Search Publications
On Titan's Xanadu region
Barnes, Jason W.; Brown, Robert H.; Melosh, H. Jay
A large, circular marking ∼1800 km across is seen in near-infrared images of Titan. The feature is centered at 10°S, 120°W on Titan, encompasses much of Titan's western Xanadu region, and has an off-center, quasi-circular, inner margin about 700 km across, with lobate outer margins extending 200-500 km from the inner margin. On the feature's south…
Comparison of PFS and TES observations of temperature and water vapor in the martian atmosphere
Smith, Michael D.; Formisano, Vittorio; Wolkenberg, Paulina +1 more
The interval from L s = 330° in Mars Year (MY) 26 until L s = 84° in MY 27 has been used to compare and validate measurements from the Mars Global Surveyor Thermal Emission Spectrometer (TES) and the Mars Express Planetary Fourier Spectrometer (PFS). We studied differences between atmospheric temperatures observed by the two …
Evidence for paleolakes in Erythraea Fossa, Mars: Implications for an ancient hydrological cycle
Head, James W.; Fassett, Caleb I.; Buhler, Peter B. +1 more
There is now widespread agreement that the surface of Mars underwent some degree of fluvial modification, but there is not yet full understanding of its surface hydrological cycle and the nature of standing bodies of water, rivers, and precipitation that affected its surface. In this paper we explore Erythraea Fossa (31.5 W, 27.3 S), a graben adja…
Long-term evolution of the aerosol debris cloud produced by the 2009 impact on Jupiter
Hueso, R.; Sánchez-Lavega, A.; Fletcher, L. N. +43 more
We present a study of the long-term evolution of the cloud of aerosols produced in the atmosphere of Jupiter by the impact of an object on 19 July 2009 (Sánchez-Lavega, A. et al. [2010]. Astrophys. J. 715, L155-L159). The work is based on images obtained during 5 months from the impact to 31 December 2009 taken in visible continuum wavelengths and…
Search for and limits on plume activity on Mimas, Tethys, and Dione with the Cassini Visual Infrared Mapping Spectrometer (VIMS)
Brown, R. H.; Baines, K. H.; Buratti, B. J. +4 more
Cassini Visual Infrared Mapping Spectrometer (VIMS) observations of Mimas, Tethys, and Dione obtained during the nominal and extended missions at large solar phase angles were analyzed to search for plume activity. No forward scattered peaks in the solar phase curves of these satellites were detected. The upper limit on water vapor production for …
Lithological mapping of central part of Mare Moscoviense using Chandrayaan-1 Hyperspectral Imager (HySI) data
Bhattacharya, Satadru; Chauhan, Prakash; Ajai +2 more
We conducted spectral analysis of central region of the Mare Moscoviense area on the far side of the Moon using the Hyperspectral Imager (HySI) data from the Chandrayaan-1 mission in an effort to identify and map the major lithological units present in the area. Various spectral band parameters, namely, band curvature, band tilt and band strength …
Ultraviolet spectroscopy of Asteroid (4) Vesta
A'Hearn, Michael F.; Feaga, Lori M.; Russell, Christopher T. +6 more
We report a comprehensive review of the UV-visible spectrum and rotational lightcurve of Vesta combining new observations by Hubble Space Telescope and Swift Gamma-ray Burst Observatory with archival International Ultraviolet Explorer observations. The geometric albedos of Vesta from 220 nm to 953 nm are derived by carefully comparing these observ…
Regolith depth growth on an icy body orbiting Saturn and evolution of bidirectional reflectance due to surface composition changes
Esposito, Larry W.; Elliott, Joshua P.
Using a Markov chain model, we consider the regolith growth on a small body in orbit around Saturn, subject to meteoritic bombardment, and assuming all impact ejecta are re-collected. We calculate the growth of regolith and the fractional pollution, assuming an initial pure ice body and amorphous carbon as a pollutant. We extend the meteorite flux…
Comparing Phoebe's 2005 opposition surge in four visible light filters
Holtzman, J. A.; Helfenstein, P.; Chanover, N. J. +2 more
We observed Phoebe for 13 nights over a period of 55 days before, during, and after the 2005 Saturn opposition with the New Mexico State University (NMSU) 1-m telescope at Apache Point Observatory (APO) in Sunspot, NM and characterized the width and magnitude of Phoebe's opposition surge in BVRI filters. Our observations cover a phase angle range …
Insolation in Titan's troposphere
Lunine, Jonathan I.; Lora, Juan M.; Goodman, Paul J. +1 more
Seasonality in Titan's troposphere is driven by latitudinally varying insolation. We show that the latitudinal distributions of insolation in the troposphere and at the surface, based on Huygens DISR measurements, can be approximated analytically with nonzero extinction optical depths τ, and are not equivalent to that at the top of the atmosphere …