Changing Seasons on Pluto: A Stellar Occultation Opportunity

Details Changing Seasons on Pluto: A Stellar Occultation Opportunity Changing Seasons on Pluto: A Stellar Occultation Opportunity

Sep 2004

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2004sptz.prop.3180b&link_type=abstract

Spitzer Proposal ID #3180

Physics

Scientific paper

In 1989 Pluto passed perihelion and began its long swing further away from the sun. The decrease in solar insolation has led to predictions of total atmospheric collapse. However, a recent occultation observation has revealed the opposite. Continued occultation observations are crucial in this period of transition, to determine the behavior of Pluto's atmosphere as the system recedes from the sun. Due to the small angular size of the planet, occultation events are rare. Fortuitously, an occultation by Pluto of a bright star, visible from the Spitzer Space Telescope, is expected to occur in 2005. This event will provide atmospheric temperature and structure data, with a signal-to-noise ratio per scale height of 1350, the highest yet achieved.

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