Search Publications
Near-infrared spectra of ferrous mineral mixtures and methods for their identification in planetary surface spectra
Bell, James F.; Cloutis, Edward A.; Mann, Paul +1 more
Iron-bearing minerals are a major component of planetary surfaces, and many can be identified by their characteristic absorption bands in the near-infrared (NIR). Here we present laboratory NIR spectra of a wide range of common Fe-bearing minerals (e.g., olivines, pyroxenes), glasses, and mineral/glass mixtures. We then use this suite of spectra t…
Saturn ring seismology: Evidence for stable stratification in the deep interior of Saturn
Fuller, Jim
Seismology allows for direct observational constraints on the interior structures of stars and planets. Recent observations of Saturn's ring system have revealed the presence of density waves within the rings excited by oscillation modes within Saturn, allowing for precise measurements of a limited set of the planet's mode frequencies. We construc…
Chemical composition of Titan’s atmosphere and ionosphere: Observations and the photochemical model
Krasnopolsky, Vladimir A.
Basic observational data on hydrocarbons, nitriles, and ions on Titan are compared with predictions of the photochemical model. Uncertainties of the observed abundances and differences between the data from different instruments and observing teams are comparable with the differences between the observations and the model results. Main reactions o…
Shape, topography, gravity anomalies and tidal deformation of Titan
Lunine, Jonathan I.; Hayes, Alex; Zebker, Howard +5 more
Gravity measurements and elevation data from the Cassini mission have been used to create shape, global topography and gravity anomaly models of Titan that enable an improved understanding of its outer ice I shell structure. We provide constraints on the averaged ice shell thickness and its long-wavelength lateral variations, as well as the densit…
Coupling of oxygen, nitrogen, and hydrocarbon species in the photochemistry of Titan's atmosphere
Dobrijevic, M.; Loison, J. C.; Hickson, K. M. +1 more
Analysis of recent detections of water by Herschel/HIFI-PACS and Cassini/CIRS suggest for a steep gradient of the water profile in the lower stratosphere of Titan's atmosphere (Cottini, V., Nixon, C.A., Jennings, D.E., Anderson, C.M., Gorius, N., Bjoraker, G.L., Coustenis, A., Teanby, N.A., Achterberg, R.K., Béezard, B., de Kok, R., Lellouch, E., …
Titan’s internal structure inferred from its gravity field, shape, and rotation state
Tobie, Gabriel; Lefèvre, Axel; Baland, Rose-Marie +1 more
Several quantities measured by the Cassini-Huygens mission provide insight into the interior of Titan: the second-degree gravity field coefficients, the shape, the tidal Love number, the electric field, and the orientation of its rotation axis. The measured obliquity and tides, as well as the electric field, are evidence for the presence of an int…
Mud volcanism and morphology of impact craters in Utopia Planitia on Mars: Evidence for the ancient ocean
Hiesinger, H.; Erkeling, G.; Reiss, D. +1 more
Results of our detailed geological mapping and interpretation of the nature and relative and absolute model ages of units and structures in the SW portion of Utopia Planitia (20-45°N, 100-120°E) suggest the following. (1) The size-frequency distribution (SFD) of craters that both are buried by materials of the Vastitas Borealis units (VB) and supe…
Global mapping and characterization of Titan's dune fields with Cassini: Correlation between RADAR and VIMS observations
Le Mouélic, S.; Cornet, T.; Rodriguez, S. +18 more
Vast fields of linear dunes have been observed in the equatorial regions of Titan, Saturn's largest moon. As the Cassini mission, in orbit around Saturn since July 2004 and extended until May 2017, carries on, the high-resolution coverage of Titan's surface increases, revealing new dune fields and allowing refinements in the examination of their p…
Evidence for a bimodal size distribution for the suspended aerosol particles on Mars
Maltagliati, L.; Montmessin, F.; Bertaux, J. -L. +4 more
First simultaneous analysis of the ultraviolet (UV) and infrared (IR) atmospheric extinctions from SPICAM/Mars Express solar occultations in the beginning of the Northern summer (Ls = 56-97°) is presented. The two SPICAM channels allow sounding of the martian atmosphere in the spectral range from 0.118 to 1.7 µm at the altitudes f…
Evidence of Titan's climate history from evaporite distribution
Sotin, Christophe; MacKenzie, Shannon M.; Barnes, Jason W. +8 more
Water-ice-poor, 5-µm-bright material on Saturn's moon Titan has previously been geomorphologically identified as evaporitic. Here we present a global distribution of the occurrences of the 5-µm-bright spectral unit, identified with Cassini's Visual Infrared Mapping Spectrometer (VIMS) and examined with RADAR when possible. We explore t…