Search Publications
First Detection of CO2 Emission in a Centaur: JWST NIRSpec Observations of 39P/Oterma
Villanueva, G. L.; Faggi, S.; DiSanti, M. A. +9 more
Centaurs are minor solar system bodies with orbits transitioning between those of trans-Neptunian scattered disk objects and Jupiter-family comets (JFCs). 39P/Oterma (39P) is a frequently active centaur that has recently held both centaur and JFC classifications and was observed with the JWST NIRSpec instrument on 2022 July 27 UTC while it was 5.8…
Col-OSSOS: Evidence for a Compositional Gradient Inherited from the Protoplanetary Disk?
Marsset, Michaël; Fraser, Wesley C.; Pike, Rosemary E. +8 more
In the present-day Kuiper Belt, the number of compositional classes and the orbital distributions of these classes hold important cosmogonic implications for the solar system. The Colours of the Outer Solar System Origins Survey (Col-OSSOS) recently showed that the observed color distribution of small (H ⪆ 6) trans-Neptunian objects (TNOs) can be …
Depletion of 13C in CO in the Atmosphere of Mars Suggested by ExoMars-TGO/NOMAD Observations
Aoki, S.; Vandaele, A. C.; Daerden, F. +19 more
The atmosphere of Mars is mainly composed by carbon dioxide (CO2). It has been predicted that photodissociation of CO2 depletes 13C in carbon monoxide (CO). We present the carbon 13C/12C isotopic ratio in CO at 30-50 km altitude from the analysis of the solar occultation measurements taken by …
Orbits and Masses of the Small Satellites of Pluto
Porter, Simon B.; Canup, Robin M.
We present a new orbit and mass solution for the four small satellites of Pluto: Styx, Nix, Kerberos, and Hydra. We have reanalyzed all available observations of the Pluto system obtained by the Hubble Space Telescope from 2005 to 2019 with the ACS, WFPC2, and WFC3 instruments, as well as the New Horizons LORRI images taken on approach to Pluto in…
Material around the Centaur (2060) Chiron from the 2018 November 28 UT Stellar Occultation
Bosh, Amanda S.; Person, Michael J.; Levine, Stephen E. +5 more
A stellar occultation of Gaia DR3 2646598228351156352 by the Centaur (2060) Chiron was observed from the South African Astronomical Observatory on 2018 November 28 UT. Here we present a positive detection of material surrounding Chiron from the 74-inch telescope for this event. Additionally, a global atmosphere is ruled out at the tens of microbar…
Effects of Airless Bodies' Regolith Structures and of the Solar Wind's Properties on the Backscattered Energetic Neutral Atoms Flux
Verkercke, S.; Chaufray, J. -Y.; Leblanc, F. +4 more
The surfaces of airless planetary bodies, such as the Moon or Mercury, are covered with regoliths, which interact with the solar wind. The solar protons can either be absorbed by the surface or neutralized and reflected as hydrogen energetic neutral atoms (ENAs). The ENA flux is thought to depend mostly on the structure of the upper regolith layer…
Detectability of the Yarkovsky Effect in the Main Belt
Tholen, David J.; Farnocchia, Davide; Hung, Denise +1 more
We attempt to detect a signal of Yarkovsky-related acceleration in the orbits of 134 main belt asteroids (MBAs) we observed with the University of Hawai'i 88 inch telescope, supplemented with observations publicly available from the Minor Planet Center and Gaia Data Release 3. We estimated the expected Yarkovsky acceleration values based on parame…
Implications for the Formation of (155140) 2005 UD from a New Convex Shape Model
Fedorets, Grigori; Granvik, Mikael; Kareta, Theodore +15 more
(155140) 2005 UD has a similar orbit to (3200) Phaethon, an active asteroid in a highly eccentric orbit thought to be the source of the Geminid meteor shower. Evidence points to a genetic relationship between these two objects, but we have yet to fully understand how 2005 UD and Phaethon could have separated into this associated pair. Presented he…
Maps of Solar Wind Plasma Precipitation onto Mercury's Surface: A Geographical Perspective
Henri, Pierre; Aizawa, Sae; Raines, Jim M. +7 more
Mercury is the closest planet to the Sun, possesses a weak intrinsic magnetic field, and has only a very tenuous atmosphere (exosphere). These three conditions result in a direct coupling between the plasma emitted from the Sun (namely, the solar wind) and Mercury's surface. The planet's magnetic field leads to a nontrivial pattern of plasma preci…
The Second International Asteroid Warning Network Timing Campaign: 2005 LW3
Licandro, Javier; Granvik, Mikael; Thuillot, William +90 more
The Earth close approach of near-Earth asteroid 2005 LW3 on 2022 November 23 represented a good opportunity for a second observing campaign to test the timing accuracy of astrometric observation. With 82 participating stations, the International Asteroid Warning Network collected 1046 observations of 2005 LW3 around the time of the close approach.…