The recent expansion of Pluto's atmosphere

J. L. Elliot; A. Ates; B. A. Babcock; A. S. Bosh; M. W. Bule; K. B. Clancy; E. W. Dunham; S. S. Eikenberry; D. T. Hall; S. D. Kern; S. K. Leggett; S. E. Levine; D. S. Moon; C. B. Olkin; D. J. Osip; J. M. Pasachoff; B. E. Penprase; M. J. Person; S. Qu; J. T. Rayner; L. C. Roberts; C. V. Salyk; S. P. Souza; R. C. Stone; B. W. Taylor; D. J. Tholen; J. E. Thomas-Osip; D. R. Ticehurst; L. H. Wasserman

doi:10.1038/nature01762

The recent expansion of Pluto's atmosphere

J. L. Elliot^*, A. Ates, B. A. Babcock, A. S. Bosh, M. W. Bule, K. B. Clancy, E. W. Dunham, S. S. Eikenberry, D. T. Hall, S. D. Kern, S. K. Leggett, S. E. Levine, D. S. Moon, C. B. Olkin, D. J. Osip, J. M. Pasachoff, B. E. Penprase, M. J. Person, S. Qu, J. T. RaynerL. C. Roberts, C. V. Salyk, S. P. Souza, R. C. Stone, B. W. Taylor, D. J. Tholen, J. E. Thomas-Osip, D. R. Ticehurst, L. H. Wasserman

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

104 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Stellar occultations - the passing of a relatively nearby body in front of a background star - can be used to probe the atmosphere of the closer body with a spatial resolution of a few kilometres (ref. 1). Such observations can yield the scale height, temperature profile, and other information about the structure of the occulting atmosphere. Occultation data acquired for Pluto's atmosphere in 1988 revealed a nearly isothermal atmosphere above a radius of ∼1,215 km. Below this level, the data could be interpreted as indicating either an extinction layer or the onset of a large thermal gradient, calling into question the fundamental structure of this atmosphere. Another question is to what extent Pluto's atmosphere might be collapsing as it recedes from the Sun (passing perihelion in 1989 in its 248-year orbital period), owing to the extreme sensitivity of the equilibrium surface pressure to the surface temperature. Here we report observations at a variety of visible and infrared wavelengths of an occultation of a star by Pluto in August 2002. These data reveal evidence for extinction in Pluto's atmosphere and show that it has indeed changed, having expanded rather than collapsed, since 1988.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	165-168
Number of pages	4
Journal	Nature
Volume	424
Issue number	6945
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1038/nature01762
Publication status	Published - 10 Jul 2003
Externally published	Yes

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Elliot, J. L., Ates, A., Babcock, B. A., Bosh, A. S., Bule, M. W., Clancy, K. B., Dunham, E. W., Eikenberry, S. S., Hall, D. T., Kern, S. D., Leggett, S. K., Levine, S. E., Moon, D. S., Olkin, C. B., Osip, D. J., Pasachoff, J. M., Penprase, B. E., Person, M. J., Qu, S., ... Wasserman, L. H. (2003). The recent expansion of Pluto's atmosphere. Nature, 424(6945), 165-168. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature01762

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title = "The recent expansion of Pluto's atmosphere",

abstract = "Stellar occultations - the passing of a relatively nearby body in front of a background star - can be used to probe the atmosphere of the closer body with a spatial resolution of a few kilometres (ref. 1). Such observations can yield the scale height, temperature profile, and other information about the structure of the occulting atmosphere. Occultation data acquired for Pluto's atmosphere in 1988 revealed a nearly isothermal atmosphere above a radius of ∼1,215 km. Below this level, the data could be interpreted as indicating either an extinction layer or the onset of a large thermal gradient, calling into question the fundamental structure of this atmosphere. Another question is to what extent Pluto's atmosphere might be collapsing as it recedes from the Sun (passing perihelion in 1989 in its 248-year orbital period), owing to the extreme sensitivity of the equilibrium surface pressure to the surface temperature. Here we report observations at a variety of visible and infrared wavelengths of an occultation of a star by Pluto in August 2002. These data reveal evidence for extinction in Pluto's atmosphere and show that it has indeed changed, having expanded rather than collapsed, since 1988.",

author = "Elliot, {J. L.} and A. Ates and Babcock, {B. A.} and Bosh, {A. S.} and Bule, {M. W.} and Clancy, {K. B.} and Dunham, {E. W.} and Eikenberry, {S. S.} and Hall, {D. T.} and Kern, {S. D.} and Leggett, {S. K.} and Levine, {S. E.} and Moon, {D. S.} and Olkin, {C. B.} and Osip, {D. J.} and Pasachoff, {J. M.} and Penprase, {B. E.} and Person, {M. J.} and S. Qu and Rayner, {J. T.} and Roberts, {L. C.} and Salyk, {C. V.} and Souza, {S. P.} and Stone, {R. C.} and Taylor, {B. W.} and Tholen, {D. J.} and Thomas-Osip, {J. E.} and Ticehurst, {D. R.} and Wasserman, {L. H.}",

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doi = "10.1038/nature01762",

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Elliot, JL, Ates, A, Babcock, BA, Bosh, AS, Bule, MW, Clancy, KB, Dunham, EW, Eikenberry, SS, Hall, DT, Kern, SD, Leggett, SK, Levine, SE, Moon, DS, Olkin, CB, Osip, DJ, Pasachoff, JM, Penprase, BE, Person, MJ, Qu, S, Rayner, JT, Roberts, LC, Salyk, CV, Souza, SP, Stone, RC, Taylor, BW, Tholen, DJ, Thomas-Osip, JE, Ticehurst, DR & Wasserman, LH 2003, 'The recent expansion of Pluto's atmosphere', Nature, vol. 424, no. 6945, pp. 165-168. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature01762

TY - JOUR

T1 - The recent expansion of Pluto's atmosphere

AU - Elliot, J. L.

AU - Ates, A.

AU - Babcock, B. A.

AU - Bosh, A. S.

AU - Bule, M. W.

AU - Clancy, K. B.

AU - Dunham, E. W.

AU - Eikenberry, S. S.

AU - Hall, D. T.

AU - Kern, S. D.

AU - Leggett, S. K.

AU - Levine, S. E.

AU - Moon, D. S.

AU - Olkin, C. B.

AU - Osip, D. J.

AU - Pasachoff, J. M.

AU - Penprase, B. E.

AU - Person, M. J.

AU - Qu, S.

AU - Rayner, J. T.

AU - Roberts, L. C.

AU - Salyk, C. V.

AU - Souza, S. P.

AU - Stone, R. C.

AU - Taylor, B. W.

AU - Tholen, D. J.

AU - Thomas-Osip, J. E.

AU - Ticehurst, D. R.

AU - Wasserman, L. H.

PY - 2003/7/10

Y1 - 2003/7/10

N2 - Stellar occultations - the passing of a relatively nearby body in front of a background star - can be used to probe the atmosphere of the closer body with a spatial resolution of a few kilometres (ref. 1). Such observations can yield the scale height, temperature profile, and other information about the structure of the occulting atmosphere. Occultation data acquired for Pluto's atmosphere in 1988 revealed a nearly isothermal atmosphere above a radius of ∼1,215 km. Below this level, the data could be interpreted as indicating either an extinction layer or the onset of a large thermal gradient, calling into question the fundamental structure of this atmosphere. Another question is to what extent Pluto's atmosphere might be collapsing as it recedes from the Sun (passing perihelion in 1989 in its 248-year orbital period), owing to the extreme sensitivity of the equilibrium surface pressure to the surface temperature. Here we report observations at a variety of visible and infrared wavelengths of an occultation of a star by Pluto in August 2002. These data reveal evidence for extinction in Pluto's atmosphere and show that it has indeed changed, having expanded rather than collapsed, since 1988.

AB - Stellar occultations - the passing of a relatively nearby body in front of a background star - can be used to probe the atmosphere of the closer body with a spatial resolution of a few kilometres (ref. 1). Such observations can yield the scale height, temperature profile, and other information about the structure of the occulting atmosphere. Occultation data acquired for Pluto's atmosphere in 1988 revealed a nearly isothermal atmosphere above a radius of ∼1,215 km. Below this level, the data could be interpreted as indicating either an extinction layer or the onset of a large thermal gradient, calling into question the fundamental structure of this atmosphere. Another question is to what extent Pluto's atmosphere might be collapsing as it recedes from the Sun (passing perihelion in 1989 in its 248-year orbital period), owing to the extreme sensitivity of the equilibrium surface pressure to the surface temperature. Here we report observations at a variety of visible and infrared wavelengths of an occultation of a star by Pluto in August 2002. These data reveal evidence for extinction in Pluto's atmosphere and show that it has indeed changed, having expanded rather than collapsed, since 1988.

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U2 - 10.1038/nature01762

DO - 10.1038/nature01762

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AN - SCOPUS:0037666719

SN - 0028-0836

VL - 424

SP - 165

EP - 168

JO - Nature

JF - Nature

IS - 6945

ER -

The recent expansion of Pluto's atmosphere

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