Related papers: Titan's Obliquity as evidence for a subsurface oce…
Uranus' startlingly large obliquity of 98 degrees has yet to admit a satisfactory explanation. The most widely accepted hypothesis involving a giant impactor that tipped Uranus onto its side encounters several difficulties with regards to…
We have conducted an intensive search for any material that may orbit Rhea, using images obtained by the Cassini ISS narrow-angle camera. We find no evidence for any such material, contradicting an earlier and surprising inference that…
Intense tidal heating within Io produces active volcanism on the surface, and its internal structure has long been a subject of debate. A recent reanalysis of the Galileo magnetometer data suggested the presence of a high melt fraction…
Observations with Cassini's Electron Spectrometer discovered negative ions in Titan's ionosphere, at altitudes between 1400 and 950 km. Within the broad mass distribution extending up to several thousand amu, two distinct peaks were…
It has been claimed (Canup and Ward 2002; Ward 2003) that a long-lived massive (compared to the mass of the Galilean satellites) circumplanetary gas disk is inconsistent with Jupiter's low obliquity. Such a constraint could be downplayed on…
We present 'empirical' models (pressure vs. density) of Saturn's interior constrained by the gravitational coefficients J_2, J_4, and J_6 for different assumed rotation rates of the planet. The empirical pressure-density profile is…
We analyze data retrieved by the Imaging Science System onboard the Cassini spacecraft to study the horizontal velocity and vorticity fields of Saturn's Polar Regions (latitudes 60-90$^\circ$N in June-December 2013 and 60-90$^\circ$S in…
In this work we study the orbital stability/instability in the energy space of a specific family of periodic wave solutions of the general $\phi^{4n}$-model for all $n\in\mathbb{N}$. This family of periodic solutions are orbiting around the…
Lainey et al. (2012), by re-analyzing long-baseline astrometry of Saturn's moons, have found that the moons' tidal evolution is much faster than previously thought, implying an order of magnitude stronger tidal dissipation within Saturn.…
We perform a systematic assessment of models for the equation of state (EOS) of dense matter in the context of recent neutron star mass and radius measurements to obtain a broad picture of the structure of neutron stars. We demonstrate that…
Earth-based radar observations of the rotational dynamics of Mercury (Margot et al. 2012) combined with the determination of its gravity field by MESSENGER (Smith et al. 2012) give clues on the internal structure of Mercury, in particular…
Cassini discovered a plethora of neutral and ionised molecules in Titan's ionosphere including, surprisingly, anions and negatively charged molecules extending up to 13,800 u/q. In this letter we forward model the Cassini electron…
We present results from large-scale particle simulations of the viscous overstability in Saturn's rings. The overstability generates a variety of structure on scales covering a few hundred metres to several kilometres, including…
Changes in planetary obliquity, or axial tilt, influence the climates on Earth-like planets. In the solar system, the Earth's obliquity is stabilized due to interactions with our moon and the resulting {small amplitude variations…
For temperate exoplanets orbiting M dwarf hosts, the proximity of the habitable zone to the star necessitates careful consideration of tidal effects. Spin synchronization of the planetary orbital period and rotation period, tidal locking,…
In this article I summarize the current state of knowledge about the composition of Titan's atmosphere, and our current understanding of the suggested chemistry that leads to that observed composition. I begin with our present knowledge of…
We investigate the prospects for characterizing extrasolar giant planets by measuring planetary oblateness from transit photometry and inferring planetary rotational periods. The rotation rates of planets in the solar system vary widely,…
Among the lines of evidence for a buried ocean on Titan is the possible detection, in 2005, by the Permittivity, Wave and Altimetry (PWA) analyzer on board the ESA Huygens probe of Schumann-like Resonances (SR). SR are Extremely Low…
UV observations with Cassini ISS Narrow Angle Camera of Titan's detached haze is an excellent tool to probe its aerosols content without being affected by the gas or the multiple scattering. Unfortunately, its low extent in altitude…
Previous investigations have employed more than 100 close observations of Titan by the Cassini orbiter to elucidate connections between the production and distribution of Titan's vast, organic-rich chemical inventory and its atmospheric…