CIRS Archives

Contour plot of temperatures from the atmospheric structure model, using CIRS observations from 2015 and 2017 at pressures higher than 10−6 bar to 3 × 10−4 bar and UVIS observations at pressures lower than 10−6 to 2 × 10−8 bar, where the quoted pressure limits depend on latitude. The temperatures in the coverage gap between the instruments were filled in to match the H2 density vs. radius in the thermosphere. The black diamonds show the location of the CH4 homopause, taken where CH4 volume mixing ratio equals 5 × 10−5 . A cartoon illustrating speculated low-latitude upwelling is depicted with dashed arrows near the high-altitude homopause levels. astro-ph.EP

Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Missions & Hardware, Saturn, Status Report

A Pole-to-Pole Map Of Hydrocarbons In Saturn’s Upper Stratosphere And Mesosphere

by Keith CowingMay 6, 2024May 6, 2024

We analyze data from the final two years of the Cassini mission to retrieve the distributions of methane, ethane, acetylene, ethylene, and benzene in Saturn’s upper stratosphere and mesosphere from […]

CIRS

A Pole-to-Pole Map Of Hydrocarbons In Saturn’s Upper Stratosphere And Mesosphere

NASA Spaceline Current Awareness List #1,215 4 September 2026 (Space Life Science Research Results)

The Metallicity Of Giant Exoplanets Around Low-mass Stars And How Ariel Can Help

Two Extremely Irradiated Volatile-rich Sub-Neptunes With Companions In The TOI-426 And TOI-1839 Systems: Insights Into Arrival And Survival Near The Lower Edge Of The Neptunian Desert

Mapping the WISPIT2 Planet-Hosting Cavity at Sub-Hill-Radius scales

Contrasting C/O Ratios in Uranus and Neptune From Disequilibrium Chemistry: A Clue To Distinct Evolutionary Pathways?