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Ian Wong

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Ian Wong

  • NASA POST PROGRAM FELLOW
  • 301.286.0575
  • NASA/GSFC
  • Mail Code: 691
  • Greenbelt , MD 20771
  • Employer: NPP POST-DOC CONTRACT

    • 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

    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

    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

    8/2021 - Present

    NASA Postdoctoral Program Fellow

    NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD
    6/2018 - 7/2021

    51 Pegasi b Postdoctoral Fellow in Planetary Science

    Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA

    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

    Wong, I., A. Shporer, G. Zhou, et al. D. Kitzmann, T. D. Komacek, X. Tan, R. Tronsgaard, L. A. Buchhave, S. Vissapragada, M. Greklek-McKeon, J. E. Rodriguez, J. P. Ahlers, S. N. Quinn, E. Furlan, S. B. Howell, A. Bieryla, K. Heng, H. A. Knutson, K. A. Collins, K. K. McLeod, P. Berlind, P. Brown, M. L. Calkins, J. P. de Leon, E. Esparza-Borges, G. A. Esquerdo, A. Fukui, T. Gan, E. Girardin, C. L. Gnilka, M. Ikoma, E. L. Jensen, J. Kielkopf, T. Kodama, S. Kurita, K. V. Lester, P. Lewin, G. Marino, F. Murgas, N. Narita, E. Pallé, R. P. Schwarz, K. G. Stassun, M. Tamura, N. Watanabe, B. Benneke, G. R. Ricker, D. W. Latham, R. Vanderspek, S. Seager, J. N. Winn, J. M. Jenkins, D. A. Caldwell, W. Fong, C. X. Huang, I. Mireles, J. E. Schlieder, B. Shiao, and J. Noel Villaseñor. 2021. "TOI-2109: An Ultrahot Gas Giant on a 16 hr Orbit." The Astronomical Journal, 162 (6): 256 [10.3847/1538-3881/ac26bd]

    Wong, I., D. Kitzmann, A. Shporer, et al. K. Heng, T. Fetherolf, B. Benneke, T. Daylan, S. R. Kane, R. Vanderspek, S. Seager, J. N. Winn, J. M. Jenkins, and E. B. Ting. 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]

    Beatty, T. G., I. Wong, T. Fetherolf, et al. M. R. Line, A. Shporer, K. G. Stassun, G. R. Ricker, S. Seager, J. N. Winn, J. M. Jenkins, D. R. Louie, J. E. Schlieder, L. Sha, P. Tenenbaum, and D. A. Yahalomi. 2020. "The TESS Phase Curve of KELT-1b Suggests a High Dayside Albedo." The Astronomical Journal, 160 (5): 211 [10.3847/1538-3881/abb5aa]

    Wong, I., A. Shporer, T. Daylan, et al. B. Benneke, T. Fetherolf, S. R. Kane, G. R. Ricker, R. Vanderspek, D. W. Latham, J. N. Winn, J. M. Jenkins, P. T. Boyd, A. Glidden, R. F. Goeke, L. Sha, E. B. Ting, and D. Yahalomi. 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]

    Wong, I., A. Shporer, D. Kitzmann, et al. B. M. Morris, K. Heng, H. J. Hoeijmakers, B.-O. Demory, J. P. Ahlers, M. Mansfield, J. L. Bean, T. Daylan, T. Fetherolf, J. E. Rodriguez, B. Benneke, G. R. Ricker, D. W. Latham, R. Vanderspek, S. Seager, J. N. Winn, J. M. Jenkins, C. J. Burke, J. L. Christiansen, Z. Essack, M. E. Rose, J. C. Smith, P. Tenenbaum, and D. Yahalomi. 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]

    Wong, I., B. Benneke, P. Gao, et al. H. A. Knutson, Y. Chachan, G. W. Henry, D. Deming, T. Kataria, E. K. Lee, N. Nikolov, D. K. Sing, G. E. Ballester, N. J. Baskin, H. R. Wakeford, and M. H. Williamson. 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]

    Wong, I., B. Benneke, A. Shporer, et al. T. Fetherolf, S. R. Kane, G. R. Ricker, R. Vanderspek, S. Seager, J. N. Winn, K. A. Collins, I. Mireles, R. Morris, P. Tenenbaum, E. B. Ting, S. Rinehart, and J. N. Villaseñor. 2020. "TESS Phase Curve of the Hot Jupiter WASP-19b." The Astronomical Journal, 159 (3): 104 [10.3847/1538-3881/ab6d6e]

    Wong, I., A. Shporer, J. C. Becker, et al. B. J. Fulton, T. A. Berger, N. N. Weinberg, P. Arras, A. W. Howard, and B. Benneke. 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]

    Benneke, B., I. Wong, C. Piaulet, et al. H. A. Knutson, J. Lothringer, C. V. Morley, I. J. Crossfield, P. Gao, T. P. Greene, C. Dressing, D. Dragomir, A. W. Howard, P. R. McCullough, E. M. Kempton, J. J. Fortney, and J. Fraine. 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]

    Wong, I., A. Mishra, and M. E. Brown. 2019. "Photometry of Active Centaurs: Colors of Dormant Active Centaur Nuclei." The Astronomical Journal, 157 (6): 225 [10.3847/1538-3881/ab1b22]

    Wong, I., and M. E. Brown. 2019. "Multiband Photometry of a Patroclus–Menoetius Mutual Event: Constraints on Surface Heterogeneity." The Astronomical Journal, 157 (5): 203 [10.3847/1538-3881/ab18f4]

    Shporer, A., I. Wong, C. X. Huang, et al. M. R. Line, K. G. Stassun, T. Fetherolf, S. R. Kane, L. G. Bouma, T. Daylan, M. N. Güenther, G. R. Ricker, D. W. Latham, R. Vanderspek, S. Seager, J. N. Winn, J. M. Jenkins, A. Glidden, Z. Berta-Thompson, E. B. Ting, J. Li, and K. Haworth. 2019. "TESS Full Orbital Phase Curve of the WASP-18b System." The Astronomical Journal, 157 (5): 178 [10.3847/1538-3881/ab0f96]

    Wong, I., M. E. Brown, J. Blacksberg, B. L. Ehlmann, and A. Mahjoub. 2019. "Hubble Ultraviolet Spectroscopy of Jupiter Trojans." The Astronomical Journal, 157 (4): 161 [10.3847/1538-3881/ab0e00]

    Wong, I., M. E. Brown, and J. P. Emery. 2017. "0.7–2.5μm Spectra of Hilda Asteroids." The Astronomical Journal, 154 (3): 104 [10.3847/1538-3881/aa8406]

    Wong, I., and M. E. Brown. 2017. "The Bimodal Color Distribution of Small Kuiper Belt Objects." The Astronomical Journal, 153 (4): 145 [10.3847/1538-3881/aa60c3]

    Wong, I., and M. E. Brown. 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]

    Wong, I., and M. E. Brown. 2016. "A HYPOTHESIS FOR THE COLOR BIMODALITY OF JUPITER TROJANS." The Astronomical Journal, 152 (4): 90 [10.3847/0004-6256/152/4/90]

    Wong, I., H. A. Knutson, T. Kataria, et al. N. K. Lewis, A. Burrows, J. J. Fortney, J. Schwartz, A. Shporer, E. Agol, N. B. Cowan, D. Deming, J.-M. Désert, B. J. Fulton, A. W. Howard, J. Langton, G. Laughlin, A. P. Showman, and K. Todorov. 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]

    Wong, I., and M. E. Brown. 2015. "THE COLOR–MAGNITUDE DISTRIBUTION OF SMALL JUPITER TROJANS." The Astronomical Journal, 150 (6): 174 [10.1088/0004-6256/150/6/174]

    Wong, I., H. A. Knutson, N. K. Lewis, et al. T. Kataria, A. Burrows, J. J. Fortney, J. Schwartz, E. Agol, N. B. Cowan, D. Deming, J.-M. Désert, B. J. Fulton, A. W. Howard, J. Langton, G. Laughlin, A. P. Showman, and K. Todorov. 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]

    Wong, I., M. E. Brown, and J. P. Emery. 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]

    Wong, I., H. A. Knutson, N. B. Cowan, et al. N. K. Lewis, E. Agol, A. Burrows, D. Deming, J. J. Fortney, B. J. Fulton, J. Langton, G. Laughlin, and A. P. Showman. 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]

    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.

    Publications

    Refereed

    Wong, I., A. Shporer, G. Zhou, et al. D. Kitzmann, T. D. Komacek, X. Tan, R. Tronsgaard, L. A. Buchhave, S. Vissapragada, M. Greklek-McKeon, J. E. Rodriguez, J. P. Ahlers, S. N. Quinn, E. Furlan, S. B. Howell, A. Bieryla, K. Heng, H. A. Knutson, K. A. Collins, K. K. McLeod, P. Berlind, P. Brown, M. L. Calkins, J. P. de Leon, E. Esparza-Borges, G. A. Esquerdo, A. Fukui, T. Gan, E. Girardin, C. L. Gnilka, M. Ikoma, E. L. Jensen, J. Kielkopf, T. Kodama, S. Kurita, K. V. Lester, P. Lewin, G. Marino, F. Murgas, N. Narita, E. Pallé, R. P. Schwarz, K. G. Stassun, M. Tamura, N. Watanabe, B. Benneke, G. R. Ricker, D. W. Latham, R. Vanderspek, S. Seager, J. N. Winn, J. M. Jenkins, D. A. Caldwell, W. Fong, C. X. Huang, I. Mireles, J. E. Schlieder, B. Shiao, and J. Noel Villaseñor. 2021. "TOI-2109: An Ultrahot Gas Giant on a 16 hr Orbit." The Astronomical Journal 162 (6): 256 [10.3847/1538-3881/ac26bd]

    Wong, I., D. Kitzmann, A. Shporer, et al. K. Heng, T. Fetherolf, B. Benneke, T. Daylan, S. R. Kane, R. Vanderspek, S. Seager, J. N. Winn, J. M. Jenkins, and E. B. Ting. 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]

    Beatty, T. G., I. Wong, T. Fetherolf, et al. M. R. Line, A. Shporer, K. G. Stassun, G. R. Ricker, S. Seager, J. N. Winn, J. M. Jenkins, D. R. Louie, J. E. Schlieder, L. Sha, P. Tenenbaum, and D. A. Yahalomi. 2020. "The TESS Phase Curve of KELT-1b Suggests a High Dayside Albedo." The Astronomical Journal 160 (5): 211 [10.3847/1538-3881/abb5aa]

    Wong, I., A. Shporer, T. Daylan, et al. B. Benneke, T. Fetherolf, S. R. Kane, G. R. Ricker, R. Vanderspek, D. W. Latham, J. N. Winn, J. M. Jenkins, P. T. Boyd, A. Glidden, R. F. Goeke, L. Sha, E. B. Ting, and D. Yahalomi. 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]

    Wong, I., A. Shporer, D. Kitzmann, et al. B. M. Morris, K. Heng, H. J. Hoeijmakers, B.-O. Demory, J. P. Ahlers, M. Mansfield, J. L. Bean, T. Daylan, T. Fetherolf, J. E. Rodriguez, B. Benneke, G. R. Ricker, D. W. Latham, R. Vanderspek, S. Seager, J. N. Winn, J. M. Jenkins, C. J. Burke, J. L. Christiansen, Z. Essack, M. E. Rose, J. C. Smith, P. Tenenbaum, and D. Yahalomi. 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]

    Wong, I., B. Benneke, P. Gao, et al. H. A. Knutson, Y. Chachan, G. W. Henry, D. Deming, T. Kataria, E. K. Lee, N. Nikolov, D. K. Sing, G. E. Ballester, N. J. Baskin, H. R. Wakeford, and M. H. Williamson. 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]

    Wong, I., B. Benneke, A. Shporer, et al. T. Fetherolf, S. R. Kane, G. R. Ricker, R. Vanderspek, S. Seager, J. N. Winn, K. A. Collins, I. Mireles, R. Morris, P. Tenenbaum, E. B. Ting, S. Rinehart, and J. N. Villaseñor. 2020. "TESS Phase Curve of the Hot Jupiter WASP-19b." The Astronomical Journal 159 (3): 104 [10.3847/1538-3881/ab6d6e]

    Wong, I., A. Shporer, J. C. Becker, et al. B. J. Fulton, T. A. Berger, N. N. Weinberg, P. Arras, A. W. Howard, and B. Benneke. 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]

    Benneke, B., I. Wong, C. Piaulet, et al. H. A. Knutson, J. Lothringer, C. V. Morley, I. J. Crossfield, P. Gao, T. P. Greene, C. Dressing, D. Dragomir, A. W. Howard, P. R. McCullough, E. M. Kempton, J. J. Fortney, and J. Fraine. 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]

    Wong, I., A. Mishra, and M. E. Brown. 2019. "Photometry of Active Centaurs: Colors of Dormant Active Centaur Nuclei." The Astronomical Journal 157 (6): 225 [10.3847/1538-3881/ab1b22]

    Wong, I., and M. E. Brown. 2019. "Multiband Photometry of a Patroclus–Menoetius Mutual Event: Constraints on Surface Heterogeneity." The Astronomical Journal 157 (5): 203 [10.3847/1538-3881/ab18f4]

    Shporer, A., I. Wong, C. X. Huang, et al. M. R. Line, K. G. Stassun, T. Fetherolf, S. R. Kane, L. G. Bouma, T. Daylan, M. N. Güenther, G. R. Ricker, D. W. Latham, R. Vanderspek, S. Seager, J. N. Winn, J. M. Jenkins, A. Glidden, Z. Berta-Thompson, E. B. Ting, J. Li, and K. Haworth. 2019. "TESS Full Orbital Phase Curve of the WASP-18b System." The Astronomical Journal 157 (5): 178 [10.3847/1538-3881/ab0f96]

    Wong, I., M. E. Brown, J. Blacksberg, B. L. Ehlmann, and A. Mahjoub. 2019. "Hubble Ultraviolet Spectroscopy of Jupiter Trojans." The Astronomical Journal 157 (4): 161 [10.3847/1538-3881/ab0e00]

    Wong, I., M. E. Brown, and J. P. Emery. 2017. "0.7–2.5μm Spectra of Hilda Asteroids." The Astronomical Journal 154 (3): 104 [10.3847/1538-3881/aa8406]

    Wong, I., and M. E. Brown. 2017. "The Bimodal Color Distribution of Small Kuiper Belt Objects." The Astronomical Journal 153 (4): 145 [10.3847/1538-3881/aa60c3]

    Wong, I., and M. E. Brown. 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]

    Wong, I., and M. E. Brown. 2016. "A HYPOTHESIS FOR THE COLOR BIMODALITY OF JUPITER TROJANS." The Astronomical Journal 152 (4): 90 [10.3847/0004-6256/152/4/90]

    Wong, I., H. A. Knutson, T. Kataria, et al. N. K. Lewis, A. Burrows, J. J. Fortney, J. Schwartz, A. Shporer, E. Agol, N. B. Cowan, D. Deming, J.-M. Désert, B. J. Fulton, A. W. Howard, J. Langton, G. Laughlin, A. P. Showman, and K. Todorov. 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]

    Wong, I., and M. E. Brown. 2015. "THE COLOR–MAGNITUDE DISTRIBUTION OF SMALL JUPITER TROJANS." The Astronomical Journal 150 (6): 174 [10.1088/0004-6256/150/6/174]

    Wong, I., H. A. Knutson, N. K. Lewis, et al. T. Kataria, A. Burrows, J. J. Fortney, J. Schwartz, E. Agol, N. B. Cowan, D. Deming, J.-M. Désert, B. J. Fulton, A. W. Howard, J. Langton, G. Laughlin, A. P. Showman, and K. Todorov. 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]

    Wong, I., M. E. Brown, and J. P. Emery. 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]

    Wong, I., H. A. Knutson, N. B. Cowan, et al. N. K. Lewis, E. Agol, A. Burrows, D. Deming, J. J. Fortney, B. J. Fulton, J. Langton, G. Laughlin, and A. P. Showman. 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]

                                                                                                                                                                                            
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