1. The Geology and Geophysics of Kuiper Belt Object (486958) Arrokoth
- Author
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Harold A. Weaver, J. Wm. Parker, Paolo Tanga, Stuart J. Robbins, Harold J. Reitsema, Carver J. Bierson, Dennis C. Reuter, Matthew E. Hill, Dale P. Cruikshank, Stephen Gwyn, Mark R. Showalter, Alex Parker, B. H. May, William M. Grundy, Oliver L. White, Douglas P. Hamilton, Orkan M. Umurhan, M. Mountain, Jj Kavelaars, Kelsi N. Singer, Alan D. Howard, David E. Trilling, E. Bernardoni, Ross A. Beyer, Ralph L. McNutt, D. Borncamp, John Stansberry, Simon B. Porter, Chloe B. Beddingfield, L. H. Wasserman, Bonnie J. Buratti, J. T. Keane, C. Fuentes, Ivan Linscott, Anne J. Verbiscer, Jean-Marc Petit, D. E. Jennings, A. L. Chaikin, Paul M. Schenk, Leslie A. Young, M. R. Piquette, Marc W. Buie, Catherine B. Olkin, Carly Howett, Mihaly Horanyi, Tod R. Lauer, Veronica J. Bray, Richard P. Binzel, Carey M. Lisse, Jeffrey M. Moore, Scott S. Sheppard, Silvia Protopapa, J. R. Spencer, William B. McKinnon, A. Y. Abedin, Kirby Runyon, G. R. Gladstone, S. A. Stern, Tetsuharu Fuse, Susan D. Benecchi, Rajani D. Dhingra, I. N. Reid, Mohamed Ramy El-Maarry, Martin Pätzold, H. A. Elliott, Amanda M. Zangari, Jason D. Hofgartner, H. Karoji, T. Stryk, Henry B. Throop, M. J. Kinczyk, Matthew J. Holman, David E. Kaufmann, A. F. Cheng, Daniel T. Britt, David J. McComas, David J. Tholen, Southwest Research Institute [Boulder] (SwRI), Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), NASA-California Institute of Technology (CALTECH), Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Southwest Research Institute [San Antonio] (SwRI), Lowell Observatory [Flagstaff], Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics [Boulder] (LASP), University of Colorado [Boulder], NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), NRC Herzberg Institute of Astrophysics, National Research Council of Canada (NRC), Princeton University, Rhenish Institute for Environmental Research (RIU), University of Cologne, Univers, Transport, Interfaces, Nanostructures, Atmosphère et environnement, Molécules (UMR 6213) (UTINAM), Université de Franche-Comté (UFC), Université Bourgogne Franche-Comté [COMUE] (UBFC)-Université Bourgogne Franche-Comté [COMUE] (UBFC)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS), Lunar and Planetary Laboratory [Tucson] (LPL), University of Arizona, Joseph Louis LAGRANGE (LAGRANGE), Université Côte d'Azur (UCA)-Université Nice Sophia Antipolis (... - 2019) (UNS), COMUE Université Côte d'Azur (2015-2019) (COMUE UCA)-COMUE Université Côte d'Azur (2015-2019) (COMUE UCA)-Observatoire de la Côte d'Azur, COMUE Université Côte d'Azur (2015-2019) (COMUE UCA)-Université Côte d'Azur (UCA)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Department of Physics and Astronomy [Flagstaff], and Northern Arizona University [Flagstaff]
- Subjects
Solar System ,010504 meteorology & atmospheric sciences ,[PHYS.ASTR.EP]Physics [physics]/Astrophysics [astro-ph]/Earth and Planetary Astrophysics [astro-ph.EP] ,FOS: Physical sciences ,Contact binary ,01 natural sciences ,Impact crater ,Neptune ,0103 physical sciences ,010303 astronomy & astrophysics ,0105 earth and related environmental sciences ,Earth and Planetary Astrophysics (astro-ph.EP) ,Multidisciplinary ,Spacecraft ,business.industry ,Geophysics ,Radius ,Accretion (astrophysics) ,es ,13. Climate action ,Physics::Space Physics ,Astrophysics::Earth and Planetary Astrophysics ,Formation and evolution of the Solar System ,business ,Geology ,Astrophysics - Earth and Planetary Astrophysics - Abstract
Examining Arrokoth The New Horizons spacecraft flew past the Kuiper Belt object (486958) Arrokoth (also known as 2014 MU 69 ) in January 2019. Because of the great distance to the outer Solar System and limited bandwidth, it will take until late 2020 to downlink all the spacecraft's observations back to Earth. Three papers in this issue analyze recently downlinked data, including the highest-resolution images taken during the encounter (see the Perspective by Jewitt). Spencer et al. examined Arrokoth's geology and geophysics using stereo imaging, dated the surface using impact craters, and produced a geomorphological map. Grundy et al. investigated the composition of the surface using color imaging and spectroscopic data and assessed Arrokoth's thermal emission using microwave radiometry. McKinnon et al. used simulations to determine how Arrokoth formed: Two gravitationally bound objects gently spiraled together during the formation of the Solar System. Together, these papers determine the age, composition, and formation process of the most pristine object yet visited by a spacecraft. Science , this issue p. eaay3999 , p. eaay3705 , p. eaay6620 ; see also p. 980
- Published
- 2020