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21 - Spectral Analyses of Saturn’s Moons Using the Cassini Visual Infrared Mapping Spectrometer

from Part IV - Applications to Planetary Surfaces

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 November 2019

By
Bonnie J. Buratti ,
Robert H. Brown ,
Roger N. Clark ,
Dale P. Cruikshank  and
Gianrico Filacchione
Edited by
Janice L. Bishop ,
James F. Bell III  and
Jeffrey E. Moersch
Janice L. Bishop
Affiliation:
SETI Institute, California
James F. Bell III
Affiliation:
Arizona State University
Jeffrey E. Moersch
Affiliation:
University of Tennessee, Knoxville
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Summary

The Cassini Visual Infrared Mapping Spectrometer (VIMS) spans a wavelength range of 0.34 to 5.2 µm. Executing numerous close targeted flybys of the major moons of Saturn, as well as serendipitous flybys of the smaller moons, VIMS gathered millions of spectra of these bodies during its 13-year mission, some at spatial resolutions of a few hundred meters. The surfaces of the inner moons are dominated by water ice, while Iapetus, Hyperion, and Titan have substantial amounts of dark materials, including hydrocarbons, on their surfaces. Phoebe is grayer in color in the visible than Saturn’s other low-albedo moons. The surfaces of the inner small moons are also dominated by water ice, and they share compositional similarities to the main rings. The optical properties of the main moons are affected by particles from Saturn’s rings: the inner moons are coated by the E-ring, which originates from cryoactivity on Enceladus, while Iapetus and Hyperion are coated by particles from the Phoebe ring. Cassini VIMS detected previously unknown volatiles and organics on these moons, including CO2, H2, organic molecules as complex as aromatic hydrocarbons, nano-iron, and nano-iron oxides.

Keywords

spectroscopyCassiniVIMSicy moonsSaturn moons
Type
Chapter
Information
Remote Compositional Analysis
Techniques for Understanding Spectroscopy, Mineralogy, and Geochemistry of Planetary Surfaces
 , pp. 428 - 441
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2019

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