Related papers: VIPER - Student research on extraterrestrial ice p…
We develop a long-term 1-D evolution model for icy satellites that couples multiple processes: water migration and differentiation, geochemical reactions and silicate phase transitions, compaction by self-gravity, and ablation. The model…
We performed numerical simulations of impact crater formation on Europa to infer the thickness and structure of its ice shell. The simulations were performed using iSALE to test both the conductive ice shell over ocean and the conductive…
Observational data suggest that the ice shell on Enceladus is thicker at the equator than at the pole, indicating an equator-to-pole ice flow. If the ice shell is in an equilibrium state, the mass transport of the ice flow must be balanced…
We investigate the possibility to find evidence for planets in circumstellar disks by infrared and submillimeter interferometry. We present simulations of a circumstellar disk around a solar-type star with an embedded planet of 1 Jupiter…
Ab initio free energy calculations are employed to derive the entropy of liquid and superionic water over a wide range of conditions in the interiors of Uranus and Neptune. The resulting adiabats are much shallower in pressure-temperature…
We report observations of stripe-like features in Enceladus' plumes captured simultaneously by Cassini's VIMS-IR and ISS NAC instruments during flyby E17, with similar patterns seen in VIMS-IR data from flyby E13 and E19. These parallel…
Five Venus missions are under development to study the planet in the next decade, with both NASA's VERITAS and ESA's EnVision featuring a geophysical investigation among their objectives. Their radar and gravity experiments will determine…
Despite being one of the weakest dimers in nature, low-spectral-resolution Voyager/IRIS observations revealed the presence of (H$_2$)$_2$ dimers on Jupiter and Saturn in the 1980s. However, the collision-induced H$_2$-H$_2$ opacity…
Precession of planets or moons affects internal liquid layers by driving flows, instabilities and possibly dynamos.The energy dissipated by these phenomena can influence orbital parameters such as the planet's spin rate.However, there is no…
Atmospheric escape driven by extreme ultraviolet (EUV) radiation is a critical process shaping the evolution of close-in exoplanets. Recent observations have detected helium triplet absorption in numerous (>20) close-in exoplanets,…
Seismology was developed on Earth and shaped our model of the Earth's interior over the 20th century. With the exception of the Philae lander, all in situ extraterrestrial seismological effort to date was limited to other terrestrial…
(Abridged) Inspired by the Kepler planet discoveries, we consider the thermal contraction of planets close to their parent star, under the influence of evaporation. The mass-loss rates are based on hydrodynamic models of evaporation that…
A planet's magnetosheath extends from downstream of its bow shock up to the magnetopause where the solar wind flow is deflected around the magnetosphere and the solar wind embedded magnetic field lines are draped. This makes the region an…
Tidal interactions between Saturn and its satellites play a crucial role in both the orbital migration of the satellites and the heating of their interiors. Therefore constraining the tidal dissipation of Saturn (here the ratio k2/Q) opens…
One of the frontier research fields of exoplanetary science is the study of the composition and variability of exoplanetary atmospheres. This field is now moving from the gas giant planets towards the smaller and colder telluric planets,…
There are some traces of the existence of internal ocean in some icy moons, such as the vapor plumes of Europa and Enceladus. This implies a region of liquid water beneath the surface ice shell. Since liquid water would be essential for the…
Thanks to the advances in modern instrumentation we have learned about many exoplanets that span a wide range of masses and composition. Studying their atmospheres provides insight into planetary origin, evolution, dynamics, and…
We present 'empirical' models (pressure vs. density) of Saturn's interior constrained by the gravitational coefficients J_2, J_4, and J_6 for different assumed rotation rates of the planet. The empirical pressure-density profile is…
Ice-rich planets are formed exterior to the water ice-line and thus are expected to contain a substantial amount of ices. The high ice content leads to unique conditions in the interior, under which the structure of a planet is affected by…
Saturns F-ring is a unique, narrow ring that lies (radially) close to the tidally disruptive Roche limit of water ice for Saturn. Significant work has been done that shows it to be one of the most dynamic places in the Solar System.…