Planet Cakes!
The Origins Group finds many reasons to throw a party. The latest reason was making planet cakes! We made Jupiter and Earth with Pangea. (Image gallery -- click on the cakes)
Synestia, a New Type of Planetary Object
Graduate student Simon Lock and Sarah Stewart define and explain a new type of planetary object. A synestia is formed by a giant impact. Synestias are an important stage of terrestrial planet formation, leading to mixing within the structure and the formation of moons. Our work is published today in the Journal of Geophysical Research Planets. [...]
New Center for Frontiers in High Energy Density Science
U. California has funded a new center in high energy density science. This center is a collaboration between 5 UC campuses, LLNL and LANL. One of the themes of our center is material properties under extreme conditions and applications to planetary science.
Graduate program application deadline is December 15
Please contact Sarah if you are interested in our graduate program in planetary sciences. Our application deadline have moved to December 15.
Tidal Evolution of the Moon: Earth started tilted over
Our new model for the tidal evolution of the moon was published online today in Nature: Tidal Evolution of the Moon from a high-obliquity, high-angular-momentum Earth. The tidal evolution is a big piece of the puzzle of lunar origin. Read more about our work on making the Earth and Moon.
The 2-stage gas gun is here!
We are installing the new 2-stage light gas gun. This instrument lets us reach pressures found in the Earth's core. It was built by Physics Applications Inc.
K isotopes differ for Earth and Moon
Kun Wang and Stein Jacobsen's new paper "Potassium isotopic evidence for a high-energy giant impact origin of the Moon", published online in Nature, supports the idea that the Moon condensed from a highly vaporized Earth and disk.
We’re in the new lab!
Our lab has moved from Harvard to UC Davis!
Congratulations, Erik!
Erik Davies has been awarded a NASA Earth and Space Science Fellowship for his proposed research on the "Thermodynamics and Mechanics of Large Impacts." Congrats!
Lab Job Opening
Junior Specialist in the Shock Compression Laboratory We are seeking a highly motivated and enthusiastic individual to assist with laboratory research investigating the response of geophysical materials to extreme pressures and temperatures.