\u201cWhile the icy spectral fingerprint we uncovered was entirely reasonable, especially as this combination of ices can be created in the lab, pinpointing this specific wavelength of infrared light on another world is unprecedented,\u201d said NAU professor Stephen Tegler<\/strong>, who led the study, collaborating with Will Grundy and Jennifer Hanley of Lowell Observatory<\/a>. Other co-authors from NAU are Terry Stufflebeam<\/strong>, Shyanne Dustrud<\/strong>, Gerrick Lindberg<\/strong>, Anna Engle, Thomas Dillingham<\/strong>, Daniel Matthew<\/strong> and David Trilling<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In the Earth\u2019s atmosphere, carbon\nmonoxide and nitrogen molecules exist as gases,\nnot ices. In fact, molecular nitrogen is the dominant gas in the air we\nbreathe, and carbon monoxide is a rare contaminant that can be lethal. On\ndistant Triton, however, carbon monoxide and nitrogen freeze solid as ices. They\ncan form their own independent ices or can condense together in the icy mix\ndetected in the Gemini data. This icy mix could be involved in Triton\u2019s iconic\ngeysers first seen in Voyager 2\nspacecraft images as dark, windblown streaks on the surface of the distant, icy\nmoon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Looking ahead, the researchers expect these findings will shed light on the composition of ices on other distant worlds beyond Neptune. Astronomers have suspected that the mixing of carbon monoxide and nitrogen ice exists not only on Triton, but also on Pluto, where the New Horizons spacecraft found the two ices coexisting. This Gemini finding is the first direct spectroscopic evidence of these ices mixing and absorbing this type of light on either world. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Tegler studies ices relevant to\nthe surfaces of Kuiper Belt Objects in the Astrophysical Ice Laboratory using\ntransmission and Raman spectroscopy. The laboratory is a collaboration between\nLowell Observatory and NAU\u2019s Department of Physics and Astronomy,\nwhich facilitates studies of cryogenic outer solar system materials, such\nas the methane and nitrogen ices that dominate the surfaces of Pluto, Triton,\nEris and Makemake, and the ethane-methane-nitrogen liquids that flow across the\nsurface of Titan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The laboratory consists of two\nexperimental stations, one for vapor deposition of thin ice films, and one for\nmore massive samples of cryogenic liquids and ices up to 2 cm thick.\nInstruments used to analyze cryogenic materials include Fourier-transform\ninfrared spectroscopy, mass spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Photo: Voyager 2 image of Triton showing the moon\u2019s south polar region. Credit: NASA\/JPL<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n
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