The separate spectra of Pluto and its satellite Charon

Abstract

view Abstract Citations (41) References (14) Co-Reads Similar Papers Volume Content Graphics Metrics Export Citation NASA/ADS The Separate Spectra of Pluto and its Satellite Charon Fink, U. ; Disanti, M. A. Abstract The occultation of Charon by Pluto, 1987 March 3, was observed by the authors spectroscopically from 5400 to 10200 Å at a resolution of 12 Å. The midpoint of the event occurred at 11:06 UT, close to the ephemeris prediction. The depth of the event at 6800 Å was 0.162 mag. A spectrum of Pluto alone during the totality of the event was obtained and, by subtraction from the spectra before the occultation, a spectrum of Charon was obtained also. The resulting spectrum of Charon is completely featureless and almost perfectly flat. Both the red slope and the CH4 absorption features so prominent in the combined Pluto/Charon spectra can be attributed solely to Pluto. The depth of the 8900 Å CH4 band on Charon is, at most, one-tenth that of Pluto. This implies an upper limit to any CH4 atmosphere on Charon of 0.3 m amagat and an absence of CH4 surface ice cover, or at most a very sparse and finegrained frost. Publication: The Astronomical Journal Pub Date: January 1988 DOI: 10.1086/114632 Bibcode: 1988AJ.....95..229F Keywords: Astronomical Spectroscopy; Charon; Planetary Composition; Pluto (Planet); Absorption Spectra; Methane; Occultation; Satellite Atmospheres; PLUTO; SATELLITES; CHARON; PLUTO-CHARON SYSTEM; OPTICAL PROPERTIES; SPECTRA; OCCULTATIONS; SPECTROSCOPY; METHANE; ABSORPTION; ANALYSIS; ASTRONOMY; ATMOSPHERE; SURFACE; ICE; FROST; COMPARISONS; EQUIPMENT; EARTH-BASED OBSERVATIONS; TELESCOPE METHODS; CCD CAMERA; Astronomy; Pluto; PLANETS: PLUTO full text sources ADS |