FASAC Technical Assessment Report: Soviet Space Science Research

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lanzerotti, L. J.; Henry, Richard C.; Klein, Harold P.; Masursky, Harold; Paulikas, George A.; Scaf, Frederick L.; Soffen, Gerald A.; Terzian, Yervant

1986-01-01

This report is the work of a panel of eight US scientists who surveyed and assessed Soviet research in the spare sciences. All of the panelists were very familiar with Soviet research through their knowledge of the published scientific literature and personal contacts with Soviet and other foreign colleagues. In addition, all of the panelists reviewed considerable additional open literature--scientific, and popular, including news releases. The specific disciplines of Soviet space science research examined in detail for the report were: solar-terrestrial research, lunar and planetary research, space astronomy and astrophysics, and, life sciences. The Soviet Union has in the past carried out an ambitious program in lunar exploration and, more recently, in studies of the inner planets, Mars and especially Venus. The Soviets have provided scientific data about the latter planet which has been crucial for studies of the planet's evolution. Future programs envision an encounter with Halley's Comet, in March 1986, and missions to Mars and asteroids. The Soviet programs in the life sciences and solar-terrestrial research have been long-lasting and systematically pursued. Much of the ground-based and space-based research in these two disciplines appears to be motivated by the requirement to establish long-term human habitation in near-Earth space. The Soviet contributions to new discoveries and understanding in observational space astronomy and astrophysics have been few. This is in significant contrast to the very excellent theoretical work contributed by Soviet scientists in this discipline.

Infrared Extinction and the Initial Conditions For Star and Planet Formation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lada, Charles J.

2003-01-01

This grant funds a research program to use infrared extinction measurements to probe the detailed structure of dark molecular clouds and investigate the physical conditions which give rise to star and planet formation. The goals of the this program are to: 1) acquire deep infrared and molecular-line observations of a carefully selected sample of nearby dark clouds, 2) reduce and analyze the data obtained in order to produce detailed extinction maps of the clouds, 3) prepare results, where appropriate, for publication.

Infrared Extinction and the Initial Conditions for Star and Planet Formation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lada, Charles J.

2002-01-01

This grant funds a research program to use infrared extinction measurements to probe the detailed structure of dark molecular clouds and investigate the physical conditions which give rise to star and planet formation. The goals of the this program are to: (1) acquire deep infrared and molecular-line observations of a carefully selected sample of nearby dark clouds; (2) reduce and analyze the data obtained in order to produce detailed extinction maps of the clouds; and (3) prepare results, where appropriate, for publication.

Outward Migration of Giant Planets in Orbital Resonance

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

D'Angelo, G.; Marzari, F.

2013-05-01

A pair of giant planets interacting with a gaseous disk may be subject to convergent orbital migration and become locked into a mean motion resonance. If the orbits are close enough, the tidal gaps produced by the planets in the disk may overlap. This represents a necessary condition to activate the outward migration of the pair. However, a number of other conditions must also be realized in order for this mechanism to operate. We have studied how disk properties, such as turbulence viscosity, temperature, surface density gradient, mass, and age, may affect the outcome of the outward migration process. We have also investigated the implications on this mechanism of the planets' gas accretion. If the pair resembles Jupiter and Saturn, the 3:2 orbital resonance may drive them outward until they reach stalling radii for migration, which are within ~10 AU of the star for disks representative of the early proto-solar nebula. However, planet post-formation conditions in the disk indicate that such planets become typically locked in the 1:2 orbital resonance, which does not lead to outward migration. Planet growth via gas accretion tends to alter the planets' mass-ratio and/or the disk accretion rate toward the star, reducing or inhibiting outward migration. Support from NASA Outer Planets Research Program and NASA Origins of Solar Systems Program is gratefully acknowledged.

Research in planetary studies and operation of the Mauna Kea Observatory

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cruikshank, Dale P.

1986-01-01

The research programs are highlighted in the following areas: major planets; planetary satellites and rings; asteroids; comets; dark organic matter; theoretical and analytical structures; extrasolar planetary; and telescopes.

The Past, Present, and Future of Planetary Systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vanderburg, Andrew

2017-01-01

We are searching for planets using the Kepler spacecraft in its extended K2 mission. K2 data processing is more challenging than Kepler, but new techniques have permitted the discovery of hundreds of planet candidates. Our discoveries are yielding intriguing insights about the past, present, and future of planetary systems -- that is, the history of how planets might form and migrate, their present-day characteristics, and the ultimate fate of planetary systems. I will discuss what we have learned, in particular from the discovery of a hot Jupiter with close planetary companions, planets orbiting nearby bright stars, and a disintegrating minor planet transiting a white dwarf. This work was supported by the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program.

Scientific and technical services directed toward the development of planetary quarantine measures for automated spacecraft

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1974-01-01

The work is reported, which was performed in the specific tasks of the Planetary Quarantine research program for developing parameter specifications of unmanned scientific missions to the planets. The effort was directed principally toward the advancement of the quarantine technology, applicable to all future missions to planets of biological interest. The emphasis of the research was on coordinated evaluation, analysis, documentation, and presentation of PQ requirements for flight projects such as Viking and Pioneer.

Reaching the Public through Traveling Exhibitions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dusenbery, P. B.; Harold, J. B.; Morrow, C. A.

2004-11-01

The Space Science Institute (SSI) of Boulder, Colorado has recently developed two museum exhibits called Alien Earths and MarsQuest. It has just started to develop another exhibit called Giant Planets. These exhibitions provide research scientists the opportunity to engage in a number of activities that are vital to the success of these major outreach programs. Alien Earths was developed in partnership with various research missions. The focus of the presentation will be on MarsQuest and Giant Planets. MarsQuest is a 5000 square-foot, \\$3M, traveling exhibition that is now touring the country. The exhibit's second 3-year tour will enable millions of Americans to share in the excitement of the scientific exploration of Mars and learn more about their own planet in the process. The associated planetarium show and education program will also be described, with particular emphasis on workshops to orient museum staff (e.g. museum educators and docents) and workshops for master educators near host museums and science centers. The workshops make innovative connections between the exhibition's interactive experiences and lesson plans aligned with the National Science Education Standards. These exhibit programs are good models for actively involving scientists and their discoveries to help improve informal science education in the museum community and for forging a stronger connection between formal and informal education. The presentation will also discuss how Giant Planets, a proposed 3500 square-foot traveling exhibition on the mysteries and discoveries of the outer planets, will be able to take advantage of the connections and resources that have been developed by the MarsQuest project.

Educational and public outreach programs using four-dimensional presentation of the earth and planetary science data with Dagik Earth

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Saito, A.; Tsugawa, T.; Nagayama, S.; Iwasaki, S.; Odagi, Y.; Kumano, Y.; Yoshikawa, M.; Akiya, Y.; Takahashi, M.

2011-12-01

We are developing educational and public outreach programs of the earth and planetary science data using a four-dimensional digital globe system, Dagik Earth. Dagik Earth is a simple and affordable four dimensional (three dimension in space and one dimension in time) presentation system of the earth and planetary scientific results. It can display the Earth and planets in three-dimensional way without glasses, and the time variation of the scientific data can be displayed on the Earth and planets image. It is easier to handle and lower cost than similar systems such as Geocosmos by Miraikan museum, Japan and Science On a Sphere by NOAA. At first it was developed as a presentation tool for public outreach programs in universities and research institutes by earth scientists. And now it is used in classrooms of schools and science museums collaboration with school teachers and museum curators. The three dimensional display can show the Earth and planets in exact form without any distortion, which cannot be achieved with two-dimensional display. Furthermore it can provide a sense of reality. Several educational programs have been developed and carried out in high schools, junior high schools, elementary schools and science centers. Several research institutes have used Dagik Earth in their public outreach programs to demonstrate their novel scientific results to public in universities, research institutes and science cafe events. A community of users and developers of Dagik Earth is being formed in Japan. In the presentation, the outline of Dagik Earth and the educational programs using Dagik Earth will be presented.

Infrared Extinction and the Initial Conditions for Star and Planet Formation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lada, Charles J.

2004-01-01

This grant funds a research program to use infrared extinction measurements to probe the detailed structure of dark molecular clouds and investigate the physical conditions which give rise to star and planet formation. The goals of the this program are to: 1) acquire deep infrared and molecular-line observations of a carefully selected sample of nearby dark clouds, 2) reduce and analyze the data obtained in order to produce detailed extinction maps of the clouds, 3) prepare results, where appropriate, for publication. A description of how these goals were met are included.

Planetary Habitability

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kasting, James F.

1997-01-01

This grant was entitled 'Planetary Habitability' and the work performed under it related to elucidating the conditions that lead to habitable, i.e. Earth-like, planets. Below are listed publications for the past two and a half years that came out of this work. The main thrusts of the research involved: (1) showing under what conditions atmospheric O2 and O3 can be considered as evidence for life on a planet's surface; (2) determining whether CH4 may have played a role in warming early Mars; (3) studying the effect of varying UV levels on Earth-like planets around different types of stars to see whether this would pose a threat to habitability; and (4) studying the effect of chaotic obliquity variations on planetary climates and determining whether planets that experienced such variations might still be habitable. Several of these topics involve ongoing research that has been carried out under a new grant number, but which continues to be funded by NASA's Exobiology program.

How Is Diabetes Treated in Children?

MedlinePlus

... Teens National Diabetes Education Program (NDEP) Information for Schools National Diabetes Information Clearinghouse Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation International American Diabetes Association: Planet D for Kids and ...

The Center for Star Formation Studies

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hollenbach, D.; Bell, K. R.; Laughlin, G.

2002-01-01

The Center for Star Formation Studies, a consortium of scientists from the Space Science Division at Ames and the Astronomy Departments of the University of California at Berkeley and Santa Cruz, conducts a coordinated program of theoretical research on star and planet formation. Under the directorship of D. Hollenbach (Ames), the Center supports postdoctoral fellows, senior visitors, and students; meets regularly at Ames to exchange ideas and to present informal seminars on current research; hosts visits of outside scientists; and conducts a week-long workshop on selected aspects of star and planet formation each summer.

NASA'S second decade in space.

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Manganiello, E. J.

1972-01-01

Advances in space science during the last decade are reviewed. The basic scientific goals of NASA's Planetary Program are to increase man's understanding of the origin and evolution of the solar system, the origin and evolution of life, and the earth, through a comparative study of the other planets. Studies of the planets will be continued during the second decade. Aspects of manned space flights are discussed, giving attention to the Skylab workshop, and the Space Shuttle. The applications program is divided into four major areas including meteorology, communications and navigation, geodesy, and earth resources. Areas of aeronautical research are also examined.

Characterizing K2 Planetary Systems Orbiting Cool Dwarfs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dressing, Courtney D.; Newton, Elisabeth R.; Schlieder, Joshua; Vanderburg, Andrew; Charbonneau, David; Knutson, Heather; K2C2

2017-01-01

The NASA K2 mission is using the repurposed Kepler spacecraft to search for transiting planets in multiple fields along the ecliptic plane. K2 observes 10,000 - 30,000 stars in each field for roughly 80 days, which is too short to observe multiple transits of planets in the habitable zones of Sun-like stars, but long enough to detect potentially habitable planets orbiting low-mass dwarfs. Accordingly, M and K dwarfs are frequently nominated as K2 Guest Observer targets and K2 has already observed significantly more low-mass stars than the original Kepler mission. While the K2 data are therefore an enticing resource for studying the properties and frequency of planetary systems orbiting low-mass stars, many K2 cool dwarfs are not well-characterized. We are refining the properties of K2 planetary systems orbiting cool dwarfs by acquiring medium-resolution NIR spectra with SpeX on the IRTF and TripleSpec on the Palomar 200". In our initial sample of 144 potential cool dwarfs hosting candidate planetary systems detected by K2, we noted a high contamination rate from giants (16%) and reddened hotter dwarfs (31%). After employing empirically-based relations to determine the temperatures, radii, masses, luminosities, and metallicities of K2 planet candidate host stars, we found that our new cool dwarf radius estimates were 10-40% larger than the initial values, indicating that the radii of the associated planet candidates were also underestimated. Refining the stellar parameters allows us to identify astrophysical false positives and better constrain the radii and insolation flux environments of bona fide transiting planets. I will present our resulting catalog of system properties and highlight the most attractive K2 planets for radial velocity mass measurement and atmospheric characterization with Spitzer, HST, JWST, and the next generation of extremely large ground- and space-based telescopes. We gratefully acknowledge funding from the NASA Sagan Fellowship Program, the NASA K2 Guest Observer Program, the NASA XRP Program, the John Templeton Foundation, the National Science Foundation Astronomy & Astrophysics Postdoctoral Program, and the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program.

Mission to Planet Earth

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wilson, Gregory S.; Huntress, Wesley T.

1990-01-01

The rationale behind Mission to Planet Earth is presented, and the program plan is described in detail. NASA and its interagency and international partners will place satellites carrying advanced sensors in strategic earth orbits to collect muultidisciplinary data. A sophisticated data system will process and archive an unprecedented large amount of information about the earth and how it functions as a system. Attention is given to the space observatories, the data and information systems, and the interdisciplinary research.

Budget estimates: Fiscal year 1994. Volume 3: Research and program management

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1994-01-01

The research and program management (R&PM) appropriation provides the salaries, other personnel and related costs, and travel support for NASA's civil service workforce. This FY 1994 budget funds costs associated with 23,623 full-time equivalent (FTE) work years. Budget estimates are provided for all NASA centers by categories such as space station and new technology investments, space flight programs, space science, life and microgravity sciences, advanced concepts and technology, center management and operations support, launch services, mission to planet earth, tracking and data programs, aeronautical research and technology, and safety, reliability, and quality assurance.

KEPLER Mission: development and overview

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Borucki, William J.

2016-03-01

The Kepler Mission is a space observatory launched in 2009 by NASA to monitor 170 000 stars over a period of four years to determine the frequency of Earth-size and larger planets in and near the habitable zone of Sun-like stars, the size and orbital distributions of these planets, and the types of stars they orbit. Kepler is the tenth in the series of NASA Discovery Program missions that are competitively-selected, PI-directed, medium-cost missions. The Mission concept and various instrument prototypes were developed at the Ames Research Center over a period of 18 years starting in 1983. The development of techniques to do the 10 ppm photometry required for Mission success took years of experimentation, several workshops, and the exploration of many ‘blind alleys’ before the construction of the flight instrument. Beginning in 1992 at the start of the NASA Discovery Program, the Kepler Mission concept was proposed five times before its acceptance for mission development in 2001. During that period, the concept evolved from a photometer in an L2 orbit that monitored 6000 stars in a 50 sq deg field-of-view (FOV) to one that was in a heliocentric orbit that simultaneously monitored 170 000 stars with a 105 sq deg FOV. Analysis of the data to date has detected over 4600 planetary candidates which include several hundred Earth-size planetary candidates, over a thousand confirmed planets, and Earth-size planets in the habitable zone (HZ). These discoveries provide the information required for estimates of the frequency of planets in our galaxy. The Mission results show that most stars have planets, many of these planets are similar in size to the Earth, and that systems with several planets are common. Although planets in the HZ are common, many are substantially larger than Earth.

KEPLER Mission: development and overview.

PubMed

Borucki, William J

2016-03-01

The Kepler Mission is a space observatory launched in 2009 by NASA to monitor 170,000 stars over a period of four years to determine the frequency of Earth-size and larger planets in and near the habitable zone of Sun-like stars, the size and orbital distributions of these planets, and the types of stars they orbit. Kepler is the tenth in the series of NASA Discovery Program missions that are competitively-selected, PI-directed, medium-cost missions. The Mission concept and various instrument prototypes were developed at the Ames Research Center over a period of 18 years starting in 1983. The development of techniques to do the 10 ppm photometry required for Mission success took years of experimentation, several workshops, and the exploration of many 'blind alleys' before the construction of the flight instrument. Beginning in 1992 at the start of the NASA Discovery Program, the Kepler Mission concept was proposed five times before its acceptance for mission development in 2001. During that period, the concept evolved from a photometer in an L2 orbit that monitored 6000 stars in a 50 sq deg field-of-view (FOV) to one that was in a heliocentric orbit that simultaneously monitored 170,000 stars with a 105 sq deg FOV. Analysis of the data to date has detected over 4600 planetary candidates which include several hundred Earth-size planetary candidates, over a thousand confirmed planets, and Earth-size planets in the habitable zone (HZ). These discoveries provide the information required for estimates of the frequency of planets in our galaxy. The Mission results show that most stars have planets, many of these planets are similar in size to the Earth, and that systems with several planets are common. Although planets in the HZ are common, many are substantially larger than Earth.

Send Your Students to Mars for Their next Research Project

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lindgren, Charles

2006-01-01

The NASA's Mars Student Imaging Project (MSIP) is led by the Arizona State University (ASU) Mars Education Program, a major partner of NASA's Mars Exploration Program. MSIP is based on the National Science Education Standards and includes curriculum on terrestrial planet characteristics, experimental design, and proposal writing. Three spacecraft…

Working Group Reports and Presentations: Earth 3.0.

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dator, James

2006-01-01

We affirm the principle that a viable human space exploration program must be conducted hand-in-hand with a comprehensive scientific research program that incorporates both the physical and life sciences and that continues to protect and extend understanding of our home planet. Without advances in life science, we will be incapable of devising self-sustaining extraterrestrial habitats, and we will struggle to survive on the only living planet we know. Without advances in the physical sciences, we limit our ability to imagine new technologies for space travel and to understand the nature of the universe we explore. Scientific advances expand the boundaries of humanity s dreams.

Improving health aid for a better planet: The planning, monitoring and evaluation tool (PLANET).

PubMed

Sridhar, Devi; Car, Josip; Chopra, Mickey; Campbell, Harry; Woods, Ngaire; Rudan, Igor

2015-12-01

International development assistance for health (DAH) quadrupled between 1990 and 2012, from US$ 5.6 billion to US$ 28.1 billion. This generates an increasing need for transparent and replicable tools that could be used to set investment priorities, monitor the distribution of funding in real time, and evaluate the impact of those investments. In this paper we present a methodology that addresses these three challenges. We call this approach PLANET, which stands for planning, monitoring and evaluation tool. Fundamentally, PLANET is based on crowdsourcing approach to obtaining information relevant to deployment of large-scale programs. Information is contributed in real time by a diverse group of participants involved in the program delivery. PLANET relies on real-time information from three levels of participants in large-scale programs: funders, managers and recipients. At each level, information is solicited to assess five key risks that are most relevant to each level of operations. The risks at the level of funders involve systematic neglect of certain areas, focus on donor's interests over that of program recipients, ineffective co-ordination between donors, questionable mechanisms of delivery and excessive loss of funding to "middle men". At the level of managers, the risks are corruption, lack of capacity and/or competence, lack of information and /or communication, undue avoidance of governmental structures / preference to non-governmental organizations and exclusion of local expertise. At the level of primary recipients, the risks are corruption, parallel operations / "verticalization", misalignment with local priorities and lack of community involvement, issues with ethics, equity and/or acceptability, and low likelihood of sustainability beyond the end of the program's implementation. PLANET is intended as an additional tool available to policy-makers to prioritize, monitor and evaluate large-scale development programs. In this, it should complement tools such as LiST (for health care/interventions), EQUIST (for health care/interventions) and CHNRI (for health research), which also rely on information from local experts and on local context to set priorities in a transparent, user-friendly, replicable, quantifiable and specific, algorithmic-like manner.

World-leading science with SPIRou - The nIR spectropolarimeter / high-precision velocimeter for CFHT

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Delfosse, X.; Donati, J.-F.; Kouach, D.; Hébrard, G.; Doyon, R.; Artigau, E.; Bouchy, F.; Boisse, I.; Brun, A. S.; Hennebelle, P.; Widemann, T.; Bouvier, J.; Bonfils, X.; Morin, J.; Moutou, C.; Pepe, F.; Udry, S.; do Nascimento, J.-D.; Alencar, S. H. P.; Castilho, B. V.; Martioli, E.; Wang, S. Y.; Figueira, P.; Santos, N. C.

2013-11-01

SPIRou is a near-infrared (nIR) spectropolarimeter / velocimeter proposed as a new-generation instrument for CFHT. SPIRou aims in particular at becoming world-leader on two forefront science topics, (i) the quest for habitable Earth-like planets around very- low-mass stars, and (ii) the study of low-mass star and planet formation in the presence of magnetic fields. In addition to these two main goals, SPIRou will be able to tackle many key programs, from weather patterns on brown dwarf to solar-system planet atmospheres, to dynamo processes in fully-convective bodies and planet habitability. The science programs that SPIRou proposes to tackle are forefront (identified as first priorities by most research agencies worldwide), ambitious (competitive and complementary with science programs carried out on much larger facilities, such as ALMA and JWST) and timely (ideally phased with complementary space missions like TESS and CHEOPS). SPIRou is designed to carry out its science mission with maximum efficiency and optimum precision. More specifically, SPIRou will be able to cover a very wide single-shot nIR spectral domain (0.98-2.35 μm) at a resolving power of 73.5K, providing unpolarized and polarized spectra of low-mass stars with a ˜15% average throughput and a radial velocity (RV) precision of 1 m/s.

14th Annual P3 Awards: A National Student Design ...

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

2017-02-14

EPA as part of its People, Prosperity and the Planet (P3) Award Program – is seeking applications proposing to research, develop, and design solutions to real world challenges involving sustainability.

Real Time Agricultural Monitoring with the Planet SmallSat Constellation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mascaro, J.

2017-12-01

Planet—an aerospace and data analytics company (www.planet.com)—now operates 190 earth observation satellites, collecting approximately 85% of the land-surface of the Earth every day in multispectral, 3.7m-resolution imagery. This frequency and spatial resolution provides for unique monitoring of global agriculture, especially billions of smallholder farms that feed much of the world. Through our Education and Research Program, anyone at a university is eligible to access a portion of Planet data to power their research at no cost. Here, we present innovative results from our research partners. Most critically, several users have undertaken the development of models for regularizing spectrally disparate data feeds from Planet, Sentinel and Landsat; these approaches have generated standardized, 3.7m-resolution, daily data feeds for NDVI, LAI and (in combination with eddy covariance data) crop water use. The key breakthrough is interoperability: ingesting multiple, disparate satellite information fields for the generation of actionable agricultural indicators. This foundational methodology, aided by computer vision, can provide near real-time updates on the yield, health and welfare of smallholder farms. Storms, drought and disease can be detected faster than ever before, enabling smart intervention and enhancing the effectiveness of insurance and disaster relief mechanisms.

Engaging Undergraduate Students in Transiting Exoplanet Research with Small Telescopes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stephens, Denise C.; Stoker, E.; Gaillard, C.; Ranquist, E.; Lara, P.; Wright, K.

2013-10-01

Brigham Young University has a relatively large undergraduate physics program with 300 to 360 physics majors. Each of these students is required to be engaged in a research group and to produce a senior thesis before graduating. For the astronomy professors, this means that each of us is mentoring at least 4-6 undergraduate students at any given time. For the past few years I have been searching for meaningful research projects that make use of our telescope resources and are exciting for both myself and my students. We first started following up Kepler Objects of Interest with our 0.9 meter telescope, but quickly realized that most of the transits we could observe were better analyzed with Kepler data and were false positive objects. So now we have joined a team that is searching for transiting planets, and my students are using our 16" telescope to do ground based follow-up on the hundreds of possible transiting planet candidates produced by this survey. In this presentation I will describe our current telescopes, the observational setup, and how we use our telescopes to search for transiting planets. I'll describe some of the software the students have written. I'll also explain how to use the NASA Exoplanet Archive to gather data on known transiting planets and Kepler Objects of Interests. These databases are useful for determining the observational limits of your small telescopes and teaching your students how to reduce and report data on transiting planets. Once that is in place, you are potentially ready to join existing transiting planet missions by doing ground-based follow-up. I will explain how easy it can be to implement this type of research at any high school, college, or university with a small telescope and CCD camera.

Transiting Exoplanet Observations at Grinnell College

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sauerhaft, Julia; Slough, P.; Cale, B.; Kempton, E.

2014-01-01

Grinnell College, a small liberal arts college in Grinnell, Iowa with 1600 undergraduate students, is home to the Grant O. Gale Observatory. Over the past year, we have successfully detected extrasolar planets using the transit method with our 24-inch Cassegrain reflecting telescope equipped with a CCD camera. With little light pollution and an easily accessible observatory, Grinnell College is an optimal location for transiting exoplanet observations. With the current telescope set-up and CCD camera, we have taken time series data and created image calibration and post-processing programs that detect exoplanet transits at high photometric precision. In the future, we will continue to use these observation and data reduction procedures to conduct transiting exoplanet research. Goals for our research program include performing follow-up observations of transiting exoplanet candidates to confirm their planetary nature, searching for additional exoplanets in known planetary systems using the transit timing detection method, tracking long period transiting planets, and refining properties of exoplanets and their host stars. Ground-based transiting planet science is especially important in the post-Kepler era, and our dedicated mid-sized telescope with plenty of access to dark clear nights provides an ideal resource for a variety of follow up and exoplanet detection efforts.

Improving health aid for a better planet: The planning, monitoring and evaluation tool (PLANET)

PubMed Central

Sridhar, Devi; Car, Josip; Chopra, Mickey; Campbell, Harry; Woods, Ngaire; Rudan, Igor

2015-01-01

Background International development assistance for health (DAH) quadrupled between 1990 and 2012, from US$ 5.6 billion to US$ 28.1 billion. This generates an increasing need for transparent and replicable tools that could be used to set investment priorities, monitor the distribution of funding in real time, and evaluate the impact of those investments. Methods In this paper we present a methodology that addresses these three challenges. We call this approach PLANET, which stands for planning, monitoring and evaluation tool. Fundamentally, PLANET is based on crowdsourcing approach to obtaining information relevant to deployment of large–scale programs. Information is contributed in real time by a diverse group of participants involved in the program delivery. Findings PLANET relies on real–time information from three levels of participants in large–scale programs: funders, managers and recipients. At each level, information is solicited to assess five key risks that are most relevant to each level of operations. The risks at the level of funders involve systematic neglect of certain areas, focus on donor’s interests over that of program recipients, ineffective co–ordination between donors, questionable mechanisms of delivery and excessive loss of funding to “middle men”. At the level of managers, the risks are corruption, lack of capacity and/or competence, lack of information and /or communication, undue avoidance of governmental structures / preference to non–governmental organizations and exclusion of local expertise. At the level of primary recipients, the risks are corruption, parallel operations / “verticalization”, misalignment with local priorities and lack of community involvement, issues with ethics, equity and/or acceptability, and low likelihood of sustainability beyond the end of the program’s implementation. Interpretation PLANET is intended as an additional tool available to policy–makers to prioritize, monitor and evaluate large–scale development programs. In this, it should complement tools such as LiST (for health care/interventions), EQUIST (for health care/interventions) and CHNRI (for health research), which also rely on information from local experts and on local context to set priorities in a transparent, user–friendly, replicable, quantifiable and specific, algorithmic–like manner. PMID:26322228

CIRIR Programs: Drilling and Research Opportunities at the Rochechouart Impact Structure

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lambert, P.; Alwmark, C.; Baratoux, D.; Brack, A.; Bruneton, P.; Buchner, E.; Claeys, P.; Dence, M.; French, B.; Hoerz, F

2017-01-01

Owing to its size, accessibility and erosional level, the Rochechouart impact structure, dated at 203 +/- 2 Ma (recalc.), is a unique reser-voir of knowledge within the population of the rare terrestrial analogous to large impacts craters observed on planetary surfaces. The site gives direct access to fundamental mechanisms both in impact-related geology (origin and evolution of planets) and biology (habitability of planets, emergence and evolution of life). For the last decade P. Lambert has been installing Rochechouart as International Natural Laboratory for studying impact processes and collateral effects on planetary surfaces. For this purpose the Center for International Research on Impacts and on Rochechouart (CIRIR) was installed on site in 2016 with twofold objectives and activities. First ones are scientific and dedicated to the scientific community. The second are cultural and educational and are dedi-cated to the public sensu lato. We present here the CIRIR, its scientific programs and the related reseach opportunities.

Collisional and Dynamical Evolution of Planetary Systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Weidenschilling, Stuart J.

2004-01-01

Senior Scientst S. J. Weidenschilling presents his final administrative report in the research program entitled "Collisional and Dynamical Evolution of Planetary Systems," on which he was the Principal Investigator. This research program produced the following publications: 1) "Jumping Jupiters" in binary star systems. F. Marzari, S. J. Weidenschilling, M. Barbieri and V. Granata. Astrophys. J., in press, 2005; 2) Formation of the cores of the outer planets. To appear in "The Outer Planets" (R. Kallenbach, ED), ISSI Conference Proceedings (Space Sci. Rev.), in press, 2005; 3) Accretion dynamics and timescales: Relation to chondrites. S. J. Weidenschilling and J. Cuzzi. In Meteorites and the Early Solar System LI (D. Lauretta et al., Eds.), Univ. of Arizona Press, 2005; 4) Asteroidal heating and thermal stratification of the asteroid belt. A. Ghosh, S. J.Weidenschilling, H. Y. McSween, Jr. and A. Rubin. In Meteorites and the Early Solar System I1 (D. Lauretta et al., Eds.), Univ. of Arizona Press, 2005.

Large space-based systems for dealing with global environment change

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jenkins, Lyle M.

1992-01-01

Increased concern over the effects of global climate change and depletion of the ozone layer has resulted in support for the Global Change Research Program and the Mission to Planet Earth. Research to understand Earth system processes is critical, but it falls short of providing ways of mitigating the effects of change. Geoengineering options and alternatives to interactively manage change need to be developed. Space-based concepts for dealing with changes to the environment should be considered in addition to Earth-based actions. 'Mission for Planet Earth' describes those space-based geoengineering solutions that may combine with an international global change program to stabilize the Global environment. Large space systems that may be needed for this response challenge guidance and control engineering and technology. Definition, analysis, demonstration, and preparation of geoengineering technology will provide a basis for policy response if global change consequences are severe.

Effect of the planet health intervention on eating disorder symptoms in Massachusetts middle schools, 2005-2008.

PubMed

Austin, S Bryn; Spadano-Gasbarro, Jennifer L; Greaney, Mary L; Blood, Emily A; Hunt, Anne T; Richmond, Tracy K; Wang, Monica L; Mezgebu, Solomon; Osganian, Stavroula K; Peterson, Karen E

2012-01-01

The Planet Health obesity prevention curriculum has prevented purging and abuse of diet pills (disordered weight control behavior [DWCB]) in middle-school girls in randomized trials, but the effects of Planet Health on DWCB when implemented by schools under dissemination conditions are not known. Massachusetts Department of Public Health and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts disseminated Planet Health as part of the 3-year, Healthy Choices obesity prevention program in middle schools. We conducted an evaluation in 45 schools from fall 2005 to spring 2008. We gathered data from school staff to quantify intervention activities, and we gathered anonymous cross-sectional survey data from students on DWCB at baseline and Year 3 follow-up (n = 16,369). Multivariate logistic analyses with generalized estimating equations examined the effect of intervention activities on odds of students reporting DWCB at follow-up. Students in schools reaching a high number of youth with Planet Health lessons on reducing television viewing had lower odds of DWCB at follow-up (odds ratio [OR], 0.80 per 100 lesson-exposures; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.74-0.85). In addition, reduced odds of DWCB at follow-up were found in schools with active staff teamwork (OR, 0.76; 95% CI, 0.66-0.86) and the presence of programs addressing television viewing goals with staff (OR, 0.38; 95% CI, 0.28-0.53). Combined evidence from efficacy and effectiveness trials and now from dissemination research indicates that appropriately designed obesity prevention programs can achieve DWCB prevention on a large scale.

Crowdfunding Astronomy Research with Google Sky

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Metcalfe, Travis S.

2015-01-01

For nearly four years, NASA's Kepler space telescope searched for planets like Earth around more than 150,000 stars similar to the Sun. In 2008 with in-kind support from several technology companies, our non-profit organization established the Pale Blue Dot Project, an adopt-a-star program that supports scientific research on the stars observed by…

PlanetQuest: Engaging the Public and Students in NASA's Search for New Worlds

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Greene, M.; Danner, R.

2003-12-01

NASA's Navigator Program consists of four ground-breaking missions that span a twenty-five year time horizon. Two space-based and two ground-based missions will contribute to the overall goal of detecting and characterizing Earth-like planets around stars other than the Sun. The Keck Interferometer began its science mission in 2002, and the Large Binocular Telescope Interferometer will become operational in 2006, while the two space-based missions, the Space Interferometry Mission and the Terrestrial Planet Finder, will launch in 2009 and 2015 respectively. The science operations and analysis of all missions will be supported by the Michelson Science Center, operated by the California Institute of Technology. Navigator Public Engagement initiatives (which can also be found under the heading of "PlanetQuest") span the areas of formal education, informal education, and general public outreach. Two initiatives-improving astronomy instruction at community colleges, and the "Night Sky Network: Engaging Amateur Astronomy Clubs"-stand out as significant new investments for Navigator, and may serve as platforms for the participation of more NASA missions in the future. Other programs involve creating activities for "girls in science," continuing to support minority university research experiences, and developing museum exhibits, a planetarium show and other visualizations. The core values of all Navigator E/PO initiatives include involving scientists and engineers, creating effective partnerships, reaching underserved populations, and evaluating and measuring program impact.

NASA/MSFC FY91 Global Scale Atmospheric Processes Research Program Review

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Leslie, Fred W. (Editor)

1991-01-01

The reports presented at the annual Marshall Research Review of Earth Science and Applications are compiled. The following subject areas are covered: understanding of atmospheric processes in a variety of spatial and temporal scales; measurements of geophysical parameters; measurements on a global scale from space; the Mission to Planet Earth Program (comprised of and Earth Observation System and the scientific strategy to analyze these data); and satellite data analysis and fundamental studies of atmospheric dynamics.

13th Annual P3 Awards: A National Student Design ...

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

2017-02-14

The EPA, as part of the P3-People, Prosperity and the Planet Award Program, is seeking applications proposing to research, develop, and design solutions to real world challenges involving the overall sustainability of human society.

Precursor Science for the Terrestrial Planet Finder

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lawson, P. R. (Editor); Unwin, S. C. (Editor); Beichman, C. A. (Editor)

2004-01-01

This document outlines a path for the development of the field of extrasolar planet research, with a particular emphasis on the goals of the Terrestrial Planet Finder (TPF). Over the past decade, a new field of research has developed, the study of extrasolar planetary systems, driven by the discovery of massive planets around nearby stars. The planet count now stands at over 130. Are there Earth-like planets around nearby stars? Might any of those planets be conducive to the formation and maintenance of life? These arc the questions that TPF seeks to answer. TPF will be implemented as a suite of two space observatories, a 6-m class optical coronagraph, to be launched around 20 14, and a formation flying mid-infrared interferometer, to be launched sometime prior to 2020. These facilities will survey up to 165 or more nearby stars and detect planets like Earth should they be present in the 'habitable zone' around each star. With observations over a broad wavelength range, TPF will provide a robust determination of the atmospheric composition of planets to assess habitability and the presence of life. At this early stage of TPF's development, precursor observational and theoretical programs are essential to help define the mission, to aid our understanding of the planets that TPF could discover, and to characterize the stars that TPF will eventually study. This document is necessarily broad in scope because the significance of individual discoveries is greatly enhanced when viewed in thc context of the field as a whole. This document has the ambitious goal of taking us from our limited knowledge today, in 2004, to the era of TPF observations in the middle of the next decade. We must use the intervening years wisely. This document will be reviewed annually and updated as needed. The most recent edition is available online at http://tpf.jpl.nasa.gov/ or by email request to lawson@hucy.jpl.nasa.gov

Strategy for earth explorers in global earth sciences

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1988-01-01

The goal of the current NASA Earth System Science initiative is to obtain a comprehensive scientific understanding of the Earth as an integrated, dynamic system. The centerpiece of the Earth System Science initiative will be a set of instruments carried on polar orbiting platforms under the Earth Observing System program. An Earth Explorer program can open new vistas in the earth sciences, encourage innovation, and solve critical scientific problems. Specific missions must be rigorously shaped by the demands and opportunities of high quality science and must complement the Earth Observing System and the Mission to Planet Earth. The committee believes that the proposed Earth Explorer program provides a substantial opportunity for progress in the earth sciences, both through independent missions and through missions designed to complement the large scale platforms and international research programs that represent important national commitments. The strategy presented is intended to help ensure the success of the Earth Explorer program as a vital stimulant to the study of the planet.

Worlds Beyond: A Strategy for the Detection and Characterization of Exoplanets

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Lunine, J; Fischer, D; Hammel, H

2008-06-02

This report is a comprehensive study of the search for and study of planets around other stars (exoplanets). The young but maturing field of exoplanets is perhaps one of the most compelling fields of study in science today--both because of the discoveries made to date on giant planets around other stars, and because the detection of planets just like our Earth ('Earth analogs') is at last within reach technologically. In the Report we outline the need for a vigorous research program in exoplanets to understand our place in the cosmos: whether planets like our home Earth are a common ormore » rare outcome of cosmic evolution. The strategy we developed is intended to address the following fundamental questions, in priority order, within three distinct 5-yr long phases, over a 15 year period: (1) What are the physical characteristics of planets in the habitable zones around bright, nearby stars? (2) What is the architecture of planetary systems? (3) When, how and in what environments are planets formed? The Report recommends a two-pronged strategy for the detection and characterization of planets the size of the Earth. For stars much less massive and cooler than our Sun (M-dwarfs), existing ground-based techniques including radial velocity and transit searches, and space-based facilities both existing and under development such as Spitzer and JWST, are adequate for finding and studying planets close to the mass and size of the Earth. Conducted in parallel with the M-dwarf strategy is one for the more challenging observations of the hotter and brighter F, G, and K stars, some of which are very close in properties to our Sun, in which the frequency of Earth-sized planets is assessed with Corot and Kepler, but new space missions are required for detection and study of specific Earth-mass and Earth-sized objects. Our Task Force concludes that the development of a space-based astrometric mission, narrowly-focused to identify specific nearby stars with Earth-mass planets, followed by direct detection and study via a spaceborne coronagraph/occulter or interferometric mission, is the most robust approach to pursue. Ground and space-based microlensing programs pursued in parallel would provide complementary information on planetary system architectures on galactic scales. The program for F, G, and K stars must be preceded, at the beginning of the strategy, by broad yet detailed technical assessments to determine whether the astrometric and direct detection technologies will be ready in the time frames envisioned (the second and third 5-yr periods, respectively). Also measurement of dust around nearby candidate stars must be undertaken early to determine whether typical systems are clean enough to make direct detection feasible. Alternative strategies are discussed should problems arise in any of these areas. Finally, the Task Force lays out recommended programs in ground-based observations of larger planets, of planet-forming disks, and theoretical and laboratory studies crucial to interpreting and understanding the outcome of the planet search and characterization observations.« less

Laboratory for Atmospheres: Philosophy, Organization, Major Activities, and 1999 Highlights

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Einaudi, Franco (Technical Monitor)

2000-01-01

The Laboratory for Atmospheres is helping to answer questions related to climate, and climate change and other scientific questions about our planet and its neighbors. The Laboratory conducts a broad theoretical and experimental research program studying all aspects of the atmospheres of the Earth and other planets, including their structural, dynamical, radiative, and chemical properties. In this report,there is a statement of the labs philosophy and a description of it's role in NASA's mission. A broad description of the research and a summary of the scientists' major accomplishments in 1999 is also included. The report also presents useful information on human resources, scientific interactions, and outreach activities with the outside community.

Recent Simulations of the Late Stages Growth of Jupiter

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lissauer, Jack J.; D'Angelo, Gennaro; Hubickyj, Olenka

2012-01-01

Presented by Lissauer et al. (2009, Icarus 199, 338) are used to test the model of capture of Jupiter's irregular satellites within proto-Jupiter's distended and thermally-supported envelope. We find such capture highly unlikely, since the envelope shrinks too slowly for a large number of moons to be retained, and many of those that would be retained would orbit closer to the planet than do the observed Jovian irregulars. Our calculations do not address (and therefore do not exclude) the possibility that the irregular satellites were captured as a result of gas drag within a circumjovian disk. Support for this research from NASA Outer Planets Research Program is gratefully acknowledged.

Space science and applications: Strategic plan 1991

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1991-01-01

The Office of Space Science and Applications (OSSA) 1991 Strategic Plan reflects a transitional year in which we respond to changes and focus on carrying out a vital space science program and strengthening our research base to reap the benefits of current and future missions. The Plan is built on interrelated, complementary strategies for the core space science program, for Mission to Planet Earth, and for Mission from Planet Earth. Each strategy has its own unique themes and mission priorities, but they share a common set of principles and a common goal - leadership through the achievement of excellence. Discussed here is the National Space Policy; an overview of OSSA activities, goals, and objectives; and the implications of the OSSA space science and applications strategy.

Monitoring the High-Energy Radiation Environment of Exoplanets Around Low-mass Stars with SPARCS (Star-Planet Activity Research CubeSat)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shkolnik, Evgenya L.; Ardila, David; Barman, Travis; Beasley, Matthew; Bowman, Judd D.; Gorjian, Varoujan; Jacobs, Daniel; Jewell, April; Llama, Joe; Meadows, Victoria; Nikzad, Shouleh; Scowen, Paul; Swain, Mark; Zellem, Robert

2018-01-01

Roughly seventy-five billion M dwarfs in our galaxy host at least one small planet in the habitable zone (HZ). The stellar ultraviolet (UV) radiation from M dwarfs is strong and highly variable, and impacts planetary atmospheric loss, composition and habitability. These effects are amplified by the extreme proximity of their HZs (0.1–0.4 AU). Knowing the UV environments of M dwarf planets will be crucial to understanding their atmospheric composition and a key parameter in discriminating between biological and abiotic sources for observed biosignatures. The Star-Planet Activity Research CubeSat (SPARCS) will be a 6U CubeSat devoted to photometric monitoring of M stars in the far-UV and near-UV, measuring the time-dependent spectral slope, intensity and evolution of M dwarf stellar UV radiation. For each target, SPARCS will observe continuously over at least one complete stellar rotation (5 - 45 days). SPARCS will also advance UV detector technology by flying high quantum efficiency, UV-optimized detectors developed at JPL. These Delta-doped detectors have a long history of deployment demonstrating greater than five times the quantum efficiency of the detectors used by GALEX. SPARCS will pave the way for their application in missions like LUVOIR or HabEx, including interim UV-capable missions. SPARCS will also be capable of ‘target-of-opportunity’ UV observations for the rocky planets in M dwarf HZs soon to be discovered by NASA’s TESS mission, providing the needed UV context for the first habitable planets that JWST will characterize.Acknowledgements: Funding for SPARCS is provided by NASA’s Astrophysics Research and Analysis program, NNH16ZDA001N.

Tectonic Evolution of the Terrestrial Planets

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Solomon, Sean C.; Senski, David G. (Technical Monitor)

2002-01-01

The NASA Planetary Geology and Geophysics Program supported a wide range of work on the geophysical evolution of the terrestrial planets during the period 1 April 1997 - 30 September 2001. We here provide highlights of the research carried out under this grant over the final year of the award, and we include a full listing of publications and scientific meeting presentations supported by this project. Throughout the grant period, our group consisted of the Principal Investigator and several Postdoctoral Associates, all at the Department of Terrestrial Magnetism (DTM) of the Carnegie Institution of Washington.

Organizational performance comparative study of Jakarta and Medan city happy planet index

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Perdamenta Tarigan, Nuah

2018-03-01

Comparative Study of Organizational Performance relating to the Happy Planet Index between Jakarta and Medan is quite challenging, the performance of the organization here is related to organizational arrangements relating to the potential associated with Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), which is based on ISO 26000, how local leaders put the idea to build a city not only by the government budget each area, but also invite the participation of companies that have programs related to community empowerment is not a fund for cash, but the real form that is present in removing the great problems in society cities beyond than just its obligations but has become a conscious citizen that cares about its environment both natural and artificial. In the end of this research, we will see which one is the best based on the standard Happy Planet Index (HPI) which is phenomenal in the world now, connected again with 17 pieces of Sustainable Development Goals, particularly the goal of the 17th. The study was conducted by the research literature and implemented in a short time. However, a large study being conducted by the researcher.

NASA's Exobiology Program.

PubMed

DeVincenzi, D L

1984-01-01

The goal of NASA's Exobiology Program is to understand the origin, evolution, and distribution of life, and life-related molecules, on Earth and throughout the universe. Emphasis is focused on determining how the rate and direction of these processes were affected by the chemical and physical environment of the evolving planet, as well as by planetary, solar, and astrophysical phenomena. This is accomplished by a multi-disciplinary program of research conducted by over 60 principal investigators in both NASA and university laboratories. Major program thrusts are in the following research areas: biogenic elements; chemical evolution; origin of life; organic geochemistry; evolution of higher life forms; solar system exploration; and the search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI).

Effect of the Planet Health Intervention on Eating Disorder Symptoms in Massachusetts Middle Schools, 2005–2008

PubMed Central

Spadano-Gasbarro, Jennifer L.; Greaney, Mary L.; Blood, Emily A.; Hunt, Anne T.; Richmond, Tracy K.; Wang, Monica L.; Mezgebu, Solomon; Osganian, Stavroula K.; Peterson, Karen E.

2012-01-01

Introduction The Planet Health obesity prevention curriculum has prevented purging and abuse of diet pills (disordered weight control behavior [DWCB]) in middle-school girls in randomized trials, but the effects of Planet Health on DWCB when implemented by schools under dissemination conditions are not known. Methods Massachusetts Department of Public Health and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts disseminated Planet Health as part of the 3-year, Healthy Choices obesity prevention program in middle schools. We conducted an evaluation in 45 schools from fall 2005 to spring 2008. We gathered data from school staff to quantify intervention activities, and we gathered anonymous cross-sectional survey data from students on DWCB at baseline and Year 3 follow-up (n = 16,369). Multivariate logistic analyses with generalized estimating equations examined the effect of intervention activities on odds of students reporting DWCB at follow-up. Results Students in schools reaching a high number of youth with Planet Health lessons on reducing television viewing had lower odds of DWCB at follow-up (odds ratio [OR], 0.80 per 100 lesson-exposures; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.74–0.85). In addition, reduced odds of DWCB at follow-up were found in schools with active staff teamwork (OR, 0.76; 95% CI, 0.66–0.86) and the presence of programs addressing television viewing goals with staff (OR, 0.38; 95% CI, 0.28–0.53). Conclusion Combined evidence from efficacy and effectiveness trials and now from dissemination research indicates that appropriately designed obesity prevention programs can achieve DWCB prevention on a large scale. PMID:23194779

Astronomy and astrophysics for the 1980's. Volume 1 - Report of the Astronomy Survey Committee. Volume 2 - Reports of the Panels

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Recommended priorities for astronomy and astrophysics in the 1980s are considered along with the frontiers of astrophysics, taking into account large-scale structure in the universe, the evolution of galaxies, violent events, the formation of stars and planets, solar and stellar activity, astronomy and the forces of nature, and planets, life, and intelligence. Approved, continuing, and previously recommended programs are related to the Space Telescope and the associated Space Telescope Science Institute, second-generation instrumentation for the Space Telescope, and Gamma Ray Observatory, facilities for the detection of solar neutrinos, and the Shuttle Infrared Telescope Facility. Attention is given to the prerequisites for new research initiatives, new programs, programs for study and development, high-energy astrophysics, radio astronomy, theoretical and laboratory astrophysics, data processing and computational facilities, organization and education, and ultraviolet, optical, and infrared astronomy.

The Life Sciences program at the NASA Ames Research Center - An overview

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Vernikos-Danellis, Joan; Sharp, Joseph C.

1989-01-01

The research projects planned for the Life Sciences program have a goal of answering basic questions concerning the nature of life itself and its evolution in the universe from basic elements, as well as the search for extraterrestrial intelligence. The program also includes studies of the evolution and development of life on the planet earth, and the global changes occurring today that affect life on the earth. The paper describes the simulation models developed to study the effects of space, the flight projects of the program, and the biomedical program, which currently focuses on the physiological changes in the human body that are associated with space flights and the interactions among these changes.

Follow-Up Photometry of Kelt Transiting Planet Candidates

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stephens, Denise C.; Joner, Michael D.; Hintz, Eric G.; Martin, Trevor; Spencer, Alex; Kelt Follow-Up Network (FUN) Team

2017-10-01

We have three telescopes at BYU that we use to follow-up possible transiting planet canidates for the KELT team. These telescopes were used to collect data on Kelt-16b and Kelt-9b, which is the hottest known exoplanet. More recently we used the newest of these telescopes, a robotic 8-inch telescope on the roof of our building, to confirm the most recent Kelt planet that will be published soon. This research has been ideal for the teaching and training of undergraduate students in the art of photometric observing and data reduction. In this presentation I will highlight how we are using our membership in the Kelt team to further the educational objective of our undergraduate astronomy program, while contributing meaningful science to the ever growing field of exoplanet discovery. I will also highlight a few of the more interesting Kelt planets and the minimum telescope requirements for detecting these planets. I will then discuss the sensitivities required to follow-up future TESS candidates, which may be of interest to others interested in joining the TESS follow-up teams.

The Backyard Worlds: Planet 9 Citizen Science Project

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Faherty, Jacqueline K.; Kuchner, Marc; Schneider, Adam; Meisner, Aaron; Gagné, Jonathan; Filippazzo, Joeseph; Trouille, Laura; Backyard Worlds: Planet 9 Collaboration; Jacqueline Faherty

2018-01-01

In February of 2017 our team launched a new citizen science project entitled Backyard Worlds: Planet 9 to scan the cosmos for fast moving stars, brown dwarfs, and even planets. This Zooniverse website, BackyardWorlds.org, invites anyone with a computer or smartphone to flip through WISE images taken over a several year baseline and mark any point source that appears to move. This “blinking technique” is the same that Clyde Tombaugh discovered Pluto with over 80 years ago. In the first few days of our program we recruited over 30,000 volunteers. After 3/4 of a year with the program we have completed 30% of the sky and our participants have identified several hundred candidate movers. These include (1) over 20 candidate Y-type brown dwarfs, (2) a handful of new co-moving systems containing a previously unidentified low mass object and a known nearby star, (3) over 100 previously missed M dwarfs, (4) and more than 200 candidate L and T brown dwarfs, many of which occupy outlier positions on reduced proper motion diagrams. Our first publication credited four citizen scientists as co-authors. The Backyard Worlds: Planet 9 project is both scientifically fruitful and empowering for any mind across the globe that has ever wanted to participate in a discovery-driven astronomy research project.

A review of the US Global Change Research Program and NASA's Mission to Planet Earth/Earth Observing System

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Moore, Berrien, III; Anderson, James G.; Costanza, Robert; Gates, W. Lawrence; Grew, Priscilla C.; Leinen, Margaret S.; Mayewski, Paul A.; McCarthy, James J.; Sellers, Piers J.

1995-01-01

This report reflects the results of a ten-day workshop convened at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography July 19-28, 1995. The workshop was convened as the first phase of a two part review of the U.S. Global Change Research Program (USGCRP). The workshop was organized to provide a review of the scientific foundations and progress to date in the USGCRP and an assessment of the implications of new scientific insights for future USGCRP and Mission to Planet Earth/Earth Observing System (MTPE/EOS) activities; a review of the role of NASA's MTPE/EOS program in the USGCRP observational strategy; a review of the EOS Data and Information System (EOSDIS) as a component of USGCRP data management activities; and an assessment of whether recent developments in the following areas lead to a need to readjust MTPE/EOS plans. Specific consideration was given to: proposed convergence of U.S. environmental satellite systems and programs, evolving international plans for Earth observation systems, advances in technology, and potential expansion of the role of the private sector. The present report summarizes the findings and recommendations developed by the Committee on Global Change Research on the basis of the presentations, background materials, working group deliberations, and plenary discussions of the workshop. In addition, the appendices include summaries prepared by the six working groups convened in the course of the workshop.

Research in particle and gamma-ray astrophysics

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Stone, E. C.; Davis, L., Jr.; Mewaldt, R. A.; Prince, T. A.

1988-01-01

Research activities in cosmic rays, gamma rays, and astrophysical plasmas are covered. Each activity is described, followed by a bibliography. The research program is directed toward the investigation of the astrophysical aspects of cosmic rays and gamma rays and of the radiation and electromagnetic field environment of the earth and other planets. These investigations were performed by means of energetic particle and photon detector systems flown on spacecraft and balloons.

Experimental and Theoretical Studies of Pressure Broadened Alkali-Metal Atom Resonance Lines

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Shindo, F.; Zhu, C.; Kirby, K.; Babb, J. F.

2006-01-01

We are carrying out a joint theoretical and experimental research program to study the broadening of alkali atom resonance lines due to collisions with helium and molecular hydrogen for applications to spectroscopic studies of brown dwarfs and extrasolar giant planets.

Our changing planet

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

A report entitled “Our Changing Planet: A U.S. Strategy for Global Change Research,” was released on January 9 with President Reagan's 1990 budget. The report is intended to provide a coordinated foundation for planning the U.S. program to study changes in the Earth system, and it outlines a program of focused research that grows from $133.9 million in FY 89 to $190.5 million in FY 90. These funds are included in the budgets of the National Science Foundation, Department of Energy, Department of the Interior, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Department of Commerce, Environmental Protection Agency, and U.S. Department of Agriculture.The report was prepared by the Committee on Earth Sciences (CES) of the Federal Coordinating Council for Science, Engineering, and Technology. The CES is chaired by Dallas Peck of the U.S. Geological Survey and has members from the Council on Environmental Quality, Department of State, Office of Management and Budget, Office of Science and Technology Policy, USDA, EPA, NASA, Department of Defense, DOE, DOC, Department of Transportation, and the NSF.

A Killer Asteroids Research Project for Undergraduate Non-Majors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Puckett, Andrew W.; Rector, T. A.

2009-01-01

We present a progress report on the development and testing of our Killer Asteroids Research Project, which enables the assessment of asteroid impact risk in the undergraduate classroom. This is part of an NSF CCLI grant to develop Research Based Science Education (RBSE) curricula for non-majors. Our curricula include six projects covering astrometric, photometric, and spectroscopic techniques, which are being tested at multiple schools of varying sizes around the country. We report on the second semester of testing this project with undergraduates at the University of Alaska Anchorage. Students use our Polaris Plugin for ImageJ to perform both astrometry and aperture photometry on research-grade astronomical images. The output is fed into Find_Orb, which uses a Monte Carlo method to compute orbital elements for thousands of possible orbits. The resulting orbit database is then fed into a planetarium program, which allows students to visualize the uncertainty region and to observe how that region changes with time and/or additional data. For potentially hazardous asteroids, impact risk is assessed by counting the number of "clone” orbits that strike a planet's surface. Alternatively, the output from our plugin can be used directly to measure the lightcurves of minor planets, leading to an improved understanding of their shapes. This plugin is the first FITS reader to produce correct time-stamps for minor planet observations found in the SDSS, which observes in drift-scan mode. Recent progress is promising. We are in dialogue with software engineers behind both Starry Night and Guide, helping to improve these planetarium programs as research tools. We are also constantly improving the Polaris Plugin, most recently to make it compatible with the astrometry format used by the websites NeoDys and AstDys.

Characterization and Validation of Transiting Planets in the TESS SPOC Pipeline

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Twicken, Joseph D.; Caldwell, Douglas A.; Davies, Misty; Jenkins, Jon Michael; Li, Jie; Morris, Robert L.; Rose, Mark; Smith, Jeffrey C.; Tenenbaum, Peter; Ting, Eric; Wohler, Bill

2018-06-01

Light curves for Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) target stars will be extracted and searched for transiting planet signatures in the Science Processing Operations Center (SPOC) Science Pipeline at NASA Ames Research Center. Targets for which the transiting planet detection threshold is exceeded will be processed in the Data Validation (DV) component of the Pipeline. The primary functions of DV are to (1) characterize planets identified in the transiting planet search, (2) search for additional transiting planet signatures in light curves after modeled transit signatures have been removed, and (3) perform a comprehensive suite of diagnostic tests to aid in discrimination between true transiting planets and false positive detections. DV data products include extensive reports by target, one-page summaries by planet candidate, and tabulated transit model fit and diagnostic test results. DV products may be employed by humans and automated systems to vet planet candidates identified in the Pipeline. TESS will launch in 2018 and survey the full sky for transiting exoplanets over a period of two years. The SPOC pipeline was ported from the Kepler Science Operations Center (SOC) codebase and extended for TESS after the mission was selected for flight in the NASA Astrophysics Explorer program. We describe the Data Validation component of the SPOC Pipeline. The diagnostic tests exploit the flux (i.e., light curve) and pixel time series associated with each target to support the determination of the origin of each purported transiting planet signature. We also highlight the differences between the DV components for Kepler and TESS. Candidate planet detections and data products will be delivered to the Mikulski Archive for Space Telescopes (MAST); the MAST URL is archive.stsci.edu/tess. Funding for the TESS Mission has been provided by the NASA Science Mission Directorate.

Kepler Mission: Detecting Earth-sized Planets in Habitable Zones

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kondo, Yoji; Fisher, Richard R. (Technical Monitor)

2001-01-01

The Kepler Mission, which is presently in Phase A, is being proposed for launch in 5 years for a 4-year mission to determine the frequency of Earth-sized or larger planets in habitable zones in our galaxy. Kepler will be placed in an Earth-trailing orbit to provide stable physical environments for the sensitive scientific instruments. The satellite is equipped with a photometric system with the precision of 10E-5, which should be sufficient for detecting the transits of Earth-sized or larger planets in front of dwarf stars similar to the Sun. Approximately 100,000 or more sun-like stars brighter than the 14th apparently magnitude will be monitored continuously for 4 years in a preselected region of the sky, which is about 100 square degrees in size. In addition, Kepler will have a participating scientist program that will enable research in intrinsic variable stars, interacting binaries including cataclysmic stars and X-ray binaries, and a large number of solar analogs in our galaxy. Several ten thousand additional stars may be investigated in the guest observer program open to the whole world.

Our Mission to Planet Earth: A guide to teaching Earth system science

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1994-01-01

Volcanic eruptions, hurricanes, floods, and El Nino are naturally occurring events over which humans have no control. But can human activities cause additional environmental change? Can scientists predict the global impacts of increased levels of pollutants in the atmosphere? Will the planet warm because increased levels of greenhouse gases, produced by the burning of fossil fuels, trap heat and prevent it from being radiated back into space? Will the polar ice cap melt, causing massive coastal flooding? Have humans initiated wholesale climatic change? These are difficult questions, with grave implications. Predicting global change and understanding the relationships among earth's components have increased in priority for the nation. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), along with many other government agencies, has initiated long-term studies of earth's atmosphere, oceans, and land masses using observations from satellite, balloon, and aircraft-borne instruments. NASA calls its research program Mission to Planet Earth. Because NASA can place scientific instruments far above earth's surface, the program allows scientists to explore earth's components and their interactions on a global scale.

Crowdfunding Astronomy Research With Google Sky

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Metcalfe, Travis S.

2015-12-01

For nearly four years, NASA's Kepler space telescope searched for planets like Earth around more than 150,000 stars similar to the Sun. In 2008 with in-kind support from several technology companies, our non-profit organization established the Pale Blue Dot Project, an adopt-a-star program that supports scientific research on the stars observed by the Kepler mission. To help other astronomy educators conduct successful fundraising efforts, I describe how this innovative crowdfunding program successfully engaged the public over the past seven years to help support an international team in an era of economic austerity.

Research in particle and gamma-ray astrophysics

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Stone, E. C.; Davis, L., Jr.; Mewaldt, R. A.; Prince, T. A.

1988-01-01

This research program is directed toward the investigation of the astrophysical aspects of cosmic rays and gamma rays and of the radiation and electromagnetic field environment of the Earth and other planets. The emphasis was on precice measurements with high resolution in charge, mass and energy. These investigations were carried out by means of energetic particle and photon detector systems flown on spacecraft and balloons.

NIRCam Coronagraphic Observations of Disks and Planetary Systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Beichman, Charles A.; Ygouf, Marie; Gaspar, Andras; NIRCam Science Team

2017-06-01

The NIRCam coronagraph offers a dramatic increase in sensitivity at wavelengths of 3-5 um where young planets are brightest. While large ground-based telescopes with Extreme Adaptive Optics have an advantage in inner working angle, NIRCam's sensitivity will allow high precision photometry for known planets and searches for planets with masses below that of Saturn. For debris disk science NIRCam observations will address the scattering properties of dust, look for evidence of ices and tholins, and search for planets which affect the structure of the disk itself.The NIRCam team's GTO program includes medium-band filter observations of known young planets having 1-5 Jupiter masses. A collaborative program with the MIRI team will provide coronagraphic observations at longer wavelengths. The combined dataset will yield the exoplanet’s total luminosity and effective temperature, an estimate of the initial entropy of the newly-formed planet, and the retrieval of atmospheric properties.The program will also make deep searches for lower mass planets toward known planetary systems, nearby young M stars and debris disk systems. Achievable mass limits range from ~1 Jupiter mass beyond 20 AU for the brightest A stars to perhaps a Uranus mass within 10 AU for the closest M stars.We will discuss details of the coronagraphic program for both the exoplanet and debris disk cases with an emphasis on using APT to optimize the observations of target and reference stars.

Magnetometer instrument team studies for the definition phase of the outer planets grand tour

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Coleman, P. J., Jr.

1972-01-01

The objectives of magnetic field investigations on missions to the outer planets were defined as well as an instrumentation system, a program of studies and instrument development tasks was proposed for the mission definition phase of the Outer Planets Grand Tour project. A report on the status of this program is given. Requirements were also established for the spacecraft and the mission which would insure their compatibility with the magnetic field investigation proposed for the outer planets missions and developed figures of merit for encounter trajectories. The spacecraft-instrumentation interface and the on-board data handling system were defined in various reports by the Project Team and in the reports by the Science Steering Group. The defining program for exploring the outer planets within the more restrictive constraints of the Mariner Jupiter-Saturn project included defining a limited magnetic field investigation.

NASA's terrestial planet finder: the search for (habitable) planets

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Beichman, C. A.

2000-01-01

One of the primary goals of NASA's Origins program is the search for hospitable planets. I will describe how the Terrestrial Planet Finder (TPF) will revolutionize our understanding of the origin and evolution of planetary systems, and possibly even find signs of life beyond Earth.

NASA's Terrestrial Planet Finder: The Search for (Habitable) Planets

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Beichman, C.

1999-01-01

One of the primary goals of NASA's Origins program is the search for habitable planets. I will describe how the Terrestrial Planet Finder (TPF) will revolutionize our understanding of the origin and evolution of planetary systems, and possibly even find signs of life beyond the Earth.

77 FR 3102 - Procedures for Implementing the National Environmental Policy Act

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-01-23

... from solar system bodies (such as asteroids, comets, planets, dwarf planets, and planetary moons.../program which would return samples to Earth from solar system bodies (such as asteroids, comets, planets, dwarf planets, and planetary moons), which would likely receive a Restricted Earth Return categorization...

Three-dimensional presentation of the earth and planets in classrooms and science centers with a spherical screen

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Saito, A.; Tsugawa, T.; Odagi, Y.; Nishi, N.; Miyazaki, S.; Ichikawa, H.

2012-12-01

Educational programs have been developed for the earth and planetary science using a three-dimensional presentation system of the Earth and planets with a spherical screen. They have been used in classrooms of universities, high schools, elementary schools, and science centers. Two-dimensional map is a standard tool to present the data of the Earth and planets. However the distortion of the shape is inevitable especially for the map of wide areas. Three-dimensional presentation of the Earth, such as globes, is an only way to avoid this distortion. There are several projects to present the earth and planetary science results in three-dimension digitally, such as Science on a sphere (SOS) by NOAA, and Geo-cosmos by the National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation (Miraikan), Japan. These projects are relatively large-scale in instruments and cost, and difficult to use in classrooms and small-scale science centers. Therefore we developed a portable, scalable and affordable system of the three-dimensional presentation of the Earth and planets, Dagik Earth. This system uses a spherical screen and a PC projector. Several educational programs have been developed using Dagik Earth under collaboration of the researchers of the earth and planetary science and science education, school teachers, and curators of science centers, and used in schools and museums in Japan, Taiwan and other countries. It helps learners to achieve the proper cognition of the shape and size of the phenomena on the Earth and planets. Current status and future development of the project will be introduced in the presentation.

Modeling the Earth system in the Mission to Planet Earth era

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Unninayar, Sushel; Bergman, Kenneth H.

1993-01-01

A broad overview is made of global earth system modeling in the Mission to Planet Earth (MTPE) era for the multidisciplinary audience encompassed by the Global Change Research Program (GCRP). Time scales of global system fluctuation and change are described in Section 2. Section 3 provides a rubric for modeling the global earth system, as presently understood. The ability of models to predict the future state of the global earth system and the extent to which their predictions are reliable are covered in Sections 4 and 5. The 'engineering' use of global system models (and predictions) is covered in Section 6. Section 7 covers aspects of an increasing need for improved transform algorithms and better methods to assimilate this information into global models. Future monitoring and data requirements are detailed in Section 8. Section 9 covers the NASA-initiated concept 'Mission to Planet Earth,' which employs space and ground based measurement systems to provide the scientific basis for understanding global change. Section 10 concludes this review with general remarks concerning the state of global system modeling and observing technology and the need for future research.

A comprehensive mission to planet Earth: Woods Hole Space Science and Applications Advisory Committee Planning Workshop

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1991-01-01

The NASA program Mission to Planet Earth (MTPE) is described in this set of visuals presented in Massachusetts on July 29, 1991. The problem presented in this document is that the earth system is changing and that human activity accelerates the rate of change resulting in increased greenhouse gases, decreasing levels of stratospheric ozone, acid rain, deforestation, decreasing biodiversity, and overpopulation. Various national and international organizations are coordinating global change research. The complementary space observations for this activity are sun-synchronous polar orbits, low-inclination, low altitude orbits, geostationary orbits, and ground measurements. The Geostationary Earth Observatory is the major proposed mission of MTPE. Other proposed missions are EOS Synthetic Aperture Radar, ARISTOTELES Magnetic Field Experiment, and the Global Topography Mission. Use of the NASA DC-8 aircraft is outlined as carrying out the Airborne Science and Applications Program. Approved Earth Probes Program include the Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer (TOMS). Other packages for earth observation are described.

Improved characterization of the TRAPPIST-1 planets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Delrez, Laetitia; Triaud, Amaury; Gillon, Michael; Demory, Brice-Olivier; Ingalls, Jim; Carey, Sean; Bolmont, Emeline; Queloz, Didier; Jehin, Emmanuel; de, Julien; Kilpatrick, Brian

2017-07-01

The aim of this DDT is to improve the characterization of the TRAPPIST-1 planets by using Spitzer to gather further high-precision infrared photometric time-series. The AORs for this program are in program ID 13067.

Prospecting for Habitable Worlds

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jenkins, Jon M.

2017-01-01

NASAs Kepler Mission was launched in March 2009 as NASAs first mission capable of finding Earth-size planets orbiting in the habitable zone of Sun-like stars, that range of distances for which liquid water would pool on the surface of a rocky planet. Kepler has discovered over 2200 planets and over 2200 candidate planets, many of them as small as the Earth. Forty nine of these are less than twice the size of Earth and orbit in the habitable zone of their stars, all of which are cooler and significantly smaller than the Sun.Today, Keplers amazing success seems to be a fait accompli to those unfamiliar with her history. But twenty years ago, there were no planets known outside our solar system, and few people believed it was possible to detect tiny Earth-size planets orbiting other stars. Indeed, demonstrating that the science was feasible took four proposals to NASAs Discovery Program and extensive research and laboratory demonstrations. Motivating NASA to select Kepler for launch required a confluence of the right detector technology, advances in signal processing and algorithms, and the power of supercomputing. On August 23 2015 we reported the discovery of Kepler-452b, the first small, possibly rocky planet in the habitable zone of a G2 star very similar to our own. Kepler-452b orbits its star once every 385 days in an orbit just 5 larger than that of Earth. This discovery represents an important step towards finding and characterizing small habitable worlds orbiting Sun-like stars.

NASA's Discovery Program: Moving Toward the Edge (of the Solar System)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Johnson, Les; Gilbert, Paul

2007-01-01

NASA's Planetary Science , Division sponsors a competitive program of small spacecraft missions with the goal of performing focused science investigations that complement NASA's larger planetary science explorations at relatively low cost. The goal of the Discovery program is to launch many smaller missions with fast development times to increase our understanding of the solar system by exploring the planets, dwarf planets, their moons, and small bodies such as comets and asteroids. Discovery missions are solicited from the broad planetary science community approximately every 2 years. Active missions within the Discovery program include several with direct scientific or engineering connections to potential future missions to the edge of the solar system and beyond. In addition to those in the Discovery program are the missions of the New Frontiers program. The first New Frontiers mission. is the New Horizons mission to Pluto, which will explore this 38-AU distant dwarf planet and potentially some Kuiper Belt objects beyond. The Discovery program's Dawn mission, when launched in mid-2007, will use ion drive as its primary propulsion system. Ion propulsion is one of only two technologies that appear feasible for early interstellar precursor missions with practical flight times. The Kepler mission will explore the structure and diversity of extrasolar planetary systems, with an emphasis on the detection of Earth-size planets around other stars. Kepler will survey nearby solar systems searching for planets that may fall within the habitable zone,' a region surrounding a star within which liquid water may exist on a planet's surface - an essential ingredient for life as we know it. With its open and competitive approach to mission selections, the Discovery program affords scientists the opportunity to propose missions to virtually any solar system destination. With its emphasis on science and proven openness to the use of new technologies such as ion propulsion, missions flown as part of the program will test out technologies needed for future very deep-space exploration and potentially take us to these difficult and distant destinations.

Using Comparative Planetology in Exhibit Development

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dusenbery, P. B.; Harold, J. B.; Morrow, C. A.

2004-12-01

It is critically important for the public to better understand the scientific process. Museum exhibitions are an important part of informal science education that can effectively reach public audiences as well as school groups. They provide an important gateway for the public to learn about compelling scientific endeavors. The Space Science Institute (SSI) is a national leader in producing traveling science exhibitions and their associated educational programming (i.e. interactive websites, educator workshops, public talks, instructional materials). The focus of this presentation will be on three of its exhibit projects: MarsQuest (currently on tour), Alien Earths (in fabrication), and Giant Planets (in development). MarsQuest is enabling millions of Americans to share in the excitement of the scientific exploration of Mars and to learn more about their own planet in the process. Alien Earths will bring origins-related research and discoveries to students and the American public. It has four interrelated exhibit areas: Our Place in Space, Star Birth, PlanetQuest, and Search for Life. Exhibit visitors will explore the awesome events surrounding the birth of stars and planets; they will join scientists in the hunt for planets outside our solar system including those that may be in "habitable zones" around other stars; and finally they will be able to learn about how scientists are looking for signs of life beyond Earth. Giant Planets: Exploring the Outer Solar System will take advantage of the excitement generated by the Cassini mission and bring planetary and origins research and discoveries to students and the public. It will be organized around four thematic areas: Our Solar System; Colossal Worlds; Moons, Rings, and Fields; and Make Space for Kids. Giant Planets will open in 2007. This talk will focus on the importance of making Earth comparisons in the conceptual design of each exhibit and will show several examples of how these comparisons were manifested in the MarsQuest & Alien Earths exhibitions.

Environmental Test Program for the Mars Exploration Rover Project

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fisher, Terry C.; VanVelzer, Paul L.

2004-01-01

On June 10 and July 7, 2003 the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) launched two spacecraft from Cape Canaveral, Florida for a six (6) months flight to the Red Planet, Mars. The two Mars Exploration Rover spacecraft landed safely on the planet in January 2004. Prior to the successful launch, both of the spacecraft were involved in a comprehensive test campaign that included development, qualification, and protoflight test programs. Testing was performed to simulate the environments associated with launch, inter-planetary cruise, landing on the planet and Mars surface operations. Unique test requirements included operating the spacecraft while the chamber pressure was controlled to simulate the decent to the planet from deep space, high impact landing loads and rover operations on the surface of the planet at 8 Torr and -130 C. This paper will present an overview of the test program that included vibration, pyro-shock, landing loads, acoustic noise, thermal vacuum and solar simulation testing at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) Environmental Test Laboratory facilities in Pasadena, California.

Ground Based Studies of the Outer Planets

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Trafton, Laurence M.

2005-01-01

This report covers progress to date under this grant on our continuing program to conduct ground based studies of the outer solar system planets and satellites, with emphasis on spectroscopy and atmospheric phenomena. The research continues under our new PAST grant, NNG04G131G beginning 5/1/2004. The original period of performance of the subject grant was 3/1/2001 to 2/28/2004, but was extended one year at no cost. Although there is some overlap in the scientific projects conducted during the extended year with those of the new grant, this report is confined to the portion of the work funded under NAG5-10435. The primary goals for this grant period were a comparative study of outer planet thermospheres/ionospheres near solar maximum, extended to the mid-IR, and the investigation of molecular dimers in outer solar system atmospheres. This project supports NASA's planned space missions, Jupiter Polar Orbiter, outer Planet Microprobes, and the recent Cassini flyby of Jupiter. It also supports the OSS strategic plan themes, The Exploration of the Solar System and The Sun-Earth Connection/ Understanding comparative planetary space environments.

The TESS Transiting Planet Search Predicted Recovery and Reliability Rates

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Smith, Jeffrey C.; Caldwell, Douglas A.; Davies, Misty; Jenkins, Jon Michael; Li, Jie; Morris, Robert L.; Rose, Mark; Tenenbaum, Peter; Ting, Eric; Twicken, Joseph D.; Wohler, Bill

2018-06-01

The Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) will search for transiting planet signatures via the Science Processing Operations Center (SPOC) Science Pipeline at NASA Ames Research Center. We report on predicted transit recovery and reliability rates for planetary signatures. These estimates are based on simulated runs of the pipeline using realistic stellar models and transiting planet populations along with best estimates for instrumental noise, thermal induced focus changes, instrumental drift and stochastic artifacts in the light curve data. Key sources of false positives are identified and summarized. TESS will launch in 2018 and survey the full sky for transiting exoplanets over a period of two years. The SPOC pipeline was ported from the Kepler Science Operations Center (SOC) codebase and extended for TESS after the mission was selected for flight in the NASA Astrophysics Explorer program. Candidate planet detections and data products will be delivered to the Mikulski Archive for Space Telescopes (MAST); the MAST URL is archive.stsci.edu/tess. Funding for the TESS Mission has been provided by the NASA Science Mission Directorate.

An integrated strategy for the planetary sciences: 1995 - 2010

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1994-01-01

In 1992, the National Research Council's Space Studies Board charged its Committee on Planetary and Lunar Exploration (COMPLEX) to: (1) summarize current understanding of the planets and the solar system; (2) pose the most significant scientific questions that remain; and (3) establish the priorities for scientific exploration of the planets for the period from 1995 to 2010. The broad scientific goals of solar system exploration include: (1) understanding how physical and chemical processes determine the major characteristics of the planets, and thereby help us to understand the operation of Earth; (2) learning about how planetary systems originate and evolve; (3) determining how life developed in the solar system, particularly on Earth, and in what ways life modifies planetary environments; and (4) discovering how relatively simple, basic laws of physics and chemistry can lead to the diverse phenomena observed in complex systems. COMPLEX maintains that the most useful new programs to emphasize in the period from 1995 to 2010 are detailed investigations of comets, Mars, and Jupiter and an intensive search for, and characterization of, extrasolar planets.

Neutral Mass Spectrometry for Venus Atmosphere and Surface

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mahaffy, Paul

2004-01-01

The nature of the divergent evolution of the terrestrial planets Venus, Earth, and Mars is a fundamental problem in planetary science that is most relevant to understanding the characteristics of small planets we are likely to discover in extrasolar systems and the number of such systems that may support habitable environments. For this reason, the National Research Council's Decadal Survey gives Venus exploration high priority. That report was the basis of the NASA selection of Venus as one of four prime mission targets for the recently initiated New Frontiers Program. If the Decadal Survey priorities are to be realized, in situ Venus exploration must remain a high priority. Remote sensing orbital and in situ atmospheric measurements from entry probe or balloon platforms might be realized under the low cost Discovery missions while both atmospheric and landed surface measurements are envisioned with the intermediate class missions of the New Frontiers Program.

One Hundred Thousand Eyes: Analysis of Kepler Archival Data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fischer, Debra

We are using a powerful resource, more than 100,000 eyes of users on the successful Planet Hunters Web project, who will identify the best follow-up science targets for this ADAP proposal among the Kepler public archive light curves. Planet Hunters is a Citizen Science program with a user base of more than 50,000 individuals who have already contributed the 24/7 cumulative equivalent of 200 human years assessing Kepler data. They independently identified most of the Kepler candidates with radii greater than 3-4 REARTH and they detected ten transiting planet candidates that were missed by the Kepler pipeline algorithms, including two circumbinary transiting planet candidates. These detections have provided important feedback for the Kepler algorithms about possible leaks where candidates might be lost. Our scientific follow up program will use Planet Hunter classifications of archival data from the Kepler Mission to: "Detect and model new transiting planets: for radii greater than 3 4 REARTH and orbital periods longer than one year, the Planet Hunters should be quite competitive with automated pipelines that require at least 3 transits for a detection and fill in the parameter space for Neptune-size planets over a wide range of orbital periods. For stars where a single transit can be modeled as a long period planet, we will establish a watch list for future transits. We will carry out checks for false positives (pixel centroiding analysis, AO observations, Doppler measurements where appropriate). "Analyze the completeness statistics for Kepler transits and independently determine a corrected planet occurrence rate as a function of planet radius and orbital period. This will be done by injecting synthetic transits into real Kepler light curves and calculating the efficiency with which the transits are detected by Planet Hunters. "Model the full spectroscopic and photometric orbital solutions for a set of ~60 detached eclipsing binary systems with low mass K and M dwarf components- quadrupling the number of fully characterized eclipsing systems with low-mass stars. We will revise the spectral synthesis modeling code, SME, to handle double line spectroscopic binaries (including velocity offets and relative intensity as free parameters). Our data, coupled with the sparse data currently available on late-type stellar radii, will allow us to explore the long-standing discrepancy between theory and observation in the sense that directly determined radii exceed theory predictions by ~10%. As such, host star radii are often the limiting factor in extracting the planetary radii from Kepler transiting systems since model approaches appear currently flawed. Thus, an empirical calibration to radius relationships for low-mass stars will be fundamentally enabling for the Kepler mission. "Carry out a search for transiting circumbinary planets; Planet Hunters has already detected two of four known eclipsing binary systems with transiting planets. "Develop a guest scientist program so that the larger community can tap into Planet Hunters with special programs. "Further develop our in-house software analysis tools for modeling light curves, analyzing pixel centroid offsets and measuring Doppler shifts in eclipsing binaries; we will make these programs available in the public domain (Astrophysics Source Code Library).

Research in particles and fields

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Stone, E. C.; Davis, L., Jr.; Mewaldt, R. A.; Prince, T. A.

1987-01-01

Discussed are the research activities in Cosmic Rays, Gamma Rays, and Astrophysical Plasmas supported under NASA Grant NGR 05-002-160. The report is divided into sections which describe the activities, followed by a bibliography. This research program is directed toward the investigation of the astrophysical aspects of cosmic rays and gamma rays and of the radiation and electromagnetic field environment of the Earth and other planets. These investigations are carried out by means of energetic particle and photon detector systems flown on spacecraft and balloons.

Research in particles and fields

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Stone, E. C.; Davis, L., Jr.; Mewaldt, R. A.; Prince, T. A.

1985-01-01

Research activities in Cosmic Rays, Gamma Rays, and Astrophysical Plasmas supported under NASA Grant NGR 05-002-160 are discussed. The report is divided into sections which describe the activities, followed by a bibliography. This group's research program is directed toward the investigation of the astrophysical aspects of cosmic rays and gamma rays and of the radiation and electromagnetic field environment of the Earth and other planets. These investigations are carried out by means of energetic particle and photon detector systems flown on spacecraft and balloons.

Vision 21: The NASA strategic plan

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1992-01-01

The NASA Strategic Plan, Vision 21, is a living roadmap to the future to guide the men and women of the NASA team as they ensure U.S. leadership in space exploration and aeronautics research. This multiyear plan consists of a set of programs and activities that will retain our leadership in space science and the exploration of the solar system; help rebuild our nation's technology base and strengthen our leadership in aviation and other key industries; encourage commercial applications of space technology; use the unique perspective of space to better understand our home planet; provide the U.S. and its partners with a permanent space based research facility; expand on the legacy of Apollo and initiate precursor activities to establish a lunar base; and allow us a journey into tomorrow, journey to another planet (Mars), and beyond.

Hubble 2020: Outer Planet Atmospheres Legacy (OPAL) Program

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Simon, Amy

2017-08-01

Long time base observations of the outer planets are critical in understanding the atmospheric dynamics and evolution of the gas giants. We propose yearly monitoring of each giant planet for the remainder of Hubble's lifetime to provide a lasting legacy of increasingly valuable data for time-domain studies. The Hubble Space Telescope is a unique asset to planetary science, allowing high spatial resolution data with absolute photometric knowledge. For the outer planets, gas/ice giant planets Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune, many phenomena happen on timescales of years to decades, and the data we propose are beyond the scope of a typical GO program. Hubble is the only platform that can provide high spatial resolution global studies of cloud coloration, activity, and motion on a consistent time basis to help constrain the underlying mechanics.

Radial velocity detection of extra-solar planetary systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cochran, William D.

1991-01-01

The goal of this program was to detect planetary systems in orbit around other stars through the ultra high precision measurement of the orbital motion of the star around the star-planet barycenter. The survey of 33 nearby solar-type stars is the essential first step in understanding the overall problem of planet formation. The program will accumulate the necessary statistics to determine the frequency of planet formation as a function of stellar mass, age, and composition.

Probing Initial Conditions and Outcomes: Star and Planet Formation Programs within the NIRCam GTO Program

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Meyer, Michael; NIRCam Star and Planet Formation Theme Team

2017-06-01

With its extraordinary sensitivity, wavelength coverage from < 1 to 5 microns, 2.2x4.4 arc minute field of view, and diversity of observing modes, NIRCam on JWST offers very powerful capabilities to explore the origins of stars and planets. Here we describe programs planned within the NIRCam GTO Program including: i) extinction mapping of pre-stellar cores; ii) massive star formation; iii) embedded clusters and the end of the IMF; iv) imaging and spectroscopy of young stellar objects; and v) excitation of PAH features. We will describe the scope of each program, selection of observing modes and rationale, as well as provide some explicit examples of program design. We will also review the expected outcomes, illustrating the power of NIRCam to answer questions fundamental to understanding the origins of stars and planets.

Experience our Planet - EPO Opportunities in a Museum Environment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schneider, S.

2013-12-01

Earth science interpretation is more than giving your audience facts and figures. It is about relate Earth sciences to something within the personality or experience of your audience. It is about revelation based on information rather than just give away information per se. And: The chief aim of interpretation is not instruction but provocation. A great environment for Earth and Space science communication is a museum. Whether it is an art gallery, a technology exhibition or a national park's visitor center doesn't matter. Everywhere, Earth science interpretation is possible and sometimes even more successful in unsuspected locations than in natural history museums. Earth and Space sciences just started to use the potential which lies within museum environments. A historic view on Earth sciences and natural hazard research can be given in art galleries. The technology used in research can be showcased and - sometimes - even tested in science centers and technology museums. National Parks provide the best opportunity to actually experience the dynamic planet Earth live. Furthermore, museums do offer a great venue for educational programs. Just recently, the German Research and Development Program GEOTECHNOLOGIEN, together with the Germany's Geounion and the Institute for Advanced Sustainable Studies initiated a network of research institutions and museums called GeoED. Within this network, scientists and educationists as well as teachers will find an environment to create and enhance educational programs in Earth and Space science. Therefore, museums do not only provide the venue, but also the frame for sustainable Earth and Space science interpretation. This talk aims towards giving an insight view on how to conduct interpretive programs in museums, how to utilize the treasures and possibilities provided by museums and national parks and to encourage scientists to go to these places for face-to-face Earth science interpretation.

NASA funding opportunities for optical fabrication and testing technology development

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stahl, H. Philip

2013-09-01

NASA requires technologies to fabricate and test optical components to accomplish its highest priority science missions. The NRC ASTRO2010 Decadal Survey states that an advanced large-aperture UVOIR telescope is required to enable the next generation of compelling astrophysics and exo-planet science; and, that present technology is not mature enough to affordably build and launch any potential UVOIR mission concept. The NRC 2012 NASA Space Technology Roadmaps and Priorities Report states that the highest priority technology in which NASA should invest to `Expand our understanding of Earth and the universe' is next generation X-ray and UVOIR telescopes. Each of the Astrophysics division Program Office Annual Technology Reports (PATR) identifies specific technology needs. NASA has a variety of programs to fund enabling technology development: SBIR (Small Business Innovative Research); the ROSES APRA and SAT programs (Research Opportunities in Space and Earth Science; Astrophysics Research and Analysis program; Strategic Astrophysics Technology program); and several Office of the Chief Technologist (OCT) programs.

NASA Funding Opportunities for Optical Fabrication and Testing Technology Development

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Stahl, H. Philip

2013-01-01

NASA requires technologies to fabricate and test optical components to accomplish its highest priority science missions. The NRC ASTRO2010 Decadal Survey states that an advanced large-aperture UVOIR telescope is required to enable the next generation of compelling astrophysics and exo-planet science; and, that present technology is not mature enough to affordably build and launch any potential UVOIR mission concept. The NRC 2012 NASA Space Technology Roadmaps and Priorities Report states that the highest priority technology in which NASA should invest to 'Expand our understanding of Earth and the universe' is next generation X-ray and UVOIR telescopes. Each of the Astrophysics division Program Office Annual Technology Reports (PATR) identifies specific technology needs. NASA has a variety of programs to fund enabling technology development: SBIR (Small Business Innovative Research); the ROSES APRA and SAT programs (Research Opportunities in Space and Earth Science; Astrophysics Research and Analysis program; Strategic Astrophysics Technology program); and several Office of the Chief Technologist (OCT) programs

NASA Funding Opportunities for Optical Fabrication and Testing Technology Development

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Stahl, H. Philip

2013-01-01

Technologies to fabricate and test optical components are required for NASA to accomplish its highest priority science missions. For example, the NRC ASTRO2010 Decadal Survey states that an advanced large-aperture UVOIR telescope is required to enable the next generation of compelling astrophysics and exo-planet science; and that present technology is not mature enough to affordably build and launch any potential UVOIR mission concept. The NRC 2012 NASA Space Technology Roadmaps and Priorities report states that the highest priority technology in which NASA should invest to 'Expand our understanding of Earth and the universe' is a new generation of astronomical telescopes. And, each of the Astrophysics division Program Office Annual Technology Reports (PATR), identifies specific technology needs. NASA has a variety of programs to fund enabling technology development: SBIR (Small Business Innovative Research); the ROSES APRA and SAT programs (Research Opportunities in Space and Earth Science; Astrophysics Research and Analysis program; Strategic Astrophysics Technology program); and several Office of the Chief Technologist (OCT) technology development programs.

Galactic Distribution of Planets from Spitzer Microlens Parallaxes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gould, Andrew; Carey, Sean; Yee, Jennifer

2014-12-01

We will measure the 'microlens parallaxes' of about 120 microlensing events that peak during Spitzer's 'bulge window' (2015 Jun 09 - Jul 19), by comparing simultaneous Spitzer and ground-based microlensing lightcurves, making use of Spitzer's location about 1 AU from Earth. These measurements will enable mass and distance measurements of about 4 microlensing planets. The ensemble of planet and non-planet distance measurements will yield the first probe of the Galactic distribution of planets Microlens planet mass measurements are very rare and have proved extremely interesting in every case. Microlensing identifies planets at and beyond the snowline, probing unique parameter space and providing vital information to constrain planet formation and migration theories. But the sample of ground-based microlens-parallax measurements is highly biased toward special systems. Spitzer would provide the first unbiased study. The same survey would provide a unique probe of brown dwarf binaries, and yield the first mass-based (not light-based) measurement of the stellar mass function (i.e., including dark objects such as black holes). A very successful 2014 'Pilot Program' demonstrates that this project is technically and scientifically viable. (As in the previous 'Pilot Program', we request zero day proprietary period.)

ExoData: A Python package to handle large exoplanet catalogue data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Varley, Ryan

2016-10-01

Exoplanet science often involves using the system parameters of real exoplanets for tasks such as simulations, fitting routines, and target selection for proposals. Several exoplanet catalogues are already well established but often lack a version history and code friendly interfaces. Software that bridges the barrier between the catalogues and code enables users to improve the specific repeatability of results by facilitating the retrieval of exact system parameters used in articles results along with unifying the equations and software used. As exoplanet science moves towards large data, gone are the days where researchers can recall the current population from memory. An interface able to query the population now becomes invaluable for target selection and population analysis. ExoData is a Python interface and exploratory analysis tool for the Open Exoplanet Catalogue. It allows the loading of exoplanet systems into Python as objects (Planet, Star, Binary, etc.) from which common orbital and system equations can be calculated and measured parameters retrieved. This allows researchers to use tested code of the common equations they require (with units) and provides a large science input catalogue of planets for easy plotting and use in research. Advanced querying of targets is possible using the database and Python programming language. ExoData is also able to parse spectral types and fill in missing parameters according to programmable specifications and equations. Examples of use cases are integration of equations into data reduction pipelines, selecting planets for observing proposals and as an input catalogue to large scale simulation and analysis of planets. ExoData is a Python package available freely on GitHub.

An adaptive optics search for young extrasolar planets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Macintosh, B.; Zuckerman, B.; Becklin, E. E.; Kaisler, D.; Lowrance, P.; Max, C. E.; Olivier, S.

2000-10-01

In the past five years, many extrasolar planets have been detected indirectly, through radial velocity variations induced in their parent stars. Advances in technology now open up the possibility of directly detecting extrasolar planets through the photons they emit. Direct detection would allow determination of the temperature, radius, and composition of a planet, particularly one in a wide orbit - an important complement to radial velocity techniques. Seeing a planet against the halo of scattered light from its parent star is extremely challenging, but adaptive optics (AO) on 8-10 m telescopes can make this possible. The first such large-telescope AO system is now operational on the 10-m W.M. Keck II telescope. Its current performance is sufficient to detect objects at contrast ratios of 105 at separations of 1" and 106 at 2". This is insufficient to detect the reflected light from a mature Jupiter-like planet, but we can easily detect the near-infrared thermal emission from young (<10-50 MYr) planets, or older brown dwarfs. We are carrying out a search for such planetary companions to young nearby stars, including the TW Hydrae association. We present preliminary results from this survey, including sensitivity limits and follow-up of candidate companions originally detected by NICMOS. We have also imaged the Epsilon Eridani system, and present upper limits on the brightness of the planet detected via radial velocity variations by Cochran et al. This research was performed under the auspices of the U.S. Department of Energy by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory under Contract W-7405-ENG-48, and also supported in part by the Center for Adaptive Optics under the STC Program of the National Science Foundation under Agreement No. AST-9876783

Computational techniques for solar wind flows past terrestrial planets: Theory and computer programs

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Stahara, S. S.; Chaussee, D. S.; Trudinger, B. C.; Spreiter, J. R.

1977-01-01

The interaction of the solar wind with terrestrial planets can be predicted using a computer program based on a single fluid, steady, dissipationless, magnetohydrodynamic model to calculate the axisymmetric, supersonic, super-Alfvenic solar wind flow past both magnetic and nonmagnetic planets. The actual calculations are implemented by an assemblage of computer codes organized into one program. These include finite difference codes which determine the gas-dynamic solution, together with a variety of special purpose output codes for determining and automatically plotting both flow field and magnetic field results. Comparisons are made with previous results, and results are presented for a number of solar wind flows. The computational programs developed are documented and are presented in a general user's manual which is included.

Study of ephemeris accuracy of the minor planets. [using computer based data systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Brooks, D. R.; Cunningham, L. E.

1974-01-01

The current state of minor planet ephemerides was assessed, and the means for providing and updating these emphemerides for use by both the mission planner and the astronomer were developed. A system of obtaining data for all the numbered minor planets was planned, and computer programs for its initial mechanization were developed. The computer based system furnishes the osculating elements for all of the numbered minor planets at an adopted date of October 10, 1972, and at every 400 day interval over the years of interest. It also furnishes the perturbations in the rectangular coordinates relative to the osculating elements at every 4 day interval. Another computer program was designed and developed to integrate the perturbed motion of a group of 50 minor planets simultaneously. Sampled data resulting from the operation of the computer based systems are presented.

Life sciences interests in Mars missions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rummel, John D.; Griffiths, Lynn D.

1989-01-01

NASA's Space Life Sciences research permeates plans for Mars missions and the rationale for the exploration of the planet. The Space Life Sciences program has three major roles in Mars mission studies: providing enabling technology for piloted missions, conducting scientific exploration related to the origin and evolution of life, and protecting space crews from the adverse physiological effects of space flight. This paper presents a rationale for exploration and some of the issues, tradeoffs, and visions being addressed in the Space Life Sciences program in preparation for Mars missions.

The Panchromatic Comparative Exoplanetary Treasury Program

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sing, David

2016-10-01

HST has played the definitive role in the characterization of exoplanets and from the first planets available, we have learned that their atmospheres are incredibly diverse. The large number of transiting planets now available has prompted a new era of atmospheric studies, where wide scale comparative planetology is now possible. The atmospheric chemistry of cloud/haze formation and atmospheric mass-loss are a major outstanding issues in the field of exoplanets, and we seek to make progress gaining insight into their underlying physical process through comparative studies. Here we propose to use Hubble's full spectroscopic capabilities to produce the first large-scale, simultaneous UVOIR comparative study of exoplanets. With full wavelength coverage, an entire planet's atmosphere can be probed simultaneously and with sufficient numbers of planets, we can statistically compare their features with physical parameters for the first time. This panchromatic program will build a lasting HST legacy, providing the UV and blue-optical spectra unavailable to JWST. From these observations, chemistry over a wide range of physical environments will be probed, from the hottest condensates to much cooler planets where photochemical hazes could be present. Constraints on aerosol size and composition will help unlock our understanding of clouds and how they are suspended at such high altitudes. Notably, there have been no large transiting UV HST programs, and this panchromatic program will provide a fundamental legacy contribution to atmospheric escape of small exoplanets, where the mass loss can be significant and have a major impact on the evolution of the planet itself.

G.I.F.K. project: Geosciences Information For Kids

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Merlini, Anna Elisabetta; Grieco, Giovanni; Evardi, Mara; Oneta, Cristina; Invernizzi, Nicoletta; Aiello, Caterina

2016-04-01

Our GIFK program was born after the GIFT experience in 2015 when "The Geco" association attended the workshop focused on mineral resources topics. With an extremely clear vision of the fragility of our planet in relation to our "exploiting" society, we felt the need to find a new way to expose young generations to geoscience topics. With this awareness, a new scientific path for young students, named GIFK -Geosciences Information for Kids- has been created. Thanks to this program, young generations of students are involved in geoscience topics in order to bring up a more eco-aware generation in the future. Particularly, in Italy, we do need new didactic tools to bring kids into science. As part of the classic science program, often teachers do not have time to discuss about the current facts related to our planet and often students do not receive any type of "contact" with the daily scientific events from the school. This program is aimed to introduce small kids, from kindergarten to primary school, to Earth related issues. The key for the educational success is to give children the possibility to get involved in recent scientific information and to plunge into science topics. The connection with up to date scientific research or even just scientific news allows us to use media as a reinforcing tool, and provides a strong link to everyday life. In particular, the first project developed within the GIFK program deals with the amazing recent Sentinel missions performed by ESA (European Space Agency), related to the observation of the Earth from space. The main aim of this project is to discuss about environmental and exploitation problems that the Earth is facing, using satellite images in order to observe direct changes to the Earth surface overtime. Pupils are led to notice and understand how close the relation between daily life and planet Earth is and how important our behavior is even in small acts. Observing the Earth from space and in the Solar System context will give the students the awareness of how the life-balance of our planet is in serious danger now.

To the Planets, Comets, and Beyond: A Vision of Sustained Collaboration

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gaboardi, M.; Grauer, M.; Humayun, M.; Dixon, P.

2007-12-01

Our NASA-funded, E/PO partnership, the Student-Teacher Astronomy Resource (STAR) Program, has been successful in integrating current space science knowledge, scientific inquiry, and educational practices. With our focus on the recent NASA Stardust Mission, we engage teachers, students, and the general public in timely, research-based inquiry into space science. One such component of our program is "The Solar System: To the Planets, Comets, and Beyond," a new curricula that is accessible to, and comfortable for, primary educators, many of whom were previously uncomfortable teaching space science. This achievement is the result of ongoing collaboration between a formal primary educator (Grauer), the director of educational outreach for the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory (Dixon), a cosmochemist (Humayun) and a graduate student (Gaboardi), both researchers in the geochemistry program within the NHMFL. Indicators of success in our outreach program include the following: 1- Increased public awareness of research as evidenced by local television, newspaper, and radio coverage, 2- Requests from individual teachers, schools, and school districts for workshops specific to our program, 3- Overwhelmingly positive formal and informal responses from teachers, students, and parents participating in our program, 4- Requests from high-school students for advice involving science fair projects, 5- High level of performance of Grauer's primary students in space science curricula developed as a result of collaboration, and 6- Integration of a space science component into the sustained outreach program provided by the NHMFL. We are currently collecting formal questionnaires from teachers who have participated in our 2007 workshops to explore the following further indicators of success: 1- teachers' use of our curricula, 2- teachers' comfort levels in teaching space science both before and after attending our workshop, and 3- teachers' evaluation of their own space science content knowledge before and after attending our workshop. Based on formal responses from the 2006 cohort, and informal responses from the 2007 cohort, we expect evaluations to be strongly positive.

Mission to Planet Earth. Strategic enterprise plan, 1995-2000

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

1995-05-01

Mission to Planet Earth (MTPE) provides long-term understanding of the earth system needed to protect and improve our environment, now and for future generations. This MTPE Strategic Enterprise Plan states how NASA intends to meet its responsibility to the Nation for developing a long-term, integrated program of environmental observation in support of informed decision-making. This plan implements the NASA Strategic Plan for the MTPE Enterprise; it is the first version of a rolling 5-year plan that will be updated annually. It is consistent with the interagency program developed by the Committee on Environment and Natural Resources of the National Science and Technology Council and implemented in large part through the U.S. Global Change Research Program. This report consists of the following sections: (1) introduction; (2) scientific foundation; (3) mission (destination and purposes); (4) principle of operation (ethical and quality assurance standards); (5) customer base (to ensure that the right products and services are delivered); (6) internal and external assessments; (7) assumptions; (8) goals, objectives, and strategies; (9) linkages to other strategic enterprises; and (10) summary.

Mission to Planet Earth. Strategic enterprise plan, 1995-2000

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1995-01-01

Mission to Planet Earth (MTPE) provides long-term understanding of the earth system needed to protect and improve our environment, now and for future generations. This MTPE Strategic Enterprise Plan states how NASA intends to meet its responsibility to the Nation for developing a long-term, integrated program of environmental observation in support of informed decision-making. This plan implements the NASA Strategic Plan for the MTPE Enterprise; it is the first version of a rolling 5-year plan that will be updated annually. It is consistent with the interagency program developed by the Committee on Environment and Natural Resources of the National Science and Technology Council and implemented in large part through the U.S. Global Change Research Program. This report consists of the following sections: (1) introduction; (2) scientific foundation; (3) mission (destination and purposes); (4) principle of operation (ethical and quality assurance standards); (5) customer base (to ensure that the right products and services are delivered); (6) internal and external assessments; (7) assumptions; (8) goals, objectives, and strategies; (9) linkages to other strategic enterprises; and (10) summary.

Monitoring the High-Energy Radiation Environment of Exoplanets around Lowmass Stars with SPARCS (Star-Planet Activity Research CubeSat)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shkolnik, Evgenya

Seventy-five billion M dwarfs in our galaxy host at least one small planet in the habitable zone (HZ). The stellar ultraviolet (UV) radiation from M dwarfs is strong and highly variable, and impacts planetary atmospheric loss, composition and habitability. These effects are amplified by the extreme proximity of their HZs (0.1–0.4 AU). JWST will characterize HZ M dwarf planets and attempt the first spectroscopic search for life beyond the Solar System. Knowing the UV environments of M dwarf planets will be crucial to understanding their atmospheric composition and a key parameter in discriminating between biological and abiotic sources for observed biosignatures. The UV flux emitted during the super-luminous premain sequence phase of M stars drives water loss and photochemical O2 buildup for terrestrial planets within the HZ. This phase can persist for up to a billion years for the lowest mass M stars. Afterwards, UV-driven photochemistry during the main sequence phase strongly affects a planet’s atmosphere, could limit the planet’s potential for habitability, and may confuse studies of habitability by creating false chemical biosignatures. Our proposed CubeSat observatory will be the first mission to provide the time-dependent spectral slope, intensity and evolution of M dwarf stellar UV radiation. These measurements are crucial to interpreting observations of planetary atmospheres around low-mass stars. Mission: The Star-Planet Activity Research CubeSat (SPARCS) will be a 6U CubeSat devoted to monitoring 25 M stars in two UV bands: SPARCS far-UV (S- FUV: 153–171 nm) and SPARCS near-UV (S-NUV: 260– 300 nm). For each target, SPARCS will observe continuously between one and three complete stellar rotations (4–45 days) over a mission lifetime of 2 years. A UV characterization survey of M dwarfs, the most common of planet hosts, is a perfect experiment for a CubeSat: - UV astronomy cannot be done from the ground because of Earth’s atmospheric absorption. - Photometry of nearby sources is an efficient use of a small aperture. - Unlike the HST, whose time is shared among many instruments and programs, a CubeSat can provide dedicated space-based long-term monitoring in the UV. Technology: SPARCS will advance UV detector technology by flying high quantum efficiency (QE), UV-optimized detectors developed at JPL. These “delta-doped” detectors have a long history of deployment demonstrating greater than 5x the sensitivity of the detectors used by GALEX. SPARCS will pave the way for their application in missions like LUVOIR or HabEx. Education: The SPARCS research program will train future scientists and mission leaders by mentoring five undergraduate students, three graduate students, and two post-doctoral scholars throughout all aspects of the mission, including engineering, science, data management and outreach. Relevance to NASA: The SPARCS mission will address NASA’s goals of identifying the characteristics and distribution of potentially habitable environments, including HZ planet hosts like Proxima and TRAPPIST-1. SPARCS will also be capable of ‘targetofopportunity’ UV observations of NASA’s TESS yield of rocky planets in M dwarf HZs, some of the first HZ planets to be spectroscopically characterized by JWST. SPARCS can provide the needed UV context for the interpretation of transmission and emission spectra of these potentially habitable planets. Further into the future, SPARCS results will inform the target strategy for the enormous telescopic investments in exoplanet science of LUVOIR or HabEx. SPARCS’ technology will fill a gap in NASA’s capabilities to observe low-mass stellar/planetary systems in the FUV and NUV. HST’s UV capabilities will not last much later than 2019, with future opportunities (e.g., LUVOIR) not arriving until sometime after 2035. The detector technology of this CubeSat will play a crucial role in these and interim UV-capable missions.

Alien Earths: A Traveling Science Exhibit and Education Program

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dusenbery, P. B.; Morrow, C. A.; Harold, J.

2004-05-01

Where did we come from? Are we alone? These age-old questions form the basis of NASA's Origins Program, a series of missions spanning the next twenty years that will use a host of space- and ground-based observatories to understand the origin and development of galaxies, stars, planets, and the conditions necessary to support life. The Space Science Institute in Boulder, CO, is developing a 3,000 square-foot traveling exhibition, called Alien Earths, which will bring origins-related research and discoveries to students and the American public. Alien Earths will have four interrelated exhibit areas: Our Place in Space, Star Birth, PlanetQuest, and Search for Life. Exhibit visitors will explore the awesome events surrounding the birth of stars and planets; they will join scientists in the hunt for planets outside our solar system including those that may be in "habitable zones" around other stars; and finally they will be able to learn about the wide range of conditions for life on Earth and how scientists are looking for signs of life beyond Earth. Visitors will also learn about the tools scientists use, such as space-based and ground-based telescopes, to improve our understanding of the cosmos. The exhibit's size will permit it to visit medium sized museums in all regions of the country. It will begin its 3-year tour to 9 host museums and science centers in early 2005 at the Lawrence Hall of Science in Berkeley, California. The Association of Science-Technology Centers (ASTC) will manage the exhibit's national tour. In addition to the exhibit, the project includes workshops for educators and docents at host sites, as well as a public website that will use exhibit content to delve deeper into origins research. Current partners in the Alien Earths project include ASTC, Denver Museum of Nature and Science, Lawrence Hall of Science, NASA Astrobiology Institute, NASA missions (Navigator, SIRTF, and Kepler), the SETI Institute, and the Space Telescope Science Institute. (Supported by grants from NSF and NASA)

Knowing Our Neighbors: Fundamental Properties of Nearby Stars

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bartlett, Jennifer L.; Ianna, P. A.; Henry, T. J.; Begam, M. C.; Jao, W.; Subasavage, J. P., Jr.; Nearby Stars, Research Consortium on

2007-12-01

Although the stars within 25 pc of the Sun constitute the one stellar sample that we can aspire to know thoroughly, we continue identifying objects closer than 10 pc. We know even less about local substellar populations, especially planets. The Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory Parallax Investigation (CTIOPI) is observing 31 late-type, red dwarfs selected for my thesis as part of a larger effort to complete the nearby star census. Preliminary parallaxes substantiate distances less than 25 pc for at least 28 stars. Of these, LP 991-84, LHS 6167, and LP 876-10 may lie within 10 pc. Preliminary proper motions for all but three stars exceed 0.2” yr-1. One recently established neighbor, LP 869-26, also appears to be a new binary. Associated VRI photometry and spectroscopy are in progress as well. Many of these stars are potential targets for astrometric planet searches, such as the Space Interferometry Mission (SIM). In addition to confirming solar neighborhood membership, astrometry can discover brown dwarfs and planets. Time-series analyses of residuals to the UVa Southern Parallax Program (SPP) observations are contributing to frequency and distribution data for nearby substellar objects. In particular, LHS 288 displays an intriguing signal, which might be caused by a very low-mass companion. Twelve other SPP stars demonstrate no significant perturbations. Finally, re-analyzing the Leander McCormick Observatory photographic plates of Barnard's Star failed to detect any planets orbiting it. This study of more than 900 exposures was sensitive to bodies of 2.2 Jupiter masses or more. NSF grants AST 98-20711 and 05-07711, GSU, NASA-SIM, Litton Marine Systems, UVa, Hampden-Sydney College, US Naval Observatory, and the Levinson Fund of the Peninsula Community Foundation supported this research. The ANU Research School of Astronomy & Astrophysics allocated observing time generously. CTIOPI was an NOAO Survey Program and continues as part of the SMARTS Consortium.

Communicating Science through Exhibitions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dusenbery, P.; Harold, J.; Morrow, C.

It is critically important for the public to better understand the scientific process. Museum exhibitions are an important part of informal science education that can effectively reach public audiences as well as school groups. They provide an important gateway for the public to learn about compelling scientific endeavors. There are many ways for scientists to help develop science exhibitions. The Space Science Institute (SSI) is a national leader in producing traveling science exhibitions and their associated educational programming (i.e. interactive websites, educator workshops, public talks, instructional materials). Two of its exhibitions, Space Weather Center and MarsQuest, are currently on tour. Another exhibition, Alien Earths, is in development. The Space Weather Center was developed in partnership with various research missions at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center. MarsQuest is a 5000 square-foot traveling exhibition. The exhibit's second 3-year tour began this January at the Detroit Science Center. It is enabling millions of Americans to share in the excitement of the scientific exploration of Mars and to learn more about their own planet in the process. The 3,000 square-foot traveling exhibition, called Alien Earths, will bring origins-related research and discoveries to students and the American public. Alien Earths has four interrelated exhibit areas: Our Place in Space, Star Birth, PlanetQuest, and Search for Life. Exhibit visitors will explore the awesome events surrounding the birth of stars and planets; they will join scientists in the hunt for planets outside our solar system including those that may be in ``habitable zones'' around other stars; and finally they will be able to learn about how scientists are looking for signs of life beyond Earth. Besides the exhibits, SSI is also developing interactive web sites based on exhibit themes. New technologies are transforming the Web from a static medium to an interactive environment with tremendous potential for informal education and inquiry-based investigations. This talk will focus on the development of the MarsQuest and Alien Earths exhibitions and their associated education programs.

NASA cancels carbon monitoring research program

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Voosen, Paul

2018-05-01

The administration of President Donald Trump has waged a broad attack on climate science conducted by NASA, including proposals to cut the budget of earth science research and kill off the Orbiting Carbon Observatory 3 mission. Congress has fended these attacks off—with one exception. NASA has moved ahead with plans to end the Carbon Monitoring System, a $10-million-a-year research line that has helped stitch together observations of sources and sinks of methane and carbon dioxide into high-resolution models of the planet's flows of carbon, the agency confirmed to Science. The program, begun in 2010, has developed tools to improve estimates of carbon stocks in forests, especially, from Alaska to Indonesia. Ending it, researchers say, will complicate future efforts to monitor and verify national emission cuts stemming from the Paris climate deal.

The Orbital and Planetary Phase Variations of Jupiter-sized Planets: Characterizing Present and Future Giants

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mayorga, Laura C.; Jackiewicz, Jason; Rages, Kathy; West, Robert; Knowles, Ben; Lewis, Nikole K.; Marley, Mark S.

2018-01-01

Knowledge of how the brightness and color of a planet varies with viewing angle is essential for the design of future direct imaging missions and deriving constraints on atmospheric properties. However, measuring the phase curves for the solar system gas giants is impossible from the ground. Using data Cassini/ISS obtained during its flyby of Jupiter, I measured Jupiter's phase curve in six bands spanning 400-1000 nm. I found that Jupiter's brightness is less than that of a Lambertian scatterer and that its color varies more with phase angle than predicted by theoretical models. For hot Jupiters, the light from the planet cannot be spatially isolated from that of the star. As a result, determining the planetary phase curve requires removing the phase-dependent contributions from the host star. I consider the effect of varying the stellar model and present a parameterization of the Doppler beaming amplitude that depends upon the planetary mass, orbital period, and the stellar temperature. I consider the detectability of Doppler beaming amplitudes with data from TESS and find that TESS will be less sensitive to this signal than Kepler. This work was supported by the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program and the New Mexico Higher Education Department Graduate Scholarship Program.

NATURAL AND ANTHROPOGENIC FACTORS AFFECTING GLOBAL AND REGIONAL CLIMATE. A REPORT OF THE NEW ENGLAND REGIONAL ASSESSMENT GROUP FOR THE US GLOBAL CHANGE RESEARCH PROGRAM

EPA Science Inventory

With the advent of Earth-orbiting satellites to monitor our planet and spacecraft that study the sun, an active international joint project to monitor the Sun?Earth (Solar Terrestrial) environment has evolved. Coupled with an ever increasing computational capability, we are now a...

Solar System Exploration, 1995-2000

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Squyres, S.; Varsi, G.; Veverka, J.; Soderblom, L.; Black, D.; Stern, A.; Stetson, D.; Brown, R. A.; Niehoff, J.; Squibb, G.

1994-01-01

Goals for planetary exploration during the next decade include: (1) determine how our solar system formed, and understand whether planetary systems are a common phenomenon through out the cosmos; (2) explore the diverse changes that planets have undergone throughout their history and that take place at present, including those that distinguish Earth as a planet; (3) understand how life might have formed on Earth, whether life began anywhere else in the solar system, and whether life (including intelligent beings) might be a common cosmic phenomenon; (4) discover and investigate natural phenomena that occur under conditions not realizable in laboratories; (5) discover and inventory resources in the solar system that could be used by human civilizations in the future; and (6) make the solar system a part of the human experience in the same way that Earth is, and hence lay the groundwork for human expansion into the solar system in the coming century. The plan for solar system exploration is motivated by these goals as well as the following principle: The solar system exploration program will conduct flight programs and supporting data analysis and scientific research commensurate with United States leadership in space exploration. These programs and research must be of the highest scientific merit, they must be responsive to public excitement regarding planetary exploration, and they must contribute to larger national goals in technology and education. The result will be new information, which is accessible to the public, creates new knowledge, and stimulates programs of education to increase the base of scientific knowledge in the general public.

The Geometry of Resonant Signatures in Debris Disks with Planets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kuchner, M. J.; Holman, M. J.

2002-09-01

Using simple geometrical arguments, we paint an overview of the variety of resonant structures a single planet with moderate eccentricity (e < 0.6) can create in a dynamically cold, optically thin dust disk. This overview may serve as a key for interpreting images of perturbed debris disks and inferring the dynamical properties of the planets responsible for the perturbations. We compare the resonant structures found in the solar system with observations of planetary systems around Vega and other stars and we offer a new model for the asymmetries in the Epsilon Eridani disk. This work was performed in part under contract with the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) through the Michelson Fellowship program funded by NASA as an element of the Planet Finder Program.

The astrophysics program at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pellerin, C. J.

1990-01-01

Three broad themes characterize the goals of the Astrophysics Division at NASA. These are obtaining an understanding of the origin and evolution of the universe, the fundamental laws of physics, and the birth and evolutionary cycle of galaxies, stars, planets and life. These goals are pursued through contemporaneous observations across the electromagnetic spectrum with high sensitivity and resolution. The strategy to accomplish these goals is fourfold: the establishment of long term space based observatories implemented through the Great Observatories program; attainment of crucial bridging and supporting measurements visa missions of intermediate and small scope conducted within the Explorer, Spacelab, and Space Station Attached Payload Programs; enhancement of scientific access to results of space based research activities through an integrated data system; and development and maintenance of the scientific/technical base for space astrophysics programs through the research and analysis and suborbital programs. The near term activities supporting the first two objectives are discussed.

Studying the Water Cycle in an Environmental Context: The "Blue Planet" Program.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ben-zvi-assaraf, Orit; Orion, Nir

The Blue Planet program aims to develop an understanding of and insight into the environment among students by introducing environmental problems such as pollution. This paper presents a study investigating junior high school students' previous knowledge and understanding of environmental issues and perceptions on the nature of the water cycle.…

SIM PlanetQuest Key Project Precursor Observations to Detect Gas Giant Planets Around Young Stars

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Tanner, Angelle; Beichman, Charles; Akeson, Rachel; Ghez, Andrea; Grankin, Konstantin N.; Herbst, William; Hillenbrand, Lynne; Huerta, Marcos; Konopacky, Quinn; Metchev, Stanimir;

Future Interstellar Travel Destinations: Assessing the Suitability of Nearby Red Dwarf Stars as Hosts to Habitable Life-bearing Planets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Guinan, Edward F.; Engle, S. G.

2013-01-01

As part of our NSF/NASA sponsored “Living with a Red Dwarf Star” program, we are carrying out a comprehensive study of red dwarf stars across the electromagnetic spectrum to assess their suitability as hosts for habitable planets. These cool, dim, long-lived, low mass stars comprise >75% of the stars in our Galaxy. Moreover an increasing number of (potentially habitable) large Earth-size planets are being found hosted by red dwarfs. With intrinsically low luminosities (L < 0.02 Lsun), the habitable zones (HZs) of hosted planets are close to their host stars (typically 0.05 AU < HZ <0.4 AU). Our study indicates red dwarf HZ planets without strong (protective) magnetic fields are especially susceptible to atmospheric erosion & loss by the star’s X-UV and wind fluxes. Also, the frequent flaring of young red dwarf stars and tidal-locking of close-in planets could challenge the development of life. But tidal locking of these planets could have some advantages for the developmenet of life. The long lifetimes of the red dwarfs (> 50 BY) could be favorable for the development of complex (possibly even intelligent) life. We discuss our results in the context of nearby red dwarfs as possible destinations for future interstellar missions program. We illustrate this with examples of the red dwarf exoplanet systems: GJ 581 and HD 85512 (both with large HZ Earth-size planets). Also we discuss the nearest star (4.3 LY) - the red dwarf - Proxima Centauri as a potential destination for future interstellar missions such proposed by Icarus Interstellar and the 100-Year Starship and StarVoyager programs. We gratefully acknowledge the support from NSF-Grant AST-10-09903, Chandra Grants GO1-12124X & GO2-13020X and HST Grant GO-10920.

Space life sciences: A status report

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1990-01-01

The scientific research and supporting technology development conducted in the Space Life Sciences Program is described. Accomplishments of the past year are highlighted. Plans for future activities are outlined. Some specific areas of study include the following: Crew health and safety; What happens to humans in space; Gravity, life, and space; Sustenance in space; Life and planet Earth; Life in the Universe; Promoting good science and good will; Building a future for the space life sciences; and Benefits of space life sciences research.

NASA Ames 2016 Highlights

NASA Image and Video Library

2016-12-28

2016 presented the opportunity for NASA's Ames Research Center to meet its challenges and opportunities head on. Projects ranged from testing the next generation of air traffic control software to studying the stars of our galaxy. From developing life science experiments that flew aboard the International Space Station to helping protect our planet through airborne Earth observation campaigns. NASA's missions and programs are challenging and the people at NASA Ames Research Center continue to reach new heights and reveal the unknown for the benefit of all humankind!

ScienceCast 136: A Sudden Multiplication of Planets

NASA Image and Video Library

2014-02-26

Today, NASA announced a breakthrough addition to the catalog of new planets. Researchers using Kepler have confirmed 715 new worlds, almost quadrupling the number of planets previously confirmed by the planet-hunting spacecraft.

Planet Hunters, Undergraduate Research, and Detection of Extrasolar Planet Kepler-818 b

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Baker, David; Crannell, Graham; Duncan, James; Hays, Aryn; Hendrix, Landon

2017-01-01

Detection of extrasolar planets provides an excellent research opportunity for undergraduate students. In Spring 2012, we searched for transiting extrasolar planets using Kepler spacecraft data in our Research Experience in Physics course at Austin College. Offered during the regular academic year, these Research Experience courses engage students in the scientific process, including proposal writing, paper submission, peer review, and oral presentations. Since 2004, over 190 undergraduate students have conducted authentic scientific research through Research Experience courses at Austin College.Zooniverse’s citizen science Planet Hunters web site offered an efficient method for rapid analysis of Kepler data. Light curves from over 5000 stars were analyzed, of which 2.3% showed planetary candidates already tagged by the Kepler team. Another 1.5% of the light curves suggested eclipsing binary stars, and 1.6% of the light curves had simulated planets for training purposes.One of the stars with possible planetary transits had not yet been listed as a planetary candidate. We reported possible transits for Kepler ID 4282872, which later was promoted to planetary candidate KOI-1325 in 2012 and confirmed to host extrasolar planet Kepler-818 b in 2016 (Morton et al. 2016). Kepler-818 b is a “hot Neptune” with period 10.04 days, flux decrease during transit ~0.4%, planetary radius 4.69 Earth radii, and semi-major axis 0.089 au.

Mission operations update for the restructured Earth Observing System (EOS) mission

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kelly, Angelita Castro; Chang, Edward S.

1993-01-01

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) Earth Observing System (EOS) will provide a comprehensive long term set of observations of the Earth to the Earth science research community. The data will aid in determining global changes caused both naturally and through human interaction. Understanding man's impact on the global environment will allow sound policy decisions to be made to protect our future. EOS is a major component of the Mission to Planet Earth program, which is NASA's contribution to the U.S. Global Change Research Program. EOS consists of numerous instruments on multiple spacecraft and a distributed ground system. The EOS Data and Information System (EOSDIS) is the major ground system developed to support EOS. The EOSDIS will provide EOS spacecraft command and control, data processing, product generation, and data archival and distribution services for EOS spacecraft. Data from EOS instruments on other Earth science missions (e.g., Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM)) will also be processed, distributed, and archived in EOSDIS. The U.S. and various International Partners (IP) (e.g., the European Space Agency (ESA), the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) of Japan, and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA)) participate in and contribute to the international EOS program. The EOSDIS will also archive processed data from other designated NASA Earth science missions (e.g., UARS) that are under the broad umbrella of Mission to Planet Earth.

Studies on Ammonia Spectral Signatures Relevant to Jupiter's Clouds

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kalogerakis, Konstantinos S.; Oza, A. U.; Marschall, J.; Wong, M. H.

2006-09-01

Observational evidence and thermochemical models indicate an abundance of ammonia ice clouds in Jupiter's atmosphere. However, spectrally identifiable ammonia ice clouds are found covering less than 1% of Jupiter's atmosphere, notably in turbulent areas [1,2]. Current literature suggests two possible explanations: coating by a hydrocarbon haze and/or photochemical processing ("tanning") [2,3]. We are pursuing a research program investigating the above hypotheses. In the experiments, thin films of ammonia ices are deposited in a cryogenic apparatus, coated with hydrocarbons, and characterized by infrared spectroscopy. The ice films can be irradiated by ultraviolet light to study their photochemistry. The spectroscopic measurements aim to identify the processes that control the optical properties of the ice mixtures and quantify their dependence on the identity of the coating, the temperature, and the ice composition. We have observed a consistent suppression of the ammonia absorption feature at 3 μm with coverage by thin layers of hydrocarbons. Modeling calculations of the multi-layer thin films assist in the interpretation of the experimental results and reveal the role of optical interference in masking the aforementioned ammonia spectral feature. The implications of these results for Jupiter's atmosphere will be discussed. Funding from the NSF Planetary Astronomy Program under grant AST-0206270 and from the NASA Outer Planets Research Program under grant NNG06GF37G is gratefully acknowledged. The participation of Anand Oza (Princeton University) was made possible by the NSF Research Experiences for Undergraduates Program under grant PHY-0353745. 1. S. K. Atreya, A.-S. Wong, K. H. Baines, M. H. Wong, T. C. Owen, Planet. Space Science 53, 498 (2005). 2. K. H. Baines, R. W. Carlson, and L. W. Kamp, Icarus 159, 74 (2002). 3. A.-S. Wong, Y. L. Yung, and A. J. Friedson, Geophys. Res. Lett. 30, 1447 (2003).

Studies on Ammonia Spectral Signatures Relevant to Jupiter's Clouds

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Oza, A. U.; Marschall, J.; Wong, M. H.; Kalogerakis, K. S.

2006-12-01

Observational evidence and thermochemical models indicate an abundance of ammonia ice clouds in Jupiter's atmosphere. However, spectrally identifiable ammonia ice clouds are found covering less than 1% of Jupiter's atmosphere, notably in turbulent areas [1,2]. Current literature suggests two possible explanations: coating by a hydrocarbon haze and/or photochemical processing ("tanning")[2,3]. We are pursuing a research program investigating the above hypotheses. In the experiments, thin films of ammonia ices are deposited in a cryogenic apparatus, coated with hydrocarbons, and characterized by infrared spectroscopy. The ice films can be irradiated by ultraviolet light to study their photochemistry. The spectroscopic measurements aim to identify the processes that control the optical properties of the ice mixtures and quantify their dependence on the identity of the coating, the temperature, and the ice composition. We have observed a consistent suppression of the ammonia absorption feature at 3 μm with coverage by thin layers of hydrocarbons. Modeling calculations of the multi-layer thin films assist in the interpretation of the experimental results and reveal the role of optical interference in masking the aforementioned ammonia spectral feature. The implications of these results for Jupiter's atmosphere will be discussed. Funding from the NSF Planetary Astronomy Program under grant AST-0206270 and from the NASA Outer Planets Research Program under grant NNG06GF37G is gratefully acknowledged. The participation of Anand Oza (Princeton University) was made possible by the NSF Research Experiences for Undergraduates Program under grant PHY-0353745. 1. S. K. Atreya, A.-S. Wong, K. H. Baines, M. H. Wong, T. C. Owen, Planet. Space Science 53, 498 (2005). 2. K. H. Baines, R. W. Carlson, and L. W. Kamp, Icarus 159, 74 (2002). 3. A.-S. Wong, Y. L. Yung, and A. J. Friedson, Geophys. Res. Lett. 30, 1447 (2003).

MMS at NRL

NASA Image and Video Library

2014-08-04

Engineers work on one of four Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) spacecraft in a cleanroom at the Naval Research Lab, Monday, August 4, 2014, in Washington. The Magnetospheric Multiscale, or MMS, mission will study the mystery of how magnetic fields around Earth connect and disconnect, explosively releasing energy via a process known as magnetic reconnection. The four identical spacecraft are scheduled to launch in 2015 from Cape Canaveral and will orbit around Earth in varying formations through the dynamic magnetic system surrounding our planet to provide the first three-dimensional views of the magnetic reconnection process. The goal of the STP Program is to understand the fundamental physical processes of the space environment from the sun to Earth, other planets, and the extremes of the solar system boundary. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

Outer Planet Exploration with Advanced Radioisotope Electric Propulsion

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Oleson, Steven; Gefert, Leon; Patterson, Michael; Schreiber, Jeffrey; Benson, Scott; McAdams, Jim; Ostdiek, Paul

2002-01-01

In response to a request by the NASA Deep Space Exploration Technology Program, NASA Glenn Research Center conducted a study to identify advanced technology options to perform a Pluto/Kuiper mission without depending on a 2004 Jupiter Gravity Assist, but still arriving before 2020. A concept using a direct trajectory with small, sub-kilowatt ion thrusters and Stirling radioisotope power systems was shown to allow the same or smaller launch vehicle class as the chemical 2004 baseline and allow a launch slip and still flyby in the 2014 to 2020 timeframe. With this promising result the study was expanded to use a radioisotope power source for small electrically propelled orbiter spacecraft for outer planet targets such as Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto.

Visual Argument for Social Ends: "Captain Planet" and the Integration of Environmental Values.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Muir, Star A.

While "Captain Planet and the Planeteers" has won numerous awards and is currently the number one rate household animated children's television program in the United States, the contradictions and complications of instilling environmental values in children through the medium of television are apparent. A content analysis of 15 episodes…

March of the Planets

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Thompson, Bruce

2007-01-01

The motion of the planets in their orbits can be demonstrated to students by using planetarium software programs. These allow time to be sped up so that the relative motions are readily observed. However, it is also valuable to have the students understand the real speed of the planets in their orbits. This paper describes an exercise that gives…

Spitzer's window onto the evolution of young planets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Newton, Elisabeth; Mann, Andrew; Rizzuto, Aaron; Vanderburg, Andrew

2018-05-01

Exoplanets in young associations provide an otherwise inaccessible window into how planetary systems form and evolve. We expect to discover 19 young exoplanets around bright stars through our TESS GI programs, which will provide a critical data set for studying planet formation and evolution into the next decade. Here, we propose to obtain transit observations of these young planets with Spitzer. We seek to use Spitzer because it enables us is to obtain precise photometric observations at wavelengths that will also mitigate the impact of stellar activity, which is expected to be high for these young stars. Using data from Spitzer, we will directly address two questions: how do the atmospheres of sub-Neptune sized planets evolve? And what is the mechanism by which planets migrate onto short orbits? We will do this by measuring minimum eccentricities via the photoeccentric effect and by accurately and precisely constraining the planetary properties. We will additionally improve transit ephemerides, ensuring that the transits of these planets are not lost as the community prepares for future observations with JWST, HST, and ground-based facilities. This is a target of opportunity program.

Signatures of rocky planet engulfment in HAT-P-4. Implications for chemical tagging studies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Saffe, C.; Jofré, E.; Martioli, E.; Flores, M.; Petrucci, R.; Jaque Arancibia, M.

2017-07-01

Aims: We aim to explore the possible chemical signature of planet formation in the binary system HAT-P-4 by studying the trends of abundance vs. condensation temperature Tc. The star HAT-P-4 hosts a planet detected by transits, while its stellar companion does not have any detected planet. We also study the lithium content, which might shed light on the problem of Li depletion in exoplanet host stars. Methods: We derived for the first time both stellar parameters and high-precision chemical abundances by applying a line-by-line full differential approach. The stellar parameters were determined by imposing ionization and excitation equilibrium of Fe lines, with an updated version of the FUNDPAR program, together with ATLAS9 model atmospheres and the MOOG code. We derived detailed abundances of different species with equivalent widths and spectral synthesis with the MOOG program. Results: The exoplanet host star HAT-P-4 is found to be 0.1 dex more metal rich than its companion, which is one of the highest differences in metallicity observed in similar systems. This could have important implications for chemical tagging studies. We rule out a possible peculiar composition for each star, such as is the case for λ Boötis and δ Scuti, and neither is this binary a blue straggler. The star HAT-P-4 is enhanced in refractory elements relative to volatile when compared to its stellar companion. Notably, the Li abundance in HAT-P-4 is greater than that of its companion by 0.3 dex, which is contrary to the model that explains the Li depletion by the presence of planets. We propose a scenario where at the time of planet formation, the star HAT-P-4 locked the inner refractory material in planetesimals and rocky planets, and formed the outer gas giant planet at a greater distance. The refractories were then accreted onto the star, possibly as a result of the migration of the giant planet. This explains the higher metallicity, the higher Li content, and the negative Tc trend we detected. A similar scenario was recently proposed for the solar-twin star HIP 68468, which is in some aspects similar to HAT-P-4. We estimate a mass of at least Mrock 10 M⊕ locked in refractory material in order to reproduce the observed Tc trends and metallicity. Based on observations obtained at the Gemini Observatory, which is operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc., under a cooperative agreement with the NSF on behalf of the Gemini partnership: the National Science Foundation (US), the National Research Council (Canada), CONICYT (Chile), Min. de Ciencia y Tecnología (Argentina), and Ministério da Ciência, Tecnologia e Inovação (Brazil).The average abundances, the line-by-line data and the reduced spectra (FITS files) are only available at the CDS via anonymous ftp to http://cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (http://130.79.128.5) or via http://cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr/viz-bin/qcat?J/A+A/604/L4

Summer Research Internships at Biosphere 2 Center

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1998-01-01

Through the support of NASA's Mission to Planet Earth, Biosphere 2 Center hosted 10 research interns for a 10 week period during the summer of 1998. In addition, we were able to offer scholarships to 10 students for Columbia University summer field courses. Students participating in these programs were involved in numerous earth systems activities, collecting data in the field and conducting analyses in the laboratory. Students enrolled in the field program were expected to design independent research projects as part of their coursework. In addition to laboratory and field research, students participated in weekly research seminars by resident and visiting scientists. Field school students were involved in field trips exposing them to the geology and ecology of the region including Arizona Sonora Desert Museum, Mount Lemmon, Aravaipa Canyon and the Gulf of California. Interns participated in laboratory-based research. All students were expected to complete oral and written presentations of their work during the summer.

Habitable Zone Planets: PLATO, and the search for Earth 2.0

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brown, D. J. A.

2015-10-01

The PLATO mission, part of ESA's Cosmic Vision program, will launch in 2024 and will revolutionize the field of transiting exoplanets. By observing a large sample of bright stars, PLATO will discover thousands of terrestrial planets, including hundreds in the habitable zones of their host stars. The brightness of PLATO targets allows full characterization of both the planets and their host stars, including asteroseismic analysis to precisely determine masses, radii, and ages. Moreover, PLATO host stars will be bright enough to allow atmospheric spectroscopy. Confirmation and characterization of PLATO planets will require a coordinated, ground-based follow-up program to both eliminate false-positives, and derive planetary masses. I will present an introduction to PLATO, discussing the scientific motivation behind the mission, its aims and goals, and the significant contribution that PLATO will make to the search for a second Earth. I will also talk about the requirements and formulation of the follow-up program, showing that the demands are not as onerous as might be feared.

Characterizing K2 Exoplanets with NIR Transit Photometry from the 3.5m WIYN Telescope

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Colon, Knicole D.; Barclay, Thomas; Thompson, Susan E.; Coughlin, Jeffrey; Barentsen, Geert; Quintana, Elisa V.

2017-01-01

The NASA K2 mission has discovered over 400 transiting exoplanets as of October 2016 and continues to produce new discoveries on a regular basis. Expected to launch in late 2017, the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) will continue the era of exoplanet discovery by performing an all-sky search for transiting exoplanets. Given the ever increasing number of known exoplanets, it is critical that we optimize follow-up observations now in order to characterize the many interesting systems discovered by these missions. For example, K2 is finding (and TESS will find even more) small, super-Earth-size planets around cool, nearby stars. I will present results from our program for near-infrared (NIR) transit photometry of K2 exoplanet candidates conducted using the 3.5m WIYN telescope at Kitt Peak National Observatory. NIR transit photometry with the high spatial resolution WHIRC imager installed on the WIYN telescope allows us to confirm the transit host, to verify that the transit is achromatic, and to constrain the planet radius by minimizing effects of stellar limb darkening. Furthermore, the high-precision and high-cadence photometry from WIYN+WHIRC allows us to track and constrain the transit ephemeris, which is crucial for future follow-up efforts with other facilities like the upcoming James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). Ultimately, this program will vet K2 exoplanet candidates and identify prime targets for detailed characterization with JWST. This program complements K2 follow-up being done with the Spitzer Space Telescope and demonstrates the capabilities of a ground-based facility that can be used to characterize small planets from K2 and TESS for years to come.This work was supported by the NASA-NSF Exoplanet Observational Research (NN-EXPLORE) program.

Sixth Symposium on Chemical Evolution and the Origin and Evolution of Life

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Acevedo, Sara (Editor); DeVincenzi, Donald L. (Editor); Chang, Sherwood (Editor)

1998-01-01

The 6th Symposium on Chemical Evolution and the Origin and Evolution of Life was convened at NASA Ames Research Center, November 17-20, 1997. This Symposium is convened every three years under the auspices of NASA's Exobiology Program Office. All Principal Investigators funded by this Program present their most recent research accomplishments at the Symposium. Scientific papers were presented in the following areas: cosmic evolution of the biogenic elements, prebiotic evolution (both planetary and chemical), evolution of early organisms and evolution of organisms in extreme environments, solar system exploration, and star and planet formation. The Symposium was attended by over 200 scientists from NASA centers and Universities nationwide.

Significant achievements in the planetary geology program, 1981

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Holt, H. E. (Editor)

1981-01-01

Recent developments in planetology research as reported at the 1981 NASA Planetary Geology Principal Investigators meeting are summarized. The evolution of the solar system, comparative planetology, and geologic processes active on other planets are considered. Galilean satellites and small bodies, Venus, geochemistry and regoliths, volcanic and aeolian processes and landforms, fluvial and periglacial processes, and planetary impact cratering, remote sensing, and cartography are discussed.

The symbiosis of photometry and radial-velocity measurements

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cochran, William D.

1994-01-01

The FRESIP mission is optimized to detect the inner planets of a planetary system. According to the current paradigm of planet formation, these planets will probably be small Earth-sized objects. Ground-based radial-velocity programs now have the sensitivity to detect Jovian-mass planets in orbit around bright solar-type stars. We expect the more massive planets to form in the outer regions of a proto-stellar nebula. These two types of measurements will very nicely complement each other, as they have highest detection probability for very different types of planets. The combination of FRESIP photometry and ground-based spectra will provide independent confirmation of the existence of planetary systems in orbit around other stars. Such detection of both terrestrial and Jovian planets in orbit around the same star is essential to test our understanding of planet formation.

PhAst: A Flexible IDL Astronomical Image Viewer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rehnberg, Morgan; Crawford, R.; Trueblood, M.; Mighell, K.

2012-01-01

We present near-Earth asteroid data analyzed with PhAst, a new IDL astronomical image viewer based on the existing application ATV. PhAst opens, displays, and analyzes an arbitrary number of FITS images. Analysis packages include image calibration, photometry, and astrometry (provided through an interface with SExtractor, SCAMP, and missFITS). PhAst has been designed to generate reports for Minor Planet Center reporting. PhAst is cross platform (Linux/Mac OSX/Windows for image viewing and Linux/Mac OSX for image analysis) and can be downloaded from the following website at NOAO: http://www.noao.edu/staff/mighell/phast/. Rehnberg was supported by the NOAO/KPNO Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) Program which is funded by the National Science Foundation Research Experiences for Undergraduates Program and the Department of Defense ASSURE program through Scientific Program Order No. 13 (AST-0754223) of the Cooperative Agreement No. AST-0132798 between the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA) and the NSF.

Disk-Planet Torques from Radiation-Hydrodynamics Calculations with Spatially-Resolved Planetary Envelopes Undergoing Solids' Accretion

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

D'Angelo, G.

2016-12-01

D'Angelo & Bodenheimer (2013, ApJ, 778, 77) performed global 3D radiation-hydrodynamics disk-planet simulations aimed at studying envelope formation around planetary cores, during the phase of sustained planetesimal accretion. The calculations modeled cores of 5, 10, and 15 Earth masses orbiting a sun-like star in a protoplanetary disk extending from ap/2 to 2ap in radius, ap=5 or 10 AU being the core's orbital radius. The gas equation of state - for a solar mixture of H2, H, He - accounted for translational, rotational, and vibrational states, for molecular dissociation and atomic ionization, and for radiation energy. Dust opacity calculations applied the Mie theory to multiple grain species whose size distributions ranged from 5e-6 to 1 mm. Mesh refinement via grid nesting allowed the planets' envelopes to be resolved at the core-radius length scale. Passive tracers were used to determine the volume of gas bound to a core, defining the envelope, and resulting in planet radii comparable to the Bondi radius. The energy budjet included contributions from the accretion of solids on the cores, whose rates were self-consistently computed with a 1D planet formation code. At this stage of the planet's growth, gravitational energy released in the envelope by solids' accretion far exceeds that released by gas accretion. These models are used to determine the gravitational torques exerted by the disk's gas on the planet and the resulting orbital migration rates. Since the envelope radius is a direct product of the models, they allow for a non-ambiguous assessment of the torques exerted by gas not bound to the planet. Additionally, since planets' envelopes are fully resolved, thermal and dynamical effects on the surrounding disk's gas are accurately taken into account. The computed migration rates are compared to those obtained from existing semi-analytical formulations for planets orbiting in isothermal and adiabatic disks. Because these formulations do not account for thermodynamical interactions between the planet's envelope and the disk's gas, the numerical models are also used to quanitfy the impact of short-scale tidal interactions on the total torque acting on the planet. Computing resources were provided by the NASA High-End Computing Program through the NASA Advanced Supercomputing Division at Ames Research Center.

Moon or Planet? The Exomoon Hunt Continues Artist Concept

NASA Image and Video Library

2014-04-10

Researchers have detected the first exomoon candidate -- a moon orbiting a planet that lies outside our solar system. Using a technique called microlensing, they observed what could be either a moon and a planet -- or a planet and a star.

Artificial Intelligence and NASA Data Used to Discover Eighth Planet Circling Distant Star

NASA Image and Video Library

2017-12-12

Our solar system now is tied for most number of planets around a single star, with the recent discovery of an eighth planet circling Kepler-90, a Sun-like star 2,545 light years from Earth. The planet was discovered in data from NASA’s Kepler space telescope. The newly-discovered Kepler-90i -- a sizzling hot, rocky planet that orbits its star once every 14.4 days -- was found by researchers from Google and The University of Texas at Austin using machine learning. Machine learning is an approach to artificial intelligence in which computers “learn.” In this case, computers learned to identify planets by finding in Kepler data instances where the telescope recorded signals from planets beyond our solar system, known as exoplanets. Video Credit: NASA Ames Research Center / Google

Spectroscopy of Kepler Exo-planet Transit Candidate Stars

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Howell, Steve B.; Everett, Mark; Silva, David; Rowe, Jason; Szkody, Paula; Mighell, Ken; Ciardi, David

2012-02-01

We propose a long term spectroscopic follow-up program in support of the NASA Kepler exo-planet mission. The Kepler project is now focusing on exo-planet candidates which are smaller in radius (down to Earth- size), have longer period orbits and many of which orbit fainter stars. Our program will spend 85% of the time on our primary goal, spectroscopy of the host stars of exoplanet candidates, and 15% of the time on investigation of other astrophysically interesting stars discovered by Kepler. Our prime goal is to obtain reconnaissance spectra of newly discovered exo-planet stars yielding model fits to T_eff and log g. Secondary goals are to obtain velocity information on EBs with a third component aimed toward discovery of circumbinary planets (such as Kepler 16b) and identification spectra of U-band selected targets in order to find more white dwarfs for Kepler focal plane calibration purposes. All of these tasks can be accomplished using the Kitt Peak 4-m telescope and RCspec as shown by our previous time allocations.

Cosmic Origins: A Traveling Science Exhibit and Education Program

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dusenbery, P. B.; Morrow, C. A.; Harold, J.

2003-12-01

The Space Science Institute of Boulder, Colorado, is developing a 3,000 square-foot traveling exhibition, called Cosmic Origins, which will bring origins-related research and discoveries to students and the American public. Cosmic Origins will have three interrelated exhibit areas: Star Formation, Planet Quest, and Search for Life. Exhibit visitors will explore the awesome events surrounding the birth of stars and planets; they will join scientists in the hunt for planets outside our solar system including those that may be in "habitable zones" around other stars; and finally they will be able to learn about the wide range of conditions for life on Earth and how scientists are looking for signs of life beyond Earth. Visitors will also learn about the tools scientists' use, such as space-based and ground-based telescopes, to improve our understanding of the cosmos. Exhibit content will address age-old questions that form the basis of NASA's Origins and Astrobiology programs: Where did we come from? Are we alone? In addition to the exhibit, our project will include workshops for educators and docents at host sites, as well as a public Web site that will use a virtual rendering of exhibit content. The exhibit's size will permit it to visit medium sized museums in underserved regions of the country. It will begin its 3-year tour to 9 host museums and science centers in early 2005. A second 3-year tour is also planned for 2008. The Association of Science-Technology Centers (ASTC) will manage the exhibit's national tour. Current partners in the Cosmic Origins project include ASTC, the Denver Museum of Nature and Science, Lawrence Hall of Science, NASA Astrobiology Institute, NASA missions (e.g. PlanetQuest, SIRTF, and Kepler), New York Hall of Science, the SETI Institute, and the Space Telescope Science Institute. The exhibition is supported by grants from NSF and NASA. This report will focus on the Planet Quest part of the exhibition.

Our changing planet: The FY 1993 US global change research program. A supplement to the US President's fiscal year 1993 budget

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1992-01-01

An improved predictive understanding of the integrated Earth system, including human interactions, will provide direct benefits by anticipating and planning for possible impacts on commerce, agriculture, energy, resource utilization, human safety, and environmental quality. The central goal of the U.S. Global Change Research Program (USGCRP) is to help establish the scientific understanding and the basis for national and international policymaking related to natural and human-induced changes in the global Earth system. This will be accomplished through: (1) establishing an integrated, comprehensive, long-term program of documenting the Earth system on a global scale; (2) conducting a program of focused studies to improve our understanding of the physical, geological, chemical, biological, and social processes that influence the Earth system processes; and (3) developing integrated conceptual and predictive Earth system models.

Terrestrial Planet Finder Interferometer Technology Status and Plans

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lawson, Perter R.; Ahmed, A.; Gappinger, R. O.; Ksendzov, A.; Lay, O. P.; Martin, S. R.; Peters, R. D.; Scharf, D. P.; Wallace, J. K.; Ware, B.

2006-01-01

A viewgraph presentation on the technology status and plans for Terrestrial Planet Finder Interferometer is shown. The topics include: 1) The Navigator Program; 2) TPF-I Project Overview; 3) Project Organization; 4) Technology Plan for TPF-I; 5) TPF-I Testbeds; 6) Nulling Error Budget; 7) Nulling Testbeds; 8) Nulling Requirements; 9) Achromatic Nulling Testbed; 10) Single Mode Spatial Filter Technology; 11) Adaptive Nuller Testbed; 12) TPF-I: Planet Detection Testbed (PDT); 13) Planet Detection Testbed Phase Modulation Experiment; and 14) Formation Control Testbed.

Planetary exploration through year 2000: An augmented program. Part two of a report by the Solar System Exploration Committee of the NASA Advisory Council

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1986-01-01

In 1982, the NASA Solar System Exploration Committee (SSEC) published a report on a Core Program of planetary missions, representing the minimum-level program that could be carried out in a cost effective manner, and would yield a continuing return of basic scientific results. This is the second part of the SSEC report, describing missions of the highest scientific merit that lie outside the scope of the previously recommended Core Program because of their cost and technical challenge. These missions include the autonomous operation of a mobile scientific rover on the surface of Mars, the automated collection and return of samples from that planet, the return to Earth of samples from asteroids and comets, projects needed to lay the groundwork for the eventual utilization of near-Earth resources, outer planet missions, observation programs for extra-solar planets, and technological developments essential to make these missions possible.

Exploring the NRO Opportunity for a Hubble-Sized Wide-Field Near-IR Space Telescope - New WFIRST

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dressler, Alan; Spergel, David; Mountain, Matt; Postman, Mark; Elliott, Erin; Bendek, Eduardo; Bennett, David; Dalcanton, Julianne; Gaudi, Scott; Gehrels, Neil;

Planet Formation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Klahr, Hubert; Brandner, Wolfgang

2006-05-01

This volume addresses fundamental questions concerning the formation of planetary systems in general, and of our solar system in particular. Drawing from recent advances in observational, experimental, and theoretical research, it summarises our current understanding of the planet formation processes, and addresses major open questions and research issues. Chapters are written by leading experts in the field of planet formation and extrasolar planet studies. The book is based on a meeting held at Ringberg Castle in Bavaria, where experts gathered together to present and exchange their ideas and findings. It is a comprehensive resource for graduate students and researchers, and is written to be accessible to newcomers to the field.

Heliophysics: The New Science of the Sun-Solar System Connection. Recommended Roadmap for Science and Technology 2005-2035

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2005-01-01

This is a Roadmap to understanding the environment of our Earth, from its life-sustaining Sun out past the frontiers of the solar system. A collection of spacecraft now patrols this space, revealing not a placid star and isolated planets, but an immense, dynamic, interconnected system within which our home planet is embedded and through which space explorers must journey. These spacecraft already form a great observatory with which the Heliophysics program can study the Sun, the heliosphere, the Earth, and other planetary environments as elements of a system--one that contains dynamic space weather and evolves in response to solar, planetary, and interstellar variability. NASA continually evolves the Heliophysics Great Observatory by adding new missions and instruments in order to answer the challenging questions confronting us now and in the future as humans explore the solar system. The three heliophysics science objectives: opening the frontier to space environment prediction; understanding the nature of our home in space, and safeguarding the journey of exploration, require sustained research programs that depend on combining new data, theory, analysis, simulation, and modeling. Our program pursues a deeper understanding of the fundamental physical processes that underlie the exotic phenomena of space.

A Planet Detection Tutorial and Simulator

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Knoch, David; DeVincenzi, Donald (Technical Monitor)

2001-01-01

Detection of extra-solar planets has been a very popular topic with the general public for years. Considerable media coverage of recent detections (currently at about 50) has only heightened the interest in the topic. School children are particularly interested in learning about recent astronomical discoveries. Scientists have the knowledge and responsibility to present this information in both an understandable and interesting format. Most classrooms and homes are now connected to the internet, which can be utilized to provide more than a traditional 'flat' presentation. An interactive software package on planet detection has been developed. The major topics include: "1996 - The Break Through Year In Planet Detection"; "What Determines If A Planet Is Habitable?"; "How Can We Find Other Planets (Search Methods)"; "All About the Kepler Mission: How To Find Terrestrial Planets"; and "A Planet Detection Simulator". Using the simulator, the student records simulated observations and then analyzes and interprets the data within the program. One can determine the orbit and planet size, the planet's temperature and surface gravity, and finally determine if the planet is habitable. Originally developed for the Macintosh, a web based browser version is being developed.

"Ames Research Center: Linking our Origins to our Future"

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

DesMarais, David J.

2005-01-01

Our research traces a path from interstellar materials to inhabited worlds and beyond. We examine how protoplanetary disks evolve and form terrestrial planets, the evolutionary paths of habitable planets, and how external factors (e.g., orbital eccentricity) and internal factors (atmospheric circulation) affect habitability. We trace, spectroscopically and chemically, the evolution of organic molecules from the interstellar medium onto habitable bodies. We examine how membranes might form under prebiotic planetary conditions. We evolve proteins capable of sustaining early metabolism, such as synthesis of biopolymers and transport of ions across membranes. We estimate the frequency of finding a functional prebiotic protein that formed spontaneously. We characterize the formation of diagnostic microbial biosignatures in rock-hosted ecosystems in ophiolite springs as an analog for subsurface life within our solar system, and photosynthetic microbial mats as biota that could be detected on extrasolar planets. We develop quantitative models that simulate energy relationships, biogeochemical cycling, trace gas exchange, and biodiversity. We examine the effects of climate variability on a vegetation-rich biosphere over intermediate time scales, using South American ecosystems as a model. We address natural transport of life beyond its planet of origin, such as on a meteorite, where survivors must withstand radiation, desiccation, and time in transit. We fly organisms and ecosystems in low Earth orbit to test their resistance to space. The Ames E&PO program disseminates these themes to national- and international-scale audiences through partnerships with the California Academy of Sciences, Yellow stone National Park, New York Hall of Science, and several K-14 educational organizations.

Air, Ocean and Climate Monitoring Enhancing Undergraduate Training in the Physical, Environmental and Computer Sciences

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hope, W. W.; Johnson, L. P.; Obl, W.; Stewart, A.; Harris, W. C.; Craig, R. D.

2000-01-01

Faculty in the Department of Physical, Environmental and Computer Sciences strongly believe in the concept that undergraduate research and research-related activities must be integrated into the fabric of our undergraduate Science and Technology curricula. High level skills, such as problem solving, reasoning, collaboration and the ability to engage in research, are learned for advanced study in graduate school or for competing for well paying positions in the scientific community. One goal of our academic programs is to have a pipeline of research activities from high school to four year college, to graduate school, based on the GISS Institute on Climate and Planets model.

MMS at NRL

NASA Image and Video Library

2014-08-04

One of four Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) spacecraft, in the background, is seen in a cleanroom at the Naval Research Lab’s, Naval Center for Space Technology, Monday, August 4, 2014, in Washington. The Magnetospheric Multiscale, or MMS, mission will study the mystery of how magnetic fields around Earth connect and disconnect, explosively releasing energy via a process known as magnetic reconnection. The four identical spacecraft are scheduled to launch in 2015 from Cape Canaveral and will orbit around Earth in varying formations through the dynamic magnetic system surrounding our planet to provide the first three-dimensional views of the magnetic reconnection process. The goal of the STP Program is to understand the fundamental physical processes of the space environment from the sun to Earth, other planets, and the extremes of the solar system boundary. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

The Institute on Climate and Planets (ICP): A Research Education Program

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Carlson, Barbara (Technical Monitor)

2003-01-01

Giving students a fair start to become productive and responsible contributors in the 21st century workforce and society depends on our ability to help them develop: (1) A global view of the world; (2) Problem-solving and/or reasoning abilities; (3) Basic scientific and technical literacy; and (4) A multi-disciplinary understanding of how humans and nature interact with the earth system. The Institute on Climate and Planets (ICP) in New York City is NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies' (GISS) response to the national challenge to give students a fair start to become productive in America's workforce and society, GISS is part of the Earth Science Director at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland and a component of Columbia University's Earth Institute, a university-wide initiative whose mission is to understand our planet so as to enhance its sustainability. In 1994 Jim Hansen, several of his GISS and Columbia University colleagues and Fitzgerald Bramwell, the former Director of the New York City Alliance for Minority Participation at City University of New York, launched the ICP. ICP contributes to NASA education and minority outreach goals by directly involving underrepresented college, high school and junior high school students and their educators in research. ICP takes advantage of the interest of many civil servants and Columbia University research scientists at GISS to involve students and educators on multi-level research teams working on problems at the core of NASA's Earth Science Enterprise - advancing our understanding of Earth s climate, climate variability, and climate impacts.

Planet Press: an EGU initiative to bring geoscientific research to children

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ferreira, Bárbara

2016-04-01

Planet Press (http://www.egu.eu/education/planet-press/) is an EGU educational project that aims to get children (mainly 7-13 year olds), as well as their parents and educators, interested in and engaged with up-to-date scientific research and news. Planet Press articles are short versions of EGU press releases written in child-friendly language. Because EGU press releases cover research published in the various EGU scientific journals, Planet Press focuses on topics as varied as air pollution, glaciers, climate change, earthquakes, ocean sciences, droughts and floods, or space sciences. The texts are reviewed by both scientists and educators to make sure they are accurate and clear to their target audience. By sharing new and exciting geoscientific research with young kids, we hope to inspire them to develop an interest in the Earth, planetary and space sciences. In this presentation, we describe how the Planet Press idea came about, how the project is run, and the challenges and lessons learnt since the launch of this educational initiative in 2014. Planet Press, which has the support of the EGU Committee on Education, is made possible by the work of volunteer scientists and educators who review and translate the texts. We are grateful for the help of Jane Robb, former EGU Educational Fellow, with launching the project. Planet Press is inspired by Space Scoop (http://www.spacescoop.org/), an initiative by UNAWE, the EU-Universe Awareness organisation, that brings astronomy news to children every week.

The New Solar System

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Beatty, J. Kelly; Collins Petersen, Carolyn; Chaikin, Andrew

1999-01-01

As the definitive guide for the armchair astronomer, The New Solar System has established itself as the leading book on planetary science and solar system studies. Incorporating the latest knowledge of the solar system, a distinguished team of researchers, many of them Principal Investigators on NASA missions, explain the solar system with expert ease. The completely-revised text includes the most recent findings on asteroids, comets, the Sun, and our neighboring planets. The book examines the latest research and thinking about the solar system; looks at how the Sun and planets formed; and discusses our search for other planetary systems and the search for life in the solar system. In full-color and heavily-illustrated, the book contains more than 500 photographs, portrayals, and diagrams. An extensive set of tables with the latest characteristics of the planets, their moon and ring systems, comets, asteroids, meteorites, and interplanetary space missions complete the text. New to this edition are descriptions of collisions in the solar system, full scientific results from Galileo's mission to Jupiter and its moons, and the Mars Pathfinder mission. For the curious observer as well as the student of planetary science, this book will be an important library acquisition. J. Kelly Beatty is the senior editor of Sky & Telescope, where for more than twenty years he has reported the latest in planetary science. A renowned science writer, he was among the first journalists to gain access to the Soviet space program. Asteroid 2925 Beatty was named on the occasion of his marriage in 1983. Carolyn Collins Petersen is an award-winning science writer and co-author of Hubble Vision (Cambridge 1995). She has also written planetarium programs seen at hundreds of facilities around the world. Andrew L. Chaikin is a Boston-based science writer. He served as a research geologist at the Smithsonian Institution's Center for Earth and Planetary Studies. He is a contributing editor to Popular Science and writes frequently for other publications.

Development of user interface and of the data base "Earth, Moon and Planets" in the VBA environment for teaching students in the Kazan state universities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Petrova, N.; Tatarinov, P.; Akutina, M.

2009-04-01

In the frame of bachelor and master's degree diploma work the students accumulate and do structure distribution of necessary information about the spin-orbital, dynamical and geophysical characteristics of a planet. The information about the every planet is written into Excel WorkBook, the spreadsheets of which are the data base. The names of sheets reflect their content: "General Data", "Dynamics", "Geophysics", "Engineering", "References", Slides" etc. These data are taken from the last scientific articles dedicated to the modern problems of the planetary investigations. Especial interest is connected to the Lunar sciences - last data about surface mineral distribution, crust thickness and gravity field, slides with photographies received by Video Camera and various instruments situated on the board of Lunar SELENE mission (Japan, 2007-2009 yrs). The work with the data base is executed, using elements of the object-oriented programming. The students study to include into the UserForms standard means of Windows - Dialog Windows, TextBox, CommandButton, ComboBox, ScrollBar etc., and to support these elements by the macros written in programming language VBA. The main attention in the software support of the data base is done onto opportunity to investigate the two-three layer structure of a planet via modeling of its free nutation periods - Chandler-like Wobbles, Free Core Nutation, Inner Core Wobbles and Free Inner Core Nitation and their engineering estimation for space mission observations. The results are presented in the form of tables in Sheets and of diagrams constructed by special buttons of the UserForms on the basis of the calculated tables. The research was supported by the Russian-Japanese grant RFFI-JSPS N 07-02-91212, (2007 - 2009).

Users Guide to the JPL Doppler Gravity Database

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Muller, P. M.; Sjogren, W. L.

1986-01-01

Local gravity accelerations and gravimetry have been determined directly from spacecraft Doppler tracking data near the Moon and various planets by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Researchers in many fields have an interest in planet-wide global gravimetric mapping and its applications. Many of them use their own computers in support of their studies and would benefit from being able to directly manipulate these gravity data for inclusion in their own modeling computations. Pubication of some 150 Apollo 15 subsatellite low-altitude, high-resolution, single-orbit data sets is covered. The doppler residuals with a determination of the derivative function providing line-of-sight-gravity are both listed and plotted (on microfilm), and can be ordered in computer readable forms (tape and floppy disk). The form and format of this database as well as the methods of data reduction are explained and referenced. A skeleton computer program is provided which can be modified to support re-reductions and re-formatted presentations suitable to a wide variety of research needs undertaken on mainframe or PC class microcomputers.

SPOTS: Search for Planets Orbiting Two Stars A Direct Imaging Survey for Circumbinary Planets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Thalmann, C.; Desidera, S.; Bergfors, C.; Boccaletti, A.; Bonavita, M.; Carson, J. C.; Feldt, M.; Goto, M.; Henning, T.; Janson, M.; Mordasini, C.

2013-09-01

Over the last decade, a vast amount of effort has been poured into gaining a better understanding of the fre- quency and diversity of extrasolar planets. Yet, most of these studies focus on single stars, leaving the population of planets in multiple systems poorly explored. This investigational gap persists despite the fact that both theoretical and observational evidence suggest that such systems represent a significant fraction of the overall planet population. With SPOTS, the Search for Planets Orbiting Two Stars, we are now carrying out the first direct imaging campaign dedicated to circumbinary planets. Our long-term goals are to survey 66 spectroscopic binaries in H-band with VLT NaCo and VLT SPHERE over the course of 4-5 years. This will establish first constraints on the wide-orbit circumbinary planet population, and may yield the spectacular first image of a bona fide circumbinary planet. Here we report on the results of the first two years of the SPOTS survey, as well as on our ongoing observation program.

Dynamical Constraints on Nontransiting Planets Orbiting TRAPPIST-1

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jontof-Hutter, Daniel; Truong, Vinh H.; Ford, Eric B.; Robertson, Paul; Terrien, Ryan C.

2018-06-01

We derive lower bounds on the orbital distance and inclination of a putative planet beyond the transiting seven planets of TRAPPIST-1, for a range of masses ranging from 0.08 M Jup to 3.5 M Jup. While the outer architecture of this system will ultimately be constrained by radial velocity measurements over time, we present dynamical constraints from the remarkably coplanar configuration of the seven transiting planets, which is sensitive to modestly inclined perturbers. We find that the observed configuration is unlikely if a Jovian-mass planet inclined by ≥3° to the transiting planet exists within 0.53 au, exceeding any constraints from transit timing variations (TTV) induced in the known planets from an undetected perturber. Our results will inform RV programs targeting TRAPPIST-1, and for near coplanar outer planets, tighter constraints are anticipated for radial velocity (RV) precisions of ≲140 m s‑1. At higher inclinations, putative planets are ruled out to greater orbital distances with orbital periods up to a few years.

TMAP: A NEO follow-up program utilizing undergraduate observers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ramirez, C.; Deaver, D.; Martinez, R.; Foster, J.; Kuang, L.; Ates, A.; Anderson, M.; Mijac, M.; Gillam, S.; Hicks, M. D.

2000-10-01

In the spring of 2000 we began TMAP (Table Mountain Astrometry Project), a program designed to provide timely astrometric followup of newly discovered near-Earth asteroids. Relying on undergraduate observers from the local California State Universities, we have to date been involved with the over 50 NEO and new comet discoveries. This is a significant fraction of all near-Earth asteroids discovered over the time period. All observations are performed at JPL's Table Mountain Facility near Wrightwood California using the 0.6-meter telescope equipped with a Photometrics LN cooled 1k CCD mounted at the cassegrain focus. With this system we can routinely detect objects to R=20.5. We have typically scheduled two runs per month on weekends bracketing the new moon. The student observers man the telescope are trained to select and obtain R-band images of candidates from the Minor Planet Center's NEO Confirmation Page (http://cfa-www.harvard.edu/cfa/ps/NEO/TheNEOPage.html). The astrometry is then reduced and submitted to the Minor Planet Center the following day. TMAP has proven to be an efficient way both to obtain much needed astrometric measurements of newly discovered small bodies as well as to involve undergraduate researchers in planetary research. The limiting magnitudes provided by the 0.6-meter partially fills the gap between the extremely helpful and dedicated amateur astromitrists and the followup that the NEO detection programs do themselves. This work is supported by NASA.

Precise Masses in the WASP-47 Multi-Transiting Hot Jupiter System

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vanderburg, Andrew; Becker, Juliette; Buchhave, Lars A.; Mortier, Annelies; Latham, David W.; Charbonneau, David; Lopez-Morales, Mercedes; HARPS-N Collaboration

2017-06-01

We present precise radial velocity observations of WASP-47, a star known to host a hot Jupiter, a distant Jovian companion, and, uniquely, two additional transiting planets in short-period orbits: a super-Earth in a 19 hour orbit, and a Neptune in a 9 day orbit. We combine our observations, collected with the HARPS-N spectrograph, with previously published data to measure the most precise planet masses yet for this system. When combined with new stellar parameters (from analysis of the HARPS-N spectra) and a reanalysis of the transit photometry, our mass measurements yield strong constraints on the small planets’ compositions. Finally, we probabilistically constrain the orbital inclination of the outer Jovian planet through a dynamical analysis that requires the system reproduce its observed parameters.This work was supported by the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program. HARPS-N was funded by the Swiss Space Office, the Harvard Origin of Life Initiative, the Scottish Universities Physics Alliance, the University of Geneva, the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, the Italian National Astrophysical Institute, the University of St. Andrews, Queens University Belfast, and the University of Edinburgh.

Research in planetary astronomy and operation of the Mauna Kea Observatory

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cruikshank, Dale P.

1988-01-01

Spectroscopic studies with ground-based telescopes at low resolution can give compositional information of the surfaces and atmospheres of planets, satellites, asteroids, and comets. Solid state absorptions in ices and minerals are measurable by the low-resolution spectrophotometric technique. This program includes spectroscopy of distant comets, asteroids of particular interest in various contexts (planet crossers, outer main belt, trojans, etc.), Pluto and Charon, and planetary satellites of particular interest (Iapetus, Io, Uranian satellites, etc.). In the case of planets, satellites, and comets, emphasis is placed on volatiles (ices and organics), while for asteroids the stress is on mineralogy and the connection with the meteorites. New spectra show that the IR signature of Triton has changed since 1980, in that the methane bands are significantly weaker. Spectral evidence for the presence of molecular nitrogen remains convincing. Also, the brightness of Triton throughout its orbital cycle was measured to higher precision than before and was found to be constant to better than 0.02 mag. Suggestive spectral evidence was found for the presence of the C-H stretching mode band in diffuse reflection on asteroid 130 Elektra.

Follow-up of K2 planet candiates with the LCOGT network

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dragomir, Diana; Bayliss, Daniel; Colón, Knicole; Cochran, William; Zhou, George; Brown, Timothy; Shporer, Avi; Espinoza, Nestor; Fulton, Benjamin

2015-12-01

K2 has proven to be an outstanding successor to the Kepler mission. It has already revealed dozens of new planet candidates, and unlike those found by the primary mission, many of these systems’ host stars are sufficiently bright to allow extensive follow-up observations. This is especially important since each of the K2 observing campaigns are only ~80 days long, leaving the community with the discovery of exciting new systems but often not enough time coverage to enable a thorough characterization of these systems.We are leading a large effort to observe K2 transiting planet candidates with the LCOGT telescope network. LCOGT’s longitudinal coverage, multiple identical telescopes per site and automated queue observing make it an ideal facility for fast, high-precision and multi-color follow-up. Our program focuses on specific aspects of K2 follow-up for which the network is especially powerful: period determination for candidates with fewer than three K2 transits; transit timing variation monitoring to measure planetary masses, orbital parameters and to search for additional planets in multiple systems; and multi-color photometry to vet planet candidates and carry-out preliminary atmospheric spectroscopy.We will present new results for a selection of systems observed so far through this program. These include K2-19, a multi-planet system extremely close to 3:2 resonance and experiencing transit timing variations with amplitudes as large as one hour; EPIC201702477, a long-period planet with only two K2 transits; WASP-47, a system hosting a hot Jupiter and two K2-discovered small planets; and EPIC201637175b, a disintegrating rocky planet.Our program demonstrates that LCOGT is uniquely positioned to be the primary ground-based photometric follow-up resource for K2 exoplanet discoveries, but also for the numerous bright systems that will result from the TESS mission. LCOGT photometry complements ongoing radial velocity and atmospheric spectroscopy efforts to reveal a more complete picture of the bright, nearby exoplanet systems discovered by these missions.

A Model for Undergraduate and High School Student Research in Earth and Space Sciences: The New York City Research Initiative

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Scalzo, F.; Johnson, L.; Marchese, P.

2006-05-01

The New York City Research Initiative (NYCRI) is a research and academic program that involves high school students, undergraduate and graduate students, and high school teachers in research teams that are led by college/university principal investigators of NASA funded projects and/or NASA scientists. The principal investigators are at 12 colleges/universities within a 50-mile radius of New York City (NYC and surrounding counties, Southern Connecticut and Northern New Jersey), as well as the NASA Goddard Institute of Space Studies (GISS). This program has a summer research institute component in Earth Science and Space Science, and an academic year component that includes the formulation and implementation NASA research based learning units in existing STEM courses by high school and college faculty. NYCRI is a revision and expansion of the Institute on Climate and Planets at GISS and is funded by NASA MURED and the Goddard Space Flight Center's Education Office.

Constraining the Properties of Small Stars and Small Planets Observed by K2

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dressing, Courtney D.; Newton, Elisabeth R.; Charbonneau, David; Schlieder, Josh; Hawaii/California/Arizona/Indiana K2 Follow-up Consortium, HARPS-N Consortium

2016-01-01

We are using the results of the NASA K2 mission (the second career of the Kepler spacecraft) to study how the frequency and architectures of planetary systems orbiting M dwarfs throughout the ecliptic plane compare to those of the early M dwarf planetary systems observed by Kepler. In a previous analysis of the Kepler data set, we found that planets orbiting early M dwarfs are common: we measured a cumulative planet occurrence rate of 2.45 +/- 0.22 planets per M dwarf with periods of 0.5-200 days and planet radii of 1-4 Earth radii. Within a conservative habitable zone based on the moist greenhouse inner limit and maximum greenhouse outer limit, we estimated an occurrence rate of 0.15 (+0.18/-0.06) Earth-size planets and 0.09 (+0.10/-0.04) super-Earths per M dwarf HZ. Applying these occurrence rates to the population of nearby stars and assuming that mid- and late-M dwarfs host planets at the same rate as early M dwarfs, we predicted that the nearest potentially habitable Earth-size planet likely orbits an M dwarf a mere 2.6 ± 0.4 pc away. We are now testing the assumption of equal planet occurrence rates for M dwarfs of all types by inspecting the population of planets detected by K2 and conducting follow-up observations of planet candidate host stars to identify false positives and better constrain system parameters. I will present the results of recent observing runs with SpeX on the IRTF to obtain near-infrared spectra of low-mass stars targeted by K2 and determine the radii, temperatures, and metallicities of our target stars using empirical relations. We gratefully acknowledge funding from the NASA XRP Program, the John Templeton Foundation, and the NASA Sagan Fellowship Program.

VizieR Online Data Catalog: Lithium abundances of a large sample of red giants (Liu+, 2014)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Y. J.; Tan, K. F.; Wang, L.; Zhao, G.; Sato, B.; Takeda, Y.; Li, H. N.

2017-06-01

The sample stars analyzed here are comprised of 321 giants from the Okayama Planet Search Program (Sato et al. 2003ApJ...597L.157S) and 57 giants from the Xinglong Planet Search Program (Liu et al. 2008ApJ...672..553L). Both programs aim to detect planets around intermediate mass G type (and early K type) giants. The spectra were taken with the High Dispersion Echelle Spectrograph at Okayama Astrophysical Observatory (OAO), which was equipped at the coude focus of the 1.88 m telescope during 2008-2010. Before 2008 October, one CCD system with wavelength coverage of 5000-6200 Å was used, and after that the new mosaic 3 CCD system with wavelength a coverage of 4000-7540 Å replaced it. (2 data files).

Computer simulations of planetary accretion dynamics: Sensitivity to initial conditions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Isaacman, R.; Sagan, C.

1976-01-01

The implications and limitations of program ACRETE were tested. The program is a scheme based on Newtonian physics and accretion with unit sticking efficiency, devised to simulate the origin of the planets. The dependence of the results on a variety of radial and vertical density distribution laws, the ratio of gas to dust in the solar nebula, the total nebular mass, and the orbital eccentricity of the accreting grains was explored. Only for a small subset of conceivable cases are planetary systems closely like our own generated. Many models have tendencies towards one of two preferred configurations: multiple star systems, or planetary systems in which Jovian planets either have substantially smaller masses than in our system or are absent altogether. But for a wide range of cases recognizable planetary systems are generated - ranging from multiple star systems with accompanying planets, to systems with Jovian planets at several hundred AU, to single stars surrounded only by asteroids.

Status and future of extraterrestrial mapping programs

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Batson, R. M.

1981-01-01

Extensive mapping programs have been completed for the Earth's Moon and for the planet Mercury. Mars, Venus, and the Galilean satellites of Jupiter (Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto), are currently being mapped. The two Voyager spacecraft are expected to return data from which maps can be made of as many as six of the satellites of Saturn and two or more of the satellites of Uranus. The standard reconnaissance mapping scales used for the planets are 1:25,000,000 and 1:5,000,000; where resolution of data warrants, maps are compiled at the larger scales of 1:2,000,000, 1:1,000,000 and 1:250,000. Planimetric maps of a particular planet are compiled first. The first spacecraft to visit a planet is not designed to return data from which elevations can be determined. As exploration becomes more intensive, more sophisticated missions return photogrammetric and other data to permit compilation of contour maps.

The planets and life.

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Young, R. S.

1971-01-01

It is pointed out that planetary exploration is not simply a program designed to detect life on another planet. A planet similar to earth, such as Mars, when studied for evidence as to why life did not arise, may turn out to be scientifically more important than a planet which has already produced a living system. Of particular interest after Mars are Venus and Jupiter. Jupiter has a primitive atmosphere which may well be synthesizing organic molecules today. Speculations have been made concerning the possibility of a bio-zone in the upper atmosphere of Venus.

InSight Mission Education and Communication: Powerhouse partners leverage global networks to put authentic planetary science into the hands and minds of students of all ages

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Banerdt, W. B.; Jones, J. H.

2015-12-01

InSight Mission Education and Communication: Powerhouse Partners Leverage Global Networks To Put Authentic Planetary Science into the Hands and Minds of Students. NASA's InSight (Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport) is a NASA Discovery Program mission that will place a single geophysical lander on Mars to study its deep interior. InSight will launch in March 2016 aboard an Atlas V 401 rocket from Space Launch Complex 3E at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, and land on Mars in September 2016, beginning science return in October 2016.By using sophisticated geophysical instruments, InSight will delve deep beneath the surface of Mars, detecting the fingerprints of the processes of terrestrial planet formation, as well as measuring the planet's "vital signs": Its "pulse" (seismology), "temperature" (heat flow probe), and "reflexes" (precision tracking). InSight's E/PO Partners all of which already work with NSF, Department of Education and NASA will put authentic Mars data and analysis tools in the hands of educators, students and the public. IRIS - Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology provides lessons, seismograph software, animations, videos, and will use InSight data to focus on how students can compare seismic data from Mars and Earth. SCEC - Southern California Earthquake Center's "Vital Signs of the Planet" professional development program for science teachers is creating, and test teaching standards-aligned STEM materials to help additional teachers work with comparative planetary concepts. They are also installinglow cost strong motion research accelerometers in all participating schools. ASP - Astronomical Society of the Pacific will deliver Planet Core Outreach toolkits with an InSight focus to 380 amateur astronomy clubs engaged in Informal Education. Space Math - delivered twenty standards based mathematics lessons using InSight and Mars physical and science data which enable students to acquire skills in collecting, organizing and graphing data, making inferences and drawing conclusions. International partners in France, US, UK, CH and Germany also have complimentary education initiatives and partner with IRIS and SCEC in their countries.

VizieR Online Data Catalog: Spitzer solar-type stars list (Meyer+, 2006)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Meyer, M. R.; Hillenbrand, L. A.; Backman, D.; Beckwith, S.; Bouwman, J.; Brooke, T.; Carpenter, J.; Cohen, M.; Cortes, S.; Crockett, N.; Gorti, U.; Henning, T.; Hines, D.; Hollenbach, D.; Kim, J. S.; Lunine, J.; Malhotra, R.; Mamajek, E.; Metchev, S.; Moro-Martin, A.; Morris, P.; Najita, J.; Padgett, D.; Pascucci, I.; Rodmann, J.; Schlingman, W.; Silverstone, M.; Soderblom, D.; Stauffer, J.; Stobie, E.; Strom, S.; Watson, D.; Weidenschilling, S.; Wolf, S.; Young, E.

2008-01-01

We provide an overview of the Spitzer Legacy Program, Formation and Evolution of Planetary Systems, that was proposed in 2000, begun in 2001, and executed aboard the Spitzer Space Telescope between 2003 and 2006. This program exploits the sensitivity of Spitzer to carry out mid-infrared spectrophotometric observations of solar-type stars. With a sample of 328 stars ranging in age from 3Myr to 3Gyr, we trace the evolution of circumstellar gas and dust from primordial planet-building stages in young circumstellar disks through to older collisionally generated debris disks. When completed, our program will help define the timescales over which terrestrial and gas giant planets are built, constrain the frequency of planetesimal collisions as a function of time, and establish the diversity of mature planetary architectures. In addition to the observational program, we have coordinated a concomitant theoretical effort aimed at understanding the dynamics of circumstellar dust with and without the effects of embedded planets, dust spectral energy distributions, and atomic and molecular gas line emission. Together with the observations, these efforts will provide an astronomical context for understanding whether our solar system and its habitable planets a common or a rare circumstance. Additional information about the FEPS project can be found on the team Web site. (4 data files).

The Formation and Evolution of Planetary Systems: Placing Our Solar System in Context with Spitzer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Meyer, Michael R.; Hillenbrand, Lynne A.; Backman, Dana; Beckwith, Steve; Bouwman, Jeroen; Brooke, Tim; Carpenter, John; Cohen, Martin; Cortes, Stephanie; Crockett, Nathan; Gorti, Uma; Henning, Thomas; Hines, Dean; Hollenbach, David; Kim, Jinyoung Serena; Lunine, Jonathan; Malhotra, Renu; Mamajek, Eric; Metchev, Stanimir; Moro-Martin, Amaya; Morris, Pat; Najita, Joan; Padgett, Deborah; Pascucci, Ilaria; Rodmann, Jens; Schlingman, Wayne; Silverstone, Murray; Soderblom, David; Stauffer, John; Stobie, Elizabeth; Strom, Steve; Watson, Dan; Weidenschilling, Stuart; Wolf, Sebastian; Young, Erick

2006-12-01

We provide an overview of the Spitzer Legacy Program, Formation and Evolution of Planetary Systems, that was proposed in 2000, begun in 2001, and executed aboard the Spitzer Space Telescope between 2003 and 2006. This program exploits the sensitivity of Spitzer to carry out mid-infrared spectrophotometric observations of solar-type stars. With a sample of ~328 stars ranging in age from ~3 Myr to ~3 Gyr, we trace the evolution of circumstellar gas and dust from primordial planet-building stages in young circumstellar disks through to older collisionally generated debris disks. When completed, our program will help define the timescales over which terrestrial and gas giant planets are built, constrain the frequency of planetesimal collisions as a function of time, and establish the diversity of mature planetary architectures. In addition to the observational program, we have coordinated a concomitant theoretical effort aimed at understanding the dynamics of circumstellar dust with and without the effects of embedded planets, dust spectral energy distributions, and atomic and molecular gas line emission. Together with the observations, these efforts will provide an astronomical context for understanding whether our solar system-and its habitable planet-is a common or a rare circumstance. Additional information about the FEPS project can be found on the team Web site.

Dynamical Stability and Evolution of Kepler’s compact inner multi-planet systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pu, Bonan

2017-06-01

NASA’s Kepler mission has revealed a population of highly compact inner multi-planet systems. These systems, typically consisting of 4-6 super-Earths, feature tight orbital spacing between planets as well as low orbital inclinations (~2 deg. ) and eccentricities (~2%). This stands in contrast to Kepler’s singles population, which appears to feature higher orbital obliquities and eccentricities, as well as a lower transit timing variation fraction indicative of lower true planet multiplicities.In this talk, I will present some previous and ongoing research aimed at understanding the dynamical evolution of these Kepler systems. First, I will present numerical N-body investigations on the long-term stability of multi-planet systems, the results of which suggest that Kepler’s systems are near the edge of stability. Next, I will discuss some current research on the dynamics of planetary close encounters and collisions, and their implications for the ultimate fate of dynamically unstable multi-planet systems. Finally, I will highlight some recent results on the dynamical stability and evolution of inner multi-planet systems when they are accompanied by external giant planet and/or stellar companions.

Providing Real Research Opoportunities to Undergraduates

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ragozzine, Darin

2016-01-01

The current approach to undergraduate education focuses on teaching classes which provide the foundational knowledge for more applied experiences such as scientific research. Like most programs, Florida Institute of Technology (Florida Tech or FIT) strongly encourages undergraduate research, but is dominated by content-focused courses (e.g., "Physical Mechanics"). Research-like experiences are generally offered through "lab" classes, but these are almost always reproductions of past experiments: contrived, formulaic, and lacking the "heart" of real (i.e., potentially publishable) scientific research. Real research opportunities 1) provide students with realistic insight into the actual scientific process; 2) excite students far more than end-of-chapter problems; 3) provide context for the importance of learning math, physics, and astrophysics concepts; and 4) allow unique research progress for well-chosen problems. I have provided real research opportunities as an "Exoplanet Lab" component of my Introduction to Space Science (SPS1020) class at Florida Tech, generally taken by first-year majors in our Physics, Astronomy & Astrophysics, Planetary Science, and Astrobiology degree programs. These labs are a hybrid between citizen science (e.g., PlanetHunters) and simultaneously mentoring ~60 undergraduates in similar small research projects. These projects focus on problems that can be understood in the context of the course, but which benefit from "crowdsourcing". Examples include: dividing up the known planetary systems and developing a classification scheme and organizing them into populations (Fall 2013); searching through folded light curves to discover new exoplanets missed by previous pipelines (Fall 2014); and fitting n-body models to all exoplanets with known Transit Timing Variations to estimate planet masses (Fall 2015). The students love the fact that they are doing real potentially publishable research: not many undergraduates can claim to have discovered new exoplanets! Based on these experiences, I will present practical insights into successfully organizing real research opportunities. By employing some of these best practices, we can truly educate students and make scientific progress.

[Extrasolar terrestrial planets and possibility of extraterrestrial life].

PubMed

Ida, Shigeru

2003-12-01

Recent development of research on extrasolar planets are reviewed. About 120 extrasolar Jupiter-mass planets have been discovered through the observation of Doppler shift in the light of their host stars that is caused by acceleration due to planet orbital motions. Although the extrasolar planets so far observed may be limited to gas giant planets and their orbits differ from those of giant planets in our Solar system (Jupiter and Saturn), the theoretically predicted probability of existence of extrasolar terrestrial planets that can have liquid water ocean on their surface is comparable to that of detectable gas giant planets. Based on the number of extrasolar gas giants detected so far, about 100 life-sustainable planets may exist within a range of 200 light years. Indirect observation of extrasolar terrestrial planets would be done with space telescopes within several years and direct one may be done within 20 years. The latter can detect biomarkers on these planets as well.

Mission to Planet Earth Strategic Enterprise Plan 1996-2002

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1996-01-01

Mission to Planet Earth's (MTPE's) first Strategic Enterprise Plan, issued in May 1995, defined the Agency's major goals and objectives as well as constraints. This update of the Strategic Enterprise Plan identifies the following major changes: a focused Science Research Plan that integrates space-based and in situ observational critical science to address critical science uncertainties; a technology infusion plan to reduce the cost of future missions; a series of flight opportunities to infuse new science into the overall program; and a tighter coupling between NASA and NOAA to reduce costs and to improve the overall program. Three important new initiatives are also under development and are described briefly in this plan: MTPE Education Strategy, MTPE Commercial Strategy, and an emerging concept for an Integrated Global Observing Strategy. This first update to the MTPE Strategic Enterprise Plan captures these new developments, and takes a significant step forward in planning this complex Earth system science endeavor. The plan and other information on MTPE may be viewed via the Internet at http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/mtpe/.

European environmental research infrastructures are going for common 30 years strategy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Asmi, Ari; Konjin, Jacco; Pursula, Antti

2014-05-01

Environmental Research infrastructures are facilities, resources, systems and related services that are used by research communities to conduct top-level research. Environmental research is addressing processes at very different time scales, and supporting research infrastructures must be designed as long-term facilities in order to meet the requirements of continuous environmental observation, measurement and analysis. This longevity makes the environmental research infrastructures ideal structures to support the long-term development in environmental sciences. ENVRI project is a collaborative action of the major European (ESFRI) Environmental Research Infrastructures working towards increased co-operation and interoperability between the infrastructures. One of the key products of the ENVRI project is to combine the long-term plans of the individual infrastructures towards a common strategy, describing the vision and planned actions. The envisaged vision for environmental research infrastructures toward 2030 is to support the holistic understanding of our planet and it's behavior. The development of a 'Standard Model of the Planet' is a common ambition, a challenge to define an environmental standard model; a framework of all interactions within the Earth System, from solid earth to near space. Indeed scientists feel challenged to contribute to a 'Standard Model of the Planet' with data, models, algorithms and discoveries. Understanding the Earth System as an interlinked system requires a systems approach. The Environmental Sciences are rapidly moving to become a one system-level science. Mainly since modern science, engineering and society are increasingly facing complex problems that can only be understood in the context of the full overall system. The strategy of the supporting collaborating research infrastructures is based on developing three key factors for the Environmental Sciences: the technological, the cultural and the human capital. The technological capital development concentrates on improving the capacities to measure, observe, preserve and compute. This requires staff, technologies, sensors, satellites, floats, software to integrate and to do analysis and modeling, including data storage, computing platforms and networks. The cultural capital development addresses issues such as open access to data, rules, licenses, citation agreements, IPR agreements, technologies for machine-machine interaction, workflows, metadata, and RI community on the policy level. Human capital actions are based on anticipated need of specialists, including data scientists and 'generalists' that oversee more than just their own discipline. Developing these, as interrelated services, should help the scientific community to enter innovative and large projects contributing to a 'Standard Model of the Planet'. To achieve the overall goal, ENVRI will publish a set of action items that contains intermediate aims, bigger and smaller steps to work towards the development of the 'Standard Model of the Planet' approach. This timeline of actions can used as reference and 'common denominator' in defining new projects and research programs. Either within the various environmental scientific disciplines or when cooperating among these disciplines or even when outreaching towards other disciplines like social sciences, physics/chemistry, medical/life sciences etc.

SPOTS: The Search for Planets Orbiting Two Stars

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Thalmann, Christian; Desidera, Silvano; Bergfors, Carolina; Boccaletti, Anthony; Bonavita, Mariangela; Carson, Joseph; Feldt, Markus; Goto, Miwa; Henning, Thomas; Janson, Markus; Klahr, Hubert; Marzari, Francesco; Mordasini, Christoph

2013-07-01

Over the last decade, a vast amount of effort has been poured into gaining a better understanding of the frequency and diversity of extrasolar planets. Yet, most of these studies focus on single stars, leaving the population of planets in multiple systems poorly explored. This investigational gap persists despite the fact that both theoretical and observational evidence suggest that such systems represent a significant fraction of the overall planet population. With SPOTS, the Search for Planets Orbiting Two Stars, we are now carrying out the first direct imaging campaign dedicated to circumbinary planets. Our long-term goals are to survey 66 spectroscopic binaries in H-band with VLT NaCo and VLT SPHERE over the course of 4-5 years. This will establish first constraints on the wide-orbit circumbinary planet population, and may yield the spectacular first image of a bona fide circumbinary planet. Here we report on the results of the first two years of the SPOTS survey, as well as on our ongoing observation program.

Activities conducted during the definition phase of the outer planets missions program

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1972-01-01

The activities are described of the Meteoroid Science Team for the definition phase of the outer planet missions. Studies reported include: (1) combined zodiacal experiment for the Grand Tour Missions of the outer planets, (2) optical transmission of a honeycomb panel and its effectiveness as a particle impact surface, (3) element identification data from the combined zodiacal OPGT experiment and (4) development of lightweight thermally stable mirrors.

The Kepler Follow-up Observation Program. I. A Catalog of Companions to Kepler Stars from High-Resolution Imaging

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Furlan, E.; Ciardi, D. R.; Everett, M. E.; Saylors, M.; Teske, J. K.; Horch, E. P.; Howell, S. B.; van Belle, G. T.; Hirsch, L. A.; Gautier, T. N., III; Adams, E. R.; Barrado, D.; Cartier, K. M. S.; Dressing, C. D.; Dupree, A. K.; Gilliland, R. L.; Lillo-Box, J.; Lucas, P. W.; Wang, J.

2017-02-01

We present results from high-resolution, optical to near-IR imaging of host stars of Kepler Objects of Interest (KOIs), identified in the original Kepler field. Part of the data were obtained under the Kepler imaging follow-up observation program over six years (2009-2015). Almost 90% of stars that are hosts to planet candidates or confirmed planets were observed. We combine measurements of companions to KOI host stars from different bands to create a comprehensive catalog of projected separations, position angles, and magnitude differences for all detected companion stars (some of which may not be bound). Our compilation includes 2297 companions around 1903 primary stars. From high-resolution imaging, we find that ˜10% (˜30%) of the observed stars have at least one companion detected within 1″ (4″). The true fraction of systems with close (≲4″) companions is larger than the observed one due to the limited sensitivities of the imaging data. We derive correction factors for planet radii caused by the dilution of the transit depth: assuming that planets orbit the primary stars or the brightest companion stars, the average correction factors are 1.06 and 3.09, respectively. The true effect of transit dilution lies in between these two cases and varies with each system. Applying these factors to planet radii decreases the number of KOI planets with radii smaller than 2 {R}\\oplus by ˜2%-23% and thus affects planet occurrence rates. This effect will also be important for the yield of small planets from future transit missions such as TESS.

Spectroscopic Characterization of a Newborn Neptune-Sized Planet

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Benneke, Bjoern

2016-10-01

The study of planet formation as it occurs has remained an elusive frontier, until now. Our team recently identified a newly-born planet orbiting a young, 5-10 Myr old, pre-main-sequence M star in the Upper Scorpius star-forming region. In its early stage, the close-in planet is about 50% larger than Neptune. Models predict that it will contract over the coming 100-1000 Myr to become a member of the intriguingly abundant class of close-in sub-Neptunes. Spectroscopic observations of this newborn planet will give us the unprecedented opportunity to probe the formation and evolution of low-mass, close-in planets at this early stage. Here, we propose to a reconnaissance study to probe the adolescent state of the gravitationally-bound atmosphere using near-infrared transit spectroscopy and the planet's hydrogen loss rate using far-UV transit spectroscopy. Together, our observations will give us unparalleled insights into the initial state of a young close-in planet as well as into the competing timescales of Kelvin-Helmholtz contraction and envelope mass-loss involved in the early evolution of close-in sub-Neptunes and Neptunes. If the proposed reconnaissance observations detect that molecular absorption in the atmosphere of USco 1610-1919b, then USco 1610-1919b will be one of the prime targets for the 200-hour JWST/NIRISS GTO program to probe the formation and evolution of exoplanets. Mid-cycle observations are required because the final target list for JWST/GTO programs must be locked in by June 2017 before the beginning of HST Cycle 25.

Community Exoplanet Follow-up Program

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Howell, Steve

2017-01-01

During the Kepler mission, our team provided the community with the highest resolution images available anywhere of exoplanet host stars. Using speckle interferometry on the 3.5-m WIYN, and 8-m Gemini telescopes, thousands of observations have been obtained reaching the diffraction limit of the telescope. From these public data available at the NASA Exoplanet Archive, numerous publications have resulted and many scientific results have been obtained for exoplanets including the fact that high-resolution imaging is critical to fully characterize the planet host stars and the planets themselves (e.g., planet radius and incident flux). Exoplanet host star observations have also occurred (and continue) for K2 mission candidates with archival data available as well. Observational programs for TESS candidates, WFIRST program stars, and Zodiacal light candidates are currently on-going. Availability to propose or obtain such observations are possible through 1) collaboration with our team, 2) successfully proposing to WIYN or GEMINI for telescope time, or 3) using publically available archival data. This poster will highlight the observational program, how time is allocated and how our queue observational program works, and new features and observational modes that are available now.

Space Science Division cumulative bibliography: 1989-1994

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Morrison, D.

1995-01-01

The Space Science Division at NASA's Ames Research Center is dedicated to research in astrophysics, exobiology, and planetary science. These research programs are structured around the study of origins and evolution of stars, planets, planetary atmospheres, and life, and address some of the most fundamental questions pursued by science; questions that examine the origin of life and of our place in the universe. This bibliography is the accumulation of peer-reviewed publications authored by Division scientists for the years 1989 through 1994. The list includes 777 papers published in over 5 dozen scientific journals representing the high productivity and interdisciplinary nature of the Space Science Division.

The Henry Cecil Ranson McBay Chair in Space Science

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bota, Kofi B.; King, James, Jr.

1999-01-01

The goals and objectives of the Henry Cecil Ransom McBay Chair in Space Sciences were to: (1) provide leadership in developing and expanding Space Science curriculum; (2) contribute to the research and education endeavors of NASA's Mission to Planet Earth program; (3) expand opportunities for education and hands-on research in Space and Earth Sciences; (4) enhance scientific and technological literacy at all educational levels and to increase awareness of opportunities in the Space Sciences; and (5) develop a pipeline, starting with high school, of African American students who will develop into a cadre of well-trained scientists with interest in Space Science Research and Development.

NASA Social Briefing on Planet-Hunting Mission Launch

NASA Image and Video Library

2018-04-15

NASA and industry leaders speak to NASA Social participants about the agency's Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) in the Press Site auditorium at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Speaking to the group, from left are Natalia Guerrero, TESS researcher, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Robert Lockwood, TESS Spacecraft Program Manager, Orbital ATK. TESS is the next step in the search for planets outside of our solar system. The mission will find exoplanets that periodically block part of the light from their host stars, events called transits. The satellite will survey the nearest and brightest stars for two years to search for transiting exoplanets. TESS will launch on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station no earlier than 6:32 p.m. EDT on Monday, April 16.

A half-century of terrestrial analog studies: From craters on the Moon to searching for life on Mars

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Léveillé, Richard

2010-03-01

Terrestrial analogs to the Moon and Mars have been used to advance knowledge in planetary science for over a half-century. They are useful in studies of comparative geology of the terrestrial planets and rocky moons, in astronaut training and testing of exploration technologies, and in developing hypotheses and exploration strategies in astrobiology. In fact, the use of terrestrial analogs can be traced back to the origins of comparative geology and astrobiology, and to the early phases of the Apollo astronaut program. Terrestrial analog studies feature prominently throughout the history of both NASA and the USGS' Astrogeology Research Program. In light of current international plans for a return missions to the Moon, and eventually to send sample return and manned missions to Mars, as well as the recent creation of various analog research and development programs, this historical perspective is timely.

Pathfinder technologies for bold new missions. [U.S. research and development program for space exploration

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sadin, Stanley R.; Rosen, Robert

1987-01-01

Project Pathfinder is a proposed U.S. Space Research and Technology program intended to enable bold new missions of space exploration. Pathfinder continues the advancement of technological capabilities and extends the foundation established under the Civil Space Technology Initiative, CSTI. By filling critical technological gaps, CSTI enhances access to Earth orbit and supports effective operations and science missions therein. Pathfinder, with a longer-term horizon, looks to a future that builds on Shuttle and Space Station and addresses technologies that support a range of exploration missions including: a return to the Moon to build an outpost; piloted missions to Mars; and continued scientific exploration of Earth and the other planets. The program's objective is to develop, within reasonable time frames, those emerging and innovative technologies that will make possible both new and enhanced missions and system concepts.

Planetary quarantine: Principles, methods, and problems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hall, L. B.

1975-01-01

Requirements for planetary quarantine programs focus on microbial life forms as the primary contamination threat carried by spacecraft to a planet, or back to earth from another planet or outer space. Constraints on planetary flight missions and forthcoming Martian landings are depicted.

Investigations on physics of planetary atmospheres and small bodies of the Solar system, extrasolar planets and disk structures around the stars

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vidmachenko, A. P.; Delets, O. S.; Dlugach, J. M.; Zakhozhay, O. V.; Kostogryz, N. M.; Krushevska, V. M.; Kuznyetsova, Y. G.; Morozhenko, O. V.; Nevodovskyi, P. V.; Ovsak, O. S.; Rozenbush, O. E.; Romanyuk, Ya. O.; Shavlovskiy, V. I.; Yanovitskij, E. G.

2015-12-01

The history and main becoming stages of Planetary system physics Department of the Main astronomical observatory of National academy of Sciences of Ukraine are considered. Fundamental subjects of department researches and science achievements of employees are presented. Fields of theoretical and experimental researches are Solar system planets and their satellites; vertical structures of planet atmospheres; radiative transfer in planet atmospheres; exoplanet systems of Milky Way; stars having disc structures; astronomical engineering. Employees of the department carry out spectral, photometrical and polarimetrical observations of Solar system planets, exoplanet systems and stars with disc structures. 1. From the history of department 2. The main directions of department research 3. Scientific instrumentation 4. Telescopes and observation stations 5. Theoretical studies 6. The results of observations of planets and small Solar system bodies and their interpretation 7. The study of exoplanets around the stars of our galaxy 8. Spectral energy distribution of fragmenting protostellar disks 9. Cooperation with the National Technical University of Ukraine (KPI) and National University of Ukraine "Lviv Polytechnic" to study the impact of stratospheric aerosol changes on weather and climate of the Earth 10. International relations. Scientific and organizational work. Scientific conferences, congresses, symposia 11. The main achievements of the department 12. Current researches 13. Anniversaries and awards

Planetary astronomy program

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1977-01-01

A program was developed in which asteroids and two planets, namely, Saturn and Uranus, were investigated. This included: (1) asteroid spectrophotometry; (2) the nature of the Trojan asteroids; (3) an investigation to determine asteroid masses; (4) the photometry, structure, and dynamics of the rings surrounding the planet Saturn; and (5) aerosol distribution in the atmosphere of Uranus. Plans were finalized to obtain observations of the nucleus of the dying comet P/Arend-Rigaux. Further work was accomplished in asteroid data reduction. Data were entered into the TRIAD data file and a program generated classifications for over 560 different asteroids. A photoelectric area scanner was used to obtain UBV scans of the disk of the planet Saturn on several winter and spring nights in 1977. Intensity profiles show pronounced limb brightening in U, moderate limb brightening in B, and limb darkening in V. Narrow band photoelectric area-scanning photometry of the Uranus disk is also reported. Results are given.

NASA's Upper Atmosphere Research Program UARP and Atmospheric Chemistry Modeling and Analysis Program (ACMAP): Research Summaries 1994 - 1996. Report to Congress and the Environmental Protection Agency

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kendall, Rose (Compiler); Wolfe, Kathy (Compiler)

1997-01-01

Under the mandate contained in the FY 1976 NASA Authorization Act, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has developed and is implementing a comprehensive program of research, technology, and monitoring of the Earth's upper atmosphere, with emphasis on the stratosphere. This program aims at expanding our understanding to permit both the quantitative analysis of current perturbations as well as the assessment of possible future changes in this important region of our environment. It is carried out jointly by the Upper Atmosphere Research Program (UARP) and the Atmospheric Chemistry Modeling and Analysis Program (ACMAP), both managed within the Science Division in the Office of Mission to Planet Earth at NASA. Significant contributions to this effort are also provided by the Atmospheric Effects of Aviation Project (AEAP) of NASA's Office of Aeronautics. The long-term objectives of the present program are to perform research to: understand the physics, chemistry, and transport processes of the upper atmosphere and their effect on the distribution of chemical species in the stratosphere, such as ozone; understand the relationship of the trace constituent composition of the lower stratosphere and the lower troposphere to the radiative balance and temperature distribution of the Earth's atmosphere; and accurately assess possible perturbations of the upper atmosphere caused by human activities as well as by natural phenomena. In compliance with the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990, Public Law 101-549, NASA has prepared a report on the state of our knowledge of the Earth's upper atmosphere, particularly the stratosphere, and on the progress of UARP and ACMAP. The report for the year 1996 is composed of two parts. Part 1 summarizes the objectives, status, and accomplishments of the research tasks supported under NASA UARP and ACMAP in a document entitled, Research Summary 1994-1996. Part 2 is entitled Present State of Knowledge of the Upper Atmosphere 1996.- An Assessment Report. It consists primarily of the Executive Summary and Chapter Summaries of the World Meteorological Organization Global Ozone Research and Monitoring Project Report No. 37, Scientific Assessment of Ozone Depletion: 1994, sponsored by NASA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the UK Department of the Environment, the United Nations Environment Program, and the World Meteorological Organization. Other sections of Part 11 include summaries of the following: an Atmospheric Ozone Research Plan from NASA's Office of Mission to Planet Earth; summaries from a series of Space Shuttle-based missions and two recent airborne measurement campaigns; the Executive Summary of the 1995 Scientific Assessment of the Atmospheric Effects of Stratospheric Aircraft, and the most recent evaluation of photochemical and chemical kinetics data (Evaluation No. 12 of the NASA Panel for Data Evaluation) used as input parameters for atmospheric models.

The applications of chemical thermodynamics and chemical kinetics to planetary atmospheres research

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fegley, Bruce, Jr.

1990-01-01

A review of the applications of chemical thermodynamics and chemical kinetics to planetary atmospheres research during the past four decades is presented with an emphasis on chemical equilibrium models and thermochemical kinetics. Several current problems in planetary atmospheres research such as the origin of the atmospheres of the terrestrial planets, atmosphere-surface interactions on Venus and Mars, deep mixing in the atmospheres of the gas giant planets, and the origin of the atmospheres of outer planet satellites all require laboratory data on the kinetics of thermochemical reactions for their solution.

Balloon/Parachute to Orbiter Communications Using a Dipole Antenna

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kantak, Anil V.; Danos, Monika J.

2001-01-01

Currently, quite a few missions are being studied to send satellites to the outer and inner planets and their moons of the solar system; a large percentage of these missions will have a landed element. NASA's Origins program, Solar System Exploration, Program and Sun Earth Connection (SEC) program, etc., will have a variety of spacecrafts to various solar system planets and their moons to sample and analyze the related atmospheres as well as the soil once the lander lands on the body. These sampling missions may involve a tender element sampling the atmosphere by performing experiments while descending into the atmosphere or a rover collecting samples to return to Earth or a station for experimentation on the planet surface. In either of these cases, the pertinent data generated will have to be sent to the Earth through a communication link. Communications with the Tender during the Entry, Decent and Landing (EDL) phases of a mission is of paramount importance. This article explores a particular method of passing through the atmosphere while communicating with the ground station (DSN station) before landing an instrument package (the lander) on the surface of the planet or moon of interest.

SKARPS: The Search for Kuiper Belts around Radial-Velocity Planet Stars

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bryden, Geoffrey; Marshall, Jonathan; Stapelfeldt, Karl; Su, Kate; Wyatt, Mark

2011-01-01

The Search for Kuiper belts Around Radial-velocity Planet Stars - SKARPS -is a Herschel survey of solar-type stars known to have orbiting planets. When complete, the 100-star SKARPS sample will be large enough for a meaningful statistical comparison against stars not known to have planets. (This control sample has already been observed by Herschel's DUst around NEarby Stars - DUNES - key program). Initial results include previously known disks that are resolved for the first time and newly discovered disks that are fainter and colder than those typically detected by Spitzer. So far, with only half of the sample in hand, there is no measured correlation between inner RV planets and cold outer debris. While this is consistent with the results from Spitzer, it is in contrast with the relationship suggested by the prominent debris disks in imaged-planet systems.

Physics through the 1990s: Scientific interfaces and technological applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1986-01-01

The volume examines the scientific interfaces and technological applications of physics. Twelve areas are dealt with: biological physics-biophysics, the brain, and theoretical biology; the physics-chemistry interface-instrumentation, surfaces, neutron and synchrotron radiation, polymers, organic electronic materials; materials science; geophysics-tectonics, the atmosphere and oceans, planets, drilling and seismic exploration, and remote sensing; computational physics-complex systems and applications in basic research; mathematics-field theory and chaos; microelectronics-integrated circuits, miniaturization, future trends; optical information technologies-fiber optics and photonics; instrumentation; physics applications to energy needs and the environment; national security-devices, weapons, and arms control; medical physics-radiology, ultrasonics, MNR, and photonics. An executive summary and many chapters contain recommendations regarding funding, education, industry participation, small-group university research and large facility programs, government agency programs, and computer database needs.

The Gemini Planet-finding Campaign: The Frequency Of Giant Planets around Debris Disk Stars

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wahhaj, Zahed; Liu, Michael C.; Nielsen, Eric L.; Biller, Beth A.; Hayward, Thomas L.; Close, Laird M.; Males, Jared R.; Skemer, Andrew; Ftaclas, Christ; Chun, Mark; Thatte, Niranjan; Tecza, Matthias; Shkolnik, Evgenya L.; Kuchner, Marc; Reid, I. Neill; de Gouveia Dal Pino, Elisabete M.; Alencar, Silvia H. P.; Gregorio-Hetem, Jane; Boss, Alan; Lin, Douglas N. C.; Toomey, Douglas W.

2013-08-01

We have completed a high-contrast direct imaging survey for giant planets around 57 debris disk stars as part of the Gemini NICI Planet-Finding Campaign. We achieved median H-band contrasts of 12.4 mag at 0.''5 and 14.1 mag at 1'' separation. Follow-up observations of the 66 candidates with projected separation <500 AU show that all of them are background objects. To establish statistical constraints on the underlying giant planet population based on our imaging data, we have developed a new Bayesian formalism that incorporates (1) non-detections, (2) single-epoch candidates, (3) astrometric and (4) photometric information, and (5) the possibility of multiple planets per star to constrain the planet population. Our formalism allows us to include in our analysis the previously known β Pictoris and the HR 8799 planets. Our results show at 95% confidence that <13% of debris disk stars have a >=5 M Jup planet beyond 80 AU, and <21% of debris disk stars have a >=3 M Jup planet outside of 40 AU, based on hot-start evolutionary models. We model the population of directly imaged planets as d 2 N/dMdavpropm α a β, where m is planet mass and a is orbital semi-major axis (with a maximum value of a max). We find that β < -0.8 and/or α > 1.7. Likewise, we find that β < -0.8 and/or a max < 200 AU. For the case where the planet frequency rises sharply with mass (α > 1.7), this occurs because all the planets detected to date have masses above 5 M Jup, but planets of lower mass could easily have been detected by our search. If we ignore the β Pic and HR 8799 planets (should they belong to a rare and distinct group), we find that <20% of debris disk stars have a >=3 M Jup planet beyond 10 AU, and β < -0.8 and/or α < -1.5. Likewise, β < -0.8 and/or a max < 125 AU. Our Bayesian constraints are not strong enough to reveal any dependence of the planet frequency on stellar host mass. Studies of transition disks have suggested that about 20% of stars are undergoing planet formation; our non-detections at large separations show that planets with orbital separation >40 AU and planet masses >3 M Jup do not carve the central holes in these disks. Based on observations obtained at the Gemini Observatory, which is operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc., under a cooperative agreement with the NSF on behalf of the Gemini partnership: the National Science Foundation (United States), the Science and Technology Facilities Council (United Kingdom), the National Research Council (Canada), CONICYT (Chile), the Australian Research Council (Australia), Ministério da Ciência e Tecnologia (Brazil) and Ministerio de Ciencia, Tecnología e Innovación Productiva (Argentina).

Open System Architecture design for planet surface systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Petri, D. A.; Pieniazek, L. A.; Toups, L. D.

1992-01-01

The Open System Architecture is an approach to meeting the needs for flexibility and evolution of the U.S. Space Exploration Initiative program of the manned exploration of the solar system and its permanent settlement. This paper investigates the issues that future activities of the planet exploration program must confront, defines the basic concepts that provide the basis for establishing an Open System Architecture, identifies the appropriate features of such an architecture, and discusses examples of Open System Architectures.

Utilizing Remote Sensing Data to Ascertain Soil Moisture Applications and Air Quality Conditions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Leptoukh, Gregory; Kempler, Steve; Teng, William; Friedl, Lawrence; Lynnes, Chris

2009-01-01

Recognizing the significance of NASA remote sensing Earth science data in monitoring and better understanding our planet's natural environment, NASA Earth Applied Sciences has implemented the 'Decision Support Through Earth Science Research Results' program. Several applications support systems through collaborations with benefiting organizations have been implemented. The Goddard Earth Sciences Data and Information Services Center (GES DISC) has participated in this program on two projects (one complete, one ongoing), and has had opportune ad hoc collaborations utilizing NASA Earth science data. GES DISC's understanding of Earth science missions and resulting data and information enables the GES DISC to identify challenges that come with bringing science data to research applications. In this presentation we describe applications research projects utilizing NASA Earth science data and a variety of resulting GES DISC applications support system project experiences. In addition, defining metrics that really evaluate success will be exemplified.

The asteroid motion simulation calculating the perturbations with different planets' ephemeides. (Russian Title: Прогнозирование движения астероидов с использованием при учете возмущений различных планетных эфемерид)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Baturin, A. P.; Votchel, I. A.

2014-12-01

The influence of major planets and the Moon's ephemerides used on the results of asteroid motion simulation has been considered. The computer program of asteroid motion simulation has been developed. The program allows to calculate perturbations from planets and the Moon using theirs ephemerides DE405, DE408, DE414, DE421, DE422, DE423, DE424, DE425, DE430, DE431, DE432 and EPM2011. The program has convenient windows-interface and is designed for the synchronous simulation of two asteroid orbits using different ephemerides from the list above for each of them. At the end of calculations the graphical comparison of obtained results is automatically produced. The developed program has been applied for the simulation of the motion of the asteroid Apophis using different combinations of these ephemerides. It has been demonstrated that the most differences of the simulated motion are in the cases of replacement of the older ephemerides (DE405, DE408) with the newest ones (DE430, DE431, DE432). So it is preferable to calculate the planet perturbations with the most modern ephemerides of major planets and the Moon.

Students, Teachers, and Scientists Partner to Explore Mars

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bowman, C. D.; Bebak, M.; Curtis, K.; Daniel, C.; Grigsby, B.; Herman, T.; Haynes, E.; Lineberger, D. H.; Pieruccini, S.; Ransom, S.; Reedy, K.; Spencer, C.; Steege, A.

2003-12-01

The Mars Exploration Rovers began their journey to the red planet in the summer of 2003 and, in early 2004, will begin an unprecedented level of scientific exploration on Mars, attracting the attention of scientists and the public worldwide. In an effort to engage students and teachers in this exciting endeavor, NASA's Mars Public Engagement Office, partnering with the Athena Science Investigation, coordinates a student-scientist research partnership program called the Athena Student Interns Program. The Athena Student Interns Program \\(ASIP\\) began in early 1999 as the LAPIS program, a pilot hands-on educational effort associated with the FIDO prototype Mars rover field tests \\(Arvidson, 2000\\). In ASIP, small groups of students and teachers selected through a national application process are paired with mentors from the mission's Athena Science Team to carry out an aspect of the mission. To prepare for actual operations during the landed rover mission, the students and teachers participate in one of the Science Team's Operational Readiness Tests \\(ORTs\\) at JPL using a prototype rover in a simulated Mars environment \\(Crisp, et al., in press. See also http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/mer/fido/\\). Once the rovers have landed, each ASIP group will spend one week at JPL in mission operations, working as part of their mentor's own team to help manage and interpret data coming from Mars. To reach other teachers and students, each group gives school and community presentations, contributes to publications such as web articles and conference abstracts, and participates in NASA webcasts and webchats. Partnering with other groups and organizations, such as NASA's Solar System Ambassadors and the Housing and Urban Development Neighborhood Networks helps reach an even broader audience. ASIP is evaluated through the use of empowerment evaluation, a technique that actively involves participants in program assessment \\(Fetterman and Bowman, 2002\\). With the knowledge they gain through the ASIP program and their participation in the empowerment evaluation, ASIP members will help refine the current program and provide a model for student-scientist research partnerships associated with future space missions to Mars and beyond. Arvidson, R.E., et al. \\(2000\\) Students participate in Mars Sample Return Rover field tests. Eos, 81(11). Crisp, J.A., et al. \\(in press\\) The Mars Exploration Rover Mission. J. Geophys. Research-Planets. Fetterman, D. and C.D. Bowman. \\(2002\\) Experiential Education and Empowerment Evaluation: Mars Rover Educational Program Case Example. J. Experiential Education, 25(2).

Space-borne profiling of atmospheric thermodynamic variables with raman lidar

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Di Girolamo, Paolo; Behrendt, Andreas; Wulfmeyer, Volker

2018-04-01

The performance of a space-borne water vapour and temperature Raman lidar has been simulated, with a specific attention to the Earth Explorer Missions in the frame of ESA's Living Planet Program. We report simulations under a variety of atmospheric scenarios, demonstrating the capability of a space Raman lidar to provide global-scale water vapour and temperature measurements in the troposphere with an accuracy fulfilling most observational requirements for numerical weather prediction (NWP) and climate research.

Planetary Analogs in Antarctica: Icy Satellites

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Malin, M. C.

1985-01-01

As part of a study to provide semi-quantitative techniques to date past Antarctic glaciations, sponsored by the Antarctic Research Program, field observations pertinent to other planets were also acquired. The extremely diverse surface conditions, marked by extreme cold and large amounts of ice, provide potential terrain and process analogs to the icy satellites of Jupiter and Saturn. Thin ice tectonic features and explosion craters (on sea ice) and deformation features on thicker ice (glaciers) are specifically addressed.

Terrestrial Planet Finder Coronagraph 2005: Overview of Technology Development and System Design Studies

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ford, Virginia G.

2005-01-01

Technology research, design trades, and modeling and analysis guide the definition of a Terrestrial Planet Finder Coronagraph Mission that will search for and characterize earth-like planets around near-by stars. Operating in visible wavebands, this mission will use coronagraphy techniques to suppress starlight to enable capturing and imaging the reflected light from a planet orbiting in the habitable zone of its parent star. The light will be spectrally characterized to determine the presence of life-indicating chemistry in the planet atmosphere.

Studies of Disks Around the Sun and Other Stars

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Stern, S. Alan

1997-01-01

This is a NASA Origins of Solar Systems research program, and this NASA Headquarters grant has now been transferred to a new grant at NASA GSFC (NAG5-4082). Thus the need for this 'Final Report' on a project that is not, in fact, complete. We are conducting research designed to enhance our understanding of the evolution and detectability of comet clouds and disks. This area holds promise for also improving our understanding of outer solar system formation, the bombardment history of the planets, the transport of volatiles and organics from the outer solar system to the inner planets, and to the ultimate fate of comet clouds around the Sun and other stars. According to "standard" theory, both the Kuiper Belt and the Oort Cloud are (at least in part) natural products of the planetary accumulation stage of solar system formation. One expects such assemblages to be a common attribute of other solar systems. Our program consists of modeling collisions in the Kuiper Belt and the dust disks around other stars. The modeling effort focuses on moving from our simple, first-generation, Kuiper Belt collision rate model, to a time-dependent, second-generation model that incorporates physical collisions, velocity evolution, dynamical erosion, and various dust transport mechanisms. This second generation model is to be used to study the evolution of surface mass density and the object-size spectrum in the disk.

Variational differential equations for engineering type trajectories close to a planet with an atmosphere

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dickmanns, E. D.

1972-01-01

The differential equations for the adjoint variables are derived and coded in FORTRAN. The program is written in a form to either take into account or neglect thrust, aerodynamic forces, planet rotation and oblateness, and altitude dependent winds.

A detailed view of Earth across space and time: our changing planet through a 32-year global Landsat and Sentinel-2 timelapse video

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Herwig, C.

2017-12-01

The Landsat program offers an unparalleled record of our changing planet, with satellites that have been observing the Earth since 1972 to the present day. However, clouds, seasonal variation, and technical challenges around access to large volumes of data make it difficult for researchers and the public to understand global and regional scale changes across time through the planetary dataset. Earth Timelapse is a global, zoomable video that has helped revolutionize how users - millions of which have never been capable of utilizing Landsat data before - monitor and understand a changing planet. It is made from 33 cloud-free annual mosaics, one for each year from 1984 to 2016, which are made interactively explorable by Carnegie Mellon University CREATE Lab's Time Machine library, a technology for creating and viewing zoomable and pannable timelapses over space and time. Using Earth Engine, we combined over 5 million satellite images acquired over the past three decades by 5 different satellites. The majority of the images come from Landsat, a joint USGS/NASA Earth observation program that has observed the Earth since the 1970s. For 2015 and 2016, we combined Landsat 8 imagery with imagery from Sentinel-2A, part of the European Commission and European Space Agency's Copernicus Earth observation program. Along with the interactive desktop Timelapse application, we created a 200-video YouTube playlist highlighting areas across the world exhibiting change in the dataset.Earth Timelapse is an example that illustrates the power of Google Earth Engine's cloud-computing platform, which enables users such as scientists, researchers, and journalists to detect changes, map trends, and quantify differences on the Earth's surface using Google's computational infrastructure and the multi-petabyte Earth Engine data catalog. Earth Timelapse also highlights the value of data visualization to communicate with non-scientific audiences with varied technical and internet connectivity. Timelapse videos - as a global, zoomable and explorable web map across time as well as curated locations hosted on YouTube - can be effective at conveying large and medium scale land surface changes over time to diverse audiences.

Artist concept of SIM PlanetQuest Artist Concept

NASA Image and Video Library

2002-12-21

Artist's concept of the current mission configuration. SIM PlanetQuest (formerly called Space Interferometry Mission), currently under development, will determine the positions and distances of stars several hundred times more accurately than any previous program. This accuracy will allow SIM to determine the distances to stars throughout the galaxy and to probe nearby stars for Earth-sized planets. SIM will open a window to a new world of discoveries. http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA04248

New and updated stellar parameters for 71 evolved planet hosts. On the metallicity-giant planet connection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mortier, A.; Santos, N. C.; Sousa, S. G.; Adibekyan, V. Zh.; Delgado Mena, E.; Tsantaki, M.; Israelian, G.; Mayor, M.

2013-09-01

Context. It is still being debated whether the well-known metallicity-giant planet correlation for dwarf stars is also valid for giant stars. For this reason, having precise metallicities is very important. Precise stellar parameters are also crucial to planetary research for several other reasons. Different methods can provide different results that lead to discrepancies in the analysis of planet hosts. Aims: To study the impact of different analyses on the metallicity scale for evolved stars, we compare different iron line lists to use in the atmospheric parameter derivation of evolved stars. Therefore, we use a sample of 71 evolved stars with planets. With these new homogeneous parameters, we revisit the metallicity-giant planet connection for evolved stars. Methods: A spectroscopic analysis based on Kurucz models in local thermodynamic equilibrium (LTE) was performed through the MOOG code to derive the atmospheric parameters. Two different iron line list sets were used, one built for cool FGK stars in general, and the other for giant FGK stars. Masses were calculated through isochrone fitting, using the Padova models. Kolmogorov-Smirnov tests (K-S tests) were then performed on the metallicity distributions of various different samples of evolved stars and red giants. Results: All parameters compare well using a line list set, designed specifically for cool and solar-like stars to provide more accurate temperatures. All parameters derived with this line list set are preferred and are thus adopted for future analysis. We find that evolved planet hosts are more metal-poor than dwarf stars with giant planets. However, a bias in giant stellar samples that are searched for planets is present. Because of a colour cut-off, metal-rich low-gravity stars are left out of the samples, making it hard to compare dwarf stars with giant stars. Furthermore, no metallicity enhancement is found for red giants with planets (log g < 3.0 dex) with respect to red giants without planets. The data presented here are based on observations collected at the La Silla Paranal Observatory, ESO (Chile) with the FEROS spectrograph at the 2.2 m telescope (ESO runs ID 70.C-0084, 088.C-0892, 089.C-0444, and 090.C-0146) and the HARPS spectrograph at the 3.6 m telescope (ESO run ID 72.C-0488); at the Paranal Observatory, ESO (Chile) with the UVES spectrograph at the VLT Kueyen telescope (ESO runs ID 074.C-0134, 079.C-0131, 380.C-0083, and 083.C-0174); at the Spanish Observatorio del Roque de los Muchachos of the Instituto de Astrofisica de Canarias with the FIES spectrograph at the Nordic Optical Telescope, operated on the island of La Palma jointly by Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden (program ID 44-210); and at the Observatoire de Haute-Provence (OHP, CNRS/OAMP), France with the SOPHIE spectrographs at the 1.93 m telescope (program ID 11B.DISC.SOUS).Tables 1, 5, 6 and Appendix A are available in electronic form at http://www.aanda.orgTables 5, 6, and A.1 are also available at the CDS via anonymous ftp to http://cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (ftp://130.79.128.5) or via http://cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr/viz-bin/qcat?J/A+A/557/A70

Dynamic modeling and optimization for space logistics using time-expanded networks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ho, Koki; de Weck, Olivier L.; Hoffman, Jeffrey A.; Shishko, Robert

2014-12-01

This research develops a dynamic logistics network formulation for lifecycle optimization of mission sequences as a system-level integrated method to find an optimal combination of technologies to be used at each stage of the campaign. This formulation can find the optimal transportation architecture considering its technology trades over time. The proposed methodologies are inspired by the ground logistics analysis techniques based on linear programming network optimization. Particularly, the time-expanded network and its extension are developed for dynamic space logistics network optimization trading the quality of the solution with the computational load. In this paper, the methodologies are applied to a human Mars exploration architecture design problem. The results reveal multiple dynamic system-level trades over time and give recommendation of the optimal strategy for the human Mars exploration architecture. The considered trades include those between In-Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU) and propulsion technologies as well as the orbit and depot location selections over time. This research serves as a precursor for eventual permanent settlement and colonization of other planets by humans and us becoming a multi-planet species.

Little Stars Don't Like Big Planets: An Astrometric Search for Super-Jupiters Around Red Dwarfs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lurie, John C.; Henry, T. J.; Jao, W.; Koerner, D. W.; Riedel, A. R.; Subasavage, J.; RECONS

2013-01-01

The astrometric detection and characterization of extrasolar planets presents considerable technical challenges, but also promises to greatly enhance our understanding of these systems. Nearly all currently confirmed exoplanets have been discovered using transit or radial velocity techniques. The former is geometrically biased towards planets with small orbits, while the latter is biased towards massive planets with short periods that exert large gravitational accelerations on their host stars. Astrometric techniques are limited by the minimum detectable perturbation of a star's position due to a planet, but allow for the determination of orbit inclination and an accurate planetary mass. Here we present astrometric solutions for five nearby stars with known planets: four M dwarfs (GJ 317, GJ 581, GJ 849, and GJ 1214) and one K dwarf (BD -10 3166). Observations have baselines of three to thirteen years, and were made using the 0.9 m telescope at CTIO as part of the RECONS long-term astrometry program. We provide improved parallaxes for the stars and find that there are no planets of several Jupiter masses or brown dwarfs orbiting these stars with periods up to twice the length of the astrometric coverage. In the broader context, these results are consistent with the paucity of super-Jupiter and brown dwarf companions we find among the roughly 200 red dwarfs searched in our astrometric program. This effort has been supported by the National Science Foundation via grant AST 09-08402 and the long-term cooperative efforts of the National Optical Astronomy Observatories and the members of the SMARTS Consortium.

Discovering the nature of the star-planet interaction at WASP-12b

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nichols, Jonathan

2013-10-01

In 2010, COS produced a tantalising hint of a significant discovery: the magnetic field of an exoplanet. The ingress of the transiting 'hot-Jupiter' exoplanet WASP-12b apparently occurred earlier in the NUV than in the optical, and two hypotheses have been put forward as explanations. One is that this manifests dense shocked material in a magnetosheath formed in the supersonic stellar wind upstream of the planet's thus-revealed magnetic field, while the other is that this is caused in the absence of a planetary magnetic field by material overflowing the planet's Roche lobe at the L1 point. However, the previous observation, which was not designed to observe this phenomenon, is beset by scattered, sparse data and we do not yet understand the nature of the star-planet interaction. It is thus crucial that we now observe WASP-12b in a program specifically designed to unambiguously detect the early ingress, significantly improve the NUV lightcurve, and answer the question:* What is the nature of the star-planet interaction at WASP-12?No other observatory is capable of making these observations, and this proposal is highly accordant with the purpose of the Cycle 21 UV initiative. Execution in Cycle 21 is also highly desirable since the results will provide input to the LOFAR exoplanet program, which will focus on planets thought to exhibit star-planet interactions. By following a fortuitously obtained pointer, this proposal presents low risk-high impact observations, since the characterisation of star-exoplanet interactions and possibly the first detection of an exoplanetary magnetic field would be of huge scientific significance.

ISY Mission to Planet Earth Conference: A planning meeting for the International Space Year

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Meyerson, Harvey

1991-01-01

A major theme was the opportunity offered by the International Space Year (ISY) to initiate a long-term program of Earth observation mission coordination and worldwide data standardization. The challenge is immense and extremely time critical. A recommendation was made to inventory the capabilities of Earth observing spacecraft scheduled during the next decade. The ISY effort to strengthen coordination and standardization should emphasize global issues, and also regional initiatives of particular relevance to developing nations. The concepts of a Global Information System Test (GIST) was accepted and applied to specific issues of immediate concern. The importance of ISY Earth observation initiatives extending beyond research to include immediate and direct applications for social and economic development was stressed. Several specific Mission to Planet Earth proposals were developed during the Conference. A mechanism was set up for coordinating participation of the national space agencies or equivalent bodies.

An analysis of approach navigation accuracy and guidance requirements for the grand tour mission to the outer planets

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jones, D. W.

1971-01-01

The navigation and guidance process for the Jupiter, Saturn and Uranus planetary encounter phases of the 1977 Grand Tour interior mission was simulated. Reference approach navigation accuracies were defined and the relative information content of the various observation types were evaluated. Reference encounter guidance requirements were defined, sensitivities to assumed simulation model parameters were determined and the adequacy of the linear estimation theory was assessed. A linear sequential estimator was used to provide an estimate of the augmented state vector, consisting of the six state variables of position and velocity plus the three components of a planet position bias. The guidance process was simulated using a nonspherical model of the execution errors. Computation algorithms which simulate the navigation and guidance process were derived from theory and implemented into two research-oriented computer programs, written in FORTRAN.

MMS at NRL

NASA Image and Video Library

2014-08-04

A photograph showing what all four Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) spacecraft look like when stacked is seen taped to the window of a Naval Research Laboratory cleanroom where one of the four spacecraft is undergoing testing, Monday, August 4, 2014, in Washington. The Magnetospheric Multiscale, or MMS, mission will study the mystery of how magnetic fields around Earth connect and disconnect, explosively releasing energy via a process known as magnetic reconnection. The four identical spacecraft are scheduled to launch in 2015 from Cape Canaveral and will orbit around Earth in varying formations through the dynamic magnetic system surrounding our planet to provide the first three-dimensional views of the magnetic reconnection process. The goal of the STP Program is to understand the fundamental physical processes of the space environment from the sun to Earth, other planets, and the extremes of the solar system boundary. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

MMS at NRL

NASA Image and Video Library

2014-08-04

NASA Administrator Charles Bolden listens to Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) Mission Project Manager Craig Tooley talk about the MMS mission outside of a Naval Research Laboratory cleanroom where one of four Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) spacecraft is currently undergoing testing, Monday, August 4, 2014, in Washington. The Magnetospheric Multiscale, or MMS, mission will study the mystery of how magnetic fields around Earth connect and disconnect, explosively releasing energy via a process known as magnetic reconnection. The four identical spacecraft are scheduled to launch in 2015 from Cape Canaveral and will orbit around Earth in varying formations through the dynamic magnetic system surrounding our planet to provide the first three-dimensional views of the magnetic reconnection process. The goal of the STP Program is to understand the fundamental physical processes of the space environment from the sun to Earth, other planets, and the extremes of the solar system boundary. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

NASA Social Briefing on Planet-Hunting Mission Launch

NASA Image and Video Library

2018-04-15

NASA and industry leaders speak to NASA Social participants about the agency's Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) in the Press Site auditorium at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Speaking to the group from center are Natalia Guerrero, TESS researcher, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Robert Lockwood, TESS Spacecraft Program Manager, Orbital ATK. At far left is Jason Townsend, NASA Communications. TESS is the next step in the search for planets outside of our solar system. The mission will find exoplanets that periodically block part of the light from their host stars, events called transits. The satellite will survey the nearest and brightest stars for two years to search for transiting exoplanets. TESS will launch on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station no earlier than 6:32 p.m. EDT on Monday, April 16.

Space exploration and the history of solar-system volatiles

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fanale, F. P.

1976-01-01

The thermochemical history of volatile substances in all solar-system planets, satellites, and planetoids is discussed extensively. The volatiles are viewed as an interface between the abiotic and biotic worlds and as a key to the history of bodies of the solar system. A flowsheet of processes and states is exhibited. Differences in bulk volatiles distribution between the planetary bodies and between the interior, surface, and atmosphere of each body are considered, as well as sinks for volatiles in degassing. The volatiles-rich Jovian and Saturnian satellites, the effect of large-planet magnetosphere sweeps on nearby satellites, volatiles of asteroids and comets, and the crucial importance of seismic, gravity, and libration data are treated. A research program encompassing analysis of the elemental and isotopic composition of rare gas in atmospheres, assay of volatiles-containing phases in regoliths, and examination of present or past atmospheric escape/accretion processes is recommended.

ARM Climate Research Facility Annual Report 2004

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Voyles, J.

2004-12-31

Like a rock that slowly wears away beneath the pressure of a waterfall, planet earth?s climate is almost imperceptibly changing. Glaciers are getting smaller, droughts are lasting longer, and extreme weather events like fires, floods, and tornadoes are occurring with greater frequency. Why? Part of the answer is clouds and the amount of solar radiation they reflect or absorb. These two factors clouds and radiative transfer represent the greatest source of error and uncertainty in the current generation of general circulation models used for climate research and simulation. The U.S. Global Change Research Act of 1990 established an interagency programmore » within the Executive Office of the President to coordinate U.S. agency-sponsored scientific research designed to monitor, understand, and predict changes in the global environment. To address the need for new research on clouds and radiation, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) established the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Program. As part of the DOE?s overall Climate Change Science Program, a primary objective of the ARM Program is improved scientific understanding of the fundamental physics related to interactions between clouds and radiative feedback processes in the atmosphere.« less

The Realm of Close-in Planets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Clark Fabrycky, Daniel

2018-04-01

The space within about 1 AU of other stars in the Galaxy is an exciting place to be a planet. The categories of "hot Jupiters", "super-Earths", "sub-Neptunes", and recently terrestrial analogues, have been revealed by Doppler programs and space-based transit missions. In this talk, we review how N-body modelling of the data teach us the properties of these planets and their orbital architectures. We also review the major dynamical ideas about the formation and evolution of these systems.

Thoughts on the Theory of Irradiated Giant Planets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Burrows, Adam; Sudarsky, David; Hubeny, Ivan

2004-06-01

We have derived physical diagnostics that can inform the direct detection and remote sensing programs of extrasolar giant planets (EGPs) now being planned or proposed. Stellar irradiation of the planet's atmosphere and the effects of water and ammonia clouds are incorporated in a consistent fashion. Whether an EGP is at wide or close-in separations from its parent star, direct detection will soon be possible and will yield centrally important physical and chemical constraints. Our theory of irradiated EGPs is being developed to meet this challenge.

Homogeneous Photodynamical Analysis of Kepler's Multiply-Transiting Systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ragozzine, Darin

To search for planets more like our own, NASA s Kepler Space Telescope ( Kepler ) discovered thousands of exoplanet candidates that cross in front of ( transit ) their parent stars (e.g., Twicken et al. 2016). The Kepler exoplanet data represent an incredible observational leap forward as evidenced by hundreds of papers with thousands of citations. In particular, systems with multiple transiting planets combine the determination of physical properties of exoplanets (e.g., radii), the context provided by the system architecture, and insights from orbital dynamics. Such systems are the most information-rich exoplanetary systems (Ragozzine & Holman 2010). Thanks to Kepler s revolutionary dataset, understanding these Multi-Transiting Systems (MTSs) enables a wide variety of major science questions. In conclusion, existing analyses of MTSs are incomplete and suboptimal and our efficient and timely proposal will provide significant scientific gains ( 100 new mass measurements and 100 updated mass measurements). Furthermore, our homogeneous analysis enables future statistical analyses, including those necessary to characterize the small planet mass-radius relation with implications for understanding the formation, evolution, and habitability of planets. The overarching goal of this proposal is a complete homogeneous investigation of Kepler MTSs to provide detailed measurements (or constraints) on exoplanetary physical and orbital properties. Current investigations do not exploit the full power of the Kepler data; here we propose to use better data (Short Cadence observations), better methods (photodynamical modeling), and a better statistical method (Bayesian Differential Evolution Markov Chain Monte Carlo) in a homogenous analysis of all 700 Kepler MTSs. These techniques are particularly valuable for understanding small terrestrial planets. We propose to extract the near-maximum amount of information from these systems through a series of three research objectives. Research Objective 1 (RO1) Gather and detrend publicly-available light curves for Kepler MTSs; gather starting guesses of preliminary planetary and stellar parameters from the Kepler pipeline (e.g., Rowe et al. 2014) and other studies; and expand our existing photodynamical code (e.g., Mills & Fabrycky 2017) to handle all Kepler MTSs. All required data are publicly available and our significant past expertise demonstrates our ability to complete these tasks. The new photodynamical code will be called the PhotoDynamical Multi-planet Model (PhoDyMM) and described in a paper. Research Objective 2 (RO2) Apply PhoDyMM to the 600 known systems with 2-3 transiting planets; publish these results, including full posterior distributions for all systems (to be housed at the NASA Exoplanet Archive). Research Objective 3 (RO3) Apply PhoDyMM to the 100 Kepler MTSs with 4 or more planets. This astrophysics data analysis is a major step beyond existing efforts and will provide the definitive physical and orbital properties for Kepler MTSs. It is clearly responsive to the Astrophysics Data Analysis Program and relevant to NASA Astrophysics Goals. PI Ragozzine and Co-I Fabrycky have participated in the Kepler prime science mission since its inception and have significant experience in all required areas. Co-I Mills has the most published uses of a photodynamical model on some of the most difficult to analyze exoplanetary systems (Kepler-11, Kepler-108 Kepler-223, Kepler-444). We will employ best practices for Data Management such as archiving posterior distributions and providing open access to PhoDyMM. PI Ragozzine s startup provided sufficient computational resources to perform the extensive analyses. He will be supported by a graduate student and unfunded undergraduates.

Undergraduate Planet Hunters: Tools and Results

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Buzasi, Derek L.; Carboneau, Lindsey; Ferrell, Laura; Green, Gilbert; Kaiser, Maya; Kreke, Kira; Lundy, Samantha; Merritt, William; Passino, Matlin; Paxton, Harrison; Podaril, Alexandria; Stansfield, Alexis

2018-06-01

One student "Honors Experience" option at Florida Gulf Coast University is a research experience, and we have developed a "Planet Hunters" course to provide an astronomical research track that satisfies that requirement. Students spend the first semester learning astronomical background and exoplanet detection techniques, while the second semester is primarily devoted to planet searches in K2 data using student-oriented software tools developed specifically for the task. In this poster, we illustrate those tools and show results obtained by class participants during this years experience.

Crater Appeal

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mueller, Michael P.; Valderrama, Paige

2006-01-01

For many years, the planet Mars was nothing more than a little red dot in a sea of stars and a blur in many science classrooms. Recent focus on the planet, however, has led to incredible teaching opportunities, such as the Mars Student Imaging Project (MSIP) facilitated by Arizona State University's Mars Education Program. The MSIP curriculum…

What Do Informal Educators Need To Be Successful In Teaching Planetary Science And Engineering?: Results From The PLANETS Out-Of-School Time Educator Needs Assessment (NASA NNX16AC53A)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Clark, J.; Bloom, N.

2016-12-01

Planetary Learning that Advances the Nexus of Engineering, Technology, and Science (PLANETS) is five-year interdisciplinary and cross-institutional partnership to develop and disseminate out-of-school time curricular and professional development modules that integrate planetary science, technology, and engineering. The Center for Science Teaching and Learning (CSTL) at Northern Arizona University (NAU), the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Astrogeology Science Center (Astrogeology), and the Museum of Science (MOS) Boston are partners in developing, piloting, and researching the impact of three out of school time planetary science and engineering curriculum and related professional development units over the life of the project. Critical to the success of out-of-school time curriculum implementation is to consider the needs of the informal education leaders. The CSTL at NAU is conducting a needs-assessment of OST educators nationwide to identify the gaps between current knowledge and abilities of OST educators and the knowledge and abilities necessary in order to facilitate effective STEM educational experiences for youth. The research questions are: a. What are current conditions of OST programs and professional development for OST educators? b. What do OST educators and program coordinators already know and think about facilitating meaningful and high quality STEM instruction? c. What are perceived needs of OST educators and program coordinators in order to implement meaningful and high quality STEM instruction? d. What design decisions will make professional development experiences more accessible, acceptable and useful to OST educators and program coordinators? In this presentation we will share the preliminary results of the national survey. The information about the needs of informal STEM educators can inform other NASA Science Mission Directorate educational partners in their program development in addition to AGU members designing informal education outreach.

Pathfinder in flight over Hawaii

NASA Image and Video Library

1997-08-28

Pathfinder, NASA's solar-powered, remotely-piloted aircraft is shown while it was conducting a series of science flights to highlight the aircraft's science capabilities while collecting imagery of forest and coastal zone ecosystems on Kauai, Hawaii. The flights also tested two new scientific instruments, a high spectral resolution Digital Array Scanned Interferometer (DASI) and a high spatial resolution Airborne Real-Time Imaging System (ARTIS). The remote sensor payloads were designed by NASA's Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, California, to support NASA's Mission to Planet Earth science programs.

Pathfinder over runway in Hawaii

NASA Image and Video Library

1997-08-28

Pathfinder, NASA's solar-powered, remotely-piloted aircraft is shown while it was conducting a series of science flights to highlight the aircraft's science capabilities while collecting imagery of forest and coastal zone ecosystems on Kauai, Hawaii. The flights also tested two new scientific instruments, a high-spectral-resolution Digital Array Scanned Interferometer (DASI) and a high-spatial-resolution Airborne Real-Time Imaging System (ARTIS). The remote sensor payloads were designed by NASA's Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, California, to support NASA's Mission to Planet Earth science programs.

Planetcam: A Visible And Near Infrared Lucky-imaging Camera To Study Planetary Atmospheres And Solar System Objects

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sanchez-Lavega, Agustin; Rojas, J.; Hueso, R.; Perez-Hoyos, S.; de Bilbao, L.; Murga, G.; Ariño, J.; Mendikoa, I.

2012-10-01

PlanetCam is a two-channel fast-acquisition and low-noise camera designed for a multispectral study of the atmospheres of the planets (Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune) and the satellite Titan at high temporal and spatial resolutions simultaneously invisible (0.4-1 μm) and NIR (1-2.5 μm) channels. This is accomplished by means of a dichroic beam splitter that separates both beams directing them into two different detectors. Each detector has filter wheels corresponding to the characteristic absorption bands of each planetary atmosphere. Images are acquired and processed using the “lucky imaging” technique in which several thousand images of the same object are obtained in a short time interval, coregistered and ordered in terms of image quality to reconstruct a high-resolution ideally diffraction limited image of the object. Those images will be also calibrated in terms of intensity and absolute reflectivity. The camera will be tested at the 50.2 cm telescope of the Aula EspaZio Gela (Bilbao) and then commissioned at the 1.05 m at Pic-duMidi Observatory (Franca) and at the 1.23 m telescope at Calar Alto Observatory in Spain. Among the initially planned research targets are: (1) The vertical structure of the clouds and hazes in the planets and their scales of variability; (2) The meteorology, dynamics and global winds and their scales of variability in the planets. PlanetCam is also expected to perform studies of other Solar System and astrophysical objects. Acknowledgments: This work was supported by the Spanish MICIIN project AYA2009-10701 with FEDER funds, by Grupos Gobierno Vasco IT-464-07 and by Universidad País Vasco UPV/EHU through program UFI11/55.

The Kepler Data Processing Handbook: A Field Guide to Prospecting for Habitable Worlds

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jenkins, Jon M.

2017-01-01

The Kepler telescope hurtled into orbit in March 2009, initiating NASA's first mission to discover Earth-size planets orbiting Sun-like stars. Kepler simultaneously collected data for approximately 165,000 target stars at a time over its four-year mission, identifying over 4700 planet candidates, over 2300 confirmed or validated planets, and over 2100 eclipsing binaries. While Kepler was designed to discover exoplanets, the long-term, ultrahigh photometric precision measurements it achieved made it a premier observational facility for stellar astrophysics, especially in the field of asteroseismology, and for variable stars, such as RR Lyrae. The Kepler Science Operations Center (SOC) was developed at NASA Ames Research Center to process the data acquired by Kepler from pixel-level calibrations all the way to identifying transiting planet signatures and subjecting them to a suite of diagnostic tests to establish or break confidence in their planetary nature. Detecting small, rocky planets transiting Sun-like stars presents a variety of daunting challenges, including achieving an unprecedented photometric precision of 20 ppm on 6.5-hour timescales, and supporting the science operations, management, processing, and repeated reprocessing of the accumulating data stream. A newly revised and expanded version of the Kepler Data Processing Handbook (KDPH) has been released to support the legacy archival products. The KDPH details the theory, design and performance of the algorithms supporting each data processing step. This paper presents an overview of the KDPH and features illustrations of several key algorithms in the Kepler Science Data Processing Pipeline. Kepler was selected as the 10th mission of the Discovery Program. Funding for this mission is provided by NASA, Science Mission Directorate.

Characterizing the Habitable Zone Planets of Kepler Stars

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fischer, Debra

Planet Hunters (PH) is a well-established and successful web interface that allows citizen scientists to search for transiting planets in the NASA Kepler public archive data. Over the past 3 years, our users have made more than 20 million light curve classifications. We now have more than 300,000 users around the world. However, more than half of the Kepler data has not yet been displayed to our volunteers. In June 2014 we are launching Planet Hunters v2.0. The backend of the site has been completely redesigned. The new website is more intuitive and faster; we have improved the real-time weighting algorithm that assigns transit scores for faster and more accurate extraction of the transit events from the database. With Planet Hunters v2.0, we expect that assessments will be ten times faster, so that we have the opportunity to complete the classifications for the backlog of Kepler light curve in the next three years. There are three goals for this project. First, we will data-mine the PH classifications to search for long period planets with fewer than 5 transit events. We have demonstrated that our volunteers are efficient at detecting planets with long periods and radii greater than a few REARTH. This region of parameter space is optimal for characterizing larger planets orbiting close to the habitable zone. To build upon the citizen science efforts, we will model the light curves, search for evidence of false positives, and contribute observations of stellar spectra to refine both the stellar and orbital parameters. Second, we will carry out a careful analysis of the fraction of transits that are missed (a function of planet radius and orbital period) to derive observational incompleteness factors. The incompleteness factors will be combined with geometrical detection factors to assess the planet occurrence rate for wide separations. This is a unique scientific contribution current studies of planet occurrence rate are either restricted to orbital periods shorter than 100 days or they use extrapolation to estimate planet occurrence rates beyond 100 days. The new detections of transit candidates at wider separations and the incompleteness analysis will be used to carry out an analysis of the architecture of exoplanetary systems from 1 5 AU. We are synthesizing a statistical description with information from short-period Kepler transits, the longer period Kepler transit candidates from this proposal, a completeness analysis of radial velocity data, and statistical information from microlensing. While our architecture analysis will only sketch out the bare bones of planetary systems (massive or large planets), this is still a novel analysis that may point to the location of rocky planets if packed planetary systems prevail. Finally, we will expand our guest scientist program for serendipitous discoveries. We have already partnered with scientists who are searching for cataclysmic variables, heartbeat stars, and exomoons. Our undergrad students have already carried out summer research as guest scientists to characterize inflated jupiters, search for Trojan planets, and to search for microlensing events.

Exploring an Earth-sized neighbor: ground-based transmission spectroscopy of GJ1132b, a rocky planet transiting a small nearby M-dwarf

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Diamond-Lowe, Hannah; Berta-Thompson, Zachory K.; Charbonneau, David; Irwin, Jonathan; Newton, Elisabeth R.; Dittmann, Jason

2017-01-01

The terrestrial planets of the Solar System are rocky worlds that did not accrete envelopes of hydrogen and helium, but instead possess thin secondary atmospheres, or no atmosphere at all. Until recently, most exoplanet atmospheric studies have centered around hot Jupiters, for which high planet-to-star radius ratios and short orbital periods allowed for observable transmission spectra. Now we have the opportunity to probe the atmosphere of a small, rocky exoplanet. GJ1132b has a radius of 1.2 Earth radii and a mass of 1.6 Earth masses, and orbits an M-dwarf 12 parsecs away. Determining the composition of GJ1132b's atmosphere is essential to understanding the nature of atmospheric evolution on terrestrial planets. We observed five transits of GJ1132b using the Magellan Clay telescope with the LDSS3C multi-object spectrograph. We compare the transit depth of GJ1132b in wavelength bins ranging from 0.65 -- 1.04 microns to infer whether or not GJ1132b has maintained its primordial hydrogen-dominated atmosphere. Should we find evidence of a hydrogen-dominated atmosphere, this would imply that a terrestrial planet is able to accrete and retain a low mean-molecular weight atmosphere from the planetary nebula. Coupled with recent UV spectra of the host star, our results can clarify the process of atmospheric escape on terrestrial worlds, with implications for formation histories of M-dwarf planets and the potential for habitability in these systems. If instead GJ1132b possesses a low mean-molecular weight atmosphere, we look to future observations with JWST and the ground-based extremely large telescopes to characterize its atmosphere.This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program. This work was made possible by a grant from the John Templeton Foundation.

Planets Around Neutron Stars

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wolszczan, Alexander; Kulkarni, Shrinivas R; Anderson, Stuart B.

2003-01-01

The objective of this proposal was to continue investigations of neutron star planetary systems in an effort to describe and understand their origin, orbital dynamics, basic physical properties and their relationship to planets around normal stars. This research represents an important element of the process of constraining the physics of planet formation around various types of stars. The research goals of this project included long-term timing measurements of the planets pulsar, PSR B1257+12, to search for more planets around it and to study the dynamics of the whole system, and sensitive searches for millisecond pulsars to detect further examples of old, rapidly spinning neutron stars with planetary systems. The instrumentation used in our project included the 305-m Arecibo antenna with the Penn State Pulsar Machine (PSPM), the 100-m Green Bank Telescope with the Berkeley- Caltech Pulsar Machine (BCPM), and the 100-m Effelsberg and 64-m Parkes telescopes equipped with the observatory supplied backend hardware.

The Kepler Mission: A Photometric Search for Earthlike Planets

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lissauer, Jack J.; Borucki, William; Koch, David; Young, Richard E. (Technical Monitor)

1998-01-01

If Earth lies in or near the orbital plane of an extrasolar planet, that planet passes in front of the disk of its star once each orbit as viewed from Earth. Precise photometry can reveal such transits, which can be distinguished from rotationally-modulated starspots and intrinsic stellar variability by their periodicity, square-well shapes and relative spectral neutrality. Transit observations would provide the size and orbital period of the detected planet. Although geometrical considerations limit the fraction of planets detectable by this technique, many stars can be surveyed within the field of view of one telescope, so transit photometry is quite efficient. Scintillation in and variability of Earth's atmosphere limit photometric precision to roughly one-thousandth of a magnitude, allowing detection of transits by Jupiter-sized planets but not by Earth-sized planets from the ground. The COROT spacecraft will be able to detect Uranus-sized planets orbiting near stars. The Kepler Mission, which is being proposed to NASA's Discovery Program this year, will have a photometer with a larger aperture (1 meter) than will COROT, so it will be able to detect transits by planets as small as Earth. Moreover, the Kepler mission will examine the same star field for four years, allowing confirmation of planets with orbital periods of a year. If the Sun's planetary system is typical for single stars, Kepler should detect approximately 480 terrestrial planets. Assuming the statistics from radial velocity surveys are typical, Kepler should also detect transits of 150 inner giant planets and reflected light variations of 1400 giant planets with orbital periods of less than one week.

Unstable Roche-Lobe Overflow of Gaseous Planets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jackson, Brian

The discoveries of more than 100 roughly Earth-sized bodies with orbital periods less than 1 day, ultra-short-period planets or candidates (USPs), have challenged planet formation theories, and evidence suggests USPs may be the remnants of gaseous planets that shed their atmospheres. Indeed, many hot Jupiters are near Roche-Lobe overflow (RLO), and tidal decay can push them the rest of the way in. Recent work has shown stable RLO (atmospheres lost via a steady outflow and thin accretion disk) probably cannot produce USPs on its own but suggested unstable RLO (atmospheres quickly shed on dynamical timescales) may. In fact, stable RLO may drive overflowing hot Jupiters into unstable RLO, and by analogy with the common-envelope binaries, the core that remains can drive off the gaseous envelope at the cost of its orbital energy. Wellestablished mass-radius relations for gaseous planets, coupled to simple energy and angular momentum considerations, provide a connection between the observed masses and periods for USPs and their putative progenitor gaseous planets, with few free parameters. We propose to investigate the hypothesis that USPs originate through tidal decay and a combination of stable and unstable Roche-lobe overflow of short-period gaseous planets through the following studies: -We will explore the planetary masses, orbital periods, etc. that produce unstable RLO using the Modules for Experiments in Stellar Astrophysics (MESA) suite. -We will relate the observed periods and masses of USPs to their putative progenitor masses and periods to see whether they are consistent with the unstable RLO hypothesis. This proposal is directly relevant to the Exoplanets Research Program since it seeks to "understand the ... physical processes of exoplanets" and "improve understanding of [their] origins" through "theoretical studies ... and modeling'". We also expect that it will have broad impacts on a variety of astrophysical topics: -Ultra-short period planets could provide a glimpse inside gas giants. If our study corroborates the unstable RLO hypothesis, the properties of USPs may represent those of gaseous planet cores, which are almost entirely unconstrained. Even in our own solar system, estimates of the core masses for Jupiter (between 0 and 14 Earth masses) and Saturn (between 8 and 25 Earth masses) have large uncertainties. The upcoming Juno mission will clarify the situation for Jupiter, but it's unclear whether these constraints will directly bear on other planetary systems. -The TESS mission will probably find hundreds of ultra-short-period planets. The Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) will launch in 2017 and look for shortperiod rocky planets around 500,000 nearby stars. Roughly 0.1% of Sun-like stars host USPs, so TESS should find hundreds of USPs. These planets would be ideal for followup, and a clear framework for their origins would motivate and guide additional TESS observations. -Even if we show they are not remnants of gaseous planets, ultra-short-period planets may serve as probes of the innermost protoplanetary gas disk and betray the presence of additional planets in their host systems. As we discuss below, one other obvious origin scenario involves dynamical interactions in a multi-planet system. Many USPs do not have observed siblings, so this scenario requires that there are additional, unseen planets in those systems. The exact location of USPs may be set, in part, by the inner edge of their maternal gas disk, a sensitive function of the host star's youthful properties.

Infrared observations of outer planet satellites

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Johnson, T. V.

1988-01-01

This task supports IR observations of the outer planet satellites. These data provide vital information about the thermophysical properties of satellite surfaces, including internal heat sources for Io. Observations include both broad and narrow band measurementsin the 2 to 20 micrometer spectral range. The program in the last year has aimed at obtaining lonitude coverage on Io to establish stability of hot spot patterns previously reported. Several runs produced the most complete data set for an apparition since the start of the program. Unfortunately, bad weather limited coverage of key longitude ranges containing the largest known hot spot Loki. Among the preliminary results is the observation of an outburst in Io's thermal flux that was measured at 4.8, 8.7 and 20 micrometer. Analysis of the data has given the best evidence to date of silicate volcanism on Io; this is one of the most significant pieces of the puzzle as to the relative roles of silicate and sulfur volcanism on Io. Researchers are collaborating with J. Goguen (NRC RRA to finish reduction of mutual event data, which have already improved ephermeris information for the satellites. The data appear to place significant limits on the characteristics of any leading side hot spots.

Budget estimates, fiscal year 1995. Volume 1: Agency summary, human space flight, and science, aeronautics and technology

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1994-01-01

The NASA budget request has been restructured in FY 1995 into four appropriations: human space flight; science, aeronautics, and technology; mission support; and inspector general. The human space flight appropriations provides funding for NASA's human space flight activities. This includes the on-orbit infrastructure (space station and Spacelab), transportation capability (space shuttle program, including operations, program support, and performance and safety upgrades), and the Russian cooperation program, which includes the flight activities associated with the cooperative research flights to the Russian Mir space station. These activities are funded in the following budget line items: space station, Russian cooperation, space shuttle, and payload utilization and operations. The science, aeronautics, and technology appropriations provides funding for the research and development activities of NASA. This includes funds to extend our knowledge of the earth, its space environment, and the universe and to invest in new technologies, particularly in aeronautics, to ensure the future competitiveness of the nation. These objectives are achieved through the following elements: space science, life and microgravity sciences and applications, mission to planet earth, aeronautical research and technology, advanced concepts and technology, launch services, mission communication services, and academic programs.

The Role and Evolution of NASA's Earth Science Data Systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ramapriyan, H. K.

2015-01-01

One of the three strategic goals of NASA is to Advance understanding of Earth and develop technologies to improve the quality of life on our home planet (NASA strategic plan 2014). NASA's Earth Science Data System (ESDS) Program directly supports this goal. NASA has been launching satellites for civilian Earth observations for over 40 years, and collecting data from various types of instruments. Especially since 1990, with the start of the Earth Observing System (EOS) Program, which was a part of the Mission to Planet Earth, the observations have been significantly more extensive in their volumes, variety and velocity. Frequent, global observations are made in support of Earth system science. An open data policy has been in effect since 1990, with no period of exclusive access and non-discriminatory access to data, free of charge. NASA currently holds nearly 10 petabytes of Earth science data including satellite, air-borne, and ground-based measurements and derived geophysical parameter products in digital form. Millions of users around the world are using NASA data for Earth science research and applications. In 2014, over a billion data files were downloaded by users from NASAs EOS Data and Information System (EOSDIS), a system with 12 Distributed Active Archive Centers (DAACs) across the U. S. As a core component of the ESDS Program, EOSDIS has been operating since 1994, and has been evolving continuously with advances in information technology. The ESDS Program influences as well as benefits from advances in Earth Science Informatics. The presentation will provide an overview of the role and evolution of NASAs ESDS Program.

Investments by NASA to build planetary protection capability

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Buxbaum, Karen; Conley, Catharine; Lin, Ying; Hayati, Samad

NASA continues to invest in capabilities that will enable or enhance planetary protection planning and implementation for future missions. These investments are critical to the Mars Exploration Program and will be increasingly important as missions are planned for exploration of the outer planets and their icy moons. Since the last COSPAR Congress, there has been an opportunity to respond to the advice of NRC-PREVCOM and the analysis of the MEPAG Special Regions Science Analysis Group. This stimulated research into such things as expanded bioburden reduction options, modern molecular assays and genetic inventory capability, and approaches to understand or avoid recontamination of spacecraft parts and samples. Within NASA, a portfolio of PP research efforts has been supported through the NASA Office of Planetary Protection, the Mars Technology Program, and the Mars Program Office. The investment strategy focuses on technology investments designed to enable future missions and reduce their costs. In this presentation we will provide an update on research and development supported by NASA to enhance planetary protection capability. Copyright 2008 California Institute of Technology. Government sponsorship acknowledged.

NEWLY DISCOVERED PLANETS ORBITING HD 5319, HD 11506, HD 75784 AND HD 10442 FROM THE N2K CONSORTIUM

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Giguere, Matthew J.; Fischer, Debra A.; Brewer, John M.

2015-01-20

Initially designed to discover short-period planets, the N2K campaign has since evolved to discover new worlds at large separations from their host stars. Detecting such worlds will help determine the giant planet occurrence at semi-major axes beyond the ice line, where gas giants are thought to mostly form. Here we report four newly discovered gas giant planets (with minimum masses ranging from 0.4 to 2.1 M {sub Jup}) orbiting stars monitored as part of the Next 2000 target stars (N2K) Doppler Survey program. Two of these planets orbit stars already known to host planets: HD 5319 and HD 11506. Themore » remaining discoveries reside in previously unknown planetary systems: HD 10442 and HD 75784. The refined orbital period of the inner planet orbiting HD 5319 is 641 days. The newly discovered outer planet orbits in 886 days. The large masses combined with the proximity to a 4:3 mean motion resonance make this system a challenge to explain with current formation and migration theories. HD 11506 has one confirmed planet, and here we confirm a second. The outer planet has an orbital period of 1627.5 days, and the newly discovered inner planet orbits in 223.6 days. A planet has also been discovered orbiting HD 75784 with an orbital period of 341.7 days. There is evidence for a longer period signal; however, several more years of observations are needed to put tight constraints on the Keplerian parameters for the outer planet. Lastly, an additional planet has been detected orbiting HD 10442 with a period of 1043 days.« less

Educational And Public Outreach Software On Planet Detection For The Macintosh (TM)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Koch, David; Brady, Victoria; Cannara, Rachel; Witteborn, Fred C. (Technical Monitor)

1996-01-01

The possibility of extra-solar planets has been a very popular topic with the general public for years. Considerable media coverage of recent detections has only heightened the interest in the topic. School children are particularly interested in learning about space. Astronomers have the knowledge and responsibility to present this information in both an understandable and interesting format. Since most classrooms and homes are now equipped with computers this media can be utilized to provide more than a traditional "flat" presentation. An interactive "stack" has been developed using Hyperstudio (TM). The major topics include: "1996 - The Break Through Year In Planet Detection"; "What Determines If A Planet Is Habitable?"; "How Can We Find Other Planets (Search Methods)"; "All About the Kepler Mission: How To Find Earth-Sized Planets"; and "A Mission Simulator". Using the simulator, the student records simulated observations and then analyzes and interprets the data within the program stacks to determine the orbit and planet size, the planet's temperature and surface gravity, and finally determines if the planet is habitable. Additional related sections are also included. Many of the figures are animated to assist in comprehension of the material. A set of a dozen lesson plans for the middle school has also been drafted.

Dynamical models to explain observations with SPHERE in planetary systems with double debris belts

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lazzoni, C.; Desidera, S.; Marzari, F.; Boccaletti, A.; Langlois, M.; Mesa, D.; Gratton, R.; Kral, Q.; Pawellek, N.; Olofsson, J.; Bonnefoy, M.; Chauvin, G.; Lagrange, A. M.; Vigan, A.; Sissa, E.; Antichi, J.; Avenhaus, H.; Baruffolo, A.; Baudino, J. L.; Bazzon, A.; Beuzit, J. L.; Biller, B.; Bonavita, M.; Brandner, W.; Bruno, P.; Buenzli, E.; Cantalloube, F.; Cascone, E.; Cheetham, A.; Claudi, R. U.; Cudel, M.; Daemgen, S.; De Caprio, V.; Delorme, P.; Fantinel, D.; Farisato, G.; Feldt, M.; Galicher, R.; Ginski, C.; Girard, J.; Giro, E.; Janson, M.; Hagelberg, J.; Henning, T.; Incorvaia, S.; Kasper, M.; Kopytova, T.; LeCoroller, H.; Lessio, L.; Ligi, R.; Maire, A. L.; Ménard, F.; Meyer, M.; Milli, J.; Mouillet, D.; Peretti, S.; Perrot, C.; Rouan, D.; Samland, M.; Salasnich, B.; Salter, G.; Schmidt, T.; Scuderi, S.; Sezestre, E.; Turatto, M.; Udry, S.; Wildi, F.; Zurlo, A.

2018-03-01

Context. A large number of systems harboring a debris disk show evidence for a double belt architecture. One hypothesis for explaining the gap between the debris belts in these disks is the presence of one or more planets dynamically carving it. For this reason these disks represent prime targets for searching planets using direct imaging instruments, like the Spectro-Polarimetric High-constrast Exoplanet Research (SPHERE) at the Very Large Telescope. Aim. The goal of this work is to investigate this scenario in systems harboring debris disks divided into two components, placed, respectively, in the inner and outer parts of the system. All the targets in the sample were observed with the SPHERE instrument, which performs high-contrast direct imaging, during the SHINE guaranteed time observations. Positions of the inner and outer belts were estimated by spectral energy distribution fitting of the infrared excesses or, when available, from resolved images of the disk. Very few planets have been observed so far in debris disks gaps and we intended to test if such non-detections depend on the observational limits of the present instruments. This aim is achieved by deriving theoretical predictions of masses, eccentricities, and semi-major axes of planets able to open the observed gaps and comparing such parameters with detection limits obtained with SPHERE. Methods: The relation between the gap and the planet is due to the chaotic zone neighboring the orbit of the planet. The radial extent of this zone depends on the mass ratio between the planet and the star, on the semi-major axis, and on the eccentricity of the planet, and it can be estimated analytically. We first tested the different analytical predictions using a numerical tool for the detection of chaotic behavior and then selected the best formula for estimating a planet's physical and dynamical properties required to open the observed gap. We then apply the formalism to the case of one single planet on a circular or eccentric orbit. We then consider multi-planetary systems: two and three equal-mass planets on circular orbits and two equal-mass planets on eccentric orbits in a packed configuration. As a final step, we compare each couple of values (Mp, ap), derived from the dynamical analysis of single and multiple planetary models, with the detection limits obtained with SPHERE. Results: For one single planet on a circular orbit we obtain conclusive results that allow us to exclude such a hypothesis since in most cases this configuration requires massive planets which should have been detected by our observations. Unsatisfactory is also the case of one single planet on an eccentric orbit for which we obtained high masses and/or eccentricities which are still at odds with observations. Introducing multi planetary architectures is encouraging because for the case of three packed equal-mass planets on circular orbits we obtain quite low masses for the perturbing planets which would remain undetected by our SPHERE observations. The case of two equal-mass planets on eccentric orbits is also of interest since it suggests the possible presence of planets with masses lower than the detection limits and with moderate eccentricity. Our results show that the apparent lack of planets in gaps between double belts could be explained by the presence of a system of two or more planets possibly of low mass and on eccentric orbits whose sizes are below the present detection limits. Based on observations collected at Paranal Observatory, ESO (Chile) Program ID: 095.C-0298, 096.C-0241, 097.C-0865, and 198.C-0209.

The Anglo-Australian Planet Search Legacy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wittenmyer, Robert A.; Tinney, Christopher G.; Butler, Paul; Horner, Jonathan; Carter, Brad; Wright, Duncan; Jones, H. R. A.

2017-01-01

Radial velocity searches for exoplanets have undergone a revolution in recent years: now precisions of 1 m/s or better are being demonstrated by many instruments, and new purpose-built spectrographs hold the promise of bringing Earth-mass planets into the realm of secure detectability. In the "race to the bottom," it is critical not to overlook the impact of long-running planet search programs that continue to hold the advantage of time. We highlight the continuing impact of the 18-year Anglo-Australian Planet Search: the characterisation of long-period giant planets, and the insights into the occurrence rate of Jupiter and Saturn analogs. To fully understand the origins of planetary systems and the fundamental question of how common (or rare) the architecture of the Solar system is in the Galaxy, we must continue these "legacy" surveys to probe ever-larger orbital separations.

Investigating the Origin and Evolution of Venus with In Situ Mass Spectrometry

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Trainer, M. G.; Mahaffy, P. R.; Brinckerhoff, W. B.; Johnson, N. M.; Glaze, L. S.

2014-01-01

The exploration of Venus continues to be a top priority of planetary science. The Planetary Decadal Survey goals for inner-planet exploration seek to discern the origin and diversity of terrestrial planets, understand how the evolution of terrestrial planets relates to the evolution of life, and explore the processes that control climate on Earth-like planets [1]. These goals can only be realized through continued and extensive exploration of Venus, the most mysterious of the terrestrial planets, remarkably different from the Earth despite the gross similarities between these twin planets. It is unknown if this apparent divergence was intrinsic, programmed during accretion from distinct nebular reservoirs, or a consequence of either measured or catastrophic processes during planetary evolution. Even if the atmosphere of Venus is a more recent development, its relationship to the resurfacing of the planets enigmatic surface is not well understood. Resolving such uncertainties directly addresses the hypothesis of a more clement, possibly water-rich era in Venus past as well as whether Earth could become more Venus-like in the future.

Investigating the Origin and Evolution of Venus with In Situ Mass Spectrometry

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Trainer, M. G.; Mahaffy, P. R.; Brinckerhoff, W. B.; Johnson, N. M.; Glaze, L. S.

2015-01-01

The exploration of Venus continues to be a top priority of planetary science. The Planetary Decadal Survey goals for inner-planet exploration seek to discern the origin and diversity of terrestrial planets, understand how the evolution of terrestrial planets relates to the evolution of life, and explore the processes that control climate on Earth-like planets. These goals can only be realized through continued and extensive exploration of Venus, the most mysterious of the terrestrial planets, remarkably different from the Earth despite the gross similarities between these "twin planets". It is unknown if this apparent divergence was intrinsic, programmed during accretion from distinct nebular reservoirs, or a consequence of either measured or catastrophic processes during planetary evolution. Even if the atmosphere of Venus is a more "recent" development, its relationship to the resurfacing of the planet's enigmatic surface is not well understood. Resolving such uncertainties directly addresses the hypothesis of a more clement, possibly water-rich era in Venus' past as well as whether Earth could become more Venus-like in the future.

Investigating the Origin and Evolution of Venus with in Situ Mass Spectrometry

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Trainer, M. G.; Mahaffy, P. R.; Brinckerhoff, W. B.; Johnson, N. M.; Glaze, L. S.

2016-01-01

The exploration of Venus continues to be a top priority of planetary science. The Planetary Decadal Survey goals for inner-planet exploration seek to discern the origin and diversity of terrestrial planets, understand how the evolution of terrestrial planets relates to the evolution of life, and explore the processes that control climate on Earth-like planets. These goals can only be realized through continued and extensive exploration of Venus, the most mysterious of the terrestrial planets, remarkably different from the Earth despite the gross similarities between these "twin planets". It is unknown if this apparent divergence was intrinsic, programmed during accretion from distinct nebular reservoirs, or a consequence of either measured or catastrophic processes during planetary evolution. Even if the atmosphere of Venus is a more "recent" development, its relationship to the resurfacing of the planet's enigmatic surface is not well understood. Resolving such uncertainties directly addresses the hypothesis of a more clement, possibly water-rich era in Venus' past as well as whether Earth could become more Venus-like in the future.

Earth materials research: Report of a Workshop on Physics and Chemistry of Earth Materials

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1987-01-01

The report concludes that an enhanced effort of earth materials research is necessary to advance the understanding of the processes that shape the planet. In support of such an effort, there are new classes of experiments, new levels of analytical sensitivity and precision, and new levels of theory that are now applicable in understanding the physical and chemical properties of geological materials. The application of these capabilities involves the need to upgrade and make greater use of existing facilities as well as the development of new techniques. A concomitant need is for a sample program involving their collection, synthesis, distribution, and analysis.

Probing Protoplanetary Disk Upper Atmospheres for Heating and Dust Settling Using Synthetic CO Spectra

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lewis, Josiah; Brittain, S. D.

2010-01-01

CO emission is a useful probe of the warm gas distribution in the planet forming regions of disks around Herbig Ae/Be stars. We model UV fluoresced and thermally excited CO in the circumstellar disks of several HAeBes. We find indications of dust settling in the upper atmospheres of HD 141569 and HD 7048 and a correlation between PAH luminosity and gas heating in these two systems. This project was funded by a partnership between the National Science Foundation (NSF AST-0552798), Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU), and the Department of Defense (DoD) ASSURE (Awards to Stimulate and Support Undergraduate Research Experiences) programs.

Science at the ends of the Earth: astrobiology field expeditions as outreach tools

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Billings, Linda

INTRODUCTION This paper will report on and evaluate communication, education, and outreach initiatives conducted in conjunction with NASA Astrobiology Science and Technology for Exploring Planets (ASTEP) field campaigns, addressing the costs and benefits of linking students, teachers, and other interested citizens with researchers in the field. This paper will highlight success stories, lessons learned, and promising practices regarding educational programs in scientific research environments. The Astrobiology Program in the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA's) Science Mission Directorate studies the origin, evolution, distribution, and future of life in the universe. Public interest in astrobiology is great, and advances in the field are rapid. Hence, the Astrobiology Program supports the widest possible dissemination of timely and useful information about scientific discoveries, technology development, new knowledge, and greater understanding produced by its investigators, employing an approach described as strategic communication planning. That is, the Astrobiology Program aims to integrate communication, education, and outreach into all aspects of program planning and execution. The Program encourages all of its investigators to contribute to the ongoing endeavor of informing public audiences about Astrobiology. The ASTEP element of the Astrobiology Program sponsors terrestrial field campaigns to further scientific research and technology development relevant to future solar system exploration missions. ASTEP science investigations are designed to further biological research in terrestrial environments analogous to those found on other planets, past or present. ASTEP sponsors the development of technologies to enable remote searches for, and identification of, life in extreme environments. ASTEP supports systems-level field campaigns designed to demonstrate and validate the science and technology in extreme environments on Earth. This paper will report on and evaluate communication, education, and outreach initiatives conducted in conjunction with ASTEP field campaigns, addressing the costs and benefits of linking students, teachers, and other interested citizens with researchers in the field. This paper will highlight success stories, lessons learned, and promising practices regarding educational programs in scientific research environments. SUMMARY The Astrobiology Program in NASA's Science Mission Directorate studies the origin, evolution, distribution, and future of life in the universe. Astrobiology research addresses three fundamental questions: How does life begin and evolve? Is there life beyond Earth and how can we detect it? What is the future of life on Earth and in the universe? Goals of the Astrobiology Program range from determining the nature and distribution of habitable environments in the Solar System and beyond to understanding the emergence of life from cosmic and planetary precursors, the interaction of past life on Earth with its changing environment, the formation and evolution of planets, links between planetary and biological evolution, the effects of climate and geology on habitability, and life's precursors and habitats in the outer solar system. Research dedicated to fulfilling these goals is conducted on Earth and in space, with a growing number of astrobiology investigations flying on planetary exploration missions. The field of astrobiology is an endeavor that brings together researchers in a broad range of disciplines including Earth and planetary science, astrophysics, heliophysics, microbiology and evolutionary biology, and cosmochemistry. Since 1995, the field of astrobiology has grown rapidly, and the pace of discovery has been brisk. The possibility of extraterrestrial life is now a serious scientific question. Research findings over the past decade that are relevant to this question include the controversial 1996 claim of fossil evidence for microbial life in a martian meteorite, evidence of past and perhaps even present liquid water on Mars, the likelihood of a liquid water ocean on Europa, the possibility of liquid water beneath the surface of Titan, observations of a growing number of extrasolar planets, and identification of new forms of microbial life in an ever-widening range of extreme Earth environments. Consequently, in the 21st century the pace of robotic planetary exploration is speeding up and scientific and public attention is increasingly focusing on astrobiology research, especially the search for signs of life on Mars and in other environments in our solar system. NASA's ASTEP program is sponsoring field campaigns to test science strategies and robotic technologies that could be useful in conducting astrobiological investigations in planetary environments, focusing on Mars and Europa. Public interest in astrobiology research is substantial, and advances in the field are rapid. Thus the NASA Astrobiology Program encourages Principal Investigators to incorporate communication, education, and public outreach initiatives in their research plans. NASA ASTEP projects provide especially good opportunities for communication, education, and outreach. The work of ASTEP projects takes place in remote terrestrial environments, places typically inaccessible to "civilians": the Norwegian protectorate of Svalbard, above the Arctic Circle; the far-northern reaches of the Arctic Ocean; the dry valleys of Antarctica; deep-sea hydrothermal vent systems and other unmapped underwater environments. ASTEP projects involve human researchers working with robotic adjuncts. ASTEP teams often combine include senior and student researchers. Some have even included "embedded" journalists and public affairs officers. ASTEP expeditions typically unfold in visually interesting, sometimes stunning, physical environments. ASTEP expeditions are virtually always intensive learning experiences for their researchers, and thus they provide good opportunities to demonstrate how science is actually done. Science means different things to different people in different situations, and thus public understanding of science, and science communication, are not simple things. Science can be a set of practices, a body of knowledge, a process of investigation, or a world view. In attempting to improve public understanding of science, it is useful to provide non-scientists with a window into the working world of science. ASTEP expeditions provide such windows. With the proliferation of miniaturized and increasingly affordable digital communication technology - still and video cameras, recorders, laptop computers - connections between the remote locations of ASTEP expeditions and students, teachers, and other interested citizens around the world are easier to make. Thanks to these technologies, interactive communications are also becoming easier. This paper will report on communication, education, and outreach activities for recent ASTEP field expeditions in the Arctic and Pacific oceans, Svalbard, and Mexico, highlighting success stories, lessons learned, and promising practices.

Four new planets around giant stars and the mass-metallicity correlation of planet-hosting stars

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jones, M. I.; Jenkins, J. S.; Brahm, R.; Wittenmyer, R. A.; Olivares E., F.; Melo, C. H. F.; Rojo, P.; Jordán, A.; Drass, H.; Butler, R. P.; Wang, L.

2016-05-01

Context. Exoplanet searches have revealed interesting correlations between the stellar properties and the occurrence rate of planets. In particular, different independent surveys have demonstrated that giant planets are preferentially found around metal-rich stars and that their fraction increases with the stellar mass. Aims: During the past six years we have conducted a radial velocity follow-up program of 166 giant stars to detect substellar companions and to characterize their orbital properties. Using this information, we aim to study the role of the stellar evolution in the orbital parameters of the companions and to unveil possible correlations between the stellar properties and the occurrence rate of giant planets. Methods: We took multi-epoch spectra using FEROS and CHIRON for all of our targets, from which we computed precision radial velocities and derived atmospheric and physical parameters. Additionally, velocities computed from UCLES spectra are presented here. By studying the periodic radial velocity signals, we detected the presence of several substellar companions. Results: We present four new planetary systems around the giant stars HIP 8541, HIP 74890, HIP 84056, and HIP 95124. Additionally, we study the correlation between the occurrence rate of giant planets with the stellar mass and metallicity of our targets. We find that giant planets are more frequent around metal-rich stars, reaching a peak in the detection of f = 16.7+15.5-5.9% around stars with [Fe/H] ~ 0.35 dex. Similarly, we observe a positive correlation of the planet occurrence rate with the stellar mass, between M⋆ ~ 1.0 and 2.1 M⊙, with a maximum of f = 13.0+10.1-4.2% at M⋆ = 2.1 M⊙. Conclusions: We conclude that giant planets are preferentially formed around metal-rich stars. In addition, we conclude that they are more efficiently formed around more massive stars, in the stellar mass range of ~1.0-2.1 M⊙. These observational results confirm previous findings for solar-type and post-MS hosting stars, and provide further support to the core-accretion formation model. Based on observations collected at La Silla - Paranal Observatory under programs IDs 085.C-0557, 087.C.0476, 089.C-0524, 090.C-0345 and through the Chilean Telescope Time under programs IDs CN 12A-073, CN 12B-047, CN 13A-111, CN 13B-51, CN 14A-52, CN-15A-48, and CN-15B-25.

Educational program using four-dimensional presentation of space data and space-borne data with Dagik Earth

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Saito, Akinori; Yoshida, Daiki; Odagi, Yoko; Takahashi, Midori; Tsugawa, Takuya; Kumano, Yoshisuke

We developed an educational program of space science data and science data observed from the space using a digital globe system, Dagik Earth. Dagik Earth is a simple and affordable four dimensional (three dimension in space and one dimension in time) presentation system. The educational program using Dagik Earth has been carried out in classrooms of schools, science museums, and research institutes to show the scientific data of the earth and planets in an intuitive way. We are developing the hardware system, data contents, and education manuals in cooperation with teachers, museum staffs and scientists. The size of the globe used in this system is from 15cm to 2m in diameter. It is selected according to the environment of the presentation. The contents cover the space science, such as aurora and geomagnetic field, the earth science, such as global clouds and earthquakes, and planetary science. Several model class plans are ready to be used in high school and junior high school. In public outreach programs of universities, research institutes, and scientific meetings, special programs have been carried out. We are establishing a community to use and develop this program for the space science education.

The Now Frontier. Linking Earth and Planets. Issue No. 1-4.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jet Propulsion Lab., Pasadena, CA.

This publication includes four pamphlets providing background material for understanding the NASA program of planetary flights. Each issue presents student involvement activities as well as suggested reading lists. Issue 1 describes the innermost planets of the solar system. Issue 2 gives information about the evolution of the planetary system as…

The Nexus for Exoplanet System Science

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Batalha, Natalie Marie; Gelino, Dawn; Del Genio, Tony

2016-01-01

NExSS is a research coordination network dedicated to the study of planetary habitability. A NASA cross-division initiative bringing astrophysicists, planetary scientists, Earth scientists, and heliophysicists together to bring a systems science approach to this problem. NExSS's goals being to investigate the diversity of planets, understanding how planet history, geology, and climate interact to create the conditions for life. Also, to put planets into an architectural context as stellar systems built over time by dynamical processes and sculpted by stars. Use experience from solar system (including Earth) history to identify where habitable niches are most likely to occur and which planets are most likely to be habitable. Leverage NASA investments in research and missions to accelerate discovery and characterization of potential life-bearing worlds.

Missing Title

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cook, T. A.; Chakrabarti, S.; Bifano, T. G.; Lane, B.; Levine, B. M.; Shao, M.

2004-05-01

The study of extrasolar planets is one of the most exciting research endeavors of modern astrophysics. While the list of known planets continues to grow, no direct image of any extrasolar planet has been obtained to date. Ground-breaking radial velocity measurements have identified many potential targets but other measurements are needed to obtain physical parameters of the extrasolar planets. For example, for most extrasolar giant planets we only know their minimum projected mass (M sin i). Even a single image of one extrasolar planet will fully determine its orbital parameters and thus its true mass. A single image would also provide albedo information which would begin to constrain their atmospheric properties. This is the objective of PICTURE, a low-cost space mission specifically designed to obtain the first direct image of extrasolar giant planets.

Survey of 25 years of observations with the aim of detecting intelligent extraterrestrial beings

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vallee, J. P.

1985-02-01

Observational programs intended to detect the presence of intelligent extraterrestrial life or to locate stars with potentially life-supporting planets are surveyed for the period 1960-1985. The astrometric, spectroscopic, photometric, and linear-polarimetric techniques employed are explained; the 45 programs undertaken are listed in tables; a typical observation at Algonquin Radioastronomy Observatory is described; theoretical computations of the number of life-supporting planets are summarized; and hypotheses advanced to explain the fact that no contact appears to have been made are discussed.

Planet logy : Towards Comparative Planet logy beyond the Solar Earth System

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Khan, A. H.

2011-10-01

Today Scenario planet logy is a very important concept because now days the scientific research finding new and new planets and our work's range becoming too long. In the previous study shows about 10-12 years the research of planet logy now has changed . Few years ago we was talking about Sun planet, Earth planet , Moon ,Mars Jupiter & Venus etc. included but now the time has totally changed the recent studies showed that mono lakes California find the arsenic food use by micro organism that show that our study is very tiny as compare to planet long areas .We have very well known that arsenic is the toxic agent's and the toxic agent's present in the lakes and micro organism developing and life going on it's a unbelievable point for us but nature always play a magical games. In few years ago Aliens was the story no one believe the Aliens origin but now the aliens showed catch by our space craft and shuttle and every one believe that Aliens origin but at the moment's I would like to mention one point's that we have too more work required because our planet logy has a vast field. Most of the time our scientific mission shows that this planet found liquid oxygen ,this planet found hydrogen .I would like to clear that point's that all planet logy depend in to the chemical and these chemical gave the indication of the life but we are not abele to developed the adaptation according to the micro organism . Planet logy compare before study shows that Sun it's a combination of the various gases combination surrounded in a round form and now the central Sun Planets ,moons ,comets and asteroids In other word we can say that Or Sun has a wide range of the physical and Chemical properties in the after the development we can say that all chemical and physical property engaged with a certain environment and form a various contains like asteroids, moon, Comets etc. Few studies shows that other planet life affected to the out living planet .We can assure with the example the life of earth affected by Sun ,Moon because these planet life conjugated relation with the planet life's. Can we realistically expect to identify all the pieces of this celestial puzzle and thereby decipher the full mosaic of our planetary origins? The answer, we think, is yes. Each planet contributes knowledge that widens our appreciation for planetary environment much as diverse stars add to our understanding of the stellar life cycle.

K2's First Five-Planet System

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kohler, Susanna

2016-08-01

Whats the latest from the Kepler K2 mission? K2 has found its first planetary system containing more than three planets an exciting five-planet system located ~380 light-years from Earth!Opportunities From K2Raw K2 light curve (blue, top) and systematic corrected light curve (orange, bottom) for HIP 41378. The three deepest transits are single transits from the three outermost planet candidates. [Vanderburg et al. 2016]The original Kepler mission was enormously successful, discovering thousands of planet candidates. But one side effect of Keplers original observing technique, in which it studied the same field for four years, is that it was very good at detecting extremely faint systems systems that were often too faint to be followed up with other techniques.After Keplers mechanical failure in 2013, the K2 mission was launched, in which the spacecraft uses solar pressure to stabilize it long enough to perform an 80-day searches of each region it examines. Over the course of the K2 mission, Kepler could potentially survey up to 20 times the sky area of the original mission, providing ample opportunity to find planetary systems around bright stars. These stars may be bright enough to be followed up with other techniques.Multi-Planet SystemsTheres a catch to the 80-day observing program: the K2 mission is less likely to detect multiple planets orbiting the same star, due to the short time spent observing the system. While the original Kepler mission detected systems with up to seven planets, K2 had yet to detect systems with more than three candidates until now.Led by Andrew Vanderburg (NSF Graduate Research Fellow at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics), a team of scientists recentlyanalyzed K2 observations ofthe bright star HIP 41378. Theteamfound that this F-type star hosts five potential planetary candidates!Phase-folded light curve for each of the five transiting planets in the HIP 41378 system. The outermost planet (bottom panel) may provide an excellent target for transmission spectroscopy, to examine its atmosphere. [Vanderburg et al. 2016]Newly Discovered CandidatesThe systems candidates include two sub-Neptune-sized planets, which were both observed over multiple transits. They orbit in what is nearly a 2:1 resonance, with periods of 31.7 and 15.6 days. Based on modeling of their transits, Vanderburg and collaborators estimate that they have radii of 2.6 and 2.9 Earth radii.The system also contains three larger outer-planet candidates: one Neptune-sized (~4 Earth radii), one sub-Saturn-sized (~5 Earth radii), and one Jupiter-sized (~10 Earth radii). These planets were detected with only a single transit each, so their properties are harder to determine with certainty. The authors models, however, suggest that their periods are ~160 days, ~130 days, and ~1 year.This systems brightness, the accessible size of its planets, and its rich architecture make it an excellent target for follow-up observations. In particular, the brightness of the host star and the transit depth of the outermost planet, HIP 41378 f, make this candidate an ideal target for future transit transmission spectroscopy measurements.Since past observations of exoplanet atmospheres have been primarily of short-period, highly irradiated planets, being able to examine the atmosphere of such a long-period gas giant could open up a new regime of exoplanet atmospheric studies.CitationAndrew Vanderburg et al 2016 ApJ 827 L10. doi:10.3847/2041-8205/827/1/L10

Topics in Extrasolar Planet Characterization

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Howe, Alex Ryan

I present four papers exploring different topics in the area of characterizing the atmospheric and bulk properties of extrasolar planets. In these papers, I present two new codes, in various forms, for modeling these objects. A code to generate theoretical models of transit spectra of exoplanets is featured in the first paper and is refined and expanded into the APOLLO code for spectral modeling and parameter retrieval in the fourth paper. Another code to model the internal structure and evolution of planets is featured in the second and third papers. The first paper presents transit spectra models of GJ 1214b and other super-Earth and mini-Neptune type planets--planets with a "solid", terrestrial composition and relatively small planets with a thick hydrogen-helium atmosphere, respectively--and fit them to observational data to estimate the atmospheric compositions and cloud properties of these planets. The second paper presents structural models of super-Earth and mini-Neptune type planets and estimates their bulk compositions from mass and radius estimates. The third paper refines these models with evolutionary calculations of thermal contraction and ultraviolet-driven mass loss. Here, we estimate the boundaries of the parameter space in which planets lose their initial hydrogen-helium atmospheres completely, and we also present formation and evolution scenarios for the planets in the Kepler-11 system. The fourth paper uses more refined transit spectra models, this time for hot jupiter type planets, to explore the methods to design optimal observing programs for the James Webb Space Telescope to quantitatively measure the atmospheric compositions and other properties of these planets.

Adapting Low-Tech Gear to Exoplanet Discovery

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brown, Timothy M.

2014-01-01

The discovery of 51 Peg b by Mayor and Queloz revealed (among other things) that discovering extrasolar planets, though certainly difficult, was not as hard as professional astronomers had previously thought. At the same time, the astronomical equipment available to amateurs -- including optics, mountings, and CCD detectors -- had become quite capable. This combination of factors led to successful exoplanet programs that leaned heavily on amateur-grade hardware, seeking faster development times and lower costs than were possible for traditional no-compromises astronomical instrument programs. I will describe two of these in which I played a role: the AFOE (Advanced Fiber Optic Echelle) spectrograph, and the STellar Astrophysics and Research on Exoplanets (STARE) transit-search wide-field imager.

Bringing Planetary Science to the Public through Traveling Exhibitions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dusenbery, P. B.

2001-11-01

The Space Science Institute (SSI) of Boulder, Colorado has recently developed two museum exhibits called the Space Weather Center and MarsQuest. It is currently planning to develop another exhibit called Gas Giants. These exhibitions provide research scientists the opportunity to engage in a number of activities that are vital to the success of these major outreach programs. The Space Weather Center was developed in partnership with various research missions at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center. The focus of the presentation will be on MarsQuest and Gas Giants. MarsQuest is a 5000 square-foot, 3M, traveling exhibition that is now touring the country. The exhibit's 3-year tour will enable millions of Americans to share in the excitement of the scientific exploration of Mars and learn more about their own planet in the process. The associated planetarium show and education program will also be described, with particular emphasis on workshops to orient museum staff (e.g. museum educators and docents) and workshops for master educators near host museums and science centers. The workshops make innovative connections between the exhibitions interactive experiences and lesson plans aligned with the National Science Education Standards. These exhibit programs are good models for actively involving scientists and their discoveries to help improve informal science education in the museum community and for forging a stronger connection between formal and informal education. The presentation will also discuss how Gas Giants, a proposed 4000 square-foot traveling exhibition on the mysteries and discoveries of the outer planets, will be able to take advantage of the connections and resources that have been developed by the MarsQuest project.

Contemporary Planetary Science.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Belton, Michael J. S.; Levy, Eugene H.

1982-01-01

Presents an overview of planetary science and the United States program for exploration of the planets, examining the program's scientific objectives, its current activities, and the diversity of its methods. Also discusses the program's lack of continuity, especially in personnel. (Author/JN)

Icy Dwarf Planets: Colored Popsicles in the Outer Solar System

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pinilla-Alonso, Noemi

2016-10-01

We update the list of candidates to be considered by the IAU as dwarf planets using the criterium suggested by Tancredi & Favre (2008). We add here the information collected in the last 10 years (mostly the sizes and albedos by the herschel hey program TNOs Are Cool). We compare the physical characteristics of these candidates with the physical characteristics of the rest of the TNOs. Our goal is to study if there are common physical properties among the candidates that enable the identification of a dwarf planet.

Space Trajectory Error Analysis Program (STEAP) for halo orbit missions. Volume 2: Programmer's manual

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Byrnes, D. V.; Carney, P. C.; Underwood, J. W.; Vogt, E. D.

1974-01-01

The six month effort was responsible for the development, test, conversion, and documentation of computer software for the mission analysis of missions to halo orbits about libration points in the earth-sun system. The software consisting of two programs called NOMNAL and ERRAN is part of the Space Trajectories Error Analysis Programs. The program NOMNAL targets a transfer trajectory from earth on a given launch date to a specified halo orbit on a required arrival date. Either impulsive or finite thrust insertion maneuvers into halo orbit are permitted by the program. The transfer trajectory is consistent with a realistic launch profile input by the user. The second program ERRAN conducts error analyses of the targeted transfer trajectory. Measurements including range, doppler, star-planet angles, and apparent planet diameter are processed in a Kalman-Schmidt filter to determine the trajectory knowledge uncertainty.

International Academy of Astronautics 5th cosmic study—preparing for a 21st century program of integrated, Lunar and Martian exploration and development (executive summary)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Koelle, H. H.; Stephenson, D. G.

2003-04-01

This report is an initial review of plans for a extensive program to survey and develop the Moon and to explore the planet Mars during the 21st century. It presents current typical plans for separate, associated and fully integrated programs of Lunar and Martian research, exploration and development, and concludes that detailed integrated plans must be prepared and be subject to formal criticism. Before responsible politicians approve a new thrust into space they will demand attractive, defensible, and detailed proposals that explain the WHEN, HOW and WHY of each stage of an expanded program of 21st century space research, development and exploration. In particular, the claims of daring, innovative, but untried systems must be compared with the known performance of existing technologies. The time has come to supersede the present haphazard approach to strategic space studies with a formal international structure to plan for future advanced space missions under the aegis of the world's national space agencies, and supported by governments and the corporate sector.

Inferring Planet Occurrence Rates With a Q1-Q17 Kepler Planet Candidate Catalog Produced by a Machine Learning Classifier

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Catanzarite, Joseph; Jenkins, Jon Michael; McCauliff, Sean D.; Burke, Christopher; Bryson, Steve; Batalha, Natalie; Coughlin, Jeffrey; Rowe, Jason; mullally, fergal; thompson, susan; Seader, Shawn; Twicken, Joseph; Li, Jie; morris, robert; smith, jeffrey; haas, michael; christiansen, jessie; Clarke, Bruce

2015-08-01

NASA’s Kepler Space Telescope monitored the photometric variations of over 170,000 stars, at half-hour cadence, over its four-year prime mission. The Kepler pipeline calibrates the pixels of the target apertures for each star, produces light curves with simple aperture photometry, corrects for systematic error, and detects threshold-crossing events (TCEs) that may be due to transiting planets. The pipeline estimates planet parameters for all TCEs and computes diagnostics used by the Threshold Crossing Event Review Team (TCERT) to produce a catalog of objects that are deemed either likely transiting planet candidates or false positives.We created a training set from the Q1-Q12 and Q1-Q16 TCERT catalogs and an ensemble of synthetic transiting planets that were injected at the pixel level into all 17 quarters of data, and used it to train a random forest classifier. The classifier uniformly and consistently applies diagnostics developed by the Transiting Planet Search and Data Validation pipeline components and by TCERT to produce a robust catalog of planet candidates.The characteristics of the planet candidates detected by Kepler (planet radius and period) do not reflect the intrinsic planet population. Detection efficiency is a function of SNR, so the set of detected planet candidates is incomplete. Transit detection preferentially finds close-in planets with nearly edge-on orbits and misses planets whose orbital geometry precludes transits. Reliability of the planet candidates must also be considered, as they may be false positives. Errors in detected planet radius and in assumed star properties can also bias inference of intrinsic planet population characteristics.In this work we infer the intrinsic planet population, starting with the catalog of detected planet candidates produced by our random forest classifier, and accounting for detection biases and reliabilities as well as for radius errors in the detected population.Kepler was selected as the 10th mission of the Discovery Program. Funding for this mission is provided by NASA, Science Mission Directorate.

Cool and Quiet: Partnering to Enhance the Aerodynamic and Acoustic Performance of Installed Electronics Cooling Fans: A White Paper

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Koch, L. Danielle; VanZante, Dale E.

2006-01-01

Breathtaking images of distant planets. Spacewalks to repair a telescope in orbit. Footprints on the moon. The awesome is made possible by the mundane. Every achievement in space exploration has relied on solid, methodical advances in engineering. Space exploration fuels economic development like no other endeavor can. But which advances will make their way into our homes and businesses? And how long will it take? Answers to these questions are dependent upon industrial involvement in government sponsored research initiatives, market demands, and timing. Recognizing an opportunity is half the battle. This proposal describes the framework for a collaborative research program aimed at improving the aerodynamic and acoustic performance of electronics cooling fans. At its best, the program would involve NASA and academic researchers, as well as corporate researchers representing the Information Technology (IT) and fan manufacturing industries. The momentum of space exploration, the expertise resultant from the nation's substantial investment in turbofan noise reduction research, and the competitiveness of the IT industry are intended to be catalysts of innovation.

Extrasolar Planets: Towards Comparative Planetology beyond the Solar System

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Khan, A. H.

2012-09-01

Today Scenario planet logy is a very important concept because now days the scientific research finding new and new planets and our work's range becoming too long. In the previous study shows about 10-12 years the research of planet logy now has changed . Few years ago we was talking about Sun planet, Earth planet , Moon ,Mars Jupiter & Venus etc. included but now the time has totally changed the recent studies showed that mono lakes California find the arsenic food use by micro organism that show that our study is very tiny as compare to planet long areas .We have very well known that arsenic is the toxic agent's and the toxic agent's present in the lakes and micro organism developing and life going on it's a unbelievable point for us but nature always play a magical games. In few years ago Aliens was the story no one believe the Aliens origin but now the aliens showed catch by our space craft and shuttle and every one believe that Aliens origin but at the moment's I would like to mention one point's that we have too more work required because our planet logy has a vast field. Most of the time our scientific mission shows that this planet found liquid oxygen ,this planet found hydrogen .I would like to clear that point's that all planet logy depend in to the chemical and these chemical gave the indication of the life but we are not abele to developed the adaptation according to the micro organism . Planet logy compare before study shows that Sun it's a combination of the various gases combination surrounded in a round form and now the central Sun Planets ,moons ,comets and asteroids In other word we can say that Or Sun has a wide range of the physical and Chemical properties in the after the development we can say that all chemical and physical property engaged with a certain environment and form a various contains like asteroids, moon, Comets etc. Few studies shows that other planet life affected to the out living planet .We can assure with the example the life of earth affected by Sun ,Moon because these planet life conjugated relation with the planet life's. Can we realistically expect to identify all the pieces of this celestial puzzle and thereby decipher the full mosaic of our planetary origins? The answer, we think, is yes. Each planet contributes knowledge that widens our appreciation for planetary environment much as diverse stars add to our understanding of the stellar life cycle.

Kepler Discovers First Confirmed Planet in the Habitable Zone (Kepler-22); Celebrates 1000 Days

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-12-07

At a press conference held at NASA Ames Research Center,the Kepler team announced the discovery of its first confirmed planet in the 'habitable zone' or the region around a star where liquid water could exist on a planet's surface. Named Kepler-22b, the planet is about 2.4 times the radius of the Earth and orbits a sun-like star about 600 light years away between the constellations of Cygnus and Lyra.

Welcome to NASA's Earth Science Enterprise. Version 3

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2001-01-01

There are strong scientific indications that natural change in the Earth system is being accelerated by human intervention. As a result, planet Earth faces the possibility of rapid environmental changes that would have a profound impact on all nations. However, we do not fully understand either the short-term effects of our activities, or their long-term implications - many important scientific questions remain unanswered. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is working with the national and international scientific communities to establish a sound scientific basis for addressing these critical issues through research efforts coordinated under the U.S. Global Change Research Program, the International Geosphere-Biosphere Program, and the World Climate Research Program. The Earth Science Enterprise is NASA's contribution to the U.S. Global Change Research Program. NASA's Earth Science Enterprise will use space- and surface-based measurement systems to provide the scientific basis for understanding global change. The space-based components will provide a constellation of satellites to monitor the Earth from space. A major component of the Earth Science Enterprise is the Earth Observing System (EOS). The overall objective of the EOS Program is to determine the extent, causes, and regional consequences of global climate change. EOS will provide sustained space-based observations that will allow researchers to monitor climate variables over time to determine trends. A constellation of EOS satellites will acquire global data, beginning in 1998 and extending well into the 21st century.

ICDP's Science Plan for 2014-2019

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wiersberg, Thomas; Harms, Uli; Knebel, Carola

2015-04-01

The International Continental Scientific Drilling Program ICDP has played a primary role over the past two decades, uncovering geological secrets from beneath the continents. Even though this has been done very successfully still our planet is far from being understood. The need to drill has never been greater and with its new science plan ICDP wants to unravel the workings of planet earth, fixing the new program attention in a White Paper valid from 2014 to 2019. ICDP's focus for the next term is laid on balancing the needs of science and society even stronger than in the past years, because this is the fundamental task mankind has to face in the 21st century. The challenges that can be addressed by scientific drilling are climate and ecosystem evolution, sustainable georesources, water quality and availability, as well as natural hazards. Cause these challenges are inextricably linked with the dynamics of planet earth ICDP addresses the geoprocesses condensed to 5 major themes in its White Paper. These themes are active faults and earthquakes, global cycles, heat and mass transfer, the deep biosphere, and cataclysmic events. For each of it is summarized what societal challenges are effected by and how they can be understood, what has been achieved by ICDP so far, what are the fundamental open questions left, and what are possible future scientific targets. Furthermore the new ICDP Science Plan strengthens and expands ties between member countries and partner programs, invites and integrates early career researchers in upcoming ICDP activities, debates incorporation of industry partners into selected ICDP strategic activities for a science-driven mutual benefit and discusses new outreach measures to media, policy makers and the interested public. By providing this information the new White Paper shall act as a roadmap for the international Earth Science community on one hand and at the same time shall serve as a docking station for the national funding agencies as well.

The Unlikely Origins of NASA’s “Search for Origins” Program

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Perez, Mario R.; Thronson, Harley A.

2017-01-01

NASA’s Origins Program for many years was by far one of the most important scientific initiatives in NASA’s history, linking together priority research campaigns in planetary science, astrophysics, and the biological sciences. It served also as an overarching description to the agency stakeholders of a new generation of major space missions and technology investments. Moreover, the Program, although no longer formally in existence, significantly influences multiple major science priorities for NASA even today. Remarkably, inception of NASA’s Origins Program — The Search for Our Cosmic Roots — two decades ago was initiated by the country’s political leadership, not by the scientific community, the National Academy of Sciences, or by an advisory panel of experts. Instead, it was an initiative by the White House in response to the stunning announcement of ‘evidence’ for life found on a Martian meteorite not long after the discovery of the first extrasolar planet orbiting a sun-like star. A White House memo dated in September 1996, written by John H. Gibbons, Assistant to the President for Science and Technology to Dan Goldin, NASA Administrator at that time, called for a “Space Summit” that would include experts on three broad topics: the universe, planets, and life.The summit was jointly organized by NASA and the National Research Council, and was chaired by Vice-President Al Gore in late October 1996. Three dozen biologists, planetary scientists, astronomers, and cosmologists participated. The outcome was the Origins Program, which has been a prominent part of NASA’s science program ever since, theme which is captured by the simple and profound questions: How Did We Get Here? and Are We Alone?This particular initiative and its genesis demonstrates that science discoveries, followed by political activism and then executive orders can impact and shape for decades the paths to major science priorities, practices, and implementation. In this presentation, we summarize the inception of the Search for Origins initiative, especially its beginnings outside the scientific community, and its early justification and activities.

The radial velocity technique and the discovery of exoplanets as seen by high school students.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Alves, Mauro; Gusev, Anatoly; Pugacheva, Galina; Martin, Inacio; Lyra, Cassia

2012-07-01

Presently, the existence of more than 750 exoplanets has been confirmed. The radial velocity technique has proven to be the most effective means to detect planets orbiting other stars. In this technique, which is based on the Doppler effect, the observation of the displacement of spectral lines is used to infer the presence of exoplanets orbiting distant stars. Despite the apparent complexity of this technique, high-school students not only can understand its basic principles, but also create simple programs and software to represent and simulate changes in the radial velocity of a star. Thus, as an extracurricular activity, high-school students developed a simple computer program using the C programming language to simulate the influence of a planet orbiting a star in order to obtain radial velocity curves. The radial velocity curve depends on the masses of the star and planet, and orbital parameters such as orbital period, semi-major axis, eccentricity, inclination, argument of periapsis, longitude of the ascending node and mean anomaly. The software allows the variation of these parameters so that the influence of any planet (or system of planets) in orbit of a star can be simulated and the corresponding changes in the radial velocity be observed. For comparison purposes, the radial velocity curve of the Sun under the influence of Jupiter and Saturn are compared with the radial velocity curves of other stars with known exoplanets. This activity became a multidisciplinary study of an interesting physical phenomenon. To obtain the desired results, the students had to learn new concepts and use different tools, which was very rewarding to them.

NASA Citizen Science for Earth Systems Program: fusing public participation and remote sensing to improve our understanding of the planet

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Whitehurst, A.; Murphy, K. J.

2017-12-01

The objectives of the NASA Citizen Science for Earth Systems Program (CSESP) include both the evaluation of using citizen science data in NASA Earth science related research and engaging the public in Earth systems science. Announced in 2016, 16 projects were funded for a one year prototype phase, with the possibility of renewal for 3 years pending a competitive evaluation. The current projects fall into the categories of atmospheric composition (5), biodiversity and conservation (5), and surface hydrology/water and energy cycle (6). Out of the 16, 8 of the projects include the development and/or implementation of low cost sensors to facilitate data collection. This presentation provides an overview of the NASA CSESP program to both highlight the diversity of innovative projects being funded and to share information with future program applicants.

Our Changing Planet: The FY 1993 US Global Change Research Program. A report by the Committee on Earth and Environmental Sciences, a supplement to the US President's fiscal year 1993 budget

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1992-01-01

The U.S. Global Change Reasearch Program (USGCRP) was established as a Presidential initiative in the FY-1990 Budget to help develop sound national and international policies related to global environmental issues, particularly global climate change. The USGCRP is implemented through a priority-driven scientific research agenda that is designed to be integrated, comprehensive, and multidisciplinary. It is designed explicitly to address scientific uncertainties in such areas as climate change, ozone depletion, changes in terrestrial and marine productivity, global water and energy cycles, sea level changes, the impact of global changes on human health and activities, and the impact of anthropogenic activities on the Earth system. The USGCRP addresses three parallel but interconnected streams of activity: documenting global change (observations); enhancing understanding of key processes (process research); and predicting global and regional environmental change (integrated modeling and prediction).

The Galactic Distribution of Planets via Spitzer Microlensing Parallax

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gould, Andrew; Yee, Jennifer; Carey, Sean; Shvartzvald, Yossi

2018-05-01

We will measure the Galactic distribution of planets by obtaining 'microlens parallaxes' of about 200 events, including 3 planetary events, from the comparison of microlens lightcurves observed from Spitzer and Earth, which are separated by >1.5 AU in projection. The proposed observations are part of a campaign that we have conducted with Spitzer since 2014. The planets expected to be identified in this campaign when combined with previous work will yield a first statistically significant measurement of the frequency of planets in the Galactic bulge versus the Galactic disk. As we have demonstrated in three previous programs, the difference in these lightcurves yields both the 'microlens parallax' (ratio of the lens-source relative parallax) to the Einstein radius, and the direction of lens-source relative motion. For planetary events, this measurement directly yields the mass and distance of the planet. This proposal is significantly more sensitive to planets than previous work because it takes advantage of the KMTNet observing strategy that covers >85 sq.deg t >0.4/hr cadence, 24/7 from 3 southern observatories and a alert system KMTNet is implementing for 2019. This same observing program also provides a unique probe of dark objects. It will yield an improved measurement of the isolated-brown-dwarf mass function. Thirteen percent of the observations will specifically target binaries, which will probe systems with dark components (brown dwarfs, neutron stars, black holes) that are difficult or impossible to investigate by other methods. The observations and methods from this work are a test bed for WFIRST microlensing.

Laboratory for Atmospheres: Philosophy, Organization, Major Activities, and 2001 Highlights

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hoegy, Walter R.; Cote, Charles, E.

2002-01-01

How can we improve our ability to predict the weather? How is the Earth's climate changing? What can the atmospheres of other planets teach us about our own? The Laboratory for Atmospheres is helping to answer these and other scientific questions. The Laboratory conducts a broad theoretical and experimental research program studying all aspects of the atmospheres of the Earth and other planets, including their structural, dynamical, radiative, and chemical properties. Vigorous research is central to NASA's exploration of the frontiers of knowledge. NASA scientists play a key role in conceiving new space missions, providing mission requirements., and carrying out research to explore the behavior of planetary systems, including, notably, the Earth's. Our Laboratory's scientists also supply outside scientists with technical assistance and scientific data to further investigations not immediately addressed by NASA itself. The Laboratory for Atmospheres is a vital participant in NASA's research program. The Laboratory is part of the Earth Sciences Directorate based at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. The Directorate itself comprises the Global Change Data Center; the Earth and Space Data Computing Division; three laboratories: the Laboratory for Atmospheres, the Laboratory for Terrestrial Physics, and the Laboratory for Hydrospheric Processes; and the Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) in New York, New York. In this report, you will find a statement of our philosophy and a description of our role in NASA's mission. You'll also find a broad description of our research and a summary of our scientists' major accomplishments in 2001. The report also presents useful information on human resources, scientific interactions, and outreach activities with the outside community. For your convenience, we have published a version of this report on the Internet. Our Web site includes links to additional information about the Laboratory's Offices and Branches. You can find us on the World Wide Web at http://atmospheres.gsfc.nasa.gov.

Potential advantages of solar electric propulsion for outer planet orbiters.

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sauer, C. G.; Atkins, K. L.

1972-01-01

Past studies of solar electric propulsion for outer planet orbiters have generally emphasized the advantages of flight time reduction and payload increases. However, several subtle advantages exist, which may become important in an environment of increasingly difficult requirements as ways to extend current technology are sought. These advantages accrue primarily because of the inherent capability, unique to electric propulsion, to efficiently shape a trajectory while enroute. Stressed in this paper are: the ability to meet orbital constraints due to assumed radiation belts, science flexibility in a dual launch program, increased numbers of observational passes, and the lengthening of launch periods. These are examined for years representative of relatively easy and difficult ballistic missions. The results indicate that an early investment in solar electric technology will provide a strong performance foundation for a long range outer planet exploration program which evolves from current spacecraft technology.

Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN (MAVEN) mission's Red Planet program: Bridging the gap in elementary school science through climate studies of Mars

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wood, E. L.

2012-12-01

Although reading, writing, and math examinations are often conducted early in elementary school, science is not typically tested until 4th or 5th grade. The result is a refocus on the tested topics at the expense of the untested ones, despite that standards exist for each topic at all grades. On a national level, science instruction is relegated to a matter of a few hours per week. A 2007 Education Policy study states that elementary school students spend an average of 178 minutes a week on science while spending 500 minutes on literacy. A recent NSTA report in July of 2011 of elementary and middle school teachers confirms that teachers feel pressured to teach math and literacy at the expense of other programs. In our interaction with elementary teachers, it is also apparent that many are uncomfortable with science concepts. In order for us to successfully address the Next Generation Science Standards, teachers must be able to reconcile all of the different requirements placed on them in a given school day and in a given school environment. A unique way to combat the lack of science instruction at elementary grades is to combine literacy into an integrated science program, thereby increasing the number of science contact hours. The Red Planet: Read, Write, Explore program, developed for the MAVEN mission, is a science, art, and literacy program designed to easily fit into a typical 3rd-5th grade instructional day. Red Planet tackles climate change through Mars' geologic history and makes Mars-Earth comparisons, while encouraging students to reflect on the environmental requirements needed to keep a biological organisms (including humans) happy, healthy, and alive. The Red Planet program is currently being pilot tested at Acres Green Elementary School in Colorado.

Analyzers Measure Greenhouse Gases, Airborne Pollutants

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2012-01-01

In complete darkness, a NASA observatory waits. When an eruption of boiling water billows from a nearby crack in the ground, the observatory s sensors seek particles in the fluid, measure shifts in carbon isotopes, and analyze samples for biological signatures. NASA has landed the observatory in this remote location, far removed from air and sunlight, to find life unlike any that scientists have ever seen. It might sound like a scene from a distant planet, but this NASA mission is actually exploring an ocean floor right here on Earth. NASA established a formal exobiology program in 1960, which expanded into the present-day Astrobiology Program. The program, which celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2010, not only explores the possibility of life elsewhere in the universe, but also examines how life begins and evolves, and what the future may hold for life on Earth and other planets. Answers to these questions may be found not only by launching rockets skyward, but by sending probes in the opposite direction. Research here on Earth can revise prevailing concepts of life and biochemistry and point to the possibilities for life on other planets, as was demonstrated in December 2010, when NASA researchers discovered microbes in Mono Lake in California that subsist and reproduce using arsenic, a toxic chemical. The Mono Lake discovery may be the first of many that could reveal possible models for extraterrestrial life. One primary area of interest for NASA astrobiologists lies with the hydrothermal vents on the ocean floor. These vents expel jets of water heated and enriched with chemicals from off-gassing magma below the Earth s crust. Also potentially within the vents: microbes that, like the Mono Lake microorganisms, defy the common characteristics of life on Earth. Basically all organisms on our planet generate energy through the Krebs Cycle, explains Mike Flynn, research scientist at NASA s Ames Research Center. This metabolic process breaks down sugars for energy to fuel cellular functions. "We think this chemical process did not exist when life first formed on Earth," he says, "because it is based on oxygen being available, and there was little oxygen available on the early Earth." It is possible that there are anaerobic regions beneath the sea floor in which life forms like those early non-Krebs Cycle microbes may yet exist. To detect and potentially collect samples of life emerging from hydrothermal vents, Flynn and his colleagues created Medusa, a multi-sensor instrument designed for long-term observation of diked vents on the ocean floor. When the vents erupt, Medusa assesses indicators of life within the expelled water. If the results are positive, the observatory collects samples and detaches from the ocean floor, making the long journey to the surface for retrieval by scientists. One of the indicators Medusa measures is the ratio of carbon isotopes in the water, namely carbon-12 and carbon-13. Living organisms preferentially take up carbon-12, Flynn says, so examining the ratio of these isotopes can help to determine the source of carbon in an environment as either biological or non-biological. "On Mars, there is evidence of localized methane in the atmosphere, and that methane could come from biological sources or from geochemical ones," Flynn says. "Determining the background planetary carbon isotope ratios and then evaluating the specific carbon ratios in this methane would help to determine how it was formed." A long-duration observatory similar to Medusa could one day provide essential evidence for or against the presence of life on the Red Planet or beneath the ice-crusted oceans of Europa.

An Astrobiological Experiment to Explore the Habitability of Tidally Locked M-Dwarf Planets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Angerhausen, Daniel; Sapers, Haley; Simoncini, Eugenio; Lutz, Stefanie; Alexandre, Marcelo da Rosa; Galante, Douglas

2014-04-01

We present a summary of a three-year academic research proposal drafted during the Sao Paulo Advanced School of Astrobiology (SPASA) to prepare for upcoming observations of tidally locked planets orbiting M-dwarf stars. The primary experimental goal of the suggested research is to expose extremophiles from analogue environments to a modified space simulation chamber reproducing the environmental parameters of a tidally locked planet in the habitable zone of a late-type star. Here we focus on a description of the astronomical analysis used to define the parameters for this climate simulation.

Embedding spiritual value through science learning

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Johan, H.; Suhandi, A.; Wulan, A. R.; Widiasih; Ruyani, A.; Karyadi, B.; Sipriyadi

2018-05-01

The purpose of this study was to embed spiritual value through science learning program especially earth planet. Various phenomena in earth planet describe a divinity of super power. This study used quasi experimental method with one group pre-test-post-test design. Convenience sampling was conducted in this study. 23 pre-service physics teacher was involved. Pre-test and post-test used a questionnaire had been conducted to collected data of spiritual attitude. Open ended question had been utilized at post-test to collected data. A fourth indicators of spiritual value related to divinity of God was used to embed spiritual value. The results show a shifted of students’ awareness to divinity of God. Before implementing the earth planet learning, 85.8% of total students strongly agree that learning activity embed spiritual value while after learning process, it increased be 93.4%. After learning earth planet, it known that students’ spiritual value was influenced by character of earth planet concept which unobservable and media visual which display each incredible phenomena process in our earth planet. It can be concluded that spiritual value can be embedded through unobservable phenomena of during learning earth planet process.

Sensitivity of the terrestrial planet finder

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Beichman, Charles

1998-01-01

A key long-term goal of NASA's Origins program is the detection and characterization of habitable planets orbiting stars within the solar neighborhood. A cold, space-borne interferometer operating in the mid-infrared with a approx. 75 m baseline can null the light of a parent star and detect the million-times fainter radiation from an Earth-like planet located in the "habitable zone" around stars as far as 15 pc away. Such an interferometer, designated the Terrestrial Planet Finder (TPF) by NASA, could even detect atmospheric signatures of species such as CO2, O3, and H2O indicative of either the possibility or presence of primitive life. This talk highlights some of the sensitivity issues affecting the detectability of terrestrial planets. Sensitivity calculations show that a system consisting of 2 m apertures operating at 5 AU or 4 m apertures operating at 1 AU can detect terrestrial planets in reasonable integration times for levels of exo-zodiacal emission up to 10 times that seen in our solar system (hereafter denoted as 10xSS). Additionally, simulations show that confusion noise from structures in the exo-zodiacal cloud should not impede planet detection until the exo-zodiacal emission reaches the 10xSS level.

The HSCaRS Summer Enrichment Program; Research Opportunities for Minority and Women Undergraduates in Global Change Science

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Estes, Jr., Maurice G.; Perkey, Donald J.; Coleman, T. L.

1997-01-01

The primary objective of the HSCaRS Summer Enrichment Program (SEP) is to make significant contributions to the NASA Mission to Planet Earth (MTPE) and the Alabama A&M University (AAMU) Center for Hydrology, Soil Climatology and Remote Sensing (HSCaRS) research missions by providing undergraduate student research internships with an emphasis on minority and women students. Additional objectives are to encourage more minority and women students to pursue advanced degrees in Earth system and global change science and to increase the participation of minority institutions in the U.S. Global Change Research Program. Also, the SEP strives to make students in the traditional science disciplines more aware of the opportunities in Earth System Science. In designing the SEP, it was acknowledged that HSCaRS was a new research effort and Center. Consequently, students were not expected to immediately recognize the Center as one would older, more established research laboratories with national reputations, such as Los Alamos, Battelle, National Consortium for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), etc. Yet we still wanted to compete nationally for the best students. Therefore, we designed the program with a competitive financial package that includes a stipend of $400 per week, round-trip transportation from home to the summer research site, and free campus housing and meal plans provided by Alabama A&M University. Students also received a modest living allowance of approximately $25 per week. The internship program was 10 weeks in residence at Alabama A&M University or IGCRE, and gave students the opportunity to select from six general research areas: micro-meteorology, soil data analysis, soil moisture modeling, instrumentation, geographic information systems, and computer science. Student participants also enrolled in an introductory global change science course as part of the summer program (a copy of the course outline is in the appendix). The program included participation in a field program for approximately two weeks. All students were required to participate in the field program as a learning experience, regardless of the relationship of the field program to their majors or particular research project.

Educational Impact of the Transit of Venus 2004

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mayo, L.

2004-11-01

The 2004 transit of Venus was viewed by millions of people around the world. For this historic event, the NASA Sun Earth Connection Education Forum developed and executed a large international education program with cross discipline ties to math, science, geography, history, and music. The program consisted of on site web casts, NASA TV programming, on line data and other resources, observatory and spacecraft images, science center activities, and materials and curricula for schools. Program sucess was driven by the large number of NASA and external partnerships including each of the Space Science education forums, amateur astronomers, observatories from Nova Scotia to Uraguay, Earth and Sky Radio, PlanetQuest, Library of Congress, Museum of American History, Astronomy Cafe, and many, many other science and education groups. Current impact estimates point to well over 20 million people that were touched by this program. In addition, the recent OSS Product Review identified the March PlanetQuest program as their number 1 rated product. This talk will outline the details of this extraordinary education program.

Salinity Processes in the Upper Ocean Regional Study (SPURS)

NASA Image and Video Library

2012-09-04

NASA Physical Oceanography Program Scientist Eric Lindstrom boards the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution's research vessel Knorr on Tuesday, Sept. 4, 2012, in Woods Hole, Mass. Lindstrom will depart on Knorr Sept. 6 to take part in the Salinity Processes in the Upper Ocean Regional Study (SPURS). The NASA-sponsored expedition will sail to the North Atlantic's saltiest spot to get a detailed, 3-D picture of how salt content fluctuates in the ocean's upper layers and how these variations are related to shifts in rainfall patterns around the planet. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

Advanced power systems for EOS

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bailey, Sheila G.; Weinberg, Irving; Flood, Dennis J.

1991-01-01

The Earth Observing System, which is part of the International Mission to Planet Earth, is NASA's main contribution to the Global Change Research Program. Five large platforms are to be launched into polar orbit: two by NASA, two by the European Space Agency, and one by the Japanese. In such an orbit the radiation resistance of indium phosphide solar cells combined with the potential of utilizing 5 micron cell structures yields an increase of 10 percent in the payload capability. If further combined with the Advanced Photovoltaic Solar Array, the total additional payload capability approaches 12 percent.

Report of the Terrestrial Bodies Science Working Group. Volume 1: Executive summary. [Terrestrial planets, Galilean satellites, Comets, Asteroids, and the Moon

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1977-01-01

Current knowledge of Mercury, Venus, Mars, the Moon, asteroids, comets, and the Galilean satellites were reviewed along with related NASA programs and available mission concepts. Exploration plans for the 1980 to 1990 period are outlined and recommendations made. Topics discussed include: scientific objectives and goals, exploration strategy and recommended mission plans, supporting research and technology, Earth-based and Earth-orbital investigations, data analysis and synthesis, analysis of extraterrestrial materials, broadening the science support base, and international cooperation.

The search for other planetary systems - Progress to date and future prospects (The Rudolph Pesek Lecture)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Black, David C.

1991-01-01

The notion is addressed which links the formation of stars and the existence of planets, and the lack of supporting observational data is discussed in relation to a NASA astrometric project. The program cited is called Towards Other Planetary Systems (TOPS) and includes ground-based astrometric and radial-velocity studies for both direct and indirect scrutiny of unknown planets. The TOPS program also envisages space-based astrometric systems that can operate with an accuracy of not less than 10 microarcseconds, and the possibility is mentioned of a moon-based astrometric platform.

Efficacy and Implementation of an Internet Psychoeducational Program for Teens with Type 1 Diabetes

PubMed Central

Whittemore, Robin; Liberti, Lauren S.; Jeon, Sangchoon; Chao, Ariana; Minges, Karl E.; Murphy, Kathryn; Grey, Margaret

2015-01-01

Objective The purpose of the study was to evaluate the participation and preliminary efficacy of an internet psychoeducational program (Teens.Connect) shown to be efficacious under controlled conditions compared to an open-access diabetes website for youth (Planet D) on the primary outcomes of A1C and quality of life (QOL), and secondary outcomes of psychosocial and behavioral factors. Research Design and Methods Teens with type 1 diabetes (n=124, 11-14yrs) from 2 clinical sites were randomly prescribed one of the programs and completed baseline, 3-month and 6-month data. A1C was obtained from clinic records. Participation data included number of logins, posts to the discussion board, and lessons completed (Teens.Connect only). Descriptive and mixed model analyses were used. Results Eighty-five percent (85%) of consented teens registered for their prescribed program. Satisfaction and logins were similar between groups (satisfaction ranged 3.3–3.5/5; mean logins=14/teen). Posts to the discussion forum were higher in Planet D (mean=28 vs 19). Participation in the Teens.Connect lessons was low, with only 69% of teens completing any lesson. After 6 months there were no significant differences in A1C, QOL or secondary outcomes between groups. Teens in the Teens.Connect group reported lower perceived stress over time (p<.01). Conclusions Teens do not actively participate in an internet psychoeducational program when they do not have frequent reminders, which may have contributed to a lack of treatment effect. Teens have many competing demands. Strategic implementation that includes targeted reminders and family support may be necessary to assure participation and improvement in health outcomes. PMID:26611663

An Earth-sized planet in the habitable zone of a cool star.

PubMed

Quintana, Elisa V; Barclay, Thomas; Raymond, Sean N; Rowe, Jason F; Bolmont, Emeline; Caldwell, Douglas A; Howell, Steve B; Kane, Stephen R; Huber, Daniel; Crepp, Justin R; Lissauer, Jack J; Ciardi, David R; Coughlin, Jeffrey L; Everett, Mark E; Henze, Christopher E; Horch, Elliott; Isaacson, Howard; Ford, Eric B; Adams, Fred C; Still, Martin; Hunter, Roger C; Quarles, Billy; Selsis, Franck

2014-04-18

The quest for Earth-like planets is a major focus of current exoplanet research. Although planets that are Earth-sized and smaller have been detected, these planets reside in orbits that are too close to their host star to allow liquid water on their surfaces. We present the detection of Kepler-186f, a 1.11 ± 0.14 Earth-radius planet that is the outermost of five planets, all roughly Earth-sized, that transit a 0.47 ± 0.05 solar-radius star. The intensity and spectrum of the star's radiation place Kepler-186f in the stellar habitable zone, implying that if Kepler-186f has an Earth-like atmosphere and water at its surface, then some of this water is likely to be in liquid form.

Deciphering spectral fingerprints of habitable exoplanets.

PubMed

Kaltenegger, Lisa; Selsis, Frank; Fridlund, Malcolm; Lammer, Helmut; Beichman, Charles; Danchi, William; Eiroa, Carlos; Henning, Thomas; Herbst, Tom; Léger, Alain; Liseau, René; Lunine, Jonathan; Paresce, Francesco; Penny, Alan; Quirrenbach, Andreas; Röttgering, Huub; Schneider, Jean; Stam, Daphne; Tinetti, Giovanna; White, Glenn J

2010-01-01

We discuss how to read a planet's spectrum to assess its habitability and search for the signatures of a biosphere. After a decade rich in giant exoplanet detections, observation techniques have advanced to a level where we now have the capability to find planets of less than 10 Earth masses (M(Earth)) (so-called "super Earths"), which may be habitable. How can we characterize those planets and assess whether they are habitable? This new field of exoplanet search has shown an extraordinary capacity to combine research in astrophysics, chemistry, biology, and geophysics into a new and exciting interdisciplinary approach to understanding our place in the Universe. The results of a first-generation mission will most likely generate an amazing scope of diverse planets that will set planet formation, evolution, and our planet into an overall context.

Studies of Elementary Reactions of Chemical Importance in the Atmospheres of Planets

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Nesbitt, Fred L.

2003-01-01

The paper discusses the following: 1. F + Cl2 Kinetics. Absolute rate constant for the reaction F(P-2) with Cl2 has been measured using the discharge flow kinetics technique coupled to mass spectrometric detection at T = 180 - 360 K and 1 Torr He nominal pressure. 2. Vapor pressure system. The main effort on the vapor pressure system involved the design and construction of an insulated enclosure ("Bakeout Box") to improve the uniformity of heating during the bakeout process. 3. Sunphotometer System. This period saw the completion of the two-channel sunphotometer, its calibration, and two field deployments. 4. Vibrational-to-translation (V-T) transfer rates for light hydrocarbons at low temperatures are important parameters in thermal-structure models of the upper atmospheres of the outer planets and their satellites. However, the required data are either simply not available or do not extend to the low temperatures found in those systems. Because methane is such an important constituent in outer planet atmospheres, we have initiated a program to measure the temperature dependence of (V-T) rates for its relaxation by appropriate collision partners. 5. The central focus of this research has been the vapor phase nucleation and growth of metals/refractory species into small particles and the aggregation of these primary particles into larger structures. These topics are part of the broader goal of understanding the conditions under which interstellar dust grains condense from stellar outflows and how these small dust grains coagulate into larger bodies such as planetesimals or planets.

Return to the red planet

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nichols, Robert G.

1992-10-01

The paper discusses the type of data which will be collected by the NASA's Mars Observer spacecraft when it reaches the planet next year. These will include measurements on the Martian magnetic field, the volcanic activity, the dust storms, seasonal weather cycles, and the planet's atmosphere and gravitational field. The Mars Observer's instruments include a magnetometer, an electron reflectometer, an IR radiometer, a laser altimeter, a thermal-emission spectrometer, a gamma-ray spectrometer, a camera, and a radio system. The program is counting on the vehicle's longevity so that it can participate in a Russian mission due to arrive at Mars in September 1995.

Knowledge Management in Acquisition and Program Management (KM in the AM and PM)

DTIC Science & Technology

2002-01-01

a clumping of clusters.16 If all the planets in a solar system had moons, the moons would be the people, each planet would be a discipline or cluster...exploration, one looks for non-obvious, unknown relation- ships in a data set. The discovery that cus- tomers frequently buy beer and diapers to- gether from

An Overview of the EOS Data Dissemination Systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ramapriyan, H.K.; Pfister, Robin; Weinstein, Beth

2008-01-01

The Earth Observing System Data and Information System (EOSDIS) is the primary data system serving the broad-scope of NASA s Earth Observing System (EOS) program and a significant portion of the "heritage" Earth science data. EOSDIS was designed to support the Earth sciences within NASA s Science Mission Directorate (previously the Earth Science Enterprise (ESE) and Mission to Planet Earth). The EOS Program was NASA s contribution to the United States Global Change Research Program (USGCRP) enacted by Congress in 1990 as part of the Global Change Act. ESE s objective was to launch a series of missions to help answer fundamental global change questions such as "How is Earth changing?" and "What are the consequences for life on Earth?" resulting support of this objective, EOSDIS distributes a wide variety of data to a diverse community.

Is Pluto a planet? Student powered video rap ';battle' over tiny Pluto's embattled planetary standing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Beisser, K.; Cruikshank, D. P.; McFadden, T.

2013-12-01

Is Pluto a planet? Some creative low income Bay-area middle-schoolers put a musical spin on this hot science debate with a video rap ';battle' over tiny Pluto's embattled planetary standing. The students' timing was perfect, with NASA's New Horizons mission set to conduct the first reconnaissance of Pluto and its moons in July 2015. Pluto - the last of the nine original planets to be explored by spacecraft - has been the subject of scientific study and speculation since Clyde Tombaugh discovered it in 1930, orbiting the Sun far beyond Neptune. Produced by the students and a very creative educator, the video features students 'battling' back and forth over the idea of Pluto being a planet. The group collaborated with actual space scientists to gather information and shot their video before a 'green screen' that was eventually filled with animations and visuals supplied by the New Horizons mission team. The video debuted at the Pluto Science Conference in Maryland in July 2013 - to a rousing response from researchers in attendance. The video marks a nontraditional approach to the ongoing 'great planet debate' while educating viewers on a recently discovered region of the solar system. By the 1990s, researchers had learned that Pluto possessed multiple exotic ices on its surface, a complex atmosphere and seasonal cycles, and a large moon (Charon) that likely resulted from a giant impact on Pluto itself. It also became clear that Pluto was no misfit among the planets - as had long been thought - but the largest and brightest body in a newly discovered 'third zone' of our planetary system called the Kuiper Belt. More recent observations have revealed that Pluto has a rich system of satellites - five known moons - and a surface that changes over time. Scientists even speculate that Pluto may possess an internal ocean. For these and other reasons, the 2003 Planetary Decadal Survey ranked a Pluto/Kuiper Belt mission as the highest priority mission for NASA's newly created New Frontiers program - and that mission is New Horizons. This effort was funded by a Hewlett Packard Sustainability and Social Innovation grant, the Silicon Valley Education Foundation and a Kickstarter campaign to expand this effort to multiple schools. This process and product are great examples of teamwork between scientists and science educators - and show how we can use the appeal of video to communicate science to diverse audiences.

Millimeter-wave spectra of the Jovian planets

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Joiner, Joanna; Steffes, Paul G.

1991-01-01

The millimeter wave portion of the electromagnetic spectrum is critical for understanding the subcloud atmospheric structure of the Jovian planets (Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune). This research utilizes a combination of laboratory measurements, computer modeling, and radio astronomical observation in order to obtain a better understanding of the millimeter-wave spectra of the Jovian planets. The pressure broadened absorption from gaseous ammonia (NH3) and hydrogen sulfide (H2S) was measured in the laboratory under simulated conditions for the Jovian atmospheres. Researchers developed new formalisms for computing the absorptivity of gaseous NH3 and H2S based on their laboratory measurements. They developed a radiative transfer and thermochemical model to predict the abundance and distribution of absorbing constituents in the Jovian atmospheres. They used the model to compute the millimeter wave emission from the Jovian planets.

User-oriented design strategies for a Lunar base

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jukola, Paivi

'Form follows function can be translated, among other, to communicate a desire to prioritize functional objectives for a particular design task. Thus it is less likely that a design program for a multi-functional habitat, for an all-purpose vehicle, or for a general community, will lead to most optimal, cost-effective and sustainable solutions. A power plant, a factory, a farm and a research center have over centuries had different logistical and functional requirements, despite of the local culture on various parts around the planet Earth. 'The same size fits all' concept is likely to lead to less user-friendly solutions. The paper proposes to rethink and to investigate alternative strategies to formulate objectives for a Lunar base. Diverse scientific experiments and potential future research programs for the Moon have a number of functional requirements that differ from each other. A crew of 4-6 may not be optimal for the most innovative research. The discussion is based on research of Human Factors and Design for visiting professor lectures for a Lunar base project with Howard University and NASA Marshall Space Center 2009-2010.

Planetary Origin Evolution and Structure

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Stevenson, David J.

2005-01-01

This wide-ranging grant supported theoretical modeling on many aspects of the formation, evolution and structure of planets and satellites. Many topics were studied during this grant period, including the evolution of icy bodies; the origin of magnetic fields in Ganymede; the thermal histories of terrestrial planets; the nature of flow inside giant planets (especially the coupling to the magnetic field) and the dynamics of silicate/iron mixing during giant impacts and terrestrial planet core formation. Many of these activities are ongoing and have not reached completion. This is the nature of this kind of research.

Twenty five years of planetary science: Discoveries and new questions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hauck, Steven A.; Baratoux, David; Stanley, Sabine

2016-10-01

This year marks the 25th anniversary of the first issue of JGR-Planets. We are marking this occasion with a collection of review papers focused on enduring and fundamental themes in planetary science that have framed the past quarter century and will strongly influence research and exploration in the next quarter century. With topics covering bodies small and large, processes on and in solid planets and giant planets, in atmospheres, and around other stars, this collection samples the broad scope of planetary science and of JGR-Planets.

Kepler Mission Discovers Trove of Extrasolar Planet Candidates

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Showstack, Randy

2011-02-01

NASA's Kepler discovery mission is collecting more than just pennies from heaven. Results from the first 4 months of science operations of the Kepler space telescope, announced on 2 February, include the discovery of 1235 candidate planets orbiting 997 stars in a small portion of the Milky Way galaxy examined by the telescope. Follow-up observations likely could confirm about 80% of the candidates as actual planets rather than false positives, according to researchers. This new trove of possible exoplanets could greatly expand the number of known planets outside of our solar system.

NASA Announces 2009 Astronomy and Astrophysics Fellows

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

2009-02-01

WASHINGTON -- NASA has selected fellows in three areas of astronomy and astrophysics for its Einstein, Hubble, and Sagan Fellowships. The recipients of this year's post-doctoral fellowships will conduct independent research at institutions around the country. "The new fellows are among the best and brightest young astronomers in the world," said Jon Morse, director of the Astrophysics Division in NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington. "They already have contributed significantly to studies of how the universe works, the origin of our cosmos and whether we are alone in the cosmos. The fellowships will serve as a springboard for scientific leadership in the years to come, and as an inspiration for the next generation of students and early career researchers." Each fellowship provides support to the awardees for three years. The fellows may pursue their research at any host university or research center of their choosing in the United States. The new fellows will begin their programs in the fall of 2009. "I cannot tell you how much I am looking forward to spending the next few years conducting research in the U.S., thanks to the fellowships," said Karin Oberg, a graduate student in Leiden, The Netherlands. Oberg will study the evolution of water and ices during star formation when she starts her fellowship at the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory in Cambridge, Mass. People Who Read This Also Read... Milky Way's Super-efficient Particle Accelerators Caught in The Act Cosmic Heavyweights in Free-for-all Galaxies Coming of Age in Cosmic Blobs Cassiopeia A Comes Alive Across Time and Space A diverse group of 32 young scientists will work on a wide variety of projects, such as understanding supernova hydrodynamics, radio transients, neutron stars, galaxy clusters and the intercluster medium, supermassive black holes, their mergers and the associated gravitational waves, dark energy, dark matter and the reionization process. Other research topics include searching for transits among hot Neptunes and super-Earths, microlensing planets through modeling algorithms, conducting high-contrast imaging surveys to detect planetary-mass companions, interferometrically imaging of the inner regions of protoplanetary disks, and modeling of super-Earth planetary atmospheres. The 10 fellows in the Einstein program conduct research broadly related to the mission of NASA's Physics of the Cosmos Program. Its science goals include understanding the origin and destiny of the universe, the nature of gravity, phenomena near black holes, and extreme states of matter. The Chandra X-ray Center in Cambridge, Mass., administers the Einstein Fellowships for NASA. The 17 awardees of the Hubble Fellowship pursue research associated with NASA's Cosmic Origins Program. The missions in this program examine the origins of galaxies, stars, and planetary systems, and the evolution of these structures with cosmic time. The Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, Md., administers the Hubble Fellowships for NASA. The Sagan Fellowship, created in September 2008, supports five scientists whose research is aligned with NASA's Exoplanet Exploration Program. The primary goal of this program is to discover and characterize planetary systems and Earth-like planets around other stars. The NASA Exoplanet Science Institute, which is operated at the California Institute of Technology in coordination with NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., administers the Sagan Fellowship Program

A study of variable thrust, variable specific impulse trajectories for solar system exploration

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sakai, Tadashi

A study has been performed to determine the advantages and disadvantages of variable thrust and variable Isp (specific impulse) trajectories for solar system exploration. There have been several numerical research efforts for variable thrust, variable Isp, power-limited trajectory optimization problems. All of these results conclude that variable thrust, variable Isp (variable specific impulse, or VSI) engines are superior to constant thrust, constant Isp (constant specific impulse; or CSI) engines. However, most of these research efforts assume a mission from Earth to Mars, and some of them further assume that these planets are circular and coplanar. Hence they still lack the generality. This research has been conducted to answer the following questions: (1) Is a VSI engine always better than a CSI engine or a high thrust engine for any mission to any planet with any time of flight considering lower propellant mass as the sole criterion? (2) If a planetary swing-by is used for a VSI trajectory, is the fuel savings of a VSI swing-by trajectory better than that of a CSI swing-by or high thrust swing-by trajectory? To support this research, an unique, new computer-based interplanetary trajectory calculation program has been created. This program utilizes a calculus of variations algorithm to perform overall optimization of thrust, Isp, and thrust vector direction along a trajectory that minimizes fuel consumption for interplanetary travel. It is assumed that the propulsion system is power-limited, and thus the compromise between thrust and Isp is a variable to be optimized along the flight path. This program is capable of optimizing not only variable thrust trajectories but also constant thrust trajectories in 3-D space using a planetary ephemeris database. It is also capable of conducting planetary swing-bys. Using this program, various Earth-originating trajectories have been investigated and the optimized results have been compared to traditional CSI and high thrust trajectory solutions. Results show that VSI rocket engines reduce fuel requirements for any mission compared to CSI rocket engines. Fuel can be saved by applying swing-by maneuvers for VSI engines; but the effects of swing-bys due to VSI engines are smaller than that of CSI or high thrust engines.

TOPS: Toward Other Planetary Systems. A report by the solar system exploration division

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1995-01-01

This report describes a general plan and the pertinent technological requirements for TOPS (Toward Other Planetary Systems), a staged program to ascertain the prevalence and character of other planetary systems and to construct a definitive picture of the formation of stars and their planets. The first stages focus on discovering and studying a significant number of fully formed planetary systems, as well as expanding current studies of protoplanetary systems. As the TOPS Program evolves, emphasis will shift toward intensive study of the discovered systems and of individual planets. Early stages of the TOPS Program can be undertaken with ground-based observations and space missions comparable in scale to those now being performed. In the long term, however, TOPS will become an ambitious program that challenges our capabilities and provides impetus for major space initiatives and new technologies.

The Problem of Extraterrestrial Civilizations and Extrasolar Planets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mickaelian, A. M.

2015-07-01

The problem of extraterrestrial intelligence is the best example of multidisciplinary science. Here philosophy and religion, astronomy, radiophysics, spectrography, space flights and astronautics, geology and planetology, astroecology, chemistry and biology, history and archaeology, psychology, sociology, linguistics, diplomacy, UFOs and peculiar phenomena are involved. Among these many-sided studies, astronomers have probably displayed the most progress by discovering thousands of extrasolar planets. At present, a number of search programs are being accomplished, including those with space telescopes, and planets in so-called "habitable zone" are considered as most important ones, for which various orbital and physical parameters are being calculated. As the discovery of extraterrestrial life is the final goal, a special attention is given to Earth-like planets, for the discovery of which most sensitive technical means are necessary.

Forecasting Weather on Distant Worlds

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2007-01-01

An artist's conception shows a gas-giant planet orbiting very close to its parent star, creating searingly hot conditions on the planet's surface. New research suggests that for three such planets lying from 50 to 150 light-years from Earth, strong winds thousands of miles per hour mix the atmosphere so that the temperature is relatively uniform from the permanently light side to the permanently dark side.

This illustration represents an infrared view of a planetary system, in which brightness indicates warmer temperatures. For example, the bright band around the equator of the planet denotes warmer temperatures on both the dark and sunlit sides. The planet's poles, shown in darker colors, would be cooler.

NASA/MSFC FY92 Earth Science and Applications Program Research Review

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Arnold, James E. (Editor); Leslie, Fred W. (Editor)

1993-01-01

A large amount of attention has recently been given to global issues such as the ozone hole, tropospheric temperature variability, etc. A scientific challenge is to better understand atmospheric processes on a variety of spatial and temporal scales in order to predict environmental changes. Measurement of geophysical parameters such as wind, temperature, and moisture are needed to validate theories, provide analyzed data sets, and initialize or constrain numerical models. One of NASA's initiatives is the Mission to Planet Earth Program comprised of an Earth Observation System (EOS) and the scientific strategy to analyze these data. This work describes these efforts in the context of satellite data analysis and fundamental studies of atmospheric dynamics which examine selected processes important to the global circulation.

The Telecommunications and Data Acquisition Report

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Yuen, Joseph H. (Editor)

1995-01-01

This quarterly publiction provides archival reports on developments in programs managed by JPL Telecommunications and Mission Operations Directorate (TMOD), which now includes the former communications and Data Acquisition (TDA) Office. In space communications, radio navigation, radio science, and ground-based radio and radar astronomy, it reports on activities of the Deep Space Network (DSN) in planning, supporting research and technology, implementation, and operations. Also included are standards activity at JPL for space data and information systems and reimbursable DSN work performed for other space agencies through NASA. The Orbital Debris Radar Program, funded by the Office of Space Systems Development, makes use of the planetary radar capability when the antennas are configured at science instruments making direct observations of planets, their satellites, and asteroids of our solar system.

International Year of Planet Earth - Accomplishments, Activities, Challenges and Plans in Mexico

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fucugauchi, J. U.; Perez-Cruz, L. L.; Alaniz-Alvarez, S.

2009-12-01

The International Year of Planet Earth started as a joint initiative by UNESCO and IUGS with the participation of several geosciences organizations, and developed into a major international geosciences program for the triennium 2007-2009, with the inclusion and participation of national and regional committees. In this presentation we focus on current activities and plans in our country and the participation in international activities. Mexican community has been part of international programs since the International Geophysical Year, continuing through its participation in other programs, e.g., Upper Mantle, Geodynamics, Lithosphere, IHY, IPY and eGY. IYPE activities have concentrated in publications, OneGeology, radio/TV programs, organization of conferences, meetings and outreach events. A book series on Earth Science Experiments for Children has been edited, with first books published on “Atmospheric Pressure and Free Fall of Objects”, “Light and Colors”, “Standing on Archimedes”, “Foucault and Climate” and “Earth and its Waves “. Books are distributed to schools, with tens of thousand copies distributed nationwide and new editions underway. Other publications include leaflets, books and special El Faro issues (edited by the National University) and articles in other journals. In 2007 the AGU Joint Assembly with international participation from US, Canada, Europe and Latin America was held in Acapulco. Current plans include an electronic open-access journal, additional publications of the Planet Earth series, articles and special issues in journals and magazines, plus events on selected themes from the IYPE science program, particularly on Megacities, Hazards, Resources and Biodiversity. Mexico City metropolitan area, with > 22 million inhabitants presents special challenges, being at high altitude within an active tectonic and volcanic area requiring major efforts in water supply, water control, rains and waste disposal and management. Involvement in international activities includes OneGeology, translation into Spanish of IYPE thematic leaflets and participation in meetings and outreach activities. A major long-lasting legacy of IYPE is the formation of links/partnerships within Latin America and in the international context. Consolidating and expanding cooperation/partnership in research, education and outreach will then be our major challenges. In addition to future plans in different countries and regions, we consider that IYPE should develop long-term initiatives for enhancing international cooperation and ensuring increased effective use by society of the Earth and space sciences.

THE NASA-UC ETA-EARTH PROGRAM. II. A PLANET ORBITING HD 156668 WITH A MINIMUM MASS OF FOUR EARTH MASSES

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Howard, Andrew W.; Marcy, Geoffrey W.; Isaacson, Howard

2011-01-10

We report the discovery of HD 156668 b, an extrasolar planet with a minimum mass of M{sub P} sin i = 4.15 M{sub +}. This planet was discovered through Keplerian modeling of precise radial velocities from Keck-HIRES and is the second super-Earth to emerge from the NASA-UC Eta-Earth Survey. The best-fit orbit is consistent with circular and has a period of P = 4.6455 days. The Doppler semi-amplitude of this planet, K = 1.89 m s{sup -1}, is among the lowest ever detected, on par with the detection of GJ 581 e using HARPS. A longer period (P {approx} 2.3more » years), low-amplitude signal of unknown origin was also detected in the radial velocities and was filtered out of the data while fitting the short-period planet. Additional data are required to determine if the long-period signal is due to a second planet, stellar activity, or another source. Photometric observations using the Automated Photometric Telescopes at Fairborn Observatory show that HD 156668 (an old, quiet K3 dwarf) is photometrically constant over the radial velocity period to 0.1 mmag, supporting the existence of the planet. No transits were detected down to a photometric limit of {approx}3 mmag, ruling out transiting planets dominated by extremely bloated atmospheres, but not precluding a transiting solid/liquid planet with a modest atmosphere.« less

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Gaidos, Eric, E-mail: gaidos@hawaii.edu

A key goal of the Kepler mission is the discovery of Earth-size transiting planets in ''habitable zones'' where stellar irradiance maintains a temperate climate on an Earth-like planet. Robust estimates of planet radius and irradiance require accurate stellar parameters, but most Kepler systems are faint, making spectroscopy difficult and prioritization of targets desirable. The parameters of 2035 host stars were estimated by Bayesian analysis and the probabilities p{sub HZ} that 2738 candidate or confirmed planets orbit in the habitable zone were calculated. Dartmouth Stellar Evolution Program models were compared to photometry from the Kepler Input Catalog, priors for stellar mass,more » age, metallicity and distance, and planet transit duration. The analysis yielded probability density functions for calculating confidence intervals of planet radius and stellar irradiance, as well as p{sub HZ}. Sixty-two planets have p{sub HZ} > 0.5 and a most probable stellar irradiance within habitable zone limits. Fourteen of these have radii less than twice the Earth; the objects most resembling Earth in terms of radius and irradiance are KOIs 2626.01 and 3010.01, which orbit late K/M-type dwarf stars. The fraction of Kepler dwarf stars with Earth-size planets in the habitable zone ({eta}{sub Circled-Plus }) is 0.46, with a 95% confidence interval of 0.31-0.64. Parallaxes from the Gaia mission will reduce uncertainties by more than a factor of five and permit definitive assignments of transiting planets to the habitable zones of Kepler stars.« less

Spitzer Transits of New TESS Planets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Crossfield, Ian; Werner, Michael; Dragomir, Diana; Kreidberg, Laura; Benneke, Bjoern; Deming, Drake; Gorjian, Varoujan; Guo, Xueying; Dressing, Courtney; Yu, Liang; Kane, Stephen; Christiansen, Jessie; Berardo, David; Morales, Farisa

2018-05-01

TESS will soon begin searching the sky for new transiting planets around the nearest, brightest stars, and JWST will become the world-leading facility in exoplanet atmospheric characterization. A key TESS goal is to provide the best atmospheric targets to JWST. However, many new TESS planets will exhibit just a few transits each, so their transit ephemerides will be only weakly constrained; without additional constraints on the planet orbit, the transits will be quickly "lost" long before JWST transit spectroscopy can commence. Some TESS planets will also be good targets for JWST secondary eclipses observations, but these eclipses will be even harder to pin down from TESS data alone. Spitzer's IR sensitivity and photometric stability can identify the transits and eclipses of the most favorable TESS planets and set the stage for JWST atmospheric characterization on a large scale. We request 550 hr to use Spitzer to measure precise transits and eclipses of new planets from the first year of TESS, refining their properties and ensuring their transits and eclipses can be recovered for many years to come. We will focus on the smaller planets for which ground-based observations are impractical and for which JWST spectroscopy will have a high impact. The time baseline provided by Spitzer will pin down the ephemerides far into the future. Thus our proposed program will secure these planets for future JWST spectroscopy to reveal their atmospheric makeup, chemistry, cloud properties, and formation history in unprecedented detail.

A Search for Transiting Neptune-Mass Extrasolar Planets in High-Precision Photometry of Solar-Type Stars

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Henry, Stephen M.; Gillman, Amelie r.; Henry, Gregory W.

2005-01-01

Tennessee State University operates several automatic photometric telescopes (APTs) at Fairborn Observatory in southern Arizona. Four 0.8 m APTs have been dedicated to measuring subtle luminosity variations that accompany magnetic cycles in solar-type stars. Over 1000 program and comparison stars have been observed every clear night in this program for up to 12 years with a precision of approximately 0.0015 mag for a single observation. We have developed a transit-search algorithm, based on fitting a computed transit template for each trial period, and have used it to search our photometric database for transits of unknown companions. Extensive simulations with the APT data have shown that we can reliably recover transits with periods under 10 days as long as the transits have a depth of at least 0.0024 mag, or about 1.6 times the scatter in the photometric observations. Thus, due to our high photometric precision, we are sensitive to transits of possible short-period Neptune-mass planets that likely would have escaped detection by current radial velocity techniques. Our search of the APT data sets for 1087 program and comparison stars revealed no new transiting planets. However, the detection of several unknown grazing eclipsing binaries from among our comparison stars, with eclipse depths of only a few millimags, illustrates the success of our technique. We have used this negative result to place limits on the frequency of Neptune-mass planets in close orbits around solar-type stars in the Sun's vicinity.

Washington Camp-A New Site for TSU Astronomy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wade, Montanez A.

1997-02-01

The astronomy research program at Tennessee State University began in the Center of Excellence in Information Systems in 1988 with a grant from Marshall Space Flight Center. The initial research was to expand the investigation of Dr. D. S. Hall of Vanderbilt University on the behavior of chromospherically active (CA) stars utilizing automatic photometric telescopes (APT's)located in the southern Arizonan desert at the Smithsonian Institution's Mt. Hopkins Facility (Fred Whipple Observatory). The APT's were and are operated by Fairborn Observatory, a non-profit organization. Over the years the TSU program significantly expanded and by 1996 CASS astronomers managed four APT's at the Mt. Hopkins site: Fairborn 10-in, SAO/TSU 30- in, the Vanderbilt/TSU 16-in, and the TSU/SAO 32-in. In addition to CA star research, the program now includes observation of solar duplicates to better understand the Sun-climate connection, investigation of magnetic activity in cool stars, and verification of the existence of extra-solar planets. Observing schemes are programmed in Nashville and data are retrieved from the Arizona site via the Internet. With CASS funding TSU has under construction a 2-m automatic spectroscopic telescope (AST) and a 24-in automatic imaging telescope (AIT). Anticipating this expansion, Fairborn Observatory located a 40 acre site in Washington Camp, AZ to build its own expanded facility. This paper will present a brief history of the TSU astrophysics program including a cursory description of the research areas, the instrumentation utilized in data acquisition, and a description of the facilities.

The economic effect of Planet Health on preventing bulimia nervosa.

PubMed

Wang, Li Yan; Nichols, Lauren P; Austin, S Bryn

2011-08-01

To assess the economic effect of the school-based obesity prevention program Planet Health on preventing disordered weight control behaviors and to determine the cost-effectiveness of the intervention in terms of its combined effect on prevention of obesity and disordered weight control behaviors. On the basis of the intervention's short-term effect on disordered weight control behaviors prevention, we projected the number of girls who were prevented from developing bulimia nervosa by age 17 years. We further estimated medical costs saved and quality-adjusted life years gained by the intervention over 10 years. As a final step, we compared the intervention costs with the combined intervention benefits from both obesity prevention (reported previously) and prevention of disordered weight control behaviors to determine the overall cost-effectiveness of the intervention. Middle schools. A sample of 254 intervention girls aged 10 to 14 years. The Planet Health program was implemented during the school years from 1995 to 1997 and was designed to promote healthful nutrition and physical activity among youth. Intervention costs, medical costs saved, quality-adjusted life years gained, and cost-effectiveness ratio. An estimated 1 case of bulimia nervosa would have been prevented. As a result, an estimated $33 999 in medical costs and 0.7 quality-adjusted life years would be saved. At an intervention cost of $46 803, the combined prevention of obesity and disordered weight control behaviors would yield a net savings of $14 238 and a gain of 4.8 quality-adjusted life years. Primary prevention programs, such as Planet Health, warrant careful consideration by policy makers and program planners. The findings of this study provide additional argument for integrated prevention of obesity and eating disorders.

RoboTAP: Target priorities for robotic microlensing observations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hundertmark, M.; Street, R. A.; Tsapras, Y.; Bachelet, E.; Dominik, M.; Horne, K.; Bozza, V.; Bramich, D. M.; Cassan, A.; D'Ago, G.; Figuera Jaimes, R.; Kains, N.; Ranc, C.; Schmidt, R. W.; Snodgrass, C.; Wambsganss, J.; Steele, I. A.; Mao, S.; Ment, K.; Menzies, J.; Li, Z.; Cross, S.; Maoz, D.; Shvartzvald, Y.

2018-01-01

Context. The ability to automatically select scientifically-important transient events from an alert stream of many such events, and to conduct follow-up observations in response, will become increasingly important in astronomy. With wide-angle time domain surveys pushing to fainter limiting magnitudes, the capability to follow-up on transient alerts far exceeds our follow-up telescope resources, and effective target prioritization becomes essential. The RoboNet-II microlensing program is a pathfinder project, which has developed an automated target selection process (RoboTAP) for gravitational microlensing events, which are observed in real time using the Las Cumbres Observatory telescope network. Aims: Follow-up telescopes typically have a much smaller field of view compared to surveys, therefore the most promising microlensing events must be automatically selected at any given time from an annual sample exceeding 2000 events. The main challenge is to select between events with a high planet detection sensitivity, with the aim of detecting many planets and characterizing planetary anomalies. Methods: Our target selection algorithm is a hybrid system based on estimates of the planet detection zones around a microlens. It follows automatic anomaly alerts and respects the expected survey coverage of specific events. Results: We introduce the RoboTAP algorithm, whose purpose is to select and prioritize microlensing events with high sensitivity to planetary companions. In this work, we determine the planet sensitivity of the RoboNet follow-up program and provide a working example of how a broker can be designed for a real-life transient science program conducting follow-up observations in response to alerts; we explore the issues that will confront similar programs being developed for the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST) and other time domain surveys.

Investigating the Orbital Period Valley of Giant Planets in Kepler Data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Thomas, Brianna P.; Birkby, Jayne L.

2016-01-01

Transit light curves contain a wealth of information about the basic properties of a planet, such as its radius, semi-major axis, and orbital period. For the latter property, there is a distinct lack of planets with periods between 10 to 100 days. This gap could be caused by something as simple as observational bias, or as prominent as planetary formation or migration. Here, we report an investigation into the atmosphere of planets within this orbital period valley, to search for differences that may indicate a different formation mechanism or migration path to those outside of it. We do this by searching for the secondary eclipse of planets in the valley in order to measure their albedos. We determined an optimal target for this: KOI-366 b (P ~ 75 days). However, we find that despite the exquisite precision of Kepler data, it cannot constrain the albedo for this long-orbit planet candidate. We measure a 1σ upper limit on the geometric albedo of Ag,1σ ≤ 2.0. We highlight that additional scatter in the light curve is likely caused by a ~ 2-day pulsation of the giant host star, and that further data is required to measure the secondary eclipse. KOI-366 is one of the best suited of all host stars with long period exoplanet candidates for follow-up due to its relatively bright magnitude (Kp = 11.7 mag), but the full investigation of the reflective properties of long period planets may require space-based observations from future instruments, such as WFIRST, that will be more sensitive to objects further away from their host stars. This work was supported in part by the NSF REU and DoD ASSURE programs under NSF grant no. 1262851 and by the Smithsonian Institution. This work was performed in part under contract with the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) funded by NASA through the Sagan Fellowship Program executed by the NASA Exoplanet Science Institute.

Small Worlds Week: Raising Curiosity and Contributing to STEM

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ng, C.; Mayo, L.; Stephenson, B. E.; Keck, A.; Cline, T. D.; Lewis, E. M.

2015-12-01

Dwarf planets, comets, asteroids, and icy moons took center stage in the years 2014-2015 as multiple spacecraft (New Horizons, Dawn, Rosetta, Cassini) and ground-based observing campaigns observed these small and yet amazing celestial bodies. Just prior to the historic New Horizons encounter with the Pluto system, NASA celebrated Small Worlds Week (July 6-10) as a fully online program to highlight small worlds mission discoveries. Small Worlds Week leveraged the infrastructure of Sun-Earth Days that included a robust web design, exemplary education materials, hands-on fun activities, multimedia resources, science and career highlights, and a culminating event. Each day from July 6-9, a new class of solar system small worlds was featured on the website: Monday-comets, Tuesday-asteroids, Wednesday-icy moons, and Thursday-dwarf planets. Then on Friday, July 10, nine scientists from Goddard Space Flight Center, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Naval Research Laboratory, and Lunar and Planetary Institute gathered online for four hours to answer questions from the public via Facebook and Twitter. Throughout the afternoon the scientists worked closely with a social media expert and several summer interns to reply to inquirers and to archive their chats. By all accounts, Small Worlds Week was a huge success. The group plans to improve and replicate the program during the school year with a more classroom focus, and then to build and extend the program to be held every year. For more information, visit http:// sunearthday.nasa.gov or catch us on Twitter, #nasasww.

Kepler Mission to Detect Earth-like Planets

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kondo, Yoji

2003-01-01

Kepler Mission to detect Earth-like planets in our Milky Way galaxy was approved by NASA in December 2001 for a 4-5 year mission. The launch is planned in about 5 years. The Kepler observatory will be placed in an Earth-trailing orbit. The unique feature of the Kepler Mission is its ability to detect Earth-like planets orbiting around solar-type stars at a distance similar to that of Earth (from our Sun); such an orbit could provide an environment suitable for supporting life as we know it. The Kepler observatory accomplishes this feat by looking for the transits of planetary object in front of their suns; Kepler has a photometric precision of 10E-5 (0.00001) to achieve such detections. Other ongoing planetary detection programs (based mostly on a technique that looks for the shifting of spectral lines of the primary star due to its planetary companions' motions around it) have detected massive planets (with masses in the range of Jupiter); such massive planets are not considered suitable for supporting life. If our current theories for the formation of planetary systems are valid, we expect to detect about 50 Earth-like planets during Kepler's 4-year mission (assuming a random distribution of the planetary orbital inclinations with respect to the line of sight from Kepler). The number of detection will increase about 640 planets if the planets to be detected are Jupiter-sized.

Kepler Mission to Detect Earth-like Planets

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kondo, Yoji

2002-01-01

Kepler Mission to detect Earth-like planets in our Milky Way galaxy was approved by NASA in December 2001 for a 4-5 year mission. The launch is planned in about 5 years. The Kepler observatory will be placed in an Earth-trailing orbit. The unique feature of the Kepler Mission is its ability to detect Earth-like planets orbiting around solar-type stars at a distance similar to that of Earth (from our Sun); such an orbit could provide an environment suitable for supporting life as we know it. The Kepler observatory accomplishes this feat by looking for the transits of planetary object in front of their suns; Kepler has a photometric precision of 10E-5 (0.00001) to achieve such detections. Other ongoing planetary detection programs (based mostly on a technique that looks for the shifting of spectral lines of the primary star due to its planetary companions' motions around it) have detected massive planets (with masses in the range of Jupiter); such massive planets are not considered suitable for supporting life. If our current theories for the formation of planetary systems are valid, we expect to detect about 50 Earth-like planets during Kepler's 4-year mission (assuming a random distribution of the planetary orbital inclinations with respect to the line of sight from Kepler). The number of detection will increase about 640 planets if the planets to be detected are Jupiter-sized.

The Blue Dot Workshop: Spectroscopic Search for Life on Extrasolar Planets

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Des Marais, David J. (Editor)

1997-01-01

This workshop explored the key questions and challenges associated with detecting life on an extrasolar planet. The final product will be a NASA Conference Publication which includes the abstracts from 21 talks, summaries of key findings, and recommendations for future research. The workshop included sessions on three related topics: the biogeochemistry of biogenic gases in the atmosphere, the chemistry and spectroscopy of planetary atmospheres, and the remote sensing of planetary atmospheres and surfaces. With the observation that planetary formation is probably a common phenomenon, together with the advent of the technical capability to locate and describe extrasolar planets, this research area indeed has an exciting future.

Astronomy Program for Young Children.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Levy, David H.

1979-01-01

An account of a teacher's experience in presenting astronomy to 12 to 15 year olds in a summer science program is presented. Observations of planets, meteors, and the sun are the major projects which are discussed. (SA)

Online characterization of planetary surfaces: PlanetServer, an open-source analysis and visualization tool

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Marco Figuera, R.; Pham Huu, B.; Rossi, A. P.; Minin, M.; Flahaut, J.; Halder, A.

2018-01-01

The lack of open-source tools for hyperspectral data visualization and analysis creates a demand for new tools. In this paper we present the new PlanetServer, a set of tools comprising a web Geographic Information System (GIS) and a recently developed Python Application Programming Interface (API) capable of visualizing and analyzing a wide variety of hyperspectral data from different planetary bodies. Current WebGIS open-source tools are evaluated in order to give an overview and contextualize how PlanetServer can help in this matters. The web client is thoroughly described as well as the datasets available in PlanetServer. Also, the Python API is described and exposed the reason of its development. Two different examples of mineral characterization of different hydrosilicates such as chlorites, prehnites and kaolinites in the Nili Fossae area on Mars are presented. As the obtained results show positive outcome in hyperspectral analysis and visualization compared to previous literature, we suggest using the PlanetServer approach for such investigations.

A Secular Resonance Between Iapetus and the Giant Planets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cuk, Matija; Dones, Henry C. Luke; Nesvorny, David; Walsh, Kevin J.

2017-06-01

Iapetus is the outermost of the regular satellites of Saturn, and its origin and evolution present a number of unsolved problems. From the point of view of orbital dynamics, it is remarkable that Iapetus has a large inclination (8 degrees) and a significantly smaller eccentricity (0.03), contrary to the pattern expected if its orbit was excited by encounters between Saturn and other planets early in the Solar System's history (Nesvorny et al, 2014). Here we report our long-term numerical integrations of Iapetus's orbit that show multi-Myr oscillations of Iapetus's eccentricity with an amplitude on the order of 0.01. We find that the basic argument causing this behavior is the sum of the longitude of pericenter and the longitude of the node of Iapetus, with a 0.3 Myr period. This argument appears to be in resonance with the period of the g5 mode in the eccentricity and perihelion of Saturn. We find that our nominal solution, including Saturn's oblateness, Titan, Iapetus and all four giant planets, shows librations of the argument: ǎrpi_Iapetus - ǎrpi_g5 + \\Omega_Iapetus - \\Omega_SaturnEq, where ǎrpi and \\Omega are the longitudes of pericenters and nodes, respectively, and \\Omega_SaturnEq is Saturn's equinox. While planetary perturbations are crucial in generating the g5 mode and therefore maintaining this resonance, we find that Iapetus is affected by the planets only indirectly, with the Sun being the dominant direct perturber. The libration is stable for tens of Myr for the nominal rate of Saturn's pole precession (French et al, 2017), and appears stable indefinitely if we assume a secular resonance between Saturn's node and the secular mode g18 (Ward and Hamilton, 2004; Hamilton and Ward, 2004). We will present the implication of this resonance for the origin of Iapetus's orbit and the dynamical history of Saturn's system. This research is funded by NASA Outer Planets Research Program award NNX14AO38G. References: French, R. G., McGhee-French, C. A., Lonergan, K., et al. 2017, Icarus, 290, 14; Hamilton, D. P., & Ward, W. R. 2004, AJ, 128, 2510; Nesvorny, D., Vokrouhlicky, D., Deienno, R., & Walsh, K. J. 2014, AJ, 148, 52; Ward, W. R., & Hamilton, D. P. 2004, AJ, 128, 2501.

Resource Utilization and Site Selection for a Self-Sufficient Martian Outpost

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Barker, Donald; Chamitoff, Gregory; James, George

1998-01-01

As a planet with striking similarities to Earth, Mars is an important focus for scientific research aimed at understanding the processes of planetary evolution and the formation of our solar system. Fortunately, Mars is also a planet with abundant natural resources, including assessible materials that can be used to support human life and to sustain a self-sufficient martian outpost. Resources required include water, breathable air, food, shelter, energy, and fuel. Through a mission design based on in situ resource development, we can establish a permanent outpost on Mars beginning with the first manned mission. This paper examines the potential for supporting the first manned mission with the objective of achieving self-sufficiency through well-understood resource development and a program of rigorous scientific research aimed at extending that capability. We examine the potential for initially extracting critical resources from the martian environment, and discuss the scientific investigations required to identify additional resources in the atmosphere, on the surface, and within the subsurface. We also discuss our current state of knowledge of Mars, technical considerations of resource utilization, and using unmanned missions' data for selecting an optimal site. The primary goal of achieving self-sufficiency on Mars would accelerate the development of human colonization beyond Earth, while providing a robust and permanent martian base from which humans can explore and conduct long-term research on planetary evolution, the solar system, and life itself.

Planetary quarantine: Space research and technology. [satellite quarantine constraints on outer planet mission

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1974-01-01

The impact of satisfying satellite quarantine constraints on current outer planet mission and spacecraft designs is considered. Tools required to perform trajectory and navigation analyses for determining satellite impact probabilities are developed.

A Model for Astrometric Detection and Characterization of Multi-Exoplanet Systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

April Thompson, Maggie; Spergel, David N.

2017-01-01

In this thesis, we develop an approximate linear model of stellar motion in multi- planet systems as an aid to observers using the astrometric method to detect and characterize exoplanets. Recent and near-term advances in satellite and ground-based instruments are on the threshold of achieving sufficient (~10 micro-arcsecond) angular accuracies to allow astronomers to measure and analyze the transverse mo- tion of stars about the common barycenter in single- and multi-planet systems due to the gravitational influence of companion planets. Given the emerging statistics of extrasolar planetary systems and the long observation periods required to assess exoplanet influences, astronomers should find an approximate technique for preliminary estimates of multiple planet numbers, masses and orbital parameters useful in determining the most likely stellar systems for follow-up studies. In this paper, we briefly review the history of astrometry and discuss its advantages and limitations in exoplanet research. In addition, we define the principal astrometric signature and describe the main variables affecting it, highlighting astrometry’s complementary role to radial velocity and photometric transit exoplanet detection techniques. We develop and test a Python computer code using actual data and projections of the Sun’s motion due to the influence of the four gas giants in the solar system. We then apply this model to over 50 hypothetical massive two- and three-exoplanet systems to discover useful general patterns by employing a heuristic examination of key aspects of the host star’s motion over long observation intervals. Finally, we modify the code by incorporating an inverse least-squares fit program to assess its efficiency in identifying the main characteristics of multi-planet systems based on observational records over 5-, 10- and 20-year periods for a variety of actual and hypothetical exoplanetary systems. We also explore the method’s sensitivity to measurement frequencies, intervals and errors.

Progressive Research and Outreach at the WestRock Observatory

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brown, Johnny Eugene; Lantz Caughey, Austin; O'Keeffe, Brendon; Johnson, Michael; Murphy Williams, Rosa Nina

2016-01-01

The WestRock Observatory (WRO), located in Columbus State University's Coca-Cola Space Science Center (CCSSC), is dedicated to education and research in astronomy through hands-on engagement and public participation. The WRO has recently received funding to upgrade the PlaneWave CDK 24-inch Corrected Dall-Kirkham Astrograph telescope. Recent additions to the telescope include an all-new Apogee Alta F16 CCD camera complete with a filter wheel (with narrowband and broadband filters) and a Minor Planet Center Observatory Code (W22). These new upgrades have allowed Astrophysics students to conduct unique research ranging from high precision minor planet astrometry, to broad- and narrow-band imaging of nebulae, to light curve analysis for variable star photometry. These new endeavours, in conjunction with an existing suite of Solar telescopes, gives the WRO the ability to live-stream solar and night-time observing. These streams are available both online and through interactive displays at the CCSSC making the WRO an educational outreach program for a worldwide public audience and a growing astronomical community.Current funding is allowing students to get even more research experience than previously attainable further enabling the expansion of our publicly available gallery of nebula and galaxy images. Support and funding for the acquirement,installation, and upgrading of the new PlaneWave CDK24 has been provided by the International Museum and Library Services via the Museums for America Award Additionally, individual NASA Space Grant Scholarships have helped to secure a number of student interns partially responsible for recent improvements.

The VLT/NaCo large program to probe the occurrence of exoplanets and brown dwarfs at wide orbits. II. Survey description, results, and performances

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chauvin, G.; Vigan, A.; Bonnefoy, M.; Desidera, S.; Bonavita, M.; Mesa, D.; Boccaletti, A.; Buenzli, E.; Carson, J.; Delorme, P.; Hagelberg, J.; Montagnier, G.; Mordasini, C.; Quanz, S. P.; Segransan, D.; Thalmann, C.; Beuzit, J.-L.; Biller, B.; Covino, E.; Feldt, M.; Girard, J.; Gratton, R.; Henning, T.; Kasper, M.; Lagrange, A.-M.; Messina, S.; Meyer, M.; Mouillet, D.; Moutou, C.; Reggiani, M.; Schlieder, J. E.; Zurlo, A.

2015-01-01

Context. Young, nearby stars are ideal targets for direct imaging searches for giant planets and brown dwarf companions. After the first-imaged planet discoveries, vast efforts have been devoted to the statistical analysis of the occurence and orbital distributions of giant planets and brown dwarf companions at wide (≥5-6 AU) orbits. Aims: In anticipation of the VLT/SPHERE planet-imager, guaranteed-time programs, we have conducted a preparatory survey of 86 stars between 2009 and 2013 to identify new faint comoving companions to ultimately analyze the occurence of giant planets and brown dwarf companions at wide (10-2000 AU) orbits around young, solar-type stars. Methods: We used NaCo at VLT to explore the occurrence rate of giant planets and brown dwarfs between typically 0.1 and 8''. Diffraction-limited observations in H-band combined with angular differential imaging enabled us to reach primary star-companion brightness ratios as small as 10-6 at 1.5''. Repeated observations at several epochs enabled us to discriminate comoving companions from background objects. Results: During our survey, twelve systems were resolved as new binaries, including the discovery of a new white dwarf companion to the star HD 8049. Around 34 stars, at least one companion candidate was detected in the observed field of view. More than 400 faint sources were detected; 90% of them were in four crowded fields. With the exception of HD 8049 B, we did not identify any new comoving companions. The survey also led to spatially resolved images of the thin debris disk around HD 61005 that have been published earlier. Finally, considering the survey detection limits, we derive a preliminary upper limit on the frequency of giant planets for the semi-major axes of [10, 2000] AU: typically less than 15% between 100 and 500 AU and less than 10% between 50 and 500 AU for exoplanets that are more massive than 5 MJup and 10 MJup respectively, if we consider a uniform input distribution and a confidence level of 95%. Conclusions: The results from this survey agree with earlier programs emphasizing that massive, gas giant companions on wide orbits around solar-type stars are rare. These results will be part of a broader analysis of a total of ~210 young, solar-type stars to bring further statistical constraints for theoretical models of planetary formation and evolution. Based on observations collected at the European Southern Observatory, Chile (ESO Large Program 184.C-0157 and Open Time 089.C-0137A and 090.C-0252A).Tables 2 and 6 are available in electronic form at http://www.aanda.org

Program to Optimize Simulated Trajectories (POST). Volume 1: Formulation manual

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Brauer, G. L.; Cornick, D. E.; Habeger, A. R.; Petersen, F. M.; Stevenson, R.

1975-01-01

A general purpose FORTRAN program for simulating and optimizing point mass trajectories (POST) of aerospace vehicles is described. The equations and the numerical techniques used in the program are documented. Topics discussed include: coordinate systems, planet model, trajectory simulation, auxiliary calculations, and targeting and optimization.

Photometric Analysis and Transit Times of TRAPPIST-1 B and C

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Morris, Brett M.; Agol, Eric; Hawley, Suzanne L.

2018-01-01

TRAPPIST-1 hosts seven Earth-sized planets transiting an M8 star. We observed mid-transit times of each of the inner two planets with the Astrophysical Research Consortium (ARC) 3.5 m Telescope at Apache Point Observatory (APO) to help constrain the planet masses with transit timing variations, and we outline a procedure for analyzing transit observations of late-M stars with APO. The transit times of TRAPPIST-1 b and c are $\\mathrm{BJD}_{\\mathrm{TDB}} = 2457580.87634^{+0.00034}_{-0.00034}$ and $2457558.89477^{+0.00080}_{-0.00085}$, respectively, which will help constrain the planet masses.

Solar system exploration

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chapman, Clark R.; Ramlose, Terri (Editor)

1989-01-01

The goal of planetary exploration is to understand the nature and development of the planets, as illustrated by pictures from the first two decades of spacecraft missions and by the imaginations of space artists. Planets, comets, asteroids, and moons are studied to discover the reasons for their similarities and differences and to find clues that contain information about the primordial process of planet origins. The scientific goals established by the National Academy of Sciences as the foundation of NASA's Solar System Exploration Program are covered: to determine the nature of the planetary system, to understand its origin and evolution, the development of life on Earth, and the principles that shape present day Earth.

International Academy of Astronautics 5th cosmic study--preparing for a 21st century program of integrated, Lunar and Martian exploration and development (executive summary).

PubMed

Koelle, H H; Stephenson, D G

2003-04-01

This report is an initial review of plans for a extensive program to survey and develop the Moon and to explore the planet Mars during the 21st century. It presents current typical plans for separate, associated and fully integrated programs of Lunar and Martian research, exploration and development, and concludes that detailed integrated plans must be prepared and be subject to formal criticism. Before responsible politicians approve a new thrust into space they will demand attractive, defensible, and detailed proposals that explain the WHEN, HOW and WHY of each stage of an expanded program of 21st century space research, development and exploration. In particular, the claims of daring, innovative, but untried systems must be compared with the known performance of existing technologies. The time has come to supersede the present haphazard approach to strategic space studies with a formal international structure to plan for future advanced space missions under the aegis of the world's national space agencies, and supported by governments and the corporate sector. c2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

Search for Terrestrial Planets with SIM Planet Quest

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Shao, Michael; Tanner, Angelle M.; Catanzarite, Joseph H.

2006-01-01

SIM is an astrometric mission that will be capable of 1 microarcsec relative astrometric accuracy in a single measurement of approx.1000 sec. The search for terrestrial planets in the habitable zone around nearby stars is one of the main science goals of the project. In 2001, NASA through the peer review process selected 10 key projects, two of which had as its goal, the search for terrestrial planets around nearby stars. The two teams, one led by G. Marcy (UC Berkeley) and one lead by M. Shao (JPL), have an extensive preparatory science program underway. This paper describes the status of this activity as well as the technology status of SIM's narrow angle astrometry capability, to reach 1 uas in a single epoch measure and its ability to average multiple epoch measurements to well below 1 uas.

Double-blind test program for astrometric planet detection with Gaia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Casertano, S.; Lattanzi, M. G.; Sozzetti, A.; Spagna, A.; Jancart, S.; Morbidelli, R.; Pannunzio, R.; Pourbaix, D.; Queloz, D.

2008-05-01

Aims: The scope of this paper is twofold. First, it describes the simulation scenarios and the results of a large-scale, double-blind test campaign carried out to estimate the potential of Gaia for detecting and measuring planetary systems. The identified capabilities are then put in context by highlighting the unique contribution that the Gaia exoplanet discoveries will be able to bring to the science of extrasolar planets in the next decade. Methods: We use detailed simulations of the Gaia observations of synthetic planetary systems and develop and utilize independent software codes in double-blind mode to analyze the data, including statistical tools for planet detection and different algorithms for single and multiple Keplerian orbit fitting that use no a priori knowledge of the true orbital parameters of the systems. Results: 1) Planets with astrometric signatures α≃ 3 times the assumed single-measurement error σ_ψ and period P≤ 5 yr can be detected reliably and consistently, with a very small number of false positives. 2) At twice the detection limit, uncertainties in orbital parameters and masses are typically 15-20%. 3) Over 70% of two-planet systems with well-separated periods in the range 0.2≤ P≤ 9 yr, astrometric signal-to-noise ratio 2≤α/σ_ψ≤ 50, and eccentricity e≤ 0.6 are correctly identified. 4) Favorable orbital configurations (both planets with P≤ 4 yr and α/σ_ψ≥ 10, redundancy over a factor of 2 in the number of observations) have orbital elements measured to better than 10% accuracy > 90% of the time, and the value of the mutual inclination angle i_rel determined with uncertainties ≤ 10°. 5) Finally, nominal uncertainties obtained from the fitting procedures are a good estimate of the actual errors in the orbit reconstruction. Extrapolating from the present-day statistical properties of the exoplanet sample, the results imply that a Gaia with σ_ψ = 8 μas, in its unbiased and complete magnitude-limited census of planetary systems, will discover and measure several thousands of giant planets out to 3-4 AUs from stars within 200 pc, and will characterize hundreds of multiple-planet systems, including meaningful coplanarity tests. Finally, we put Gaia's planet discovery potential into context, identifying several areas of planetary-system science (statistical properties and correlations, comparisons with predictions from theoretical models of formation and evolution, interpretation of direct detections) in which Gaia can be expected, on the basis of our results, to have a relevant impact, when combined with data coming from other ongoing and future planet search programs.

Two New Long-period Giant Planets from the McDonald Observatory Planet Search and Two Stars with Long-period Radial Velocity Signals Related to Stellar Activity Cycles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Endl, Michael; Brugamyer, Erik J.; Cochran, William D.; MacQueen, Phillip J.; Robertson, Paul; Meschiari, Stefano; Ramirez, Ivan; Shetrone, Matthew; Gullikson, Kevin; Johnson, Marshall C.; Wittenmyer, Robert; Horner, Jonathan; Ciardi, David R.; Horch, Elliott; Simon, Attila E.; Howell, Steve B.; Everett, Mark; Caldwell, Caroline; Castanheira, Barbara G.

2016-02-01

We report the detection of two new long-period giant planets orbiting the stars HD 95872 and HD 162004 (ψ1 Dra B) by the McDonald Observatory planet search. The planet HD 95872b has a minimum mass of 4.6 {M}{{Jup}} and an orbital semimajor axis of 5.2 AU. The giant planet ψ1 Dra Bb has a minimum mass of 1.5 {M}{{Jup}} and an orbital semimajor axis of 4.4 AU. Both of these planets qualify as Jupiter analogs. These results are based on over one and a half decades of precise radial velocity (RV) measurements collected by our program using the McDonald Observatory Tull Coude spectrograph at the 2.7 m Harlan J. Smith Telescope. In the case of ψ1 Dra B we also detect a long-term nonlinear trend in our data that indicates the presence of an additional giant planet, similar to the Jupiter-Saturn pair. The primary of the binary star system, ψ1 Dra A, exhibits a very large amplitude RV variation due to another stellar companion. We detect this additional member using speckle imaging. We also report two cases—HD 10086 and HD 102870 (β Virginis)—of significant RV variation consistent with the presence of a planet, but that are probably caused by stellar activity, rather than reflexive Keplerian motion. These two cases stress the importance of monitoring the magnetic activity level of a target star, as long-term activity cycles can mimic the presence of a Jupiter-analog planet.

VizieR Online Data Catalog: Transits of PH3 b, c, and d through January, 2019 (Schmitt+, 2014)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schmitt, J. R.; Agol, E.; Deck, K. M.; Rogers, L. A.; Gazak, J. Z.; Fischer, D. A.; Wang, J.; Holman, M. J.; Jek, K. J.; Margossian, C.; Omohundro, M. R.; Winarski, T.; Brewer, J. M.; Giguere, M. J.; Lintott, C.; Lynn, S.; Parrish, M.; Schawinski, K.; Schwamb, M. E.; Simpson, R.; Smith, A. M.

2017-05-01

Using quarters 1-16 of the Kepler data, we extracted and flattened each transit using the IDL AutoKep program (Gazak et al. 2012AdAst2012E..30G). For the high signal-to-noise transits of the outer planet, we used short cadence data where available. We then used a new, modified version of the IDL program TAP (Carter & Winn, 2009ApJ...704...51C; Gazak et al. 2012AdAst2012E..30G; Eastman et al. 2013PASP..125...83E) to fit for the orbital parameters of each planet: impact parameter (b), duration (T), the ratio of planet radius to stellar radius (Rp/R*), the midtransit times, linear limb darkening, quadratic limb darkening (Kipping, 2013MNRAS.435.2152K), and white and red noise. The ratio of semi-major axis to the radius of the star (a/R*) and the inclination (i) can be derived from these parameters. (1 data file).

An Introduction to Exoplanets and the Kepler Mission

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lissauer, Jack

2014-01-01

A quarter century ago, the only planets known to humanity were the familiar objects that orbit our Sun. But improved observational techniques allowed astronomers to begin detecting planets around other stars in the 1990s. The first extrasolar planets (often referred to as exoplanets) to be discovered were quite exotic and unfamiliar objects. Most were giant objects that are hundreds of times as massive as the Earth and orbit so close to their star that they are hotter than pizza ovens. But as observational capabilities improved, smaller and cooler planets were found. The most capable planet-hunting tool developed to date is NASA's Kepler telescope, which was launched in 2009. Kepler has found that planets similar in size to our Earth are quite abundant within our galaxy. Results of Kepler's research will be summarized and placed into context within the new and growing discipline of exoplanet studies.

Dynamics and Chemistry of Planet Construction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Taylor, G. J.

2010-03-01

Sophisticated calculations of how planetesimals assembled into the terrestrial planets can be tested by using models of the chemistry of the solar nebula. Jade Bond (previously at University of Arizona and now at the Planetary Science Institute, Tucson, AZ), Dante Lauretta (University of Arizona) and Dave O'Brien (Planetary Sciences Institute) combined planetary accretion simulations done by O'Brien, Alessandro Morbidelli (Observatoire de Nice, France), and Hal Levison (Southwest Research Institute, Boulder) with calculations of the solar nebula chemistry as a function of time and distance from the Sun to determine the overall chemical composition of the planets formed in the simulations. They then compared the simulated planets with the compositions of Earth and Mars. The simulated planets have chemical compositions similar to real planets, indicating that the accretion calculations are reasonable. Questions remain about the accretion of water and other highly volatile compounds, including C and N, which are essential for life.

The Tectonics and Evolution of Venus

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kaula, William M.

1997-01-01

This shift corresponded to a focusing of research on Venus. Some work included comparison with other planets. Venus research is being continued. The research can be summarized under five headings: (1) Planet formation; (2) Thermal and Compositional Evolution; (3) Tectonic structures and processes; (4) Determination and interpretation of gravity; and (5) Analyses of Ishtar Terra. Thirty-four publications were produced. References to publications supporting the summary are by year and letter: e.g., (1990 c,d) for the emphasis on the terminal phases in formation studies.

Towards an initial mass function for giant planets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Carrera, Daniel; Davies, Melvyn B.; Johansen, Anders

2018-07-01

The distribution of exoplanet masses is not primordial. After the initial stage of planet formation, gravitational interactions between planets can lead to the physical collision of two planets, or the ejection of one or more planets from the system. When this occurs, the remaining planets are typically left in more eccentric orbits. In this report we demonstrate how the present-day eccentricities of the observed exoplanet population can be used to reconstruct the initial mass function of exoplanets before the onset of dynamical instability. We developed a Bayesian framework that combines data from N-body simulations with present-day observations to compute a probability distribution for the mass of the planets that were ejected or collided in the past. Integrating across the exoplanet population, one can estimate the initial mass function of exoplanets. We find that the ejected planets are primarily sub-Saturn-type planets. While the present-day distribution appears to be bimodal, with peaks around ˜1MJ and ˜20M⊕, this bimodality does not seem to be primordial. Instead, planets around ˜60M⊕ appear to be preferentially removed by dynamical instabilities. Attempts to reproduce exoplanet populations using population synthesis codes should be mindful of the fact that the present population may have been depleted of sub-Saturn-mass planets. Future observations may reveal that young giant planets have a more continuous size distribution with lower eccentricities and more sub-Saturn-type planets. Lastly, there is a need for additional data and for more research on how the system architecture and multiplicity might alter our results.

The abundance of biotic exoplanets and life on planets of Red Dwarf stars

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wandel, Amri; Gale, Joseph

2016-07-01

The Kepler mission has shown that Earthlike planets orbiting within the Habitable Zones of their host stars are common. We derive an expression for the abundance of life bearing (biotic) extra-solar-system planets (exoplanets) in terms of the (yet unknown) probability for the evolution of biotic life. This "biotic probability" may be estimated by future missions and observations, e.g. spectral analyses of the atmospheres of exoplanets, looking for biomarkers. We show that a biotic probability in the range 0.001-1 implies that a biotic planet may be expected within ~10-100 light years from Earth. Of particular interest in the search for exolife are planets orbiting Red Dwarf (RD) stars, the most frequent stellar type. Previous researches suggested that conditions on planets near RDs would be inimical to life, e.g. the Habitable Zone of RDs is small, so their habitable planets would be close enough to be tidally locked. Recent calculations show that this and other properties of RDs, presumed hostile for the evolution of life, are less severe than originally estimated. We conclude that RD planets could be hospitable for the evolution of life as we know it, not less so than planets of solar-type stars. This result, together with the large number of RDs and their Kepler planet-statistics, makes finding life on RD planets ~10-1000 times more likely than on planets of solar-type stars. Our nearest biotic RD-planet is likely to be 2-10 times closer than the nearest solar-type one.

Toward an initial mass function for giant planets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Carrera, Daniel; Davies, Melvyn B.; Johansen, Anders

2018-05-01

The distribution of exoplanet masses is not primordial. After the initial stage of planet formation, gravitational interactions between planets can lead to the physical collision of two planets, or the ejection of one or more planets from the system. When this occurs, the remaining planets are typically left in more eccentric orbits. In this report we demonstrate how the present-day eccentricities of the observed exoplanet population can be used to reconstruct the initial mass function of exoplanets before the onset of dynamical instability. We developed a Bayesian framework that combines data from N-body simulations with present-day observations to compute a probability distribution for the mass of the planets that were ejected or collided in the past. Integrating across the exoplanet population, one can estimate the initial mass function of exoplanets. We find that the ejected planets are primarily sub-Saturn type planets. While the present-day distribution appears to be bimodal, with peaks around ˜1MJ and ˜20M⊕, this bimodality does not seem to be primordial. Instead, planets around ˜60M⊕ appear to be preferentially removed by dynamical instabilities. Attempts to reproduce exoplanet populations using population synthesis codes should be mindful of the fact that the present population may have been been depleted of sub-Saturn-mass planets. Future observations may reveal that young giant planets have a more continuous size distribution with lower eccentricities and more sub-Saturn type planets. Lastly, there is a need for additional data and for more research on how the system architecture and multiplicity might alter our results.

Universities Earth System Scientists Program

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Estes, John E.

1995-01-01

This document constitutes the final technical report for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Grant NAGW-3172. This grant was instituted to provide for the conduct of research under the Universities Space Research Association's (USRA's) Universities Earth System Scientist Program (UESSP) for the Office of Mission to Planet Earth (OMTPE) at NASA Headquarters. USRA was tasked with the following requirements in support of the Universities Earth System Scientists Programs: (1) Bring to OMTPE fundamental scientific and technical expertise not currently resident at NASA Headquarters covering the broad spectrum of Earth science disciplines; (2) Conduct basic research in order to help establish the state of the science and technological readiness, related to NASA issues and requirements, for the following, near-term, scientific uncertainties, and data/information needs in the areas of global climate change, clouds and radiative balance, sources and sinks of greenhouse gases and the processes that control them, solid earth, oceans, polar ice sheets, land-surface hydrology, ecological dynamics, biological diversity, and sustainable development; (3) Evaluate the scientific state-of-the-field in key selected areas and to assist in the definition of new research thrusts for missions, including those that would incorporate the long-term strategy of the U.S. Global Change Research Program (USGCRP). This will, in part, be accomplished by study and evaluation of the basic science needs of the community as they are used to drive the development and maintenance of a global-scale observing system, the focused research studies, and the implementation of an integrated program of modeling, prediction, and assessment; and (4) Produce specific recommendations and alternative strategies for OMTPE that can serve as a basis for interagency and national and international policy on issues related to Earth sciences.

Photometric Exoplanet Characterization and Multimedia Astronomy Communication

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cartier, Kimberly M. S.

The transit method of detecting exoplanets has dominated the search for distant worlds since the success of the Kepler space telescope and will continue to lead the field after the launch of the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite in 2018. But detections are just the beginning. Transit light curves can only reveal a limited amount of information about a planet, and that information is almost entirely dependent on the properties of the host star or stars. This dissertation discusses follow-up techniques to more precisely characterize transiting planets using photometric observations. A high-resolution follow-up imaging program using the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) searched for previously unknown stars nearby the hosts of small and cool Kepler exoplanets and observed a higher-than-expected occurrence rate of stellar multiplicity. The rate of previously unknown stellar multiples has strong implications for the size and habitability of the orbiting planets. Three systems with newly discovered stellar multiplicity, Kepler-296 (2 stars, 5 planets), KOI-2626 (3 stars, 1 planet), and KOI-3049 (2 stars, 1 planet), were characterized in more detail. In the cases of Kepler-296 and KOI-2626, some of the planets lost their previous habitable zone status because of host star ambiguity. Next, the ultra-short period, ultra-hot Jupiter WASP-103b was used as a casestudy to test for the presence of a stratospheric temperature inversion through dayside emission spectroscopy using HST. WASP-103b's near-infrared emission spectrum is consistent with an isothermal or thermally-inverted atmosphere and shows no significant broadband water absorption feature. Detection of an anomalously strong "super- Rayleigh" slope in its optical transmission spectrum prompted follow-up transmission spectroscopy of WASP-103b's atmosphere using the MINiature Radial Velocity Array (MINERVA), which tentatively verified the unexplained "super-Rayleigh" spectral slope. The final follow-up technique for transiting planets presented in this work quantifies the information contained in a sequence of transit depths using a normalized information content metric. The normalized information content metric can distinguish between naturally occurring, regular transits of real exoplanets detected via Kepler (low information content) and simulated artificial beacons whose depth and timing vary in a prime number sequence (high information content). Highly variable transit sequences with natural explanations--as seen with KIC 12557548, for example--can only be distinguished from artificial beacons when observed at a high signal-to-noise ratio (moderate information content) and may otherwise be confused with a more information-rich sequence. This dissertation also presents a review of effective methods for communicating science to various audiences, with specific applications to astronomy. That chapter highlights the necessity of integrating formal communications training into the early stages of a career in astronomy, explains why and how to apply story telling techniques to astronomy communication, and details specific strategies to apply when using common communication media. Examples are given for effectively communicating astronomy through academic research papers, slides for an oral presentation, and academic research posters, as well as examples of popular science blogs, feature articles, and news stories.

Space Trajectory Error Analysis Program (STEAP) for halo orbit missions. Volume 1: Analytic and user's manual

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Byrnes, D. V.; Carney, P. C.; Underwood, J. W.; Vogt, E. D.

1974-01-01

Development, test, conversion, and documentation of computer software for the mission analysis of missions to halo orbits about libration points in the earth-sun system is reported. The software consisting of two programs called NOMNAL and ERRAN is part of the Space Trajectories Error Analysis Programs (STEAP). The program NOMNAL targets a transfer trajectory from Earth on a given launch date to a specified halo orbit on a required arrival date. Either impulsive or finite thrust insertion maneuvers into halo orbit are permitted by the program. The transfer trajectory is consistent with a realistic launch profile input by the user. The second program ERRAN conducts error analyses of the targeted transfer trajectory. Measurements including range, doppler, star-planet angles, and apparent planet diameter are processed in a Kalman-Schmidt filter to determine the trajectory knowledge uncertainty. Execution errors at injection, midcourse correction and orbit insertion maneuvers are analyzed along with the navigation uncertainty to determine trajectory control uncertainties and fuel-sizing requirements. The program is also capable of generalized covariance analyses.

What can the programming language Rust do for astrophysics?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Blanco-Cuaresma, Sergi; Bolmont, Emeline

2017-06-01

The astrophysics community uses different tools for computational tasks such as complex systems simulations, radiative transfer calculations or big data. Programming languages like Fortran, C or C++ are commonly present in these tools and, generally, the language choice was made based on the need for performance. However, this comes at a cost: safety. For instance, a common source of error is the access to invalid memory regions, which produces random execution behaviors and affects the scientific interpretation of the results. In 2015, Mozilla Research released the first stable version of a new programming language named Rust. Many features make this new language attractive for the scientific community, it is open source and it guarantees memory safety while offering zero-cost abstraction. We explore the advantages and drawbacks of Rust for astrophysics by re-implementing the fundamental parts of Mercury-T, a Fortran code that simulates the dynamical and tidal evolution of multi-planet systems.

Aerocapture Technology Development Needs for Outer Planet Exploration

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wercinski, Paul; Munk, Michelle; Powell, Richard; Hall, Jeff; Graves, Claude; Partridge, Harry (Technical Monitor)

2002-01-01

The purpose of this white paper is to identify aerocapture technology and system level development needs to enable NASA future mission planning to support Outer Planet Exploration. Aerocapture is a flight maneuver that takes place at very high speeds within a planet's atmosphere that provides a change in velocity using aerodynamic forces (in contrast to propulsive thrust) for orbit insertion. Aerocapture is very much a system level technology where individual disciplines such as system analysis and integrated vehicle design, aerodynamics, aerothermal environments, thermal protection systems (TPS), guidance, navigation and control (GN&C) instrumentation need to be integrated and optimized to meet mission specific requirements. This paper identifies on-going activities, their relevance and potential benefit to outer planet aerocapture that include New Millennium ST7 Aerocapture concept definition study, Mars Exploration Program aeroassist project level support, and FY01 Aeroassist In-Space Guideline tasks. The challenges of performing aerocapture for outer planet missions such as Titan Explorer or Neptune Orbiter require investments to advance the technology readiness of the aerocapture technology disciplines for the unique application of outer planet aerocapture. This white paper will identify critical technology gaps (with emphasis on aeroshell concepts) and strategies for advancement.

Did A Planet Survive A Post-Main Sequence Evolutionary Event?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sorber, Rebecca; Jang-Condell, Hannah; Zimmerman, Mara

2018-06-01

The GL86 is star system approximately 10 pc away with a main sequence K- type ~ 0.77 M⊙ star (GL 86A) with a white dwarf ~0.49 M⊙ companion (GL86 B). The system has a ~ 18.4 AU semi-major axis, an orbital period of ~353 yrs, and an eccentricity of ~ 0.39. A 4.5 MJ planet orbits the main sequence star with a semi-major axis of 0.113 AU, an orbital period of 15.76 days, in a near circular orbit with an eccentricity of 0.046. If we assume that this planet was formed during the time when the white dwarf was a main sequence star, it would be difficult for the planet to have remained in a stable orbit during the post-main sequence evolution of GL86 B. The post-main sequence evolution with planet survival will be examined by modeling using the program Mercury (Chambers 1999). Using the model, we examine the origins of the planet: whether it formed before or after the post-main sequence evolution of GL86B. The modeling will give us insight into the dynamical evolution of, not only, the binary star system, but also the planet’s life cycle.

Shock-and-Release to the Liquid-Vapor Phase Boundary: Experiments and Applications to Planetary Science

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stewart, Sarah

2017-06-01

Shock-induced vaporization was a common process during the end stages of terrestrial planet formation and transient features in extra-solar systems are attributed to recent giant impacts. At the Sandia Z Machine, my collaborators and I are conducting experiments to study the shock Hugoniot and release to the liquid-vapor phase boundary of major minerals in rocky planets. Current work on forsterite, enstatite and bronzite and previous results on silica, iron and periclase demonstrate that shock-induced vaporization played a larger role during planet formation than previously thought. I will provide an overview of the experimental results and describe how the data have changed our views of planetary impact events in our solar system and beyond. Sandia National Laboratories is a multiprogram laboratory managed and operated by Sandia Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of Lockheed Martin Corporation, for the U.S. Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration under Contract No. DE-AC04-94AL85000. This work was performed under the auspices of the U.S. Department of Energy by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory under Contract DE-AC52-07NA27344. This work is supported by the Z Fundamental Science Program at Sandia National Laboratories, DOE-NNSA Grant DE- NA0002937, NASA Grant # NNX15AH54G, and UC Multicampus-National Lab Collaborative Research and Training Grant #LFR-17-449059.

Inferring Planet Occurrence Rates With a Q1-Q16 Kepler Planet Candidate Catalog Produced by a Machine Learning Classifier

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Catanzarite, Joseph; Jenkins, Jon Michael; Burke, Christopher J.; McCauliff, Sean D.; Kepler Science Operations Center

2015-01-01

NASA's Kepler Space Telescope monitored the photometric variations of over 170,000 stars within a ~100 square degree field in the constellation Cygnus, at half-hour cadence, over its four year prime mission. The Kepler SOC (Science Operations Center) pipeline calibrates the pixels of the target apertures for each star, corrects light curves for systematic error, and detects TCEs (threshold-crossing events) that may be due to transiting planets. Finally the pipeline estimates planet parameters for all TCEs and computes quantitative diagnostics that are used by the TCERT (Threshold Crossing Event Review Team) to produce a catalog containing KOIs (Kepler Objects of Interest). KOIs are TCEs that are determined to be either likely transiting planets or astrophysical false positives such as background eclipsing binary stars. Using examples from the Q1-Q16 TCERT KOI catalog as a training set, we created a machine-learning classifier that dispositions the TCEs into categories of PC (planet candidate), AFP (astrophysical false positive) and NTP (non-transiting phenomenon). The classifier uniformly and consistently applies heuristics developed by TCERT as well as other diagnostics to the Q1-Q16 TCEs to produce a more robust and reliable catalog of planet candidates than is possible with only human classification. In this work, we estimate planet occurrence rates, based on the machine-learning-produced catalog of Kepler planet candidates. Kepler was selected as the 10th mission of the Discovery Program. Funding for this mission is provided by NASA, Science Mission Directorate.

Cooperative Institute for Dynamic Earth Research (CIDER): Contributions to Education (Invited)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Romanowicz, B. A.

2010-12-01

The Cooperative Institute for Dynamic Earth Research (http://www.deep-earth.org) began its activities in 2003 and has so far held four summer programs of duration ranging from 3 to 7 weeks, funded by the NSF/CSEDI program, with support from and at the Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics in Santa Barbara. CIDER's goals are twofold: (1) as a "synthesis center", to provide an environment for transformative studies of Earth's internal dynamics, requiring a concerted multi-disciplinary effort of leading researchers, and (2) to educate a new generation of Earth scientists with a breadth of competence across the disciplines required to understand the dynamic earth: mineral physics, geodynamics, geochemistry and geomagnetism. CIDER summer programs, so far, have focused on themes related to the Deep Earth: "Reconciling seismic and geochemical heterogeneity in the Earth", "The Earth's transition zone", "Boundary layers in the Earth" and "Fluids and volatiles in the Earth's mantle and core". These programs typically include three weeks of unstructured program designed for senior (assistant professor level and higher) researchers, and a 3-4 weeks "tutorial and workshop" part geared towards advanced graduate students and post-docs, but open also to more senior participants. The first two weeks of the tutorial part include lectures and practical exercises in the different disciplines aimed at providing participants with a basic understanding of the fundamentals and current challenges in disciplines other than their own. During the second week, topics related to the summer program's theme are proposed for further study in a workshop mode by multi-disciplinary groups formed on the fly, continued through the last week or two of the program. These activities often lead to the development of new collaborations and research proposals to the CSEDI program. In 2011, CIDER will hold a summer program at UC Berkeley on the theme "Mountain Building", expanding the scope of the Institute to the shallower parts of our planet.

The large-scale structure of the asteroid belt

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Zellner, B.; Thirunagari, A.; Bender, D.

1985-01-01

The distributions of 2888 numbered minor planets over orbital inclination, eccentricity, and semimajor axis are examined, and 19 zones believed to adequately isolate the selection biases in survey programs of the physical properties of minor planets are defined. Six numbered asteroids have exceptional orbits and fall into no zone. Attention is called to rather sharp upper limits, which become increasingly stringent at larger heliocentric distances, on orbital inclinations and eccentricity.

The Exoplanet Microlensing Survey by the Proposed WFIRST Observatory

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Barry, Richard; Kruk, Jeffrey; Anderson, Jay; Beaulieu, Jean-Philippe; Bennett, David P.; Catanzarite, Joseph; Cheng, Ed; Gaudi, Scott; Gehrels, Neil; Kane, Stephen;

The Direct Imaging Search of Exoplanets from Ground and Space

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dou, Jiangpei; Ren, Deqing; Zhu, Yongtian

2015-08-01

Exoplanets search is one of the hottest topics in both modern astronomy and public domain. Until now over 1990 exoplanets have been confirmed mostly by the indirect radial velocity and transiting approaches, yielding several important physical information such as masses and radius. The study of the physics of planet formation and evolution will focus on giant planets through the direct imaging.However, the direct imaging of exoplanets remains challenging, due to the large flux ratio difference and the nearby angular distance. In recent years, the extreme adaptive optics (Ex-AO) coronagraphic instrumentation has been proposed and developed on 8-meter class telescopes, which is optimized for the high-contrast imaging observation from ground, for the giant exoplanets and other faint stellar companions. Gemini Planet Imager (GPI) has recently come to its first light, with a development period over 10 years. The contrast level has been pushed to 10-6. Due to the space limitation or this or other reasons, none professional adaptive optics is available for most of current 3~4 meter class telescopes, which will limit its observation power to some extent, especially in the research of high-contrast imaging of exoplanets.In this presentation, we will report the latest observation results by using our Extreme Adaptive Optics (Ex-AO) as a visiting instrument for high-contrast imaging on ESO’s 3.58-meter NTT telescope at LSO, and on 3.5-meter ARC telescope at Apache Point Observatory, respectively. It has demonstrated the Ex-AO can be used for the scientific research of exoplanets and brown dwarfs. With a update of the currect configuration with critical hardware, the dedicated instrument called as EDICT for imaging research of young giant exoplanets will be presented. Meanwhile, we have fully demonstrated in the lab a contrast on the order of 10-9 in a large detection area, which is a critical technique for future Earth-like exoplanets imaging space missions. And a space program of JEEEDIS will also be presented in this talk.

New Directions in Giant Planet Formation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Youdin, Andrew

The proposed research will explore the limits of the core accretion mechanism for forming giant planets, both in terms of timescale and orbital distance. This theoretical research will be useful in interpreting the results of ongoing exoplanet searches. The effects of radiogenic heating and aerodynamic accretion of pebbles and boulders will be included in time-dependent models of atmospheric structure and growth. To investigate these issues, we will develop and publicly share a protoplanet atmospheric evolution code as an extension of the MESA stellar evolution code. By focusing on relevant processes in the early stages of giant planet formation, we can refine model predictions for exoplanet searches at a wide range of stellar ages and distances from the host star.

The Search for Habitable Environments in the Solar System

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McCleese, Daniel

2005-07-01

All space faring nations devote a portion of their resources to exploring thesolar system. NASA has a forty-year history of robotic missions reaching into deep spacefor a better understanding of our origins, the evolution of our planet, and our destiny.For the past decade, NASA has placed considerable emphasis on the search for life beyondEarth. Missions to the rocky terrestrial planets and the moons of the gas giants seekanswers to the question: Are other worlds in the solar system habitable by simpleorganisms? By framing its search objective in this way, NASA motivates investigations ofthe fundamentals of what makes a planet an abode for life, and what ingredients arerequired for the origin and evolution of life. In this lecture, we focus on thestrategies and results of the search thus far. We will discuss recent scientific missionsto Mars, Europa, and Titan.Dr. Dan McCleese is the Chief Scientist for NASA's Mars ExplorationProgram at JPL. In this role he has worked with NASA and the international sciencecommunity to establish the current science strategy for exploring Mars. Dan's personalscience interests are focused on acquiring and interpreting climatological data sets forthe terrestrial planets. Specific research topics include development of the firstclimatology of cloud height for Earth, upper atmospheric cloud and thermal structure ofVenus, and, at present, the modern climate of Mars. He is the Principal Investigator forthe Mars Climate Sounder on the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter to be launched in 2005. Inthis investigation, measurements of atmospheric water vapor, temperature and condensates,and the energy balance of the polar caps are emphasized. Dr. McCleese was a FulbrightScholar at Oxford University receiving a D.Phil. degree in Atmospheric Physics.

Toxic Wasteland or Lush Paradise? Artist Concept

NASA Image and Video Library

2013-07-17

This artist concept shows a Super Venus planet on the left, and a Super Earth on the right. Researchers use a concept known as the habitable zone to distinguish between these two types of planets, which exist beyond our solar system.

Polarimetry Of Planetary Atmospheres: From The Solar System Gas Giants To Extrasolar Planets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Buenzli, Esther; Bazzon, A.; Schmid, H. M.

2011-09-01

The polarization of light reflected from a planet provides unique information on the atmosphere structure and scattering properties of particles in the upper atmosphere. The solar system planets show a large variety of atmospheric polarization properties, from the thick, highly polarizing haze on Titan and the poles of Jupiter, Rayleigh scattering by molecules on Uranus and Neptune, to clouds in the equatorial region of Jupiter or on Venus. Polarimetry is also a promising differential technique to search for and characterize extra-solar planets, e.g. with the future VLT planet finder instrument SPHERE. For the preparation of the SPHERE planet search program we have made a suite of polarimetric observations and models for the solar system gas giants. The phase angles for the outer planets are small for Earth bound observations and the integrated polarization is essentially zero due to the symmetric backscattering situation. However, a second order scattering effect produces a measurable limb polarization for resolved planetary disks. We have made a detailed model for the spectropolarimetric signal of the limb polarization of Uranus between 520 and 935 nm to derive scattering properties of haze and cloud particles and to predict the polarization signal from an extra-solar point of view. We are also investigating imaging polarimetry of the thick haze layers on Titan and the poles of Jupiter. Additionally, we have calculated a large grid of intensity and polarization phase curves for simpler atmosphere models of extrasolar planets.

VLT/SPHERE robust astrometry of the HR8799 planets at milliarcsecond-level accuracy. Orbital architecture analysis with PyAstrOFit

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wertz, O.; Absil, O.; Gómez González, C. A.; Milli, J.; Girard, J. H.; Mawet, D.; Pueyo, L.

2017-02-01

Context. HR8799 is orbited by at least four giant planets, making it a prime target for the recently commissioned Spectro-Polarimetric High-contrast Exoplanet REsearch (VLT/SPHERE). As such, it was observed on five consecutive nights during the SPHERE science verification in December 2014. Aims: We aim to take full advantage of the SPHERE capabilities to derive accurate astrometric measurements based on H-band images acquired with the Infra-Red Dual-band Imaging and Spectroscopy (IRDIS) subsystem, and to explore the ultimate astrometric performance of SPHERE in this observing mode. We also aim to present a detailed analysis of the orbital parameters for the four planets. Methods: We performed thorough post-processing of the IRDIS images with the Vortex Imaging Processing (VIP) package to derive a robust astrometric measurement for the four planets. This includes the identification and careful evaluation of the different contributions to the error budget, including systematic errors. Combining our astrometric measurements with the ones previously published in the literature, we constrain the orbital parameters of the four planets using PyAstrOFit, our new open-source python package dedicated to orbital fitting using Bayesian inference with Monte-Carlo Markov Chain sampling. Results: We report the astrometric positions for epoch 2014.93 with an accuracy down to 2.0 mas, mainly limited by the astrometric calibration of IRDIS. For each planet, we derive the posterior probability density functions for the six Keplerian elements and identify sets of highly probable orbits. For planet d, there is clear evidence for nonzero eccentricity (e 0.35), without completely excluding solutions with smaller eccentricities. The three other planets are consistent with circular orbits, although their probability distributions spread beyond e = 0.2, and show a peak at e ≃ 0.1 for planet e. The four planets have consistent inclinations of approximately 30° with respect to the sky plane, but the confidence intervals for the longitude of the ascending node are disjointed for planets b and c, and we find tentative evidence for non-coplanarity between planets b and c at the 2σ level. Based on observations collected at the European Organisation for Astronomical Research in the Southern Hemisphere under ESO programme 60.A-9352.

Planet engulfment and the planetary nebula morphology mystery

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Boyle, Laura A.

2018-04-01

This thesis presents an investigation into the galactic population of planetary nebulae (PNe) whose progenitors have evolved through the engulfment of massive planets during the asymptotic giant branch (AGB) phase of their evolution. The objective of this research was to investigate the hypothesis that planet engulfment can aid in explaining the observed non-spherical planetary nebula (PN) population, as a complementary shaping mechanism to the binary hypothesis. This was performed by the design and development of a new research tool, simsplash (SIMulationS for the PLAnet Shaping Hypothesis), which was developed for the specific purpose of conducting, for the first time, a population synthesis of planet engulfment in planetary nebula progenitors. The first step in this investigation involved modelling the tidal evolution of planets orbiting PN progenitor stars to determine the importance of the adopted initial conditions and input physics in the stellar models and their effects on the orbital evolution of star-planet systems. The next step was to determine the probabilities of stars having and engulfing massive planets as a function of stellar mass and metallicity. This was achieved by combining the tidal evolution treatment with both the known exoplanet populations, as well as theoretical planet populations, and the occurrence rates of massive planets. Finally, taking into consideration the results from the analyses described above, a PN population synthesis was performed using the star formation history and metallicity evolution of the galaxy as well as varying forms of the initial mass function and planetary nebula formation constraints. The population of visible PNe in the present-day galaxy was calculated to consist of a total of 16,500±2,200 PNe, of which 240±20 PNe (≃ 1.5%) have evolved from the engulfment of a massive planet on the AGB and 3,300±200 PNe are the result of binary interactions (≃ 20%), translating to an expected non-spherical population of ≃ 21.5% of all PNe currently visible in the galaxy. The overall conclusion from this work is that while planet engulfment can explain a small fraction of the observed population of non-spherical PNe (≃ 7%), the hypothesis is not capable of resolving the mystery of the unexplained population of non-spherical planetary nebula morphologies. This conclusion adds support to the emerging view that not all low-to-intermediate mass stars can form visible PNe.

Robotics Algorithms Provide Nutritional Guidelines

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2009-01-01

On July 5, 1997, a small robot emerged from its lander like an insect from an egg, crawling out onto the rocky surface of Mars. About the size of a child s wagon, NASA s Sojourner robot was the first successful rover mission to the Red Planet. For 83 sols (Martian days, typically about 40 minutes longer than Earth days), Sojourner - largely remote controlled by NASA operators on Earth - transmitted photos and data unlike any previously collected. Sojourner was perhaps the crowning achievement of the NASA Space Telerobotics Program, an Agency initiative designed to push the limits of robotics in space. Telerobotics - devices that merge the autonomy of robotics with the direct human control of teleoperators - was already a part of NASA s efforts; probes like the Viking landers that preceded Sojourner on Mars, for example, were telerobotic applications. The Space Telerobotics Program, a collaboration between Ames Research Center, Johnson Space Center, Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), and multiple universities, focused on developing remote-controlled robotics for three main purposes: on-orbit assembly and servicing, science payload tending, and planetary surface robotics. The overarching goal was to create robots that could be guided to build structures in space, monitor scientific experiments, and, like Sojourner, scout distant planets in advance of human explorers. While telerobotics remains a significant aspect of NASA s efforts, as evidenced by the currently operating Spirit and Opportunity Mars rovers, the Hubble Space Telescope, and many others - the Space Telerobotics Program was dissolved and redistributed within the Agency the same year as Sojourner s success. The program produced a host of remarkable technologies and surprising inspirations, including one that is changing the way people eat

Solar System Exploration Division Strategic Plan, volume 1. Executive summary and overview

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1991-01-01

This first document is the first of a six-volume series presenting the Solar System Exploration Division's Strategic Plan for the 10-year period FY 1994 to FY 2003. The overall strategy is characterized by five fundamental precepts: (1) execute the current program; (2) improve the vitality of the program and the planetary science community; (3) initiate innovative, small, low-cost planetary missions; (4) initiate new major and moderate missions; and (5) prepare for the next generation of missions. This Strategic Plan describes in detail our proposed approach to accomplish these goals. Volume 1 provides first an Executive Summary of highlights of each of the six volumes, and then goes on to present an overview of the plan, including a discussion of the planning context and strategic approach. Volumes 2, 3, 4, and 5 describe in detail the initiatives proposed. An integral part of each of these volumes is a set of responses to the mission selection criteria questions developed by the Space and Earth Science Advisory Committee. Volume 2, Mission From Planet Earth, describes a strategy for exploring the Moon and Mars and sets forth proposed moderate missions--Lunar Observer and a Mars lander network. Volume 3, Pluto Flyby/Neptune Orbiter, discusses our proposed major new start candidate for the FY 1994 to FY 1998 time frame. Volume 4, Discovery, describes the Near-Earth Asteroid Rendezvous, as well as other candidates for this program of low-cost planetary missions. Volume 5, Toward Other Planetary Systems, describes a major research and analysis augmentation that focuses on extrasolar planet detection and the study of planetary system processes. Finally, Volume 6 summarizes the technology program that the division has structured around these four initiatives.

Principle characteristics of the National Earth Observation Satellite. Project SPOT

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cazenave, M.

1977-01-01

A recent meeting of the Economic and Social Committee examined the programs and means currently being implemented by France in the field in the field of space research and industry which could bring about fast results. This was prompted by man's desire to insure rational resource management of his planet and by man's awareness of the definite contribution that space observation can make to this field of research. Through discussion, the Economic and Social Committee has approved the plan for creating an earth observation satellite. A detailed discussion of the principle characteristics of this earth observation satellite include the objectives, the orbit, characteristics and operations of the platform, maintenance, attitude measurement, the power available and many other characteristics.

Polar Research with Unmanned Aircraft and Tethered Balloons

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Ivey, M; Petty, R; Desilets, D

2014-01-24

The Arctic is experiencing rapid climate change, with nearly double the rate of surface warming observed elsewhere on the planet. While various positive feedback mechanisms have been suggested, the reasons for Arctic amplification are not well understood, nor are the impacts to the global carbon cycle well quantified. Additionally, there are uncertainties associated with the complex interactions between Earth’s surface and the atmosphere. Elucidating the causes and consequences of Arctic warming is one of the many goals of the Climate and Environmental Sciences Division (CESD) of the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Biological and Environmental Research (BER) program, and ismore » part of the larger CESD initiative to develop a robust predictive understanding of Earth’s climate system.« less

Next Generation Scientists, Next Opportunities: EPA's Science To Achieve Results (STAR) Program

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jones, M.

2004-12-01

Scientific research is one of the most powerful tools we have for understanding and protecting our environment. It provides the foundation for what we know about our planet, how it has changed, and how it could be altered in the future. The National Center for Environmental Research (NCER) in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Office of Research and Development (ORD) supports high-quality, extramural research by the nation's leading scientists and engineers to strengthen the basis for decisions about local and national environmental issues. NCER works with academia, state and local governments, other federal agencies, and scientists in EPA to increase human knowledge of how to protect our health and natural resources through its three major programs: · Science to Achieve Results (STAR) Grants · Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) · Science to Achieve Results (STAR) Fellowships STAR, NCER's primary program, funds research grants and graduate fellowships in environmental science and engineering. Developing the next generation of environmental scientists and engineers is one of NCER's most important objectives. Each year, NCER helps between 80 and 160 students achieve Master's or Ph.D. degrees in environmental science and engineering through its STAR and Greater Research Opportunities (GRO) fellowships. Some of these students have moved on to careers in government while others are now full-time professors and researchers. Still others are working for state environmental agencies or furthering their studies through postdoctoral positions at universities. Since the inception of the NCER program, STAR fellowships (along with grants and SBIR projects) have been awarded in every state in the country. With the help of STAR, current and future scientists and engineers have been able to explore ways to preserve and protect human health and our precious resources.

Salinity Processes in the Upper Ocean Regional Study (SPURS)

NASA Image and Video Library

2012-09-04

NASA Physical Oceanography Program Scientist Eric Lindstrom poses for a photograph next to the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution research vessel Knorr on Tuesday, Sept. 4, 2012, in Woods Hole, Mass. Lindstrom will depart on Knorr Sept. 6 to take part in the Salinity Processes in the Upper Ocean Regional Study (SPURS). The NASA-sponsored expedition will sail to the North Atlantic's saltiest spot to get a detailed, 3-D picture of how salt content fluctuates in the ocean's upper layers and how these variations are related to shifts in rainfall patterns around the planet. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

A new vision for fusion energy research: Fusion rocket engines for planetary defense

DOE PAGES

Wurden, G. A.; Weber, T. E.; Turchi, P. J.; ...

2015-11-16

Here, we argue that it is essential for the fusion energy program to identify an imagination-capturing critical mission by developing a unique product which could command the marketplace. We lay out the logic that this product is a fusion rocket engine, to enable a rapid response capable of deflecting an incoming comet, to prevent its impact on the planet Earth, in defense of our population, infrastructure, and civilization. As a side benefit, deep space solar system exploration, with greater speed and orders-of-magnitude greater payload mass would also be possible.

A new vision for fusion energy research: Fusion rocket engines for planetary defense

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Wurden, G. A.; Weber, T. E.; Turchi, P. J.

Here, we argue that it is essential for the fusion energy program to identify an imagination-capturing critical mission by developing a unique product which could command the marketplace. We lay out the logic that this product is a fusion rocket engine, to enable a rapid response capable of deflecting an incoming comet, to prevent its impact on the planet Earth, in defense of our population, infrastructure, and civilization. As a side benefit, deep space solar system exploration, with greater speed and orders-of-magnitude greater payload mass would also be possible.

Education And Public Outreach For NASA's EPOXI Mission

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McFadden, Lucy-Ann A.; Warner, E. M.; Crow, C. A.; Ristvey, J. D.; Counley, J.

2008-09-01

NASA's EPOXI mission has two scientific objectives in using the Deep Impact flyby spacecraft for further studies of comets and adding studies of extra-solar planets around other stars. During the Extrasolar Planetary Observations and Characterization (EPOCh) phase of the mission, observations of extrasolar planets transiting their parent stars are observed to further knowledge and understanding of planetary systems. Observations of Earth allow for comparison with Earth-like planets around other stars. A movie of Earth during a day when the Moon passed between Earth and the spacecraft is an educational highlight with scientific significance. The Deep Impact Extended Investigation (DIXI) continues the Deep Impact theme of investigating comets with a flyby of comet Hartley 2 in November 2010 to further explore the properties of comets and their formation. The EPOXI Education and Public Outreach (E/PO) program builds upon existing materials related to exploring comets and the Deep Impact mission, updating and modifying activities based on results from Deep Impact. An educational activity called Comparing Comets is under development that will guide students in conducting analyses similar to those that DIXI scientists will perform after observing comet Hartley 2. Existing educational materials related to planet finding from other NASA programs are linked from EPOXI's web page. Journey Through the Universe at the National Air and Space Museum encourages education in family and community groups and reaches out to underrepresented minorities. EPOXI's E/PO program additionally offers a newsletter to keep the public, teachers, and space enthusiasts apprised of mission activities. For more information visit: http://epoxi.umd.edu.

Water World Artist Concept

NASA Image and Video Library

2017-04-12

This artist's concept shows a hypothetical planet covered in water around the binary star system of Kepler-35A and B. In a 2017 study in the journal Nature Communications, researchers investigating the climates of exoplanets determined that this hypothetical planet could be habitable, depending on its distance from the two stars. On the far edge of the habitable zone, the hypothetical water-covered planet would have a lot of variation in its surface temperatures. But closer to the stars, near the inner edge of the habitable zone, the global average surface temperatures on the same planet would stay almost constant. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA21470

Scientific coordination of activities for university participation in mission to planet Earth

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kalb, Michael W.

1994-01-01

This report describes Universities Space Research Association (USRA) activities in support of the University Participation in Mission to Planet Earth. Specifically it addresses the following areas: personnel assigned to the effort, travel, consultant participants, technical progress, and contract spending.

First Results From The Ultimate Spitzer Phase Curve Survey

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stevenson, Kevin B.; Bean, Jacob; Deming, Drake; Desert, Jean-Michel; Fortney, Jonathan J.; Kataria, Tiffany; Kempton, Eliza; Lewis, Nikole; Line, Michael R.; Morley, Caroline; Rauscher, Emily; Showman, Adam P.

2017-10-01

Exoplanet phase curves provide a wealth of information about exoplanet atmospheres, including longitudinal constraints on atmospheric composition, thermal structure, and energy transport, that continue to open new doors of scientific inquiry and propel future investigations. The measured heat redistribution efficiency (or ability to transport energy from a planet's highly-irradiated dayside to its eternally-dark nightside) shows considerable variation between exoplanets. Theoretical models predict a correlation between heat redistribution efficiency and planet temperature; however, the latest results are inconsistent with current predictions. We will present first results from a 660-hour Spitzer phase curve survey program that is targeting six short-period extrasolar planets. We will compare the measured heat redistribution efficiencies with planet temperature and rotation rate, examine trends in the phase curve peak offset, and discuss cloud coverage constraints. We will conclude with how to move forward with phase curve observations in the era of JWST.

The HARPS search for southern extra-solar planets . XXXII. New multi-planet systems in the HARPS volume limited sample: a super-Earth and a Neptune in the habitable zone

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lo Curto, G.; Mayor, M.; Benz, W.; Bouchy, F.; Hébrard, G.; Lovis, C.; Moutou, C.; Naef, D.; Pepe, F.; Queloz, D.; Santos, N. C.; Segransan, D.; Udry, S.

2013-03-01

The vast diversity of planetary systems detected to date is defying our capability of understanding their formation and evolution. Well-defined volume-limited surveys are the best tool at our disposal to tackle the problem, via the acquisition of robust statistics of the orbital elements. We are using the HARPS spectrograph to conduct our survey of ≈850 nearby solar-type stars, and in the course of the past nine years we have monitored the radial velocity of HD 103774, HD 109271, and BD-061339. In this work we present the detection of five planets orbiting these stars, with msin (i) between 0.6 and 7 Neptune masses, four of which are in two multiple systems, comprising one super-Earth and one planet within the habitable zone of a late-type dwarf. Although for strategic reasons we chose efficiency over precision in this survey, we have the capability to detect planets down to the Neptune and super-Earth mass range as well as multiple systems, provided that enough data points are made available. Based on observations made with the HARPS instrument on the ESO 3.6 m telescope at La Silla (Chile), under the GTO program ID 072.C-0488 and the regular programs: 085.C-0019, 087.C-0831 and 089.C-0732. RV data are only available at the CDS via anonymous ftp to cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) or via http://cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr/viz-bin/qcat?J/A+A/551/A59

TRAPPIST-1 System - Artist Concept

NASA Image and Video Library

2017-08-11

This illustration shows what the TRAPPIST-1 system might look like from a vantage point near planet TRAPPIST-1f (at right). The system has been revealed through observations from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope and the ground-based TRAPPIST (TRAnsiting Planets and PlanetesImals Small Telescope) telescope, as well as other ground-based observatories. The system was named for the TRAPPIST telescope. The seven planets of TRAPPIST-1 are all Earth-sized and terrestrial, according to research published in 2017 in the journal Nature. TRAPPIST-1 is an ultra-cool dwarf star in the constellation Aquarius, and its planets orbit very close to it. They are likely all tidally locked, meaning the same face of the planet is always pointed at the star, as the same side of our moon is always pointed at Earth. This creates a perpetual night side and perpetual day side on each planet. TRAPPIST-1b and c receive the most light from the star and would be the warmest. TRAPPIST-1e, f and g all orbit in the habitable zone, the area where liquid water is most likely to be detected. But any of the planets could potentially harbor liquid water, depending on their compositions. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA21751

The Discovery of Extrasolar Planets by Backyard Astronomers

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Castellano, Tim; Laughlin, Greg; DeVincenzi, D. (Technical Monitor)

2002-01-01

The discovery since 1995 of more than 80 planets around nearby solar-like stars and the photometric measurement of a transit of the jovian mass planet orbiting the solar-like star HD 209458 (producing a more than 1% drop in brightness that lasts 3 hours) has heralded a new era in astronomy. It has now been demonstrated that small telescopes equipped with sensitive and stable electronic detectors can produce fundamental scientific discoveries regarding the frequency and nature of planets outside the solar system. The modest equipment requirements for the discovery of extrasolar planetary transits of jovian mass planets in short period orbits around solar-like stars are fulfilled by commercial small aperture telescopes and CCD (charge coupled device) imagers common among amateur astronomers. With equipment already in hand and armed with target lists, observing techniques and software procedures developed by scientists at NASA's Ames Research Center and the University of California at Santa Cruz, non-professional astronomers can contribute significantly to the discovery and study of planets around others stars. In this way, we may resume (after a two century interruption!) the tradition of planet discoveries by amateur astronomers begun with William Herschel's 1787 discovery of the 'solar' planet Uranus.

Searching for the signatures of terrestrial planets in F-, G-type main-sequence stars

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

González Hernández, J. I.; Delgado-Mena, E.; Sousa, S. G.; Israelian, G.; Santos, N. C.; Adibekyan, V. Zh.; Udry, S.

2013-04-01

Context. Detailed chemical abundances of volatile and refractory elements have been discussed in the context of terrestrial-planet formation during in past years. Aims: The HARPS-GTO high-precision planet-search program has provided an extensive database of stellar spectra, which we have inspected in order to select the best-quality spectra available for late type stars. We study the volatile-to-refractory abundance ratios to investigate their possible relation with the low-mass planetary formation. Methods: We present a fully differential chemical abundance analysis using high-quality HARPS and UVES spectra of 61 late F- and early G-type main-sequence stars, where 29 are planet hosts and 32 are stars without detected planets. Results: As for the previous sample of solar analogs, these stars slightly hotter than the Sun also provide very accurate Galactic chemical abundance trends in the metallicity range -0.3 < [Fe/H] < 0.4. Stars with and without planets show similar mean abundance ratios. Moreover, when removing the Galactic chemical evolution effects, these mean abundance ratios, Δ [X/Fe] SUN - STARS, against condensation temperature, tend to exhibit less steep trends with nearly zero or slightly negative slopes. We have also analyzed a subsample of 26 metal-rich stars, 13 with and 13 without known planets, with spectra at S/N ~ 850, on average, in the narrow metallicity range 0.04 < [Fe/H] < 0.19. We find the similar, although not equal, abundance pattern with negative slopes for both samples of stars with and without planets. Using stars at S/N ≥ 550 provides equally steep abundance trends with negative slopes for stars both with and without planets. We revisit the sample of solar analogs to study the abundance patterns of these stars, in particular, 8 stars hosting super-Earth-like planets. Among these stars having very low-mass planets, only four of them reveal clear increasing abundance trends versus condensation temperature. Conclusions: Finally, we compared these observed slopes with those predicted using a simple model that enables us to compute the mass of rocks that have formed terrestrial planets in each planetary system. We do not find any evidence supporting the conclusion that the volatile-to-refractory abundance ratio is related to the presence of rocky planets. Based on observations collected with the HARPS spectrograph at the 3.6-m telescope (072.C-0488(E)), installed at the La Silla Observatory, ESO (Chile), with the UVES spectrograph at the 8-m Very Large Telescope (VLT) - program IDs: 67.C-0206(A), 074.C-0134(A), 075.D-0453(A) -, installed at the Cerro Paranal Observatory, ESO (Chile), and with the UES spectrograph at the 4.2-m William Herschel Telescope (WHT), installed at the Spanish Observatorio del Roque de los Muchachos of the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias, on the island of La Palma.Tables A.1-A.8 are only available at the CDS via anonymous ftp to cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) or via http://cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr/viz-bin/qcat?J/A+A/552/A6

BIOME: A scientific data archive search-and-order system using browser-aware, dynamic pages.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Jennings, S.V.; Yow, T.G.; Ng, V.W.

1997-08-01

The Oak Ridge National Laboratory`s (ORNL) Distributed Active Archive Center (DAAC) is a data archive and distribution center for the National Air and Space Administration`s (NASA) Earth Observing System Data and Information System (EOSDIS). Both the Earth Observing System (EOS) and EOSDIS are components of NASA`s contribution to the US Global Change Research Program through its Mission to Planet Earth Program. The ORNL DAAC provides access to data used in ecological and environmental research such as global change, global warming, and terrestrial ecology. Because of its large and diverse data holdings, the challenge for the ORNL DAAC is to helpmore » users find data of interest from the hundreds of thousands of files available at the DAAC without overwhelming them. Therefore, the ORNL DAAC has developed the Biogeochemical Information Ordering Management Environment (BIOME), a customized search and order system for the World Wide Web (WWW). BIOME is a public system located at http://www-eosdis.ornl.gov/BIOME/biome.html.« less

BIOME: A scientific data archive search-and-order system using browser-aware, dynamic pages

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jennings, S. V.; Yow, T. G.; Ng, V. W.

1997-01-01

The Oak Ridge National Laboratory's (ORNL) Distributed Active Archive Center (DAAC) is a data archive and distribution center for the National Air and Space Administration's (NASA) Earth Observing System Data and Information System (EOSDIS). Both the Earth Observing System (EOS) and EOSDIS are components of NASA's contribution to the US Global Change Research Program through its Mission to Planet Earth Program. The ORNL DAAC provides access to data used in ecological and environmental research such as global change, global warming, and terrestrial ecology. Because of its large and diverse data holdings, the challenge for the ORNL DAAC is to help users find data of interest from the hundreds of thousands of files available at the DAAC without overwhelming them. Therefore, the ORNL DAAC has developed the Biogeochemical Information Ordering Management Environment (BIOME), a customized search and order system for the World Wide Web (WWW). BIOME is a public system located at http://www-eosdis. ornl.gov/BIOME/biome.html.

Artemis: A Stratospheric Planet Finder

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ford, H. C.; Petro, L. D.; Burrows, C.; Ftaclas, C.; Roggemann, M. C.; Trauger, J. T.

2003-01-01

The near-space environment of the stratosphere is far superior to terrestrial sites for optical and infrared observations. New balloon technologies will enable flights and safe recovery of 2-ton payloads at altitudes of 35 km for 100 days and longer. The combination of long flights and superb observing conditions make it possible to undertake science programs that otherwise could only be done from orbit. We propose to fly an "Ultra-Hubble" Stratospheric Telescope (UHST) equipped with a coronagraphic camera and active optics at 35 km to search for planets around 200 of the nearest stars. This ULDB mission will establish the frequency of solar-type planetary systems, and provide targets to search for earth-like planets.

Guidance and navigation requirements for unmanned flyby and swingby missions to the outer planets. Volume 2: impulsive high thrust missions, phase A

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1969-01-01

The impulsive, high thrust missions portion of a study on guidance and navigation requirements for unmanned flyby and swingby missions to the outer planet is presented. The proper balance between groundbased navigational capability, using the deep space network (DSN) alone, and an onboard navigational capability with and without supplemental use of DSN tracking, for unmanned missions to the outer planets of the solar system is defined. A general guidance and navigation requirements program is used to survey parametrically the characteristics associated with three types of navigation systems: (1) totally onboard, (2) totally Earth-based, and (3) a combination of these two.

A Teacher's Guide - The Mars Adventure. A Television Series.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

New York State Education Dept., Albany. Office of Cultural Education.

This teacher's guide describes seven audiovisual programs developed around the planet Mars. While these programs were developed primarily for use in secondary school science classes, several are appropriate for language arts, drama, art, and photography. Each program starts with the showing of a film or video-tape developed by the National…

NASA High Contrast Imaging for Exoplanets

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lyon, Richard G.

2008-01-01

Described is NASA's ongoing program for the detection and characterization of exosolar planets via high-contrast imaging. Some of the more promising proposed techniques under assessment may enable detection of life outside our solar system. In visible light terrestrial planets are approximately 10(exp -10) dimmer than the parent star. Issues such as diffraction, scatter, wavefront, amplitude and polarization all contribute to a reduction in contrast. An overview of the techniques will be discussed.

Space Shuttle Projects

NASA Image and Video Library

1989-03-08

The STS-30 patch depicts the joining of NASA's manned and unmanned space programs. The sun and inner planets of our solar system are shown with the curve connecting Earth and Venus symbolizing the shuttle orbit, the spacecraft trajectory toward Venus, and its subsequent orbit around our sister planet. A Spanish caravel similar to the ship on the official Magellan program logo commemorates the 16th century explorer's journey and his legacy of adventure and discovery. Seven stars on the patch honor the crew of Challenger. The five-star cluster in the shape of the constellation Cassiopeia represent the five STS-30 crewmembers - Astronauts David Walker, Ronald Grabe, Norman Thagard, Mary Cleave and Mark Lee - who collectively designed the patch.

Mission to Planet Earth: Who provides, controls, and owns the data?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Holland, Don; Brannon, David

1997-01-01

Some of the crucial issues associated with national and international partnerships that Mission to Planet Earth (MTPE) must face in the coming years are in the areas of data policy, data rights, and international agreements. Even with strictly domestic programs, questions inevitably arise concerning who provides, controls, and owns the data and who can sell, resell, or distribute the data. With the international flavor of MTPE, the complexity of the questions will be compounded. NASA's Commercial Remote Sensing Program at Stennis Space Center is analyzing these questions to identify regulatory frameworks, issues, opportunities, and barriers associated with partnerships and other cooperative efforts between MTPE scientists and the rest of the world.

Explosive-actuated valve design concept that eliminates blow-by. [for the TOPS spacecraft trajectory correction propulsion subsystem

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hagler, R., Jr.

1974-01-01

A method of evaluating the normally open normally closed, explosive actuated valves that were selected for use in the trajectory correction propulsion subsystem of the Thermoelectric Outer Planet Spacecraft (TOPS) program is presented. The design philosophy which determined the requirements for highly reliable valves that could provide the performance capability during long duration (10 year) missions to the outer planets is discussed. The techniques that were used to fabricate the valves and manifold ten valves into an assembly with the capability of five propellant-flow initiation/isolation sequences are described. The test program, which was conducted to verify valve design requirements, is outlined and the more significant results are shown.

STS-30 Mission Insignia

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1989-01-01

The STS-30 patch depicts the joining of NASA's manned and unmanned space programs. The sun and inner planets of our solar system are shown with the curve connecting Earth and Venus symbolizing the shuttle orbit, the spacecraft trajectory toward Venus, and its subsequent orbit around our sister planet. A Spanish caravel similar to the ship on the official Magellan program logo commemorates the 16th century explorer's journey and his legacy of adventure and discovery. Seven stars on the patch honor the crew of Challenger. The five-star cluster in the shape of the constellation Cassiopeia represent the five STS-30 crewmembers - Astronauts David Walker, Ronald Grabe, Norman Thagard, Mary Cleave and Mark Lee - who collectively designed the patch.

Power conditioning equipment for a thermoelectric outer planet spacecraft, volume 1, book 2

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Andrews, R. E. (Editor)

1972-01-01

The design and development of power conditioning equipment for the thermoelectric outer planet spacecraft program are considered. One major aspect of the program included the design, assembly and test of various breadboard power conditioning elements. Among others these included a quad-redundant shunt regulator, a high voltage traveling wave tube dc-to-dc converter, two-phase gyro inverters and numerous solid state switching circuits. Many of these elements were arranged in a typical subsystem configuration and tests were conducted which demonstrated basic element compatibility. In parallel with the development of the basic power conditioning elements, system studies were continued. The salient features of the selected power subsystem configuration are presented.

A new planetary mapping for future space missions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Karachevtseva, Irina; Kokhanov, Alexander; Rodionova, Janna; Zubarev, Anatoliy; Nadezhdina, Irina; Kreslavsky, Mikhail; Oberst, Jürgen

2015-04-01

The wide studies of Solar system, including different planetary bodies, were announced by new Russian space program. Their geodesy and cartography support provides by MIIGAiK Extraterrestrial Laboratory (http://mexlab.miigaik.ru/eng) in frames of the new project "Studies of Fundamental Geodetic Parameters and Topography of Planets and Satellites". The objects of study are satellites of the outer planets (satellites of Jupiter - Europa, Calisto and Ganymede; Saturnine satellite Enceladus), some planets (Mercury and Mars) and the satellites of the terrestrial planets - Phobos (Mars) and the Moon (Earth). The new research project, which started in 2014, will address the following important scientific and practical tasks: - Creating new three-dimensional geodetic control point networks of satellites of the outer planets using innovative photogrammetry techniques; - Determination of fundamental geodetic parameters and study size, shape, and spin parameters and to create the basic framework for research of their surfaces; - Studies of relief of planetary bodies and comparative analysis of general surface characteristics of the Moon, Mars, and Mercury, as well as studies of morphometric parameters of volcanic formations on the Moon and Mars; - Modeling of meteoritic bombardment of celestial bodies and the study of the dynamics of particle emissions caused by a meteorite impacts; - Development of geodatabase for studies of planetary bodies, including creation of object catalogues, (craters and volcanic forms, etc.), and thematic mapping using GIS technology. The significance of the project is defined both by necessity of obtaining fundamental characteristics of the Solar System bodies, and practical tasks in preparation for future Russian and international space missions to the Jupiter system (Laplace-P and JUICE), the Moon (Luna-Glob and Luna-Resource), Mars (Exo-Mars), Mercury (Bepi-Colombo), and possible mission to Phobos (project Boomerang). For cartographic support of future missions, we have created various maps as results of first year research: new base maps of Ganymede, including a hypsometric map and a global surface map; the base and thematic maps of Phobos which were updated using new image data sets from Mars Express; a newest map of topographic roughness of Mercury (for north polar area) [2] and a map of topographic roughness of the Moon using laser altimeter data processing obtained by MESSENGER (MLA) and LRO (LOLA) for their comparative analyses; a new global hypsometric map of the Moon. Published version of the maps will be presented at the conference, and all data products using for mapping will be available via MExLab Geoportal (http://cartsrv.mexlab.ru/geoportal/#body/). Acknowledgments. This work was carried out in MIIGAiK and supported by Russian Science Foundation, project #14-22-00197. References: [1] http://mexlab.miigaik.ru/eng/ [2] Kreslavsky et al., Geophys. Res.Lett., 41, doi:10.1002/2014GL062162 [3] http://cartsrv.mexlab.ru/geoportal/#body/

Kuiper Prize: Giant Planet Atmospheres

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ingersoll, Andrew P.

2007-10-01

The study of giant planet atmospheres is near and dear to me, for several reasons. First, the giant planets are photogenic; the colored clouds are great tracers, and one can make fantastic movies of the atmosphere in motion. Second, the giant planets challenge us with storms that last for hundreds of years and winds that blow faster the farther you go from the sun. Third, they remind us of Earth with their hurricanes, auroras, and lightning, but they also are the link to the 200 giant planets that have been discovered around other stars. This talk will cover the past, present, and future (one hopes) of giant planet research. I will review the surprises of the Voyager and Galileo eras, and will discuss what we are learning now from the Cassini orbiter. I will review the prospects for answering the outstanding questions like: Where's the water? What is providing the colors of the clouds? How deep do the features extend? Where do the winds get their energy? What is the role of the magnetic field? Finally, I will briefly discuss how extrasolar giant planets compare with objects in our own solar system.

The Ultimate Spitzer Phase Curve Survey: Cross-Planetary Comparison of Heat-Redistribution Efficiencies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fraine, Jonathan D.; Stevenson, Kevin; Bean, Jacob; Deming, Drake; Fortney, Jonathan; Kataria, Tiffany; Kempton, Eliza; Lewis, Nikole K.; Line, Michael; Morley, Caroline; Rauscher, Emily; Showman, Adam; Feng, Katherina

2018-01-01

Exoplanet phase curves provide a wealth of information about exoplanet atmospheres, including longitudinal constraints on atmospheric composition, thermal structure, and energy transport, that continue to open new doors of scientific inquiry and propel future investigations. The measured heat redistribution efficiency (or ability to transport energy from a planet's highly-irradiated dayside to its eternally-dark nightside) shows considerable variation between exoplanets. Theoretical models predict a correlation between heat redistribution efficiency and planet temperature; however, the latest results are inconsistent with current predictions from 3D atmospheric simulations. We will present preliminary results from a 660-hour Spitzer phase curve survey program that targeted six short-period extrasolar planets. By comparing short periods exoplanets over a range of equilibrium temperatures, we can begin to disentangle the effects of planetary rotation and energy budget on a planet's thermal properties. We will discuss how the measured planet temperature and rotation rate affect the heat redistribution efficiencies, examine trends in the phase curve peak offset, and discuss cloud coverage constraints. Our Spitzer observations will provide valuable information for predicting and interpreting future, JWST-era observations.

Single Object & Time Series Spectroscopy with JWST NIRCam

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Greene, Tom; Schlawin, Everett A.

2017-01-01

JWST will enable high signal-to-noise spectroscopic observations of the atmospheres of transiting planets with high sensitivity at wavelengths that are inaccessible with HST or other existing facilities. We plan to exploit this by measuring abundances, chemical compositions, cloud properties, and temperature-pressure parameters of a set of mostly warm (T 600 - 1200 K) and low mass (14 -200 Earth mass) planets in our guaranteed time program. These planets are expected to have significant molecular absorptions of H2O, CH4, CO2, CO, and other molecules that are key for determining these parameters and illuminating how and where the planets formed. We describe how we will use the NIRCam grisms to observe slitless transmission and emission spectra of these planets over 2.4 - 5.0 microns wavelength and how well these observations can measure our desired parameters. This will include how we set integration times, exposure parameters, and obtain simultaneous shorter wavelength images to track telescope pointing and stellar variability. We will illustrate this with specific examples showing model spectra, simulated observations, expected information retrieval results, completed Astronomer's Proposal Tools observing templates, target visibility, and other considerations.

Morphologic studies of the Moon and planets

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

El-Baz, F.; Maxwell, T. A.

1984-01-01

The impact, volcanic, and tectonic history of the Moon and planets were investigated over an eight year period. Research on the following topics is discussed: lunar craters, lunar basins, lunar volcanoes, correlation of Apollo geochemical data, lunar geology, Mars desert landforms, and Mars impact basins.

Stellar variability and its implications for photometric planet detection with Kepler

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Batalha, N. M.; Jenkins, J.; Basri, G. S.; Borucki, W. J.; Koch, D. G.

2002-01-01

Kepler is one of three candidates for the next NASA Discovery Mission and will survey the extended solar neighborhood to detect and characterize hundreds of terrestrial (and larger) planets in or near the habitable zone. Its strength lies in its ability to detect large numbers of Earth-sized planets - planets which produced a 10-4 change in relative stellar brightness during a transit across the disk of a sun-like parent star. Such a detection requires high instrumental relative precision and is facilitated by observing stars which are photometrically quiet on hourly timescales. Probing stellar variability across the HR diagram, one finds that many of the photometrically quietest stars are the F and G dwarfs. The Hipparcos photometric database shows the lowest photometric variances among stars of this spectral class. Our own Sun is a prime example with RMS variations over a few rotational cycles of typically (3 - 4)×10-4 (computed from VIRGO/DIARAD data taken Jan-Mar 2001). And variability on the hourly time scales crucial for planet detection is significantly smaller: just (2 - 5)×10-5. This bodes well for planet detection programs such as Kepler and Eddington. With significant numbers of photometrically quiet solar-type stars, Earth-sized planets should be readily identified provided they are abundant in the solar neighborhood. In support of the Kepler science objectives, we have initiated a study of stellar variability and its implications for planet detection. Herein, we summarize existing observational and theoretrical work with the objective of determining the percentage of stars in the Kepler field of view expected to be photometrically stable at a level which allows for Earth-sized planet detection.

Simulated JWST/NIRISS Transit Spectroscopy of Anticipated Tess Planets Compared to Select Discoveries from Space-based and Ground-based Surveys

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Louie, Dana R.; Deming, Drake; Albert, Loic; Bouma, L. G.; Bean, Jacob; Lopez-Morales, Mercedes

2018-04-01

The Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) will embark in 2018 on a 2 year wide-field survey mission, discovering over a thousand terrestrial, super-Earth and sub-Neptune-sized exoplanets ({R}pl}≤slant 4 {R}\\oplus ) potentially suitable for follow-up observations using the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). This work aims to understand the suitability of anticipated TESS planet discoveries for atmospheric characterization by JWST’s Near InfraRed Imager and Slitless Spectrograph (NIRISS) by employing a simulation tool to estimate the signal-to-noise (S/N) achievable in transmission spectroscopy. We applied this tool to Monte Carlo predictions of the TESS expected planet yield and then compared the S/N for anticipated TESS discoveries to our estimates of S/N for 18 known exoplanets. We analyzed the sensitivity of our results to planetary composition, cloud cover, and presence of an observational noise floor. We find that several hundred anticipated TESS discoveries with radii 1.5 {R}\\oplus < {R}pl}≤slant 2.5 {R}\\oplus will produce S/N higher than currently known exoplanets in this radius regime, such as K2-3b or K2-3c. In the terrestrial planet regime, we find that only a few anticipated TESS discoveries will result in higher S/N than currently known exoplanets, such as the TRAPPIST-1 planets, GJ1132b, and LHS1140b. However, we emphasize that this outcome is based upon Kepler-derived occurrence rates, and that co-planar compact multi-planet systems (e.g., TRAPPIST-1) may be under-represented in the predicted TESS planet yield. Finally, we apply our calculations to estimate the required magnitude of a JWST follow-up program devoted to mapping the transition region between hydrogen-dominated and high molecular weight atmospheres. We find that a modest observing program of between 60 and 100 hr of charged JWST time can define the nature of that transition (e.g., step function versus a power law).

Occultation studies of the Solar System

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Millis, Robert L.

1987-01-01

The planetary occultation program began at Lowell Observatory in 1973 with a worldwide campaign to observe mutual occultations and eclipses of the Galilean Satellites. Then the temperature profile of the Martian atmosphere was measured from data taken during the occultation of epsilon Geminorum, the Rings of Uranus were discovered as they occulted SAO 158687, and the dimensions of Pallas were measured when that minor planet occulted SAO 85009. In 1979 the present grant was initiated, providing funds for portable photometric instrumentation used to observe occultations by asteroids as well as by Uranus and Neptune. Software for predicting occultations of catalog stars by asteroids, planets, and comets was written in 1983. Lowell currently provides most of the available predictions for asteroid occultations. Realizing in 1983 that the lack of a high-quality astrometric telescope dedicated to occultation work was limiting progress, an 18-inch, F/8 lens was acquired and adapted to an existing mounting at Lowell. Although acquisition of the lens and implementation of the new telescope has been accomplished primarily with non-grant funds, the instrument makes a major contribution to occultation research.

Photometric Detection of Extra-Solar Planets

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hatzes, Artie P.; Cochran, William D.

2004-01-01

This NASA Origins Program grant supported the TEMPEST Texas McDonald Photometric Extrasolar Search for Transits) program at McDonald Observatory, which searches for transits of extrasolar planets across the disks of their parent stars. The basic approach is to use a wide-field ground-based telescope (in our case the McDonald Observatory 0.76m telescope and it s Prime Focus Corrector) to search for transits of short period (1-15 day orbits) of close-in hot-Jupiter planets in orbit around a large sample of field stars. The next task is to search these data streams for possible transit events. We collected our first set of test data for this program using the 0.76 m PFC in the summer of 1998. From those data, we developed the optimal observing procedures, including tailoring the stellar density, exposure times, and filters to best-suit the instrument and project. In the summer of 1999, we obtained the first partial season of data on a dedicated field in the constellation Cygnus. These data were used to develop and refine the reduction and analysis procedures to produce high-precision photometry and search for transits in the resulting light curves. The TeMPEST project subsequently obtained three full seasons of data on six different fields using the McDonald Observatory 0.76m PFC.

TRAPPIST-1 Comparison to Solar System and Jovian Moons

NASA Image and Video Library

2017-02-22

All seven planets discovered in orbit around the red dwarf star TRAPPIST-1 could easily fit inside the orbit of Mercury, the innermost planet of our solar system. In fact, they would have room to spare. TRAPPIST-1 also is only a fraction of the size of our sun; it isn't much larger than Jupiter. So the TRAPPIST-1 system's proportions look more like Jupiter and its moons than those of our solar system. The seven planets of TRAPPIST-1 are all Earth-sized and terrestrial, according to research published in 2017 in the journal Nature. TRAPPIST-1 is an ultra-cool dwarf star in the constellation Aquarius, and its planets orbit very close to it. The system has been revealed through observations from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope and the ground-based TRAPPIST (TRAnsiting Planets and PlanetesImals Small Telescope) telescope, as well as other ground-based observatories. The system was named for the TRAPPIST telescope. http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA21428

Planets in a Room

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Giacomini, l.; Aloisi, F.; De Angelis, I.

2017-09-01

Teaching planetary science using a spherical projector to show the planets' surfaces is a very effective but usually very expensive idea. Whatsmore, it usually assumes the availability of a dedicated space and a trained user. "Planets in a room" is a prototypal low cost version of a small, spherical projector that teachers, museum, planetary scientists and other individuals can easily build and use on their own, to show and teach the planets The project of "Planets in a Room" was made by the italian non-profit association Speak Science with the collaboration of INAF-IAPS of Rome and the Roma Tre University (Dipartimento di Matematica e Fisica). This proposal was funded by the Europlanet Outreach Funding Scheme in 2016. "Planets in a room" will be presented during EPSC 2017 to give birth to the second phase of the project, when the outreach and research community will be involved and schools from all over Europe will be invited to participate with the aim of bringing planetary science to a larger audience.

Detection of Terrestrial Planets Using Transit Photometry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Koch, D.; Witteborn, F.; Jenkins, J.; Dunham, E.; Borucki, W.

2000-12-01

Transit photometry detection of planets offers many advantages: an ability to detect terrestrial-size planets, direct determination of the planet's size, applicability to all main-sequence stars, and a periodic signature (differential brightness change) being independent of stellar distance or planetary orbital semi-major axis. Ground and space based photometry have already been successful in detecting transits of the giant planet HD209458b (Charbonneau, et al. 2000, Castellano et al. 2000 and references therein). However, photometry 100 times better is required to detect terrestrial planets. We present results of measurements of an end-to-end photometric system incorporating all of the important confounding noise features of both the sky and a spacebased photometer including spacecraft jitter. In addition to demonstrating an instrumental noise of less than 10 ppm per transit (an Earth transit of a solar-like star is 80 ppm), the brightnesses of individual stars were dimmed to simulate Earth-size transit signals. These "transits" were reliably detected as part of the tests. Funding for this work was provided by NASA's Discovery and Origins programs and by NASA Ames. Charbonneau, D.; Brown, T.M.; Latham, D.W.; Mayor, M., ApJ, 529, L45, 2000. Castellano, T., Jenkins, J., Trilling, D. E., Doyle, L., and Koch, D., ApJ Let. 532, L51-L53 (2000)

Chromospheric and Transition Region Emission Properties of G, K, and M dwarf Exoplanet Host Stars

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

France, Kevin; Arulanantham, Nicole; Fossati, Luca; Lanza, A. F.; Linsky, Jeffrey L.; Redfield, Seth; Loyd, Robert; Schneider, Christian

2018-01-01

Exoplanet magnetic fields have proven notoriously hard to detect, despite theoretical predictions of substantial magnetic field strengths on close-in extrasolar giant planets. It has been suggested that stellar and planetary magnetic field interactions can manifest as enhanced stellar activity relative to nominal age-rotation-activity relationships for main sequence stars or enhanced activity on stars hosting short-period massive planets. In a recent study of M and K dwarf exoplanet host stars, we demonstrated a significant correlation between the relative luminosity in high-temperature stellar emission lines (L(ion)/L_Bol) and the “star-planet interaction strength”, M_plan/a_plan. Here, we expand on that work with a survey of G, K, and M dwarf exoplanet host stars obtained in two recent far-ultraviolet spectroscopic programs with the Hubble Space Telescope. We have measured the relative luminosities of stellar lines C II, Si III, Si IV, and N V (formation temperatures from 30,000 – 150,000 K) in a sample of ~60 exoplanet host stars and an additional ~40 dwarf stars without known planets. We present results on star-planet interaction signals as a function of spectral type and line formation temperature, as well as a statistical comparison of stars with and without planets.

Some Unanswered Questions in Astronomy: Are There More than Nine Planets in the Universe? Is the Theory of Stellar Evolution Wrong?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Field, George

1982-01-01

Based on the premise that discoveries raise more questions than they answer, explores various research questions related to the discovery of the planets and discoveries related to the theory of stellar evolution. (SK)

Hubble Case Studies of Transiting Giant Exoplanets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wilkins, Ashlee N.; Deming, Drake; Barker, Adrian; Benneke, Björn; Delrez, Laetitia; Gillon, Michaël; Hamilton, Douglas P.; Jehin, Emmanuel; Knutson, Heather; Lewis, Nikole K.; Madhusudhan, Nikku; Mandell, Avi; McCullough, Peter R.; Wakeford, Hannah R.

2017-01-01

The study of planets around other stars has entered a science-rich era of characterization, in which detailed information about individual planets can be inferred from observations beyond mere detection, which only yields bulk properties like mass or radius. Characterization probes more revealing quantities such as chemical abundances, albedo, and temperature/pressure profiles, which allow us to address larger questions of planet formation mechanisms, planetary evolution, and, eventually, habitability and presence of biosignature gases. The primary method for characterization of close-in planets is transit spectroscopy. This dissertation talk will focus on transiting exoplanet case studies with the Hubble Space Telescope’ Wide-Field Camera-3 (WFC-3) as a tool of exoplanet characterization in a near-infrared band dominated by strong water features. I will first present a characterization the WFC-3 systematic effects that must be mitigated to extract the incredibly small (tens to 200 parts per million) signals, and then a study of four transiting giant planets (HATS-7b, HAT-p-3b, HD 149026b, and WASP-18b) in transmission, and two (WASP-18b and CoRoT-2b) in eclipse. Finally, I will discuss the role of transit timing monitoring of WASP-18b with HST and other observatories as another clue to its evolution as a close-in, massive planet. The five planets range from Neptune-class to Super-Jupiter-class in size/mass. Though these planets may be relatively rare, their observability represents a unique opportunity to probe planet formation and evolution, as well as atmospheric structures in a high-irradiation environment. These observations also yield insights into aerosols (i.e. clouds/hazes) in the atmosphere; clouds and/or hazes should significantly impact atmospheric chemistry and observational signatures, and we as a community must get a better handle on the phenomenon of aerosols in advance of the next generation of space observatories, including JWST and WFIRST. Further, as part of a large Hubble program, we are working to advance the state of exoplanet atmosphere observations from single, planet-by-planet, case studies, to an understanding of the large, hot, gaseous planets as a population.

Constraining the mass of the planet(s) sculpting a disk cavity. The intriguing case of 2MASS J16042165-2130284

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Canovas, H.; Hardy, A.; Zurlo, A.; Wahhaj, Z.; Schreiber, M. R.; Vigan, A.; Villaver, E.; Olofsson, J.; Meeus, G.; Ménard, F.; Caceres, C.; Cieza, L. A.; Garufi, A.

2017-02-01

Context. The large cavities observed in the dust and gas distributions of transition disks may be explained by planet-disk interactions. At 145 pc, 2MASS J16042165-2130284 (J1604) is a 5-12 Myr old transitional disk with different gap sizes in the mm- and μm-sized dust distributions (outer edges at 79 and at 63 au, respectively). Its 12CO emission shows a 30 au cavity. This radial structure suggests that giant planets are sculpting this disk. Aims: We aim to constrain the masses and locations of plausible giant planets around J1604. Methods: We observed J1604 with the Spectro-Polarimetric High-contrast Exoplanet REsearch (SPHERE) at the Very Large Telescope (VLT), in IRDIFS_EXT, pupil-stabilized mode, obtaining YJH-band images with the integral field spectrograph (IFS) and K1K2-band images with the Infra-Red Dual-beam Imager and Spectrograph (IRDIS). The dataset was processed exploiting the angular differential imaging (ADI) technique with high-contrast algorithms. Results: Our observations reach a contrast of ΔK,ΔYH 12 mag from 0".15 to 0".80 ( 22 to 115 au), but no planet candidate is detected. The disk is directly imaged in scattered light at all bands from Y to K, and it shows a red color. This indicates that the dust particles in the disk surface are mainly ≳0.3 μm-sized grains. We confirm the sharp dip/decrement in scattered light in agreement with polarized light observations. Comparing our images with a radiative transfer model we argue that the southern side of the disk is most likely the nearest. Conclusions: This work represents the deepest search yet for companions around J1604. We reach a mass sensitivity of ≳2-3 MJup from 22 to 115 au according to a hot start scenario. We propose that a brown dwarf orbiting inside of 15 au and additional Jovian planets at larger radii could account for the observed properties of J1604 while explaining our lack of detection. Based on observations made with the VLT, program 095.C-0673(A).The reduced images (FITS files) are available at the CDS via anonymous ftp to http://cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (http://130.79.128.5) or via http://cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr/viz-bin/qcat?J/A+A/598/A43

Planet Formation in Binary Star Systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Martin, Rebecca

About half of observed exoplanets are estimated to be in binary systems. Understanding planet formation and evolution in binaries is therefore essential for explaining observed exoplanet properties. Recently, we discovered that a highly misaligned circumstellar disk in a binary system can undergo global Kozai-Lidov (KL) oscillations of the disk inclination and eccentricity. These oscillations likely have a significant impact on the formation and orbital evolution of planets in binary star systems. Planet formation by core accretion cannot operate during KL oscillations of the disk. First, we propose to consider the process of disk mass transfer between the binary members. Secondly, we will investigate the possibility of planet formation by disk fragmentation. Disk self gravity can weaken or suppress the oscillations during the early disk evolution when the disk mass is relatively high for a narrow range of parameters. Thirdly, we will investigate the evolution of a planet whose orbit is initially aligned with respect to the disk, but misaligned with respect to the orbit of the binary. We will study how these processes relate to observations of star-spin and planet orbit misalignment and to observations of planets that appear to be undergoing KL oscillations. Finally, we will analyze the evolution of misaligned multi-planet systems. This theoretical work will involve a combination of analytic and numerical techniques. The aim of this research is to shed some light on the formation of planets in binary star systems and to contribute to NASA's goal of understanding of the origins of exoplanetary systems.

The SpeX Prism Library for Ultracool Dwarfs: A Resource for Stellar, Exoplanet and Galactic Science and Student-Led Research

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Burgasser, Adam

The NASA Infrared Telescope Facility's (IRTF) SpeX spectrograph has been an essential tool in the discovery and characterization of ultracool dwarf (UCD) stars, brown dwarfs and exoplanets. Over ten years of SpeX data have been collected on these sources, and a repository of low-resolution (R 100) SpeX prism spectra has been maintained by the PI at the SpeX Prism Spectral Libraries website since 2008. As the largest existing collection of NIR UCD spectra, this repository has facilitated a broad range of investigations in UCD, exoplanet, Galactic and extragalactic science, contributing to over 100 publications in the past 6 years. However, this repository remains highly incomplete, has not been uniformly calibrated, lacks sufficient contextual data for observations and sources, and most importantly provides no data visualization or analysis tools for the user. To fully realize the scientific potential of these data for community research, we propose a two-year program to (1) calibrate and expand existing repository and archival data, and make it virtual-observatory compliant; (2) serve the data through a searchable web archive with basic visualization tools; and (3) develop and distribute an open-source, Python-based analysis toolkit for users to analyze the data. These resources will be generated through an innovative, student-centered research model, with undergraduate and graduate students building and validating the analysis tools through carefully designed coding challenges and research validation activities. The resulting data archive, the SpeX Prism Library, will be a legacy resource for IRTF and SpeX, and will facilitate numerous investigations using current and future NASA capabilities. These include deep/wide surveys of UCDs to measure Galactic structure and chemical evolution, and probe UCD populations in satellite galaxies (e.g., JWST, WFIRST); characterization of directly imaged exoplanet spectra (e.g., FINESSE), and development of low-temperature theoretical models of UCD and exoplanet atmospheres. Our program will also serve to validate the IRTF data archive during its development, by reducing and disseminating non-proprietary archival observations of UCDs to the community. The proposed program directly addresses NASA's strategic goals of exploring the origin and evolution of stars and planets that make up our universe, and discovering and studying planets around other stars.

Syntax diagrams for body wave nomenclature, with generalizations for terrestrial planets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Knapmeyer, M.

2003-04-01

The Apollo network on the Moon constitutes the beginning of planetary seismology. In the next few decades, we may see seismometers deployed on the Moon again, on Mars, and perhaps on other terrestrial planets or satellites. Any seismological software for computation of body wave travel times on other planets should be highly versatile and be prepared for a huge variety of velocity distributions and internal structures. A suite of trial models for a planet might, for example, contain models with and without solid inner cores. It would then be useful if the software could detect physically meaningless phase names automatically without actually carrying out any computation. It would also be useful if the program were prepared to deal with features like fully solid cores, internal oceans, and varying depths of mineralogical phase changes like the olivine-spinel transition. Syntax diagrams are a standard method to describe the syntax of programming languages. They represent a graphical way to define which letter or phrase is allowed to follow a given sequence of letters. Syntax diagrams may be stored in data structures that allow automatic evaluation of a given letter sequence. Such diagrams are presented here for a generalized body wave nomenclature. Generalizations are made to overcome earth-specific notations which incorporate discontinuity depths into phase names or to distinguish olivine transitions from ice-ice transitions (as expected on the Galilean Satellites).

Astronomy Simulation with Computer Graphics.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Thomas, William E.

1982-01-01

"Planetary Motion Simulations" is a system of programs designed for students to observe motions of a superior planet (one whose orbit lies outside the orbit of the earth). Programs run on the Apple II microcomputer and employ high-resolution graphics to present the motions of Saturn. (Author/JN)

Astronomy and Astrophysics for the 1980s.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Field, George B.

1982-01-01

Following a discussion of scientific opportunities for astronomy (galaxies and the universe, stars, and planets/life/intelligence), four programs recommended by the National Academy of Sciences' Astronomy Survey Committee are described, indicating areas that must be strengthened before undertaking the programs. Ongoing projects are also…

Hubble Captures Vivid Auroras in Jupiter’s Atmosphere

NASA Image and Video Library

2017-12-08

Astronomers are using the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope to study auroras — stunning light shows in a planet’s atmosphere — on the poles of the largest planet in the solar system, Jupiter. This observation program is supported by measurements made by NASA’s Juno spacecraft, currently on its way to Jupiter. Jupiter, the largest planet in the solar system, is best known for its colorful storms, the most famous being the Great Red Spot. Now astronomers have focused on another beautiful feature of the planet, using Hubble's ultraviolet capabilities. The extraordinary vivid glows shown in the new observations are known as auroras. They are created when high-energy particles enter a planet’s atmosphere near its magnetic poles and collide with atoms of gas. As well as producing beautiful images, this program aims to determine how various components of Jupiter’s auroras respond to different conditions in the solar wind, a stream of charged particles ejected from the sun. This observation program is perfectly timed as NASA’s Juno spacecraft is currently in the solar wind near Jupiter and will enter the orbit of the planet in early July 2016. While Hubble is observing and measuring the auroras on Jupiter, Juno is measuring the properties of the solar wind itself; a perfect collaboration between a telescope and a space probe. “These auroras are very dramatic and among the most active I have ever seen”, said Jonathan Nichols from the University of Leicester, U.K., and principal investigator of the study. “It almost seems as if Jupiter is throwing a firework party for the imminent arrival of Juno.” Read more: go.nasa.gov/294QswK Credits: NASA, ESA, and J. Nichols (University of Leicester)

Hubble Captures Vivid Auroras in Jupiter’s Atmosphere

NASA Image and Video Library

2016-06-30

Astronomers are using the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope to study auroras — stunning light shows in a planet’s atmosphere — on the poles of the largest planet in the solar system, Jupiter. This observation program is supported by measurements made by NASA’s Juno spacecraft, currently on its way to Jupiter. Jupiter, the largest planet in the solar system, is best known for its colorful storms, the most famous being the Great Red Spot. Now astronomers have focused on another beautiful feature of the planet, using Hubble's ultraviolet capabilities. The extraordinary vivid glows shown in the new observations are known as auroras. They are created when high-energy particles enter a planet’s atmosphere near its magnetic poles and collide with atoms of gas. As well as producing beautiful images, this program aims to determine how various components of Jupiter’s auroras respond to different conditions in the solar wind, a stream of charged particles ejected from the sun. This observation program is perfectly timed as NASA’s Juno spacecraft is currently in the solar wind near Jupiter and will enter the orbit of the planet in early July 2016. While Hubble is observing and measuring the auroras on Jupiter, Juno is measuring the properties of the solar wind itself; a perfect collaboration between a telescope and a space probe. “These auroras are very dramatic and among the most active I have ever seen”, said Jonathan Nichols from the University of Leicester, U.K., and principal investigator of the study. “It almost seems as if Jupiter is throwing a firework party for the imminent arrival of Juno.” Credits: NASA, ESA, and J. Nichols (University of Leicester)

MATER - Pianeta Terra-Mare: an interactive and multidisciplinary approach to Geosphere sciences

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Piangiamore, Giovanna Lucia; Fanelli, Emanuela; Furia, Stefania; Garau, Daniela; Merlino, Silvia; Musacchio, Gemma; Carla Centineo, Maria

2016-04-01

Recent studies demonstrate that Earth and Marine Sciences are not properly treated in scholastic programs and in textbooks are included in a superficial way. These topics are interdisciplinary and experimental (biology, ecology, oceanography and geology) and the recent advance in these fields is strictly linked to technologic improvement. School cannot keep up with the huge advances of knowledge experimented in the last 20 years, also for the lack of didactic laboratories sufficiently updated to support experimental activities. In this context, in 2014-15 three Italian Research Institutes (INGV, ISMAR-CNR and ENEA-CRAM) have decided to support the Unified School District "ISA 10"of Lerici (Liguria, Italy) - comprehensive of kindergartner, primary and middle schools - to develop the project MATER - Pianeta Terra-Mare (Planet Earth and Sea). The acronym MATER (MARe and TERra) has also a gender value, as people involved in the projects were women, mostly researchers and teachers, which have worked side by side with other women belonging to environmental and cultural associations of the territory. This heterogeneous group has a common objective: to promote the diffusion of a scientific culture and to sensitize students from 3 to 14 years towards problems occurring in marine and terrestrial environments, fostering the settlement of a sustainable attitude to the exploitation of natural resources and consciousness to natural hazards, such as earthquakes and floods, quite common in the Ligurian region. MATER has been considered as one of the best projects funded by MIUR (Italian Ministry of Education, University and Research) inside the Dissemination of Scientific and Technological Culture call for the year 2014. Natural hazards (Planet Earth) and the chemical-physical aspects and resources of the marine environment (Planet Sea) were the two modules of the project. Planet Earth developed through Piovono Idee! (Cloudy with a chance of Ideas!), an interactive exhibition on hydro-geological risk and climate change targeted to students from 8 to 14 years; Planet Sea was articulated in a series of laboratories on the physical-chemical properties ("a sustaining sea") and of the bio-ecological aspects ("a sea of resources") of the sea, engaging students from 4 to 14 years. Scientific conferences, targeted from teenagers and up and open to public, have been organized during the opening and closing weeks of the project, inside the "Week of Planet Earth" 2014 and 2015. The project was also a "peer-education experiment", where students of the High School "Pacinotti" (La Spezia) and of "ISA 10" (Lerici) and "ISA 2" (La Spezia) have played the role of guides in the interactive paths. MATER has reached ca. 1000 students and had excellent feedbacks from teachers and students, supported by questionnaires and press releases. Through the dedicated website, MATER is expected to reach a broader scholastic community, outside its local context. The project was a good example of cooperation of different territorial institutions/associations, working together to promote the culture of prevention and sustainability, involving future citizens to reflect on the values of appropriate behaviors and best practices towards an ethical and sustainable interaction between human activities with the geosphere.

Structural overview and learner control in hypermedia instructional programs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Burke, Patricia Anne

1998-09-01

This study examined the effects of a structural overview and learner control in a computer-based program on the achievement, attitudes, time in program and Linearity of path of fifth-grade students. Four versions of a computer-based instructional program about the Sun and planets were created in a 2 x 2 factorial design. The program consisted of ten sections, one for each planet and one for the Sun. Two structural overview conditions (structural overview, no structural overview) were crossed with two control conditions (learner control, program control). Subjects in the structural overview condition chose the order in which they would learn about the planets from among three options: ordered by distance from the Sun, ordered by size, or ordered by temperature. Subjects in the learner control condition were able to move freely among screens within a section and to choose their next section after finishing the previous one. In contrast, those in the program control condition advanced through the program in a prescribed linear manner. A 2 x 2 ANOVA yielded no significant differences in posttest scores for either independent variable or for their interaction. The structural overview was most likely not effective because subjects spent only a small percentage of their total time on the structural overview screens and they were not required to act upon the information in those screens. Learner control over content sequencing may not have been effective because most learner-control subjects chose the same overall sequence of instruction (i.e., distance from the Sun) prescribed for program-control subjects. Learner-control subjects chose to view an average of 40 more screens than the fixed number of 160 screens in the program-control version. However, program-control subjects spent significantly more time per screen than learner-control subjects, and the total time in program did not differ significantly between the two groups. Learner-control subjects receiving the structural overview deviated from the linear path significantly more often than subjects who did not have the structural overview, but deviation from the linear path was not associated with higher posttest scores.

Advances in the Kepler Transit Search Engine

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jenkins, Jon M.

2016-10-01

Twenty years ago, no planets were known outside our own solar system. Since then, the discoveries of ~1500 exoplanets have radically altered our views of planets and planetary systems. This revolution is due in no small part to the Kepler Mission, which has discovered >1000 of these planets and >4000 planet candidates. While Kepler has shown that small rocky planets and planetary systems are quite common, the quest to find Earth's closest cousins and characterize their atmospheres presses forward with missions such as NASA Explorer Program's Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) slated for launch in 2017 and ESA's PLATO mission scheduled for launch in 2024. These future missions pose daunting data processing challenges in terms of the number of stars, the amount of data, and the difficulties in detecting weak signatures of transiting small planets against a roaring background. These complications include instrument noise and systematic effects as well as the intrinsic stellar variability of the subjects under scrutiny. In this paper we review recent developments in the Kepler transit search pipeline improving both the yield and reliability of detected transit signatures. Many of the phenomena in light curves that represent noise can also trigger transit detection algorithms. The Kepler Mission has expended great effort in suppressing false positives from its planetary candidate catalogs. Over 18,000 transit-like signatures can be identified for a search across 4 years of data. Most of these signatures are artifacts, not planets. Vetting all such signatures historically takes several months' effort by many individuals. We describe the application of machine learning approaches for the automated vetting and production of planet candidate catalogs. These algorithms can improve the efficiency of the human vetting effort as well as quantifying the likelihood that each candidate is truly a planet. This information is crucial for obtaining valid planet occurrence rates. Machine learning approaches may prove to be critical to the success of future missions such as TESS and PLATO.

Barnard’s Star: Planets or Pretense

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bartlett, Jennifer L.; Ianna, P. A.

2014-01-01

Barnard’s Star remains popular with planet hunters because it is not only an extremely near, high proper motion star, but also the object of early planet-detection claims. In 1963, van de Kamp explained perturbations in its proper motion by the presence of a planet. In 1969, he produced another single-planet solution and a two-planet solution to the astrometric wobbles detected. At least 19 studies have failed to confirm his results using a range of techniques, including radial velocity, direct imaging, and speckle interferometry. However, most of them lacked the sensitivity to detect the planets he described, including astrometric studies at the McCormick and Naval Observatories. However, radial-velocity monitoring of Barnard’s Star at Lick and Keck Observatories from 1987 through 2012 appears to have ruled out such planets. Based upon observations made at the Sproul Observatory between 1916 and 1962, van de Kamp claimed that Barnard’s Star had a planet with about 1.6 times the mass of Jupiter and an orbital period of 24 years. After accounting for instrumentation effects that might have been partially responsible for his initial results, he continued to assert that this red dwarf had two planets. In his 1982 analysis of ~20,000 exposures collected between 1938 and 1981, he calculated that two planets with 0.7- and 0.5-Jupiter masses in 12- and 20-year orbits, respectively, orbited the second-closest stellar system to our own. Starting in 1995, the dramatic successes of radial velocity searches for extrasolar planets drove van de Kamp’s unsubstantiated claims from popular consciousness. Although many low-mass stellar companions were discovered through astrometry, the technique has been less successful for planets: “The Extrasolar Planets Encyclopaedia” identifies one such discovery out of the 997 planets listed on 2013 September 23. Although Barnard’s Star has lost its pretensions to hosting the first extrasolar planets known, its intrinsic properties will keep it under observation. NSF grant AST 98-20711, Litton Marine Systems, Levinson Fund, University of Virginia, Hampden-Sydney College, and US Naval Observatory supported this research.

The giant planets and their satellites: Report on the Cospar Symposium, Ottawa, Canada, May 18-21, 1982

USGS Publications Warehouse

Kivelson, M.G.; Behannon, K.W.; Cravens, T.E.; de Pater, I.; Johnson, T.V.; Matson, D.L.; Masursky, H.; Southwood, D.J.; Vasyliunas, V.M.

1983-01-01

A Symposium on the Giant Planets and Their Satellites was presented in conjunction with the Twenty-fourth Plenary Meeting of the Committee on Space Research. This paper summarizes the talks presented and places the remaining papers of this volume in context. ?? 1983.

Quarantine provisions for unmanned extra-terrestrial missions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1976-01-01

This document sets forth requirements applicable to unmanned planetary flight programs which are necessary to enable the Associate Administrator for Space Science to fulfill those responsibilities pertaining to planetary quarantine as stated in NPD 8020.7 and NPD 8020.10A. This document is specifically directed to the control of terrestrial microbial contamination associated with unmanned space vehicles intended to encounter, orbit, flyby, or otherwise be in the vicinity of extra-terrestrial solar system bodies. The requirements of this document apply to all unmanned planetary flight programs. This includes solar system exploratory missions to the major planets as well as missions to planet satellites, or to other solar system objects that may be of scientific interest. This document is not applicable to terrestrial (including lunar) missions and manned missions. NASA officials having cognizance of applicable flight programs will invoke these requirements in such directives or contractual instruments as may be necessary to assure their implementation.

Detecting Atmospheric Biosignatures of Transiting Exoplanets in the Mid-IR

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stevenson, Kevin

2018-01-01

For the first time in human history, our generation will have the technology needed to answer one of the longest-standing questions: "Are we alone?'' Only recently have planet-hunting programs (such as TRAPPIST, MEarth, and Kepler) confirmed the first Earth analogues orbiting M dwarfs. However, it is unknown whether planets orbiting the most ubiquitous stars in our galaxy can support life. I will discuss the challenges and opportunities of looking for biosignatures in transiting exoplanet atmospheres at mid-infrared wavelengths and argue that the only way to ascertain the truth is to make a measurement. I will also present how a survey of nearby mid-to-late M dwarfs could empirically determine the fraction of habitable-zone planets that develop life.

Clouds in exoplanet atmospheres: comparison of two apparently similar giant planets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bruno, Giovanni; Lewis, Nikole K.; Stevenson, Kevin; Deming, Drake; Filippazzo, Joe; Fraine, Jonathan D.; Hill, Matthew; Kilpatrick, Brian; Line, Michael R.; Morley, Caroline; Wakeford, Hannah; Collins, Karen A.; Conti, Dennis M.; Garlitz, Joseph; Rodriguez, Joseph

2017-06-01

We present a study aimed at a better understanding of the physics of clouds, which have been shown prevalent in hot Jupiter atmospheres. We compare and contrast the atmospheric spectra of WASP-67 b and HAT-P-38 b, part of our HST/WFC3 and Spitzer observation programs of exoplanets in transmission spectroscopy and secondary eclipses. These two planets lie in a very similar region of the equilibrium temperature-surface gravity parameter space and their compared analysis is therefore particularly significant.With the help of retrieval exercises on the molecules characterizing the 1.1-1.7 microns WFC3 spectra, we discuss which conclusions can be drawn about the atmospheric processes of these two giant planets.

Study of Extra-Solar Planets with the Advanced Fiber Optic Echelle

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Noyes, Robert W.; Boyce, Joseph M. (Technical Monitor)

2002-01-01

This is the final report of NASA Grant NAG5-7505, for 'Study of Extra-solar Planets with the Advanced Fiber Optic Echelle'. This program was funded in response to our proposal submitted under NASA NRA 97-OSS-06, with a total period of performance from June 1, 1998 through Feb 28 2002. Principal Investigator is Robert W. Noyes; co-Investigators are Sylvain G. Korzennik (SAO), Peter Niserison (SAO), and Timothy M. Brown (High Altitude Observatory). Since the start of this program we have carried out more than 30 observing runs, typically of 5 to 7 days duration. We obtained a total of around 2000 usable observations of about 150 stars, where a typical observation consists of 3 exposures of 10 minutes each. Using this data base we detected thc two additional planetary companions to the star Upsilon Andromedae. This detection was made independently of, and essentially simultaneously with, a similar detection by the Berkeley group (Marcy et al): the fact that two data sets were completely independent and gave essentially the same orbital parameters for this three-planet system gave a strong confirmation of this important result. We also extended our previous detection of the planet orbiting Rho Coronae Borealis to get a better determination of its orbital eccentricity: e=0.13 +/- 0.05. We detected a new planet in orbit around the star HD 89744, with orbital period 256 days, semi-major axis 0.88 AU, eccentricity 0.70, and minimum mass m sini = 7.2 m(sub Jup). This discovery is significant because of the very high orbital eccentricity, arid also because HD 89744 has both high metallicity [Fe/H] and at the same time a low [C/Fe] abundance ratio.

A High Mass & Low Envelope Fraction for the Warm Neptune K2-55b

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dressing, Courtney; Sinukoff, Evan; Fulton, Benjamin; Lopez, Eric; Beichman, Charles; Howard, Andrew; Knutson, Heather; Werner, Michael; Schlieder, Joshua; Benneke, Björn; Crossfield, Ian; Isaacson, Howard; Krick, Jessica; Gorjian, Varoujan; Livingston, John; Petigura, Erik; Akeson, Rachel; Batygin, Konstantin; Christiansen, Jessie; Ciardi, David; Crepp, Justin; Jasmine Gonzales, Erica; Hardegree-Ullman, Kevin; Hirsch, Lea; Kosiarek, Molly; Weiss, Lauren

2018-01-01

The NASA K2 mission is using the Kepler spacecraft to search for transiting planets in multiple fields along the ecliptic plane. One of the planets detected by K2 is K2-55b, a warm Neptune in a short-period orbit (2.8 days) around a late K dwarf. We previously obtained near-infrared spectra from IRTF/SpeX to characterize the system and found that the host star K2-55 has a radius of 0.715 (+0.043/-0.040) solar radii, a mass of 0.668 (+/- 0.069) solar masses, and an effective temperature of 4300K (+100/-107). We then combined our updated stellar properties with new fits to the K2 photometry to estimate a planet radius of 4.38 (+0.29/-0.25) Earth radii, confirmed the transit ephemeris using Spitzer/IRAC (GO 11026, PI Werner), and embarked on radial velocity observations with Keck/HIRES to measure the planet mass. Our RV data suggest that K2-55b is much more massive than expected, indicating that the planet has a high density despite having a relatively high mass. The lack of a significant volatile envelope tests current theories of gas giant formation and indicates that K2-55b may have avoided runaway accretion by migration, delayed formation, or inefficient core accretion. We gratefully acknowledge funding from the NASA Sagan Fellowship Program and the NASA K2 Guest Observer Program. This work is based in part on observations made with the Spitzer Space Telescope, which is operated by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology under a contract with NASA. Support for this work was provided by NASA through an award issued by JPL/Caltech.

Proceedings of the 2004 NASA/JPL Workshop on Physics for Planetary Exploration

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Strayer, Donald M. (Editor); Banerdt, Bruce; Barmatz, M.; Chung, Sang; Chui, Talso; Hamell, R.; Israelsson, Ulf; Jerebets, Sergei; Le, Thanh; Litchen, Stephen

2004-01-01

The conference was held April 20-22, 2004, the NASA/JPL Workshop on Physics for Planetary Exploration focused on NASA's new concentration on sending crewed missions to the Moon by 2020 and then to Mars and beyond. However, our ground-based physics experiments are continuing to be funded, and it will be possible to compete for $80-90 million in new money from the NASA exploration programs. Papers presented at the workshop related how physics research can help NASA to prepare for and accomplish this grand scheme of exploration. From sensors for water on the Moon and Mars, to fundamental research on those bodies, and to aids for navigating precisely to landing sites on distant planets, diverse topics were addressed by the Workshop speakers.

Basic Questions About the Solar System: The Need for Probes

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ingersoll, Andrew P.

2005-01-01

Probes are an essential element in the scientific study of planets with atmospheres. In-situ measurements provide the most accurate determination of composition, winds, temperatures, clouds, and radiative fluxes. They address fundamental NASA objectives concerning volatile compounds, climate, and the origin of life. Probes also deliver landers and aerobots that help in the study of planetary surfaces. This talk focuses on Venus, Titan, and the giant planets. I review the basic science questions and discuss the recommended missions. I stress the need for a balanced program that includes an array of missions that increase in size by factors of two. Gaps in this array lead to failures and cancellations that are harmful to the program and to scientific exploration.

Mid-Type M Dwarf Planet Occurrence Rates

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hardegree-Ullman, Kevin; Cushing, Michael; Muirhead, Philip Steven

2018-01-01

Planet occurrence rates increase toward later spectral types; therefore, M dwarf systems are our most promising targets in the search for exoplanets. Stars in the original Kepler field were primarily characterized from photometry alone, resulting in large uncertainties (~30%) for properties of late-type stars like M dwarfs. Planet occurrence rate calculations require precise measurements of stellar radii, which can be constrained to ~10% using temperatures and metallicities derived from spectra. These measurements need to be performed on a statistically significant population of stars, including systems with and without planets. Using WIYN, the Discovery Channel Telescope, and IRTF, we have gathered spectra of about half of the ~550 probable mid-type M dwarfs in the Kepler field. Our observations have led to better constraints on stellar parameters and new planet occurrence rates for mid-type M dwarfs. We gratefully acknowledge support from the NASA-NSF Exoplanet Observational Research partnership, the National Optical Astronomy Observatory, and the NASA Exoplanet Science Institute.

Thermoelectric Outer Planets Spacecraft (TOPS)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1973-01-01

The research and advanced development work is reported on a ballistic-mode, outer planet spacecraft using radioisotope thermoelectric generator (RTG) power. The Thermoelectric Outer Planet Spacecraft (TOPS) project was established to provide the advanced systems technology that would allow the realistic estimates of performance, cost, reliability, and scheduling that are required for an actual flight mission. A system design of the complete RTG-powered outer planet spacecraft was made; major technical innovations of certain hardware elements were designed, developed, and tested; and reliability and quality assurance concepts were developed for long-life requirements. At the conclusion of its active phase, the TOPS Project reached its principal objectives: a development and experience base was established for project definition, and for estimating cost, performance, and reliability; an understanding of system and subsystem capabilities for successful outer planets missions was achieved. The system design answered long-life requirements with massive redundancy, controlled by on-board analysis of spacecraft performance data.

Comparative Planetology - Atmospheres and Aeronomy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Huestis, D. L.

2006-05-01

The Earth, planets, moons, comets, and other small bodies in the solar system are quite diverse, yet share a number of characteristics. Each has something to teach us about the others and about the extrasolar planets we are now discovering. Having multiple examples of similar phenomena under different local conditions provides the best means of identifying the underlying mechanisms and of quantitative testing of our understanding. This special session is one of a sequence of events attempting to define and document the comparative planetology vision and provide specific recommendations for actions by the research community and the funding agencies. This presentation will summarize the progress so far and solicit additional ideas and suggestions from the research community, with an emphasis on the atmosphere and aeronomy of the Earth, planets, moons, and comets in the solar system.

Planet Formation in Binaries

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Thebault, P.; Haghighipour, N.

Spurred by the discovery of numerous exoplanets in multiple systems, binaries have become in recent years one of the main topics in planet formation research. Numerous studies have investigated to what extent the presence of a stellar companion can affect the planet formation process. Such studies have implications that can reach beyond the sole context of binaries, as they allow to test certain aspects of the planet formation scenario by submitting them to extreme environments. We review here the current understanding on this complex problem. We show in particular how each of the different stages of the planet-formation process is affected differently by binary perturbations. We focus especially on the intermediate stage of kilometre-sized planetesimal accretion, which has proven to be the most sensitive to binarity and for which the presence of some exoplanets observed in tight binaries is difficult to explain by in-situ formation following the "standard" planet-formation scenario. Some tentative solutions to this apparent paradox are presented. The last part of our review presents a thorough description of the problem of planet habitability, for which the binary environment creates a complex situation because of the presence of two irradation sources of varying distance.

Darwin--a mission to detect and search for life on extrasolar planets.

PubMed

Cockell, C S; Léger, A; Fridlund, M; Herbst, T M; Kaltenegger, L; Absil, O; Beichman, C; Benz, W; Blanc, M; Brack, A; Chelli, A; Colangeli, L; Cottin, H; Coudé du Foresto, F; Danchi, W C; Defrère, D; den Herder, J-W; Eiroa, C; Greaves, J; Henning, T; Johnston, K J; Jones, H; Labadie, L; Lammer, H; Launhardt, R; Lawson, P; Lay, O P; LeDuigou, J-M; Liseau, R; Malbet, F; Martin, S R; Mawet, D; Mourard, D; Moutou, C; Mugnier, L M; Ollivier, M; Paresce, F; Quirrenbach, A; Rabbia, Y D; Raven, J A; Rottgering, H J A; Rouan, D; Santos, N C; Selsis, F; Serabyn, E; Shibai, H; Tamura, M; Thiébaut, E; Westall, F; White, G J

2009-01-01

The discovery of extrasolar planets is one of the greatest achievements of modern astronomy. The detection of planets that vary widely in mass demonstrates that extrasolar planets of low mass exist. In this paper, we describe a mission, called Darwin, whose primary goal is the search for, and characterization of, terrestrial extrasolar planets and the search for life. Accomplishing the mission objectives will require collaborative science across disciplines, including astrophysics, planetary sciences, chemistry, and microbiology. Darwin is designed to detect rocky planets similar to Earth and perform spectroscopic analysis at mid-infrared wavelengths (6-20 mum), where an advantageous contrast ratio between star and planet occurs. The baseline mission is projected to last 5 years and consists of approximately 200 individual target stars. Among these, 25-50 planetary systems can be studied spectroscopically, which will include the search for gases such as CO(2), H(2)O, CH(4), and O(3). Many of the key technologies required for the construction of Darwin have already been demonstrated, and the remainder are estimated to be mature in the near future. Darwin is a mission that will ignite intense interest in both the research community and the wider public.

Salinity Processes in the Upper Ocean Regional Study (SPURS)

NASA Image and Video Library

2012-09-04

NASA Physical Oceanography Program Scientist Eric Lindstrom talks about the instruments onboard the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution research vessel Knorr on Tuesday, Sept. 4, 2012, in Woods Hole, Mass. Various scientific instruments will be deployed in the Atlantic Ocean as part of the Salinity Processes in the Upper Ocean Regional Study (SPURS) which is set to sail on Sept. 6. The NASA-sponsored expedition will sail to the North Atlantic's saltiest spot to get a detailed, 3-D picture of how salt content fluctuates in the ocean's upper layers and how these variations are related to shifts in rainfall patterns around the planet. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

Salinity Processes in the Upper Ocean Regional Study (SPURS)

NASA Image and Video Library

2012-09-04

NASA Physical Oceanography Program Scientist Eric Lindstrom inspects an autonomous wave glider onboard the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution research vessel Knorr on Tuesday, Sept. 4, 2012, in Woods Hole, Mass. The autonomous gliders will be deployed in the Atlantic Ocean as part of the Salinity Processes in the Upper Ocean Regional Study (SPURS) which is set to sail on Sept. 6. The NASA-sponsored expedition will sail to the North Atlantic's saltiest spot to get a detailed, 3-D picture of how salt content fluctuates in the ocean's upper layers and how these variations are related to shifts in rainfall patterns around the planet. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

Salinity Processes in the Upper Ocean Regional Study (SPURS)

NASA Image and Video Library

2012-09-04

Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Senior Scientist Ray Schmitt, left, and NASA Physical Oceanography Program Scientist Eric Lindstrom pose for a photograph in front of the Institution's research vessel Knorr on Tuesday, Sept. 4, 2012, in Woods Hole, Mass. Knorr is scheduled to depart on Sept. 6 to take part in the Salinity Processes in the Upper Ocean Regional Study (SPURS). The NASA-sponsored expedition will sail to the North Atlantic's saltiest spot to get a detailed, 3-D picture of how salt content fluctuates in the ocean's upper layers and how these variations are related to shifts in rainfall patterns around the planet. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

Enhanced EOS photovoltaic power system capability with InP solar cells

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bailey, Sheila G.; Weinberg, Irving; Flood, Dennis J.

1991-01-01

The Earth Observing System (EOS), which is part of the International Mission to Planet Earth, is NASA's main contribution to the Global Change Research Program which opens a new era in international cooperation to study the Earth's environment. Five large platforms are to be launched into polar orbit, two by NASA, two by ESA, and one by the Japanese. In such an orbit the radiation resistance of indium phosphide solar cells combined with the potential of utilizing five micron cell structures yields an increase of 10 percent in the payload capability. If further combined with the advanced photovoltaic solar array the payload savings approaches 12 percent.

Organic matter in meteorites and comets - Possible origins

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Anders, Edward

1991-01-01

At least six extraterrestrial environments may have contributed organic compounds to meteorites and comets: solar nebula, giant-planet subnebulae, asteroid interiors containing liquid water, carbon star atmospheres, and diffuse or dark interstellar clouds. The record in meteorites is partly obscured by pervasive reheating that transformed much of the organic matter to kerogen; nonetheless, it seems that all six formation sites contributed. For comets, the large abundance of HCHO, HCN, and unsaturated hydrocarbons suggests an interstellar component of 50 percent or more, but the contributions of various interstellar processes, and of a solar-nebula component, are hard to quantify. A research program is outlined that may help reduce these uncertainties.

Comparing TRAPPIST-1 to the Solar System

NASA Image and Video Library

2018-02-05

This graph presents known properties of the seven TRAPPIST-1 exoplanets (labeled b through h), showing how they stack up to the inner rocky worlds in our own solar system. The horizontal axis shows the level of illumination that each planet receives from its host star. TRAPPIST-1 is a mere 9 percent the mass of our Sun, and its temperature is much cooler. But because the TRAPPIST-1 planets orbit so closely to their star, they receive comparable levels of light and heat to Earth and its neighboring planets. The vertical axis shows the densities of the planets. Density, calculated based on a planet's mass and volume, is the first important step in understanding a planet's composition. The plot shows that the TRAPPIST-1 planet densities range from being similar to Earth and Venus at the upper end, down to values comparable to Mars at the lower end. The relative sizes of the planets are indicated by the circles. The masses and densities of the TRAPPIST-1 planets were determined by careful measurements of slight variations in the timings of their orbits using extensive observations made by NASA's Spitzer and Kepler space telescopes, in combination with data from Hubble and a number of ground-based telescopes. These measurements are the most precise to date for any system of exoplanets. By comparing these measurements with theoretical models of how planets form and evolve, researchers have determined that they are all rocky in overall composition. Estimates suggest the lower-density planets could have large quantities of water -- as much as 5 percent by mass for TRAPPIST-1d. Earth, in comparison, has only about 0.02 percent of its mass in the form of water. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA22095

Radio astronomy

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kellermann, Kenneth I.; Heeschen, David; Backer, Donald C.; Cohen, Marshall H.; Davis, Michael; Depater, Imke; Deyoung, David; Dulk, George A.; Fisher, J. R.; Goss, W. Miller

1991-01-01

The following subject areas are covered: (1) scientific opportunities (millimeter and sub-millimeter wavelength astronomy; meter to hectometer astronomy; the Sun, stars, pulsars, interstellar masers, and extrasolar planets; the planets, asteroids, and comets; radio galaxies, quasars, and cosmology; and challenges for radio astronomy in the 1990's); (2) recommendations for new facilities (the millimeter arrays, medium scale instruments, and small-scale projects); (3) continuing activities and maintenance, upgrading of telescopes and instrumentation; (4) long range programs and technology development; and (5) social, political, and organizational considerations.

Space telescopes planetary monitoring (PM) and Zvezdny (eng. star) patrol (ZP) for planetary science and exoplanets exploration

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tavrov, Alexander; Frolov, Pavel; Korablev, Oleg; Vedenkin, Nikolai; Barabanov, Sergey

2017-11-01

Solar System planetology requires a wide use of observing spectroscopy for surface geology to atmosphere climatology. A high-contrast imaging is required to study and to characterize extra-solar planetary systems among other faint astronomical targets observed in the vicinity of bright objects. Two middle class space telescopes projects aimed to observe Solar system planets by a long term monitoring via spectroscopy and polarimetry. Extra solar planets (exoplanets) engineering and scientific explorations are included in science program.

Planetary science: A lunar perspective

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Taylor, S. R.

1982-01-01

An interpretative synthesis of current knowledge on the moon and the terrestrial planets is presented, emphasizing the impact of recent lunar research (using Apollo data and samples) on theories of planetary morphology and evolution. Chapters are included on the exploration of the solar system; geology and stratigraphy; meteorite impacts, craters, and multiring basins; planetary surfaces; planetary crusts; basaltic volcanism; planetary interiors; the chemical composition of the planets; the origin and evolution of the moon and planets; and the significance of lunar and planetary exploration. Photographs, drawings, graphs, tables of quantitative data, and a glossary are provided.

A Planetary System Exploration Project for Introductory Astronomy and Astrobiology Courses

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rees, Richard F.

2015-01-01

I have created three-part projects for the introductory astronomy and astrobiology courses at Westfield State University which simulate the exploration of a fictional planetary system. The introductory astronomy project is an initial reconnaissance of the system by a robotic spacecraft, culminating in close flybys of two or three planets. The astrobiology project is a follow-up mission concluding with the landing of a roving lander on a planet or moon. Student responses in earlier parts of each project can be used to determine which planets are targeted for closer study in later parts. Highly realistic views of the planets from space and from their surfaces can be created using programs such as Celestia and Terragen; images and video returned by the spacecraft are thus a highlight of the project. Although designed around the particular needs and mechanics of the introductory astronomy and astrobiology courses for non-majors at WSU, these projects could be adapted for use in courses at many different levels.

The Exoplant Migration Timescale from K2 Young Clusters

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rizzuto, Aaron C.; Mann, Andrew; Kraus, Adam L.; Ireland, Michael

2017-01-01

Planetary Migration models for close-in exoplanets(a < 0.1 AU, P < 20 days) can be loosely divided into three categories: Disk-driven migration, binary-star planet interaction, and planet-planet interaction. Disk migration, occurs over the lifetime of the protoplanetary disk (<5 Myr), while migration involving dynamical multi-body interactions operate on timescales of ~100’s of Myr to ~1Gyr, a lengthier process than disk migration. It is unclear which of these is the dominating mechanism.The K2 mission has measured planet formation timescales and migration pathways by sampling groups of stars at key pre-main-sequence ages: Over the past 10 campaigns, multiple groups of young stars have been observed by K2, ranging from the 10 Myr Upper Scorpius OB association, through the ˜120 Myr Pleiades, the ˜600-800 Myr Hyades and Praesepe moving groups, to the original Kepler Field. The frequency, orbital and compositional properties of the exoplanet population in these samples of different age, with careful treatment of detection completeness, will be sufficient to address the question of exoplanet migration as their host stars are settling onto the main sequence.We will present the initial results of a program to directly address the question of planet migration with a uniform injection-recovery tests on a new K2 detrending pipeline that is optimized for the particular case of young, rotationally variable stars in K2 to robustly measure the detectability of planets of differing size and orbit. Initial results point towards a migration timescale of 200-700 Myr, which is consistent with the slower planet-planet scattering or Kozai migration models.

Hot Exoplanet Atmospheres Resolved with Transit Spectroscopy (HEARTS). I. Detection of hot neutral sodium at high altitudes on WASP-49b

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wyttenbach, A.; Lovis, C.; Ehrenreich, D.; Bourrier, V.; Pino, L.; Allart, R.; Astudillo-Defru, N.; Cegla, H. M.; Heng, K.; Lavie, B.; Melo, C.; Murgas, F.; Santerne, A.; Ségransan, D.; Udry, S.; Pepe, F.

2017-06-01

High-resolution optical spectroscopy during the transit of HD 189733b, a prototypical hot Jupiter, allowed the resolution of the Na I D sodium lines in the planet, giving access to the extreme conditions of the planet upper atmosphere. We have undertaken HEARTS, a spectroscopic survey of exoplanet upper atmospheres, to perform a comparative study of hot gas giants and determine how stellar irradiation affect them. Here, we report on the first HEARTS observations of the hot Saturn-mass planet WASP-49b. We observed the planet with the HARPS high-resolution spectrograph at ESO 3.6 m telescope. We collected 126 spectra of WASP-49, covering three transits of WASP-49b. We analyzed and modeled the planet transit spectrum, while paying particular attention to the treatment of potentially spurious signals of stellar origin. We spectrally resolve the Na I D lines in the planet atmosphere and show that these signatures are unlikely to arise from stellar contamination. The large contrasts of 2.0 ± 0.5% (D2) and 1.8 ± 0.7% (D1) require the presence of hot neutral sodium ( K) at high altitudes ( 1.5 planet radius or 45 000 km). From estimating the cloudiness index of WASP-49b, we determine its atmosphere to be cloud free at the altitudes probed by the sodium lines. WASP-49b is close to the border of the evaporation desert and exhibits an enhanced thermospheric signature with respect to a farther-away planet such as HD 189733b. Based on observations made at ESO 3.6 m telescope at the La Silla Observatory under ESO program 096.C-0331.

The California-Kepler Survey. I. High-resolution Spectroscopy of 1305 Stars Hosting Kepler Transiting Planets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Petigura, Erik A.; Howard, Andrew W.; Marcy, Geoffrey W.; Johnson, John Asher; Isaacson, Howard; Cargile, Phillip A.; Hebb, Leslie; Fulton, Benjamin J.; Weiss, Lauren M.; Morton, Timothy D.; Winn, Joshua N.; Rogers, Leslie A.; Sinukoff, Evan; Hirsch, Lea A.; Crossfield, Ian J. M.

2017-09-01

The California-Kepler Survey (CKS) is an observational program developed to improve our knowledge of the properties of stars found to host transiting planets by NASA’s Kepler Mission. The improvement stems from new high-resolution optical spectra obtained using HIRES at the W. M. Keck Observatory. The CKS stellar sample comprises 1305 stars classified as Kepler objects of interest, hosting a total of 2075 transiting planets. The primary sample is magnitude-limited ({Kp}< 14.2) and contains 960 stars with 1385 planets. The sample was extended to include some fainter stars that host multiple planets, ultra-short period planets, or habitable zone planets. The spectroscopic parameters were determined with two different codes, one based on template matching and the other on direct spectral synthesis using radiative transfer. We demonstrate a precision of 60 K in {T}{eff}, 0.10 dex in {log}g, 0.04 dex in [{Fe}/{{H}}], and 1.0 {km} {{{s}}}-1 in V\\sin I. In this paper, we describe the CKS project and present a uniform catalog of spectroscopic parameters. Subsequent papers in this series present catalogs of derived stellar properties such as mass, radius, and age; revised planet properties; and statistical explorations of the ensemble. CKS is the largest survey to determine the properties of Kepler stars using a uniform set of high-resolution, high signal-to-noise ratio spectra. The HIRES spectra are available to the community for independent analyses. Based on observations obtained at the W. M. Keck Observatory, which is operated jointly by the University of California and the California Institute of Technology. Keck time was granted for this project by the University of California, and California Institute of Technology, the University of Hawaii, and NASA.

Speckle Imaging and Spectroscopy of Kepler Exo-planet Transit Candidate Stars

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Howell, Steve B.; Sherry, William; Horch, Elliott; Doyle, Laurance

2010-02-01

The NASA Kepler mission was successfully launched on 6 March 2009 and has begun science operations. Commissioning tests done early on in the mission have shown that for the bright sources, 10-15 ppm relative photometry can be achieved. This level assures we will detect Earth- like transits if they are present. ``Hot Jupiter" and similar large planet candidates have already been discovered and will be discussed at the Jan. AAS meeting as well as in a special issue of Science magazine to appear near years end. The plethora of variability observed is astounding and includes a number of eclipsing binaries which appear to have Jupiter and smaller size objects as an orbiting their body. Our proposal consists of three highly related objectives: 1) To continue our highly successful speckle imaging program which is a major component of defense to weed out false positive candidate transiting planets found by Kepler and move the rest to probable or certain exo-planet detections; 2) To obtain low resolution ``discovery" type spectra for planet candidate stars in order to provide spectral type and luminosity class indicators as well as a first look triage to eliminate binaries and rapid rotators; and 3) to obtain ~1Aresolution time ordered spectra of eclipsing binaries that are exo-planet candidates in order to obtain the velocity solution for the binary star, allowing its signal to be modeled and removed from the Keck or HET exo-planet velocity search. As of this writing, Kepler has produced a list of 227 exo-planet candidates which require false positive decision tree observations. Our proposed effort performs much of the first line of defense for the mission.

Collisional and dynamical processes in moon and planet formation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chapman, C. R.; Davis, D. R.; Weidenschilling, S. J.; Hartmann, W. K.; Spaute, D.

1987-01-01

Research on a variety of dynamical processes relevant to the formation of planets, satellites and ring systems is discussed. The main focus is on studies of accretionary formation of early protoplanets using a numerical model, structures and evolution of ring systems and individual bodies within planetary rings, and theories of lunar origin.

Ocean Planet. Interdisciplinary Marine Science Activities.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Branca, Barbara

The Ocean Planet is a traveling exhibition from the Smithsonian Institution designed to share with the public what recent research has revealed about the oceans and to encourage ocean conservation. This booklet of lessons and activities adapts several themes from the exhibition for use in middle and high school classrooms. Lesson plans include:…

Viking: The exploration of Mars

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1984-01-01

Photographs of the planet Mars generated by the Viking Mars program are presented and discussed. The Martian surface and its volcanoes receive particular attention. In addition, the atmosphere, temperature, surface craters, polar regions, and composition of Mars are briefly reviewed. Planetary evolution is considered. The highlights of the Mariner program for Mars are given.

Characterizing the UV environment of GJ1214b

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Desert, Jean-Michel

2010-09-01

The recent detection of a super-Earth transiting a nearby low-mass star GJ1214 {Charbonneau et al., 2009} has opened the door to testing the predictions of low mass planet atmosphere theories. Theoretical models predict that low mass planets are likely to exist with atmospheres that can vary widely in their composition and structure. Some super-Earths may be able to retain massive hydrogen-rich atmospheres. Others might never accumulate hydrogen or experience significant escape of lightweight elements, resulting in atmospheres more like those of the terrestrial planets in our Solar System. Planets which orbit close to their parent stars, such as close-in hot-Jupiters and super-Earths, are exposed to strong XEUV flux that influence their atmospheres and may trigger atmospheric escape processes. This phenomenon, which shapes planetary atmospheres, determines the evolution of the planet. This can also dramatically enhance the detectability of a heavily irradiated hydrogen atmosphere when the planet transits in front of its parent star. We propose to use HST/STIS/G140M to determine the intensity and variability of the Lyman-alpha chromospheric emission line and provide observational constraints to super-Earth atmospheric models. We propose to coordinate this measurement with a planetary transit in order to detect large upper atmospheric signatures if present. This short measurement also enables us to determine whether a larger program dedicated to upper atmospheric study is feasible for a following cycle.

Exoplanets, Exo-Solar Life, and Human Significance

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wiseman, Jennifer

2011-01-01

With the recent detection of over 500 extrasolar planets, the existence of "other worlds", perhaps even other Earths, is no longer in the realm of science fiction. The study of exoplanets rapidly moved from an activity on the fringe of astronomy to one of the highest priorities of the world's astronomical programs. Actual images of extrasolar planets were revealed over the past two years for the first time. NASA's Hubble Space Telescope is already characterizing the atmospheres of Jupiter-like planets, in other systems. And the recent launch of the NASA Kepler space telescope is enabling the first statistical assessment of how common solar systems like our own really are. As we begin to characterize these "other worlds" and assess their habitability, the question of the significance and uniqueness of life on Earth will impact our society as never before. I will provide a comprehensive overview of the techniques and status of exoplanet detection, followed by reflections as to the societal impact of finding out that Earths are common, or rare. Will finding other potentially habitable planets create another "Copernican Revolution"? Will perceptions of the significance of life on Earth change when we find other Earth-like planets? I will discuss the plans of the scientific community for future telescopes that will be abe to survey our solar neighborhood for Earth-like planets, study their atmospheres, and search for biological signs of life.

TeMPEST: the Texas, McDonald Photometric Extrasolar Search for Transits

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Baliber, N. R.; Cochran, W. D.

2001-11-01

The TeMPEST project is a photometric search for transits of extrasolar giant planets orbiting at distances < ~ 0.1 AU to their parent stars. As is the case with HD 209458, the only known transiting system, measurements of the photometric dimming of stars with transiting planets, along with radial velocity (RV) data, will provide information on physical characteristics (mass, radius, and mean density) of these planets. Further study of HD 209458 b and planets like it might reveal their reflectivity, putting further constraints on their surface temperatures, as well as allow measurement of the composition of their outer atmospheres. To detect these types of systems, we use the McDonald Observatory 0.76m Prime Focus Camera (PFC), which provides a 46.2 arcmin square field. We are currently obtaining our first full season of data, and by early 2002 will have sufficient data to follow approximately 5,000 stars with the precision necessary to detect transits of close-orbiting Jovian planets. We also present data of the detection of the transit of the planet orbiting HD 209458 using the 0.76m PFC. These data are consistent with the partial occultation of the light from the star caused by the transit of an opaque disc of radius 1.4 R Jup. The TeMPEST project is funded by the NASA Origins program.

AstroBioLab: A Mobile Biotic and Soil Analysis Laboratory

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bada, J. L.; Zent, A. P.; Grunthaner, F. J.; Quinn, R. C.; Navarro-Gonzalex, R.; Gonez-Silva, B.; McKay, C. P.

2003-01-01

The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, and NASA Ames Research Center are currently developing a mobile Astrobiology Laboratory (AstroBioLab) for a series of field campaigns using the Chilean Atacama Desert as a Martian surface analog site. The Astrobiology Science and Technology for Exploring Planets (ASTEP) program funded AstroBioLab is designed around the Mars Organic Detector (MOD) instrument and the Mars Oxidant Instrument (MOI) which provide complementary data sets. Using this suite of Mars Instrument Development Program (MIDP) and Planetary Instrument Definition and Development Program (PIDDP) derived in situ instruments, which provide state-of-the-art organic compound detection (attomolar sensitivity) and depth profiling of oxidation chemistry, we measure and correlate the interplay of organic compounds, inorganic oxidants, UV irradiation and water abundance. This mobile laboratory studies the proposition that intense UV irradiation coupled with low levels of liquid water generates metastable oxidizing species that can consume moderate amounts of seeded organic compounds. Results from the initial spring 2003 field campaign will be presented.

PACES Participation in Educational Outreach Programs at the University of Texas at El Paso

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dodge, Rebecca L.

1997-01-01

The University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) is involved in several initiatives to improve science education within the El Paso area public schools. These include outreach efforts into the K- 12 classrooms; training programs for in-service teachers; and the introduction of a strong science core curricula within the College of Education. The Pan American Center for Earth and Environmental Studies (PACES), a NASA-funded University Research Center, will leverage off the goals of these existing initiatives to provide curriculum support materials at all levels. We will use currently available Mission to Planet Earth (MTPE) materials as well as new materials developed specifically for this region, in an effort to introduce the Earth System Science perspective into these programs. In addition, we are developing curriculum support materials and classes within the Geology and Computer Departments, to provide education in the area of remote sensing and GIS applications at the undergraduate and graduate levels.

Cooperative observation data center for planets: starting with the Mars 2009-2010 observation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nakakushi, T.; Okyudo, M.; Tomita, A.

2009-12-01

We propose in this paper a plan to construct a planetary image data center on the internet, which links professional researchers and amateur observers all over the world. Such data archive projects have worked, at least for Mars. Since 2003, one of the authors (T. N.) have started a project to summarize Mars observations using such cooperative network observation data archives and to publish the summary as professional research papers (Nakakushi et al., 2004, 2005, and 2008). Planetary atmosphere varies in various timescales, which requires temporarily continuous observations. Cooperative observation which amateur observers join can keep the observation continuous and sustainable, so that it can be a strong weapon to reveal planetary climate and meteorology. For outer planets, in particular, we don't know synoptic "seasonal" variations because of their long periods of revolution. We need steady and persistent effort to accumulate observations. That is why we need amateur observers' high-level observation techniques. To do so, we also needs systems to provide (and reproduce) data for users in an appropriate manner. We start from Mars with our own new date archive website, because we have much experience in terms of Mars. Next, we will expand the system for all the planets. Roughly said, there will be 3 steps to expand the project to all the planets: (1) to construct our own Mars cooperative observation data center, (2) to link it with professional studies, (3) to construct cooperative observation data center for all planets. And 4 problems to tackle: (1) to develop web interfaces for users to submit data, (2) to develop interfaces for managers, (3) to secure finances, (4) to secure professional researchers. 2009 and 2010 are a good apparition for Mars observation. We manage the Mars image data website, find problems and solutions in detail, and search for ways to expand it to all the planet and to enable sustainable management.

The Transiting Exoplanet Community Early Release Science Program

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Batalha, Natalie; Bean, Jacob; Stevenson, Kevin; Alam, M.; Batalha, N.; Benneke, B.; Berta-Thompson, Z.; Blecic, J.; Bruno, G.; Carter, A.; Chapman, J.; Crossfield, I.; Crouzet, N.; Decin, L.; Demory, B.; Desert, J.; Dragomir, D.; Evans, T.; Fortney, J.; Fraine, J.; Gao, P.; Garcia Munoz, A.; Gibson, N.; Goyal, J.; Harrington, J.; Heng, K.; Hu, R.; Kempton, E.; Kendrew, S.; Kilpatrick, B.; Knutson, H.; Kreidberg, L.; Krick, J.; Lagage, P.; Lendl, M.; Line, M.; Lopez-Morales, M.; Louden, T.; Madhusudhan, N.; Mandell, A.; Mansfield, M.; May, E.; Morello, G.; Morley, C.; Moses, J.; Nikolov, N.; Parmentier, V.; Redfield, S.; Roberts, J.; Schlawin, E.; Showman, A.; Sing, D.; Spake, J.; Swain, M.; Todorov, K.; Tsiaras, A.; Venot, O.; Waalkes, W.; Wakeford, H.; Wheatley, P.; Zellem, R.

2017-11-01

JWST presents the opportunity to transform our understanding of planets and the origins of life by revealing the atmospheric compositions, structures, and dynamics of transiting exoplanets in unprecedented detail. However, the high-precision, time-series observations required for such investigations have unique technical challenges, and our prior experience with HST, Spitzer, and Kepler indicates that there will be a steep learning curve when JWST becomes operational. We propose an ERS program to accelerate the acquisition and diffusion of technical expertise for transiting exoplanet observations with JWST. This program will also provide a compelling set of representative datasets, which will enable immediate scientific breakthroughs. We will exercise the time-series modes of all four instruments that have been identified as the consensus highest priority by the community, observe the full suite of transiting planet characterization geometries (transits, eclipses, and phase curves), and target planets with host stars that span an illustrative range of brightnesses. The proposed observations were defined through an inclusive and transparent process that had participation from JWST instrument experts and international leaders in transiting exoplanet studies. The targets have been vetted with previous measurements, will be observable early in the mission, and have exceptional scientific merit. We will engage the community with a two-phase Data Challenge that culminates with the delivery of planetary spectra, time series instrument performance reports, and open-source data analysis toolkits.

Educational Opportunities for the 2014 Opposition of Mars

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Albin, Edward F.

2013-10-01

Mars reaches opposition and is well placed for public viewing on April 8, 2014 at 20:57 UT. The opposition timeline and educational opportunities are considered, with emphasis on programs presented at the Fernbank Science Center in Atlanta, Georgia. Educational programs include a planetarium presentation, observations of Mars through telescopes, and activities associated with the ongoing Curiosity Rover (MSL) / anticipated Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution (MAVEN) spacecraft. When at opposition in 2014, Mars will have an apparent diameter of 15.1 arcseconds and will be visible in the evening sky for a little over a year until it is lost in the glare of the Sun in late April 2015. At closest approach, the planet will be a bit more than 57 million miles (92 million kilometers) from the Earth. Mars is especially well placed in the evening sky for viewing between the months of March and May of 2014. During this period, the planet can be found in retrograde motion within the constellation pattern of Virgo. Fernbank Science Center will offer public viewing of Mars through the observatory’s 36-inch (0.9 meter) reflecting telescope on Thursday and Friday evenings. The observatory is open immediately after the evening planetarium program. We anticipate showing a fulldome planetarium presentation about Mars entitled, "Mars Quest," which includes a live update about the Red Planet and how to find it among the stars in the current evening sky.

On the writing of programming systems for spacecraft computers.

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mathur, F. P.; Rohr, J. A.

1972-01-01

Consideration of the systems designed to generate programs for the increasingly complex digital computers being used on board unmanned deep-space probes. Such programming systems must accommodate the special-purpose features incorporated in the hardware. The use of higher-level language facilities in the programming system can significantly simplify the task. Computers for Mariner and for the Outer Planets Grand Tour are briefly described, as well as their programming systems. Aspects of the higher level languages are considered.

DISK AROUND STAR MAY BE WARPED BY UNSEEN PLANET

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2002-01-01

NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has provided strong evidence for the existence of a roughly Jupiter-sized planet orbiting the star Beta Pictoris. Detailed Hubble images of the inner region of the 200-billion mile diameter dust disk encircling the star reveal an unexpected warp. Researchers say the warp can be best explained as caused by the gravitational pull of an unseen planet. The suspected planet would dwell within a five-billion mile wide clear zone in the center of the disk. This zone has long been suspected of harboring planets that swept it clear of debris, but the Hubble discovery provides more definitive evidence that a planet is there. (Alternative theories suggest the clear zone is empty because it is too warm for ice particles to exist.) 'We were surprised to find that the innermost region of the disk is orbiting in a different plane from the rest of the disk,' says Chris Burrows (Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, Maryland, and the European Space Agency) who is presenting his results at the meeting of the American Astronomical Society in San Antonio, Texas. As he analyzed Hubble images, taken in January 1995 with the Wide Field Planetary Camera 2, Burrows discovered an unusual bulge in the nearly edge-on disk, which was mirrored on the other side of the star. 'Such a warp cannot last for very long,' says Burrows. 'This means that something is still twisting the disk and keeping out of a basic flat shape.' 'The presence of the warp is strong though indirect evidence for the existence of planets in this system. If Beta Pictoris had a solar system like ours, it would produce a warp like the one we see.' Burrows concludes, 'The Beta Pictoris system seems to contain at least one planet not too dissimilar from Jupiter in size and orbit. Rocky planets like Earth might circle Beta Pictoris as well. However, there is no evidence for these yet. Any planet will be at least a billion- times fainter than the star, and presently impossible to view directly, even with Hubble.' An alterative explanation of the warp is that the disk could have been perturbed by a passing star However this is very unlikely because only the inner region of the disk is affected. Burrows estimates that there is a one in 400,000 chance for Beta Pictoris to have such a close encounter with another star. 'Though Beta Pictoris is probably at least 100 million years old, other explanations for the warp do not allow it to last for very long.' The size of the warp allows Burrows to roughly measure the mass of the orbiting body. 'It must lie well within the warp, probably within the clear zone that exists around Beta Pictoris.' On the other hand, he points out, it cannot be too close to the star because its gravitational pull would cause the star to 'jiggle,' and such radial velocity variations have never been seen in Beta Pictoris. Burrows estimates the planet is from one-twentieth to twenty times the mass of Jupiter. The planet must lie within the range of distances typical of planetary distances within our solar system -- from about Earth's distance from the Sun to about Pluto's distance from the Sun (Pluto is roughly 30 times father from the Sun than Earth.) If the suspected planet were as far from Beta Pictoris as Jupiter is from our Sun, it also would have about the same mass as Jupiter. The planet's orbit must be inclined by about three degrees to the plane of the Beta Pictoris disk, and this is typical of the inclinations of the orbits of the planets in our solar system. The star is located 50 light-years away in the southern constellation Pictor (Painter's Easel). Though its precise age is not known, Beta Pictoris is generally considered a mature, main sequence star, slightly hotter than our Sun. Detections of substellar objects orbiting nearby stars have recently been reported for two other normal (i.e., main sequence) stars -- Gliese 229 and 51 Pegasus. However, Beta Pictoris is the only candidate that looks like it might possess a planetary system similar to our own. Beta Pictoris also is the only known star with a circumstellar disk of gas and dust that can be optically imaged. Despite the presence of dust around approximately one-third of the brightest nearby stars -- as deduced from NASA's Infrared Astronomy Satellite (IRAS) data -- ground-based telescope imaging has not detected other disks. Several Hubble programs are currently in progress to search for these disks. The NICMOS (Near Infrared Camera and Multi-Object Spectrometer), to be installed on Hubble during the February 1997 servicing mission, will provide a near-infrared capability needed for this type of search. * * * * * The Space Telescope Science Institute is operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc. (AURA), for NASA, under contract with the Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD. The Hubble Space Telescope is a project of international cooperation between NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA).

The Exploration of Mars and the Improvement of Living Conditions in Western Asian Countries

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

De Morais Mendonca Teles, Antonio

2016-07-01

Space is the new frontier. The exploration of a new world, Mars, has been giving people on Earth valuable comparative information about climatic and geological processes occurring here on our home planet. With the Viking 1 and 2, Mars Global Surveyor, Mars Odyssey, Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, Sojourner, Spirit, Opportunity, Curiosity, etc., spacecrafts, which explored the Red Planet we obtained a great deal information about the extremely arid soil and dry air of Mars in the present, and its watery condition in the distant past. Now there is a decade-long, program of robotic exploration of the martian atmosphere and soil - the 'Mars Surveyor Program', which is a series of small, cheap and fast spacecrafts, carrying very few scientific instruments, to be launched about every two years. Here in this paper, under the principles in the United Nations' Agenda 21, we comment on this new phase of Mars exploration under development, which began in 1996, and its benefits to living conditions in developing countries with desert regions. A peaceful regular research of the arid Mars, will help us to understand much better the dynamics of formation of dry regions here on Earth. We suggest that, if the developing countries participate in that program, they will achieve the scientific understanding to create a practical technology, with which they will acquire ways to future transform their arid areas into a more humid places, and to slow the process of desertification of other regions. This, using their own natural resources and own scientific personnel. That would strongly benefit the living conditions in Western Asian countries, which have many desert regions.

Line Bisector Variations in Stars with Extrasolar Planets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Povich, M. S.; Giampapa, M. S.; Valenti, J. A.; Tilleman, T.

1999-12-01

We present the results from a high-resolution, synoptic spectroscopic program of observation of ten F- and G-type stars, seven of which exhibit periodic radial velocity variations attributed to the presence of one or more substellar companions. The observations were obtained from 1998 March to 1999 February using the 1.52-m NSO McMath-Pierce Solar Telescope Facility on Kitt Peak in conjunction with the solar-stellar spectrograph. The spectra were acquired with a resolving power of approximately 1.2 x 105. The line bisector was then derived from unblended photospheric features. In particular, we define the velocity displacement of the spectral line bisector and determine the bisector amplitude for the Fe I absorption line at 625.26 nm in order to search for variations in the line asymmetry over time. Such variations could mimic Doppler shifts in observations with lower spectral resolution. Examination of the bisector velocity displacement over the time span of our observations reveals no substantial difference between stars with planetary companions and those without reported companions. We find no correlation between the bisector variations and the orbital phase of a substellar companion in any of our target stars. Simulations of a periodic signal with noise levels based on our measurement errors suggest that we can exclude bisector variations with amplitudes greater than about 20 m s-1. These results support the conclusion that extrasolar planets best explain the observed periodic variations in radial velocity. This work was supported by a NASA grant to the NOAO under the auspices of the Origins of Solar Systems Program. MP gratefully acknowledges support from the NSF-sponsored Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) program at the NOAO. The NOAO is operated by AURA, Inc., under a cooperative agreement with the NSF.

The Mega-MUSCLES HST Treasury Survey

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Froning, Cynthia S.; France, Kevin; Loyd, R. O. Parke; Youngblood, Allison; Brown, Alexander; Schneider, Christian; Berta-Thompson, Zachory; Kowalski, Adam

2018-01-01

JWST will be able to observe the atmospheres of rocky planets transiting nearby M dwarfs. A few such planets are already known (around GJ1132, Proxima Cen, and Trappist-1) and TESS is predicted to find many more, including ~14 habitable zone planets. To interpret observations of these exoplanets' atmospheres, we must understand the high-energy SED of their host stars: X-ray/EUV irradiation can erode a planet's gaseous envelope and FUV/NUV-driven photochemistry shapes an atmosphere's molecular abundances, including potential biomarkers like O2, O3, and CH4. Our MUSCLES Treasury Survey (Cycles 19+22) used Hubble/COS+STIS UV observations with contemporaneous X-ray and ground-based data to construct complete SEDs for 11 low-mass exoplanet hosts. MUSCLES is the most widely used database for early-M and K dwarf (>0.3 M_sun) irradiance spectra and has supported a wide range of atmospheric stability and biomarker modeling work. However, TESS will find most of its habitable planets transiting stars less massive than this, and these will be the planets to characterize with JWST. Here, we introduce the Mega-MUSCLES project, an approved HST Cycle 25 Treasury program. Following on the successful MUSCLES survey, Mega-MUSCLES will expand our target list to focus on: (a) new M dwarf exoplanet hosts with varying properties; (b) reference M dwarfs below 0.3 solar masses that may be used as proxies for M dwarf planet hosts discovered after HST's lifetime; and (c) more rapidly rotating stars of GJ1132's mass to probe XUV evolution over gigayear timescales. We will also gather the first panchromatic SEDs of rocky planet hosts GJ1132 and Trappist-1. Here, we present an overview of the Mega-MUSCLES motivation, targets list, and status of the survey and show how it extends proven methods to a key new sample of stars, upon which critically depends the long-term goal of studying habitable planet atmospheres with JWST and beyond.

Young Brown Dwarfs and Giant Planets as Companions to Weak-Line T Tauri Stars

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brandner, Wolfgang; Frink, Sabine; Kohler, Rainer; Kunkel, Michael

Weak-line T Tauri stars, contrary to classical T Tauri stars, no longer possess massive circumstellar disks. In weak-line T Tauri stars, the circumstellar matter was either accreted onto the T Tauri star or has been redistributed. Disk instabilities in the outer disk might result in the formation of brown dwarfs and giant planets. Based on photometric and spectroscopic studies of ROSAT sources, we have selected an initial sample of 200 weak-line T Tauri stars in the Chamaeleon T association and the Scorpius-Centaurus OB association. In the course of follow-up observations, we identified visual and spectroscopic binary stars and excluded them from our final list, as the complex dynamics and gravitational interaction in binary systems might aggravate or even completely inhibit the formation of planets (depending on physical separation of the binary components and their mass ratio). The membership of individual stars to the associations was established from proper motion studies and radial velocity surveys. Our final sample consists of 70 single weak-line T Tauri stars. We have initiated a program to spatially resolve young brown dwarfs and young giant planets as companions to single weak-line T Tauri stars using adaptive optics at the ESO 3.6 m telescope and HST/NICMOS. In this poster we describe the observing strategy and present first results of our adaptive optics observations. An update on the program status can be found at http://www.astro.uiuc.edu/~brandner/text/bd/bd.html

The Kepler Mission and the International Year of Astronomy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Harman, Pamela; DeVore, E.; Gould, A.; Koch, D.

2008-05-01

Johannes Kepler was one of Galileo's contemporaries, publishing New Astronomy defining his first two laws, nearly 400 years ago, in 1609. It is a fitting tribute that the Kepler Mission launches in 2009. Kepler continued his studies of motion and made observations of satellites of Jupiter, and published his third law. We now recognize Kepler's laws as 1. Planets move in elliptical; 2. The planets move such that the line between the Sun and the Planet sweeps out equal areas in equal time no matter where in the orbit; and 3. The square of the period of the orbit of a planet is proportional to the mean distance from the Sun cubed. Kepler's laws were deduced empirically from the motions of the planet Mars in the early 17th century, before Newton deduced the law of gravity and his laws of motion. The Kepler Mission, a NASA Discovery mission, is specifically designed to survey our region of the Milky Way galaxy to detect and characterize hundreds of Earth-size and smaller planets in or near the habitable zone. The habitable zone encompasses the distances from a star where liquid water can exist on a planet's surface. Results from this mission will allow us to place our solar system within the continuum of planetary systems in the Galaxy. The Mission Education and Public Outreach (EPO) Program has developed a Night Sky Network (NSN) outreach kit, Shadows and Silhouettes. This NSN kit is used by amateur astronomers at school and public observing events to illustrate a transit, and explain eclipses.

In-Space Propulsion Program Overview and Status

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Carroll, Carol; Johnson, Les; Baggett, Randy

2002-01-01

NASA's In-Space Propulsion (ISP) Program is designed to develop advanced propulsion technologies that can enable or greatly enhance near and mid-term NASA science missions by significantly reducing cost, mass, and/or travel times. These technologies include: Electric Propulsion (Solar and Nuclear Electric) [note: The Nuclear Electric Propulsion work will be transferred to the NSI program in FY03]; Propellantless Propulsion (aerocapture, solar sails, plasma sails, and momentum exchange tethers); Advanced Chemical Propulsion. The ISP approach to identifying and prioritizing these most promising technologies is to use mission analysis and subsequent peer review. These technologies under consideration are mid-Technology Readiness Level (TRL) up to TRL-6 for incorporation into mission planning within three - five years of initiation. In addition, maximum use of open competition is encouraged to seek optimum solutions under ISP. Several NASA Research Announcements (NRAs) have been released asking industry, academia and other organizations to propose propulsion technologies designed to improve our ability to conduct scientific study of the outer planets and beyond. The ISP Program is managed by NASA HQ (Headquarters) and implemented by the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama.

NASA's Chemical Transfer Propulsion Program for Pathfinder

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hannum, Ned P.; Berkopec, Frank D.; Zurawski, Robert L.

1989-01-01

Pathfinder is a research and technology project, with specific deliverables, initiated by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) which will strengthen the technology base of the United States civil space program in preparation for future space exploration missions. Pathfinder begins in Fiscal Year 1989, and is to advance a collection of critical technologies for these missions and ensure technology readiness for future national decisions regarding exploration of the solar system. The four major thrusts of Pathfinder are: surface exploration, in-space operations, humans-in-space, and space transfer. The space transfer thrust will provide the critical technologies needed for transportation to, and return from, the Moon, Mars, and other planets in the solar system, as well as for reliable and cost-effective Earth-orbit operations. A key element of this thrust is the Chemical Transfer Propulsion program which will provide the propulsion technology for high performance, liquid oxygen/liquid hydrogen expander cycle engines which may be operated and maintained in space. Described here are the program overview including the goals and objectives, management, technical plan, and technology transfer for the Chemical Transfer Propulsion element of Pathfinder.

Direct imaging of extra-solar planets in star forming regions. Lessons learned from a false positive around IM Lupi

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mawet, D.; Absil, O.; Montagnier, G.; Riaud, P.; Surdej, J.; Ducourant, C.; Augereau, J.-C.; Röttinger, S.; Girard, J.; Krist, J.; Stapelfeldt, K.

2012-08-01

Context. Most exoplanet imagers consist of ground-based adaptive optics coronagraphic cameras which are currently limited in contrast, sensitivity and astrometric precision, but advantageously observe in the near-infrared window (1-5 μm). Because of these practical limitations, our current observational aim at detecting and characterizing planets puts heavy constraints on target selection, observing strategies, data reduction, and follow-up. Most surveys so far have thus targeted young systems (1-100 Myr) to catch the putative remnant thermal radiation of giant planets, which peaks in the near-infrared. They also favor systems in the solar neighborhood (d < 80 pc), which eases angular resolution requirements but also ensures a good knowledge of the distance and proper motion, which are critical to secure the planet status, and enable subsequent characterization. Aims: Because of their youth, it is very tempting to target the nearby star forming regions, which are typically twice as far as the bulk of objects usually combed for planets by direct imaging. Probing these interesting reservoirs sets additional constraints that we review in this paper by presenting the planet search that we initiated in 2008 around the disk-bearing T Tauri star IM Lup, which is part of the Lupus star forming region (140-190 pc). Methods: We show and discuss why age determination, the choice of evolutionary model for both the central star and the planet, precise knowledge of the host star proper motion, relative or absolute (between different instruments) astrometric accuracy (including plate scale calibration), and patience are the key ingredients for exoplanet searches around more distant young stars. Results: Unfortunately, most of the time, precision and perseverance are not paying off: we discovered a candidate companion around IM Lup in 2008, which we report here to be an unbound background object. We nevertheless review in details the lessons learned from our endeavor, and additionally present the best detection limits ever calculated for IM Lup. We also accessorily report on the successful use of innovative data reduction techniques, such as the damped-LOCI and iterative roll subtraction. Based on the ESO observing programs 380.C-0910, 084.C-0444, 287.C-5040; and HST observing program 10177.

Discovery of a warm, dusty giant planet around HIP 65426

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chauvin, G.; Desidera, S.; Lagrange, A.-M.; Vigan, A.; Gratton, R.; Langlois, M.; Bonnefoy, M.; Beuzit, J.-L.; Feldt, M.; Mouillet, D.; Meyer, M.; Cheetham, A.; Biller, B.; Boccaletti, A.; D'Orazi, V.; Galicher, R.; Hagelberg, J.; Maire, A.-L.; Mesa, D.; Olofsson, J.; Samland, M.; Schmidt, T. O. B.; Sissa, E.; Bonavita, M.; Charnay, B.; Cudel, M.; Daemgen, S.; Delorme, P.; Janin-Potiron, P.; Janson, M.; Keppler, M.; Le Coroller, H.; Ligi, R.; Marleau, G. D.; Messina, S.; Mollière, P.; Mordasini, C.; Müller, A.; Peretti, S.; Perrot, C.; Rodet, L.; Rouan, D.; Zurlo, A.; Dominik, C.; Henning, T.; Menard, F.; Schmid, H.-M.; Turatto, M.; Udry, S.; Vakili, F.; Abe, L.; Antichi, J.; Baruffolo, A.; Baudoz, P.; Baudrand, J.; Blanchard, P.; Bazzon, A.; Buey, T.; Carbillet, M.; Carle, M.; Charton, J.; Cascone, E.; Claudi, R.; Costille, A.; Deboulbe, A.; De Caprio, V.; Dohlen, K.; Fantinel, D.; Feautrier, P.; Fusco, T.; Gigan, P.; Giro, E.; Gisler, D.; Gluck, L.; Hubin, N.; Hugot, E.; Jaquet, M.; Kasper, M.; Madec, F.; Magnard, Y.; Martinez, P.; Maurel, D.; Le Mignant, D.; Möller-Nilsson, O.; Llored, M.; Moulin, T.; Origné, A.; Pavlov, A.; Perret, D.; Petit, C.; Pragt, J.; Puget, P.; Rabou, P.; Ramos, J.; Rigal, R.; Rochat, S.; Roelfsema, R.; Rousset, G.; Roux, A.; Salasnich, B.; Sauvage, J.-F.; Sevin, A.; Soenke, C.; Stadler, E.; Suarez, M.; Weber, L.; Wildi, F.; Antoniucci, S.; Augereau, J.-C.; Baudino, J.-L.; Brandner, W.; Engler, N.; Girard, J.; Gry, C.; Kral, Q.; Kopytova, T.; Lagadec, E.; Milli, J.; Moutou, C.; Schlieder, J.; Szulágyi, J.; Thalmann, C.; Wahhaj, Z.

2017-09-01

Aims: The SHINE program is a high-contrast near-infrared survey of 600 young, nearby stars aimed at searching for and characterizing new planetary systems using VLT/SPHERE's unprecedented high-contrast and high-angular-resolution imaging capabilities. It is also intended to place statistical constraints on the rate, mass and orbital distributions of the giant planet population at large orbits as a function of the stellar host mass and age to test planet-formation theories. Methods: We used the IRDIS dual-band imager and the IFS integral field spectrograph of SPHERE to acquire high-contrast coronagraphic differential near-infrared images and spectra of the young A2 star HIP 65426. It is a member of the 17 Myr old Lower Centaurus-Crux association. Results: At a separation of 830 mas (92 au projected) from the star, we detect a faint red companion. Multi-epoch observations confirm that it shares common proper motion with HIP 65426. Spectro-photometric measurements extracted with IFS and IRDIS between 0.95 and 2.2 μm indicate a warm, dusty atmosphere characteristic of young low-surface-gravity L5-L7 dwarfs. Hot-start evolutionary models predict a luminosity consistent with a 6-12 MJup, Teff = 1300-1600 K and R = 1.5 ± 0.1 RJup giant planet. Finally, the comparison with Exo-REM and PHOENIX BT-Settl synthetic atmosphere models gives consistent effective temperatures but with slightly higher surface gravity solutions of log (g) = 4.0-5.0 with smaller radii (1.0-1.3 RJup). Conclusions: Given its physical and spectral properties, HIP 65426 b occupies a rather unique placement in terms of age, mass, and spectral-type among the currently known imaged planets. It represents a particularly interesting case to study the presence of clouds as a function of particle size, composition, and location in the atmosphere, to search for signatures of non-equilibrium chemistry, and finally to test the theory of planet formation and evolution. Based on observations collected at La Silla and Paranal Observatory, ESO (Chile) Program ID: 097.C-0865 and 098.C-0209 (SPHERE).The planet spectrum is only available at the CDS via anonymous ftp to http://cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (http://130.79.128.5) or via http://cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr/viz-bin/qcat?J/A+A/605/L9

Lasers, penguins, and polar bears: Novel outreach and education approaches for NASA's ICESat-2 mission

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Casasanto, Valerie A.; Campbell, Brian; Manrique, Adriana; Ramsayer, Kate; Markus, Thorsten; Neumann, Thomas

2018-07-01

NASA's Ice, Cloud, and land Elevation Satellite (ICESat-2), to be launched in 2018, will measure the height of Earth from space using lasers, collecting the most precise and detailed account yet of our planet's elevation. The mission will allow scientists to investigate how global warming is changing the planet's icy polar regions and to take stock of Earth's vegetation. ICESat-2's emphasis on polar ice, as well as its unique measurement approach, will provide an intriguing and accessible focus for the mission's education and outreach programs. Sea ice and land ice are areas that have experienced significant change in recent years. It is key to communicate why we are measuring these areas and their importance. ICESat-2 science data will provide much-needed answers to climate change questions such as, "Is the ice really melting in the polar regions?" and "What does studying Earth's frozen regions tell us about our changing climate?" In this paper, lessons-learned and novel techniques for engaging and educating all audiences in the mission will be discussed, such as including results of a unique collaboration with art design school the Savannah College of Art Design (SCAD) to create fun and exciting products such as animated characters and interactive stories. Future collaborations with wildlife researchers, a new citizen science program in collaboration with GLOBE, and evidence from other STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, Math) education approaches will also be detailed in this paper.

Mission building blocks for outer solar system exploration.

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Herman, D.; Tarver, P.; Moore, J.

1973-01-01

Description of the technological building blocks required for exploring the outer planets with maximum scientific yields under stringent resource constraints. Two generic spacecraft types are considered: the Mariner and the Pioneer. Following a discussion of the outer planet mission constraints, the evolutionary development of spacecraft, probes, and propulsion building blocks is presented. Then, program genealogies are shown for Pioneer and Mariner missions and advanced propulsion systems to illustrate the soundness of a program based on spacecraft modification rather than on the development of new spacecraft for each mission. It is argued that, for minimum costs, technological advancement should occur in an evolutionary manner from mission to mission. While this strategy is likely to result in compromises on specific missions, the realization of the overall objectives calls for an advance commitment to the entire mission series.

Space research - At a crossroads

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mcdonald, Frank B.

1987-01-01

Efforts which must be expended if U.S. space research is to regain vitality in the next few years are discussed. Small-scale programs are the cornerstone for big science projects, giving both researchers and students a chance to practice the development of space missions and hardware and identify promising goals for larger projects. Small projects can be carried aloft by balloons, sounding rockets, the Shuttle and ELVs. It is recommended that NASA continue the development of remote sensing systems, and join with other government agencies to fund space-based materials science, space biology and medical research. Increased international cooperation in space projects is necessary for affording moderate to large scale missions, for political reasons, and to maximize available space resources. Finally, the establishment and funding of long-range goals in space, particularly the development of the infrastructure and technologies for the exploration and colonization of the planets, must be viewed as the normal outgrowth of the capabilities being developed for LEO operations.

Undergraduate Research Possibilities with a 0.6m Telescope

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Carini, M. T.; Barnaby, D.; Gelderman, R.; Marchenko, S.; McGruder, C. H., III; Strolger, L.

2005-12-01

We present a discussion of the research projects that are being carried out by undergraduate students with the 0.6m telescope at the Bell Observatory, operated by Western Kentucky University. As a primarily undergraduate institution, our goal is to provide a meaningful undergraduate educational experience through both quality instruction and engagement of students in mentored research activities. Such activities not only enhance the student's educational experience, but also prepare them to be competitive in graduate school and/or the workplace. Using our modernized 0.6m telescope, our students pursue research projects which investigate a variety of astrophysically interesting problems: variability of Blazars, eclipsing binary stars, Gamma-ray burst identifications and follow up, photometric searches for extra-solar planets, supernova monitoring and survey programs, the relationship between morphological disturbances and activity in Seyfert nuclei, and variability in Wolf Rayet stars. We discuss the instrumentation, projects and results obtained by our undergraduate students, and the impact this has had on their undergraduate experience.

Overview of the Nasa/science Mission Directorate University Student Instrument Project (usip)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pierce, D. L.

2016-12-01

These are incredible times of space and Earth science discovery related to the Earth system, our Sun, the planets, and the universe. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Science Mission Directorate (SMD) provides authentic student-led hands-on flight research projects as a component part of the NASA's science program. The goal of the Undergraduate Student Instrument Project (USIP) is to enable student-led scientific and technology investigations, while also providing crucial hands-on training opportunities for the Nation's future researchers. SMD, working with NASA's Office of Education (OE), the Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD) and its Centers (GSFC/WFF and AFRC), is actively advancing the vision for student flight research using NASA's suborbital and small spacecraft platforms. Recently proposed and selected USIP projects will open up opportunities for undergraduate researchers in conducting science and developing space technologies. The paper will present an overview of USIP, results of USIP-I, and the status of current USIP-II projects that NASA is sponsoring and expects to fly in the near future.

Primary school children and teachers discover the nature and science of planet Earth and Mars

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kleinhans, Maarten; Verkade, Alex; Bastings, Mirjam; Reichwein, Maarten

2016-04-01

For various reasons primary schools emphasise language and calculus rather than natural sciences. When science is taught at all, examination systems often favour technological tricks and knowledge of the 'right' answer over the process of investigation and logical reasoning towards that answer. Over the long term, this is not conducive to curiosity and scientific attitude in large parts of the population. Since the problem is more serious in primary than in secondary education, and as children start their school career with a natural curiosity and great energy to explore their world, we focus our efforts on primary school teachers in close collaboration with teachers and researchers. Our objective was to spark children's curiosity and their motivation to learn and discover, as well as to help teachers develop self-afficacy in science education. To this end we developed a three-step program with a classroom game and sand-box experiments related to planet Earth and Mars. The classroom game Expedition Mundus simulates science in its focus on asking questions, reasoning towards answers on the basis of multiple sources and collaboration as well as growth of knowledge. Planet Mundus is entirely fictitional to avoid differences in foreknowledge between pupils. The game was tested in hundreds of classes in primary schools and the first years of secondary education and was printed (in Dutch) and distributed over thousands of schools as part of teacher education through university science hubs. Expedition Mundus was developed by the Young Academy of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences and De Praktijk. The tested translations in English and German are available on http://www.expeditionmundus.org. Following the classroom game, we conducted simple landscape experiments in sand boxes supported by google earth imagery of real rivers, fans and deltas on Earth and Mars. This was loosely based on our fluvial morphodynamics research. This, in the presence of a scientist, evoked questions that were developed by Aristotelian discourse towards researchable empirical questions. Here teachers and scientists closely collaborated to develop effective queries. The final questions were then investigated by couples of pupils following the empirical cycle up to the point of a poster presentation.

Exoplanet Science in the Classroom: Learning Activities for an Introductory Physics Course

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Della-Rose, Devin; Carlson, Randall; de La Harpe, Kimberly; Novotny, Steven; Polsgrove, Daniel

2018-01-01

Discovery of planets outside our solar system, known as extra-solar planets or exoplanets for short, has been at the forefront of astronomical research for over 25 years. Reports of new discoveries have almost become routine; however, the excitement surrounding them has not. Amazingly, as groundbreaking as exoplanet science is, the basic physics…

The Gemini Planet Imager Exoplanet Survey

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Macintosh, Bruce

The Gemini Planet Imager (GPI) is a next-generation coronagraph constructed for the Gemini Observatory. GPI will see first light this fall. It will be the most advanced planet-imaging system in operation - an order of magnitude more sensitive than any current instrument, capable of detecting and spectroscopically characterizing young Jovian planets 107 times fainter than their parent star at separations of 0.2 arcseconds. GPI was built from the beginning as a facility-class survey instrument, and the observatory will employ it that way. Our team has been selected by Gemini Observatory to carry out an 890-hour program - the GPI Exoplanet Survey (GPIES) campaign from 2014-2017. We will observe 600 stars spanning spectral types A-M. We will use published young association catalogs and a proprietary list in preparation that adds several hundred new young (<100 Myr, <75 pc) and adolescent (<300 Myr, <35 pc) stars. The range of separations studied by GPI is completely inaccessible to Doppler and transit techniques (even with Kepler or TESS)— GPI offers a new window into planet formation. We will use GPI to produce the first-ever robust census of giant planet populations in the 5-50 AU range, allowing us to: 1) illuminate the formation pathways of Jovian planets; 2) reconstruct the early dynamical evolution of systems, including migration mechanisms and the interaction with disks and belts of debris; and 3) bridge the gap between Jupiter and the brown dwarfs with the first examples of cool low- gravity planetary atmospheres. Simulations predict this survey will discover approximately 50 exoplanets, increasing the number of exoplanet images by an order of magnitude, enough for statistical investigation. This Origins of Solar Systems proposal will support the execution of the GPI Exoplanet Survey campaign. We will develop tools needed to execute the survey efficiently. We will refine the existing GPI data pipeline to a final version that robustly removes residual speckle artifacts and provides accurate and calibrated recovery of exoplanet spectra. We will produce a complete archive of all reduced GPI data products (supplementing the existing Gemini archive of raw data) for use by our collaboration, and release that archive to the public on an 18-month cycle. Most importantly, we will execute the GPI observations, initially through classical telescope visits, transitioning to remote and queue modes as our techniques are refined. As the first direct-imaging planet search with statistical depth comparable to Doppler planet detection and the first to probe into the snow line, the GPI Exoplanet Survey will provide strong constraints on paradigms for planet formation, completing the picture of the giant planet distribution throughout other solar systems, and also illuminating its evolution with stellar age and mass. We will deliver a catalog of detected exoplanets— the principal legacy of this campaign—released for follow-up by the astronomical community within 18 months of observation, as well as searchable archive of fully reduced images and detection limits for all stars surveyed. For each detected planet, we will produce estimated effective temperatures, luminosities, and semi-major axes: for a subset, high-SNR fiducial spectra, orbital eccentricities, and dynamical characterization through polarimetric imaging of attendant debris disks. GPI will complete final acceptance testing this month (May 2013) and is now ready to ship to Chile for first light in September 2013. The GPI survey will provide the best-yet view of the nature of wide-orbit planetary companions, informing our knowledge of solar system formation to guide future NASA planet hunting missions, while simultaneously offering a real- world program using the techniques - from integral field spectroscopy to advanced coronagraphy - that will someday be used to directly image Earthlike planets from space.

Creating a GIS-Based Decision-Support System

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Alvarado, Lori; Gates, Ann Q.; Gray, Bob; Reyes, Raul

1998-01-01

Tilting the Balance: Climate Variability and Water Resource Management in the Southwest, a regional conference hosted by the Pan American Center for Environmental Studies, will be held at The University of Texas at El Paso on March 2-4, 1998. The conference is supported through the US Global Change Research Program (USGCRP) established by the President in 1989, and codified by Congress in the Global Change Research Act of 1990. The NASA Mission to Planet Earth program is one of the workshops sponsors. The purpose of the regional workshops is to improve understanding of the consequences of global change. This workshop will be focused on issues along the border and the Rio Grande River and thus will bring together stakeholders from Mexico, California, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and Colorado representing federal, state, and local governments; universities and laboratories; industry, agricultural and natural resource managers; and non-governmental organizations. This paper discusses the efforts of the NASA PACES center create a GIS-based decision-support system that can be used to facilitate discussion of the complex issues of resource management within the targeted international region.

The Circumstellar Disk HD 169142: Gas, Dust, and Planets Acting in Concert?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pohl, A.; Benisty, M.; Pinilla, P.; Ginski, C.; de Boer, J.; Avenhaus, H.; Henning, Th.; Zurlo, A.; Boccaletti, A.; Augereau, J.-C.; Birnstiel, T.; Dominik, C.; Facchini, S.; Fedele, D.; Janson, M.; Keppler, M.; Kral, Q.; Langlois, M.; Ligi, R.; Maire, A.-L.; Ménard, F.; Meyer, M.; Pinte, C.; Quanz, S. P.; Sauvage, J.-F.; Sezestre, É.; Stolker, T.; Szulágyi, J.; van Boekel, R.; van der Plas, G.; Villenave, M.; Baruffolo, A.; Baudoz, P.; Le Mignant, D.; Maurel, D.; Ramos, J.; Weber, L.

2017-11-01

HD 169142 is an excellent target for investigating signs of planet-disk interaction due to previous evidence of gap structures. We perform J-band (˜1.2 μm) polarized intensity imaging of HD 169142 with VLT/SPHERE. We observe polarized scattered light down to 0.″16 (˜19 au) and find an inner gap with a significantly reduced scattered-light flux. We confirm the previously detected double-ring structure peaking at 0.″18 (˜21 au) and 0.″56 (˜66 au) and marginally detect a faint third gap at 0.″70-0.″73 (˜82-85 au). We explore dust evolution models in a disk perturbed by two giant planets, as well as models with a parameterized dust size distribution. The dust evolution model is able to reproduce the ring locations and gap widths in polarized intensity but fails to reproduce their depths. However, it gives a good match with the ALMA dust continuum image at 1.3 mm. Models with a parameterized dust size distribution better reproduce the gap depth in scattered light, suggesting that dust filtration at the outer edges of the gaps is less effective. The pileup of millimeter grains in a dust trap and the continuous distribution of small grains throughout the gap likely require more efficient dust fragmentation and dust diffusion in the dust trap. Alternatively, turbulence or charging effects might lead to a reservoir of small grains at the surface layer that is not affected by the dust growth and fragmentation cycle dominating the dense disk midplane. The exploration of models shows that extracting planet properties such as mass from observed gap profiles is highly degenerate. Based on observations collected at the European Organisation for Astronomical Research in the Southern Hemisphere under ESO program 095.C-0273.

UCLA's Institute for Planets and Exoplanets: Structuring an Education and Public Outreach Program from the Ground Up

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Curren, I. S.; Jewitt, D. C.

2014-12-01

Geoscience education and public outreach efforts (EPO), both formal and informal, are critical to increasing science literacy amongst members of the public and securing the next generation of geoscientists. At UCLA, the Institute for Planets and Exoplanets (iPLEX) has developed a multifaceted program to administer meaningful and original hands-on education and outreach to the public, teachers/professors, and students. To build the program, we first developed a virtual "home base" using Wordpress. With the needs of our community in mind, we structured the website to serve three categories of individuals: the public, teachers/professors, and volunteers. To serve the public, we have developed a series of informal education events (e.g., Exploring Your Universe) that bring thousands of science enthusiasts to campus. For those unable to participate in hands-on demonstrations or for those who would like to see them again, informational videos were developed and made available on our online Physical Demonstrations Digital Library (PDDL). The PDDL contains a second set of videos that are tutorial in nature and specifically designed with teachers, TAs and professors in mind. In addition, we have produced a publicly available annual newsletter written at the level of the informed public that details exciting and current planetary research at UCLA. Another facet of the program, designed with teachers in mind is our application-based private outreach event system in which teachers may choose to have volunteers come to their school with interactive demos or to come to UCLA to speak with scientists and tour laboratories. The final branch of the iPLEX EPO and education program caters to volunteers and includes an online "hub" where volunteers can register for events, download demonstration information packets, and discuss tips with other volunteers. We have recently developed a "Science Education, Outreach, and Communication" course to be integrated into UCLA's undergraduate geology curriculum that will serve twofold to train new volunteers and educate young scientists on how to communicate their field to the public. Feedback from participants indicates an overall increase in geoscience EPO participation and satisfaction from the public, teachers, and volunteers alike since iPLEX's program was emplaced.

The Status of Mars Climate Change Modeling

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Haberle, Robert M.

1997-01-01

Researchers have reviewed the evidence that the climate of Mars has changed throughout its history. In this paper, the discussion focuses on where we stand in terms of modeling these climate changes. For convenience, three distinct types of climate regimes are considered: very early in the planet's history (more than 3.5 Ga), when warm wet conditions are thought to have prevailed; the bulk of the planet's history (3.5-1 Ga), during which episodic ocean formation has been suggested; and relatively recently in the planet's history (less than 1 Ga), when orbitally induced climate change is thought to have occurred.

The Magellan PFS Planet Search Program: Radial Velocity and Stellar Abundance Analyses of the 360 au, Metal-poor Binary “Twins” HD 133131A & B

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Teske, Johanna K.; Shectman, Stephen A.; Vogt, Steve S.; Díaz, Matías; Butler, R. Paul; Crane, Jeffrey D.; Thompson, Ian B.; Arriagada, Pamela

2016-12-01

We present a new precision radial velocity (RV) data set that reveals multiple planets orbiting the stars in the ˜360 au, G2+G2 “twin” binary HD 133131AB. Our six years of high-resolution echelle observations from MIKE and five years from the Planet Finder Spectrograph (PFS) on the Magellan telescopes indicate the presence of two eccentric planets around HD 133131A with minimum masses of 1.43 ± 0.03 and 0.63 ± 0.15 {{ M }}{{J}} at 1.44 ± 0.005 and 4.79 ± 0.92 au, respectively. Additional PFS observations of HD 133131B spanning five years indicate the presence of one eccentric planet of minimum mass 2.50 ± 0.05 {{ M }}{{J}} at 6.40 ± 0.59 au, making it one of the longest-period planets detected with RV to date. These planets are the first to be reported primarily based on data taken with the PFS on Magellan, demonstrating the instrument’s precision and the advantage of long-baseline RV observations. We perform a differential analysis between the Sun and each star, and between the stars themselves, to derive stellar parameters and measure a suite of 21 abundances across a wide range of condensation temperatures. The host stars are old (likely ˜9.5 Gyr) and metal-poor ([Fe/H] ˜ -0.30), and we detect a ˜0.03 dex depletion in refractory elements in HD 133131A versus B (with standard errors ˜0.017). This detection and analysis adds to a small but growing sample of binary “twin” exoplanet host stars with precise abundances measured, and represents the most metal-poor and likely oldest in that sample. Overall, the planets around HD 133131A and B fall in an unexpected regime in planet mass-host star metallicity space and will serve as an important benchmark for the study of long-period giant planets. This paper includes data gathered with the 6.5 m Magellan Telescopes located at Las Campanas Observatory, Chile.

Scientific Objectives of China-Russia Joint Mars Exploration Program YH-1

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wu, Ji; Zhu, Guang-Wu; Zhao, Hua; Wang, Chi; Li, Lei; Sun, Yue-Qiang; Guo, Wei; Huang, Cheng-Li

2010-04-01

Compared with other planets, Mars is a planet most similar with the earth and most possible to find the extraterrestrial life on it, and therefore especially concerned about by human beings. In recent years, some countries have launched Mars probes and announced their manned Mars exploration programs. China has become the fifth country in the world to launch independently artificial satellites, and the third country able to carry out an independent manned space program. However, China is just at the beginning of deep space explorations. In 2007, China and Russia signed an agreement on a joint Mars exploration program by sending a Chinese micro-satellite Yinghuo-1 (YH-1) to the Mars orbit. Once YH-1 enters its orbit, it will carry out its own exploration, as well as the joint exploration with the Russian Phobos-Grunt probe. This paper summarizes the scientific background and objectives of YH-1 and describes briefly its payloads for realizing these scientific objectives. In addition, the main exploration tasks of YH-1 and a preliminary prospect on its exploration results are also given.

Optimizing the TESS Planet Finding Pipeline

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chitamitara, Aerbwong; Smith, Jeffrey C.; Tenenbaum, Peter; TESS Science Processing Operations Center

2017-10-01

The Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) is a new NASA planet finding all-sky survey that will observe stars within 200 light years and 10-100 times brighter than that of the highly successful Kepler mission. TESS is expected to detect ~1000 planets smaller than Neptune and dozens of Earth size planets. As in the Kepler mission, the Science Processing Operations Center (SPOC) processing pipeline at NASA Ames Research center is tasked with calibrating the raw pixel data, generating systematic error corrected light curves and then detecting and validating transit signals. The Transiting Planet Search (TPS) component of the pipeline must be modified and tuned for the new data characteristics in TESS. For example, due to each sector being viewed for as little as 28 days, the pipeline will be identifying transiting planets based on a minimum of two transit signals rather than three, as in the Kepler mission. This may result in a significantly higher false positive rate. The study presented here is to measure the detection efficiency of the TESS pipeline using simulated data. Transiting planets identified by TPS are compared to transiting planets from the simulated transit model using the measured epochs, periods, transit durations and the expected detection statistic of injected transit signals (expected MES). From the comparisons, the recovery and false positive rates of TPS is measured. Measurements of recovery in TPS are then used to adjust TPS configuration parameters to maximize the planet recovery rate and minimize false detections. The improvements in recovery rate between initial TPS conditions and after various adjustments will be presented and discussed.

Remote life-detection criteria, habitable zone boundaries, and the frequency of Earth-like planets around M and late K stars.

PubMed

Kasting, James F; Kopparapu, Ravikumar; Ramirez, Ramses M; Harman, Chester E

2014-09-02

The habitable zone (HZ) around a star is typically defined as the region where a rocky planet can maintain liquid water on its surface. That definition is appropriate, because this allows for the possibility that carbon-based, photosynthetic life exists on the planet in sufficient abundance to modify the planet's atmosphere in a way that might be remotely detected. Exactly what conditions are needed, however, to maintain liquid water remains a topic for debate. In the past, modelers have restricted themselves to water-rich planets with CO2 and H2O as the only important greenhouse gases. More recently, some researchers have suggested broadening the definition to include arid, "Dune" planets on the inner edge and planets with captured H2 atmospheres on the outer edge, thereby greatly increasing the HZ width. Such planets could exist, but we demonstrate that an inner edge limit of 0.59 AU or less is physically unrealistic. We further argue that conservative HZ definitions should be used for designing future space-based telescopes, but that optimistic definitions may be useful in interpreting the data from such missions. In terms of effective solar flux, S(eff), the recently recalculated HZ boundaries are: recent Venus--1.78; runaway greenhouse--1.04; moist greenhouse--1.01; maximum greenhouse--0.35; and early Mars--0.32. Based on a combination of different HZ definitions, the frequency of potentially Earth-like planets around late K and M stars observed by Kepler is in the range of 0.4-0.5.

Global Change: A Biogeochemical Perspective

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mcelroy, M.

1983-01-01

A research program that is designed to enhance our understanding of the Earth as the support system for life is described. The program change, both natural and anthropogenic, that might affect the habitability of the planet on a time scale roughly equal to that of a human life is studied. On this time scale the atmosphere, biosphere, and upper ocean are treated as a single coupled system. The need for understanding the processes affecting the distribution of essential nutrients--carbon, nitrogen, phosphorous, sulfur, and water--within this coupled system is examined. The importance of subtle interactions among chemical, biological, and physical effects is emphasized. The specific objectives are to define the present state of the planetary life-support system; to ellucidate the underlying physical, chemical, and biological controls; and to provide the body of knowledge required to assess changes that might impact the future habitability of the Earth.

Horizons and opportunities in lunar sample science

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1985-01-01

The Moon is the cornerstone of planetary science. Lunar sample studies were fundamental in developing an understanding of the early evolution and continued development of planetary bodies, and have led to major revisions in understanding of processes for the accumulation of planetesimals and the formation of planets. Studies of lunar samples have increased an understanding of impact cratering, meteoroid and micrometeoroid fluxes, the interaction of planetary surfaces with radiations and particles, and even the history of the Sun. The lunar sample research program was especially productive, but by no means have all the important answers been determined; continued study of lunar samples will further illuminate the shadows of our knowledge about the solar system. Further, the treasures returned through the Apollo program provide information that is required for a return to the Moon, beginning with new exploration (Lunar Geoscience Observer (LGO)), followed by intensive study (new sample return missions), and eventually culminating in a lunar base and lunar resource utilization.

Ad Astra Per Automobile

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Peterson, C. C.; D'Alto, N.; Frambach, A.; Gaskill, M.; Hostetler, A. J.; Johnson, R.; Novy, R.

2005-05-01

There are professional research observatories open to the public across the United States. Many of these offer public tours, star parties, classes, lectures, and educational movies about astronomy. Lick Observatory, the oldest continually operated professional observatory in the world, lies just east of San Jose, California. It is home to planet searches and offers special summer evening programs. McDonald Observatory, near Fort Davis, Texas, offers a wide variety of visitor programs year-round, including Star Parties three nights per week. Green Bank radio observatory in the mountains of West Virginia is home to the 360 foot Byrd Radio Telescope. Visitors are welcome year round and they can visit the new Science Center and exhibits. Other observatories noted are Sacramento Peak near Cloud Croft, New Mexico, the Very Large Array near Socorro, New Mexico, Palomar near San Diego, California, Cincinnati Observatory and Historic Landmark, and Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico.

News and Views: Keep it down! AU becomes au, and is defined in metres; Kepler survey announces two planets in a binary star system; Is there plate tectonics on Mars? Vaporizing Earth - for research!

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

2012-10-01

Division 1 of the IAU recommended that the astronomical unit - originally the length of the semi-major axis of the Earth's orbit - be redefined as a fixed number of kilometres. A team of observers using data from NASA's Kepler space observatory announced at the IAU General Assembly that they had discovered two planets orbiting a pair of binary stars, and that such planets could exist in the habitable zone of their system. The Red Planet has long been considered something of a dead planet as far as tectonic movements of its crust, but careful analysis of thermal and topographic images of the surface suggest the existence of major faults with horizontal slip along the Valles Marineris. The question of what would happen if Earth were to approach the Sun and start vaporizing has been modelled in order to help to model the composition of super-Earths.

Model Atmospheres and Transit Spectra for Hot Rocky Planets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lupu, Roxana

We propose to build a versatile set of self-consistent atmospheric models for hot rocky exoplanets and use them to predict their transit and eclipse spectra. Hot rocky exoplanets will form the majority of small planets in close-in orbits to be discovered by the TESS and Kepler K2 missions, and offer the best opportunity for characterization with current and future instruments. We will use fully non-grey radiative-convective atmospheric structure codes with cloud formation and vertical mixing, combined with a self-consistent treatment of gas chemistry above the magma ocean. Being in equilibrium with the surface, the vaporized rock material can be a good tracer of the bulk composition of the planet. We will derive the atmospheric structure and escape rates considering both volatile-free and volatile bearing compositions, which reflect the diversity of hot rocky planet atmospheres. Our models will inform follow- up observations with JWST and ground-based instruments, aid the interpretation of transit and eclipse spectra, and provide a better understanding of volatile loss in these atmospheres. Such results will help refine our picture of rocky planet formation and evolution. Planets in ultra-short period (USP) orbits are a special class of hot rocky exoplanets. As shown by Kepler, these planets are generally smaller than 2 Earth radii, suggesting that they are likely to be rocky and could have lost their volatiles through photo-evaporation. Being close to their host stars, these planets are ultra-hot, with estimated temperatures of 1000-3000 K. A number of USP planets have been already discovered (e.g. Kepler-78 b, CoRoT-7 b, Kepler-10 b), and this number is expected to grow by confirming additional planet candidates. The characterization of planets on ultra-short orbits is advantageous due to the larger number of observable transits, and the larger transit signal in the case of an evaporating atmosphere. Much advance has been made in understanding and characterizing hot Jupiters in similar transit configurations. For example, Na has been the first species to be detected in an exoplanet atmosphere, by observing the evaporating hotJupiter HD209458b. Understanding the interplay between the magma outgassing and volatile loss will be an important part of this project. Our team has the expertise in the chemistry, radiative transfer, and atmospheric escape modeling at these exotic temperatures. Our recent work has analyzed the emerging atmospheres of terrestrial planets after giant impacts, using a well-established radiativeconvective atmospheric structure code, with an extensive opacity database for all relevant molecules, and the chemistry self-consistently calculated for continental crust and bulk silicate earth compositions. We will expand on this work by considering a wider range of chemical compositions, assessing the importance of clouds and generating cloudy models, and developing dis-equilibrium models by taking into account vertical mixing and photochemistry. Photo-evaporation will be considered in the energy balance between heating, cooling and mass loss. We also have in-house codes to generate high-resolution eclipse spectra and predict transit depths and observable signatures. The development of the atmospheric code, the molecular opacity updates, the atmospheric structure calculations and the high resolution eclipse spectra will be performed by R. Lupu, M. Marley, and R. Freedman at NASA Ames. The atmospheric chemistry grids will be provided by B. Fegley and K. Lodders at Washington University. The transit spectra and observational features will be computed by J. Fortney at UCSC, and the atmospheric escape calculations will be performed by K. Zahnle at NASA Ames. This proposal addresses the following goals of the Exoplanet Research program: explain observations of exoplanetary systems, and understand the chemical and physical processes of exoplanets. Our results will also inform future JWST observations.

Transiting exoplanets from the CoRoT space mission . XIII. CoRoT-13b: a dense hot Jupiter in transit around a star with solar metallicity and super-solar lithium content

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cabrera, J.; Bruntt, H.; Ollivier, M.; Díaz, R. F.; Csizmadia, Sz.; Aigrain, S.; Alonso, R.; Almenara, J.-M.; Auvergne, M.; Baglin, A.; Barge, P.; Bonomo, A. S.; Bordé, P.; Bouchy, F.; Carone, L.; Carpano, S.; Deleuil, M.; Deeg, H. J.; Dvorak, R.; Erikson, A.; Ferraz-Mello, S.; Fridlund, M.; Gandolfi, D.; Gazzano, J.-C.; Gillon, M.; Guenther, E. W.; Guillot, T.; Hatzes, A.; Havel, M.; Hébrard, G.; Jorda, L.; Léger, A.; Llebaria, A.; Lammer, H.; Lovis, C.; Mazeh, T.; Moutou, C.; Ofir, A.; von Paris, P.; Pätzold, M.; Queloz, D.; Rauer, H.; Rouan, D.; Santerne, A.; Schneider, J.; Tingley, B.; Titz-Weider, R.; Wuchterl, G.

2010-11-01

We announce the discovery of the transiting planet CoRoT-13b. Ground-based follow-up in CFHT and IAC80 confirmed CoRoT's observations. The mass of the planet was measured with the HARPS spectrograph and the properties of the host star were obtained analyzing HIRES spectra from the Keck telescope. It is a hot Jupiter-like planet with an orbital period of 4.04 days, 1.3 Jupiter masses, 0.9 Jupiter radii, and a density of 2.34 g cm-3. It orbits a G0V star with T_eff = 5 945 K, M* = 1.09 M⊙, R_* = 1.01 R⊙, solar metallicity, a lithium content of + 1.45 dex, and an estimated age of between 0.12 and 3.15 Gyr. The lithium abundance of the star is consistent with its effective temperature, activity level, and age range derived from the stellar analysis. The density of the planet is extreme for its mass, implies that heavy elements are present with a mass of between about 140 and 300 {M}⊕. The CoRoT space mission, launched on December 27th 2006, has been developed and is operated by CNES, with the contribution of Austria, Belgium, Brazil, ESA (RSSD and Science Programme), Germany and Spain. Part of the observations were obtained at the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope (CFHT) which is operated by the National Research Council of Canada, the Institut National des Sciences de l'Univers of the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique of France, and the University of Hawaii. Based on observations made with HARPS spectrograph on the 3.6-m European Organisation for Astronomical Research in the Southern Hemisphere telescope at La Silla Observatory, Chile (ESO program 184.C-0639). Based on observations made with the IAC80 telescope operated on the island of Tenerife by the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias in the Spanish Observatorio del Teide. Part of the data presented herein were obtained at the W. M. Keck Observatory, which is operated as a scientific partnership among the California Institute of Technology, the University of California and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. The Observatory was made possible by the generous financial support of the W. M. Keck Foundation.