Jupiter's moon lo is known to host active volcanoes. In February and March 2007, the New Horizons spacecraft obtained a global snapshot of lo's volcanism. A 350-kilometer-high volcanic plume was seen ...to emanate from the Tvashtar volcano (62°N, 122°W), and its motion was observed. The plume's morphology and dynamics support nonballistic models of large lo plumes and also suggest that most visible plume particles condensed within the plume rather than being ejected from the source. In images taken in Jupiter eclipse, nonthermal visible-wavelength emission was seen from individual volcanoes near lo's sub-Jupiter and anti-Jupiter points. Near-infrared emission from the brightest volcanoes indicates minimum magma temperatures in the 1150- to 1335-kelvin range, consistent with basaltic composition.
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•Pluto's atmospheric haze observed to over 200km altitude, structured into ∼20 layers.•Pluto's haze layers modeled by orographically excited gravity waves.•Microphysical model of forward scattering ...visible phase function and UV extinction.•Atmospheric collapse may preserve Pluto's albedo contrasts despite haze deposition.
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 200km above Pluto's surface at solar phase angles from ∼20° to ∼169°. The haze is structured with about ∼20 layers, and the extinction due to haze is greater in the northern hemisphere than at equatorial or southern latitudes. However, more haze layers are discerned at equatorial latitudes. A search for temporal variations found no evidence for motions of haze layers (temporal changes in layer altitudes) on time scales of 2 to 5 hours, but did find evidence of changes in haze scale height above 100km altitude. An ultraviolet extinction attributable to the atmospheric haze was also detected by the ALICE ultraviolet spectrograph on New Horizons. The haze particles are strongly forward-scattering in the visible, and a microphysical model of haze is presented which reproduces the visible phase function just above the surface with 0.5µm spherical particles, but also invokes fractal aggregate particles to fit the visible phase function at 45km altitude and account for UV extinction. A model of haze layer generation by orographic excitation of gravity waves is presented. This model accounts for the observed layer thickness and distribution with altitude. Haze particles settle out of the atmosphere and onto Pluto's surface, at a rate sufficient to alter surface optical properties on seasonal time scales. Pluto's regional scale albedo contrasts may be preserved in the face of the haze deposition by atmospheric collapse.
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Charon tectonics Beyer, Ross A.; Nimmo, Francis; McKinnon, William B. ...
Icarus,
05/2017, Volume:
287
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
Open access
•Observations of extensional features on Charons surface are discussed.•These features suggest an areal strain of 1%.•This is consistent with an ancient global ocean that is now frozen.
New Horizons ...images of Pluto’s companion Charon show a variety of terrains that display extensional tectonic features, with relief surprising for this relatively small world. These features suggest a global extensional areal strain of order 1% early in Charon’s history. Such extension is consistent with the presence of an ancient global ocean, now frozen.
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NASA’s
Lucy
mission spacecraft was launched on 16 October 2021 and will perform the initial in situ investigation of the Jovian Trojan asteroids (Levison et al.
2021
,
2024
). The Lucy LOng Range ...Reconnaissance Imager (L’LORRI) is a panchromatic visible light (420–795 nm, 50% QE points), narrow-angle (field of view = 0.29°), high spatial resolution (1.0
′′
pixel
−1
) imager used on the
Lucy
mission for both science observations and optical navigation. L’LORRI is designed to provide maps of the sunlit portions of the Trojan surfaces to a resolution of ∼10 m (after deconvolution), which will enable crater counting to constrain the surface ages. L’LORRI’s high sensitivity and large dynamic range permits imaging of the low albedo Trojans at moderately large phase angles (down to I/F values of ∼0.0014 with SNR ≈ 30 using an exposure time of 100 ms), as well as providing early acquisitions of the Trojans during the approach phase, searches for Trojan activity that are ∼10× better than can be obtained from Earth, and deep searches for potential Trojan satellites down to
V
≈
20.4
at spatial resolutions far surpassing that available from Earth. This paper describes the L’LORRI instrument design and the requirements that drove the design. We present results from L’LORRI’s ground calibration campaign, summarize the L’LORRI in-flight calibration plan, and describe typical L’LORRI operations scenarios during the Trojan flybys. We also present an analysis of in-flight data taken during the first year of
Lucy
operations, which show that most aspects of L’LORRI’s performance are nominal (i.e., as predicted), but the telescope’s point spread function is slightly degraded relative to pre-flight predictions. Nevertheless, L’LORRI is still expected to fulfill all of its scientific objectives, which should revolutionize our view of the Jovian Trojans.
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EMUNI, FIS, FZAB, GEOZS, GIS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, MFDPS, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, SBMB, SBNM, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK, VKSCE, ZAGLJ
•The total productivity of ISON increased by about a factor of 40 between Rh=1.12AU and Rh=0.43AU.•The relative abundances of parent volatiles changed as ISON approached perihelion.•NH3/HCN, ...H2CO/CH3OH, and C2H2/C2H6 measured at Rh=0.46AU are among the highest ratios measured in comets.•Connections between related volatile species in ISON are derived from their spatial distributions in the coma.•C2H2 and HCN are not the primary parents of C2 and CN in ISON.
Volatile production rates, relative abundances, rotational temperatures, and spatial distributions in the coma were measured in C/2012 S1 (ISON) using long-slit high-dispersion (λ/Δλ∼2.5×104) infrared spectroscopy as part of a worldwide observing campaign. Spectra were obtained on UT 2013 October 26 and 28 with NIRSPEC at the W.M. Keck Observatory, and UT 2013 November 19 and 20 with CSHELL at the NASA IRTF. H2O was detected on all dates, with production rates increasing markedly from (8.7±1.5)×1027moleculess−1 on October 26 (Rh=1.12AU) to (3.7±0.4)×1029moleculess−1 on November 20 (Rh=0.43AU). Short-term variability of H2O production is also seen as observations on November 19 show an increase in H2O production rate of nearly a factor of two over a period of about 6h. C2H6, CH3OH and CH4 abundances in ISON are slightly depleted relative to H2O when compared to mean values for comets measured at infrared wavelengths. On the November dates, C2H2, HCN and OCS abundances relative to H2O appear to be within the range of mean values, whereas H2CO and NH3 were significantly enhanced. There is evidence that the abundances with respect to H2O increased for some species but not others between October 28 (Rh=1.07AU) and November 19 (Rh=0.46AU). The high mixing ratios of H2CO/CH3OH and C2H2/C2H6 on November 19, and changes in the mixing ratios of some species with respect to H2O between October 28 to November 19, indicates compositional changes that may be the result of a transition from sampling radiation-processed outer layers in this dynamically new comet to sampling more pristine natal material as the outer processed layer was increasingly eroded and the thermal wave propagated into the nucleus as the comet approached perihelion for the first time. On November 19 and 20, the spatial distribution for dust appears asymmetric and enhanced in the antisolar direction, whereas spatial distributions for volatiles (excepting CN) appear symmetric with their peaks slightly offset in the sunward direction compared to the dust. Spatial distributions for H2O, HCN, C2H6, C2H2, and H2CO on November 19 show no definitive evidence for significant contributions from extended sources; however, broader spatial distributions for NH3 and OCS may be consistent with extended sources for these species. Abundances of HCN and C2H2 on November 19 and 20 are insufficient to account for reported abundances of CN and C2 in ISON near this time. Differences in HCN and CN spatial distributions are also consistent with HCN as only a minor source of CN in ISON on November 19 as the spatial distribution of CN in the coma suggests a dominant distributed source that is correlated with dust and not volatile release. The spatial distributions for NH3 and NH2 are similar, suggesting that NH3 is the primary source of NH2 with no evidence of a significant dust source of NH2; however, the higher production rates derived for NH3 compared to NH2 on November 19 and 20 remain unexplained. This suggests a more complete analysis that treats NH2 as a distributed source and accounts for its emission mechanism is needed for future work.
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Several observations of Jupiter's atmosphere made by instruments on the New Horizons spacecraft have implications for the stability and dynamics of Jupiter's weather layer. Mesoscale waves, first ...seen by Voyager, have been observed at a spatial resolution of 11 to 45 kilometers. These waves have a 300-kilometer wavelength and phase velocities greater than the local zonal flow by 100 meters per second, much higher than predicted by models. Additionally, infrared spectral measurements over five successive Jupiter rotations at spatial resolutions of 200 to 140 kilometers have shown the development of transient ammonia ice clouds (lifetimes of 40 hours or less) in regions of strong atmospheric upwelling. Both of these phenomena serve as probes of atmospheric dynamics below the visible cloud tops.
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In this paper we discuss in a thermodynamic, geologically empirical way the long-term nature of the stable majority ices that could be present in Kuiper Belt object (KBO) 2014 MU69 (also called ...Arrokoth; hereafter “MU69”) after its 4.6 Gyr residence in the Edgeworth-Kuiper belt (EKB) as a cold classical object. We compare the upper bounds for the gas production rate (~1024 molecules/s) measured by the New Horizons (NH) spacecraft flyby on 01 Jan 2019 to estimates for the outgassing flux rates from a suite of common cometary and KBO ices at the average ~ 40 K sunlit surface temperature of MU69, but do not find the upper limit very constraining except for the most volatile of species (e.g. CO, N2, CH4). More constraining is the stability versus sublimation into vacuum requirement over Myr to Gyr, and from this we find only 3 common ices that are truly refractory: HCN, CH3OH, and H2O (in order of increasing stability), while NH3 and H2CO ices are marginally stable and may be removed by any positive temperature excursions in the EKB, as produced every 108–109 years by nearby supernovae and passing O/B stars. To date the NH team has reported the presence of abundant CH3OH and H2O on MU69's surface (Stern et al., 2019; Grundy et al., 2020). NH3 has been searched for, but not found. We predict that future absorption feature detections, if any are ever derived from higher signal-to-noise ratio spectra, will be due to an HCN or poly-H2CO based species. Consideration of the conditions present in the EKB region during the formation era of MU69 lead us to state that it is highly likely that it “formed in the dark”, in an optically thick mid-plane, unable to see the nascent, variable, highly luminous Young Stellar Object (YSO)/TTauri Sun, and that KBOs contain HCN and CH3OH ice phases in addition to the H2O ice phases found in their short period (SP) comet descendants. Finally, when we apply our ice thermal stability analysis to bodies/populations related to MU69, we find that methanol ice is likely ubiquitous in the outer solar system; that if Pluto isn't a fully differentiated body, then it must have gained its hypervolatile ices from proto-planetary disk (PPD) sources in the first few Myr of the solar system's existence; and that hypervolatile rich, highly primordial comet C/2016 R2 was placed onto an Oort Cloud orbit on a similar few Myr timescale.
•Methanol ice should be ubiquitous in the outer solar system.•Pluto likely gained its hypervolatiles from proto-planetary disk (PPD) sources in the first few Myr of the solar system.•MU69 “formed in the dark”, in an optically thick mid-plane, unable to see the nascent TTauri Sun.•Comet C/2016 R2 contains abundant hypervolatile primordial material.
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Energetic Particles in the Jovian Magnetotail McNutt, R.L. Jr; Haggerty, D.K; Hill, M.E ...
Science (American Association for the Advancement of Science),
10/2007, Volume:
318, Issue:
5848
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
When the solar wind hits Jupiter's magnetic field, it creates a long magnetotail trailing behind the planet that channels material out of the Jupiter system. The New Horizons spacecraft traversed the ...length of the jovian magnetotail to >2500 jovian radii (RJ; 1 RJ identical with71,400 kilometers), observing a high-temperature, multispecies population of energetic particles. Velocity dispersions, anisotropies, and compositional variation seen in the deep-tail (greater, similar 500 RJ) with a ~3-day periodicity are similar to variations seen closer to Jupiter in Galileo data. The signatures suggest plasma streaming away from the planet and injection sites in the near-tail region (~200 to 400 RJ) that could be related to magnetic reconnection events. The tail structure remains coherent at least until it reaches the magnetosheath at 1655 RJ.
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Context. Knowledge of the size distribution of cometary nuclei and, more generally, of their physical properties is important for constraining models of the formation and evolution of the Solar ...System. Aims. We report on our on-going effort to determine the ensemble properties of comets based on our success in detecting the nuclei of active comets with the Hubble Space Telescope (HST). Methods. During cycle 8 (July 1999 to June 2000), we observed 13 ecliptic comets with the planetary camera 2 through at least two filters (V and R) and up to four (B, V, R, I) for the brightest ones. The 30 min of HST observational time devoted to each comet did not permit a proper determination of light curves, so our ``snapshot'' observations yield effective radii, not shapes. Results. Assuming spherical nuclei with a geometric albedo of 0.04 for the R band (except 0.024 for 10P/Tempel 2, as independently measured) and a phase law of 0.04 mag/deg, we obtained the following effective radii: 4P/Faye: 1.77 km, 10P/Tempel 2: 5.98 km, 17P/Holmes: 1.71 km, 37P/Forbes: 0.81 km 44P/Reinmuth 2: 1.61 km, 50P/Arend: 0.95 km, 59P/Kearns-Kwee: 0.79 km, 63P/Wild 1: 1.46 km, 71P/Clark: 0.68 km, 84P/Giclas: 0.90 km, 106P/Schuster: 0.94 km, 112P/Urata-Niijima: 0.90 km, 114P/Wiseman-Skiff: 0.78 km. In our present sample, eight out of thirteen nuclei have sub-kilometer radii. The average color of the observed nuclei is , which is significantly redder than the Sun. We determined the dust activity parameter of their coma in the R band, and estimated the dust production rates. The average reflectivity gradient of the dust comae of six comets is % per kÅ .
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Pluto's first known satellite, Charon, was discovered in 1978. It has a diameter (∼1,200 km) about half that of Pluto, which makes it larger, relative to its primary, than any other moon in the Solar ...System. Previous searches for other satellites around Pluto have been unsuccessful, but they were not sensitive to objects 150 km in diameter and there are no fundamental reasons why Pluto should not have more satellites. Here we report the discovery of two additional moons around Pluto, provisionally designated S/2005 P 1 (hereafter P1) and S/2005 P 2 (hereafter P2), which makes Pluto the first Kuiper belt object known to have multiple satellites. These new satellites are much smaller than Charon, with estimates of P1's diameter ranging from 60 km to 165 km, depending on the surface reflectivity; P2 is about 20 per cent smaller than P1. Although definitive orbits cannot be derived, both new satellites appear to be moving in circular orbits in the same orbital plane as Charon, with orbital periods of ∼38 days (P1) and ∼25 days (P2).
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