A Photometric Investigation of the Major Uranian Satellites
Name
Colclasure,Abigail_SB_EAPS_PlanetaryScience.pdf
Description
Thesis PDF
Size
4.64 MB
Format
Adobe PDF
Checksum (MD5)
95c93487f6ab7938ded4236536e23d2d
Author(s)
Colclasure, Abigail M.
Advisor(s)
Person, Michael J.
Date Issued
May 2024
Publisher
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Abstract
The Uranian system is one of the most unusual in the Solar System and its formation and evolution are poorly understood. Voyager 2 revealed that the major satellites have complex geologic features, including craters, fault systems, and chasmata. The Uranian system has been understudied and current knowledge is limit by a lack of data. The 2023-2032 decadal survey ranked a flagship NASA mission to Uranus, with a required launch window of the early 2030s, as a top priority. Further study is urgently needed, both scientifically and to inform mission planning. We conducted a photometric study, primarily using MIT’s Wallace Astrophysical Observatory, and report the lightcurves of Titania and Oberon in the Sloan g’, r’, and i’ filters. Further observations from larger telescopes are needed, but these data may indicate that ice on both Titania and Oberon has redistributed since the Voyager epoch.
MIT Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences
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