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Publications

Filter Total Items: 910

The nucleus of Comet Borrelly: A study of morphology and surface brightness

Stereo images obtained during the DS1 flyby were analyzed to derive a topographic model for the nucleus of Comet 19P/Borrelly for morphologic and photometric studies. The elongated nucleus has an overall concave shape, resembling a peanut, with the lower end tilted towards the camera. The bimodal character of surface-slopes and curvatures support the idea that the nucleus is a gravitational aggreg
Authors
J. Oberst, Elpitha Howington-Kraus, Randolph L. Kirk, Laurence A. Soderblom, B. Buratti, M. Hicks, R. Nelson, D. Britt

Observations and temperatures of Io's Pele Patera from Cassini and Galileo spacecraft images

Pele has been the most intense high-temperature hotspot on Io to be continuously active during the Galileo monitoring from 1996–2001. A suite of characteristics suggests that Pele is an active lava lake inside a volcanic depression. In 2000–2001, Pele was observed by two spacecraft, Cassini and Galileo. The Cassini observations revealed that Pele is variable in activity over timescales of minutes,
Authors
Jani Radebaugh, Alfred S. McEwen, Moses P. Milazzo, Laszlo P. Keszthelyi, Ashley G. Davies, Elizabeth P. Turtle, Douglas D. Dawson

The Rock Elm meteorite impact structure, Wisconsin: Geology and shock-metamorphic effects in quartz

The Rock Elm structure in southwest Wisconsin is an anomalous circular area of highly deformed rocks, ∼6.5 km in diameter, located in a region of virtually horizontal undeformed sedimentary rocks. Shock-produced planar microstructures (PMs) have been identified in quartz grains in several lithologies associated with the structure: sandstones, quartzite pebbles, and breccia. Two distinct types of P
Authors
B.M. French, W.S. Cordua, J. B. Plescia

Mapping of the Culann-Tohil region of Io from Galileo imaging data

We have used Galileo spacecraft data to produce a geomorphologic map of the Culann–Tohil region of Io's antijovian hemisphere. This region includes a newly discovered shield volcano, Tsũi Goab Tholus and a neighboring bright flow field, Tsũi Goab Fluctus, the active Culann Patera and the enigmatic Tohil Mons-Radegast Patera–Tohil Patera complex. Analysis of Voyager global color and Galileo Solid-S
Authors
D.A. Williams, Paul M. Schenk, Jeffrey M. Moore, Laszlo P. Keszthelyi, Elizabeth P. Turtle, Windy L. Jaeger, Jani Radebaugh, Moses P. Milazzo, Rosaly M.C. Lopes, Ronald Greeley

The final Galileo SSI observations of Io: Orbits G28-I33

We present the observations of Io acquired by the Solid State Imaging (SSI) experiment during the Galileo Millennium Mission (GMM) and the strategy we used to plan the exploration of Io. Despite Galileo's tight restrictions on data volume and downlink capability and several spacecraft and camera anomalies due to the intense radiation close to Jupiter, there were many successful SSI observations du
Authors
Elizabeth P. Turtle, Laszlo P. Keszthelyi, Alfred S. McEwen, Jani Radebaugh, Moses P. Milazzo, Damon P. Simonelli, Paul E. Geissler, David A. Williams, Jason Perry, Windy L. Jaeger, Kenneth P. Klaasen, H. Herbert Breneman, Tilmann Denk, Cynthia B. Phillips

A post-Galileo view of Io's interior

We present a self-consistent model for the interior of Io, taking the recent Galileo data into account. In this model, Io has a completely molten core, substantially molten mantle, and a very cold lithosphere. Heat from magmatic activity can mobilize volatile compounds such as SO2 in the lithosphere, and the movement of such cryogenic fluids may be important in the formation of surface features in
Authors
Laszlo P. Keszthelyi, Windy L. Jaeger, Elizabeth P. Turtle, Moses P. Milazzo, Jani Radebaugh

Surface changes on Io during the Galileo mission

A careful survey of Galileo SSI global monitoring images revealed more than 80 apparent surface changes that took place on Io during the 5 year period of observation, ranging from giant plume deposits to subtle changes in the color or albedo of Patera surfaces. Explosive volcanic activity was discovered at four previously unrecognized centers: an unnamed patera to the south of Karei that produced
Authors
Paul E. Geissler, Alfred McEwen, Cynthia B. Phillips, Laszlo P. Keszthelyi, John Spencer

Ridges and tidal stress on Io

Sets of ridges of uncertain origin are seen in twenty-nine high-resolution Galileo images, which sample seven locales on Io. These ridges are on the order of a few kilometers in length with a spacing of about a kilometer. Within each locale, the ridges have a consistent orientation, but the orientations vary from place to place. We investigate whether these ridges could be a result of tidal flexin
Authors
Gwendolyn D. Bart, Elizabeth P. Turtle, Windy L. Jaeger, Laszlo P. Keszthelyi, Richard Greenberg

Reconciling different observations of the CO2 ice mass loading of the Martian north polar cap

The GRS measurements of the peak mass loading of the north polar CO2 ice cap on Mars are about 60% lower than those calculated from MGS TES radiation data and those inferred from the MOLA cap thicknesses. However, the GRS data provide the most accurate measurement of the mass loading. We show that the TES and MOLA data can be reconciled with the GRS data if (1) subsurface heat conduction and atmos
Authors
Robert M. Haberle, Bridget Mattingly, Timothy N. Titus

Short-wavelength infrared (1.3-2.6 μm) observations of the nucleus of Comet 19P/Borrelly

During the last two minutes before closest approach of Deep Space 1 to Comet 19P/Borrelly, a long exposure was made with the short-wavelength infrared (SWIR) imaging spectrometer. The observation yielded 46 spectra covering 1.3–2.6 μm; the footprint of each spectrum was ∼160 m × width of the nucleus. Borrelly's highly variegated and extremely dark 8-km-long nucleus exhibits a strong red slope in i
Authors
Laurence A. Soderblom, D.T. Britt, R. H. Brown, B. J. Buratti, Randolph L. Kirk, T.C. Owen, R.V. Yelle

Localization and physical property experiments conducted by opportunity at Meridiani Planum

The location of the Opportunity landing site was determined to better than 10-m absolute accuracy from analyses of radio tracking data. We determined Rover locations during traverses with an error as small as several centimeters using engineering telemetry and overlapping images. Topographic profiles generated from rover data show that the plains are very smooth from meter- to centimeter-length sc
Authors
R. E. Arvidson, R. C. Anderson, P. Bartlett, J.F. Bell, P. R. Christensen, P. Chu, K. Davis, B.L. Ehlmann, M.P. Golombek, S. Gorevan, E.A. Guinness, A. F. C. Haldemann, Kenneth E. Herkenhoff, G. Landis, R. Li, R. Lindemann, D. W. Ming, T. Myrick, T. Parker, L. Richter, F.P. Seelos, Laurence A. Soderblom, S. W. Squyres, R.J. Sullivan, Jim Wilson

Comparison of USGS and DLR topographic models of Comet Borrelly and photometric applications

Stereo analysis of images obtained during the 2001 flyby of Comet Borrelly by NASA's Deep Space 1 (DS1) probe allows us to quantify the shape and photometric behavior of the nucleus. The shape is complex, with planar facets corresponding to the dark, mottled regions of the surface whereas the bright, smooth regions are convexly curved. The photometric as well as textural differences between these
Authors
Randolph L. Kirk, Elpitha Howington-Kraus, Laurence A. Soderblom, Bernd Giese, Jürgen Oberst