Engineering topics

Porco, Carolyn C.

Publications and source records attributed to Porco, Carolyn C..

13 records

NASA NTRS2012

Energy Budgets of the Giant Planets and Titan

As a fundamental property, the energy budget affects many aspeCts of planets and their moons, such as thermal structure, meteorology, and evolution. We use the observations from two Cassini spectrometers (i.e., CIRS and VIMS) to explore one important component of the energy budget the total emitted power of Jupiter, Saturn, and Titan (Li et al., 2010, 2011, 2012). Key results are: (1) The Cassini observations precisely measure the global-average emitted power of three bodies: 14.l0+/-0.03 Wm(exp -2), 4.952+/-0.035 Wm(exp -2), and 2.834+/-0.012 Wm(exp -2) for Jupiter, Saturn, and Titan, respectively. (2) The meridional distribution of emitted power displays a significant asymmetry between the northern and southern hemispheres on Jupiter and Saturn. On Titan, the meridional distribution of emitted power is basically symmetric around the equator. (3) Comparing with the Voyager measurements, the new Cassini observations reveal a significant temporal variation of emitted power on both Jupiter and Saturn: i) The asymmetry between the two hemisphere shown in the Cassini epoch (2000-2010) is not present in the Voyager epoch (1979-1980); and ii) From the Voyager epoch to the Cassini epoch, the global-average emitted power appeared to increase by approx 3.8% for Jupiter and approx 6.4% for Saturn. (4) Together with previous measurements of the absorbed solar power on Titan, the new Cassini measurements of emitted power provide the first observational evidence of the global energy balance on Titan. The uncertainty in the previous measurements of absorbed solar energy places an upper limit on its energy imbalance of 6.0% on Titan. The exploration of emitted power is the first part of a series of studies examining the temporal variability of the energy budget on the giant planets and Titan. Currently, We are measuring the absorbed solar energy in order to determine new constraints on the energy budgets of Jupiter, Saturn, and Titan.

Liming, Li↗

NASA NTRS2011

Equatorial Winds on Saturn and the Stratospheric Oscillation

The zonal jets on the giant planets are generally thought to be stable with time. Recently, there are still some debates about the general thought. Here, we report a significant temporal variation of the equatorial jet at high-altitude on Saturn. Long-term (2004-2009) observations by Cassini reveal that wind speed at the 60-mbar level increased from 270 m/s in 2004 to 290 m/s in 2008, while the wind speed has been mostly constant over time at the 500-mbar level in the southern equatorial region. The Cassini observations further reveal that the equatorial jet intensified approximately 60 m/s in the stratosphere (1-5 mbar) from 2005 to 2008. The fact that the wind acceleration is weaker at the 60-mbar level (approximately 20 m/s) than at the 1-mbar level (approximately 60 m/s) demonstrates that the equatorial oscillation is damped when it propagates downwards to the tropopause around 60 mbar. The direct measurement of the varying equatorial jet around the tropopause also serves as a key boundary condition when deriving the thermal wind fields in the stratosphere.

Li, Liming↗

NASA NTRS1996

Exploration an the Search for Origins: A Vision for Ultraviolet-Optical-Infrared Space Astronomy

Public support and enthusiasm for astronomy have been strong in the final decades of the twentieth century. Nowhere is this better demonstrated than with the Hubble Space Telescope (HCT), a grand endeavor, which is enabling astronomers to make giant strides in understanding our universe, our place in it, and our relation to it. The NASAs first infrared observatory, the Space Infrared Telescope Facility (SIRTF), promises to take the crucial next steps towards understanding the formation of stars and galaxies. Toward their completion, the HST and Beyond Committee identifies major goals, whose accomplishment will justify a commitment well into the next century: (1) the detailed study of the birth and evolution of normal galaxies such as the Milky Way; (2) the detection of Earth-like planets around other stars and the search for evidence of life on them; (3) NASA should develop a space observatory of aperture 4m or larger, optimized for imaging and spectroscopy over the wavelength range 1-5 microns; and (4) NASA should develop the capability for space interferometry.

Dressler, Alan↗

NASA NTRS1991

Stellar occultations by planetary rings: 3 July 1989 28 SGR occultation by Saturn

The near infrared observations of the 3 Jul. 1989 occultation of 28 Sagittarii by Saturn and its rings made from seven different telescopes spread around the world were reduced and synthesized. These observations were combined with Voyager data to study the dynamical state of Saturn's rings. This unique event, which occurred eight years after the Voyager flybys, provides a temporal baseline over which kinematical and dynamical phenomena within the rings may be examined in detail.

Porco, Carolyn C.↗

NASA NTRS1991

An explanation for Neptune's ring arcs

The Voyager mission revealed a complex system of rings and ring arcs around Neptune and uncovered six new satellites, four of which occupy orbits well inside the ring region. Analysis of Voyager data shows that a radial distortion with an amplitude of approximately 30 kilometers is traveling through the ring arcs, a perturbation attributable to the nearby satellite Galatea. Moreover, the arcs appear to be azimuthally confined by a resonant interaction with the same satellite, yielding a maximum spread in ring particle semimajor axes of 0.6 kilometer and a spread in forced eccentricities large enough to explain the arc's 15-kilometer radial widths. Additional ring arcs discovered in the course of this study give further support to this model.

Porco, Carolyn C.↗

NASA NTRS1991

Studies in planetary rings

Progress made in research devoted to examining Voyager imaging data for the purpose of understanding the kinematics and dynamics of the Neptune ring arcs is reported. It was found that a radial distortion of amplitude 30 km is traveling through the arcs with a perturbation by the nearby satellite 1989N4. Two new and smaller arcs within the outer Neptunian ring were also discovered. The longitudinal spacing of all arcs is roughly that expected for corotational arc shepherding by 1989N4 provided that not all corotation sites in the arc region are filled. The semimajor axis of the arcs' orbit inferred from their observed mean motion and the latest Neptune gravitational parameters is, within uncertainties, identical to the location of the 42:43 corotation-inclination resonance of 1989N4: an observation which supports the notion of corotational arc-shepherding. This hypothesis also explains that the 15 km radial width of the arcs are due to a spread in forced orbital eccentricities. Clumps within the arcs were observed at a greater frequency than previously reported. These features may be the manifestation of big bodies within the arcs providing a source of ring dust, or they may be a kinematical effect associated with the crossing of eccentric orbits at quadrature. The inclusion of ground based observations of the arcs taken up to five years ago will lengthen the baseline over which arc dynamics may be studied and should lead to a refinement in the position of the Neptune spin and invariable plane poles.

Porco, Carolyn C.↗

NASA NTRS1988

A new constraint on Saturn's zonal gravity harmonics from Voyager observations of an eccentric ringlet

The results obtained by Porco et al. (1984) from an analysis of the kinematics of an eccentric ringlet in Saturn's inner ring are used to add an additional constraint to the gravity solution of Null et al. (1981) and thus to derive the first experimental estimate of the Saturn's J6 gravitational field. On the assumption that the eccentricity of this ringlet is forced by the satellite Titan, the location of the Titan apsidal resonance is determined to an accuracy of + or - 13 km, which in turn provides a strong constraint on Saturn's zonal gravity harmonics. Combining this constraint with the results of Null et all. and adopting a priori values for J8, J10, and J12 based on interior models, new estimates are obtained for the first three zonal gravity coefficients J2, J4, and J6.

Nicholson, Philip D.↗

NASA NTRS1987

Uranian ring photometry - Results from Voyager 2

The rings of Uranus are characterized on the basis of an analysis of seven images obtained with a clear filter by Voyager 2 during its encounter with Uranus in January 1986. The data are presented graphically and compared with the predictions of theoretical models with different particle size distributions. Parameters determined include average particle Bond albedo 0.014 + or - 0.004, fractional area of the main rings in dust-size particles 0.002 or less, and average dust-particle size 1.0 + or - 0.3 microns for a Hansen-Hovenier (1974) distribution and a power-law distribution of spherical particles with spectral index 2.5 + or - 0.5.

Ockert, Maureen E.↗

NASA NTRS1987

Eccentric features in Saturn's outer C ring

The present search for possible eccentric and inclined features in the outer C ring of Saturn measured all sharp-edged feature radii in Voyager C ring data. The Maxwell ringlet and two other narrow ringlets, 1.470R(s) and 1.495R(s) are found to be eccentric; the latter is best fitted by a model describing a freely precessing Keplerian ellipse, while the former is not conclusively fitted by either a resonant forcing or a free precession model. These two eccentric ringlets are compared with the Titan and Maxwell ringlets.

Porco, Carolyn C.↗

NASA NTRS1987

The color of the Uranian rings

Voyager Imaging Science experiment images of the Uranian rings, taken with violet, clear, and green filters, are analyzed and found to be consistent with very dark alpha, beta, eta, gamma, delta and epsilon rings, as well as with flat spectra throughout the visible. These results are comparable to the latest Voyager results, which indicate a lack of color in the satellites of Uranus that stands in striking contrast to the reddish systems of Jupiter and Saturn. The Uranian rings' association of flat spectrum and low absolute reflectivity lends support to the compositional uniqueness of the ring material; carbon is suggested as a likely primary component of the rings.

Porco, Carolyn C.↗

NASA NTRS1987

Observational studies of Saturn's rings

Several noteworthy phenomena in Saturn's rings were investigated which have until now received an inadequate amount of attention. Among these are the periodic variation of the spokes in the B ring and eccentric features throughout the rings. One of the major discoveries by Voyager was the existence of eccentric features within the predominantly circular rings of Saturn. Several of these nonaxisymmetric features are narrow elliptical rings which share many characteristics with the rings of Uranus. In recent work, two narrow ringlets were added to the list of eccentric features in the rings of Saturn. Voyager imaging and occultation data are now in hand, as well as image-processing software which allows accurate absolute positional measurements to be made in Voyager imaging data. Work is in progress to re-examine this region of Saturn's rings and to study the possibility of a dynamical interaction between the outer B ring edge, the Huygens ringlet and the nearby Mimas 2:1 resonance. An understanding of the kinematics and dynamics of this region promises to yield important clues to a matter of great interest in both theoretical and observation ring studies.

Porco, Carolyn C.↗

NASA NTRS1987

Dynamical studies of Saturn's rings

Several investigations of Saturn's rings employing data from three Voyager experiments are discussed. These investigations concentrated on the regularily organized C ring. A search for eccentric or inclined features, a photometric study of regions of different optical depth, an analysis of wavelike structures at three locations, and a study of the size distribution of meter-sized particles are dicussed.

Nicholson, Philip D.↗

NASA NTRS1987

Shepherding of the Uranian rings. I - Kinematics. II - Dynamics

The possible kinematical relationships between the Uranian rings and all ten newly discovered satellites of Uranus are examined. Observational evidence is presented for interactions between 1986U7 and 1986U8 and the epsilon, delta, and gamma rings. The likelihood that these two satellites are shepherding the epsilon ring and are responsible for some of its internal structure is assessed, and the results are used to propose a reduction in the ring radius scale. It is also proposed that 1986U7 and 1986U8 are the inner and outer shepherds for the epsilon ring, that 1986U7 is the outer shepherd for the delta ring, and that 1986U8 is an outer shepherd for the gamma ring. The results of theoretical investigations of planetary ring dynamics are then applied to these associations, and their dynamical significance is evaluated. The resonant torques which the satellites exert on each ring are calculated and compared to the viscous torque which transports angular momentum outward through the ring and to the atmospheric-drag torque which causes the ring's orbit to decay.

Porco, Carolyn C.↗