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Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Theses/Dissertations

2016

Astrophysics and Astronomy

Florida Institute of Technology

Articles 1 - 2 of 2

Full-Text Articles in Physical Sciences and Mathematics

Geological Conditions Required For The Fluvial Erosion Of Titan’S Impact Craters, Rebeca M. Kinser May 2016

Geological Conditions Required For The Fluvial Erosion Of Titan’S Impact Craters, Rebeca M. Kinser

Theses and Dissertations

In comparison to other icy satellites, Titan has a small number of impact craters on its surface. Its dense atmosphere screens smaller impactors from the surface, but this alone does not account for the lack of impact craters, especially at large diameters. This suggests that Titan has a relatively young surface and/or erosional processes have effectively removed craters from its surface. For example, fluvial erosion could degrade craters such that they would be unrecognizable from an orbiting spacecraft such as Cassini. The amount of erosion, however, will depend on a number of factors including the geological and meteorological conditions of …


Reverberation Mapping Of The Dusty Torus In Active Galactic Nuclei, Erich Franz Geisert Apr 2016

Reverberation Mapping Of The Dusty Torus In Active Galactic Nuclei, Erich Franz Geisert

Theses and Dissertations

The Dusty Torus is a structure that is believed to exist in Active Galactic Nuclei. The Torus is physically too small to be spatially resolved, so Reverberation Mapping can be performed in order to replace spatial resolution with temporal resolution, yielding observations that can unravel the mystery of the Dusty Torus. One of the unknowns about the Torus is how the dust is distributed. The two competing theories are that either the dust resides in discrete clouds or that there is a solid wall of dust. This thesis presents the results of a year long observation program, starting in August …