Related papers: Space Weathering on Near-Earth Objects investigate…
In this paper, we look at space weathering processes on the icy surface of Jupiter's moon Europa. The heavy energetic ions of the Jovian plasma (H+, O+, S+, C+) can erode the surface of Europa via ion sputtering (IS), ejecting up to 1000…
Near Earth Objects (NEOs) are small Solar System bodies whose orbits bring them close to the Earth's orbit. We are carrying out a Warm Spitzer Cycle 11 Exploration Science program entitled NEOSurvey --- a fast and efficient flux-limited…
Airless planetary bodies are directly exposed to space weathering. The main spectral effects of space weathering are darkening, reduction in intensity of silicate mineral absorption bands, and an increase in the spectral slope towards…
Interstellar neutral (ISN) hydrogen is the most abundant species in the outer heliosheath and the very local interstellar medium (VLISM). Charge exchange collisions in the outer heliosheath result in filtration, reducing the ISN hydrogen…
Direct and statistical observational evidences suggest that photoevaporation is important in eroding the atmosphere of sub-Neptune planets. We construct full hydrodynamic simulations, coupled with consistent thermochemistry and ray-tracing…
Cosmic rays interacting in the solar atmosphere produce showers that result in a flux of high-energy neutrinos from the Sun. These form an irreducible background to indirect solar WIMP co-annihilation searches, which look for heavy dark…
Near-Earth objects (NEOs) are excellent laboratories for testing processes that affect airless bodies, as well as informing us about Solar System history. Though most NEOs are nominally anhydrous because they formed inside the Solar System…
It is known that near-Earth objects (NEOs) during their orbital evolution may often undergo close approaches to the Sun. Indeed it is estimated that up to ~70% of them end their orbital evolution colliding with the Sun. Starting from the…
Water ice covers the surface of various objects in the outer Solar system. Within the heliopause, surface ice is constantly bombarded and sputtered by energetic particles from the solar wind and magnetospheres. We report a laboratory…
Space weathering is a process that changes the surface of airless planetary bodies. Prime space weathering agents are solar wind irradiation and micrometeoroid bombardment. These processes alter planetary reflectance spectra and often…
Recently, Near Earth Objects (NEOs) have been attracting great attention, and thousands of NEOs have been found to date. This paper examines the NEOs' orbital dynamics using the framework of an accurate solar system model and a…
The Near-Earth Object (NEO) Surveyor mission is a NASA observatory designed to discover and characterize near-Earth asteroids and comets. The mission's primary objective is to find the majority of objects large enough to cause severe…
Context. Airless planetary bodies are directly exposed to solar wind ions, which can scatter or become implanted upon impact with the regolith-covered surface, while also sputtering surface atoms. Aims. We construct a semi-analytical model…
Low energy ion scattering is a technique to detect the energy of ions which are scattered from a surface. For noble gas ions, it is predominantly sensitive to the topmost surface layer due to strong neutralisation processes. Depending on…
Sputtering by solar wind ions is a key process driving the ejection of high-energy particles into the exospheres of airless bodies like asteroids, Mercury and the Moon. In view of upcoming missions which will deliver new in-situ data on…
Interstellar neutral (ISN) atoms enable studies of the physical conditions in the local interstellar medium surrounding the heliosphere. ISN helium, which is the most abundant species at 1 au, is directly observed by space missions, such as…
Planetary habitability is in part determined by the atmospheric evolution of a planet; one key component of such evolution is escape of heavy ions to space. Ion loss processes are sensitive to the plasma environment of the planet, dictated…
Space weathering is an important surface process occurring on the Moon and other airless bodies, especially those that have no magnetic field. The optical effects of the Moon's space weathering have been largely investigated in the…
We construct atmosphere models for strongly magnetized neutron stars with surface fields $B\sim 10^{12}-10^{15}$ G and effective temperatures $T_{\rm eff}\sim 10^6-10^7$ K. The atmospheres directly determine the characteristics of thermal…
Near Earth Objects (NEOs) are a transient population of small bodies with orbits near or in the terrestrial planet region. They represent a mid-stage in the dynamical cycle of asteroids and comets, which starts with their removal from the…