3D Modelling of Impacts into Planetary Atmospheres

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AST 0098707AsphaugImpacts are fundamental processes that have shaped the objects in the Solar System. While they were most important during the formation phase of the planets and satellites, they continue to occur today, with potentially severe consequences for humanity and other life on the Earth. This project, lead by Dr. Erik Asphaug at the University of California at Santa Cruz, focuses on an important aspect of the process: the interaction of an impacting body with a planetary (or satellite) atmosphere, as the collision takes place. The research team will build on previous work in simulating impacts into the Venusian atmosphere to develop a more complete understanding of the process. Earlier work demonstrated that high resolution three-dimensional calculations are necessary in order to thoroughly constrain the physics of impacts. The basic goals of this project are to answer the questions: Given the parameters of an impact, what are the mass and momentum that reach the ground to make a crater? How well do atmospheres stop impacting objects? How does an impactor break up in an atmosphere? Using the results of three-dimensional hydrodynamic modeling, a relatively simple model of atmospheric permeability will be developed, calibrated by "ground truth" data from the Earth and Venus. This will enable answering corollary questions: to determine the age of the surface of Venus, to determine where Earth impactors of moderate size deposit their energy, and to predict the state of the surface of Titan. ***