Spectral properties of icy saturnian satellites derived from cassini data

摘要

Cassini's Visual and Infrared Mapping Spectrometer (VIMS) offers the first spatially resolved hyperspectral data of the Saturnian satellites [1] allowing a detailed comparison of their spectral properties including their spatial distribution across the satellite's surface. Additionally, images acquired by the Cassini ISS cameras [2] offer the opportunity to study any relationships between the spectral variations to geological and morphological surface features. This is essential to understand the origin of the major and especially minor surface compounds and/or their physical properties. Either, the derived spectral variations are closely related to the surface geology of the specific satellite, or they can be explained by the interaction of the surface material and the space environment (including the planets magnetosphere). Thus, the analysis of the icy satellites spectral properties not only further our understanding of the icy satellites evolution but also complete our view about the whole planetary system.