A Consolidated Grant Proposal for Solar and Planetary Science at the University of Leicester, 2022 - 2025
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Leicester
Department Name: Physics and Astronomy
Abstract
We propose a world-class programme of research that focuses on 3 main areas of study concerned with our solar system. The first involves study of the outer environments of the planets where the gas is ionised, such that it not only feels the gravitational pull of the planet, but also interacts strongly with its magnetic and electric fields. In the second area we seek to study the origin and evolution of solar system bodies, through examination of materials from asteroid, chondrite and lunar samples, and through laboratory-based exploration of X-ray fluorescence from Mercury analogues. The third area will employ spectroscopy from the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) and ground observatories to explore the planetary stratospheres and tropospheres at the ice giants Uranus and Neptune.
Previous work in the first area shows that the outer environments of the planets vary widely, determined by the interaction with the plasma that blows continuously from the Sun on the outside, and the interaction with the planet and its moons on the inside. The solar wind is prone to outbursts that can lead to magnetic storms and bright auroras at Earth, as well as varying strongly over the solar cycle, and with distance from the Sun. Its interaction with the planets then depends on whether the planet is magnetised, has an atmosphere, and has active moons. We will use MESSENGER data to study Mercury close to the Sun, a planet that has a magnetic field but almost no atmosphere; use the constellation of spacecraft at Mars, more distant from the Sun, which has an atmosphere but no strong magnetic field to prevent its erosion by the solar wind; and combine multi-spacecraft and ground instrumentation at Earth, at intermediate distances having both an atmosphere and a magnetic field. We will also study the strongly magnetized giant planets Jupiter and Saturn using data from the Juno mission at Jupiter and Cassini at Saturn, combined with observations of the auroras at ultraviolet wavelengths using the Hubble Space Telescope and at infrared wavelengths using large ground-based telescopes. Auroras are caused by large-scale electric currents flowing between the outer environments and the upper ionized atmospheres, which communicate force between these regions. Overall emphasis will be on the complex physical processes that couple the solar wind on the outside, the magnetic field surrounding the planet (if any), and the planetary atmospheres or surface on the inside.
In the second area, laboratory studies, we will analyse material returned from C-class asteroid Ryugu by the Hayabusa2 mission. We will make complementary analyses on Apollo lunar regolith grains and recent, unique carbonaceous chondrite falls to build a new understanding of space weathering and C-class asteroid parent body processes. This project builds on the leading expertise we have in the microanalysis of planetary materials, through electron microscopy at ePSIC and UoL, and synchrotron-based X-ray spectroscopy. Laboratory work focused on Mercury will centre on the MIXS Ground Reference Facility, a purpose-built system to allow detailed analysis of X-ray fluorescence, induced using an X-ray or electron source, for bespoke surface analogues. This laboratory facility will uniquely allow us to expand our science programme using the MIXS data from the BepiColombo mission, both in relation to the dayside surface composition goals at global and local scales on Mercury, and in terms of the nightside magnetosphere-surface interaction which produces a significant X-ray fluorescence associated with electron bombardment.
The final theme leverages Leicester's leadership of the guaranteed-time giant planets programme on the JWST, exploiting MIRI spectroscopic maps of the Ice Giants Uranus and Neptune, combined with a ground-based observation programme, to understand how stratospheric circulation, photochemistry, and tropospheric meteorology shape the atmospheres of sub-giant-sized worlds.
Previous work in the first area shows that the outer environments of the planets vary widely, determined by the interaction with the plasma that blows continuously from the Sun on the outside, and the interaction with the planet and its moons on the inside. The solar wind is prone to outbursts that can lead to magnetic storms and bright auroras at Earth, as well as varying strongly over the solar cycle, and with distance from the Sun. Its interaction with the planets then depends on whether the planet is magnetised, has an atmosphere, and has active moons. We will use MESSENGER data to study Mercury close to the Sun, a planet that has a magnetic field but almost no atmosphere; use the constellation of spacecraft at Mars, more distant from the Sun, which has an atmosphere but no strong magnetic field to prevent its erosion by the solar wind; and combine multi-spacecraft and ground instrumentation at Earth, at intermediate distances having both an atmosphere and a magnetic field. We will also study the strongly magnetized giant planets Jupiter and Saturn using data from the Juno mission at Jupiter and Cassini at Saturn, combined with observations of the auroras at ultraviolet wavelengths using the Hubble Space Telescope and at infrared wavelengths using large ground-based telescopes. Auroras are caused by large-scale electric currents flowing between the outer environments and the upper ionized atmospheres, which communicate force between these regions. Overall emphasis will be on the complex physical processes that couple the solar wind on the outside, the magnetic field surrounding the planet (if any), and the planetary atmospheres or surface on the inside.
In the second area, laboratory studies, we will analyse material returned from C-class asteroid Ryugu by the Hayabusa2 mission. We will make complementary analyses on Apollo lunar regolith grains and recent, unique carbonaceous chondrite falls to build a new understanding of space weathering and C-class asteroid parent body processes. This project builds on the leading expertise we have in the microanalysis of planetary materials, through electron microscopy at ePSIC and UoL, and synchrotron-based X-ray spectroscopy. Laboratory work focused on Mercury will centre on the MIXS Ground Reference Facility, a purpose-built system to allow detailed analysis of X-ray fluorescence, induced using an X-ray or electron source, for bespoke surface analogues. This laboratory facility will uniquely allow us to expand our science programme using the MIXS data from the BepiColombo mission, both in relation to the dayside surface composition goals at global and local scales on Mercury, and in terms of the nightside magnetosphere-surface interaction which produces a significant X-ray fluorescence associated with electron bombardment.
The final theme leverages Leicester's leadership of the guaranteed-time giant planets programme on the JWST, exploiting MIRI spectroscopic maps of the Ice Giants Uranus and Neptune, combined with a ground-based observation programme, to understand how stratospheric circulation, photochemistry, and tropospheric meteorology shape the atmospheres of sub-giant-sized worlds.
Publications
Lester M
(2022)
The Impact of Energetic Particles on the Martian Ionosphere During a Full Solar Cycle of Radar Observations: Radar Blackouts
in Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics
Spicher A
(2022)
Interferometric Study of Ionospheric Plasma Irregularities in Regions of Phase Scintillations and HF Backscatter
in Geophysical Research Letters
Sangha? H
(2022)
Statistical Analysis of Bifurcating Region 2 Field-Aligned Currents Using AMPERE
in Frontiers in Astronomy and Space Sciences
Alberti T
(2022)
Editorial: Interplanetary medium variability as observed in the new era of spacecraft missions
in Frontiers in Astronomy and Space Sciences
Cecconi B
(2022)
Effect of an Interplanetary Coronal Mass Ejection on Saturn's Radio Emission
in Frontiers in Astronomy and Space Sciences
Palmerio E
(2022)
CMEs and SEPs During November-December 2020: A Challenge for Real-Time Space Weather Forecasting
in Space Weather
Bower G
(2022)
Formation and motion of horse collar aurora events
King O
(2022)
Global Modeling of Ganymede's Surface Composition: Near-IR Mapping From VLT/SPHERE
in Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets
Bradley T
(2022)
Detection of Equatorial Plasma Velocity Modulations Associated With Planetary Period Oscillations in Saturn's Magnetosphere
in Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics
Bower G
(2022)
Transpolar Arcs: Seasonal Dependence Identified by an Automated Detection Algorithm
in Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics
Wellbrock A
(2022)
Observations of a Solar Energetic Particle Event From Inside and Outside the Coma of Comet 67P.
in Journal of geophysical research. Space physics
Garnier P
(2022)
The Drivers of the Martian Bow Shock Location: A Statistical Analysis of Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN and Mars Express Observations.
in Journal of geophysical research. Space physics
Aizawa S
(2022)
LatHyS global hybrid simulation of the BepiColombo second Venus flyby
in Planetary and Space Science
Cohen I
(2022)
The Case for a New Frontiers-Class Uranus Orbiter: System Science at an Underexplored and Unique World with a Mid-scale Mission
in The Planetary Science Journal
Pinto M
(2022)
The BepiColombo Environment Radiation Monitor, BERM
in Space Science Reviews
Milan S
(2022)
Influence of Off-Sun-Earth Line Distance on the Accuracy of L1 Solar Wind Monitoring
in Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics
King O
(2022)
Compositional Mapping of Europa Using MCMC Modeling of Near-IR VLT/SPHERE and Galileo/NIMS Observations
in The Planetary Science Journal
Lario D
(2022)
Influence of Large-scale Interplanetary Structures on the Propagation of Solar Energetic Particles: The Multispacecraft Event on 2021 October 9
in The Astrophysical Journal
Telloni D
(2022)
Observation and Modeling of the Solar Wind Turbulence Evolution in the Sub-Mercury Inner Heliosphere
in The Astrophysical Journal Letters
Guillot, T
(2022)
Protostars and Planets VII
Persson M
(2022)
BepiColombo mission confirms stagnation region of Venus and reveals its large extent.
in Nature communications
Coy B
(2023)
Spitzer IRS Observations of Titan as a Precursor to JWST MIRI Observations
in The Planetary Science Journal