Related papers: Did Saturn's rings form during the Late Heavy Bomb…
I report the results of a new set of calculations for the gravitational contraction of the proto-solar cloud to quantify the idea that Titan may be a captured moon of Saturn (Prentice 1981, 1984). It is proposed that Titan initially…
The discovery of hot Jupiters has challenged the classical planet formation theory. Although various formation mechanisms have been proposed, the dominant channel and relative contributions remain unclear. Furthermore, hot Jupiters offer a…
Voyager images and Cassini occultation data have previously shown that the behavior of the outer edge of Saturn's massive B ring is determined only in part by a static response to the 2:1 inner Lindblad resonance with Mimas. In Cassini…
Water vapour is delivered to Saturn's stratosphere by Enceladus' plumes and subsequent diffusion in the planet system. It is expected to condense into a haze in the middle stratosphere. The hot stratospheric vortex (the `beacon') that…
Recent studies have revealed that all large (over 1000 km in diameter) trans-Neptunian objects (TNOs) form satellite systems. Although the largest Plutonian satellite, Charon, is thought to be an intact fragment of an impactor directly…
More than two decades after the widespread detection of Jovian-class planets on short-period orbits around other stars, their dynamical origins remain imperfectly understood. In the traditional narrative, these highly irradiated giant…
We investigate the possible origins of real high-inclination Centaurs and trans-neptunian objects using a high-resolution statistical search for stable orbits that simulates their evolution back in time to the epoch when planet formation…
Many small moonlets, creating propeller structures, have been found in Saturn's rings by the Cassini spacecraft. We study the dynamical evolution of such 20-50m sized bodies which are embedded in Saturn's rings. We estimate the importance…
Recent observations suggest ongoing planet formation in the innermost parsec of the Galactic center (GC). The super-massive black hole (SMBH) might strip planets or planetary embryos from their parent star, bringing them close enough to be…
Layered semi-convection could operate in giant planets, potentially explaining the constraints on the heavy elements distribution in Jupiter deduced recently from Juno observations, and contributing to Saturn's luminosity excess or the…
While numerous planetary and asteroid satellites show evidence for non-trivial rotation states, none are as emblematic as Hyperion, which has long been held as the most striking example of chaotic spin-orbit evolution in the Solar System.…
We investigate the possibility that the Moon's formation impact was triggered by an early dynamical instability of the giant planets. We consider the well-studied "jumping Jupiter" hypothesis for the solar system's instability, where…
We conduct an in-depth analysis of statistical flow properties calculated from the reference high-resolution Saturn simulation obtained by global climate modelling in Part II. In the steady state of this reference simulation, strongly…
The surface of both Jupiter and Saturn has magnificent vortical storms which help shape the dynamic nature of their atmospheres. Land- and space-based observational campaigns over time have established several properties of these vortices,…
We explore whether hyperbolic diffusion may help explain sharp edges in the gaps in Saturn's rings. Sharp edges are conventionally understood to be due to angular momentum flux reversal at gap edges. We do not dispute this finding, but…
The asteroid belt is characterized by an extreme low total mass of material on dynamically excited orbits. The Nice Model explains many peculiar qualities of the solar system, including the belt's excited state, by invoking an orbital…
The recent derivation of a lower limit for the $^{14}$N/$^{15}$N ratio in Saturn's ammonia, which is found to be consistent with the Jovian value, prompted us to revise models of Saturn's formation using as constraints the supersolar…
The excitation of density and bending waves in Saturn's C ring by planetary oscillation modes presents a unique opportunity to learn about gas giant interiors and rotation. However, theoretical complications related to Saturn's rapid and…
The Late Heavy Bombardment (LHB) period is the narrow time interval between 3.8 and 3.9 Gyr ago, where the bulk of the craters we see on the Moon formed. Even more craters formed on the Earth. During a field expedition to the 3.8 Gyr old…
Context. Saturn has an excess of irregular moons. This is thought to be the result of past collisional events. Debris produced during such episodes in the neighborhood of a host planet can evolve into co-orbitals trapped in quasi-satellite…