演講資訊

摘要：

Spectral maps of Mimas’ daytime thermal emission show a previously unobserved thermal anomaly on Mimas’ surface. A sharp V-shaped boundary, centered at 0_N and 180_W, separates relatively warm daytime temperatures from a cooler anomalous region occupying low- to mid-latitudes on the leading hemisphere. Subsequent observations show the anomalous region is also warmer than its surroundings at night, indicating high thermal inertia. Thermal inertia in the anomalous region is 66 _ 23 J m_2 K_1 s12, compared to <16 J m_2 K_1 s12 outside the anomaly. Bolometric Bond albedos are similar between the two regions, in the range 0.49–0.70. The mapped portion of the thermally anomalous region coincides in shape and location to a region of high-energy electron deposition from Saturn’s magnetosphere, which also has unusually high near-UV reflectance. It is therefore likely that high-energy electrons, which penetrate Mimas’ surface to the centimeter depths probed by diurnal temperature variations, also alter the surface texture, dramatically increasing its thermal inertia.

作者：

C.J.A. Howett et al.

期刊：

Icarus 216, 221–226 (2011)