Near-infrared spectra of the leading and trailing hemispheres of Enceladus

We present individual spectra 0.8-2.5 μm of the leading and trailing hemispheres of Enceladus obtained with the CorMASS spectrograph on the 1.8 m Vatican Advanced Technology Telescope (VATT) at the Mount Graham International Observatory. While the absorption bands of water ice dominate the spectrum of both hemispheres, most of these bands are stronger on the leading hemisphere than the trailing hemisphere. In addition, longward of 1 μm, the continuum slope is greater on the leading hemisphere than the trailing hemisphere. These differences could be produced by the presence of particles on the trailing side that are smaller and/or microstructurally more complex than those on the leading side, consistent with the preferential erosion or structural degradation of regolith particle grains on the trailing side by magnetospheric sweeping. We also explore compositional differences between the two hemispheres by applying Hapke spectrophotometric mixture models to the spectra whose components include water ice and ammonia hydrate (1% NH₃⋅H₂O). We find that spectral models which include as much as 25% by weight ammonia hydrate intimately mixed with water ice and covering 80% of the illuminated area of the satellite fit the observed spectrum of both the leading and trailing hemispheres. Areal (checkerboard) mixing models of ammonia hydrate and water ice fit the leading hemisphere with 15% of the surface comprised of ammonia hydrate and the trailing hemisphere with 10% ammonia hydrate. Therefore, while these spectral data do not contain an unambiguous detection of ammonia hydrate on Enceladus, our spectral models do not preclude the presence of a modest amount of 1% NH₃⋅H₂O on both hemispheres. We examine spectral differences and similarities between both hemispheres and the tenuous E ring within which Enceladus orbits. The spectral resolution (R=λ/Δλ) of these CorMASS data (R∼300) is comparable to but nevertheless higher than that of the Visual-Infrared Mapping Spectrometer (VIMS) (R=225) onboard the Cassini spacecraft.     

Discovery of co2 ice and leading-trailing spectral asymmetry on the uranian satellite ariel

New 0.8- to 2.4-μm spectral observations of the leading and trailing hemispheres of the uranian satellite Ariel were obtained at IRTF/SpeX during 2002 July 16 and 17 UT. The new spectra reveal contrasts between Ariel’s leading and trailing hemispheres, with the leading hemisphere presenting deeper H₂O ice absorption bands. The observed dichotomy is comparable to leading-trailing spectral asymmetries observed among jovian and saturnian icy satellites. More remarkably, the trailing hemisphere spectrum exhibits three narrow CO₂ ice absorption bands near 2 μm. This discovery of CO₂ ice on one hemisphere of Ariel is its first reported detection in the uranian system.     

Small Main-Belt Asteroid Spectroscopic Survey in the Near-Infrared

Near-infrared spectra (∼0.90 to ∼1.65 μm) are presented for 181 main-belt asteroids, more than half having diameters less than 20 km. These spectra were measured using a specialized grism at the NASA Infrared Telescope Facility, where the near-infrared wavelength coverage is designed to complement visible wavelength CCD measurements for enhanced mineralogic interpretation. We have focused our analysis on asteroids that appear to have surfaces dominated by olivine or pyroxene since these objects can be best characterized with spectral coverage only out to 1.65 μm. Olivine-dominated A-type asteroids have distinctly redder slopes than olivine found in meteorites, possibly due to surface alteration effects such as micro-meteoroid bombardment simulated by laser irradiation laboratory experiments. K-type asteroids observed within the Eos family tend to be well matched by laboratory spectra of CO3 chondrites, while those independent of the Eos family have a variety of spectral properties. The revealed structure of the 1-μm band for 3628 Bo?němcová appears to refute its previously proposed match to ordinary chondrite meteorites. Bo?němcová displays a 1-μm band that is unlike that for any currently measured meteorite; however, spectra out to 2.5 μm are needed to conclusively argue that Bo?němcová has a surface mineralogy different from that of ordinary chondrites. Extending the spectral coverage of Vestoids out to ∼1.65 μm continues to be consistent with the “genetic” relationship of almost all observed Vestoids with Vesta and the howardites, eucrites, and diogenites. Eucrites/howardites provide the best spectral matches to the observed Vestoids.     

The photometric functions of Phobos and Deimos. III. Surface photometry of Phobos

At least three large areas on the surface of Phobos are covered by a dark material of complex texture which scatters light according to the Hapke-Irvine Law. The average 20° to 80° intrinsic and disc-integrated phase coefficients of this material are β_i = 0.020 ± 0.001 mag/deg and β = 0.033 mag/deg, respectively. These values are slightly greater than the values found for Deimos in Paper II (preceding article). On the largest scale the surface of Phobos is rougher than the surface of Deimos, perhaps accounting for the slightly greater phase coefficients. Contrary to the situation on Deimos, no definite regions of intrinsically brighter material are apparent on Phobos. This difference could account for the slightly lower average reflectance of Phobos relative to Deimos. No evidence for large exposures of solid rock has been found in the three areas studied.     

Spectral geometric albedos of the Galilean satellites from 0.24 to 0.34 micrometers: Observations with the international ultraviolet explorer

We present the results of an 8-year program of spectrophometry of the Galilean satellites of Jupiter that was undertaken using the International Ultraviolet Explorer (IUE) Spacecraft. The ultraviolet geometric albedos of all four satellites are low. This is consistent with the hypothesis that sulfurous materials escaping from the surface of Io are being distributed by magnetospheric processes to the surfaces of the other three objects. Although iron bearing silicates may also cause UV darkening, these materials also have spectral features in the visible region of the spectrum which are not found in the spectra of the Galilean satellites. For Io, we find that the ultraviolet geometric albedo is very low (P_uv ∼ 0.04). The trailing hemisphere has an albedo that is higher than that of the leading hemisphere. This is opposite of what is observed at visual wavelengths. The decrease of albedo shortward of 0.33 μm is consistent with groundbased observations (Nelson and Hapke, 1978) and the laboratory reflection spectrum of sulfur dioxide frost. The hemispheric albedo asymmetry is consistent with a variable distribution of the frost, it being present in greater abundance on Io's leading hemisphere. The strenght of this feature has not changed with respect to longitude over the8 years of this study. The phase coefficients and opposition surges at ultraviolet wavelenghts indicate that Io's surface regolith is very porous. Europa has the highest ultraviolet albedo of all the Galilean satellites (P_uv ∼ 0.2). This not inconsistent with the hypothesis of recent resurfacing. However, this albedo is not high enough to be consistent with a surface of pure water ice. We confirm a previously reported ultraviolet spectral asymmetry between Europa's leading and trailing hemispheres. The new data are consistent with the previous analyses which interpreted this as the spectral signature of sulfur ions from the Jovian magnetosphere which had been embedded preferentially on the trailing side of Europa's predominately water ice.surface. The opposition surge observed for Europa's trailing side is greater than that for the leading side. This implies that the trailing side is less compact than the leading side, perhaps due to gardening from the ion implantation process. Ganymede's ultraviolet albedo (P_uv ∼ 0.10) is lower than Europa's. Ganymede has an ultraviolet spectral asymmetry that is similar to Europa's for wavelenghts longer than 0.28 μm. However, at wavelengths shorter than 0.28 μm, the two objects have different opposite hemispherical spectral ratios, indicating that the same mechanism cannot be used to explain the ultraviolet spectral albedo of both objects. One possible explanation is that ozone is present in addition to sulfur embedded on Ganymede's surface. The ultraviolet albedo and opposite hemispherical spectral ratio of Calisto is spectrally flat, indicating that the surface is covered by a material that is spectrally absorbing in the ultraviolet but has no change in absorption at the ultraviolet wavelenghts. The orbital phase variation in the ultraviolet indicates that the absorber is assymmetrically distributed in longitude.     

Evidence for asteroid space weathering from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey

By studying color variations between young and old asteroid families we find evidence for processes that modify colors of asteroids over time. We show that colors of aging surfaces of S-type asteroids become increasingly ‘redder’ and measure the rate of these spectral changes. We estimate that the mean spectral slope between 0.35 and 0.9 μm increases with time t (given in My) as ≈0.01 μm⁻¹×log₁₀t. This empirical fit is valid only for 2.5?t?3000 My (the time interval where we have data) and for the mean spectral slope determined from wide-wavelength filter photometry obtained by the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. We also find that Gy-old terrains of S-type asteroids reflect about 15% more light at ∼1-μm wavelengths than an ∼5-My-old S-type asteroid surface when the flux is normalized by the reflected light at 0.55 μm. We attribute these effects to space weathering. This result has important implications for asteroid geology and the origin of meteorites that reach the Earth. Our results also suggest that surfaces of C-type asteroids exhibit color alterations opposite to those of the S-type asteroids.     

Spectrophotometry of J8, J9, and four Trojan asteroids from 0.32 to 1.05 μm

New 30-channel narrowband photometry from 0.32 to 1.05 μm of the retrograde Jovian satellites J9 (to 0.7 μm) and J8 and the trailing Trojan asteroids 617, 884, 1172, and 1173 is presented. The data confirm previous measurements of J8, 617, 884, and 1172 at λ < 0.8 μm, but the extension into the infrared shows that the normalized spectral reflectance of these objects rises steadily from ～0.8 at 0.4 μm to ～ 1.4 at 1.05 μm, suggesting they are too bright in the near infrared to be C-type asteroids. The C classification of 1173 is confirmed. J9 is markedly redder than J8 at visible wavelengths. The results indicate a greater taxonomic contrast between these distant objects and main-belt asteroids than previously thought.     

Mariner 9 polarimetry of Phobos and Deimos

We have used the Mariner 9 A-camera system to measure the polarization (P) of Phobos and Deimos at large phase angles (α). For Deimos, P = +22 ± 4% at α = 74°; for Phobos P = +20.5 ± 4% at α = 77°, and P = +24.5 ± 4% at α = 81°. These measurements refer to orange light at about 0.57 μm. A comparison with laboratory measurements of powdered rock samples indicates that the observations are consistent with the presence of regoliths on the satellites.     

Saturn's satellites: Nuar-infrared spectrophotometry (0.6–2.5 μm) of the leading and trailing sides and compositional implications

Near-infrared spectra, 0.65–2.5 μm, are presented for Tethys, Dione, Rhea, Iapetus, and Hyperion. Water ice absorptions at 2.0, 1.5, and 1.25 μm are seen in the spectra of all five objects (except the 1.25-μm band was not detected in spectra of Hyperion) and the weak 1.04-μm ice absorption is detected on the leading and trailing sides of Rhea, and the trailing side of Dione. Upper limits to the 1.04-μm ice band depth are <0.3% for the leading side of Dione; <0.7% for the leading side of Iapetus, and the trailing side of Tethys; <1% on the trailing side of Iapetus; and <5% on the leading side of Tethys. The leading-trailing side ice band depth differences on Saturn's satellites are similar to those for the Galilean satellites, indicating possible surface modification by magnetospheric charged particle bombardment. Limits are determined for the amount of particulates, trapped gases, and amonium hydroxide on the surface. The surfaces of Saturn's satellites (except the dark side of Iapetus) are nearly pure water ice, with probably less than about 1 wt% particulate minerals. The ice could be clathrates with as much as a few weight percent trapped gases. The upper limit of amonium hydroxide depends on the spectral data precision and varies from ～ 1 wt% NH₃ for the leading side of Rhea to ～ 10 wt% NH₃ for Dione.     

Orbital history of the Martian satellites with inferences on their origin

Recent Viking results indicate the Martian satellites are composed of carbonaceous chondritic material, suggesting that Phobos and Deimos were once asteroids captured by Mars. On the other hand, the low eccentricities and inclinations of their orbits on the equator of Mars argue against that hypothesis. This paper presents detailed calculations of the tidal evolution of Phobos and Deimos, considering dissipation in both Mars and its satellites simultaneously and using a new method applicable for any value of the eccentricity. In particular, including precession of the satellites' orbits indicates that they have always remained close to their Laplacian plane, so that the orbital planes of Phobos and Deimos switched from near the Martian orbital plane to the Martian equator once the perturbations due to the planetary oblateness dominated the solar perturbations, as they do presently. The results show that Deimos has been little affected by tides, but several billion (10⁹) years ago, Phobos was in a highly eccentric orbit lying near the common plane of the solar system. This outcome is obtained for very reasonable values of dissipation inside Mars and inside Phobos. Implications for the origin of the Martian satellites are discussed.     

High-Resolution 0.33-0.92 μm Spectra of Iapetus, Hyperion, Phoebe, Rhea, Dione, and D-Type Asteroids: How Are They Related?

New high-resolution spectra in the 0.33 to 0.92 μm range of Iapetus, Hyperion, Phoebe, Dione, Rhea, and three D-type asteroids were obtained on the Palomar 200-inch telescope and the double spectrograph. The spectra of Hyperion and the low-albedo hemisphere of Iapetus can both be closely matched by a simple model that is the linear admixture of the spectrum of a medium-sized, high-albedo icy saturnian satellite and D-type material. Our results support an exogenous origin to the dark material on Iapetus; furthermore, this material may share a common origin and a similar means of transport with material on the surface of Hyperion. The recently discovered retrograde satellites of Saturn (Gladman et al., Nature412, 163-166) may be the source of this material. The leading sides of Callisto and the Uranian satellites may be subjected to a similar alteration mechanism as that of Iapetus: accretion of low-albedo dust originating from outer retrograde satellites. Phoebe does not appear to be related to either Iapetus or Hyperion. Separate spectra of the two hemispheres of Phoebe show no identifiable global compositional differences.     

Dynamics of Mars-orbiting dust: Effects of light pressure and planetary oblateness

This paper deals with dynamics of impact ejecta from Phobos and Deimos initially on near-circular equatorial orbits around Mars. For particles emitted in a wide size regime of 1 micron and greater, and taking into account the typical particle lifetimes to be less than 100 years, the motion is governed by two perturbing forces: solar radiation pressure and influence of Mars' oblateness. The equations of motion of particles in Lagrangian non-singular elements are deduced and solved, both analytically and numerically, for different-sized ejecta. We state that the coupled effect of both forces above is essential so that on no account can the oblateness of Mars are be neglected. The dynamics of grains prove to be quite different for the ejecta of Phobos and Deimos. For Deimos, the qualitative results are relatively simple and imply oscillations of eccentricity and long-term variations of orbital inclination, with amplitudes and periods both depending on grain size. For Phobos, the dynamics are shown to be much more complicated, and we discuss it in detail. We have found an intriguous peculiar behavior of debris near 300 µm in size. Another finding is that almost all the Phobos ejecta with radii less than 30 µm (against the values of 5 to 20 µm adopted earlier by many authors) should be rapidly lost by collisions with martian surface. The results of the paper may be the base for constructing an improved model of dust belts that presumably exist around Mars.     

Phobos,Deimos, and the Moon: Size and distribution of crater ejecta blocks

The size and radial distributions of ejecta blocks around craters (D = 0.8 to 10 km) on Phobos and Deimos have been compared to those around lunar craters (D = 0.2 to 3.5 km). The radial distribution of blocks was found to be similar on Phobos and the Moon, but more dispersed on Deimos. For the best imaged crater on Deimos (D = 800 m), the size distributions of blocks and the fraction of excavated volume present as blocks are similar to those on the Moon. The wider dispersal of blocks on Deimos is consistent with other findings on the spread of finer ejecta over the satellite.     

Voyager photometry of Europa

Ninety voyager images ranging in phase angle from 3 to 143° and covering the spectral range from 0.34 to 0.58 μm were analyzed to derive the photometric properties of Europa. At small phase angles the disk-integrated phase curve is remarkable in that it shows little or no evidence of an opposition effect (in agreement with earlier Earth-based observations by Millis and Thompson, Icarus26, 408, 1975). The phase integral determined in the Voyager clear filter (centered near 0.47 μm) is 1.09 ± 0.11, in good agreement with previous estimates based on radiometry. The bolometric Bond albedo is 0.62 ± 0.14. The scattering properties of Europa in general, and of the two major terrain types (bright plains and darker mottled terrain) in particular, cannot be represented by a lunar-like photometric law. However, an equation which is a linear superposition of a lunar-like scattering law and a Lambert component provides an adequate simple representation of the scattering properties. The plains are photometrically more homogeneous than the darker mottled terrain. In the Voyager clear filter, the average normal reflectance is 0.71 for the plains on both the leading and trailing hemispheres; for the darker mottled terrain the values are 0.60 on the leading hemisphere, and 0.48 on the trailing one.     

Photometry of Io and Europa at the Crimean Astrophysical Observatory and reasons for differences between ground-based and space observations

Photometric observations of Jupiter’s moons Io and Europa in the spectral band V have been made at the Crimean Astrophysical Observatory for four years in order to construct their light curves reduced to a Solar phase angle of 6°. Comparison of these data with other ground-based observations shows good agreement. This study confirms why the moons that are close to Jupiter have a brighter leading hemisphere. The trailing hemispheres of Io and Europa, which are located in the rapidly rotating magnetic field of Jupiter, are exposed to bombardment by charged particles of the magnetic field. Leaving out of consideration the differences in brightness between the two hemispheres results in serious discrepancies between the space and ground-based photometry data.     

Eros: Shape, Topography, and Slope Processes

Stereogrammetric measurement of the shape of Eros using images obtained by NEAR's Multispectral Imager provides a survey of the major topographic features and slope processes on this asteroid. This curved asteroid has radii ranging from 3.1 to 17.7 km and a volume of 2535±20 km³. The center of figure is within 52 m of the center of mass provided by the Navigation team; this minimal difference suggests that there are only modest variations in density or porosity within the asteroid. Three large depressions 10, 8, and 5.3 km across represent different stages of degradation of large impact craters. Slopes on horizontal scales of ∼300 m are nearly all less than 35°, although locally scarps are much steeper. The area distribution of slopes is similar to those on Ida, Phobos, and Deimos. Regions that have slopes greater than 25° have distinct brighter markings and have fewer large ejecta blocks than do flatter areas. The albedo patterns that suggest downslope transport of regolith have sharper boundaries than those on Phobos, Deimos, and Gaspra. The morphology of the albedo patterns, their lack of discrete sources, and their concentration on steeper slopes suggest transport mechanisms different from those on the previously well-observed small bodies, perhaps due to a reduced relative effectiveness of impact gardening on Eros. Regolith is also transported in talus cones and in connected, sinuous paths extending as much as 2 km, with some evident as relatively darker material. Talus material in at least one area is a discrete superposed unit, a feature not resolved on other small bodies. Flat-floored craters that apparently contain ponded material also suggest discrete units that are not well mixed by impacts.     

Titan's 5-micron lightcurve

We report on repeated mid-resolution (R∼2000) spectroscopic observations of Titan, acquired between November 2002 and January 2003 with ISAAC at the ESO/VLT and covering the 4.84-5.05 μm range. These observations, which sample four different positions of Titan around Saturn, clearly indicate a variability of the 5-μm continuum albedo, with Titan's geometric albedo decreasing by ∼40% from Titan's leading side to the trailing side. This Titan 5-μm “lightcurve” appears to be in phase with the other near-infrared lightcurves. This can be understood in terms of a surface model in which water ice coexists in minor and variable proportions (13-25%, if pure) with a second, dark, component.     

Secular acceleration of Phobos and Q of Mars

Reductions of Mariner 9 TV data of Phobos and Deimos tend to corroborate the existence of a secular acceleration of Phobos commensurate with two recently reported values based on a reprocessing of Earth-based data. These values of secular acceleration have been used together with Mariner 9 data on the physical size of Phobos and Earth-based photoelectric observations which infer a carbonaceous composition for Phobos to place bounds of 50 < Q < 150 on the tidal dissipation function of Mars. The corresponding bounds on the tidal lag angle are 0.19° < Φ < 0.57°.     

The photometric functions of Phobos and Deimos I. Disc-integrated photometry

We have used the integrated brightnesses from Mariner 9 high-resolution images to determine the large phase angle (20° to 80°) phase curves of Phobos and Deimos. The derived phase coefficients are β = 0.032 ± 0.001 mag/deg for Phobos and β = 0.030 ± 0.001 mag/deg for Deimos, while the corresponding phase integrals are q_Phobos = 0.52 and q_Deimos = 0.57. The predicted intrinsic phase coefficients of the surface material are β_i = 0.019 mag/deg and β_i = 0.017 mag/deg for Phobos and Deimos, respectively. The phase curves, phase coefficients and phase integrals are typical of objects whose surface layers are dark and intricate in texture, and are consistent with the presence of a regolith on both satellites. The relative reflectance of Deimos to Phobos is 1.15±0.10. The presence of several bright patches on Deimos could account for this slight difference in average reflectance.     

Keck Adaptive Optics Images of Uranus and Its Rings

We present adaptive optic images of Uranus obtained with the 10-m W. M. Keck II telescope in June 2000, at wavelengths between 1 and 2.4 μm. The angular resolution of the images is ∼0.06-0.09″. We identified eight small cloud features on Uranus's disk, four of which were in the northern hemisphere. The latter features are ∼1000-2000 km in extent and located in the upper troposphere, above the methane cloud, at pressures between 0.5 and 1 bar. Our data have been combined with HST data by Hammel et al. (2001, Icarus153, 229-235); the combination of Keck and HST data allowed derivation of an accurate wind velocity profile. Our images further show Uranus's entire ring system: the asymmetric ? ring, as well as the three groups of inner rings (outward from Uranus): the rings 6+5+4, α+β, and the η+γ+δ rings. We derived the equivalent I/F width and ring particle reflectivity for each group of rings. Typical particle albedos are ∼0.04-0.05, in good agreement with HST data at 0.9 μm.