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William M. Grundy - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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organic components of small bodies in the outer solar system some results of the new horizons mission
Life, 2020Co-Authors: D P Cruikshank, Y J Pendleton, William M. GrundyAbstract:The close encounters of the Pluto–Charon system and the Kuiper Belt object Arrokoth (formerly 2014 MU69) by NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft in 2015 and 2019, respectively, have given new perspectives on the most distant planetary bodies yet explored. These bodies are key indicators of the composition, chemistry, and dynamics of the outer regions of the Solar System’s nascent environment. Pluto and Charon reveal characteristics of the largest Kuiper Belt objects formed in the dynamically evolving solar nebula inward of ~30 AU, while the much smaller Arrokoth is a largely undisturbed relic of accretion at ~45 AU. The surfaces of Pluto and Charon are covered with volatile and refractory ices and organic components, and have been shaped by geological activity. On Pluto, N2, CO and CH4 are exchanged between the atmosphere and surface as gaseous and condensed phases on diurnal, seasonal and longer timescales, while Charon’s surface is primarily inert H2O ice with an ammoniated component and a polar region colored with a macromolecular organic deposit. Arrokoth is revealed as a fused binary body in a relatively benign space environment where it originated and has remained for the age of the Solar System. Its surface is a mix of CH3OH ice, a red-orange pigment of presumed complex organic material, and possibly other undetected components.
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impact craters on pluto and Charon indicate a deficit of small kuiper belt objects
Science, 2019Co-Authors: K N Singer, S A Stern, William B Mckinnon, Alex Parker, Paul M Schenk, B Gladman, Sarah Greenstreet, E B Bierhaus, S J Robbins, William M. GrundyAbstract:The flyby of Pluto and Charon by the New Horizons spacecraft provided high-resolution images of cratered surfaces embedded in the Kuiper belt, an extensive region of bodies orbiting beyond Neptune. Impact craters on Pluto and Charon were formed by collisions with other Kuiper belt objects (KBOs) with diameters from ~40 kilometers to ~300 meters, smaller than most KBOs observed directly by telescopes. We find a relative paucity of small craters ≲13 kilometers in diameter, which cannot be explained solely by geological resurfacing. This implies a deficit of small KBOs (≲1 to 2 kilometers in diameter). Some surfaces on Pluto and Charon are likely ≳4 billion years old, thus their crater records provide information on the size-frequency distribution of KBOs in the early Solar System.
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impact craters on pluto and Charon indicate a deficit of small kuiper belt objects
arXiv: Earth and Planetary Astrophysics, 2019Co-Authors: K N Singer, S A Stern, William B Mckinnon, Alex Parker, Paul M Schenk, B Gladman, Sarah Greenstreet, E B Bierhaus, S J Robbins, William M. GrundyAbstract:The flyby of Pluto and Charon by the New Horizons spacecraft provided high-resolution images of cratered surfaces embedded in the Kuiper belt, an extensive region of bodies orbiting beyond Neptune. Impact craters on Pluto and Charon were formed by collisions with other Kuiper belt objects (KBOs) with diameters from ~40 kilometers to ~300 meters, smaller than most KBOs observed directly by telescopes. We find a relative paucity of small craters less than approximately 13 kilometers in diameter, which cannot be explained solely by geological resurfacing. This implies a deficit of small KBOs (less than 1 to 2 kilometers in diameter). Some surfaces on Pluto and Charon are likely greater than 4 billion years old, thus their crater records provide information on the size-frequency distribution of KBOs in the early Solar System.
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the pluto system after new horizons
Annual Review of Astronomy and Astrophysics, 2018Co-Authors: Alan S Stern, William M. Grundy, William B Mckinnon, H A Weaver, Leslie A YoungAbstract:The New Horizons (NH) flyby of the Pluto–Charon binary planet and its system of four small surrounding satellites in mid-2015 revolutionized our knowledge of this distant planet and its moons. Beyo...
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climate zones on pluto and Charon
Icarus, 2017Co-Authors: Richard P Binzel, M W Buie, William M. Grundy, Jeffrey M Moore, Alan S Stern, C B Olkin, Leslie A Young, A M Earle, Kimberly Ennico, H A WeaverAbstract:Abstract We give an explanatory description of the unusual “climate zones” on Pluto that arise from its high obliquity (mean 115°) and high amplitude (±12°) of obliquity oscillation over a 2.8 million year period. The zones we describe have astronomically defined boundaries and do not incorporate atmospheric circulation. For such a high mean obliquity, the lines of tropics (greatest latitudes where the Sun can be overhead) cycle closer to each pole than does each arctic circle, which in turn cycle nearly to the equator. As a consequence in an astronomical context, Pluto is more predominantly “tropical” than “arctic.” Up to 97% of Pluto's surface area can experience overhead Sun when the obliquity cycle is at its minimum of 103°. At this same obliquity phase (most recently occurring 0.8 Myr ago), 78% of Pluto's surface experienced prolonged intervals without sunlight or “arctic winter” (and corresponding “arctic summer”). The intersection of these climate zones implies that a very broad range of Pluto's latitudes (spanning 13–77° in each hemisphere; 75% of the total surface area) are both tropical and arctic. While some possible correlations to these climate zones are suggested by comparison with published maps of Pluto and Charon yielded by the New Horizons mission, in this work we present a non-physical descriptive analysis only. For example, the planet-wide dark equatorial band presented by Stern et al. (2015 ; Science, 350, 292–299) corresponds to Pluto's permanent “diurnal zone.” In this zone spanning latitudes within ±13° of the equator, day-night cycles occur each Pluto rotation (6.4 days) such that neither “arctic winter” nor “arctic summer” has been experienced in this zone for at least 20 million years. The stability of this and other climate zones may extend over several Gyr. Temperature modeling shows that the continuity of diurnal cycles in this region may be the key factor enabling a long-term stability for the high albedo contrast between Tombaugh Regio adjacent to the dark Cthulhu Regio ( Earle et al. (2017 ) Icarus , special issue, submitted). (All names are informal.) Charon's synchronous alignment with Pluto dictates that both bodies in the binary pair have the same climate zone structure, but any effects on Charon's morphology may be limited if volatile transport there is minimal or absent. Cold-trapped methane-rich volatiles on top of its water ice surface may be responsible for forming Charon's dark red north polar cap ( Grundy et al., 2016b ), and we note the most concentrated area of this feature resides almost entirely within the permanent “polar zone” (above 77° latitude) where the Sun never reaches the overhead point and arctic seasons have been most consistently experienced over at least tens of millions of years. Pluto is not alone among bodies in the Kuiper belt (and uranian satellites) in having high obliquities, overlapping tropical and arctic zones, and latitude bands that remain in a continuous diurnal cycle over long terms.
H A Weaver - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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radio thermal emission from pluto and Charon during the new horizons encounter
Icarus, 2019Co-Authors: M K Bird, H A Weaver, I R Linscott, D P Hinson, G L Tyler, M Patzold, Michael E Summers, Darrell F Strobel, C B OlkinAbstract:Abstract One component of the REX instrument on NASA's New Horizons spacecraft was an investigation of the radio continuum radiation from Pluto and Charon during the flyby on 14 July 2015. The planetary thermal emission was recorded at a wavelength of 4.17 cm (7.18 GHz) during approach, departure, and specifically on the non-illuminated hemispheres of Pluto and Charon during the respective intervals between occultation ingress and egress. We derive the brightness temperatures for these disk-resolved and unresolved observations. The mean values and 1σ deviations of brightness temperature for the unresolved sunlit disk are 33.2 ± 1.4 K and 47.2 ± 5.3 K for Pluto and Charon, respectively, consistent with the global albedos of the two bodies as well as with previous ground-based estimates at smaller wavelengths. A slightly colder temperature of 29.0 ± 2.5 K was determined for the disk-integrated nightside of Pluto and a larger drop in temperature was observed for Charon (40.9 ± 0.9 K), implying a smaller thermal inertia for Charon than Pluto. The measured brightness temperature of Pluto across the nightside diametric scan reached a maximum of 29.0 ± 1.5 K in the center of the disk. The profile shape is attributed to an emissivity effect, which favors thermal emission toward higher elevation angles. As a first approximation, the effective emissivity for thermal emission is calculated for the case when Pluto and Charon are uniformly smooth homogenous spheres. Under this assumption, the effective emissivity for these observations is close to unity for all probable surface constituents, implying that the effective temperature of the Pluto subsurface is only a few percent higher than the observed brightness temperature. A considerably lower subsurface emissivity is implied, however, if the higher atmospheric temperatures near the surface determined from the REX occultation measurements are also valid for the subsurface.
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the pluto system after new horizons
Annual Review of Astronomy and Astrophysics, 2018Co-Authors: Alan S Stern, William M. Grundy, William B Mckinnon, H A Weaver, Leslie A YoungAbstract:The New Horizons (NH) flyby of the Pluto–Charon binary planet and its system of four small surrounding satellites in mid-2015 revolutionized our knowledge of this distant planet and its moons. Beyo...
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global albedos of pluto and Charon from lorri new horizons observations
Icarus, 2017Co-Authors: B J Buratti, H A Weaver, J D Hofgartner, M D Hicks, T W Momary, Joel A Mosher, R A Beyer, A J Verbiscer, A M ZangariAbstract:Abstract The exploration of the Pluto-Charon system by the New Horizons spacecraft represents the first opportunity to understand the distribution of albedo and other photometric properties of the surfaces of objects in the Solar System's “Third Zone” of distant ice-rich bodies. Images of the entire illuminated surface of Pluto and Charon obtained by the Long Range Reconnaissance Imager (LORRI) camera provide a global map of Pluto that reveals surface albedo variegations larger than any other Solar System world except for Saturn's moon Iapetus. Normal reflectances on Pluto range from 0.08–1.0, and the low-albedo areas of Pluto are darker than any region of Charon. Charon exhibits a much blander surface with normal reflectances ranging from 0.20–0.73. Pluto's albedo features are well-correlated with geologic features, although some exogenous low-albedo dust may be responsible for features seen to the west of the area informally named Tombaugh Regio. The albedo patterns of both Pluto and Charon are latitudinally organized, with the exception of Tombaugh Regio, with darker regions concentrated at the Pluto's equator and Charon's northern pole. The phase curve of Pluto is similar to that of Triton, the large moon of Neptune believed to be a captured Kuiper Belt Object (KBO), while Charon's is similar to that of the Moon. Preliminary Bond albedos are 0.25 ± 0.03 for Charon and 0.72 ± 0.07 for Pluto. Maps of an approximation to the Bond albedo for both Pluto and Charon are presented for the first time. Our work shows a connection between very high albedo (near unity) and planetary activity, a result that suggests the KBO Eris may be currently active.
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origin of the pluto Charon system constraints from the new horizons flyby
Icarus, 2017Co-Authors: H A Weaver, D P Cruikshank, F Nimmo, C J Bierson, W M Grundy, J C Cook, Alex Parker, J M MooreAbstract:Abstract New Horizon's accurate determination of the sizes and densities of Pluto and Charon now permit precise internal models of both bodies to be constructed. Assuming differentiated rock-ice structures, we find that Pluto is close to 2/3 solar-composition anhydrous rock by mass and Charon 3/5 solar-composition anhydrous rock by mass. Pluto and Charon are closer to each other in density than to other large (≳1000-km diameter) Kuiper belt bodies. Despite this, we show that neither the possible presence of an ocean under Pluto's water ice shell (and no ocean within Charon), nor enhanced porosity at depth in Charon's icy crust compared with that of Pluto, are sufficient to make Pluto and Charon's rock mass fractions match. All four small satellites (Styx, Nix, Kerberos, Hydra) appear much icier in comparison with either Pluto or Charon. In terms of a giant impact origin, both these inferences are most consistent with the relatively slow collision of partly differentiated precursor bodies (Canup, Astrophys. J. 141, 35, 2011). This is in turn consistent with dynamical conditions in the ancestral Kuiper belt, but implies that the impact precursors themselves accreted relatively late and slowly (to limit 26 Al and accretional heating). The iciness of the small satellites is not consistent with direct formation of the Pluto–Charon system from a streaming instability in the solar nebula followed by prompt collapse of gravitationally bound “pebble piles,” a proposed formation mechanism for Kuiper belt binaries (Nesvorný et al., Astron. J. 140, 785–793, 2010). Growth of Pluto-scale bodies by accretion of pebbles in the ancestral Kuiper belt is not ruled out, however, and may be needed to prevent the precursor bodies from fully differentiating, due to buried accretional heat, prior to the Charon-forming impact.
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craters of the pluto Charon system
Icarus, 2017Co-Authors: S J Robbins, H A Weaver, R A Beyer, Paul M Schenk, V J Bray, Todd R Lauer, K D Runyon, S B PorterAbstract:Abstract NASA's New Horizons flyby mission of the Pluto-Charon binary system and its four moons provided humanity with its first spacecraft-based look at a large Kuiper Belt Object beyond Triton. Excluding this system, multiple Kuiper Belt Objects (KBOs) have been observed for only 20 years from Earth, and the KBO size distribution is unconstrained except among the largest objects. Because small KBOs will remain beyond the capabilities of ground-based observatories for the foreseeable future, one of the best ways to constrain the small KBO population is to examine the craters they have made on the Pluto-Charon system. The first step to understanding the crater population is to map it. In this work, we describe the steps undertaken to produce a robust crater database of impact features on Pluto, Charon, and their two largest moons, Nix and Hydra. These include an examination of different types of images and image processing, and we present an analysis of variability among the crater mapping team, where crater diameters were found to average ± 10% uncertainty across all sizes measured (∼0.5–300 km). We also present a few basic analyses of the crater databases, finding that Pluto's craters' differential size-frequency distribution across the encounter hemisphere has a power-law slope of approximately –3.1 ± 0.1 over diameters D ≈ 15–200 km, and Charon's has a slope of –3.0 ± 0.2 over diameters D ≈ 10–120 km; it is significantly shallower on both bodies at smaller diameters. We also better quantify evidence of resurfacing evidenced by Pluto's craters in contrast with Charon's. With this work, we are also releasing our database of potential and probable impact craters: 5287 on Pluto, 2287 on Charon, 35 on Nix, and 6 on Hydra.
Benjamin C Bromley - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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a pluto Charon concerto ii formation of a circumbinary disk of debris after the giant impact
The Astronomical Journal, 2021Co-Authors: Scott J Kenyon, Benjamin C BromleyAbstract:Using a suite of numerical calculations, we consider the long-term evolution of circumbinary debris from the Pluto-Charon giant impact. Initially, these solids have large eccentricity and pericenters near Charon's orbit. On time scales of 100-1000 yr, dynamical interactions with Pluto and Charon lead to the ejection of most solids from the system. As the dynamics moves particles away from the barycenter, collisional damping reduces the orbital eccentricity of many particles. These solids populate a circumbinary disk in the Pluto-Charon orbital plane; a large fraction of this material lies within a `satellite zone' that encompasses the orbits of Styx, Nix, Kerberos, and Hydra. Compared to the narrow rings generated from the debris of a collision between a trans-Neptunian object (TNO) and Charon, disks produced after the giant impact are much more extended and may be a less promising option for producing small circumbinary satellites.
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a pluto Charon concerto an impact on Charon as the origin of the small satellites
The Astronomical Journal, 2020Co-Authors: Benjamin C Bromley, Scott J KenyonAbstract:We consider a scenario where the small satellites of Pluto and Charon grew within a disk of debris from an impact between Charon and a trans-Neptunian Object (TNO). After Charon's orbital motion boosts the debris into a disk-like structure, rapid orbital damping of meter-size or smaller objects is essential to prevent the subsequent re-accretion or dynamical ejection by the binary. From analytical estimates and simulations of disk evolution, we estimate an impactor radius of 30-100 km; smaller (larger) radii apply to an oblique (direct) impact. Although collisions between large TNOs and Charon are unlikely today, they were relatively common within the first 0.1-1 Gyr of the solar system. Compared to models where the small satellites agglomerate in the debris left over by the giant impact that produced the Pluto-Charon binary planet, satellite formation from a later impact on Charon avoids the destabilizing resonances that sweep past the satellites during the early orbital expansion of the binary.
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craters on Charon impactors from a collisional cascade among trans neptunian objects
arXiv: Earth and Planetary Astrophysics, 2020Co-Authors: Scott J Kenyon, Benjamin C BromleyAbstract:We consider whether equilibrium size distributions from collisional cascades match the frequency of impactors derived from New Horizons crater counts on Charon (Singer et al 2019). Using an analytic model and a suite of numerical simulations, we demonstrate that collisional cascades generate wavy size distributions; the morphology of the waves depends on the binding energy of solids $Q_d^\star$ and the collision velocity $v_c$. For an adopted minimum size of solids, $r_{min}$ = 1 micron, and collision velocity $v_c$ = 1-3 km/sec, the waves are rather insensitive to the gravitational component of $Q_d^\star$. If the bulk strength component of $Q_d^\star$ is $Q_s r^{e_s}$ for particles with radius $r$, size distributions with small $Q_s$ are much wavier than those with large $Q_s$; systems with $e_s \approx -0.4$ have stronger waves than systems with $e_s \approx 0$. Detailed comparisons with the New Horizons data suggest that a collisional cascade among solids with a bulk strength intermediate between weak ice (Leinhardt & Stewart 2012) and normal ice (Schlichting et al 2013) produces size distributions fairly similar to the size distribution of impactors on Charon. If the surface density $\Sigma$ of the protosolar nebula varies with semimajor axis $a$ as $\Sigma \approx 30~{\rm g~cm^{-2}} (a / {\rm 1~au})^{-3/2}$, the time scale for a cascade to generate an approximate equilibrium is 100-300 Myr at 45 au and 10-30 Myr at 25 au. Although it is necessary to perform more complete evolutionary calculations of the Kuiper belt, collisional cascades are a viable model for producing the size distribution of solids that impacted Charon throughout its history.
Scott J Kenyon - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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a pluto Charon concerto ii formation of a circumbinary disk of debris after the giant impact
The Astronomical Journal, 2021Co-Authors: Scott J Kenyon, Benjamin C BromleyAbstract:Using a suite of numerical calculations, we consider the long-term evolution of circumbinary debris from the Pluto-Charon giant impact. Initially, these solids have large eccentricity and pericenters near Charon's orbit. On time scales of 100-1000 yr, dynamical interactions with Pluto and Charon lead to the ejection of most solids from the system. As the dynamics moves particles away from the barycenter, collisional damping reduces the orbital eccentricity of many particles. These solids populate a circumbinary disk in the Pluto-Charon orbital plane; a large fraction of this material lies within a `satellite zone' that encompasses the orbits of Styx, Nix, Kerberos, and Hydra. Compared to the narrow rings generated from the debris of a collision between a trans-Neptunian object (TNO) and Charon, disks produced after the giant impact are much more extended and may be a less promising option for producing small circumbinary satellites.
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a pluto Charon concerto an impact on Charon as the origin of the small satellites
The Astronomical Journal, 2020Co-Authors: Benjamin C Bromley, Scott J KenyonAbstract:We consider a scenario where the small satellites of Pluto and Charon grew within a disk of debris from an impact between Charon and a trans-Neptunian Object (TNO). After Charon's orbital motion boosts the debris into a disk-like structure, rapid orbital damping of meter-size or smaller objects is essential to prevent the subsequent re-accretion or dynamical ejection by the binary. From analytical estimates and simulations of disk evolution, we estimate an impactor radius of 30-100 km; smaller (larger) radii apply to an oblique (direct) impact. Although collisions between large TNOs and Charon are unlikely today, they were relatively common within the first 0.1-1 Gyr of the solar system. Compared to models where the small satellites agglomerate in the debris left over by the giant impact that produced the Pluto-Charon binary planet, satellite formation from a later impact on Charon avoids the destabilizing resonances that sweep past the satellites during the early orbital expansion of the binary.
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craters on Charon impactors from a collisional cascade among trans neptunian objects
arXiv: Earth and Planetary Astrophysics, 2020Co-Authors: Scott J Kenyon, Benjamin C BromleyAbstract:We consider whether equilibrium size distributions from collisional cascades match the frequency of impactors derived from New Horizons crater counts on Charon (Singer et al 2019). Using an analytic model and a suite of numerical simulations, we demonstrate that collisional cascades generate wavy size distributions; the morphology of the waves depends on the binding energy of solids $Q_d^\star$ and the collision velocity $v_c$. For an adopted minimum size of solids, $r_{min}$ = 1 micron, and collision velocity $v_c$ = 1-3 km/sec, the waves are rather insensitive to the gravitational component of $Q_d^\star$. If the bulk strength component of $Q_d^\star$ is $Q_s r^{e_s}$ for particles with radius $r$, size distributions with small $Q_s$ are much wavier than those with large $Q_s$; systems with $e_s \approx -0.4$ have stronger waves than systems with $e_s \approx 0$. Detailed comparisons with the New Horizons data suggest that a collisional cascade among solids with a bulk strength intermediate between weak ice (Leinhardt & Stewart 2012) and normal ice (Schlichting et al 2013) produces size distributions fairly similar to the size distribution of impactors on Charon. If the surface density $\Sigma$ of the protosolar nebula varies with semimajor axis $a$ as $\Sigma \approx 30~{\rm g~cm^{-2}} (a / {\rm 1~au})^{-3/2}$, the time scale for a cascade to generate an approximate equilibrium is 100-300 Myr at 45 au and 10-30 Myr at 25 au. Although it is necessary to perform more complete evolutionary calculations of the Kuiper belt, collisional cascades are a viable model for producing the size distribution of solids that impacted Charon throughout its history.
M W Buie - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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mean radius and shape of pluto and Charon from new horizons images
Icarus, 2017Co-Authors: F Nimmo, M W Buie, C J Bierson, O M Umurhan, Tod R Lauer, Henry B Throop, J Kammer, J H RobertsAbstract:Approach images taken by the LORRI imaging system during the New Horizons spacecraft encounter have been used to determine the mean radii and shapes of Pluto and Charon. The primary observations are limb locations derived using three independent approaches. The resulting mean radii of Pluto and Charon are 1188.3 ± 1.6 km and 606.0 ± 1.0 km, respectively (2-σ). The corresponding densities are 1854 ± 11 kg/m3 and 1701 ± 33 kg/m3 (2-σ). The Charon radius value is consistent with previous Earth-based occultation estimates. The Pluto radius estimate is consistent with solar occultation measurements performed by the ALICE and Fine Sun Sensor instruments on New Horizons. Neither Pluto nor Charon show any evidence for tidal/rotational distortions; upper bounds on the oblateness are < 0.6% and < 0.5%, respectively.
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climate zones on pluto and Charon
Icarus, 2017Co-Authors: Richard P Binzel, M W Buie, William M. Grundy, Jeffrey M Moore, Alan S Stern, C B Olkin, Leslie A Young, A M Earle, Kimberly Ennico, H A WeaverAbstract:Abstract We give an explanatory description of the unusual “climate zones” on Pluto that arise from its high obliquity (mean 115°) and high amplitude (±12°) of obliquity oscillation over a 2.8 million year period. The zones we describe have astronomically defined boundaries and do not incorporate atmospheric circulation. For such a high mean obliquity, the lines of tropics (greatest latitudes where the Sun can be overhead) cycle closer to each pole than does each arctic circle, which in turn cycle nearly to the equator. As a consequence in an astronomical context, Pluto is more predominantly “tropical” than “arctic.” Up to 97% of Pluto's surface area can experience overhead Sun when the obliquity cycle is at its minimum of 103°. At this same obliquity phase (most recently occurring 0.8 Myr ago), 78% of Pluto's surface experienced prolonged intervals without sunlight or “arctic winter” (and corresponding “arctic summer”). The intersection of these climate zones implies that a very broad range of Pluto's latitudes (spanning 13–77° in each hemisphere; 75% of the total surface area) are both tropical and arctic. While some possible correlations to these climate zones are suggested by comparison with published maps of Pluto and Charon yielded by the New Horizons mission, in this work we present a non-physical descriptive analysis only. For example, the planet-wide dark equatorial band presented by Stern et al. (2015 ; Science, 350, 292–299) corresponds to Pluto's permanent “diurnal zone.” In this zone spanning latitudes within ±13° of the equator, day-night cycles occur each Pluto rotation (6.4 days) such that neither “arctic winter” nor “arctic summer” has been experienced in this zone for at least 20 million years. The stability of this and other climate zones may extend over several Gyr. Temperature modeling shows that the continuity of diurnal cycles in this region may be the key factor enabling a long-term stability for the high albedo contrast between Tombaugh Regio adjacent to the dark Cthulhu Regio ( Earle et al. (2017 ) Icarus , special issue, submitted). (All names are informal.) Charon's synchronous alignment with Pluto dictates that both bodies in the binary pair have the same climate zone structure, but any effects on Charon's morphology may be limited if volatile transport there is minimal or absent. Cold-trapped methane-rich volatiles on top of its water ice surface may be responsible for forming Charon's dark red north polar cap ( Grundy et al., 2016b ), and we note the most concentrated area of this feature resides almost entirely within the permanent “polar zone” (above 77° latitude) where the Sun never reaches the overhead point and arctic seasons have been most consistently experienced over at least tens of millions of years. Pluto is not alone among bodies in the Kuiper belt (and uranian satellites) in having high obliquities, overlapping tropical and arctic zones, and latitude bands that remain in a continuous diurnal cycle over long terms.
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measuring temperature and ammonia hydrate ice on Charon in 2015 from keck osiris spectra
Icarus, 2017Co-Authors: Bryan J Holler, M W Buie, William M. Grundy, L A Young, E F Young, James E Lyke, H G RoeAbstract:Abstract In this work we investigated the longitudinal (zonal) variability of H2O and ammonia (NH3) hydrate ices on the surface of Charon through analysis of the 1.65 µm and 2.21 µmabsorption features, respectively. Near-infrared spectra presented here were obtained between 2015-07-14 and 2015-08-30 UT with the OSIRIS integral field spectrograph on Keck I. Spectra centered on six different sub-observer longitudes were obtained through the Hbb (1.473–1.803 µm) and Kbb (1.965–2.381 µm) filters. Gaussian functions were fit to the aforementioned bands to obtain information on band center, band depth, full width at half maximum, and band area. The shift in the band center of the temperature-dependent 1.65 µm feature was used to calculate the H2O ice temperature. The mean temperature of the ice on the observable portion of Charon’s surface is 45 ± 14 K and we report no statistically significant variations in temperature across the surface. We hypothesize that the crystalline and amorphous phases of water ice reached equilibrium over 3.5 Gyr ago, with thermal recrystallization balancing the effects of irradiation amorphization. We do not believe that cryovolcanism is necessary to explain the presence of crystalline water ice on the surface of Charon. Absorption from ammonia species is detected between 12° and 290°, in agreement with results from New Horizons. Ongoing diffusion of ammonia through the rocky mantle and upper layer of water ice is one possible mechanism for maintaining its presence in Charon’s surface ice. Reduced Charon spectra corrected for telluric and solar absorption are available as supplementary online material.
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the small satellites of pluto as observed by new horizons
arXiv: Earth and Planetary Astrophysics, 2016Co-Authors: H A Weaver, M W Buie, William M. Grundy, C B Olkin, B J Buratti, Alex Parker, Tod R Lauer, S B Porter, M Showalter, John R SpencerAbstract:The New Horizons mission has provided resolved measurements of Pluto's moons Styx, Nix, Kerberos, and Hydra. All four are small, with equivalent spherical diameters of $\approx$40 km for Nix and Hydra and ~10 km for Styx and Kerberos. They are also highly elongated, with maximum to minimum axis ratios of $\approx$2. All four moons have high albedos ( $\approx$50-90 %) suggestive of a water-ice surface composition. Crater densities on Nix and Hydra imply surface ages $\gtrsim$ 4 Ga. The small moons rotate much faster than synchronous, with rotational poles clustered nearly orthogonal to the common pole directions of Pluto and Charon. These results reinforce the hypothesis that the small moons formed in the aftermath of a collision that produced the Pluto-Charon binary.
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the orbits and masses of satellites of pluto
Icarus, 2015Co-Authors: Marina Brozovic, M R Showalter, R A Jacobson, M W BuieAbstract:Abstract We present the numerically integrated orbits of Pluto’s satellites. The orbits have been fit to a data set that includes Earth-based and Hubble Space Telescope (HST) astrometry of Charon, Nix, Hydra, Kerberos, and Styx, as well as the lightcurves from the Pluto–Charon mutual events. We also report new, 2010–2012 HST astrometry of all satellites including recently discovered Styx plus a pre-discovery detection of Kerberos in 2006. Pluto-relative data sets have been corrected for the center-of-light vs. center-of-mass offsets with the Pluto albedo model. The results are summarized in terms of the postfit residuals, state vectors, and mean orbital elements. Orbits of Charon, Styx, Nix, and Kerberos are nearly circular, while Hydra’s shows a small eccentricity. All satellites are in near-resonance conditions, but we did not uncover any resonant arguments. Our model yields 975.5 ± 1.5 km 3 s −2 , 869.6 ± 1.8 km 3 s −2 , and 105.9 ± 1.0 km 3 s −2 for the system’s, Pluto’s, and Charon’s GM values. The uncertainties reflect both systematic and random measurement errors. The GM values imply a bulk density of 1.89 ± 0.06 g cm −3 for Pluto and 1.72 ± 0.02 g cm −3 for Charon. We also obtain GM Nix = 0.0030 ± 0.0027 km 3 s −2 GM Hydra = 0.0032 ± 0.0028 km 3 s −2 , GM Kerberos = 0.0011 ± 0.0006 km 3 s −2 , and an upper bound on Styx’s GM of 0.0010 km 3 s −2 . The 1 σ errors are based on the formal covariance from the fit and they reflect only measurement errors. In-orbit (or along the track), radial, and out-of-plane orbital uncertainties at the time of New Horizons encounter are on the order of few tens of km or less for Charon, Nix, and Hydra. Kerberos and Styx have their largest uncertainty component of ∼140 km and ∼500 km respectively in the in-orbit direction.