Journal
ASTRONOMICAL JOURNAL
Volume 124, Issue 4, Pages 2273-2278Publisher
IOP PUBLISHING LTD
DOI: 10.1086/342933
Keywords
planets and satellites : individual (Pluto; Triton)
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We present new albedo spectra of Triton and Pluto-Charon, covering the 2.8-4.1 mum wavelength range at a spectral resolution of similar to60. The new data reveal three strong CH4 ice absorption bands, as well as additional absorption around 2.9 and 4.1 mum in the spectra of both bodies, which we tentatively attribute to widely distributed H2O ice, along with CO2 and/or SO2 ices. Since these species are nonvolatile at typical Triton and Pluto surface temperatures, widespread distribution of any of them in volatile-rich regions challenges current understanding of the surfaces of Pluto and Triton, in which more volatile, mobile ices are thought to be segregated from less volatile species. Our data suggest that small, nonvolatile ice particles on Triton and Pluto may be undergoing redistribution by aeolian transport in seasonal sublimation winds.
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