Search Publications
Rhea's subsurface probed by the Cassini radiometer: Insights into its thermal, structural, and compositional properties
Lellouch, E.; Le Gall, A.; Leyrat, C. +3 more
During its 13.5 years of operation around the Saturn system, the microwave radiometer incorporated in the Cassini RADAR observed Rhea at 2.2 cm during 9 flybys, with resolutions up to a tenth of Rhea's radius. We compare the antenna temperatures measured by this instrument to simulated data generated with the combination of thermal, radiative tran…
Physical characterization of double asteroid (617) Patroclus from 2007/2012 mutual events observations
Colas, F.; Berthier, J.; Pauwels, T. +20 more
We publish a set of 16 light curves of mutual events inside the synchronous system of the Jupiter Trojan (617) Patroclus. Patroclus is th only binary system of the six target asteroids of the forthcoming NASA Discovery-class mission Lucy. Determining the physical parameters of the system is therefore of primary importance in helping to plan the fl…
The structure of Titan's atmosphere from Cassini radio occultations: One- and two-way occultations
French, Richard G.; Achterberg, Richard K.; Flasar, F. Michael +5 more
We present the results of the remaining ten soundings of Titan's atmosphere by radio occultations using the Cassini spacecraft that have not been previously reported. Three were in 2008 and 2009, and used the Ultra Stable Oscillator onboard the spacecraft. The rest were in 2014 and 2016 after the USO had failed and were executed in two-way mode. C…
Influence of landslides on the erosion of slopes on comet 9P/Tempel 1: Laboratory experiments and numerical simulations
Czechowski, Leszek; Kossacki, Konrad J.; Skóra, Grzegorz
Observations of Comet 9P/Tempel 1 indicate that the boundary of the thick, fluid-like deposit had retreated by up to 50 m during one orbital period (Veverka et al., 2013; Thomas et al., 2013). According to Kossaki (2015), sublimation of buried ice may be responsible for the observed effect, but only if the dust has very high thermal conductivity. …
On Venus' cloud top chemistry, convective activity and topography: A perspective from HST
Bertaux, Jean-Loup; Marcq, Emmanuel; Limaye, Sanjay +3 more
Hubble Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (HST/STIS) observations were obtained on 3 dates in December 2010 and January 2011 recording the cloud top properties over Aphrodite Terra and a low elevation region downwind of Aphrodite through LSTs extending from 7 to 11 a.m. From these data we trace the cloud top sulfur-oxide chemistry and UV albedo …
Limitations in the determination of surface emission distributions on comets through modelling of observational data - A case study based on Rosetta observations
Thomas, Nicolas; Marschall, Raphael; Wu, Jong-Shinn +1 more
The European Space Agency's (ESA) Rosetta mission has returned a vast data set of measurements of the inner gas coma of comet 67/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. These measurements have been used by different groups to determine the distribution of the gas sources at the nucleus surface. The solutions that have been found differ from each other substantiall…
SOIR/VEx observations of water vapor at the terminator in the Venus mesosphere
Vandaele, A. C.; Trompet, L.; Robert, S. +4 more
The Solar Occultation in the InfraRed (SOIR) instrument onboard Venus Express sounded the Venus mesosphere and lower thermosphere using solar occultation geometry between April 2006 and December 2014. The observations were all taken at the terminator. This paper reports on the water vapor vertical distribution above the clouds and geo-temporal var…
A model of the 3-µm hydration band with Exponentially Modified Gaussian (EMG) profiles: Application to hydrated chondrites and asteroids
Schmitt, B.; Beck, P.; Potin, S. +2 more
We present here a new method to model the shape of the 3-µm absorption band in the reflectance spectra of meteorites and small bodies. The band is decomposed into several OH/H2O components using Exponentially Modified Gaussian (EMG) profiles, as well as possible organic components using Gaussian profiles when present. We compare t…
Closed depressions in Kotido crater, Arabia Terra, Mars. Possible evidence of evaporite dissolution-induced subsidence
García-Arnay, Ángel; Gutiérrez, Francisco; Baioni, Davide +3 more
The identification of karst sinkholes in Mars may provide evidence of dissolution processes caused by liquid water and information on paleoclimatic and paleohydrological conditions. This work presents a comprehensive cartographic inventory of 513 closed depressions developed on evaporite-bearing Equatorial Layered Deposits (ELDs) within Kotido cra…
Bolometric bond albedo and thermal inertia maps of Mimas
Spencer, J. R.; Howett, C. J. A.; Nordheim, T. A.
In 2011 a thermally anomalous region was discovered on Mimas, Saturn's innermost major icy satellite (Howett et al., 2011). The anomalous region is a lens-like shape located at low latitudes on Mimas' leading hemisphere. It manifests as a region with warmer nighttime temperatures, and cooler daytime ones than its surroundings. The thermally anomal…