Effect of irradiation on the surface of Pluto
- 1 November 1989
- journal article
- Published by American Geophysical Union (AGU) in Geophysical Research Letters
- Vol. 16 (11) , 1233-1236
- https://doi.org/10.1029/gl016i011p01233
Abstract
The surface of Pluto is exposed to cosmic ray particles which slowly alter the reflectance of the condensed methane and the UV absorbed in the atmosphere may produce precipitates. Depending on the rates of the competing regolith processes and the rate of replenishment of the methane the surface can appear bright, ‘red‧, or ‘dark‧. Here the relevant laboratory data show that, in the absence of any local particle precipitation, the amount of darkening occurring in one orbit is small.This publication has 27 references indexed in Scilit:
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