Speaker: Adeene Denton, Postdoctoral Fellow NASA
Title: Impacts as a window into the ocean worlds of the outer solar system
Host: Nur Schuba
Abstract: Evidence for collisions between planetary bodies can be found across our Solar System, from the Earth and Moon to the Kuiper belt. In this talk, I will explore how giant impacts can be a critical window into the origin and evolution of ocean worlds in the outer Solar System, using two examples: Pluto and Mimas. The origin of the Pluto-Charon binary is generally understood to be a giant impact, but the specific characteristics for how the impact occurs may dictate the subsequent thermal evolution of the system, including the survival of Pluto’s hypothesized ocean. Similarly, Saturn’s moon Mimas is thought to possess an ocean, but its extensive cratering record seems to suggest otherwise. Analyzing the moon’s largest impact basin can provide insight into how to reconcile surface observations of Mimas with existing models of its interior. By reproducing known giant impacts and connecting them to observations, we can reconstruct the interiors and histories of ocean worlds that are otherwise difficult to access.