The Thermal Emission of Kuiper Belt Objects

Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astronomy

Scientific paper

Rate now

  [ 0.00 ] – not rated yet Voters 0   Comments 0

Details

Scientific paper

A thermophysical model, used to compute the surface temperature distribution of spherical asteroids taking into account thermal inertia and rotational characteristics, has been developed to incorporate tri-axial ellipsoidal geometry and arbitrary spin axis orientation. The numerical model has been used to investigate the thermal IR fluxes from Kuiper Belt Objects, particularly at wavelengths at which detection by the ISOPHOT instrument on ISO appears feasible. The dependence of the fluxes on the magnitude of the thermal parameter, the orientation of the spin axis, and the ratio of the major and minor axes are described for an assumed prolate ellipsoid. Comparisons with ground-based observations of 2060 Chiron are made showing that values of the thermal parameter less than 1 can be reconciled with the data. A sublimation term has been incorporated into the thermophysical model and it is shown that sublimation of CO_2 ice from KBOs will have little effect on the surface temperature while outgassing rates in excess of 10(16) molecule m(-2) s(-1) are possible.

No associations

LandOfFree

Say what you really think

Search LandOfFree.com for scientists and scientific papers. Rate them and share your experience with other people.

Rating

The Thermal Emission of Kuiper Belt Objects does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this scientific paper.

If you have personal experience with The Thermal Emission of Kuiper Belt Objects, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and The Thermal Emission of Kuiper Belt Objects will most certainly appreciate the feedback.

Rate now

     

Profile ID: LFWR-SCP-O-1461015

  Search
All data on this website is collected from public sources. Our data reflects the most accurate information available at the time of publication.