A U.S. team of researchers has discovered the evidence of complex hydrocarbon and/or nitrile molecules lying on the Pluto’s surface.
Artist’s impression of the Pluto's surface, and Charon and the Sun in the sky (ESO/L. Calçada)
Researchers from Nebraska Wesleyan University and Southwest Research Institute observed the mid-UV spectra of both Pluto and its large satellite, Charon, using the Cosmic Origins Spectrograph aboard the Hubble Space Telescope.
During the observations they found a strong ultraviolet-wavelength absorber on Pluto’s surface.
This finding, published in the Astronomical Journal, confirms the presence of complex hydrocarbon and/or nitrile molecules on the surface of the dwarf planet.
Such molecules can be produced by the interaction of sunlight or cosmic rays with methane, carbon monoxide and nitrogen.
“This is an exciting finding because complex Plutonian hydrocarbons and other molecules that could be responsible for the ultraviolet spectral features we found with Hubble may, among other things, be responsible for giving Pluto its ruddy color,” said Dr. Alan Stern, lead author on the paper.
“The discovery we made with Hubble reminds us that even more exciting discoveries about Pluto’s composition and surface evolution are likely to be in store when NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft arrives at Pluto in 2015,” concluded Dr. Stern.
