{"678521":{"#nid":"678521","#data":{"type":"news","title":"From Mars to the Stars: James Wray Wins Simons Fellowship to Study Interstellar Objects ","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003EIn 2017, a long, oddly shaped asteroid passed by Earth. Called\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/science.nasa.gov\/solar-system\/comets\/oumuamua\/\u0022\u003E\u003Cem\u003E\u2018Oumuamua\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E, it was the first known interstellar object to visit our solar system, but it wasn\u2019t an isolated incident \u2014 less than two years later, in 2019, a second interstellar object (ISO) was discovered.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003E\u201c\u2018\u003Cem\u003EOumuamua\u003C\/em\u003E was found passing just 15 million miles from Earth \u2014 that\u2019s much closer than Mars or Venus,\u201d says\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/wray.eas.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EJames Wray\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E. \u201cBut it was formed in an entirely different solar system. Studying these objects could give us incredible insight into extrasolar planets, and how our planet fits into the universe.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003EWray, a professor in the\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/eas.gatech.edu\/people\/wray-dr-james\u0022\u003ESchool of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences\u003C\/a\u003E at Georgia Tech, has just been awarded a\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.simonsfoundation.org\/2024\/11\/05\/simons-foundation-announces-third-class-of-pivot-fellows\/\u0022\u003ESimons Foundation Pivot Fellowship\u003C\/a\u003E to do just that.\u0026nbsp;Pivot Fellowships are among the most prestigious sources of funding for cutting-edge research, and support leading researchers who have the deep interest, curiosity and drive to make contributions to a new discipline.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003EWray has primarily studied the geoscience of Mars. He will leverage knowledge of nearby planets to understand ISOs and planets much farther away. \u201cI want to understand how planets got to be the way they are, and if they could have ever hosted life,\u201d he explains. \u201cExtrasolar planets give us many more places to ask those questions than our solar system does, but they\u0027re too distant to visit with spacecraft. ISOs provide a unique opportunity to explore other solar systems without leaving our own.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003EThe Fellowship will provide salary support as well as funding for research, travel, and professional development.\u0026nbsp;\u201cSeed funds like this are so valuable,\u201d says Wray. \u201cI\u2019m incredibly grateful to the Simons Foundation. I\u2019d also like to thank Georgia Tech for its support,\u201d he adds, sharing that the\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.cstar.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003ECenter for Space Technology and Research\u003C\/a\u003E supported a related research effort at the University of Hawaii earlier this year. \u201cMy mentor and I were able to spend some of that time improving our Pivot Fellowship proposal, which played a critical role in securing this Fellowship.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch3\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EIn search of ISOs\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/h3\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003EWray will study small solar system bodies like asteroids and comets to decode the processes of planet formation and space weathering, and will analyze data from the 2017 and 2019 ISOs.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003EHe will also work alongside collaborators including\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/people.ifa.hawaii.edu\/faculty\/bio\/karen-meech\/\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EKaren Meech\u003C\/strong\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/a\u003Eof the University of Hawaii, who led\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.nature.com\/articles\/nature25020\u0022\u003Ethe paper characterizing\u0026nbsp;\u003Cem\u003E\u2018Oumuamua\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E, to conceptualize what an intercept mission might look like.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003E\u201cWe still have a lot of questions regarding ISOs,\u201d he says. \u201cHundreds of papers have already been written about them, but we still don\u0027t know the answers.\u201d One key mystery is the composition of the bodies: both the 2017 and 2019 objects were compositionally different from those in our solar system.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003E\u201cAre they inherently different from the bodies in our solar system, or did the long journey to our solar system make them that way? Is our solar system different from others?\u201d Wray asks. \u201cWe could answer so many questions with even a simple picture of the next ISO that comes close enough for us to intercept with spacecraft.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch3\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EA cosmic timeline\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/h3\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003EWhile there is no guarantee that another ISO might be spotted in our solar system, the timing is opportune \u2014 upcoming telescope surveys are poised to detect such interstellar objects. \u201cIn mid-2025, when I will start this Fellowship, the new\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/rubinobservatory.org\/\u0022\u003ERubin Observatory\u003C\/a\u003E will begin scanning the entire sky,\u201d Wray says. \u201cIt has the potential to discover up to several new ISOs per year.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003E\u201cISO visits are always brief,\u201d he adds, \u201cso the research needs to be in place for when one is spotted.\u201d If an interstellar object is detected, Wray and Meech will be poised to leverage specialized telescopes in Hawaii, along with others worldwide, to better understand it, studying its size, shape, and composition \u2014 and potentially sending spacecraft to image it.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003E\u201cWe might never find another ISO \u2014 or they might be the key to imminent breakthroughs in understanding our place in the galaxy,\u201d Wray adds. \u201cI\u0027m extremely grateful to the Simons Foundation for the flexibility to pursue this research at whatever pace the cosmos allows.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EWray will study interstellar objects like asteroids and comets that have formed in other solar systems and traveled to ours. He will also help create a plan to potentially send spacecraft to intercept future interstellar objects. The research could transform how we understand extrasolar planets \u2014 without ever leaving our solar system.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"The research could transform how we understand extrasolar planets \u2014 without ever leaving our solar system."}],"uid":"35599","created_gmt":"2024-11-19 13:30:10","changed_gmt":"2024-12-05 14:25:43","author":"sperrin6","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","location":"Atlanta, GA","dateline":{"date":"2024-11-22T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2024-11-22T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"675661":{"id":"675661","type":"image","title":"\u0027Oumuamua at the edges of our solar system (Artist\u0027s Rendition, NASA) ","body":"\u003Cp\u003E\u0027Oumuamua at the edges of our solar system (Artist\u0027s Rendition, NASA)\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","created":"1732023019","gmt_created":"2024-11-19 13:30:19","changed":"1732023019","gmt_changed":"2024-11-19 13:30:19","alt":"\u0027Oumuamua at the edges of our solar system (Artist\u0027s Rendition, NASA) ","file":{"fid":"259309","name":"\u0027Oumuamua.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2024\/11\/19\/%27Oumuamua.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2024\/11\/19\/%27Oumuamua.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":995841,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2024\/11\/19\/%27Oumuamua.jpg?itok=noKsV9U4"}},"675662":{"id":"675662","type":"image","title":"Professor James Wray","body":"\u003Cp\u003EProfessor James Wray\u003C\/p\u003E","created":"1732023019","gmt_created":"2024-11-19 13:30:19","changed":"1732023019","gmt_changed":"2024-11-19 13:30:19","alt":"Professor James Wray","file":{"fid":"259310","name":"James Wray.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2024\/11\/19\/James%20Wray.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2024\/11\/19\/James%20Wray.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":242373,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2024\/11\/19\/James%20Wray.jpg?itok=-54aR5Wn"}}},"media_ids":["675661","675662"],"related_links":[{"url":"https:\/\/www.simonsfoundation.org\/2024\/11\/05\/simons-foundation-announces-third-class-of-pivot-fellows\/","title":"Simons Foundation Announces Third Class of Pivot Fellows"}],"groups":[{"id":"1278","name":"College of Sciences"},{"id":"1188","name":"Research Horizons"},{"id":"364801","name":"School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences (EAS)"}],"categories":[{"id":"150","name":"Physics and Physical Sciences"},{"id":"135","name":"Research"},{"id":"134","name":"Student and Faculty"}],"keywords":[{"id":"192252","name":"cos-planetary"},{"id":"192249","name":"cos-community"},{"id":"187915","name":"go-researchnews"},{"id":"193266","name":"cos-research"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"193653","name":"Georgia Tech Research Institute"},{"id":"193657","name":"Space Research Initiative"}],"news_room_topics":[{"id":"71871","name":"Campus and Community"}],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EWritten by \u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:sperrin6@gatech.edu\u0022\u003ESelena Langner\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["sperrin6@gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}