A rough-surface thermophysical model for airless planets

Journal Article · Mon Jan 01 00:00:00 EST 1990 · Icarus (International Journal of the Solar System); (USA)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/0019-1035(90)90004-S· OSTI ID:6955822

Spencer, J R ^[1]

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1. Hawaii Univ., Honolulu (USA)

A model for determining diurnal temperatures in spherical-section depressions and which encompasses both subsurface heat-flow and direct and scattered sunlight effects is presently applied to the disk-integrated thermal emission of a rough planetary surface with nonzero thermal inertia. Attention is given to the variation with roughness and thermal inertia of the beaming parameter eta, which characterizes zero-phase thermal emission by comparison with a smooth, nonrotating body and is almost independent of albedo for a given surface roughness. The thermal phase curve of Ceres is noted to be well matched by the model features of (1) prograde rotation, (2) 44-deg rms surface slope, and (3) a thermal inertia that is 30 percent of the lunar value. 23 refs.

• OSTI ID: 6955822
• Journal Information: Icarus (International Journal of the Solar System); (USA), Vol. 83; ISSN 0019-1035
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS
GENERAL PHYSICS
PLANETS
MATHEMATICAL MODELS
DAILY VARIATIONS
ROTATION
ROUGHNESS
SURFACES
TEMPERATURE MEASUREMENT
THERMODYNAMIC PROPERTIES
MOTION
PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
SURFACE PROPERTIES
VARIATIONS
640107* - Astrophysics & Cosmology- Planetary Phenomena