Wavelength-Dependent Seeing Systematically Changes the Normalized Slope of Telescopic Reflectance Spectra of Mercury
Telescopic observations of Mercury consistently report systematic variations of the normalized spectral slope of visible-to-near-infrared reflectance spectra. This effect was previously assumed to be a photometric property of the regolith, but it is not yet fully understood. After the MESSENGER miss...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2022-01-01
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| Series: | Remote Sensing |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/14/2/405 |
| _version_ | 1827662957670039552 |
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| author | Kay Wohlfarth Christian Wöhler |
| author_facet | Kay Wohlfarth Christian Wöhler |
| author_sort | Kay Wohlfarth |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Telescopic observations of Mercury consistently report systematic variations of the normalized spectral slope of visible-to-near-infrared reflectance spectra. This effect was previously assumed to be a photometric property of the regolith, but it is not yet fully understood. After the MESSENGER mission, detailed global spectral maps of Mercury are available that better constrain Mercury’s photometry. So far, wavelength-dependent seeing has not been considered in the context of telescopic observations of Mercury. This study investigates the effect of wavelength-dependent seeing on systematic variations of Mercury’s normalized spectral reflectance slope. Therefore, we simulate the disk of Mercury for an idealized scenario, as seen by four different telescopic campaigns using the Hapke and the Kaasalainen–Shkuratov photometric model, the MDIS global mosaic, and a simple wavelength-dependent seeing model. The simulation results are compared with the observations of previous telescopic studies. We find that wavelength-dependent seeing affects the normalized spectral slope in several ways. The normalized slopes are enhanced near the limb, decrease toward the rim of the seeing disk, and even become negative. The decrease of the normalized spectral slope is consistent with previous observations. However, previous studies have associated the spectral slope variations with photometric effects that correlate with the emission angle. Our study suggests that wavelength-dependent seeing may cause these systematic variations. The combined reflectance and seeing model can also account for slope variations between different measurement campaigns. We report no qualitative differences between results based on the Hapke model or the Kaasalainen–Shkuratov model. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T00:35:09Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-2b0f584136f84bc79335e5ed719a03d8 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2072-4292 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T00:35:09Z |
| publishDate | 2022-01-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Remote Sensing |
| spelling | doaj.art-2b0f584136f84bc79335e5ed719a03d82023-11-23T15:17:13ZengMDPI AGRemote Sensing2072-42922022-01-0114240510.3390/rs14020405Wavelength-Dependent Seeing Systematically Changes the Normalized Slope of Telescopic Reflectance Spectra of MercuryKay Wohlfarth0Christian Wöhler1Image Analysis Group, TU Dortmund University, Otto-Hahn-Str. 4, 44227 Dortmund, GermanyImage Analysis Group, TU Dortmund University, Otto-Hahn-Str. 4, 44227 Dortmund, GermanyTelescopic observations of Mercury consistently report systematic variations of the normalized spectral slope of visible-to-near-infrared reflectance spectra. This effect was previously assumed to be a photometric property of the regolith, but it is not yet fully understood. After the MESSENGER mission, detailed global spectral maps of Mercury are available that better constrain Mercury’s photometry. So far, wavelength-dependent seeing has not been considered in the context of telescopic observations of Mercury. This study investigates the effect of wavelength-dependent seeing on systematic variations of Mercury’s normalized spectral reflectance slope. Therefore, we simulate the disk of Mercury for an idealized scenario, as seen by four different telescopic campaigns using the Hapke and the Kaasalainen–Shkuratov photometric model, the MDIS global mosaic, and a simple wavelength-dependent seeing model. The simulation results are compared with the observations of previous telescopic studies. We find that wavelength-dependent seeing affects the normalized spectral slope in several ways. The normalized slopes are enhanced near the limb, decrease toward the rim of the seeing disk, and even become negative. The decrease of the normalized spectral slope is consistent with previous observations. However, previous studies have associated the spectral slope variations with photometric effects that correlate with the emission angle. Our study suggests that wavelength-dependent seeing may cause these systematic variations. The combined reflectance and seeing model can also account for slope variations between different measurement campaigns. We report no qualitative differences between results based on the Hapke model or the Kaasalainen–Shkuratov model.https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/14/2/405MercurymineralogytelescopeatmosphereseeingMESSENGER |
| spellingShingle | Kay Wohlfarth Christian Wöhler Wavelength-Dependent Seeing Systematically Changes the Normalized Slope of Telescopic Reflectance Spectra of Mercury Remote Sensing Mercury mineralogy telescope atmosphere seeing MESSENGER |
| title | Wavelength-Dependent Seeing Systematically Changes the Normalized Slope of Telescopic Reflectance Spectra of Mercury |
| title_full | Wavelength-Dependent Seeing Systematically Changes the Normalized Slope of Telescopic Reflectance Spectra of Mercury |
| title_fullStr | Wavelength-Dependent Seeing Systematically Changes the Normalized Slope of Telescopic Reflectance Spectra of Mercury |
| title_full_unstemmed | Wavelength-Dependent Seeing Systematically Changes the Normalized Slope of Telescopic Reflectance Spectra of Mercury |
| title_short | Wavelength-Dependent Seeing Systematically Changes the Normalized Slope of Telescopic Reflectance Spectra of Mercury |
| title_sort | wavelength dependent seeing systematically changes the normalized slope of telescopic reflectance spectra of mercury |
| topic | Mercury mineralogy telescope atmosphere seeing MESSENGER |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/14/2/405 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT kaywohlfarth wavelengthdependentseeingsystematicallychangesthenormalizedslopeoftelescopicreflectancespectraofmercury AT christianwohler wavelengthdependentseeingsystematicallychangesthenormalizedslopeoftelescopicreflectancespectraofmercury |