1
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Spencer JR, Stern SA, Moore JM, Weaver HA, Singer KN, Olkin CB, Verbiscer AJ, McKinnon WB, Parker JW, Beyer RA, Keane JT, Lauer TR, Porter SB, White OL, Buratti BJ, El-Maarry MR, Lisse CM, Parker AH, Throop HB, Robbins SJ, Umurhan OM, Binzel RP, Britt DT, Buie MW, Cheng AF, Cruikshank DP, Elliott HA, Gladstone GR, Grundy WM, Hill ME, Horanyi M, Jennings DE, Kavelaars JJ, Linscott IR, McComas DJ, McNutt RL, Protopapa S, Reuter DC, Schenk PM, Showalter MR, Young LA, Zangari AM, Abedin AY, Beddingfield CB, Benecchi SD, Bernardoni E, Bierson CJ, Borncamp D, Bray VJ, Chaikin AL, Dhingra RD, Fuentes C, Fuse T, Gay PL, Gwyn SDJ, Hamilton DP, Hofgartner JD, Holman MJ, Howard AD, Howett CJA, Karoji H, Kaufmann DE, Kinczyk M, May BH, Mountain M, Pätzold M, Petit JM, Piquette MR, Reid IN, Reitsema HJ, Runyon KD, Sheppard SS, Stansberry JA, Stryk T, Tanga P, Tholen DJ, Trilling DE, Wasserman LH. The geology and geophysics of Kuiper Belt object (486958) Arrokoth. Science 2020; 367:science.aay3999. [PMID: 32054694 DOI: 10.1126/science.aay3999] [Citation(s) in RCA: 49] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/14/2019] [Accepted: 01/27/2020] [Indexed: 11/02/2022]
Abstract
The Cold Classical Kuiper Belt, a class of small bodies in undisturbed orbits beyond Neptune, is composed of primitive objects preserving information about Solar System formation. In January 2019, the New Horizons spacecraft flew past one of these objects, the 36-kilometer-long contact binary (486958) Arrokoth (provisional designation 2014 MU69). Images from the flyby show that Arrokoth has no detectable rings, and no satellites (larger than 180 meters in diameter) within a radius of 8000 kilometers. Arrokoth has a lightly cratered, smooth surface with complex geological features, unlike those on previously visited Solar System bodies. The density of impact craters indicates the surface dates from the formation of the Solar System. The two lobes of the contact binary have closely aligned poles and equators, constraining their accretion mechanism.
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Affiliation(s)
- J R Spencer
- Southwest Research Institute, Boulder, CO 80302, USA.
| | - S A Stern
- Southwest Research Institute, Boulder, CO 80302, USA
| | - J M Moore
- NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA 94035-1000, USA
| | - H A Weaver
- Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD 20723, USA
| | - K N Singer
- Southwest Research Institute, Boulder, CO 80302, USA
| | - C B Olkin
- Southwest Research Institute, Boulder, CO 80302, USA
| | - A J Verbiscer
- Department of Astronomy, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA 22904, USA
| | - W B McKinnon
- Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences and McDonnell Center for the Space Sciences, Washington University, St. Louis, MO 63130, USA
| | - J Wm Parker
- Southwest Research Institute, Boulder, CO 80302, USA
| | - R A Beyer
- SETI Institute, Mountain View, CA 94043, USA.,NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA 94035-1000, USA
| | - J T Keane
- Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA
| | - T R Lauer
- National Science Foundation's National Optical Infrared Astronomy Research Laboratory, Tucson, AZ 26732, USA
| | - S B Porter
- Southwest Research Institute, Boulder, CO 80302, USA
| | - O L White
- SETI Institute, Mountain View, CA 94043, USA.,NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA 94035-1000, USA
| | - B J Buratti
- Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology Pasadena, CA 91109, USA
| | - M R El-Maarry
- Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Birkbeck, University of London, London WC1E 7HX, UK.,University College London, Gower St, Bloomsbury, London WC1E 6BT, UK
| | - C M Lisse
- Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD 20723, USA
| | - A H Parker
- Southwest Research Institute, Boulder, CO 80302, USA
| | - H B Throop
- Independent Consultant, Washington, D.C., USA
| | - S J Robbins
- Southwest Research Institute, Boulder, CO 80302, USA
| | - O M Umurhan
- NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA 94035-1000, USA
| | - R P Binzel
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
| | - D T Britt
- Department of Physics, University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL 32816, USA
| | - M W Buie
- Southwest Research Institute, Boulder, CO 80302, USA
| | - A F Cheng
- Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD 20723, USA
| | - D P Cruikshank
- NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA 94035-1000, USA
| | - H A Elliott
- Southwest Research Institute, San Antonio, TX 78238, USA
| | - G R Gladstone
- Southwest Research Institute, San Antonio, TX 78238, USA
| | - W M Grundy
- Lowell Observatory, Flagstaff, AZ 86001, USA.,Department of Astronomy and Planetary Science, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ, 86011, USA
| | - M E Hill
- Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD 20723, USA
| | - M Horanyi
- Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80303, USA
| | - D E Jennings
- NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA
| | - J J Kavelaars
- National Research Council of Canada, Victoria, BC V9E 2E7, Canada
| | - I R Linscott
- Independent Consultant, Mountain View, CA 94043, USA
| | - D J McComas
- Department of Astrophysical Sciences, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA
| | - R L McNutt
- Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD 20723, USA
| | - S Protopapa
- Southwest Research Institute, Boulder, CO 80302, USA
| | - D C Reuter
- NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA
| | - P M Schenk
- Lunar and Planetary Institute, Houston, TX 77058, USA
| | | | - L A Young
- Southwest Research Institute, Boulder, CO 80302, USA
| | - A M Zangari
- Southwest Research Institute, Boulder, CO 80302, USA
| | - A Y Abedin
- National Research Council of Canada, Victoria, BC V9E 2E7, Canada
| | | | - S D Benecchi
- Planetary Science Institute, Tucson, AZ 85719, USA
| | - E Bernardoni
- Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80303, USA
| | - C J Bierson
- Earth and Planetary Science Department, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA 95064, USA
| | - D Borncamp
- Decipher Technology Studios, Alexandria, VA 22314, USA
| | - V J Bray
- Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA
| | - A L Chaikin
- Independent Science Writer, Arlington, VT 05250, USA
| | | | - C Fuentes
- Universidad de Chile, Centro de Astrofísica y Tecnologías Afines, Santiago, Chile
| | - T Fuse
- Kashima Space Technology Center, National Institute of Information and Communications Technology, Kashima, Ibaraki 314-8501, Japan
| | - P L Gay
- Planetary Science Institute, Tucson, AZ 85719, USA
| | - S D J Gwyn
- National Research Council of Canada, Victoria, BC V9E 2E7, Canada
| | - D P Hamilton
- Department of Astronomy, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA
| | - J D Hofgartner
- Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology Pasadena, CA 91109, USA
| | - M J Holman
- Center for Astrophysics, Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
| | - A D Howard
- Department of Environmental Sciences, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA 22904, USA
| | - C J A Howett
- Southwest Research Institute, Boulder, CO 80302, USA
| | - H Karoji
- National Institutes of Natural Sciences, Tokyo, Japan
| | - D E Kaufmann
- Southwest Research Institute, Boulder, CO 80302, USA
| | - M Kinczyk
- Marine, Earth, and Atmospheric Sciences, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695, USA
| | - B H May
- Independent Collaborator, Windlesham GU20 6YW, UK
| | - M Mountain
- Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Washington, DC 20004, USA
| | - M Pätzold
- Rheinisches Institut für Umweltforschung an der Universität zu Köln, Cologne 50931, Germany
| | - J M Petit
- Institut Univers, Temps-fréquence, Interfaces, Nanostructures, Atmosphère et environnement, Molécules, Unité Mixte de Recherche, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Universite Bourgogne Franche Comte, F-25000 Besancon, France
| | - M R Piquette
- Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80303, USA
| | - I N Reid
- Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA
| | | | - K D Runyon
- Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD 20723, USA
| | - S S Sheppard
- Department of Terrestrial Magnetism, Carnegie Institution for Science, Washington, DC 20015, USA
| | - J A Stansberry
- Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA
| | - T Stryk
- Roane State Community College, Oak Ridge, TN 37830, USA
| | - P Tanga
- Université Côte d'Azur, Observatoire de la Côte d'Azur, Laboratoire Lagrange/ Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Unité Mixte de Recherche 7293, 06304 Nice Cedex 4, France
| | - D J Tholen
- Institute for Astronomy, University of Hawaii, Honolulu, HI 96822, USA
| | - D E Trilling
- Department of Astronomy and Planetary Science, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ, 86011, USA
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2
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Grundy WM, Bird MK, Britt DT, Cook JC, Cruikshank DP, Howett CJA, Krijt S, Linscott IR, Olkin CB, Parker AH, Protopapa S, Ruaud M, Umurhan OM, Young LA, Dalle Ore CM, Kavelaars JJ, Keane JT, Pendleton YJ, Porter SB, Scipioni F, Spencer JR, Stern SA, Verbiscer AJ, Weaver HA, Binzel RP, Buie MW, Buratti BJ, Cheng A, Earle AM, Elliott HA, Gabasova L, Gladstone GR, Hill ME, Horanyi M, Jennings DE, Lunsford AW, McComas DJ, McKinnon WB, McNutt RL, Moore JM, Parker JW, Quirico E, Reuter DC, Schenk PM, Schmitt B, Showalter MR, Singer KN, Weigle GE, Zangari AM. Color, composition, and thermal environment of Kuiper Belt object (486958) Arrokoth. Science 2020; 367:science.aay3705. [PMID: 32054693 DOI: 10.1126/science.aay3705] [Citation(s) in RCA: 44] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/12/2019] [Accepted: 01/22/2020] [Indexed: 11/02/2022]
Abstract
The outer Solar System object (486958) Arrokoth (provisional designation 2014 MU69) has been largely undisturbed since its formation. We studied its surface composition using data collected by the New Horizons spacecraft. Methanol ice is present along with organic material, which may have formed through irradiation of simple molecules. Water ice was not detected. This composition indicates hydrogenation of carbon monoxide-rich ice and/or energetic processing of methane condensed on water ice grains in the cold, outer edge of the early Solar System. There are only small regional variations in color and spectra across the surface, which suggests that Arrokoth formed from a homogeneous or well-mixed reservoir of solids. Microwave thermal emission from the winter night side is consistent with a mean brightness temperature of 29 ± 5 kelvin.
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Affiliation(s)
- W M Grundy
- Lowell Observatory, Flagstaff, AZ 86001, USA. .,Department of Astronomy and Planetary Science, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ 86011, USA
| | - M K Bird
- Argelander-Institut für Astronomie, University of Bonn, D-53121 Bonn, Germany.,Rheinisches Institut für Umweltforschung, Universität zu Köln, 50931 Cologne, Germany
| | - D T Britt
- University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL 32816, USA
| | - J C Cook
- Pinhead Institute, Telluride, CO 81435, USA
| | | | - C J A Howett
- Southwest Research Institute, Boulder, CO 80302, USA
| | - S Krijt
- Steward Observatory, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85719, USA
| | | | - C B Olkin
- Southwest Research Institute, Boulder, CO 80302, USA
| | - A H Parker
- Southwest Research Institute, Boulder, CO 80302, USA
| | - S Protopapa
- Southwest Research Institute, Boulder, CO 80302, USA
| | - M Ruaud
- NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA 94035, USA
| | - O M Umurhan
- NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA 94035, USA.,Carl Sagan Center, SETI Institute, Mountain View, CA 94043, USA
| | - L A Young
- Southwest Research Institute, Boulder, CO 80302, USA
| | - C M Dalle Ore
- NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA 94035, USA.,Carl Sagan Center, SETI Institute, Mountain View, CA 94043, USA
| | - J J Kavelaars
- National Research Council, Victoria, BC V9E 2E7, Canada.,Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Victoria, Victoria, BC V8W 2Y2, Canada
| | - J T Keane
- California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA
| | - Y J Pendleton
- NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA 94035, USA
| | - S B Porter
- Southwest Research Institute, Boulder, CO 80302, USA
| | - F Scipioni
- NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA 94035, USA.,Carl Sagan Center, SETI Institute, Mountain View, CA 94043, USA
| | - J R Spencer
- Southwest Research Institute, Boulder, CO 80302, USA
| | - S A Stern
- Southwest Research Institute, Boulder, CO 80302, USA
| | - A J Verbiscer
- University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA 22904, USA
| | - H A Weaver
- Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD 20723, USA
| | - R P Binzel
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
| | - M W Buie
- Southwest Research Institute, Boulder, CO 80302, USA
| | - B J Buratti
- NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, La Cañada Flintridge, CA 91011, USA
| | - A Cheng
- Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD 20723, USA
| | - A M Earle
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
| | - H A Elliott
- Southwest Research Institute, San Antonio, TX 78238, USA
| | - L Gabasova
- Institut de Planétologie et d'Astrophysique de Grenoble, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Université Grenoble Alpes, Grenoble, France
| | - G R Gladstone
- Southwest Research Institute, San Antonio, TX 78238, USA
| | - M E Hill
- Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD 20723, USA
| | - M Horanyi
- University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309, USA
| | - D E Jennings
- NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA
| | - A W Lunsford
- NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA
| | - D J McComas
- Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA
| | | | - R L McNutt
- Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD 20723, USA
| | - J M Moore
- NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA 94035, USA
| | - J W Parker
- Southwest Research Institute, Boulder, CO 80302, USA
| | - E Quirico
- Institut de Planétologie et d'Astrophysique de Grenoble, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Université Grenoble Alpes, Grenoble, France
| | - D C Reuter
- NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA
| | - P M Schenk
- Lunar and Planetary Institute, Houston, TX 77058, USA
| | - B Schmitt
- Institut de Planétologie et d'Astrophysique de Grenoble, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Université Grenoble Alpes, Grenoble, France
| | - M R Showalter
- Carl Sagan Center, SETI Institute, Mountain View, CA 94043, USA
| | - K N Singer
- Southwest Research Institute, Boulder, CO 80302, USA
| | - G E Weigle
- Big Head Endian LLC, Leawood, KS 67019, USA
| | - A M Zangari
- Southwest Research Institute, Boulder, CO 80302, USA
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3
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McKinnon WB, Richardson DC, Marohnic JC, Keane JT, Grundy WM, Hamilton DP, Nesvorný D, Umurhan OM, Lauer TR, Singer KN, Stern SA, Weaver HA, Spencer JR, Buie MW, Moore JM, Kavelaars JJ, Lisse CM, Mao X, Parker AH, Porter SB, Showalter MR, Olkin CB, Cruikshank DP, Elliott HA, Gladstone GR, Parker JW, Verbiscer AJ, Young LA. The solar nebula origin of (486958) Arrokoth, a primordial contact binary in the Kuiper Belt. Science 2020; 367:science.aay6620. [PMID: 32054695 DOI: 10.1126/science.aay6620] [Citation(s) in RCA: 49] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/08/2019] [Accepted: 01/27/2020] [Indexed: 11/02/2022]
Abstract
The New Horizons spacecraft's encounter with the cold classical Kuiper Belt object (486958) Arrokoth (provisional designation 2014 MU69) revealed a contact-binary planetesimal. We investigated how Arrokoth formed and found that it is the product of a gentle, low-speed merger in the early Solar System. Its two lenticular lobes suggest low-velocity accumulation of numerous smaller planetesimals within a gravitationally collapsing cloud of solid particles. The geometric alignment of the lobes indicates that they were a co-orbiting binary that experienced angular momentum loss and subsequent merger, possibly because of dynamical friction and collisions within the cloud or later gas drag. Arrokoth's contact-binary shape was preserved by the benign dynamical and collisional environment of the cold classical Kuiper Belt and therefore informs the accretion processes that operated in the early Solar System.
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Affiliation(s)
- W B McKinnon
- Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences and McDonnell Center for the Space Sciences, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO 63130, USA.
| | - D C Richardson
- Department of Astronomy, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA
| | - J C Marohnic
- Department of Astronomy, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA
| | - J T Keane
- Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA
| | - W M Grundy
- Lowell Observatory, Flagstaff, AZ 86001, USA.,Department of Astronomy and Planetary Science, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ 86011, USA
| | - D P Hamilton
- Department of Astronomy, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA
| | - D Nesvorný
- Division of Space Science and Engineering, Southwest Research Institute, Boulder, CO 80302, USA
| | - O M Umurhan
- NASA Ames Research Center, Space Science Division, Moffett Field, CA 94035, USA.,SETI Institute, Mountain View, CA 94043, USA
| | - T R Lauer
- National Optical-Infrared Astronomy Research Laboratory, National Science Foundation, Tucson, AZ 85726, USA
| | - K N Singer
- Division of Space Science and Engineering, Southwest Research Institute, Boulder, CO 80302, USA
| | - S A Stern
- Division of Space Science and Engineering, Southwest Research Institute, Boulder, CO 80302, USA
| | - H A Weaver
- Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD 20723, USA
| | - J R Spencer
- National Research Council of Canada, Victoria, BC V9E 2E7, Canada
| | - M W Buie
- Division of Space Science and Engineering, Southwest Research Institute, Boulder, CO 80302, USA
| | - J M Moore
- NASA Ames Research Center, Space Science Division, Moffett Field, CA 94035, USA
| | - J J Kavelaars
- National Research Council of Canada, Victoria, BC V9E 2E7, Canada
| | - C M Lisse
- Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD 20723, USA
| | - X Mao
- Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences and McDonnell Center for the Space Sciences, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO 63130, USA
| | - A H Parker
- Division of Space Science and Engineering, Southwest Research Institute, Boulder, CO 80302, USA
| | - S B Porter
- Division of Space Science and Engineering, Southwest Research Institute, Boulder, CO 80302, USA
| | | | - C B Olkin
- Division of Space Science and Engineering, Southwest Research Institute, Boulder, CO 80302, USA
| | - D P Cruikshank
- NASA Ames Research Center, Space Science Division, Moffett Field, CA 94035, USA
| | - H A Elliott
- Division of Space Science and Engineering, Southwest Research Institute, San Antonio, TX 78238, USA.,Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Texas, San Antonio, TX 78249, USA
| | - G R Gladstone
- Division of Space Science and Engineering, Southwest Research Institute, San Antonio, TX 78238, USA
| | - J Wm Parker
- Division of Space Science and Engineering, Southwest Research Institute, Boulder, CO 80302, USA
| | - A J Verbiscer
- Department of Astronomy, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA 22904, USA
| | - L A Young
- Division of Space Science and Engineering, Southwest Research Institute, Boulder, CO 80302, USA
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4
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Stern SA, Weaver HA, Spencer JR, Olkin CB, Gladstone GR, Grundy WM, Moore JM, Cruikshank DP, Elliott HA, McKinnon WB, Parker JW, Verbiscer AJ, Young LA, Aguilar DA, Albers JM, Andert T, Andrews JP, Bagenal F, Banks ME, Bauer BA, Bauman JA, Bechtold KE, Beddingfield CB, Behrooz N, Beisser KB, Benecchi SD, Bernardoni E, Beyer RA, Bhaskaran S, Bierson CJ, Binzel RP, Birath EM, Bird MK, Boone DR, Bowman AF, Bray VJ, Britt DT, Brown LE, Buckley MR, Buie MW, Buratti BJ, Burke LM, Bushman SS, Carcich B, Chaikin AL, Chavez CL, Cheng AF, Colwell EJ, Conard SJ, Conner MP, Conrad CA, Cook JC, Cooper SB, Custodio OS, Dalle Ore CM, Deboy CC, Dharmavaram P, Dhingra RD, Dunn GF, Earle AM, Egan AF, Eisig J, El-Maarry MR, Engelbrecht C, Enke BL, Ercol CJ, Fattig ED, Ferrell CL, Finley TJ, Firer J, Fischetti J, Folkner WM, Fosbury MN, Fountain GH, Freeze JM, Gabasova L, Glaze LS, Green JL, Griffith GA, Guo Y, Hahn M, Hals DW, Hamilton DP, Hamilton SA, Hanley JJ, Harch A, Harmon KA, Hart HM, Hayes J, Hersman CB, Hill ME, Hill TA, Hofgartner JD, Holdridge ME, Horányi M, Hosadurga A, Howard AD, Howett CJA, Jaskulek SE, Jennings DE, Jensen JR, Jones MR, Kang HK, Katz DJ, Kaufmann DE, Kavelaars JJ, Keane JT, Keleher GP, Kinczyk M, Kochte MC, Kollmann P, Krimigis SM, Kruizinga GL, Kusnierkiewicz DY, Lahr MS, Lauer TR, Lawrence GB, Lee JE, Lessac-Chenen EJ, Linscott IR, Lisse CM, Lunsford AW, Mages DM, Mallder VA, Martin NP, May BH, McComas DJ, McNutt RL, Mehoke DS, Mehoke TS, Nelson DS, Nguyen HD, Núñez JI, Ocampo AC, Owen WM, Oxton GK, Parker AH, Pätzold M, Pelgrift JY, Pelletier FJ, Pineau JP, Piquette MR, Porter SB, Protopapa S, Quirico E, Redfern JA, Regiec AL, Reitsema HJ, Reuter DC, Richardson DC, Riedel JE, Ritterbush MA, Robbins SJ, Rodgers DJ, Rogers GD, Rose DM, Rosendall PE, Runyon KD, Ryschkewitsch MG, Saina MM, Salinas MJ, Schenk PM, Scherrer JR, Schlei WR, Schmitt B, Schultz DJ, Schurr DC, Scipioni F, Sepan RL, Shelton RG, Showalter MR, Simon M, Singer KN, Stahlheber EW, Stanbridge DR, Stansberry JA, Steffl AJ, Strobel DF, Stothoff MM, Stryk T, Stuart JR, Summers ME, Tapley MB, Taylor A, Taylor HW, Tedford RM, Throop HB, Turner LS, Umurhan OM, Van Eck J, Velez D, Versteeg MH, Vincent MA, Webbert RW, Weidner SE, Weigle GE, Wendel JR, White OL, Whittenburg KE, Williams BG, Williams KE, Williams SP, Winters HL, Zangari AM, Zurbuchen TH. Initial results from the New Horizons exploration of 2014 MU 69, a small Kuiper Belt object. Science 2019; 364:364/6441/eaaw9771. [PMID: 31097641 DOI: 10.1126/science.aaw9771] [Citation(s) in RCA: 88] [Impact Index Per Article: 17.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/20/2019] [Accepted: 04/16/2019] [Indexed: 11/02/2022]
Abstract
The Kuiper Belt is a distant region of the outer Solar System. On 1 January 2019, the New Horizons spacecraft flew close to (486958) 2014 MU69, a cold classical Kuiper Belt object approximately 30 kilometers in diameter. Such objects have never been substantially heated by the Sun and are therefore well preserved since their formation. We describe initial results from these encounter observations. MU69 is a bilobed contact binary with a flattened shape, discrete geological units, and noticeable albedo heterogeneity. However, there is little surface color or compositional heterogeneity. No evidence for satellites, rings or other dust structures, a gas coma, or solar wind interactions was detected. MU69's origin appears consistent with pebble cloud collapse followed by a low-velocity merger of its two lobes.
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Affiliation(s)
- S A Stern
- Southwest Research Institute, Boulder, CO 80302, USA.
| | - H A Weaver
- Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD 20723, USA
| | - J R Spencer
- Southwest Research Institute, Boulder, CO 80302, USA
| | - C B Olkin
- Southwest Research Institute, Boulder, CO 80302, USA
| | - G R Gladstone
- Southwest Research Institute, San Antonio, TX 78238, USA
| | - W M Grundy
- Lowell Observatory, Flagstaff, AZ 86001, USA
| | - J M Moore
- NASA Ames Research Center, Space Science Division, Moffett Field, CA 94035, USA
| | - D P Cruikshank
- NASA Ames Research Center, Space Science Division, Moffett Field, CA 94035, USA
| | - H A Elliott
- Southwest Research Institute, San Antonio, TX 78238, USA.,Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Texas, San Antonio, TX 78249, USA
| | - W B McKinnon
- Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences and McDonnell Center for the Space Sciences, Washington University, St. Louis, MO 63130, USA
| | - J Wm Parker
- Southwest Research Institute, Boulder, CO 80302, USA
| | - A J Verbiscer
- Department of Astronomy, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA 22904, USA
| | - L A Young
- Southwest Research Institute, Boulder, CO 80302, USA
| | - D A Aguilar
- Independent consultant, Carbondale, CO 81623, USA
| | - J M Albers
- Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD 20723, USA
| | - T Andert
- Universität der Bundeswehr München, Neubiberg 85577, Germany
| | - J P Andrews
- Southwest Research Institute, Boulder, CO 80302, USA
| | - F Bagenal
- Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80303, USA
| | - M E Banks
- NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA
| | - B A Bauer
- Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD 20723, USA
| | | | - K E Bechtold
- Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD 20723, USA
| | - C B Beddingfield
- NASA Ames Research Center, Space Science Division, Moffett Field, CA 94035, USA.,SETI Institute, Mountain View, CA 94043, USA
| | - N Behrooz
- Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD 20723, USA
| | - K B Beisser
- Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD 20723, USA
| | - S D Benecchi
- Planetary Science Institute, Tucson, AZ 85719, USA
| | - E Bernardoni
- Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80303, USA
| | - R A Beyer
- NASA Ames Research Center, Space Science Division, Moffett Field, CA 94035, USA.,SETI Institute, Mountain View, CA 94043, USA
| | - S Bhaskaran
- Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91109, USA
| | - C J Bierson
- Earth and Planetary Science Department, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA 95064, USA
| | - R P Binzel
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
| | - E M Birath
- Southwest Research Institute, Boulder, CO 80302, USA
| | - M K Bird
- Argelander-Institut für Astronomie, University of Bonn, Bonn D-53121, Germany.,Rheinisches Institut für Umweltforschung, Universität zu Köln, Cologne 50931, Germany
| | - D R Boone
- Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91109, USA
| | - A F Bowman
- Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD 20723, USA
| | - V J Bray
- Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA
| | - D T Britt
- Department of Physics, University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL 32816, USA
| | - L E Brown
- Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD 20723, USA
| | - M R Buckley
- Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD 20723, USA
| | - M W Buie
- Southwest Research Institute, Boulder, CO 80302, USA
| | - B J Buratti
- Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91109, USA
| | - L M Burke
- Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD 20723, USA
| | - S S Bushman
- Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD 20723, USA
| | - B Carcich
- Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD 20723, USA.,Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA
| | - A L Chaikin
- Independent science writer, Arlington, VT 05250, USA
| | - C L Chavez
- NASA Ames Research Center, Space Science Division, Moffett Field, CA 94035, USA.,SETI Institute, Mountain View, CA 94043, USA
| | - A F Cheng
- Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD 20723, USA
| | - E J Colwell
- Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD 20723, USA
| | - S J Conard
- Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD 20723, USA
| | - M P Conner
- Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD 20723, USA
| | - C A Conrad
- Southwest Research Institute, Boulder, CO 80302, USA
| | - J C Cook
- Pinhead Institute, Telluride, CO 81435, USA
| | - S B Cooper
- Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD 20723, USA
| | - O S Custodio
- Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD 20723, USA
| | - C M Dalle Ore
- NASA Ames Research Center, Space Science Division, Moffett Field, CA 94035, USA.,SETI Institute, Mountain View, CA 94043, USA
| | - C C Deboy
- Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD 20723, USA
| | - P Dharmavaram
- Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD 20723, USA
| | | | - G F Dunn
- Southwest Research Institute, San Antonio, TX 78238, USA
| | - A M Earle
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
| | - A F Egan
- Southwest Research Institute, Boulder, CO 80302, USA
| | - J Eisig
- Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD 20723, USA
| | - M R El-Maarry
- Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Birkbeck, University of London, London WC1E 7HX, UK
| | - C Engelbrecht
- Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD 20723, USA
| | - B L Enke
- Southwest Research Institute, Boulder, CO 80302, USA
| | - C J Ercol
- Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD 20723, USA
| | - E D Fattig
- Southwest Research Institute, San Antonio, TX 78238, USA
| | - C L Ferrell
- Southwest Research Institute, Boulder, CO 80302, USA
| | - T J Finley
- Southwest Research Institute, Boulder, CO 80302, USA
| | - J Firer
- Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD 20723, USA
| | | | - W M Folkner
- Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91109, USA
| | - M N Fosbury
- Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD 20723, USA
| | - G H Fountain
- Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD 20723, USA
| | - J M Freeze
- Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD 20723, USA
| | - L Gabasova
- University Grenoble Alpes, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Institut de Planétologie et d'Astrophysique de Grenoble, 38000 Grenoble, France
| | - L S Glaze
- NASA Headquarters, Washington, DC 20546, USA
| | - J L Green
- NASA Headquarters, Washington, DC 20546, USA
| | - G A Griffith
- Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD 20723, USA
| | - Y Guo
- Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD 20723, USA
| | - M Hahn
- Rheinisches Institut für Umweltforschung, Universität zu Köln, Cologne 50931, Germany
| | - D W Hals
- Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD 20723, USA
| | - D P Hamilton
- Department of Astronomy, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA
| | - S A Hamilton
- Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD 20723, USA
| | - J J Hanley
- Southwest Research Institute, San Antonio, TX 78238, USA
| | - A Harch
- Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA
| | - K A Harmon
- Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91109, USA
| | - H M Hart
- Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD 20723, USA
| | - J Hayes
- Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD 20723, USA
| | - C B Hersman
- Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD 20723, USA
| | - M E Hill
- Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD 20723, USA
| | - T A Hill
- Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD 20723, USA
| | - J D Hofgartner
- Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91109, USA
| | - M E Holdridge
- Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD 20723, USA
| | - M Horányi
- Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80303, USA
| | - A Hosadurga
- Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD 20723, USA
| | - A D Howard
- Department of Environmental Sciences, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA 22904, USA
| | - C J A Howett
- Southwest Research Institute, Boulder, CO 80302, USA
| | - S E Jaskulek
- Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD 20723, USA
| | - D E Jennings
- NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA
| | - J R Jensen
- Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD 20723, USA
| | - M R Jones
- Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD 20723, USA
| | - H K Kang
- Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD 20723, USA
| | - D J Katz
- Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD 20723, USA
| | - D E Kaufmann
- Southwest Research Institute, Boulder, CO 80302, USA
| | - J J Kavelaars
- National Research Council of Canada, Victoria, BC V9E 2E7, Canada
| | - J T Keane
- Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA
| | - G P Keleher
- Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD 20723, USA
| | - M Kinczyk
- Marine, Earth, and Atmospheric Sciences, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695, USA
| | - M C Kochte
- Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD 20723, USA
| | - P Kollmann
- Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD 20723, USA
| | - S M Krimigis
- Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD 20723, USA
| | - G L Kruizinga
- Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91109, USA
| | - D Y Kusnierkiewicz
- Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD 20723, USA
| | - M S Lahr
- Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD 20723, USA
| | - T R Lauer
- National Optical Astronomy Observatory, Tucson, AZ 26732, USA
| | - G B Lawrence
- Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD 20723, USA
| | - J E Lee
- NASA Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, AL 35812, USA
| | | | - I R Linscott
- Independent consultant, Mountain View, CA 94043, USA
| | - C M Lisse
- Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD 20723, USA
| | - A W Lunsford
- NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA
| | - D M Mages
- Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91109, USA
| | - V A Mallder
- Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD 20723, USA
| | - N P Martin
- Independent consultant, Crested Butte, CO 81224, USA
| | - B H May
- Independent collaborator, Windlesham GU20 6YW, UK
| | - D J McComas
- Southwest Research Institute, San Antonio, TX 78238, USA.,Department of Astrophysical Sciences, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA
| | - R L McNutt
- Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD 20723, USA
| | - D S Mehoke
- Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD 20723, USA
| | - T S Mehoke
- Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD 20723, USA
| | | | - H D Nguyen
- Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD 20723, USA
| | - J I Núñez
- Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD 20723, USA
| | - A C Ocampo
- NASA Headquarters, Washington, DC 20546, USA
| | - W M Owen
- Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91109, USA
| | - G K Oxton
- Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD 20723, USA
| | - A H Parker
- Southwest Research Institute, Boulder, CO 80302, USA
| | - M Pätzold
- Rheinisches Institut für Umweltforschung, Universität zu Köln, Cologne 50931, Germany
| | | | | | - J P Pineau
- Stellar Solutions, Palo Alto, CA 94306, USA
| | - M R Piquette
- Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80303, USA
| | - S B Porter
- Southwest Research Institute, Boulder, CO 80302, USA
| | - S Protopapa
- Southwest Research Institute, Boulder, CO 80302, USA
| | - E Quirico
- University Grenoble Alpes, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Institut de Planétologie et d'Astrophysique de Grenoble, 38000 Grenoble, France
| | - J A Redfern
- Southwest Research Institute, Boulder, CO 80302, USA
| | - A L Regiec
- Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD 20723, USA
| | | | - D C Reuter
- NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA
| | - D C Richardson
- Department of Astronomy, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA
| | - J E Riedel
- Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91109, USA
| | - M A Ritterbush
- Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91109, USA
| | - S J Robbins
- Southwest Research Institute, Boulder, CO 80302, USA
| | - D J Rodgers
- Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD 20723, USA
| | - G D Rogers
- Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD 20723, USA
| | - D M Rose
- Southwest Research Institute, Boulder, CO 80302, USA
| | - P E Rosendall
- Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD 20723, USA
| | - K D Runyon
- Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD 20723, USA
| | - M G Ryschkewitsch
- Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD 20723, USA
| | - M M Saina
- Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD 20723, USA
| | | | - P M Schenk
- Lunar and Planetary Institute, Houston, TX 77058, USA
| | - J R Scherrer
- Southwest Research Institute, San Antonio, TX 78238, USA
| | - W R Schlei
- Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD 20723, USA
| | - B Schmitt
- University Grenoble Alpes, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Institut de Planétologie et d'Astrophysique de Grenoble, 38000 Grenoble, France
| | - D J Schultz
- Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD 20723, USA
| | - D C Schurr
- NASA Headquarters, Washington, DC 20546, USA
| | - F Scipioni
- NASA Ames Research Center, Space Science Division, Moffett Field, CA 94035, USA.,SETI Institute, Mountain View, CA 94043, USA
| | - R L Sepan
- Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD 20723, USA
| | - R G Shelton
- Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD 20723, USA
| | | | - M Simon
- Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD 20723, USA
| | - K N Singer
- Southwest Research Institute, Boulder, CO 80302, USA
| | - E W Stahlheber
- Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD 20723, USA
| | | | - J A Stansberry
- Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA
| | - A J Steffl
- Southwest Research Institute, Boulder, CO 80302, USA
| | - D F Strobel
- Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA
| | - M M Stothoff
- Southwest Research Institute, San Antonio, TX 78238, USA
| | - T Stryk
- Roane State Community College, Oak Ridge, TN 37830, USA
| | - J R Stuart
- Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91109, USA
| | - M E Summers
- George Mason University, Fairfax, VA 22030, USA
| | - M B Tapley
- Southwest Research Institute, San Antonio, TX 78238, USA
| | - A Taylor
- KinetX Aerospace, Tempe, AZ 85284, USA
| | - H W Taylor
- Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD 20723, USA
| | - R M Tedford
- Southwest Research Institute, Boulder, CO 80302, USA
| | - H B Throop
- Planetary Science Institute, Tucson, AZ 85719, USA
| | - L S Turner
- Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD 20723, USA
| | - O M Umurhan
- NASA Ames Research Center, Space Science Division, Moffett Field, CA 94035, USA.,SETI Institute, Mountain View, CA 94043, USA
| | - J Van Eck
- Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD 20723, USA
| | - D Velez
- Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91109, USA
| | - M H Versteeg
- Southwest Research Institute, San Antonio, TX 78238, USA
| | - M A Vincent
- Southwest Research Institute, Boulder, CO 80302, USA
| | - R W Webbert
- Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD 20723, USA
| | - S E Weidner
- Department of Astrophysical Sciences, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA
| | - G E Weigle
- Independent consultant, Burden, KS 67019, USA
| | - J R Wendel
- NASA Headquarters, Washington, DC 20546, USA
| | - O L White
- NASA Ames Research Center, Space Science Division, Moffett Field, CA 94035, USA.,SETI Institute, Mountain View, CA 94043, USA
| | - K E Whittenburg
- Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD 20723, USA
| | | | | | - S P Williams
- Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD 20723, USA
| | - H L Winters
- Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD 20723, USA
| | - A M Zangari
- Southwest Research Institute, Boulder, CO 80302, USA
| | | |
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5
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Abstract
During its 1989 flyby, the Voyager 2 spacecraft imaged six small moons of Neptune, all orbiting well interior to the large, retrograde moon Triton1. Along with a set of nearby rings, these moons are probably younger than Neptune itself; they formed shortly after the capture of Triton and most of them have probably been fragmented multiple times by cometary impacts1–3. Here we report observations of a seventh inner moon, Hippocamp. It is smaller than the other six, with a mean radius R ≈ 17 km. We also recover Naiad, Neptune’s innermost moon, seen for the first time since 1989. We provide new astrometry, orbit determinations, and size estimates for all the inner moons. Hippocamp orbits close to Proteus, the outermost and largest of these moons; the fractional separation is only 10 percent. Proteus has migrated outward because of tidal interactions with Neptune. We suggest that Hippocamp is probably an ancient fragment of Proteus, providing further support for the hypothesis that the inner Neptune system has been shaped by numerous impacts.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - I de Pater
- Department of Astronomy, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - J J Lissauer
- NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA, USA
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6
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Weaver HA, Buie MW, Buratti BJ, Grundy WM, Lauer TR, Olkin CB, Parker AH, Porter SB, Showalter MR, Spencer JR, Stern SA, Verbiscer AJ, McKinnon WB, Moore JM, Robbins SJ, Schenk P, Singer KN, Barnouin OS, Cheng AF, Ernst CM, Lisse CM, Jennings DE, Lunsford AW, Reuter DC, Hamilton DP, Kaufmann DE, Ennico K, Young LA, Beyer RA, Binzel RP, Bray VJ, Chaikin AL, Cook JC, Cruikshank DP, Dalle Ore CM, Earle AM, Gladstone GR, Howett CJA, Linscott IR, Nimmo F, Parker JW, Philippe S, Protopapa S, Reitsema HJ, Schmitt B, Stryk T, Summers ME, Tsang CCC, Throop HHB, White OL, Zangari AM. The small satellites of Pluto as observed by New Horizons. Science 2016; 351:aae0030. [PMID: 26989256 DOI: 10.1126/science.aae0030] [Citation(s) in RCA: 67] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/02/2022]
Abstract
The New Horizons mission has provided resolved measurements of Pluto's moons Styx, Nix, Kerberos, and Hydra. All four are small, with equivalent spherical diameters of ~40 kilometers for Nix and Hydra and ~10 kilometers for Styx and Kerberos. They are also highly elongated, with maximum to minimum axis ratios of ~2. All four moons have high albedos (~50 to 90%) suggestive of a water-ice surface composition. Crater densities on Nix and Hydra imply surface ages of at least 4 billion years. The small moons rotate much faster than synchronous, with rotational poles clustered nearly orthogonal to the common pole directions of Pluto and Charon. These results reinforce the hypothesis that the small moons formed in the aftermath of a collision that produced the Pluto-Charon binary.
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Affiliation(s)
- H A Weaver
- Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD 20723, USA.
| | - M W Buie
- Southwest Research Institute, Boulder, CO 80302, USA
| | - B J Buratti
- NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91109, USA
| | - W M Grundy
- Lowell Observatory, Flagstaff, AZ 86001, USA
| | - T R Lauer
- National Optical Astronomy Observatory, Tucson, AZ 26732, USA
| | - C B Olkin
- Southwest Research Institute, Boulder, CO 80302, USA
| | - A H Parker
- Southwest Research Institute, Boulder, CO 80302, USA
| | - S B Porter
- Southwest Research Institute, Boulder, CO 80302, USA
| | | | - J R Spencer
- Southwest Research Institute, Boulder, CO 80302, USA
| | - S A Stern
- Southwest Research Institute, Boulder, CO 80302, USA
| | - A J Verbiscer
- Department of Astronomy, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA 22904, USA
| | - W B McKinnon
- Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Washington University, St. Louis, MO 63130, USA
| | - J M Moore
- Space Science Division, NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA 94035, USA
| | - S J Robbins
- Southwest Research Institute, Boulder, CO 80302, USA
| | - P Schenk
- Lunar and Planetary Institute, Houston, TX 77058, USA
| | - K N Singer
- Southwest Research Institute, Boulder, CO 80302, USA
| | - O S Barnouin
- Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD 20723, USA
| | - A F Cheng
- Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD 20723, USA
| | - C M Ernst
- Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD 20723, USA
| | - C M Lisse
- Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD 20723, USA
| | - D E Jennings
- NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA
| | - A W Lunsford
- NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA
| | - D C Reuter
- NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA
| | - D P Hamilton
- Department of Astronomy, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA
| | - D E Kaufmann
- Southwest Research Institute, Boulder, CO 80302, USA
| | - K Ennico
- Space Science Division, NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA 94035, USA
| | - L A Young
- Southwest Research Institute, Boulder, CO 80302, USA
| | - R A Beyer
- SETI Institute, Mountain View, CA 94043, USA. Space Science Division, NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA 94035, USA
| | - R P Binzel
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
| | - V J Bray
- University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA
| | - A L Chaikin
- Independent science writer, Arlington, VT, USA
| | - J C Cook
- Southwest Research Institute, Boulder, CO 80302, USA
| | - D P Cruikshank
- Space Science Division, NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA 94035, USA
| | - C M Dalle Ore
- Space Science Division, NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA 94035, USA
| | - A M Earle
- University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA
| | - G R Gladstone
- Southwest Research Institute, San Antonio, TX 78238, USA
| | - C J A Howett
- Southwest Research Institute, Boulder, CO 80302, USA
| | | | - F Nimmo
- University of California, Santa Cruz, CA 95064, USA
| | - J Wm Parker
- Southwest Research Institute, Boulder, CO 80302, USA
| | - S Philippe
- Université Grenoble Alpes, CNRS, IPAG, F-38000 Grenoble, France
| | - S Protopapa
- Department of Astronomy, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA
| | - H J Reitsema
- Southwest Research Institute, Boulder, CO 80302, USA
| | - B Schmitt
- Université Grenoble Alpes, CNRS, IPAG, F-38000 Grenoble, France
| | - T Stryk
- Roane State Community College, Oak Ridge, TN 37830, USA
| | - M E Summers
- George Mason University, Fairfax, VA 22030, USA
| | - C C C Tsang
- Southwest Research Institute, Boulder, CO 80302, USA
| | - H H B Throop
- Planetary Science Institute, Tucson, AZ 85719, USA
| | - O L White
- Space Science Division, NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA 94035, USA
| | - A M Zangari
- Southwest Research Institute, Boulder, CO 80302, USA
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7
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Gladstone GR, Stern SA, Ennico K, Olkin CB, Weaver HA, Young LA, Summers ME, Strobel DF, Hinson DP, Kammer JA, Parker AH, Steffl AJ, Linscott IR, Parker JW, Cheng AF, Slater DC, Versteeg MH, Greathouse TK, Retherford KD, Throop H, Cunningham NJ, Woods WW, Singer KN, Tsang CCC, Schindhelm E, Lisse CM, Wong ML, Yung YL, Zhu X, Curdt W, Lavvas P, Young EF, Tyler GL, Bagenal F, Grundy WM, McKinnon WB, Moore JM, Spencer JR, Andert T, Andrews J, Banks M, Bauer B, Bauman J, Barnouin OS, Bedini P, Beisser K, Beyer RA, Bhaskaran S, Binzel RP, Birath E, Bird M, Bogan DJ, Bowman A, Bray VJ, Brozovic M, Bryan C, Buckley MR, Buie MW, Buratti BJ, Bushman SS, Calloway A, Carcich B, Conard S, Conrad CA, Cook JC, Cruikshank DP, Custodio OS, Ore CMD, Deboy C, Dischner ZJB, Dumont P, Earle AM, Elliott HA, Ercol J, Ernst CM, Finley T, Flanigan SH, Fountain G, Freeze MJ, Green JL, Guo Y, Hahn M, Hamilton DP, Hamilton SA, Hanley J, Harch A, Hart HM, Hersman CB, Hill A, Hill ME, Holdridge ME, Horanyi M, Howard AD, Howett CJA, Jackman C, Jacobson RA, Jennings DE, Kang HK, Kaufmann DE, Kollmann P, Krimigis SM, Kusnierkiewicz D, Lauer TR, Lee JE, Lindstrom KL, Lunsford AW, Mallder VA, Martin N, McComas DJ, McNutt RL, Mehoke D, Mehoke T, Melin ED, Mutchler M, Nelson D, Nimmo F, Nunez JI, Ocampo A, Owen WM, Paetzold M, Page B, Pelletier F, Peterson J, Pinkine N, Piquette M, Porter SB, Protopapa S, Redfern J, Reitsema HJ, Reuter DC, Roberts JH, Robbins SJ, Rogers G, Rose D, Runyon K, Ryschkewitsch MG, Schenk P, Sepan B, Showalter MR, Soluri M, Stanbridge D, Stryk T, Szalay JR, Tapley M, Taylor A, Taylor H, Umurhan OM, Verbiscer AJ, Versteeg MH, Vincent M, Webbert R, Weidner S, Weigle GE, White OL, Whittenburg K, Williams BG, Williams K, Williams S, Zangari AM, Zirnstein E. The atmosphere of Pluto as observed by New Horizons. Science 2016; 351:aad8866. [PMID: 26989258 DOI: 10.1126/science.aad8866] [Citation(s) in RCA: 179] [Impact Index Per Article: 22.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- G. Randall Gladstone
- Southwest Research Institute, San Antonio, TX 78238, USA
- University of Texas at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX 78249, USA
| | - S. Alan Stern
- Southwest Research Institute, Boulder, CO 80302, USA
| | - Kimberly Ennico
- National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Ames Research Center, Space Science Division, Moffett Field, CA 94035, USA
| | | | - Harold A. Weaver
- The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD 20723, USA
| | | | | | | | - David P. Hinson
- Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence Institute, Mountain View, CA 94043, USA
| | | | | | | | | | | | - Andrew F. Cheng
- The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD 20723, USA
| | | | | | | | - Kurt D. Retherford
- Southwest Research Institute, San Antonio, TX 78238, USA
- University of Texas at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX 78249, USA
| | - Henry Throop
- The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA
| | | | | | | | | | | | - Carey M. Lisse
- The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD 20723, USA
| | | | - Yuk L. Yung
- California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA
| | - Xun Zhu
- The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD 20723, USA
| | - Werner Curdt
- Max-Planck-Institut für Sonnensystemforschung, 37191 Katlenburg-Lindau, Germany
| | - Panayotis Lavvas
- Groupe de Spectroscopie Moléculaire et Atmosphérique, Université Reims Champagne-Ardenne, 51687 Reims, France
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8
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Stern SA, Bagenal F, Ennico K, Gladstone GR, Grundy WM, McKinnon WB, Moore JM, Olkin CB, Spencer JR, Weaver HA, Young LA, Andert T, Andrews J, Banks M, Bauer B, Bauman J, Barnouin OS, Bedini P, Beisser K, Beyer RA, Bhaskaran S, Binzel RP, Birath E, Bird M, Bogan DJ, Bowman A, Bray VJ, Brozovic M, Bryan C, Buckley MR, Buie MW, Buratti BJ, Bushman SS, Calloway A, Carcich B, Cheng AF, Conard S, Conrad CA, Cook JC, Cruikshank DP, Custodio OS, Dalle Ore CM, Deboy C, Dischner ZJB, Dumont P, Earle AM, Elliott HA, Ercol J, Ernst CM, Finley T, Flanigan SH, Fountain G, Freeze MJ, Greathouse T, Green JL, Guo Y, Hahn M, Hamilton DP, Hamilton SA, Hanley J, Harch A, Hart HM, Hersman CB, Hill A, Hill ME, Hinson DP, Holdridge ME, Horanyi M, Howard AD, Howett CJA, Jackman C, Jacobson RA, Jennings DE, Kammer JA, Kang HK, Kaufmann DE, Kollmann P, Krimigis SM, Kusnierkiewicz D, Lauer TR, Lee JE, Lindstrom KL, Linscott IR, Lisse CM, Lunsford AW, Mallder VA, Martin N, McComas DJ, McNutt RL, Mehoke D, Mehoke T, Melin ED, Mutchler M, Nelson D, Nimmo F, Nunez JI, Ocampo A, Owen WM, Paetzold M, Page B, Parker AH, Parker JW, Pelletier F, Peterson J, Pinkine N, Piquette M, Porter SB, Protopapa S, Redfern J, Reitsema HJ, Reuter DC, Roberts JH, Robbins SJ, Rogers G, Rose D, Runyon K, Retherford KD, Ryschkewitsch MG, Schenk P, Schindhelm E, Sepan B, Showalter MR, Singer KN, Soluri M, Stanbridge D, Steffl AJ, Strobel DF, Stryk T, Summers ME, Szalay JR, Tapley M, Taylor A, Taylor H, Throop HB, Tsang CCC, Tyler GL, Umurhan OM, Verbiscer AJ, Versteeg MH, Vincent M, Webbert R, Weidner S, Weigle GE, White OL, Whittenburg K, Williams BG, Williams K, Williams S, Woods WW, Zangari AM, Zirnstein E. The Pluto system: Initial results from its exploration by New Horizons. Science 2015; 350:aad1815. [DOI: 10.1126/science.aad1815] [Citation(s) in RCA: 367] [Impact Index Per Article: 40.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/02/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- S. A. Stern
- Southwest Research Institute, Boulder, CO 80302, USA
| | - F. Bagenal
- Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80303, USA
| | - K. Ennico
- National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Ames Research Center, Space Science Division, Moffett Field, CA 94035, USA
| | | | | | - W. B. McKinnon
- Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Washington University, St. Louis, MO 63130, USA
| | - J. M. Moore
- National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Ames Research Center, Space Science Division, Moffett Field, CA 94035, USA
| | - C. B. Olkin
- Southwest Research Institute, Boulder, CO 80302, USA
| | - J. R. Spencer
- Southwest Research Institute, Boulder, CO 80302, USA
| | - H. A. Weaver
- Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD 20723, USA
| | - L. A. Young
- Southwest Research Institute, Boulder, CO 80302, USA
| | - T. Andert
- Universität der Bundeswehr München, Neubiberg 85577, Germany
| | - J. Andrews
- Southwest Research Institute, Boulder, CO 80302, USA
| | - M. Banks
- Planetary Science Institute, Tucson, AZ 85719, USA
| | - B. Bauer
- Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD 20723, USA
| | - J. Bauman
- KinetX Aerospace, Tempe, AZ 85284, USA
| | - O. S. Barnouin
- Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD 20723, USA
| | - P. Bedini
- Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD 20723, USA
| | - K. Beisser
- Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD 20723, USA
| | - R. A. Beyer
- National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Ames Research Center, Space Science Division, Moffett Field, CA 94035, USA
| | - S. Bhaskaran
- NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, La Cañada Flintridge, CA 91011, USA
| | - R. P. Binzel
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
| | - E. Birath
- Southwest Research Institute, Boulder, CO 80302, USA
| | - M. Bird
- University of Bonn, Bonn D-53113, Germany
| | - D. J. Bogan
- NASA Headquarters (retired), Washington, DC 20546, USA
| | - A. Bowman
- Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD 20723, USA
| | - V. J. Bray
- University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA
| | - M. Brozovic
- NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, La Cañada Flintridge, CA 91011, USA
| | - C. Bryan
- KinetX Aerospace, Tempe, AZ 85284, USA
| | - M. R. Buckley
- Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD 20723, USA
| | - M. W. Buie
- Southwest Research Institute, Boulder, CO 80302, USA
| | - B. J. Buratti
- NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, La Cañada Flintridge, CA 91011, USA
| | - S. S. Bushman
- Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD 20723, USA
| | - A. Calloway
- Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD 20723, USA
| | - B. Carcich
- Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA
| | - A. F. Cheng
- Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD 20723, USA
| | - S. Conard
- Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD 20723, USA
| | - C. A. Conrad
- Southwest Research Institute, Boulder, CO 80302, USA
| | - J. C. Cook
- Southwest Research Institute, Boulder, CO 80302, USA
| | - D. P. Cruikshank
- National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Ames Research Center, Space Science Division, Moffett Field, CA 94035, USA
| | - O. S. Custodio
- Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD 20723, USA
| | - C. M. Dalle Ore
- National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Ames Research Center, Space Science Division, Moffett Field, CA 94035, USA
| | - C. Deboy
- Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD 20723, USA
| | | | - P. Dumont
- KinetX Aerospace, Tempe, AZ 85284, USA
| | - A. M. Earle
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
| | - H. A. Elliott
- Southwest Research Institute, San Antonio, TX 28510, USA
| | - J. Ercol
- Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD 20723, USA
| | - C. M. Ernst
- Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD 20723, USA
| | - T. Finley
- Southwest Research Institute, Boulder, CO 80302, USA
| | - S. H. Flanigan
- Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD 20723, USA
| | - G. Fountain
- Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD 20723, USA
| | - M. J. Freeze
- Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD 20723, USA
| | - T. Greathouse
- Southwest Research Institute, San Antonio, TX 28510, USA
| | - J. L. Green
- NASA Headquarters, Washington, DC 20546, USA
| | - Y. Guo
- Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD 20723, USA
| | - M. Hahn
- Rheinisches Institut für Umweltforschung an der Universität zu Köln, Cologne 50931, Germany
| | - D. P. Hamilton
- Department of Astronomy, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA
| | - S. A. Hamilton
- Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD 20723, USA
| | - J. Hanley
- Southwest Research Institute, San Antonio, TX 28510, USA
| | - A. Harch
- Southwest Research Institute, Boulder, CO 80302, USA
| | - H. M. Hart
- Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD 20723, USA
| | - C. B. Hersman
- Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD 20723, USA
| | - A. Hill
- Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD 20723, USA
| | - M. E. Hill
- Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD 20723, USA
| | - D. P. Hinson
- Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence Institute, Mountain View, CA 94043, USA
| | - M. E. Holdridge
- Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD 20723, USA
| | - M. Horanyi
- Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80303, USA
| | - A. D. Howard
- Department of Environmental Sciences, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA 22904, USA
| | | | | | - R. A. Jacobson
- NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, La Cañada Flintridge, CA 91011, USA
| | - D. E. Jennings
- NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA
| | - J. A. Kammer
- Southwest Research Institute, Boulder, CO 80302, USA
| | - H. K. Kang
- Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD 20723, USA
| | | | - P. Kollmann
- Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD 20723, USA
| | - S. M. Krimigis
- Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD 20723, USA
| | - D. Kusnierkiewicz
- Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD 20723, USA
| | - T. R. Lauer
- National Optical Astronomy Observatory, Tucson, AZ 26732, USA
| | - J. E. Lee
- NASA Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, AL 35812, USA
| | - K. L. Lindstrom
- Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD 20723, USA
| | | | - C. M. Lisse
- Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD 20723, USA
| | - A. W. Lunsford
- NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA
| | - V. A. Mallder
- Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD 20723, USA
| | - N. Martin
- Southwest Research Institute, Boulder, CO 80302, USA
| | - D. J. McComas
- Southwest Research Institute, San Antonio, TX 28510, USA
| | - R. L. McNutt
- Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD 20723, USA
| | - D. Mehoke
- Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD 20723, USA
| | - T. Mehoke
- Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD 20723, USA
| | - E. D. Melin
- Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD 20723, USA
| | - M. Mutchler
- Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA
| | - D. Nelson
- KinetX Aerospace, Tempe, AZ 85284, USA
| | - F. Nimmo
- University of California, Santa Cruz, CA 95064, USA
| | - J. I. Nunez
- Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD 20723, USA
| | - A. Ocampo
- NASA Headquarters, Washington, DC 20546, USA
| | - W. M. Owen
- NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, La Cañada Flintridge, CA 91011, USA
| | - M. Paetzold
- Rheinisches Institut für Umweltforschung an der Universität zu Köln, Cologne 50931, Germany
| | - B. Page
- KinetX Aerospace, Tempe, AZ 85284, USA
| | - A. H. Parker
- Southwest Research Institute, Boulder, CO 80302, USA
| | - J. W. Parker
- Southwest Research Institute, Boulder, CO 80302, USA
| | | | - J. Peterson
- Southwest Research Institute, Boulder, CO 80302, USA
| | - N. Pinkine
- Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD 20723, USA
| | - M. Piquette
- Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80303, USA
| | - S. B. Porter
- Southwest Research Institute, Boulder, CO 80302, USA
| | - S. Protopapa
- Department of Astronomy, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA
| | - J. Redfern
- Southwest Research Institute, Boulder, CO 80302, USA
| | | | - D. C. Reuter
- NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA
| | - J. H. Roberts
- Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD 20723, USA
| | - S. J. Robbins
- Southwest Research Institute, Boulder, CO 80302, USA
| | - G. Rogers
- Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD 20723, USA
| | - D. Rose
- Southwest Research Institute, Boulder, CO 80302, USA
| | - K. Runyon
- Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD 20723, USA
| | | | | | - P. Schenk
- Lunar and Planetary Institute, Houston, TX 77058, USA
| | - E. Schindhelm
- Southwest Research Institute, Boulder, CO 80302, USA
| | - B. Sepan
- Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD 20723, USA
| | - M. R. Showalter
- Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence Institute, Mountain View, CA 94043, USA
| | - K. N. Singer
- Southwest Research Institute, Boulder, CO 80302, USA
| | - M. Soluri
- Michael Soluri Photography, New York, NY 10014, USA
| | | | - A. J. Steffl
- Southwest Research Institute, Boulder, CO 80302, USA
| | | | - T. Stryk
- Roane State Community College, Jamestown, TN 38556, USA
| | | | - J. R. Szalay
- Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80303, USA
| | - M. Tapley
- Southwest Research Institute, San Antonio, TX 28510, USA
| | - A. Taylor
- KinetX Aerospace, Tempe, AZ 85284, USA
| | - H. Taylor
- Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD 20723, USA
| | - H. B. Throop
- Planetary Science Institute, Tucson, AZ 85719, USA
| | | | - G. L. Tyler
- Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
| | - O. M. Umurhan
- National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Ames Research Center, Space Science Division, Moffett Field, CA 94035, USA
| | - A. J. Verbiscer
- Department of Astronomy, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA 22904, USA
| | - M. H. Versteeg
- Southwest Research Institute, San Antonio, TX 28510, USA
| | - M. Vincent
- Southwest Research Institute, Boulder, CO 80302, USA
| | - R. Webbert
- Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD 20723, USA
| | - S. Weidner
- Southwest Research Institute, San Antonio, TX 28510, USA
| | - G. E. Weigle
- Southwest Research Institute, San Antonio, TX 28510, USA
| | - O. L. White
- National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Ames Research Center, Space Science Division, Moffett Field, CA 94035, USA
| | - K. Whittenburg
- Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD 20723, USA
| | | | | | - S. Williams
- Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD 20723, USA
| | - W. W. Woods
- Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
| | - A. M. Zangari
- Southwest Research Institute, Boulder, CO 80302, USA
| | - E. Zirnstein
- Southwest Research Institute, San Antonio, TX 28510, USA
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Abstract
Careful reprocessing of the Voyager images reveals that the Uranìan lambda ring has marked longitudinal variations in brightness comparable in magnitude to those in Saturn's F ring and Neptune's Adams ring. The ring's variations show a dominant five-cycle (72-degree) periodicity, although additional structure down to scales of about 0.5 degree is also present. The ring's shape is defined by a small overall eccentricity plus a six-cycle (60-degree) sinusoidal variation of radial amplitude around 4 kilometers. Both of these properties can be explained by the resonant perturbations of a moon at a semimajor axis of 56,479 kilometers, but no known moon orbits at this location. Unfortunately, the mass required suggests that such a body should have been imaged by Voyager.
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Cuzzi JN, Burns JA, Charnoz S, Clark RN, Colwell JE, Dones L, Esposito LW, Filacchione G, French RG, Hedman MM, Kempf S, Marouf EA, Murray CD, Nicholson PD, Porco CC, Schmidt J, Showalter MR, Spilker LJ, Spitale JN, Srama R, Sremčević M, Tiscareno MS, Weiss J. An Evolving View of Saturn’s Dynamic Rings. Science 2010; 327:1470-5. [DOI: 10.1126/science.1179118] [Citation(s) in RCA: 99] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/02/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- J. N. Cuzzi
- Ames Research Center, NASA, Mail Stop 245-3, Moffett Field, CA 94035–1000, USA
| | - J. A. Burns
- Department of Astronomy, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA
| | - S. Charnoz
- Laboratoire Astrophysique Instrumentation Modélisation, Université Paris Diderot/Commissariat à l’Energie Atomique/CNRS, 91191 Gif sur Yvette Cedex, France
| | - R. N. Clark
- U.S. Geological Survey, Denver, CO 80225, USA
| | - J. E. Colwell
- Department of Physics, University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL 32816, USA
| | - L. Dones
- Department of Space Studies, Southwest Research Institute, Boulder, CO 80302, USA
| | - L. W. Esposito
- Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309–0392, USA
| | - G. Filacchione
- Istituto di Astrofisica Spaziale e Fisica Cosmica, Rome 00133, Italy
| | - R. G. French
- Astronomy Department, Wellesley College, Wellesley, MA 02481, USA
| | - M. M. Hedman
- Department of Astronomy, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA
| | - S. Kempf
- Max-Planck-Institut für Kernphysik, Saupfercheckweg 1, Heidelberg 69117, Germany
| | - E. A. Marouf
- Electrical Engineering Department, San Jose State University, San Jose, CA 95192, USA
| | - C. D. Murray
- Astronomy Unit, Queen Mary University of London, London E1 4NS, UK
| | - P. D. Nicholson
- Department of Astronomy, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA
| | - C. C. Porco
- Cassini Imaging Central Laboratory for Operations (CICLOPS), Space Science Institute, Boulder, CO 80301, USA
| | - J. Schmidt
- Institute for Physics and Astronomy, University of Potsdam, Germany
| | | | - L. J. Spilker
- Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91109, USA
| | - J. N. Spitale
- Cassini Imaging Central Laboratory for Operations (CICLOPS), Space Science Institute, Boulder, CO 80301, USA
| | - R. Srama
- Max-Planck-Institut für Kernphysik, Saupfercheckweg 1, Heidelberg 69117, Germany
| | - M. Sremčević
- Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309–0392, USA
| | - M. S. Tiscareno
- Department of Astronomy, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA
| | - J. Weiss
- Cassini Imaging Central Laboratory for Operations (CICLOPS), Space Science Institute, Boulder, CO 80301, USA
- Carleton College, Northfield, MN 55057, USA
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Flasar FM, Achterberg RK, Conrath BJ, Gierasch PJ, Kunde VG, Nixon CA, Bjoraker GL, Jennings DE, Romani PN, Simon-Miller AA, Bézard B, Coustenis A, Irwin PGJ, Teanby NA, Brasunas J, Pearl JC, Segura ME, Carlson RC, Mamoutkine A, Schinder PJ, Barucci A, Courtin R, Fouchet T, Gautier D, Lellouch E, Marten A, Prangé R, Vinatier S, Strobel DF, Calcutt SB, Read PL, Taylor FW, Bowles N, Samuelson RE, Orton GS, Spilker LJ, Owen TC, Spencer JR, Showalter MR, Ferrari C, Abbas MM, Raulin F, Edgington S, Ade P, Wishnow EH. Titan's Atmospheric Temperatures, Winds, and Composition. Science 2005; 308:975-8. [PMID: 15894528 DOI: 10.1126/science.1111150] [Citation(s) in RCA: 282] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/02/2022]
Abstract
Temperatures obtained from early Cassini infrared observations of Titan show a stratopause at an altitude of 310 kilometers (and 186 kelvin at 15 degrees S). Stratospheric temperatures are coldest in the winter northern hemisphere, with zonal winds reaching 160 meters per second. The concentrations of several stratospheric organic compounds are enhanced at mid- and high northern latitudes, and the strong zonal winds may inhibit mixing between these latitudes and the rest of Titan. Above the south pole, temperatures in the stratosphere are 4 to 5 kelvin cooler than at the equator. The stratospheric mole fractions of methane and carbon monoxide are (1.6 +/- 0.5) x 10(-2) and (4.5 +/- 1.5) x 10(-5), respectively.
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Flasar FM, Achterberg RK, Conrath BJ, Pearl JC, Bjoraker GL, Jennings DE, Romani PN, Simon-Miller AA, Kunde VG, Nixon CA, Bézard B, Orton GS, Spilker LJ, Spencer JR, Irwin PGJ, Teanby NA, Owen TC, Brasunas J, Segura ME, Carlson RC, Mamoutkine A, Gierasch PJ, Schinder PJ, Showalter MR, Ferrari C, Barucci A, Courtin R, Coustenis A, Fouchet T, Gautier D, Lellouch E, Marten A, Prangé R, Strobel DF, Calcutt SB, Read PL, Taylor FW, Bowles N, Samuelson RE, Abbas MM, Raulin F, Ade P, Edgington S, Pilorz S, Wallis B, Wishnow EH. Temperatures, Winds, and Composition in the Saturnian System. Science 2005; 307:1247-51. [PMID: 15618486 DOI: 10.1126/science.1105806] [Citation(s) in RCA: 161] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/02/2022]
Abstract
Stratospheric temperatures on Saturn imply a strong decay of the equatorial winds with altitude. If the decrease in winds reported from recent Hubble Space Telescope images is not a temporal change, then the features tracked must have been at least 130 kilometers higher than in earlier studies. Saturn's south polar stratosphere is warmer than predicted from simple radiative models. The C/H ratio on Saturn is seven times solar, twice Jupiter's. Saturn's ring temperatures have radial variations down to the smallest scale resolved (100 kilometers). Diurnal surface temperature variations on Phoebe suggest a more porous regolith than on the jovian satellites.
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Affiliation(s)
- F. M. Flasar
- National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)/Goddard Space Flight Center, Code 693, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA
- Science Systems and Applications, Inc., 5900 Princess Garden Parkway, Suite 300, Lanham, MD 20706, USA
- Department of Astronomy, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA
- Department of Astronomy, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA
- Laboratoire d'Etudes Spatiales et d'Instrumentation en Astrophysique (LESIA), CNRS–UMR 8109, Observatoire de Paris, 5 place Jules Janssen, F-91925 Meudon Cedex, France
| | - R. K. Achterberg
- National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)/Goddard Space Flight Center, Code 693, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA
- Science Systems and Applications, Inc., 5900 Princess Garden Parkway, Suite 300, Lanham, MD 20706, USA
- Department of Astronomy, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA
- Department of Astronomy, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA
- Laboratoire d'Etudes Spatiales et d'Instrumentation en Astrophysique (LESIA), CNRS–UMR 8109, Observatoire de Paris, 5 place Jules Janssen, F-91925 Meudon Cedex, France
| | - B. J. Conrath
- National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)/Goddard Space Flight Center, Code 693, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA
- Science Systems and Applications, Inc., 5900 Princess Garden Parkway, Suite 300, Lanham, MD 20706, USA
- Department of Astronomy, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA
- Department of Astronomy, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA
- Laboratoire d'Etudes Spatiales et d'Instrumentation en Astrophysique (LESIA), CNRS–UMR 8109, Observatoire de Paris, 5 place Jules Janssen, F-91925 Meudon Cedex, France
| | - J. C. Pearl
- National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)/Goddard Space Flight Center, Code 693, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA
- Science Systems and Applications, Inc., 5900 Princess Garden Parkway, Suite 300, Lanham, MD 20706, USA
- Department of Astronomy, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA
- Department of Astronomy, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA
- Laboratoire d'Etudes Spatiales et d'Instrumentation en Astrophysique (LESIA), CNRS–UMR 8109, Observatoire de Paris, 5 place Jules Janssen, F-91925 Meudon Cedex, France
| | - G. L. Bjoraker
- National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)/Goddard Space Flight Center, Code 693, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA
- Science Systems and Applications, Inc., 5900 Princess Garden Parkway, Suite 300, Lanham, MD 20706, USA
- Department of Astronomy, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA
- Department of Astronomy, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA
- Laboratoire d'Etudes Spatiales et d'Instrumentation en Astrophysique (LESIA), CNRS–UMR 8109, Observatoire de Paris, 5 place Jules Janssen, F-91925 Meudon Cedex, France
| | - D. E. Jennings
- National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)/Goddard Space Flight Center, Code 693, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA
- Science Systems and Applications, Inc., 5900 Princess Garden Parkway, Suite 300, Lanham, MD 20706, USA
- Department of Astronomy, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA
- Department of Astronomy, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA
- Laboratoire d'Etudes Spatiales et d'Instrumentation en Astrophysique (LESIA), CNRS–UMR 8109, Observatoire de Paris, 5 place Jules Janssen, F-91925 Meudon Cedex, France
| | - P. N. Romani
- National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)/Goddard Space Flight Center, Code 693, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA
- Science Systems and Applications, Inc., 5900 Princess Garden Parkway, Suite 300, Lanham, MD 20706, USA
- Department of Astronomy, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA
- Department of Astronomy, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA
- Laboratoire d'Etudes Spatiales et d'Instrumentation en Astrophysique (LESIA), CNRS–UMR 8109, Observatoire de Paris, 5 place Jules Janssen, F-91925 Meudon Cedex, France
| | - A. A. Simon-Miller
- National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)/Goddard Space Flight Center, Code 693, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA
- Science Systems and Applications, Inc., 5900 Princess Garden Parkway, Suite 300, Lanham, MD 20706, USA
- Department of Astronomy, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA
- Department of Astronomy, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA
- Laboratoire d'Etudes Spatiales et d'Instrumentation en Astrophysique (LESIA), CNRS–UMR 8109, Observatoire de Paris, 5 place Jules Janssen, F-91925 Meudon Cedex, France
| | - V. G. Kunde
- National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)/Goddard Space Flight Center, Code 693, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA
- Science Systems and Applications, Inc., 5900 Princess Garden Parkway, Suite 300, Lanham, MD 20706, USA
- Department of Astronomy, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA
- Department of Astronomy, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA
- Laboratoire d'Etudes Spatiales et d'Instrumentation en Astrophysique (LESIA), CNRS–UMR 8109, Observatoire de Paris, 5 place Jules Janssen, F-91925 Meudon Cedex, France
| | - C. A. Nixon
- National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)/Goddard Space Flight Center, Code 693, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA
- Science Systems and Applications, Inc., 5900 Princess Garden Parkway, Suite 300, Lanham, MD 20706, USA
- Department of Astronomy, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA
- Department of Astronomy, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA
- Laboratoire d'Etudes Spatiales et d'Instrumentation en Astrophysique (LESIA), CNRS–UMR 8109, Observatoire de Paris, 5 place Jules Janssen, F-91925 Meudon Cedex, France
| | - B. Bézard
- National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)/Goddard Space Flight Center, Code 693, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA
- Science Systems and Applications, Inc., 5900 Princess Garden Parkway, Suite 300, Lanham, MD 20706, USA
- Department of Astronomy, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA
- Department of Astronomy, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA
- Laboratoire d'Etudes Spatiales et d'Instrumentation en Astrophysique (LESIA), CNRS–UMR 8109, Observatoire de Paris, 5 place Jules Janssen, F-91925 Meudon Cedex, France
| | - G. S. Orton
- National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)/Goddard Space Flight Center, Code 693, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA
- Science Systems and Applications, Inc., 5900 Princess Garden Parkway, Suite 300, Lanham, MD 20706, USA
- Department of Astronomy, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA
- Department of Astronomy, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA
- Laboratoire d'Etudes Spatiales et d'Instrumentation en Astrophysique (LESIA), CNRS–UMR 8109, Observatoire de Paris, 5 place Jules Janssen, F-91925 Meudon Cedex, France
| | - L. J. Spilker
- National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)/Goddard Space Flight Center, Code 693, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA
- Science Systems and Applications, Inc., 5900 Princess Garden Parkway, Suite 300, Lanham, MD 20706, USA
- Department of Astronomy, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA
- Department of Astronomy, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA
- Laboratoire d'Etudes Spatiales et d'Instrumentation en Astrophysique (LESIA), CNRS–UMR 8109, Observatoire de Paris, 5 place Jules Janssen, F-91925 Meudon Cedex, France
| | - J. R. Spencer
- National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)/Goddard Space Flight Center, Code 693, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA
- Science Systems and Applications, Inc., 5900 Princess Garden Parkway, Suite 300, Lanham, MD 20706, USA
- Department of Astronomy, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA
- Department of Astronomy, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA
- Laboratoire d'Etudes Spatiales et d'Instrumentation en Astrophysique (LESIA), CNRS–UMR 8109, Observatoire de Paris, 5 place Jules Janssen, F-91925 Meudon Cedex, France
| | - P. G. J. Irwin
- National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)/Goddard Space Flight Center, Code 693, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA
- Science Systems and Applications, Inc., 5900 Princess Garden Parkway, Suite 300, Lanham, MD 20706, USA
- Department of Astronomy, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA
- Department of Astronomy, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA
- Laboratoire d'Etudes Spatiales et d'Instrumentation en Astrophysique (LESIA), CNRS–UMR 8109, Observatoire de Paris, 5 place Jules Janssen, F-91925 Meudon Cedex, France
| | - N. A. Teanby
- National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)/Goddard Space Flight Center, Code 693, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA
- Science Systems and Applications, Inc., 5900 Princess Garden Parkway, Suite 300, Lanham, MD 20706, USA
- Department of Astronomy, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA
- Department of Astronomy, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA
- Laboratoire d'Etudes Spatiales et d'Instrumentation en Astrophysique (LESIA), CNRS–UMR 8109, Observatoire de Paris, 5 place Jules Janssen, F-91925 Meudon Cedex, France
| | - T. C. Owen
- National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)/Goddard Space Flight Center, Code 693, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA
- Science Systems and Applications, Inc., 5900 Princess Garden Parkway, Suite 300, Lanham, MD 20706, USA
- Department of Astronomy, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA
- Department of Astronomy, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA
- Laboratoire d'Etudes Spatiales et d'Instrumentation en Astrophysique (LESIA), CNRS–UMR 8109, Observatoire de Paris, 5 place Jules Janssen, F-91925 Meudon Cedex, France
| | - J. Brasunas
- National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)/Goddard Space Flight Center, Code 693, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA
- Science Systems and Applications, Inc., 5900 Princess Garden Parkway, Suite 300, Lanham, MD 20706, USA
- Department of Astronomy, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA
- Department of Astronomy, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA
- Laboratoire d'Etudes Spatiales et d'Instrumentation en Astrophysique (LESIA), CNRS–UMR 8109, Observatoire de Paris, 5 place Jules Janssen, F-91925 Meudon Cedex, France
| | - M. E. Segura
- National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)/Goddard Space Flight Center, Code 693, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA
- Science Systems and Applications, Inc., 5900 Princess Garden Parkway, Suite 300, Lanham, MD 20706, USA
- Department of Astronomy, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA
- Department of Astronomy, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA
- Laboratoire d'Etudes Spatiales et d'Instrumentation en Astrophysique (LESIA), CNRS–UMR 8109, Observatoire de Paris, 5 place Jules Janssen, F-91925 Meudon Cedex, France
| | - R. C. Carlson
- National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)/Goddard Space Flight Center, Code 693, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA
- Science Systems and Applications, Inc., 5900 Princess Garden Parkway, Suite 300, Lanham, MD 20706, USA
- Department of Astronomy, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA
- Department of Astronomy, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA
- Laboratoire d'Etudes Spatiales et d'Instrumentation en Astrophysique (LESIA), CNRS–UMR 8109, Observatoire de Paris, 5 place Jules Janssen, F-91925 Meudon Cedex, France
| | - A. Mamoutkine
- National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)/Goddard Space Flight Center, Code 693, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA
- Science Systems and Applications, Inc., 5900 Princess Garden Parkway, Suite 300, Lanham, MD 20706, USA
- Department of Astronomy, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA
- Department of Astronomy, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA
- Laboratoire d'Etudes Spatiales et d'Instrumentation en Astrophysique (LESIA), CNRS–UMR 8109, Observatoire de Paris, 5 place Jules Janssen, F-91925 Meudon Cedex, France
| | - P. J. Gierasch
- National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)/Goddard Space Flight Center, Code 693, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA
- Science Systems and Applications, Inc., 5900 Princess Garden Parkway, Suite 300, Lanham, MD 20706, USA
- Department of Astronomy, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA
- Department of Astronomy, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA
- Laboratoire d'Etudes Spatiales et d'Instrumentation en Astrophysique (LESIA), CNRS–UMR 8109, Observatoire de Paris, 5 place Jules Janssen, F-91925 Meudon Cedex, France
| | - P. J. Schinder
- National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)/Goddard Space Flight Center, Code 693, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA
- Science Systems and Applications, Inc., 5900 Princess Garden Parkway, Suite 300, Lanham, MD 20706, USA
- Department of Astronomy, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA
- Department of Astronomy, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA
- Laboratoire d'Etudes Spatiales et d'Instrumentation en Astrophysique (LESIA), CNRS–UMR 8109, Observatoire de Paris, 5 place Jules Janssen, F-91925 Meudon Cedex, France
| | - M. R. Showalter
- National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)/Goddard Space Flight Center, Code 693, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA
- Science Systems and Applications, Inc., 5900 Princess Garden Parkway, Suite 300, Lanham, MD 20706, USA
- Department of Astronomy, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA
- Department of Astronomy, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA
- Laboratoire d'Etudes Spatiales et d'Instrumentation en Astrophysique (LESIA), CNRS–UMR 8109, Observatoire de Paris, 5 place Jules Janssen, F-91925 Meudon Cedex, France
| | - C. Ferrari
- National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)/Goddard Space Flight Center, Code 693, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA
- Science Systems and Applications, Inc., 5900 Princess Garden Parkway, Suite 300, Lanham, MD 20706, USA
- Department of Astronomy, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA
- Department of Astronomy, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA
- Laboratoire d'Etudes Spatiales et d'Instrumentation en Astrophysique (LESIA), CNRS–UMR 8109, Observatoire de Paris, 5 place Jules Janssen, F-91925 Meudon Cedex, France
| | - A. Barucci
- National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)/Goddard Space Flight Center, Code 693, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA
- Science Systems and Applications, Inc., 5900 Princess Garden Parkway, Suite 300, Lanham, MD 20706, USA
- Department of Astronomy, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA
- Department of Astronomy, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA
- Laboratoire d'Etudes Spatiales et d'Instrumentation en Astrophysique (LESIA), CNRS–UMR 8109, Observatoire de Paris, 5 place Jules Janssen, F-91925 Meudon Cedex, France
| | - R. Courtin
- National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)/Goddard Space Flight Center, Code 693, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA
- Science Systems and Applications, Inc., 5900 Princess Garden Parkway, Suite 300, Lanham, MD 20706, USA
- Department of Astronomy, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA
- Department of Astronomy, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA
- Laboratoire d'Etudes Spatiales et d'Instrumentation en Astrophysique (LESIA), CNRS–UMR 8109, Observatoire de Paris, 5 place Jules Janssen, F-91925 Meudon Cedex, France
| | - A. Coustenis
- National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)/Goddard Space Flight Center, Code 693, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA
- Science Systems and Applications, Inc., 5900 Princess Garden Parkway, Suite 300, Lanham, MD 20706, USA
- Department of Astronomy, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA
- Department of Astronomy, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA
- Laboratoire d'Etudes Spatiales et d'Instrumentation en Astrophysique (LESIA), CNRS–UMR 8109, Observatoire de Paris, 5 place Jules Janssen, F-91925 Meudon Cedex, France
| | - T. Fouchet
- National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)/Goddard Space Flight Center, Code 693, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA
- Science Systems and Applications, Inc., 5900 Princess Garden Parkway, Suite 300, Lanham, MD 20706, USA
- Department of Astronomy, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA
- Department of Astronomy, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA
- Laboratoire d'Etudes Spatiales et d'Instrumentation en Astrophysique (LESIA), CNRS–UMR 8109, Observatoire de Paris, 5 place Jules Janssen, F-91925 Meudon Cedex, France
| | - D. Gautier
- National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)/Goddard Space Flight Center, Code 693, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA
- Science Systems and Applications, Inc., 5900 Princess Garden Parkway, Suite 300, Lanham, MD 20706, USA
- Department of Astronomy, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA
- Department of Astronomy, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA
- Laboratoire d'Etudes Spatiales et d'Instrumentation en Astrophysique (LESIA), CNRS–UMR 8109, Observatoire de Paris, 5 place Jules Janssen, F-91925 Meudon Cedex, France
| | - E. Lellouch
- National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)/Goddard Space Flight Center, Code 693, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA
- Science Systems and Applications, Inc., 5900 Princess Garden Parkway, Suite 300, Lanham, MD 20706, USA
- Department of Astronomy, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA
- Department of Astronomy, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA
- Laboratoire d'Etudes Spatiales et d'Instrumentation en Astrophysique (LESIA), CNRS–UMR 8109, Observatoire de Paris, 5 place Jules Janssen, F-91925 Meudon Cedex, France
| | - A. Marten
- National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)/Goddard Space Flight Center, Code 693, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA
- Science Systems and Applications, Inc., 5900 Princess Garden Parkway, Suite 300, Lanham, MD 20706, USA
- Department of Astronomy, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA
- Department of Astronomy, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA
- Laboratoire d'Etudes Spatiales et d'Instrumentation en Astrophysique (LESIA), CNRS–UMR 8109, Observatoire de Paris, 5 place Jules Janssen, F-91925 Meudon Cedex, France
| | - R. Prangé
- National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)/Goddard Space Flight Center, Code 693, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA
- Science Systems and Applications, Inc., 5900 Princess Garden Parkway, Suite 300, Lanham, MD 20706, USA
- Department of Astronomy, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA
- Department of Astronomy, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA
- Laboratoire d'Etudes Spatiales et d'Instrumentation en Astrophysique (LESIA), CNRS–UMR 8109, Observatoire de Paris, 5 place Jules Janssen, F-91925 Meudon Cedex, France
| | - D. F. Strobel
- National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)/Goddard Space Flight Center, Code 693, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA
- Science Systems and Applications, Inc., 5900 Princess Garden Parkway, Suite 300, Lanham, MD 20706, USA
- Department of Astronomy, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA
- Department of Astronomy, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA
- Laboratoire d'Etudes Spatiales et d'Instrumentation en Astrophysique (LESIA), CNRS–UMR 8109, Observatoire de Paris, 5 place Jules Janssen, F-91925 Meudon Cedex, France
| | - S. B. Calcutt
- National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)/Goddard Space Flight Center, Code 693, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA
- Science Systems and Applications, Inc., 5900 Princess Garden Parkway, Suite 300, Lanham, MD 20706, USA
- Department of Astronomy, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA
- Department of Astronomy, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA
- Laboratoire d'Etudes Spatiales et d'Instrumentation en Astrophysique (LESIA), CNRS–UMR 8109, Observatoire de Paris, 5 place Jules Janssen, F-91925 Meudon Cedex, France
| | - P. L. Read
- National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)/Goddard Space Flight Center, Code 693, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA
- Science Systems and Applications, Inc., 5900 Princess Garden Parkway, Suite 300, Lanham, MD 20706, USA
- Department of Astronomy, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA
- Department of Astronomy, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA
- Laboratoire d'Etudes Spatiales et d'Instrumentation en Astrophysique (LESIA), CNRS–UMR 8109, Observatoire de Paris, 5 place Jules Janssen, F-91925 Meudon Cedex, France
| | - F. W. Taylor
- National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)/Goddard Space Flight Center, Code 693, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA
- Science Systems and Applications, Inc., 5900 Princess Garden Parkway, Suite 300, Lanham, MD 20706, USA
- Department of Astronomy, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA
- Department of Astronomy, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA
- Laboratoire d'Etudes Spatiales et d'Instrumentation en Astrophysique (LESIA), CNRS–UMR 8109, Observatoire de Paris, 5 place Jules Janssen, F-91925 Meudon Cedex, France
| | - N. Bowles
- National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)/Goddard Space Flight Center, Code 693, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA
- Science Systems and Applications, Inc., 5900 Princess Garden Parkway, Suite 300, Lanham, MD 20706, USA
- Department of Astronomy, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA
- Department of Astronomy, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA
- Laboratoire d'Etudes Spatiales et d'Instrumentation en Astrophysique (LESIA), CNRS–UMR 8109, Observatoire de Paris, 5 place Jules Janssen, F-91925 Meudon Cedex, France
| | - R. E. Samuelson
- National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)/Goddard Space Flight Center, Code 693, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA
- Science Systems and Applications, Inc., 5900 Princess Garden Parkway, Suite 300, Lanham, MD 20706, USA
- Department of Astronomy, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA
- Department of Astronomy, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA
- Laboratoire d'Etudes Spatiales et d'Instrumentation en Astrophysique (LESIA), CNRS–UMR 8109, Observatoire de Paris, 5 place Jules Janssen, F-91925 Meudon Cedex, France
| | - M. M. Abbas
- National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)/Goddard Space Flight Center, Code 693, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA
- Science Systems and Applications, Inc., 5900 Princess Garden Parkway, Suite 300, Lanham, MD 20706, USA
- Department of Astronomy, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA
- Department of Astronomy, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA
- Laboratoire d'Etudes Spatiales et d'Instrumentation en Astrophysique (LESIA), CNRS–UMR 8109, Observatoire de Paris, 5 place Jules Janssen, F-91925 Meudon Cedex, France
| | - F. Raulin
- National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)/Goddard Space Flight Center, Code 693, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA
- Science Systems and Applications, Inc., 5900 Princess Garden Parkway, Suite 300, Lanham, MD 20706, USA
- Department of Astronomy, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA
- Department of Astronomy, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA
- Laboratoire d'Etudes Spatiales et d'Instrumentation en Astrophysique (LESIA), CNRS–UMR 8109, Observatoire de Paris, 5 place Jules Janssen, F-91925 Meudon Cedex, France
| | - P. Ade
- National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)/Goddard Space Flight Center, Code 693, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA
- Science Systems and Applications, Inc., 5900 Princess Garden Parkway, Suite 300, Lanham, MD 20706, USA
- Department of Astronomy, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA
- Department of Astronomy, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA
- Laboratoire d'Etudes Spatiales et d'Instrumentation en Astrophysique (LESIA), CNRS–UMR 8109, Observatoire de Paris, 5 place Jules Janssen, F-91925 Meudon Cedex, France
| | - S. Edgington
- National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)/Goddard Space Flight Center, Code 693, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA
- Science Systems and Applications, Inc., 5900 Princess Garden Parkway, Suite 300, Lanham, MD 20706, USA
- Department of Astronomy, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA
- Department of Astronomy, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA
- Laboratoire d'Etudes Spatiales et d'Instrumentation en Astrophysique (LESIA), CNRS–UMR 8109, Observatoire de Paris, 5 place Jules Janssen, F-91925 Meudon Cedex, France
| | - S. Pilorz
- National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)/Goddard Space Flight Center, Code 693, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA
- Science Systems and Applications, Inc., 5900 Princess Garden Parkway, Suite 300, Lanham, MD 20706, USA
- Department of Astronomy, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA
- Department of Astronomy, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA
- Laboratoire d'Etudes Spatiales et d'Instrumentation en Astrophysique (LESIA), CNRS–UMR 8109, Observatoire de Paris, 5 place Jules Janssen, F-91925 Meudon Cedex, France
| | - B. Wallis
- National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)/Goddard Space Flight Center, Code 693, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA
- Science Systems and Applications, Inc., 5900 Princess Garden Parkway, Suite 300, Lanham, MD 20706, USA
- Department of Astronomy, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA
- Department of Astronomy, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA
- Laboratoire d'Etudes Spatiales et d'Instrumentation en Astrophysique (LESIA), CNRS–UMR 8109, Observatoire de Paris, 5 place Jules Janssen, F-91925 Meudon Cedex, France
| | - E. H. Wishnow
- National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)/Goddard Space Flight Center, Code 693, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA
- Science Systems and Applications, Inc., 5900 Princess Garden Parkway, Suite 300, Lanham, MD 20706, USA
- Department of Astronomy, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA
- Department of Astronomy, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA
- Laboratoire d'Etudes Spatiales et d'Instrumentation en Astrophysique (LESIA), CNRS–UMR 8109, Observatoire de Paris, 5 place Jules Janssen, F-91925 Meudon Cedex, France
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13
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Abstract
Observations by the Galileo spacecraft and the Keck telescope showed that Jupiter's outermost (gossamer) ring is actually two rings circumscribed by the orbits of the small satellites Amalthea and Thebe. The gossamer rings' unique morphology-especially the rectangular end profiles at the satellite's orbit and the enhanced intensities along the top and bottom edges of the rings-can be explained by collisional ejecta lost from the inclined satellites. The ejecta evolves inward under Poynting-Robertson drag. This mechanism may also explain the origin of Jupiter's main ring and suggests that faint rings may accompany all small inner satellites of the other jovian planets.
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Affiliation(s)
- JA Burns
- Center for Radiophysics and Space Research, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA. Space, Telecommunications and Radioscience Laboratory, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA. Department of Astronomy, University of Maryland, College
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14
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Abstract
Voyager images reveal that three prominent clumps in Saturn's F ring were short-lived, appearing rapidly and then spreading and decaying in brightness over periods of approximately 2 weeks. These features arise from hypervelocity impacts by approximately 10-centimeter meteoroids into F ring bodies. Future ring observations of these impact events could constrain the centimeter-sized component of the meteoroid population, which is otherwise unmeasurable but plays an important role in the evolution of rings and surfaces in the outer solar system. The F ring's numerous other clumps are much longer lived and appear to be unrelated to impacts.
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Affiliation(s)
- M R Showalter
- Space, Telecommunications and Radioscience Laboratory, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA.
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15
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Abstract
Jupiter's ring system has previously been described as being composed of a 'bright' narrow ring and an interior, vertically-extended halo. The one image which reveals this morphology most clearly is Voyager 2's parting shot of the Jupiter system, a wide-angle (WA) view of the ring ansa in forward-scattered light (FDS 20693.02). The bright ring is plainly visible, and the halo appears after slight contrast enhancement. By further enhancement of this image we have discovered an additional ring, which is far fainter than either of the (already faint) components previously identified, extending to a radius of 210,000 km.
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Affiliation(s)
- M R Showalter
- Center for Radiophysics and Space Research, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853, USA
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