Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astronomy
Scientific paper
Dec 2003
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2003dps....35.1505s&link_type=abstract
American Astronomical Society, DPS meeting #35, #15.05; Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, Vol. 35, p.1483
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astronomy
1
Scientific paper
Photometric measurements of Triton in the BVRI and 890 nm filter system were obtained in June, July, and (tentatively) early August 2003. The motivation for these measurements was to confirm the recent observation that the lightcurve of Triton has increased markedly in amplitude (Cobb et al. B.A.A.S 33, 1130 (2001)). If the albedo patterns on Triton remained unchanged since the Voyager encounter in 1989, the current amplitude of Triton's visual lightcurve should be less than 0.05 magnitudes (Hillier et al., JGR 96, 19211). Measurements in 2001 showed an amplitude of nearly 0.20 magnitudes (Cobb et al., op. cit.), indicating volatile transport on the surface. Changes in Triton's color (Hicks et al., 2003, accepted for publication in Icarus), and atmospheric pressure and temperature (Elliot et al., Icarus 148, 347 (2000)) also support the existence of sublimation and possible movement of volatiles and associated changes in albedo patterns. The preliminary analysis of data from the summer of 2003 shows a visual amplitude of 0.17 +/- 0.05 magnitudes, in good agreement with the results from 2001, and far larger than that expected if there were no change in the albedo patterns on Triton's surface.
Work carried out at Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Inst. of Technology, with funding from NASA.
Bauer James M.
Buratti Bonnie Jean
Herbert B.
Hicks Murray D.
Schmidt Bernhard
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