Statistics – Methodology
Scientific paper
Sep 2009
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2009dps....41.0606z&link_type=abstract
American Astronomical Society, DPS meeting #41, #6.06
Statistics
Methodology
Scientific paper
Using the radiative equilibrium temperature profiles obtained from the radiative-conductive model of Strobel et al. 1996 (Icarus, 120, 266-289), we calculate a set of occultation light curves for Pluto for a range of surface pressures and methane mixing ratios, the latter of which is assumed to be constant with height. We have devised a method to interpolate a grid of model light curves in order to perform least-squares fitting to available Pluto occultation data. Fits without a troposphere and with a surface radius of 1152 km to the 2006 June 12 occultation by Pluto observed at Siding Spring (Elliot et al. 2007, AJ 134, 1-13) return a surface pressure and methane mixing ratio of 18.9 +/- 0.8 microbar and 0.0020 +/- 0.0003, respectively. Best fits to the 2002 August 21 occultation observed using the 2.24m University of Hawaii telescope (Pasachoff et al. 2005, AJ 129, 1718-1723) are 18.5 +/- 0.5 microbar and 0.0020 +/- 0.0001, respectively. For each of these fits, surface temperature and CO mixing ratio (also constant with height) were taken to be 37 K and 0.0005, respectively. The model light curves are not found to be sensitive to either of these parameters; CO mixing ratios as high as 0.02 are found to be consistent with the formal error bars on the fits above. The fitted surface pressure values are higher than those derived from the no troposphere models of Lellouch et al. 2009 (Astron. Astrophys. 495, L17-L21), while the methane mixing ratio values are lower. We will present our methodology of comparing atmospheric models to occultation data, fitting results for other stellar occultation light curves, and implications for Pluto's atmospheric structure. This work was supported in part by NASA grants NNX08AE92G, NNX07AK73G, and NNG05GO91G.
Elliot James L.
Gulbis Amanda A. S.
Strobel Darrell F.
Zalucha Angela M.
Zhu Xiyu
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