Pluto's Seasonal Variation and 160 micron Lightcurve

Details Pluto's Seasonal Variation and 160 micron Lightcurve Pluto's Seasonal Variation and 160 micron Lightcurve

Mar 2008

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2008sptz.prop50016s&link_type=abstract

Spitzer Proposal ID #50016

Physics

Scientific paper

Our MIPS observations of Pluto in 2004 and 2007 show strong evidence for secular changes in its far-IR thermal emission. These changes, particularly at 70um, are far larger than expected from the changing distance to Pluto, and are real. While our 160um data at both epochs were inadequate to provide even a robust rotationally-averaged detection, validation observations obtained using the new enhanced 160um AOT demonstrate that it is now possible to detect Pluto at high SNR (>10) in that band, and to measure the 160um lightcurve. We request new MIPS observations at two epochs in cycle 5 in order to: 1) measure the 160um lightcurve, and 2) verify and extend the temporal baseline over which we monitor Pluto's seasonally-changing thermal emission. We propose to measure the 160um lightcurve in late 2008, well within the cryogenic mission lifetime, and to attempt to extend the temporal baseline in April 2009. This second observation is just beyond the nominal cryogen lifetime in the call for proposals, but extending the baseline an extra ~6 months seems to us to be worth the risk.

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