Planets Days Mini-Conference (Friday August 24)

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Planets Days Mini-Conference (Friday August 24) Planets Days Mini-Conference (Friday August 24) Session I : 10:30 – 12:00 10:30 The Dawn Mission: Latest Results (Christopher Russell) 10:45 Revisiting the Oort Cloud in the Age of Large Sky Surveys (Julio Fernandez) 11:00 25 years of Adaptive Optics in Planetary Astronomy, from the Direct Imaging of Asteroids to Earth-Like Exoplanets (Franck Marchis) 11:15 Exploration of the Jupiter Trojans with the Lucy Mission (Keith Noll) 11:30 The New and Unexpected Venus from Akatsuki (Javier Peralta) 11:45 Exploration of Icy Moons as Habitats (Athena Coustenis) Session II: 13:30 – 15:00 13:30 Characterizing ExOPlanet Satellite (CHEOPS): ESA's first s-class science mission (Kate Isaak) 13:45 The Habitability of Exomoons (Christopher Taylor) 14:00 Modelling the Rotation of Icy Satellites with Application to Exoplanets (Gwenael Boue) 14:15 Novel Approaches to Exoplanet Life Detection: Disequilibrium Biosignatures and Their Detectability with the James Webb Space Telescope (Joshua Krissansen-Totton) 14:30 Getting to Know Sub-Saturns and Super-Earths: High-Resolution Spectroscopy of Transiting Exoplanets (Ray Jayawardhana) 14:45 How do External Giant Planets Influence the Evolution of Compact Multi-Planet Systems? (Dong Lai) Session III: 15:30 – 18:30 15:30 Titan’s Global Geology from Cassini (Rosaly Lopes) 15:45 The Origins Space Telescope and Solar System Science (James Bauer) 16:00 Relationship Between Stellar and Solar System Organics (Sun Kwok) 16:15 Mixing of Condensible Constituents with H/He During Formation of Giant Planets (Jack Lissauer) 16:30 Gravitational Microlensing Results Challenge the Core Accretion Theory (David Bennett) 16:45 Realistic Modeling of Collisional Water Delivery During the Late Stages of Planet Formation (Christoph Burger) 17:00 Secular Dynamics on TNOs and Planet Nine Interactions (Gongjie Li) 17:15 OSIRIS-REX: Mapping the Density of Particles over the Surface of its Target (Othon Winter) 17:30 The Structure and Strength of Meteorite Producing Meteoroids (Jiri Borovicka) 17:45 Analysis of the Historic Meteorite Falls (Gonzalo Tancredi) 18:00 INPOP Planetary Ephemerides: Updates About P9 Localization (Agnes Fienga) 18:15 Shallow Transits - Deep Learning: Using Deep Learning to Detect Habitable Planets (Shay Zucker) Planets Days Mini-Conference (Monday August 27) Session I : 10:30 – 12:00 10:30 Protoplanetary Disks Demographics with ALMA (Megan Ansdell) 10:50 Kepler Exoplanet Radius Demographics in the Gaia Era (Dan Huber) 11:05 The CHEWIE Survey of Exoplanet Transmission Spectra (Monika Lendl) 11:20 Hydrodynamics and Thermodynamics of Embedded Planets’ First Atmospheres (Rolf Kuiper) 11:35 The Effects of Non-Equilibrium Chemistry on Atmospheric Spectra of Exoplanets (Karan Molaverdikhani) 11:50 Modeling the Formation of Extrasolar Comet Clouds (Birgit Loibnegger) Session II: 13:30 – 15:00 13:30 Initial Results From the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) (George Ricker) 13:45 Discovering Circumbinary Planets with TESS (Veselin Kostov) 14:00 Stability and Habitability of Multi-Planetary Systems Hosted by Binary Stars (Elke Pilat-Lohinger) 14:15 New Planets from K2 (John Livingston) 14:30 Characterizing Free-Floating Planet Candidates in the K2 Campaign 9 Microlensing Survey (Yutong Shan) 14:45 On the Origin of Free-Floating Planets (Nader Haghighipour) Session III: 15:30 – 17:00 15:30 The Asteroid Impact & Deflection Assessment (AIDA) Mission: Current Status of both the US and European Components of the First Asteroid Deflection Test (Patrick Michel) 15:45 Long-Term Asteroid Orbit Deflection Optimization (Siegfried Eggl) 16:00 Exploration of the Binary Asteroid 65803 Didymos by the Payload of the Asteroid Impact Deflection Assessment (AIDA) Mission (Michael Küppers) 16:15 The Pan-STARRS Search for Near-Earth Objects (Richard Wainscoat) 16:30 Debiased Estimates for Near-Earth-Object Orbit and Absolute-Magnitude Distributions (Mikael Granvik) 16:45 The Origin of Meteorites and Near-Earth Asteroids (Stanley Dermott) Poster Presentations Morocco Oukaimeden Sky Survey Telescope in the top 10 since 2012 (Benkhaldoun Zouhair) Planetary cores, their energy flux relationship, and its implications (Prof. Fred M. Johnson) Hypothesis of the massive planet on the periphery of the Solar System (Rustam Guliyev) Perseid meteoroids by the Tajikistan fireball network observations. I. Dynamical features (Gulchehra Kokhirova) Dynamical and physical properties of presumed meteorite-dropping fireballs photographed by the Tajikistan fireball network (Gulchehra Kokhirova) Planetary dynamics from observations of planets and spacecraft (ephemerides EPM2017 at IAA RAS) (Elena Pitjeva) The stellar pulsation timing method to detect substellar companions (Felix Mackebrandt) Precise and fast computation of gravitational field of general finite body and its application to gravitational study of asteroid Eros (Toshio Fukushima) A specific non-gravitational effect in the asteroid belt as a possible main cause of origin of Trojans in the Solar system (Anatolii Kazantsev) Formation of trans-Neptunian satellite systems at the stage of rarefied condensations (Sergei Ipatov) Possible relations between outbursts and diamagnetic cavities in comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko (Marcos Rincon Voelzke) Near-Infrared atmospheric modelling of Jupiter’s Southern Equatorial Belt (SEB) observed with AAT/IRIS2 (Behrooz Karamiqucham) A formation mechanism of 4179 Toutatis-like elongated contact binary configuration (Shoucun Hu) Slichter modes of celestial bodies through a variational formalism (Alberto Escapa) Chemical signatures of rocky accretion in young solar-type stars (Lorenzo Spina) Exocomets in the Proxima Centauri system and their importance for water transport (Richard Schwarz) Observations of near-Earth object 2012 TC4 — The high-time resolution lightcurve with the Tomo-e Gozen camera (Seitaro Urakawa) Planetesimals role in habitability of TRAPPIST-1 planets (Vladimir Ðošovic) Habitable Zones in Binary Star Systems: New Analytic Estimates (Siegfried Eggl) Climate model for habitable locked planets (Amri Wandel) Vortex stretching in self-gravitating protoplanetary discs (Zsolt Regaly) New insight into the coma of comet 2P/Encke: apparitions of 2013 and 2017 (Vera Rosenbush) Unusual properties of asteroid (3200) Phaeton from polarimetry and spectrophotometry (Nikolai Kiselev) Visible spectra of ETNOs using the 10.4m Gran Telescopio Canarias (Julia de Leon) Unusual properties of asteroid (3200) Phaethon from polarimetry and spectrophotometry (Nikolai Kiselev) A new perspective for understanding the Hyperbolic Meteors type after interstellar object Oumuamua discovery (Marcelo A De Cicco) Sizing up small bodies: New technologies, new challenges (Albert Conrad) Understanding internal structure of planetary satellites through astrometry (Jean-Eudes Arlot) What tell close-in brown dwarfs about planetary system's evolution and formation? (Szilárd Csizmadia) Chaotic clearing of the vicinity of rotating small bodies (José Lages) Free-floating planets with K2 (Iain McDonald) Is WASP-12 b falling onto its host star? (Gracjan Maciejewski) Protoplanetary disc vortices strengthened by gas thermodynamics (Dóra Tarczay-Nehéz) Unsettled orbits of transiting exoplanets in stellar binary systems (Zdzislaw Musielak) YORP classification of asteroids revisited (Oleksiy Golubov) Water delivery to the TRAPPIST-1 planets (Zoltan Dencs) Structure of meteoroids producing double-peaked light curves (Margaret Campbell-Brown) Isotope fractionation in the photochemical escape from Early Mars (Jinjin Zhao) Analysis of Dawn Framing Camera images of Ceres in preparation for OSIRIS-REx encounter with Bennu (Javier Licandro) Growing Plants on Mars - Mars Gardens in the University: Growing Vegetables in Martian regolith simulant (Edward Guinan) Experimental light scattering by ultrasonically controlled small particles (Maria Gritsevich) Consequences of meteoroid impacts based on atmospheric trajectory analysis (Maria Gritsevich) Exoplanetary Science and Instrumental Developments at LBTO (Christian Veillet) The brightness variations of Boyajian's star: Dusty planetesimals, temperature variations, or something else? (Hans Deeg) Modeling instrumental systematics in exoplanets transmission spectra using Gaussian Processes (Raissa Estrela) Centaur 174P/Echeclus: comet-like activity at large heliocentric distances (Oleksandra Ivanova) The Ever Changing Centaur: Relating Activity, Orbital and System Evolution of Minor Bodies in the Giant Planet Region (Gal Sarid) Photometric survey of near-earth asteroids in the frame of ISON network (Yurij Krugly) Observation campaigns of (3200) Phaethon and (155140) 2005UD for the DESTINY+ mission (Fumi Yoshida) The Trojans distribution in the Solar System (Anatolii Kazantsev) Gaseous clumps, accretion bursts, and the prospects of giant planet formation in gravitationally unstable protostellar disks (Vardan Elbakyan) Deep high-resolution imaging of the field around nearby stars of the Ursa Major moving group (Matthias Ammler-von Eiff) Problems with exoplanets around sdBV stars from primary Kepler field (Jerzy Krzesinski) Thermal conductivity of porous dust aggregates (Sota Arakawa) SPHEREx: Exploring the Origin and Evolution of Interstellar and Biogenic Ices (Stephen Unwin) Simulating the Water Vapor Flow through Enceladus' South Polar Cracks (Wolfgang Sakuler) Atmospheric Mass Loss due to XUV radiation from Sgr A* in Planetary Lifetime (Agata Wislocka) Dynamical evolution of comet pairs (Andrea Sosa) Analysis of gas/dust productivity and molecular
Recommended publications
  • Arxiv:1912.09192V2 [Astro-Ph.EP] 24 Feb 2020
    Draft version February 25, 2020 Typeset using LATEX preprint style in AASTeX62 Photometric analyses of Saturn's small moons: Aegaeon, Methone and Pallene are dark; Helene and Calypso are bright. M. M. Hedman,1 P. Helfenstein,2 R. O. Chancia,1, 3 P. Thomas,2 E. Roussos,4 C. Paranicas,5 and A. J. Verbiscer6 1Department of Physics, University of Idaho, Moscow, ID 83844 2Cornell Center for Astrophysics and Planetary Science, Cornell University, Ithaca NY 14853 3Center for Imaging Science, Rochester Institute of Technology, Rochester NY 14623 4Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research, G¨ottingen,Germany 37077 5APL, John Hopkins University, Laurel MD 20723 6Department of Astronomy, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA 22904 ABSTRACT We examine the surface brightnesses of Saturn's smaller satellites using a photometric model that explicitly accounts for their elongated shapes and thus facilitates compar- isons among different moons. Analyses of Cassini imaging data with this model reveals that the moons Aegaeon, Methone and Pallene are darker than one would expect given trends previously observed among the nearby mid-sized satellites. On the other hand, the trojan moons Calypso and Helene have substantially brighter surfaces than their co-orbital companions Tethys and Dione. These observations are inconsistent with the moons' surface brightnesses being entirely controlled by the local flux of E-ring par- ticles, and therefore strongly imply that other phenomena are affecting their surface properties. The darkness of Aegaeon, Methone and Pallene is correlated with the fluxes of high-energy protons, implying that high-energy radiation is responsible for darkening these small moons. Meanwhile, Prometheus and Pandora appear to be brightened by their interactions with nearby dusty F ring, implying that enhanced dust fluxes are most likely responsible for Calypso's and Helene's excess brightness.
    [Show full text]
  • Cassini Update
    Cassini Update Dr. Linda Spilker Cassini Project Scientist Outer Planets Assessment Group 22 February 2017 Sols%ce Mission Inclina%on Profile equator Saturn wrt Inclination 22 February 2017 LJS-3 Year 3 Key Flybys Since Aug. 2016 OPAG T124 – Titan flyby (1584 km) • November 13, 2016 • LAST Radio Science flyby • One of only two (cf. T106) ideal bistatic observations capturing Titan’s Northern Seas • First and only bistatic observation of Punga Mare • Western Kraken Mare not explored by RSS before T125 – Titan flyby (3158 km) • November 29, 2016 • LAST Optical Remote Sensing targeted flyby • VIMS high-resolution map of the North Pole looking for variations at and around the seas and lakes. • CIRS last opportunity for vertical profile determination of gases (e.g. water, aerosols) • UVIS limb viewing opportunity at the highest spatial resolution available outside of occultations 22 February 2017 4 Interior of Hexagon Turning “Less Blue” • Bluish to golden haze results from increased production of photochemical hazes as north pole approaches summer solstice. • Hexagon acts as a barrier that prevents haze particles outside hexagon from migrating inward. • 5 Refracting Atmosphere Saturn's• 22unlit February rings appear 2017 to bend as they pass behind the planet’s darkened limb due• 6 to refraction by Saturn's upper atmosphere. (Resolution 5 km/pixel) Dione Harbors A Subsurface Ocean Researchers at the Royal Observatory of Belgium reanalyzed Cassini RSS gravity data• 7 of Dione and predict a crust 100 km thick with a global ocean 10’s of km deep. Titan’s Summer Clouds Pose a Mystery Why would clouds on Titan be visible in VIMS images, but not in ISS images? ISS ISS VIMS High, thin cirrus clouds that are optically thicker than Titan’s atmospheric haze at longer VIMS wavelengths,• 22 February but optically 2017 thinner than the haze at shorter ISS wavelengths, could be• 8 detected by VIMS while simultaneously lost in the haze to ISS.
    [Show full text]
  • A Wunda-Full World? Carbon Dioxide Ice Deposits on Umbriel and Other Uranian Moons
    Icarus 290 (2017) 1–13 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Icarus journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/icarus A Wunda-full world? Carbon dioxide ice deposits on Umbriel and other Uranian moons ∗ Michael M. Sori , Jonathan Bapst, Ali M. Bramson, Shane Byrne, Margaret E. Landis Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t Article history: Carbon dioxide has been detected on the trailing hemispheres of several Uranian satellites, but the exact Received 22 June 2016 nature and distribution of the molecules remain unknown. One such satellite, Umbriel, has a prominent Revised 28 January 2017 high albedo annulus-shaped feature within the 131-km-diameter impact crater Wunda. We hypothesize Accepted 28 February 2017 that this feature is a solid deposit of CO ice. We combine thermal and ballistic transport modeling to Available online 2 March 2017 2 study the evolution of CO 2 molecules on the surface of Umbriel, a high-obliquity ( ∼98 °) body. Consid- ering processes such as sublimation and Jeans escape, we find that CO 2 ice migrates to low latitudes on geologically short (100s–1000 s of years) timescales. Crater morphology and location create a local cold trap inside Wunda, and the slopes of crater walls and a central peak explain the deposit’s annular shape. The high albedo and thermal inertia of CO 2 ice relative to regolith allows deposits 15-m-thick or greater to be stable over the age of the solar system.
    [Show full text]
  • AAS SFMC Manuscript Format Template
    AAS 13-484 PASSIVE SORTING OF ASTEROID MATERIAL USING SOLAR RADIATION PRESSURE D. García Yárnoz,* J. P. Sánchez Cuartielles,† and C. R. McInnes ‡ Understanding dust dynamics in asteroid environments is key for future science missions to asteroids and, in the long-term, also for asteroid exploitation. This paper proposes a novel way of manipulating asteroid material by means of solar radiation pressure (SRP). We envisage a method for passively sorting material as a function of its grain size where SRP is used as a passive in-situ ‘mass spec- trometer’. The analysis shows that this novel method allows an effective sorting of regolith material. This has immediate applications for sample return, and in- situ resource utilisation to separate different regolith particle sizes INTRODUCTION Asteroids have lately become prime targets for space exploration missions. This interest is jus- tified as asteroids are among the least evolved bodies in the Solar System and they can provide a better understanding of its formation from the solar nebula. Under NASA’s flexible path plan,1 asteroids have also become one of the feasible “planetary” surfaces to be visited by crewed mis- sions, with the benefit of not requiring the capability to land and take-off from a deep gravity well. In addition, they may well be the most affordable source of in-situ resources to underpin future space exploration ventures. Considerable efforts have been made in the study of the perturbing forces and space environ- ment around cometary and asteroid bodies.2, 3 These forces and harsh environments need to be considered and will have direct implications for the operations of spacecraft around and on small bodies.
    [Show full text]
  • Planetary Science Division Status Report
    Planetary Science Division Status Report Jim Green NASA, Planetary Science Division January 26, 2017 Astronomy and Astrophysics Advisory CommiBee Outline • Planetary Science ObjecFves • Missions and Events Overview • Flight Programs: – Discovery – New FronFers – Mars Programs – Outer Planets • Planetary Defense AcFviFes • R&A Overview • Educaon and Outreach AcFviFes • PSD Budget Overview New Horizons exploresPlanetary Science Pluto and the Kuiper Belt Ascertain the content, origin, and evoluFon of the Solar System and the potenFal for life elsewhere! 01/08/2016 As the highest resolution images continue to beam back from New Horizons, the mission is onto exploring Kuiper Belt Objects with the Long Range Reconnaissance Imager (LORRI) camera from unique viewing angles not visible from Earth. New Horizons is also beginning maneuvers to be able to swing close by a Kuiper Belt Object in the next year. Giant IcebergsObjecve 1.5.1 (water blocks) floatingObjecve 1.5.2 in glaciers of Objecve 1.5.3 Objecve 1.5.4 Objecve 1.5.5 hydrogen, mDemonstrate ethane, and other frozenDemonstrate progress gasses on the Demonstrate Sublimation pitsDemonstrate from the surface ofDemonstrate progress Pluto, potentially surface of Pluto.progress in in exploring and progress in showing a geologicallyprogress in improving active surface.in idenFfying and advancing the observing the objects exploring and understanding of the characterizing objects The Newunderstanding of Horizons missionin the Solar System to and the finding locaons origin and evoluFon in the Solar System explorationhow the chemical of Pluto wereunderstand how they voted the where life could of life on Earth to that pose threats to and physical formed and evolve have existed or guide the search for Earth or offer People’sprocesses in the Choice for Breakthrough of thecould exist today life elsewhere resources for human Year forSolar System 2015 by Science Magazine as exploraon operate, interact well as theand evolve top story of 2015 by Discover Magazine.
    [Show full text]
  • The Nearest Stars: a Guided Tour by Sherwood Harrington, Astronomical Society of the Pacific
    www.astrosociety.org/uitc No. 5 - Spring 1986 © 1986, Astronomical Society of the Pacific, 390 Ashton Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94112. The Nearest Stars: A Guided Tour by Sherwood Harrington, Astronomical Society of the Pacific A tour through our stellar neighborhood As evening twilight fades during April and early May, a brilliant, blue-white star can be seen low in the sky toward the southwest. That star is called Sirius, and it is the brightest star in Earth's nighttime sky. Sirius looks so bright in part because it is a relatively powerful light producer; if our Sun were suddenly replaced by Sirius, our daylight on Earth would be more than 20 times as bright as it is now! But the other reason Sirius is so brilliant in our nighttime sky is that it is so close; Sirius is the nearest neighbor star to the Sun that can be seen with the unaided eye from the Northern Hemisphere. "Close'' in the interstellar realm, though, is a very relative term. If you were to model the Sun as a basketball, then our planet Earth would be about the size of an apple seed 30 yards away from it — and even the nearest other star (alpha Centauri, visible from the Southern Hemisphere) would be 6,000 miles away. Distances among the stars are so large that it is helpful to express them using the light-year — the distance light travels in one year — as a measuring unit. In this way of expressing distances, alpha Centauri is about four light-years away, and Sirius is about eight and a half light- years distant.
    [Show full text]
  • Arxiv:1809.07342V1 [Astro-Ph.SR] 19 Sep 2018
    Draft version September 21, 2018 Preprint typeset using LATEX style emulateapj v. 11/10/09 FAR-ULTRAVIOLET ACTIVITY LEVELS OF F, G, K, AND M DWARF EXOPLANET HOST STARS* Kevin France1, Nicole Arulanantham1, Luca Fossati2, Antonino F. Lanza3, R. O. Parke Loyd4, Seth Redfield5, P. Christian Schneider6 Draft version September 21, 2018 ABSTRACT We present a survey of far-ultraviolet (FUV; 1150 { 1450 A)˚ emission line spectra from 71 planet- hosting and 33 non-planet-hosting F, G, K, and M dwarfs with the goals of characterizing their range of FUV activity levels, calibrating the FUV activity level to the 90 { 360 A˚ extreme-ultraviolet (EUV) stellar flux, and investigating the potential for FUV emission lines to probe star-planet interactions (SPIs). We build this emission line sample from a combination of new and archival observations with the Hubble Space Telescope-COS and -STIS instruments, targeting the chromospheric and transition region emission lines of Si III,N V,C II, and Si IV. We find that the exoplanet host stars, on average, display factors of 5 { 10 lower UV activity levels compared with the non-planet hosting sample; this is explained by a combination of observational and astrophysical biases in the selection of stars for radial-velocity planet searches. We demonstrate that UV activity-rotation relation in the full F { M star sample is characterized by a power-law decline (with index α ≈ −1.1), starting at rotation periods & 3.5 days. Using N V or Si IV spectra and a knowledge of the star's bolometric flux, we present a new analytic relationship to estimate the intrinsic stellar EUV irradiance in the 90 { 360 A˚ band with an accuracy of roughly a factor of ≈ 2.
    [Show full text]
  • Design of Low-Altitude Martian Orbits Using Frequency Analysis A
    Design of Low-Altitude Martian Orbits using Frequency Analysis A. Noullez, K. Tsiganis To cite this version: A. Noullez, K. Tsiganis. Design of Low-Altitude Martian Orbits using Frequency Analysis. Advances in Space Research, Elsevier, 2021, 67, pp.477-495. 10.1016/j.asr.2020.10.032. hal-03007909 HAL Id: hal-03007909 https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-03007909 Submitted on 16 Nov 2020 HAL is a multi-disciplinary open access L’archive ouverte pluridisciplinaire HAL, est archive for the deposit and dissemination of sci- destinée au dépôt et à la diffusion de documents entific research documents, whether they are pub- scientifiques de niveau recherche, publiés ou non, lished or not. The documents may come from émanant des établissements d’enseignement et de teaching and research institutions in France or recherche français ou étrangers, des laboratoires abroad, or from public or private research centers. publics ou privés. Design of Low-Altitude Martian Orbits using Frequency Analysis A. Noulleza,∗, K. Tsiganisb aUniversit´eC^oted'Azur, Observatoire de la C^oted'Azur, CNRS, Laboratoire Lagrange, bd. de l'Observatoire, C.S. 34229, 06304 Nice Cedex 4, France bSection of Astrophysics Astronomy & Mechanics, Department of Physics, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, GR 541 24 Thessaloniki, Greece Abstract Nearly-circular Frozen Orbits (FOs) around axisymmetric bodies | or, quasi-circular Periodic Orbits (POs) around non-axisymmetric bodies | are of primary concern in the design of low-altitude survey missions. Here, we study very low-altitude orbits (down to 50 km) in a high-degree and order model of the Martian gravity field. We apply Prony's Frequency Analysis (FA) to characterize the time variation of their orbital elements by computing accurate quasi-periodic decompositions of the eccentricity and inclination vectors.
    [Show full text]
  • The Detectability and Constraints of Biosignature Gasses in the Near & Mid-Infrared from Transit Transmission Spectroscopy B
    The Detectability and Constraints of Biosignature Gasses in the Near & Mid-Infrared from Transit Transmission Spectroscopy by Luke Tremblay A Thesis Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Science Approved November 2019 by the Graduate Supervisory Committee: Michael Line, Chair Evgenya Schkolnik Sara Walker ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY December 2019 ABSTRACT The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST ) is expected to revolutionize the cur- rent understanding of Jovian worlds over the coming decade. However, as the field pushes towards characterizing cooler, smaller, \terrestrial-like" planets, dedicated next-generation facilities will be required to tease out the small spectral signatures indicative of biological activity. Here, the feasibility of determining atmospheric prop- erties, from near to mid-infrared transmission spectra, of transiting temperate ter- restrial M-dwarf companions, has been evaluated. Specifically, atmospheric retrievals were utilized to explore the trade space between spectral resolution, wavelength cover- age, and signal-to-noise on the ability to both detect molecular species and constrain their abundances. Increasing spectral resolution beyond R=100 for near-infrared wavelengths, shorter than 5µm, proves to reduce the degeneracy between spectral features of different molecules and thus greatly benefits the abundance constraints. However, this benefit is greatly diminished beyond 5µm as any overlap between broad features in the mid-infrared does not deconvolve with higher resolutions. Additionally, the inclusion of features beyond 11µm did not meaningfully improve the detection sig- nificance nor abundance constraints results. The findings of this study indicate that an instrument with continuous wavelength coverage from approximately 2-11µm and with a resolution of R'50-300, would be capable of detecting H2O, CO2, CH4,O3, and N2O in the atmosphere of an Earth-analog transiting an M-dwarf (magK =8.0) within 50 transits, and obtain better than an order-of-magnitude constraint on each of their abundances.
    [Show full text]
  • Polarimetric and Photometric Observations of Neas with the 1.6M Pirka Telescope
    PPS03-P17 Japan Geoscience Union Meeting 2018 Polarimetric and Photometric observations of NEAs with the 1.6m Pirka Telescope *Ryo Okazaki1, Tomohiko Sekiguchi1, Akari Kamada1, Masateru Ishiguro2, Hiroyuki Naito3, Masataka Imai4, Tatsuharu Ono4 1. Hokkaido University of Education, 2. Seoul National University, 3. Nayoro Observatory, 4. Hokkaido University Polarimetric observations of 3 near-Earth asteroids, 2000 PD3, 2012 TC4 and (3200) Phaethon, were carried out in 2017 using the 1.6m Pirka telescope at the Nayoro Observatory, Hokkaido, as well as BVRIphotometric color observations were conducted for 2000 PD3. Polarimetry is a useful method for investigating asteroids’ physical properties such as the albedo, regolith particle size and taxonomy of asteroids. In general, Pr (the linear polarization degree) exhibits a strong dependence on the phase angle (Sun-Target-Observer’s angle, α). 2000 PD3 In order to understand Pmax (maximum Polarization degree) , we attempted to obtain polarimetric data at different phase angles (α=22°-120°). A geometric albedo of pv=0.26±0.06% were derived from a limited αrange ( 25°-84°) which is in good agreement with that of S-type asteroids. BVRI photometric data (B-V=0.132±0.002mag,V-R=0.114±0.002mag,V-I=0.180±0.002mag) supports S-type classification. 2012 TC4 In October 2017, 2012 TC4 approached to the Earth at about 50,000 km of the closest distance. A fast rotation period about 0.2 hours (Ryan and Ryan, 2017) indicates a monolithic suraface layer which is not covered with a rubble pile. The liner polarization Pr=5.62±5.26% (α=34°) in the R-band is in close accord with that of C-type asteroids, although October run was performed under bad weather.
    [Show full text]
  • Astronomy News KW RASC FRIDAY JANUARY 8 2021
    Astronomy News KW RASC FRIDAY JANUARY 8 2021 JIM FAIRLES What to expect for spaceflight and astronomy in 2021 https://astronomy.com/news/2021/01/what-to-expect-for- spaceflight-and-astronomy-in-2021 By Corey S. Powell | Published: Monday, January 4, 2021 Whatever craziness may be happening on Earth, the coming year promises to be a spectacular one across the solar system. 2020 - It was the worst of times, it was the best of times. First landing on the lunar farside, two impressive successes in gathering samples from asteroids, the first new pieces of the Moon brought home in 44 years, close-up explorations of the Sun, and major advances in low-cost reusable rockets. First Visit to Jupiter's Trojan Asteroids First Visit to Jupiter's Trojan Asteroids In October, NASA is set to launch the Lucy spacecraft. Over its 12-year primary mission, Lucy will visit eight different asteroids. One target lies in the asteroid belt. The other seven are so-called Trojan asteroids that share an orbit with Jupiter, trapped in points of stability 60 degrees ahead of or behind the planet as it goes around the sun. These objects have been trapped in their locations for billions of years, probably since the time of the formation of the solar system. They contain preserved samples of water-rich and carbon-rich material in the outer solar system; some of that material formed Jupiter, while other bits moved inward to contribute to Earth's life-sustaining composition. As a whimsical aside: When meteorites strike carbon-rich asteroids, they create tiny carbon crystals.
    [Show full text]
  • Twenty Years of Toutatis
    EPSC Abstracts Vol. 6, EPSC-DPS2011-297, 2011 EPSC-DPS Joint Meeting 2011 c Author(s) 2011 Twenty Years of Toutatis M.W. Busch (1), L.A.M. Benner (2), D.J. Scheeres (3), J.-L. Margot (1), C. Magri (4), M.C. Nolan (5), and J.D. Giorgini (2) (1) Department of Earth and Space Sciences, UCLA, Los Angeles, California, USA (2) Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California, USA (3) Aerospace Engineering Sciences, University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado, USA (4) University of Maine at Farmington, Farmington, Maine, USA (5) Arecibo Observatory, Arecibo, Puerto Rico, USA Abstract Near-Earth asteroid 4179 Toutatis is near a particularly if the moments of inertia are 4:1 orbital resonance with the Earth. consistent with a uniform internal density. Following its discovery in 1989, Toutatis Toutatis’ last close-Earth-approach for was observed extensively with the Arecibo several decades will be in December 2012, and Goldstone radars during flybys in 1992, when it will be 0.046 AU away. We will 1996, 2000, 2004, and 2008. The 1992 and make predictions for what radar 1996 data show that Toutatis is a bifurcated observations at that time should see. object with overall dimensions of 4.6 x 2.3 x 1.9 km and a surface marked with prominent impact craters. Most significantly, Toutatis References is in a non-principal-axis tumbling rotation [1] Hudson, R.S. and Ostro, S.J.: Shape and non-principal state, spinning about its long axis with a axis spin state of asteroid 4179 Toutatis, Science 270 84-86, period of 5.41 days while that axis precesses 1995.
    [Show full text]