Observed Spatial Distribution and Secular Evolution of Ices on Pluto and Triton

Details Observed Spatial Distribution and Secular Evolution of Ices on Pluto and Triton Observed Spatial Distribution and Secular Evolution of Ices on Pluto and Triton

Sep 2009

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2009dps....41.0601g&link_type=abstract

American Astronomical Society, DPS meeting #41, #6.01

Astronomy and Astrophysics

Astronomy

Scientific paper

We have recorded near-infrared spectra of Pluto and Triton on nearly a hundred nights over the past decade, using SpeX at IRTF. The wavelength range (0.8 to 2.4 microns) includes numerous absorption bands of CH4, N2, CO, CO2, and H2O ices. Cyclical changes in these bands as Pluto and Triton rotate provide an unprecedentedly detailed view of the longitudinal distributions of these ices species. On Triton, N2 and CO ices both exhibit very similar large-amplitude longitudinal variations, consistent with distributions predicted from simple thermal balance models. CH4 ice shows a very different longitudinal distribution, despite being mostly dissolved in N2 ice. Non-volatile CO2 and H2O ices show little or no longitudinal variation, implying remarkably uniform distributions. On Pluto, CH4 ice is much less diluted in N2 ice, and there is a pronounced compositional gradient, with ice becoming more CH4-rich below the surface. The least diluted CH4 appears on Pluto's Charon-facing hemisphere, while a patch of CO-rich ice is highly localized near the center of the anti-Charon hemisphere. For both Pluto and Triton, the data show unambiguous evidence for secular changes over the past decade. Partly, this is a geometric effect of seasonal changes in sub-solar and sub-observer latitude, but the geometric effects alone cannot explain all of the observed spectral evolution. Seasonal changes in ice distribution and/or texture are also required by the data.

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