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Hunting for Moons - solar system irregularsWebsite archive 1995-2013 |
Victoria Centre is part of the national Royal Astronomical Society of Canada, which is dedicated to bringing information about astronomy to the general public. |
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January 12, 2005 - Hunting for Moons - The irregulars of the outer solar system - Dr. JJ Kavelaars, Herzberg Institute of Astrophysics, DAO. The irregular moons of Uranus and those other pesky gas giant planets must be telling us something. I will present some hints that these small objects may indeed be giving astronomers a glimpse into what the early solar system was like.
Bio: Dr JJ Kavelaars spends his time looking through many thousands of CCD images, searching for small objects in the outer solar system. He has discovered a least one satellite of each of the gas giant planets, named four moons of Saturn in honor of northern mythologies, discovered hundreds of minor planets in the Kuiper belt and is working on a variety of research projects, focusing on understanding of the formation of our planetary system. JJ received his Ph.D. from the Department of Physics at Queen's University in Kingston Ontario in 1998. He is currently an Associate Research Officer at the NRC Herzberg Institute of Astrophysics, and an Adjunct Assistant Professor in the Physics and Astronomy Departments at McMaster University and the University of Victoria. Dr. Kavelaars is the discover, or co-discover, of over 30 satellites of the gas giant planets, and has discovered irregular moons of each of the four gas giants. He has discovered hundreds of Kuiper Belt objects.
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