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Research » Planetary Group


The NMSU Astronomy Department has a long tradition of research excellence in planetary science. Clyde Tombaugh, the discoverer of Pluto, founded the modern department. Long term member Reta Beebe was a member of the Voyager imaging team and an Interdisciplinary Scientist for the Galileo mission to Jupiter, and she helped plan and carry out HST imaging of the giant planets. Dr. Beebe received the American Astronomical Society Division for the Planetary Sciences 2003 Masursky Award, which honors outstanding service to planetary science and exploration. She is currently the chair of the National Academy of Sciences/National Research Council Committee on Planetary and Lunar Exploration. Dr. Jim Murphy has been involved in studies of the Martian atmosphere using data from the Mars Pathfinder, Mars Global Surveyor, and Mars Odyssey spacecraft missions.


Venus

Mars

Jupiter

Saturn

Titan

The NMSU Astronomy Department also houses the NASA Planetary Data System Atmospheres Discipline Node. This archive for spacecraft and ground-based data related to planetary atmospheres is a national resource, providing data and documentation from NASA solar system missions. The Atmospheres Node is an important component of the NMSU Astronomy Department, providing employment opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students as well as research tools for the planetary science faculty and postdocs.

Today, graduate students interested in planetary studies complete a two semester sequence of courses focusing on planetary atmospheres and the formation of the solar system.

The planetary group has a diverse set of interests, including the following.

Reta Beebe College Professor
Atmospheric dynamics of giant planets; spacecraft observations of planetary atmospheres; NASA Planetary Data System (PDS) Atmospheres Discipline Node; PDS Project Scientist
 
Nancy Chanover  Associate Professor
Visible and infrared imaging and spectroscopy of planetary atmospheres and surfaces; vertical structure of the atmospheres of Jupiter, Saturn, Titan, and Venus; ground-based instrumentation development
 
Lyle Huber  Archive Manager
PDS Atmospheres Discipline Node
 
Jim Murphy Associate Professor
Atmosphere of Mars, general circulation models
 
Irma Trejo  Systems Programmer
PDS Atmospheres Discipline Node
 
Malynda Chizek Graduate Student
Mars; astrobiology
 
Robert Edmonds  Graduate Student
Martian atmosphere, non-LTE models; meteorology
 
Candace Gray    Graduate Student
Planetary atmospheres; formation of gas giant satellites
 
Adam McKay Graduate Student
Comets; KBO's; icy satellites; asteroids
 
Chas Miller Recent PhD
Icy moons; atmospheres of Titan, Triton, and Pluto
 
Kyle Uckert   Graduate Student
Physics of neaby planetary objects; manned and unmaned spacecraft