Robin Canup

Robin M. Canup (born November 20, 1968) is an American planetary scientist. Her main area of research concerns the origins of planets and satellites.[1] In 2003, Canup was awarded the Harold C. Urey Prize.[2] In April, 2022, Canup presented the findings of the Planetary Science Decadal Survey as co-chair of the Survey Steering Committee with Philip R. Christensen.[3]

Biography

She received her B.S. from Duke University and her PhD from the University of Colorado at Boulder.

Canup is known for her research based upon the giant impact hypothesis, using intensive modeling to simulate how planetary collisions unfold.[4][5][6][7] In 2012, Canup first published a refinement to the giant impact hypothesis, arguing that the Moon and the Earth formed in a series of steps that started with a massive collision of two planetary bodies, each larger than Mars, which then re-collided to form what we now call Earth.[8] After the re-collision, Earth was surrounded by a disk of material, which combined to form the Moon.[9] She has written a book on the origin of the Earth and Moon.[10] Canup has also published research describing a giant impact origin for Pluto and Charon.[11]

Canup is an accomplished ballet dancer and danced the lead role in Coppélia in the Boulder Ballet one week after finishing her dissertation.[12]

Selected works

  • Origin of the Earth and Moon. Robin M. Canup, Kevin Righter (eds.) (2nd ed.). Tucson : Houston: University of Arizona Press. 2000-11-01. ISBN 978-0-8165-2073-2.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  • National Research Council (various) (2010). Defending Planet Earth:: Near-Earth Object Surveys and Hazard Mitigation Strategies. National Academies Press. ISBN 9780309149686. (member of Space Studies board)
  • Robin M. Canup, Kevin Righter, Nicolas Dauphas et al.: Origin of the Moon. In: Reviews in Mineralogy and Geochemistry. Vol. 89, No 1. Dec. 2023.

References

  1. ^ University of Boulder Profile, boulder.swri.edu; accessed March 9, 2015.
  2. ^ "Harold C. Urey Prize in Planetary Science". Division of Planetary Sciences of the American Astronomical Association. Retrieved 2015-01-12.
  3. ^ "Planetary Science and Astrobiology Decadal Survey 2023 2032 | National Academies".
  4. ^ Canup, Robin M.; Asphaug, Erik (2001-08-16). "Origin of the Moon in a giant impact near the end of the Earth's formation". Nature. 412 (6848): 708–712. Bibcode:2001Natur.412..708C. doi:10.1038/35089010. ISSN 0028-0836. PMID 11507633. S2CID 4413525.
  5. ^ Agnor, Craig B.; Canup, Robin M.; Levison, Harold F. (1999). "On the Character and Consequences of Large Impacts in the Late Stage of Terrestrial Planet Formation". Icarus. 142 (1): 219–237. Bibcode:1999Icar..142..219A. doi:10.1006/icar.1999.6201. ISSN 0019-1035. S2CID 28238627.
  6. ^ Canup, Robin M. (2004). "Simulations of a late lunar-forming impact". Icarus. 168 (2): 433–456. Bibcode:2004Icar..168..433C. doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2003.09.028. ISSN 0019-1035.
  7. ^ Canup, Robin M. (2004). "Dynamics of Lunar Formation". Annual Review of Astronomy and Astrophysics. 42 (1): 441–475. Bibcode:2004ARA&A..42..441C. doi:10.1146/annurev.astro.41.082201.113457.
  8. ^ Canup, Robin M. (2012-11-23). "Forming a Moon with an Earth-like Composition via a Giant Impact". Science. 338 (6110): 1052–1055. Bibcode:2012Sci...338.1052C. doi:10.1126/science.1226073. PMC 6476314. PMID 23076098.
  9. ^ "NASA Lunar Scientists Develop New Theory on Earth and Moon Formation". NASA Press Release. NASA. 2012-10-30. Archived from the original on 2019-02-23. Retrieved 2012-12-05.
  10. ^ Origin of the Earth and Moon. Robin M. Canup, Kevin Righter (eds.) (2nd ed.). Tucson : Houston: University of Arizona Press. 2000-11-01. ISBN 978-0-8165-2073-2.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  11. ^ Canup, Robin M. (2005-01-28). "A Giant Impact Origin of Pluto-Charon". Science. 307 (5709): 546–550. Bibcode:2005Sci...307..546C. doi:10.1126/science.1106818. ISSN 1095-9203. PMID 15681378. S2CID 19558835.
  12. ^ Finn, Ed (2004-10-29). "Robin Canup". Popular Science. Retrieved 2015-10-13.