First Observational Constraints on Rings in the Pluto System

Details First Observational Constraints on Rings in the Pluto System First Observational Constraints on Rings in the Pluto System

Sep 2006

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2006dps....38.4009s&link_type=abstract

American Astronomical Society, DPS meeting #38, #40.09; Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, Vol. 38, p.557

Astronomy and Astrophysics

Astronomy

Scientific paper

Simple theoretical calculations have suggested that small body impacts onto Pluto's newly discovered small satellites, Nix and Hydra, are capable of generating time-variable rings or dust sheets in the Pluto system. We present the first observational constraints on the present-day optical depth of such debris systems using HST/ACS data obtained on 2006 February 15 and 2006 March 2. We find that any Plutonian dust rings between Nix and Hydra must have optical depths of 2x10-5 or lower, when averaged over 1000-km radial scales. Higher optical depths are possible if the putative rings are more narrowly confined, although given the lack of any additional satellites in this region larger than 16 km in diameter, this seems unlikely. While usefully constraining, these ring optical depth limits are still a factor of four higher than the optical depths predicted by Stern et al. (2006). Given the optical depth limits derived from the HST data, the New Horizons spacecraft may encounter a significant number of potentially damaging collisions with ring particles during its flyby of the Pluto system. Therefore, New Horizons should cross the ring plane at a radial distance where rings are either not expected or would become dynamically unstable.

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