Planetary/Meteor Physicist

As a Planetary/Meteor Physicist, the selected candidate will support the Meteoroid Environment Office (MEO) within the Natural Environments Branch at NASA Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC). The selected candidate will work to improve NASA’s understanding of the meteoroid environment, particularly with regard to those particles posing a hazard to spacecraft throughout the Solar System.

Duties will include the following:

Developing and refining the MEO’s Meteoroid Engineering Model (MEM), meteor shower forecasts, and supporting models. These models are essential for assessing hazards to spacecraft and astronauts in low Earth orbit and beyond.

Analyzing data from visual observers, meteor camera networks, telescopic instrumentation, and in-situ measurements to derive models of meteor speeds, fluxes, masses, and densities.

Tracking meteor events and updating the US Government and the public on the circumstances surrounding these events.

QUALIFICATIONS:

PhD in Astronomy or Physics from an ABET accredited institution, or equivalent degree and experience, with a specialty in solar system dynamics or small body dynamics

Must have published papers as first author on solar system dynamics in peer-reviewed astronomical journals such as Icarus; Earth, Moon, and Planets; the Astronomical Journal; or the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.

Experience with three-body and N-body simulations of planetary systems.

Experience studying orbital resonances and stability

Expertise in one or more computer languages, preferably Python or the C family.