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2 results

  • 22 - Spectroscopy of Pluto and Its Satellites

  • from Part IV - Applications to Planetary Surfaces
  • Edited by Janice L. Bishop, James F. Bell III, Arizona State University, Jeffrey E. Moersch, University of Tennessee, Knoxville
  • Book:
    Remote Compositional Analysis
    Published online:
    15 November 2019
    Print publication:
    28 November 2019, pp 442-452

  • Summary

    The near-infrared reflectance spectra of Pluto and its satellites are rich with diagnostic absorption bands of ices of CH4, N2, CO, H2O, and an incompletely identified ammonia-bearing molecule. Following years of investigation of the spectra of Pluto and Charon with ground-based telescopes, NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft obtained spectral maps of these bodies and three small satellites on its passage through the system on July 14, 2015, showing the distribution of these ices, as well as a colored, non-ice component. Spectral modeling mapped the distribution of the various ices and showed their abundance and mixing details in relationship to regions of differing surface elevation, albedo, and geologic structure. Additionally, owing to their greatly different degrees of volatility, the ices of Pluto are distributed in patterns responsive to Pluto’s climatic changes on both short and long terms. The surface of Charon is dominated spectrally by H2O ice with one or more ammoniated compounds, and three of the four very small satellites show both H2O ice and the ammonia signature.