Discussing recent developments in topics related to the Ice Giant systems.
Each seminar will host a guest speaker, followed by a lively discussion and community updates & news.
Events are held on the second Tuesday of the month at 11:00 AM ET.
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Upcoming Events
August 13, 2024 11:00 - 12:00 EDT
Astrobiology Applications in the Uranian System
Presenter: Dr. Jessica Weber (JPL/Caltech)
Abstract: The 2023-2032 Planetary Science and Astrobiology Decadal Survey prioritized the Uranus Orbiter and Probe (UOP) mission concept as the next priority flagship mission for the decade, which would include measurements of the major moons of Uranus-Miranda, Ariel, Umbriel, Titania, and Oberon. While the Uranian moons differ greatly from the ocean worlds in the Jovian and Saturnian system, the emerging hypothesis is that some of them could at least currently sustain thin, potentially concentrated, oceans. Characterization of these moons would provide critical astrobiological data related to their habitability over time as well as the formation and evolution of ocean worlds more broadly. As the datasets for the outer planets are limited, the astrobiological potential of Miranda, Ariel, Umbriel, Titania, and Oberon currently or in the past is almost totally unconstrained. UOP could provide much needed characterization to these worlds if certain instrumentation and measurements are included, and would be further enhanced through enabling collaboration across scientific disciplines. We aim to draw the attention of the community toward the astrobiological potential of these moons and the critical work that needs to be done before and during a future Uranus Flagship to understand the implications for sustaining oceans and/or habitable environments to the current day.
Registration not yet open.
Questions? mallory.kinczyk@jhuapl.edu
Related Documents:
September 10, 2024 11:00 - 12:00 EDT
Are Uranus' Large Moons Ocean Worlds? The Developing Spectroscopic Picture
Presenter: Dr. Richard Cartwright (JHU/APL)
Abstract: The surfaces of Uranus' large moons, partially imaged during the brief Voyager 2 encounter with the Uranian system in 1986, exhibit a variety of tectonic and putative cryovolcanic features, indicative of past endogenic activity. The youngest regions on Miranda and Ariel have drawn particular attention, and it is possible that endogenic activity persisted on these two moons into the recent past. Ground-based telescope observations revealed that the surfaces of Ariel, Umbriel, Titania, and Oberon include sizeable fractions of CO2 ice. Recent JWST observations of Ariel confirmed the widespread presence of CO2 ice, while also detecting the presence of CO ice and possibly carbonate minerals, carbon suboxide, and nitriles. The presence of these species indicates active replenishment, especially CO, which readily sublimates at the estimated peak surface temperatures of the Uranian moons (80-90 K). It has been hypothesized that charged particle bombardment drives a radiolytic production cycle of CO2 and other carbon oxides, explaining the presence of these volatiles. However, the possible presence of carbonates on Ariel points to an aqueous origin, raising the possibility that some surface carbon oxides might have been sourced from an internal "soda" ocean.
Registration not yet open.
Questions? mallory.kinczyk@jhuapl.edu
Related Documents:
Past Events
July 9, 2024 11:00 - 12:00 EDT
May 14, 2024 11:00 - 12:00 EDT
Cool Joules: Remote Sensing of the Ice Giants in the Thermal Infrared
April 9, 2024 11:00 - 12:00 EDT
February 13, 2024 11:00 - 12:00 EST
January 9, 2024 11:00 - 12:00 EST
A Brief Description of the JPL Uranian Radiation Model (UMOD)
November 14, 2023 11:00 - 12:00 EST
October 10, 2023 11:00 - 12:00 EDT
New insights into the Uranian magnetosphere: Implications for system-wide coupling
September 12, 2023 11:00 - 12:00 EDT
Interiors and Thermal State of the Major Moons of Uranus as a Function of their Possible Origin
August 8, 2023 11:00 - 12:00 EDT
June 13, 2023 11:00 - 11:00 EDT
The early secular evolution of the outer solar system and the present state of the Nice Model
May 9, 2023 11:00 - 12:00 EDT
April 11, 2023 11:00 - 12:00 EDT
Miranda's Thick Regolith Indicates a Major Mantling Event from an Unknown Source
February 14, 2023 11:00 - 12:00 EST
Determining origin and evolution of Uranus with a single atmospheric probe
View More Info >January 10, 2023 11:00 - 12:00 EST
The Deep Atmosphere of Uranus: Clues and Mysteries from Ground-Based Radio Observations
View More Info >November 8, 2022 11:00 - 12:00 EST
Revised Temperatures for Uranus' Upper Stratosphere and Lower Thermosphere
View More Info >October 11, 2022 11:00 - 12:00 EDT
Volatile Transport and Climate Modeling on Triton
View More Info >September 13, 2022 11:00 - 12:00 EDT
Observing Neptune's (and Uranus's) Great Dark Spots
View More Info >August 9, 2022 11:00 - 12:00 EDT
Neptune's Atmospheric Structure from the Spitzer Infrared Spectrometer
View More Info >June 21, 2022 11:00 - 12:00 EDT
Hypotheses for Triton's Plumes: New Analyses and Future Remote Sensing Tests
View More Info >May 10, 2022 11:00 - 12:00 EDT
Neptune's Stratospheric Composition: Implications for Internal and External Processes
View More Info >April 12, 2022 11:00 - 12:00 EDT
Exploring the Deep Interior of Neptune with Atomistic Simulations and Shock Compression Experiments
View More Info >January 11, 2022 11:00 - 12:00 EST
Single-Pass Subsurface Ocean Detection at Triton using Magnetometric Measurements
View More Info >November 9, 2021 11:00 - 12:00 EST
The Origin, Evolution, and Structure of Uranus & Neptune
View More Info >