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Lunar and Planetary Laboratory & Department of Planetary Sciences | The University of Arizona
Kepler's laws of planetary motion turn out to be far from the last word on planetary orbits. Orbits change over time, some changes are slow and periodic, others are chaotic and dramatic; these determine the architecture of planetary systems. In orbital dynamics research, we seek to discover the past and future of planetary systems - the diverse effects of gravity that shape where and how planets form and how their orbits evolve in time. We study the orbital evolution of planetary and satellite systems, and small bodies (asteroids and comets), as well as interplanetary dust, in the solar system and in exo-planetary systems. We seek discovery and understanding of the dynamical transport processes of planetary materials across vast distances in space and over geologically long times. We study how Earth's habitability is affected by its orbital history, and how orbital dynamics shapes extra-terrestrial environments.
Recent News
July 2020
Kathryn Volk is now the Chair of the AAS Division on Dynamical Astronomy
A new paper by Kathryn Volk (co-authored with Renu Malhotra) on the source of dynamical instability in multiplanet systems: "Dynamical instabilities in systems of multiple short-period planets are likely driven by secular chaos: a case study of Kepler-102" Volk & Malhotra 2020, AJ in press
Steward Observatory Graduate Student Rachel Smullen and Kathryn Volk had a paper accepted about using machine learning to dynamically classify Kuiper belt objects: "Machine Learning Classification of Kuiper Belt Populations" Smullen & Volk, MNRAS in press
June 2020
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December 2018
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December 2017
Regents ProfessorLouise Foucar Marshall Science Research Professor
PTYS Graduate Student
DCC Associate Staff Scientist (Asphaug)
Research Scientist/Associate Staff Scientist