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Electromagnetic models and inversion techniques for Titan’s Ontario Lacus depth estimation from Cassini RADAR data
Hayes, Alexander G.; Notarnicola, Claudia; Wye, Lauren +3 more
Since 2004, Cassini RADAR, operating at 13.8 GHz as a radiometer, scatterometer, altimeter and synthetic aperture radar (SAR), provides a vast amount of data, suggesting new scenarios for Titan’s morphology and evolution. An important result was the detection of lakes constituted by liquid hydrocarbons, thus supporting the hypothesis of a methane …
Hydrated minerals in the deposits of Aureum Chaos
Neukum, G.; McGuire, P. C.; Sowe, M. +1 more
Hydrated minerals have been detected in many martian chaos regions and chasmata, playing a major role in its past aqueous activity. Based on short wave infrared data from CRISM, imagery and elevation data, we identified and mapped hydrated minerals in Aureum Chaos to shed light on their stratigraphy and geological context.
The Interior Layere…The Cassini Enceladus encounters 2005-2010 in the view of energetic electron measurements
Krupp, N.; Jones, G. H.; Roussos, E. +8 more
The moon Enceladus, embedded in Saturn’s radiation belts, is the main internal source of neutral and charged particles in the Kronian magnetosphere. A plume of water ice molecules and dust released through geysers on the south polar region provides enough material to feed the E-ring and also the neutral torus of Saturn and the entire magnetosphere…
Aggregates in the strength and gravity regime: Particles sizes in Saturn's rings
Albers, Nicole; Spahn, Frank; Seiß, Martin +3 more
Particles in Saturn's main rings range in size from dust to kilometer-sized objects. Their size distribution is thought to be a result of competing accretion and fragmentation processes. While growth is naturally limited in tidal environments, frequent collisions among these objects may contribute to both accretion and fragmentation. As ring parti…
Calculations of N 2 triplet states vibrational populations and band emissions in venusian dayglow
Bhardwaj, Anil; Jain, Sonal Kumar
A model for N 2 triplet states band emissions in the venusian dayglow has been developed for low and high solar activity conditions. Steady state photoelectron fluxes and volume excitation rates for N 2 triplet states have been calculated using the Analytical Yield Spectra (AYS) technique. Model calculated photoelectron flux …
Diurnal variation of electron density in Saturn’s ionosphere: Model comparisons with Saturn Electrostatic Discharge (SED) observations
Galand, Marina; Moore, Luke; Fischer, Georg +2 more
Using the Saturn Thermosphere Ionosphere Model (STIM), we present a study of the diurnal variation of electron density, with a focus on comparisons with peak electron densities (NMAX) inferred from the low-frequency cutoff of radio emission due to lightning in the lower atmosphere, called Saturn Electrostatic Discharges (SEDs). It is de…
Cassini-UVIS observation of dayglow FUV emissions of carbon in the thermosphere of Venus
Gérard, J. -C.; Hubert, B.; Gladstone, G. R. +3 more
We analyze FUV spatially-resolved dayglow spectra obtained at 0.37 nm resolution by the UVIS instrument during the Cassini flyby of Venus. The intensities of the ultraviolet multiplets of carbon at 126.1, 156.1 and 165.7 nm are determined using a least squares fit technique applied to all dayglow spectra recorded by UVIS along the Cassini track. T…
First ever in situ observations of Venus' polar upper atmosphere density using the tracking data of the Venus Express Atmospheric Drag Experiment (VExADE)
Rosenblatt, P.; Häusler, B.; Svedhem, H. +3 more
On its highly elliptical 24 h orbit around Venus, the Venus Express (VEX) spacecraft briefly reaches a periapsis altitude of nominally 250 km. Recently, however, dedicated and intense radio tracking campaigns have taken place in August 2008, October 2009, February and April 2010, for which the periapsis altitude was lowered to the 186-176 km altit…
Spatial correlation of OH Meinel and O 2 infrared atmospheric nightglow emissions observed with VIRTIS-M on board Venus Express
Drossart, P.; Piccioni, G.; Gérard, J. -C. +1 more
We present the two-dimensional distribution of the O 2 a 1Δ-X 3Σ (0-0) band at 1.27 µm and the OH Δ v = 1 Meinel airglow measured simultaneously with the Visible and Infrared Thermal Imaging Spectrometer (VIRTIS) on board Venus Express. We show that the two emissions present very similar spatial structures. A…
Latitudinal distribution of HDO abundance above Venus' clouds by ground-based 2.3 µm spectroscopy
Matsui, H.; Iwagami, N.; Hosouchi, M. +2 more
The abundance of HDO above the clouds in the dayside atmosphere of Venus was measured by ground-based 2.3 µm spectroscopy over 4 days. This is the first HDO observation above the clouds in this wavelength region corresponding to a new height region. The latitudinal distributions found show no clearly defined structure. The disk-averaged mixi…