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Science 19 October 1990:
Vol. 250. no. 4979, pp. 429 - 431
DOI: 10.1126/science.250.4979.429
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Articles

Temperature and Thermal Emissivity of the Surface of Neptune's Satellite Triton

Robert M. Nelson 1, William D. Smythe 1, Brad D. Wallis 1, Linda J. Horn 1, Arthur L. Lane 1, and Marvin J. Mayo 1

1 Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA 91109

Analysis of the preliminary results from the Voyager mission to the Neptune system has provided the scientific community with several methods by which the temperature of Neptune's satellite Triton may be determined. If the 37.5 K surface temperature reported by several Voyager investigations is correct, then the photometry reported by the imaging experiment on Voyager requires that Triton's surface have a remarkably low emissivity. Such a low emissivity is not required in order to explain the photometry from the photopolarimeter experiment on Voyager. A low emissivity would be inconsistent with Triton having a rough surface at the sim100-µm scale as might be expected given the active renewal processes which appear to dominate Triton's surface.

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Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)