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Photometry of Triton 1992-2004: Surface volatile transport and discovery of a remarkable opposition surge |
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| Authors: | BJ Buratti JM Bauer JK Hillier H Hammel B Cobb M Garsky J Foust |
| Institution: | a Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Inst. of Technology, 4800 Oak Grove Dr. 183-501, Pasadena, CA 91109, United States b Grays Harbor College, 1620 Edward P Smith Drive, Aberdeen, WA 98520-7599, United States c University of Virginia, Department of Astronomy, PO Box 400325, Charlottesville, VA 22904-4325, United States d Space Sciences Institute, 4750 Walnut St. Suite 205, Boulder, CO 80301, United States |
| Abstract: | Triton, the large satellite of Neptune, was imaged by the Voyager 2 spacecraft in 1989 with dark plumes originating in its volatile-rich south polar region. Southern summer solstice, a time when seasonal volatile transport should be at a maximum, occurred in 2001. Ground-based observations of Triton’s rotational light curve obtained from Table Mountain Observatory in 2000-2004 reveal volatile transport on its surface. When compared with a static frost model constructed from Voyager images, the light curve shows an increase in total amplitude. An earlier light curve obtained in 1992 from Mauna Kea Observatory is consistent with the static frost model. This movement of volatiles on the surface agrees with recent imaging results from the Hubble Space Telescope (Bauer, J.M., Buratti, B.J., Li, J.-Y., Mosher, J.A., Hicks, M.D., Schmidt, B.E., Goguen, J.D. 2010]. Astrophys. J. 723, L49-L52). The changes in the light curve can be explained by the transport of nitrogen frost on the surface or by the uncovering of bedrock of less volatile methane. We also find that Triton exhibits a large opposition surge at solar phase angles less than 0.1°. This surge cannot be entirely explained by the effects of coherent backscatter. |
| Keywords: | Triton Satellites Surfaces Satellites Atmospheres |
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