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Titan's Surface Brightness Temperatures and H2 Mole Fraction from Cassini CIRSThe atmosphere of Titan has a spectral window of low opacity around 530/cm in the thermal infrared where radiation from the surface can be detected from space. The Composite Infrared spectrometer1 (CIRS) uses this window to measure the surface brightness temperature of Titan. By combining all observations from the Cassini tour it is possible to go beyond previous Voyager IRIS studies in latitude mapping of surface temperature. CIRS finds an average equatorial surface brightness temperature of 93.7+/-0.6 K, which is close to the 93.65+/-0.25 K value measured at the surface by Huygens HASi. The temperature decreases toward the poles, reaching 91.6+/-0.7 K at 90 S and 90.0+/-1.0 K at 87 N. The temperature distribution is centered in latitude at approximately 12 S, consistent with Titan's season of late northern winter. Near the equator the temperature varies with longitude and is higher in the trailing hemisphere, where the lower albedo may lead to relatively greater surface heating5. Modeling of radiances at 590/cm constrains the atmospheric H2 mole fraction to 0.12+/-0.06 %, in agreement with results from Voyager iris.
Document ID
20080044872
Acquisition Source
Goddard Space Flight Center
Document Type
Extended Abstract
Authors
Jennings, Donald E. (NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)
Flasar, F. M. (NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)
Kunde, V. G. (NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)
Samuelson, R. E. (NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)
Pearl, J. C. (NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)
Nixon, C. A. (NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)
Carlson, R. C. (NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)
Mamoutkine, A. A. (NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)
Brasunas, J. C. (NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)
Guandique, E. (NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)
Achterberg, R. K. (NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)
Bjoraker, G. L. (NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)
Romani, P. N. (NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)
Segura, M. E. (NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)
Albright, S. A. (NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)
Elliott, M. H. (NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)
Tingley, J. S. (NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)
Calcutt, S. (Oxford Univ. Oxford, United Kingdom)
Coustenis, A. (Observatoire de Paris-Meudon France)
Bezard, B. (Observatoire de Paris-Meudon France)
Courtin, R. (Observatoire de Paris-Meudon France)
Date Acquired
August 24, 2013
Publication Date
March 24, 2008
Subject Category
Space Sciences (General)
Meeting Information
Meeting: Titan-Observations, Experiments, Computations and Modeling
Location: Miami, FL
Country: United States
Start Date: March 24, 2008
End Date: March 26, 2008
Sponsors: Florida International Univ., Hawaii Univ.
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Public Use Permitted.

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