485 citations · 2.4k across the 47 of their papers we have counts for
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JWST Reveals Refractory-Rich Water Ice in Interstellar Comet 3I/ATLAS: Evidence for a Continuum of Grain Properties across Protoplanetary Disks
Silvia Protopapa, Michael S. P. Kelley, Martin A. Cordiner +12
We present JWST/NIRSpec PRISM observations of the interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS obtained on 2025 August 6 (Epoch 1), 2025 December 22 (Epoch 2), and 2026 April 1 (Epoch 3), spanning…
Optical and Near-Infrared Spectroscopy of the Outbursting Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks
Ruining Zhao, Bin Yang, Michael S. P. Kelley +4
We present optical and near-infrared (NIR) observations of the outbursting, Halley-type comet 12P/Pons-Brooks. Three NIR spectra were obtained during two outbursts in October and N…
A Large Outburst, Coma Asymmetries, and the Color of Comet 243P/NEAT
Michael S. P. Kelley, Silvia Protopapa, Dennis Bodewits +16
Water ice is a fundamental building material of comets and other bodies in the outer solar system. Yet, the properties of cometary water ice are challenging to study, due to its vo…
Observations of Uranus at High Phase Angle as Seen by New Horizons
Samantha N. Hasler, L. C. Mayorga, William M. Grundy +14
We present flux measurements of Uranus observed at phase angles of 43.9°, 44.0°, and 52.4° by the Multispectral Visible Imaging Camera (MVIC) on the New Horizons spacecraft during…
Revealing Callisto's carbon-rich surface and CO2 atmosphere with JWST
Richard J. Cartwright, Geronimo L. Villanueva, Bryan J. Holler +18
We analyzed spectral cubes of Callisto's leading and trailing hemispheres, collected with the NIRSpec Integrated Field Unit (G395H) on the James Webb Space Telescope. These spatial…
Measurement of D/H and 13C/12C Ratios in Methane Ice on Eris and Makemake: Evidence for Internal Activity
W. M. Grundy, I. Wong, C. R. Glein +11
James Webb Space Telescope's NIRSpec infrared imaging spectrometer observed the outer solar system dwarf planets Eris and Makemake in reflected sunlight at wavelengths spanning 1 t…
A Tale of 3 Dwarf Planets: Ices and Organics on Sedna, Gonggong, and Quaoar from JWST Spectroscopy
J. P. Emery, I. Wong, R. Brunetto +10
We observed Sedna, Gonggong, and Quaoar with the NIRSpec instrument on the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). All three bodies were observed in the low-resolution prism mode at wav…
Moderate D/H Ratios in Methane Ice on Eris and Makemake as Evidence of Hydrothermal or Metamorphic Processes in Their Interiors: Geochemical Analysis
Christopher R. Glein, William M. Grundy, Jonathan I. Lunine +7
Dwarf planets Eris and Makemake have surfaces bearing methane ice of unknown origin. D/H ratios were recently determined from James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) observations of Eris…
Comet Science With Ground Based and Space Based Surveys in the New Millennium
J. M. Bauer, Y. R. Fernández, S. Protopapa +1
We summarize the comet science provided by surveys. This includes surveys where the detections of comets are an advantageous benefit but were not part of the surveyś original inten…
Large-scale cryovolcanic resurfacing on Pluto
Kelsi N. Singer, Oliver L. White, Bernard Schmitt +22
The New Horizons spacecraft returned images and compositional data showing that terrains on Pluto span a variety of ages, ranging from relatively ancient, heavily cratered areas to…
A LOOK at Outbursts of Comet C/2014 UN (Bernardinelli-Bernstein) Near 20 au
Michael S. P. Kelley, Rosita Kokotanekova, Carrie E. Holt +10
Cometary activity may be driven by ices with very low sublimation temperatures, such as carbon monoxide ice, which can sublimate at distances well beyond 20 au. This point is empha…
The LCO Outbursting Objects Key Project: Overview and Year 1 Status
Tim Lister, Michael S. P. Kelley, Carrie E. Holt +32
The LCO Outbursting Objects Key (LOOK) Project uses the telescopes of the Las Cumbres Observatory (LCO) Network to: (1) to systematically monitor a sample of Dynamically New Comets…
A Near Surface Temperature Model of Arrokoth
O. M. Umurhan, W. M. Grundy, M. K. Bird +19
A near surface thermal model for Arrokoth is developed based on the recently released facet model of the body. This thermal solution takes into account Arrokoth's surface re…
Evaluation of short-term temporal evolution of Pluto's surface composition from 2014-2017 with APO/TripleSpec
Bryan J. Holler, Maya D. Yanez, Silvia Protopapa +4
In this work we present the results of a spectral observing campaign of Pluto to search for temporal changes in surface composition on 1- to 3-year timescales. Near-infrared spectr…
New Investigations of Dark Floored Pits in the Volatile Ice of Sputnik Planitia on Pluto
S. Alan Stern, Brian Keeney, Rachael Hoover +5
Sputnik Planitia, Pluto's gigantic ice glacier, hosts numerous scientific mysteries, including the presence of thousands of elongated pit structures. We examine various attributes…
Non-detection of water-ice grains in the coma of comet 46P/Wirtanen and implications for hyperactivity
Silvia Protopapa, Michael S. P. Kelley, Charles E. Woodward +1
Hyperactive comets have high water production rates, with inferred sublimation areas of order the surface area of the nucleus. Comets 46P/Wirtanen and 103P/Hartley 2 are two exampl…
The science case for spacecraft exploration of the Uranian satellites: Candidate ocean worlds in an ice giant system
Richard J. Cartwright, Chloe B. Beddingfield, Tom A. Nordheim +15
The 27 satellites of Uranus are enigmatic, with dark surfaces coated by material that could be rich in organics. Voyager 2 imaged the southern hemispheres of Uranus' five largest '…
Persephone: A Pluto-System Orbiter and Kuiper Belt Explorer
Carly Howett, Stuart Robbins, Bryan J. Holler +40
Persephone is a NASA concept mission study that addresses key questions raised by New Horizons' encounters with Kuiper Belt objects (KBOs), with arguably the most important being "…
Modeling Pluto's Minimum Pressure: Implications for Haze Production
Perianne E. Johnson, Leslie A. Young, Silvia Protopapa +6
Pluto has a heterogeneous surface, despite a global haze deposition rate of ~1 micrometer per orbit (Cheng et al., 2017; Grundy et al., 2018). While there could be spatial variatio…
Initial results from the New Horizons exploration of 2014 MU69, a small Kuiper Belt Object
S. A. Stern, H. A. Weaver, J. R. Spencer +202
The Kuiper Belt is a distant region of the Solar System. On 1 January 2019, the New Horizons spacecraft flew close to (486958) 2014 MU69, a Cold Classical Kuiper Belt Object, a cla…
The Geology and Geophysics of Kuiper Belt Object (486958) Arrokoth
J. R. Spencer, S. A. Stern, J. M. Moore +75
The Cold Classical Kuiper Belt, a class of small bodies in undisturbed orbits beyond Neptune, are primitive objects preserving information about Solar System formation. The New Hor…
Color, Composition, and Thermal Environment of Kuiper Belt Object (486958) Arrokoth
W. M. Grundy, M. K. Bird, D. T. Britt +46
The outer Solar System object (486958) Arrokoth (provisional designation 2014 MU) has been largely undisturbed since its formation. We study its surface composition using da…
Searching for water ice in the coma of interstellar object 2I/Borisov
Bin Yang, Michael S. P. Kelley, Karen J. Meech +3
Interstellar Objects (ISO) passing through our Solar System offer a rare opportunity to probe the physical and chemical processes involved in solid body and planet formation in ext…
Distribution and Energy Balance of Pluto's Nitrogen Ice, as seen by New Horizons in 2015
Briley Lewis, John Stansberry, Bryan Holler +10
Pluto's surface is geologically complex because of volatile ices that are mobile on seasonal and longer time scales. Here we analyzed New Horizons LEISA spectral data to globally m…