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There is a degeneracy in the interior structure between a planet that has no atmosphere and a small Fe content, and a planet that has a thin atmosphere and a higher core mass fraction. We present a self-consistent interior-atmosphere model…
The composition of the surface of the Galilean icy moons has been debated since the Galileo mission. Several chemistries have been proposed to explain the composition of the non-icy component of the moon's surfaces, notably, sulphuric acid…
White dwarfs that have accreted planetary materials provide a powerful tool to probe the interiors and formation of exoplanets. In particular, the high Fe/Si ratio of some white dwarf pollutants suggests that they are fragments of bodies…
Saturn's largest satellite, Titan, has a thick atmosphere dominated by nitrogen and methane. The dense orange-brown smog hiding the satellite's surface is produced by photochemical reactions of methane, nitrogen and their dissociation…
Interior models of gas giants in the Solar System traditionally assume a fully convective molecular hydrogen envelope. However, recent observations from the Juno mission suggest a possible depletion of alkali metals in Jupiter's molecular…
Many protostellar disks show central cavities, rings, or spiral arms likely caused by low-mass stellar or planetary companions, yet few such features are conclusively tied to bodies embedded in the disks. We note that even small features on…
We present three near-infrared spectra of Pluto taken with the IRTF and SpeX, an optical spectrum of Triton taken with the MMT and the Red Channel Spectrograph, and previously published spectra of Pluto, Triton, and Eris. We combine these…
Solid state CO$_2$ has been detected throughout the outer solar system, even at temperatures where crystalline CO$_2$ is unstable, requiring that the CO$_2$ be trapped in a separate host material. The Saturnian satellites provide an ideal…
Variations and spatial distributions of bright and dark material on dwarf planet Ceres play a key role in understanding the processes that have led to its present surface composition. We define limits for bright and dark material in order…
The last several years have brought about a dynamic shift in the view of exoplanetary systems in the post-main sequence, perhaps epitomized by the evidence for surviving rocky planetary bodies at white dwarfs. Coinciding with the launch of…
The visible reflectance spectrum of many solar system bodies changes with changing viewing geometry for reasons not fully understood. It is often observed to redden (increasing spectral slope) with increasing solar phase angle, an effect…
Volatiles, notably water, are key to the habitability of rocky planets. The presence of water in planetary material can be inferred from the atmospheric oxygen abundances of polluted white dwarfs, but this interpretation is often complex.…
Ensembles of in-plane and inclined orbits in the vicinity of the Lagrange points of the terrestrial planets are integrated for up to 100 million years. The integrations incorporate the gravitational effects of Sun and the eight planets…
The origin and evolution of Saturn's rings is critical to understanding the Saturnian system as a whole. Here, we discuss the physical and chemical composition of the rings, as a foundation for evolutionary models described in subsequent…
We obtained spectra of six of the largest asteroids (2201, 4183, 4486, 5143, 6063, and 269690) associated with Taurid complex. The observations were made with the IRTF telescope equipped with the spectro-imager SpeX. Their taxonomic…
In this paper we intend to provide an indirect method to detect Jovian planets by studying near infrared emission spectra originating in the protoplanetary disks around T Tauri stars. Our idea is to investigate whether a massive planet…
Saturn's diffuse E ring consists of many tiny (micron and sub-micron) grains of water ice distributed between the orbits of Mimas and Titan. Various gravitational and non-gravitational forces perturb these particles' orbits, causing the…
Boulders, rocks and regolith on fast rotating asteroids (<2.5 hours) are modeled to slide towards the equator due to a strong centrifugal force and a low cohesion force. As a result, regions of fresh subsurface material can be exposed.…
Most of the exoplanets with known masses at Earth-like distances to Sun-like stars are heavier than Jupiter, which raises the question of whether such planets are accompanied by detectable, possibly habitable moons. Here we simulate the…
Ammonia, if present in the ice shells of icy satellites, could lower the temperature for the onset of melting to 176 K and create a large temperature range where partial melt is thermally stable. The evolution of regions of ammonia-rich…