相关论文: Aerocapture Enabled Fast Uranus Orbiter Missions
Both Uranus and Neptune are thought to have strong zonal winds with velocities of several hundred meters per second. These wind velocities, however, assume solid-body rotation periods based on Voyager 2 measurements of periodic variations…
The solar photon pressure provides a viable source of thrust for spacecraft in the solar system. Theoretically it could also enable interstellar missions, but an extremely small mass per cross section area is required to overcome the solar…
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…
The interior composition and structure of Uranus are ambiguous. It is unclear whether Uranus is composed of fully differentiated layers dominated by an icy mantle or has smooth compositional gradients. The Uranus Orbiter and Probe (UOP),…
As the 7 December 2007 equinox of Uranus approached, ring and atmosphere observers produced a substantial collection of observations using the 10-m Keck telescope and the Hubble Space Telescope. Those spanning the period from 7 June 2007…
The Cassini-Huygens mission has transformed our understanding of Titan from a hazy veiled moon to a place surprisingly like the Earth, with terrestrial physical processes such as wind, rainfall, and erosion shaping the landscape albeit with…
Two new interplanetary technologies have advanced in the past decade to the point where they may enable exciting, affordable missions that reach further and faster deep into the outer regions of our solar system: (i) small and capable…
Solar jets are collimated plasma ejections driven by magnetic reconnection, which play a critical role in the energy release and mass transport in the solar atmosphere. Using Solar Orbiter's Extreme Ultraviolet Imager (EUI) with its…
The core accretion theory of planet formation has at least two fundamental problems explaining the origins of Uranus and Neptune: (1) dynamical times in the trans-Saturnian solar nebula are so long that core growth can take > 15 Myr, and…
Post equinox imaging of Uranus by HST, Keck, and Gemini telescopes has enabled new measurements of winds over previously sampled latitudes as well as measurements at high northern latitudes that have recently come into better view. These…
Context. The 98{\deg}-obliquity of Uranus is commonly attributed to giant impacts that occurred at the end of the planetary formation. This picture, however, is not devoid of weaknesses. Aims. On a billion-year timescale, the tidal…
Three-dimensional numerical simulations show that large-scale latent heating resulting from condensation of water vapor can produce multiple zonal jets similar to those on the gas giants (Jupiter and Saturn) and ice giants (Uranus and…
In this work, we present the results of a set of numerical simulations carried out to obtain long-duration orbits for a probe around Titania, Uranus' largest satellite. We also propose orbital maneuvers to extend the lifetime of some…
Ground-based telescopes coupled with adaptive optics (AO) have been playing a leading role in exoplanet direct imaging science and technological development for the past two decades and will continue to have an indispensable role for the…
Past years have seen various publications attempting to explain the apparent clustering features of trans-Neptunian objects, the most popular explanation being an unconfirmed "Planet 9". The recently proposed Uranus Orbiter and Probe…
Exoplanets number in their thousands, and the number is ever increasing with the advent of new surveys and improved instrumentation. One of the most surprising things we have learnt from these discoveries is not that small-rocky planets in…
Exploration of Mars has been made possible using a series of landers, rovers and orbiters. The HiRise camera on the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) has captured high-resolution images covering large tracts of the surface. However, orbital…
In mid-2024, asteroid 2019 UO$_{14}$ was identified as the first-ever Saturn Trojan through ground-based archival observations and numerical simulations. Trojans, including those associated with Jupiter and other planets, raise important…
Uranus and Neptune, the so-called "ice giants", represent a fascinating class of planets. They are the outermost planets in the solar system with intermediate masses/sizes, complex non-polar magnetic fields, strong atmospheric winds, and…
The authors describe the general motion of radiation-pushed sails accelerated near the speed of light with directed energy propulsion. Practical applications of the model are also given, including the interstellar flyby mission to the Alpha…