EEPS Colloquium: Prajkta Mane

Revealing the Earliest Era of the Solar System: Isotopic Records of the Planet Formation Process

 The earliest era of the Solar System holds vital clues about the processes that led to the formation of planets, moons, and other celestial bodies. By analyzing chemical, mineralogical, isotopic records preserved in meteorites and terrestrial planets, we can reconstruct the conditions and events that characterized the nascent Solar System. These isotopic signatures provide a chronological and compositional framework that traces the initial condensation of dust and gas into planetesimals, the building blocks of planets. Variations in isotopic ratios reveal information on processes such as nucleosynthesis, and the mixing of materials from different regions of the protoplanetary disk. I will examine the latest isotopic data to uncover the sequence of events that led to the accretion and differentiation of planet-forming materials. By establishing a timeline of these early processes, we gain insights into the dynamics of planet formation, the origins of volatile components, and the overall chemical evolution of the Solar System. This isotopic approach not only enhances our understanding of our own Solar System but also has implications for the formation of planetary systems around other stars.

Host: Brad Jolliff

EEPS colloquia are made possible by the William C. Ferguson Fund