Related papers: Pluto's lower atmosphere and pressure evolution fr…
We present results from a multi-chord Pluto stellar occultation observed on 29 June 2015 from New Zealand and Australia. This occurred only two weeks before the NASA New Horizons flyby of the Pluto system and serves as a useful comparison…
On 6 Jun 2020, Pluto's stellar occultation was successfully observed at a ground-based observatory and Pluto's atmospheric parameters were investigated. We used an atmospheric model of Pluto (DO15), assuming a spherical and transparent pure…
We report observations of a stellar occultation by Pluto on 2019 July 17. A single-chord high-speed (time resolution $= 2\,$s) photometry dataset was obtained with a CMOS camera mounted on the Tohoku University 60 cm telescope (Haleakala,…
Observations made during the New Horizons flyby provide a detailed snapshot of the current state of Pluto's atmosphere. While the lower atmosphere (at altitudes <200 km) is consistent with ground-based stellar occultations, the upper…
The Alice instrument on NASA's New Horizons spacecraft observed an ultraviolet solar occultation by Pluto's atmosphere on 2015 July 14. The transmission vs. altitude was sensitive to the presence of N2, CH4, C2H2, C2H4, C2H6, and haze. We…
We analyze two multi-chord stellar occultations by Pluto observed on July 18th, 2012 and May 4th, 2013, and monitored respectively from five and six sites. They provide a total of fifteen light-curves, twelve of them being used for a…
Since the last Pluto volatile transport models were published (Hansen and Paige 1996), we have (i) new stellar occultation data from 2002 and 2006-2012 that have roughly twice the pressure as the discovery occultation of 1988, (ii) new…
A stellar occultation by Pluto on 5 September 2019 yielded positive detections at two separate stations. Using an approach consistent with comparable studies, we derived a surface pressure of $11.478 \pm 0.55~\mathrm{\mu bar}$ for Pluto's…
A stellar occultation by Pluto was observed on 6 June 2020 with the 1.3-m and 3.6-m telescopes located at Devasthal, Nainital, India, using imaging systems in the I and H bands, respectively. From this event, we derive a surface pressure…
A stellar occultation by Neptune's main satellite, Triton, was observed on 5 October 2017 from Europe, North Africa, and the USA. We derived 90 light curves from this event, 42 of which yielded a central flash detection. We aimed at…
The New Horizons spacecraft, which flew by Pluto on July 14, 2015, revealed the presence of haze in Pluto's atmosphere that were formed by CH4/N2 photochemistry at high altitudes in Pluto's atmosphere, as on Titan and Triton. In order to…
Pluto's atmospheric profiles (temperature and pressure) have been studied for decades from stellar occultation lightcurves. In this paper, we look at recent Pluto Global Climate Model (GCM) results (3D temperature, pressure, and density…
Pluto possesses a thin atmosphere primarily composed of N2, with minor constituents including CO and CH4. Photochemical processes generate distinct haze layers as observed by the New Horizons spacecraft. However, the mechanisms governing…
Context - Around the year 2000, Triton's south pole experienced an extreme summer solstice that occurs every about 650 years, when the subsolar latitude reached about 50{\deg}. Bracketing this epoch, a few occultations probed Triton's…
The Pluto system was recently explored by NASA's New Horizons spacecraft, making closest approach on 14 July 2015. Pluto's surface displays diverse landforms, terrain ages, albedos, colors, and composition gradients. Evidence is found for a…
High-resolution spectra of Pluto in the 1.66 um region, recorded with the VLT/CRIRES instrument in 2008 (2 spectra) and 2012 (5 spectra), are analyzed to constrain the spatial and vertical distribution of methane in Pluto's atmosphere and…
Context: Pluto possesses a thin atmosphere, primarily composed of nitrogen, in which the detection of methane has been reported. Aims: The goal is to constrain essential but so far unknown parameters of Pluto's atmosphere such as the…
We report on a variety of standard techniques used by New Horizons including a solar ultraviolet occultation, ultraviolet airglow observations, and high-phase look-back particulate search imaging to search for an atmosphere around Pluto's…
Several trace constituents can reach saturation vapor pressure in Pluto's present day atmosphere. As such, we describe a search for discrete could features in Pluto's atmosphere using New Horizons data obtained on 14-15 July 2015, during…
Pluto's surface is geologically complex because of volatile ices that are mobile on seasonal and longer time scales. Here we analyzed New Horizons LEISA spectral data to globally map the nitrogen ice, including nitrogen with methane diluted…