2005.
  2. J. L. Burch, J. Goldstein, T. W. Hill, D. T. Young, F. Crary, A. J. Coates, T. W. Hill, N. André, W. S. Kurth and E. C. Sittler Jr., Properties of Local Plasma Injections in Saturn’s Magnetosphere, Geophys. Res. Lett., 32, No. 14, L14S02, 2005.
  3. A.J.Coates, H.J.McAndrews, D.T.Young, F.J.Crary, S.Maurice, R.E.Johnson, R.Baragiola, D.B.Reisenfeld, R.L.Tokar, and E.C.Sittler, Plasma electrons above Saturn’s main rings: CAPS observations, Geophys. Res. Lett., 32, No. 14, L14S09, 2005.
  4. H.T. Smith, M. Shappirio, E.C. Sittler, D. Reisenfeld, R.E. Johnson, R.A. Baragiola, F. J. Crary, D.J. McComas, D. T. Young, Discovery of Nitrogen in Saturn’s Inner Magnetosphere, Geophys. Res. Lett., 32, No. 14, L15S01, 2005.
  5. K. Szego, Z. Bebesi, G. Erdos, L. Foldy, F. Crary, D. J. McComas, D. T. Young, S. Bolton, A. Coates, A. Rymer, J. J. Bethelier, R. E. Hartle, E. C. Sittler, D. Reisenfeld, R. E. Johnson, H. T. Smith, T. W. Hill, J. Vippola, J. Steinberg, N. Andre, The global plasma environment of Titan as observed by Cassini Plasma Spectrometer during the first two close encounters with Titan, Geophys. Res. Lett., Vol. 32, No. 20, L20S05, 2005
  6. Lepping, R.P., E. C. Sittler Jr., W. H. Mish and S. A. Curtis, Analysis of waves in Saturn's dayside magnetosphere: Voyager 1 observations, JGR, Vol. 110, A05201, doi:10.1029/2004JA010559, 2005.
  7. Sittler, E. C., Jr., R. E. Hartle, A. F. Vinas, R. E. Johnson, H. T. Smith and I. Mueller-Wodarg, Titan interaction with Saturn's magnetosphere: Voyager 1 results revisited, JGR, Vol. 110, A09302, doi:10.1029/2004JA010759, 2005.
  8. Johnson, R.E., M. Liu, and E.C. Sittler, "Plasma-Induced Clearing and Redistribution of Material Embedded in Planetary Magnetospheres", GRL 32, L24201, doi:10.1029/2005GL024275, 2005.
  9. R.L.Tokar, R.E.Johnson, T.W.Hill, D.H.Pontius, F. J.Crary, D.B.Reisenfeld, A.J. Coates, W.S. Kurth, M.F. Thomsen, L.Gilbert, D.T. Young, E.C. Sittler, M.H. Burger and D.A.Gurnett, The Interaction of the Atmosphere of Enceladus with Saturn's Plasma, Science, Vol. 311, 1409-1412, 2006.
  10. Hartle, R. E., E. C. Sittler Jr., F.M. Neubauer, R. E. Johnson, H. T. Smith, F. Crary, D. J. McComas, D. T. Young, A. J. Coates, D. Simpson, S. Bolton, D. Reisenfeld,k. Szego, J.-J. Berthelier, A. M. Rymer, J. Vilppola, J. Steinberg, and N. Andre, Preliminary interpretation of Titan plasma interaction as observed by the Cassini Plasma Spectrometer: Comparisons with Voyager 1, GRL, doi: 10.1029/2005GL024817R, 2006.
  11. Sittler, E. C. Jr., M. Blanc and J.D. Richardson, Proposed model for Saturn’s auroral response to the solar wind: Centrifugal instability model, JGR, 111, A06208, doi:10.1029/2005JA011191, 2006.
  12. E. C. Sittler Jr, M. Thomsen, R. E. Johnson, R. E. Hartle, M. Burger, D. Chornay, M. D. Shappirio, D. Simpson, H. T. Smith, A. J. Coates, A. M. Rymer, D. J. McComas, D. T. Young, D. Reisenfeld, M. Dougherty, and N. Andre, Cassini observations of Saturn’s inner plasmasphere: Saturn orbit insertion results, Planetary and Space Science, in press, 2006.
  13. R.E. Johnson, J.G.Luhmann, R.L. Tokar, M. Bouhram, J.J. Berthelier, E.C. Sittler, J.F. Cooper, T.W. Hill, H.T. Smith, M. Michael, M. Liu, F.J. Crary, D.T. Young, Production, Ionization and Redistribution of O2 in Saturn’s Ring Atmosphere, in press, Icarus, 2006.
  14. E.C. Sittler Jr., R.E. Johnson, H.T. Smith, J.D. Richardson, S. Jurac, M. Moore, J.F. Cooper, B. H. Mauk, M. Michael, C. Paranicas, T. P. Armstrong, and B. Tsurutani, Energetic nitrogen within the inner magnetosphere of Saturn, JGR, in press, 2006.
  15. R. E. Hartle, E. C. Sittler Jr., F. M. Neubauer, R. E. Johnson, H. T. Smith, F. Crary, D. J. McComas, D. T. Young, A. J. Coates, D. Simpson, S. Bolton, D. Reisenfeld, K. Szego, J. J. Berthelier, A. Rymer, J. Vilppola, J. T. Steinberg, N. Andre, Initial Interpretation of Titan Plasma Interaction as Observed by the Cassini Plasma Spectrometer: Comparisons with Voyager 1, Planetary and Space Science, in press, 2006.
  16. E. C. Sittler Jr., Ruth Skoug, Leon Ofman and Andrezej Fludra, Semi-Empirical Model of Electron Heat Flux: SOHO and Ulysses Observations, Solar Wind 11 Symposium, Whistler Canada, 2005.
  17. E. C. Sittler Jr., D. J. McComas, R. L. McNutt Jr. and the STDT Team, Solar Probe: Close Encounter with the Sun, ILWS Workshop, The Solar Influence on the Heliosphere and Earth’s Environment: Recent Progress and Prospects, Goa, India, Feb. 20-24, 2006, in press, 2006.
  18. Burlaga, L.F., E.C. Sittler Jr., F. Mariani and R. Schwenn, Magnetic loop behind and interplanetary shock: Voyager, Helios and IMP-8 observations, J. Geophys. Res., 86, 6673, 1981.
  19. Sittler, E.C., Jr., J.D. Scudder, and J. Jessen, Radial variation of solar wind thermal electrons between 1.36 and 2.25 AU: Voyager 2, Solar Wind 4 Conference Proceedings, Burghausen, September 1978, Max-Planck-Institute fur Aeronomie, Katlenburg-Lindau and Max-Planck_Institute fur Extraterrestrische Physik, Garching, Federal Republic of Germany, MPAE-W-100-81-31, ed. H. Rosenbauer.
  20. Sittler, E.C., Jr., and L.F. Burlaga, Electron temperatures within magnetic clouds between 2 and 4 AU: Voyager 2 observations, J. Geophys. Res., 103, 17,447, 1998.
  21. Sittler, E. C., Jr., and M. Guhathakurta, Semi-empirical 2D MHD model of the solar corona and interplanetary medium, Astrophys. J., 523, 812, 1999.
  22. Sittler, E.C., Jr., and M. Guhathakurta, Empirical model of the corona-solar wind with multiple current sheets, Proc. Of Solar Wind 9 Conference, Nantucket MA, 5-9 October 1998, editor S. Habbal, 1999.
  23. Guhathakurta, M. and E.C. Sittler, Jr., Importance of global magnetic field geometry and density distribution in solar wind modeling, Proc. Of Solar Wind 9 Conference, Nantucket MA, 5-9 October 1998, editor S. Habbal, 1999.
  24. Guhathakurta, M., E.C. Sittler Jr., and D. McComas, Semi-empirical MHD model of the solar wind and its comparison with Ulysses, Space Science Reviews, 87, 199, 1999.
  25. Guhathakurta, M., E. C. Sittler Jr., R. Fisher, D. McComas and B. Thompson, Coronal magnetic field topology and source of fast solar wind, Geophys. Res. Lett., 26, 2901, 1999.
  26. Sittler, E. C., Jr., M. Guhathakurta and R. Skoug, Semi-empirical 2-D MHD model of the solar corona and solar wind: Energy flow in the corona, 34th ESLAB Symposium on The 3-D Heliosphere at Solar Maximum, Sp. Sci. Rev., ed. R.G. Marsden, 97, 39, 2001.
  27. Guhathakurta, M., E. C. Sittler Jr., R. Fisher, S. Gibson, D. McComas and R. Skoug, Source region of high and low speed wind during the Spartan 201-05 flight, 34th ESLAB Symposium on The 3-D Heliosphere at Solar Maximum, Sp. Sci. Rev.,.R.G. Marsden, 97, 45, 2001.
  28. Sittler, E. C., Jr., and M. Guhathakurta, Erratum: “Semiempirical two-dimensional magnetohydrodynamic model of the solar corona and interplanetary medium”, Astrophys. J., 564, 1062, 2002.
  29. Sittler, E. C., Jr., L. Ofman, S. Gibson, M. Guhathakurta, J. Davila, R. Skoug, A. Fludra and T. Holzer, Development of Multidimensional MHD Model for the Solar Corona and Solar Wind, Solar Wind X Conference Pisa Italy June 17-21, 2002, M. Velli, R. Bruno and F. Malara editors, Sp. Sci. Rev., 679, 113, 2003.

Last modified: 13 Oct 2006