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Science 6 August 1993:
Vol. 261. no. 5122, pp. 745 - 748
DOI: 10.1126/science.261.5122.745
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Articles

Surface Ices and the Atmospheric Composition of Pluto

Tobias C. Owen 1, Ted L. Roush 2, Dale P. Cruikshank 3, James L. Elliot 4, Leslie A. Young 4, Catherine de Bergh 5, Bernard Schmitt 1, Thomas R. Geballe 6, Robert H. Brown 7, and Mary Jane Bartholomew 8

1 Institute for Astronomy, University of Hawaii, 2680 Woodlawn Drive, Honolulu, HI 96822
2 Department of Geosciences, San Francisco State University, San Francisco, CA 94132, and NASA Ames Research Center, Space Sciences Division, Moffett Field, CA 94035-1000
3 NASA Ames Research Center, Space Sciences Divisiol, Moffett Field, CA 94035-1000
4 Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139
5 Observatoire de Paris, 92195 Meudon Cedex, France
6 Joint Astronomy Centre, Hilo, HI 96720
7 Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA 91109
8 Sterling Software, Inc., NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA 94035-1000

Observations of the 1.4- to 2.4-micrometer spectrum of Pluto reveal absorptions of carbon monoxide and nitrogen ices and confirm the presence of solid methane. Frozen nitrogen is more abundant than the other two ices by a factor of about 50; gaseous nitrogen must therefore be the major atmospheric constituent. The absence of carbon dioxide absorptions is one of several differences between the spectra of Pluto and Triton in this region. Both worlds carry information about the composition of the solar nebula and the processes by which icy planetesimals formed.

Submitted on March 8, 1993
Accepted on June 2, 1993


THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES:
Chloroisonicotinamide Derivative Induces a Broad Range of Disease Resistance in Rice and Tobacco.
H. Nakashita, M. Yasuda, M. Nishioka, S. Hasegawa, Y. Arai, M. Uramoto, S. Yoshida, and I. Yamaguchi (2002)
Plant Cell Physiol. 43, 823-831
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Evidence for a Low Surface Temperature on Pluto from Millimeter-Wave Thermal Emission Measurements.
S. A. Stern, S. A. Stern, D. A. Weintraub, and M. C. Festou (1993)
Science 261, 1713-1716
   Abstract »    PDF »
Triton, Pluto, and the Origin of the Solar System.
J. I. Lunine and J. I. Lunine (1993)
Science 261, 697-698
   PDF »
Spectroscopic Determination of the Phase Composition and Temperature of Nitrogen Ice on Triton.
K. A. Tryka, K. A. Tryka, R. H. Brown, V. Anicich, D. P. Cruikshank, and T. C. Owen (1993)
Science 261, 751-754
   Abstract »    PDF »


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