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Full-Text Articles in Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Impact Craters On Titan: Finalizing Titan's Crater Population, Joshua E. Hedgepeth
Impact Craters On Titan: Finalizing Titan's Crater Population, Joshua E. Hedgepeth
Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository
Titan is one of the most dynamic moons in the solar system. It is smaller than Earth and much colder, yet Titan is eerily similar to Earth, with rivers, rain, and seas, as well as sand seas that wrap around the equator. However, the rivers are made of hydrocarbons rather than water and the sand made of organics rather rock. We can use Titan’s impact craters to study how these processes modify the surface by comparing the craters depths, diameters and rim heights of Titan’s craters with fresh craters. Therefore, we have used the complete data set from NASA’s Cassini …
Compositional Variations Of Titan's Impact Craters Indicates Active Surface Erosion, Alyssa Werynski
Compositional Variations Of Titan's Impact Craters Indicates Active Surface Erosion, Alyssa Werynski
Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository
Impact craters on Titan are relatively scarce, but provide ample information about the subsurface properties and modification processes present there. This study utilizes impact craters to examine compositional variations across Titan’s surface and their subsequent modification. Fifteen craters and their ejecta blankets were studied. Subsurface composition was inferred from emissivity data from Cassini’s RADAR instrument, and surficial composition from Cassini’s Visible and Infrared Mapping Spectrometer (VIMS). Results show subsurface composition of these craters is controlled by their degradation state and local environment. Older craters are more infilled with organics than younger, and dunes craters show more organic enrichment than plains …