Related papers: Ice Giant Atmospheric Science
The mid-infrared spectral region provides a unique window into the atmospheric temperature, chemistry, and dynamics of the giant planets. From more than a century of mid-infrared remote sensing, progressively clearer pictures of the…
Remote sensing observations suffer significant limitations when used to study the bulk atmospheric composition of the giant planets of our solar system. This impacts our knowledge of the formation of these planets and the physics of their…
The formation mechanisms of the ice giants Uranus and Neptune, and the origin of their elemental and isotopic compositions, have long been debated. The density of solids in the outer protosolar nebula is too low to explain their formation,…
In this chapter we summarize current knowledge of the internal structure of giant planets. We concentrate on the importance of heavy elements and their role in determining the planetary composition and internal structure, in planet…
The determination of Saturn's atmospheric noble gas abundances are critical to understanding the formation and evolution of Saturn, and giant planets in general. These measurements can only be performed with an entry probe. A Saturn probe…
Atmospheric circulation patterns derived from multi-spectral remote sensing can serve as a guide for choosing a suitable entry site for a future in situ probe mission. Since the Voyager-2 flybys in the 1980s, three decades of observations…
This article is a brief review of the research by Dr. C. de Jager and co-workers over the past twenty years into the physics of hypergiant atmospheres. Various important results on the microturbulence, mass-loss, circumstellar environment,…
A planetary atmosphere is the outer gas layer of a planet. Besides its scientific significance among the first and most accessible planetary layers observed from space, it is closely connected with planetary formation and evolution, surface…
The key to the exploration of the Ice Giant planets is avoiding cutting edge technology. Complexity produces delay and financial roadblocks. Simple robot scouts can be launched in time to utilize gravity assists from Jupiter in the early…
Exoplanetary science continues to excite and surprise with its rich diversity. We discuss here some key aspects potentially influencing the range of exoplanetary terrestrial-type atmospheres which could exist in nature. We are motivated by…
Understanding the origin and evolution of the lunar volatile system is not only compelling lunar science, but also fundamental Solar System science. This white paper (submitted to the US National Academies' Decadal Survey in Planetary…
We propose a comprehensive survey of giant planets ranging from close-in highly irradiated hot Jupiters to young, wide-orbit directly imaged planets. The combination of two established techniques for probing planetary atmospheric…
Gas giants are the most readily detectable exoplanets but fundamental questions about their system architectures, formation, migration, and atmospheres have been unanswerable with the current generation of ground- and space-based…
Satellites of giant planets thought to form in gaseous circumplanetary disks (CPDs) during the late planet-formation phase, but it was unknown so far whether smaller mass planets, such as the ice giants could form such disks, thus moons…
The field of exoplanets is quickly expanding from just the detection of new planets and the measurement of their most basic parameters, such as mass, radius and orbital configuration, to the first measurements of their atmospheric…
C-H-N-O system is central for organic chemistry and biochemistry, and plays a major role in planetary science (dominating the composition of "ice giants" Uranus and Neptune). The inexhaustible chemical diversity of this system at normal…
Although Uranus and Neptune are commonly classified as ice giants, their exact compositions remain poorly constrained. Recent studies of outer Solar System bodies challenge the traditional view that these planets are primarily…
Gaseous giants are characterized by their deep atmospheres, which lack clear boundaries with their interiors; therefore, their internal states could directly influence atmospheric dynamics. So far, most modeling studies have considered deep…
We give an overview of our current understanding of the structure of gas giant planets, from Jupiter and Saturn to extrasolar giant planets. We focus on addressing what high-pressure laboratory experiments on hydrogen and helium can help to…
The composition of an atmosphere has integrated the geological history of the entire planetary body. However, the long-term evolutions of the atmospheres of the terrestrial planets are not well documented. For Earth, there were until…