Small Bodies in the Solar System

Dear Colleagues,

Approximately 10⁵ tons of extra-terrestrial material, also known as meteoroids, enter the Earth’s atmosphere annually. Impacts release tremendous amounts of energy that could have profound effects on both the surface and interior of the target body, as well as its atmosphere, if one is present. While meteoroids (and asteroids) might produce craters on airless bodies, planetary atmospheres act as a cushion and a conduit for a series of physical phenomena to occur, including shockwaves. Additionally, while a typical meteoroid may affect the chemistry of the localized region of atmosphere, giant impacts have the potential to induce long-term chemical modification of atmosphere. On Earth, the effects produced by large meteoroids as they penetrate the atmosphere could pose a significant hazard to humans and infrastructure. Interest in meteor studies has flourished recently, mainly due to a large bolide that exploded over Chelyabinsk, Russia, in 2013, providing a sobering reality of the destructive potential of such impacts. The advent of more sophisticated observational techniques and numerical models has facilitated advancements in the domain of meteor science. We welcome contributions on the topic of meteoroid interactions with planetary atmospheres, with implications for planetary defence and space mission planning.

Dr. Elizabeth A. Silber
Dr. Maria Gritsevich
Prof. Dr. Josep Maria Trigo-Rodríguez
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Universe is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.