CURRENT HOT RESEARCH TOPIC...

 

In November, 2010 and February, 2011, respectively, the EPOXI and Stardust-NExT

spacecrafts successfully encountered comets 103P/Hartley 2 and 9P/Tempel 1. This

was a return visit to Tempel 1, which had earlier been studied in the Deep Impact

mission. Belton Space Exploration Initiatives, through its president, Dr. Michael

Belton participated in both these missions and is now using data from them to

extend our knowledge of the target comets. 103P/Hartley 2 was found to be a

"dumbbell" shaped nucleus in excited rotation, while at Tempel 1 the efforts of Dr.

Belton and others to predict the rotational phase of the comet at encounter time a

year before the event paid off with a near perfect prediction. Both missions achieved

all of their science objectives. Now, Dr Belton is engaged in the interpretation of the

data so as to improve the knowledge of the spin state of both comets as well as to

understand the very different surface geology of the two comets. Already his analysis

of the quasi-circular pits on the surface of Tempel 1 confidently attributes their origin

to endogenic outbursts...

 

 


RECENT WORK (2012 - 2003) 

       The origin of pits on 9P/Tempel 1 and the geologic signature of outbursts in Stardust-NExT images  

 

               Belton, M.J.S., Thomas, P., Carcich, B., Quick, A., Veverka, J., Melosh, H.J.,

               AHearn, M.F., Li, J-Y., Brownlee, D., Schultz, P., Klaasen, K., Sarid, G. 2012,

               Icarus. Submitted 11/14/2011.

Tempel 1: Shape and geology from two flybys

               Thomas, P., AHearn, M.F., Belton, M.J.S., Brownlee, D.,Carcich, B., Hermalyn, B.,

               Klaasen, K., Sackett, S., Schultz, P., Veverka, J.,S., Bodewits, D. Chesley, S., Bhaskaren, S.,

               Farnham, T., Groussin, O. Harris, A., Kissel, J., Li, J-Y., Meech, K.J., Melosh, J., Quick, A.,

               Richardson, J., Sunshine, J., Wellnitz, D. 2012, Icarus. Submitted 11/14/2011

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

       Photometry of Tempel 1 from Stardust NExT flyby  

 

              Li, J-Y., AHearn, M.F., Belton, M.J.S., Farnham, T.L., Klaasen, K.P., Sunshine, J.M.,

              Thomas, P.C., Veverka, J. 2012, Icarus. Submitted 11/14/2011.

        Connections between the jet activity and surface features on comet

        9P/Tempel 1  

 

              Farnham, T.L., Bodewits, D., Li, J.-Y., Veverka, J., Thomas, P., and Belton, M.J.S.

              2012. Icarus, submitted 01/16/2012.

       An updated rotation model for comet 9P/Tempel 1

 

             Chesley, S.R., Belton, M.J.S., Carcich, B., Thomas, P.C., Pittichov, J., Klaasen, K.P.,

             Li, J.-Y., Farnham, T.L., Gillam, S.D., Harris, A.W., Veverka, J.  2012. Icarus,

             submitted Dec, 2011.

 

Cometary Evolution and Cryo-volcanism

 

             Michael J.S. Belton 2012, Canadian J. Phys., accepted for publication 9/13/2011.

 

      

       Return to comet Tempel 1: Overview of Stardust-NExT results.

 

             Veverka, J., Klaasen, K., AHearn, M., Belton, M., Brownlee, D., Chesley, S., Clark, B.,

             Economou, T., Fahrquar, R., Green, S.F., Groussin, O., Harris, A., Kissel, J., Li, J-Y.,

             Meech, K., Melosh, J., Richardson, J., Schultz, P., Silen, J., Sunshine, J., Thomas, P.,

             Bhaskaran, S., Bodewits, D., Carcich, B., Cheuvront, A., Farnham, T., Sackett, S.,

             Wellnitz, D., Wolf, A.  Icarus, submitted Jan, 2012.

 

EPOXI at Comet Hartley 2

 

             Michael F. A'Hearn, Michael J.S. Belton, W. Alan Delamere, Lori M. Feaga, Donald

             Hampton, Jochen Kissel, Kenneth P. Klaasen, Lucy A. McFadden, Karen J. Meech, H. Jay  

             Melosh,  Peter H. Schultz, Jessica M. Sunshine, Peter C. Thomas, Joseph Veverka,

             Dennis D Wellnitz, Donald K. Yeomans, Sebastien Besse, Dennis Bodewits,

             Timothy J. Bowling, Brian T. Carcich, Steven M. Collins, Tony L. Farnham, Oliver Groussin,

             Brendan Hermalyn, Michael S. Kelley, Jian-Yang Li, Stephanie A McLaughlin, Silvia

             Protopapa, James E. Richardson, Jade A. Williams. 2011, Science, 332, 1396-1400.

 

Stardust-NExT, Deep Impact, and the accelerating spin of 9P/Tempel 1

 

             Michael J.S. Belton, Karen J. Meech, Steven Chesley, Jana Pittichova, Brian Carcich, Michal

             Drahus, Alan Harris, Stephen Gillam, Joseph Veverka, Nicholas Mastrodemos, William Owen,

             Michael F. AHearn, S. Bagnulo, J. Bai, L. Barrera, Fabienne Bastien, James M. Bauer,

            J. Bedient, B. C. Bhatt, Hermann Boehnhardt, N. Brosch, Marc Buie, Pablo Candia, W.-P. Chen,

             P. Chiang, Young-Jun Choi, A. Cochran, Christopher J. Crockett, S. Duddy, Tony Farnham,

             Yan R. Fernndez, Pedro Gutirrez, Olivier R. Hainaut, Donald Hampton, Kimberly A. Herrmann,

             Henry Hsieh, M. A. Kadooka, H. Kaluna, J. Keane, M.-J. Kim, Kenneth Klaasen, J. Kleyna,

             Kevin Krisciunas, Luisa M. Lara, Tod R. Lauer, Jian-Yang Li, Javier Licandro, C.M. Lisse,

             Stephen C. Lowry, Lucy McFadden, N. Moskovitz,  Beatrice Mueller, D. Polishook,

             N. S. Raja, T. Riesen, D. K. Sahu, Nalin Samarasinha, G.Sarid, Tomohiko Sekiguchi , S. Sonnett, 

             Nicholas B. Suntzeff, Brian W. Taylor, Peter Thomas, Gian Paolo Tozzi, R. Vasundhara,

               J.-B. Vincent, Lawrence H. Wasserman, Bryant Webster-Schultz, B. Yang, T. Zenn, H. Zhao.

             2011, Icarus, 213, 345-368.

 

Deep Impact, Stardust-NExT and the behavior of Comet 9P/Tempel 1 from 1997-2010

               

                K.J. Meech, Pittichova, J., Yang, B., Zenn, A.S., Belton, M.J., AHearn, M.F., Bagnulo, S. and

                51 other co-investigators. 2010 Icarus 213, 323-344 

Cometary Activity, Active Areas, and a Mechanism for Collimated Outflows on 1P, 9P, 19P, and 81P. 

Michael J.S. Belton, 2011. Icarus. 210, 881-897

Energy balance of the Deep Impact experiment

O. Groussin, M.F. A'Hearn, M.J.S. Belton, T. Farnham, L. Feaga, J. Kissel, C. Lisse, J. Melosh, P. Schultz, J. Sunshine, J. Veverka. 2010, Icarus 205, 627-637

Cometary Ices

Carey Lisse, Akiva Bar-Nun, Diana Laufer, Michael Belton, Walter Harris, Henry Hsieh, David Jewitt. 2012. In The science of solar system ices, Ed. M. Gudipati, Springer Verlag. In press

Spitzer Space Telescope Observations of the nucleus of comet 103P/Hartley 2

C.M. Lisse, Y.R. Fernandez, W.T. Reach, J.M. Bauer, M.F. A'Hearn, T.L. Farnham, O. Groussin, M.J. Belton, and C.D. Snodgrass. Pub. Astron. Soc. Pacific, 121. 968-975.

Fluidization and multiphase transport of particulate cometary material as an explanation of the smooth terrains and repetitive outbursts on 9P/Tempel 1.

Michael J.S. Belton and H. Jay Melosh. 2009. Icarus 200, 280-291.

Cometary cryo-volcanism: Source regions and a model for the UT 2005 June 14 and other mini-outbursts on comet 9P/Tempel 1.

Michael J.S. Belton, Paul D. Feldman, Michael F. A'Hearn, and Brian Carcich.  2008. Icarus 198, 189-207.

The Accelerating Spin of 9P/Tempel 1

Michael J.S. Belton and Michal Drahus. 2007 DPS Meeting Abstract

The Internal Structure of Jupiter Family Cometary Nuclei from Deep Impact Observations: The Talps or Layered Pile Model.

M.J.S. Belton, P. Thomas, J. Veverka, P. Schultz, M. A'Hearn, L. Feaga, T. Farnham, O. Groussin, J-L Li, C. Lisse, L. McFadden, J. Sunshine, K.J. Meech, W. A. Delamere.  2007. Icarus 187, 332-344

Deep Impact Photometry of Comet  9P/Tempel 1.

Jian-Yang Li, Michael F. A'Hearn, Michael J.S. Belton, Christopher J Crockett, Tony L. Farnham, Carey M. Lisse, Lucy A. McFadden, Karen J. Meech, Jessica M Sunshine, Peter C. Thomas, and Joe Veverka. 2007. Icarus 187, 41-55.

The Shape, Topography and Geology of Tempel 1 from Deep Impact Observations.

P. Thomas, J. Veverka, M.J.S. Belton, A. Hidy, M. A'Hearn, O. Groussin, C. Lisse, L. McFadden, J. Sunshine, D. Wellnitz, P. Schultz, K.J. Meech, W. A. Delamere. 2007. Icarus 187, 4-15.

Dust Coma Morphology in the Deep Impact Images of Comet 9P/Tempel 1.

T.L. Farnham, D.D. Wellnitz, D.L. Hampton, J.-Y. Li, J.M. Sunshine, O. Groussin, L.A. McFadden, C.J. Crockett, M.F. A'Hearn, M.J.S. Belton, P. Schultz, C.M. Lisse. 2007. Icarus 187, 26-40.

Deep Impact and Sample Return.

Michael F. A'Hearn, Michael J.S. Belton, Tony L. Farnham, Lori M. Feaga, Olivier Groussin, Carey M. Lisse, Karen J. Meech, Peter H. Schultz and Jessica Sunshine.  2006. Earth Planets Space, 58, 1-5.

Carbon Monoxide in Comet 9P/Tempel 1 before and after the Deep Impact Encounter.

P.D. Feldman, R.E. Lupu, S.R. McCandliss, H.A. Weaver, M.F. A'Hearn, M.J.S. Belton, and K.J. Meech.  2006. Astrophys. J. 647, L61-L64.

Hubble Space Telescope Observations of Comet 9P/Tempel 1 during the Deep Impact Encounter.

P.D. Feldman, S.R. McCandliss, M. Route, H.A. Weaver, M.F. A'Hearn, M.J.S. Belton, and K.J. Meech.  2007. Icarus 187, 113-122.

Photometric Analysis and Disk-resolved Thermal Modeling of Comet 19P/Borrelly from Deep Space 1 Data.

J-Y. Li, M.F. A'Hearn, L.A. McFadden and M.J.S. Belton.  2007.  Icarus 187, 41-55

    The Spin State of 9P/Tempel 1.

 

             M.J.S. Belton, P.C. Thomas, B. Carcich, C.J. Crockett,

             and the Deep Impact Science Team. 2006. 37th LPSC Abstract  #1487.

 

Spitzer Spectral Observations of the Deep Impact Ejecta.

C.M. Lisse, J. VanCleve, A.C. Adams, M.F. A'Hearn, Y.R. Fernandez,  T.L. Farnham, L. Armus, C.J. Grillmair, J. Ingallis, M.J.S. Belton, O. Groussin, L.A. McFadden, K.J. Meech, P.H. Schultz, B.C. Clark, L.M. Feaga, and J.M. Sunshine. 2006. Science 313, 635-640.

Water Ice on the Surface of Comet Tempel 1.

J. M. Sunshine, M. F. A'Hearn, O. Groussin, J.-Y. Li, M. J. S. Belton, W. A. Delamere, J. Kissel, K. P. Klaasen, L. A. McFadden, K. J. Meech, H. J. Melosh, P. H. Schultz, P. C. Thomas, J. Veverka, D. K. Yeomans, I. Busko, M. Desnoyer, T. L. Farnham, L. M. Feaga, D. Hampton, D. Lindler, D. D. Wellnitz.  2006. Science 311, 1453-1455.

Rotation of Cometary Nuclei.  

N.H. Samarasinha, Beatrice E.A. Mueller, Michael J.S. Belton, and Laurent Jorda. Published in COMETS II (Eds. M.C Festou, H.U. Keller and H.A. Weaver) 2005, pp 281-299.

Deep Impact: Observations from a Worldwide Earth-based Campaign.

K.J. Meech and 210 co-authors (including M.J.S. Belton).  2005, Science 310, 265-269.

Deep Impact: Excavating Comet Tempel 1.

M. F. A'Hearn, M.J.S. Belton,  W. A. Delamere, J. Kissel, K. P. Klaasen, L. A. McFadden, K. J. Meech, H. J. Melosh, P. H. Schultz, J. M. Sunshine, P. Thomas, J. Veverka, D. K. Yeomans, M.W. Baca, I. Busko, C.J. Crockett, S. M. Collins, M. Desnoyer, C.A. Eberhardy, C.M. Ernst,  T. L. Farnham,  L. Feaga, O. Groussin, D. Hampton, S.I. Ipatov, J.-Y. Li, D. Lindler, C. M. Lisse,  N. Mastrodemos, W. M. Owen, Jr., J. E. Richardson, D. D. Wellnitz, R. L. White.  2005, Science 310, 258-264.

Rotationally Resolved 8-35 micron Spitzer Space Telescope Observations of the Nucleus of 9P/Tempel 1.

Lisse, C., A'Hearn, M.F., Groussin, O., Fernandez, Y.R., Belton, M.J.S., Van Cleve, J.E., Charmandaris, V., Meech, K.J., and McGleam, C.: 2005. Astrophys. J. 625, L139-L142.

Cometary Geology with Deep Impact Remote Sensing 
P.C. Thomas, J. Veverka, M.F. A'Hearn, L. McFadden, M.J.S. Belton, and J.M. Sunshine. 2005. Space Science Reviews, 117, 193-205.  
 
Deep Impact: A Large-Scale Active Experiment on a Cometary Nucleus 
M.F. A'Hearn, M.J.S. Belton, A. Delamere, and W.H. Blume. 2005. Space Science Reviews 117,1-21.  
 
Deep Impact: Working Properties for the Target Nucleus - Comet 9P/Tempel 1 
M.J.S. Belton, K.J. Meech, M.F. A'Hearn, O. Groussin, L. McFadden, C. Lisse, Y.R. Fernandez, J. Pittachova, H. Hsieh, J. Kissel, K. Klaasen, P. Lamy, D. Prialnik, J. Sunshine. P. Thomas, and I. Toth. 2005, Space Science Reviews, 117, 137-160. 
   
New Near-Aphelion Light Curves of Comet 2P/Encke.  
Y. R. Fernandez, S. C. Lowry, P. R. Weissman, B. E. A. Mueller, N. H. Samarasinha, M. J. S. Belton, and K. J. Meech.2005 Icarus, 175, 194-214. 
 
The Excited Spin State of Comet 2P/Encke.  
Michael J.S. Belton, Nalin H. Samarasinha, Yan R. Fernández, and Karen J. Meech. 2005 Icarus,175, 181-193. 
 
Mitigation of Hazardous Comets and Asteroids. (M.J.S. Belton, T.H. Morgan, N.H. Samarasinha and D.K. Yeomans, Eds)  
A book published by the Cambridge University Press in December, 2004, that includes a collection of invited papers given at the NASA Workshop on Scientific Requirements for Mitigation of Hazardous Comets and Asteroids.(see below)   
 
Exploration of the Solar System in the Coming Decade. 
Statement of Michael J.S. Belton before the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. July 30, 2003.
 
Towards a National Program to Remove the Threat of Hazardous NEOs.  
A chapter for a new book Mitigation of Hazardous Comets and Asteroids (M.J.S. Belton, T.H. Morgan, N.H. Samarasinha and D.K. Yeomans, Eds). Published by Cambridge University Press in December, 2004 (see above).
 
An Open Letter to Gary L. Martin, NASA Space Architect.  
An April 2003 letter, signed by 30 space scientists, on important future goals for robotic and human spaceflight at NASA  following the Columbia tragedy. The letter emphasizes moving human activities out of LEO into near-Earth space and sets a goal to deflect a near-Earth asteroid. 
 
New Frontiers in the Solar System.  An Integrated Exploration Strategy. 
Report of the Solar System Exploration Survey (Chair, Michael J.S. Belton), Space Studies Board, National Research Council. July 9, 2002. Published by the National Academies Press (www.nap.edu) in 2003. 
The Nucleus of Deep Impact Target Comet 9P/Tempel 1.  
Y.R. Fernandez, K.J. Meech, C.M. Lisse, M.F. A'Hearn, J. Pittichova, and M.J.S. Belton. Icarus, 165, 481-491 (2003). 
 

Interior of Small Bodies: Foundations and Perspectives.  
Richard P. Binzel, Michael AHearn, Erik Asphaug, M. Antonella Barucci, Michael Belton, Willy Benz, Alberto Cellino, Michel C. Festou, Marcello Fulchignoni, Alan W. Harris, Alessandro Rossi, Maria T. Zuber. Published in Planetary and Space Science, 51, 443-454 (2003).