When
3:30 p.m., May 4, 2010
Where
Kuiper Space Sciences Building 308
Dr. Emily Schaller of the Lunar and Planetary Laboratory is the scheduled speaker.
Abstract:
The number of known Kuiper Belt and Trans-Neptunian objects has increased from one (Pluto) to over 1400 in less than 20 years. Detailed studies of individual objects using a variety of telescopes have provided us with new laboratories on which to test models of chemical, thermal, and collisional evolution of these bodies over the age of the Solar System. In this talk, I will show how we can understand the surface compositions of objects based on their masses, orbital parameters, and, in some cases, their dynamical relationships with other objects. I will focus on recent observations of a select few of the larger objects and their moons including observations of Haumea and its collisional family. I will explain how identification of new family members, and detailed studies of known members, may significantly increase our understanding of the collision physics, the subsequent dynamics, and the chemistry resulting from this giant impact. Finally, I will discuss how the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (expected to increase the number of known Trans-Neptunian objects by over an order of magnitude) and future observations of objects with the James Webb Space Telescope are likely to impact the field.
Abstract:
The number of known Kuiper Belt and Trans-Neptunian objects has increased from one (Pluto) to over 1400 in less than 20 years. Detailed studies of individual objects using a variety of telescopes have provided us with new laboratories on which to test models of chemical, thermal, and collisional evolution of these bodies over the age of the Solar System. In this talk, I will show how we can understand the surface compositions of objects based on their masses, orbital parameters, and, in some cases, their dynamical relationships with other objects. I will focus on recent observations of a select few of the larger objects and their moons including observations of Haumea and its collisional family. I will explain how identification of new family members, and detailed studies of known members, may significantly increase our understanding of the collision physics, the subsequent dynamics, and the chemistry resulting from this giant impact. Finally, I will discuss how the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (expected to increase the number of known Trans-Neptunian objects by over an order of magnitude) and future observations of objects with the James Webb Space Telescope are likely to impact the field.
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