Related papers: Target selection for Near-Earth Asteroids in-orbit…
We develop the idea proposed by Barge & Sommeria (1995) and Tanga et al. (1996) that large-scale vortices present in the solar nebula can concentrate dust particles and facilitate the formation of planetesimals and planets. We introduce an…
Directed energy for planetary defense is now a viable option and is superior in many ways to other proposed technologies, being able to defend the Earth against all known threats. This paper presents basic ideas behind a directed energy…
Recent observations of asteroidal surfaces indicate the presence of materials that do not match the bulk lithology of the body. A possible explanation for the presence of these exogenous materials is that they are products of inter-asteroid…
Here we explore a technique for constraining physical properties of near-Earth asteroids (NEAs) based on variability in thermal emission as a function of viewing aspect. We present case studies of the low albedo, near-Earth asteroids…
Several families of irregular moons orbit the giant planets. These moons are thought to have been captured into planetocentric orbits after straying into a region in which the planet's gravitation dominates solar perturbations (the Hill…
Proposals for ground-based laser remediation of space debris rely on the creation of appropriately directed ablation-driven impulses to either divert the fragment or drive it into an orbit with a perigee allowing atmospheric capture. For a…
We present an automated system called NEORANGER that regularly computes asteroid-Earth impact probabilities for objects on the Minor Planet Center's (MPC) Near-Earth-Object Confirmation Page (NEOCP) and sends out alerts of imminent…
The exploration of asteroids and comets is important in the quest for the formation of the Solar System and it is an important step for human space travel. Moving on the surface of asteroids is challenging for future robotic explorers due…
We present a practical and effective method of planetary defense that allows for extremely short mitigation time scales if required as well as long time scale mitigation. This one system allows for virtually any required defense mode. In…
The probability of the detection of Earth-like exoplanets may increase in the near future after the launch of the space missions using the transit photometry as observation method. By using this technique only the semi-major axis of the…
We numerically studied close encounters between a young stellar system hosting a massive, gravitationally fragmenting disk and an intruder diskless star with the purpose to determine the evolution of fragments that have formed in the disk…
Solar Orbiter is a joint ESA-NASA mission planed for launch in October 2018. The science payload includes remote-sensing and in-situ instrumentation designed with the primary goal of understanding how the Sun creates and controls the…
Small asteroids intersecting Earth's orbit can deliver extraterrestrial rocks to the Earth, called meteorites. This process is accompanied by a luminous phenomena in the atmosphere, called bolides or fireballs. Observations of bolides…
Motivated by recent visits from interstellar comets, along with continuing discoveries of minor bodies in orbit of the Sun, this paper studies the capture of objects on initially hyperbolic orbits by our solar system. Using an ensemble of…
We introduce a new particle-based hybrid code for planetary accretion. The code uses an $N$-body routine for interactions with planetary embryos while it can handle a large number of planetesimals using a super-particle approximation, in…
Radio wavelength astrometry of stars and other objects has a long and productive history. The use of that technique to determine whether stars have planets around them would cover a nearly unique part of the parameter space for detection of…
It is common practice nowadays to derive spins and 3D shapes of asteroids from the inversion of photometric light curves. However, this method requires a good number of photometric points and dedicated observing sessions. On the other hand,…
Context. We report the exploitation of a sample of epoch astrometry for 157 000 asteroids, the same object in the Gaia Data Release 3, extended over the time coverage planned for the Gaia DR4, which is not expected before the end of 2025.…
The Gaia second data release contains high-accuracy astrometric measurements of thousands of solar system bodies. These measurements raise the possibility of determining asteroid masses by modeling scattering events between massive objects…
Some asteroids eject dust, unexpectedly producing transient, comet-like comae and tails. First ascribed to the sublimation of near-surface water ice, mass losing asteroids (also called "main-belt comets") can in fact be driven by a…