Related papers: Early Dynamics of the Lunar Core
In order to examine the ``giant impact hypothesis'' for the Moon formation, we run the first grid-based, high-resolution hydrodynamic simulations for an impact between proto-Earth and a proto-planet. The spatial resolution for the…
Lunar rocks are severely depleted in moderately volatile elements such as Rb, K, and Zn relative to Earth. Identifying the cause of this depletion is important for understanding how the Earth-Moon system evolved in the aftermath of the…
A classical model of lunar recession is reviewed and updated, where input parameters are taken or inferred from earlier astronomical computation of insolation quantities on Earth back to 0.25 Gyr. Free parameters are (i) the transition age,…
Time-limited space missions may miss rare occurrences of very dense clouds of lunar dust. At the same time, the information provided by the Earth-based monitoring of the Moon during at least the last three centuries still remains unused. In…
We utilize the more than 100 gravitationally-bound dense cores formed in our three-dimensional, turbulent MHD simulations reported in Chen & Ostriker (2015) to analyze structural, kinematic, and magnetic properties of prestellar cores. Our…
For the past few centuries, the temporal variation in the Earth's magnetic field in the Pacific region has been anomalously low. The reason for this is tied to large scale flows in the liquid outer core near the core-mantle boundary, which…
The inner solar system's modern orbital architecture provides inferences into the epoch of terrestrial planet formation; a ~100 Myr time period of planet growth via collisions with planetesimals and other proto-planets. While classic…
The formation and orbital evolution of Saturn's inner mid-sized moons are still debated. The most puzzling aspects are 1) how the Tethys-Dione pair and the Mimas-Enceladus pair passed through their strong 3:2 mean-motion resonances during…
Mercury has an unusually large metal core comprising ~70% of its mass comparing to all other terrestrial planets in the solar system. Giant impacts can remove a significant fraction of the silicate mantle of a chondritic proto-Mercury and…
The magnetotail current sheet's spatial configuration and stability control the onset of magnetic reconnection - the driving process for magnetospheric substorms. The near-Earth current sheet has been thoroughly investigated by numerous…
Convection-driven flows in planetary interiors exhibit rich dynamics owing to multiple spatio-temporally varying forcing conditions and physical constraints. In particular, the churning of liquid metals in the Earth's outer core,…
We extend the MOND analysis to a sample of 17 high surface brightness, early-type disc galaxies with rotation curves derived from a combination of 21cm HI line observations and optical spectroscopic data. A number of these galaxies have…
Many dynamical aspects of the solar system can be explained by the outer planets experiencing a period of orbital instability sometimes called the Nice Model. Though often correlated with a perceived delayed spike in the lunar cratering…
Differential rotation is thought to be responsible for the dynamo process in stars like our Sun, driving magnetic activity and star spots. We report that star spot measurements in the Praesepe open cluster are strongly enhanced only for…
The onset of convection in a rapidly rotating layer in which a thermal wind is present is studied. Diffusive effects are included. The main motivation is from convection in planetary interiors, where thermal winds are expected due to…
Convective flow in Earth's iron-rich liquid core drives self-sustained dynamo action, generating Earth's magnetic field, which is strongest among all terrestrial planets of the solar system. Rock records show that this magnetic field has…
For centuries some scientists have argued that there is activity on the Moon (or water, as recounted in Parts I & II), while others have thought the Moon is simply a dead, inactive world. The question comes in several forms: is there a…
Almost all the planets of our solar system have moons. Each planetary system has however unique characteristics. The Martian system has not one single big moon like the Earth, not tens of moons of various sizes like for the giant planets,…
Solid embryos of the Earth and the Moon, as well as trans-Neptunian binaries, could form as a result of contraction of the rarefied condensation which was parental for a binary. The angular momentum of the condensation needed for formation…
The hypothesis of a recent origin of Saturn's rings and its mid-sized moons is actively debated. It was suggested that a proto-Rhea and a proto-Dione might have collided recently, giving birth to the modern system of mid-sized moons. It is…