Bolometric Hemispherical Albedo Map of Pluto from New Horizons Observations
The New Horizons encounter with the Pluto system revealed Pluto to have an extremely spatially variable surface with expansive dark, bright, and intermediate terrains, refractory and volatile ices, and ongoing/recent endogenous and exogenous processes. Albedo is useful for understanding volatile tra...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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IOP Publishing
2023-01-01
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| Series: | The Planetary Science Journal |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.3847/PSJ/ace3ab |
| _version_ | 1797326931802193920 |
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| author | Jason D. Hofgartner Bonnie J. Buratti Ross A. Beyer Kimberly Ennico Will M. Grundy Carly J. A. Howett Perianne E. Johnson Tod R. Lauer Catherine B. Olkin John R. Spencer S. Alan Stern Harold A. Weaver Leslie A. Young |
| author_facet | Jason D. Hofgartner Bonnie J. Buratti Ross A. Beyer Kimberly Ennico Will M. Grundy Carly J. A. Howett Perianne E. Johnson Tod R. Lauer Catherine B. Olkin John R. Spencer S. Alan Stern Harold A. Weaver Leslie A. Young |
| author_sort | Jason D. Hofgartner |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The New Horizons encounter with the Pluto system revealed Pluto to have an extremely spatially variable surface with expansive dark, bright, and intermediate terrains, refractory and volatile ices, and ongoing/recent endogenous and exogenous processes. Albedo is useful for understanding volatile transport because it quantifies absorbed solar energy; albedo may also provide insights into surface processes. Four filters of the New Horizons LORRI and MVIC imagers are used to approximate the bolometric (flux-weighted, wavelength-integrated) albedo. The bolometric hemispherical albedo (local energy balance albedo) as a function of the incidence angle of the solar illumination is measured for both Cthulhu and Sputnik Planitia, which are extensive, extreme dark and extreme bright terrains on Pluto. For both terrains, the bolometric hemispherical albedo increases by >30% from 0° to 90° incidence. The incidence-angle-average bolometric hemispherical albedo of Cthulhu is 0.12 ± 0.01, and that of Sputnik Planitia is 0.80 ± 0.06, where uncertainties are estimates based on scatter from different photometric functional approximations. The bolometric Bond albedo (global energy balance albedo) of Cthulhu is 0.12 ± 0.01, and that of Sputnik Planitia is 0.80 ± 0.07. A map of Pluto’s incidence-angle-average bolometric hemispherical albedo is produced. The incidence-angle-average bolometric hemispherical albedo, spatially averaged over areas north of ≈30° S, is ≈0.54. Pluto has three general albedo categories: (1) very low albedo southern equatorial terrains, including Cthulhu; (2) high-albedo terrains, which constitute most of Pluto’s surface; and (3) very high albedo terrains, including Sputnik Planitia. Pluto’s extraordinary albedo variability with location is also spatially sharp at some places. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-08T06:31:15Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-5b9eae595d594122bb8786767d37ea43 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2632-3338 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-08T06:31:15Z |
| publishDate | 2023-01-01 |
| publisher | IOP Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | The Planetary Science Journal |
| spelling | doaj.art-5b9eae595d594122bb8786767d37ea432024-02-03T11:28:09ZengIOP PublishingThe Planetary Science Journal2632-33382023-01-014713210.3847/PSJ/ace3abBolometric Hemispherical Albedo Map of Pluto from New Horizons ObservationsJason D. Hofgartner0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6517-3864Bonnie J. Buratti1https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5901-4875Ross A. Beyer2https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4503-3335Kimberly Ennico3Will M. Grundy4https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8296-6540Carly J. A. Howett5Perianne E. Johnson6https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6255-8526Tod R. Lauer7https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3234-7247Catherine B. Olkin8https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5846-716XJohn R. Spencer9https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4452-8109S. Alan Stern10https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5018-7537Harold A. Weaver11https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0951-7762Leslie A. Young12https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7547-3967Southwest Research Institute , Boulder, CO 80302, USA; Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology , Pasadena, CA 91109, USAJet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology , Pasadena, CA 91109, USASagan Center at SETI Institute , Mountain View, CA 94043, USA; NASA Ames Research Center , Mountain View, CA 94043, USANASA Ames Research Center , Mountain View, CA 94043, USALowell Observatory , Flagstaff, AZ 86001, USA; Northern Arizona University , Flagstaff, AZ 86011, USAUniversity of Oxford , Oxford OX1 3AZ, UKUniversity of Colorado Boulder , Boulder, CO 80309, USANSF’s National Optical Infrared Astronomy Research Laboratory , Tucson, AZ 85719, USA 11Southwest Research Institute , Boulder, CO 80302, USASouthwest Research Institute , Boulder, CO 80302, USASouthwest Research Institute , Boulder, CO 80302, USAJohns Hopkins University , Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD 20723, USASouthwest Research Institute , Boulder, CO 80302, USAThe New Horizons encounter with the Pluto system revealed Pluto to have an extremely spatially variable surface with expansive dark, bright, and intermediate terrains, refractory and volatile ices, and ongoing/recent endogenous and exogenous processes. Albedo is useful for understanding volatile transport because it quantifies absorbed solar energy; albedo may also provide insights into surface processes. Four filters of the New Horizons LORRI and MVIC imagers are used to approximate the bolometric (flux-weighted, wavelength-integrated) albedo. The bolometric hemispherical albedo (local energy balance albedo) as a function of the incidence angle of the solar illumination is measured for both Cthulhu and Sputnik Planitia, which are extensive, extreme dark and extreme bright terrains on Pluto. For both terrains, the bolometric hemispherical albedo increases by >30% from 0° to 90° incidence. The incidence-angle-average bolometric hemispherical albedo of Cthulhu is 0.12 ± 0.01, and that of Sputnik Planitia is 0.80 ± 0.06, where uncertainties are estimates based on scatter from different photometric functional approximations. The bolometric Bond albedo (global energy balance albedo) of Cthulhu is 0.12 ± 0.01, and that of Sputnik Planitia is 0.80 ± 0.07. A map of Pluto’s incidence-angle-average bolometric hemispherical albedo is produced. The incidence-angle-average bolometric hemispherical albedo, spatially averaged over areas north of ≈30° S, is ≈0.54. Pluto has three general albedo categories: (1) very low albedo southern equatorial terrains, including Cthulhu; (2) high-albedo terrains, which constitute most of Pluto’s surface; and (3) very high albedo terrains, including Sputnik Planitia. Pluto’s extraordinary albedo variability with location is also spatially sharp at some places.https://doi.org/10.3847/PSJ/ace3abPlutoSurface photometryPhotometryAlbedoPlanetary science |
| spellingShingle | Jason D. Hofgartner Bonnie J. Buratti Ross A. Beyer Kimberly Ennico Will M. Grundy Carly J. A. Howett Perianne E. Johnson Tod R. Lauer Catherine B. Olkin John R. Spencer S. Alan Stern Harold A. Weaver Leslie A. Young Bolometric Hemispherical Albedo Map of Pluto from New Horizons Observations The Planetary Science Journal Pluto Surface photometry Photometry Albedo Planetary science |
| title | Bolometric Hemispherical Albedo Map of Pluto from New Horizons Observations |
| title_full | Bolometric Hemispherical Albedo Map of Pluto from New Horizons Observations |
| title_fullStr | Bolometric Hemispherical Albedo Map of Pluto from New Horizons Observations |
| title_full_unstemmed | Bolometric Hemispherical Albedo Map of Pluto from New Horizons Observations |
| title_short | Bolometric Hemispherical Albedo Map of Pluto from New Horizons Observations |
| title_sort | bolometric hemispherical albedo map of pluto from new horizons observations |
| topic | Pluto Surface photometry Photometry Albedo Planetary science |
| url | https://doi.org/10.3847/PSJ/ace3ab |
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