Search Publications
Detection of the SO2 Atmosphere on Io with the Hubble Space Telescope
Feldman, P. D.; Moos, H. W.; Ballester, G. E. +3 more
Observations of the trailing hemisphere of Io made with the Faint Object Spectrograph of the Hubble Space Telescope in March 1992 have resulted in the first detection of atmospheric SO2 absorption bands in the ultraviolet. These observations represent only the third positive means of detection of what is widely believed to be Io's prima…
Solar Flux Variability and the Lifetimes of Cometary H 2O and OH
Feldman, P. D.; Festou, M. C.; Budzien, S. A.
The far and extreme ultraviolet (FUV/EUV) solar flux determines the photodestruction rates of H2O and OH in cometary comae and affects their spatial density distributions. Between the minimum and maximum of the solar activity cycle, the solar flux varies by as much as a factor of 2-3 at some FUV and EUV wavelengths. From recent cross se…
Monitoring Mars with the Hubble Space Telescope: 1990-1991 Observations
Clancy, R. Todd; James, Philip B.; Lee, Steven W. +5 more
Images of Mars obtained using the Planetary Camera on the Hubble Space Telescope during 1990 and 1991 are described and analyzed. Multispectral images of Mars record the martian season between Ls = 348° and 60° corresponding to late winter and spring in the northern hemisphere. The wavelengths of these observations varied between 230 nm…
Sulfur Dioxide in the Atmosphere of Venus. II. Modeling Results
Esposito, L. W.; Barth, C. A.; McClintock, W. E. +1 more
We have analyzed the results from the UV sounding rocket observations of Venus made on 15 September 1988 and 29 March 1991 which obtained high-resolution spectra of Venus clouds from 199 to 230 nm. The albedo of Venus in this wavelength range is dominated by absorption features of sulfur dioxide and sulfur monoxide. We estimate that the mixing rat…
Disk-Resolved Imaging of Io with the Hubble Space Telescope
McGrath, Melissa A.; Paresce, Francesco; Sartoretti, Paola
The first disk-resolved image of Io's trailing hemisphere in the ultraviolet, as well as a visible image of the same hemisphere, has been obtained with the Faint Object Camera (FOC) of the Hubble Space Telescope on March 15, 1992, at a resolution of 210 km. Io shows no large-scale changes in the visible over the 13 years elapsed since the last dis…
Ultraviolet Spectra and Geometric Albedos of 45 Asteroids
Buratti, B. J.; Roettger, E. E.
Spectral reflectances and geometric albedos between 2300 and 3250 Å are determined for 45 asteroids from data acquired by the International Ultraviolet Explorer satellite. The geometric albedos are consistently tow, ranging from ∼0.02 for C-type asteroids to ∼0.08 for M-type asteroids. An exception is the single E-type asteroid (44 Nysa) with a ge…
Dynamical and Observational Constraints on Satellites in the Inner Pluto-Charon System
Stern, S. Alan; Levison, Harold F.; Duncan, Martin J. +2 more
It is not known if Pluto has other satellites besides its massive partner Charon. In the past, searches for additional satellites in the Pluto-Charon system have extended from the Solar-tidal stability boundary (≈90 arcsec from Pluto) inward to about 1 arcsec from Pluto. Here we further explore the inner (i.e., <10 arcsec) region of the Pluto-C…
The Nature of the Source of CO in Comet P/Halley
Samarasinha, Nalin H.; Belton, Michael J. S.
We show by numerical simulations that the CO distribution in the coma of Comet P/Halley as measured by neutral gas mass spectrometer aboard Giotto spacecraft (P. Eberhardt et al., 1987, Astron, Astrophys, 187, 481-484) can be explained by an extended jet source originating from vent 1 in the rotational model of M. J. S. Belton et al. (1991, Icarus…
A Hubble Space Telescope Study of Posteclipse Brightening and Albedo Changes on Io
Secosky, James J.; Potter, Michael
Images of Io taken by the Hubble Space Telescope Planetary Camera using filters at 7120 and 3577 Å in April and May 1992 shortly after Io emerged from Jupiter's shadow have been analyzed for the effect of posteclipse brightening first reported by Binder and Cruikshank (1964, Icarus 3,299-305). The classic effect displays a 10% increase in brighten…
The Ultraviolet Spectrum of Triton from HST: First Results
Stern, S. Alan; Trafton, Laurence M.
We report on the first Hubble Space Telescope (HST) spectra of Neptune's largest satellite, Triton. The spectra were taken on 16-17 May 1992 by the HST Faint Object Spectrograph. They span the region 2220-3278 Å. This overlaps IUE spectra of Triton we obtained, 2700-3100 Å, and penetrates the region from 2220 to 2550 A for the first time. The deri…