Search Publications
Kronoseismology III: Waves in Saturn's inner C ring
Nicholson, Philip D.; French, Richard G.; McGhee-French, Colleen A. +1 more
We investigate waves driven in Saturn's rings by planetary normal modes, concentrating on the previously unexplored inner C ring. In this region, the known waves all have exceptionally short wavelengths, which has proven problematic for previous studies that depended on the accurate estimate of wave phases for wave identification. However, detaile…
Cassini-VIMS observations of Saturn's main rings: II. A spectrophotometric study by means of Monte Carlo ray-tracing and Hapke's theory
Clark, R. N.; Nicholson, P. D.; D'Aversa, E. +9 more
This work is the second in a series of manuscripts devoted to the investigation of the spectrophotometric properties of Saturn's rings from Cassini-VIMS (Visible and Infrared Mapping Spectrometer) observations. The dataset used for this analysis is represented by ten radial spectrograms of the rings which have been derived in Filacchione et al. (2…
Effects of the solar wind and the solar EUV flux on O+ escape rates from Venus
Fedorov, A.; Barabash, S.; Futaana, Y. +4 more
We investigate dependences of O+ escape rates from Venus both on the solar wind and the solar extreme ultraviolet (EUV) flux by using the 8.5-year dataset (May 2006 to December 2014) of the Ion Mass Analyzer and the magnetometer aboard Venus Express. We examine the O+ escape rates for 8 different conditions depending on the s…
Near-Earth asteroid 2012 TC4 observing campaign: Results from a global planetary defense exercise
Masiero, Joseph R.; Kareta, Theodore; Springmann, Alessondra +66 more
Impacts due to near-Earth objects (NEOs) are responsible for causing some of the great mass extinctions on Earth. While nearly all NEOs of diameter > 1 km, capable of causing a global climatic disaster, have been discovered and have negligible chance of impacting in the near future, we are far from completion in our effort to detect and charact…
Jupiter's auroral-related stratospheric heating and chemistry III: Abundances of C2H4, CH3C2H, C4H2 and C6H6 from Voyager-IRIS and Cassini-CIRS
Fletcher, L. N.; Irwin, P. G. J.; Orton, G. S. +4 more
We present an analysis of Voyager-1-IRIS and Cassini-CIRS spectra of Jupiter's high latitudes acquired during the spacecrafts' respective flybys in November 1979 and January 2001. We performed a forward-model analysis in order to derive the abundances of ethylene (C2H4), methylacetylene (CH3C2H), diacety…
A comparison of multiple Rosetta data sets and 3D model calculations of 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko coma around equinox (May 2015)
Jorda, L.; Altwegg, K.; Kührt, E. +23 more
We have used the latest available shape model for gas and dust simulations of the inner coma of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko for the period around May 2015 (equinox). We compare results from a purely insolation-driven model with a complementary set of observations made by ROSINA, VIRTIS, MIRO, and OSIRIS within the same period. The observations…
Neptune's carbon monoxide profile and phosphine upper limits from Herschel/SPIRE: Implications for interior structure and formation
Irwin, P. G. J.; Teanby, N. A.; Moses, J. I.
On Neptune, carbon monoxide and phosphine are disequilibrium species, and their abundance profiles can provide insights into interior processes and the external space environment. Here we use Herschel/SPIRE (Spectral and Photometric Imaging REceiver) observations from 14.9-51.5 cm-1 to obtain abundances from multiple CO and PH3
The Cassini VIMS archive of Titan: From browse products to global infrared color maps
Le Mouélic, S.; Cornet, T.; Rodriguez, S. +11 more
We have analyzed the complete Visual and Infrared Mapping Spectrometer (VIMS) data archive of Titan. Our objective is to build global surface cartographic products, by combining all the data gathered during the 127 targeted flybys of Titan into synthetic global maps interpolated on a grid at 32 pixels per degree (∼1.4 km/pixel at the equator), in …
Lyman-α emission in the Martian proton aurora: Line profile and role of horizontal induced magnetic field
Ritter, B.; Hubert, B.; Shematovich, V. I. +2 more
Enhancements of the dayside Lyman-α emission by as much as ∼50% have been observed between 120 and 130 km in the lower Martian thermosphere from the Mars Express and MAVEN satellites, usually following solar events such as coronal mass ejections and corotating interaction regions. They have been assumed to be optical signatures of proton aurora re…
Mid-infrared spectroscopy of planetary analogs: A database for planetary remote sensing
Helbert, Joern; Hiesinger, Harald; Weber, Iris +4 more
The MERTIS (MErcury Radiometer and Thermal Infrared Spectrometer) instrument onboard the ESA/JAXA BepiColombo mission will provide mid-infrared data, which will be crucial to characterize the surface mineralogy of Mercury. In order to interpret the results, we are creating a database of mid-infrared spectra. As part of a study of synthetic glasses…