Search Publications
The haze and methane distributions on Uranus from HST-STIS spectroscopy
Karkoschka, Erich; Tomasko, Martin
We analyzed a unique, three-dimensional data set of Uranus acquired with the STIS Hubble spectrograph on August 19, 2002. The data covered a full afternoon hemisphere at 0.1 arc-sec spatial resolution between 300 and 1000 nm wavelength at 1 nm resolution. Navigation was accurate to 0.002 arc-sec and 0.02 nm. We tested our calibration with WFPC2 im…
Titan's surface at 2.2-cm wavelength imaged by the Cassini RADAR radiometer: Calibration and first results
Lorenz, R. D.; Janssen, M. A.; Stiles, B. +16 more
The first comprehensive calibration and mapping of the thermal microwave emission from Titan's surface is reported based on radiometric data obtained at 2.2-cm wavelength by the passive radiometer included in the Cassini Radar instrument. The data reported were accumulated from 69 separate observational segments in Titan passes from Ta (October 20…
Solar infrared occultation observations by SPICAM experiment on Mars-Express: Simultaneous measurements of the vertical distributions of H 2O, CO 2 and aerosol
Reberac, A.; Montmessin, F.; Bertaux, J. -L. +4 more
The infrared AOTF spectrometer is a part of the SPICAM experiment onboard the Mars-Express ESA mission. The instrument has a capability of solar occultations and operates in the spectral range of 1-1.7 µm with a spectral resolution of ∼3.5 cm -1. We report results from 24 orbits obtained during MY28 at L 130°-160°, and the latitud…
The correlated colors of transneptunian binaries
Buie, M. W.; Grundy, W. M.; Noll, K. S. +3 more
We report resolved photometry of the primary and secondary components of 23 transneptunian binaries obtained with the Hubble Space Telescope. V-I colors of the components range from 0.7 to 1.5 with a median uncertainty of 0.06 magnitudes. The colors of the primaries and secondaries are correlated with a Spearman rank correlation probability of 99.…
Cometary dust properties retrieved from polarization observations: Application to C/1995 O1 Hale Bopp and 1P/Halley
Lasue, J.; Levasseur-Regourd, A. C.; Hadamcik, E. +1 more
The analysis of the polarized light scattered by cometary dust particles provides information on the physical properties of the solid component of cometary comae for C/1995 O1 Hale-Bopp and 1P/Halley. A model of light scattering by a size distribution of aggregates of up to 256 submicron-sized grains (spherical or spheroidal) mixed with single sph…
Model-data comparisons for Titan's nightside ionosphere
Coates, A. J.; Wahlund, J. -E.; Neubauer, F. M. +9 more
Solar and X-ray radiation and energetic plasma from Saturn's magnetosphere interact with the upper atmosphere producing an ionosphere at Titan. The highly coupled ionosphere and upper atmosphere system mediates the interaction between Titan and the external environment. A model of Titan's nightside ionosphere will be described and the results comp…
Vertical and meridional distribution of ethane, acetylene and propane in Saturn’s stratosphere from CIRS/Cassini limb observations
Bézard, Bruno; Guerlet, Sandrine; Fouchet, Thierry +2 more
Measuring the spatial distribution of chemical compounds in Saturn's stratosphere is critical to better understand the planet's photochemistry and dynamics. Here we present an analysis of infrared spectra in the range 600-1400 cm -1 acquired in limb geometry by the Cassini spacecraft between March 2005 and January 2008. We first determi…
Plausible parent bodies for enstatite chondrites and mesosiderites: Implications for Lutetia's fly-by
Fulchignoni, M.; Vernazza, P.; Strazzulla, G. +4 more
We present new irradiation experiments performed on the enstatite chondrite Eagle (EL6) and the mesosiderite Vaca Muerta. These experiments were performed with the aims of (a) quantifying the spectral effect of the solar wind on their parent asteroid surfaces and (b) identifying their parent bodies within the asteroid belt. For Vaca Muerta we obse…
Titan's stratospheric C 2N 2, C 3H 4, and C 4H 2 abundances from Cassini/CIRS far-infrared spectra
Irwin, P. G. J.; Teanby, N. A.; Calcutt, S. B. +4 more
Far-IR (25-50 µm, 200-400 cm -1) nadir and limb spectra measured during Cassini's four year prime mission by the Composite InfraRed Spectrometer (CIRS) instrument have been used to determine the abundances of cyanogen (C 2N 2), methylacetylene (C 3H 4), and diacetylene (C 4H <…
Theoretical analysis of secondary cratering on Mars and an image-based study on the Cerberus Plains
Neukum, Gerhard; Werner, Stephanie C.; Ivanov, Boris A.
The issue of crater retention age estimates on planetary surfaces is discussed with an attempt to quantify the effect of overlapping primary and secondary impact crater populations in restricted crater diameter ranges. The approach to this problem is illustrated with a simple model production function where the secondary crater input is artificial…