PSAS: The Jupiter polar cyclones as seen by almost 4 years of Juno observations

Events

The NASA spacecraft Juno discovered the circumpolar cyclone structures on Jupiter in 2017, and it has been monitoring their evolution ever since. These cyclones are organized in structures shaped like regular polygons. I will discuss the evolution of these structures as seen by Juno from February 2017 to November 2020  focusing on the data provided by the JIRAM instrument (Jovian InfraRed auroral mapper). Through these observations we have been able to monitor the properties, position and evolution of cyclonic and anticyclonic structures at latitudes above 80° both in the North and South poles of Jupiter.  

Fundamental questions concerning Jovian cyclogenesis concern the formation mechanism and whether these cyclones are deep or shallow structures. JIRAM’s measurements show that any change in a structure is an extremely unlikely event on an annual scale, which has only happened once, and only temporarily in 2019. Neither the merging of two cyclones, nor the disappearing/creation of one stable cyclone has ever been observed. 

Finally, I will discuss recent numerical studies relevant to both Jupiter and Saturn and how their results ‘fit’  JIRAM observations and possible steps forward to solve the deep – shallow conundrum.

Annalisa Bracco,

Professor School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology

PSAS: How to be a Space Science Advocate

Events

Funding for space science is overwhelmingly provided by government—a product of public policy. Scientists have the ability and the opportunity to participate in the process of setting public policy through both direct and indirect means, such as supporting lobbying efforts by professional scientific organizations. The Planetary Society, a rare example of an independent pro-space nonprofit, actively engages in the process of policy development, working to support space science and exploration investment by the U.S. government. This talk will discuss why space policy is important and how future scientists can be effective space advocates for themselves and their field,

Casey Dreier,

Chief Advocate & Senior Space Policy Adviser The Planetary Society

PSAS: Mars Landing Panel

Panelist:

  • Glenn Lightsey, Professor, Aeronautics Engineering
  • Frances Rivera-Hernandez, Assistant Professor, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences
  • James Wray, Associate Professor, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences; Co-Investigator, HiRISE & CRISM, MRO
  • Angela Dapremont, PhD Candidate, Planetary Science

PSAS: Thinking Anthropologically about Astrobiology

The exploration of outer space, and specifically, the astrobiological search for evidence of life, is an endeavor and a science that is made powerful because of its multidisciplinarity. From the NASA HQ archives to the Atacama Desert to (working from home) at NASA Ames to countless conferences, I have had the phenomenal opportunity to see science in action and the creative and critical ways in which scientists engage with the fundamental questions posed by astrobiology. For this talk, I will share stories and data from my ongoing dissertation research in anthropology, outlining the methodological strategies I employ and demonstrating the insights I draw from ethnographic encounters. Based on this, I will share a few lessons learned from over a year of fieldwork and some preliminary conclusions.

Seminal Papers in Astrobiology Spring 2021 Schedule

Seminars

Spring 2021 Seminal Papers in Astrobiology schedule is now finalized! Guests, we welcome you to sit in on the presentations and discussions. Because this is a course with participation points given for students taking it for a grade, guests are asked to please reserve questions/comments until the end of the discussion period. Course meetings are Wednesdays 9:30-11:25 am Eastern on Blue Jeans: https://gatech.bluejeans.com/891027890

PSAS: X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) for the Analysis of Materials

Events

XRD is a powerful technique to perform qualitative and quantitative analyses of materials and is most widely used for the identification of unknown crystalline materials. Determination of unknown solids is critical to studies in geology, environmental science, and material science to name but a few. When X-Rays contact a crystal, a series of reflections are produced that are unique and characteristic for each phase, similar to a fingerprint. It is a method that does not require large amounts of material, even very small amounts of material can be measured with special holders, and is non-destructive. This presentation will be focused on how XRD is used to measure materials from domestic and extraterrestrial sources.

Titan@Tech

Events

CSTAR Distinguished Lecture

Dragonfly: In Situ Exploration of Titan’s Organic Chemistry and Habitability

Dr. Elizabeth Turtle, PI of Dragonfly Mission

Thursday, November 19, 6:30 pm

REGISTER: https://primetime.bluejeans.com/a2m/register/rgyxupxq

Saturn’s largest moon, Titan, is an Ocean World with a dense atmosphere, abundant complex organic material on its icy surface, and a liquid-water ocean in its interior. The joint NASA-ESA Cassini-Huygens mission revealed Titan to be surprisingly Earth-like, with active geological processes and opportunities for organic material to have mixed with liquid water on the surface in the past. These attributes make Titan a singular destination to seek answers to fundamental questions about what makes a planet or moon habitable and about the pre-biotic chemical processes that led to the development of life here on Earth.
 
NASA’s Dragonfly New Frontiers mission is a rotorcraft lander designed to perform wide-ranging in situ investigation of the chemistry and habitability of this fascinating extraterrestrial environment. Taking advantage of Titan’s dense atmosphere and low gravity, Dragonfly can fly from place to place, exploring diverse geological settings to measure the compositions of surface materials and observe Titan’s geology and meteorology. Dragonfly will make multidisciplinary science measurements at dozens of sites, traveling ~150 km during a 3-year mission to characterize Titan’s habitability and determine how far organic chemistry has progressed in environments that provide key ingredients for life.
 
Speaker bio: Dr. Elizabeth (Zibi) Turtle is a planetary scientist at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory. Her research combines remote-sensing observations and numerical geophysical models to study geological structures and their implications for planetary surfaces, interiors, and evolution, including tectonics and impact cratering on terrestrial planets and outer planet satellites, the thickness of Europa’s ice shell, Ionian mountain formation, and Titan’s lakes and weather. She is the Principal Investigator for the Dragonfly New Frontiers mission to Titan and the Europa Imaging System (EIS) cameras on the Europa Clipper mission, and has participated in the Galileo, Cassini, and Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter missions. She earned her Ph.D. in Planetary Sciences from Univ. Arizona and B.S. in Physics from MIT.