# Damon Simonelli

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**Damon Paul Simonelli** (15 August 1959 – 1 December 2004) was a [planetary scientist](/source/Planetary_scientist) who worked for [Cornell University](/source/Cornell_University) and the [National Aeronautics and Space Administration](/source/National_Aeronautics_and_Space_Administration) (NASA) in the U.S.[1] He was a pioneer in the development of [radiative transfer](/source/Radiative_transfer) models to analyze astronomical objects.

## Early life and family

Simonelli was born in the [Bronx](/source/Bronx), [New York](/source/New_York_(state)), to Alice Kennard, a secretary at [Montefiore Medical Center](/source/Montefiore_Medical_Center), and Aldo Simonelli, a clarinetist for the [New York City Opera](/source/New_York_City_Opera) Company and lead negotiator for the local musician's union to the City Opera. As a child, Damon showed a keen interest in space exploration, astronomy and science fiction. He attended the [Bronx High School of Science](/source/Bronx_High_School_of_Science). .[2]

## Research career

Simonelli graduated from Cornell University with a BA *summa cum laude* in physics in 1980. He continued at Cornell in a research role, developing the area of quantitative radiative transfer with [Joe Veverka](/source/Joseph_Veverka) to characterise the surface of planets, and he also studied the post-eclipse brightening of [Jupiter](/source/Jupiter)'s moon, [Io](/source/Io_(moon)). His PhD in Astronomy and Space Sciences was gained with a thesis on the properties of Io's surface.[2][3]

At the NASA [Ames Research Center](/source/Ames_Research_Center), Simonelli was a [National Research Council](/source/National_Academies_of_Sciences,_Engineering,_and_Medicine) (NRC) Fellowship, working on the structure of [Pluto](/source/Pluto) and its moons with [Jim Pollack](/source/James_Pollack), Ray Reynolds and [Chris McKay](/source/Christopher_McKay). He maintained that, because of its rockier composition, [Pluto](/source/Pluto) formed in a [carbon monoxide](/source/Carbon_monoxide)-rich outer [solar nebula](/source/Solar_nebula) rather than a planetary nebula surrounding the [dwarf planet](/source/Dwarf_planet). Simonelli and Ray Reynolds suggested that Pluto's density is a result of a collision which also created its largest moon, [Charon](/source/Charon_(moon)).[2][3]

From 1991, after returning to Cornell, Simonelli led a team studying smaller bodies in the Solar System, for example the satellites [Io](/source/Io_(moon)), [Phoebe](/source/Phoebe_(moon)), [Thebe](/source/Thebe_(moon)), [Amalthea](/source/Amalthea_(moon)), [Metis](/source/Metis_(moon)) and [Phobos](/source/Phobos_(moon)), and the asteroids [243 Ida](/source/243_Ida), [951 Gaspra](/source/951_Gaspra) and [52 Europa](/source/52_Europa). His expertise in planning observations and command sequences for the [Galileo spacecraft](/source/Galileo_(spacecraft)) earned him NASA's Superior Performance Award.[2][4]

In 2002, he accepted another NRC Fellowship, this time at NASA's [Jet Propulsion Laboratory](/source/Jet_Propulsion_Laboratory). Here he planned observations using the [Visible and Infrared Mapping Spectrometer](/source/Cassini%E2%80%93Huygens#Instruments), as part of the [Cassini](/source/Cassini%E2%80%93Huygens) spacecraft's observations of Saturn's satellite Titan.[2] Simonelli collaborated on NASA's New Horizons mission to Pluto and beyond which was launched in 2006.

## Personal life and legacy

He died of heart failure at his home near [Pasadena](/source/Pasadena). Asteroid 8071 Simonelli was named in his honour.[5] The [International Astronomical Union](/source/International_Astronomical_Union) has also informally named a Plutonian crater Simonelli in his honour[6]

## See also

- [List of geological features on Pluto](/source/List_of_geological_features_on_Pluto)

## References

1. Buratti, Bonnie Jean & Veverka, Joseph. ["Damon Paul Simonelli (1959–2004)"](https://web.archive.org/web/20190217030153/https://aas.org/obituaries/damon-paul-simonelli-1959-2004). *[American Astronomical Society](/source/American_Astronomical_Society)*. Archived from [the original](https://aas.org/obituaries/damon-paul-simonelli-1959-2004) on 17 February 2019. Retrieved 2019-02-15.

1. Buratti, Bonnie Jean & Veverka, Joseph (2005). "Obituary: Damon Paul Simonelli, 1959-2004". *Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society*. **37** (4): 1557–1558. New York: American Institute of Physics. [Bibcode:2005BAAS...37.1557B](https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2005BAAS...37.1557B)

1. Buratti, Bonnie J. (2008). "In Memoriam Damon P. Simonelli (1959–2004)". *Icarus*. **193** (2): 303–304. [Bibcode:2008Icar..193..303B](https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2008Icar..193..303B). [doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2007.11.003](https://doi.org/10.1016/j.icarus.2007.11.003)

1. ["Galileo Takes Risky Trip To Dribble Back Data Revealing Best Images Yet of Jupiter's Cratered Inner Moons"](https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2000/04/000425073151.htm). *www.sciencedaily.com*. Retrieved 10 August 2018.

1. Schmadel, Lutz D. (2015). *Dictionary of Minor Planet Names: Addendum to 6th Edition: 2012-2014*. Heidelberg: Springer. [Bibcode:2015dmpn.book.....S](https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2015dmpn.book.....S)

1. ["Informal Names for Features on Pluto"](https://web.archive.org/web/20180810235332/http://pluto.jhuapl.edu/Multimedia/Science-Photos/image.php?page=13&gallery_id=2&image_id=263). *pluto.jhuapl.edu*. Archived from [the original](http://pluto.jhuapl.edu/Multimedia/Science-Photos/image.php?page=13&gallery_id=2&image_id=263) on 10 August 2018. Retrieved 10 August 2018.

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