Search Publications
Probable detection of hydrogen sulphide (H2S) in Neptune's atmosphere
Fletcher, Leigh N.; Bézard, Bruno; Irwin, Patrick G. J. +4 more
Recent analysis of Gemini-North/NIFS H-band (1.45-1.8 µm) observations of Uranus, recorded in 2010, with recently updated line data has revealed the spectral signature of hydrogen sulphide (H2S) in Uranus's atmosphere (Irwin et al., 2018). Here, we extend this analysis to Gemini-North/NIFS observations of Neptune recorded in 2009 …
Jupiter's ammonia distribution derived from VLA maps at 3-37 GHz
de Pater, Imke; Sault, R. J.; Wong, Michael H. +3 more
We observed Jupiter four times over a full rotation (10 h) with the upgraded Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA) between December 2013 and December 2014. Preliminary results at 4-17 GHz were presented in de Pater et al. (2016); in the present paper we present the full data set at frequencies between 3 and 37 GHz. Major findings are:
i) The …Mutual orbit orientations of transneptunian binaries
Buie, M. W.; Roe, H. G.; Trujillo, C. A. +8 more
We present Keplerian orbit solutions for the mutual orbits of 17 transneptunian binary systems (TNBs). For ten of them, the orbit had not previously been known: 60458 2000 CM114, 119979 2002 WC19, 160091 2000 OL67, 160256 2002 PD149, 469514 2003 QA91, 469705 ǂKá̦gára, 508788 2000 CQ114
The methane distribution and polar brightening on Uranus based on HST/STIS, Keck/NIRC2, and IRTF/SpeX observations through 2015
Sromovsky, L. A.; Fry, P. M.; Karkoschka, E. +2 more
Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (STIS) observations of Uranus in 2002 and 2012 revealed that both polar regions of Uranus were depleted in upper tropospheric methane relative to equatorial regions. Similar observations in 2015 confirm the relative stability of the north polar methane depletion, but show that the north polar region was becomin…
Photochemistry of water in the martian thermosphere and its effect on hydrogen escape
Krasnopolsky, Vladimir A.
Recent SPICAM IR solar occultations reveal significant abundances of water vapor up to ≈80 km near Mars perihelion. These abundances are stimulated by dust that heats the atmosphere and precludes condensation of water. This phenomenon correlates with detections of high escape of hydrogen near perihelion using the H Lyman-alpha in the SPICAM UV and…
Latitudinal variation in the abundance of methane (CH4) above the clouds in Neptune's atmosphere from VLT/MUSE Narrow Field Mode Observations
Bacon, Roland; Fletcher, Leigh N.; Irwin, Patrick G. J. +5 more
Observations of Neptune, made in 2018 using the new Narrow Field Adaptive Optics mode of the Multi Unit Spectroscopic Explorer (MUSE) instrument at the Very Large Telescope (VLT) from 0.48 to 0.93 µm, are analysed here to determine the latitudinal and vertical distribution of cloud opacity and methane abundance in Neptune's observable tropos…
The mutual orbit, mass, and density of transneptunian binary Gǃkúnǁ'hòmdímà (229762 2007 UK126)
Buie, M. W.; Ragozzine, D.; Roe, H. G. +3 more
We present high spatial resolution images of the binary transneptunian object Gǃkúnǁ'hòmdímà (229762 2007 UK126) obtained with the Hubble Space Telescope and with the Keck observatory on Mauna Kea to determine the orbit of Gǃò'é ǃhúGǃò'é ǃhú, the much smaller and redder satellite. Gǃò'é ǃhú orbits in a prograde sense, on a circular or n…
Analysis of Neptune's 2017 bright equatorial storm
de Pater, Imke; Wong, Michael H.; Magnier, Eugene A. +22 more
We report the discovery of a large ( ∼ 8500 km diameter) infrared-bright storm at Neptune's equator in June 2017. We tracked the storm over a period of 7 months with high-cadence infrared snapshot imaging, carried out on 14 nights at the 10 m Keck II telescope and 17 nights at the Shane 120 inch reflector at Lick Observatory. The cloud feature was…
The mass and density of the dwarf planet (225088) 2007 OR10
Young, Leslie A.; Schwamb, Megan E.; Noll, Keith S. +10 more
The satellite of (225088) 2007 OR10 was discovered on archival Hubble Space Telescope images and along with new observations with the WFC3 camera in late 2017 we have been able to determine the orbit. The orbit's notable eccentricity, e ≈ 0.3, may be a consequence of an intrinsically eccentric orbit and slow tidal evolution, but may als…
Constraints on Uranus's haze structure, formation and transport
Wong, Michael H.; Irwin, Patrick G. J.; Teanby, Nicholas A. +4 more
Microphysical simulations have been performed to constrain the formation and structure of haze in Uranus's atmosphere. These simulations were coupled to a radiative-transfer code to fit observations performed by the SINFONI Integral Field Unit Spectrometer on the Very Large Telescope (VLT) and by the Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3) of the Hubble Space …