冥王星的表面冰层与大气成分。

Surface ices and the atmospheric composition of pluto.

作者信息

Owen T C, Roush T L, Cruikshank D P, Elliot J L, Young L A, de Bergh C, Schmitt B, Geballe T R, Brown R H, Bartholomew M J

出版信息

Science. 1993 Aug 6;261(5122):745-8. doi: 10.1126/science.261.5122.745.

DOI:10.1126/science.261.5122.745

PMID:17757212

Abstract

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.

摘要

对冥王星1.4至2.4微米光谱的观测揭示了一氧化碳冰和氮冰的吸收特征，并证实了固态甲烷的存在。冻结态氮的含量比其他两种冰高出约50倍；因此气态氮必定是大气的主要成分。在这一区域，二氧化碳吸收特征的缺失是冥王星和海卫一光谱之间的若干差异之一。这两个星球都承载着有关太阳星云组成以及冰质小行星形成过程的信息。