Congratulations to James Keane, Sarah Morrison, and Donna Viola, LPL's most recent grads!

James Keane is currently a postdoctoral associate at the Joint Center for Planetary Astronomy at CalTech. He defended his dissertation (Tidal-Rotational Dynamics of Solar System Worlds, from Mercury to Pluto) on May 12. Isamu Matsuyama was his advisor.  

Sarah Morrison defended The Dynamics and Implications of Gap Clearing via Planets in Planetesimal (Debris) Disks on May 10, and is now a postdoctoral associate in the Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, University of Pennsylvania. Sarah was advised by Kaitlin Kratter.

Donna Viola defended her Ph.D. dissertation titled, Expanded Craters on Mars: Implications for Shallow, Mid-Latitude Excess Ice, on July 10. Shane Byrne served as Donna's advisor. Donna is currently working with Professor Byrne as a Research Specialist at LPL.

On May 11, LPL had the pleasure of hosting the University of Arizona Press reception celebrating the release of Mars: Pristine Beauty of the Red Planet. With explanatory captions in 24 languages and a gallery of more than 200 images, this distinctive volume brings a timely and clear look at the work of an active NASA mission and HiRISE. Through vivid and beautiful images, this book underscores the need for such a camera on future orbiters, especially as more landing missions are planned. 

by Eric Christensen

The Catalina Sky Survey (CSS) operates two survey telescopes on Mt. Lemmon (Tucson, Arizona) in search of Near-Earth Objects (NEOs), or asteroids and comets that can approach the orbit of the Earth to less than 45 million kilometers. In 2016, CSS deployed new cameras at both survey telescopes: the 1.5-m prime focus reflector (figure 1) and the 0.7-m Schmidt (figure 2). These cameras, built locally in Tucson by Spectral Instruments Inc., increased the fields of view of each telescope by factors of 4x and 2.4x, respectively. These upgrades have allowed CSS telescopes to survey significantly larger areas of sky, leading to an uptick in the discovery rate.  

2016 was a record year for NEO discovery: CSS led the league with 930 discoveries (a factor of 1.5x better than CSS’s previous best year), and together with other surveys, found a total of 1,889 NEOs (a factor of 1.2x more than the previous best year). The first four months of 2017 show similarly encouraging results. CSS is a long-term leader in the NEO discovery effort, accounting for over 45% of the known catalog of NEOs (figure 3).

At CSS we continue to work to optimize our workflow, modify our survey strategies, and tune our systems to maximum sensitivity. The recent instrumentation upgrades have provided a significant boost in discovery capacity, leading to new opportunities and challenges for the survey.

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

by Margaret Landis

This semester’s fieldtrip, led by Joe Spitale, was to southwestern Utah, with major stops at Zion and Bryce Canyon National Parks, to explore the geology of the Colorado Plateau, especially the series of sedimentary layers that form the Grand Staircase. The faulting, stratigraphy, and uplift all contribute to the area's unique geological features.

While making the drive up to Utah, the group stopped at Walnut Canyon and the East Kaibab monocline to discuss the National Parks system/federal land management policy and the formation of monoclines, synclines, and anticlines. Once in Utah, we spent some time in Zion National Park, discussing the overall geology (including landslide deposits near the Springdale entrance to the park), cross bedding (spectacular examples were on the road through the park), and erosional/fluvial processes. One spectacular example was Weeping Rock, where groundwater has started to carve part of an amphitheater-shaped feature while it also cascaded over the side of the formation.

The stratigraphy and erosion observed in Zion was also showcased at Bryce Canyon National Park, where the limestone and other sedimentary rocks of the park had been modified by frost heave processes into hoodoos. After discussing the overall geology, formation of faults and joints, and hoodoos, we hiked down into the formation on the Navajo Loop trail. The sedimentary layers in these parks are part of the Grand Staircase formation, a classic example of a sedimentary sequence with the most recent layers exposed in Bryce Canyon, descending all the way to the Grand Canyon.

In addition to Bryce and Zion National Parks, the LPL field trippers made stops at points of interest including Mammoth Cave (a lava tube created during one of the sporadic periods of volcanism in the area) and Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park. As formations like the Vermillion Cliffs continue to erode, the spectacularly colored sediment can concentrate in dune formations, like the Coral Pink dunes. We also stopped to see dinosaur tracks, an interesting feature of the Jurassic aged Kayenta and Moenave layers of the Grand Staircase. 

Donna Viola gives a talk on the formation of dinosaur tracks in the Grand Staircase.

Kyle Pearson speaking about the formation of Weeping Rock and sapping channels. Water can be seen cascading from the formation in the background.

Spring 2017 field trip group at Brian Head, a vantage point where many layers of the upper Grand Staircase can be observed.

The papers of Ewen Whitaker, who passed away last October (2016), have been added to the University of Arizona Libraries History of Science (Pioneers of Planetary Science) collection. The Whitaker materials are indexed along with documents from Gerard P. Kuiper, Charles P. Sonett, Donald M. Hunten, Tom Gehrels, Michael J. Drake, and Peter Smith.

Congratulations to the OSIRIS-REx project, named Arizonan of the Year by the Arizona Republic newspaper (Phoenix). Take a moment to read about Arizona's appreciation for "the glittering constellation of scientists, engineers and others who made this happen." 

Four long-time staff members transition into retirement

Bradford Castalia, a Principal Applications Systems Analyst/Developer with PIRL/HiRISE retired from LPL at the end of September 2012. Brad started at LPL in 1984.

Linda Hickcox, Senior Business Manager for HiRISE, retired on September 28, and promptly returned to a part-time version of her position on October 1. Linda began her career at LPL in 1987 as a Secretary II for PIRL.

Marianne Hamilton, who had been with LPL since 1980, returned to work part-time after her formal retirement in 2010. This past May, Marianne moved into a new position as an administrative assistant with the UA Tree Ring Laboratory.

Donita Vanture started at LPL in 1997 and supported staff for the Lunine and Jokipii groups, as well as supporting the Theoretical Astrophysics Colloquium. Donita retired from the UA in July 2012.

We would like to take the opportunity to thank Brad, Linda, Marianne, and Donita for their contributions and to with them each the best as they pursue new opportunities and interests.

LPL partnered with the Planetary Science Institute (PSI) and Flandrau Science Center to help Tucsonans view the June 5 transit of Venus. Hundreds of Tucsonans donned their transit glasses to enjoy the viewing party. Viewing and lectures took place from 3:00 to 8:00 p.m. There were telescopes on the mall, and lots of eclipse glasses were available. Visitors could watch various live feeds of the transit. PSI Senior Education Specialist (and retired LPL faculty member) Larry Lebofsky lectured about the transit.