Probing Pluto’s underworld: Ice temperatures from microwave radiometry decoupled from surface conditions
International audience Present models admit a wide range of 2015 surface conditions at Pluto and Charon, where the atmospheric pressure may undergo dramatic seasonal variation and for which measurements are imminent from the New Horizons mission. One anticipated observation is the microwave brightne...
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ftinsu:oai:HAL:insu-01248935v1 2023-06-18T03:42:48+02:00 Probing Pluto’s underworld: Ice temperatures from microwave radiometry decoupled from surface conditions 2016 https://hal-insu.archives-ouvertes.fr/insu-01248935 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.icarus.2015.12.016 en eng HAL CCSD Elsevier info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/doi/10.1016/j.icarus.2015.12.016 insu-01248935 https://hal-insu.archives-ouvertes.fr/insu-01248935 BIBCODE: 2016Icar.268.50L doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2015.12.016 ISSN: 0019-1035 EISSN: 1090-2643 Icarus https://hal-insu.archives-ouvertes.fr/insu-01248935 Icarus, 2016, 268, pp.50-55. ⟨10.1016/j.icarus.2015.12.016⟩ Radio observations Pluto surfaces Satellites Radar observations [SDU.ASTR.EP]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Astrophysics [astro-ph]/Earth and Planetary Astrophysics [astro-ph.EP] [SDU.ASTR.SR]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Astrophysics [astro-ph]/Solar and Stellar Astrophysics [astro-ph.SR] info:eu-repo/semantics/article Journal articles 2016 ftinsu https://doi.org/10.1016/j.icarus.2015.12.016 2023-06-06T01:11:55Z International audience Present models admit a wide range of 2015 surface conditions at Pluto and Charon, where the atmospheric pressure may undergo dramatic seasonal variation and for which measurements are imminent from the New Horizons mission. One anticipated observation is the microwave brightness temperature, heretofore anticipated as indicating surface conditions relevant to surface-atmosphere equilibrium. However, drawing on recent experience with Cassini observations at Iapetus and Titan, we call attention to the large electrical skin depth of outer solar system materials such as methane, nitrogen or water ice, such that this observation may indicate temperatures averaged over depths of several or tens of meters beneath the surface. Using a seasonally-forced thermal model to determine microwave emission we predict that the southern hemisphere observations (in polar night) of New Horizons in July 2015 will suggest effective temperatures of ∼40 K, reflecting deep heat buried over the last century of summer, even if the atmospheric pressure suggests that the surface nitrogen frost point may be much lower. Article in Journal/Newspaper polar night Institut national des sciences de l'Univers: HAL-INSU Icarus 268 50 55 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Institut national des sciences de l'Univers: HAL-INSU |
op_collection_id |
ftinsu |
language |
English |
topic |
Radio observations Pluto surfaces Satellites Radar observations [SDU.ASTR.EP]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Astrophysics [astro-ph]/Earth and Planetary Astrophysics [astro-ph.EP] [SDU.ASTR.SR]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Astrophysics [astro-ph]/Solar and Stellar Astrophysics [astro-ph.SR] |
spellingShingle |
Radio observations Pluto surfaces Satellites Radar observations [SDU.ASTR.EP]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Astrophysics [astro-ph]/Earth and Planetary Astrophysics [astro-ph.EP] [SDU.ASTR.SR]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Astrophysics [astro-ph]/Solar and Stellar Astrophysics [astro-ph.SR] Probing Pluto’s underworld: Ice temperatures from microwave radiometry decoupled from surface conditions |
topic_facet |
Radio observations Pluto surfaces Satellites Radar observations [SDU.ASTR.EP]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Astrophysics [astro-ph]/Earth and Planetary Astrophysics [astro-ph.EP] [SDU.ASTR.SR]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Astrophysics [astro-ph]/Solar and Stellar Astrophysics [astro-ph.SR] |
description |
International audience Present models admit a wide range of 2015 surface conditions at Pluto and Charon, where the atmospheric pressure may undergo dramatic seasonal variation and for which measurements are imminent from the New Horizons mission. One anticipated observation is the microwave brightness temperature, heretofore anticipated as indicating surface conditions relevant to surface-atmosphere equilibrium. However, drawing on recent experience with Cassini observations at Iapetus and Titan, we call attention to the large electrical skin depth of outer solar system materials such as methane, nitrogen or water ice, such that this observation may indicate temperatures averaged over depths of several or tens of meters beneath the surface. Using a seasonally-forced thermal model to determine microwave emission we predict that the southern hemisphere observations (in polar night) of New Horizons in July 2015 will suggest effective temperatures of ∼40 K, reflecting deep heat buried over the last century of summer, even if the atmospheric pressure suggests that the surface nitrogen frost point may be much lower. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
title |
Probing Pluto’s underworld: Ice temperatures from microwave radiometry decoupled from surface conditions |
title_short |
Probing Pluto’s underworld: Ice temperatures from microwave radiometry decoupled from surface conditions |
title_full |
Probing Pluto’s underworld: Ice temperatures from microwave radiometry decoupled from surface conditions |
title_fullStr |
Probing Pluto’s underworld: Ice temperatures from microwave radiometry decoupled from surface conditions |
title_full_unstemmed |
Probing Pluto’s underworld: Ice temperatures from microwave radiometry decoupled from surface conditions |
title_sort |
probing pluto’s underworld: ice temperatures from microwave radiometry decoupled from surface conditions |
publisher |
HAL CCSD |
publishDate |
2016 |
url |
https://hal-insu.archives-ouvertes.fr/insu-01248935 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.icarus.2015.12.016 |
genre |
polar night |
genre_facet |
polar night |
op_source |
ISSN: 0019-1035 EISSN: 1090-2643 Icarus https://hal-insu.archives-ouvertes.fr/insu-01248935 Icarus, 2016, 268, pp.50-55. ⟨10.1016/j.icarus.2015.12.016⟩ |
op_relation |
info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/doi/10.1016/j.icarus.2015.12.016 insu-01248935 https://hal-insu.archives-ouvertes.fr/insu-01248935 BIBCODE: 2016Icar.268.50L doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2015.12.016 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.icarus.2015.12.016 |
container_title |
Icarus |
container_volume |
268 |
container_start_page |
50 |
op_container_end_page |
55 |
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1769008865542668288 |