Geological Society of America

211 Exploring the Third Zone: The Geology of Pluto, Charon, and the Kuiper Belt

Tuesday, 27 September 2016
1:30 PM - 5:30 PM
Mile High Ballroom 2A/3A

SURFACE COMPOSITIONS OF PLUTO AND CHARON

Paper number: 211-4
Program: Technical Sessions
Time: 2:15 PM – 2:30 PM

Authors

C.B. Olkin Presenting Author
Southwest Research Institute, Boulder, CO
J.C. Cook
Southwest Research Institute, Boulder, CO
D.P. Cruikshank
NASA Ames Research Center, Mountain View, CA
C.M. Dalle Ore
NASA Ames Research Center, Mountain View, CA
K. Ennico
NASA Ames Research Center, Mountain View, CA
H.a. Weaver
Johns Hopkins University, Laurel, MD
L.a. Young
Southwest Research Institute, Boulder, CO
S.a. Stern
Southwest Research Institute, Boulder, CO
D.C. Reuter
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD
W.M. Grundy
Lowell Observatory, Flagstaff, AZ
S. Protopapa
University of Maryland, College Park, MD
B. Schmitt
Université Grenoble Alpes, CNRS, Grenoble
S. Philippe
Université Grenoble Alpes, CNRS, Grenoble
A.M. Earle
MIT, Cambridge, MA
R.P. Binzel
MIT, Cambridge, MA

Abstract

On July 14, 2015, the New Horizons spacecraft flew past Pluto providing the first close up look at the surface of Pluto and its moons. One of the main science objectives of the mission is to map the surface compositions of Pluto and Charon (Young, et al. 2008). This was accomplished using the New Horizons Ralph instrument – a combined visible/near infrared multi-spectral imager and a short wavelength infrared spectral imager (Reuter, et al. 2008). The Ralph visible imager (MVIC) has four filters: blue (400-550 nm), red (540-700 nm), near IR (780 – 975 nm) and narrow-band methane (860 – 910 nm) channels. Composition information can be inferred from the surface color and the narrow-band methane filter that is sensitive to the 0.89 um CH₄ band. The short wavelength infrared spectral imager covers the spectrally diagnostic wavelength range from 1.25 to 2.5 um with a resolution of 240 and a higher spectral resolution (560) region covering 2.1 to 2.25 um.

From these data, we are able to produce the first composition maps across Pluto and Charon. There are interesting compositional differences across Pluto. The equatorial region has a large red dark band across much of the planet likely the result of non-volatile tholins exposed the surface. This large equatorial band is interrupted by a large glacier called Sputnik Planum (all feature names are informal). The glacial region is composed of N₂, CH₄ and CO ices. We also see mountain tops in Cthulu Region topped with CH₄ ice and the region called Tartarus Dorsa shows interesting “bladed” terrain of roughly north-south aligned ridges with a relief of about 500 meters that is enhanced in CH₄ ices.

Compositional maps for Pluto and Charon will be presented.

This work was supported by NASA’s New Horizons project.

Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs. Vol. 48, No. 7

doi: 10.1130/abs/2016AM-287646

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