The Plumes of Triton and Their Official Names

Image by Lunar and Planetary Institute via Flickr

    In his “Essay on Criticism,” Alexander Pope  writes:

“A little learning is a dangerous thing;

Drink deep, or taste not the Pierian spring:

There shallow draughts intoxicate the brain,

And drinking largely sobers us again.”

     Unfortunately, it is impossible to drink deep when the requisite learning is not available. Voyager 2 made a significant discovery when it flew past Triton. It took pictures of narrow columns of nitrogen mixed with debris that extend upward from the surface of the satellite to an altitude of eight kilometers, more or less. When the column reaches these higher altitudes, strong winds blow the material in the column horizontally, forming long streamers up to 150 kilometers long. Quite appropriately, these columns have been called plumes. (The figures come from the ScienceMag website.)

     Voyager 2 gave us a little learning; and just as Pope predicted, it intoxicated our brains. Now everyone is giddy with excitement, wondering what these strange phenomena are. According to one theory, they are geyser-like eruptions originating under the surface of the satellite. A competing theory claims that they are  sort of dust devils in which the swirling column of nitrogen picks up debris from the surface of Triton. As far as I can see, neither theory is supported by solid facts, but only indirect evidence and speculation.

     For the record, I tend to think that that the geyser theory is correct. Triton is cold, but it does not take too much heat to change solid nitrogen into a gas.

     However, we won’t be able to drink largely and become sober again until further information becomes available.

     The International Astronomical Union must think that two of these geysers or dust devils are permanent fixtures on Triton, for this august body has given them official names. One of them is called Hili; a diminutive water sprite in Zulu folklore. The other is Mahilani, a Tongan sea spirit, according to the Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature.

     Hili also goes by the names Tikoloshe and Tokoloshe, according to Wikipedia. It is often portrayed as a small bear-like creature. It has great power, and a shaman may use a Tokoloshe to punish people that he does not like.

References:

ScienceMag: Geysers or Dust Devils on Triton?

http://www.sciencemag.org/content/250/4979/377.full.pdf

Wikipedia: Tikoloshe

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tikoloshe

Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature: Target Triton 

http://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/SearchResults?target=TRITON&featureType=Plume,%20plumes