Haze formation on Pluto in the context of the solar cycle

Information

• NSF Award
• 1911086

Owner

• Southwest Research Institute

• Award Id

  1911086

• Award Effective Date

  8/15/2019 - 4 years ago

• Award Expiration Date

  7/31/2022 - a year ago

• Award Amount

  $ 456,191.00

• Award Instrument

  Standard Grant

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.<br/><br/>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:<br/><br/>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.<br/><br/>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?<br/><br/>3) Test whether Pluto's haze distribution should vary with solar flux, and then predict<br/>the haze distribution that is expected during bright stellar occultations.<br/><br/>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.

• Program Officer

  Linda French

• Min Amd Letter Date

  8/6/2019 - 4 years ago

• Max Amd Letter Date

  8/6/2019 - 4 years ago

• ARRA Amount

• Name

  Southwest Research Institute

• City

  San Antonio

• State

  TX

• Country

  United States

• Address

  6220 Culebra Road

• Postal Code

  782385166

• Phone Number

  2105222231

• First Name

  Yuk

• Last Name

  Yung

• Email Address

  yly@gps.caltech.edu

• Start Date

  8/6/2019 12:00:00 AM

• First Name

  Lawrence

• Last Name

  Wasserman

• Email Address

  lhw@lowell.edu

• Start Date

  8/6/2019 12:00:00 AM

• First Name

  Eliot

• Last Name

  Young

• Email Address

  efy@boulder.swri.edu

• Start Date

  8/6/2019 12:00:00 AM

• First Name

  Erika

• Last Name

  Barth

• Email Address

  barth@boulder.swri.edu

• Start Date

  8/6/2019 12:00:00 AM

• First Name

  Edward

• Last Name

  Thiemann

• Email Address

  thiemann@lasp.colorado.edu

• Start Date

  8/6/2019 12:00:00 AM

• Text

  PLANETARY ASTRONOMY

• Code

  1214

• Text

  OBSERVATIONAL ASTRONOMY

• Code

  1207