Related papers: Quantification of Tides in Giant Planets from Obse…
Saturn's moon Titan possesses stratospheric zonal winds that places it among a sparse class of planetary bodies known to have superrotation in their atmospheres. Few measurements have been made of these speeds in the upper stratosphere,…
Tidal dissipation is known as one of the main drivers of the secular evolution of planetary systems. It directly results from dissipative mechanisms that occur in planets and stars' interiors and strongly depends on the structure and…
In no other field of astrophysics has the impact of new instrumentation been as substantial as in the domain of exoplanets. Before 1995 our knowledge about exoplanets was mainly based on philosophical and theoretical considerations. The…
The giant planets were the first to form and hold the key to unveiling the solar system's formation history in their interiors and atmospheres. Furthermore, the unique conditions present in the interiors of the giant planets make them…
We have analyzed the highest-quality images to be obtained by Cassini of Saturn's main rings after the Saturn Orbit Insertion (SOI) and before the Ring Grazing Orbits (RGO) and Grand Finale (GF). These images are comparable to those of SOI…
Some transiting extrasolar giant planets have measured radii larger than predicted by the standard theory. In this paper, we explore the possibility that an earlier episode of tidal heating can explain such radius anomalies and apply the…
Normal mode seismology is a promising means of measuring rotation in gas giant interiors, and ring seismology presents a singular opportunity to do so at Saturn. We calculate Saturn's normal modes of oscillation and zonal gravity field,…
Most detected transiting planets have orbits which would fit within the one of Mercury, exposing them to intense stellar irradiation and interactions that significantly alter their properties. In contrast, colder planets with longer orbital…
The solar tide in an ancient Venusian ocean is simulated using a dedicated numerical tidal model. Simulations with varying ocean depth and rotational periods ranging from -243 to 64 sidereal Earth days are used to calculate the tidal…
The presence of a massive close-in planet with an orbital period of a few days or less around a low-mass star can possibly results in a strong variation of the properties of the central star. Indeed, star-planet tidal interactions generate…
This paper is an attempt to detect correlation between characteristics of a big planet of the Solar System (such as mass \QTR{it}{m}, radius \QTR{it}{r}, and sidereal period of rotation on its axis \QTR{it}{t}) and elements of its orbit…
The wealth of observational data about Jupiter and Saturn provides strong constraints to guide our understanding of the formation of giant planets. The size of the core and the total amount of heavy elements in the envelope have been…
Eccentricity or obliquity tides have been proposed as the missing energy source that may explain the anomalously large radius of some transiting ``hot Jupiters''. To maintain a non-zero and large obliquity, it was argued that the planets…
With 40 or more transiting exoplanets now known, the time is ripe to seek patterns and correlations among their observed properties, which may give important insights into planet formation, structure, and evolution. This task is made…
Gas giant planets, if present, are the most massive objects in a planetary system and play a pivotal role in shaping its overall architecture. The formation of these planets has constantly been a central issue in planetary science.…
The Cassini mission provided key measurements needed to determine the absolute age of Saturn's rings, including the extrinsic micrometeoroid flux at Saturn, the volume fraction of non-icy pollutants in the rings, and the total ring mass.…
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…
More than two dozen short-period Jupiter-mass gas giant planets have been discovered around nearby solar-type stars in recent years, several of which undergo transits, making them ideal for the detection and characterization of their…
The dynamical features of the irregular satellites of the giant planets argue against an in-situ formation and are strongly suggestive of a capture origin. Since the last detailed investigations of their dynamics, the total number of…
We study the tidal response of rotating solar mass stars, as well as more massive rotating stars, of different ages in the context of tidal captures leading to either giant exoplanets on close in orbits, or the formation of binary systems…