1,909 research outputs found
Triton's surface age and impactor population revisited in light of Kuiper Belt fluxes: Evidence for small Kuiper Belt objects and recent geological activity
Neptune's largest satellite, Triton, is one of the most fascinating and
enigmatic bodies in the solar system. Among its numerous interesting traits,
Triton appears to have far fewer craters than would be expected if its surface
was primordial. Here we combine the best available crater count data for Triton
with improved estimates of impact rates by including the Kuiper Belt as a
source of impactors. We find that the population of impactors creating the
smallest observed craters on Triton must be sub-km in scale, and that this
small-impactor population can be best fit by a differential power-law size
index near -3. Such results provide interesting, indirect probes of the unseen
small body population of the Kuiper Belt. Based on the modern, Kuiper Belt and
Oort Cloud impactor flux estimates, we also recalculate estimated ages for
several regions of Triton's surface imaged by Voyager 2, and find that Triton
was probably active on a time scale no greater than 0.1-0.3 Gyr ago (indicating
Triton was still active after some 90% to 98% of the age of the solar system),
and perhaps even more recently. The time-averaged volumetric resurfacing rate
on Triton implied by these results, 0.01 km yr or more, is likely
second only to Io and Europa in the outer solar system, and is within an order
of magnitude of estimates for Venus and for the Earth's intraplate zones. This
finding indicates that Triton likely remains a highly geologically active world
at present, some 4.5 Gyr after its formation. We briefly speculate on how such
a situation might obtain.Comment: 14 pages (TeX), plus 2 postscript figures Stern & McKinnon, 2000, AJ,
in pres
The solar nebula origin of (486958) Arrokoth, a primordial contact binary in the Kuiper Belt
The New Horizons spacecraft’s encounter with the cold classical Kuiper Belt object (486958) Arrokoth (provisional designation 2014 MU₆₉) revealed a contact-binary planetesimal. We investigate how Arrokoth formed, finding it is the product of a gentle, low-speed merger in the early Solar System. Its two lenticular lobes suggest low-velocity accumulation of numerous smaller planetesimals within a gravitationally collapsing cloud of solid particles. The geometric alignment of the lobes indicates they were a co-orbiting binary that experienced angular momentum loss and subsequent merger, possibly due to dynamical friction and collisions within the cloud or later gas drag. Arrokoth’s contact-binary shape was preserved by the benign dynamical and collisional environment of the cold classical Kuiper Belt, so informs the accretion processes that operated in the early Solar System
Some implications of large impact craters and basins on Venus for terrestrial ringed craters and planetary evolution
Approximately 950 impact craters have been identified on the surface of Venus, mainly in Magellan radar images. From a combination of Earth-based Arecibo, Venera 15/1, and Magellan radar images, we have interpreted 72 as unequivocal peak-ring craters and four as multiringed basins. The morphological and structural preservation of these craters is high owing to the low level of geologic activity on the venusian surface (which is in some ways similar to the terrestrial benthic environment). Thus these craters should prove crucial to understanding the mechanics of ringed crater formation. They are also the most direct analogs for craters formed on the Earth in Phanerozoic time, such as Chicxulub. We summarize our findings to date concerning these structures
Ellipticity and Deviations from Orthogonality in the Polarization Modes of PSR B0329+54
We report on an analysis of the polarization of single pulses of PSR B0329+54
at 328 MHz. We find that the distribution of polarization orientations in the
central component diverges strongly from the standard picture of orthogonal
polarization modes (OPMs), making a remarkable partial annulus on the Poincare
sphere. A second, tightly clustered region of density appears in the opposite
hemisphere, at a point antipodal to the centre of the annulus. We argue that
this can be understood in terms of birefringent alterations in the relative
phase of two elliptically polarized propagation modes in the pulsar
magnetosphere (i.e. generalised Faraday rotation). The ellipticity of the modes
implies a significant charge density in the plasma, while the presence of both
senses of circular polarization, and the fact that only one mode shows the
effect, supports the view that refracted ordinary-mode rays are involved in the
production of the annulus. At other pulse longitudes the polarization
(including the circular component) is broadly consistent with an origin in
elliptical OPMs, shown here quantitatively for the first time, however
considerable non-orthogonal contributions serve to broaden the orientation
distribution in an isotropic manner.Comment: 13 pages, 5 figures, to appear in A&
Experimental study of digital image processing techniques for LANDSAT data
The author has identified the following significant results. Results are reported for: (1) subscene registration, (2) full scene rectification and registration, (3) resampling techniques, (4) and ground control point (GCP) extraction. Subscenes (354 pixels x 234 lines) were registered to approximately 1/4 pixel accuracy and evaluated by change detection imagery for three cases: (1) bulk data registration, (2) precision correction of a reference subscene using GCP data, and (3) independently precision processed subscenes. Full scene rectification and registration results were evaluated by using a correlation technique to measure registration errors of 0.3 pixel rms thoughout the full scene. Resampling evaluations of nearest neighbor and TRW cubic convolution processed data included change detection imagery and feature classification. Resampled data were also evaluated for an MSS scene containing specular solar reflections
Photometric and proper motion study of neglected open cluster NGC 2215
Optical UBVRI photometric measurements using the Faulkes Telescope North were
taken in early 2011 and combined with 2MASS JHK and WISE infrared
photometry as well as UCAC4 proper motion data in order to estimate the main
parameters of the galactic open cluster NGC 2215 of which large uncertainty
exists in the current literature. Fitting a King model we estimate a core
radius of 1.120.04 (0.240.01pc) and a limiting radius of
0.5 (0.940.11pc) for the cluster. The results of isochrone
fits indicates an age of with a distance of
pc, a metallicity of dex and a reddening of
. A proportion of the work in this study was undertaken by
Australian and Canadian upper secondary school students involved in the Space
to Grow astronomy education project, and is the first scientific publication to
have utilized our star cluster photometry curriculum materials.Comment: 10 pages, 9 Figures, 3 Table
Technical Design Report for PANDA Electromagnetic Calorimeter (EMC)
This document presents the technical layout and the envisaged performance of the Electromagnetic Calorimeter (EMC) for the
PANDA target spectrometer. The EMC has been designed to meet the physics goals of the PANDA experiment. The performance figures are based on extensive prototype tests and radiation hardness studies. The document shows that the EMC is ready for construction up to the front-end electronics interface
Self-aligned fabrication process for silicon quantum computer devices
We describe a fabrication process for devices with few quantum bits (qubits),
which are suitable for proof-of-principle demonstrations of silicon-based
quantum computation. The devices follow the Kane proposal to use the nuclear
spins of 31P donors in 28Si as qubits, controlled by metal surface gates and
measured using single electron transistors (SETs). The accurate registration of
31P donors to control gates and read-out SETs is achieved through the use of a
self-aligned process which incorporates electron beam patterning, ion
implantation and triple-angle shadow-mask metal evaporation
Venus: Interpreting the spatial distribution of volcanically modified craters
To understand the impact cratering record on Venus, we investigate two distinct resurfacing styles: localized, thin flows and large shield volcanoes. We statistically analyze the size-frequency distribution of volcanically modified craters and, using Monte Carlo simulations, their spatial distribution. Lava flows partially fill most craters, darkening their floors in radar images. We find that a model featuring localized, thin flows occurring throughout geologic time predicts their observed distribution. Individual flows may be morphologically indistinguishable, but, combined, they cover large provinces. Recent mantle plumes may drive a small amount of hot spot magmatism that produces the observed clusters of large shield volcanoes and obviously embayed craters. Ultimately, our analysis demonstrates that two styles of volcanism are needed to explain the observed properties of impact craters and that catastrophic resurfacing is not required
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