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An overview of Jovian electrons during the distant Ulysses Jupiter flyby

Dalla, S.; Kunow, H.; Wibberenz, G. +9 more

Since the 1970's interplanetary electrons in the MeV energy range, of Jovian origin, have been extensively studied from close to the Sun to beyond the Kronian orbit, near the ecliptic. The Ulysses trajectory allowed to study the propagation of these particles, in a wide range of heliographic latitudes. The location of Jupiter with respect to the s…

Spatial variability, composition and thickness of the seasonal north polar cap of Mars in mid-spring

Hansen, G.; Grassi, D.; Formisano, V. +4 more

The planetary fourier spectrometer (PFS) for the Mars express mission (MEX) is an infrared spectrometer operating in the wavelength range from 1.2 to 45 µm by means of two spectral channels, called SWC (short wavelength channel) and LWC (long wavelength channel), covering, respectively, 1.2-5.5 and 5.5-45 µm. The middle-spring Martian …

Carbon isotopic enrichment in Titan's tholins? Implications for Titan's aerosols

Szopa, C.; Coll, P.; Raulin, F. +5 more

Since the discovery of the main composition of Titan's atmosphere, many laboratory experiments have been carried out to reproduce its chemical evolution, particularly the formation of organic haze particles found throughout this atmosphere. Some of these simulations have produced solid products - referred to as Titan's tholins - that are assumed t…

Erratum to “Cassini observations of Saturn's inner plasmasphere: Saturn orbit insertion results”. [Planetary and Space Science 54 (2006) 1197 1210]

Coates, A. J.; Johnson, R. E.; Thomsen, M. +13 more

Remote sensing of a comet at millimeter and submillimeter wavelengths from an orbiting spacecraft

Hartogh, Paul; Lellouch, Emmanuel; Rauer, Heike +19 more

The ESA Rosetta Spacecraft, launched on March 2, 2004 with the ultimate destination being Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, carries a relatively small and lightweight millimeter-submillimeter spectrometer instrument, the first of its kind launched into deep space. The instrument, named Microwave Instrument for the Rosetta Orbiter (MIRO), consists o…

Tracking the edge of the south seasonal polar cap of Mars

Grassi, D.; Formisano, V.; Giuranna, M. +1 more

The advance and retreat of the polar caps were one of the first observations that indicated Mars had seasons. Because a large portion of the atmosphere is cycled in and out of the seasonal caps during the year, the frost deposits play a significant role in regional and global atmospheric circulation. Understanding the nature of the seasonal polar …

Electromagnetic measurements on Martian soil analogs: Implications for MARSIS and SHARAD radars in detecting subsoil water

Pettinelli, Elena; Vannaroni, Giuliano; Cereti, Annamaria +1 more

In this work a laboratory investigation on the electrical and magnetic properties of magnetite-bearing and water-bearing granular mixtures, selected as Martian soil simulants, is presented. The objective of these measurements is the estimation of the performance of space-borne ground penetrating radars for detection of subsurface water (both solid…

Huygens Probe descent dynamics inferred from Channel B signal level measurements

Plettemeier, D.; Bird, M. K.; Edenhofer, P. +3 more

The signal strength of the Huygens Probe Channel B transmission to the Cassini Orbiter was monitored during the Probe descent through Titan's atmosphere on 14 January 2005. A model of the Probe motion during the mission was constructed to include Probe spin, coning motion and tilt caused by varying wind speeds. This simple model is sufficient to r…

Mode identification of terrestrial ULF waves observed by Cluster: A case study

Nilsson, H.; Walker, S. N.; Dunlop, M. +4 more

Using multipoint measurements from the Cluster mission wave identification techniques are applied to observations of ULF waves made in the terrestrial foreshock with the aim of identifying the modes and properties of the waves taking into account the effects of a high beta plasma. The wave properties in the spacecraft and plasma rest frames are ex…

Comparison of the dust distributions in the innermost comae of comets—1P/Halley and 19P/Borrelly spacecraft observations

Thomas, Nicolas; Tenishev, Valeriy; Combi, Michael +3 more

We present a comparative study of the inner comae of comets 1P/Halley and 19P/Borrelly using data from the Halley Multicolour Camera (HMC) onboard Giotto and the Miniature Integrated Camera and Spectrometer onboard Deep Space 1 (DS1). We show that the dust brightness dependence as a function of radial distance is different for both comets. We sugg…