Computer Science
Scientific paper
Feb 1998
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1998icar..131..382m&link_type=abstract
Icarus, Volume 131, Issue 2, pp. 382-392.
Computer Science
11
Scientific paper
Ultraviolet spectra of Titan obtained with the Faint Object Spectrograph of the Hubble Space Telescope in October 1991 and August 1992 have yielded a disk-average geometric albedo of 0.02-0.044 from 1800-3300 A. These results are in excellent agreement with previous UV measurements from 2200-3300 A spanning two decades, but have a significantly higher signal to noise ratio and spectral resolution. We add ~400 A of new spectral information from 1800-2200 A, a wavelength region in which Titan has not been detected previously. The albedo above 2200 A is a factor of 1.18 higher in August 1992 than October 1991, which is most likely due to the 4.3 deg difference in Titan's phase angle between the two dates. Below 2200 A the albedo decreases only modestly with decreasing wavelength and does not show unambiguous evidence for discrete spectral features characteristic of several of the known hydrocarbons, particularly acetylene (C_2H_2). Comparison of the albedo with best-fit models provides constraints on the optical properties and distribution of the small particle component of Titan's haze and on the C_2H_2 mole fraction. The small particle haze seems to be darker in the UV than the ``Titan'' tholins analog produced in the laboratory, and the vertical extent limited to altitudes above ~120-150 km. The acetylene distribution is consistent with the Voyager IRIS determination in the 130- to 180-km altitude range, where the mole fraction is of order 2 x 10^-6.
Courtin Regis
Feldman Paul D.
McGrath Melissa A.
Smith Ed. T.
Strobel Darrell F.
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