Michaela Walterová (née Káňová)

Department of Geophysics
Faculty of Mathematics and Physics
Charles University
V Holešovičkách 2
180 00 Praha 8
Czech Republic

This webpage is being occasionally updated.

E-mail address: kanova@karel.troja.mff.cuni.cz

Česká verze

Research interests

I am a planetary scientist focusing on the study of solid-body tides and the exploration of terrestrial planets' interior structure.

Tidal response probes the interior structure and rheological properties of celestial bodies. I apply my numerical models to estimate the interior profiles of rocky bodies whose response has been detected by dedicated space missions. Specifically, I focus on the innermost terrestrial planets Mercury and Venus but I have also collaborated on a study of the Moon.

My long-term scientific interest is the coupling between internal and orbital dynamics of rocky or icy bodies and the evaluation of the interior's effect on potential observables. This coupling is also enabled by tides. Tidal friction in non-ideally elastic bodies causes dissipation of mechanical (rotational and/or orbital) energy and results in heating of the interior, thus affecting the planet's rheological properties and potentially causing partial melting. At the same time, the loss of mechanical energy forces the moon or planet to descend on a lower orbit around its primary and decrease the orbital eccentricity. Furthermore, the orbit of a deformed body is precessing. Studying the relation between planetary interior and the rates of orbital and rotational evolution then helps to determine, what observables are the most relevant and how they encode the interior structure.

Positions and Education

since 01/2025: Academic researcher; Courses taught: Thermodynamics of natural systems (NGEO106), Seminar on software for geophysicists (NDGF025, AI series).; Charles University, Faculty of Mathematics and Physics, Department of Geophysics, Prague, Czech Republic
since 09/2023: Post-doctoral researcher; Main focus: interior structure of Mercury, exoplanet characterisation, tidal evolution of binary asteroids; Charles University, Faculty of Mathematics and Physics, Department of Geophysics, Prague, Czech Republic
03/2021 - 06/2023: Post-doctoral researcher; Main focus: tidal deformation, thermal evolution, and bulk composition of Venus; German Aerospace Center (DLR), Institute of Planetary Research, Planetary Physics Department, Berlin, Germany
10/2015 - 02/2021: Ph.D. student (study programme: Physics of the Earth and Planets); Main focus: coupling between orbital and internal evolution of terrestrial exoplanets; Charles University, Faculty of Mathematics and Physics, Department of Geophysics, Prague, Czech Republic
10/2013 - 09/2015: Master student (study programme: Geophysics); Main focus: tidal heating and orbital evolution of viscoelastic planets, parameter dependence of surface temperature; Charles University, Faculty of Mathematics and Physics, Department of Geophysics, Prague, Czech Republic
10/2010 - 09/2013: Bachelor student (study programme: General Physics); Main focus: the effect of orbital and thermophysical parameters on the temperature pattern on airless bodies; Charles University, Faculty of Mathematics and Physics, Prague, Czech Republic
07/2009 - 09/2015: Demonstrator at a public observatory; Štefánik observatory, Prague, Czech Republic

The PDF version of my theses can be found below (at the end of this page).

Co-authored publications

Efroimsky, M., Walterová, M., Gevorgyan, Y., Bagheri, A., Makarov, V. V., and Khan, A. (2026). Synchronization of a Tidal Binary by Inward Orbital Migration. The Case of Pluto and Charon. Planetary Science Journal, 7:68, doi:10.3847/PSJ/ae47f7.

Tosi, N., Schulz, F., Walterová, M., and Padovan, S. (2025). The influence of spin–orbit resonances on the evolution of Mercury’s mantle and crust. Icarus, 439:116630, doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2025.116630.

Patočka, V. and Walterová, M. (2025). Formula for the Chandler period (free wobble of planetary bodies). Geophysical Research Letters, 52(8):e2024GL112997, doi:10.1029/2024GL112997.

Szczech, C., Broquet, A., Plesa, A.-C., Fleury, A., Walterová, M., Stark, A., and Oberst, J. (2024). Relaxation states of large impact basins on Mercury based on MESSENGER data. Geophysical Research Letters, 51(22):e2024GL110748, doi:10.1029/2024GL110748.

Fleury, A., Plesa, A.-C., Tosi, N., Walterová, M., and Breuer, D. (2024). Variations of Heat Flux and Elastic Thickness of Mercury From 3-D Thermal Evolution Modeling. Geophysical Research Letters, 51(21):2024GL110622, doi:10.1029/2024GL110622.

Walterová, M., Běhounková, M., and Efroimsky, M. (2023). Is there a semi-molten layer at the base of the lunar mantle? Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets, 128, doi:10.1029/2022JE007652.

Bagheri A., Efroimsky, M., Castillo-Rogez, J., Goossens, S., Plesa, A.-C., Rambaux, N., Rhoden, A., Walterová, M., Khan, A., and Giardini, D. (2022). Tidal insights into rocky and icy bodies: an introduction and overview. In "Geophysical Exploration of the Solar System", Edited by Schmelzbach, C. and Stähler, S. C.. Advances in Geophysics, 63:231-320, doi:10.1016/bs.agph.2022.07.004.

Plesa, A.-C., Wieczorek, M., Knapmeyer, M., Rivoldini, A., Walterová, M., and Breuer, D. (2022). Interior dynamics and thermal evolution of Mars - a geodynamic perspective. In "Geophysical Exploration of the Solar System", Edited by Schmelzbach, C. and Stähler, S. C.. Advances in Geophysics, 63:231-320, doi:10.1016/bs.agph.2022.07.005

Knapmeyer, M. and Walterová, M. (2022). Planetary core radii: from Plato towards PLATO. In "Geophysical Exploration of the Solar System", Edited by Schmelzbach, C. and Stähler, S. C.. Advances in Geophysics, 63:65-178, doi:10.1016/bs.agph.2022.07.003.

Spohn, T. and Walterová, M. (2022). Tides, Planetary. In: "Encyclopedia of Astrobiology", Edited by Gargaud, M., et al. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg, doi:10.1007/978-3-642-27833-4_1592-3

Brož, M., Ďurech, J., Carry, B., Vachier, F., Marchis, F., Hanuš, J., Jorda, L., Vernazza, P., Vokrouhlický, D., Walterová, M., and Behrend, R. (2022). Observed tidal evolution of Kleopatra’s outer satellite. Astronomy and Astrophysics, 657:A76, doi:10.1051/0004-6361/202142055.

Walterová, M. and Běhounková, M. (2020). Thermal and Orbital Evolution of Low-mass Exoplanets. The Astrophysical Journal, 900(1):24, doi:10.3847/1538-4357/aba8a5.

Walterová, M. and Běhounková, M. (2017). Tidal effects in differentiated viscoelastic bodies: a numerical approach. Celestial Mechanics and Dynamical Astronomy, 129(1-2):235-256, doi:10.1007/s10569-017-9772-x.

Tosi, N., Čadek, O., Běhounková, M., Káňová, M., Plesa, A.-C., Grott, M., Breuer, D., Padovan, S., and Wieczorek, M. A. (2015). Mercury's low-degree geoid and topography controlled by insolation-driven elastic deformation. Geophysical Research Letters, 42(18):7327-7335, doi:10.1002/2015GL065314.

Sweet memories

Bachelor thesis (in Czech): Insolation pattern and surface temperature on extrasolar planets.

Master thesis (in Czech): Evolution of terrestrial exoplanets.

Doctoral thesis (in English): Orbital and internal dynamics of terrestrial planets.

Last update: 10. 2. 2026