A Search for Ethane on Pluto and Triton

Details A Search for Ethane on Pluto and Triton A Search for Ethane on Pluto and Triton

Sep 2009

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2009dps....41.0604d&link_type=abstract

American Astronomical Society, DPS meeting #41, #6.04

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Scientific paper

We present near-infrared spectral observations in the H and K bands (1.4-2.45 microns) of Pluto over four regions of the surface and Triton for one observation using the VLT and UKIRT. On both Pluto and Triton, a weak 2.405-micron feature is present in our spectra, which was previously detected on Pluto by Cruikshank et al. (DPS meeting abstract, 38, 21.03, 2006) and Verbiscer et al. (Lunar and Planetary Science Abstract XXXVIII - 2007) and on Triton by Cruikshank et al. (Science, 261, 742-745, 1993), Quirico et al. (Icarus, 139, 159-178, 1999) and Cruikshank et al. (Icarus, 147, 309-316, 2000). On Triton, the depth and position of this feature varies but is seen in all high-resolution, published spectra. Both ethane (C2H6) and 13CO display features at this wavelength. To assess whether unexplained absorption bands such as the 2.405 micron feature could be due to ethane, we interpret the spectral behavior if each surface using a modeling algorithm (Protopapa et al., A&A, 490, 365-375, 2008) based on the radiative transfer model of Hapke (Hapke, 1993) with three basic models: a general model without ethane, with ethane, and with ethane diluted in nitrogen. While ethane diluted in nitrogen could potentially explain the 1.69- and 1.75-micron features on Triton and pure ethane could explain the 2.405-micron feature seen on Pluto, the lack of features in the 2.27- to 2.32-micron region limits the abundance of ethane to only a few percent on each body. It is likely that 13CO contributes significantly to the 2.405-micron band, which explains why this band is stronger in spectra of both bodies than other characteristic ethane features.

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