Color, composition, and thermal environment of Kuiper Belt object (486958) Arrokoth

W M Grundy^{1

2}, M K Bird^{3

4}, D T Britt⁵, J C Cook⁶, D P Cruikshank⁷, C J A Howett⁸, S Krijt⁹, I R Linscott¹⁰, C B Olkin⁸, A H Parker⁸, S Protopapa⁸, M Ruaud⁷, O M Umurhan^{7

11}, L A Young⁸, C M Dalle Ore^{7

11}, J J Kavelaars^{12

13}, J T Keane¹⁴, Y J Pendleton⁷, S B Porter⁸, F Scipioni^{7

11}, J R Spencer⁸, S A Stern⁸, A J Verbiscer¹⁵, H A Weaver¹⁶, R P Binzel¹⁷, M W Buie⁸, B J Buratti¹⁸, A Cheng¹⁶, A M Earle¹⁷, H A Elliott¹⁹, L Gabasova²⁰, G R Gladstone¹⁹, M E Hill¹⁶, M Horanyi²¹, D E Jennings²², A W Lunsford²², D J McComas²³, W B McKinnon²⁴, R L McNutt Jr¹⁶, J M Moore⁷, J W Parker⁸, E Quirico²⁰, D C Reuter²², P M Schenk²⁵, B Schmitt²⁰, M R Showalter¹¹, K N Singer⁸, G E Weigle 2nd²⁶, A M Zangari⁸

Affiliations

¹ Lowell Observatory, Flagstaff, AZ 86001, USA. w.grundy@lowell.edu.
² Department of Astronomy and Planetary Science, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ 86011, USA.
³ Argelander-Institut für Astronomie, University of Bonn, D-53121 Bonn, Germany.
⁴ Rheinisches Institut für Umweltforschung, Universität zu Köln, 50931 Cologne, Germany.
⁵ University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL 32816, USA.
⁶ Pinhead Institute, Telluride, CO 81435, USA.
⁷ NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA 94035, USA.
⁸ Southwest Research Institute, Boulder, CO 80302, USA.
⁹ Steward Observatory, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85719, USA.
¹⁰ Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA.
¹¹ Carl Sagan Center, SETI Institute, Mountain View, CA 94043, USA.
¹² National Research Council, Victoria, BC V9E 2E7, Canada.
¹³ Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Victoria, Victoria, BC V8W 2Y2, Canada.
¹⁴ California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA.
¹⁵ University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA 22904, USA.
¹⁶ Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD 20723, USA.
¹⁷ Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.
¹⁸ NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, La Cañada Flintridge, CA 91011, USA.
¹⁹ Southwest Research Institute, San Antonio, TX 78238, USA.
²⁰ Institut de Planétologie et d'Astrophysique de Grenoble, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Université Grenoble Alpes, Grenoble, France.
²¹ University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309, USA.
²² NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA.
²³ Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA.
²⁴ Washington University, St. Louis, MO 63130, USA.
²⁵ Lunar and Planetary Institute, Houston, TX 77058, USA.
²⁶ Big Head Endian LLC, Leawood, KS 67019, USA.

PMID: 32054693
DOI: 10.1126/science.aay3705

Color, composition, and thermal environment of Kuiper Belt object (486958) Arrokoth

W M Grundy et al. Science. 2020.

. 2020 Feb 28;367(6481):eaay3705.

doi: 10.1126/science.aay3705. Epub 2020 Feb 13.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Lowell Observatory, Flagstaff, AZ 86001, USA. w.grundy@lowell.edu.
² Department of Astronomy and Planetary Science, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ 86011, USA.
³ Argelander-Institut für Astronomie, University of Bonn, D-53121 Bonn, Germany.
⁴ Rheinisches Institut für Umweltforschung, Universität zu Köln, 50931 Cologne, Germany.
⁵ University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL 32816, USA.
⁶ Pinhead Institute, Telluride, CO 81435, USA.
⁷ NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA 94035, USA.
⁸ Southwest Research Institute, Boulder, CO 80302, USA.
⁹ Steward Observatory, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85719, USA.
¹⁰ Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA.
¹¹ Carl Sagan Center, SETI Institute, Mountain View, CA 94043, USA.
¹² National Research Council, Victoria, BC V9E 2E7, Canada.
¹³ Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Victoria, Victoria, BC V8W 2Y2, Canada.
¹⁴ California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA.
¹⁵ University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA 22904, USA.
¹⁶ Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD 20723, USA.
¹⁷ Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.
¹⁸ NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, La Cañada Flintridge, CA 91011, USA.
¹⁹ Southwest Research Institute, San Antonio, TX 78238, USA.
²⁰ Institut de Planétologie et d'Astrophysique de Grenoble, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Université Grenoble Alpes, Grenoble, France.
²¹ University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309, USA.
²² NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA.
²³ Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA.
²⁴ Washington University, St. Louis, MO 63130, USA.
²⁵ Lunar and Planetary Institute, Houston, TX 77058, USA.
²⁶ Big Head Endian LLC, Leawood, KS 67019, USA.

PMID: 32054693
DOI: 10.1126/science.aay3705

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.

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A deep dive into the abyss.
Jewitt DC. Jewitt DC. Science. 2020 Feb 28;367(6481):980-981. doi: 10.1126/science.aba6889. Epub 2020 Feb 13. Science. 2020. PMID: 32054696 No abstract available.

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Color, composition, and thermal environment of Kuiper Belt object (486958) Arrokoth

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Color, composition, and thermal environment of Kuiper Belt object (486958) Arrokoth

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Affiliations

Abstract

Comment in

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Associated data

Grants and funding

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Research Materials