Related papers: Spectroscopic Links Among Giant Planet Irregular S…
We use 1.4-4.6 micron multi-band photometry of the small inner Uranian and Neptunian satellites obtained with the James Webb Space Telescope's near-infrared imager NIRCam to characterize their surface compositions. We find that the…
We present BVR photometric colors of six Uranian and two Neptunian irregular satellites, collected using the Magellan Observatory (Las Campanas, Chile) and the Keck Observatory, (Manua Kea, Hawaii). The colors range from neutral to light…
We report observations of eight Jovian irregular satellites with JWST's NIRSpec instrument: Himalia, Elara, Pasiphae, Sinope, Lysithea, Carme, Ananke, and Themisto. Irregular satellite families, which are presumed to have formed via…
We present the JWST NIRSpec PRISM 0.7-5.3 micron spectra of Albiorix and Siarnaq and the NIRSpec G235H/G395M 1.7-5.3 micron spectra of Phoebe, the three largest Saturnian irregular satellites. The irregular satellites of the giant planets…
In this paper we present visible range light curves of the irregular Uranian satellites Sycorax, Caliban, Prospero, Ferdinand and Setebos taken with Kepler Space Telescope in the course of the K2 mission. Thermal emission measurements…
Nereid, Neptune's third largest satellite, lies in an irregular orbit and is the only outer satellite in the system (apart from Triton) that can be spectroscopically characterized with the current generation of Earth-based telescopes. We…
Outer satellites of the planets have distant, eccentric orbits that can be highly inclined or even retrograde relative to the equatorial planes of their planets. These irregular orbits cannot have formed by circumplanetary accretion and are…
With a total mass similar to the main asteroid belt, the Jovian Trojan asteroids are a major feature in the solar system. Based upon the thermal infrared spectra of the largest Trojans obtained with the Spitzer space telescope, Emery et al.…
Irregular satellites of Jupiter with their highly eccentric, inclined and distant orbits suggest that their capture took place just before the giant planet migration. We aim to improve our understanding of the surface composition of…
We present BVRI colors of 13 Jovian and 8 Saturnian irregular satellites obtained with the 2.56m Nordic Optical Telescope on La Palma, the 6.5m Magellan Baade Telescope on La Campanas, and the 6m MMT on Mt. Hopkins. The observations were…
We present thermal model fits for 11 Jovian and 3 Saturnian irregular satellites based on measurements from the WISE/NEOWISE dataset. Our fits confirm spacecraft-measured diameters for the objects with in situ observations (Himalia and…
The irregular satellites of outer planets are thought to have been captured from heliocentric orbits. The exact nature of the capture process, however, remains uncertain. We examine the possibility that irregular satellites were captured…
The Trojan asteroids of Jupiter and Neptune are likely to have been captured from original heliocentric orbits in the dynamically excited ("hot") population of the Kuiper belt. However, it has long been known that the optical color…
The large and tidally-locked classical moons of Uranus display longitudinal and planetocentric trends in their surface compositions. Spectrally red material has been detected primarily on the leading hemispheres of the outer moons, Titania…
All the Trojan asteroids orbit about the Sun at roughly the same heliocentric distance as Jupiter. Differences in the observed visible reflection spectra range from neutral to red, with no ultra-red objects found so far. Given that the…
We investigated the probability that an inelastic collision of planetesimals within the Hill sphere of the Jovian planets could explain the presence and orbits of observed irregular satellites. Capture of satellites via this mechanism is…
We have performed broadband color photometry of the twelve brightest irregular satellites of Saturn with the goal of understanding their surface composition, as well as their physical relationship. We find that the satellites have a wide…
The Neptunian satellite system is unusual, comprising Triton, a large ($\sim2700$ km) moon on a close-in, circular, yet retrograde orbit, flanked by Nereid, the largest irregular satellite ($\sim$300 km) on a highly eccentric orbit. Capture…
We consider the role of deuterium as a potential marker of location and ambient conditions during the formation of small bodies in our Solar system. We concentrate in particular on the formation of the regular icy satellites of Jupiter and…
We surveyed 1.75 square degrees of sky near Neptune to an R-band 50% detection efficiency of 25.8 mags (corresponding to radii of about 17 km for an assumed albedo of 0.04). We discovered one new outer satellite, Psamathe (S/2003 N1), about…