Related papers: Tether Capture of spacecraft at Neptune
The study of planetary atmospheres is critical to our understanding of the origin and evolution of the Solar System. The combined effect of various physical and chemical processes over billions of years have resulted in a variety of…
Observations of Neptune, made in 2018 using the new Narrow Field Adaptive Optics mode of the Multi Unit Spectroscopic Explorer (MUSE) instrument at the Very Large Telescope (VLT) from 0.48 - 0.93 micron, are analysed here to determine the…
Orbit insertion at Saturn requires a large impulsive manoeuver due to the velocity difference between the spacecraft and the planet. This paper presents a strategy to reduce dramatically the hyperbolic excess speed at Saturn by means of…
Space-based transit surveys such as K2 and TESS allow the detection of small transiting planets with orbital periods beyond 10 days. Few of these warm Neptunes are currently known around stars bright enough to allow for detailed follow-up…
Tetrahedral configurations of spacecraft on unperturbed heliocentric orbits allow for highly precise observations of small spatial changes in the gravitational field, especially those affecting the gravity gradient tensor (GGT). The…
Warm Neptune GJ3470b has been recently observed in 23S-23P transition of metastable helium, yielding absorption of about 1% in Doppler velocity range of [-40; 10] km/s. Along with previous detection of absorption in Ly{\alpha} with depth of…
It is shown, within classical mechanics, that the field of an electromagnetic vortex is capable of capturing and guiding neutral molecules endowed with a permanent electric dipole moment (PEDM). Similarly as in the case of the magnetic…
The Solar system beyond Neptune is believed to house a population of small primordial bodies left over from the planet formation process. The region up to heliocentric distance $\sim 50 AU$ (a.k.a. the Kuiper Belt) may be the source of the…
Challenging space missions include those at very low altitudes, where the atmosphere is source of aerodynamic drag on the spacecraft. To extend the lifetime of such missions, an efficient propulsion system is required. One solution is…
Stellar metallicity -- as a probe of the metallicity of proto-planetary disks -- is an important ingredient for giant planet formation, likely through its effect on the timescales in which rocky/icy planet cores can form. Giant planets have…
The most productive tracer of exoplanetary atmospheric escape is the measurement of excess absorption in the near-infrared metastable helium triplet during transits. Atmospheric escape of a close-in planet's atmosphere plays a role in its…
The Kuiper belt is a population of icy bodies beyond the orbit of Neptune. The complex orbital structure of the Kuiper belt, including several categories of objects inside and outside of resonances with Neptune, emerged as a result of…
'Empirical' models (pressure vs. density) of Uranus and Neptune interiors constrained by the gravitational coefficients J_2, J_4, the planetary radii and masses, and Voyager solid-body rotation periods are presented. The empirical…
We assess the dynamical feasibility of redirecting small volatile-bearing trans-Neptunian objects (TNOs) onto Mars-impacting orbits using continuous low-thrust propulsion and a single gravity-assist encounter. The study considers two…
Despite the identification of a great number of Jupiter-like and Earth-like planets at close-in orbits, the number of "hot Neptunes" - the planets with 0.6-18 times of Neptune mass and orbital periods less than 3 days - turned out to be…
We review the current understanding of the upper atmospheres of Uranus and Neptune, and explore the upcoming opportunities available to study these exciting planets. The ice giants are the least understood planets in the solar system,…
Over the past two years, the search for low-mass extrasolar planets has led to the detection of seven so-called 'hot Neptunes' or 'super-Earths' around Sun-like stars. These planets have masses 5-20 times larger than the Earth and are…
The Neptunian desert is a distinct lack of Neptune-sized planets at short orbital periods, purportedly carved by photoevaporation and tidal circularization following high-eccentricity migration. Constraining these processes and how they…
Uranus and Neptune are still poorly understood. Their gravitational fields, rotation periods, atmosphere dynamics, and internal structures are not well determined. In this paper we present empirical structure models of Uranus and Neptune…
We calculate the minimum mass of heavy elements required in the envelopes of Jupiter and Saturn to match the observed oversolar abundances of volatiles. Because the clathration efficiency remains unknown in the solar nebula, we have…