Publications by authors named "S N Milam"
Article Synopsis
- - Charon, Pluto's largest moon, has been studied for its composition and changes caused by radiation, but previous spectral data only covered wavelengths below 2.5 μm, leaving some questions unanswered.
- - Recent observations using JWST have detected carbon dioxide (CO) and hydrogen peroxide (HO) on Charon's northern hemisphere, adding to its known chemical components like water ice and ammonia.
- - The presence of HO suggests active processes affecting the water ice surface, while spectral analysis indicates that CO is mainly found in crystalline form, likely originating from subsurface sources and other processes involving hydrocarbons and solar interactions.
Article Synopsis
- Studying planets and small bodies in our Solar System helps us understand Earth's formation and evolution, as well as other planets.
- Current observational methods face limitations that hinder progress in this field, particularly in areas like sensitivity and spatial coverage.
- The proposed Atacama Large Aperture Submillimeter Telescope (AtLAST) aims to overcome these challenges by enabling detailed measurements of atmospheric dynamics, compositions of icy moon atmospheres, detection of important gases, and collaboration with interplanetary missions to enhance our understanding of planetary habitability.
The exploration of our solar system is being radically changed since the beginning of operations of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) in mid 2022. JWST’s extraordinary sensitivity and instrumentation allow for sensitive searches for the building blocks of life and to test for habitability, also enabling new discoveries on small bodies to giant planets across our solar system and beyond.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJupiter's moon Europa has a subsurface ocean beneath an icy crust. Conditions within the ocean are unknown, and it is unclear whether it is connected to the surface. We observed Europa with the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) to search for active release of material by probing its surface and atmosphere.
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