Search Publications
Fluvial channels on Titan: Initial Cassini RADAR observations
Cassini RADAR Team; Kirk, Randolph L.; Lorenz, Ralph D. +13 more
Cassini radar images show a variety of fluvial channels on Titan's surface, often several hundreds of kilometers in length. Some (predominantly at low- and mid-latitude) are radar-bright and braided, resembling desert washes where fines have been removed by energetic surface liquid flow, presumably from methane rainstorms. Others (predominantly at…
Ion and neutral sources and sinks within Saturn's inner magnetosphere: Cassini results
Thomsen, M. F.; Johnson, R. E.; Hartle, R. E. +16 more
Using ion-electron fluid parameters derived from Cassini Plasma Spectrometer (CAPS) observations within Saturn's inner magnetosphere as presented in Sittler et al. [2006a. Cassini observations of Saturn's inner plasmasphere: Saturn orbit insertion results. Planet. Space Sci., 54, 1197-1210], one can estimate the ion total flux tube content, N…
Derivation of density and temperature from the Cassini Huygens CAPS electron spectrometer
André, N.; Lewis, G. R.; Coates, A. J. +4 more
In this paper we present two methods to derive electron fluid parameters from the CAPS-ELS spectrometer on board the Cassini spacecraft currently in orbit around Saturn. In the first part of the paper we give a basic overview of the instrument and describe the challenges inherent in the derivation of density and temperature values using these tech…
Sputtering of ice grains and icy satellites in Saturn's inner magnetosphere
Johnson, R. E.; Sittler, E. C.; Smith, H. T. +3 more
Icy grains and satellites orbiting in Saturn's magnetosphere are immersed in a plasma that sputters their surfaces. This limits the lifetime of the E-ring grains and ejects neutrals that orbit Saturn until they are ionized and populate its magnetosphere. Here we re-evaluate the sputtering rate of ice in Saturn's inner magnetosphere using the recen…
Thermal observations of Saturn's main rings by Cassini CIRS: Phase, emission and solar elevation dependence
Altobelli, Nicolas; Spilker, Linda J.; Leyrat, Cedric +1 more
Two and a half years after Saturn orbit insertion (SOI) the Cassini composite infrared spectrometer (CIRS) has acquired an extensive set of thermal measurements (including physical temperature and filling factor) of Saturn's main rings for a number of different viewing geometries, most of which are not available from Earth. Thermal mapping of both…
Infrared observations of Saturn's rings by Cassini CIRS : Phase angle and local time dependence
Altobelli, Nicolas; Spilker, Linda J.; Ferrari, Cecile +2 more
Since the Saturn orbit insertion (SOI) of the Cassini spacecraft, in July 2004, the Cassini Composite Infrared Spectrometer (CIRS) has obtained a large number of thermal infrared spectra of Saturn's rings. Over the two and a half years of observations to date, ring temperatures were retrieved for a large range of unique geometries, inaccessible fr…
High-resolution Enceladus atlas derived from Cassini-ISS images
Scholten, F.; Matz, K. -D.; Neukum, G. +8 more
The Cassini Imaging Science Subsystem (ISS) acquired 377 high-resolution images (<1 km/pixel) during three close flybys of Enceladus in 2005 [Porco, C.C., et al., 2006. Cassini observes the active south pole of Enceladus. Science 311, 1393-1401.]. We combined these images with lower resolution Cassini images and four others taken by Voyager cam…
High-resolution Dione atlas derived from Cassini-ISS images
Scholten, F.; Matz, K. -D.; Neukum, G. +7 more
The Cassini imaging science subsystem (ISS) acquired 449 high-resolution images (<800 m/pixel) during one close flyby of Dione in 2005 and three non-targeted flybys in 2004, 2006, and 2007. We combined these images with lower-resolution Cassini images and one other taken by Voyager cameras to produce a high-resolution semi-controlled mosaic of …
Optical properties of aerosols in Titan's atmosphere
Keller, H. U.; Rodin, A. V.; Skorov, Yu. V.
In the frame of fractal modeling of tholin aggregates we made a systematic analysis of their optical properties. Ballistic particle-cluster aggregation (BPCA) and diffusion-limited aggregation (DLA) of spherical primary particles (monomers) identical in material composition were considered. Aggregates composed of identical particles (monodisperse …
Titan's surface from the Cassini RADAR radiometry data during SAR mode
Lorenz, R. D.; Janssen, M. A.; Lunine, J. I. +8 more
We present initial results on the calibration and interpretation of the high-resolution radiometry data acquired during the Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) mode (SAR-radiometry) of the Cassini Radar Mapper during its first five flybys of Saturn's moon Titan. We construct maps of the brightness temperature at the 2-cm wavelength coincident with SAR …