Pluto and Charon: Formation, Seasons, Composition
نویسندگان
چکیده
منابع مشابه
PLUTO AND CHARON: Formation, Seasons, Composition
■ Abstract Pluto and Charon, once thought to be a singular system in an odd orbit at the edge of the solar system, are now known as members of a vast population of icy bodies beyond Neptune. Models for the occurrence of the odd orbit and formation of these bodies in the context of the total population are reviewed. Pluto’s orbital characteristics, coupled with the existence of volatiles on the ...
متن کاملOn The Origin of Pluto , Charon , and the Pluto
Being small, binary, and in a highly unusual orbit, Pluto was long viewed as an enigma in the outer Solar System. Here we review the historical development of ideas concerning Pluto's origin and the origin of the Pluto-Charon Binary. We critically examine these theories in light of both recent advances about Pluto, and with regard to Pluto's broader context in the outer Solar System. Although P...
متن کاملA giant impact origin of Pluto-Charon.
Pluto and its moon, Charon, are the most prominent members of the Kuiper belt, and their existence holds clues to outer solar system formation processes. Here, hydrodynamic simulations are used to demonstrate that the formation of Pluto-Charon by means of a large collision is quite plausible. I show that such an impact probably produced an intact Charon, although it is possible that a disk of m...
متن کاملSurface compositions across Pluto and Charon.
The New Horizons spacecraft mapped colors and infrared spectra across the encounter hemispheres of Pluto and Charon. The volatile methane, carbon monoxide, and nitrogen ices that dominate Pluto's surface have complicated spatial distributions resulting from sublimation, condensation, and glacial flow acting over seasonal and geological time scales. Pluto's water ice "bedrock" was also mapped, w...
متن کاملThe surface compositions of Pluto and Charon
The surface of Pluto as it is understood on the eve of the encounter of the New Horizons spacecraft (mid-2015) consists of a spatially heterogeneous mix of solid N2, CH4, CO, C2H6, and an additional component that imparts color, and may not be an ice. The known molecular ices are detected by near-infrared spectroscopy. The N2 ice occurs in the hexagonal crystalline b-phase, stable at T > 35.6 K...
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ژورنال
عنوان ژورنال: Annual Review of Earth and Planetary Sciences
سال: 2002
ISSN: 0084-6597,1545-4495
DOI: 10.1146/annurev.earth.30.090401.095213