Search Publications
The inner small satellites of Saturn: A variety of worlds
Burns, J. A.; Hedman, M.; Helfenstein, P. +4 more
More than a dozen small (<150 km mean radius) satellites occupy distinct dynamical positions extending from within Saturn’s classical rings to the orbit of Dione. The Cassini mission has gradually accumulated image and spectral coverage of these objects to the point where some generalizations on surface morphology may be made. Objects in differ…
Water production rate of Comet C/2009 P1 (Garradd) throughout the 2011-2012 apparition: Evidence for an icy grain halo
Bertaux, J. -L.; Combi, M. R.; Fougere, N. +3 more
The all-sky hydrogen Lyman-alpha camera, SWAN (Solar Wind Anisotropies), on the SOlar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) satellite made observations of the hydrogen coma of Comet C/2009 P1 (Garradd) throughout its apparition from August 15, 2011 through April 6, 2012. SOHO has been operating in a halo orbit around the Earth-Sun L1 Lagrange point …
Seasonal variations of temperature, acetylene and ethane in Saturn's atmosphere from 2005 to 2010, as observed by Cassini-CIRS
Fletcher, L. N.; Irwin, P. G. J.; Sinclair, J. A. +6 more
Acetylene (C2H2) and ethane (C2H6) are by-products of complex photochemistry in the stratosphere of Saturn. Both hydrocarbons are important to the thermal balance of Saturn's stratosphere and serve as tracers of vertical motion in the lower stratosphere. Earlier studies of Saturn's hydrocarbons using Cas…
Saturn's cloud structure inferred from Cassini ISS
Roman, Michael T.; Gierasch, Peter J.; Banfield, Don
Using high-resolution Cassini ISS images with wavelengths ranging from the ultraviolet to the near infrared, we have retrieved Saturn's atmospheric aerosol structure and properties for a broad range of latitudes in the southern hemisphere. The observations are consistent with two distinct layers of haze above a scattered cloud. Each layer is chara…
One Moon, many measurements 2: Photometric corrections
Yokota, Y.; Mall, U.; Besse, S. +10 more
Observations of the lunar surface within the past 10 years have been made with various lunar remote sensing instruments, the Moon Mineralogy Mapper (M3) onboard the Chandrayaan-1 mission, the Spectral Profiler (SP), the Multiband Imager (MI), the Terrain Camera (TC) onboard the SELENE mission, and the ground based USGS Robotic Lunar Obs…
On the chemical composition of Titan’s dry lakebed evaporites
Barnes, J. W.; Cordier, D.; Ferreira, A. G.
Titan, the main satellite of Saturn, has an active cycle of methane in its troposphere. Among other evidence for a mechanism of evaporation at work on the ground, dry lakebeds have been discovered. Recent Cassini infrared observations of these empty lakes have revealed a surface composition poor in water ice compared to that of the surrounding ter…
On the thermal electron balance in Titan’s sunlit upper atmosphere
Strobel, D. F.; Wahlund, J. -E.; Ågren, K. +8 more
The Cassini mission has investigated Titan’s upper atmosphere in detail and found that, under solar irradiation, it has a well-developed ionosphere, which peaks between 1000 and 1200 km. In this paper we focus on the T40, T41, T42 and T48 Titan flybys by the Cassini spacecraft and use in situ measurements of N2 and CH4 densit…
Meteorology of Jupiter's equatorial hot spots and plumes from Cassini
Showman, Adam P.; Simon-Miller, Amy A.; Vasavada, Ashwin R. +1 more
We present an updated analysis of Jupiter's equatorial meteorology from Cassini observations. For two months preceding the spacecraft's closest approach, the Imaging Science Subsystem (ISS) onboard regularly imaged the atmosphere. We created time-lapse movies from this period in order to analyze the dynamics of equatorial hot spots and their inter…
Saturn’s visible lightning, its radio emissions, and the structure of the 2009-2011 lightning storms
Porco, Carolyn C.; Dyudina, Ulyana A.; Ingersoll, Andrew P. +3 more
Visible lightning on Saturn was first detected by the Cassini camera in 2009 at ∼35° South latitude. We report more lightning observations at ∼35° South later in 2009, and lightning in the 2010-2011 giant lightning storm at ∼35° North. The 2009 lightning is detected on the night side of Saturn in a broadband clear filter. The 2011 lightning is det…
Saturn’s thermal emission at 2.2-cm wavelength as imaged by the Cassini RADAR radiometer
Baines, K. H.; Edgington, S. G.; Janssen, M. A. +7 more
We present well-calibrated, high-resolution maps of Saturn’s thermal emission at 2.2-cm wavelength obtained by the Cassini RADAR radiometer through the Prime and Equinox Cassini missions, a period covering approximately 6 years. The absolute brightness temperature calibration of 2% achieved is more than twice better than for all previous microwave…