Pluto-Charon system - the escape of Charon's primordial atmosphere

Journal Article · Fri Apr 01 00:00:00 EST 1988 · Icarus; (United States)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/0019-1035(88)90033-4· OSTI ID:7188175

Trafton, L; Stern, S A; Gladstone, G R

Although Charon seems to have lost its atmosphere and surface volatiles, a lack of heating that would be sufficient to generate melting and consequent separation of the lighter and heavier nonvolatiles has probably resulted in the outer layers' retention of the primordial mix of nonvolatiles. Spectroscopically-determined relative abundances for the Charon surface should accordingly be representative of its entire mass, and thereby constitutes the basis of an understanding of Charon's origin. The study of Charon's exposed nonvolatile ices may ascertain whether the Pluto-Charon system condensed out of the solar nebula directly or from a protoplanetary nebula. 46 references.

• Research Organization: Texas Univ., Austin (USA); Colorado Univ., Boulder (USA)
• OSTI ID: 7188175
• Journal Information: Icarus; (United States), Vol. 74
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS
GENERAL PHYSICS
PLUTO PLANET
PLANETARY EVOLUTION
SATELLITES
ABUNDANCE
CHEMICAL COMPOSITION
MASS
METHANE
ORIGIN
PROTOPLANETS
SATELLITE ATMOSPHERES
SOLAR NEBULA
ALKANES
ATMOSPHERES
HYDROCARBONS
NEBULAE
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
PLANETS
SOLAR SYSTEM EVOLUTION
640107* - Astrophysics & Cosmology- Planetary Phenomena