SpaceRef.com - July 19, 2007
Frigid geysers spewing material up through cracks in the crust of Pluto's companion Charon and recoating parts of its surface in ice crystals could be making this distant world into the equivalent of an outer solar system ice machine.
Evidence for these ice deposits comes from high-resolution spectra obtained using the Gemini Observatory's Adaptive Optics system, ALTAIR coupled with the near-infrared instrument NIRI. ...
Friday, July 20, 2007
Ice Volcanoes Everywhere?
Sky and Telescope - July 19, 2007
Maybe it has something to do with the sweltering heat these days, but it seems that every time I turn around, someone else is talking about ice volcanoes. First it was Saturn's moon Enceladus. Then two other Saturnian moons had them: Tethys and Dione. Now Pluto's largest moon, Charon, might be spewing frozen geysers.
The latest result comes courtesy of a group of astronomers who pointed the 8-meter Frederick C. Gillett telescope at Gemini Observatory toward the famous dwarf planet's satellite. Using Gemini, Jason Cook (Southwest Research Institute, Colorado) and Steven Desch (Arizona State University) captured some of the best spectra of Charon to date.
...
Maybe it has something to do with the sweltering heat these days, but it seems that every time I turn around, someone else is talking about ice volcanoes. First it was Saturn's moon Enceladus. Then two other Saturnian moons had them: Tethys and Dione. Now Pluto's largest moon, Charon, might be spewing frozen geysers.
The latest result comes courtesy of a group of astronomers who pointed the 8-meter Frederick C. Gillett telescope at Gemini Observatory toward the famous dwarf planet's satellite. Using Gemini, Jason Cook (Southwest Research Institute, Colorado) and Steven Desch (Arizona State University) captured some of the best spectra of Charon to date.
...
Thursday, July 19, 2007
Ice Geysers Found on Charon
Wired News - July 17, 2007
Quick, think of all the moons in the Solar System that have water ice welling up from within their cores. Sure, there's Enceladus, and I reported recently about Dione and Tethys. Europa's an easy one to remember. But did you ever consider Pluto's icy moon Charon?
Well, astronomers have found ice geysers there too.
According to a new press release from the Gemini Observatory, located atop Mauna Kea, Hawaii, there's strong evidence that Charon is continuously being coated by a thin layer of ammonia hydrates and water ice, welling up from inside the moon.
...
Pluto's moon has ice-spewing volcanoes
Honolulu Star Bulletin - July 18, 2007
Astronomers using the Gemini telescope on top of Mauna Kea have discovered "ice volcanoes" on the little moon Charon circling the far distant dwarf planet Pluto, Gemini officials announced yesterday.
Liquid water from the interior of the moon bursts to the surface, where the minus-365 degree Fahrenheit temperature immediately turns it to ice crystals, Gemini officials said.
Gemini called it "an ice machine in the ultimate deep freeze."
The discovery was made by a team led by doctoral student Jason Cook at Arizona State University and published recently in the Astrophysical Journal.
...
Astronomers using the Gemini telescope on top of Mauna Kea have discovered "ice volcanoes" on the little moon Charon circling the far distant dwarf planet Pluto, Gemini officials announced yesterday.
Liquid water from the interior of the moon bursts to the surface, where the minus-365 degree Fahrenheit temperature immediately turns it to ice crystals, Gemini officials said.
Gemini called it "an ice machine in the ultimate deep freeze."
The discovery was made by a team led by doctoral student Jason Cook at Arizona State University and published recently in the Astrophysical Journal.
...
'Water on Pluto moon'
Sydney Morning Herald - July 19, 2007
...
Astronomers have announced they have evidence that, despite the bitterly cold conditions on the edge of the solar system, Pluto's moon Charon may have an underground ocean of liquid water, triggering speculation it could harbour marine life.
The water appears to be spewing up through cracks in the surface, producing spectacular geysers that instantly freeze, creating showers of ice.
Using Hawaii's giant Gemini Telescope, the astronomers found that the 1200 kilometre-wide moon is covered in patches of water crystals, and ammonia hydrates.
...
...
Astronomers have announced they have evidence that, despite the bitterly cold conditions on the edge of the solar system, Pluto's moon Charon may have an underground ocean of liquid water, triggering speculation it could harbour marine life.
The water appears to be spewing up through cracks in the surface, producing spectacular geysers that instantly freeze, creating showers of ice.
Using Hawaii's giant Gemini Telescope, the astronomers found that the 1200 kilometre-wide moon is covered in patches of water crystals, and ammonia hydrates.
...
Icy geysers may erupt on Pluto's largest moon
NewScientist.com - July 18, 2007
Geysers of liquid water and ammonia are erupting on Pluto's large moon Charon, new observations suggest. The work bolsters the idea that Charon may harbour a liquid ocean beneath its surface – and just possibly, life.
Previously, astronomers had established that Charon's surface is made of mostly water ice. But those observations were not sharp enough to tell whether the ice was spread evenly over the1200-kilometre-wide moon or whether it was concentrated in patches on its surface.
Now, researchers led by Jason Cook of the Southwest Research Institute in Boulder, Colorado, US, have found that the ice is indeed distributed differently on different parts of the moon. They made the observations with an adaptive optics system, which corrects for the blurring effect of the atmosphere, on the Gemini North Telescope in Hawaii, US.
...
Geysers of liquid water and ammonia are erupting on Pluto's large moon Charon, new observations suggest. The work bolsters the idea that Charon may harbour a liquid ocean beneath its surface – and just possibly, life.
Previously, astronomers had established that Charon's surface is made of mostly water ice. But those observations were not sharp enough to tell whether the ice was spread evenly over the1200-kilometre-wide moon or whether it was concentrated in patches on its surface.
Now, researchers led by Jason Cook of the Southwest Research Institute in Boulder, Colorado, US, have found that the ice is indeed distributed differently on different parts of the moon. They made the observations with an adaptive optics system, which corrects for the blurring effect of the atmosphere, on the Gemini North Telescope in Hawaii, US.
...
Charon -- An ice machine in the ultimate deep freeze
PhysOrg.com - July 19, 2007
Evidence for these ice deposits comes from high-resolution spectra obtained using the Gemini Observatory’s Adaptive Optics system, ALTAIR coupled with the near-infrared instrument NIRI. The observations, made with the Frederick C. Gillett Gemini North telescope on Hawaii’s Mauna Kea, show the fingerprints of ammonia hydrates and water crystals spread in patches across Charon, and have been described as the best evidence yet for the existence of these compounds on worlds such as Charon.
...
Evidence for these ice deposits comes from high-resolution spectra obtained using the Gemini Observatory’s Adaptive Optics system, ALTAIR coupled with the near-infrared instrument NIRI. The observations, made with the Frederick C. Gillett Gemini North telescope on Hawaii’s Mauna Kea, show the fingerprints of ammonia hydrates and water crystals spread in patches across Charon, and have been described as the best evidence yet for the existence of these compounds on worlds such as Charon.
...
Charon: An Ice Machine In The Ultimate Deep Freeze
Science Daily - July 19, 2007
Frigid geysers spewing material up through cracks in the crust of Pluto’s companion Charon and recoating parts of its surface in ice crystals could be making this distant world into the equivalent of an outer solar system ice machine.
Evidence for these ice deposits comes from high-resolution spectra obtained using the Gemini Observatory’s Adaptive Optics system, ALTAIR coupled with the near-infrared instrument NIRI. ...
Frigid geysers spewing material up through cracks in the crust of Pluto’s companion Charon and recoating parts of its surface in ice crystals could be making this distant world into the equivalent of an outer solar system ice machine.
Evidence for these ice deposits comes from high-resolution spectra obtained using the Gemini Observatory’s Adaptive Optics system, ALTAIR coupled with the near-infrared instrument NIRI. ...
Pluto's neighbouring object, Charon, could be spewing out liquid water from ultra-cold volcanoes, covering Charon's chilly surface with freshly-formed
The Planetary Society - July 18, 2007
Pluto's companion Charon might be covered with active volcanoes of ammonia-rich water spewing forth from the moon's deep interior. Astronomers at one of the world's great telescopes have separated Charon's dim light from Pluto's and discovered that large areas of the moon's surface are plastered with deposits of crystalline water and ammonia hydrate ice. ...
Pluto's companion Charon might be covered with active volcanoes of ammonia-rich water spewing forth from the moon's deep interior. Astronomers at one of the world's great telescopes have separated Charon's dim light from Pluto's and discovered that large areas of the moon's surface are plastered with deposits of crystalline water and ammonia hydrate ice. ...
Ice volcanoes in outer space?
Nature.com - July 18, 2007
Pluto's neighbouring object, Charon, could be spewing out liquid water from ultra-cold volcanoes, covering Charon's chilly surface with freshly-formed ice crystals.
This dramatic conclusion was made by Jason Cook at Arizona State University, Tempe, who looked at Charon's near-infrared spectrum using telescopes at the Gemini Observatory at Mauna Kea, Hawaii. ...
Bullets in Orion
News item on Gemini telescope's image in Astronomy magazine, page 24, August 2007 issue.
Supersonic "bullets" in Orion
Astronomy.com - March 22, 2007
A new Gemini image shows massive gas bullets speeding away from the Orion Nebula.
A new Gemini image shows massive gas bullets speeding away from the Orion Nebula.