Amy Simon

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Amy A. Simon
Amy Headshot2023.jpg
Amy Simon in 2023
BornOctober 1971 (age 53–54)
Union, New Jersey, U.S.
Alma mater Florida Institute of Technology
New Mexico State University
Children1 son
Scientific career
Fields Planetary atmospheres
Robotic exploration
Institutions Cornell University
Goddard Space Flight Center

Amy Simon is an American planetary scientist at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, involved in several missions of the Solar System Exploration Program. [1]

Contents

Education

Simon is from Union Township, Union County, New Jersey, [2] where she attended Union High School. [3] She earned a bachelor's degree in Space Sciences from the Florida Institute of Technology in 1993 [4] and was inducted into Sigma Pi Sigma. She completed her doctoral studies in astronomy at the New Mexico State University in 1998. [5] Upon graduation, she became a postdoctoral research scientist at Cornell University.

Career

Simon is a Senior Scientist in the Solar System Exploration Division at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, having joined NASA as a civil servant in 2001. She served as the Chief of the Planetary Systems Laboratory from 2008 to 2010 and the Associate Division Director from 2010 to 2013. [4]

Her scientific research involves the study of the composition, dynamics, and cloud structure in jovian planet atmospheres, primarily from spacecraft observations, and as of 2023, she has authored more than 160 peer-reviewed publications. [6]

Simon's experiences has consisted her of being a part of robotic flight missions and future mission concept development. [7]

Works

Her contributions include the first detailed study of the changing shape of Jupiter's Great Red Spot, as well as the discoveries of several types of waves in the atmosphere of Jupiter. [8] [9] [10] Her analysis of Voyager 2 , Cassini-Huygens , Hubble Space Telescope and New Horizons images led to the discovery of several new classes of Jupiter atmospheric waves. [11] [12] [13]

Beyond Jupiter, she has studied atmospheric chemistry and dynamics on Saturn, including the north-polar hexagon. [14] She was also part of a team that observed Neptune using the Kepler space telescope, detecting solar oscillations in light reflected off a planet for the first time. [15] [16]

Simon is involved in multiple robotic NASA planetary missions. She was a co-investigator on the Cassini-Huygens Composite Infrared Spectrometer (CIRS) and is the deputy instrument scientist for the OSIRIS-REx Visible and IR Spectrometer (OVIRS), as well as for the Landsat 9 Thermal Infrared Sensor-2 [17] instrument and the deputy principal investigator for the Lucy spacecraft L'Ralph instrument. [18]

Since 2014, she has been the principal investigator of the Hubble Outer Planet Atmospheres Legacy (OPAL) program. [19] Her team discovered a new Great Dark Spot on Neptune with Hubble [20] and has published more than 12 manuscripts from OPAL data. [19] Her work with OSIRIS-REX led to the discovery of hydrated minerals on the surface of Bennu and earned a NASA Exceptional Scientific Achievement Medal. [21]

Explorations

Simon also plans future planetary exploration missions. She served on the National Academy of Sciences' Space Studies Board 2013 Planetary Science Decadal Survey. [22] She has co-led several mission studies for NASA including Flagship class missions to Enceladus and to the Ice Giants, Uranus, and Neptune. [23] [24] She was the principal investigator for the proposed New Frontiers class Saturn probe mission, SPRITE.

Simon is a member of the American Geophysical Union, the American Astronomical Society, and the Division for Planetary Sciences.

Honors and awards

References

  1. 1 2 "(84994) Amysimon". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 18 January 2020.
  2. ↑ Amy Simon: Planetary Scientist, NASA. Accessed September 13, 2018. "[Q] Where are you from? [A] I am originally from Union, N. J."
  3. ↑ Parkinson, Claire L.; Millar, Pamela S.; and Thaller, Michelle (editors) Women of Goddard: Careers in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics NASA Goddard Space Flight Center July 2011, p. 111 Accessed September 13, 2018 "Amy Simon-Miller Union High School, Union, New Jersey"
  4. 1 2 "Bio - Amy A. Simon". science.gsfc.nasa.gov. NASA. Retrieved 19 August 2018.PD-icon.svg This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain .
  5. ↑ "NMSU Astronomy Alumni". astronomy.nmsu.edu. October 2015. Archived from the original on 28 July 2018. Retrieved 4 June 2018.
  6. ↑ "Google scholar profile: Amy A. Simon". Google Scholar. Retrieved 16 August 2018.
  7. ↑ "Amy Simon - NASA Science" . Retrieved 6 March 2025.
  8. ↑ Simon-Miller, A. A; Gierasch, P. J.; Beebe, R. F.; Conrath, B.; Flasar, F. M.; Achterberg, R. K. (2002). "New Observational Results Concerning Jupiter's Great Red Spot". Icarus. 158 (1): 249–266. Bibcode:2002Icar..158..249S. doi:10.1006/icar.2002.6867.
  9. ↑ Simon, Amy A.; Tabataba-Vakili, F.; Cosentino, R.; Beebe, R. F.; Wong, M. H.; Orton, G. S. (2018). "Historical and Contemporary Trends in the Size, Drift, and Color of Jupiter's Great Red Spot". Astronomical Journal. 155 (4): 151. Bibcode:2018AJ....155..151S. doi: 10.3847/1538-3881/aaae01 . S2CID   126147959.
  10. ↑ "Jupiter's Great Red Spot Getting Taller as it Shrinks, NASA Team Finds". nasa.gov. NASA. 12 March 2018. Retrieved 13 March 2018.PD-icon.svg This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain .
  11. ↑ Simon, Amy A.; Hueso, R.; Inurrigarro, P.; Sanchez-Lavega, A.; Morales-Juberias, R.; Cosentino, R.; et al. (2018). "A New, Long-Lived, Jupiter Mesoscale Wave Observed at visible Wavelengths". Astronomical Journal. 156 (2): 79. arXiv: 1807.10692 . Bibcode:2018AJ....156...79S. doi: 10.3847/1538-3881/aacaf5 . PMC   6268009 . PMID   30510304.
  12. ↑ Simon, Amy A.; Li, L.; Reuter, D. C. (2015). "Small-scale waves on Jupiter: A reanalysis of New Horizons, Voyager, and Galileo data". Geophysical Research Letters. 42 (8): 2612–2618. Bibcode:2015GeoRL..42.2612S. doi:10.1002/2015GL063433. S2CID   129617336.
  13. ↑ Simon-Miller, A. A; Rogers, J. H; Gierasch, P. J; Choi, D. C; Allison, M. D; Adamoli, G.; Mettig, H. J (2012). "Longitudinal Variation and Waves in Jupiter's South Equatorial Wind Jet". Icarus. 218 (2): 817–830. Bibcode:2012Icar..218..817S. doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2012.01.022. hdl: 2060/20120007841 . S2CID   122840527.
  14. ↑ Morales-Juberias, R.; Sayanagi, K. M.; Simon, Amy A.; Fletcher, L. N.; Cosentino, R. G. (2015). "Meandering Shallow Atmospheric Jet as a Model of Saturn's North-Polar Hexagon". Astrophysical Journal Letters. 806 (1): L18. Bibcode:2015ApJ...806L..18M. doi:10.1088/2041-8205/806/1/L18. S2CID   55193896.
  15. ↑ Simon, Amy A.; Rowe, J. F.; Gaulme, P.; Hammel, H. B.; Casewell, S. L.; Fortney, J. J.; et al. (2016). "Neptune's Dynamic Atmosphere for Kepler K2 Observations: implications for Brown Dwarf Light Curve Analysis". Astrophysical Journal. 817 (2): 162. arXiv: 1512.07090 . Bibcode:2016ApJ...817..162S. doi: 10.3847/0004-637X/817/2/162 . PMC   5257274 . PMID   28127087.
  16. ↑ Gaulme, P.; Rowe, J. F.; Bedding, T. R.; Benomar, O.; Corsaro, E.; Davies, G. R.; et al. (2016). "A Distant Mirror: Solar Oscillations Observed on Neptune by the Kepler K2 Mission". Astrophysical Journal Letters. 833 (1): L13. arXiv: 1612.04287 . Bibcode:2016ApJ...833L..13G. doi: 10.3847/2041-8213/833/1/L13 . S2CID   119477700.
  17. ↑ "Landsat 9 Science Instrument Details". landsat.gsfc.nasa.gov. NASA. Archived from the original on 7 April 2017. Retrieved 19 August 2018.PD-icon.svg This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain .
  18. ↑ "The Lucy Spacecraft and Payload". lucy.swri.edu. Archived from the original on 3 June 2021. Retrieved 19 August 2018.
  19. 1 2 "Outer Planet Atmospheres Legacy Program". archive.stsci.edu. Retrieved 19 August 2018.
  20. ↑ Wong, M. H.; Tollefson, J.; Hsu, A. I.; de Pater, I.; Simon, Amy A.; Hueso, R.; et al. (2018). "A New Dark Vortex on Neptune". Astronomical Journal. 155 (3): 117. Bibcode:2018AJ....155..117W. doi: 10.3847/1538-3881/aaa6d6 .
  21. ↑ Hamilton, V. E.; Simon, Amy A.; et al. (2019). "Evidence for widespread hydrated minerals on asteroid (101955) Bennu" (PDF). Nature Astronomy. 3 (4): 332–340. Bibcode:2019NatAs...3..332H. doi:10.1038/s41550-019-0722-2. hdl:1721.1/124501. PMC   6662227 . PMID   31360777.
  22. ↑ "Planetary Science Decadal Survey". National Academies. Archived from the original on 2 February 2012. Retrieved 7 September 2018.
  23. ↑ "Enceladus: Saturn's Active Ice Moon" (PDF). lpi.usra.edu. Retrieved 7 September 2018.
  24. ↑ "Ice Giants Mission Planning". lpi.usra.edu. Retrieved 7 September 2018.
  25. ↑ "Union Fellows". agu.org. AGU. Retrieved 23 October 2025.PD-icon.svg This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain .
  26. ↑ "2023 Prize Winners". dps.aas.org. DPS. Retrieved 13 August 2023.PD-icon.svg This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain .
  27. ↑ "2022 Presidential Rank Award Winners" (PDF). opm.gov. NASA. Retrieved 6 December 2022.PD-icon.svg This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain .
  28. ↑ "Solar System Exploration Division (690) Awards Won". science.gsfcnasa.gov. NASA. Retrieved 8 February 2021.PD-icon.svg This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain .
  29. ↑ "Lindsay Awards and Lectures". science.gsfcnasa.gov. NASA. Retrieved 5 March 2021.PD-icon.svg This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain .
  30. ↑ "NASA Bio, Dr. Amy Simon". nasa.gov. NASA. Retrieved 5 May 2023.PD-icon.svg This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain .
  31. ↑ "Sciences and Exploration Directorate (600) Awards Won". nasa.gov. NASA. Retrieved 17 August 2018.PD-icon.svg This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain .
  32. ↑ "NASA Agency Honor Awards 2014" (PDF). nasa.gov. NASA. Retrieved 17 August 2018.PD-icon.svg This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain .
  33. ↑ "MPC/MPO/MPS Archive". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 18 January 2020.
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