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The radius valley (or gap) in the observed distribution of exoplanet radii, which separates smaller super-Earths from larger sub-Neptunes, is a key feature that theoretical models must explain. Conventionally, it is interpreted as the result of the loss of primordial hydrogen and helium (H/He) envelopes atop rocky cores. However, planet formation models predict that water-rich planets migrate from cold regions outside the snowline towards the star. Assuming water to be in the form of solid ice in their interior, many of these planets would be located in the radius gap contradicting observations. Here we use an advanced coupled formation and evolution model that describes the planets' growth and evolution starting from solid, moon-sized bodies in the protoplanetary disk to mature Gyr-old planetary systems. Employing new equations of state and interior structure models to treat water as vapour mixed with H/He, we naturally reproduce the valley at the observed location. The model results demonstrate that the observed radius valley can be interpreted as the separation of less massive, rocky super-Earths formed in situ from more massive, ex situ, water-rich sub-Neptunes. Furthermore, the occurrence drop at larger radii, the so-called radius cliff, is matched by planets with water-dominated envelopes. Our statistical approach shows that the synthetic distribution of radii quantitatively agrees with observations for close-in planets, but only if low-mass planets initially containing H/He lose their atmosphere due to photoevaporation, which populates the super-Earth peak with evaporated rocky cores. Therefore, we provide a hybrid theoretical explanation of the radius gap and cliff caused by both planet formation (orbital migration) as well as evolution (atmospheric escape).

Chondrules are millimeter-sized spherules that dominate primitive meteorites (chondrites) originating from the asteroid belt. The incorporation of chondrules into asteroidal bodies must be an important step in planet formation, but the mechanism is not understood. We show that the main growth of asteroids can result from gas drag-assisted accretion of chondrules. The largest planetesimals of a population with a characteristic radius of 100 km undergo runaway accretion of chondrules within ~3 My, forming planetary embryos up to Mars's size along with smaller asteroids whose size distribution matches that of main belt asteroids. The aerodynamical accretion leads to size sorting of chondrules consistent with chondrites. Accretion of millimeter-sized chondrules and ice particles drives the growth of planetesimals beyond the ice line as well, but the growth time increases above the disc lifetime outside of 25 AU. The contribution of direct planetesimal accretion to the growth of both asteroids and Kuiper belt objects is minor. In contrast, planetesimal accretion and chondrule accretion play more equal roles in the formation of Moon-sized embryos in the terrestrial planet formation region. These embryos are isolated from each other and accrete planetesimals only at a low rate. However, the continued accretion of chondrules destabilizes the oligarchic configuration and leads to the formation of Mars-sized embryos and terrestrial planets by a combination of direct chondrule accretion and giant impacts.

Estimating surface properties such as porosity and grain sizes is key for planning lander missions and landing site selection on icy moons. However, spaceborne instruments do not measure the regolith properties directly: instead, they record proxy measurements such as thermal flux, which are then interpreted through modeling to estimate thermal inertia, porosity, grain size, etc. A striking conclusion from all thermal measurements that probed the uppermost surface (first millimeters) of icy moons is they all show an exceptionally low thermal inertia, ranging from 9 to 20 J.m-2.K-1.s-0.5. This value is orders of magnitude lower than that of bulk hexagonal water ice (2000 J.m-2.K-1.s-0.5) at these temperatures. We demonstrate that a regolith thermally dominated by hexagonal water ice may only achieve such thermal inertia through a combination of extremely high porosity (>80%), small grain radii (<1 mm), and an unconsolidated regolith (minimal contact area between grains), consistent with previous photometry and spectroscopy studies. For the Galilean moons, deeper thermal observations (>1 cm) have revealed higher thermal inertia (>~50 J.m-2.K-1.s-0.5), indicating that the

The leading hypothesis for the origin of the Moon, that of a single giant impact, faces significant challenges. These include either the need for an impactor with a near-identical composition to Earth or an extremely high-mass or high-energy impact to achieve near-complete material mixing. In this paper we explore an alternative, the "multiple impact hypothesis", which relaxes the compositional constraints on both the target and projectile, and allows for the consideration of more probable, less extreme impacts that steadily grow the Earth and Moon to their current size over several impact events. Using the hydrodynamical code SWIFT, we simulate "chains" of impacts and follow the growth of a moon around a planet analogous to our own. Our results demonstrate that chains of three or more impacts can produce systems comparable to the Earth-Moon system whilst achieving higher compositional similarities than the canonical giant impact scenario. This presents the multiple impact hypothesis as a promising alternative to the single large impact scenario for the origin of the Moon.

The Earth--Moon system has been experiencing impacts from asteroids and comets for billions of years. The Moon, as an airless body, has preserved a distinct record of these events in form of impact craters and ejecta deposits, offering valuable insights into the impact history and surface evolution of the Moon. However, the ancient impact relics can only provide limited information to the lunar interior structure, with an absence of the Moon's immediately dynamic response to the impact events. With human lunar exploration entering an era of sustained presence, e.g., lunar research station and human return, we propose a new concept to probe the lunar subsurface and interior by investigating the future asteroid impacts in real time. This can be achieved by integrating 1) ground- and space-based telescopes, 2) lunar-based seismometers and rovers, and 3) in-situ investigations around the impact sites. A promising opportunity arises with the possible lunar impact of the 60-m-sized asteroid 2024~YR4 in 2032 (impact probability $\sim$4.3\%), an event of once-in-ten-thousand-years rarity. Comprehensive observations of such events would greatly enhance our understanding of the Moon's struct

We report the discovery and careful orbital determination of 64 new irregular moons of Saturn found in images taken using the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope from 2019-2021, bringing the total number of saturnian irregulars to 122. By more than doubling the sample of saturnian irregular moon orbits, including pushing to smaller sizes, we can now see finer detail in their orbital distribution. We note the emergence of potential subgroups associated with each of Siarnaq and Kiviuq within the Inuit group. We find that in the inclination range 157-172 degrees the ratio of smaller moons (diameters less than 4 km) to larger moons (diameters greater than 4 km) is significantly larger than that of any other inclination range in the retrogrades. We denote this subset of the Norse group as the Mundilfari subgroup after its largest member. The incredibly steep slope of the Mundilfari subgroup's size distribution, with a differential power law index of q = 6, strengthens the hypothesis in Ashton et al. (2021) that this subgroup was created by a recent catastrophic collision, $<10^8$ yr ago.

JWST NIRCam images provide low-resolution spectra of the rings and inner moons orbiting Uranus and Neptune. These data reveal systematic variations in spectral parameters like the strength of the strong OH absorption band around 3 microns and the spectral slopes at continuum wavelengths. Neptune's rings show an extremely weak 3-micron band, which is likely due to the small particle sizes in these dusty rings. Neptune's small inner moons also have weaker 3-micron bands and redder continua than Uranus' small inner moons, indicating that Neptune's moons have a lower water-ice fraction. There are also clear spectral trends across the inner Uranian system. The strength of the 3-micron band clearly increases with distance from Uranus, with the rings having a noticeably weaker 3-micron band than most of the small inner moons, which have a weaker 3-micron band than the larger moons like Miranda. While the rings and most of the small moons have neutral spectra between 1.4 microns and 2.1 microns, the outermost small moon Mab exhibits a blue spectral slope comparable to Miranda, indicating that Mab's surface may also be relatively water-ice rich. The next moon interior to Mab, Puck, exhibits

According to the giant impact theory, the Moon formed by accreting the circum-terrestrial debris disk produced by Theia colliding with the proto-Earth. The giant impact theory can explain most of the properties of the Earth-Moon system, however, simulations of giant impact between a planetary embryo and the growing proto-Earth indicate that the materials in the circum-terrestrial debris disk produced by the impact originate mainly from the impactor. Thus, the giant impact theory has difficulty explaining the Moon's Earth-like isotopic compositions. More materials from the proto-Earth could be delivered to the circum-terrestrial debris disk when a slightly sub-Mars-sized body collides with a fast rotating planet of rigid rotation but the resulting angular momentum is too large compared with that of the current Earth-Moon system. Since planetesimals accreted by the proto-Earth hit the surface of the proto-Earth, enhancing the rotation rate of the surface of the proto-Earth. The surface's fast rotation rate relative to the slow rotation rate of the inner region of the proto-Earth leads to transfer of angular momentum from surface to inner, resulting in the differential rotation. Here,

It is generally accepted that the Moon accreted from the disk formed by an impact between the proto-Earth and impactor, but its details are highly debated. Some models suggest that a Mars-sized impactor formed a silicate melt-rich (vapor-poor) disk around Earth, whereas other models suggest that a highly energetic impact produced a silicate vapor-rich disk. Such a vapor-rich disk, however, may not be suitable for the Moon formation, because moonlets, building blocks of the Moon, of 100 m-100 km may experience strong gas drag and fall onto Earth on a short timescale, failing to grow further. This problem may be avoided if large moonlets ($\gg 100$ km) form very quickly by streaming instability, which is a process to concentrate particles enough to cause gravitational collapse and rapid formation of planetesimals or moonlets. Here, we investigate the effect of the streaming instability in the Moon-forming disk for the first time and find that this instability can quickly form $\sim 100$ km-sized moonlets. However, these moonlets are not large enough to avoid strong drag and they still fall onto Earth quickly. This suggests that the vapor-rich disks may not form the large Moon, and th

The multiple impact hypothesis proposes that the Moon formed through a series of smaller collisions, rather than a single giant impact. This study advances our understanding of this hypothesis, as well as moon collisions in other contexts, by exploring the implications of these smaller impacts, employing a novel methodological approach that combines self-consistent initial conditions, hybrid hydrodynamic/N-body simulations, and the incorporation of material strength. Our findings challenge the conventional assumption of perfect mergers in previous models, revealing a spectrum of collision outcomes including partial accretion and mass loss. These outcomes are sensitive to collision parameters and Earth's tidal influence, underscoring the complex dynamics of lunar accretion. Importantly, we demonstrate that incorporating material strength is important for accurately simulating moonlet-sized impacts. This inclusion significantly affects fragmentation, tidal disruption, and the amount of material ejected or accreted onto Earth, ultimately impacting the Moon's growth trajectory. By accurately modeling diverse collision outcomes, our hybrid approach provides a powerful new framework for

We have conducted extremely ultra-deep pencil beam observations for new satellites around both Uranus and Neptune. Tens of images on several different nights in 2021, 2022 and 2023 were obtained and shifted and added together to reach as faint as 26.9 and 27.2 magnitudes in the r-band around Uranus and Neptune, respectively. One new moon of Uranus, S/2023 U1, and two new moons of Neptune, S/2021 N1 and S/2002 N5, were found. S/2023 U1 was 26.6 mags, is about 7 km in diameter and has a distant, eccentric and inclined retrograde orbit similar to Caliban and Stephano, implying these satellites are fragments from a once larger parent satellite. S/2023 U1 almost completely overlaps Stephano in orbital phase space. S/2021 N1 was 26.9 mags, about 14 km in size and has a retrograde orbit similar to Neso and Psamathe, indicating they are a dynamical family. We find S/2021 N1 is in a Kozai-Lidov orbital resonance. S/2002 N5 was 25.9 mags, is about 23 km in size and it makes a family of distant prograde satellites with Sao and Laomedeia. All three new moons show for the first time dynamical groups of moons exist around both Uranus and Neptune. The creation of these groups likely produced dust

Next-generation wide-field optical polarimeters like the Wide-Area Linear Optical Polarimeters (WALOPs) have a field of view (FoV) of tens of arcminutes. For efficient and accurate calibration of these instruments, wide-field polarimetric flat sources will be essential. Currently, no established wide-field polarimetric standard or flat sources exist. This paper tests the feasibility of using the polarized sky patches of the size of around ten-by-ten arcminutes, at a distance of up to 20 degrees from the Moon, on bright-Moon nights as a wide-field linear polarimetric flat source. We observed 19 patches of the sky adjacent to the bright-Moon with the RoboPol instrument in the SDSS-r broadband filter. These were observed on five nights within two days of the full-Moon across two RoboPol observing seasons. We find that for 18 of the 19 patches, the uniformity in the measured normalized Stokes parameters $q$ and $u$ is within 0.2 %, with 12 patches exhibiting uniformity within 0.07 % or better for both $q$ and $u$ simultaneously, making them reliable and stable wide-field linear polarization flats. We demonstrate that the sky on bright-Moon nights is an excellent wide-field linear polar

Understanding telescope pointing (i.e., line of sight) is important for observing the cosmic microwave background (CMB) and astronomical objects. The Moon is a candidate astronomical source for pointing calibration. Although the visible size of the Moon ($\ang{;30}$) is larger than that of the planets, we can frequently observe the Moon once a month with a high signal-to-noise ratio. We developed a method for performing pointing calibration using observational data from the Moon. We considered the tilts of the telescope axes as well as the encoder and collimation offsets for pointing calibration. In addition, we evaluated the effects of the nonuniformity of the brightness temperature of the Moon, which is a dominant systematic error. As a result, we successfully achieved a pointing accuracy of $\ang{;3.3}$. This is one order of magnitude smaller than an angular resolution of $\ang{;36}$. This level of accuracy competes with past achievements in other ground-based CMB experiments using observational data from the planets.

In the leading theory of lunar formation, known as the giant impact hypothesis, a collision between two planet-size objects resulted in a young Earth surrounded by a circumplanetary debris disk from which the Moon later accreted. The range of giant impacts that could conceivably explain the Earth-Moon system is limited by the set of known physical and geochemical constraints. However, while several distinct Moon-forming impact scenarios have been proposed -- from small, high-velocity impactors to low-velocity mergers between equal-mass objects -- none of these scenarios have been successful at explaining the full set of known constraints, especially without invoking controversial post-impact processes. In order to bridge the gap between previous studies and provide a consistent survey of the Moon-forming impact parameter space, we present a systematic study of simulations of potential Moon-forming impacts. In the first paper of this series, we focus on pairwise impacts between non-rotating bodies. Notably, we show that such collisions require a minimum initial angular momentum budget of approximately $2~J_{EM}$ in order to generate a sufficiently massive protolunar disk. We also sh

Gravitational microlensing is a powerful method for detecting and characterizing free-floating planetary-mass objects (FFPs). FFPs could have exomoons rotating them. In this work, we study the probability of realizing these systems (i.e., free-floating moon-planet ones) through microlensing observations. These systems make mostly close caustic configurations with a considerable finite-source effect. We investigate finite-source microlensing light curves owing to free-floating moon-planet systems. We conclude that crossing planetary caustics causes an extensive extra peak at light curves' wing that only changes its width if the source star does not cross the central caustic. If the source trajectory is normal to the moon-planet axis, the moon-induced perturbation has a symmetric shape with respect to the magnification peak, and its light curve is similar to a single-lens one with a higher finite-source effect. We evaluate the \wfirst~efficiency for realizing moon-induced perturbations, which is $\left[0.002-0.094\right]\%$ by assuming a log-uniform distribution for moon-planet mass ratio in the range $\in\left[-9,~-2\right]$. The highest detection efficiency (i.e., $\simeq 0.094\%$)

The complex interplay between the Solar Wind and the lunar surface serves as a quintessential example of space weathering. However, uncertainties persist regarding the influence of plasma originating from Earth's ionosphere, necessitating a comprehensive understanding of its quantitative impact. Hitherto, the dearth of reliable models has impeded accurate computation of ion flux from Earth to the Moon under varying solar wind conditions.The objective of this study is to adapt a kinetic model for the challenging conditions of having both the Earth and the Moon in a single simulation box. IAPIC, the Particle-In-Cell Electromagnetic Relativistic Global Model was modified to handle the Sun-Earth-Moon system. It employs kinetic simulation techniques that have proven invaluable tools for exploring the intricate dynamics of physical systems across various scales while minimizing the loss of crucial physics information such as backscattering. The modeling allowed to derive the shape and size of the Earth's magnetosphere and allowed tracking the O$^+$ and H$^+$ ions escaping from the ionosphere to the Moon: $\mathrm{O^+}$ tends to escape towards the dayside magnetopause, while $\mathrm{H^+}

The moon illusion, in which the moon appears larger at the horizon than at higher altitudes, has been investigated since antiquity, yet it remains not fully explained. Our method of investigating the phenomenon is based on that attributed to Martin Folkes. Folkes suggests investigators identify landmarks on the ground and request human subjects indicate a place in the sky that they perceive to be above that location by raising their arm and pointing. The intersection of a vertical line rising out of the landmark and the ray extending from the subject's finger then identifies a point on the subject's model of the celestial vault. When repeated for landmarks covering a range of distances, the subject's entire celestial vault can be traced. We asked 30 subjects to perform such an identification on a series of points between a horizontal distance of 3 and 12600 meters across featureless open water in Verplanck and Ithaca, New York. The resulting data are in disagreement with the widely presumed flattened dome model, and, in particular, the Size-Distance Invariance Hypothesis. In addition, we find that the vault does not intersect the ground and leaves an indeterminate space of about 20

We simulate the collision of precursor icy moons analogous to Dione and Rhea as a possible origin for Saturn's remarkably young rings. Such an event could have been triggered a few hundred million years ago by resonant instabilities in a previous satellite system. Using high-resolution smoothed particle hydrodynamics simulations, we find that this kind of impact can produce a wide distribution of massive objects and scatter material throughout the system. This includes the direct placement of pure-ice ejecta onto orbits that enter Saturn's Roche limit, which could form or rejuvenate rings. In addition, fragments and debris of rock and ice totalling more than the mass of Enceladus can be placed onto highly eccentric orbits that would intersect with any precursor moons orbiting in the vicinity of Mimas, Enceladus, or Tethys. This could prompt further disruption and facilitate a collisional cascade to distribute more debris for potential ring formation, the re-formation of the present-day moons, and evolution into an eventual cratering population of planeto-centric impactors.

Aims. An asymmetric dust cloud was detected around the Moon by the Lunar Dust Experiment on board the Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer mission. We investigate the dynamics of the grains that escape the Moon and their configuration in the Earth-Moon system. Methods. We use a plausible initial ejecta distribution and mass production rate for the ejected dust. Various forces, including the solar radiation pressure and the gravity of the Moon, Earth, and Sun, are considered in the dynamical model, and direct numerical integrations of trajectories of dust particles are performed. The final states, the average life spans, and the fraction of retrograde grains as functions of particle size are computed. The number density distribution in the Earth-Moon system is obtained through long-term simulations. Results. The average life spans depend on the size of dust particles and show a rapid increase in the size range between $1\, \mathrm{μm}$ and $10\, \mathrm{μm}$. About ${3.6\times10^{-3}\,\mathrm{kg/s}}$ ($\sim2\%$) particles ejected from the lunar surface escape the gravity of the Moon, and they form an asymmetric torus between the Earth and the Moon in the range $[10\,R_\mat