Related papers: Dust Devils on Titan
We describe a scenario of Titan's formation matching the constraints imposed by its current atmospheric composition. Assuming that the abundances of all elements, including oxygen, are solar in the outer nebula, we show that the icy…
Dust particles in protoplanetary disks, lacking support from pressure, rotate at velocities exceeding those of the surrounding gas. Consequently, they experience a head-wind from the gas that drives them toward the central star. Radial…
In this paper, the dynamical analysis of the Jovian dust originating from the four Galilean moons is presented. High accuracy orbital integrations of dust particles are used to determine their dynamical evolution. A variety of forces are…
In Titan's nitrogen-methane atmosphere, photochemistry leads to the production of complex organic particles, forming Titan's thick haze layers. Laboratory-produced aerosol analogs, or "tholins", are produced in a number of laboratories;…
Titan's 'detached' haze, seen in Voyager images in 1980 and 1981 and monitored by the Cassini Imaging Science Subsystem (ISS), during the period 2004-2017, provides a measure of seasonal activity in Titan's mesosphere with observations over…
For centuries some scientists have argued that there is activity on the Moon (or water, as recounted in Parts I & II), while others have thought the Moon is simply a dead, inactive world. The question comes in several forms: is there a…
Shematovich et al. (2003) recently showed plasma induced sputtering in Titan's atmosphere is a source of neutral nitrogen in Saturn's magnetosphere comparable to the photo-dissociation source. These sources form a toroidal nitrogen cloud…
This work is part of an ongoing effort aiming at identifying the actual wind-drivers among the dust species observed in circumstellar envelopes. In particular, we focus on the interplay between a strong stellar radiation field and the dust…
The texture, composition, and morphology of dunes observed in the equatorial regions of Titan may reflect present and/or past climatic conditions. Determining the physio-chemical properties and the morphodynamics of Titan's dunes is…
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…
Wind shear measured by Doppler tracking of the Huygens probe is evaluated, and found to be within the range anticipated by pre-flight assessments (namely less than two times the Brunt-Vaisala frequency). The strongest large-scale shear…
Winds driven by stellar feedback are an essential part of the galactic ecosystem and are the main mechanism through which low-mass galaxies regulate their star formation. These winds are generally observed to be multi-phase with detections…
Thanks to the Cassini-Huygens mission, Titan, the pale orange dot of Pioneer and Voyager encounters has been revealed to be a dynamic, hydrologically-shaped, organic-rich ocean world offering unparalleled opportunities to explore prebiotic…
Planetary material accreted by white dwarfs provides unique insights regarding exoplanetary composition. The evolutionary pathways of planetary bodies around white dwarfs are crucial to understanding the presence of close-in planetary…
At least two active plumes were observed on Neptune's moon Triton during the Voyager 2 flyby in 1989. Models for Triton's plumes have previously been grouped into five hypotheses, two of which are primarily atmospheric phenomena and are…
Annular modes explain much of the internal variability of Earth's atmosphere but have never been identified on other planets. Using reanalyses for Mars and a simulation for Titan, we demonstrate that annular modes are prominent in the…
This PhD thesis consists on a study of the atmospheric dynamics of the planet Venus with data from two space missions separated in time: the Galileo mission and Venus Express. Concretely, images obtained with different wavelengths have been…
Motivated by observations of localized electrostatic wavepackets by the Voyager 1 and 2 and Cassini missions in Saturn's magnetosphere, we have investigated the evolution of modulated electrostatic wavepackets in a dusty plasma environment.…
The Ulysses spacecraft, launched in October 1990, orbits the Sun on a polar trajectory. The spacecraft is equipped with a highly sensitive impact- ionization dust detector which can in situ measure cosmic dust grains in the mass range 10^-9…
The current picture painted by the observations of circumstellar dust at white dwarfs, and the consequent atmospheric pollution, is of a surviving planetary system. This chapter recounts in detail both the discovery and empirical…