Atacama Large Aperture Submillimeter Telescope (AtLAST) Science: Planetary and Cometary Atmospheres

<ns3:p> The study of planets and small bodies within our Solar System is fundamental for understanding the formation and evolution of the Earth and other planets. Compositional and meteorological studies of the giant planets provide a foundation for understanding the nature of the most commonly observed exoplanets, while spectroscopic observations of the atmospheres of terrestrial planets, moons, and comets provide insights into the past and present-day habitability of planetary environments, and the availability of the chemical ingredients for life. While prior and existing (sub)millimeter observations have led to major advances in these areas, progress is hindered by limitations in the dynamic range, spatial and temporal coverage, as well as sensitivity of existing telescopes and interferometers. Here, we summarize some of the key planetary science use cases that factor into the design of the Atacama Large Aperture Submillimeter Telescope (AtLAST), a proposed 50-m class single dish facility: (1) to more fully characterize planetary wind fields and atmospheric thermal structures, (2) to measure the compositions of icy moon atmospheres and plumes, (3) to obtain detections of new, astrobiologically relevant gases and perform isotopic surveys of comets, and (4) to perform synergistic, temporally-resolved measurements in support of dedicated interplanetary space missions. The improved spatial coverage (several arcminutes), resolution (~ 1.2″ − 12″), bandwidth (several tens of GHz), dynamic range (~ 10 <ns3:sup>5</ns3:sup> ) and sensitivity (~ 1 mK km s <ns3:sup>−1</ns3:sup> ) required by these science cases would enable new insights into the chemistry and physics of planetary environments, the origins of prebiotic molecules and the habitability of planetary systems in general. </ns3:p>

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Publication Details

Journal
Open Research Europe
Published
2024-12-12
DOI
https://doi.org/10.12688/openreseurope.17473.2
Citations
3
Primary Topic
Astro and Planetary Science
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.99

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article

Atacama Large Aperture Submillimeter Telescope (AtLAST) Science: Planetary and Cometary Atmospheres

Sven Wedemeyer, N. A. Teanby, Mark Booth, Thomas J. Maccarone et al.
3 citations
Open Research Europe
Astro and Planetary Science
0.99
article

Atacama Large Aperture Submillimeter Telescope (AtLAST) Science: Planetary and Cometary Atmospheres

Sven Wedemeyer, N. A. Teanby, Mark Booth, Thomas J. Maccarone, C. Cicone, Luca Di Mascolo, Alexander E. Thelen, C. A. Nixon, Stefanie N. Milam, Bryan Butler, Arielle Moullet, A. Saintonge, Katherine de Kleer, Steven B. Charnley, Leigh N. Fletcher, R. Moreno, Doug Johnstone, Mark Gurwell, Martin Cordiner, Tony Mroczkowski, M. W. L. Smith, Yi‐Jehng Kuan, T. Cavalié, Imke de Pater, Daizhong Liu, E. van Kampen, Minju Lee, Richard Cosentino, Emmanuel Lellouch, Pamela Klaassen
article en
3 citations

Abstract

<ns3:p> The study of planets and small bodies within our Solar System is fundamental for understanding the formation and evolution of the Earth and other planets. Compositional and meteorological studies of the giant planets provide a foundation for understanding the nature of the most commonly observed exoplanets, while spectroscopic observations of the atmospheres of terrestrial planets, moons, and comets provide insights into the past and present-day habitability of planetary environments, and the availability of the chemical ingredients for life. While prior and existing (sub)millimeter observations have led to major advances in these areas, progress is hindered by limitations in the dynamic range, spatial and temporal coverage, as well as sensitivity of existing telescopes and interferometers. Here, we summarize some of the key planetary science use cases that factor into the design of the Atacama Large Aperture Submillimeter Telescope (AtLAST), a proposed 50-m class single dish facility: (1) to more fully characterize planetary wind fields and atmospheric thermal structures, (2) to measure the compositions of icy moon atmospheres and plumes, (3) to obtain detections of new, astrobiologically relevant gases and perform isotopic surveys of comets, and (4) to perform synergistic, temporally-resolved measurements in support of dedicated interplanetary space missions. The improved spatial coverage (several arcminutes), resolution (~ 1.2″ − 12″), bandwidth (several tens of GHz), dynamic range (~ 10 <ns3:sup>5</ns3:sup> ) and sensitivity (~ 1 mK km s <ns3:sup>−1</ns3:sup> ) required by these science cases would enable new insights into the chemistry and physics of planetary environments, the origins of prebiotic molecules and the habitability of planetary systems in general. </ns3:p>

Open Research EuropeVol. 4
California Institute of Technology (US), Texas Tech University (US), Herzberg Institute of Astrophysics (CA), Space Telescope Science Institute (US), Planetary Science Institute (US), Goddard Space Flight Center (US), European Southern Observatory (DE), National Taiwan Normal University (TW), University of Trieste (IT), University of Leicester (GB), University of America (US), University of Oslo (NO), University of Victoria (CA), National Radio Astronomy Observatory (US), Université Paris Sciences et Lettres (FR), Observatoire de Paris (FR), Trieste Astronomical Observatory (IT), Purple Mountain Observatory (CN), University of Bristol (GB), Sorbonne Université (FR), Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics (DE), Laboratoire d'Astrophysique de Bordeaux (FR), Royal Observatory (GB), DAWN Center for Independent Living (US), Planetary Systems (United States) (US), Laboratoire d’études spatiales et d’instrumentation en astrophysique (FR), Center for Astrophysics Harvard & Smithsonian (US), Observatoire de la Côte d’Azur (FR), Institute for Fundamental Physics of the Universe (IT), University College London (GB), UK Astronomy Technology Centre (GB), Cardiff University (GB), Catholic University of America (US), University of Wales (GB)
Agence Nationale de la Recherche, Norges Forskningsråd, Horizon 2020 Framework Programme, HORIZON EUROPE Framework Programme, Science and Technology Facilities Council
Openalex Percentile: Top 22%
Astro and Planetary Science
0.99
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