Sazuna/UAT_keywords huggingface dataset:
Mapping Paleolacustrine Deposits with a UAV-borne Multispectral Camera: Implications for Future Drone Mapping on Mars. NASA's Ingenuity Mars Helicopter has marked a new era in planetary exploration by employing unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to enhance our understanding of planetary surfaces. This study evaluates the potential of UAVs for mapping Martian environments, with Lake Natron, Tanzania, serving as an analog for Martian paleolakes. During two field seasons (2023 January and July), we used a Phantom 4 Pro drone equipped with a MicaSense RedEdge-M multispectral camera, supplemented by in situ analysis using a TerraSpec Halo VNIR-SWIR spectrometer, to capture high-resolution imagery and spectral data. Almost all image processing and analysis, except for image mosaic and digital elevation model (DEM) generation, was performed using Python scripting. We benchmarked the onboard image processing capabilities using a Raspberry Pi 5 single-board computer. Processing steps include digital number (DN)-to-radiance conversion, assessment of the best radiance-to-reflectance conversion method, image mosaic creation, DEM generation, calculation of optimal band indices, and selection of the best classification technique. The research underscores Lake Natron's diverse lithologies as a suitable analog site and demonstrates significant improvements in classification when normalized elevation data are incorporated with spectral index maps through unsupervised classification methods. The study also addresses challenges related to high-resolution image transmission and processing, advocating for advanced techniques such as image compression and low-power computational models. Additionally, it highlights computational and power limitations as key obstacles, suggesting that emerging technologies such as photonic computing and hybrid controllers could provide viable solutions. These findings emphasize the transformative potential of UAVs in planetary exploration while outlining key areas for future research and technological development.

Keywords: Planetary geology
Size Distribution of Small Grains in the Inner Zodiacal Cloud. The Parker Solar Probe (PSP) spacecraft has transited the innermost regions of the zodiacal cloud and detects impacts to the spacecraft body via its electric field instrument. Multiple dust populations have been proposed to explain the PSP dust impact rates. PSP's unique orbit allows us to identify a region where the impact rates are likely dominated by α-meteoroids, small zodiacal grains on approximately circular, bound orbits. From the distribution of voltage signals generated by dust impacts to PSP in this region, we find the cumulative mass index for grains with radii of ∼0.6–1.4 μm (masses of 3 × 10‑15 kg to 3 × 10‑14 kg) to be α = 1.1 ± 0.3 from 0.1 to 0.25 au. The cumulative mass index increases toward the Sun, with even smaller fragments generated closer to the Sun. The derived size distribution is steeper than previously estimated, and in contrast to expectations, we find that most of the dust mass resides in the smallest fragments and not in large grains inside 0.15 au. As the innermost regions of the zodiacal cloud are likely collisionally evolved, these results place new constraints on how the solar system's zodiacal cloud and, by extension, astrophysical debris disks are partitioned in mass.

Keywords: Astrophysical dust processes, Dust physics, Zodiacal cloud
Observations of Uranus at High Phase Angle as Seen by New Horizons. We present flux measurements of Uranus observed at phase angles of 43.°9, 44.°0, and 52.°4 by the Multispectral Visible Imaging Camera on the New Horizons spacecraft during 2023, 2010, and 2019, respectively. New Horizons imaged Uranus at a distance of about 24–70 au (2023) in four color filters, with bandpasses of 400–550 nm, 540–700 nm, 780–975 nm, and 860–910 nm. High-phase-angle observations are of interest for studying the energy balance of Uranus, constraining the atmospheric scattering behavior, and understanding the planet as an analog for ice giant exoplanets. The new observations from New Horizons provide access to a wider wavelength range and different season compared with previous observations from the Voyager spacecraft. We performed aperture photometry on the New Horizons observations of Uranus to obtain its brightness in each photometric band. The photometry suggests that Uranus may be darker than predicted by a Lambertian phase curve in the blue and red filters. Comparison to simultaneous low-phase Hubble WFC3 and ground-based community-led observations indicates a lack of large-scale features at full phase that would introduce variation in the rotational light curve. The New Horizons reflectance in the blue (492 nm) and red (624 nm) filters does not exhibit statistically significant variation and is consistent with the expected error bars. These results place new constraints on the atmospheric model of Uranus and its reflectivity. The observations are analogous to those from future exoplanet direct-imaging missions, which will capture unresolved images of exoplanets at partial phases. These results will serve as a "ground truth" with which to interpret exo-ice-giant data.

Keywords: Uranus, Solar system planets
Phase Equilibria of Sub-Neptunes and Super-Earths. We investigate the consequences of nonideal chemical interaction between silicate and overlying hydrogen-rich envelopes for rocky planets using basic tenets of phase equilibria. Based on our current understanding of the temperature and pressure conditions for complete miscibility of silicate and hydrogen, we find that the silicate-hydrogen binary solvus will dictate the nature of atmospheres and internal layering in rocky planets that garnered H2-rich primary atmospheres. The temperatures at the surfaces of supercritical magma oceans will correspond to the silicate-hydrogen solvus. As a result, the radial positions of supercritical magma ocean–atmosphere interfaces, rather than their temperatures and pressures, should reflect the thermal states of these planets. The conditions prescribed by the solvus influence the structure of the atmosphere, and thus the transit radii of sub-Neptunes. Separation of iron-rich metal to form metal cores in sub-Neptunes and super-Earths is not assured due to prospects for neutral buoyancy of metal in silicate melt induced by dissolution of H, Si, and O in the metal at high temperatures.

Keywords: Exoplanet formation
Stable Stratification of the Helium Rain Layer Yields Vastly Different Interiors and Magnetic Fields for Jupiter and Saturn. At sufficiently high pressures (∼Mbar) and low temperatures (∼103–104 K), hydrogen and helium become partly immiscible. Interpretations of Jupiter's and Saturn's magnetic fields favor the existence of a statically stable layer near the Mbar pressure level. From experimental and computational data for the hydrogen–helium phase diagram, we find that moist convection and diffusive convection are inhibited, implying a stable helium rain layer in both Jupiter and Saturn. However, we find a significant difference in terms of structure and evolution: in Jupiter, helium settling leads to a stable yet superadiabatic temperature gradient that is limited by conductive heat transport. The phase separation region should extend only a few tens of kilometers, instead of thousands in current-day models, and be characterized by a sharp increase of the temperature of about 500 K for standard phase separation diagrams. In Saturn, helium rains occur much deeper, implying a larger helium flux relative to planetary mass. We find that the significant latent heat associated with helium condensation implies that a large fraction, perhaps close to 100%, of the planet's intrinsic heat flux may be locally transported by the sinking helium droplets. This implies that Saturn may possess a much more extended helium rain region. This also accounts, at least qualitatively, for the differences in strength and characteristics of the magnetic fields of the two planets. Dedicated models of magnetic field generation in both planets may offer observational constraints to further refine these findings.

Keywords: Astrophysical fluid dynamics, Planetary structure, Planetary interior, Jupiter
A Novel Orbit Parameterization in Spherical Coordinates. We present a novel orbit parameterization in spherical coordinates. This parameterization enables the mixing of varying and invariant orbital parameters, and clarifies the physics of the orbit. It also simplifies the process of placing synthetic populations at exactly specified locations on the sky, which is particularly useful for survey design and simulation studies.

Keywords: Celestial mechanics, Orbits, Solar system, Planetary science
Insights on the Rotational State and Shape of Asteroid (203) Pompeja from TESS Photometry. The Main Belt asteroid (203) Pompeja shows evidence of extreme variability in visible and near-infrared spectral slope with time. The observed spectral variability has been hypothesized to be attributed to spatial variations across Pompeja's surface. In this scenario, the observed spectrum of Pompeja is dependent on the geometry of the Sun and the observer relative to the asteroid's spin-pole and surface features. Knowledge of the rotational spin pole and shape can be gleaned from light curves and photometric measurements. However, dense light curves of Pompeja are only available from two apparitions. Further, previous estimates of Pompeja's sidereal period are close to being Earth commensurate, making ground-based light curves difficult to obtain. To overcome these difficulties, we implement a pipeline to extract a dense light curve of Pompeja from cutouts of Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) full-frame images. We succeeded in obtaining a dense light curve of Pompeja covering ∼22 complete rotations. We measure a synodic period of P syn = 24.092 ± 0.005 hr and amplitude of 0.073 ± 0.002 mag during Pompeja's 2021 apparition in the TESS field of view. We use this light curve to refine models of Pompeja's shape and spin-pole orientation, yielding two spin-pole solutions with sidereal periods and spin-pole ecliptic coordinates of P sid,1 = 24.0485 ± 0.0001 hr, λ 1 = 132°, and β 1 = +41° and P sid,2 = 24.0484 ± 0.0001 hr, λ 2 = 307°, and β 2 = +34°. Finally, we discuss the implications of the derived shape and spin models for spectral variability on Pompeja.

Keywords: Light curves, Main belt asteroids, Asteroids, Photometry
Solar Wind Ion Sputtering from Airless Planetary Bodies: New Insights into the Surface Binding Energies for Elements in Plagioclase Feldspars. Our understanding of the ion-sputtering contribution to the formation of exospheres on airless bodies has been hindered by the lack of accurate surface binding energies (SBEs) of the elements in the various mineral and amorphous compounds expected to be on the surfaces of these bodies. The SBE for a given element controls the predicted sputtering yield and energy distribution of the ejecta. Here, we use molecular dynamics computations to provide SBE data for the range of elements sputtered from plagioclase feldspar crystalline end members, albite and anorthite, which are expected to be important mineral components on the surfaces of the Moon and Mercury. Results show that the SBE is dependent on the crystal orientation and the element's coordination, meaning multiple SBEs are possible for a given element. Variation in the SBEs among the different surface positions has a significant effect on the predicted yield and energy distribution of the ejecta. We then consider sputtering by H, He, and a solar wind mixture of 96% H and 4% He. For each of these cases, we derive best-fit elemental SBE values to predict the ejecta energy distribution from each of the (001), (010), and (011) cleavage planes. We demonstrate that the He contribution to the sputtering yield cannot be accounted for by multiplying the 100% H results by some factor. Lastly, we average our results over all three possible lattice orientations and provide best-fit elemental SBE values that can be easily incorporated into sputtering yield models.

Keywords: Theoretical techniques, Theoretical models, Planetary surfaces, Exosphere, Solid matter physics, Space weather, The Moon, Solar wind, Laboratory astrophysics, Lunar surface, Lunar mineralogy, Mercury (planet)
Brightness Behavior of Distant Oort Cloud Comets. Dynamically new comets provide important insights into the conditions of the presolar nebula and its evolution, as they are believed to have experienced minimal solar heating before their discovery. Since 2020 August, the Las Cumbres Observatory (LCO) Outbursting Objects Key Project has utilized LCO's network of 1 m telescopes to consistently monitor long-period comets (LPCs) discovered inbound beyond 5 au from the Sun approximately every 3 days in order to characterize the brightness evolution, colors, and coma morphology of distant comets over a range of heliocentric distances. We report the long-term time-series photometry of 21 objects in our sample and coma morphology analyses for six comets with heliocentric distances less than 3 au. We find that LPCs rapidly brighten further from the Sun, and the brightening rate decreases as heliocentric distance decreases. We do not observe a clear difference in brightening rate for returning versus dynamically new comets. When LPCs are within 3 au of the Sun, they consistently exhibit a color change in a 20,000 km aperture consistent with an increase in gas production driven by water-ice sublimation. We find that returning comets experience the color change closer to the Sun than dynamically new comets, likely because their volatiles are more deeply buried or they have a higher dust-to-gas ratio after the upper layers are depleted of volatiles during a previous solar passage.

Keywords: Optical observation, Long period comets, Broad band photometry, Comets, Comet volatiles
Solar Energetic Particle Track Accumulation in Edgeworth–Kuiper Belt Dust Grains. Interplanetary dust grains (IDPs) originate from a variety of sources and are dynamically transported across the solar system. While in transport, high-Z solar energetic particles (SEPs) with energies of ∼1 MeV nuc‑1 leave damage tracks as they pass through IDPs. SEP track densities can be used as a measure of a grain's space exposure and, in turn, help to constrain their lifetimes and origins. Stratospherically collected IDPs with relatively high track densities (&gt;1010 cm‑2) have been interpreted as originating from the Edgeworth–Kuiper Belt (EKB). To further test this hypothesis, we use a dynamical dust grain tracing model to explore the accumulation of SEP tracks within EKB dust grains. We demonstrate that, neglecting collisions, dust grains with radii up to 500 μm are capable of transiting from the EKB to 1 au despite gravitational perturbations from the outer planets, albeit with decreasing probability as a function of size. Despite this, we find that EKB grains cannot accumulate sufficient tracks to match those reported in the terrestrial stratospheric IDP collection when applying SEP track accumulation rates established from lunar samples at 1 au and assuming the SEP flux scales with heliocentric distance as r‑1.7. By exploring the radial scaling of the SEP flux, we find that a shallower SEP radial distribution of r‑1.0 does allow for the accumulation of &gt;1010 tracks cm‑2 in EKB dust grains that reach 1 au. We urge further research into the propagation and distribution of high-Z SEPs throughout the heliosphere in order to better constrain track accumulation in IDPs.

Keywords: Solar energetic particles, Interplanetary dust, Kuiper belt
Deriving the N<SUB>2</SUB>–CO Binary Phase Diagram Using Experimental Techniques and Thermodynamics. In the distant outer solar system, carbon monoxide (CO) and nitrogen (N2) ices tend to be colocated in the same deposits due to their similar molecular weights and sublimation properties. For instance, these volatiles are abundant on the surfaces of Pluto and Triton, so knowledge of their phase behavior is necessary for understanding surface evolution and geology. However, it is presently unclear how mixing between CO and N2 molecules affects the physical properties of such mixtures. Here, we measured the liquidus, solidus, and alpha–beta phase transitions for the N2 and CO binary system. We observed the liquidus by using visual inspection. The solidus and alpha–beta transitions were measured by using Raman spectroscopy. The laboratory results were later compared to a thermodynamic model, CRYOCHEM 2.0. The liquidus and solidus were consistent with CRYOCHEM 2.0. However, the alpha–beta coexistence region is shown to be narrower in the laboratory results than in the thermodynamic model. Finally, we present a method for deriving the compositions of a sample using Raman spectroscopy (Appendices A.1 and A.2).

Keywords: Kuiper belt, Ice phases, Experimental techniques, Spectroscopy, Pluto, Vibrational spectroscopy, Triton
Imaging Spectroscopy: Earth and Planetary Remote Sensing with the PSI Tetracorder and Expert Systems from Rovers to EMIT and Beyond. A system for rapid analysis of spectroscopy data with emphasis on planetary surfaces, both imaging and single-spectrum data, is described. The system, called Tetracorder, is commanded by an expert system developed by expert spectroscopists. The Tetracorder and the expert system apply multiple algorithms to analyze a spectrum in segments, leveraging the advantages of each spectral region's sensitivity to detecting different compounds, whether solid, liquid, or gas. The algorithms compare measured spectra to the spectral properties of materials in spectral libraries. The libraries include pure minerals, mineral mixtures that include areal mixtures, intimate mixtures, coatings, and molecular mixtures and other compounds such as organics, vegetation, liquids, and gases. Absorption bands of a particulate surface change shape with grain size, and shape changes are used in some cases to constrain grain size of each component in the surface. The different algorithm results are compared for each spectral region, and specific material composition and average grain size (when possible) are identified. The system is operational analyzing real-time data on a new generation of rovers for future planetary missions, as well as identifying materials using an imaging spectrometer on the International Space Station. Four abundance models are presented, each with increasing sophistication, that are computationally fast on imaging spectrometer data and use Tetracorder identifications to produce maps of mineral abundances. A fifth full radiative model that includes multilayer surfaces is presented but is computationally intensive. The system is open source and available on GitHub.

Keywords: Planetary surfaces, Theoretical models, Infrared spectroscopy, Mars, The Moon, Ice spectroscopy, Planetary mineralogy, Earth (planet), Radiative transfer, Spectroscopy, Mixture model
Ejected Particles after Impact Splash on Mars: Electrification. Within the RoadMap project, we investigated the microphysical aspects of particle collisions during saltation on the Martian surface in laboratory experiments. In earlier works, we followed the size distribution of ejected particles, their aerodynamic properties, and aggregation status upon ejection. We now focus on the electrification and charge distribution of ejected particles. We analyzed rebound and ejection trajectories of grains in a vacuum setup with a strong electric field of 100 kV m‑1 and deduced particle charges from their acceleration. The ejected particles have sizes of about 10–100 μm. They carry charges up to 105 e or charge densities up to &gt;107 e mm‑2.

Keywords: Surface processes, Mars
Constraining the Protoliths of the Apollo Granulite Suite. The Apollo granulite suite represents the metamorphosed products of impact-contaminated polymict and monomict lunar breccias. We combine bulk and mineral major and trace element systematics with noble gas isotopes to constrain the highland lithologies that contributed to the feldspathic granulite suite protoliths. Ferroan anorthosites dominate the protolith of the ferroan granulite subtypes, whereas a KREEP-poor Mg-rich lithology dominates the protolith of the magnesian granulite. This magnesian lithology, while compositionally similar to Apollo Mg-suite rocks in major elements, is comparably poor in incompatible trace elements. Similar magnesian lithologies have been identified from granulites sampled by lunar meteorites and at the Chang'e 5 landing site. This adds to the body of evidence that a KREEP-poor Mg-suite lithology represents an important rock type within the lunar crust that was not sampled in a pristine form by the Apollo missions. Granulites have a range of noble gas systematics with contributions from solar wind and cosmogenic sources. Samples with a strong solar contribution indicate that they were formed from regolith-rich protoliths with components that had spent significant time at the lunar surface. Solar-wind-poor samples either indicate a protolith with contribution from regolith with limited exposure to the lunar surface or were sourced at depth where such regolith components are absent. There is no correlation between ferroan/magnesian subtypes and near-surface exposure duration. This indicates that granulites were formed from a range of protoliths and highlights the importance of the granulites for expanding the range of lunar highland lithologies, helping to place important constraints for lunar differentiation and crust building.

Keywords: Lunar petrology, Lunar mineralogy
Mapping Potential Hazards and Identifying Sampling Points within Lunar South Polar Region Areas of Interest. The lunar south polar region is an area of interest geologically, and so it is a target for many future missions. These target areas are being investigated in detail, particularly in relation to the illumination conditions, Earth visibility, thermal conditions, and their accessibility. Many of the target areas are thermally interesting as they contain permanently shadowed regions, which are colder than surrounding terrain and therefore potentially harbor volatiles. Understanding the hazards present including craters and boulders within these target areas is critical for a successful mission. Using multiple data sets including Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Narrow Angle Camera images, hazard mapping has been carried out across two areas of interest: CR1 located on the Connecting Ridge between the Shackleton and de Gerlache crater and GR1 located on the de Gerlache crater rim. The hazard mapping was compared to illumination maps, Earth visibility maps, slope maps, and thermal data sets to understand if there are suitable sampling areas. Two potential traverses for both CR1 and GR1 have been identified (one extended and one short). The traverses can be performed within a short mission time frame by either astronauts or by a rover and have multiple sampling points of boulders of geological interest and thermally cold areas for volatile sampling. To ensure maximum scientific return from CR1, GR1, and the surrounding areas, we suggest future missions collaborate with each other when targeting these sites. This will ensure the lunar surface is shared between missions, space agencies, and commercial companies.

Keywords: Lunar craters, The Moon, Lunar science, Remote sensing, Lunar features