Sciences and Exploration Directorate

Ian Wong

(NASA POST PROGRAM FELLOW)

Ian Wong's Contact Card & Information.
Email: ian.wong@nasa.gov
Phone: 301.286.0575
Org Code: 691
Address:
NASA/GSFC
Mail Code 691
Greenbelt, MD 20771
Employer: AMERICAN UNIVERSITY

Brief Bio


Dr. Ian Wong is an observational astronomer at Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, MD. As part of Dr. Stefanie Milam's team, he is involved with the JWST Solar System GTO program. Born in Irvine, CA, he graduated with a BA in Linguistics from Princeton University in 2012. Prior to becoming a NASA Postdoctoral Program Fellow at Goddard, he received a PhD in Planetary Science from Caltech in 2018 and then completed a three-year stint at MIT as a 51 Pegasi b Postdoctoral Fellow. Dr. Wong's research spans both solar system and exoplanet science, with primary interests centered on icy asteroids and exoplanet atmospheric characterization.

Research Interests


Solar System small bodies

Solar System: Solar System

Dr. Wong studies the surface composition and ensemble properties of middle and outer solar system small bodies, including Jupiter Trojans, Hildas, Kuiper belt objects, and Centaurs. Using both ground- and space-based photometry and spectroscopy, he seeks to characterize these enigmatic minor body populations in a comparative manner as a test of current solar system formation and evolution models. Recently, he has been affiliated with the science team of the NASA Lucy flyby mission to the Jupiter Trojans. In addition to contributing to the analysis of upcoming data from the JWST Solar System GTO program, Dr. Wong is Co-I on a Cycle 1 GO program that will obtain reflectance and emission spectra for all of the Lucy flyby targets in support of the spacecraft mission.


Discovery and characterization of gas giant exoplanets

Solar System: Extrasolar Planets

Dr. Wong explores the atmospheres of gas giant exoplanets using a variety of observational techniques, including transmission spectroscopy, secondary eclipse photometry, and full-orbit phase curves. By measuring the light reflected off, emitted from, or transmitted through the atmosphere, he seeks to constrain fundamental properties of the planet, such as atmospheric metallicity, molecular abundances, albedo, and temperature-pressure profiles on both local and planet-wide scales. The launch of the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) has opened a major new chapter in exoplanet science. Dr. Wong has extensively leveraged data from the spacecraft to discover new hot gas giants in the solar neighborhood and carry out systematic phase-curve studies in search of fundamental trends in dayside reflectivity and global heat transport.

Positions/Employment


NASA Postdoctoral Program Fellow

NASA Goddard Space Flight Center - Greenbelt, MD

August 2021 - Present


51 Pegasi b Postdoctoral Fellow in Planetary Science

Massachusetts Institute of Technology - Cambridge, MA

June 2018 - July 2021

Education


B.A. Linguistics 2012 Princeton University

Ph.D. Planetary Science 2018 California Institute of Technology

Professional Societies


American Astronomical Society (AAS)

2014 - Present


Division for Planetary Sciences (DPS)

2014 - Present

Professional Service


Journal Referee:

  • Astronomical Journal
  • Icarus
  • Planetary Science Journal
  • Astronomy & Astrophysics

Telescope Time Allocation Committees:

  • Hubble Cycle 29
  • NSF NOIRLab 2022A

Conference Scientific Organizing Committees:

  • 52nd Annual Meeting of the DPS (2020)

Publications


Refereed

2021. "TOI-2109: An Ultrahot Gas Giant on a 16 hr Orbit." The Astronomical Journal 162 (6): 256 [10.3847/1538-3881/ac26bd] [Journal Article/Letter]

2021. "Visible-light Phase Curves from the Second Year of the TESS Primary Mission." The Astronomical Journal 162 (4): 127 [10.3847/1538-3881/ac0c7d] [Journal Article/Letter]

2020. "The TESS Phase Curve of KELT-1b Suggests a High Dayside Albedo." The Astronomical Journal 160 (5): 211 [10.3847/1538-3881/abb5aa] [Journal Article/Letter]

2020. "Systematic Phase Curve Study of Known Transiting Systems from Year One of the TESS Mission." The Astronomical Journal 160 (4): 155 [10.3847/1538-3881/ababad] [Journal Article/Letter]

2020. "Exploring the Atmospheric Dynamics of the Extreme Ultrahot Jupiter KELT-9b Using TESS Photometry." The Astronomical Journal 160 (2): 88 [10.3847/1538-3881/aba2cb] [Journal Article/Letter]

2020. "Optical to Near-infrared Transmission Spectrum of the Warm Sub-Saturn HAT-P-12b." The Astronomical Journal 159 (5): 234 [10.3847/1538-3881/ab880d] [Journal Article/Letter]

2020. "TESS Phase Curve of the Hot Jupiter WASP-19b." The Astronomical Journal 159 (3): 104 [10.3847/1538-3881/ab6d6e] [Journal Article/Letter]

2019. "The Full Kepler Phase Curve of the Eclipsing Hot White Dwarf Binary System KOI-964." The Astronomical Journal 159 (1): 29 [10.3847/1538-3881/ab59d6] [Journal Article/Letter]

2019. "Water Vapor and Clouds on the Habitable-zone Sub-Neptune Exoplanet K2-18b." The Astrophysical Journal Letters 887 (1): L14 [10.3847/2041-8213/ab59dc] [Journal Article/Letter]

2019. "Photometry of Active Centaurs: Colors of Dormant Active Centaur Nuclei." The Astronomical Journal 157 (6): 225 [10.3847/1538-3881/ab1b22] [Journal Article/Letter]

2019. "Multiband Photometry of a Patroclus–Menoetius Mutual Event: Constraints on Surface Heterogeneity." The Astronomical Journal 157 (5): 203 [10.3847/1538-3881/ab18f4] [Journal Article/Letter]

2019. "TESS Full Orbital Phase Curve of the WASP-18b System." The Astronomical Journal 157 (5): 178 [10.3847/1538-3881/ab0f96] [Journal Article/Letter]

2019. "Hubble Ultraviolet Spectroscopy of Jupiter Trojans." The Astronomical Journal 157 (4): 161 [10.3847/1538-3881/ab0e00] [Journal Article/Letter]

2017. "0.7–2.5μm Spectra of Hilda Asteroids." The Astronomical Journal 154 (3): 104 [10.3847/1538-3881/aa8406] [Journal Article/Letter]

2017. "The Bimodal Color Distribution of Small Kuiper Belt Objects." The Astronomical Journal 153 (4): 145 [10.3847/1538-3881/aa60c3] [Journal Article/Letter]

2017. "THE COLOR–MAGNITUDE DISTRIBUTION OF HILDA ASTEROIDS: COMPARISON WITH JUPITER TROJANS." The Astronomical Journal 153 (2): 69 [10.3847/1538-3881/153/2/69] [Journal Article/Letter]

2016. "A HYPOTHESIS FOR THE COLOR BIMODALITY OF JUPITER TROJANS." The Astronomical Journal 152 (4): 90 [10.3847/0004-6256/152/4/90] [Journal Article/Letter]

2016. "3.6 AND 4.5μmSPITZERPHASE CURVES OF THE HIGHLY IRRADIATED HOT JUPITERS WASP-19b AND HAT-P-7b." The Astrophysical Journal 823 (2): 122 [10.3847/0004-637x/823/2/122] [Journal Article/Letter]

2015. "THE COLOR–MAGNITUDE DISTRIBUTION OF SMALL JUPITER TROJANS." The Astronomical Journal 150 (6): 174 [10.1088/0004-6256/150/6/174] [Journal Article/Letter]

2015. "3.6 AND 4.5μm PHASE CURVES OF THE HIGHLY IRRADIATED ECCENTRIC HOT JUPITER WASP-14b." The Astrophysical Journal 811 (2): 122 [10.1088/0004-637x/811/2/122] [Journal Article/Letter]

2014. "THE DIFFERING MAGNITUDE DISTRIBUTIONS OF THE TWO JUPITER TROJAN COLOR POPULATIONS." The Astronomical Journal 148 (6): 112 [10.1088/0004-6256/148/6/112] [Journal Article/Letter]

2014. "CONSTRAINTS ON THE ATMOSPHERIC CIRCULATION AND VARIABILITY OF THE ECCENTRIC HOT JUPITER XO-3b." The Astrophysical Journal 794 (2): 134 [10.1088/0004-637x/794/2/134] [Journal Article/Letter]