Search Publications
The Discovery and Evolution of a Possible New Epoch of Cometary Activity by the Centaur (2060) Chiron
Fedorets, Grigori; Siverd, Robert J.; Schwamb, Megan E. +24 more
Centaurs are small solar system objects on chaotic orbits in the giant planet region, forming an evolutionary continuum with the Kuiper Belt objects and Jupiter-family comets. Some Centaurs are known to exhibit cometary activity, though unlike comets, this activity tends not to correlate with heliocentric distance, and the mechanism behind it is c…
Cassini UVIS Observations of the Enceladus Auroral Footprint on Saturn in 2017
Pryor, Wayne R.; Magalhães, Fabiola P.; Lamy, Laurent +5 more
Ultraviolet Imaging Spectrograph (UVIS) observations show the Enceladus auroral footprint on Saturn on 2017 September 14, near the end of the Cassini mission. A series of Saturn north polar auroral images were obtained by slowly slewing the Cassini spacecraft at right angles to the UVIS long slit. The images were limb-fit to improve the spacecraft…
Pre-impact Albedo Map and Photometric Properties of the (65803) Didymos Asteroid Binary System from DART and Ground-based Data
Buratti, B. J.; Sunshine, J. M.; Rivkin, A. S. +11 more
This study provides a pre-impact map of the albedo of the Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) target Dimorphos corrected for all the effects of viewing geometry, as well as an estimate of photometric roughness for the hemisphere imaged by DART. Other photometric properties are derived for the (65803) Didymos binary system based on DART and gro…
Detection of Close Kuiper Belt Binaries with HST WFC3
Porter, Simon B.; Verbiscer, Anne J.; Noll, Keith S. +3 more
Binaries in the Kuiper Belt are common. Here we present our analysis of the Solar System Origins Legacy Survey (SSOLS) to show that using a point-spread function (PSF)-fitting method can roughly double the number of binaries identified in that data set. Out of 198 Kuiper Belt objects (KBOs) observed by SSOLS, we find 23 to be visually separated bi…
Observations of Titan's Stratosphere during Northern Summer: Temperatures, CH3CN and CH3D Abundances
Butler, Bryan; Vinatier, Sandrine; Lellouch, Emmanuel +11 more
Titan's atmospheric composition and dynamical state have previously been studied over numerous epochs by both ground- and space-based facilities. However, stratospheric measurements remain sparse during Titan's northern summer and fall. The lack of seasonal symmetry in observations of Titan's temperature field and chemical abundances raises questi…
Hunting for Hydrated Minerals on Trans-Neptunian Objects
Fraser, Wesley C.; Puzia, Thomas H.; Seccull, Tom +1 more
We present new optical reflectance spectra of three potentially silicate-rich trans-Neptunian objects (TNOs). These spectra were obtained with the aim of confirming past hints and detections of λ ∼ 0.7 µm absorption features associated with the presence of iron-bearing phyllosilicates. Our new spectrum of 120216 (2004 EW95) presen…
JWST Spectrophotometry of the Small Satellites of Uranus and Neptune
Brown, Michael E.; Belyakov, Matthew; Wong, Ian +2 more
We use 1.4–4.6 µm multiband photometry of the small inner Uranian and Neptunian satellites obtained with the James Webb Space Telescope's near-infrared imager NIRCam to characterize their surface compositions. We find that the satellites of the ice giants have, to first order, similar compositions to one another, with a 3.0 µm absorpti…
Rotational Study of 5:3 and 7:4 Resonant Objects within the Main Classical Trans-Neptunian Belt
Thirouin, Audrey; Sheppard, Scott S.
The 5:3 and 7:4 mean motion resonances of Neptune are at 42.3 and 43.7 au, respectively, and overlap with objects in the classical trans-Neptunian belt (Kuiper Belt). We report the complete/partial lightcurves of 13 and 14 trans-Neptunian objects (TNOs) in the 5:3 and 7:4 resonances, respectively. We report a most likely contact binary in the 7:4 …
Mapping "Brain Terrain" Regions on Mars Using Deep Learning
Zhao, Daniel; Noe, Eldar; Morgan, Alexander M. +2 more
One of the main objectives of the Mars Exploration Program is to search for evidence of past or current life on the planet. To achieve this, Mars exploration has been focusing on regions that may have liquid or frozen water. A set of critical areas may have seen cycles of ice thawing in the relatively recent past in response to periodic changes in…
Zonal and Regional Jupiter Brightness Trends from the Hubble Outer Planet Atmospheres Legacy Program
Wong, Michael H.; Simon, Amy A.
The Hubble Outer Planet Atmospheres Legacy program began in 2014 and has observed Jupiter yearly from 2015 to 2024. Using high spatial resolution imaging from the Hubble Wide Field Camera 3, brightness trends were investigated focusing on the unique UV capability and absolute calibration consistency of the Hubble Space Telescope. From these data, …