Publications
Filter Total Items: 915
Bounce Rock-A shergottite-like basalt encountered at Meridiani Planum, Mars
The Opportunity rover of the Mars Exploration Rover mission encountered an isolated rock fragment with textural, mineralogical, and chemical properties similar to basaltic shergottites. This finding was confirmed by all rover instruments, and a comprehensive study of these results is reported here. Spectra from the miniature thermal emission spectrometer and the Panoramic Camera reveal a pyroxene-
Authors
J. Zipfel, C. Schroder, B.L. Jolliff, Ralf Gellert, K. E. Herkenhoff, R. Rieder, R. Anderson, J.F. Bell, J. Brückner, J.A. Crisp, P. R. Christensen, B. C. Clark, P.A. de Souza, G. Dreibus, C. D'uston, T. Economou, S.P. Gorevan, B.C. Hahn, G. Klingelhofer, T.J. McCoy, H.Y. McSween, D. W. Ming, R.V. Morris, D.S. Rodionov, S. W. Squyres, H. Wanke, S.P. Wright, M.B. Wyatt, A. S. Yen
Evidence of volcanic and glacial activity in Chryse and Acidalia Planitiae, Mars
Chryse and Acidalia Planitiae show numerous examples of enigmatic landforms previously interpreted to have been influenced by a water/ice-rich geologic history. These landforms include giant polygons bounded by kilometer-scale arcuate troughs, bright pitted mounds, and mesa-like features. To investigate the significance of the last we have analyzed in detail the region between 60°N, 290°E and 10°N
Authors
Sara Martinez-Alonso, Michael T. Mellon, Maria E. Banks, Laszlo P. Keszthelyi, Alfred S. McEwen
Measurements of Martian dust devil winds with HiRISE
We report wind measurements within Martian dust devils observed in plan view from the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) orbiting Mars. The central color swath of the HiRISE instrument has three separate charge‐coupled devices (CCDs) and color filters that observe the surface in rapid cadence. Active features, such as dust devils, appear in motion when observed by this region of t
Authors
D.S. Choi, Colin M. Dundas
Extreme volcanism on Io: Latest insights at the end of Galileo era
Galileo has now completed 7 years exploring Jupiter. The spacecraft obtained breathtaking views of the four major satellites, and studied Jupiter's clouds and atmospheric composition, rings, small satellites, and magnetic field. It had five successful close flybys and many distant observations of Io. Scientists already knew from Voyager and Earth‐based astronomy that Io is by far the most volcanic
Authors
Jeffrey S. Kargel, Robert R. Carlson, Ashley G. Davies, Bruce Fegley, Alan R. Gillespie, Ronald Greeley, Robert G. Howells, Kandis Lea Jessup, Lucas Kamp, Laszlo P. Keszthelyi, Rosaly Lopes, Timothy MacIntyre, Franck Marchis, Alfred McEwen, Moses P. Milazzo, Jason Perry, Jani Radebaugh, Laura Schaefer, Nicholas Schmerr, William Smythe, John M. Spencer, David A. Williams, Ju Zhang, Mikhail Zolotov
Evidence for mechanical and chemical alteration of iron-nickel meteorites on Mars: Process insights for Meridiani Planum
The weathering of meteorites found on Mars involves chemical and physical processes that can provide clues to climate conditions at the location of their discovery. Beginning on sol 1961, the Opportunity rover encountered three large iron meteorites within a few hundred meters of each other. In order of discovery, these rocks have been assigned the unofficial names Block Island, Shelter Island, an
Authors
James W. Ashley, M.P. Golombek, P. R. Christensen, S. W. Squyres, T.J. McCoy, C. Schroder, I. Fleischer, J. R. Johnson, Kenneth E. Herkenhoff, T. J. Parker
Interpretation and analysis of planetary structures
Structural geology is an integral part of planetary science. Planetary structures provide the framework for determining the character and sequence of crustal deformation while simultaneously establishing the observational basis required to test geodynamic hypotheses for the deformation of planetary and satellite lithospheres. The availability of datasets that record spatial and topographic informa
Authors
Richard A. Schultz, Ernst Hauber, Simon A. Kattenhorn, Chris H. Okubo, Thomas R. Watters
Report of the IAU Working Group on cartographic coordinates and rotational elements: 2009
Every three years the IAU Working Group on Cartographic Coordinates and Rotational Elements revises tables giving the directions of the poles of rotation and the prime meridians of the planets, satellites, minor planets, and comets. This report takes into account the IAU Working Group for Planetary System Nomenclature (WGPSN) and the IAU Committee on Small Body Nomenclature (CSBN) definition of dw
Authors
Brent A. Archinal, Michael F. A’Hearn, Edward Bowell, Al Conrad, Guy J. Consolmagno, Regis Courtin, Toshio Fukushima, Daniel Hestroffer, James L. Hilton, Georgij A. Krasinsky, Gregory Neumann, Jürgen Oberst, P. Kenneth Seidelmann, Philip Stooke, David J. Tholen, Peter C. Thomas, Iwan P. Williams
New insight into lunar impact melt mobility from the LRO camera
The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera (LROC) is systematically imaging impact melt deposits in and around lunar craters at meter and sub-meter scales. These images reveal that lunar impact melts, although morphologically similar to terrestrial lava flows of similar size, exhibit distinctive features (e.g., erosional channels). Although generated in a single rapid event, the post-impact mobility
Authors
Veronica J. Bray, Livio L. Tornabene, Laszlo P. Keszthelyi, Alfred S. McEwen, B. Ray Hawke, Thomas A. Giguere, Simon A. Kattenhorn, William B. Garry, Bashar Rizk, C.M. Caudill, Lisa R. Gaddis, Carolyn H. van der Bogert
Detection and mapping of hydrocarbon deposits on Titan
We report the identification of compounds on Titan's surface by spatially resolved imaging spectroscopy methods through Titan's atmosphere, and set upper limits to other organic compounds. We present evidence for surface deposits of solid benzene (C6H6), solid and/or liquid ethane (C2H6), or methane (CH4), and clouds of hydrogen cyanide (HCN) aerosols using diagnostic spectral features in data fro
Authors
Roger N. Clark, J. M. Curchin, Jason W. Barnes, Ralf Jaumann, Laurence A. Soderblom, Dale P. Cruikshank, Robert H. Brown, Sebastien Rodriguez, Jonathan Lunine, Katrin Stephan, Todd M. Hoefen, Stephane Le Mouelic, Christophe Sotin, Kevin H. Baines, Bonnie J. Buratti, Philip D. Nicholson
Hydrovolcanic features on Mars: Preliminary analysis of one Mars year of HiRISE observations
We provide an overview of features indicative of the interaction between water and lava and/or magma on Mars as seen by the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera during the Primary Science Phase of the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) mission. The ability to confidently resolve meter-scale features from orbit has been extremely useful in the study of the most pristine example
Authors
Laszlo P. Keszthelyi, Windy L. Jaeger, Colin M. Dundas, Sara Martinez-Alonso, Alfred S. McEwen, Moses P. Milazzo
Fundamental changes in the activity of the natrocarbonatite volcano Oldoinyo Lengai, Tanzania
On September 4, 2007, after 25 years of effusive natrocarbonatite eruptions, the eruptive activity of Oldoinyo Lengai (OL), N Tanzania, changed abruptly to episodic explosive eruptions. This transition was preceded by a voluminous lava eruption in March 2006, a year of quiescence, resumption of natrocarbonatite eruptions in June 2007, and a volcano-tectonic earthquake swarm in July 2007. Despite t
Authors
Matthieu Kervyn, Gerald G.J. Ernst, Jörg Keller, R. Greg Vaughan, Jurgis Klaudius, Evelyne Pradal, Frederic Belton, Hannes B. Mattsson, Evelyne Mbede, Patric Jacobs
Bathymetry and absorptivity of Titan's Ontario Lacus
Ontario Lacus is the largest and best characterized lake in Titan's south polar region. In June and July 2009, the Cassini RADAR acquired its first Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) images of the area. Together with closest approach altimetry acquired in December 2008, these observations provide a unique opportunity to study the lake's nearshore bathymetry and complex refractive properties. Average
Authors
A. G. Hayes, A.S. Wolf, O. Aharonson, H. Zebker, R. Lorenz, R. L. Kirk, P. Paillou, J. Lunine, L. Wye, P. Callahan, S. Wall, C. Elachi