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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ftobservparis:oai:HAL:insu-01248935v1 2023-05-15T18:02:15+02:00 Probing Pluto’s underworld: Ice temperatures from microwave radiometry decoupled from surface conditions Leyrat, Cedric Lorenz, Ralph D. Le Gall, Alice Laboratoire d'études spatiales et d'instrumentation en astrophysique (LESIA) Université Pierre et Marie Curie - Paris 6 (UPMC)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Observatoire de Paris Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris Diderot - Paris 7 (UPD7)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory Laurel, MD (APL) ESTER - LATMOS Laboratoire Atmosphères, Milieux, Observations Spatiales (LATMOS) Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (UVSQ)-Université Pierre et Marie Curie - Paris 6 (UPMC)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (UVSQ)-Université Pierre et Marie Curie - Paris 6 (UPMC)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) PLANETO - LATMOS 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, Elsevier, 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 ftobservparis https://doi.org/10.1016/j.icarus.2015.12.016 2022-07-28T15:16:14Z 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 Archive de l'Observatoire de Paris (HAL) Icarus 268 50 55 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Archive de l'Observatoire de Paris (HAL) |
op_collection_id |
ftobservparis |
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] Leyrat, Cedric Lorenz, Ralph D. Le Gall, Alice 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. |
author2 |
Laboratoire d'études spatiales et d'instrumentation en astrophysique (LESIA) Université Pierre et Marie Curie - Paris 6 (UPMC)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Observatoire de Paris Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris Diderot - Paris 7 (UPD7)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory Laurel, MD (APL) ESTER - LATMOS Laboratoire Atmosphères, Milieux, Observations Spatiales (LATMOS) Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (UVSQ)-Université Pierre et Marie Curie - Paris 6 (UPMC)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (UVSQ)-Université Pierre et Marie Curie - Paris 6 (UPMC)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) PLANETO - LATMOS |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Leyrat, Cedric Lorenz, Ralph D. Le Gall, Alice |
author_facet |
Leyrat, Cedric Lorenz, Ralph D. Le Gall, Alice |
author_sort |
Leyrat, Cedric |
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, Elsevier, 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 |
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Icarus |
container_volume |
268 |
container_start_page |
50 |
op_container_end_page |
55 |
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1766172054548119552 |