Planetary Science at the University of Kent

The Kent group focusses on studies of comets, asteroids, cosmic dust and impact events so we can better understand the origin, evolution and distribution of material throughout the Solar System. We are particularly interested in:

-complex organic materials - how they evolved and how they ended up where they are today;

- the content and physical properties of comets and asteroids (what they are, how they behave and how they evolved);

-how sun light influences the physical properties and dynamics of small bodies such as asteroids;

-impact events at all sizes (from small dust impacts to larger impacts which can damage or even break apart bodies made of rock or ice);

-finding new ways to collect cosmic dust arriving at the Earth's surface.

We will address these areas by: performing experiments in our impact laboratory, studying impact processes through computer models, using data from space missions, telescope observations and modelling, studying materials from space missions and studying samples collected by dust capture instruments we are deploying in remote parts of the world such as the mid-Pacific and the Antarctic.

Our experimental work involves creating our own very high speed impacts in the laboratory. We then examine and analyse the impacted materials to see if they have been altered. We aim to determine whether/how the organic and mineral materials that we fire transfer to targets they impact. We also aim to see if the organic materials can be changed during impact events into more complex molecules that are the precursors to life. This will involve studying both the targets and the plumes that rise above the impact point.

The targets may also fall apart during impact. We generally know how this works for solid targets. But there are bodies in the Solar System which have ice covered surfaces, over a liquid water sub-surface ocean. We will make such objects in our laboratory and impact them in our gun to see how they break up.

To study comets, we will examine dust grains collected in space by NASA from comet 81P/Wild 2. Grain by grain we will work out what the comet is made of and where these materials came from before they formed the comet.

We will search here on Earth for cosmic dust from space. It is present in the dust around us, but as it falls from space through the atmosphere, it mixes with our own dust from Earth and mankind's industrial activities, making it hard to identify. By sucking air through filters, and doing this in remote places (mid-Pacific or the Antarctic) with clean atmospheres with little local dust, we will concentrate the amount of cosmic dust we can find. We will then study these samples to learn more about the Solar System bodies that they came from.

We will also look at asteroids in space. The YORP effect is a torque experienced by small asteroids, and is caused mainly by thermal photons being emitted from their surfaces after being heated by the Sun. When this happens the asteroid experiences a tiny recoil effect, which can be significant if summed up over the entire surface with countless photons striking it at any given moment. YORP can modify how fast asteroids spin and the orientation of their spin-axis and can take millions of years. This effect is of fundamental importance to Solar System astronomers as it can explain many observed phenomena in asteroidal science. However, despite its importance, there have been only a few cases where the YORP effect has been seen in action, due to the difficulties in measuring the effect. With new telescope data we have obtained we will make significant impact in this field. Our core aim is to achieve additional YORP detections on our sample of small asteroids to further understand this important process. The study will also provide theoreticians with actual measurements to calibrate their calculations

As well as our traditional academic peer group we also have a multi-layered approach to impact. In REF2014, the Physics submission in which we were returned was rated 60% 4* and 40% 3* for the Impact section.

As well as conducting research, we also teach, and bring our research directly to the attention of our UG students. The number of new Physics students entering our department each year has increased 6 fold in the last decade. This is a significant contribution to the national objective of rebalancing our economy towards science and engineering.

Externally, we collaborate directly with over a dozen other Universities world-wide. Our work thus enables them to conduct research they would otherwise be unable to undertake. We also carry out industrial contracts, bringing our technical skills into wider use in UK plc.

Our department conducts extensive outreach programmes to school children, seeing over 15,000 a year. We contribute to this with talks and two residential summer schools each year devoted to planetary science. We also started to run an annual competition for schools to design an experiment for our impact laboratory. The winners will carry out the experiment and analyse the results.

We also get involved in major public outreach events like the European AstroFest public astronomy conference, and co-host science exhibits at popular events like the annual Royal Society Summer Science Exhibition. Up to 10,000 people visit this event every year. We are hosting a teacher training conference at the University to help schools prepare lessons in physics and space sciences, with particular emphasis on our involvement in the European Space Agency Rosetta spacecraft mission to orbit a comet.

We reach a wider audience by publicising our work by media such as twitter (a US high School recently responded to one of our tweets), on-line news groups, print media, radio and TV. Our work has been broadcast on TV several times in 2014 and at least twice already in 2015, reaching a worldwide audience of millions.

Beyond Outreach activities we also work with Industry and the Public Sector who, indirectly, benefit for our research, and whom we receive benefit from, e.g.,

1) Commercial private sector companies.

The research proposed here will make extensive use of a state-of-the-art Raman spectrometer supplied by Horiba, UK. This instrument is one of the most advanced in the UK, and Horiba are keen to show off its capabilities to future customers. We have an agreement with Horiba who have (conditional) access to the instrument, and in turn we will receive discounts, Horiba also use the instrument as a training instrument for their new engineers and in return we receive discounted service visits.

2) The public sector

We have a solid, long term, collaboration with researchers at the Natural History Museum, and results from Kent are on display around the Museum. Space and planetary science is fascinating to the general public, and the staff at the Museum have the expertise in conveying such information in a digestable manner. The Museum would benefit from the free use of any of our results, which could then be showcased during tours presented at 'Nature Live' and 'Science Uncovered' events for school children (Wozniakiewicz is a Scientific Associate of the NHM). This not only stimulates the imagination of the children, but also demonstrates to the public at large that the Museum is a cutting edge research establishment with close ties to academia.

3) The University of Kent and the local community

Open Lectures and Open Days are always well attended by local residents (and local media), and talks about advances in Space Science (particularly if it has links to NASA and ESA) are especially well received. The research proposed here would be an ideal topic for such events. This will aid in attracting new undergraduates, particularly in the STEM subjects, benefitting the UK economy as a whole.