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Science Publications

NEOCam leverages the experience of the NEOWISE team. See a list of NEOWISE publications.

Mainzer, A., et al. “Survey Simulations of a New Near-Earth Asteroid Detection System” 2015, AJ, accepted.

Girard, J., et al. “Cosmic ray response of megapixel LWIR arrays from TIS” 2014, Proc. SPIE 9154.

McMurtry, C., et al., “Development of sensitive long-wave infrared detector arrays for passively cooled space missions” 2013, Opt. Eng. 52(9).

Bottke, W. F., Vokrouhlický, D., Ballouz, R.-L., Barnouin, O. S., Connolly, H. C., Jr., Elder, C., Marchi, S., McCoy, T. J., Michel, P., Nolan, M. C., Rizk, B., Scheeres, D. J., Schwartz, S. R., Walsh, K. J., Lauretta, D. S. 2020. Interpreting the Cratering Histories of Bennu, Ryugu, and Other Spacecraft-Explored Asteroids (PDF). Astron. J. 160, 14.

Bottke, W. F., A. Moorhead, H. C. Connolly Jr, C. W. Hergenrother, J. L. Molaro, P. Michel, M. C. Nolan, S. R. Schwartz, D. Vokrouhlický, K. J. Walsh, and D. S. Lauretta. 2020. Meteoroid Impacts as a Source of Bennu’s Particle Ejection Events (PDF), JGR-Planets 125, 2019JE006282

Nesvorný, D., Vokrouhlický, D., Bottke, W. F., Levison, H. F., Grundy, W. M. 2020. Very Slow Rotators from Tidally Synchronized Binaries (PDF). Astrophys. J. 893, L16.

Mazrouei, S., R. R. Ghent, W. F. Bottke, A. H. Parker, T. M. Gernon. 2019. Earth and Moon impact flux increased at the end of the Paleozoic (PDF). Science 363, 253-257.
Supplementary Material for Earth and Moon impact flux increased at the end of the Paleozoic (PDF)

Granvik, M., Morbidelli, A., Jedicke, R., Bolin, B., Bottke, W. F., Beshore, E., Vokrouhlicky, D., Nesvorny, D., Michel, P. 2018. Debiased orbit and absolute-magnitude distributions for near-Earth objects (PDF). Icarus 312, 181-207.

Jedicke, R., Bolin, B. T., Bottke, W. F., Chyba, M., Fedorets, G., Granvik, M., Jones, L., Urrutxua, H. 2018. Earth’s Minimoons: Opportunities for Science and Technology (PDF). Frontiers in Astronomy and Space Sciences 5, 13.

Stokes, G. H., B. W. Barbee, W. F. Bottke, M. W. Buie, S. R. Chesley, P. W. Chodas, J. B. Evans, R. E Gold, T. Grav, A. W. Harris, R. Jedicke, A. K. Mainzer, D. L. Mathias, T. B. Spahr, D. K. Yeomans. 2017. Update to determine the feasibility of enhancing the search and characterization of NEOs (PDF). Report of the Near-Earth Object Science Definition Team. Prepared at the request of NASA, Science Mission Directorate, Planetary Science Division.

Granvik, M., Morbidelli, A., Vokrouhlicky, D., Bottke, W. F., Nesvorny, D., Jedicke, R. 2017. Escape of asteroids from the main belt (PDF). Astronomy and Astrophysics 598, A52.

Granvik, M., Morbidelli, A., Jedicke, R., Bolin, B., Bottke, W. F., Beshore, E., Vokrouhlicky, D., Delbo, M., Michel, P. 2016. Super-catastrophic disruption of asteroids at small perihelion distances (PDF). Nature 530, 303-306.
Supplementary Material for Super-catastrophic disruption of asteroids at small perihelion distances (PDF)

Mazanek, D. and 20 colleagues. 2016. Asteroid Redirect Mission (ARM) Formulation Assessment and Support Team (FAST) Final Report (PDF). NASA/TM–2016-219011.

A Family-based Method of Quantifying NEOWISE Diameter Errors

Thermophysical Modeling of NEOWISE Observations of DESTINY+ Targets Phaethon and 2005 UD

Uncertainties on Asteroid Albedos Determined by Thermal Modeling

Dorn, M.;McMurtry, C.; Pipher, J.; Forrest, W.; Cabrero, M.; Wong, A.; Mainzer, A.;   Lee, D.; Pan, J.  2018, Proceedings of the SPIE 10709, id. 1070907, “A monolithic 2k × 2k LWIR HgCdTe detector array for passively cooled space missions (PDF)”

Mario S. Cabrera, Craig W. McMurtry, Meghan L. Dorn, William J. Forrest, Judith L. Pipher, Donald Lee, “Development of 13 μm cutoff HgCdTe detector arrays for astronomy (PDF),” JATIS  5(3), 036005 (2019), doi: 10.1117/1.JATIS.5.3.036005

Mario S. Cabrera, Craig W. McMurtry, William J. Forrest, Judith L. Pipher, Meghan L. Dorn, Donald L, JATIS 6(1), 011004 (2020) “Characterization of a 15 μm Cutoff HgCdTe Detector Array for Astronomy (PDF)”

Zengilowski, G.; Cabrera, M.; McMurtry, C., Pipher, J.; Dorn, M.; Reilly, N.; Bovie, D.; Mainzer, A.; Wong, A.; Lee, D. under review JATIS (2021), Blooming in H2RG arrays: Laboratory measurements of a second brighter-fatter type effect in HgCdTe infrared detectors (PDF)

Pipher, J.; McMurtry, C.; Cabrera, M.; Forrest, W. accepted by JAI (2021) Mid-Infrared Detector Array Technologies for SOFIA and Space Observatory Instruments (PDF)

Zengilowski, Gregory R.;  McMurtry, Craig W.;  Pipher, Judith L.;  Reilly, Nicholas S.;  Forrest, William J.;  Cabrera, Mario S.;  Dorn, Meghan L.;  Wong, Andre F.;  Mainzer, A. K.; “Signal nonlinearity measurements and corrections in MWIR and LWIR HgCdTe H2RG arrays for NEO Surveyor (PDF)”, Proc. SPIE, Vol 11454, (2020)

Characterization of Thermal Infrared Dust Emission and Refinements to the Nucleus Properties of Centaur 29P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 1

Binarity as the Origin of Long Secondary Periods in Red Giant Stars

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Press Releases

Science Team

UCLA Team

Dr. Amy Mainzer (Survey Director)

Dr. Ned Wright (Deputy Survey Director)

Dr. Selmer Wong (Project Manager)

Dr. Tyler Linder (Survey Scientist)

Dr. Greg Zengilowski (Detector Scientist)

Dr. Quanzhi Ye (Archive Scientist)

Dr. Yoonyoung Kim (Comet Scientist)

Dr. Valeria (Val) Jaramillo Hernández (Education Outreach Lead)

Edith Camacho (Administrative Assistant)

Caltech/IPAC & JPL Team

Dr. Joe Masiero (IPAC Lead Scientist)

Dr. Sean Carey (IPAC Task Lead)

Dr. Frank Masci (IPAC Lead Architect)

Dr. Serina Diniega (Project Scientist)

Dr. Jana Chesley (Comets and Follow Up)

Dr. Steve Chesley (Dynamics Lead)

Dr. Marina Brozovic (Radar Observations Lead)

Dr. Bonnie Buratti (Education Public Outreach)

Comet Working Group

Dr. Paul Abell (NASA)

Dr. James (Gerbs) Bauer (University of Maryland)

Dr. Yan Fernandez (University of Central Florida)

Asteroid Diameter Working Group

Dr. Josh Emery (Northern Arizona University)

Dr. Desiree Cotto-Figueroa (University of Puerto Rico)

Dr. James (Gerbs) Bauer (University of Maryland)

Dr. Ed Rivera-Valentin (John Hopkins University)

Dr. Patrick Taylor (NRAO)

Targeted Follow-Up Observations

Dr. Roberto Furfaro (University of Arizona)

Dr. Andrea Scorsoglio (University of Arizona)

Population Modeling

Dr. Bill Bottkle (Southwest Research Institute)

Dr. Tim Spahr (NEO Sciences)

Dr. Michele Bannister (University of Canterbury)

Detector Working Group

Dr. Craig McMurtry (University of Rochester)

Other Objects

In addition to near-Earth objects, NEO Surveyor will likely detect more than a million asteroids in the Main Belt between Mars and Jupiter and about a thousand new comets.  By studying the physical and orbital properties of Main Belt asteroids and comets, we can better understand where the NEOs come from.

Unlike asteroids in the Main Belt, which have generally remained in place for billions of years, we know that NEOs are a transitory population. NEO orbits aren’t usually stable for longer than a few million years. After a few million years, one of three things will happen to most NEOs: either they will be pulled into the Sun, get ejected from the inner solar system, or they will crash into a planet.

The fact that we see so many NEOs today despite their transitory nature means that they must continually be resupplied from sources in the Main Belt or comet populations. NEO Surveyor will give us more detailed insight into how the NEOs are formed, and what will eventually happen to them.

NEO Surveyor will also yield valuable information about the numbers, sizes, and activity levels of comets, allowing us to better understand the hazard they may pose to Earth as well as their origins. NEO Surveyor’s science team includes experts on comet population studies and composition.

While NEOWISE discovered 21 new comets, NEO Surveyor would be expected to discover many times more.

Science Overview

Throughout our planet’s 4.6 billion year history, asteroids and comets have been agents of change for our planet: they may have delivered the ingredients needed for life, and they have caused mass extinctions. 

Today, asteroids spend most of their time harmlessly orbiting in the main belt between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter. These remnants from our solar system’s formation can still make their way into the inner part of our solar system, however, sometimes impacting the Earth. 

We now know that most of the very largest asteroids and comets that get close to Earth have been discovered, but many of the more numerous smaller ones (still capable of causing significant regional damage) remain to be found. 

The Near-Earth Object Surveyor is designed to discover and characterize a large fraction of the asteroids and comets throughout our solar system, including those that get close to Earth. NEO Surveyor will not only find asteroids and comets, but it will teach us about their physical properties, origins, and evolution. 

Our results suggest that the subset of NEOs that are most likely to cause impacts, the so-called potentially hazardous objects, are about twice as likely to occupy orbits in nearly the same plane as the Earth.  This may mean that they are more likely to impact the Earth. With NEO Surveyor, we can better quantify the risks of asteroid impacts simply by going out and discovering them.

Artist concept of comets impacting Eta Corvi.

Late Heavy Bombardment This illustration depicts a period early in the history of the solar system in which Earth and the inner planets were pummeled by cometary debris filling the young solar system. Scientists think this “Late Heavy Bombardment” was triggered in our solar system by the migration of our outer planets, which jostled icy comets about, sending some of them flying inward. The incoming comets scarred our moon and pummeled our inner planets. They may have even brought materials to Earth that helped kick start life. (Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/R. Hurt)

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