Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astronomy
Scientific paper
Jun 1993
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1993aj....105.2319n&link_type=abstract
Astronomical Journal (ISSN 0004-6256), vol. 105, no. 6, p. 2319-2335.
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astronomy
34
Charon, Density (Mass/Volume), Planetary Mass, Pluto (Planet), Astrometry, Mass Ratios, Planetary Orbits, Pluto, Satellites, Charon, Pluto-Charon System, Mass, Density, Radius, Physical Properties, Satellite Observations, Hst Satellite, Ccd Methods, Procedure, Geometry, Albedo, Orbital Elements, Parameters, Analysis
Scientific paper
We have analyzed HST Wide Field Camera CCD images of Pluto, Charon, and a background star to observe Pluto's barycentric motion and to determine the individual masses and bulk densities of Pluto and Charon. The most fundamental new result was an accurate solution for a previously undetermined parameter, the Charon/Pluto mass ratio q; the new solution is q = 0.0837 +/- 0.0147. Significant accuracy improvements by almost a factor of two were obtained for Charon's orbital semimajor axis, a = 19,405 +/- 86 km and the Pluto system mass of 1.401 +/- 0.019 x 10 exp 8 inverse solar masses. The Pluto and Charon masses were (13.10 +/- 0.24) x 10 exp 24 g and (1.10 +/- 0.18) x 10 exp 24 g, respectively. Computed densities depend strongly on the assumed radius values. The density of Pluto is 2.13 +/- 0.04 g/cu cm and that of Charon is 1.30 +/- 0.23 g/cu cm.
Null George W.
Owen William M.
Synnott Stephen P.
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