Giovanni Leone

We present the results of the first geological mapping of the western half of the Eminescu Quadrangle (H09) on Mercury. Multiple data sets from the NASA MESSENGER Mercury Dual Imaging System instrument were used to produce a geological map covering the area between 72°E and 108°E longitude and 22.5°N and 22.5°S latitude. The map was produced at an output scale of 1:3,000,000, with mapping and line digitizing performed at a scale of 1:400,000. We define three morphological plains units: smooth, intermediate, and intercrater plains. Impact craters larger than 5 km in diameter were mapped and classified using a three‐class crater system (C1–C3) based on their degree of degradation. A large population of lobate scarps and wrinkle ridges was also mapped. Frequent surface interconnections are observed between craters and lobate scarps. Craters with diameters between 5 and 20 km are more widely distributed than craters larger than 20 km in diameter or buried and degraded craters. Our preliminary results indicate that compressional tectonic and impact cratering are the dominant processes shaping the surface geomorphology of the study area. The geological map produced in this work represents the first map of the western half of the Eminescu Quadrangle (H09) on Mercury at this output scale. This map will support further investigation of the geological context of the study area. Additionally, we propose a list of 38 geological sites as potential scientific targets to support the ESA–JAXA BepiColombo space mission's objectives to explore Mercury.

This study examines the relationships among faults, grabens, and pits in Noctis Labyrinthus to provide additional constraints on the formation model proposed for this region of Mars (El Yazidi et al., 2024). We analyze displacement–length scaling relationships, fault morphometric properties, and intensity maps of fault frequency, cumulative length, and vertical displacement, together with fault-length datasets derived from the structural map of El Yazidi et al. (2024). Statistical analyses of fault attribute scaling relationships are conducted. Particular emphasis is placed on the spatial distribution of faulting in extensional settings and on the localization of faults relative to pits and pit chains in Noctis Labyrinthus. The results indicate a direct relationship between pit development and fault systems in Noctis Labyrinthus. Areas of high fault intensity correspond to zones of elevated stress accumulation, which favor the formation of pits and pit chains. These highly tectonized areas, interpreted as mechanical weak zones, preferentially host pit formation and pit-chain development. Faults and grabens represent primary structural controls on pit formation, although pit development locally modifies their geometries. The formation history of Noctis Labyrinthus reflects complex, large-scale tectonic and volcanic processes that have significantly shaped the surface morphology. These processes produced a branched and interconnected network of troughs, and their analysis contributes to an improved understanding of the geodynamic processes operating on planetary surfaces.

Aims. We present mid-infrared transmission spectra from 2 to 23 μm of the 23 Atacama Desert chondrites of different types (carbonaceous Ornans and ordinary of H, L, and LL groups) as well as of some pure minerals (olivine and diopside). We focus on the characteristics of silicate at 10 μm and 20 μm, analyzing the influence of composition and grain size on peak strengths and spectral shapes. We present the first results of the Cosmic Dust Laboratory, a dedicated facility at the Universidad Diego Portales equipped with a VERTEX 80v vacuum Fourier transform infrared spectrometer. Methods. Through milling and sieving samples, we obtained different ranges of particle sizes to study the effect of grain size on the intensity and shape of the spectrum. Results. The resulting spectral library can be compared with astronomical data of protoplanetary disks, debris disks, and even white dwarf disks obtained with instruments such as MIRI on board the James Webb Space Telescope and MATISSE on the Very Large Telescope Interferometer. We also present mass absorption coefficient values, which can be used for radiative transfer modeling of astronomical observations. This study aims to improve dust opacities for astronomical applications, with a focus on circumstellar disks.

The establishment of the possible presence of life on Mars (past or present) is based on the study of planetary analogues, which allow in situ analysis of the environments in which living organisms adapt to often extreme conditions. Although Mars has been a candidate for hosting life, based on observations made decades ago, it is thanks to the characteristics identified in environments, mainly volcanic, that it has been possible to calibrate instruments and detail the features of the red planet. In this paper, we present a review of the main characteristics of different planetary analogues, particularly deepening the study of Antarctica, to later expose the factors studied in Deception Island that have contributed to considering it as an analogue of Mars from different perspectives. Although geological and geomorphological studies on the analogies of the island already exist, detailed analyses that present the approach of astrobiological analogues are required, thus allowing further research.

Understanding the physical mechanism of ground deformation at a volcano supports the use of deformation data as a monitoring tool. An inverse correlation was observed between eruption frequency and ground deformation of Sakurajima volcano from November 2018 to April 2021. Over the same period, the mass density of magma in the conduit was monitored via muography. Mass density increased during inflation, when eruption frequency was low, and decreased during deflation, when eruption frequency was high. Periods of low eruption frequency are associated with the formation of a dense plug in the conduit, which we infer caused the inflation of the edifice by trapping pressurized magmatic gas. Conversely, periods of high eruption frequency are associated with the absence of the plug, which we infer allows gas to escape, leading to deflation. Muography thus reveals the in‐conduit physical mechanism for the observed correlation, with implications for interpretation of deformation at other volcanoes.

Large-scale solid bodies on Earth such as volcanoes and man-made pyramids have been visualized with solid earth muography, and the recently invented technique, acqueous muography, has already demonstrated its capability to visualize ocean tides and tsunami. In this work, atmospheric muography, a technique to visualize and monitor the vertical profile of tropic cyclones (TCs) is presented for the first time. The density distribution and time-dependent behavior of several TCs which had approached Kagoshima, Japan, has been investigated with muography. The resultant time-sequential images captured their warm cores, and their movements were consistent with the TC trails and barometric pressure variations observed at meteorological stations. By combining multidirectional muographic images with barometric data, we anticipate that muography will become a useful tool to monitor the three-dimensional density distribution of a targeted mesoscale convective system.