Mathematics – Logic
Scientific paper
Sep 2009
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2009dps....41.6101b&link_type=abstract
American Astronomical Society, DPS meeting #41, #61.01
Mathematics
Logic
Scientific paper
Ages of planetary systems are fundamental to solar system chronology, especially useful in documenting the presence (or absence) of geologic activity in ancient through recent times. Galileo and Cassini data initiated a profound shift in our understanding of geologic activity in the outer solar system, demonstrating that satellites of giant planets are geologically active in modern times. Saturn's moon Enceladus is a prime example of modern activity, literally a fountain of youth. To constrain the initiation, duration, and rates of activity, we apply the technique of using crater density as a proxy for surface ages for Enceladus. But to do so, we must first estimate the size-frequency distribution (SFD) of primary craters, and the rate at which they form.
We use the young south polar terrain on Enceladus as a means to estimate the current impact flux through the Saturnian system. Older terrains, with millions to billions of years of bombardment, have impact crater populations that are a mix of primary, secondary, and perhaps even sesquinary craters. (Sesquinary craters are those formed by ejecta that escaped from other moons.) In contrast, young terrains should reflect only the direct impact of the current flux, since the infrequent larger craters that create secondary and sesquinary craters haven't formed since the terrains were created.
Initial measurements reveal a crater SFD with a shallow differential slope (b < 3 in the relation dN = kD-b dD) for craters less than a few km diameter. This is consistent with the estimated small crater SFD derived from Jupiter's youthful moon Europa, and implies that the current flux of objects through the Saturnian and Jovian systems has a shallow slope. The implications for ecliptic comets, the primary impactors on the regular moons of the giant planets, are presented in a companion paper by Dones et al.
Bierhaus Edward B.
Dones Luke
Zahnle Kevin
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