A high-precision radial-velocity survey for other planetary systems     

William D. Cochran  Artie P. Hatzes 《Astrophysics and Space Science》1994,212(1-2):281-291

The precise measurement of variations in stellar radial velocities provides one of several promising methods of surveying a large sample of nearby solar type stars to detect planetary systems in orbit around them. The McDonald Observatory Planetary Search (MOPS) was started in 1987 September with the goal of detecting other nearby planetary systems. A stabilized I₂ gas absorption cell placed in front of the entrance slit to the McDonald Observatory 2.7 m telescope coudé spectrograph serves as the velocity metric. With this I₂ cell we can achieve radial velocity measurement precision better than 10 m s^–1 in an individual measurement. At this level we can detect a Jupiter-like planet around a solar-type star, and have some hope of detecting Saturn-like planets in a long-term survey. The detectability of planets is ultimately limited by stellar pulsation modes and photospheric motions. Monthly MOPS observing runs allow us to obtain at least 5 independent observations per year of the 33 solar-type (F5-K7) stars on our observing list. We present representative results from the first five years of the survey.Paper presented at the Conference onPlanetary Systems: Formation, Evolution, and Detection held 7–10 December, 1992 at CalTech, Pasadena, California, U.S.A.  相似文献   

Areas of Polar Coronal Holes from 1996 Through 2010     

S. A. Hess Webber  N. Karna  W. D. Pesnell  M. S. Kirk 《Solar physics》2014,289(11):4047-4067

Polar coronal holes (PCHs) trace the magnetic variability of the Sun throughout the solar cycle. Their size and evolution have been studied as proxies for the global magnetic field. We present measurements of the PCH areas from 1996 through 2010, derived from an updated perimeter-tracing method and two synoptic-map methods. The perimeter-tracing method detects PCH boundaries along the solar limb, using full-disk images from the SOlar and Heliospheric Observatory/Extreme ultraviolet Imaging Telescope (SOHO/EIT). One synoptic-map method uses the line-of-sight magnetic field from the SOHO/Michelson Doppler Imager (MDI) to determine the unipolarity boundaries near the poles. The other method applies thresholding techniques to synoptic maps created from EUV image data from EIT. The results from all three methods suggest that the solar maxima and minima of the two hemispheres are out of phase. The maximum PCH area, averaged over the methods in each hemisphere, is approximately 6 % during both solar minima spanned by the data (between Solar Cycles 22/23 and 23/24). The northern PCH area began a declining trend in 2010, suggesting a downturn toward the maximum of Solar Cycle 24 in that hemisphere, while the southern hole remained large throughout 2010.  相似文献   

Imaging Borrelly     

L.A Soderblom  D.C Boice  R.H Brown  R.L Kirk  R.M Nelson  B.R Sandel  N Thomas 《Icarus》2004,167(1):4-15

The nucleus, coma, and dust jets of short-period Comet 19P/Borrelly were imaged from the Deep Space 1 spacecraft during its close flyby in September 2001. A prominent jet dominated the near-nucleus coma and emanated roughly normal to the long axis of nucleus from a broad central cavity. We show it to have remained fixed in position for more than 34 hr, much longer than the 26-hr rotation period. This confirms earlier suggestions that it is co-aligned with the rotation axis. From a combination of fitting the nucleus light curve from approach images and the nucleus' orientation from stereo images at encounter, we conclude that the sense of rotation is right-handed around the main jet vector. The inferred rotation pole is approximately perpendicular to the long axis of the nucleus, consistent with a simple rotational state. Lacking an existing IAU comet-specific convention but applying a convention provisionally adopted for asteroids, we label this the north pole. This places the sub-solar latitude at ∼60° N at the time of the perihelion with the north pole in constant sunlight and thus receiving maximum average insolation.  相似文献   

Instruments, Detectors and the Future of Astronomy with Large Ground Based Telescopes     

Douglas A. Simons  Paola Amico  Dietrich Baade  Sam Barden  Randall Campbell  Gert Finger  Kirk Gilmore  Roland Gredel  Paul Hickson  Steve Howell  Norbert Hubin  Andreas Kaufer  Ralf Kohley  Philip MacQueen  Sergej Markelov  Mike Merrill  Satoshi Miyazaki  Hidehiko Nakaya  Darragh O'Donoghue  Tino Oliva  Andrea Richichi  Derrick Salmon  Ricardo Schmidt  Hongjun Su  Simon Tulloch  Maria Luisa García Vargas  R. Mark Wagner  Olivier Wiecha  Binxun Ye 《Experimental Astronomy》2005,19(1-3):15-44

Results of a survey of instrumentation and detector systems, either currently deployed or planned for use at telescopes larger than 3.5 m, in ground based observatories world-wide, are presented. This survey revealed a number of instrumentation design trends at optical, near, and mid-infrared wavelengths. Some of the most prominent trends include the development of vastly larger optical detector systems (> 10⁹ pixels) than anything built to date, and the frequent use of mosaics of near-infrared detectors – something that was quite rare only a decade ago in astronomy. Some future science applications for detectors are then explored, in an attempt to build a bridge between current detectors and what will be needed to support the research ambitions of astronomers in the future.  相似文献   

Polarimetry of Pluto     

Michel Breger  William D. Cochran 《Icarus》1982,49(1):120-124

The polarization of Pluto has been measured for a range of solar phase angles from 0.8 to 1.8°. A mean linear polarization of 0.29 ± 0.01% (error of the mean) was found. No dependence of both the amount of polarization and position angles with rotational phase or solar phase angle could be detected. The positional angles of polarization agree with calculated position angles of the defect of illumination and are therefore parallel to the scattering plane. The observed polarization cannot be explained as resulting purely from a surface material which is similar to asteroidal surfaces. A hypothesis of polarization from a thin atmosphere, in addition to the surface polarization, is advanced.  相似文献   

Effects of gravity-gradient torque on the rotational motion of A triaxial satellite in a precessing elliptic orbit     

John E. Cochran 《Celestial Mechanics and Dynamical Astronomy》1972,6(2):127-150

A method of general perturbations, based on the use of Lie series to generate approximate canonical transformations, is applied to study the effects of gravity-gradient torque on the rotational motion of a triaxial, rigid satellite. The center of mass of the satellite is constrained to move in an elliptic orbit about an attracting point mass. The orbit, which has a constant inclination, is free to precess and spin. The method of general perturbations is used to obtain the Hamiltonian for the nonresonant secular and long-period rotational motion of the satellite to second order inn/0, wheren is the orbital mean motion of the center of mass and0 is a reference value of the magnitude of the satellite's rotational angular velocity. The differential equations derivable from the transformed Hamiltonian are integrable and the solution for the long-term motion may be expressed in terms of Jacobian elliptic functions and elliptic integrals. Geometrical aspects of the long-term rotational motion are discussed and a comparison of theoretical results with observations is made.  相似文献   

Titan's surface at 2.2-cm wavelength imaged by the Cassini RADAR radiometer: Calibration and first results     

M.A. Janssen  R.D. Lorenz  F. Paganelli  R.L. Kirk  S.D. Wall  Y. Anderson  P. Callahan  G.A. Hamilton  L. Roth  A. Le Gall  the Cassini Radar Team 《Icarus》2009,200(1):222-239

The first comprehensive calibration and mapping of the thermal microwave emission from Titan's surface is reported based on radiometric data obtained at 2.2-cm wavelength by the passive radiometer included in the Cassini Radar instrument. The data reported were accumulated from 69 separate observational segments in Titan passes from Ta (October 2004) through T30 (May 2007) and include emission from 94% of Titan's surface. They are diverse in the key observing parameters of emission angle, polarization, and spatial resolution, and their reduction into calibrated global mosaic maps involved several steps. Analysis of the polarimetry obtained at low to moderate resolution (50+ km) enabled integration of the radiometry into a single mosaic of the equivalent brightness temperature at normal incidence with a relative precision of about 1 K. The Huygens probe measurement of Titan's surface temperature and radiometry obtained on Titan's dune fields allowed us to infer an absolute calibration estimated to be accurate to a level approaching 1 K. The results provide evidence for a surface that is complex and varied on large scales. The radiometry primarily constrains physical properties of the surface, where we see strong evidence for subsurface (volume) scattering as a dominant mechanism that determines the emissivity, with the possibility of a fluffy or graded-density surface layer in many regions. The results are consistent with, but not necessarily definitive of a surface composition resulting from the slow deposition and processing of organic compounds from the atmosphere.  相似文献   

A Multi-Wavelength Simultaneous Study of the Composition of the Halley Family Comet 8P/Tuttle     

E. Jehin  D. Bockelée-Morvan  N. Dello Russo  J. Manfroid  D. Hutsemékers  H. Kawakita  H. Kobayashi  R. Schulz  A. Smette  J. Stüwe  M. Weiler  C. Arpigny  N. Biver  A. Cochran  J. Crovisier  P. Magain  H. Rauer  H. Sana  R. J. Vervack  H. Weaver  J.-M. Zucconi 《Earth, Moon, and Planets》2009,105(2-4):343-349

We report on simultaneous optical and infrared observations of the Halley Family comet 8P/Tuttle performed with the ESO Very Large Telescope. Such multi-wavelength and coordinated observations are a good example of what can be done to support space missions. From high resolution optical spectroscopy of the CN (0,0) 388 nm and NH₂ (0,9,0) 610 nm bands using UVES at UT2 we determined ¹²C/¹³C = 90 ± 10 and ¹⁴N/¹⁵N = 150 ± 20 in CN and we derived a nuclear spin temperature of NH₃ of 29 ± 1 K. These values are similar to those found in Oort-Cloud and Jupiter Family comets. From low resolution long slit spectroscopy with FORS1 at UT2 we determined the CN, C₃ and C₂ production rates and the parent and daughter scale lengths up to 5.2 10⁵ km tailward. From high resolution IR spectroscopy with CRIRES at UT1 we measured simultaneously the production rates and mixing ratios of H₂O, HCN, C₂H₂, CH₄, C₂H₆, and CH₃OH.  相似文献   

A Comparative Plume Study of DRO,GRO, Benzene,and MTBE: Implications for Risk Management     

Kirk O'Reilly  Matthew A. Lahvis  George E. DeVaull  Andrew M. Deines 《Ground Water Monitoring & Remediation》2021,41(3):58-64

Groundwater remediation and no-further action decision making at petroleum underground storage tank (UST) sites has largely been based on an understanding of plume length, plume stability, and attenuation rates for key hydrocarbon constituents. Regulatory guidance to support and guide such decisions is based in part on plume studies involving individual hydrocarbon constituents, namely benzene and methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE). Questions remain regarding whether current guidance is applicable to chemical mixtures such as gasoline range organics (GRO), diesel range organics (DRO), and oxygen containing organic compounds (OCOCs) resulting from hydrocarbon biodegradation. To help address this concern, data from California's GeoTracker database were used to estimate maximum plume lengths, plume stability, and attenuation rates of DRO (which can be used as an analytical surrogate for OCOCs) and GRO relative to benzene and MTBE. The distributions of maximum plume lengths were similar for the four constituents with medians ranging from 27 to 32 m. The fraction of monitoring wells with a decreasing concentration trend ranged from 19% for DRO to 40% for MTBE, while fewer than 7% of the wells had an increasing concentration trend for any of the constituents. Median attenuation rates ranged from 0.10% day⁻¹ for DRO to 0.17% day⁻¹ for MTBE. The results suggest attenuation based risk management is appropriate for DRO and GRO plumes at most petroleum UST sites.  相似文献   

PAET,an entry probe experiment in the Earth's atmosphere     

Alvin Seiff  David E. Reese  Simon C. Sommer  Donn B. Kirk  Ellis E. Whiting  Hasso B. Niemann 《Icarus》1973,18(4):525-563

On June 20, 1971, an instrumented probe designated PAET entered the atmosphere near Bermuda at a velocity of 6.6 km/sec carrying experiments designed for use at planets other than the Earth. Instruments to measure in situ the structure and composition of the atmosphere included accelerometers, pressure and temperature sensors, a mass spectrometer, and a radiometer (to sense characteristic emission from the probe shock layer at high speeds).The experiments were largely successful. The thermal structure of the atmosphere, including two major reversals in gradient, was shown to be well defined to an altitude of 80 km by comparison with more conventional meteorological soundings. The atmospheric mean molecular weight was defined within a percent by the structure experiment. The radiometers defined the bulk composition accurately and the trace quantity of CO₂ to one significant figure. The mass spectrometer functioned properly, but failed to give the correct composition because of problems in its sampling system. Oxygen was depleted, apparently by chemical reactions before reaching the spectrometer, and the inlet leak conductance was reduced from its preflight value by an order of magnitude. There is reason to believe that contamination by large molecules from the heat shield was responsible. This experiment should stimulate intensive laboratory work on sampling systems, so that similar problems do not arise in measurements of atmospheric composition at the planets.Results of auxiliary experiments to measure atmospheric water vapor, vehicle dynamics and heating, and communications blackout are also given.  相似文献