Related papers: New Horizons Upper Limits on O$_2$ in Pluto's Pres…
The puzzling complexity of terrestrial biomolecules is driving the search for complex organic molecules in the Interstellar Medium (ISM) and serves as a motivation for many in situ studies of reservoirs of extraterrestrial organics from…
Abundance ratios of the nuclear-spin isomers of H$_2$O and NH$_3$ have been measured in about two dozen comets, with a mean value corresponding to a nuclear-spin temperature of $\sim$ 30 K. The real meaning of these unequilibrated…
We report observations of molecular oxygen (O$_2$) rotational transitions at 487 GHz, 774 GHz, and 1121 GHz toward Orion Peak A. The O2 lines at 487 GHz and 774 GHz are detected at velocities of 10-12 km/s with line widths 3 km/s; however,…
Pluto's landscape is shaped by the cycles of the volatile ices covering its surface. In particular, the Sputnik Planitia (SP) ice sheet displays a large diversity of terrains, with bright and dark plains, pits, topographic depressions and…
We present 2-5 $\mu$m spectroscopic observations of the dust coma of 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko obtained with the VIRTIS-H instrument onboard Rosetta during two outbursts that occurred on 2015, 13 September 13.6 h UT and 14 September 18.8 h…
This paper assesses the implications of a recent discovery (Jenkins 2009) that atomic oxygen is being depleted from diffuse interstellar gas at a rate that cannot be accounted for by its presence in silicate and metallic oxide particles. To…
HD 209458b is the prototypical hot Jupiter and one of the best targets available for precise atmosphere characterisation. Now that spectra from both Hubble Space Telescope (HST) and James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) are available, we can…
The nature of sub-Neptunes is one of the hottest topics in exoplanetary science. Temperate sub-Neptunes are of special interest because some could be habitable. Here, we consider whether these planets might instead be rocky worlds with…
We estimate the loss of nitrogen from Pluto over its lifetime, including the giant planet instability period, which we term the "Wild Years." We analyze the orbital migration of 53 simulated Plutinos, which are Kuiper Belt Objects (KBOs)…
For solar-system objects, ultraviolet spectroscopy has been critical in identifying sources for stratospheric heating and measuring the abundances of a variety of hydrocarbon and sulfur-bearing species, produced via photochemical…
A stellar occultation by Pluto on 5 September 2019 yielded positive detections at two separate stations. Using an approach consistent with comparable studies, we derived a surface pressure of $11.478 \pm 0.55~\mathrm{\mu bar}$ for Pluto's…
We present atmospheric retrievals from Keck/KPIC phase II observations of the ultra-hot Jupiter KELT-20/MASCARA-2~b. Previous free retrievals of molecular abundances for ultra-hot Jupiters have been impacted by significant model biases due…
Models of pure gas-phase chemistry in well-shielded regions of molecular clouds predict relatively high levels of molecular oxygen, O2, and water, H2O. Contrary to expectation, the space missions SWAS and Odin found only very small amounts…
The atmospheric composition of exoplanets with masses between 2 and 10 M$_\oplus$ is poorly understood. In that regard, the sub-Neptune K2-18b, which is subject to Earth-like stellar irradiation, offers a valuable opportunity for the…
The detection of sulphur species in the Martian atmosphere would be a strong indicator of volcanic outgassing from the surface of Mars. We wish to establish the presence of SO2, H2S, or OCS in the Martian atmosphere or determine upper…
Despite the low solar irradiation it receives, Neptune shows a very active atmosphere with some of the most intense dynamics observed in Solar System atmospheres. Characterizing the atmospheric temperature profiles of the planet is a key to…
Measuring the abundances of carbon- and oxygen-bearing molecules has been a primary focus in studying the atmospheres of hot Jupiters, as doing so can help constrain the carbon-to-oxygen (C/O) ratio. The C/O ratio can help reveal the…
The vast, deep, volatile-ice-filled basin informally named Sputnik Planum is central to Pluto's geological activity[1,2]. Composed of molecular nitrogen, methane, and carbon monoxide ices[3], but dominated by N2-ice, this ice layer is…
The New Horizons spacecraft has found evidence for geologic activity on the surface of Pluto, including extensional tectonic deformation of its water ice bedrock (see Moore et al., 2016). One mechanism that could drive extensional tectonic…
Molecular oxygen has been confirmed as the fourth most abundant molecule in cometary material O$_2$/H$_2$O $\sim 4$ %) and is thought to have a primordial nature, i.e., coming from the interstellar cloud from which our solar system was…