Search Publications
Vertical structure of Jupiter's Oval BA before and after it reddened: What changed?
de Pater, Imke; Wong, Michael H.; Marcus, Philip S. +2 more
To constrain the properties of Oval BA before and after it reddened, we use Hubble methane band images from 1994 to 2009 to find that the distribution of upper tropospheric haze atop the oval and its progenitors remained unchanged, with reflectivity variations of less than 10% over this time span. We quantify measurement uncertainties and short-te…
Changes in Jupiter’s zonal velocity between 1979 and 2008
de Pater, Imke; Wong, Michael H.; Marcus, Philip S. +1 more
We show that the peak velocity of Jupiter's visible-cloud-level zonal winds near 24°N (planetographic) increased from 2000 to 2008. This increase was the only change in the zonal velocity from 2000 to 2008 for latitudes between ±70° that was statistically significant and not obviously associated with visible weather. We present the first automated…
Wave constraints for Titan’s Jingpo Lacus and Kraken Mare from VIMS specular reflection lightcurves
Nicholson, Philip D.; Sotin, Christophe; Barnes, Jason W. +10 more
Stephan et al. (Stephan, K. et al. [2010]. Geophys. Res. Lett. 37, 7104-+.) first saw the glint of sunlight specularly reflected off of Titan's lakes. We develop a quantitative model for analyzing the photometric lightcurve generated during a flyby in which the specularly reflected light flux depends on the fraction of the solar specular footprint…
Half-widths, their temperature dependence, and line shifts for the HDO-CO 2 collision system for applications to CO 2-rich planetary atmospheres
Gamache, Robert R.; Laraia, Anne L.; Lamouroux, Julien
Measurements of water vapor in the atmospheres of Venus or Mars by spectroscopic techniques in the infrared range are being made routinely by instruments onboard the Venus Express and the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. The interpretation of these measurements in the 2250-4450 cm -1 region is being complicated by the presence of HDO lines …
Lunar X-ray fluorescence observations by the Chandrayaan-1 X-ray Spectrometer (C1XS): Results from the nearside southern highlands
Grande, M.; Alha, L.; Huovelin, J. +19 more
The Chandrayaan-1 X-ray Spectrometer (C1XS) flown on-board the first Indian lunar mission Chandrayaan-1, measured X-ray fluorescence spectra during several episodes of solar flares during its operational period of ∼9 months. The accompanying X-ray Solar Monitor (XSM) provided simultaneous spectra of solar X-rays incident on the Moon which are esse…
Obliquity tides do not significantly heat Enceladus
Nimmo, F.; Chen, E. M. A.
Recently, Tyler [Tyler, R.H., 2009. Geophys. Res. Lett. 36, L15205; Tyler, R., 2011. Icarus, 211, 770-779] proposed that the tide due to an obliquity of greater than 0.1° might drive resonant flow in a liquid ocean at Enceladus, and that dissipation of the ocean's kinetic energy may be an alternate source for the observed global heat flux. While t…
Evidence for episodic alluvial fan formation in far western Terra Tyrrhena, Mars
Chojnacki, Matthew; Williams, Rebecca M. E.; Seelos, Kimberly D. +4 more
A Late Noachian-aged alluvial fan complex within Harris Crater in far western Terra Tyrrhena, Mars, is comprised of two well-defined source regions and associated discrete depositional lobes. Three fan units were recognized based on common morphological characteristics, thermal properties and spectral signatures. Although the entire fan complex ha…
Neptune's rotational period suggested by the extraordinary stability of two features
Karkoschka, Erich
The interior rotation and motions in giant planets have generally been probed only at radio wavelengths from spacecraft near the planet, except for Jupiter's radio emission detectable from Earth. Here I suggest that Neptune's interior can be indirectly probed at visible wavelength by tracking 10 features that are connected with a stationary latitu…
Optical and infrared colors of transneptunian objects observed with HST
Grundy, W. M.; Noll, K. S.; Benecchi, S. D. +2 more
We present optical colors of 72 transneptunian objects (TNOs), and infrared colors of 80 TNOs obtained with the WFPC2 and NICMOS instruments, respectively, on the Hubble Space Telescope (HST). Both optical and infrared colors are available for 32 objects that overlap between the datasets. This dataset adds an especially uniform, consistent and lar…
Photometry of Triton 1992-2004: Surface volatile transport and discovery of a remarkable opposition surge
Buratti, B. J.; Hillier, J. K.; Hicks, M. D. +9 more
Triton, the large satellite of Neptune, was imaged by the Voyager 2 spacecraft in 1989 with dark plumes originating in its volatile-rich south polar region. Southern summer solstice, a time when seasonal volatile transport should be at a maximum, occurred in 2001. Ground-based observations of Triton's rotational light curve obtained from Table Mou…