Search Publications
The thermo-chemical evolution of Asteroid 21 Lutetia
Neumann, Wladimir; Breuer, Doris; Spohn, Tilman
In the present study, we model the thermo-chemical evolution of Asteroid 21 Lutetia using new data obtained by the Rosetta flyby in July 2010. We investigate the dependence of the evolution on the accretion onset time and duration for both instantaneous accretion and continuous accretion scenarios, assuming late runaway material accumulation. The …
A 3D general circulation model for Pluto and Triton with fixed volatile abundance and simplified surface forcing
Michaels, Timothy I.; Zalucha, Angela M.
We present a 3D general circulation model of Pluto and Triton's atmospheres, which uses radiative-conductive-convective forcing. In both the Pluto and Triton models, an easterly (prograde) jet is present at the equator with a maximum magnitude of 10-12 m s-1 and 4 m s-1, respectively. Neither atmosphere shows any significant …
Oxygen nightglow emissions of Venus: Vertical distribution and collisional quenching
Piccioni, G.; Gérard, J. -C.; Soret, L. +1 more
We compare the altitude of three O2 night airglow emissions observed at the limb of Venus by the VIRTIS spectral imager with those values predicted by a model accounting for the different radiative lifetimes and collisional deactivation of the upper O2 states. The O and CO2 density profiles are based on remote sens…
Dust in Comet 103P/Hartley 2 coma during EPOXI mission
Lasue, J.; Sen, A. K.; Gupta, R. +3 more
The Deep Impact spacecraft flew by Comet 103P/Hartley 2 on 4 November 2010 (EPOXI mission). In situ observations are complemented by a systematic ground- and space-based observation campaign. In the present work, imaging polarimetry is used to emphasize different dust regions in the coma and follow their evolution over a period including the EPOXI…
Knob fields in the Terra Cimmeria/Terra Sirenum region of Mars: Stratigraphy, mineralogy and morphology
Neukum, Gerhard; Bishop, Janice L.; Wendt, Lorenz
We investigate the stratigraphy, morphology and mineralogy of five major knob fields in the region between Terra Cimmeria and Terra Sirenum on Mars based on HRSC, CTX, MOC and HiRISE imagery together with hyperspectral data from CRISM. The knob fields comprise Ariadnes Colles, Atlantis Chaos and Gorgonum Chaos and further, unnamed fields of mounds…
Outflow channels with deltaic deposits in Ismenius Lacus, Mars
Mangold, Nicolas; Howard, Alan D.
A connected series of outflow channels in the Ismenius Lacus quadrangle are identified for the first time and characterized using High Resolution Stereo Camera images of Mars Express, the Context camera images of Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter and the topography of the Mars Observer Laser Altimeter. These channels (named Okavango Valles), which stret…
Modeling the effect of atmospheric gravity waves on Saturn's ionosphere
Matcheva, Katia I.; Barrow, Daniel J.
Cassini's radio occultations by Saturn reveal a highly variable ionosphere with a complex vertical structure often dominated by several sharp layers of electrons. The cause of these layers has not yet been satisfactorily explained. This paper demonstrates that the observed system of layers in Saturn's lower ionosphere can be explained by the prese…
Jupiter's Great Red Spot: Fine-scale matches of model vorticity patterns to prevailing cloud patterns
Dowling, Timothy E.; Morales-Juberías, Raúl
We report on a set of six new matches between fine-scale features in the vorticity field of a three-dimensional (3D), primitive-equation, finite-difference model of Jupiter's Great Red Spot that includes no clouds or cloud physics, and quasi-permanent structures in reflected visible-band images of the clouds. These add to similar success by Cho et…
Using THEMIS data to resolve the discrepancy between CRISM/OMEGA and TES modeled phyllosilicate abundance in Mawrth Vallis
Moersch, Jeffrey E.; Viviano, Christina E.
We explore the effects of spatial resolution on the detectability of phyllosilicates in the thermal infrared dataset from the Mars Global Surveyor Thermal Emission Spectrometer (TES). Data from the Mars Odyssey THermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) instrument is used to resolve spatial resolution driven discrepancies between detection of phyllo…
Energetic particle measurements in the vicinity of Dione during the three Cassini encounters 2005-2011
Krupp, N.; Roussos, E.; Khurana, K. K. +7 more
The Cassini spacecraft encountered the moon Dione three times between 2005 and 2011. During the flybys particles and fields measurements have been performed and used to study the magnetospheric interaction between the fourth largest moon in the saturnian system and the surrounding magnetospheric plasma. Here we present the results of the Low Energ…