Related papers: A primordial origin for the atmospheric methane of…

Numerous land and space-based observations have established that Saturn has a persistent hexagonal flow pattern near its north pole. While observations abound, the physics behind its formation is still uncertain. Although several…

We have investigated Saturn's core formation at a radial pressure maximum in a protoplanetary disk, which is created by gap opening by Jupiter. A core formed via planetesimal accretion induces the fragmentation of surrounding planetesimals,…

Titan, the largest satellite of Saturn, has an atmosphere chiefly made up of N2 and CH4 and includes traces of many simple organic compounds. This atmosphere also partly consists of haze and aerosol particles which during the last 4.5…

Escape of an early atmosphere from Titan, during which time NH3 could be converted by photolysis into the present N2 dominated atmosphere, is an important problem in planetary science. Recently Gilliam and Lerman (2014) estimated escape…

Here we present the current state of knowledge on the long-term evolution of Saturn's moon system due to tides within Saturn. First we provide some background on tidal evolution, orbital resonances and satellite tides. Then we address in…

We use solar occultations observed by the Visual and Infrared Mapping Spectrometer aboard the Cassini Spacecraft to extract the 1 to 5 micron transmission spectrum of Saturn, as if it were a transiting exoplanet. We detect absorption from…

An unexpected feature of Titan's atmosphere is the strong depletion in primordial noble gases revealed by the Gas Chromatograph Mass Spectrometer aboard the Huygens probe during its descent on 2005 January 14. Although several plausible…

Titan, Saturn's largest moon, has a dense atmosphere, together with lakes and seas of liquid hydrocarbons. These liquid bodies, which are in polar regions and up to several hundred kilometres in diameter, generally have smooth surfaces…

The origin of the irregular satellites of the giant planets has been long debated since their discovery. Their dynamical features argue against an in-situ formation suggesting they are captured bodies, yet there is no global consensus on…

We present an analysis of the VIMS solar occultations dataset, which allows us to extract vertically resolved information on the characteristics of Titan's atmosphere between 100-700 km with a characteristic vertical resolution of 10 km.…

The immiscibility of hydrogen-helium mixture under the temperature and pressure conditions of planetary interiors is crucial for understanding the structures of gas giant planets (e.g., Jupiter and Saturn). While the experimental probe at…

A large drift in the rotation rate of Titan observed by Cassini provided the first evidence of a subsurface ocean isolating the massive core from the icy crust. Seasonal exchange of angular momentum between the surface and atmosphere…

Titan, the largest moon of Saturn, has many lakes on its surface, formed mainly of liquid methane. Like water lakes on Earth, these methane lakes on Titan likely profoundly affect the local climate. Previous studies (Rafkin and Soto 2020,…

Titan, the biggest moon of Saturn, has a thick atmosphere which presents similarities with the one thought to be on Earth at its beginning. The study of Titan s photochemical haze is thus a precious tool in gaining knowledge of the…

The atmosphere of Saturn's largest moon Titan is driven by photochemistry, charged particle precipitation from Saturn's upstream magnetosphere, and presumably by the diffusion of the magnetospheric field into the outer ionosphere, amongst…

Thanks to the \textit{Cassini} spacecraft onboard instruments, it has been known that Titan's ionospheric chemistry is complex and the molecular growth is initiated through the photolysis of the most abundant species directly in the upper…

Saturn possesses a dynamically rich system containing numerous moons and impressive rings. Whether the rings of Saturn are much younger than the planet itself has been a long-open question; more recently a young age has been proposed for…

The formation mechanisms of the ice giants Uranus and Neptune, and the origin of their elemental and isotopic compositions, have long been debated. The density of solids in the outer protosolar nebula is too low to explain their formation,…

A striking feature of the atmosphere of Titan is that no heavy noble gases other than argon were detected by the Gas Chromatograph Mass Spectrometer (GCMS) aboard the Huygens probe during its descent to Titan's surface in January 2005. Here…

Titan, with its thick, nitrogen-dominated atmosphere, has been seen from satellite and terrestrial observations to harbour methane clouds. To investigate whether atmospheric features such as clouds could also be visible from the surface of…