David Jewitt

· Distinguished Professor

University of California, Los Angeles · Earth and Space Sciences

Active 1979–2026

h-index76

Citations22.7k

Papers64994 last 5y

Funding$289k

Academic metrics are sourced from OpenAlex and public funding records; values may differ from Google Scholar.

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Research topics

Astronomy
Physics
Astrophysics

Selected publications

The Nucleus of Interstellar Comet 2I/Borisov
The Astrophysical Journal Letters · 2020 · 54 citations
1st authorCorresponding
We present high-resolution imaging observations of interstellar comet 2I/Borisov (formerly C/2019 Q4) obtained using the Hubble Space Telescope. Scattering from the comet is dominated by a coma of large particles (characteristic size ~0.1 mm) ejected anisotropically. Convolution modeling of the coma surface brightness profile sets a robust limit to the spherical-equivalent nucleus radius r n ≤ 0.5 km (geometric albedo 0.04 assumed). We obtain an independent constraint based on the nongravitation…
DOI
Nongravitational Forces in Planetary Systems
The Planetary Science Journal · 2025-01-01 · 6 citations
articleOpen access1st authorCorresponding
Abstract Nongravitational forces play surprising and, sometimes, centrally important roles in shaping the motions and properties of small planetary bodies. In the solar system, the morphologies of comets, the delivery of meteorites, and the shapes and dynamics of asteroids and binaries are all affected by nongravitational forces. In exoplanetary systems and debris disks, nongravitational forces affect the lifetimes of circumstellar particles and feed refractory debris to the photospheres of the…
Publisher DOI
Demise of Kreutz Sungrazing Comet C/2024 S1 (ATLAS)
The Astronomical Journal · 2025-01-30 · 6 citations
articleOpen access1st authorCorresponding
Abstract Most Kreutz family sungrazing comets are discovered only days before perihelion, severely limiting observational opportunities to study their physical nature and decay. Kreutz sungrazer C/2024 S1 (ATLAS) was discovered a month before reaching its perihelion distance of 0.008 au, allowing physical observations from both ground- and space-based telescopes. We present observations from 0.9 to 0.4 au using the Nordic Optical Telescope showing that (1) nucleus disintegration was ongoing alre…
Publisher DOI
The Asteroid-Comet Continuum
The University of Arizona Press eBooks · 2024-01-01 · 2 citations
book-chapter1st authorCorresponding
Publisher DOI
Interstellar Objects in the Solar System
2024-01-01 · 2 citations
book-chapter1st authorCorresponding
Publisher DOI

Recent grants

Surfaces of Kuiper Belt Objects
NSF · $289k · 2005–2009

Frequent coauthors

Jane Luu
University of Oslo
114 shared
Jessica Agarwal
Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research
107 shared
Max Mutchler
101 shared
H. E. Matthews
91 shared
H. A. Weaver
89 shared
Jing Li
87 shared
Tobias Owen
87 shared
Roland Meier
Varian Medical Systems (Switzerland)
83 shared

Education

Ph.D., Planetary Science
University of Hawaii
1993
M.S., Planetary Science
University of Hawaii
1989
B.S., Physics
University of Hawaii
1986

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