Photometric Diversity of Terrains on Triton

✍ Scribed by J. Hillier; J. Veverka; P. Helfenstein; P. Lee

• Book ID: 102968123
• Publisher: Elsevier Science
• Year: 1994
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 818 KB
• Volume: 109
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0019-1035
• DOI: 10.1006/icar.1994.1095

✦ Synopsis

Voyager disk-resolved images of Triton in the violet ((0.41 \mu \mathrm{m})) and green ((0.56 \mu \mathrm{m})) wavelengths have been analyzed to derive the photometric characteristics of terrains on Triton. Similar conclusions are found using two distinct but related definitions of photometric units, one based on color ratio and albedo properties (A. S. McEwen, 1990, Geophys. Res. Lett. 17, 1765-1768), the other on albedo and brightness ratios at different phase angles (cf. P. Lee et al.; 1992, Icarus 99, 82-97). A significant diversity of photometric behavior, much broader than that discovered so far on any other icy satellite, occurs among Triton's terrains. Remarkably, differences in photometric behavior do not correlate well with geologic terrain boundaries defined on the basis of surface morphology. This suggests that in most cases photometric properties on Triton are controlled by thin deposits superposed on under-