Related papers: Constraining Ceres' interior from its Rotational M…
Surface shedding of an asteroid is a failure mode where surface materials fly off due to strong centrifugal forces beyond the critical spin period, while the internal structure does not deform significantly. This paper proposes a possible…
This paper discusses the location of a sample of planetary nebulae on the HR diagram. We determine the internal velocity fields of 14 planetary nebulae from high-resolution echelle spectroscopy, with the help of photoionization models. The…
The internal rotation of post-main sequence stars is investigated, in response to the convective pumping of angular momentum toward the stellar core, combined with a tight magnetic coupling between core and envelope. The spin evolution is…
The under-abundance of asteroids on orbits with small perihelion distances suggests that thermally-driven disruption may be an important process in the removal of rocky bodies in the Solar System. Here we report our study of how the debris…
Knowledge of Saturn's axial moment of inertia can provide valuable information on its internal structure. We suggest that Saturn's angular momentum may be determined by the Solstice Mission (Cassini XXM) by measuring Saturn's pole…
Despite the large amount of high quality data generated in recent space encounters with asteroids, the majority of our knowledge about these objects comes from ground based observations. Asteroids travelling in orbits that are potentially…
The rotational states of the members in the dwarf planet - satellite systems in the transneptunian region are determined by the formation conditions and the tidal interaction between the components, and these rotational characteristics are…
We investigate the outcome of collisions of Ceres-sized planetesimals composed of a rocky core and a shell of water ice. These collisions are not only relevant for explaining the formation of planetary embryos in early planetary systems,…
To date, no accretion model has succeeded in reproducing all observed constraints in the inner Solar System. These constraints include 1) the orbits, in particular the small eccentricities, and 2) the masses of the terrestrial planets --…
Ground-based and spacecraft telescopic observations, combined with an intensive modeling effort, have greatly enhanced our understanding of hot giant planets and brown dwarfs over the past ten years. Although these objects are all fluid,…
Given the spin state by Magnusson (1990), the shape model by Ostro et al. (2000), and the mass by Descamps et al. (2011), this paper evaluates a dynamically and structurally stable size of Asteroid (216) Kleopatra. In particular, we…
Centaurs are inward-scattered Kuiper belt objects, with some exhibiting comet-like activity. The physical mechanisms powering this activity remain poorly understood, with carbon monoxide (CO) sublimation or the crystallization of amorphous…
Asteroids are leftover pieces from the era of planet formation that help us understand conditions in the early Solar System. Unlike larger planetary bodies that were subject to global thermal modification during and subsequent to their…
Aims. We developed a six-part collisional evolution model of the main asteroid belt (MB) and used it to study the contribution of the different regions of the MB to the near-earth asteroids (NEAs). Methods. We built a statistical code…
Accurately understanding the interior structure of extra-solar planets is critical for inferring their formation and evolution. The internal density distribution of a planet has a direct effect on the star-planet orbit through the…
So far, more than 130 extrasolar planets have been found in multiple stellar systems. Dynamical simulations show that the outcome of the planetary formation process can lead to different planetary architectures (i.e. location, size, mass,…
Radar observations show that (16) Psyche is one of the largest and most massive asteroids of the M-class located in the main belt, with a diameter of approximately 230 km. This fact makes Psyche a unique object since observations indicated…
We propose to use a modest fraction of the re-purposed Kepler mission time and apertures to greatly increase the quantity and quality of our knowledge of near-Earth asteroids (NEAs) rotation and shape. NEAs are important for understanding…
The angular momentum (AM) evolution of stellar interiors, along with the resulting rotation rates of stellar remnants, remains poorly understood. Asteroseismic measurements of red giant stars reveal that their cores rotate much faster than…
Both Uranus and Neptune are thought to have strong zonal winds with velocities of several hundred meters per second. These wind velocities, however, assume solid-body rotation periods based on Voyager 2 measurements of periodic variations…