The Thermal Histories of Moons and Asteroids from ALMA and JWST Observations
When
Where
Dr. Katherine de Kleer
Assistant Professor
Planetary Science and Astronomy
California Institute of Technology
The heat flow of a planetary body plays a major role in defining its evolution and current composition, driving processes from internal differentiation during its formation period through geological activity at the current time. In this talk, I will present observational approaches using the ALMA millimeter interferometer and the James Webb Space Telescope that shed light on the heat flow histories of satellites and small bodies. ALMA can provide measurements of stable isotopes in molecular gasses; I will present measurements of sulfur and chlorine isotopes at Jupiter’s volcanic moon Io that place constraints on the tidal heating and outgassing that Io experienced over the age of the Solar System. Additionally, thermal emission observations of asteroids provide information on the metal form and content (millimeter emission) and the mineralogy (mid-infrared spectroscopy) of their surfaces. I will show results from ongoing asteroid programs and will discuss how they are adding pieces to the puzzle of the early heating and differentiation of planetesimals.
Host: Dr. Alfred McEwen