Atmospheric/Exospheric Characteristics of Icy Satellites

• Published in: Space Science Reviews
• Main Authors: Coustenis, Athéna, Tokano, Tetsuya, Burger, M. H., Cassidy, T. A., Lopes, Rosaly M. C., Lorenz, Ralph D., Retherford, Kurt D., Schubert, Gerald
• Other Authors: Laboratoire d'études spatiales et d'instrumentation en astrophysique (LESIA), Université Pierre et Marie Curie - Paris 6 (UPMC)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Observatoire de Paris, Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris Diderot - Paris 7 (UPD7)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Pôle Planétologie du LESIA, Laboratoire d'études spatiales et d'instrumentation en astrophysique = Laboratory of Space Studies and Instrumentation in Astrophysics (LESIA), Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Observatoire de Paris, Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Sorbonne Université (SU)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Paris Cité (UPCité)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Observatoire de Paris, Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Sorbonne Université (SU)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Paris Cité (UPCité), Institut für Geophysik und Meteorologie, Universität zu Köln (IGM), University of Maryland and NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Astronomy Department, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), NASA-California Institute of Technology (CALTECH), Applied Physics Laboratory, Johns Hopkins University, Southwest Research Institute, Department of Earth and Space Sciences, UCLA, Los Angeles
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: HAL CCSD 2010
• Subjects: [PHYS.ASTR]Physics [physics]/Astrophysics [astro-ph]; South Pole; South pole
• Online Access: https://hal.science/hal-03742750; https://doi.org/10.1007/s11214-009-9615-5

International audience The atmospheres/exospheres of icy satellites greatly vary from one to the next in terms of density, composition, structure or steadiness. Titan is the only icy satellite with a dense atmosphere comparable in many ways to that of the Earth's atmosphere. Titan's atmosphere prevents the surface from direct interaction with the plasma environment, but gives rise to Earth-like exchanges of energy, matter and momentum. The atmospheres of other satellites are tenuous. Enceladus' atmosphere manifests itself in a large water vapor plume emanating from surface cracks near the south pole. Io's SO 2 atmosphere originates from volcanoes. Europa's tenuous O 2 atmosphere is produced by intense radiation bombardment. This chapter reviews the characteristics of the atmospheres of Titan, Enceladus, Io and Europa based on observations.