Haze formation on Pluto in the context of the solar cycle

太阳周期背景下冥王星上雾霾的形成

• 批准号: 1911086
• 负责人: Eliot Young
• 金额: $ 45.62万
• 依托单位: Southwest Research Institute
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2019
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2019-08-15 至 2023-07-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1911086&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Haze; formation; Pluto; context; solar

Pluto's atmosphere varies in its extent by a factor of ten. The PI proposed to investigate whether, in particular, haze in Pluto's atmosphere is caused by the solar cycle. The team will use the techniques of stellar occultations by Pluto to probe the extent of Pluto's atmospheric haze at different points in the solar cycle. (Occultations occur when a planet or minor body, such as Pluto, passes in front of a star.) The star's light does not go away immediately, and astronomers can interpret precise data showing the way the light fades to study the object?s atmosphere. The team will use small portable telescopes and data acquisition systems to observe occultations of bright stars by Pluto. They will enlist the help of amateur astronomers and undergraduate students, thus introducing many non-scientists to STEM research.The study of haze formation processes is significant on several fronts. The team will investigate the inventory of molecules that form in Pluto?s atmosphere. Haze distributions may be important in cooling the upper atmosphere and inhibiting Jeans escape. By combining FISM-P, Planet CARMA and KINETICS, the team will perform three key tasks:1) Run models to quantify how Pluto's haze distribution responds to variations in solar UV flux. In addition, they will use the models to address the question of flares (does a short-term exposure to solar energy translate efficiently to haze formation) and non-linear dependencies on solar UV output.2) Compare model vs. data: do the models produce haze distributions that are consistent with the variation in haze optical depths derived from the 20-yr timespan of stellar occultations?3) Test whether Pluto's haze distribution should vary with solar flux, and then predictthe haze distribution that is expected during bright stellar occultations.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

冥王星的大气层变化幅度是冥王星的十倍。国际和平研究所建议调查冥王星大气中的雾霾是否由太阳周期引起。该团队将使用冥王星的恒星掩星技术来探测冥王星大气中在太阳周期中不同时间点的雾霾范围。(当行星或次要天体，如冥王星从恒星前面经过时，就会发生掩星。)恒星的光线不会立即消失，天文学家可以解读精确的数据，显示光线褪色的方式来研究天体--S大气层。该团队将使用小型便携式望远镜和数据采集系统来观测冥王星对明亮恒星的掩星。他们将寻求业余天文学家和本科生的帮助，从而将许多非科学家引入STEM研究。对雾霾形成过程的研究在几个方面都具有重要意义。该团队将调查在冥王星S大气层中形成的分子的清单。雾霾分布可能在冷却高层大气和抑制牛仔裤逃逸方面起着重要作用。通过将FISM-P、Planet CARMA和Kinetics相结合，该团队将执行三项关键任务：1)运行模型以量化冥王星的雾霾分布如何响应太阳紫外线通量的变化。此外，他们将使用这些模型来解决耀斑(短期暴露在太阳能下是否有效地转化为阴霾形成)和对太阳紫外线输出的非线性依赖的问题。2)比较模型和数据：模型产生的阴霾分布是否与从20年恒星掩星时间跨度得出的阴霾光学厚度的变化一致？3)测试冥王星的阴霾分布是否应该随着太阳通量的变化而变化，然后预测在明亮的恒星掩星期间预期的雾霾分布。这一裁决反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。