January 11th, 2017
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Pluto and Charon's poles face the same direction meaning they experience the same degree of exposure to Sun light.
At 30 degrees above and below the equator (area between the blue lines) of Pluto, the temperature is supposed to maintain a really cold rather consistent temperature setting up the conditions for cold trapping at SP. This, along with the low elevation, is NASA scientist's explanation for why the nitrogen/methane ices have accumulated at SP. The poles, however, are supposed to swing more wildly. This wild swing into cold is supposed to be the cause of the methane snow while its subsequent swing into hot seasonal weather removes the snow. |
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Since Charon's pole alignment is the same as Pluto's it should experience the same temperature conditions.
Consistently colder conditions creating cold trapping from 30 degrees north to south of the equator and hot and cold swings at the poles. So how does cold trapping explain SP at 25 degrees above and below the equator on Pluto while cold trapping is also used to explain the tholin at the north pole of Charon. Charon is supposed to be snowed on by Pluto's atmosphere but that snow doesn't build up from the equator to 30 degrees above and below on Charon like it theoretically does on Pluto. Mordor is supposed to have been colored by Pluto's tholin as the result of cold trapping but cold trapping is used to explain what we see at SP near the equator of Pluto. |
Seems to me there is a consistency conflict here.
This is how NASA scientist describe the "painting of Charon's pole by Pluto's atmosphere"
Over the past year, after analyzing the images and other data that New Horizons has sent back from its historic July 2015 flight through the Pluto system, the scientists think they’ve solved the mystery. As they detail this week in the international scientific journal Nature, Charon’s polar coloring comes from Pluto itself – as methane gas that escapes from Pluto’s atmosphere and becomes “trapped” by the moon’s gravity and freezes to the cold, icy surface at Charon’s pole. This is followed by chemical processing by ultraviolet light from the sun that transforms the methane into heavier hydrocarbons and eventually into reddish organic materials called tholins.
This article in Nature explains NASA's theory for cold trapping tholin at Mordor.
The escape of Pluto’s atmosphere provides a potential feedstock for a complex chemistry Gas from Pluto that is transiently cold-trapped and processed at Charon’s winter pole was proposed as an explanation for the dark coloration on the basis of an image of Charon’s northern hemisphere, but not modelled quantitatively.
The "Cold Trapping" theory creating SP is now a foregone conclusion at Wiki.
Quote from Wiki
Sputnik Planitia may have originated as an impact basin that subsequently collected volatile ices. Alternatively, it has been suggested that the accumulation of ices in this location depressed the surface there, leading to formation of a basin via a positive feedback process without an impact.
The accumulation of several kilometers of nitrogen ice in the basin was in part a consequence of its higher surface pressure, which leads to a higher N2 condensation temperature. The positive temperature gradient of Pluto's atmosphere contributes to making a topographic depression a cold trap.
A high seasonal thermal inertia of Pluto's surface is an important driver of deposition of nitrogen ice at low latitudes. These latitudes receive less annual insolation than Pluto's polar regions due to its high obliquity (122.5°). The coldest regions on Pluto, on average, are at 30° N. and S. latitude; early in Pluto's history, ice would tend to accumulate at these latitudes in a runaway process due to the positive feedback association of increased albedo, cooling and further ice deposition (similar to the ice segregation that occurred on Iapetus). Simulations suggest that over a period of about a million years, the runaway process would collect much of the ice into a single cap even in the absence of a preexisting basin.
Never thought I'd be disagreeing with Wiki but I don't see SP as an impact site or an area that collapsed because of the accumulation of volatile ices. I explain my thoughts pretty well on Page 50 and 51. No need to repeat it.
This is how NASA scientist describe the "painting of Charon's pole by Pluto's atmosphere"
Over the past year, after analyzing the images and other data that New Horizons has sent back from its historic July 2015 flight through the Pluto system, the scientists think they’ve solved the mystery. As they detail this week in the international scientific journal Nature, Charon’s polar coloring comes from Pluto itself – as methane gas that escapes from Pluto’s atmosphere and becomes “trapped” by the moon’s gravity and freezes to the cold, icy surface at Charon’s pole. This is followed by chemical processing by ultraviolet light from the sun that transforms the methane into heavier hydrocarbons and eventually into reddish organic materials called tholins.
This article in Nature explains NASA's theory for cold trapping tholin at Mordor.
The escape of Pluto’s atmosphere provides a potential feedstock for a complex chemistry Gas from Pluto that is transiently cold-trapped and processed at Charon’s winter pole was proposed as an explanation for the dark coloration on the basis of an image of Charon’s northern hemisphere, but not modelled quantitatively.
The "Cold Trapping" theory creating SP is now a foregone conclusion at Wiki.
Quote from Wiki
Sputnik Planitia may have originated as an impact basin that subsequently collected volatile ices. Alternatively, it has been suggested that the accumulation of ices in this location depressed the surface there, leading to formation of a basin via a positive feedback process without an impact.
The accumulation of several kilometers of nitrogen ice in the basin was in part a consequence of its higher surface pressure, which leads to a higher N2 condensation temperature. The positive temperature gradient of Pluto's atmosphere contributes to making a topographic depression a cold trap.
A high seasonal thermal inertia of Pluto's surface is an important driver of deposition of nitrogen ice at low latitudes. These latitudes receive less annual insolation than Pluto's polar regions due to its high obliquity (122.5°). The coldest regions on Pluto, on average, are at 30° N. and S. latitude; early in Pluto's history, ice would tend to accumulate at these latitudes in a runaway process due to the positive feedback association of increased albedo, cooling and further ice deposition (similar to the ice segregation that occurred on Iapetus). Simulations suggest that over a period of about a million years, the runaway process would collect much of the ice into a single cap even in the absence of a preexisting basin.
Never thought I'd be disagreeing with Wiki but I don't see SP as an impact site or an area that collapsed because of the accumulation of volatile ices. I explain my thoughts pretty well on Page 50 and 51. No need to repeat it.
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Sputnik Planitia exists near the equator (30 degrees N and S) and was supposed to be created by atmospheric cold trapping and low level elevation while at Charon's North Pole Mordor was also supposed to be created by cold trapping.
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Perhaps I don't understand this cold trapping theory either but these two scenarios seem to conflict as they are both in opposite location for creating this cold trapping scenario.
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Vulcan Planum on Charon is a 2 mile deep basin relative to the raised ridge that separates the north from south hemisphere similar to the 2 mile deep basin at Sputnik Planitia on Pluto. If methane/nitrogen snow has been accumulating at SP for millions of years such that it has built up to 2 to 4 miles deep and Pluto's atmosphere is supposed to be depositing this same material over to Charon which is "painting Mordor red" why isn't this snow accumulating at the lower elevation of Vulcan Planum which resides within the 30 degrees N and S latitudes similar to SP.
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On Charon we have the same North pole alignment as Pluto, we have the same material coming off Pluto, we have a lower elevation area and yet there is no accumulated snow but instead we see tholin on the North pole dissimilar to what we see on Pluto's North pole which is supposed to evaporate away but is present while Charon's North pole has no snow.
Again it seems like there is a conflict in logic here that leaves me conflicted.
Again it seems like there is a conflict in logic here that leaves me conflicted.
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These few images show how Vulcan Planum is a low lying plane relative to the elevated terrain to the North. Take note especially of the purple area's which are really deep compared to the rest of the surface. Wouldn't these purple area's be particularly filled with an accumulation of snow if the prevailing theory about SP (atmospheric snow built up the ices in the SP basin) were correct? |
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Perhaps that's what we are seeing at the purple area called Mandjet Chasma or is this a lighting trick being played by the sun?
In these next two images below, I took the basic colors of the elevation map and drew them over corresponding regularly colored areas of this left quadrant of Charon. I was trying to see if there were any patterns to the whiter areas relative to the elevation but this is quite a mixed bag of nuts.
My blue outlined areas represent the deepest parts while the reds represent the higher elevations and the green is in between.
Since Charon's white verses grayish or darker areas all cross over into various elevations it seems that drawing a conclusion from this exercise would be irresponsible.
Red zones are elevated and show dark and light stuff.
Blues zones are low areas and show dark and light stuff.
Greens are middle of the ground areas and show dark and light stuff.
Conclusion? No conclusion!
Conflicted
My blue outlined areas represent the deepest parts while the reds represent the higher elevations and the green is in between.
Since Charon's white verses grayish or darker areas all cross over into various elevations it seems that drawing a conclusion from this exercise would be irresponsible.
Red zones are elevated and show dark and light stuff.
Blues zones are low areas and show dark and light stuff.
Greens are middle of the ground areas and show dark and light stuff.
Conclusion? No conclusion!
Conflicted
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I expected some degree of consistency from this comparison so this really makes me question the reliability of these colorful elevation maps. Or maybe there simply is no relationship between whiter areas on Charon, elevations and atmospheric snow fall from Pluto. If it's there, I'm not seeing it yet.
Same basic scenario as above with this northern area of Charon. If the lower elevation theory on SP holds any credibility you would expect the blue outlined area here on Charon to have the greatest degree of tholin accumulation yet it does not then the next darkest area should be the impact outlined in green with the impact at the center being the lightest amount of atmospheric snow with the lightest accumulated deposits of tholin. Its all backward if you believe the theory presented about SP.
Conflicts abound.
Conflicts abound.
Charon is supposed to be primarily rock hard water ice yet we see fluid like land slides occurring. How does this planet/moon who's temperature sits at 30K produce enough warmth to allow these rock hard water ices' to flow down off this cliff face. Some form of warming must have taken place to get these ices to flow like soft ice cream.
When NASA scientist and I disagree you should default to believing them not me.
I've talked to a couple smart people at Zooniverse and they tend to unanimously agree to disagree with me.
I still think my points are valid or I wouldn't make them. Best advise I can give, think for yourself.
If something smells fishy trace the stench back to its source.
Did I ever tell you about the one that got away.
I've talked to a couple smart people at Zooniverse and they tend to unanimously agree to disagree with me.
I still think my points are valid or I wouldn't make them. Best advise I can give, think for yourself.
If something smells fishy trace the stench back to its source.
Did I ever tell you about the one that got away.
Something smells fishy here, how does cold trapping explain both the red tholin at Mordor and the white ices at SP when they are at extreme opposite temperature locations on their respective planets?
Come on, someone help me out here.
Am I that stupid or is there something wrong with this fishy picture?
Come on, someone help me out here.
Am I that stupid or is there something wrong with this fishy picture?
