Source rates and ion recycling rates for Na and K in Mercury's atmosphere     

R.M. Killen  M. Sarantos  P. Reiff 《Icarus》2004,171(1):1-19

The supply rates of Na and K to the atmosphere of Mercury by processes acting on the extreme surface—thermal vaporization, photon-stimulated desorption (PSD), and ion-sputtering—are limited by the rates at which atoms can be supplied to the extreme surface by diffusion from inside the regolith grains. Supply rates to the atmosphere are further regulated by ion retention and by gardening rates that supply new grains to the surface. We consider the limits on supply of sodium and potassium atoms to the atmosphere, and rates of photoion recycling to the surface. Thermal vaporization rates are severely limited by the ability of atoms to diffuse to the surface of the grain. Therefore, the diffusion-limited thermal vaporization rates on Mercury's surface are comparable to or less than the PSD rates. Ion sputtering is primarily due to highly ionized heavy ions, even though they represent a small fraction of the solar wind. We have shown that up to 60% of the Na photoions are deposited on the surface of Mercury. Ion recycling to the surface can have a long-term effect on the regolith abundance if an average recycling pattern persists such that more ions return to a particular area than are launched there. It is unknown whether the formation of latitude bands of >100% ion retention persist on average despite a rapidly changing magnetosphere. The total exospheric column of sodium observed at Mercury between 1997 to 2003 varied by a factor of 2-3 from perihelion to aphelion.  相似文献   

Evolution of cold shock-bounded slabs     

John M. Blondin  Brian S. Marks 《New Astronomy》1996,1(3):235-244

The stability and evolution of cold, shock-bounded slabs is studied using numerical hydrodynamic simulations. We confirm the analysis of Vishniac (1994) [ApJ, 428, 186], who showed that such slabs are unstable if they are perturbed by a displacement larger than their width. The growth rate of this nonlinear thin shell instability (NTSI) is found to increase with decreasing wavelength, in qualitative agreement with Vishniac's analysis. The NTSI saturates when the bending angle becomes large and the growth in the width of the slab pinches off the perturbation. After saturation, the slab remains greatly extended with an average density much less than the original slab density, supported primarily by supersonic turbulence within the slab. Linear perturbations are also found to be unstable in that they can lead to turbulent flow within the slab, although this response to linear perturbations is distinct from, and much less violent than the NTSI.Richard McCray  相似文献   

Earth rotation in the hipparcos reference frame     

J. Vondrak  C. Ron  I. Pešek 《Celestial Mechanics and Dynamical Astronomy》1996,66(1):115-122

New determination of the Earth orientation parameters (EOP), based on optical astrometry observations since the beginning of the century, is now under preparation by the Working group established by Commission 19 of the IAU. The Hipparcos catalog is to define the celestial reference frame in which the new series of EOP are to be described, The novelties of the prepared solution are the higher resolution (5 days) and more parameters estimated from the solution (celestial pole offsets, rheological parameters of the Earth, certain instrumental constants). The mathematical model of the solution is described, and the results based on the observations made with 46 instruments at 29 observatories and a preliminary Hipparcos catalog are presented.  相似文献   

On a global expansion of the disturbing function in the planar elliptic restricted three-body problem     

C. Beaugé 《Celestial Mechanics and Dynamical Astronomy》1996,64(4):313-350

Starting with a simple Taylor-based expansion of the inverse of the distance between two bodies, we are able to obtain a series expansion of the disturbing function of the three-body problem (planar elliptic case) which is valid for all points of the phase space outside the immediate vicinity of the collision points. In particular, the expansion is valid for very high values of the eccentricity of the perturbed body. Furthermore, in the case of an interior mean-motion resonant configuration, the above-mentioned expression is easily averaged with respect to the synodic period, yielding once again a global expansion of (R) valid for very high eccentricities.Comparisons between these results and the numerically computed exact function are presented for various resonances and values of the eccentricity. Maximum errors are determined in each case and their origin is established. Lastly, we discuss the applicability of the present expansion to practical problems.  相似文献   

Coordinate gauge conditions in theN-body equations of motion in the first-order post-Newtonian approximation of general relativity     

Rajat Roy  N. C. Rana 《Astrophysics and Space Science》1990,167(1):125-138

The explicit forms of the metric as well as the equations of motion in the first-order post-Newtonian approximation are worked out under several gauge conditions. It is noted that the so-called EIH (Einstein, Infeld, and Hoffman) equation of motion for an assembly ofN finite mass points mutually interacting via gravitation is identically obtained under three different gauge conditions, namely the harmonic gauge, Chandrasekhar gauge and a composite Chandrasekhar gauge used by Misneret al. (1970), even though the solutions for the metric are found to be all different. In one case the metric has a component apparently diverging, but finally generates regular affine connections so that the equations of motions become free from any singularity. By use of the Chandrasekhar gauge and his formulation, the second-order contribution to the acceleration of planets in the limit of test particle motion around the Sun has been calculated, the inclusion of which in the EIH set of the equations of motion would extend the relative accuracy of computing the total acceleration of any planet to better than one part in 10¹⁷.  相似文献   

2060 Chiron back to a minimum of brightness     

Daniela Lazzaro  Marcos A. Florczak  Alberto Betzler  Othon C. Winter  Silvia M. Giuliatti-Winter  Claudia A. Angeli  Dietmar W. Foryta 《Planetary and Space Science》1996,44(12):1547-1550

The results of photometric observations of comet/asteroid 2060 Chiron at the Observatório do Pico dos Dias (Brazil-OPD) and the Observatoire de Haute-Provence (France-OHP) during 1994 and 1995 are presented. The analysis of the data shows a decrease of 2060 Chiron brightness from its peak values of 1988–1991. The absolute magnitude, H_v, varies from a maximum of 6.6 in February 1994 up to a minimum of 6.8 in June 1995. Therefore 2060 Chiron is back to a minimum of activity close to that of 1983–1985. The slope parameter G is found to be G = 0.71 ± 0.15. It is suggested that the H-G magnitude system, generally adopted to present 2060 Chiron brightness, is not the most appropriate due to the cometary activity of this object.  相似文献   

Evidence in a glassy cosmic spherule from Antarctica for grazing incidence encounters with the Earth's atmosphere     

Matthew J. GENGE  Monica M. GRADY  Robert HUTCHISON 《Meteoritics & planetary science》1996,31(5):627-632

Abstract— Cosmic dust accreted by the Earth can be extensively reprocessed during atmospheric encounters. The textures and compositions of reprocessed material provide important constraints by which the processes affecting extraterrestrial matter in the Earth's atmosphere can be better understood. Here we report results on an unusual Antarctic glassy cosmic spherule that demonstrates strong textural evidence for at least two grazing incidence encounters with the Earth's atmosphere prior to final reentry. The particle consists of a central glassy core with four peripheral glass lobes that transect a silicate particle rim. The texture of the particle confirms previous theoretical speculations that some high velocity, low incidence angle interplanetary particles experience numerous encounters with the Earth's atmosphere and also indicates that micrometeorites demonstrating multiple melting episodes should be interpreted with caution.  相似文献   

measurement of noise power spectrum in photon counting PMT's and the effect of the observed (1/f) noise on astronomical photometry     

S. S. Raouf  A. R. Sadik  N. K. Wafi  K. M. Aboud 《Astrophysics and Space Science》1986,127(2):207-218

In astronomical photometry, the sensitivity of observations is limited by the dark counts of the photomultiplier tube. In the present work, the effect of dark count noise in photon counting systems is investigated by theory and experimental measurements. Dark counts are considered to be originating from two sources, namely: dc fluctuations and random pulses.Experimental measurements were carried out to determine noise effects in different operating regions of noise dominance. The results provide strong evidence that: in normal operating mode, where the effect of random pulses is dominant, dark counts do not follow Poisson statistics. The observed noise shows strong (1/f) power spectrum, where the observed noise power is found to increase with time of observation.The results are important in photon counting systems operating under dark count limited mode. The conclusions drawn can be useful in obtaining more accurate error estimates and in assessing astronomical photometric observations and data reduction techniques.  相似文献   

The discovery of new galaxy members in the NGC 5044 and 1052 groups     

N. P. F. MKay  C. G. Mundell †  S. Brough  Duncan A. Forbes  D. G. Barnes  P. A. James  P. Goudfrooij  V. Kozhurina-Platais  R. Whitaker 《Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society》2004,352(4):1121-1134

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A highly automated moving object detection package   总被引：1，自引：0，他引：1  

J.-M. Petit  M. Holman  H. Scholl  J. Kavelaars  B. Gladman † 《Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society》2004,347(2):471-480

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