Southwest Research Institute scientists combined data from NASA's New Horizons mission with novel laboratory experiments and exospheric modeling to show how the red cap on Charon may have formed. This first-ever description of Charon's dynamic methane atmosphere using new experimental data provides a fascinating glimpse into the origins of this moon's red spot.
The best Hubble images of the dwarf planet showed a fuzzy blob of reflected light. The flyby revealed an unusual feature on Charon, a red cap on its north pole.
The reddish material at Charon's pole could be synthesised by the use of ultraviolet light. They were frozen onto the moon's polar regions after escaping from the dwarf planet. The thulns are formed by chemical reactions powered by light.
"Our findings show that Charon's thin atmosphere as well as light breaking down the methane frost are key to understanding the origins of Charon's red polar zone," said the lead author of the paper. This is a stark example of surface-atmospheric interactions at a planetary body.
The team recreated Charon surface conditions at the new Center for Laboratory Astrophysics and Space Science Experiments (CLASSE) to measure the composition and color of hydrocarbons produced on Charon's winter hemisphere. The team fed the data into a new model of Charon to show methane breaking down into its own substance.
New limits on the contribution of interplanetary Lyman- alpha to the synthesis of Charon's red material were provided by the novel 'dynamic photolysis' experiments. To replicate the conditions at Charon's poles, we put methane in an ultra-high vacuum chamber and exposed it to the light from the sun.
A new computer simulation was created to model Charon's atmosphere.
Dr. Ben Teolis is the lead author of a paper about Charon's atmosphere.
The team used the results from the ultra- realistic experiments to estimate the distribution of complex hydrocarbons under the influence of ultraviolet light. A material that does not contribute to a reddish color is generated by the model.
Ionizing radiation from the solar wind is thought to have caused the polar frost on the moon to break down. It stays frozen to Charon's surface for a long time after spring sunrise. Charon's red cap may be affected by exposure to the solar wind.
The team is going to investigate the role of solar wind in the red pole.
More information: Ben Teolis et al, Extreme Exospheric Dynamics at Charon: Implications for the Red Spot, Geophysical Research Letters (2022). DOI: 10.1029/2021GL097580The Charon's refractory factory was written by Ujjwal Raut. There is a book titled "Sci Adv.abq5701."
Journal information: Geophysical Research Letters , Science Advances
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