Authors: Karkoschka Erich
Year: 2003
Title: Sizes, shapes, and albedos of the inner satellites of Neptune
Journal: Icarus
Volume: 162
Number: 2
Pages: 400-407
Keywords: Neptune, small, planetology, theory, analytical
Abstract: Based on 87 resolved Voyager images of the five innermost satellites of Neptune, their shapes were measured and fit by tri-axial ellipsoids with the semi-axes of 48 x 30 x 26 km for Naiad, 54 x 50 x 26 km for Thalassa, 90 x 74 x 64 km for Despina, 102 x 92 x 72 km for Galatea, and 108 x 102 x 84 km for Larissa. Thomas and Veverka published a similar shape for Larissa (104 ? 89 km, J. Geophys. Res. 96, 19261-19268, 1991). The other satellites had no published shapes. Using Voyager photometry of the six inner satellites by the same authors and the revised sizes, including the published size of Proteus, the reflectivity within this inner system was found to vary by about 30%. Geometric albedos in the visible are estimated between 0.07 for Naiad and 0.10 for Proteus. The rotational lightcurves of these satellites seem to be due to satellite shapes.
%F: AA(Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, University of Arizona, 85721-0092, Tucson, AZ, USA)
Bibliogaphic Code: 2003Icar..162..400K
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