Craters on Pluto and Charon: The Influence of Low Gravities, Low Impact Speeds, and Unique Ices
Abstract
The surfaces of Pluto and Charon display a wide variety of crater landforms. Pluto and Charon present a unique regime to investigate cratering physics due to a combination of circumstances: 1) their relatively low gravities—Pluto's gravity (~0.66 m s-2) falls between those of the large icy satellites of Jupiter and their mid-sized saturnian cousins, while Charon's gravity (0.28 m s-2) is more similar to the latter, 2) the low primary impact velocities onto Pluto and Charon's surfaces (average ~2 km s-1), and 3) the mix of surface ices likely present (e.g., N2, CO, CH4, H2O). We use available images from both the Long Range Reconnaissance Imager (LORRI; Cheng et al., 2008, SSR 140, 189-215) and data from the Ralph (Reuter et al., 2008, SSR 140, 129-154) color/composition instruments to characterize crater morphologies and ejecta characteristics. This presentation will focus on understanding formation of craters on Pluto and Charon (with reference to deformation/degradation processes described in other presentations) and will include comparison to icy satellites. We will also discuss what inferences can be drawn about impactor characteristics.
- Publication:
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AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts
- Pub Date:
- December 2015
- Bibcode:
- 2015AGUFM.P41E..07S
- Keywords:
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- 6270 Pluto and satellites;
- PLANETARY SCIENCES: SOLAR SYSTEM OBJECTS;
- 5405 Atmospheres;
- PLANETARY SCIENCES: SOLID SURFACE PLANETS;
- 5410 Composition;
- PLANETARY SCIENCES: SOLID SURFACE PLANETS;
- 7899 General or miscellaneous;
- SPACE PLASMA PHYSICS