Previous authors have suggested that Titan’s individual sand particles form by either sintering or by lithification and erosion. We suggest two new mechanisms for the production of Titan’s organic sand particl...
Authors: Jason W Barnes, Ralph D Lorenz, Jani Radebaugh, Alexander G Hayes, Karl Arnold and Clayton Chandler
Cassini/VIMS high-phase specular observations of Titan’s north pole during the T85 flyby show evidence for isolated patches of rough liquid surface within the boundaries of the sea Punga Mare. The roughness shows...
Authors: Jason W Barnes, Christophe Sotin, Jason M Soderblom, Robert H Brown, Alexander G Hayes, Mark Donelan, Sebastien Rodriguez, Stéphane Le Mouélic, Kevin H Baines and Thomas B McCord
Tides induce a semimajor axis rate of +38.08 ± 0.19 mm/yr, corresponding to an acceleration of the Moon’s orbital mean longitude of −25.82 ± 0.13 "/cent2, as determined by the analysis of 43 yr of Lunar Laser Ran...
Authors: James G Williams, Slava G Turyshev and Dale H Boggs
We present an automated microscopy system for the optical characterization of meteorite thin sections. The system employs focus-stacking and high-dynamic range imaging to facilitate high-contrast and unpolishe...
Thermal analysis instruments have been used on Mars by the Viking, Phoenix, and MSL missions. These instruments can be very useful in identifying volatile-bearing minerals such as carbonates, sulfates, or phyl...
Authors: Paul Douglas Archer Jr, Douglas W Ming and Brad Sutter
Observations from Cassini VIMS and ISS show localized but extensive surface brightenings in the wake of the 2010 September cloudburst. Four separate areas, all at similar latitude, show similar changes: Yalaing T...
Authors: Jason W Barnes, Bonnie J Buratti, Elizabeth P Turtle, Jacob Bow, Paul A Dalba, Jason Perry, Robert H Brown, Sebastien Rodriguez, Stéphane Le Mouélic, Kevin H Baines, Christophe Sotin, Ralph D Lorenz, Michael J Malaska, Thomas B McCord, Roger N Clark, Ralf Jaumann…
Sublimation experiments have been carried out to determine the effect of the mineral dust content of porous ices on the isotopic composition of the sublimate gas over medium (days to weeks) timescales. Wheneve...
Authors: John E Moores, Robert H Brown, Dante S Lauretta and Peter H Smith
Studies of the Moon, with thanks to NASA and Johnson Space Center, have quantified an anomaly in measurements of lunar orbital evolution. This finding may have significance for cosmology and the speed of light...
