ExoPAG SIG 3 Tutorial Talk – Conor Nixon

The ExoPAG Science Interest Group 3 on Exoplanet Solar System synergies is supporting and organizing Tutorial Talks aimed at introducing field newcomers to important topics or methods in planetary and exoplanetary science. The talks include a 30 minute tutorial from an expert to introduce the topic, followed by a 30 minute group discussion of a recent paper in which the topic/method features.

Date: June 3, 2021

Speaker: Dr. Conor Nixon (GSFC)

Title: Titan and Solar System Science with the James Webb Space Telescope

Abstract: For the first 300 years after its discovery in 1655, Titan remained almost completely an enigma: not even its true size was known, hiding underneath a dense blanket of photochemical haze. The Voyager 1 flyby of 1980 provided the first clues to the complex workings of Titan’s atmosphere, although its surface topography was not finally revealed until later, starting with Hubble, and then in much greater detail by Cassini-Huygens from 2004-2017. Since then, ALMA has helped to fill out the picture of its chemistry further, and starting in 2022, the James Webb Space Telescope will be the next great observatory to turns its eye to Saturn’s mysterious moon. What will Webb uncover? For the past 7 years I have been working to plan Titan observations with JWST for the Guaranteed Time Observations (GTO) program of solar system observations. GTO is a wide-ranging effort led by Heidi Hammel, that will provide first-look observations for all categories of solar system bodies to the worldwide scientific community as open-access datasets. In this presentation I will first introduce the GTO and ERS programs directed at solar system observations with JWST. Then I focus in on the example of Titan observations with JWST that I have been most involved with, saying how our understanding of Titan may be improved, and conclude with some thoughts about synergies between solar system and exoplanetary science with JWST.