The Sun and the Solar System Commons^™

Geol 64: Planetary Geology - Syllabus, Dara Laczniak

Open Educational Resources

This Open Educational Resources (OER) syllabus is for an introductory planetary geology course that utilizes results from space missions to expose students to the surface features, composition, geological activity, and probable history of the planets, moons, asteroids, and comets of the solar system. It also places space exploration into the context of larger societal issues such as global warming and natural resource availability and addresses topics such as the ethics of space exploration and hazards of space travel. This OER syllabus aims to foster student-centered learning, critical thinking, data analysis and communication skills, and creativity. Assigned readings are compiled into …

Microstructural, Mineralogical, And Chemical Characterization Of The Handys Bend And Flax Creek Meteorites, Kentucky: Relevance For The Iron Meteorite Record, Ethan S.L. Davis

Theses and Dissertations--Earth and Environmental Sciences

Iron meteorites remain the only material view into planetary cores. Despite their scientific relevance, iron meteorites are relatively rare. In June 2021 and March 2022, the Kentucky Geological Survey received requests to identify two metallic specimens discovered in central Kentucky. The specimens were given the provisional names Handys Bend (3175.2 g) and Flax Creek (286.2 g). The goal of this project is to confirm meteoritic origin, characterize their structures and chemistry, assign genetic classifications, and examine potential relations to previous discoveries. Petrography was conducted using scanning electron microscopy. Mineral phases were examined using X-Ray diffraction crystallography. Chemical compositions were determined …

An Experimental Study Of Evaporites On Titan: Implications For Lake Composition And Future Missions, Ellen Czaplinski

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Titan is the only other planetary body in the solar system with liquid on the surface. With a surface temperature and pressure of 89 – 94 K and 1.5 bar (N2), respectively, Titan’s lakes are comprised of liquid hydrocarbons, predominantly methane and ethane. Over time, Titan’s lakes may evaporate, leaving behind residual deposits (evaporites). The evaporation processes and composition of the evaporites is poorly understood. I address these outstanding questions by experimentally investigating the physical and spectral properties of evaporites at Titan surface conditions using an experimental chamber.

Chapter 1 addresses the formation of ethylene evaporites. Ethylene evaporites form more …

Implications Of An Improved Water Equation Of State For Water-Rich Planets, Chenling Huang, David R. Rice, Zachary M. Grande, Dean Smith, John H. Boisvert, Oliver Tschauner, Ashkan Salamat, Jason Steffen

Geoscience Faculty Research

Water (H2O), in all forms, is an important constituent in planetary bodies, controlling habitability and influencing geological activity. Under conditions found in the interior of many planets, as the pressure increases, the H-bonds in water gradually weaken and are replaced by ionic bonds. Recent experimental measurements of the water equation of state (EOS) showed both a new phase of H-bonded water ice, ice-VIIt, and a relatively low transition pressure just above 30 GPa to ionic bonded ice-X, which has a bulk modulus 2.5 times larger. The higher bulk modulus of ice-X produces larger planets for a given mass, thereby either …

An Experimental Investigation Of Liquid Hydrocarbons In A Simulated Titan Environment, Kendra Farnsworth

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Saturn’s moon, Titan, has surface conditions (89–94 K, 1.5-bar atmosphere) that permit lakes of methane, ethane, and dissolved atmospheric nitrogen. The effects of atmospheric nitrogen on methane-ethane liquid properties is poorly understood, leading to uncertainty in Titan modeling. I address this question by experimentally investigating the physical properties of methane-ethane liquids under a 1.5-bar nitrogen atmosphere in a simulated Titan environmental chamber.

Chapter 1 addresses nitrogen dissolution kinetics in Titan’s liquid hydrocarbons. I found an exponential increase in nitrogen quantity and diffusion coefficients with increasing methane mol%. I find that Titan’s liquids are likely not saturated in nitrogen, with dissolution …

The Formation Of Fine-Grained Chondrule Rims In Unequilibrated Ordinary Chondrites, John Bigolski

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Fine-grained rims are ubiquitous, non-igneous, features that completely or partially envelope the majority of chondrules within the least equilibrated of the unequilibrated ordinary chondrites (UOCs). A detailed examination of such rims in 4 UOC samples less than petrologic type 3.2 was conducted in order to 1) characterize the relative distribution of rims within chondrite samples, 2) inspect differences between fine-grained rims and adjacent matrix material, 3) petrologically analyze the rims and their relationships with chondrule cores, 4) characterize an ungrouped UOC, Northwest Africa 5717, 5) conduct a microanalytical investigation of rim / matrix boundaries to discern relative chronologies of fine-grained …

Hunting Starstuff: Searching For Calcium-Aluminum-Rich Inclusions In Cometary Dust, Christian Engelbrecht

STAR Program Research Presentations

NASA’s Stardust mission (1999 - 2006) returned physical samples of the particles ejected by the comet 81P/Wild 2, collected in ultralight and extremely low density aerogel. These samples have been extensively analyzed using X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF), among other techniques, to determine the elemental, chemical and mineralogical composition of Wild 2. Because comets are thought to be formed in the icy outer regions of the solar system, billions of years ago, the Stardust data gives us details of the composition of the ancient solar system and its subsequent evolution. One of the surprises to come out of the data is the …

The Stardust Interstellar Dust Collector Crater Origins And Hypervelocity Cratering At Oblique Angles In Aluminum Foil, Harison Wiesman

Undergraduate Theses—Unrestricted

From 1999 to 2006 the NASA Stardust mission collected cometary particles from the Wild 2 comet and interstellar dust from the interstellar medium in two collectors made from aerogel tiles and aluminum foil. By studying their isotopic compositions, these particles can provide us with information about nucleosynthetic processes in stars. Both collector trays are being studied for traces of these particles, though a number of challenges have arisen in doing so. Identifying impact craters in the aluminum foil on the interstellar collector tray has been incredibly difficult. In addition to being only a few micrometers or less in diameter, many …

Survey Of ‘Low-Z’ Particles From The Interplanetary Dust Collection In Search Of Idps, Harison Wiesman

Undergraduate Theses—Unrestricted

Micrometeorites are one of the most common types of extraterrestrial material that fall to the Earth, beside meteorites and interplanetary dust particles (IDPs). All of these materials are known to contain presolar grains that, when studied in the laboratory, provide information about the origin of the solar system and help to constrain models of nucleosynthesis in stars. Recent studies of micrometeorites revealed the presence of a group of particles with very high C contents. These ultra-carbonaceous Antarctic micrometeorites (UCAMMs) are fine-grained, fluffy particles dominated by highly disordered carbonaceous matter. The presence of H and N isotopic anomalies, abundant presolar grains, …