Unit:
Κατεύθυνση Αστροφυσική, Αστρονομία και Μηχανική (ΒΑΣΙΚΗ ΦΥΣΙΚΗ)Library of the School of Science
Author:
Μπαμπασίδης Γεώργιος
Dissertation committee:
Ξενοφών Μουσάς Καθηγητής
Original Title:
Study of the environment of titan:The stratosphere and the surface of the satellite, future mission experiments & educational activities
Summary:
This study concerns Titan's environment from the analysis of spatial data
acquired by the Cassini orbiter. On one hand, the temperature and the chemical
composition of Titan's stratosphere is determined by the exploitation of
spectra recorded by the instrument CIRS of Cassini. The thesis describes a
complete work on the data since their extraction, their calibration and up to
their analysis by a radiative transfer code. The results permitted to highlight
the presence of variations in latitude but also in time, due to the seasons of
the satellite. The study also contains contributions to the determination of
the abundance of the water vapor and in the variations between hemispheres in
the gaseous and aerosol content. Furthermore, a search for new molecules was
initiated from large CIRS spectra. A second part deals with the surface of the
satellite and its liquid components, the lakes of methane, from Cassini/RADAR
data and brings information on the geology and on the cycle of the methane
which links the atmosphere with the surface and the interior. The
astrobiological implications of this work are discussed within the framework of
the quest for habitable environments in our solar system among the icy
satellites of the giant planets. All these studies have an impact on the
preparation of future space missions to Titan, Saturn and the system of Jupiter
and possible instrumentation is proposed. Finally, the context for education
and outreach possibilities is discussed.
Keywords:
Titan, Saturnian System, Planetology, Infrared Spectroscopy, Atmospheric Composition
Number of references:
601
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