Lecture 20 Flashcards
Pluto, Triton, KBOs and Comets
New Horizons Mission Objectives
Map surface composition of Pluto and Charon
Characterize geology of Pluto and Charon
Characterize the Neutral Atmosphere and Pluto and Escape Rate
Search for Atmosphere around Charon
Map Surface Temps
Search for Rings
What is the Kuiper Belt
Consists of trillions of objects orbiting the Sun beyond Neptune
Source of short period comets
Over 1000 documented KBOs
Largest KBOs
Pluto and Eris
KBOs
Range in albedo and colour indicating different makeups and geology
Arrokoth
Primordial KBO
Formed by small uniform particles coming together
Two lobes came together through gentle merging
Sedna
Found in 2004
In highly elliptical orbit
Has a max diameter of 1500 km
Detached/scattered KBO
Pluto and Charon system
Nitrogen and Carbon Monoxide ice
Pluto and Charon always face each other
Geological Features of Pluto
Convection cells in Nitrogen Ice
Dunes
Water-ice rich crust
Disrupted Uplands and Sputnik Planitia
Bladed Terrain
Cryovolcanism
Geological Activities of Charon and Pluto
Charon is dead
Pluto is still geologically active
Triton
Largest moon of Neptune
Similar to Pluto and Charon
Likely a KBO that fell into retrograde orbit
Comets
Small ice-rich bodies formed in the outer solar system
Highly elliptical orbits
Can only see bc of Sun interactions
Sources of Comets
From the Kuiper belt and Oort Cloud
Significance of Comets
Formed in the outer solar system at 4.57 Ga
Too small to be heated
Existed at cryogenic temps since formation
Provide insights into mixing of material in the disk
Characteristics of Comets
CHON elements
Silicates and other materials
C-G Comet
4 km nucleus
ESA Rosetta mission
Target of the proposed CAESAR Mission
