First Ultraviolet Reflectance Spectra of Pluto and Charon by the Hubble Space Telescope Cosmic Origins Spectrograph: Detection of Absorption Features and Evidence for Temporal Change
Abstract
We have observed the mid-UV spectra of both Pluto and its large satellite, Charon, at two rotational epochs using the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) Cosmic Origins Spectrograph (COS) in 2010. These are the first HST/COS measurements of Pluto and Charon. Here we describe the observations and our reduction of them, and present the albedo spectra, average mid-UV albedos, and albedo slopes we derive from these data. These data reveal evidence for a strong absorption feature in the mid-UV spectrum of Pluto; evidence for temporal change in Pluto's spectrum since the 1990s is reported, and indirect evidence for a near-UV spectral absorption on Charon is also reported.
- Publication:
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The Astronomical Journal
- Pub Date:
- January 2012
- DOI:
- 10.1088/0004-6256/143/1/22
- Bibcode:
- 2012AJ....143...22S
- Keywords:
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- planets and satellites: surfaces