Pub Date : 2021-07-05DOI: 10.2458/azu_uapress_9780816540945-ch023
A. Parker
The Pluto system is an archetype for the multitude of icy dwarf planets and accompanying satellite systems that populate the vast volume of the solar system beyond Neptune. New Horizons' exploration of Pluto and its five moons gave us a glimpse into the range of properties that their kin may host. Furthermore, the surfaces of Pluto and Charon record eons of bombardment by small trans-Neptunian objects, and by treating them as witness plates we can infer a few key properties of the trans-Neptunian population at sizes far below current direct-detection limits. This chapter summarizes what we have learned from the Pluto system about the origins and properties of the trans-Neptunian populations, the processes that have acted upon those members over the age of the solar system, and the processes likely to remain active today. Included in this summary is an inference of the properties of the size distribution of small trans-Neptunian objects and estimates on the fraction of binary systems present at small sizes. Further, this chapter compares the extant properties of the satellites of trans-Neptunian dwarf planets and their implications for the processes of satellite formation and the early evolution of planetesimals in the outer solar system. Finally, this chapter concludes with a discussion of near-term theoretical, observational, and laboratory efforts that can further ground our understanding of the Pluto system and how its properties can guide future exploration of trans-Neptunian space.
{"title":"Transneptunian Space and the Post-Pluto Paradigm","authors":"A. Parker","doi":"10.2458/azu_uapress_9780816540945-ch023","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2458/azu_uapress_9780816540945-ch023","url":null,"abstract":"The Pluto system is an archetype for the multitude of icy dwarf planets and accompanying satellite systems that populate the vast volume of the solar system beyond Neptune. New Horizons' exploration of Pluto and its five moons gave us a glimpse into the range of properties that their kin may host. Furthermore, the surfaces of Pluto and Charon record eons of bombardment by small trans-Neptunian objects, and by treating them as witness plates we can infer a few key properties of the trans-Neptunian population at sizes far below current direct-detection limits. This chapter summarizes what we have learned from the Pluto system about the origins and properties of the trans-Neptunian populations, the processes that have acted upon those members over the age of the solar system, and the processes likely to remain active today. Included in this summary is an inference of the properties of the size distribution of small trans-Neptunian objects and estimates on the fraction of binary systems present at small sizes. Further, this chapter compares the extant properties of the satellites of trans-Neptunian dwarf planets and their implications for the processes of satellite formation and the early evolution of planetesimals in the outer solar system. Finally, this chapter concludes with a discussion of near-term theoretical, observational, and laboratory efforts that can further ground our understanding of the Pluto system and how its properties can guide future exploration of trans-Neptunian space.","PeriodicalId":393977,"journal":{"name":"The Pluto System After New Horizons","volume":"60 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-07-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"116878938","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2020-08-24DOI: 10.2458/azu_uapress_9780816540945-ch007
K. Singer, S. Greenstreet, P. Schenk, S. Robbins, V. Bray
Pluto's terrains display a diversity of crater retention ages ranging from areas with no identifiable craters to heavily cratered terrains. This variation in crater densities is consistent with geologic activity occurring throughout Pluto's history and also a variety of resurfacing styles, including both exogenic and endogenic processes. Using estimates of impact flux and cratering rates over time, Pluto's heavily cratered terrains appear to be relatively ancient, 4 Ga or older. Charon's smooth plains, informally named Vulcan Planitia, did experience early resurfacing, but there is a relatively high spatial density of craters on Vulcan Planitia and almost all overprint the other types of volcanic or tectonic features. Both Vulcan Planitia and the northern terrains on Charon are also estimated to be ancient, 4 Ga or older. The craters on Pluto and Charon also show a distinct break in their size-frequency distributions (SFDs), where craters smaller than approximately 10-15 km in diameter have a shallower SFD power-law slope than those larger than this break diameter. This SFD shape on Pluto and Charon is different than what is observed on the Earth's Moon, and gives the Kuiper belt impactor SFD a different shape than that of the asteroid belt.
{"title":"Impact Craters on Pluto and Charon and Terrain Age Estimates","authors":"K. Singer, S. Greenstreet, P. Schenk, S. Robbins, V. Bray","doi":"10.2458/azu_uapress_9780816540945-ch007","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2458/azu_uapress_9780816540945-ch007","url":null,"abstract":"Pluto's terrains display a diversity of crater retention ages ranging from areas with no identifiable craters to heavily cratered terrains. This variation in crater densities is consistent with geologic activity occurring throughout Pluto's history and also a variety of resurfacing styles, including both exogenic and endogenic processes. Using estimates of impact flux and cratering rates over time, Pluto's heavily cratered terrains appear to be relatively ancient, 4 Ga or older. Charon's smooth plains, informally named Vulcan Planitia, did experience early resurfacing, but there is a relatively high spatial density of craters on Vulcan Planitia and almost all overprint the other types of volcanic or tectonic features. Both Vulcan Planitia and the northern terrains on Charon are also estimated to be ancient, 4 Ga or older. The craters on Pluto and Charon also show a distinct break in their size-frequency distributions (SFDs), where craters smaller than approximately 10-15 km in diameter have a shallower SFD power-law slope than those larger than this break diameter. This SFD shape on Pluto and Charon is different than what is observed on the Earth's Moon, and gives the Kuiper belt impactor SFD a different shape than that of the asteroid belt.","PeriodicalId":393977,"journal":{"name":"The Pluto System After New Horizons","volume":"158 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-08-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"133028570","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2019-07-01DOI: 10.2458/azu_uapress_9780816540945-ch014
A. Earle, R. Binzel, L. Young, T. Bertrand, M. Buie, D. Cruikshank, K. Ennico, F. Forget, W. Grundy, J. Moore, C. Olkin, B. Schmitt, J. Spencer, J. Stansberry, S. Stern, L. Trafton, O. Umurhan, H. Weaver
The volatiles on Pluto’s surface, N2, CH4, and CO, are present in its atmosphere as well. The movement of volatiles affects Pluto’s surface and atmosphere on multiple timescales. On diurnal timescales, N2 is transported from areas of high to low insolation, and the latent heat of sublimation or condensation maintains a nearly isobaric atmosphere. On seasonal (orbital) timescales, Pluto’s atmosphere changes its 20 pressure by orders of magnitude, but most models predict that it is unlikely to collapse even at aphelion due to the equatorial N2 source in Sputnik Planitia and the high thermal inertia of the subsurface. On seasonal timescales, meters of N2 ice are transported across Pluto’s surface, but it is not yet clear from models how much of this transport is between areas which maintain N2 over an entire year (such as Sputnik Planitia) and to what extent deposition creates new volatile-covered areas (of either N2-rich or CH4-rich ice) or sublimation reveals underlying terrain. Pluto’s orbit and obliquity variations on ~3 Myr timescales (a Milankovitch cycle) induce considerable climate changes along with local accumulation or erosion of m-to-km thick layers of volatile ice. In a non-cyclical process, volatiles filled the large depression that is now Sputnik Planitia.
{"title":"Pluto’s Volatile and Climate Cycles on Short and Long Timescales","authors":"A. Earle, R. Binzel, L. Young, T. Bertrand, M. Buie, D. Cruikshank, K. Ennico, F. Forget, W. Grundy, J. Moore, C. Olkin, B. Schmitt, J. Spencer, J. Stansberry, S. Stern, L. Trafton, O. Umurhan, H. Weaver","doi":"10.2458/azu_uapress_9780816540945-ch014","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2458/azu_uapress_9780816540945-ch014","url":null,"abstract":"The volatiles on Pluto’s surface, N2, CH4, and CO, are present in its atmosphere as well. The movement of volatiles affects Pluto’s surface and atmosphere on multiple timescales. On diurnal timescales, N2 is transported from areas of high to low insolation, and the latent heat of sublimation or condensation maintains a nearly isobaric atmosphere. On seasonal (orbital) timescales, Pluto’s atmosphere changes its 20 pressure by orders of magnitude, but most models predict that it is unlikely to collapse even at aphelion due to the equatorial N2 source in Sputnik Planitia and the high thermal inertia of the subsurface. On seasonal timescales, meters of N2 ice are transported across Pluto’s surface, but it is not yet clear from models how much of this transport is between areas which maintain N2 over an entire year (such as Sputnik Planitia) and to what extent deposition creates new volatile-covered areas (of either N2-rich or CH4-rich ice) or sublimation reveals underlying terrain. Pluto’s orbit and obliquity variations on ~3 Myr timescales (a Milankovitch cycle) induce considerable climate changes along with local accumulation or erosion of m-to-km thick layers of volatile ice. In a non-cyclical process, volatiles filled the large depression that is now Sputnik Planitia.","PeriodicalId":393977,"journal":{"name":"The Pluto System After New Horizons","volume":"32 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2019-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"127140627","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 1900-01-01DOI: 10.2458/azu_uapress_9780816540945-ch009
D. Cruikshank
{"title":"Surface Composition of Pluto","authors":"D. Cruikshank","doi":"10.2458/azu_uapress_9780816540945-ch009","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2458/azu_uapress_9780816540945-ch009","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":393977,"journal":{"name":"The Pluto System After New Horizons","volume":"32 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"1900-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"114629438","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 1900-01-01DOI: 10.2458/azu_uapress_9780816540945-ch015
D. Strobel
{"title":"Atmospheric Escape","authors":"D. Strobel","doi":"10.2458/azu_uapress_9780816540945-ch015","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2458/azu_uapress_9780816540945-ch015","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":393977,"journal":{"name":"The Pluto System After New Horizons","volume":"8 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"1900-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"122201891","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 1900-01-01DOI: 10.2458/azu_uapress_9780816540945-ch020
S. Porter
{"title":"The Small Satellites of Pluto","authors":"S. Porter","doi":"10.2458/azu_uapress_9780816540945-ch020","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2458/azu_uapress_9780816540945-ch020","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":393977,"journal":{"name":"The Pluto System After New Horizons","volume":"113 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"1900-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"124698537","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 1900-01-01DOI: 10.2458/azu_uapress_9780816540945-ch018
C. J. A. Howestt
{"title":"Charon: Colors and Photometric Properties","authors":"C. J. A. Howestt","doi":"10.2458/azu_uapress_9780816540945-ch018","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2458/azu_uapress_9780816540945-ch018","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":393977,"journal":{"name":"The Pluto System After New Horizons","volume":"5 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"1900-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"130716511","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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