Belgian-born astronomer and professor
Jean-Luc Margot (born 1969) is a Belgian-bornastronomer and aUCLA professor with expertise inplanetary sciences andSETI .
Margot has discovered and studied severalbinary 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 binarynear-Earth asteroids and described formation of the binary by a spin-up process.[ 1] [ 2] Yarkovsky andYORP effects.[ 3] [ 4] [ 5]
In 2007, Margot and collaborators determined thatMercury has a molten core from the analysis of small variations in the rotation rate of the planet.[ 6] [ 7] Stan Peale .[ 8] [ 9]
In 2012, Margot and graduate student Julia Fang analyzedKepler space telescope data to infer the architecture of planetary systems.[ 10] [ 11] [ 12]
Margot proposed an extension to theIAU definition of planet that applies toexoplanets .[ 13] [ 14]
Between 2006 and 2021, Margot and collaborators measured the spin of Venus with aradar speckle tracking technique. They measured the orientation andprecession of the spin axis. They also measured the duration of the length of day and the amplitude oflength-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 fortechnosignatures using large radio telescopes with UCLA students.[ 17] [ 18] SETI through the "Are we alone in the universe? " citizen science collaboration.[ 19]
Margot was awarded theH. C. Urey Prize by theAmerican Astronomical Society in 2004.[ 20] asteroid 9531 Jean-Luc is named after him.[ 21]
^ "Some Asteroids Have Astronomers Seeing Double" .JPL press release . 11 April 2002. Archived fromthe original on 17 July 2012. Retrieved10 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 theAmerican Astronomical Society . Retrieved11 December 2021 .^ "Small Body Orbital Elements 9531 Jean-Luc (1981 QK)" . JPL. Retrieved11 December 2021 .
International National Academics
