Search Publications
Derivation of planetary topography using multi-image shape-from-shading
Kirk, Randolph L.; Lohse, Volker; Heipke, Christian
In many cases, the derivation of high-resolution digital terrain models (DTMs) from planetary surfaces using conventional digital image matching is a problem. The matching methods need at least one stereo pair of images with sufficient texture. However, many space missions provide only a few stereo images and planetary surfaces often possess insuf…
Cassini thermal observations of Saturn's main rings: Implications for particle rotation and vertical mixing
Altobelli, Nicolas; Michael Flasar, F.; Cuzzi, Jeffrey N. +9 more
In late 2004 and 2005 the Cassini composite infrared spectrometer (CIRS) obtained spatially resolved thermal infrared radial scans of Saturn's main rings (A, B and C, and Cassini Division) that show ring temperatures decreasing with increasing solar phase angle, α, on both the lit and unlit faces of the ring plane. These temperature differences su…
Venus before Venus Express
Taylor, Fredric W.
An overview is given of current knowledge and mysteries about the planet Venus, with emphasis on those aspects that are intended to be studied with the Venus Express mission following orbit insertion at the planet in March 2006.
On the discovery of CO nighttime emissions on Titan by Cassini/VIMS: Derived stratospheric abundances and geological implications
Drossart, Pierre; Nicholson, Philip D.; Sotin, Christophe +7 more
We present a quantitative analysis of CO thermal emissions discovered on the nightside of Titan by Baines et al. [2005. The atmospheres of Saturn and Titan in the near-infrared: First results of Cassini/VIMS. Earth, Moon, and Planets, 96, 119-147]. in Cassini/VIMS spectral imagery. We identify these emission features as the P and R branches of the…
OMEGA/Mars Express: Visual channel performances and data reduction techniques
Gondet, B.; Langevin, Y.; Poulet, F. +4 more
In this paper we discuss the on-ground and in-flight performances of the visual channel of the OMEGA instrument on board the European mission Mars Express. OMEGA is a mapping spectrometer designed for mineralogical and atmospheric investigation of Mars. This work aims to be a guide to future users for the analysis of the OMEGA data. We give a deta…
High-resolution CASSINI-VIMS mosaics of Titan and the icy Saturnian satellites
Sotin, C.; Brown, R. H.; Baines, K. H. +26 more
The Visual Infrared Mapping Spectrometer (VIMS) onboard the CASSINI spacecraft obtained new spectral data of the icy satellites of Saturn after its arrival at Saturn in June 2004. VIMS operates in a spectral range from 0.35 to 5.2 µm, generating image cubes in which each pixel represents a spectrum consisting of 352 contiguous wavebands. As …
Topographic modeling of Phoebe using Cassini images
Porco, Carolyn C.; Neukum, Gerhard; Roatsch, Thomas +2 more
High-resolution Cassini stereo images of Saturn's moon Phoebe have been used to derive a regional digital terrain model (DTM) and an orthoimage mosaic of the surface. For DTM-control a network of 130 points measured in 14 images (70-390 m/pixel resolution) was established which was simultaneously used to determine the orientation of the spin-axis.…
Five years of Ulysses dust data: 2000 2004
Dikarev, V.; Krüger, H.; Srama, R. +20 more
The Ulysses spacecraft has been orbiting the Sun on a highly inclined ellipse ( i=79∘, perihelion distance 1.3 AU, aphelion distance 5.4 AU) since it encountered Jupiter in 1992. Between January 2000 and December 2004, the spacecraft completed almost an entire revolution about the Sun, passing through perihelion in May 2001 and aphelion…
Lightning detection on the Venus Express mission
Russell, C. T.; Zhang, T. L.; Strangeway, R. J.
Radio waves and optical flashes consistent with the lightning generation have been reported frequently at Venus. These observations point to the presence of electrical discharges in the sulfuric acid clouds of Venus. A particularly strong whistler-mode signal has been found propagating parallel to the magnetic field in the night ionosphere near 10…
Ulysses jovian latitude scan of high-velocity dust streams originating from the jovian system
Flandes, Alberto; Krüger, Harald; Hamilton, Douglas P. +4 more
In February 2004 the Ulysses spacecraft had its second flyby at Jupiter at 0.8 AU distance from the planet. Twenty-eight dust streams emanating from the jovian system were measured between November 2002 and August 2005 while the spacecraft was within 4 AU of the planet, scanning jovigraphic latitudes from +75∘ to -25∘. The hi…