We obtained direct global measurements of the lunar surface using multispectral thermal emission mapping with the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Diviner Lunar Radiometer Experiment. Most lunar terrains have spectral signatures that are consistent with known lunar anorthosite and basalt compositions. However, the data have also revealed the presence of highly evolved, silica-rich lunar soils in kilometer-scale and larger exposures, expanded the compositional range of the anorthosites that dominate the lunar crust, and shown that pristine lunar mantle is not exposed at the lunar surface at the kilometer scale. Together, these observations provide compelling evidence that the Moon is a complex body that has experienced a diverse set of igneous processes.

We present an analysis of the structures, sizes, star formation rates and local environmental properties of galaxies at z ∼ 4-6 (τ universe < 2 Gyr), utilizing deep Hubble Space Telescope imaging of the Hubble Ultra Deep Field. The galaxies we study are selected with the Lymanbreak drop-out technique, using galaxies which are B-, V-and i-drops, which effectively selects ultraviolet (UV) bright starbursting galaxies between z = 4 and 6. Our primary observational finding is that starbursting galaxies at z > 4 have a diversity in structure, with roughly 30 per cent appearing distorted and asymmetric, while the majority are smooth and apparently undisturbed systems. We utilize several methods to compute the inferred assembly rates for these distorted early galaxies including the CAS (concentration, asymmetry, clumpiness) system and pair counts. Overall, we find a similar fraction of galaxies which are in pairs as the fraction which have a distorted structure. Using the CAS methodology, and our best estimate for merger time-scales, we find that the total number of inferred effective mergers for M * > 10 9−10 M galaxies at z < 6 is N m = 4.2 +4.1 −1.4 . The more common symmetrical systems display a remarkable scaling relation between the concentration of light and their half-light radii, revealing the earliest known galaxy scaling relationship, and demonstrating that some galaxies at z > 4 are likely in a relaxed state. Systems which are asymmetric do not display a correlation between size and half-light radii, and are generally larger than the symmetric smooth systems. The time-scale for the formation of these smooth systems is 0.5-1 Gyr, suggesting that most of these galaxies are formed through coordinated very rapid gas collapses and star formation over a size of 1-2 kpc, or from merger events at z > 10. We finally investigate the relation between the UV measured star formation rates for these galaxies and their structures, finding a slight correlation such that more asymmetric systems have slightly higher star formation rates than symmetric galaxies.

Chloride salt‐bearing deposits on Mars were discovered using the Mars Odyssey Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) and have been characterized by both mid‐infrared (MIR) and visible‐to‐near‐infrared (VNIR) remote sensing instruments. The chloride salt‐bearing deposits exhibit a blue slope at MIR wavelengths and a featureless red slope at VNIR wavelengths. These deposits also lack strong 3 µm bands in VNIR spectra, indicating that they are desiccated compared to the surrounding regolith. The lack of VNIR spectral features suggests that an anhydrous chloride salt, the most likely of which is halite, is responsible for the observed spectral slope. In this work, we use laboratory spectra and a hybrid T‐matrix/Hapke light scattering model to constrain the particle sizes and salt abundances of the Martian chloride salt‐bearing deposits. Our work shows that the two broad spectral classes of these deposits observed by THEMIS can be explained by a difference in the particle size of the admixed silicate regolith. In all cases, chloride salt abundances of 10–25% are required to match the THEMIS data. The chloride salt abundances determined in this work suggest deposition in a lacustrine/playa setting or in association with late‐stage groundwater upwelling.

The light scattered from dust grains in debris disks is typically modeled as compact spheres using Lorenz-Mie theory or as porous spheres by incorporating an effective medium theory. In this work we examine the effect of incorporating a more realistic particle morphology on estimated radiation-pressure blowout sizes. To calculate the scattering and absorption cross sections of irregularly shaped dust grains, we use the discrete dipole approximation. These cross sections are necessary to calculate the β-ratio, which determines whether dust grains can remain gravitationally bound to their star. We calculate blowout sizes for a range of stellar spectral types corresponding with stars known to host debris disks. As with compact spheres, more luminous stars blow out larger irregularly shaped dust grains. We also find that dust grain composition influences blowout size such that absorptive grains are more readily removed from the disk. Moreover, the difference between blowout sizes calculated assuming spherical particles versus particle morphologies more representative of real dust particles is compositionally dependent as well, with blowout size estimates diverging further for transparent grains. We find that the blowout sizes calculated have a strong dependence on the particle model used, with differences in the blowout size calculated being as large as an order of magnitude for particles of similar porosities.

Lunar swirls are high-albedo markings on the Moon that occur in both mare and highland terrains; their origin remains a point of contention. Here, we use data from the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Diviner Lunar Radiometer to support the hypothesis that the swirls are formed as a result of deflection of the solar wind by local magnetic fields. Thermal infrared data from this instrument display an anomaly in the position of the silicate Christiansen Feature consistent with reduced space weathering. These data also show that swirl regions are not thermophysically anomalous, which strongly constrains their formation mechanism. The results of this study indicate that either solar wind sputtering and implantation are more important than micrometeoroid bombardment in the space-weathering process, or that micrometeoroid bombardment is a necessary but not sufficient process in space weathering, which occurs on airless bodies throughout the solar system.