Dale Cruikshank

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Dale P. Cruikshank is an astronomer and planetary scientist in the Astrophysics Branch at NASA Ames Research Center. His research specialties are spectroscopy and radiometry of planets and small bodies in the Solar System. These small bodies include comets, asteroids, planetary satellites, dwarf planets (e.g., Pluto), and objects in the region beyond Neptune (Kuiper belt objects and trans-Neptunian bodies). He uses spectroscopic observations made with ground-based and space-based telescopes, as well as interplanetary spacecraft, to identify and study the ices, minerals, and organic materials that compose the surfaces of planets and small bodies.

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Together with several colleagues, Cruikshank has found many kinds of ice on several small planetary bodies. These include frozen CH4, N2, CO, CO2, and H2O on Neptune's satellite Triton, CH4, N2, and CO on Pluto, H2O on Pluto's satellite Charon, H2O ice on many of the moons of Saturn and Uranus, H2O and CH3OH on the Centaur object 5145 Pholus. In studies with the Cassini spacecraft, he and his colleagues have found hydrocarbons on several of Saturn's satellites.

Career

Cruikshank gained a B.S. in Physics at Iowa State University and finished his graduate studies with a Ph.D. degree at the University of Arizona in the Lunar and Planetary Laboratory as a student of Gerard Kuiper in 1968. After a year in the USSR as a National Academy of Sciences exchange scientist, he returned to Arizona for a year, and then moved to the University of Hawaii in mid-1970. As an astronomer at the Institute for Astronomy, he helped with the development of Mauna Kea as one of the most important observatory sites in the world, and used the many telescopes there for his observational studies of the bodies in the Solar System. Cruikshank joined NASA in 1988.

Cruikshank is a member of the International Astronomical Union. On IAU Commission 16 (physical studies of the planets) he served as Secretary (1995-1997), Vice-President (1998-2000), and President (2001–2003). [1] He is also a member of the American Astronomical Society (AAS) and its Division for Planetary Sciences (DPS). He served as a member of the DPS Committee (1974-1977), Vice-Chair (1989-1990), and Chair (1990-1991). He is a Fellow of the California Academy of Sciences and a Fellow of the American Geophysical Union.

Cruikshank has served on numerous NASA review panels and committees of both NASA and the National Research Council. He was the Chair of the Primitive Bodies Panel of the first Solar System Decadal Survey (report published in 2003), and served on the Steering Committee of the second Solar System Decadal Survey. [2] The report of the second decadal survey was published in 2011, with the title, "Vision and Voyages for Planetary Science in the Decade 2013-2022".

Honors and awards

In 1988, asteroid 3531 Cruikshank was named after him by the International Astronomical Union, recognizing excellence in research on Solar System topics, and the outreach for scientific exchange with the USSR. [5]

Selected publications

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2060 Chiron</span> Large, ringed 200km centaur/comet with 50-year orbit

2060 Chiron is a ringed small Solar System body in the outer Solar System, orbiting the Sun between Saturn and Uranus. Discovered in 1977 by Charles Kowal, it was the first-identified member of a new class of objects now known as centaurs—bodies orbiting between the asteroid belt and the Kuiper belt. Chiron is named after the centaur Chiron in Greek mythology.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rhea (moon)</span> Moon of Saturn

Rhea is the second-largest moon of Saturn and the ninth-largest moon in the Solar System, with a surface area that is comparable to the area of Australia. It is the smallest body in the Solar System for which precise measurements have confirmed a shape consistent with hydrostatic equilibrium. Rhea has a nearly circular orbit around Saturn, but it is also tidally locked, like Saturn's other major moons; that is, it rotates with the same period it revolves (orbits), so one hemisphere always faces towards the planet.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tethys (moon)</span> Moon of Saturn

Tethys, or Saturn III, is the fifth-largest moon of Saturn, measuring about 1,060 km (660 mi) across. It was discovered by Giovanni Domenico Cassini in 1684, and is named after the titan Tethys of Greek mythology.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sedna (dwarf planet)</span> Dwarf planet

Sedna is a dwarf planet in the outermost reaches of the Solar System, orbiting the Sun beyond the orbit of Neptune. Discovered in 2003, the planetoid's surface is one of the reddest known among Solar System bodies. Spectroscopy has revealed Sedna's surface to be mostly a mixture of the solid ices of water, methane, and nitrogen, along with widespread deposits of reddish-colored tholins, a chemical makeup similar to those of some other trans-Neptunian objects. Within the range of uncertainties, it is tied with the dwarf planet Ceres in the asteroid belt as the largest dwarf planet not known to have a moon. Its diameter is roughly 1,000 km. Owing to its lack of known moons, the Keplerian laws of planetary motion cannot be employed for determining its mass, and the precise figure remains as yet unknown.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Odysseus (crater)</span> Massive crater on Saturns moon Tethys

Odysseus is the largest crater on Saturn's moon Tethys. It is 445 km across, more than 2/5 of the moon's diameter, and is one of the largest craters in the Solar System. It is situated in the western part of the leading hemisphere of the moon—the latitude and longitude of its center are 32.8°N and 128.9°W, respectively. It is named after the Greek hero Odysseus from Homer's the Iliad and the Odyssey. Odysseus was discovered by the Voyager 2 spacecraft on 1 September 1981 during its flyby of Saturn.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ithaca Chasma</span> Major valley system on Tethys

Ithaca Chasma is a valley (graben) of Saturn's moon Tethys, named after the island of Ithaca, in Greece. It is up to 100 km (62 mi) wide, 3–5 km (1.9–3.1 mi) deep and 2,000 km (1,200 mi) long, running approximately three-quarters of the way around Tethys' circumference, making it one of the longer valleys in the Solar System. Ithaca Chasma is approximately concentric with Odysseus crater.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cryovolcano</span> Type of volcano that erupts volatiles such as water, ammonia or methane, instead of molten rock

A cryovolcano is a type of volcano that erupts gases and volatile material such as liquid water, ammonia, and hydrocarbons. The erupted material is collectively referred to as cryolava; it originates from a reservoir of subsurface cryomagma. Cryovolcanic eruptions can take many forms, such as fissure and curtain eruptions, effusive cryolava flows, and large-scale resurfacing, and can vary greatly in output volumes. Immediately after an eruption, cryolava quickly freezes, constructing geological features and altering the surface.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">38628 Huya</span> Trans-Neptunian object

38628 Huya ( hoo-YAH; provisional designation 2000 EB173) is a binary trans-Neptunian object located in the Kuiper belt, a region of icy objects orbiting beyond Neptune in the outer Solar System. Huya is classified as a plutino, a dynamical class of trans-Neptunian objects with orbits in a 3:2 orbital resonance with Neptune. It was discovered by the Quasar Equatorial Survey Team and was identified by Venezuelan astronomer Ignacio Ferrín in March 2000. It is named after Juyá, the mythological rain god of the Wayuu people native to South America.

<span class="nowrap">(55565) 2002 AW<sub>197</sub></span> Classical Kuiper belt object

(55565) 2002 AW197 (provisional designation 2002 AW197) is a classical, non-resonant trans-Neptunian object from the Kuiper belt in the outermost region of the Solar System, also known as a cubewano. It is the tenth-intrinsically-brightest known trans-Neptunian objct, and with a likely diameter of at least 600 kilometers (400 miles), it is approximately tied with 2002 MS4 and 2013 FY27 (to within measurement uncertainties) as the largest unnamed object in the Solar System. It was discovered at Palomar Observatory in 2002.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Atmosphere of Titan</span>

The atmosphere of Titan is the dense layer of gases surrounding Titan, the largest moon of Saturn. Titan is the only natural satellite of a planet in the Solar System with an atmosphere that is denser than the atmosphere of Earth and is one of two moons with an atmosphere significant enough to drive weather. Titan's lower atmosphere is primarily composed of nitrogen (94.2%), methane (5.65%), and hydrogen (0.099%). There are trace amounts of other hydrocarbons, such as ethane, diacetylene, methylacetylene, acetylene, propane, PAHs and of other gases, such as cyanoacetylene, hydrogen cyanide, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, cyanogen, acetonitrile, argon and helium. The isotopic study of nitrogen isotopes ratio also suggests acetonitrile may be present in quantities exceeding hydrogen cyanide and cyanoacetylene. The surface pressure is about 50% higher than on Earth at 1.5 bars which is near the triple point of methane and allows there to be gaseous methane in the atmosphere and liquid methane on the surface. The orange color as seen from space is produced by other more complex chemicals in small quantities, possibly tholins, tar-like organic precipitates.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Climate of Titan</span>

The climate of Titan, the largest moon of Saturn, is similar in many respects to that of Earth, despite having a far lower surface temperature. Its thick atmosphere, methane rain, and possible cryovolcanism create an analogue, though with different materials, to the climatic changes undergone by Earth during the far shorter year of Earth.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kraken Mare</span> Largest hydrocarbon lake on Titan

Kraken Mare is the largest known hydrocarbon sea on the surface of Saturn's moon Titan. It was discovered by the space probe Cassini in 2006, and was named in 2008 after the Kraken, a legendary sea monster. It covers an area slightly bigger than the Caspian Sea on Earth, making it the largest known lake in the Solar System.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Planetary-mass moon</span> Planetary-mass bodies that are also natural satellites

A planetary-mass moon is a planetary-mass object that is also a natural satellite. They are large and ellipsoidal in shape. Moons may be in hydrostatic equilibrium due to tidal or radiogenic heating, in some cases forming a subsurface ocean. Two moons in the Solar System, Ganymede and Titan, are larger than the planet Mercury, and a third, Callisto, is just slightly smaller than it, although all three are less massive. Additionally, seven – Ganymede, Titan, Callisto, Io, Earth's Moon, Europa, and Triton – are larger and more massive than the dwarf planets Pluto and Eris.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Planetary surface</span> Where the material of a planetary masss outer crust contacts its atmosphere or outer space

A planetary surface is where the solid or liquid material of certain types of astronomical objects contacts the atmosphere or outer space. Planetary surfaces are found on solid objects of planetary mass, including terrestrial planets, dwarf planets, natural satellites, planetesimals and many other small Solar System bodies (SSSBs). The study of planetary surfaces is a field of planetary geology known as surface geology, but also a focus on a number of fields including planetary cartography, topography, geomorphology, atmospheric sciences, and astronomy. Land is the term given to non-liquid planetary surfaces. The term landing is used to describe the collision of an object with a planetary surface and is usually at a velocity in which the object can remain intact and remain attached.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saturn's hexagon</span> Hexagonal cloud pattern around north pole of Saturn

Saturn's hexagon is a persistent approximately hexagonal cloud pattern around the north pole of the planet Saturn, located at about 78°N. The sides of the hexagon are about 14,500 km (9,000 mi) long, which is about 2,000 km (1,200 mi) longer than the diameter of Earth. The hexagon may be a bit more than 29,000 km (18,000 mi) wide, may be 300 km (190 mi) high, and may be a jet stream made of atmospheric gases moving at 320 km/h (200 mph). It rotates with a period of 10h 39m 24s, the same period as Saturn's radio emissions from its interior. The hexagon does not shift in longitude like other clouds in the visible atmosphere.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Selk (crater)</span> Impact crater on the moon Titan

Selk is a crater on Titan, a moon of Saturn, located at 7°N 199°W. It is a geologically young impact crater that measures approximately 90 kilometres (56 mi) in diameter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Climate of Pluto</span>

The climate of Pluto concerns the atmospheric dynamics, weather, and long-term trends on the dwarf planet Pluto. Five climate zones are assigned on the dwarf planet: tropics, arctic, tropical arctic, diurnal, and polar. These climate zones are delineated based on astronomically defined boundaries or sub-solar latitudes, which are not associated with the atmospheric circulations on the dwarf planet. Charon, the largest moon of Pluto, is tidally locked with it, and thus has the same climate zone structure as Pluto itself.

References

  1. IAU membership information
  2. "Planetary Science Decadal Survey". Archived from the original on 2018-01-15. Retrieved 2012-06-12.
  3. "Dale P. Cruikshank - 2006 Gerard P. Kuiper Prize Winner Division for Planetary Sciences (American Astronomical Society)". 10 October 2006.[ permanent dead link ]
  4. "AAS Fellows". AAS. Retrieved 27 September 2020.
  5. Interview TechBriefs

PD-icon.svg This article incorporates public domain material from Dale Cruikshank Biography. National Aeronautics and Space Administration . Retrieved 2012-06-19.