Observing Solar System Objects with JWST

Dr. Heidi B. HammelAURA (Washington, DC) &

Space Science Institute (Boulder, CO)

Dr. Heidi B. HammelAURA (Washington, DC) &

Space Science Institute (Boulder, CO)

Observing Solar System Objects with JWST

“objects with z << 1”

collaborator acknowledgementsDirect collaborators on today’s presentationKyle Uckert (NMSU)Nancy Chanover (NMSU)Dean Hines (STSci)

Webb GTO Solar System TeamJonathan Lunine, Heidi Hammel, George Rieke, Marcia Rieke, George Sonneborn, John Stansberry, Don McCarthy, Chas Beichmann, …

Additional participationGlenn Orton, Will Grundy, Emily Schaller, Mike Brown, …

Heidi Kyle DeanNancy

Who was James Webb?NASA Administrator

1961 – 1968

Architect of the Apollo Program

Strong supporter of science

Initiated NASA’s space program: 75 space science

missions flew during his tenure

http://www.stsci.edu/jwst/doc-archive/white-papers/JWST_Solar_System.pdf

JWST white paper by

Lunine et al. (2010)

JWST Planetary Observations within the Solar System

Mercury?No.

Venus?No.

Earth?No.

Mars?maybe...

methane outbursts

see lunine et al. (2010) white paper

asteroids, comets, etc?yes

comet vs circumstellar disk

see lunine et al. (2010) white paper

Jupiter?probably only with MIRI MRS/IFU

Jupiter’s moons?maybe…

Saturn?probably only with MIRI MRS/IFU

Saturn’s moon, esp Titan?maybe…

Titan spectra

see lunine et al. (2010) white paper

Uranus?Yes!

Uranus spectra

Uranus – take it to the limits

Uranus Longitude-Resolved Spitzer SpectraComparison of 4 longitudes vs. mean of all four reveals variation in hydrocarbons

To what spatial feature does this correspond?

CH4

C2H6

C2H2

S(1) H2 quadrupole

Uranus in the mid infrared

2006 September 3VLT/VISIR 18.7-μm imageG. Orton and colleagues

O MIRI resolution

20-year evolution of atmospheric temperatures on Uranus

Comparison with simulated image based on Voyager IRIS T(p,lat.)

2006 September 3, VLT/VISIR 18.7-μm image

Uranus deconvolved Uranus simulation based on Voyager (PIXON) IRIS results, c. 1986

← cold pole ← warm pole

O MIRI resolution

Uranus with JWST/MIRI

Uranus with JWST/NIRSPEC

Neptune?Yes!

Neptune spectra

Neptune - too hot to handle

Neptune’s Stratospheric Emission

CH4 C2H6

Δt =6.83 hrs Δt =2.25 hrs

O MIRI resolution O

Neptune with JWST/MIRI

Neptune with JWST/NIRSPEC

Kuiper Belt Objects?Yes!

Kuiper Belt Objects

see

keith noll’s poster at this conference

for up-to-date presentation

SummaryWide range of interesting

planetary phenomena observable by JWST,

especially for the outer Solar System

http://www.stsci.edu/jwst/doc-archive/white-papers/JWST_Solar_System.pdf