Small bodies of the Solar System

我们的太阳系包含了我们一些最基本问题的答案。我们的起源是什么？生命存在于“外面”吗？然而，我们太阳系目前的状态主要取决于其尚未充分了解的形成过程的细节。这一过程发生在45亿年前，但仍有许多线索存在，其中一些在不太可能的地方。起源问题的根本是我们太阳系的小天体：小行星、彗星和流星体。像太阳和行星这样的大型天体也很重要，但在它们的一生中已经发生了重大的变化。以地球为例：它所经历的物理、化学、地质甚至生物过程是巨大的。较小的天体在地质上是安静的，自早期以来基本上保持不变。许多从较大天体上擦除的关键信息仍然保留在较小天体上。我建议从观测和理论两方面研究这些小天体的性质。观测方案将包括：（1）通过继续分析加拿大-法国-夏威夷望远镜的数据，对表面上是岩石的小行星进行持续监测，这些小行星实际上可能是伪装的冰彗星;（2）通过恒星掩星搜索可探测的最小柯伊伯带天体;（3）对流星进行高分辨率光学视频天体测量和光谱学测量，以便将单个流星与其母星联系起来。在理论方面，我的团队将继续研究不寻常的共振小行星的动力学，并建立一个研究其他恒星周围行星系统动力学的项目。

Our solar system contains the answers to some of our most fundamental questions. What is our origin? Does life exist 'out there'? Yet the current state of our solar system depends critically on the details of its as-yet-poorly understood formation process. This process occured 4.5 billion years ago but many clues remain, some in unlikely places. Fundamental to the question of origins are the small bodies of our solar system: asteroids, comets and meteoroids. The large bodies such as the Sun and planets are also important but have been subjected to substantial alteration over their lifetimes. Consider the Earth: the physical, chemical, geological and even biological processing it has undergone is tremendous. Smaller bodies, being geologically quiet, have remained largely unchanged since early times. Much key information that has been erased from the larger bodies remains "fossilized'' in the smaller ones.I propose to study the properties of these small bodies both observationally and by means of theory. The observational program will include 1) on-going monitoring of apparently-rocky asteroids which may in fact be icy comets in disguise through the continued analysis of data from Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope 2) searches for smallest detectable Kuiper Belt objects through stellar occultations and 3) high-resolution optical video astrometry and spectroscopy of meteors for the purpose of linking individual meteors to their parents. On the theoretical side, my team will continue to investigate the dynamics of unusual resonant asteroids and build up a program of study on the dynamics of planetary systems around other stars as well.