Next Monthly Meeting: September 11, 2020
The Windy Planets
Jani Radebaugh, PhD, Professor of Geology, Brigham Young University
Many planetary bodies in our solar system have something in common with Earth – wind. This means they must have an atmosphere, even if it’s a thin or temporary one, and that it is heated and moved around by solar energy. This leads to remarkably similar landscapes, even in exotic materials and low-density atmospheres. Giant linear sand dunes found in Earth’s large African and Arabian deserts are very similar to dunes on the surface of Saturn’s moon Titan – in sand made of organics. Even in the thin atmosphere of Pluto there are dunes – in sand made of methane ice. Soft materials, such as clay, ash or methane ice at low temperatures are carved into long ridges, called yardangs, by the relentless force of wind over eons. These are widespread on the surface of Mars, are found on Titan and have a unique version on Pluto. Our studies of these landscapes on Earth are revealing the conditions under which these features form and evolve on other solar system bodies.
Dr. Radebaugh is an American planetary scientist and professor of geology at Brigham Young University who specializes in field studies of planets. Radebaugh's research focuses primarily on three planetary satellites: Saturn's moon Titan, Jupiter's moon Io, and our own Moon. In December 2012, Radebaugh and her colleagues on the Cassini mission announced the discovery of Vid Flumina, a liquid methane river on Saturn's moon Titan over 320km (200mi) long and resembling the Nile river.
Radebaugh received a BS from Brigham Young University in Physics and Astronomy and a PhD from the University of Arizona in Planetary Science.
¨DVAA Virtual Meeting 7:30 PM (sign-on begins at 7:00pm)
¨DVAA Members via Zoom
¨Members of the public can watch the livestream on YouTube link to Sept. monthly meeting