Search Publications
The formation of cone chains in the Chryse Planitia region on Mars and the thermodynamic aspects of this process
Czechowski, Leszek; Zalewska, Natalia; Zambrowska, Anita +3 more
This paper considers a small region in Chryse Planitia where several subparallel chains of cones are observed. Despite many papers on small Martian cones, the mechanism of their formation is not unequivocally explained, nor the reason for their arrangement in subparallel chains. In this paper, we test a few hypotheses stating that most of the cone…
Observations of a dust tail gap in comet C/2014 Q1 (PanSTARRS)
Afghan, Qasim; Jones, Geraint H.; Price, Oliver +1 more
Cometary dust tails display a wide array of structures, most believed to be caused by a variable dust production, size distributions, fragmentation processes, and interactions with the solar wind, e.g. Price et al. (2019). However, not all these structures are fully understood. Here we report the discovery of a curious new dust tail feature, first…
The magnetically controlled ionopause boundary observed by LPW onboard MAVEN within magnetic pile-up region of Mars
Haider, S. A.; Prasad, K. Durga; Shah, Siddhi Y.
We have analysed plasma and magnetic field data obtained from 627 orbits of Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution (MAVEN) that occurred during October 2014, April 2015, September 2017 and May 2018, when the spacecraft was crossing the magnetic pile-up boundary of Mars. Two broad peaks and a drop are observed in this magnetic field region. The mag…
Drift rates of major Neptunian features between 2018 and 2021
de Pater, Imke; Wong, Michael H.; Hueso, Ricardo +13 more
Using near-infrared observations of Neptune from the Keck and Lick Observatories, and the Hubble Space Telescope in combination with amateur datasets, we calculated the drift rates of prominent infrared-bright cloud features on Neptune between 2018 and 2021. These features had lifespans of ∼ 1 day to ≥1 month and were located at mid-latitudes and …
Astrometric observations of the main Saturnian satellites from 2004 to 2014 based on Gaia DR3
Zhang, H. Y.; Yan, D.; Qiao, R. C. +1 more
A total of 3169 astrometric positions of the seven main satellites of Saturn: Enceladus, Tethys, Dione, Rhea, Titan, Hyperion and Iapetus were obtained in the time span 2004-2014 from observations made with 1.56 m telescope at Sheshan station of Shanghai Observatory, CAS. We compared our observations to the theoretical positions retrieved from IMC…
SHARAD observations for layered ejecta deposits formed by late-Amazonian-aged impact craters at low latitudes of Mars
Xiao, Zhiyong; Xu, Rui; Ma, Yizhen +2 more
Frequent changes of the rotational inclination of Mars have driven global transitions of the cryosphere. Although glaciers of water ice may have extended to the equatorial region, current observations of surface deposits at latitudes lower than 30° show relative depletion in hydrogen. Thermal stability models predict that at these low latitudes, a…
A new constraint on HCl abundance at the cloud top of Venus
Sato, Takao M.; Sagawa, Hideo
We provided a new constraint on HCl abundance at the cloud top of Venus by infrared spectroscopy using a cross-dispersed high-resolution echelle spectrograph, iSHELL, mounted on the NASA Infrared Telescope Facility (IRTF). This study investigated the inconsistency in HCl abundance between previous ground-based observations and Venus Express solar …
The complex shape of the outer edge of Saturn's B ring, as observed in Cassini occultation data
Nicholson, Philip D.; French, Richard G.; Hedman, Matthew M. +9 more
We determine the time-variable shape of the outer edge of Saturn's B ring using the complete set of Cassini radio and stellar occultation data obtained between mid-2005 and the End-of-Mission in late 2017, considerably expanding the range and number of individual ring edge measurements used in previous analyses (Spitale and Porco, 2010; Nicholson …
Keck near-infrared detections of Mab and Perdita
de Pater, Imke; Molter, Edward M.; Moeckel, Chris
We report the first near-infrared detection of Uranus's tiny moon Mab, the presumed source of the blue and diffuse µ ring, using the NIRC2 instrument at Keck Observatory. The detection was permitted by an updated shift-and-stack procedure allowing us to integrate on Mab as it moved across the detector in 23 separate exposures taken over ∼2 h…
Dendritic ridges in Antoniadi basin, Mars: Fluvial or volcanic landforms?
Mangold, N.; Thomas, N.; Hauber, E. +7 more
Antoniadi basin displays dark-toned dendritic ridges previously interpreted as inverted fluvial channels. Detailed observations of these dark-toned ridges as well as the geological units in the central region of Antoniadi basin are provided emphasizing images from the Colour and Stereo Surface Imaging System (CaSSIS), the High Resolution Stereo Ca…