Sébastien Charnoz

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Dr. Sébastien Charnoz is a planetary scientist who studies planetary dynamics in the Université Paris 7, in Paris . He also works for the CEA (Center for Atomic Energy) in France. His work covers problems relating to collisional-dynamics in the Solar System such as : physics of planetary rings and Solar System formation. He is specialised in numerical simulations. With André Brahic (Professor at Université Paris 7) he is involved in the imaging team of the Cassini mission, led by Carolyn Porco. By using a numerical code he wrote for an automatic satellite-detection (among the hundreds of images of the ISS camera system), he helped the Imaging Team to discover the two smallest known moons of the Saturn system in 2004^{[1],[2],[3],[4]}: Methone and Pallene.

[edit] References

1. ^ The official attribution for sightings of new moons or rings made by the Cassini imaging scientists in Cassini images goes to the Cassini Imaging Team. This is sanctioned by the International Astronomical Union. The IAU Circulars are the official announcement of these discoveries, with the authorship 'C.C.Porco and the Cassini Imaging Team'.
2. ^ C.C. Porco, et al., IAUC 8389 - discovery of S/2004 S 1 (Methone) and S/2004 S 2 (Pallene)
3. ^ IAUC 8471 - naming of Methone and Pallene (January 21, 2005)
4. ^ C. C. Porco et al. (2005), Cassini Imaging Science: Initial Results on Saturn's Rings and Small Satellites. Science 307 (5713): 1226-1236.

[edit] External links

• Homepage of Sébastien Charnoz
• NASA press release describing the discovery of the two satellites methone and Pallene