Tales from the Solar system: Comets, Asteroids and Interstellar Objects – Bin Yang

Universidad Diego Portales

One of the great challenges in astronomy is to understand how planetary systems come into being from protoplanetary disks and how it relates to our own Solar system formation. For the Solar system, detailed information on planet formation and migration can be obtained by studying small bodies (such as asteroids and comets). In this talk, I will focus on three hot topics in current small body research. First, I will present a multi-wavelength characterization of the interstellar traveler, 2I/Borisov, the first clearly active extrasolar comet ever detected in our Solar system. Second, I will talk about high-resolution imaging studies of large asteroids using the second-generation extreme-AO instrument SPHERE. I will present SPHERE case studies of asteroid (130) Elektra and asteroid (31) Euphrosyne as well the physical and dynamical studies of the Euphrosyne family. Lastly, I will present the current and future studies of the peculiar comet C/2017 K2, which is remarkable for developing a coma at record heliocentric distances (up to 35 au). The detection of C/2017 K2 beyond the orbit of Uranus offers an unprecedented opportunity for us to examine the development of activity in a pristine comet arriving from near-interstellar temperatures.

Horarios: 15:30 - 16:30 hrs

Publicado por: Felipe Barrientos