Universität zu Köln

Hinson, D. P., Linscott, I. R., Strobel, D. F., Tyler, G. L., Bird, M. K., Paetzold, M., Summers, M. E., Stern, S. A., Ennico, K., Gladstone, G. R., Olkin, C. B., Weaver, H. A., Woods, W. W. and Young, L. A. (2018). An upper limit on Pluto's ionosphere from radio occultation measurements with New Horizons. Icarus, 307. S. 17 - 25. SAN DIEGO: ACADEMIC PRESS INC ELSEVIER SCIENCE. ISSN 1090-2643

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Abstract

On 14 July 2015 New Horizons performed a radio occultation (RO) that sounded Pluto's neutral atmosphere and ionosphere. The solar zenith angle was 90.2 degrees (sunset) at entry and 89.8 degrees (sunrise) at exit. We examined the data for evidence of an ionosphere, using the same method of analysis as in a previous investigation of the neutral atmosphere (Hinson et al., 2017). No ionosphere was detected. The measurements are more accurate at occultation exit, where the 1-sigma sensitivity in integrated electron content (IEC) is 23 x 10(11) cm(-2). The corresponding upper bound on the peak electron density at the terminator is about 1000 cm(-3). We constructed a model for the ionosphere and used it to guide the analysis and interpretation of the RO data. Owing to the large abundance of CH4 at ionospheric heights, the dominant ions are molecular and the electron densities are relatively small. The model predicts a peak IEC of 1.8 x 10(11) cm(-2) for an occultation at the terminator, slightly smaller than the threshold of detection by New Horizons. (C) 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Item Type:	Journal Article
Creators:	Creators Email ORCID ORCID Put Code Hinson, D. P. UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED Linscott, I. R. UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED Strobel, D. F. UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED Tyler, G. L. UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED Bird, M. K. UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED Paetzold, M. UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED Summers, M. E. UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED Stern, S. A. UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED Ennico, K. UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED Gladstone, G. R. UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED Olkin, C. B. UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED Weaver, H. A. UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED Woods, W. W. UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED Young, L. A. UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED
URN:	urn:nbn:de:hbz:38-185753
DOI:	10.1016/j.icarus.2018.02.011
Journal or Publication Title:	Icarus
Volume:	307
Page Range:	S. 17 - 25
Date:	2018
Publisher:	ACADEMIC PRESS INC ELSEVIER SCIENCE
Place of Publication:	SAN DIEGO
ISSN:	1090-2643
Language:	English
Faculty:	Unspecified
Divisions:	Unspecified
Subjects:	no entry
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Keywords Language SCIENCE OBSERVATIONS; UPPER-ATMOSPHERE; SOLAR-WIND; TRITON; NITROGEN; SPACECRAFT Multiple languages Astronomy & Astrophysics Multiple languages
Refereed:	Yes
URI:	http://kups.ub.uni-koeln.de/id/eprint/18575