[X] My Assistant

[Jason W Barnes]

Pictures of the VIMS data from each flyby from the nominal mission are in a paper now in press from Planetary and Space Science (also available from my website). This is basically intended to be a guide to what VIMS observations are available from each flyby: the territory covered, resolution, phase angles, etc. Thought you all might be interested, as I do think that many of the pictures are totally awesome. Objectively speaking

- VIMS Jason

[belleraphon1]

From New Scientist article on the paper to be published in NATURE regarding VIMS and clouds

http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg2022...tans-south.html

"The observations also turned up another surprise: the clouds seem to be shaped in part by Saturn's gravity. Rodriguez's team found unexpected gaps in the temperate cloud belt at two points, one on the side of the moon facing towards Saturn and the other facing away. They suspect that atmospheric tides driven by Titan's parent planet are somehow disturbing the convection at these points, discouraging clouds from forming.

"It does look like atmospheric tides are playing some role in cloud formation," says Henry Roe of Lowell observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona. Roe believes that the temperate clouds are also feeding off some source of methane on the surface, perhaps a volcano or geyser. "I think the real story here, which we're only just beginning to acknowledge within the field, is that Titan's atmosphere is much more complicated than we ever imagined," he says."

NATURE abstract "Global circulation as the main source of cloud activity on Titan"
http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v459/...ature08014.html

Titan's a world.... models always fall short of the reality.

Craig