Institute for Planets and Exoplanets
The New Horizons mission to the outer solar system has returned beautiful and intriguing images of Pluto and Charon which raise many new questions about the outer solar system and the formation of icy worlds. I will present background information about New Horizons and our current understanding of the Pluto-Charon system, followed by the new images and data returned by the spacecraft. The images and data will be presented so as to encourage discussion amongst the audience.
The rich dynamics of the Saturn ring and moon systems offer unique opportunities to study the evolution of the planet and its surrounding bodies. For instance, seismology of Saturn is made possible by the gravitational interaction between Saturn and its rings, in which density waves in the rings are excited at Lindblad resonances with Saturn’s oscillation modes. The seismic signatures in the rings suggest the existence of stable stratification in the deep interior of the planet, likely created by composition gradients between the core and envelope due to helium sedimentation and/or core erosion. These structures within the planet influence the tidal interactions which drive the outward migration of Saturn’s inner satellites. Rapid migration can occur when moons become locked in resonance with Saturn’s oscillation modes, driving the moons outward on a planetary evolution timescale.
International Observe the Moon Night at UCLA was held on September 19th, 2015 at the UCLA Planetarium on the roof of the Math Sciences Building. The crowd of attendees was treated to two outstanding talks given in the planetarium by UCLA and Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) scientist Dr. Jean-Pierre Williams and UCLA graduate student and lunar scientist, Raquel Nuno. Attendees learned about the newest science results from NASA’s LRO mission and participated in hands-on activities describing the relative size and distance of the Moon and Earth, how the phases of the Moon occur, and were able to use an infrared camera similar to the one on LRO.
After presentations concluded, attendees were treated to view the Moon from the roof of Math Sciences through five different telescopes, including UCLA’s 14-inch observatory telescope. To see images from the event, visit the IOMN 2015 Gallery.
I will present results of new calculations of the asteroidal impact flux on Mars. Mars’ orbit is significantly eccentric and the planet orbits near the inner edge of the asteroid belt where the space density of asteroids has a large radial gradient. The correlated secular dynamics of Mars and the asteroids plays a significant role in modulating the impact flux on this planet. At the present epoch, this leads to a large variation — of about a factor of three — in the impact flux when Mars is near aphelion versus perihelion; significantly, the integrated annual impact flux is lower than would be expected in the absence of correlated secular dynamics.
The second part of the talk will describe some deductions about the planet mass function from the observational data of exoplanets and theoretical considerations of planetary dynamics. I will describe analysis of the observational data from the Kepler space mission which indicates that planetary orbital separations have an approximately log-normal distribution. Adopting some plausible ansatzs for the dynamical stability of N-planet systems to relate orbital separations to planet masses, it appears that the planet mass function is peaked in logarithm of mass, with the most probable value of log m/M⊕ ∼ (0.6 − 1.0); a modest extrapolation indicates that Earth mass planets are about ~1000 times more common than Jupiter mass planets.
NASA’s Dawn Mission, which is led by UCLA Professor Chris Russell, reached the dwarf planet Ceres earlier this year after its previous rendezvous with asteroid Vesta. It is now observing Ceres from 2700 miles about the surface and returning the closest images that have ever been taken of the object. A one-minute video animation has been produced with the images, showing the object’s mysterious “bright spots” and its heavily cratered terrain. To read the full article, visit http://newsroom.ucla.edu/releases/ucla-led-nasa-mission-provides-closest-ever-look-at-dwarf-planet-ceres.
UCLA Department of Earth, Planetary, and Space Sciences graduate student Carolyn Crow has been named recipient of the 2015 Gordon McKay Award of the Meteoritical Society. The award honors the memory of experimental petrologist and lunar scientist Gordon A. McKay and is given each year to the student who gives the best oral presentation at the annual meeting of the society. Carolyn’s talk in Berkeley was entitled “I-Xe degassing ages of terrestrial and lunar impact zircons”.
Registration for Plasma Fest 2015 is open (and FREE!) but required due to limited seating. In case you haven’t done that yet, please register now at:
http://psti.ucla.edu/plasmafest/register.html
AGENDA
8:30-12:30: Symposium
Location: Physics and Astronomy Building (PAB) Room 1-434
After a welcome by Joseph Rudnick, Dean of the Division of Physical Sciences, and opening remarks by Frank Jenko, Director of UCLA’s Plasma Science and Technology Institute (PSTI), there will be several overview talks highlighting the outstanding breadth and depth of UCLA-based plasma research. This includes space and astrophysical plasmas, fusion energy, advanced accelerators and radiation sources, plasma-materials interactions, and space propulsion.
12:30-5:30: Lunch, Poster Session, and Focus Area Discussions
Location: Covel Commons 3rd Floor
During the lunch break (lunch will be provided), there will be a Poster Session, serving as an opportunity (also for graduate students and postdocs) to present and discuss current research projects with colleagues from other groups and departments within the PSTI.
This will be followed by two discussions, which are meant to help establish Focus Groups. One of them will center on “Bounded Plasmas,” i.e., issues related to relatively cold plasmas in contact with material walls; this includes, for instance, the edge region of fusion plasmas, plasma thrusters, and a variety of basic plasma science experiments. The other one will deal with important aspects of “Plasma Astrophysics,” i.e., physical processes is space and astrophysical plasmas linked, for instance, to black hole accretion disks, cosmic magnetic fields, cosmic rays, or turbulent dissipation in the solar wind, as well as laboratory experiments shedding light on the dynamics in these systems.
Throughout these sessions, there will be an emphasis on close interactions between observation, experiment, theory, and simulation, as well as on exploring cross-departmental collaborative opportunities involving applied mathematics, space and astrophysics, plasma physics, and engineering.
UCLA researcher Yuri Shprits, along with Prof. Chris Russell have observed the structure of plasma waves in the equatorial regions of near-Earth space. The waves, which have until now only been observed as noise, have a highly structured pattern reminiscent of a zebra pattern. The discovery is highly significant for satellites and humans in space, which can be harmed by the high-energy particles.
To read the full press release, visit the UCLA Newsroom.
The Institute for Planets and Exoplanets (iPLEX) is an academic consortium bridging the interests of UCLA faculty, researchers and students in the departments of Earth and Space Sciences, Physics and Astronomy, and Oceanic and Atmospheric Sciences. Our goal is to promote and advance planetary science research by means of interdisciplinary collaboration. Research in the planetary sciences at UCLA spans many topics, including, but not limited to planetary system formation, growth and structure, physics of interiors, planetary geology, atmospheres and oceans, primitive bodies, extrasolar planet detection, magnetic fields, and circumstellar debris disks. Current iPLEX membership at UCLA includes 28 faculty members, 31 postdoctoral researchers and research scientists, and 45 graduate students across three UCLA departments. Since its launch in 2011, fourteen students have earned Doctorate degrees in planetary science-related fields.
In addition to fostering collaborations between departments at UCLA, we aim to develop inter-institutional partnerships, both at the individual and institutional level. One way we attempt to achieve this is through hosting conferences and workshops, which draw planetary scientists from worldwide locations to the UCLA campus and provide researchers and students alike with the opportunity to collaborate on current planetary science. Additionally, iPLEX and scientists at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena are discussing an institutional partnership that should create numerous research opportunities and benefit JPL and UCLA alike.
Furthermore, iPLEX is interested in sharing the fascinating world of planetary science with local and national communities and schools. Our education and public outreach program includes annual events during which students and their families can come to UCLA to participate in hands-on planetary science activities, from making their own comets to seeing a UCLA planetarium show to observing the Moon with powerful telescopes. In addition, iPLEX is helping to build a meteorite museum at UCLA that will be free and accessible to members of the public.
Donations to UCLA’s Institute for Planets and Exoplanets can be made online at: http://giving.ucla.edu/planets. Your tax-deductible charitable donation will support the interdisciplinary and collaborative research initiatives of world-class scientists to explore our universe, expand our knowledge of planetary systems, and make new and important discoveries. In addition, your generosity will promote education and public outreach programs designed to bring planetary research to the community and inspire the next generation of UCLA planetary scientists. We thank you for your support.
This year’s Exploring Your Universe (EYU) event at UCLA will be held on Sunday, November 8th, 2015. Exploring Your Universe is an annual event held on the UCLA campus that includes science exhibitions, hands-on activities, demonstrations and experiments. The event is free to the public and promises an exciting time and a great learning experience for kids and adults alike.
To read more about previous years’ EYU events and other iPLEX outreach events, please visit our Exploring Your Universe page and stay tuned for more updates!