Abstract
We report 1.1–2.4 μm multiband photometry of the small Uranian satellites Puck and Portia and of the small Neptunian satellite Proteus obtained with the Hubble Space Telescope and its near-infrared camera NICMOS. The surface of Puck (and likely Portia) displays an absorption feature matching the 2.0 μm band of water ice. In the case of Proteus, a shallower absorption is detected in the long-wavelength region of the spectrum. Although water ice cannot be entirely ruled out, this feature could also be produced by C–H– or C≡N–bearing material. Future spectroscopic observations at high angular resolution are needed to further investigate the nature of the compounds covering the surface of the small moons of Uranus and Neptune.
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