Abstract
Measurements of Iapetus as seen at 20 and 2.2 μm in the shadow of Saturn's ring are given, providing the thermal response to a rapidly varying heat input. The 20 μm thermal emission follows the 2.2 μm flux input closely. The observations, plus a simple diffusion calculation, imply that the surface of Iapetus is made of material having a very small thermal inertia, probably I ≲ 10 Jm-2 s-1/2 K-1.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 63-68 |
Number of pages | 6 |
Journal | Icarus |
Volume | 177 |
Issue number | 1 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Sep 2005 |
Externally published | Yes |
All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes
- Astronomy and Astrophysics
- Space and Planetary Science
Keywords
- Eclipses
- Infrared observations
- Planetary rings
- Satellites of Saturn
- Saturn