Resurfacing and texturing of rubble-pile minor planets.

Many asteroids, small moons and trans-Neptunian objects (TNOs) are now thought to be rubble piles, i.e. granular aggregates that are held together mainly by their self-gravity. The study of their dynamics and physics thus necessitates an investigation into the mechanics of self-gravitating and rotating granular aggregates in space. I will present some of our recent work into the processes by which the surfaces of such objects may be reshaped and textured by landslides and seismic shaking that may be induced by impact events.

Brief biography: Ishan Sharma is a Professor in the Department of Space Science & Astronomy at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur. He did his Ph. D. in Theoretical & Applied Mechanics from Cornell University (2004). He then spent 2 years at the Department of Applied Mathematics & Theoretical Physics (DAMTP) at Cambridge University, UK. He joined the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur in 2006 where he has been since. He is interested in using mechanics to understand the physical processes that drive natural systems on Earth and in space.

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Zoom Meeting ID: 876 7331 0489
Passcode: 856642