Contents of: VI/111/./abstract/ACOUSTEN_TITAN3M.abs

The following document lists the file abstract/ACOUSTEN_TITAN3M.abs from catalogue VI/111.
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We propose to record the near-infrared spectrum of Titan in the
3-micron region with SWS (AOT SWS06). The flux in this region is of the
order of 0.3 Jy, quite low to be easily observable from the
ground and overlapped by very strong telluric absorption.
The near-infrared spectrum of Titan has also recently proven
to be very rich in information about the lower atmosphere
(troposphere) and the surface of the satellite, hidden in the
visible by a thick cloud deck. Methane atmospheric windows
in this spectral region allow sounding of the deepest levels
of Titan's atmosphere and its surface. These windows,
centered near 0.83, 0.94, 1.075, 1.28, 1.6, 2.0 and 4.9
micron, have been somewhat explored from the Earth's largest
telescopes with great success, in spite of the difficulty
involved with atmospheric influence and low flux. A new
window was recently discovered near 3 micron, where the
flux is about 0.3 Jy. We propose to investigate this
window in particular, by using the SWS grating mode in the 1B
band from 2.6 to 3.02 micron, at the two maximum Elongations
of Titan, in order to enhance our knowledge of the satellite's
lower atmosphere and surface.