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Science 6 August 1993:
Vol. 261. no. 5122, pp. 742 - 745
DOI: 10.1126/science.261.5122.742
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Articles

Ices on the Surface of Triton

Dale P. Cruikshank 1, Ted L. Roush 2, Tobias C. Owen 3, Thomas R. Geballe 4, Catherine de Bergh 5, Bernard Schmitt 6, Robert H. Brown 7, and Mary Jane Bartholomew 8

1 NASA Ames Research Center, MS 245-6, Moffett Field, CA 94035-1000
2 Department of Geosciences, San Francisco State University, San Francisco, CA 94132, and NASA Ames Research Center, MS 245-3, Moffett Field, CA 94035-1000
3 Institute for Astronomy, University of Hawaii, 2680 Woodlawn Drive, Honolulu, HI 96822
4 Joint Astronomy Center, 660 North Aohoku Place, University Park, Hilo, HI 96720
5 Observatoire de Paris, 5 Place Jules Janssen, 92195 Meudon Cedex, France
6 Laboratoire de Glaciologie et Geophysique de l'Environnement, BP 96, 38402 Saint-Martin d'Heres, France
7 Jet Propulsion Laboratory, MS 183-501, 4800 Oak Grove Drive, Pasadena, CA 91109
8 Sterling Software Inc., 1121 San Antonio Road, Palo Alto, CA 94303, and NASA Ames Research Center, MS 245-6, Moffett Field, CA 94035-1000

The near-infrared spectrum of Triton reveals ices of nitrogen, methane, carbon monoxide, and carbon dioxide, of which nitrogen is the dominant component. Carbon dioxide ice may be spatially segregated from the other more volatile ices, covering about 10 percent of Triton's surface. The absence of ices of other hydrocarbons and nitriles challenges existing models of methane and nitrogen photochemistry on Triton.

Submitted on January 12, 1993
Accepted on April 16, 1993


THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES:
Triton, Pluto, and the Origin of the Solar System.
J. I. Lunine and J. I. Lunine (1993)
Science 261, 697-698
   PDF »
Surface Ices and the Atmospheric Composition of Pluto.
T. C. Owen, T. C. Owen, T. L. Roush, D. P. Cruikshank, J. L. Elliot, L. A. Young, C. de Bergh, B. Schmitt, T. R. Geballe, R. H. Brown, et al. (1993)
Science 261, 745-748
   Abstract »    PDF »
The Phase Composition of Triton's Polar Caps.
N. S. Duxbury, N. S. Duxbury, and R. H. Brown (1993)
Science 261, 748-751
   Abstract »    PDF »
Spectroscopic Determination of the Phase Composition and Temperature of Nitrogen Ice on Triton.
K. A. Tryka, K. A. Tryka, R. H. Brown, V. Anicich, D. P. Cruikshank, and T. C. Owen (1993)
Science 261, 751-754
   Abstract »    PDF »


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Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)