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KAREN J. MEECH February 7, 2019 Astronomer
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH – KAREN J. MEECH February 7, 2019 Astronomer Institute for Astronomy Tel: 1-808-956-6828 2680 Woodlawn Drive Fax: 1-808-956-4532 Honolulu, HI 96822-1839 [email protected] PROFESSIONAL PREPARATION Rice University Space Physics B.A. 1981 Massachusetts Institute of Tech. Planetary Astronomy Ph.D. 1987 APPOINTMENTS 2018 – present Graduate Chair 2000 – present Astronomer, Institute for Astronomy, University of Hawaii 1992-2000 Associate Astronomer, Institute for Astronomy, University of Hawaii 1987-1992 Assistant Astronomer, Institute for Astronomy, University of Hawaii 1982-1987 Graduate Research & Teaching Assistant, Massachusetts Inst. Tech. 1981-1982 Research Specialist, AAVSO and Massachusetts Institute of Technology AWARDS 2018 ARCs Scientist of the Year 2015 University of Hawai’i Regent’s Medal for Research Excellence 2013 Director’s Research Excellence Award 2011 NASA Group Achievement Award for the EPOXI Project Team 2011 NASA Group Achievement Award for EPOXI & Stardust-NExT Missions 2009 William Tylor Olcott Distinguished Service Award of the American Association of Variable Star Observers 2006-8 National Academy of Science/Kavli Foundation Fellow 2005 NASA Group Achievement Award for the Stardust Flight Team 1996 Asteroid 4367 named Meech 1994 American Astronomical Society / DPS Harold C. Urey Prize 1988 Annie Jump Cannon Award 1981 Heaps Physics Prize RESEARCH FIELD AND ACTIVITIES • Developed a Discovery mission concept to explore the origin of Earth’s water. • Co-Investigator on the Deep Impact, Stardust-NeXT and EPOXI missions, leading the Earth-based observing campaigns for all three. • Leads the UH Astrobiology Research interdisciplinary program, overseeing ~30 postdocs and coordinating the research with ~20 local faculty and international partners. -
1 Characterization of Cometary Activity of 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko
Characterization of cometary activity of 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko comet Abstract After 2.5 years from the end of the mission, the data provided by the ESA/Rosetta mission still leads to important results about 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko (hereafter 67P), belonging to the Jupiter Family Comets. Since comets are among the most primitive bodies of the Solar System, the understanding of their formation and evolution gives important clues about the early stages of our planetary system, including the scenarios of water delivery to Earth. At the present state of knowledge, 67P’s activity has been characterized by measuring the physical properties of the gas and dust coma, by detecting water ice patches on the nucleus surface and by analyzing some peculiar events, such as outbursts. We propose an ISSI International Team to build a more complete scenario of the 67P activity during different stages of its orbit. The retrieved results in terms of dust emission, morphology and composition will be linked together in order to offer new insights about 67P formation and evolution. In particular the main goals of the project are: 1. Retrieval of the activity degree of different 67P geomorphological nucleus regions in different time periods, by reconstructing the motion of the dust particles revealed in the coma; 2. Identification of the main drivers of cometary activity, by studying the link between cometary activity and illumination/local time, dust morphology, surface geomorphology, dust composition. The project will shed light on how (and if) cometary activity is related to surface geology and/or composition or is just driven by local illumination. -
Stardust Comet Flyby
NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION Stardust Comet Flyby Press Kit January 2004 Contacts Don Savage Policy/Program Management 202/358-1727 NASA Headquarters, Washington DC Agle Stardust Mission 818/393-9011 Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. Vince Stricherz Science Investigation 206/543-2580 University of Washington, Seattle, WA Contents General Release ……………………………………......………….......................…...…… 3 Media Services Information ……………………….................…………….................……. 5 Quick Facts …………………………………………..................………....…........…....….. 6 Why Stardust?..................…………………………..................………….....………......... 7 Other Comet Missions ....................................................................................... 10 NASA's Discovery Program ............................................................................... 12 Mission Overview …………………………………….................……….....……........…… 15 Spacecraft ………………………………………………..................…..……........……… 25 Science Objectives …………………………………..................……………...…........….. 34 Program/Project Management …………………………...................…..…..………...... 37 1 2 GENERAL RELEASE: NASA COMET HUNTER CLOSING ON QUARRY Having trekked 3.2 billion kilometers (2 billion miles) across cold, radiation-charged and interstellar-dust-swept space in just under five years, NASA's Stardust spacecraft is closing in on the main target of its mission -- a comet flyby. "As the saying goes, 'We are good to go,'" said project manager Tom Duxbury at NASA's Jet -
Disintegration of Active Asteroid P/2016 G1 (PANSTARRS) Olivier R
A&A 628, A48 (2019) https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/201935868 Astronomy & © ESO 2019 Astrophysics Disintegration of active asteroid P/2016 G1 (PANSTARRS) Olivier R. Hainaut1, Jan T. Kleyna2, Karen J. Meech2, Mark Boslough3, Marco Micheli4,5, Richard Wainscoat2, Marielle Dela Cruz2, Jacqueline V. Keane2, Devendra K. Sahu6, and Bhuwan C. Bhatt6 1 European Southern Observatory, Karl-Schwarzschild-Strasse 2, 85748 Garching bei München, Germany e-mail: [email protected] 2 Institute for Astronomy, 2680 Woodlawn Drive, Honolulu, HI 96822, USA 3 University of NM – 1700 Lomas Blvd, NE. Suite 2200, Albuquerque, NM 87131-0001 USA 4 ESA SSA-NEO Coordination Centre, Largo Galileo Galilei, 1 00044 Frascati (RM), Italy 5 INAF – Osservatorio Astronomico di Roma, Via Frascati, 33, 00040 Monte Porzio Catone (RM), Italy 6 Indian Institute of Astrophysics, II Block, Koramangala, Bengaluru 560 034, India Received 10 May 2019 / Accepted 26 June 2019 ABSTRACT We report on the catastrophic disintegration of P/2016 G1 (PANSTARRS), an active asteroid, in April 2016. Deep images over three months show that the object is made up of a central concentration of fragments surrounded by an elongated coma, and presents previously unreported sharp arc-like and narrow linear features. The morphology and evolution of these characteristics independently point toward a brief event on 2016 March 6. The arc and the linear feature can be reproduced by large particles on a ring, moving at ∼2:5 m s−1. The expansion of the ring defines a cone with a ∼40◦ half-opening. We propose that the P/2016 G1 was hit by a small object which caused its (partial or total) disruption, and that the ring corresponds to large fragments ejected during the final stages of the crater formation. -
Early Observations of the Interstellar Comet 2I/Borisov
geosciences Article Early Observations of the Interstellar Comet 2I/Borisov Chien-Hsiu Lee NSF’s National Optical-Infrared Astronomy Research Laboratory, Tucson, AZ 85719, USA; [email protected]; Tel.: +1-520-318-8368 Received: 26 November 2019; Accepted: 11 December 2019; Published: 17 December 2019 Abstract: 2I/Borisov is the second ever interstellar object (ISO). It is very different from the first ISO ’Oumuamua by showing cometary activities, and hence provides a unique opportunity to study comets that are formed around other stars. Here we present early imaging and spectroscopic follow-ups to study its properties, which reveal an (up to) 5.9 km comet with an extended coma and a short tail. Our spectroscopic data do not reveal any emission lines between 4000–9000 Angstrom; nevertheless, we are able to put an upper limit on the flux of the C2 emission line, suggesting modest cometary activities at early epochs. These properties are similar to comets in the solar system, and suggest that 2I/Borisov—while from another star—is not too different from its solar siblings. Keywords: comets: general; comets: individual (2I/Borisov); solar system: formation 1. Introduction 2I/Borisov was first seen by Gennady Borisov on 30 August 2019. As more observations were conducted in the next few days, there was growing evidence that this might be an interstellar object (ISO), especially its large orbital eccentricity. However, the first astrometric measurements do not have enough timespan and are not of same quality, hence the high eccentricity is yet to be confirmed. This had all changed by 11 September; where more than 100 astrometric measurements over 12 days, Ref [1] pinned down the orbit elements of 2I/Borisov, with an eccentricity of 3.15 ± 0.13, hence confirming the interstellar nature. -
Photometric Study of Two Near-Earth Asteroids in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Moving Objects Catalog
University of North Dakota UND Scholarly Commons Theses and Dissertations Theses, Dissertations, and Senior Projects January 2020 Photometric Study Of Two Near-Earth Asteroids In The Sloan Digital Sky Survey Moving Objects Catalog Christopher James Miko Follow this and additional works at: https://commons.und.edu/theses Recommended Citation Miko, Christopher James, "Photometric Study Of Two Near-Earth Asteroids In The Sloan Digital Sky Survey Moving Objects Catalog" (2020). Theses and Dissertations. 3287. https://commons.und.edu/theses/3287 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Theses, Dissertations, and Senior Projects at UND Scholarly Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of UND Scholarly Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. PHOTOMETRIC STUDY OF TWO NEAR-EARTH ASTEROIDS IN THE SLOAN DIGITAL SKY SURVEY MOVING OBJECTS CATALOG by Christopher James Miko Bachelor of Science, Valparaiso University, 2013 A Thesis Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of the University of North Dakota in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science Grand Forks, North Dakota August 2020 Copyright 2020 Christopher J. Miko ii Christopher J. Miko Name: Degree: Master of Science This document, submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree from the University of North Dakota, has been read by the Faculty Advisory Committee under whom the work has been done and is hereby approved. ____________________________________ Dr. Ronald Fevig ____________________________________ Dr. Michael Gaffey ____________________________________ Dr. Wayne Barkhouse ____________________________________ Dr. Vishnu Reddy ____________________________________ ____________________________________ This document is being submitted by the appointed advisory committee as having met all the requirements of the School of Graduate Studies at the University of North Dakota and is hereby approved. -
Make a Comet Materials: Students Should First Line Their Mixing Bowls with Trash Bags
Build Your Own Comet Prep Time: 30 minutes Grades: 6-8 Lesson Time: 55 minutes Essential Questions: • What is a comet composed of? • What gives a comet its tail? • What makes a comet different from other Near-Earth Objects (NEOs)? Objectives: • Create a physical representation of a comet and its properties. • Observe distinguishable factors between comets and other NEOs. Standards: • MS – PS1-4: Develop a model that predicts and describes changes in particle motion, temperature, and state of a pure substance when thermal energy is added or removed. • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RST.6-8.3 - Follow precisely a multistep procedure when carrying out experiments, taking measurements, or performing technical tasks. Teacher Prep: • Materials per comet: o 5 lbs. dry ice, ice chest, paper cups, towels, small container (for scooping), wooden or plastic mixing spoon, trash bag, mixing bowl, heavy work gloves, 1 tablespoon or less of starch, 1 tablespoon or less of dark corn syrup (or soda), 1 tablespoon or less of vinegar, 1 tablespoon or less of rubbing alcohol, large beaker, water, 1 c dirt/sand, 1 L of water. • Additional materials: o Hammer or mallet, paper cups, towels, flashlight, hair dryer. • Most of the dry ice needs to be in a fine powder before the students arrive, so use the hammer to do this ahead of time. There should be about 50-60% fine powder in order to hold the comet together. It is best to separate the dry ice ahead of time with towels. • This can also be done as a class demonstration. Teacher Notes/Background: • This lesson was adapted from NASA’s Make Your Own Comet activity. -
Initial Characterization of Interstellar Comet 2I/Borisov
Initial characterization of interstellar comet 2I/Borisov Piotr Guzik1*, Michał Drahus1*, Krzysztof Rusek2, Wacław Waniak1, Giacomo Cannizzaro3,4, Inés Pastor-Marazuela5,6 1 Astronomical Observatory, Jagiellonian University, Kraków, Poland 2 AGH University of Science and Technology, Kraków, Poland 3 SRON, Netherlands Institute for Space Research, Utrecht, the Netherlands 4 Department of Astrophysics/IMAPP, Radboud University, Nijmegen, the Netherlands 5 Anton Pannekoek Institute for Astronomy, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands 6 ASTRON, Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy, Dwingeloo, the Netherlands * These authors contributed equally to this work; email: [email protected], [email protected] Interstellar comets penetrating through the Solar System had been anticipated for decades1,2. The discovery of asteroidal-looking ‘Oumuamua3,4 was thus a huge surprise and a puzzle. Furthermore, the physical properties of the ‘first scout’ turned out to be impossible to reconcile with Solar System objects4–6, challenging our view of interstellar minor bodies7,8. Here, we report the identification and early characterization of a new interstellar object, which has an evidently cometary appearance. The body was discovered by Gennady Borisov on 30 August 2019 UT and subsequently identified as hyperbolic by our data mining code in publicly available astrometric data. The initial orbital solution implies a very high hyperbolic excess speed of ~32 km s−1, consistent with ‘Oumuamua9 and theoretical predictions2,7. Images taken on 10 and 13 September 2019 UT with the William Herschel Telescope and Gemini North Telescope show an extended coma and a faint, broad tail. We measure a slightly reddish colour with a g′–r′ colour index of 0.66 ± 0.01 mag, compatible with Solar System comets. -
Gemini Observations of Active Asteroid 354P/LINEAR (2010 A2)
Gemini Observations of Active Asteroid 354P/LINEAR (2010 A2) Yoonyoung Kim, Masateru Ishiguro Seoul National University (Korea) Science & Evolution of Gemini Observatory 2018 Fisherman’s Wharf, San Francisco Contents • Overview • Active asteroids resulting from impacts • The case of 354P/LINEAR (2010 A2) • Concluding remark Overview “Small Solar System bodies are primitive, but...” Solar System Formation “Snow line” Credit: Univ. of Hawaii Primitive small bodies Kuiper Belt ~30-55 AU Oort Cloud ~104-105 AU Yeomans 2000 Primitive small bodies (easy to observe) are comets and asteroids Kuiper Belt ~30-55 AU Oort Cloud ~104-105 AU Yeomans 2000 but, primitive small bodies also evolved... by solar radiative heating by impacts NASA/JPL/Univ. of Maryland but, primitive small bodies also evolved... by solar radiative heating by impacts NASA/JPL/Univ. of Maryland Purpose of this study • We aim to figure out one of the major evolutionary processes in the Solar System (impacts) through observational studies of • Active asteroids resulting from impacts • The case of 354P/LINEAR (2010 A2) Comets Active Asteroids Active asteroids Dormant Comets Asteroids resulting from impacts : The case of 354P/LINEAR (2010 A2) Kim, Y., Ishiguro, M., et al. 2017, AJ Kim, Y., Ishiguro, M., & Lee, M. G. 2017, ApJL Background “Evidences of past impacts” Credit: D. Jewitt The case of (596) Scheila Ishiguro+2011 The case of 354P/2010 A2 Jewitt+2011 The case of 354P/2010 A2 The case of 354P/2010 A2 Previous modelings (Jewitt+10,13; Snodgrass+10; Hainaut+12; Agarwal+13; Kleyna+13) Jewitt+2013 Kleyna+2013 Observation 2010 Model Observation Agarwal+2013 Obs. -
VITA David Jewitt Address Dept. Earth, Planetary and Space
VITA David Jewitt Address Dept. Earth, Planetary and Space Sciences, UCLA 595 Charles Young Drive East, Box 951567 Los Angeles, CA 90095-1567 [email protected], http://www2.ess.ucla.edu/~jewitt/ Education B. Sc. University College London 1979 M. S. California Institute of Technology 1980 Ph. D. California Institute of Technology 1983 Professional Experience Summer Student Royal Greenwich Observatory 1978 Anthony Fellowship California Institute of Technology 1979-1980 Research Assistant California Institute of Technology 1980-1983 Assistant Professor Massachusetts Institute of Technology 1983-1988 Associate Professor and Astronomer University of Hawaii 1988-1993 Professor and Astronomer University of Hawaii 1993-2009 Professor Dept. Earth, Planetary & Space Sciences, UCLA 2009- Inst. of Geophys & Planetary Physics, UCLA 2009-2011 Dept. Physics & Astronomy, UCLA 2010- Director Institute for Planets & Exoplanets, UCLA, 2011- Honors Regent's Medal, University of Hawaii 1994 Scientist of the Year, ARCS 1996 Exceptional Scientific Achievement Award, NASA 1996 Fellow of University College London 1998 Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences 2005 Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science 2005 Member of the National Academy of Sciences 2005 National Observatory, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Honorary Professor 2006-2011 National Central University, Taiwan, Adjunct Professor 2007 The Shaw Prize for Astronomy 2012 The Kavli Prize for Astrophysics 2012 Foreign Member, Norwegian Academy of Sciences & Letters 2012 Research -
Isotopic Ratios in Outbursting Comet C/2015 ER61
Astronomy & Astrophysics manuscript no. draft_Dec_07 c ESO 2018 September 10, 2018 Isotopic ratios in outbursting comet C/2015 ER61 Bin Yang1; 2, Damien Hutsemékers3, Yoshiharu Shinnaka4, Cyrielle Opitom1, Jean Manfroid3, Emmanuël Jehin3, Karen J. Meech5, Olivier R. Hainaut1, Jacqueline V. Keane5, and Michaël Gillon3 (Affiliations can be found after the references) September 10, 2018 ABSTRACT Isotopic ratios in comets are critical to understanding the origin of cometary material and the physical and chemical conditions in the early solar nebula. Comet C/2015 ER61 (PANSTARRS) underwent an outburst with a total brightness increase of 2 magnitudes on the night of 2017 April 4. The sharp increase in brightness offered a rare opportunity to measure the isotopic ratios of the light elements in the coma of this comet. We obtained two high-resolution spectra of C/2015 ER61 with UVES/VLT on the nights of 2017 April 13 and 17. At the time of our observations, the comet was fading gradually following the outburst. We measured the nitrogen and carbon isotopic ratios from the CN violet (0,0) band and found that 12C/13C=100 ± 15, 14N/15N=130 ± 15. 14 15 14 15 In addition, we determined the N/ N ratio from four pairs of NH2 isotopolog lines and measured N/ N=140 ± 28. The measured isotopic ratios of C/2015 ER61 do not deviate significantly from those of other comets. Key words. comets: general - comets: individual (C/2015 ER61) - methods: observational 1. Introduction Understanding how planetary systems form from proto- planetary disks remains one of the great challenges in as- tronomy. -
Detection of Exocometary CO Within the 440 Myr Old Fomalhaut Belt: a Similar CO+CO2 Ice Abundance in Exocomets and Solar System Comets
UCLA UCLA Previously Published Works Title Detection of Exocometary CO within the 440 Myr Old Fomalhaut Belt: A Similar CO+CO2 Ice Abundance in Exocomets and Solar System Comets Permalink https://escholarship.org/uc/item/1zf7t4qn Journal Astrophysical Journal, 842(1) ISSN 0004-637X Authors Matra, L MacGregor, MA Kalas, P et al. Publication Date 2017-06-10 DOI 10.3847/1538-4357/aa71b4 Peer reviewed eScholarship.org Powered by the California Digital Library University of California The Astrophysical Journal, 842:9 (15pp), 2017 June 10 https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/aa71b4 © 2017. The American Astronomical Society. All rights reserved. Detection of Exocometary CO within the 440 Myr Old Fomalhaut Belt: A Similar CO+CO2 Ice Abundance in Exocomets and Solar System Comets L. Matrà1, M. A. MacGregor2, P. Kalas3,4, M. C. Wyatt1, G. M. Kennedy1, D. J. Wilner2, G. Duchene3,5, A. M. Hughes6, M. Pan7, A. Shannon1,8,9, M. Clampin10, M. P. Fitzgerald11, J. R. Graham3, W. S. Holland12, O. Panić13, and K. Y. L. Su14 1 Institute of Astronomy, University of Cambridge, Madingley Road, Cambridge CB3 0HA, UK; [email protected] 2 Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, 60 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA 3 Astronomy Department, University of California, Berkeley CA 94720-3411, USA 4 SETI Institute, Mountain View, CA 94043, USA 5 Univ. Grenoble Alpes/CNRS, IPAG, F-38000 Grenoble, France 6 Department of Astronomy, Van Vleck Observatory, Wesleyan University, 96 Foss Hill Dr., Middletown, CT 06459, USA 7 MIT Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and