Origin and Evolution of Outer Solar System Atmospheres
Abstract
The atmospheres of bodies in the outer solar system are distinct in composition from those of the inner planets and provide a complementary set of clues to the origin of the solar system. This article reviews current understanding of the origin and evolution of these atmospheres on the basis of abundances of key molecular species. The systematic enrichment of methane and deuterated species from Jupiter to Neptune is consistent with formation models in which significant infall of icy and rocky planetesimals accompanies the formation of giant planets. The atmosphere of the Saturnian satellite Titan has been strongly modified by photochemistry and interaction with the surface over 4.5 billion years; the combined knowledge of this moon's bulk density and estimates of the composition of the surface and atmosphere provide some constraints on this body's formation. Neptune's satellite Triton is a poorly known object for which it is hoped that substantial information will be gleaned from the Voyager 2 encounter in August 1989. The mean density of the Pluto-Charon system is well known and suggests an origin in the rather water-poor solar nebula. The recent occultation of a star by Pluto provides evidence that carbon monoxide, in addition to methane, may be present in its atmosphere.
References
Cassini, Saturn Orbiter and Titan Probe: Report on the Phase A Study, European Space Agency Report SCI 88 (1988).
Space Science Board, Committee on Planetary and Lunar Exploration, Strategy for Detection of Extra-Solar Planetary Material (1990).
Atreya, S. K., Origin and Evolution of Planetary and Satellite Atmospheres (1989).
ATREYA, S.K., EVOLUTION OF A NITROGEN ATMOSPHERE ON TITAN, SCIENCE 201: 611 (1978).
BLAKE, G.A., MOLECULAR ABUNDANCES IN OMC-1 - THE CHEMICAL-COMPOSITION OF INTERSTELLAR MOLECULAR CLOUDS AND THE INFLUENCE OF MASSIVE STAR FORMATION, ASTROPHYSICAL JOURNAL 315: 621 (1987).
BODENHEIMER, P, CALCULATIONS OF THE ACCRETION AND EVOLUTION OF GIANT PLANETS - THE EFFECTS OF SOLID CORES, ICARUS 67: 391 (1986).
CAMERON, AGW, PHYSICS OF PRIMITIVE SOLAR ACCRETION DISK, MOON AND THE PLANETS 18: 5 (1978).
CARLSON, B.E., BULLETIN OF THE AMERICAN ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY 20: 869 (1988).
CRUIKSHANK, D.P., NITROGEN ON TRITON, ICARUS 58: 293 (1984).
CRUIKSHANK, D.P., VOLATILES ON TRITON - THE INFRARED SPECTRAL EVIDENCE, 2.0-2.5 MU-M, ICARUS 74: 413 (1988).
DELITSKY, M.L., CHEMICAL PROCESSES IN TRITONS ATMOSPHERE AND SURFACE, ICARUS 70: 354 (1987).
ELLIOT, J.L., PLUTO ATMOSPHERE, ICARUS 77: 148 (1989).
Fegley, B., Workshop on the Origins of Solar Systems: 51 (1988).
Gautier, D., Origin and Evolution of Planetaryand Satellite Atmospheres: 487 (1989).
PRINN, R. G., Jupiter: 319 (1976).
HUBBARD, W.B., OPTIMIZED JUPITER, SATURN, AND URANUS INTERIOR MODELS, ICARUS 78: 102 (1989).
Hubbard, W. B., Nature 336:452 (1988).
Hubbard, W. B., Origin and Evolution of Planetaryand Satellite Atmospheres: 539 (1989).
Hunten, D. M., Saturn: 671 (1984).
KNOLL, K.S., ASTROPHYSICAL JOURNAL 338: L71 (1989).
LEITH, A.C., BULLETIN OF THE AMERICAN ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY 20: 815 (1988).
LEWIS, J.S., KINETIC INHIBITION OF CO AND N-2 REDUCTION IN THE SOLAR NEBULA, ASTROPHYSICAL JOURNAL 238: 357 (1980).
LEWIS, J.S., OBSERVABILITY OF SPECTROSCOPICALLY ACTIVE COMPOUNDS IN ATMOSPHERE OF JUPITER, ICARUS 10: 393 (1969).
LUNINE, J.I., THERMODYNAMICS OF CLATHRATE HYDRATE AT LOW AND HIGH-PRESSURES WITH APPLICATION TO THE OUTER SOLAR-SYSTEM, ASTROPHYSICAL JOURNAL SUPPLEMENT SERIES 58: 493 (1985).
Lunine, J. I., The Formation and Evolution of Planetary Systems: 213 (1989).
LUNINE, J.I., MOIST CONVECTION AND THE ABUNDANCE OF WATER IN THE TROPOSPHERE OF JUPITER, ICARUS 69: 566 (1987).
Lunine, J. I., Icarus 80: 370 (1989).
LUNINE, J.I., PHYSICAL STATE OF VOLATILES ON THE SURFACE OF TRITON, NATURE 317: 238 (1985).
Lunine, J. I., Origin and Evolution of Planetaryand Satellite Atmospheres: 605 (1989).
LUNINE, J.I., ETHANE OCEAN ON TITAN, SCIENCE 222: 1229 (1983).
MacFarlane, J. J., Uranus and the Outer Planets: 111 (1982).
MARCIALIS, R.L., BULLETIN OF THE AMERICAN ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY 19: 859 (1987).
MCKINNON, W.B., PLUTO STRUCTURE AND COMPOSITION SUGGEST ORIGIN IN THE SOLAR, NOT A PLANETARY, NEBULA, NATURE 335: 240 (1988).
MIZUNO, H, FORMATION OF THE GIANT PLANETS, PROGRESS OF THEORETICAL PHYSICS 64: 544 (1980).
Morrison, D., Satellites: 764 (1986).
NOLAN, M.C., SOME CONSTRAINTS ON A GREENHOUSE ATMOSPHERE FOR TRITON, GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH LETTERS 15: 1315 (1988).
OWEN, T, ADVANCES IN SPACE RESEARCH 7: 51 (1987).
PINTO, J.P., D TO H RATIO AND THE ORIGIN AND EVOLUTION OF TITANS ATMOSPHERE, NATURE 319: 388 (1986).
POLLACK, J.B., PLANETESIMAL DISSOLUTION IN THE ENVELOPES OF THE FORMING, GIANT PLANETS, ICARUS 67: 409 (1986).
Pollack, J. B., Origin and Evolution of Planetary and Satellite Atmospheres: 564 (1989).
PRINN, R.G., KINETIC INHIBITION OF CO AND N-2 REDUCTION IN CIRCUMPLANETARY NEBULAE - IMPLICATIONS FOR SATELLITE COMPOSITION, ASTROPHYSICAL JOURNAL 249: 308 (1981).
Prinn, R. G., Astrophysical Journal 348: 725 (1989).
PRINN, R.G., CARBON-MONOXIDE ON JUPITER AND IMPLICATIONS FOR ATMOSPHERIC CONVECTION, SCIENCE 198: 1031 (1977).
Prinn, R. G., Origin and Evolution of Planetary and Satellite Atmospheres: 78 (1989).
SASAKI, S, TRANSACTIONS OF THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF AGRICULTURAL ENGINEERS 20: 946 (1989).
STERN, S.A., WHY IS PLUTO BRIGHT - IMPLICATIONS OF THE ALBEDO AND LIGHTCURVE BEHAVIOR OF PLUTO, ICARUS 75: 485 (1988).
STEVENSON, D.J., DYNAMICS AND HELIUM DISTRIBUTION IN HYDROGEN-HELIUM FLUID PLANETS, ASTROPHYSICAL JOURNAL SUPPLEMENT SERIES 35: 239 (1977).
STEVENSON, D.J., COSMOCHEMISTRY AND STRUCTURE OF THE GIANT PLANETS AND THEIR SATELLITES, ICARUS 62: 4 (1985).
Stevenson,, D. J., Astrophysical Journal 348: 730 (1989).
Stevenson, D. J., Uranus and Neptune: 405 (1984).
STEVENSON, D.J., FORMATION OF THE GIANT PLANETS, PLANETARY AND SPACE SCIENCE 30: 755 (1982).
SYKES, M.V., IRAS SERENDIPITOUS SURVEY OBSERVATIONS OF PLUTO AND CHARON, SCIENCE 237: 1336 (1987).
TRAFTON, L, LARGE SEASONAL-VARIATIONS IN TRITONS ATMOSPHERE, ICARUS 58: 312 (1984).
Wood, J. A., Meteorites and the Early Solar System: 329 (1988).
Yeates, C. M., Galileo: Exploration of Jupiter's System (1985).
Yelle, R. V., Nature 339:288 (1989).
YUNG, Y.L., PHOTOCHEMISTRY OF THE ATMOSPHERE OF TITAN - COMPARISON BETWEEN MODEL AND OBSERVATIONS, ASTROPHYSICAL JOURNAL SUPPLEMENT SERIES 55: 465 (1984).
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
Already a Subscriber?Sign In
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Science
Volume 245 | Issue 4914
14 July 1989
14 July 1989
Copyright
1989 by the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
Submission history
Published in print: 14 July 1989
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Article Usage
Altmetrics
Citations
Export citation
Select the format you want to export the citation of this publication.
Cited by
- Voyager at Triton, Science, 250, 4979, (386-386), (1990)./doi/10.1126/science.250.4979.386
- Radar Reflectivity of Titan, Science, 248, 4958, (975-980), (1990)./doi/10.1126/science.248.4958.975
Loading...
View Options
Get Access
Log in to view the full text
AAAS login provides access to Science for AAAS Members, and access to other journals in the Science family to users who have purchased individual subscriptions.
- Become a AAAS Member
- Activate your AAAS ID
- Purchase Access to Other Journals in the Science Family
- Account Help
Log in via OpenAthens.
Log in via Shibboleth.
More options
Purchase digital access to this article
Download and print this article for your personal scholarly, research, and educational use.
Buy a single issue of Science for just $15 USD.
View options
PDF format
Download this article as a PDF file
Download PDF