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Current lunar origin scenarios suggest that Earths Moon may have resulted from the merger of two (or more) smaller moonlets. Dynamical studies of multiple moons find that these satellite systems are not stable, resulting in moonlet collision or loss of one or more of the moonlets. We perform Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamic (SPH) impact simulations of two orbiting moonlets inside the planetary gravitational potential and find that the classical outcome of two bodies impacting in free space is altered as erosive mass loss is more significant with decreasing distance to the planet. Depending on the conditions of accretion, each moonlet could have a distinct isotopic signature, therefore, we assess the initial mixing during their merger, in order to estimate whether future measurements of surface variations could distinguish between lunar origin scenarios (single vs. multiple moonlets). We find that for comparable-size impacting bodies in the accretionary regime, surface mixing is efficient, but in the hit-and-run regime, only a small amount of material is transferred between the bodies. However, sequences of hit-and-run impacts are expected, which will enhance the surface mixing. Overall, our results show that large scale heterogeneities can arise only from the merger of drastically different component masses. Surfaces of moons resulting from the merger of comparable-sized components have little material heterogeneities, and such impacts are preferred, as the relatively massive impactor generates more melt, extending the lunar magma ocean phase.
Each of the giant planets within the Solar System has large moons but none of these moons have their own moons (which we call ${it submoons}$). By analogy with studies of moons around short-period exoplanets, we investigate the tidal-dynamical stabil
The Moons changeable aspect during a lunar eclipse is largely attributable to variations in the refracted unscattered sunlight absorbed by the terrestrial atmosphere that occur as the satellite crosses the Earths shadow. The contribution to the Moons
Young circumstellar disks are of prime interest to understand the physical and chemical conditions under which planet formation takes place. Only very few detections of planet candidates within these disks exist, and most of them are currently suspec
Chondrules are one of the most primitive elements that can serve as a fundamental clue as to the origin of our Solar system. We investigate a formation scenario of chondrules that involves planetesimal collisions and the resultant impact jetting. Pla
The exquisite photometric precision of the Kepler space telescope now puts the detection of extrasolar moons at the horizon. Here, we firstly review observational and analytical techniques that have recently been proposed to find exomoons. Secondly,