相关论文: Surface Compositions Across Pluto and Charon

The rotational lightcurves of the Pluto-Charon system were previously believed to be solely attributed to their surfaces. However, a proposed scenario of haze cooling \citep{2017Natur.551..352Z} suggests that the atmospheric haze of Pluto…

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…

Existence of subsurface oceans on the satellites of the giant planets and Trans-Neptunian objects has been predicted for some time. Oceans on icy worlds exert a considerable influence on the dynamics of the ice-ocean system and, because of…

During the New Horizons spacecraft's encounter with Pluto, the Alice ultraviolet spectrograph conducted a series of observations that detected emissions from both the interplanetary medium (IPM) and Pluto. In the direction of Pluto, the IPM…

NASA's New Horizons spacecraft discovered fields of sub-parallel sets of steep ridges situated in the high-altitude, low-latitude regions in Pluto's encounter hemisphere called 'bladed terrain'. Thought to be formed due to sublimational…

The flyby of Pluto and Charon by the New Horizons spacecraft provided high-resolution images of cratered surfaces embedded in the Kuiper belt, an extensive region of bodies orbiting beyond Neptune. Impact craters on Pluto and Charon were…

Systematic geomorphological mapping and detailed landform analysis using the highest resolution images obtained by the New Horizons spacecraft reveal the presence of a range of differentiable terrains on Charon, the largest moon of Pluto,…

In 2015, the New Horizons spacecraft flew past Pluto and its moon Charon, providing the first clear look at the surface of Charon. New Horizons images revealed an ancient surface, a large, intricate canyon system, and many fractures, among…

Haze in Pluto's atmosphere was detected in images by both the Long Range Reconnaissance Imager (LORRI) and the Multispectral Visible Imaging Camera (MVIC) on New Horizons. LORRI observed haze up to altitudes of at least 200 km above Pluto's…

Context. Pluto's tenuous nitrogen (N2) atmosphere undergoes strong seasonal effects due to high obliquity and orbital eccentricity, and has been recently (July 2015) observed by the New Horizons spacecraft. Goals are (i) construct a well…

Pluto's surface displays a wide variety of geologic units from smooth plains to extremely rugged mountainous expanses. These terrains range in age from young, actively resurfaced regions (no observable craters even in the highest-resolution…

We use a statistical-thermodynamic model to investigate the formation and composition of noble-gas-rich clathrates on Pluto's surface. By considering an atmospheric composition close to that of today's Pluto and a broad range of surface…

The surprising discovery by the Rosetta spacecraft of molecular oxygen (O$_2$) in the coma of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko (Bieler et al. 2015) challenged our understanding of the inventory of this volatile species on and inside bodies…

We present new astrometry of Pluto's three satellites from images taken of the Pluto system during 2002-3 with the High Resolution Camera (HRC) mode of the Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS) instrument on the Hubble Space Telescope. The…

Infrared spectroscopic observations have established the presence of hydrocarbon ices on Pluto and other TNOs, but the abundances of such molecules cannot be deduced without accurate optical constants (n, k) and reference spectra. In this…

N2 is abundant in Pluto's atmosphere and on its surface, but the supply is depleted by prodigious atmospheric escape. We demonstrate that cometary impacts could not have delivered enough N mass to resupply Pluto's N2 atmospheric escape over…

The Pluto-Charon system, likely formed from an impact, has reached the endpoint of its tidal evolution. During its evolution into the dual-synchronous state, the equilibrium tidal figures of Pluto and Charon would have also evolved as…

The first exploration of Pluto was motivated by (i) the many intriguing aspects of this body, its atmosphere, and its giant impact binary-planet formation; as well as (ii) the scientific desire to initiate the reconnaissance of the…

Polarization is a powerful remote-sensing method to investigate solar system bodies. It is an especially sensitive diagnostic tool to reveal physical properties of the bodies whose observational characteristics are governed by small…

Pluto's two small satellites, temporarily designated S/2005 P 1 and S/2005 P 2, were observed on four dates (15.1 and 18.1 May 2005, 15.7 February 2006, and 2.8 March 2006) using the Hubble Space Telescope's (HST) Advanced Camera for…