Planetary Science Seminar

Once just specks of light in telescopes, we are now recognizing small icy worlds such as Charon, Ceres and Haumea as worlds in their own right, with unique formation histories and geology. I will discuss my group's modeling of the geophysics and geochemistry of these bodies. I will present our model for the interior structure and origin of Haumea. I will present our model for the interior structure and evolution of Ceres, including its geochemistry, with predictions being tested by the Dawn mission. I will discuss our prediction that Charon formed from a circumplanetary disk, and present predictions testable by New Horizons.