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The most abundant matrix minerals in chondritic meteorites, hydrated phyllosilicates and ferrous olivine crystals, formed predominantly in asteroids during fluid-assisted metamorphism. We infer that they formed from minerals present in…
Dust grains of crystalline silicate, which are rarely presented in interstellar space, were found in cometary nuclei. These crystalline silicates are thought to have formed by annealing of amorphous silicate grains or direct condensation of…
C-complex asteroids, rich in carbonaceous materials, are potential sources of Earth's volatile inventories. They are spectrally dark resembling primitive carbonaceous meteorites, and thus, C-complex asteroids are thought to be potential…
We have obtained Spitzer Space Telescope IRS 5.5 - 35 micron spectra of 59 main sequence stars that possess IRAS 60 micron excess. The spectra of five objects possess spectral features that are well-modeled using micron-sized grains and…
The origin of the similary-sized binary asteroid (90) Antiope remains an unsolved puzzle. To constrain the origin of this unique double system, we recorded individual spectra of the components using SPIFFI, a near-infrared integral field…
In this work, we investigate the size, thermal inertia, surface roughness and geometric albedo of 10 Vesta family asteroids by using the Advanced Thermophysical Model (ATPM), based on the thermal infrared data acquired by mainly NASA's…
Small planets on close-in orbits tend to exhibit envelope mass fractions of either effectively zero or up to a few percent depending on their size and orbital period. Models of thermally-driven atmospheric mass loss and of terrestrial…
Chondrules are the dominant bulk silicate constituent of chondritic meteorites and originate from highly energetic, local processes during the first million years after the birth of the Sun. So far, an astrophysically consistent chondrule…
As some of the most ancient materials in our Solar System, chondritic meteorites offer a valuable window into the early stages of planetary formation, particularly the accretion processes that built the most primitive asteroids. Until now,…
Asteroids near the Sun can attain equilibrium temperatures sufficient to induce surface modification from thermal fracture, desiccation and decomposition of hydrated silicates. We present optical observations of nine asteroids with…
Carbonaceous chondrite meteorites are known for having high water and organic material contents, including amino acids. Here we address the origin of amino acids in the warm interiors of their parent bodies (planetesimals) within a few…
We have developed a statistical framework that uses collisional evolution models, shock physics modeling and scaling laws to determine the range of plausible collisional histories for individual meteorite parent bodies. It is likely that…
The recent introduction of high resolution/large spectral range spectrographs provided the opportunity to investigate in detail the chemical composition of classical Cepheids. This paper is focussed on new abundance determinations for iron…
We present laboratory studies of the micro-structural evolution of an amorphous ferro-magnesian silicate, of olivine composition, following thermal annealing under vacuum. Annealing under vacuum was performed at temperatures ranging from…
During the formation of terrestrial planets, volatile loss may occur through nebular processing, planetesimal differentiation, and planetary accretion. We investigate iron meteorites as an archive of volatile loss during planetesimal…
Near-Earth asteroid (1862) Apollo has strong detections of both orbital semimajor axis drift and rotational acceleration. We produce a unified model that can accurately match both observed effects using a single set of thermophysical…
Olivine-dominated asteroids are a rare type of objects formed either in nebular processes or through magmatic differentiation. The analysis of meteorite samples suggest that at least 100 parent bodies in the main belt experienced partial or…
Radar and spacecraft observations show the permanently shadowed regions around Mercury's North Pole to contain water ice and complex organic material. One possible source of this material are impacts by interplanetary dust particles (IDPs),…
The narrow main rings of Uranus are composed of almost exclusively centimeter- to meter-sized particles, with a very small or nonexistent dust component; however, the filling factor, composition, thickness, mass, and detailed particle size…
Carbonaceous chondrites (CCs) are windows into the early Solar system and the histories of their parent bodies. Their infrared spectral signatures are powerful proxies for deciphering their composition and evolution history, but still…