Search Publications
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 …
Discovery of a binary Centaur
Noll, Keith S.; Levison, Harold F.; Stephens, Denise C. +1 more
We have identified a binary companion to (42355) 2002 CR 46 in our ongoing deep survey using the Hubble Space Telescope's High Resolution Camera. It is the first companion to be found around an object in a non-resonant orbit that crosses the orbits of giant planets. Objects in orbits of this kind, the Centaurs, have experienced repeated…
X-ray and optical bursts and flares in YSOs: results from a 5-day XMM-Newton monitoring campaign of L1551
Micela, G.; Favata, F.; Giardino, G. +3 more
We present the results of a five-day monitoring campaign with XMM-Newton of six X-ray bright young stellar objects (YSOs) in the star-forming complex L1551 in Taurus. All stars present significant variability on the five-day time scale. Modulation of the light curve on time scales comparable with the star's rotational period appeared to be present…
Gravitational tidal waves in Titan's upper atmosphere
Strobel, Darrell F.
Tidal waves driven by Titan's orbital eccentricity through the time-dependent component of Saturn's gravitational potential attain nonlinear, saturation amplitudes ( |T|>10 K, |u|>20 ms, and |w|>5 cms) in the upper atmosphere (⩾500 km) due to the approximate exponential growth as the inverse square root of pressure. The gravitational tide…
INTEGRAL IBIS Census of the Sky Beyond 100 keV
Walter, R.; Bird, A. J.; Fiocchi, M. +8 more
We report on the first census of INTEGRAL IBIS detections (>~4 σ significance) above 100 keV based on the Core Program and public open-time observations up to 2005 April. There are 49 sources detected in the 100-150 keV band, of which 14 are also seen in the 150-300 keV range. The low-energy sample is dominated by X-ray binary systems of both l…
Unravelling Temporal Variability in Saturn's Spiral Density Waves: Results and Predictions
Nicholson, Philip D.; Porco, Carolyn C.; Hedman, Matthew M. +2 more
We describe a model that accounts for the complex morphology of spiral density waves raised in Saturn's rings by the co-orbital satellites, Janus and Epimetheus. Our model may be corroborated by future Cassini observations of these time-variable wave patterns.
Does Enceladus Govern Magnetospheric Dynamics at Saturn?
Kivelson, Margaret Galland
Instruments on the Cassini spacecraft reveal that a heat source within Saturn's moon Enceladus powers a great plume of water ice particles and dust grains, a geyser that jets outward from the south polar regions and most likely serves as the dominant source of Saturn's E ring. The interaction of flowing magnetospheric plasma with the plume modifie…
Location of Magnetic Reconnection in the Magnetotail
Nagai, Tsugunobu
It is a crucial issue to know where magnetic reconnection takes place in the near-Earth magnetotail for substorm onsets. It is found on the basis of Geotail observations that the factor that controls the magnetic reconnection site in the magnetotail is the solar wind energy input. Magnetic reconnection forms close to (far from) the Earth in the ma…
Cassini ISS astrometric observations of the inner jovian satellites, Amalthea and Thebe
Porco, C. C.; Spitale, J. N.; Cooper, N. J. +1 more
We present a total of 289 new astrometric observations of the inner jovian satellites, Amalthea and Thebe, obtained using the Cassini ISS narrow angle camera. Observations were made using image sequences from 2000 December 11-12 (inbound) and 2001 January 15-16 (outbound), at phase angles of approximately 2° and 122°, respectively. Target distance…
Statistical analysis of the sunspot area and magnetic flux variations in 1996 2005 extracted from the Solar Feature Catalogue
Zharkova, V. V.; Zharkov, S. I.
This research presents some statistical properties of sunspots and their magnetic fields extracted in from May 1996 to May 2005 from the SOHO/MDI full disk whitelight images and magnetograms for the searchable Solar Feature Catalogue (SFC) using the automated pattern recognition techniques. A comparison of the total sunspot areas on a given day fr…