No effect of diffraction on Pluto-Charon mutual events
Abstract
Mulholland and Gustafson (1987) made the interesting suggestion that observations of Pluto-Charon mutual events might show significant dependence on both wavelength and telescope aperture because of diffraction effects. In this letter, the authors present observations that show the predicted effects to be absent and demonstrate that the parameters of the system are such that the events can be accurately analyzed with geometrical optics.
- Publication:
-
Astronomy and Astrophysics
- Pub Date:
- October 1988
- Bibcode:
- 1988A&A...204L...5T
- Keywords:
-
- Astronomical Photometry;
- Charon;
- Diffraction Patterns;
- Pluto (Planet);
- Fraunhofer Lines;
- Geometrical Optics;
- Astronomy