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), NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), Astronomy Department, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), NASA-California Institute of Technology (CALTECH), Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory Laurel, MD (APL), 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.