5 papers
Some challenges for the long-term survival of Naiad, Neptune's innermost moon
Harrison Agrusa, Matija Ćuk, David Nesvorný +1
The Naiad-Thalassa 73:69 mean-motion resonance implies these moons have co-existed for 1 Gyr, raising the question of how they survived to the present day. We examine thre…
Ejected Surface Regolith as a Potential Source Material for Centaur Rings
Kaustub Parvir Anand, David A. Minton, Julie Brisset
Ring systems have been observed around Centaur Chariklo (10199) and other small bodies but their origin and dynamical histories are still debated. These small body ring systems cha…
The Sesquinary Catastrophe on Deimos can reconcile its excited past with its dynamically cool present
Kaustub P. Anand, Matija Ćuk, David A. Minton
The origins of the Martian moons Phobos and Deimos are highly debated, and hypotheses include formation from an impact-generated circum-Martian disk or from capture of asteroids. W…
Two Possible Orbital Histories of Phobos
Matija Ćuk, Kaustub P. Anand, David A. Minton
The two moons of Mars, Phobos and Deimos, have orbits that are close to martian equator, indicating their formation from a circumplanetary disk. Phobos is currently migrating towar…
Sesquinary Catastrophe For Close-In Moons with Dynamically Excited Orbits
Matija Ćuk, Douglas P. Hamilton, David A. Minton +1
We identify a new mechanism that can lead to the destruction of small, close-in planetary satellites. If a small moon close to the planet has a sizable eccentricity and inclination…