Search Publications
Enceladus' plume: Compositional evidence for a hot interior
Lunine, Jonathan; Matson, Dennis L.; Castillo, Julie C. +1 more
The combined observations of Saturn's moon Enceladus by the Cassini CAPS, INMS and UVIS instruments detected water vapor geysers in which were present molecular nitrogen (N 2), carbon dioxide (CO 2), methane (CH 4), propane (C 3H 8), acetylene (C 2H 2), and several other …
Mountains on Titan observed by Cassini RADAR
Cassini RADAR Team; Kirk, Randolph L.; Lorenz, Ralph D. +5 more
The Cassini Titan Radar mapper has observed elevated blocks and ridge-forming block chains on Saturn's moon Titan demonstrating high topography we term "mountains." Summit flanks measured from the T3 (February 2005) and T8 (October 2005) flybys have a mean maximum slope of 37° and total elevations up to 1930 m as derived from a shape-from-shading …
Global-scale surface spectral variations on Titan seen from Cassini/VIMS
Sotin, Christophe; Barnes, Jason W.; Rodriguez, Sebastien +7 more
We present global-scale maps of Titan from the Visual and Infrared Mapping Spectrometer (VIMS) instrument on Cassini. We map at 64 near-infrared wavelengths simultaneously, covering the atmospheric windows at 0.94, 1.08, 1.28, 1.6, 2.0, 2.8, and 5 µm with a typical resolution of 50 km/pixel or a typical total integration time of 1 s. Our map…
Vertical profiles of HCN, HC 3N, and C 2H 2 in Titan's atmosphere derived from Cassini/CIRS data
Fletcher, L.; Irwin, P. G. J.; Teanby, N. A. +9 more
Mid-infrared limb spectra in the range 600-1400 cm-1 taken with the Composite InfraRed Spectrometer (CIRS) on-board the Cassini spacecraft were used to determine vertical profiles of HCN, HC3N, C2H2, and temperature in Titan's atmosphere. Both high (0.5 cm-1) and low (13.5 cm-1) spe…
Enceladus' south polar sea
Collins, Geoffrey C.; Goodman, Jason C.
Recent observations of the south pole of Saturn's moon Enceladus by the Cassini spacecraft have revealed an active world, powered by internal heat. In this paper, we propose that localized subsurface melting on Enceladus has produced an internal south polar sea. Evidence for this localized sea comes from the shape of Enceladus, which does not matc…
Oxygen compounds in Titan's stratosphere as observed by Cassini CIRS
Fletcher, L.; Lellouch, E.; Irwin, P. G. J. +10 more
We have investigated the abundances of Titan's stratospheric oxygen compounds using 0.5 cm-1 resolution spectra from the Composite Infrared Spectrometer on the Cassini orbiter. The CO abundance was derived for several observations of far-infrared nadir spectra, taken at a range of latitudes (75° S-35° N) and emission angles (0°-60°), us…
Self-gravity wakes and radial structure of Saturn's B ring
Sremčević, M.; Colwell, J. E.; Esposito, L. W. +2 more
We analyze stellar occultations by Saturn's rings observed with the Cassini Ultraviolet Imaging Spectrograph and find large variations in the apparent normal optical depth of the B ring with viewing angle. The line-of-sight optical depth is roughly independent of the viewing angle out of the ring plane so that optical depth is independent of the p…
Martian water vapor: Mars Express PFS/LW observations
Forget, F.; Montmessin, F.; Lellouch, E. +8 more
We present the seasonal and geographical variations of the martian water vapor monitored from the Planetary Fourier Spectrometer Long Wavelength Channel aboard the Mars Express spacecraft. Our dataset covers one martian year (end of Mars Year 26, Mars Year 27), but the seasonal coverage is far from complete. The seasonal and latitudinal behavior o…
Cassini imaging of Saturn's rings. II. A wavelet technique for analysis of density waves and other radial structure in the rings
Nicholson, Philip D.; Porco, Carolyn C.; Hedman, Matthew M. +2 more
We describe a powerful signal processing method, the continuous wavelet transform, and use it to analyze radial structure in Cassini ISS images of Saturn's rings. Wavelet analysis locally separates signal components in frequency space, causing many structures to become evident that are difficult to observe with the naked eye. Density waves, genera…
UV habitable zones around M stars
Buccino, Andrea P.; Lemarchand, Guillermo A.; Mauas, Pablo J. D.
During the last decade there was a change in paradigm, which led to consider that terrestrial-type planets within liquid-water habitable zones (LW-HZ) around M stars can also be suitable places for the emergence and evolution of life. Since many dMe stars emit large amount of UV radiation during flares, in this work we analyze the UV constrains fo…