No oceans on Titan from the absence of a near-infrared specular reflection.

With its substantial atmosphere of nitrogen, hydrocarbons and nitriles, Saturn's moon Titan is a unique planetary satellite. Photochemical processing of the gaseous constituents produces an extended haze that obscures the surface. Soon after the Voyager fly-bys in 1980 and 1981 photochemical models led to the conclusion that there should be enough liquid methane/ethane/nitrogen to cover the surface to a depth of several hundred metres. Recent Earth-based radar echoes imply that surface liquid may be present at a significant fraction of the locations sampled. Here we present ground-based observations (at near-infrared wavelengths) and calculations showing that there is no evidence thus far for surface liquid. Combined with the specular signatures from radar observations, we infer mechanisms that produce very flat solid surfaces, involving a substance that was liquid in the past but is not in liquid form at the locations we studied.

The response of Jupiter's magnetosphere to an outburst on Io.

A 6-month-long monitoring campaign of the Io plasma torus and neutral cloud was conducted to determine the characteristics of their interaction. During the observations, a large outburst of material from Io-inferred to be caused by the eruption of a volcanic plume on Io-caused a transient increase in the neutral cloud and plasma torus masses. The response of the plasma torus to this outburst shows that the interaction between Io and Jupiter's magnetosphere is stabilized by a feedback mechanism in which increases in the plasma torus mass cause a nonlinear increase in loss from the plasma torus, limiting plasma buildup.