Belgian-born astronomer and professor
Jean-Luc Margot (born 1969) is a Belgian-born
astronomer and a
UCLA professor with expertise in
planetary sciences and
SETI .
Career
Margot has discovered and studied several
binary asteroids with radar and optical telescopes. His discoveries include
(87) Sylvia I Romulus ,
(22) Kalliope I Linus ,
S/2003 (379) 1 ,
(702) Alauda I Pichi üñëm , and the binary nature of
(69230) Hermes .
In 2000, he obtained the first images of binary
near-Earth asteroids and described formation of the binary by a spin-up process.
[1]
[2] Margot and his research group have studied the influence of sunlight on the orbits and spins of asteroids, the
Yarkovsky and
YORP effects.
[3]
[4]
[5]
In 2007, Margot and collaborators determined that
Mercury has a molten core from the analysis of small variations in the rotation rate of the planet.
[6]
[7] These observations also enabled a measurement of the size of the core based on a concept proposed by
Stan Peale .
[8]
[9]
In 2012, Margot and graduate student Julia Fang analyzed
Kepler space telescope data to infer the architecture of planetary systems.
[10] They described planetary systems as "flatter than pancakes."
[11] They also showed that many planetary systems are dynamically packed.
[12]
Margot proposed an extension to the
IAU definition of planet that applies to
exoplanets .
[13]
[14]
Between 2006 and 2021, Margot and collaborators measured the spin of Venus with a
radar speckle tracking technique. They measured the orientation and
precession of the spin axis. They also measured the duration of the length of day and the amplitude of
length-of-day variations , which they attribute to transfer of momentum between the atmosphere and the solid planet.
[15]
[16]
Since 2016, he has conducted searches for
technosignatures using large radio telescopes with UCLA students.
[17]
[18] Volunteers can contribute to
SETI through the "
Are we alone in the universe? " citizen science collaboration.
[19]
Honors and awards
Margot was awarded the
H. C. Urey Prize by the
American Astronomical Society in 2004.
[20] The
asteroid
9531 Jean-Luc is named after him.
[21]
References
^
"Some Asteroids Have Astronomers Seeing Double" . JPL press release . 11 April 2002. Archived from
the original on 17 July 2012. Retrieved 10 November 2015 .
^ Margot, Jean-Luc; et al. (2002). "Binary Asteroids in the Near-Earth Object Population". Science . 296 (5572): 1445–1448.
Bibcode :
2002Sci...296.1445M .
doi :
10.1126/science.1072094 .
PMID
11951001 .
S2CID
8768432 .
^
"Prediction Proved: Light Speeds Up an Asteroid as it Spins" . The New York Times . 13 March 2007.
^ Taylor, Patrick; et al. (2007).
"Spin Rate of Asteroid (54509) 2000 PH5 Increasing due to the YORP Effect" . Science . 316 (5822): 274–277.
Bibcode :
2007Sci...316..274T .
doi :
10.1126/science.1139038 .
PMID
17347415 .
S2CID
29191700 . .
^ Greenberg, Adam H.; Margot, Jean-Luc; Verma, Ashok K.; Taylor, Patrick A.; Hodge, Susan E. (7 February 2020).
"Yarkovsky Drift Detections for 247 Near-Earth Asteroids" . The Astronomical Journal . 159 (3): 92.
arXiv :
1708.05513 .
Bibcode :
2020AJ....159...92G .
doi :
10.3847/1538-3881/ab62a3 .
S2CID
119502545 .
^
"Mercury's spin reveals molten, not solid core" . Reuters . 3 May 2007.
^ Margot, Jean-Luc; et al. (2007). "Large longitude libration of Mercury reveals a molten core". Science . 316 (5825): 710–714.
Bibcode :
2007Sci...316..710M .
doi :
10.1126/science.1140514 .
PMID
17478713 .
S2CID
8863681 .
^ Peale, S. J. (1976). "Does Mercury have a molten core?". Nature . 262 (5571): 765–766.
Bibcode :
1976Natur.262..765P .
doi :
10.1038/262765a0 .
S2CID
4210179 .
^ Margot, Jean-Luc; et al. (2012).
"Mercury's moment of inertia from spin and gravity data" . Journal of Geophysical Research . 117 : n/a.
Bibcode :
2012JGRE..117.0L09M .
doi :
10.1029/2012JE004161 .
^ Fang, Julia; Margot, Jean-Luc (2012). "Architecture of Planetary Systems Based on Kepler Data: Number of Planets and Coplanarity". The Astrophysical Journal . 761 (2): 92.
arXiv :
1207.5250 .
Bibcode :
2012ApJ...761...92F .
doi :
10.1088/0004-637X/761/2/92 .
ISSN
0004-637X .
S2CID
20234144 .
^
"Most Alien Solar Systems Are 'Flatter Than Pancakes' " . Space.com . 15 October 2012.
^ Fang, Julia; Margot, Jean-Luc (2013). "Are Planetary Systems Filled to Capacity? A Study Based on Kepler Results". The Astrophysical Journal . 767 (2): 115.
arXiv :
1302.7190 .
Bibcode :
2013ApJ...767..115F .
doi :
10.1088/0004-637X/767/2/115 .
ISSN
0004-637X .
S2CID
53706876 .
^
"Why we need a new definition of the word 'planet' " . Los Angeles Times . 14 November 2015.
^ Margot, Jean-Luc (1 December 2015). "A Quantitative Criterion for Defining Planets". The Astronomical Journal . 150 (6): 185.
arXiv :
1507.06300 .
Bibcode :
2015AJ....150..185M .
doi :
10.1088/0004-6256/150/6/185 .
S2CID
51684830 .
^ Crockett, Christopher.
"How long is a day on Venus? Scientists crack mysteries of our closest neighbor" . phys.org .
^ Margot, Jean-Luc; Campbell, Donald B.; Giorgini, Jon D.; Jao, Joseph S.; Snedeker, Lawrence G.; Ghigo, Frank D.; Bonsall, Amber (July 2021). "Spin state and moment of inertia of Venus". Nature Astronomy . 5 (7): 676–683.
arXiv :
2103.01504 .
Bibcode :
2021NatAs...5..676M .
doi :
10.1038/s41550-021-01339-7 .
S2CID
232092194 .
^
"Researchers Just Scanned 14 Worlds From the Kepler Mission for "Technosignatures", Evidence of Advanced Civilizations" . Universe Today . 15 February 2018.
^ Margot, Jean-Luc; Li, Megan G.; Pinchuk, Pavlo; Myhrvold, Nathan; Lesyna, Larry; et al. (1 November 2023).
"A Search for Technosignatures Around 11,680 Stars with the Green Bank Telescope at 1.15–1.73 GHz" . The Astronomical Journal . 166 (5): 206.
arXiv :
2308.02712 .
Bibcode :
2023AJ....166..206M .
doi :
10.3847/1538-3881/acfda4 .
^
"UCLA is asking for the public's help in finding signs of extraterrestrial intelligence" . Los Angeles Times . 15 February 2023.
^
"Harold C. Urey Prize in Planetary Science" . Division of Planetary Sciences of the
American Astronomical Society . Retrieved 11 December 2021 .
^
"Small Body Orbital Elements 9531 Jean-Luc (1981 QK)" . JPL. Retrieved 11 December 2021 .
External links
International National Academics