The Ice Giants, Uranus and Neptune, are the
least understood planets in our Solar System. They have only
been visited once by flybys (in 1986 and 1989) by Voyager 2.
The recently published 2023-2032 Decadal Strategy for
Planetary Science and Astrobiology prioritized a flagship
orbiter and probe to Uranus with the intent to "...transform
our knowledge of ice giants in general and the Uranian system
in particular". By using remote sensing to probe their
atmospheres, we can begin to understand their composition and
complex weather systems in preparation for this future
mission. Uranus and Neptune have been observed from ground-
and space-based observatories in many wavelength bands. This
talk will present post-Voyager infrared remote sensing
observations of both planets and show how the James Webb Space
Telescope (JWST) will advance our understanding of ice giant
atmospheres. NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope was arguably the
JWST's predecessor, and its Infrared Spectrometer (IRS) was
used to observe the thermal emission (5 - 37 μm) of both
Uranus and Neptune multiple times between 2004 and 2007. This
disc-averaged thermal and chemical structure from Spitzer will
likely be our best characterization of ice giant thermal
structure until the JWST Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI)
acquires spatially resolved mid-infrared spectroscopy. This
talk will outline the plans for the JWST Guaranteed Time
Observations (GTO) and discuss the advancements that JWST will
give with respect to Spitzer.
About the Speaker:
Dr. Naomi Rowe-Gurney is a JWST GTO
postdoctoral research associate at the NASA Goddard Space
Flight Center employed by Howard University under CRESST II.
She is a solar system ambassador for the JWST working with Dr
Stefanie Milam and Dr Heidi Hammel. She is also on the JWST
moving target commissioning team. She obtained her PhD in 2021
from the University of Leicester working with supervisor Dr.
Leigh Fletcher. Her thesis used archived data from the Spitzer
Space Telescope to study the thermal structure and composition
of the middle atmospheres of the Ice Giants, Uranus and
Neptune. She used the retrieval algorithm NEMESIS and built a
consistent retrieval framework for both planets ahead of the
launch of the JWST. Throughout the PhD, Naomi used her
teaching experience to partake in significant outreach and
public engagement work. Naomi also engaged in considerable
equity, diversity and inclusion work and was an active member
of university committees, as well as promoting science to
underrepresented groups. The majority of the engagement work
she focused on was for the JWST and promoting its use for
looking at our own solar system, especially the giant planets.