Color, composition, and thermal environment of Kuiper Belt object (486958) Arrokoth
Name
2002.06720.pdf
Description
Accepted version
Size
1.86 MB
Format
Adobe PDF
Checksum (MD5)
22016e7cbe144efa9975102358f03175
Author(s)
Binzel, Richard P.
Earle, A.M.
Date Issued
February 2020
Journal
Science
Publisher
American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
Citation
Grundy, W.M., et al., "Color, composition, and thermal environment of Kuiper Belt object (486958) Arrokoth." Science 367, 6481 (Feb. 2020): no. eaay3705 doi 10.1126/science.aay3705 ©2020 Author(s)
Version
Author's final manuscript
Abstract
The outer Solar System object (486958) Arrokoth (provisional designation 2014 MU69) has been largely undisturbed since its formation. We studied its surface composition using data collected by the New Horizons spacecraft. Methanol ice is present along with organic material, which may have formed through irradiation of simple molecules. Water ice was not detected. This composition indicates hydrogenation of carbon monoxide-rich ice and/or energetic processing of methane condensed on water ice grains in the cold, outer edge of the early Solar System. There are only small regional variations in color and spectra across the surface, which suggests that Arrokoth formed from a homogeneous or well-mixed reservoir of solids. Microwave thermal emission from the winter night side is consistent with a mean brightness temperature of 29 ± 5 kelvin. ©2020
MIT Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences
Terms of Use
Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike
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DOI of Published Version
https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aay3705
