Solar System Research Group

Konkoly Observatory, Research Centre for Astronomy and Earth Sciences

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Main Research Topics

  • Small bodies in the thermal infrared - Investigating the thermal properties of near-Earth and main belt asteroids, Centaurs and trans-Neptunian object; The 'Small Bodies: Near and Far' database of thermal infrared small body observations
  • Satellites of transneptunian dwarf planets - Determination of satellite orbit from Hubble Space Telescope measurements (Gonggong, Makemake); investigation of the tidal interaction between the primary and the satellite 
  • Morphology, composition and activity of comets - Surface properties, gas and dust production and geological features on comets (67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko) using remote and in-situ data (Rosetta)
  • Rotational properties of asteroids - Light curves and rotation periods for large number of asteroids from space surveys (Kepler/K2, TESS) and precise asteroid light curves for main belt asteroids for light curve inversion and shape reconstruction (Piszkéstető telescopes) 
  • Stellar occultations of Centaurs and trans-Neptunian objects - observations of occultations events from the Piszkéstető Mountain Observatory; synergy of occultation and thermal infrared measurements
  • Planetology - Chemical and geological processes on Mars and in the interior of planetesimals 

Group members

  • Csaba Kiss - group leader, research advisor - thermal infrared measurements, asteroid rotation, dwarf planets, synergy of occultation and thermal emission models
  • László Kiss - research professor, director general, Research Centre for Astronomy and Earth Sciences - asteroid rotation (K2 & TESS)
  • Imre Tóth - research advisor - comets, 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko
  • András Pál - senior research fellow - K2 and TESS data reduction, occultations
  • Krisztián Sárneczky - project coordinator - comets, Piszkéstető observations
  • Attila Moór - senior research fellow - synergy of Solar System and debris disk research 
  • Ákos Keresztúri - senior research fellow - planetology of Mars and planetesimals 
  • Gábor Marton - research fellow - dwarf planet satellites, thermal infrared measurements
  • Róbert Szakáts - junior research fellow - thermal infrared database, Pizskéstető observations
  • Anikó Farkas-Takács - junior research fellow - Kuiper belt objects in the thermal infrared, dwarf planet internal structure and chemical processes
  • Viktória Kecskeméthy - undergraduate student, observatory assistant - asteroid shape models, Piszkéstető observations
  • Gyula M. Szabó - director of ELTE Gothard Observatory - asteroid rotation, asteroid families, comets

Recent publications (2020)

  • Ortiz, J. L.; Santos-Sanz, P.; Sicardy, B.; ...;  Pál, A.; Kiss, C.; ...; Szakáts, R.; Farkas-Takács, A.; ...; Marton, G.; et al., 2020, The large Trans-Neptunian Object 2002 TC302 from combined stellar occultation, photometry and astrometry data, accepted for publication in Astronomy & Astrophysics (arXiv:2005.08881)
  • Marton, Gábor; Kiss, Csaba; Molnár, László; Pál, András; Farkas-Takács, Anikó; Szabó, Gyula M.; Müller, Thomas; Ali-Lagoa, Victor; Szabó, Róbert; Vinkó, József; Sárneczky, Krisztián; Kalup, Csilla E.; Marciniak, Anna; Duffard, Rene; Kiss, László, L., 2020, Light curves of ten Centaurs from K2 measurements, Icarus, Volume 345, article id. 113721 (arXiv:2002.11388)
  • Alí-Lagoa, V.; Müller, T. G.; Kiss, C.; Szakáts, R.; Marton, G.; Farkas-Takács, A.; Bartczak, P.; Butkiewicz-Bąk, M.; Dudziński, G.; Marciniak, A.; Podlewska-Gaca, E.; Duffard, R.; Santos-Sanz, P.; Ortiz, J. L., 2020,  Thermal properties of large main-belt asteroids observed by Herschel PACS, accepted for publication in Astronomy & Astrophysics (https://arxiv.org/abs/2005.01479)
  • Szabó, Gyula M.; Kiss, Csaba; Szakáts, Róbert; Pál, András; Molnár, László; Sárneczky, Krisztián; Vinkó, József; Szabó, Róbert; Marton, Gábor; Kiss, László L., 2020, Rotational Properties of Hilda Asteroids Observed by the K2 Mission, The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series, Volume 247, Issue 1, id.34 (arXiv:2001.06656)
  • Pál, András; Szakáts, Róbert; Kiss, Csaba; Bódi, Attila; Bognár, Zsófia; Kalup, Csilla; Kiss, László L.; Marton, Gábor; Molnár, László; Plachy, Emese; Sárneczky, Krisztián; Szabó, Gyula M.; Szabó, Róbert, 2020, Solar System Objects Observed with TESS—First Data Release: Bright Main-belt and Trojan Asteroids from the Southern Survey, The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series, Volume 247, Issue 1, id.26 (arXiv:2001.05822)
  • Szakáts, Róbert; Müller, Thomas; Alí-Lagoa, Víctor; Marton, Gábor; Farkas-Takács, Anikó; Bányai, Evelin; Kiss, Csaba, 2020, Small Bodies: Near and Far Database for thermal infrared observations of small bodies in the Solar System, Astronomy & Astrophysics, Volume 635, id.A54, 14 pp. (arXiv:2001.01482)
  • Farkas-Takács, A.; Kiss, Cs.; Vilenius, E.; Marton, G.; Müller, T. G.; Mommert, M.; Stansberry, J.; Lellouch, E.; Lacerda, P.; Pál, A., 2020, TNOs are Cool! A Survey of the transneptunian Region XV. Physical characteristics of 23 resonant transneptunian and scattered disk objects, accepted for publication in A&A (arXiv:2002.12712)
  • Cambianica, P.; Fulle, M.; Cremonese, G.; ...; Toth, I.; et al., 2020, Time evolution of dust deposits in the Hapi region of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, Astronomy & Astrophysics, Volume 636, id.A91, 13 pp.
  • Vernazza, P.; Jorda, L.; Ševeček, P.; ...; Szakats, R.; et al., 2020, A basin-free spherical shape as an outcome of a giant impact on asteroid Hygiea, Nature Astronomy, Volume 4, p. 136-141
  • Hanuš, J.; Vernazza, P.; Viikinkoski, M.; ...; Szakats, R.; et al., 2020, (704) Interamnia: a transitional object between a dwarf planet and a typical irregular-shaped minor body, Astronomy & Astrophysics, Volume 633, id.A65, 17 pp.(arXiv:1911.13049)
  • Podlewska-Gaca, E.; Marciniak, A.; Alí-Lagoa, V.; Bartczak, P.; Müller, T. G.; Szakáts, R.; Duffard, R.; Molnár, L.; Pál, A.; Butkiewicz-Bąk, M.; Dudziński, G.; Dziadura, K.; Antonini, P.; Asenjo, V.; Audejean, M.; Benkhaldoun, Z.; Behrend, R.; Bernasconi, L.; Bosch, J. M.; Chapman, A. Dintinjana, B.; Farkas, A.; et al., 2020, accepted for publication in A&A (arXiv:2001.07030)

Projects and Funding

  • K-125015 (NKFIH) - Small body transport and the initial conditions for planetesimal formation (2017-2021): The asteroid belt, the interplanetary dust cloud and the small bodies in the trans-Neptunian region are the leftovers of a once much more massive debris disk that formed the planets of our Solar system about 4.5 billion years ago. Material and bodies that we see at a certain location in the Solar system have not necessarily formed at the same heliocentric distance (or, in more general, at the same orbit) where we can see them today. Rearrangements in the early Solar system – especially due to the dynamical interaction of the giant plantes – has significantly altered the original material distribution. E.g. the inward migration of Jupiter may have captured Jovian Trojan asteroids into their 1:1 mean motion resonances and the likely outward migration of Neptune scattered off most of the objects in the then Kuiper belt, directing them into the Oort cloud, or into the inner Solar system. While such violent events do not happen today, there is still material transport between the debris zones of the very tenuous, present day Solar System debris disk. E.g. the scattered disk and some resonances in the Kuiper belt feed the Centaur population with new objects through dynamical instabilities. With time, Centaurs migrate into the inner Solar system and become Jupiter family comets that usually disintegrate after several revolutions around the Sun. In this way they replenish the dust in the interplanetary dust cloud – this dust would otherwise be removed in a few thousand years by radiation forces. In this application we propose to study the main material transport routes in the early Solar system and today. The results are going to provide clues to the understanding of dynamical and physical processes in early times and will identify the main processes that shape our debris disk nowadays. Apart from dynamical simulations this can only be studied by comparing the physical properties of objects and material at different locations that should reflect the properties of the originating bodies and the ambient conditions at the initial locations. We propose to perform this goal by selecting and studying some relevant group of small bodies that are thought to be the probes of these processes. Transport processes and initial conditions of planetesimal formation are also the key inputs for the study of exosolar debris disk systems that we can typically observe at early stages of their evolution, in contrast to our ∼4.5 Gyr old Solar system.