Amy Mainzer
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View article: Assessing the Potential Visibility of Comets like C/2025 R2 (SWAN) by NEO Surveyor
Assessing the Potential Visibility of Comets like C/2025 R2 (SWAN) by NEO Surveyor Open
We investigate the potential detectability of the newly discovered and close-approaching long-period comet C/2025 R2 (SWAN) by NEO Surveyor using the NEO Surveyor Survey Simulator ( nss ). The comet, with a minimum orbital intersection dis…
View article: COSINE (Cometary Object Study Investigating Their Nature and Evolution). I. Project Overview and General Characteristics of Detected Comets
COSINE (Cometary Object Study Investigating Their Nature and Evolution). I. Project Overview and General Characteristics of Detected Comets Open
We present the first results from the Cometary Object Study Investigating their Nature and Evolution (COSINE) project, based on a uniformly processed data set of 484 comets observed over the full 15 yr duration of the Wide-field Infrared S…
View article: COSINE (Cometary Object Study Investigating their Nature and Evolution) I. Project Overview and General Characteristics of Detected Comets
COSINE (Cometary Object Study Investigating their Nature and Evolution) I. Project Overview and General Characteristics of Detected Comets Open
We present the first results from the COSINE (Cometary Object Study Investigating their Nature and Evolution) project, based on a uniformly processed dataset of 484 comets observed over the full 15-year duration of the WISE/NEOWISE mission…
View article: An Educator’s Workshop for the NEO Surveyor Mission
An Educator’s Workshop for the NEO Surveyor Mission Open
Astronomy and space science are inherently interesting to students, accessible to teachers, and interdisciplinary in nature. These features make them ideal vehicles for teaching basic scientific concepts in a concrete and interesting manne…
View article: Orbit Quality Projections for New Discoveries by the Near-Earth Object Surveyor
Orbit Quality Projections for New Discoveries by the Near-Earth Object Surveyor Open
The Near-Earth Object Surveyor (NEO Surveyor; Mainzer et al., 2023) is a NASA mission designed to advance planetary defense by discovering near-Earth asteroids. Operating from a halo orbit at the Sun-Earth L1 Lagrange point, NEO Surveyor w…
View article: Predicted Discovery of Low-Delta V Targets Among the NEO Population by NEO Surveyor
Predicted Discovery of Low-Delta V Targets Among the NEO Population by NEO Surveyor Open
NASA’s Near-Earth Object (NEO) Surveyor mission is an infrared observatory planned to launch no earlier than September 2027 that is designed to discover and characterize asteroids and comets. Its main objective is to identify those objects…
View article: Ground Based Follow-up Observations to Expand the Science Return of Near-Earth Object Surveyor
Ground Based Follow-up Observations to Expand the Science Return of Near-Earth Object Surveyor Open
Space missions provide an opportunity to rapidly increase knowledge in a field by acquiring data that responds to a specific mission goal. Understanding the intersection of space-based and ground-based observation is critical to maximizing…
View article: Comet Science with NEO Surveyor
Comet Science with NEO Surveyor Open
Comets are important components of the Near-Earth Object (NEO) population, contributing to potential impact hazards to the Earth. Understanding the number, physical characteristics, and dynamical behavior of these active bodies is crucial …
View article: The Near-Earth Object Surveyor: NASA’s Next Planetary Defense Mission
The Near-Earth Object Surveyor: NASA’s Next Planetary Defense Mission Open
The Near-Earth Object (NEO) Surveyor mission is a NASA space telescope designed with the objective of finding, cataloging, and characterizing the asteroids and comets that most closely approach the Earth (Mainzer et al. 2023). The observat…
View article: Mapping distribution patterns of invasive alien species in the Santa Monica Mountains using airborne imaging spectroscopy and line-point transect data
Mapping distribution patterns of invasive alien species in the Santa Monica Mountains using airborne imaging spectroscopy and line-point transect data Open
The Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area (SMMNRA) is a region of ecological importance, vulnerable to ecosystem degradation due to climate change and the spread of invasive plant species (IPS). Despite wide recognition of the pr…
View article: NEOWISE-R Caught the Luminous SN 2023ixf in Messier 101
NEOWISE-R Caught the Luminous SN 2023ixf in Messier 101 Open
During routine survey imaging, the reactivated Near-Earth Object Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (NEOWISE-R) serendipitously caught the Type II supernova SN 2023ixf in Messier 101 on the rise, starting day 3.6 through day 10.9, and aga…
View article: Visual-band Brightnesses of Near-Earth Objects that will be Discovered in the Infrared by NEO Surveyor
Visual-band Brightnesses of Near-Earth Objects that will be Discovered in the Infrared by NEO Surveyor Open
Near-Earth Object (NEO) Surveyor will detect asteroids and comets using mid-infrared thermal emission, however ground-based followup resources will require knowledge of the expected visible light brightness in order to plan characterizatio…
View article: Visual-band brightnesses of Near Earth Objects that will be discovered in the infrared by NEO Surveyor
Visual-band brightnesses of Near Earth Objects that will be discovered in the infrared by NEO Surveyor Open
NEO Surveyor will detect asteroids and comets using mid-infrared thermal emission, however ground-based followup resources will require knowledge of the expected visible light brightness in order to plan characterization observations. Here…
View article: CO+CO2 Production in Comet C/2020 F3 (NEOWISE) using NEOWISE detections.
CO+CO2 Production in Comet C/2020 F3 (NEOWISE) using NEOWISE detections. Open
The NEOWISE mission utilizes the Wide-Field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) spacecraft to detect and characterize Near-Earth Objects (NEOs) (Wright et al. 2010). The prime WISE mission was part of NASA’s Explorer Program, with the go…
View article: NEOWISE-R Caught the Luminous SN 2023ixf in Messier 101
NEOWISE-R Caught the Luminous SN 2023ixf in Messier 101 Open
The reactivated Near-Earth Object Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (NEOWISE-R) serendipitously caught the Type II supernova SN 2023ixf in Messier 101 on the rise, starting day 3.6 through day 10.9, and on the late-time decline from days…
View article: Asteroid Impact Hazard Warning from the Near-Earth Object Surveyor Mission
Asteroid Impact Hazard Warning from the Near-Earth Object Surveyor Mission Open
NASA’s Near-Earth Object Surveyor mission, scheduled for launch in 2027 September, is designed to detect and characterize at least two-thirds of the potentially hazardous asteroids with diameters larger than 140 m in a nominal 5 yr mission…
View article: The Sensitivity of NEO Surveyor to Low-perihelion Asteroids
The Sensitivity of NEO Surveyor to Low-perihelion Asteroids Open
Asteroids with low orbital perihelion distances experience extreme heating from the Sun that can modify their surfaces and trigger nontypical activity mechanisms. These objects are generally difficult to observe from ground-based telescope…
View article: The Sensitivity of NEO Surveyor to Low-Perihelion Asteroids
The Sensitivity of NEO Surveyor to Low-Perihelion Asteroids Open
Asteroids with low orbital perihelion distances experience extreme heating from the Sun that can modify their surfaces and trigger non-typical activity mechanisms. These objects are generally difficult to observe from ground-based telescop…
View article: Lessons Learned from NASA’s DART Impact about Disrupting Rubble-pile Asteroids
Lessons Learned from NASA’s DART Impact about Disrupting Rubble-pile Asteroids Open
We present a series of numerical simulations using a shock physics smoothed particle hydrodynamics code, investigating energetic impacts on small celestial bodies characterized by diverse internal structures, ranging from weak and homogene…
View article: NEOWISE Observations of Distant Active Long-period Comets C/2014 B1 (Schwartz), C/2017 K2 (Pan-STARRS), and C/2010 U3 (Boattini)
NEOWISE Observations of Distant Active Long-period Comets C/2014 B1 (Schwartz), C/2017 K2 (Pan-STARRS), and C/2010 U3 (Boattini) Open
Hyperactive comet activity typically becomes evident beyond the frost line (∼3–4 au) where it becomes too cold for water-ice to sublimate. If carbon monoxide (CO) and carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) are the species that drive activity at sufficient…
View article: NEOWISE Observations of Distant Active Long-period Comets C/2014 B1 (Schwartz), C/2017 K2 (Pan-STARRS), and C/2010 U3 (Boattini)
NEOWISE Observations of Distant Active Long-period Comets C/2014 B1 (Schwartz), C/2017 K2 (Pan-STARRS), and C/2010 U3 (Boattini) Open
Hyperactive comet activity typically becomes evident beyond the frost line (3 to 4 au) where it becomes too cold for water-ice to sublimate. If carbon monoxide (CO) and carbon dioxide (CO2) are the species that drive activity at sufficient…
View article: The Near-Earth Object Surveyor Mission
The Near-Earth Object Surveyor Mission Open
The Near-Earth Object (NEO) Surveyor mission is a NASA Observatory designed to discover and characterize asteroids and comets. The mission’s primary objective is to find the majority of objects large enough to cause severe regional impact …
View article: The NEO Surveyor Near-Earth Asteroid Known Object Model
The NEO Surveyor Near-Earth Asteroid Known Object Model Open
The known near-Earth object (NEO) population consists of over 32,000 objects, with a yearly discovery rate of over 3000 NEOs per year. An essential component of the next generation of NEO surveys is an understanding of the population of kn…
View article: Validation of the Survey Simulator Tool for the NEO Surveyor Mission Using NEOWISE Data
Validation of the Survey Simulator Tool for the NEO Surveyor Mission Using NEOWISE Data Open
The Near-Earth Object Surveyor (NEO Surveyor) mission has a requirement to find two-thirds of the potentially hazardous asteroids larger than 140 m in size. In order to determine the mission’s expected progress toward this goal during desi…
View article: Pathways to Discovery in Astronomy and Astrophysics for the 2020s
Pathways to Discovery in Astronomy and Astrophysics for the 2020s Open
We live in an extraordinary period of discovery in astronomy and astrophysics. Six Nobel Prizes have been awarded over the past decade alone for discoveries based on astronomical data (dark energy, gravitational waves, neutrino oscillation…
View article: The NEO Surveyor Near Earth Asteroid Known Object Model
The NEO Surveyor Near Earth Asteroid Known Object Model Open
The known near-Earth object (NEO) population consists of over 32,000 objects, with a yearly discovery rate of over 3000 NEOs per year. An essential component of the next generation of NEO surveys is an understanding of the population of kn…
View article: Size and Albedo Constraints for (152830) Dinkinesh Using WISE Data
Size and Albedo Constraints for (152830) Dinkinesh Using WISE Data Open
Probing small main-belt asteroids provides insight into their formation and evolution through multiple dynamical and collisional processes. These asteroids also overlap in size with the potentially hazardous near-Earth object population an…
View article: Validation of the Survey Simulator tool for the NEO Surveyor mission using NEOWISE data
Validation of the Survey Simulator tool for the NEO Surveyor mission using NEOWISE data Open
The Near Earth Object Surveyor mission has a requirement to find two-thirds of the potentially hazardous asteroids larger than 140 meters in size. In order to determine the mission's expected progress toward this goal during design and tes…
View article: A planetary collision afterglow and transit of the resultant debris cloud
A planetary collision afterglow and transit of the resultant debris cloud Open
Planets grow in rotating disks of dust and gas around forming stars, some of which can subsequently collide in giant impacts after the gas component is removed from the disk. Monitoring programs with the warm Spitzer mission have recorded …