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New insights into the Late Amazonian zonal shrinkage of the martian south polar plateau
Fairén, Alberto G.; Kargel, Jeffrey S.; Baker, Victor R. +9 more
The martian south polar plateau, Planum Australe, comprises the largest known water-ice surface deposit on the planet. Here, we present evidence for an episode of extensive polar plateau retreat during the Late Amazonian, which affected regions flanking circum-polar terrains located between Cavi Angusti and Sisyphi Montes.
Observations of the nightside venusian hydrogen corona with SPICAV/VEX
Bertaux, J. -L.; Chaufray, J. -Y.; Leblanc, F. +2 more
Observations of the venusian hydrogen corona on the nightside (8 PM local time) have been performed with SPICAV instrument on board Venus Express from 12 to 15 October 2011. These observations were associated with interplanetary observations obtained at apoapsis to subtract the interplanetary contribution. The observed brightness variation with al…
Doppler winds mapped around the lower thermospheric terminator of Venus: 2012 solar transit observations from the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope
Clancy, R. Todd; Sandor, Brad J.; Hoge, James
Doppler shifts of sub-millimeter 12 CO (346 GHz) and 13 CO (330 GHz) and millimeter 12 CO (230 GHz) line absorptions were mapped around the circum-disk terminator of Venus before, during, and after the June 5, 2012 solar transit, employing the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope (JCMT). Radiative transfer analysis of the…
Thickness of Saturn's B ring as derived from seasonal temperature variations measured by Cassini CIRS
Ferrari, C.; Reffet, E.; Verdier, M.
Structural and thermal properties of Saturn's B ring and its particles are derived from orbital and seasonal temperatures variations observed by the Cassini CIRS spectrometer between 2004 and 2009 equinox. Our multiscale thermal model (Ferrari, C., Reffet, E. [2013]. Icarus 223, 28-39), which assumes negligible heat transfer by vertical motion of …
Ponding, draining and tilting of the Cerberus Plains; a cryolacustrine origin for the sinuous ridge and channel networks in Rahway Vallis, Mars
Balme, M. R.; Conway, S. J.; Gallagher, C. +1 more
Rahway Vallis sits within a shallow basin (the "Rahway basin") in the Cerberus Plains of Mars containing a branching network of channels converging on the basin floor. Using topographic cross-profiles of the channels we have found that they are set within broader, subtly-expressed, valleys. These valleys are shallow (around 15 m vertically compare…
Is the O2(a1Δg) Venus nightglow emission controlled by solar activity?
Gérard, Jean-Claude; Soret, Lauriane
Several past studies showed that the O2(a1Δg) Venus nightglow emission at 1.27 µm is highly variable on a timescale of hours. We examine whether the intensity of this emission shows a more global trend linked to solar activity.
Activity of Comet C/2006 W3 Christensen
Kossacki, Konrad J.; Szutowicz, Slawomira
Emission of volatiles for the long-period Comet C/2006 W3 Christensen was observed before perihelion from 3.7 AU through perihelion passage at 3.13 AU till 5.0 AU after perihelion. Coma is found to be strongly enriched in molecules more volatile than water. At heliocentric distances 3.13-3.7 AU activity of the comet was mostly driven by CO emissio…
New Horizons: Long-range Kuiper Belt targets observed by the Hubble Space Telescope
Stern, S. A.; Weaver, H. A.; Buie, M. W. +4 more
We report on Hubble Space Telescope (HST) observations of three Kuiper Belt Objects (KBOs), discovered in our dedicated ground-based search campaign, that are candidates for long-range observations from the New Horizons spacecraft: 2011 JY31, 2011 HZ102, and 2013 LU35. Astrometry with HST enables both current and f…
Self-consistent modeling of induced magnetic field in Titan's atmosphere accounting for the generation of Schumann resonance
Béghin, Christian
This model is worked out in the frame of physical mechanisms proposed in previous studies accounting for the generation and the observation of an atypical Schumann Resonance (SR) during the descent of the Huygens Probe in the Titan's atmosphere on 14 January 2005. While Titan is staying inside the subsonic co-rotating magnetosphere of Saturn, a se…
Thermal transport in Saturn's B ring inferred from Cassini CIRS
Altobelli, Nicolas; Showalter, Mark; Pilorz, Stuart +1 more
We examine the heat budget of Saturn's B ring using all of the data from Cassini's Composite Infra Red Spectrometer (CIRS) taken during one Saturn season, together with a detailed numerical calculation of the incident flux. We find that at all times 30-40% of the energy incident on the sunlit side finds its way through the ring to be emitted on th…