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Topography and geomorphology of the Huygens landing site on Titan
Karkoschka, Erich; Tomasko, Martin G.; Kirk, Randolph L. +16 more
The Descent Imager/Spectral Radiometer (DISR) aboard the Huygens Probe took several hundred visible-light images with its three cameras on approach to the surface of Titan. Several sets of stereo image pairs were collected during the descent. The digital terrain models constructed from those images show rugged topography, in places approaching the…
TRAMS: A new dynamic cloud model for Titan's methane clouds
Barth, Erika L.; Rafkin, Scot C. R.
Convective clouds on Titan may play an important role in climate dynamics, atmospheric chemistry, and the overall volatile cycle. To study the formation and evolution of these clouds, we have developed the Titan Regional Atmospheric Modeling System (TRAMS). TRAMS is a three-dimensional, time-dependent, coupled fully compressible dynamic and microp…
DISR imaging and the geometry of the descent of the Huygens probe within Titan's atmosphere
Karkoschka, Erich; Schröder, Stefan E.; Tomasko, Martin G. +4 more
The Descent Imager/Spectral Radiometer (DISR) provided 376 images during the descent to Titan and 224 images after landing. Images of the surface had scales between 150 m/pixel and 0.4 mm/pixel, all of which we assembled into a mosaic. The analysis of the surface and haze features in these images and of other data gave tight constraints on the geo…
Photochemical kinetics uncertainties in modeling Titan's atmosphere: First consequences
Dobrijevic, M.; Raulin, F.; Hébrard, E. +1 more
Uncertainties carried by the different kinetic parameters included in photochemical models of planetary atmospheres have rarely been considered even if they are supposed to be contributing mostly to the inconsistencies between observations and computed predictions. In this paper, we report the first detailed analysis of the propagation of uncertai…
Electron conductivity and density profiles derived from the mutual impedance probe measurements performed during the descent of Huygens through the atmosphere of Titan
Berthelier, J. J.; Rodrigo, R.; López-Moreno, J. J. +15 more
During the descent of the Huygens probe through the atmosphere of Titan, on January 14th, 2005, the permittivity, waves and altimetry (PWA) subsystem, a component of the Huygens atmospheric structure instrument (HASI), detected an ionized layer at altitudes around 63 km with two different instruments, the relaxation probe (RP) and the mutual imped…
Formation of Titan in Saturn's subnebula: constraints from Huygens probe measurements
Alibert, Y.; Mousis, O.
We present an evolutionary turbulent model of the Saturn's subnebula consistent with recent core accretion formation models of Saturn. Our calculations are similar to those conducted in the case of the Jovian subnebula, and take into account the vertical structure of the disk, as well as the evolution of its surface density, as given by an α-disk …
A Schumann-like resonance on Titan driven by Saturn's magnetosphere possibly revealed by the Huygens Probe
Berthelier, J. J.; Krasnoselskikh, V.; López-Moreno, J. J. +9 more
The low-frequency data collected with the antenna of the Permittivity, Wave and Altimetry experiment on board the Huygens Probe that landed on Titan on 14 January 2005 have been thoroughly analyzed considering different possible natural and artificial effects. Although a definite conclusion is still subject to the outcome of complementary inquirie…
Clathrate hydrates as a sink of noble gases in Titan's atmosphere
Mousis, O.; Thomas, C.; Picaud, S. +1 more
We use a statistical thermodynamic approach to determine the composition of clathrate hydrates which may form from a multiple compound gas whose composition is similar to that of Titan's atmosphere. Assuming that noble gases are initially present in this gas phase, we calculate the ratios of xenon, krypton and argon to species trapped in clathrate…
A new numerical model for the simulation of ELF wave propagation and the computation of eigenmodes in the atmosphere of Titan: Did Huygens observe any Schumann resonance?
Rodrigo, R.; López-Moreno, J. J.; Fulchignoni, M. +18 more
The propagation of extremely low frequency (ELF) electromagnetic waves in the Earth's ionospheric cavity and the associated resonance phenomena have been extensively studied, in relation with lightning activity. We perform a similar investigation for Titan, the largest moon of Saturn. There are important differences between Earth and Titan, as far…
Descent motions of the Huygens probe as measured by the Surface Science Package (SSP): Turbulent evidence for a cloud layer
Zarnecki, John C.; Lorenz, Ralph D.; Leese, Mark R. +5 more
The Huygens probe underwent vigorous short-period motions during its parachute descent through the atmosphere of Saturn's moon Titan in January 2005, at least some of which were excited by the Titan environment. Several sensors in the Huygens Surface Science Package (SSP) detect these motions, indicating the transition to the smaller stabilizer pa…