Search Publications
Europa's opposition surge in the near-infrared: interpreting disk-integrated observations by Cassini VIMS
Buratti, Bonnie J.; Simonelli, Damon P.
Near-infrared observations of Europa's disk-integrated opposition surge by Cassini VIMS, first published in Fig. 4 of Brown et al. (2003, Icarus, 164, 461), have now been modeled with the commonly used Hapke photometric function. The VIMS data set emphasizes observations at 16 solar phase angles from 0.4° to 0.6°—the first time the <1° phase "h…
Upper limits on hydrogen halides in Jupiter from Cassini/CIRS observations
Nixon, Conor A.; Irwin, Patrick G. J.; Fouchet, Thierry +2 more
We have determined the following upper limits for the mole fraction of hydrogen halides in Jupiter's atmosphere from Cassini/CIRS observations: [HF] <2.7×10 -11, [HCl] <2.3×10 -9, [HBr] <1.0×10 -9, [HI] <7.6×10 -9. These limits are smaller than solar composition for HF and HCl, and support th…
Cassini/VIMS observation of an Io post-eclipse brightening event
Brown, R. H.; Baines, K. H.; Buratti, B. J. +10 more
During the Cassini-Jupiter flyby, VIMS observed Io at different phase angles, both in full sunlight and in eclipse. By using the sunlight measurements, we were able to produce phase curves in the visual through all the near infrared wavelengths covered by the VIMS instrument (0.85-5.1 µm). The phase angle spanned from ∼2° to ∼120°. The measu…
Jovian satellite positions from Hubble Space Telescope images
Mallama, Anthony; Aelion, Halley M.; Mallama, Celeste A.
An accurate technique has been developed for measuring planetocentric positions of Jupiter's satellites from Wide Field/Planetary Camera images. Our method of finding the centers of the satellites and planet is based upon established limb-fitting techniques, but we have adapted those techniques to astrometry. We compare our limb-fitting results wi…
Mafic silicate mapping on Mars: effects of palagonitic material, multiple mafic silicates, and spectral resolution
Bell, James F.; Cloutis, Edward A.
The visible to near-infrared spectral reflectance properties of intimate and areal pyroxene + palagonitic material mixtures as well as pure mafic silicates (low-calcium pyroxene, high-calcium pyroxene, pigeonite, olivine) and mixtures of these minerals were analyzed at high spectral resolution (5 nm) as well as with non-contiguous band passes equi…
The Cassini-Huygens flyby of Jupiter
Lebreton, Jean-Pierre; Matson, Dennis L.; Spilker, Linda J. +2 more
The Cassini-Huygens spacecraft flew by Jupiter on December 30, 2000. The instruments aboard the spacecraft started making scientific observations three months earlier. Joint, collaborative observations were carried out with the teams of other spacecraft, notably Galileo, and with Earth-based observers. An operational overview of the flyby is prese…
Titan's atmosphere from ISO mid-infrared spectroscopy
Lellouch, E.; Feuchtgruber, H.; Coustenis, Athena +5 more
We have analyzed Titan observations performed by the Infrared Space Observatory (ISO) in the range 7-30 µm. The spectra obtained by three of the instruments on board the mission (the short wavelength spectrometer, the photometer, and the camera) were combined to provide new and more precise thermal and compositional knowledge of Titan's stra…
Observations with the Visual and Infrared Mapping Spectrometer (VIMS) during Cassini's flyby of Jupiter
Sotin, C.; Brown, R. H.; Baines, K. H. +24 more
The Cassini Visual and Infrared Mapping Spectrometer (VIMS) is an imaging spectrometer covering the wavelength range 0.3-5.2 µm in 352 spectral channels, with a nominal instantaneous field of view of 0.5 mrad. The Cassini flyby of Jupiter represented a unique opportunity to accomplish two important goals: scientific observations of the jovia…
Saturn's wayward shepherds: the peregrinations of Prometheus and Pandora
French, Richard G.; Dones, Luke; Lissauer, Jack J. +1 more
Saturn's narrow F ring is flanked by two nearby small satellites, Prometheus and Pandora, discovered in Voyager images taken in 1980 and 1981 (Synnott et al., 1983, Icarus 53, 156-158). Observations with the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) during the ring plane crossings (RPX) of 1995 led to the unexpected finding that Prometheus was ∼19° behind its …
The photochemical formation of a titan haze analog. Structural analysis by x-ray photoelectron and infrared spectroscopy
Tran, Buu N.; Ferris, James P.; Chera, John J.
The photochemical flow reactor (D.W. Clarke et al., 2000, Icarus 147, 282-291) has been modified to minimize the incorporation of oxygen and other impurities in the photoproducts. A mixture of gases that approximate their mixing ratios on Titan (N 2, CH 4, H 2, C 2H 2, C 2H 4