Related papers: An analytical model of crater count equilibrium
Impact craters exist on solid surface planets, their satellites and many asteroids.The aim of this paper is to propose a theoretical expression for the product $\rho r^{3} v_{1}^{2}$,where the three symbols denote the mass density,radius…
In the companion paper ("Erosion rate of lunar soil under a landing rocket, part 1: identifying the rate-limiting physics", this issue) an equation was developed for the rate that lunar soil erodes under the exhaust of a landing rocket.…
This contribution is a first step aiming to address a general question: what can be concluded on impact craters which exist on various planetary system objects, by combining astronomical data and known theoretical results from solid state…
After the formation of the Moon the terrestrial planets were pummelled by impacts from planetesimals left over from terrestrial planet formation. This work attempts to reproduce the impact rates set by modern crater chronologies using…
Impact crater experiments in granular media traditionally involve loosely packed sand targets. However, this study investigates granular impact craters on both loosely and more tightly packed sand targets. We report granular vs. granular…
Impact craters exist on solid surface planets, their satellites and many asteroids.The aim of this paper is to propose a theoretical expression for the product $\rho r^{3} v_{1}^{2}$,where the three symbols denote the mass density,radius…
Impact craters are among the most prominent topographic features on planetary bodies. Crater scaling laws allow us to extract information about the impact histories on the host bodies. The pi-group scaling laws have been constructed based…
Numerous small bodies inevitably lead to cratering impacts on large planetary bodies during planet formation and evolution. As a consequence of these small impacts, a fraction of the target material escapes from the gravity of the large…
The small ($\le$ 135 km mean radius) saturnian satellites are closely related to the rings and together they constitute a complex dynamical system where formation and destruction mechanisms compete against each other. We model the cratering…
Impactors of different types and sizes can produce a final crater of the same diameter on a planet under certain conditions. We derive the condition for such "isocrater impacts" from scaling laws, as well as relations that describe how the…
We examine the mechanisms by which atmosphere can be eroded by giant impacts onto Earth-like planets with thin atmospheres, using 3D smoothed particle hydrodynamics simulations with sufficient resolution to directly model the fate of…
The circular restricted three body problem is investigated in the context of accretion and scattering processes. In our model a large number of identical non-interacting mass-less planetesimals are considered in planar case orbiting a…
It is known that most of the craters on the surface of the Moon were created by the collision of minor bodies of the Solar System. Main Belt Asteroids, which can approach the terrestrial planets as a consequence of different types of…
Giant impacts by comets and asteroids have probably had an important influence on terrestrial biological evolution. We know of around 180 high velocity impact craters on the Earth with ages up to 2400Myr and diameters up to 300km. Some…
Pluto and its satellites will be the most distant objects ever reconnoitered when NASA's New Horizons spacecraft conducts its intensive flyby of this system in 2015. The size-frequency distribution (SFD) of craters on the surfaces in the…
With NASA's planned return to the moon and possibly with lunar outposts being formed, repeated landings at the same site will be necessary. Understanding rocket plume interaction with lunar and Martian surfaces is of paramount importance in…
We have performed fully 3D simulations of the collapse of molecular cloud cores which obey the logatropic equation of state. By following the collapse of these cores from states of near hydrodynamic equilibrium, we are able to produce…
Almost all meteorite impacts occur at oblique incidence angles, but the effect of impact angle on crater size is not well understood, especially for large craters. To improve oblique impact crater scaling, we present a suite of simulations…
The erosion of lunar soil by rocket exhaust plumes is investigated experimentally. This has identified the diffusion-driven flow in the bulk of the sand as an important but previously unrecognized mechanism for erosion dynamics. It has also…
The collapse of an inclined cohesive granular layer triggered by a certain perturbation can be a model for not only landslides on Earth but also relaxations of asteroidal surface terrains. To understand such terrain dynamics, we conduct a…