Publication Abstracts

Porco et al. 2005

Porco, C.C., E. Baker, J. Barbara, K. Beurle, A. Brahic, J.A. Burns, S. Charnoz, N. Cooper, D.D. Dawson, A.D. Del Genio, T. Denk, L. Dones, U. Dyudina, M.W. Evans, S. Fussner, B. Giese, K. Grazier, P. Helfenstein, A.P. Ingersoll, R.A. Jacobson, T.V. Johnson, A. McEwen, C.D. Murray, G. Neukum, W.M. Owen, J. Perry, T. Roatsch, J. Spitale, S. Squyres, P. Thomas, M. Tiscareno, E. Turtle, A.R. Vasavada, J. Veverka, R. Wagner, and R. West, 2005: Imaging of Titan from the Cassini spacecraft. Nature, 434, 159-168, doi:10.1038/nature03436.

Titan, the largest moon of Saturn, is the only satellite in the Solar System with a substantial atmosphere. The atmosphere is poorly understood and obscures the surface, leading to intense speculation about Titan's nature. Here we present observations of Titan from the imaging science experiment onboard the Cassini spacecraft that address some of these issues. The images reveal intricate surface albedo features that suggest aeolian, tectonic and fluvial processes; they also show a few circular features that could be impact structures. These observations imply that substantial surface modification has occurred over Titan's history. We have not directly detected liquids on the surface to date. Convective clouds are found to be common near the south pole, and the motion of mid-latitude clouds consistently indicates eastward winds, from which we infer that the troposphere is rotating faster than the surface. A detached haze at an altitude of 500 km is 150-200 km higher than that observed by Voyager, and more tenuous haze layers are also resolved.

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BibTeX Citation

@article{po05100g,
  author={Porco, C. C. and Baker, E. and Barbara, J. and Beurle, K. and Brahic, A. and Burns, J. A. and Charnoz, S. and Cooper, N. and Dawson, D. D. and Del Genio, A. D. and Denk, T. and Dones, L. and Dyudina, U. and Evans, M. W. and Fussner, S. and Giese, B. and Grazier, K. and Helfenstein, P. and Ingersoll, A. P. and Jacobson, R. A. and Johnson, T. V. and McEwen, A. and Murray, C. D. and Neukum, G. and Owen, W. M. and Perry, J. and Roatsch, T. and Spitale, J. and Squyres, S. and Thomas, P. and Tiscareno, M. and Turtle, E. and Vasavada, A. R. and Veverka, J. and Wagner, R. and West, R.},
  title={Imaging of Titan from the Cassini spacecraft},
  year={2005},
  journal={Nature},
  volume={434},
  pages={159--168},
  doi={10.1038/nature03436},
}

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RIS Citation

TY  - JOUR
ID  - po05100g
AU  - Porco, C. C.
AU  - Baker, E.
AU  - Barbara, J.
AU  - Beurle, K.
AU  - Brahic, A.
AU  - Burns, J. A.
AU  - Charnoz, S.
AU  - Cooper, N.
AU  - Dawson, D. D.
AU  - Del Genio, A. D.
AU  - Denk, T.
AU  - Dones, L.
AU  - Dyudina, U.
AU  - Evans, M. W.
AU  - Fussner, S.
AU  - Giese, B.
AU  - Grazier, K.
AU  - Helfenstein, P.
AU  - Ingersoll, A. P.
AU  - Jacobson, R. A.
AU  - Johnson, T. V.
AU  - McEwen, A.
AU  - Murray, C. D.
AU  - Neukum, G.
AU  - Owen, W. M.
AU  - Perry, J.
AU  - Roatsch, T.
AU  - Spitale, J.
AU  - Squyres, S.
AU  - Thomas, P.
AU  - Tiscareno, M.
AU  - Turtle, E.
AU  - Vasavada, A. R.
AU  - Veverka, J.
AU  - Wagner, R.
AU  - West, R.
PY  - 2005
TI  - Imaging of Titan from the Cassini spacecraft
JA  - Nature
JO  - Nature
VL  - 434
SP  - 159
EP  - 168
DO  - 10.1038/nature03436
ER  -

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