Titan from Many Angles: 3D Mapping of Titan's Methane and Haze Distributions and Surface Spectra

多个角度的泰坦：泰坦甲烷和雾霾分布以及表面光谱的 3D 测绘

• 批准号: 1518226
• 负责人: Eliot Young
• 金额: $ 39.81万
• 依托单位: Southwest Research Institute
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2015
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2015-07-15 至 2020-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1518226&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Titan; Many; Angles; 3D; Mapping

The goal of this program is to use multiple views of the same surface area on Titan to study its atmosphere. It will allow scientists to determine the three dimensional distribution of methane in Titan's lower atmopshere for the first time. Broader impacts of the work include potential relevance to climate and atmospheric circulation patterns on Earth, and involvement of undergraduates in STEM research.Titan will be imaged by the Keck Observatory, the Hubble Space Telescope, & VIMS (Visible-Infrared Imaging Spectrometer, an instrument on the Cassini spacecraft) to determine the 3-D distribution of methane and hazes in the lower atmosphere. This research will significantly enhance our understanding of aerosols on Titan, enable the search for spatial variation in CH4 in the lowest scale height of the atmosphere, and permit the search for absorption features on Titan's surface.

这个项目的目标是使用土卫六同一表面区域的多个视图来研究它的大气层。这将使科学家首次确定土卫六低层大气中甲烷的三维分布。这项工作的更广泛影响包括与地球上的气候和大气环流模式的潜在相关性，以及本科生参与STEM研究。凯克天文台、哈勃太空望远镜和VIMS（可见红外成像光谱仪，卡西尼号航天器上的仪器）将对土卫六进行成像，以确定低层大气中甲烷和烟雾的三维分布。这项研究将大大提高我们对土卫六上气溶胶的认识，使我们能够在大气最低尺度高度寻找CH4的空间变化，并使我们能够寻找土卫六表面的吸收特征。