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A 5-Micron-Bright Spot on Titan: Evidence for Surface Diversity

Authors :
Roger N. Clark
Michael E. Brown
Dale P. Cruikshank
Emily L. Schaller
Jason Perry
Angioletta Coradini
Thomas B. McCord
Alfred S. McEwen
Jason W. Barnes
Elizabeth P. Turtle
Bonnie J. Buratti
Robert H. Brown
Michael Janssen
Yves Langevin
J. Barbara
Henry G. Roe
P. D. Nicholson
Giancarlo Bellucci
Caitlin A. Griffith
Ralf Jaumann
Jean-Pierre Bibring
S. Fussner
Richard West
Christophe Sotin
Vittorio Formisano
Dennis L. Matson
Bruno Sicardy
M. Combes
Kevin H. Baines
Ralph D. Lorenz
Charles Elachi
Pierre Drossart
Fabrizio Capaccioni
A. H. Bouchez
Priscilla Cerroni
Lunar and Planetary Laboratory [University of Arizona] (LPL)
University of Arizona
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology (JPL)
Geological and Planetary Sciences, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena
Laboratoire de Planétologie et Géodynamique [UMR 6112] (LPG)
Université d'Angers (UA)-Université de Nantes - UFR des Sciences et des Techniques (UN UFR ST)
Université de Nantes (UN)-Université de Nantes (UN)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)
US Geological Survey, Flagstaff
NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies, Columbia University
W. M. Keck Observatory
Istituto di Fisica dello Spazio Interplanetario (IFSI)
National Research Council of Italy | Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (CNR)
Institut d'astrophysique spatiale (IAS)
Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Université Paris-Saclay-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Centre National d’Études Spatiales [Paris] (CNES)
Istituto di Astrofisica Spaziale e Fisica Cosmica (IASF-Roma)
Observatoire de Paris
Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)
Laboratoire d'études spatiales et d'instrumentation en astrophysique (LESIA)
Université Pierre et Marie Curie - Paris 6 (UPMC)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Observatoire de Paris
Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris Diderot - Paris 7 (UPD7)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)
Pôle Planétologie du LESIA
Laboratoire d'études spatiales et d'instrumentation en astrophysique = Laboratory of Space Studies and Instrumentation in Astrophysics (LESIA)
Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Observatoire de Paris
Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Sorbonne Université (SU)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Paris Cité (UPCité)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Observatoire de Paris
Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Sorbonne Université (SU)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Paris Cité (UPCité)
SETI Institute, NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field
Institute for Planetary Exploration, Deutsches Zentrum for Luft und Raumfahrt
Department of Earth and Space Sciences, University of Washington
Department of Astronomy, Cornell University
Source :
Science, Science, 2005, 310, pp.92-95. ⟨10.1126/science.1117075⟩, Science, American Association for the Advancement of Science, 2005, 310, pp.92-95
Publication Year :
2005
Publisher :
HAL CCSD, 2005.

Abstract

International audience; Observations from the Cassini Visual and Infrared Mapping Spectrometer show an anomalously bright spot on Titan located at 80°W and 20°S. This area is bright in reflected light at all observed wavelengths, but is most noticeable at 5 microns. The spot is associated with a surface albedo feature identified in images taken by the Cassini Imaging Science Subsystem. We discuss various hypotheses about the source of the spot, reaching the conclusion that the spot is probably due to variation in surface composition, perhaps associated with recent geophysical phenomena.

Details

Language :
English
ISSN :
00368075 and 10959203
Database :
OpenAIRE
Journal :
Science, Science, 2005, 310, pp.92-95. ⟨10.1126/science.1117075⟩, Science, American Association for the Advancement of Science, 2005, 310, pp.92-95
Accession number :
edsair.doi.dedup.....e073825334726abc74f65feb5da66ae2
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1117075⟩