Search Publications
Comparison of the composition of the Tempel 1 ejecta to the dust in Comet C/Hale Bopp 1995 O1 and YSO HD 100546
Li, A.; Kraemer, K. E.; Lisse, C. M. +2 more
Spitzer Infrared Spectrograph observations of the Deep Impact experiment in July 2005 have created a new paradigm for understanding the infrared spectroscopy of primitive solar nebular (PSN) material—the ejecta spectrum is the most detailed ever observed in cometary material. Here we take the composition model for the material excavated from Comet…
Characteristics of Titan's stratospheric aerosols and condensate clouds from Cassini CIRS far-infrared spectra
Fletcher, L.; Irwin, P. G. J.; Teanby, N. A. +8 more
Four broad spectral features were identified in far-infrared limb spectra from the Cassini Composite Infrared Spectrometer (CIRS), two of which have not been identified before. The features are broader than the spectral resolution, which suggests that they are caused by particulates in Titan's stratosphere. We derive here the spectral properties a…
Saturn's icy satellites investigated by Cassini-VIMS. I. Full-disk properties: 350 5100 nm reflectance spectra and phase curves
Sotin, C.; Brown, R. H.; Baines, K. H. +26 more
Saturn's icy satellites are among the main scientific objectives of the Cassini-VIMS (Visual and Infrared Mapping Spectrometer) experiment. This paper contains a first systematic and comparative analysis of the full-disk spectral properties of Dione, Enceladus, Epimetheus, Hyperion, Iapetus, Mimas, Phoebe, Rhea and Tethys as observed by VIMS from …
Could we identify hot ocean-planets with CoRoT, Kepler and Doppler velocimetry?
Sotin, C.; Barge, P.; Bordé, P. +16 more
Planets less massive than about 10 M are expected to have no massive H-He atmosphere and a cometary composition (∼50% rocks, 50% water, by mass) provided they formed beyond the snowline of protoplanetary disks. Due to inward migration, such planets could be found at any distance between their formation site and the star. If migration stops within …
Characterising Saturn's vertical temperature structure from Cassini/CIRS
Fletcher, L. N.; Irwin, P. G. J.; Teanby, N. A. +7 more
Thermal infrared spectra of Saturn from 10-1400 cm -1 at 15 cm -1 spectral resolution and a spatial resolution of 1°-2° latitude have been obtained by the Cassini Composite Infrared Spectrometer [Flasar, F.M., and 44 colleagues, 2004. Space Sci. Rev. 115, 169-297]. Many thousands of spectra, acquired over eighteen-months of o…
Monte Carlo simulations of the water vapor plumes on Enceladus
Toon, Owen B.; Esposito, Larry W.; Stewart, A. I. F. +2 more
Monte Carlo simulations are used to model the July 14, 2005 UVIS stellar occultation observations of the water vapor plumes on Enceladus. These simulations indicate that the observations can be best fit if the water molecules ejected along the Tiger Stripes in the South Polar region of Enceladus have a vertical surface velocity of 300-500 m/s at t…
Meridional variations of C 2H 2 and C 2H 6 in Jupiter's atmosphere from Cassini CIRS infrared spectra
Irwin, P. G. J.; Teanby, N. A.; Parrish, P. D. +12 more
Hydrocarbons such as acetylene (C 2H 2) and ethane (C 2H 6) are important tracers in Jupiter's atmosphere, constraining our models of the chemical and dynamical processes. However, our knowledge of the vertical and meridional variations of their abundances has remained sparse. During the flyby of the Cas…
Detection of 13CH 3D on Titan
Bézard, Bruno; Nixon, Conor A.; Jennings, Donald E. +1 more
We report the detection of 13CH 3D in Titan's stratosphere from Cassini/CIRS infrared spectra near 8.7 µm. Fitting simultaneously the ν bands of both 13CH 3D and 12CH 3D and the ν band of CH 4, we derive a D/H ratio equal to 1.32-0.11+0.15×10 and a 12C/ <…
Mechanical modeling of thrust faults in the Thaumasia region, Mars, and implications for the Noachian heat flux
Neukum, G.; Hauber, E.; Grott, M. +2 more
Insight into the state of the early martian lithosphere is gained by modeling the topography above surface breaking thrust faults in the southern Thaumasia region. Crater counts of key surface units associated with the faulting indicate a scarp emplacement in the late Noachian-early Hesperian periods between 4.0 and 3.7 Gyr. The seismogenic layer …
Lightning storms on Saturn observed by Cassini ISS and RPWS during 2004 2006
Porco, Carolyn C.; Dyudina, Ulyana A.; Ingersoll, Andrew P. +7 more
We report on Cassini Imaging Science Subsystem (ISS) data correlated with Radio and Plasma Wave Science (RPWS) observations, which indicate lightning on Saturn. A rare bright cloud erupt at ∼35° South planetocentric latitude when radio emissions (Saturn Electrostatic Discharges, or SEDs) occur. The cloud consisting of few consecutive eruptions typ…