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Close-up images of the final Philae landing site on comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko acquired by the ROLIS camera
Bibring, J. -P.; Jaumann, R.; Keller, H. U. +11 more
After coming to rest on the night side of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, the ROLIS camera on-board Rosetta's Philae lander acquired five images of the surface below the lander, four of which were with the aid of LED illumination of different colors. The images confirm that Philae was perched on a sloped surface. A local horizon is visible in one…
The near-surface electron radiation environment of Saturn's moon Mimas
Coates, A. J.; Jones, G. H.; Hendrix, A. R. +4 more
Saturn's inner mid-size moons are exposed to a number of external weathering processes, including charged particle bombardment and UV photolysis, as well as deposition of E-ring grains and interplanetary dust. While optical remote sensing observations by several instruments onboard the Cassini spacecraft have revealed a number of weathering patter…
Deciphering sub-micron ice particles on Enceladus surface
D'Aversa, E.; Clark, R.; Tosi, F. +4 more
The surface of Saturn's moon Enceladus is composed primarily by pure water ice. The Cassini spacecraft has observed present-day geologic activity at the moon's South Polar Region, related with the formation and feeding of Saturn's E-ring. Plumes of micron-sized particles, composed of water ice and other non-ice contaminants (e.g., CO2, …
The paleolacustrine evolution of Juventae Chasma and Maja Valles and its implications for the formation of interior layered deposits on Mars
Jaumann, Ralf; Bishop, Janice L.; Gross, Christoph +4 more
Juventae Chasma, Mars, is an approximately 7 km deep basin located in close vicinity of Valles Marineris. It extends for ∼190 km east-west and ∼270 km north-south and exhibits several light-toned interior layered deposits (ILDs). These deposits form four large and distinctive light-toned mounds referred to as mound A, B, C, and D, from south to no…
Discontinuous drainage systems formed by highland precipitation and ground-water outflow in the Navua Valles and southwest Hadriacus Mons regions, Mars
Hargitai, H. I.; Gulick, V. C.; Glines, N. H.
The Navua Valles are systems of paleodrainages located north of Dao Vallis, which empty into Hellas Planitia, the largest impact basin on Mars. In this study, we mapped and characterized the Navua Valles Region's individual drainage systems, including drainages along the southwestern flank of Hadriacus Mons, and one valley network from the same so…
Constraining the Enceladus plume using numerical simulation and Cassini data
Trafton, Laurence M.; Levin, Deborah A.; Goldstein, David B. +3 more
Since its discovery, the Enceladus plume has been subjected to intense study due to the major effects that it has on the Saturnian system and the window that it provides into the interior of Enceladus. However, several questions remain and we attempt to answer some of them in this work. In particular, we aim to constrain the H2O product…
The origin and evolution of a differentiated Mimas
Rhoden, A. R.; Neveu, M.
In stark contrast with its neighbor moon Enceladus, Mimas is surprisingly geologically quiet, despite an eccentric orbit and distance to Saturn prone to levels of tidal dissipation 30 times higher. While Mimas' lack of geological activity could be due to a stiff, frigid interior, libration data acquired using the Cassini spacecraft suggest that it…
Spatially resolved near infrared observations of Enceladus' tiger stripe eruptions from Cassini VIMS
Nicholson, Philip D.; Hedman, Matthew M.; Clark, Roger N. +1 more
Particle properties of individual fissure eruptions within Enceladus' plume have been analyzed using high spatial resolution Visible and Infrared Mapping Spectrometer (VIMS) observations from the Cassini mission. To first order, the spectra of the materials emerging from Cairo, Baghdad and Damascus sulci are very similar, with a strong absorption …
Influence of the crustal magnetic field on the Mars aurora electron flux and UV brightness
Gérard, J. -C.; Hubert, B.; Shematovich, V. I. +1 more
Observations with the SPICAM instrument on board Mars Express have shown the occasional presence of localized ultraviolet nightside emissions associated with enhanced energetic electron fluxes. These features generally occur in regions with significant radial crustal magnetic field. We use a Monte-Carlo electron transport model to investigate the …
Analysis of R-band observations of an outburst of Comet 29P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 1 to place constraints on the nucleus' rotation state
Schambeau, Charles A.; Fernández, Yanga R.; Samarasinha, Nalin H. +2 more
We present analysis of five nights of R-band observations of Comet 29P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 1 (SW1) taken on September 2008 which show the comet undergoing an outburst. Coma morphology shows a projected asymmetric shell of material expanding radially and four linear features on the northern side of the coma at position angles 37°, 78°, 300°, and 3…