“While 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,” said Stephen C.
Both the Gemini Observatory and IGRINS receive funding from the US National Science Foundation (NSF). Key to the discovery was the high-resolution spectrograph called IGRINS (Immersion Grating Infrared Spectrometer) which was built as a collaboration between the University of Texas at Austin and the Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute (KASI). Using the 8-meter Gemini South Telescope in Chile, the team have recorded this same unique infrared signature on Triton. Individually, carbon monoxide and nitrogen ices each absorb their own distinct wavelengths of infrared light, but the tandem vibration of an ice mixture absorbs at an additional, distinct wavelength identified in this study. In the laboratory, an international team of scientists have pinpointed a very specific wavelength of infrared light absorbed when carbon monoxide and nitrogen molecules join together and vibrate in unison. In this case, it’s the uncommon pairing of two common molecules – carbon monoxide (CO) and nitrogen (N 2) – frozen as solid ices on Neptune’s frigid moon Triton. The discovery offers insights into how this volatile mixture can transport material across the moon’s surface via geysers, trigger seasonal atmospheric changes, and provide a context for conditions on other distant, icy worlds.Įxtreme conditions can produce extreme results. Gemini Observatory Press Release For release at 2:00 pm ET May 22, 2019Īstronomers using the Gemini Observatory explore Neptune’s largest moon Triton and observe, for the first time beyond the lab, an extraordinary union between carbon monoxide and nitrogen ices. Voyager 2 image of Triton showing the south polar region with dark streaks produced by geysers visible on the icy surface. Gemini In The Era of Multi-Messenger Astronomy.Gemini Telescopes, Science and Technologies.Timing information in Gemini Instruments.Phase II: Requesting & Monitoring Observations.
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