Search Publications
Titan's gravity field and interior structure after Cassini
Iess, L.; Durante, Daniele; Hemingway, D. J. +2 more
Since its arrival at Saturn in 2004, Cassini performed nine flybys devoted to the determination of Titan's gravity field and its tidal variations. Here we present an updated gravity solution based on the final data set collected during the gravity-dedicated passes, before Cassini's plunge into Saturn's atmosphere. The data set includes an addition…
Probable detection of hydrogen sulphide (H2S) in Neptune's atmosphere
Fletcher, Leigh N.; Bézard, Bruno; Irwin, Patrick G. J. +4 more
Recent analysis of Gemini-North/NIFS H-band (1.45-1.8 µm) observations of Uranus, recorded in 2010, with recently updated line data has revealed the spectral signature of hydrogen sulphide (H2S) in Uranus's atmosphere (Irwin et al., 2018). Here, we extend this analysis to Gemini-North/NIFS observations of Neptune recorded in 2009 …
Mars atmospheric chemistry simulations with the GEM-Mars general circulation model
Daerden, F.; Neary, L.; Viscardy, S. +5 more
General Circulation Models with interactive physical and chemistry processes are the state-of-the-art tools for an integrated view and understanding of the Martian atmosphere and climate system. The GEM-Mars model currently includes 16 tracers for chemical composition and applies a fully online, interactive calculation of the photo- and gas phase …
Jupiter's ammonia distribution derived from VLA maps at 3-37 GHz
de Pater, Imke; Sault, R. J.; Wong, Michael H. +3 more
We observed Jupiter four times over a full rotation (10 h) with the upgraded Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA) between December 2013 and December 2014. Preliminary results at 4-17 GHz were presented in de Pater et al. (2016); in the present paper we present the full data set at frequencies between 3 and 37 GHz. Major findings are:
i) The …Mutual orbit orientations of transneptunian binaries
Buie, M. W.; Roe, H. G.; Trujillo, C. A. +8 more
We present Keplerian orbit solutions for the mutual orbits of 17 transneptunian binary systems (TNBs). For ten of them, the orbit had not previously been known: 60458 2000 CM114, 119979 2002 WC19, 160091 2000 OL67, 160256 2002 PD149, 469514 2003 QA91, 469705 ǂKá̦gára, 508788 2000 CQ114
A survey of water production in 61 comets from SOHO/SWAN observations of hydrogen Lyman-alpha: Twenty-one years 1996-2016
Bertaux, J. -L.; Combi, M. R.; Quémerais, E. +2 more
The Solar Wind Anisotropies (SWAN) instrument on the SOlar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) satellite has observed 44 long period and new Oort cloud comets and 36 apparitions of 17 short period comets since its launch in December 1995. Water production rates have been determined from the over 3700 images producing a consistent set of activity v…
Olivine-dominated A-type asteroids in the main belt: Distribution, abundance and relation to families
Hsieh, Henry H.; Moskovitz, Nicholas A.; Polishook, David +5 more
Differentiated asteroids are rare in the main asteroid belt despite evidence for ∼ 100 distinct differentiated bodies in the meteorite record. We have sought to understand why so few main-belt asteroids differentiated and where those differentiated bodies or fragments reside. Using the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) to search for a needle in a ha…
Isotopic ratios of Saturn's rings and satellites: Implications for the origin of water and Phoebe
Clark, Roger N.; Brown, Robert H.; Cruikshank, Dale P. +1 more
Isotopic ratios have long been used to learn about physical processes acting over a wide range of geological environments, and in constraining the origin and/or evolution of planetary bodies. We report the spectroscopic detection of deuterium in Saturn's rings and satellites, and use these measurements to determine the (D/H) ratios in their near-s…
The methane distribution and polar brightening on Uranus based on HST/STIS, Keck/NIRC2, and IRTF/SpeX observations through 2015
Sromovsky, L. A.; Fry, P. M.; Karkoschka, E. +2 more
Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (STIS) observations of Uranus in 2002 and 2012 revealed that both polar regions of Uranus were depleted in upper tropospheric methane relative to equatorial regions. Similar observations in 2015 confirm the relative stability of the north polar methane depletion, but show that the north polar region was becomin…
Methane on Mars: New insights into the sensitivity of CH4 with the NOMAD/ExoMars spectrometer through its first in-flight calibration
Vandaele, Ann Carine; Thomas, Ian; Liuzzi, Giuliano +9 more
The Nadir and Occultation for MArs Discovery instrument (NOMAD), onboard the ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO) spacecraft was conceived to observe Mars in solar occultation, nadir, and limb geometries, and will be able to produce an outstanding amount of diverse data, mostly focused on properties of the atmosphere. The infrared channels of the instr…