Pluto's Expanding Atmosphere Confounds Researchers, Pluto Atomosphere |
Pluto's Expanding Atmosphere Confounds Researchers, Pluto Atomosphere |
Apr 19 2011, 08:26 PM
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Junior Member Group: Members Posts: 21 Joined: 4-November 10 Member No.: 5509 |
Pluto's Expanding Atmosphere Confounds Researchers
http://news.sciencemag.org/sciencenow/2011...onf.html?ref=hp Could these be evidence of geyers like on Triton? |
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Apr 20 2011, 01:32 PM
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Member Group: Members Posts: 293 Joined: 29-August 06 From: Columbia, MD Member No.: 1083 |
Pluto's atmosphere is (almost certainly) hydrodynamically escaping. Basically, the solar wind blows the atmosphere off the planet. So, that leads to a very large height for the exobase of the atmosphere (several Pluto radii potentially). That coupled with the seasonal cycle when the atmosphere is thicker anyway, and you get a very extended, low density atmosphere.
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Apr 21 2011, 12:39 AM
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Member Group: Members Posts: 509 Joined: 2-July 05 From: Calgary, Alberta Member No.: 426 |
Pluto's atmosphere is (almost certainly) hydrodynamically escaping. If gas escape is occurring, would the region of greatest gas escape tend to concentrate around the anti-Charon point? With such a huge scale height to the atmosphere, centripetal acceleration (due to Pluto's motion around the system's barycentre) might be just enough to give gas molecules the heave-ho on the anti-Charon side. |
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