A TRANSMISSION SPECTRUM OF TITAN'S NORTH POLAR ATMOSPHERE FROM A SPECULAR REFLECTION OF THE SUN
Cassini/VIMS T85 observations of a solar specular reflection off of Kivu Lacus (87[° over .]4N 241[° over .]1E) provide an empirical transmission spectrum of Titan's atmosphere. Because this observation was acquired from short range (33,000 km), its intensity makes it visible within the 2.0, 2....
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | en_US |
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IOP Publishing
2015
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| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/94552 |
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| author | Barnes, Jason W. Clark, Roger N. Sotin, Christophe Rodriguez, Sebastien Brown, Robert H. Buratti, Bonnie J. Baines, Kevin H. Nicholson, Philip D. Adamkovics, Mate Appere, Thomas Le Mouelic, Stephane Soderblom, Jason |
| author2 | Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences |
| author_facet | Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences Barnes, Jason W. Clark, Roger N. Sotin, Christophe Rodriguez, Sebastien Brown, Robert H. Buratti, Bonnie J. Baines, Kevin H. Nicholson, Philip D. Adamkovics, Mate Appere, Thomas Le Mouelic, Stephane Soderblom, Jason |
| author_sort | Barnes, Jason W. |
| collection | MIT |
| description | Cassini/VIMS T85 observations of a solar specular reflection off of Kivu Lacus (87[° over .]4N 241[° over .]1E) provide an empirical transmission spectrum of Titan's atmosphere. Because this observation was acquired from short range (33,000 km), its intensity makes it visible within the 2.0, 2.7, and 2.8 μm atmospheric windows in addition to the 5 μm window where all previous specular reflections have been seen. The resulting measurement of the total one-way normal atmospheric optical depth (corresponding to haze scattering plus haze and gas absorption) provides strong empirical constraints on radiative transfer models. Using those models, we find that the total haze column abundance in our observation is 20% higher than the Huygens equatorial value. Ours is the first measurement in the 2-5 μm wavelength range that probes all the way to the surface in Titan's arctic, where the vast majority of surface liquids are located. The specular technique complements other probes of atmospheric properties such as solar occultations and the direct measurements from Huygens. In breaking the degeneracy between surface and atmospheric absorptions, our measured optical depths will help to drive future calculations of deconvolved surface albedo spectra. |
| first_indexed | 2024-09-23T11:14:59Z |
| format | Article |
| id | mit-1721.1/94552 |
| institution | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| language | en_US |
| last_indexed | 2024-09-23T11:14:59Z |
| publishDate | 2015 |
| publisher | IOP Publishing |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | mit-1721.1/945522022-10-01T02:19:42Z A TRANSMISSION SPECTRUM OF TITAN'S NORTH POLAR ATMOSPHERE FROM A SPECULAR REFLECTION OF THE SUN Barnes, Jason W. Clark, Roger N. Sotin, Christophe Rodriguez, Sebastien Brown, Robert H. Buratti, Bonnie J. Baines, Kevin H. Nicholson, Philip D. Adamkovics, Mate Appere, Thomas Le Mouelic, Stephane Soderblom, Jason Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences Soderblom, Jason Cassini/VIMS T85 observations of a solar specular reflection off of Kivu Lacus (87[° over .]4N 241[° over .]1E) provide an empirical transmission spectrum of Titan's atmosphere. Because this observation was acquired from short range (33,000 km), its intensity makes it visible within the 2.0, 2.7, and 2.8 μm atmospheric windows in addition to the 5 μm window where all previous specular reflections have been seen. The resulting measurement of the total one-way normal atmospheric optical depth (corresponding to haze scattering plus haze and gas absorption) provides strong empirical constraints on radiative transfer models. Using those models, we find that the total haze column abundance in our observation is 20% higher than the Huygens equatorial value. Ours is the first measurement in the 2-5 μm wavelength range that probes all the way to the surface in Titan's arctic, where the vast majority of surface liquids are located. The specular technique complements other probes of atmospheric properties such as solar occultations and the direct measurements from Huygens. In breaking the degeneracy between surface and atmospheric absorptions, our measured optical depths will help to drive future calculations of deconvolved surface albedo spectra. 2015-02-17T15:38:10Z 2015-02-17T15:38:10Z 2013-10 2013-03 Article http://purl.org/eprint/type/JournalArticle 0004-637X 1538-4357 http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/94552 Barnes, Jason W., Roger N. Clark, Christophe Sotin, Mate Adamkovics, Thomas Appere, Sebastien Rodriguez, Jason M. Soderblom, et al. “A TRANSMISSION SPECTRUM OF TITAN’S NORTH POLAR ATMOSPHERE FROM A SPECULAR REFLECTION OF THE SUN.” The Astrophysical Journal 777, no. 2 (October 24, 2013): 161. © 2013 The American Astronomical Society en_US http://dx.doi.org/10.1088/0004-637x/777/2/161 The Astrophysical Journal Article is made available in accordance with the publisher's policy and may be subject to US copyright law. Please refer to the publisher's site for terms of use. application/pdf IOP Publishing American Astronomical Society |
| spellingShingle | Barnes, Jason W. Clark, Roger N. Sotin, Christophe Rodriguez, Sebastien Brown, Robert H. Buratti, Bonnie J. Baines, Kevin H. Nicholson, Philip D. Adamkovics, Mate Appere, Thomas Le Mouelic, Stephane Soderblom, Jason A TRANSMISSION SPECTRUM OF TITAN'S NORTH POLAR ATMOSPHERE FROM A SPECULAR REFLECTION OF THE SUN |
| title | A TRANSMISSION SPECTRUM OF TITAN'S NORTH POLAR ATMOSPHERE FROM A SPECULAR REFLECTION OF THE SUN |
| title_full | A TRANSMISSION SPECTRUM OF TITAN'S NORTH POLAR ATMOSPHERE FROM A SPECULAR REFLECTION OF THE SUN |
| title_fullStr | A TRANSMISSION SPECTRUM OF TITAN'S NORTH POLAR ATMOSPHERE FROM A SPECULAR REFLECTION OF THE SUN |
| title_full_unstemmed | A TRANSMISSION SPECTRUM OF TITAN'S NORTH POLAR ATMOSPHERE FROM A SPECULAR REFLECTION OF THE SUN |
| title_short | A TRANSMISSION SPECTRUM OF TITAN'S NORTH POLAR ATMOSPHERE FROM A SPECULAR REFLECTION OF THE SUN |
| title_sort | transmission spectrum of titan s north polar atmosphere from a specular reflection of the sun |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/94552 |
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