Origins of the giant planets, their regular satellites and rings: Latest findings and the way forward

The formation of the regular satellites of giant planets mirrors in profound ways the physical processes leading to the formation of the parent planetary bodies and provides an independent probe of the early history of the solar system. Ongoing results from the Cassini spacecraft are radically changing this field. Dr. Mosqueira will briefly describe combined Jupiter-Saturn models of satellite formation in disks of dust and gas, emphasizing exchange mechanisms taking place between the solar nebula and the subnebulae of the giant planets. He will take us on a tour of the Kronian system starting with captured Phoebe, moving on to home-grown Iapetus, Hyperion and Titan and ending with the close-in moons and rings. Dr. Mosqueira will focus on the implications of Cassini observations for the origins of the rings, moons and planets of the solar system.

Speaker: Ignacio Mosqueria, SETI Institute