The papers by Tilmann Denk and I on understanding the albedo dichotomy of Iapetus are now published online in Science, and there are associated releases here:
Cassini site
Southwest Research Institute site
Edit: Graphic describing the model here
Maybe we've finally got this figured out...
John
Full Version: Iapetus albedo dichotomy mystery solved?
Unmanned Spaceflight.com > Outer Solar System > Saturn > Cassini Huygens > Cassini's ongoing mission and raw images
Neat as a pin!
QUOTE (john_s @ Dec 10 2009, 07:13 PM) 
Maybe we've finally got this figured out...
As I recall you had it pretty much figured out before the 2007 flyby.
Very nice! Thanks for posting it and the link to the model!
QUOTE (ngunn @ Dec 10 2009, 09:39 PM)
As I recall you had it pretty much figured out before the 2007 flyby.
Yep, and seeing that model output (also posted here way back when) pretty much nails the case as far as I'm concerned.
QUOTE (ngunn @ Dec 10 2009, 08:39 PM)
As I recall you had it pretty much figured out before the 2007 flyby.
Yes, it just took us till now to get it written up and published, though we've added some refinements, so the model has changed a bit.
Here's the link to the actual articles in Science Express.
Note that we're using the global Iapetus map from UMSF's own Steve Albers for comparison to the model: there's no official Cassini map that shows the albedo pattern quite so well.
John
Great job John! I'll wait for the official Science magazine release to hit my mailbox, as I can't stand reading research articles online.
So, being good scientists, I imagine you will now propose an experiment to confirm the results. My guess would be to launch a 10km beach-ball in orbit around Saturn and watch how it changes colors over the eons.
So, being good scientists, I imagine you will now propose an experiment to confirm the results. My guess would be to launch a 10km beach-ball in orbit around Saturn and watch how it changes colors over the eons.
QUOTE (john_s @ Dec 10 2009, 08:51 PM)
Here's[/url] the link
Not freely available, unfortunately, to 99.999999% of humanity. I think it's time to 'phone a friend'.
QUOTE (ngunn @ Dec 10 2009, 11:13 PM)
Not freely available, unfortunately, to 99.999999% of humanity. I think it's time to 'phone a friend'.
The supplements are free.
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