Voyager 2 at Neptune: Imaging science results
- Univ. of Arizona, Tucson (USA)
- Geological Survey, Flagstaff, AZ (USA)
- California Institute of Technology, Pasadena (USA)
- New Mexico State Univ., Las Cruces (USA)
- Vernadsky Institute for Cosmochemistry, Moscow (USSR)
- Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA (USA)
- NASA Headquarters, Washington, DC (USA)
- Observatoire de Paris (France)
- Cornell Univ., Ithaca,
Voyager 2 images of Neptune reveal a windy planet characterized by bright clouds of methane ice suspended in an exceptionally clear atmosphere above a lower deck of hydrogen sulfide or ammonia ices. Neptune's atmosphere is dominated by a large anticyclonic storm system that has been named the Great Dark Spot (GDS). About the same size as Earth in extent,the GDS bears both many similarities and some differences to the Great Red Spot of Jupiter. Neptune's zonal wind profile is remarkably similar to that of Uranus. Neptune has three major rings at radii of 42,000, 53,000, and 63,000 kilometers. The outer ring contains three higher density arc-like segments that were apparently responsible for most of the ground-based occultation events observed during the current decade. Like the rings of Uranus, the Neptune rings are composed of very dark material; unlike that of Uranus, the Neptune system is very dusty. Six new regular satellites were found, with dark surfaces and radii ranging from 200 to 25 kilometers. All lie inside the orbit of Triton and the inner four are located within the ring system. Triton is seen to be a differentiated body, with a radius of 1350 kilometers and a density of 2.1 grams per cubic centimeter; it exhibits clear evidence of early episodes of surface melting. A now rigid crust of what is probably water ice is overlain with a brilliant coating of nitrogen frost, slightly darkened and reddened with organic polymer material. Streaks of organic polymer suggest seasonal winds strong enough to move particles of micrometer size or larger, once they become airborne. At least two active plumes were seen, carrying dark material 8 kilometers above the surface before being transported downstream by high level winds. The plumes may be driven by solar heating and the subsequent violent vaporization of subsurface nitrogen.
- OSTI ID:
- 5371692
- Journal Information:
- Science (Washington, D.C.); (United States), Vol. 246:4936; ISSN 0036-8075
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
GENERAL PHYSICS
NEPTUNE PLANET
IMAGES
AMMONIA
CHEMICAL COMPOSITION
CLOUDS
CRATERS
HYDROGEN SULFIDES
METHANE
PLANETARY ATMOSPHERES
RINGS
SATELLITES
VOYAGER SPACE PROBES
ALKANES
ATMOSPHERES
CAVITIES
CHALCOGENIDES
HYDRIDES
HYDROCARBONS
HYDROGEN COMPOUNDS
NITROGEN COMPOUNDS
NITROGEN HYDRIDES
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
PLANETS
SPACE VEHICLES
SULFIDES
SULFUR COMPOUNDS
VEHICLES
640107* - Astrophysics & Cosmology- Planetary Phenomena