Search Publications
The temperature and width of an active fissure on Enceladus measured with Cassini VIMS during the 14 April 2012 South Pole flyover
Hedman, Matthew M.; Sotin, Christophe; Baines, Kevin H. +10 more
The width and temperature of the active fissures on Saturn’s satellite Enceladus provide key observable constraints on physical models of these geyser-like eruptions. We analyze a sequence of high spatial resolution near-infrared spectra acquired with VIMS at 0.025 s intervals during a 74 km altitude flyover of the South Pole of Enceladus by the C…
A global topographic map of Titan
Barnes, Jason W.; Stiles, Bryan W.; Kirk, Randolph L. +8 more
Cassini RADAR SARtopo and altimetry data are used to construct a global gridded 1 × 1° elevation map, for use in Global Circulation Models, hydrological models and correlative studies. The data are sparse, and so most of the map domain (∼90%) is populated with interpolated values using a spline algorithm. The highest (∼+520 m) gridded point observ…
An observational study of the response of the upper atmosphere of Mars to lower atmospheric dust storms
Withers, Paul; Pratt, R.
The effects of dust storms on densities, temperatures, and winds in the lower atmosphere of Mars are substantial. Here we use upper atmospheric observations to investigate how dust storms affect the upper atmosphere of Mars. We use aerobraking accelerometer, ultraviolet stellar occultation, and radio occultation datasets to examine the magnitudes …
Stratospheric aerosols on Jupiter from Cassini observations
Zhang, X.; West, R. A.; Banfield, D. +1 more
We retrieved global distributions and optical properties of stratospheric aerosols on Jupiter from ground-based NIR spectra and multiple-phase-angle images from Cassini Imaging Science Subsystem (ISS). A high-latitude haze layer is located at ∼10-20 mbar, higher than in the middle and low latitudes (∼50 mbar). Compact sub-micron particles are main…
Late origin of the Saturn system
Asphaug, Erik; Reufer, Andreas
Saturn is orbited by a half dozen ice rich middle-sized moons (MSMs) of diverse geology and composition. These comprise ∼4.4% of Saturn’s satellite mass; the rest is Titan, more massive per planet than Jupiter’s satellites combined. Jupiter has no MSMs. Disk-based models to explain these differences exist, but have various challenges and assumptio…
Photometric properties of the nucleus of Comet 103P/Hartley 2
A'Hearn, Michael F.; Thomas, Peter C.; Bodewits, Dennis +8 more
We have studied the photometric properties of the nucleus of a hyperactive comet, 103P/Hartley 2, at visible wavelengths using the DIXI flyby images with both disk-integrated and disk-resolved analyses. The disk-integrated phase function of the nucleus has a linear slope of 0.046 ± 0.002 mag/deg and an absolute magnitude of 18.4 ± 0.1 at V-band. T…
A complete climatology of the aerosol vertical distribution on Mars from MEx/SPICAM UV solar occultations
Montmessin, Franck; Bertaux, Jean-Loup; Maltagliati, Luca +4 more
We present the first results on solar occultations performed with the UV channel of SPICAM, on board Mars Express. From the dataset of over 900 occultations (performed between April 2004 and October 2011), about 640 atmospheric profiles of the martian atmosphere were derived. This dataset, spanning four martian years, allows characterization of th…
Survey of cometary CO2, CO, and particulate emissions using the Spitzer Space Telescope
Reach, William T.; Kelley, Michael S.; Vaubaillon, Jeremie
We surveyed 23 comets using the Infrared Array Camera on the Spitzer Space Telescope in wide filters centered at 3.6 and 4.5 µm. Emission in the 3.6 µm filter arises from sunlight scattered by dust grains; the 3.6 µm images generally have a coma near the nucleus and a tail in the antisolar direction due to dust grains swept back …
CoRoT: Harvest of the exoplanet program
Guillot, Tristan; Cabrera, Juan; Deeg, Hans J. +6 more
One of the objectives of the CoRoT mission is the search for transiting extrasolar planets using high-precision photometry, and the accurate characterization of their fundamental parameters. The CoRoT satellite consecutively observes crowded stellar fields since February 2007, in high-cadence precise photometry; periodic eclipses are detected and …
Titan's atmosphere and surface liquid: New calculation using Statistical Associating Fluid Theory
Kargel, Jeffrey S.; Tan, Sugata P.; Marion, Giles M.
The application of PC-SAFT equation of state (EOS) in analyzing the in situ measurement of atmospheric data by Huygens probe reveals new insights into Titan's atmosphere and surface liquids. The EOS offers the most reliable and accurate calculations in fluid phase equilibria at the cryogenic conditions encountered in Titan and other extra-terrestr…