Corot's 'gout' and a 'gipsy' girl.

Science.gov (United States)

Panush, R B; Caldwell, J R; Panush, R S

1990-09-05

Representations of rheumatic disease in art provide insight into artistic expression, help us understand the evolution and perhaps the etiology of rheumatic diseases, and remind us of great contributions by artists in adverse circumstances. We noted hand deformities characteristic of inflammatory arthritis in Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot's Gipsy Girl With Mandolin (1870 to 1875), National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC. Corot suffered with what probably was gout beginning in 1866. We are unaware that arthritis has been observed in Corot's subjects or that Corot's depiction of arthritis has been appreciated from the perspective of his own rheumatic disease. Examination of other Corot portraits identifies some with blurred hand details consistent with the artist's style and the remainder with normal hands. These observations suggest that the artist portrayed specific anatomic abnormalities in the "Gipsy Girl's" hand, indicating familiarity with inflammatory arthritis. It is speculative whether this was Corot's own or the model's arthritis; we favor the interpretation that Corot's gout was reflected in this particular work. We thus add a new perspective to Corot's Gipsy Girl With Mandolin-a subject with arthritis, a painter knowledgeable about arthritis, and a painting that therefore might be understood at least in part from an appreciation of the artist's specific illness.

Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy | Indian Academy of Sciences

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Home; Journals; Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy. Corot team. Articles written in Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy. Volume 21 Issue 3-4 September-December 2000 pp 319-322 Session VII – Magnetoconvection & Stellar Activity. The Space Stellar Photometry Mission COROT: Asteroseismology and Search for ...

CoRoT and Kepler results: Solar-like oscillators

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hekker, S.

2013-01-01

The space-borne observatories CoRoT (Convection Rotation and planetary Transits) and Kepler have provided photometric time series data of unprecedented precision for large numbers of stars. These data have revolutionized the fields of transiting exoplanets and asteroseismology. In this review some

BAGLIN ANNIE, The space stellar photometry mission COROT ...

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Since January 2016, the Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy has moved to Continuous Article Publishing (CAP) mode. This means that each accepted article is being published immediately online with DOI and article citation ID with starting page number 1. Articles are also visible in Web of Science immediately.

A 0.8-2.4 μm Transmission spectrum of the hot Jupiter CoRoT-1b

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Schlawin, E.; Herter, T. [Astronomy Department, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853 (United States); Zhao, M. [Department of Astronomy, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802 (United States); Teske, J. K. [Astronomy Department, The University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721 (United States)

2014-03-01

Hot Jupiters with brightness temperatures ≳2000 K can have TiO and VO molecules as gaseous species in their atmospheres. The TiO and VO molecules can potentially induce temperature inversions in hot Jupiter atmospheres and also have an observable signature of large optical to infrared transit depth ratios. Previous transmission spectra of very hot Jupiters have shown a lack of TiO and VO, but only in planets that also appear to lack temperature inversions. We measure the transmission spectrum of CoRoT-1b, a hot Jupiter that was predicted to have a temperature inversion potentially due to significant TiO and VO in its atmosphere. We employ the multi-object spectroscopy method using the SpeX and MORIS instruments on the Infrared Telescope Facility (IRTF) and the Gaussian process method to model red noise. By using a simultaneous reference star on the slit for calibration and a wide slit to minimize slit losses, we achieve transit depth precision of 0.03%-0.09%, comparable to the atmospheric scale height but detect no statistically significant molecular features. We combine our IRTF data with optical CoRoT transmission measurements to search for differences in the optical and near-infrared absorption that would arise from TiO/VO. Our IRTF spectrum and the CoRoT photometry disfavor a TiO/VO-rich spectrum for CoRoT-1b, suggesting that the atmosphere has another absorber that could create a temperature inversion or that the blackbody-like emission from the planet is due to a spectroscopically flat cloud, dust, or haze layer that smoothes out molecular features in both CoRoT-1b's emission and transmission spectra. This system represents the faintest planet hosting star (K = 12.2) with a measured planetary transmission spectrum.

Secondary eclipses in the CoRoT light curves

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Belmonte Juan Antonio

2013-04-01

Full Text Available We identify and characterize secondary eclipses in the original light curves of published CoRoT planets using uniform detection and evaluation criteria. Our analysis is based on a Bayesian statistics: the eclipse search is carried out using Bayesian model selection, and the characterization of the plausible eclipse candidates using Bayesian parameter estimation. We discover statistically significant eclipse events for two planets, CoRoT-6b and CoRoT-11b, and for one brown dwarf, CoRoT-15b. We also find marginally significant eclipse events passing our plausibility criteria for CoRoT-3b, 13b, 18b, and 21b, and confirm the previously published CoRoT-1b and CoRoT-2b eclipses.

Transiting exoplanets from the CoRoT space mission . XIII. CoRoT-13b: a dense hot Jupiter in transit around a star with solar metallicity and super-solar lithium content

Science.gov (United States)

Cabrera, J.; Bruntt, H.; Ollivier, M.; Díaz, R. F.; Csizmadia, Sz.; Aigrain, S.; Alonso, R.; Almenara, J.-M.; Auvergne, M.; Baglin, A.; Barge, P.; Bonomo, A. S.; Bordé, P.; Bouchy, F.; Carone, L.; Carpano, S.; Deleuil, M.; Deeg, H. J.; Dvorak, R.; Erikson, A.; Ferraz-Mello, S.; Fridlund, M.; Gandolfi, D.; Gazzano, J.-C.; Gillon, M.; Guenther, E. W.; Guillot, T.; Hatzes, A.; Havel, M.; Hébrard, G.; Jorda, L.; Léger, A.; Llebaria, A.; Lammer, H.; Lovis, C.; Mazeh, T.; Moutou, C.; Ofir, A.; von Paris, P.; Pätzold, M.; Queloz, D.; Rauer, H.; Rouan, D.; Santerne, A.; Schneider, J.; Tingley, B.; Titz-Weider, R.; Wuchterl, G.

2010-11-01

We announce the discovery of the transiting planet CoRoT-13b. Ground-based follow-up in CFHT and IAC80 confirmed CoRoT's observations. The mass of the planet was measured with the HARPS spectrograph and the properties of the host star were obtained analyzing HIRES spectra from the Keck telescope. It is a hot Jupiter-like planet with an orbital period of 4.04 days, 1.3 Jupiter masses, 0.9 Jupiter radii, and a density of 2.34 g cm-3. It orbits a G0V star with T_eff = 5 945 K, M* = 1.09 M⊙, R_* = 1.01 R⊙, solar metallicity, a lithium content of + 1.45 dex, and an estimated age of between 0.12 and 3.15 Gyr. The lithium abundance of the star is consistent with its effective temperature, activity level, and age range derived from the stellar analysis. The density of the planet is extreme for its mass, implies that heavy elements are present with a mass of between about 140 and 300 {M}⊕. The CoRoT space mission, launched on December 27th 2006, has been developed and is operated by CNES, with the contribution of Austria, Belgium, Brazil, ESA (RSSD and Science Programme), Germany and Spain. Part of the observations were obtained at the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope (CFHT) which is operated by the National Research Council of Canada, the Institut National des Sciences de l'Univers of the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique of France, and the University of Hawaii. Based on observations made with HARPS spectrograph on the 3.6-m European Organisation for Astronomical Research in the Southern Hemisphere telescope at La Silla Observatory, Chile (ESO program 184.C-0639). Based on observations made with the IAC80 telescope operated on the island of Tenerife by the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias in the Spanish Observatorio del Teide. Part of the data presented herein were obtained at the W. M. Keck Observatory, which is operated as a scientific partnership among the California Institute of Technology, the University of California and the National Aeronautics

TIME-DEPENDENT COROTATION RESONANCE IN BARRED GALAXIES

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wu, Yu-Ting; Taam, Ronald E. [Institute of Astronomy and Astrophysics, Academia Sinica, Taipei 10617, Taiwan (China); Pfenniger, Daniel, E-mail: ytwu@asiaa.sinica.edu.tw, E-mail: daniel.pfenniger@unige.ch, E-mail: taam@asiaa.sinica.edu.tw [Geneva Observatory, University of Geneva, CH-1290 Sauverny (Switzerland)

2016-10-20

The effective potential neighboring the corotation resonance region in barred galaxies is shown to be strongly time-dependent in any rotating frame, due to the competition of nearby perturbations of similar strengths with differing rotation speeds. Contrary to the generally adopted assumption that in the bar rotating frame the corotation region should possess four stationary equilibrium points (Lagrange points), with high quality N -body simulations, we localize the instantaneous equilibrium points (EPs) and find that they circulate or oscillate broadly in azimuth with respect to the pattern speeds of the inner or outer perturbations. This implies that at the particle level the Jacobi integral is not well conserved around the corotation radius. That is, angular momentum exchanges decouple from energy exchanges, enhancing the chaotic diffusion of stars through the corotation region.

Corotating Magnetic Reconnection Site in Saturn’s Magnetosphere

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yao, Z. H.; Coates, A. J.; Ray, L. C.; Rae, I. J.; Jones, G. H.; Owen, C. J.; Dunn, W. R.; Lewis, G. R. [UCL Mullard Space Science Laboratory, Dorking RH5 6NT (United Kingdom); Grodent, D.; Radioti, A.; Gérard, J.-C. [Laboratoire de Physique Atmosphérique et Planétaire, STAR institute, Université de Liège, B-4000 Liège (Belgium); Dougherty, M. K. [Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine, Space and Atmospheric Physics Group, Department of Physics, London SW7 2BW (United Kingdom); Guo, R. L. [Key Laboratory of Earth and Planetary Physics, Institute of Geology and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing (China); Pu, Z. Y. [School of Earth and Space Sciences, Peking University, Beijing (China); Waite, J. H., E-mail: z.yao@ucl.ac.uk [Southwest Research Institute, San Antonio, TX (United States)

2017-09-10

Using measurements from the Cassini spacecraft in Saturn’s magnetosphere, we propose a 3D physical picture of a corotating reconnection site, which can only be driven by an internally generated source. Our results demonstrate that the corotating magnetic reconnection can drive an expansion of the current sheet in Saturn’s magnetosphere and, consequently, can produce Fermi acceleration of electrons. This reconnection site lasted for longer than one of Saturn’s rotation period. The long-lasting and corotating natures of the magnetic reconnection site at Saturn suggest fundamentally different roles of magnetic reconnection in driving magnetospheric dynamics (e.g., the auroral precipitation) from the Earth. Our corotating reconnection picture could also potentially shed light on the fast rotating magnetized plasma environments in the solar system and beyond.

BRITE Constellation: data processing and photometry

Science.gov (United States)

Popowicz, A.; Pigulski, A.; Bernacki, K.; Kuschnig, R.; Pablo, H.; Ramiaramanantsoa, T.; Zocłońska, E.; Baade, D.; Handler, G.; Moffat, A. F. J.; Wade, G. A.; Neiner, C.; Rucinski, S. M.; Weiss, W. W.; Koudelka, O.; Orleański, P.; Schwarzenberg-Czerny, A.; Zwintz, K.

2017-09-01

Context. The BRIght Target Explorer (BRITE) mission is a pioneering space project aimed at the long-term photometric monitoring of the brightest stars in the sky by means of a constellation of nanosatellites. Its main advantage is high photometric accuracy and time coverage which are inaccessible from the ground. Its main drawback is the lack of cooling of the CCD detectors and the absence of good shielding that would protect them from energetic particles. Aims: The main aim of this paper is the presentation of procedures used to obtain high-precision photometry from a series of images acquired by the BRITE satellites in two modes of observing, stare and chopping. The other aim is a comparison of the photometry obtained with two different pipelines and a comparison of the real scatter with expectations. Methods: We developed two pipelines corresponding to the two modes of observing. They are based on aperture photometry with a constant aperture, circular for stare mode of observing and thresholded for chopping mode. Impulsive noise is a serious problem for observations made in the stare mode of observing and therefore in the pipeline developed for observations made in this mode, hot pixels are replaced using the information from shifted images in a series obtained during a single orbit of a satellite. In the other pipeline, the hot pixel replacement is not required because the photometry is made in difference images. Results: The assessment of the performance of both pipelines is presented. It is based on two comparisons, which use data from six runs of the UniBRITE satellite: (I) comparison of photometry obtained by both pipelines on the same data, which were partly affected by charge transfer inefficiency (CTI), (II) comparison of real scatter with theoretical expectations. It is shown that for CTI-affected observations, the chopping pipeline provides much better photometry than the other pipeline. For other observations, the results are comparable only for data

The Chrysalis Opens? Photometry from the η Carinae Hubble Space Telescope Treasury Project, 2002-2006

Science.gov (United States)

Martin, J. C.; Davidson, Kris; Koppelman, M. D.

2006-12-01

During the past decade η Car has brightened markedly, possibly indicating a change of state. Here we summarize photometry gathered by the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) as part of the HST Treasury Project on this object. Our data include Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (STIS) CCD acquisition images, Advanced Camera for Surveys HRC images in four filters, and synthetic photometry in flux-calibrated STIS spectra. The HST's spatial resolution allows us to examine the central star separate from the bright circumstellar ejecta. Its apparent brightness continued to increase briskly during 2002-2006, especially after the mid-2003 spectroscopic event. If this trend continues, the central star will soon become brighter than its ejecta, quite different from the state that existed only a few years ago. One precedent may be the rapid change observed in 1938-1953. We conjecture that the star's mass-loss rate has been decreasing throughout the past century. This research was conducted as part of the η Car Hubble Space Telescope Treasury project via grant GO-9973 from the Space Telescope Science Institute. HST is operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc., under NASA contract NAS5-26555. Some of the data presented in this paper were obtained from the Multimission Archive at the Space Telescope Science Institute (MAST). STScI is operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc., under NASA contract NAS5-26555. Support for MAST for non-HST data is provided by the NASA Office of Space Science via grant NAG5-7584 and by other grants and contracts.

Limits to the presence of transiting circumbinary planets in CoRoT Data

Science.gov (United States)

Klagyivik, P.; Deeg, H. J.; Cabrera, J.; Csizmadia, Sz.; Almenara, J. M.

2017-06-01

Aims: During its flight phase, from 2007-2012, the CoRoT mission delivered light curves for over 2000 eclipsing binaries. Data from the Kepler mission have proven the existence of several transiting circumbinary planets. While light curves from CoRoT typically have lower precision and shorter coverage, the number of CoRoT targets is similar to that of Kepler and some of the known circumbinary planets could potentially be detected in CoRoT data as well. The aim of this work was to reanalyse the entire CoRoT Data set to search for the presence of circumbinary planets and to derive limits on the abundances of such planets. Methods: We developed a code that removes the signatures of eclipsing binaries from the light curves, and searches for quasi-periodic, transit-like features in the light curves after removal of binary eclipses and instrumental features. The code requires little information on sample systems and can also be used for other space missions, such as Kepler, K2, TESS, and PLATO. The code is broad in the requirements leading to detections, but was tuned to deliver an amount of detections that are manageable in a subsequent, mainly visual, assessment of their origin. Results: We identified three planet candidates in the CoRoT sample whose transits would have arisen from a single pass across the central binary; however, no candidates with transit events from multiple planetary orbits remained. We calculated the upper limits for the number of Jupiter, Saturn-, and Neptune-sized planets in co-planar orbits for different orbital period ranges. We found that there are much fewer giant planets in short periodic orbits around close binary systems than around single stars. Full Table 1 is only available at the CDS via anonymous ftp to http://cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (http://130.79.128.5) or via http://cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr/viz-bin/qcat?J/A+A/602/A117

Transiting exoplanets from the CoRoT space mission

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ollivier, M.; Gillon, M.; Santerne, A.

2012-01-01

Aims. We report the discovery of CoRoT-16b, a low density hot jupiter that orbits a faint G5V star (mV = 15.63) in 5.3523 ± 0.0002 days with slight eccentricity. A fit of the data with no a priori assumptions on the orbit leads to an eccentricity of 0.33 ± 0.1. We discuss this value and also derive......RoT-16b is a 0.535 −0.083/+0.085 MJ, 1.17 −0.14/+0.16 RJ hot Jupiter with a density of 0.44 −0.14/+0.21 g cm-3. Despite its short orbital distance (0.0618 ± 0.0015 AU) and the age of the parent star (6.73 ± 2.8 Gyr), the planet orbit exhibits significantly non-zero eccentricity. This is very uncommon...

Response of Earth and Venus ionospheres to corotating solar wind stream of 3 July 1979

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Taylor, H.A. Jr.

1985-01-01

Corotating solar wind streams emanating from stable coronal structures provide an unique opportunity to compare the response of planetary ionospheres to the energy conveyed in the streams. For recurrent solar conditions the 'signal' propagating outward along spiral paths in interplanetary space can at times exhibit rather similar content at quite different downstream locations in the ecliptic plane. Using solar wind measurements from plasma detectors on ISEE-3, Pioneer Venus Orbiter (PVO) and Helios-A, as well as in-situ ion composition measurements from Bennett Ion Mass Spectrometers on the Atmosphere Explorer-E and PVO spacecraft, corotating stream interactions are examined at Earth and Venus. (Auth.)

Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy | Indian Academy of Sciences

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Home; Journals; Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy. Gerard Vauclair. Articles written in Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy. Volume 21 Issue 3-4 September-December 2000 pp 319-322 Session VII – Magnetoconvection & Stellar Activity. The Space Stellar Photometry Mission COROT: Asteroseismology and Search ...

Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy | Indian Academy of Sciences

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Home; Journals; Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy. Annie Baglin. Articles written in Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy. Volume 21 Issue 3-4 September-December 2000 pp 319-322 Session VII – Magnetoconvection & Stellar Activity. The Space Stellar Photometry Mission COROT: Asteroseismology and Search ...

Planetary transit candidates in CoRoT LRa01 field

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Carone, L.; Gandolfi, D.; Cabrera, J.

2012-01-01

We present the list of planetary transit candidates from the CoRoT LRa01 star field in the Monoceros constellation toward the Galactic anti-center direction. The CoRoT observations of LRa01 lasted from 24 October 2007 to 3 March 2008. We acquired and analyzed 7470 chromatic and 3938 monochromatic...... lightcurves. Instrumental noise and stellar variability were treated with several filtering tools by different teams from the CoRoT community. Different transit search algorithms were applied to the lightcurves. (2 data files)....

Close-up of primary and secondary asteroseismic CoRoT targets and the ground-based follow-up observations

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Uytterhoeven, K; Poretti, E; Rainer, M; Mantegazza, L [INAF-Brera Astronomical Observatory, Via E. Bianchi 46, 23807 Merate (Italy); Zima, W; Aerts, C; Morel, T; Lefever, K [Institute of Astronomy, KULeuven, Celestijnenlaan 200D, 3001 Leuven (Belgium); Miglio, A [Institut d' Astrophysique et de Geophysique de l' Universite de Liege, Allee du 6 Aout 17, 4000 Liege (Belgium); Amado, P J; MartIn-Ruiz, S [Instituto de AstrofIsica de AndalucIa (CSIC), Apartado 3004, 18080 Granada (Spain); Mathias, P; Valtier, J C [Observatoire de la Cote d' Azur, GEMINI, CNRS, Universite Nice Sophia-Antipolis, BP 4229, 06304 Nice Cedex 4 (France); Paparo, M; Benkoe, J M [Konkoly Observatory, PO Box 67, 1525 Budapest (Hungary)], E-mail: katrien.uytterhoeven@brera.inaf.it

2008-10-15

To optimise the science results of the asteroseismic part of the CoRoT satellite mission a complementary simultaneous ground-based observational campaign is organised for selected CoRoT targets. The observations include both high-resolution spectroscopic and multicolour photometric data. We present the preliminary results of the analysis of the ground-based observations of three targets. A line-profile analysis of 216 high-resolution FEROS spectra of the {delta} Sct star HD 50844 reveals more than ten pulsation frequencies in the frequency range 5-18 d{sup -1}, including possibly one radial fundamental mode (6.92 d{sup -1}). Based on more than 600 multi-colour photometric datapoints of the {beta} Cep star HD 180642, spanning about three years and obtained with different telescopes and different instruments, we confirm the presence of a dominant radial mode {nu}{sub 1} = 5.48695 d{sup -1}, and detect also its first two harmonics. We find evidence for a second mode {nu}{sub 2} = 0.3017 d{sup -1}, possibly a g-mode, and indications for two more frequencies in the 7-8 d{sup -1} domain. From Stromgren photometry we find evidence for the hybrid 5 Sct/{gamma} Dor character of the F0 star HD 44195, as frequencies near 3 d{sup -1} and 21 d{sup -1} are detected simultaneously in the different filters.

Stellar photometry with the Wide Field/Planetary Camera of the Hubble Space Telescope

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Holtzman, J.A.

1990-01-01

Simulations of Wide Field/Planetary Camera (WF/PC) images are analyzed in order to discover the most effective techniques for stellar photometry and to evaluate the accuracy and limitations of these techniques. The capabilities and operation of the WF/PC and the simulations employed in the study are described. The basic techniques of stellar photometry and methods to improve these techniques for the WF/PC are discussed. The correct parameters for star detection, aperture photometry, and point-spread function (PSF) fitting with the DAOPHOT software of Stetson (1987) are determined. Consideration is given to undersampling of the stellar images by the detector; variations in the PSF; and the crowding of the stellar images. It is noted that, with some changes DAOPHOT, is able to generate photometry almost to the level of photon statistics. 10 refs

A corotation electric field model of the Earth derived from Swarm satellite magnetic field measurements

Science.gov (United States)

Maus, Stefan

2017-08-01

Rotation of the Earth in its own geomagnetic field sets up a primary corotation electric field, compensated by a secondary electric field of induced electrical charges. For the geomagnetic field measured by the Swarm constellation of satellites, a derivation of the global corotation electric field inside and outside of the corotation region is provided here, in both inertial and corotating reference frames. The Earth is assumed an electrical conductor, the lower atmosphere an insulator, followed by the corotating ionospheric E region again as a conductor. Outside of the Earth's core, the induced charge is immediately accessible from the spherical harmonic Gauss coefficients of the geomagnetic field. The charge density is positive at high northern and southern latitudes, negative at midlatitudes, and increases strongly toward the Earth's center. Small vertical electric fields of about 0.3 mV/m in the insulating atmospheric gap are caused by the corotation charges located in the ionosphere above and the Earth below. The corotation charges also flow outward into the region of closed magnetic field lines, forcing the plasmasphere to corotate. The electric field of the corotation charges further extends outside of the corotating regions, contributing radial outward electric fields of about 10 mV/m in the northern and southern polar caps. Depending on how the magnetosphere responds to these fields, the Earth may carry a net electric charge.

Servo Driven Corotation: Development of AN Inertial Clock.

Science.gov (United States)

Cheung, Wah-Kwan Stephen

An inertial clock to test non-metricity of gravity is proposed here. A first, room-temperature, servo corotation -protected, double magnetically suspended precision rotor system is developed for this purpose. The specific goal was to exhibit the properties of such a clock in its entirety at whatever level of precision was achievable. A monolithic system has been completed for these preliminary studies. It includes particular development of individual experimental sub-systems (a hybrid double magnetic suspension; a diffusion pumping system; a microcomputer -controlled eddy-current drive system; and the angular period measuring schemes for the doubly suspended rotors). Double magnetic suspension had been investigated by Beams for other purposes. The upper transducer is optical but parametrized and the lower transducer employs the frequency modulation characteristic of a LC tank circuit. The doubly suspended rotors corotate so that the upper rotor is servoed to rotate at the same angular velocity as that of the lower rotor. This creates a "drag free" environment for the lower rotor and effectively eliminates the gas drag on the lower rotor. Consequently, the decay time constant of the lower rotor increases. With other means of protection, the lower rotor will then, with perfect system operation, suffer no drag and therefore become the inertial time keeper. A commercial microcomputer is introduced to execute the servo-corotation. The tests thus far are, with one exception, run at atmospheric pressure. An idealized analysis for open and closed loop corotation is shown. Such analysis includes only the viscous drag acting on the corotating rotors. The analysis suggests that angular position control be added to the present feedback drive which is of derivative nature only. Open and closed corotation runs show that a strong torsional coupling besides that of the gas drag exists between the rotors. When misalignment of the support pole pieces is deliberately made significant

ARCHANGEL: Galaxy Photometry System

Science.gov (United States)

Schombert, James

2011-07-01

ARCHANGEL is a Unix-based package for the surface photometry of galaxies. While oriented for large angular size systems (i.e. many pixels), its tools can be applied to any imaging data of any size. The package core contains routines to perform the following critical galaxy photometry functions: sky determination; frame cleaning; ellipse fitting; profile fitting; and total and isophotal magnitudes. The goal of the package is to provide an automated, assembly-line type of reduction system for galaxy photometry of space-based or ground-based imaging data. The procedures outlined in the documentation are flux independent, thus, these routines can be used for non-optical data as well as typical imaging datasets. ARCHANGEL has been tested on several current OS's (RedHat Linux, Ubuntu Linux, Solaris, Mac OS X). A tarball for installation is available at the download page. The main routines are Python and FORTRAN based, therefore, a current installation of Python and a FORTRAN compiler are required. The ARCHANGEL package also contains Python hooks to the PGPLOT package, an XML processor and network tools which automatically link to data archives (i.e. NED, HST, 2MASS, etc) to download images in a non-interactive manner.

VizieR Online Data Catalog: CoRoT observation log (N2-4.4) (CoRoT, 2009-2016)

Science.gov (United States)

COROT Team

2014-03-01

CoRoT is a space astronomy mission devoted to the study of the variability with time of stars brightness, with an extremely high accuracy (100 times better than from the ground), on very long durations (up to 150 days) and a very high duty cycle (more than 90%). The mission was led by CNES in association with four french laboratories, and 7 participating countries and agencies (Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Germany, Spain, and the ESA Science Programme). The satellite is composed of a PROTEUS platform (the 3rd in the serie), and a unique instrument: a stellar photometer. It has been launched on December 27th 2006 by a Soyuz Rocket, from Baikonour. The mission has lasted almost 6 years (the nominal 3 years duration and a 3 years extension) and has observed more than 160 000 stars. It stopped to send data suddenly on November 2nd 2012. CoRoT is performing Ultra High Precision Photomery of Stars to detect and characterise the variability of their luminosity with two main directions: - variability of the object itself: oscillations, rotation, magnetic activity - variability due to external causes as bodies in orbit around the star: planets and stars The original scientific objectives were focussed on the study of stellar pulsations (asteroseismology) to probe the internal structure of stars, and the detection of small exoplanets through their "transit in front of their host star, and the measurement of their size. This lead to introduce two modes of observations, working simultaneously: - The bright star mode dedicated to very precise seismology of a small sample of bright and closeby stars (data presented in file momentarily named "astero.dat", but should change in the near future to to "bright star.dat") - The faint star mode, observing a very large number of stars at the same time, to detect transits, which are rare events, as they imply the alignment of the star, the planet and the observer (data presented in momentarily named "exo.dat" but should change in the near

Corotation torques in the solar nebula - the cutoff function

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ward, W.R.

1989-01-01

The behavior of high-order corotation resonances in a disk of finite thickness is examined. The torque exerted at an mth-order resonance is determined by employing a vertically averaged disturbing function, and the ratio of this torque to that exerted on a cold, two-dimensional disk is identified as the so-called torque cutoff function. This function is then used to calculate contributions from the corotation torques to eccentricity variations of a perturber's orbit assumed orbiting in the disk. 11 references

Calibration of the MACHO Photometry Database

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Alcock, C.; Allsman, R. A.; Alves, D. R.; Axelrod, T. S.; Becker, A. C.; Bennett, D. P.; Cook, K. H.; Drake, A. J.; Freeman, K. C.; Geha, M.

1999-01-01

The MACHO Project is a microlensing survey that monitors the brightnesses of ∼60 million stars in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC), Small Magellanic Cloud, and Galactic bulge. Our database presently contains about 80 billion photometric measurements, a significant fraction of all astronomical photometry. We describe the calibration of MACHO two-color photometry and transformation to the standard Kron-Cousins V and R system. Calibrated MACHO photometry may be properly compared with all other observations on the Kron-Cousins standard system, enhancing the astrophysical value of these data. For ∼9 million stars in the LMC bar, independent photometric measurements of ∼20,000 stars with V(less-or-similar sign)18 mag in field-overlap regions demonstrate an internal precision σ V =0.021, σ R =0.019, σ V-R =0.028 mag. The accuracy of the zero point in this calibration is estimated to be ±0.035 mag for stars with colors in the range -0.1 mag< V-R<1.2 mag. A comparison of calibrated MACHO photometry with published photometric sequences and new Hubble Space Telescope observations shows agreement. The current calibration zero-point uncertainty for the remainder of the MACHO photometry database is estimated to be ±0.10 mag in V or R and ±0.04 mag in V-R. We describe the first application of calibrated MACHO data: the construction of a color-magnitude diagram used to calculate our experimental sensitivity for detecting microlensing in the LMC. (c) (c) 1999. The Astronomical Society of the Pacific

Calibration of the MACHO Photometry Database

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Alcock, C.; Allsman, R. A.; Alves, D. R.; Axelrod, T. S.; Becker, A. C.; Bennett, D. P.; Cook, K. H.; Drake, A. J.; Freeman, K. C.; Geha, M. (and others)

1999-12-01

The MACHO Project is a microlensing survey that monitors the brightnesses of {approx}60 million stars in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC), Small Magellanic Cloud, and Galactic bulge. Our database presently contains about 80 billion photometric measurements, a significant fraction of all astronomical photometry. We describe the calibration of MACHO two-color photometry and transformation to the standard Kron-Cousins V and R system. Calibrated MACHO photometry may be properly compared with all other observations on the Kron-Cousins standard system, enhancing the astrophysical value of these data. For {approx}9 million stars in the LMC bar, independent photometric measurements of {approx}20,000 stars with V(less-or-similar sign)18 mag in field-overlap regions demonstrate an internal precision {sigma}{sub V} =0.021, {sigma}{sub R} =0.019, {sigma}{sub V-R} =0.028 mag. The accuracy of the zero point in this calibration is estimated to be {+-}0.035 mag for stars with colors in the range -0.1 magphotometry with published photometric sequences and new Hubble Space Telescope observations shows agreement. The current calibration zero-point uncertainty for the remainder of the MACHO photometry database is estimated to be {+-}0.10 mag in V or R and {+-}0.04 mag in V-R. We describe the first application of calibrated MACHO data: the construction of a color-magnitude diagram used to calculate our experimental sensitivity for detecting microlensing in the LMC. (c) (c) 1999. The Astronomical Society of the Pacific.

Exploration of the brown dwarf regime around solar-like stars by CoRoT

OpenAIRE

Csizmadia, Szilárd

2016-01-01

Aims. A summary of the CoRoT brown dwarf investigations are presented. Methods. Transiting brown dwarfs around solar like stars were studied by using the photometric time-series of CoRoT, and ground based radial velocity measurements. Results. CoRoT detected three transiting brown dwarfs around F and G dwarf stars. The occurence rate of brown dwarfs was found to be 0.20 +/- 0.15% around solar-like stars which is compatible with the value obtained by Kepler-data.

Noise Originating from Intra-pixel Structure and Satellite Attitude Jitter on COROT

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Karoff, Christoffer; Arentoft, Torben; Kjeldsen, Hans

2006-01-01

We present a study on noise in space-based photometry originating from sensitivity variations within individual pixels, known as intra-pixel variations, and satellite attitude jitter. We have measured the intra-pixel structure on an e2v 47-20 CCD and made simulations of the effects these structur...

HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE PHOTOMETRY OF GLOBULAR CLUSTERS IN M81

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nantais, Julie B.; Huchra, John P.; Zezas, Andreas; Gazeas, Kosmas; Strader, Jay

2011-01-01

We perform aperture photometry and profile fitting on 419 globular cluster (GC) candidates with m V ≤ 23 mag identified in Hubble Space Telescope/Advanced Camera for Surveys BVI imaging, and estimate the effective radii of the clusters. We identify 85 previously known spectroscopically confirmed clusters, and newly identify 136 objects as good cluster candidates within the 3σ color and size ranges defined by the spectroscopically confirmed clusters, yielding a total of 221 probable GCs. The luminosity function peak for the 221 probable GCs with estimated total dereddening applied is V ∼ (20.26 ± 0.13) mag, corresponding to a distance of ∼3.7 ± 0.3 Mpc. The blue and red GC candidates, and the metal-rich and metal-poor spectroscopically confirmed clusters, respectively, are similar in half-light radius. Red confirmed clusters are about 6% larger in median half-light radius than blue confirmed clusters, and red and blue good GC candidates are nearly identical in half-light radius. The total population of confirmed and 'good' candidates shows an increase in half-light radius as a function of galactocentric distance.

Corotating pressure waves without streams in the solar wind

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Burlaga, L.F.

1983-01-01

Voyager 1 and 2 magnetic field and plasma data are presented which demonstrate the existence of large scale, corotating, non-linear pressure waves between 2 AU and 4 AU that are not accompanied by fast streams. The pressure waves are presumed to be generated by corotating streams near the Sun. For two of the three pressure waves that are discussed, the absence of a stream is probably a real, physical effect, viz., a consequence of deceleration of the stream by the associated compression wave. For the third pressure wave, the apparent absence of a stream may be a geometrical effect it is likely that the stream was at latitudes just above those of the spacecraft, while the associated shocks and compression wave extended over a broader range of latitudes so that they could be observed by the spacecraft. It is suggested that the development of large-scale non-linear pressure waves at the expense of the kinetic energy of streams produces a qualitative change in the solar wind in the outer heliosphere. Within a few AU the quasi-stationary solar wind structure is determined by corotating streams whose structure is determined by the boundary conditions near the Sun

Optical photometry of galaxies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Comte, G.

1981-01-01

The present status of the optical and near-infrared photometry of galaxies is reviewed. Part I introduces to the goals and general methods of both photographic surface photometry and integrated multicolor aperture photoelectric photometry for extended stellar systems, with a summary of the necessary corrections to the observed magnitudes and colors. Part II (surface photometry) summarizes recent results on the empirical luminosity laws for spheroidal systems and the separation of components in disk-plus-bulge systems. Part III (color problems) discusses integrated color effects (color and gas content, color-absolute magnitude relation for early-type systems, colors of interacting galaxies) and color gradient across spheroidal and disk galaxies. In part IV are summarized some constraints on the luminosity function of the stellar population in spheroidal systems given by narrow-band photometry [fr

CoRoT 101186644 : A transiting low-mass dense M-dwarf on an eccentric 20.7-day period orbit around a late F-star. Discovered in the CoRoT lightcurves

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Tal-Or, L.; Mazeh, T.; Alonso, R.; Bouchy, F.; Cabrera, J.; Deeg, H.; Deleuil, M.; Faigler, S.; Fridlund, M.; Hébrard, G.; Moutou, C.; Santerne, A.; Tingley, B.

2013-01-01

We present the study of the CoRoT transiting planet candidate 101186644, also named LRc01_E1_4780. Analysis of the CoRoT lightcurve and the HARPS spectroscopic follow-up observations of this faint (m$_V$ = 16) candidate revealed an eclipsing binary composed of a late F-type primary (T$_{eff}$ = 6090

GAUDI: A Preparatory Archive for the COROT Mission

Science.gov (United States)

Solano, E.; Catala, C.; Garrido, R.; Poretti, E.; Janot-Pacheco, E.; Gutiérrez, R.; González, R.; Mantegazza, L.; Neiner, C.; Fremat, Y.; Charpinet, S.; Weiss, W.; Amado, P. J.; Rainer, M.; Tsymbal, V.; Lyashko, D.; Ballereau, D.; Bouret, J. C.; Hua, T.; Katz, D.; Lignières, F.; Lüftinger, T.; Mittermayer, P.; Nesvacil, N.; Soubiran, C.; van't Veer-Menneret, C.; Goupil, M. J.; Costa, V.; Rolland, A.; Antonello, E.; Bossi, M.; Buzzoni, A.; Rodrigo, C.; Aerts, C.; Butler, C. J.; Guenther, E.; Hatzes, A.

2005-01-01

The GAUDI database (Ground-based Asteroseismology Uniform Database Interface) is a preparatory archive for the COROT (Convection, Rotation, and Planetary Transits) mission developed at the Laboratorio de Astrofísica Espacial y Física Fundamental (Laboratory for Space Astrophysics and Theoretical Physics, Spain). Its intention is to make the ground-based observations obtained in preparation of the asteroseismology program available in a simple and efficient way. It contains spectroscopic and photometric data together with inferred physical parameters for more than 1500 objects gathered since 1998 January 1998 in 6 years of observational campaigns. In this paper, the main functions and characteristics of the system are described. Based on observations collected at La Silla (ESO proposals 67.D-0169, 69.D-0166, and 70.D-0110), Telescopio Nazionale Galileo (proposal 6-20-068), Observatoire de Haute-Provence, the South African Astronomical Observatory, Tautenburg Observatory, and Sierra Nevada Observatory.

Characteristics of solar-like oscillations in red giants observed in the CoRoT exoplanet field

Science.gov (United States)

Hekker, S.; Kallinger, T.; Baudin, F.; De Ridder, J.; Barban, C.; Carrier, F.; Hatzes, A. P.; Weiss, W. W.; Baglin, A.

2009-10-01

Context: Observations during the first long run (~150 days) in the exo-planet field of CoRoT increase the number of G-K giant stars for which solar-like oscillations are observed by a factor of 100. This opens the possibility to study the characteristics of their oscillations in a statistical sense. Aims: We aim to understand the statistical distribution of the frequencies of maximum oscillation power (ν_max) in red giants and to search for a possible correlation between ν_max and the large separation (Δ ν). Methods: Red giants with detectable solar-like oscillations are identified using both semi-automatic and manual procedures. For these stars, we determine ν_max as the centre of a Gaussian fit to the oscillation power excess. For the determination of Δ ν, we use the autocorrelation of the Fourier spectra, the comb response function and the power spectrum of the power spectrum. Results: The resulting ν_max distribution shows a pronounced peak between 20-40 μHz. For about half of the stars we obtain Δ ν with at least two methods. The correlation between ν_max and Δ ν follows the same scaling relation as inferred for solar-like stars. Conclusions: The shape of the ν_max distribution can partly be explained by granulation at low frequencies and by white noise at high frequencies, but the population density of the observed stars turns out to be also an important factor. From the fact that the correlation between Δ ν and ν_max for red giants follows the same scaling relation as obtained for sun-like stars, we conclude that the sound travel time over the pressure scale height of the atmosphere scales with the sound travel time through the whole star irrespective of evolution. The fraction of stars for which we determine Δ ν does not correlate with ν_max in the investigated frequency range, which confirms theoretical predictions. The CoRoT space mission which was developed and is operated by the French space agency CNES, with participation of ESA

Transiting exoplanets from the CoRoT space mission. XXIII. CoRoT-21b: a doomed large Jupiter around a faint subgiant star

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pätzold, M.; Endl, M.; Csizmadia, Sz.

2012-01-01

-up observations, however, were performed mainly by the 10-m Keck telescope in January 2010. The companion CoRoT-21b is a Jupiter-like planet of 2.26 ± 0.33 Jupiter masses and 1.30 ± 0.14 Jupiter radii in an circular orbit of semi-major axis 0.0417 ± 0.0011 AU and an orbital period of 2.72474 ± 0.00014 days....... The planetary bulk density is (1.36   ±   0.48) × 103 kg m-3, very similar to the bulk density of Jupiter, and follows an M1/3 − R relation like Jupiter. The F8IV star is a sub-giant star of 1.29 ± 0.09 solar masses and 1.95 ± 0.2 solar radii. The star and the planet exchange extremetidal forces that will lead...

Photometric redshifts for weak lensing tomography from space: the role of optical and near infrared photometry

Science.gov (United States)

Abdalla, F. B.; Amara, A.; Capak, P.; Cypriano, E. S.; Lahav, O.; Rhodes, J.

2008-07-01

We study in detail the photometric redshift requirements needed for tomographic weak gravitational lensing in order to measure accurately the dark energy equation of state. In particular, we examine how ground-based photometry (u, g, r, i, z, y) can be complemented by space-based near-infrared (near-IR) photometry (J, H), e.g. onboard the planned DUNE satellite. Using realistic photometric redshift simulations and an artificial neural network photo-z method we evaluate the figure of merit for the dark energy parameters (w0, wa). We consider a DUNE-like broad optical filter supplemented with ground-based multiband optical data from surveys like the Dark Energy Survey, Pan-STARRS and LSST. We show that the dark energy figure of merit would be improved by a factor of 1.3-1.7 if IR filters are added onboard DUNE. Furthermore we show that with IR data catastrophic photo-z outliers can be removed effectively. There is an interplay between the choice of filters, the magnitude limits and the removal of outliers. We draw attention to the dependence of the results on the galaxy formation scenarios encoded into the mock galaxies, e.g. the galaxy reddening. For example, very deep u-band data could be as effective as the IR. We also find that about 105-106 spectroscopic redshifts are needed for calibration of the full survey.

Existence of a component corotating with the earth in high-latitude disturbance magnetic fields

Science.gov (United States)

Suzuki, A.; Kim, J. S.; Sugiura, M.

1982-01-01

A study of the data from the high-latitude North American IMS network of magnetic stations suggests that there is a component in substorm perturbations that corotates with the earth. It is as yet not certain whether the existence of this component stems from the corotation of a part of the magnetospheric plasma involved in the substorm mechanism or if it is a 'phase change' resulting from the control of the substorm manifestations by the earth's main magnetic field which is not axially symmetric. There are other geophysical phenomena showing a persistence of longitudinal variations corotating with the earth. These phenomena are of significance for a better understanding of ionosphere-magnetosphere coupling.

SUPERNOVA REMNANTS AND THE INTERSTELLAR MEDIUM OF M83: IMAGING AND PHOTOMETRY WITH THE WIDE FIELD CAMERA 3 ON THE HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dopita, Michael A.; Blair, William P.; Kuntz, Kip D.; Long, Knox S.; Mutchler, Max; Whitmore, Bradley C.; Bond, Howard E.; MacKenty, John; Balick, Bruce; Calzetti, Daniela; Carollo, Marcella; Disney, Michael; Frogel, Jay A.; O'Connell, Robert; Hall, Donald; Holtzman, Jon A.; Kimble, Randy A.; McCarthy, Patrick; Paresce, Francesco; Saha, Abhijit

2010-01-01

We present Wide Field Camera 3 images taken with the Hubble Space Telescope within a single field in the southern grand design star-forming galaxy M83. Based on their size, morphology, and photometry in continuum-subtracted Hα, [S II], Hβ, [O III], and [O II] filters, we have identified 60 supernova remnant (SNR) candidates, as well as a handful of young ejecta-dominated candidates. A catalog of these remnants, their sizes and, where possible, their Hα fluxes are given. Radiative ages and pre-shock densities are derived from those SNRs that have good photometry. The ages lie in the range 2.62 rad /yr) 0 /cm -3 min = 16 +7 -5 M sun . Finally, we give evidence for the likely detection of the remnant of the historical supernova, SN1968L.

The Roles of Tidal Evolution and Evaporative Mass Loss in the Origin of CoRoT-7 b

Science.gov (United States)

Jackson, Brian; Miller, Neil; Barnes, Rory; Raymond, Sean N.; Fortney, Jonathan J.; Greenberg, Richard

2010-01-01

CoRoT-7 b is the first confirmed rocky exoplanet, but, with an orbital semimajor axis of 0.0172 au, its origins may be unlike any rocky planet in our Solar System. In this study, we consider the roles of tidal evolution and evaporative mass loss in CoRoT-7 b's history, which together have modified the planet's mass and orbit. If CoRoT-7 b has always been a rocky body, evaporation may have driven off almost half its original mass, but the mass loss may depend sensitively on the extent of tidal decay of its orbit. As tides caused CoRoT-7 b's orbit to decay, they brought the planet closer to its host star, thereby enhancing the mass loss rate. Such a large mass loss also suggests the possibility that CoRoT-7 b began as a gas giant planet and had its original atmosphere completely evaporated. In this case, we find that CoRoT-7 b's original mass probably did not exceed 200 Earth masses (about two-third of a Jupiter mass). Tides raised on the host star by the planet may have significantly reduced the orbital semimajor axis, perhaps causing the planet to migrate through mean-motion resonances with the other planet in the system, CoRoT-7 c. The coupling between tidal evolution and mass loss may be important not only for CoRoT-7 b but also for other close-in exoplanets, and future studies of mass loss and orbital evolution may provide insight into the origin and fate of close-in planets, both rocky and gaseous.

Decrease of the atmospheric co-rotation with height

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Membrado, M; Pacheco, A F

2010-01-01

Considering our atmosphere as a steady viscous gaseous envelope that co-rotates with the Earth, we obtain a solution for the form in which this induced rotational effect decreases as a function of the distances to the centre of the Earth and to the rotation axis.

The COROT ground-based archive and access system

Science.gov (United States)

Solano, E.; González-Riestra, R.; Catala, C.; Baglin, A.

2002-01-01

A prototype of the COROT ground-based archive and access system is presented here. The system has been developed at LAEFF and it is based on the experience gained at Laboratorio de Astrofisica Espacial y Fisica Fundamental (LAEFF) with the INES (IUE Newly Extracted System) Archive.

Semi-empirical seismic relations of A-F stars from COROT and Kepler legacy data

Science.gov (United States)

Moya, A.; Suárez, J. C.; García Hernández, A.; Mendoza, M. A.

2017-10-01

Asteroseismology is witnessing a revolution, thanks to high-precise asteroseismic space data (MOST, COROT, Kepler, BRITE) and their large ground-based follow-up programs. Those instruments have provided an unprecedented large amount of information, which allows us to scrutinize its statistical properties in the quest for hidden relations among pulsational and/or physical observables. This approach might be particularly useful for stars whose pulsation content is difficult to interpret. This is the case of intermediate-mass classical pulsating stars (I.e. γ Dor, δ Scuti, hybrids) for which current theories do not properly predict the observed oscillation spectra. Here, we establish a first step in finding such hidden relations from data mining techniques for these stars. We searched for those hidden relations in a sample of δ Scuti and hybrid stars observed by COROT and Kepler (74 and 153, respectively). No significant correlations between pairs of observables were found. However, two statistically significant correlations emerged from multivariable correlations in the observed seismic data, which describe the total number of observed frequencies and the largest one, respectively. Moreover, three different sets of stars were found to cluster according to their frequency density distribution. Such sets are in apparent agreement with the asteroseismic properties commonly accepted for A-F pulsating stars.

Excitation of density waves at the Lindblad and corotation resonances by an external potential

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Goldreich, P.; Tremaine, S.

1979-01-01

We calculate the linear response of a differentially rotating two-dimensional gas disk to a rigidly rotating external potential. The main assumptions are that the sound speed is much smaller than the orbital velocity and that the external potential varies on the scale of the disk radius. We investigate disks both with and without self-gravity.The external potential exerts torques on the disk only at the Lindblad and corotation resonances. The torque is positive at the outer Lindblad resonance and negative at the inner Lindblad resonance; at corotation the torque has the sign of the radial gradient of vorticity per unit surface density. The torques are of the same order of magnitude at both types of resonance and are independent of the sound speed in the disk.The external potential also excites density waves in the vicinity of the Lindblad and corotation resonances. The long trailing wave is excited at a Lindblad resonance. It transports away from the resonance all of the angular momentum which is deposited there by the external torque. Short trailing waves are excited at the corotation resonance. The amplitudes of the excited waves are the same on both sides of the resonance and are small unless the disk is almost gravitationally unstable. No net angular momentum is transported away from the corotation region by the waves. Thus the angular momentum deposited there by the external torque accumulates in the gas.We briefly discuss the behavior of particle disks and prove that the external torques on particle disks are identical to those on gas disks

Aperture Photometry Tool

Science.gov (United States)

Laher, Russ R.; Gorjian, Varoujan; Rebull, Luisa M.; Masci, Frank J.; Fowler, John W.; Helou, George; Kulkarni, Shrinivas R.; Law, Nicholas M.

2012-07-01

Aperture Photometry Tool (APT) is software for astronomers and students interested in manually exploring the photometric qualities of astronomical images. It is a graphical user interface (GUI) designed to allow the image data associated with aperture photometry calculations for point and extended sources to be visualized and, therefore, more effectively analyzed. The finely tuned layout of the GUI, along with judicious use of color-coding and alerting, is intended to give maximal user utility and convenience. Simply mouse-clicking on a source in the displayed image will instantly draw a circular or elliptical aperture and sky annulus around the source and will compute the source intensity and its uncertainty, along with several commonly used measures of the local sky background and its variability. The results are displayed and can be optionally saved to an aperture-photometry-table file and plotted on graphs in various ways using functions available in the software. APT is geared toward processing sources in a small number of images and is not suitable for bulk processing a large number of images, unlike other aperture photometry packages (e.g., SExtractor). However, APT does have a convenient source-list tool that enables calculations for a large number of detections in a given image. The source-list tool can be run either in automatic mode to generate an aperture photometry table quickly or in manual mode to permit inspection and adjustment of the calculation for each individual detection. APT displays a variety of useful graphs with just the push of a button, including image histogram, x and y aperture slices, source scatter plot, sky scatter plot, sky histogram, radial profile, curve of growth, and aperture-photometry-table scatter plots and histograms. APT has many functions for customizing the calculations, including outlier rejection, pixel “picking” and “zapping,” and a selection of source and sky models. The radial-profile-interpolation source

DustPedia: Multiwavelength photometry and imagery of 875 nearby galaxies in 42 ultraviolet-microwave bands

Science.gov (United States)

Clark, C. J. R.; Verstocken, S.; Bianchi, S.; Fritz, J.; Viaene, S.; Smith, M. W. L.; Baes, M.; Casasola, V.; Cassara, L. P.; Davies, J. I.; De Looze, I.; De Vis, P.; Evans, R.; Galametz, M.; Jones, A. P.; Lianou, S.; Madden, S.; Mosenkov, A. V.; Xilouris, M.

2018-01-01

Aims: The DustPedia project is capitalising on the legacy of the Herschel Space Observatory, using cutting-edge modelling techniques to study dust in the 875 DustPedia galaxies - representing the vast majority of extended galaxies within 3000 km s-1 that were observed by Herschel. This work requires a database of multiwavelength imagery and photometry that greatly exceeds the scope (in terms of wavelength coverage and number of galaxies) of any previous local-Universe survey. Methods: We constructed a database containing our own custom Herschel reductions, along with standardised archival observations from GALEX, SDSS, DSS, 2MASS, WISE, Spitzer, and Planck. Using these data, we performed consistent aperture-matched photometry, which we combined with external supplementary photometry from IRAS and Planck. Results: We present our multiwavelength imagery and photometry across 42 UV-microwave bands for the 875 DustPedia galaxies. Our aperture-matched photometry, combined with the external supplementary photometry, represents a total of 21 857 photometric measurements. A typical DustPedia galaxy has multiwavelength photometry spanning 25 bands. We also present the Comprehensive & Adaptable Aperture Photometry Routine (CAAPR), the pipeline we developed to carry out our aperture-matched photometry. CAAPR is designed to produce consistent photometry for the enormous range of galaxy and observation types in our data. In particular, CAAPR is able to determine robust cross-compatible uncertainties, thanks to a novel method for reliably extrapolating the aperture noise for observations that cover a very limited amount of background. Our rich database of imagery and photometry is being made available to the community. Photometry data tables are only available at the CDS via anonymous ftp to http://cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (http://130.79.128.5) or via http://cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr/viz-bin/qcat?J/A+A/609/A37

Detecting planets in Kepler lightcurves using methods developed for CoRoT.

Science.gov (United States)

Grziwa, S.; Korth, J.; Pätzold, M.

2011-10-01

Launched in March 2009, Kepler is the second space telescope dedicated to the search for extrasolar planets. NASA released 150.000 lightcurves to the public in 2010 and announced that Kepler has found 1.235 candidates. The Rhenish Institute for Environmental Research (RIU-PF) is one of the detection groups from the CoRoT space mission. RIU-PF developed the software package EXOTRANS for the detection of transits in stellar lightcurves. EXOTRANS is designed for the fast automated processing of huge amounts of data and was easily adapted to the analysis of Kepler lightcurves. The use of different techniques and philosophies helps to find more candidates and to rule out others. We present the analysis of the Kepler lightcurves with EXOTRANS. Results of our filter (trend, harmonic) and detection (dcBLS) techniques are compared with the techniques used by Kepler (PDC, TPS). The different approaches to rule out false positives are discussed and additional candidates found by EXOTRANS are presented.

An information preserving method for producing full coverage CoRoT light curves

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pascual-Granado J.

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Invalid flux measurements, caused mainly by the South Atlantic Anomaly crossing of the CoRoT satellite, introduce aliases in the periodogram and wrong amplitudes. It has been demonstrated that replacing such invalid data with a linear interpolation is not harmless. On the other side, using power spectrum estimators for unevenly sampled time series is not only less computationally efficient but it leads to difficulties in the interpretation of the results. Therefore, even when the gaps are rather small and the duty cycle is high enough the use of gap-filling methods is a gain in frequency analysis. However, the method must preserve the information contained in the time series. In this work we give a short description of an information preserving method (MIARMA and show some results when applying it to CoRoT seismo light curves. The method is implemented as the second step of a pipeline for CoRoT data analysis.

Deep and accurate near-infrared photometry of the Galactic globular cluster omega Cen .

Science.gov (United States)

Calamida, A.; Bono, G.; Corsi, C. E.; Stetson, P. B.; Prada Moroni, P. G.; Degl'Innocenti, S.; Marchetti, E.; Amico, P.; Ferraro, I.; Iannicola, G.; Monelli, M.; Buonanno, R.; Caputo, F.; Dall'Ora, M.; Freyhammer, L. M.; Koester, D.; Nonino, M.; Piersimoni, A. M.; Pulone, L.; Romaniello, M.

We present deep and accurate Near-Infrared (NIR) photometry of the Galactic Globular Cluster omega Cen . Data were collected using the Multi-Conjugate Adaptive Optics Demonstrator (MAD) mounted on the VLT (ESO). We combined the NIR photometry with optical space data collected with the Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS) for the same region of the cluster. Our deep optical-NIR CMD indicates that the spread in age among the different stellar populations in omega Cen is at most of the order of 2 Gyr.

Detection of a westward hotspot offset in the atmosphere of hot gas giant CoRoT-2b

Science.gov (United States)

Dang, Lisa; Cowan, Nicolas B.; Schwartz, Joel C.; Rauscher, Emily; Zhang, Michael; Knutson, Heather A.; Line, Michael; Dobbs-Dixon, Ian; Deming, Drake; Sundararajan, Sudarsan; Fortney, Jonathan J.; Zhao, Ming

2018-03-01

Short-period planets exhibit day-night temperature contrasts of hundreds to thousands of kelvin. They also exhibit eastward hotspot offsets whereby the hottest region on the planet is east of the substellar point1; this has been widely interpreted as advection of heat due to eastward winds2. We present thermal phase observations of the hot Jupiter CoRoT-2b obtained with the Infrared Array Camera (IRAC) on the Spitzer Space Telescope. These measurements show the most robust detection to date of a westward hotspot offset of 23 ± 4°, in contrast with the nine other planets with equivalent measurements3-10. The peculiar infrared flux map of CoRoT-2b may result from westward winds due to non-synchronous rotation11 or magnetic effects12,13, or partial cloud coverage, that obscure the emergent flux from the planet's eastern hemisphere14-17. Non-synchronous rotation and magnetic effects may also explain the planet's anomalously large radius12,18. On the other hand, partial cloud coverage could explain the featureless dayside emission spectrum of the planet19,20. If CoRoT-2b is not tidally locked, then it means that our understanding of star-planet tidal interaction is incomplete. If the westward offset is due to magnetic effects, our result represents an opportunity to study an exoplanet's magnetic field. If it has eastern clouds, then it means that a greater understanding of large-scale circulation on tidally locked planets is required.

APT: Aperture Photometry Tool

Science.gov (United States)

Laher, Russ

2012-08-01

Aperture Photometry Tool (APT) is software for astronomers and students interested in manually exploring the photometric qualities of astronomical images. It has a graphical user interface (GUI) which allows the image data associated with aperture photometry calculations for point and extended sources to be visualized and, therefore, more effectively analyzed. Mouse-clicking on a source in the displayed image draws a circular or elliptical aperture and sky annulus around the source and computes the source intensity and its uncertainty, along with several commonly used measures of the local sky background and its variability. The results are displayed and can be optionally saved to an aperture-photometry-table file and plotted on graphs in various ways using functions available in the software. APT is geared toward processing sources in a small number of images and is not suitable for bulk processing a large number of images, unlike other aperture photometry packages (e.g., SExtractor). However, APT does have a convenient source-list tool that enables calculations for a large number of detections in a given image. The source-list tool can be run either in automatic mode to generate an aperture photometry table quickly or in manual mode to permit inspection and adjustment of the calculation for each individual detection. APT displays a variety of useful graphs, including image histogram, and aperture slices, source scatter plot, sky scatter plot, sky histogram, radial profile, curve of growth, and aperture-photometry-table scatter plots and histograms. APT has functions for customizing calculations, including outlier rejection, pixel “picking” and “zapping,” and a selection of source and sky models. The radial-profile-interpolation source model, accessed via the radial-profile-plot panel, allows recovery of source intensity from pixels with missing data and can be especially beneficial in crowded fields.

Corot 310266512: A Light Curve With Primary, Secondary And Tertiary Eclipses

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fernández Fernández Javier

2015-01-01

Full Text Available We present the photometric study of an interesting target in the CoRoT exoplanet database: CoRoT 310266512. Its light curve shows primary, secondary and tertiary eclipses that suggests the presence of at least three celestial bodies. The primary and secondary eclipses have the same orbital period, 7.42 days, and the tertiary eclipse has an orbital period of 3.27 days. Two of the tertiary eclipses fall within a primary eclipse and a secondary eclipse. The properties of the light curve indicate the presence of two physically separated systems. The primary and secondary eclipses corresponds to a binary system (System I. The tertiary eclipses correspond to a star-planet system or a star-dwarf system (System II. Some parameters of these two systems are obtained from JKTEBOP [1] program.

CoRoT’s first seven planets: An overview*

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Barge P.

2011-07-01

Full Text Available The up to 150 day uninterrupted high-precision photometry of about 100000 stars – provided so far by the exoplanet channel of the CoRoT space telescope – gave a new perspective on the planet population of our galactic neighbourhood. The seven planets with very accurate parameters widen the range of known planet properties in almost any respect. Giant planets have been detected at low metallicity, rapidly rotating and active, spotted stars. CoRoT-3 populated the brown dwarf desert and closed the gap of measured physical properties between standard giant planets and very low mass stars. CoRoT extended the known range of planet masses down-to 5 Earth masses and up to 21 Jupiter masses, the radii to less than 2 Earth radii and up to the most inflated hot Jupiter found so far, and the periods of planets discovered by transits to 9 days. Two CoRoT planets have host stars with the lowest content of heavy elements known to show a transit hinting towards a different planet-host-star-metallicity relation then the one found by radial-velocity search programs. Finally the properties of the CoRoT-7b prove that terrestrial planets with a density close to Earth exist outside the Solar System. The detection of the secondary transit of CoRoT-1 at the 10−5-level and the very clear detection of the 1.7 Earth radii of CoRoT-7b at 3.5 10−4 relative flux are promising evidence of CoRoT being able to detect even smaller, Earth sized planets.

Ground and space-based separate PSF photometry of Pluto and Charon from New Horizons and Magellan

Science.gov (United States)

Zangari, Amanda M.; Stern, S. A.; Young, L. A.; Weaver, H. A.; Olkin, C.; Buratti, B. J.; Spencer, J.; Ennico, K.

2013-10-01

While Pluto and Charon are easily resolvable in some space-based telescopes, ground-based imaging of Pluto and Charon can yield separate PSF photometry in excellent seeing. We present B and Sloan g', r', i', and z' separate photometry of Pluto and Charon taken at the Magellan Clay telescope using LDSS-3. In 2011, observations were made on 7, 8, 9, 19, and 20 March, at 9:00 UT, covering sub-Earth longitudes 130°, 74°, 17°, 175° and 118°. The solar phase angle ranged from 1.66-1.68° to 1.76-1.77°. In 2012, observations were made on February 28, 29 and March 1 at 9:00 UT covering longitudes 342°, 110° and 53° and on May 30 and 31 at 9:30 UT and 7:00 UT, covering longitudes 358° and 272°. Solar phase angles were 1.53-1.56° and 0.89°-0.90° degrees. All longitudes use the convention of zero at the sub-Charon longitude and decrease in time. Seeing ranged from 0.46 to 1.26 arcsecond. We find that the mean rotationally-averaged Charon-to-Pluto light ratio is 0.142±0.003 for Sloan r',i' and z'. Charon is brighter in B and g', with a light ratio of 0.182±0.003 and 0.178±0.002 respectively. Additionally, we present separate PSF photometry of Pluto and Charon from New Horizons images taken by the LORRI instrument on 1 and 3 July 2013 at 17:00 UT and 23:00 UT, sub-Earth longitude 251° and 125°. We find that the rotation-dependent variations in the light ratio are consistent with earlier estimates such as those from Buie et al. 2010, AJ 139, 1117-1127. However, at a solar phase angle of 10.9°, Charon appears 0.25 magnitudes fainter relative to Pluto at the same rotational phase than measurements from the ground with the largest possible solar phase angle. Thus we provide the first estimate of a Pluto phase curve beyond 2°. These results represent some of the first Pluto science from New Horizons. This work has been funded in part by NASA Planetary Astronomy Grant NNX10AB27G and NSF Award 0707609 to MIT and by NASA's New Horizons mission to Pluto.

UBVRI photometry in NGC6791

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Brogaard, K.; Vandenberg, D. A.; Bruntt, H.

2012-01-01

New reduction of photometric B, V, I observations from Stetson et al. (2003, Cat. J/PASP/115/413) with updated photometry zero-points according to Stetson et al. (2005PASP..117..563S), and the same photometry, but empirically corrected for differential reddening using the procedure described in M...

WR 110: A SINGLE WOLF-RAYET STAR WITH COROTATING INTERACTION REGIONS IN ITS WIND?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chene, A.-N.; Moffat, A. F. J.; Fahed, R.; St-louis, N.; Muntean, V.; Chevrotiere, A. De La; Cameron, C.; Matthews, J. M.; Gamen, R. C.; Lefevre, L.; Rowe, J. F.; Guenther, D. B.; Kuschnig, R.; Weiss, W. W.; Rucinski, S. M.; Sasselov, D.

2011-01-01

A 30 day contiguous photometric run with the Microvariability and Oscillations of STars (MOST) satellite on the WN5-6b star WR 110 (HD 165688) reveals a fundamental periodicity of P = 4.08 ± 0.55 days along with a number of harmonics at periods P/n, with n ∼ 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6, and a few other possible stray periodicities and/or stochastic variability on timescales longer than about a day. Spectroscopic radial velocity studies fail to reveal any plausible companion with a period in this range. Therefore, we conjecture that the observed light-curve cusps of amplitude ∼0.01 mag that recur at a 4.08 day timescale may arise in the inner parts, or at the base, of a corotating interaction region (CIR) seen in emission as it rotates around with the star at constant angular velocity. The hard X-ray component seen in WR 110 could then be a result of a high velocity component of the CIR shock interacting with the ambient wind at several stellar radii. Given that most hot, luminous stars showing CIRs have two CIR arms, it is possible that either the fundamental period is 8.2 days or, more likely in the case of WR 110, there is indeed a second weaker CIR arm for P = 4.08 days, that occurs ∼two-thirds of a rotation period after the main CIR. If this interpretation is correct, WR 110 therefore joins the ranks with three other single WR stars, all WN, with confirmed CIR rotation periods (WR 1, WR 6, and WR 134), albeit with WR 110 having by far the lowest amplitude photometric modulation. This illustrates the power of being able to secure intense, continuous high-precision photometry from space-based platforms such as MOST. It also opens the door to revealing low-amplitude photometric variations in other WN stars, where previous attempts have failed. If all WN stars have CIRs at some level, this could be important for revealing sources of magnetism or pulsation in addition to rotation periods.

Testing and modelling of a novel oil-free co-rotating scroll machine with water injection

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mendoza, Luis Carlos; Lemofouet, Sylvain; Schiffmann, Jürg

2017-01-01

Highlights: • Performance of novel oil-free co-rotating scroll expander presented. • Water injection allows reaching quasi-isothermal expansion process. • Comparison between experimental data, semi-empirical and deterministic models. • Flank leakage, water injection and rotor speed effects have been analyzed experimentally. • Design guidelines for co-rotating scroll improvement proposed. - Abstract: Efficient compressed air energy storage requires reversible isothermal compression and expansion devices. The isothermal compression and expansion processes can either be approached by several stages with intercooling or by the more convenient injection of a liquid, often water. While volumetric machines are readily available for dry processes the compression and expansion of a gas with the presence of liquid is still problematic. The concept of a co-rotating scroll has been identified as a promising technology to cope with the presence of liquid. The current paper discusses the first experimental results of an oil-free co-rotating scroll prototype tested in expansion mode on a wide range of rotational speeds, varying water injection flow rates and with different nominal flank clearances. A maximal overall isothermal efficiency of 34% and a maximum output power of 1.74 kW_e_l were measured with this first prototype, providing the proof of the technical feasibility of the oil-free co-rotating scroll expander concept. The experimental data indicate a positive effect of water injection suggesting good heat transfer behaviour between the water and the air in the individual chambers, which is a result of the relatively long residence time compared to other volumetric concepts. The experimental sensitivity analysis yields a strong dependency of the machine performance on both the nominal flank clearance and on the injected water rate. The analysis through a semi-empirical model suggests the inversion of a classical trend, i.e. the increase in total leakage area with

Automated galaxy surface photometry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cawson, M.G.M.; Kibblewhite, E.J.; Disney, M.J.; Phillipps, S.

1987-01-01

Two-dimensional surface photometry of a very large number of galaxies on a deep Schmidt plate has been obtained using the Automatic Plate Measuring System (APM). A method of photometric calibration, suitable for APM measurements, via pixel-by-pixel comparison with CCD frames of a number of the brighter galaxies is described and its advantages are discussed. The same method is used to demonstrate the consistency of measurement of the APM machine when used for surface photometry. (author)

Gaia, an all-sky survey for standard photometry

Science.gov (United States)

Carrasco, J. M.; Weiler, M.; Jordi, C.; Fabricius, C.

2017-03-01

Gaia ESA's space mission (launched in 2013) includes two low resolution spectroscopic instruments (one in the blue, BP, and another in the red, RP, wavelength domains) to classify and derive the astrophysical parameters of the observed sources. As it is well known, Gaia is a full-sky unbiased survey down to about 20th magnitude. The scanning law yields a rather uniform coverage of the sky over the full extent (a minimum of 5 years) of the mission. Gaia data reduction is a global one over the full mission. Both sky coverage and data reduction strategy ensure an unprecedented all-sky homogeneous spectrophotometric survey. Certainly, that survey is of interest for current and future on-ground and space projects, like LSST, PLATO, EUCLID and J-PAS/J-PLUS among others. These projects will benefit from the large amount (more than one billion) and wide variety of objects observed by Gaia with good quality spectrophotometry. Synthetic photometry derived from Gaia spectrophotometry for any passband can be used to expand the set of standard sources for these new instruments to come. In the current Gaia data release scenario, BP/RP spectrophotometric data will be available in the third release (in 2018, TBC). Current preliminary results allow us to estimate the precision of synthetic photometry derived from the Gaia data. This already allows the preparation of the on-going and future surveys and space missions. We discuss here the exploitation of the Gaia spectrophotometry as standard reference due to its full-sky coverage and its expected photometric uncertainties derived from the low resolution Gaia spectra.

Photometry with NICMOS

Science.gov (United States)

Calzetti, D.; Dickinson, M. E.; Bergeron, L. E.; Colina, L.

1998-12-01

We summarize the performance of the NICMOS instrument and discuss the measured sensitivity, and the photometric performance and stability. We also present a method for removing an instrument artifact termed ``pedestal'', a bias instability that is present at a low level in most NICMOS images. The characteristics of dark frames will also be discussed, in particular as they relate to pedestal correction. NICMOS is capable of achieving the advertised performance in most areas. As an example, typical 3 sigma detection limits for a 5 orbit observation with NIC2 are 1.47 mJy arcsec(-2) in F110W, 1.67 mJy arcsec(-2) in F160W, and 12.6 mJy arcsec(-2) in F222M. The absence of time-dependent backgrounds makes infrared photometry from NICMOS highly stable, reaching an accuracy of 2% or better. NICMOS absolute calibration has been accomplished with a combination of solar analog stars and white dwarf standard stars and achieves 5% absolute photometry. An exception to these accuracies occurs for NIC3 at short wavelengths where intra-pixel sensitivity variations produces variations in relative photometry as large as 20%.

Astrossismologia e o satélite COROT

Science.gov (United States)

Andrade, L. B. P.; Janot Pacheco, E.

2003-08-01

Este trabalho centra-se em atividades na fase de pré-lançamento do satélite COROT, da agência espacial francesa (CNES), a ser lançado em 2005. O satélite será dedicado à sismologia estelar e à procura de exoplanetas. Nosso programa de trabalho centra-se em dois pontos principais: (1) efetuar uma procura detalhada nos campos COROT de alvos astrofísicos de especial interesse; (2) participar das análises espectroscópicas prévias de alvos selecionados para determinação de parâmetros físicos das estrelas com a maior precisão possível. Na presente etapa, priorizou-se o primeiro ponto do projeto. Foi feito um levantamento geral dos objetos astrofísicos encontrados nos dois campos de observação, centrados em 06H50M e 18H50M, com raios de 10 minutos. Concluiu-se que as estrelas B-Be deverão ser observadas no campo sismológico, enquanto que as anãs brancas deverão sê-lo no campo exoplanetário. Objetos a serem observados foram escolhidos de forma a estarem próximos de alvos principais dos programas centrais do satélite. Paralelamente, estudos e pesquisas bibliográficas foram feitos para compreender os assuntos de interesse principal, ou seja, as pulsações não-radiais de estrelas Ob-Be

Astronomical Photometry Past, Present, and Future

CERN Document Server

Milone, Eugene F

2011-01-01

This book brings together experts in the field of astronomical photometry to discuss how their subfields provide the precision and accuracy in astronomical energy flux measurements that are needed to permit tests of astrophysical theories. Differential photometers and photometry, improvements in infrared precision, the improvements in precision and accuracy of CCD photometry, the absolute calibration of flux, the development of the Johnson UBVRI photometric system and other passband systems to measure and precisely classify specific types of stars and astrophysical quantities, and the current capabilities of spectrophotometry and polarimetry to provide precise and accurate data, are all discussed in this volume. The discussion of `differential’ or `two-star’ photometers ranges from early experiments in visual photometry through the Harvard and Princeton polarizing photometers to the pioneering work of Walraven and differential photometers designed to minimize effects of atmospheric extinction and to count...

Hubble Space Telescope Photometry of Hodge 301: An ``Old'' Star Cluster in 30 Doradus

Science.gov (United States)

Grebel, Eva K.; Chu, You-Hua

2000-02-01

We present Hubble Space Telescope Planetary Camera UVI data for Hodge 301, the little-studied cluster 3' northwest of the central ionizing cluster R136 in 30 Doradus. The average reddening of Hodge 301 is found to be =0.28+/-0.05 mag from published infrared and ultraviolet photometry. Using two different sets of evolutionary models, we derive an age of about 20-25 Myr for Hodge 301, which makes it roughly 10 times as old as R136. Hodge 301 is the most prominent representative of the oldest population in the 30 Dor starburst region, a region that has undergone multiple star formation events. This range of ages is an important consideration for the modeling of starburst regions. Hodge 301 shows a widened upper main sequence largely caused by Be stars. We present a list of Be star candidates. The slope of the initial mass function for intermediate-mass, main-sequence stars ranging from 10 to 1.3 Msolar is found to be Γ=-1.4+/-0.1, in good agreement with a Salpeter law. There is no indication for a truncation or change of slope of the initial mass function (IMF) within this mass range. In accordance with the age of Hodge 301, no obvious pre-main-sequence stars are seen down to about 1 Msolar. We estimate that up to 41+/-7 stars with masses more than 12 Msolar may have turned into supernovae since the formation of the cluster. Multiple supernova explosions are the most likely origin of the extremely violent gas motions and the diffuse X-ray emission observed in the cluster surroundings. Based on observations made with the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, obtained at the Space Telescope Science Institute, which is operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc. under NASA contract NAS5-26555.

Models of red giants in the CoRoT asteroseismology fields combining asteroseismic and spectroscopic constraints

Science.gov (United States)

Nadège, Lagarde

The availability of asteroseismic constraints for a large sample of red-giant stars from the CoRoT and Kepler missions paves the way for various statistical studies of the seismic properties of stellar populations. We use a detailed spectroscopic study of 19 CoRoT red-giant stars (Morel et al. 2014) to compare theoretical stellar evolution models to observations of the open cluster NGC 6633 and field stars. This study is already published in Lagarde et al. (2015)

THE CoRoT DISCOVERY OF A UNIQUE TRIPLE-MODE CEPHEID IN THE GALAXY

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Poretti, E. [INAF-Osservatorio Astronomico di Brera, Via E. Bianchi 46, I-23807 Merate (Italy); Baglin, A. [LESIA, Université Pierre et Marie Curie, Université Denis Diderot, Observatoire de Paris, F-92195 Meudon Cedex (France); Weiss, W. W., E-mail: ennio.poretti@brera.inaf.it [Institute of Astronomy, University of Vienna, Türkenschanzstrasse 17, A-1180 Vienna (Austria)

2014-11-10

The exploitation of the CoRoT treasure of stars observed in the exoplanetary field allowed the detection of a unusual triple-mode Cepheid in the Milky Way, CoRoT 0223989566. The two modes with the largest amplitudes and a period ratio of 0.80 are identified with the first (P {sub 1} = 1.29 days) and second (P {sub 2} = 1.03 days) radial overtones. The third period, which has the smallest amplitude but is able to produce combination terms with the other two, is the longest one (P {sub 3} = 1.89 days). The ratio of 0.68 between the first-overtone period and the third period is the unusual feature. Its identification with the fundamental radial or a nonradial mode is discussed with respect to similar cases in the Magellanic Clouds. In both cases, the period triplet and the respective ratios make the star unique in our Galaxy. The distance derived from the period-luminosity relation and the galactic coordinates put CoRoT 0223989566 in the metal-rich environment of the ''outer arm'' of the Milky Way.

What CoRoT tells us about δ Scuti stars

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Michel Eric

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Inspired by the so appealing example of red giants, where going from a handful of stars to thousands revealed the structure of the eigenspectrum, we inspected a large homogeneous set of around 1860 δ Scuti stars observed with CoRoT. This unique data set reveals a common regular pattern which appears to be in agreement with island modes featured by theoretical non-perturbative treatments of fast rotation. The comparison of these data with models and linear stability calculations suggests that spectra can be fruitfully characterized to first order by a few parameters which might play the role of seismic indices for δ Scuti stars, as Δv and vmax do for red giants. The existence of this pattern offers an observational support for guiding further theoretical works on fast rotation. It also provides a framework for further investigation of the observational material collected by CoRoT ([1] and Kepler ([2]. Finally, it sketches out the perspective of using δ Scuti stars pulsations for ensemble asteroseismology

ASTROPOP: ASTROnomical Polarimetry and Photometry pipeline

Science.gov (United States)

Campagnolo, Julio C. N.

2018-05-01

AstroPoP reduces almost any CCD photometry and image polarimetry data. For photometry reduction, the code performs source finding, aperture and PSF photometry, astrometry calibration using different automated and non-automated methods and automated source identification and magnitude calibration based on online and local catalogs. For polarimetry, the code resolves linear and circular Stokes parameters produced by image beam splitter or polarizer polarimeters. In addition to the modular functions, ready-to-use pipelines based in configuration files and header keys are also provided with the code. AstroPOP was initially developed to reduce the IAGPOL polarimeter data installed at Observatório Pico dos Dias (Brazil).

VizieR Online Data Catalog: Bright white dwarfs for high-speed photometry (Raddi+, 2017)

Science.gov (United States)

Raddi, R.; Gentile Fusillo, N. P.; Pala, A. F.; Hermes, J. J.; Gansicke, B. T.; Chote, P.; Hollands, M. A.; Henden, A.; Catalan, S.; Geier, S.; Koester, D.; Munari, U.; Napiwotzki, R.; Tremblay, P.-E.

2017-11-01

This photometric and reduced proper motion catalogue was created to identify suitable targets for the space-borne mission TESS, which will acquire all- sky time-series photometry for at least two years searching for exoplanet transits and enabling asteroseismology for numerous classes of stars. We cross-matched APASS, GALEX, 2MASS, and WISE, with PPMXL.The attached data include current-epoch positions and photometry of known white dwarfs, candidate white dwarfs, and new spectroscopically confirmed white dwarfs. For the new stars, we estimated the atmospheric parameters (temperature and surface gravity), masses, and ages. Nine white dwarfs have low mass secondaries, for which we estimate temperatures and ages. (6 data files).

The modeling of continuous mixers. Part I: The corotating twin-screw extruder

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Meijer, H.E.H.; Elemans, P.H.M.

1988-01-01

In many operations in polymer processing, such as polymer blending, devolatilization, or incorporation of fillers in a polymeric matrix, continuous mixers are used; e.g., corotating twin-screw extruders (ZSK), Buss Cokneaders and Farrel Continuous Mixers. Theoretical analysis of these machines tends

SCIENCE OF SUN PHOTOMETRY

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alexandru Dan Toma

2013-07-01

Full Text Available Typically, the total amount of gases and particles in a column of atmosphere cannot be determined from measurements just at Earth's surface, by a single measurement essentially at the bottom of the atmosphere column. Balloons, airplanes, and rockets are all used to perform direct measurements in the atmosphere at altitudes up to and beyond the stratosphere. Satellite-based instruments provide global views, but it is difficult to infer surface and column distributions from space-based measurements, so such measurements must still be supplemented by ground-based measurements. Sun photometry is an important way of probing the atmosphere from the ground to measure the effects of the atmosphere on Sun radiation crossing through the atmosphere to Earth's surface. These indirect technique provide information about the entire atmosphere above the observer, not just the atmosphere that can be sampled directly close to Earth's surface.

The Comparison of Water Absorption Analysis between Counterrotating and Corotating Twin-Screw Extruders with Different Antioxidants Content in Wood Plastic Composites

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mohd Hafizuddin Ab Ghani

2011-01-01

Full Text Available Water absorption is a major concern for natural fibers as reinforcement in wood plastic composites (WPCs. This paper presents a study on the comparison analysis of water absorption between two types of twin-screw extruders, namely, counterrotating and corotating with presence of variable antioxidants content. Composites of mixed fibres between rice husk and saw dust with recycled high-density polyethylene (rHDPE were prepared with two different extruder machines, namely, counterrotating and corotating twin screw, respectively. The contents of matrix (30 wt% and fibres (62 wt% were mixed with additives (8 wt% and compounded using compounder before extruded using both of the machines. Samples were immersed in distilled water according to ASTM D 570-98. From the study, results indicated a significant difference among samples extruded by counterrotating and corotating twin-screw extruders. The counterrotating twin-screw extruder gives the smallest value of water absorption compared to corotating twin-screw extruder. This indicates that the types of screw play an important role in water uptake by improving the adhesion between natural fillers and the polymer matrix.

THE ACCURACY OF Hβ CCD PHOTOMETRY

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

C. Kim

1994-12-01

Full Text Available We have undertaken CCD observations of field standard stars with Hβ photometric system to investigate the reliability of Hβ CCD photometry. Flat fielding with dome flat and sky flat for Hβw and Hβn filter was compared with that of B filter in UBV system and, from these, we have not found any difference. It was confirmed that there is a good linear relationship between our Hβ values observed with 2.3m reflector and standard values. However, Hβ values observed with 60cm reflector at Sobaeksan Astronomy Observatory showed very poor relationship. To investigate the accuracy of Hβ CCD photometry for fainter objects, open cluster NGC2437 was observed and reduced with DoPHOT, and the results were compared with those for photoelectric photometry of Stetson (1981.

A modified CoRoT detrend algorithm and the discovery of a new planetary companion

Science.gov (United States)

Boufleur, Rodrigo C.; Emilio, Marcelo; Janot-Pacheco, Eduardo; Andrade, Laerte; Ferraz-Mello, Sylvio; do Nascimento, José-Dias, Jr.; de La Reza, Ramiro

2018-01-01

We present MCDA, a modification of the COnvection ROtation and planetary Transits (CoRoT) detrend algorithm (CDA) suitable to detrend chromatic light curves. By means of robust statistics and better handling of short-term variability, the implementation decreases the systematic light-curve variations and improves the detection of exoplanets when compared with the original algorithm. All CoRoT chromatic light curves (a total of 65 655) were analysed with our algorithm. Dozens of new transit candidates and all previously known CoRoT exoplanets were rediscovered in those light curves using a box-fitting algorithm. For three of the new cases, spectroscopic measurements of the candidates' host stars were retrieved from the ESO Science Archive Facility and used to calculate stellar parameters and, in the best cases, radial velocities. In addition to our improved detrend technique, we announce the discovery of a planet that orbits a 0.79_{-0.09}^{+0.08} R⊙ star with a period of 6.718 37 ± 0.000 01 d and has 0.57_{-0.05}^{+0.06} RJ and 0.15 ± 0.10 MJ. We also present the analysis of two cases in which parameters found suggest the existence of possible planetary companions.

VizieR Online Data Catalog: Bright white dwarfs IRAC photometry (Barber+, 2016)

Science.gov (United States)

Barber, S. D.; Belardi, C.; Kilic, M.; Gianninas, A.

2017-07-01

Mid-infrared photometry, like the 3.4 and 4.6um photometry available from WISE, is necessary to detect emission from a debris disc orbiting a WD. WISE, however, has poor spatial resolution (6 arcsec beam size) and is known to have a 75 per cent false positive rate for detecting dusty discs around WDs fainter than 14.5(15) mag in W1(W2) (Barber et al. (2014ApJ...786...77B). To mitigate this high rate of spurious detections, we compile higher spatial resolution archival data from the InfraRed Array Camera (IRAC) on the Spitzer Space Telescope. We query the Spitzer Heritage Archive for any observations within 10 arcsec of the 1265 WDs from Gianninas et al. (2011, Cat. J/ApJ/743/138) and find 907 Astronomical Observing Requests (AORs) for 381 WDs. (1 data file).

Far-infrared photometry of OJ 287 with the Herschel Space Observatory

Science.gov (United States)

Kidger, Mark; Zola, Staszek; Valtonen, Mauri; Lähteenmäki, Anne; Järvelä, Emilia; Tornikoski, Merja; Tammi, Joni; Liakos, Alexis; Poyner, Gary

2018-03-01

Context. The blazar OJ 287 has shown a ≈12 year quasi-periodicity over more than a century, in addition to the common properties of violent variability in all frequency ranges. It is the strongest known candidate to have a binary singularity in its central engine. Aim. We aim to better understand the different emission components by searching for correlated variability in the flux over four decades of frequency measurements. Methods: We combined data at frequencies from the millimetric to the visible to characterise the multifrequency light curve in April and May 2010. This includes the only photometric observations of OJ 287 made with the Herschel Space Observatory: five epochs of data obtained over 33 days at 250, 350, and 500 μm with Herschel-SPIRE. Results: Although we find that the variability at 37 GHz on timescales of a few weeks correlates with the visible to near-IR spectral energy distribution, there is a small degree of reddening in the continuum at lower flux levels that is revealed by the decreasing rate of decline in the light curve at lower frequencies. However, we see no clear evidence that a rapid flare detected in the light curve during our monitoring in the visible to near-IR light curve is seen either in the Herschel data or at 37 GHz, suggesting a low-frequency cut-off in the spectrum of such flares. Conclusions.We see only marginal evidence of variability in the observations with Herschel over a month, although this may be principally due to the poor sampling. The spectral energy distribution between 37 GHz and the visible can be characterised by two components of approximately constant spectral index: a visible to far-IR component of spectral index α = -0.95, and a far-IR to millimetric spectral index of α = -0.43. There is no evidence of an excess of emission that would be consistent with the 60 μmdust bump found in many active galactic nuclei. Herschel is an ESA space observatory with science instruments provided by European

IMPLICATIONS OF THE COROTATION THEOREM ON THE MRI IN AXIAL SYMMETRY

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Montani, G. [ENEA, FSN-FUSPHY-TSM, R.C. Frascati, Via E. Fermi 45, I-00044 Frascati (Italy); Cianfrani, F. [Institute for Theoretical Physics, University of Wrocław, Pl. Maksa Borna 9, Pl–50-204 Wrocław (Poland); Pugliese, D., E-mail: giovanni.montani@frascati.enea.it [Institute of Physics and Research Centre of Theoretical Physics and Astrophysics, Faculty of Philosophy Science, Silesian University in Opava, Bezručovo náměstí 13, CZ-74601 Opava (Czech Republic)

2016-08-10

We analyze the linear stability of an axially symmetric ideal plasma disk, embedded in a magnetic field and endowed with a differential rotation. This study is performed by adopting the magnetic flux function as the fundamental dynamical variable, in order to outline the role played by the corotation theorem on the linear mode structure. Using some specific assumptions (e.g., plasma incompressibility and propagation of the perturbations along the background magnetic field), we select the Alfvénic nature of the magnetorotational instability, and, in the geometric optics limit, we determine the dispersion relation describing the linear spectrum. We show how the implementation of the corotation theorem (valid for the background configuration) on the linear dynamics produces the cancellation of the vertical derivative of the disk angular velocity (we check such a feature also in the standard vector formalism to facilitate comparison with previous literature, in both the axisymmetric and three-dimensional cases). As a result, we clarify that the unstable modes have, for a stratified disk, the same morphology, proper of a thin-disk profile, and the z -dependence has a simple parametric role.

Observações no âmbito dos "additional programs" do satélite COROT

Science.gov (United States)

Janot Pacheco, E.

2003-08-01

O satélite Fraco-europeu COROT fará fotometria de altissima precisão (pretende-se atingir uma parte em um milhão), grande campo (3x3 graus) e por longos períodos, de duas regiões pré-determinadas do céu, com 10 graus de raio. Suas finalidades básicas serão estudos em sismologia estelar e a procura de exoplanetas. A comunidade astronômica brasileira participará dessa missão espacial, com direitos iguais aos dos parceiros europeus. Isso se deve a que o satélite utilizará a estação de recepção de dados de Natal (INPE), 5 a 6 brasileiros participarão das equipes de software e cientistas do país atuarão na fase de pré-lançamento. Apresentamos nesta comunicação sugestões para a preparação de propostas de observações com COROT, no âmbito dos Programas Adicionais, que contemplam outros projetos que não de sismologia ou exoplanetas. As últimas definições técnicas e decisões tomadas na 4th Corot Week de junho último serão igualmente apresentadas, em particular quanto às regiões de observação escolhidas e quanto aos procedimentos a seguir para se propor observações.

MID-INFRARED PHOTOMETRY OF COLD BROWN DWARFS: DIVERSITY IN AGE, MASS, AND METALLICITY

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Leggett, S. K.; Burningham, Ben; Jones, H. R. A.; Lucas, P. W.; Pinfield, D. J.; Saumon, D.; Marley, M. S.; Warren, S. J.; Smart, R. L.; Tamura, Motohide

2010-01-01

We present new Spitzer Infrared Array Camera (IRAC) photometry of 12 very late-type T dwarfs: nine have [3.6], [4.5], [5.8], and [8.0] photometry and three have [3.6] and [4.5] photometry only. Combining this with previously published photometry, we investigate trends with type and color that are useful for both the planning and interpretation of infrared surveys designed to discover the coldest T or Y dwarfs. The online appendix provides a collation of MKO-system YJHKL'M' and IRAC photometry for a sample of M, L, and T dwarfs. Brown dwarfs with effective temperature (T eff ) below 700 K emit more than half their flux at wavelengths longer than 3 μm, and the ratio of the mid-infrared flux to the near-infrared flux becomes very sensitive to T eff at these low temperatures. We confirm that the color H (1.6 μm) - [4.5] is a good indicator of T eff with a relatively weak dependence on metallicity and gravity. Conversely, the colors H - K (2.2 μm) and [4.5] - [5.8] are sensitive to metallicity and gravity. Thus, near- and mid-infrared photometry provide useful indicators of the fundamental properties of brown dwarfs, and if temperature and gravity are known, then mass and age can be reliably determined from evolutionary models. There are 12 dwarfs currently known with H- [4.5] >3.0, and 500 K ∼ eff ∼<800 K, which we examine in detail. The ages of the dwarfs in the sample range from very young (0.1-1.0 Gyr) to relatively old (3-12 Gyr). The mass range is possibly as low as 5 Jupiter masses to up to 70 Jupiter masses, i.e., near the hydrogen burning limit. The metallicities also span a large range, from [m/H] = -0.3 to [m/H] = +0.3. The small number of T8-T9 dwarfs found in the UK Infrared Telescope Infrared Deep Sky Survey to date appear to be predominantly young low-mass dwarfs. Accurate mid-infrared photometry of cold brown dwarfs is essentially impossible from the ground, and extensions to the mid-infrared space missions, warm-Spitzer and Wide-Field Infrared

Photographic infrared spectroscopy and near infrared photometry of Be stars

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Swings, J.P.

1976-01-01

Two topics are tackled in this presentation: spectroscopy and photometry. The following definitions are chosen: photographic infrared spectroscopy (wavelengths Hα<=lambda<1.2 μ); near infrared photometry (wavebands: 1.6 μ<=lambda<=20 μ). Near infrared spectroscopy and photometry of classical and peculiar Be stars are discussed and some future developments in the field are outlined. (Auth.)

Precision Photometry and Astrometry from Pan-STARRS

Science.gov (United States)

Magnier, Eugene A.; Pan-STARRS Team

2018-01-01

The Pan-STARRS 3pi Survey has been calibrated with excellent precision for both astrometry and photometry. The Pan-STARRS Data Release 1, opened to the public on 2016 Dec 16, provides photometry in 5 well-calibrated, well-defined bandpasses (grizy) astrometrically registered to the Gaia frame. Comparisons with other surveys illustrate the high quality of the calibration and provide tests of remaining systematic errors in both Pan-STARRS and those external surveys. With photometry and astrometry of roughly 3 billion astronomical objects, the Pan-STARRS DR1 has substantial overlap with Gaia, SDSS, 2MASS and other surveys. I will discuss the astrometric tie between Pan-STARRS DR1 and Gaia and show comparisons between Pan-STARRS and other large-scale surveys.

Investigation of Υ Dor - δ Sct hybrid stars based on high precission space photometry and complementary ground based spectroscopy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hareter, M.

2013-01-01

Stellar pulsation carries information on the physical condition within the star. While pressure modes (p modes) probe the outer layers of a star, gravity modes (g modes) penetrate deep into the radiative zone and thus carry valuable information on the physical conditions there. gamma Dor stars are stars that pulsate in such modes, apart from white dwarfs and slowly pulsating B (SPB) stars. Therefore, these stars are important test benches for stellar evolution and pulsation theory. delta Sct - gamma Dor hybrids are stars that pulsate like gamma Dor stars with g modes but also with p modes as the delta Sct stars do. This makes them even more suited for asteroseismology. The CoRoT long runs offer a great opportunity to analyse a large sample of stars observed homogeneously, uninterrupted and long time base of about 150 days, which is practically unachievable with ground based observation. Since space missions avoid the scintillation caused by the Earth's atmosphere, they allow to detect stellar oscillations on a sub-millimagnitude level even for stars as faint as 15th magnitude. The photometric data is supplemented by AAOmega classification spectroscopy, allowing to determine effective tem- peratures and surface gravity. With these data a statistical approach was adopted to describe the pulsation behaviour gamma Dor and delta Sct - gamma Dor hybrid stars. A temperature - period relation was found for gamma Dor and delta Sct stars, but none for delta Sct - gamma Dor hybrid stars, when considering their strongest g mode or p mode, respectively. The instability domain of hybrid stars is equal to that of delta Sct stars and is not con- fined to the overlapping region of the delta Sct and gamma Dor IS in the Hertzsprung- Russell diagram. Hybrid stars behave differently in the g mode regime than gamma Dor stars, which poses a serious question on how to define properly a delta Sct - gamma Dor hybrid. The convective flux blocking mechanism is supposed to work for stars

Development of corotational formulated FEM for application to 30m class large deployable reflector

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ozawa, Satoru; Fujiwara, Yuuichi; Tsujihata, Akio

2010-01-01

JAXA, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, is now developing a corotational formulated finite element analysis method and its software 'Origami/ETS' for the development of 30m class large deployable reflectors. For the reason that the deployable reflector is composed of beams, cables and mesh, this analysis method is generalized for finite elements with multiple nodes, which are commonly used in linear finite element analyses. The large displacement and rotation are taken into account by the corotational formulation. The tangent stiffness matrix for finite elements with multiple nodes is obtained as follows; the geometric stiffness matrix of two node elements is derived by taking variation of the element's corotational matrix from the virtual work of finite elements with large displacement; similarly the geometric stiffness matrix for three node elements is derived; as the extension of two and three node element theories, the geometric stiffness matrix for multiple node elements is derived; with the geometric stiffness matrix for multiple node elements, the tangent stiffness matrix is obtained. The analysis method is applied for the deployment analysis and static structural analysis of the 30m class large deployable reflector. In the deployment analysis, it is confirmed that this method stably analyzes the deployment motion from the deployment configuration to the stowed configuration of the reflector. In the static analysis, it is confirmed that the mesh structure is analyzed successfully. The 30m class large deployable reflector is now still being developed and is about to undergo several tests with its prototypes. This analysis method will be used in the tests and verifications of the reflector.

Combining Photometry from Kepler and TESS to Improve Short-Period Exoplanet Characterization

Science.gov (United States)

Placek, Ben; Knuth, Kevin H.; Angerhausen, Daniel

2016-01-01

Planets emit thermal radiation and reflect incident light that they receive from their host stars. As a planet orbits its host star the photometric variations associated with these two effects produce very similar phase curves. If observed through only a single bandpass, this leads to a degeneracy between certain planetary parameters that hinder the precise characterization of such planets. However, observing the same planet through two different bandpasses gives much more information about the planet. Here we develop a Bayesian methodology for combining photometry from both Kepler and the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite. In addition, we demonstrate via simulations that one can disentangle the reflected and thermally emitted light from the atmosphere of a hot-Jupiter as well as more precisely constrain both the geometric albedo and day-side temperature of the planet. This methodology can further be employed using various combinations of photometry from the James Webb Space Telescope, the Characterizing ExOplanet Satellite, or the PLATO mission.

Luminosity and Intrinsic Color Calibration of Main-Sequence Stars With 2Mass Photometry: All Sky Local Extinction

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Knude Jens

2003-12-01

Full Text Available We present a new color index vs. absolute magnitude calibration of 2MASS JHK photometry. For the A0 to ~G5 and M segments of the main sequence information on the amount of interstellar extinction and its location in space may be obtained.

CHEOPS: a space telescope for ultra-high precision photometry of exoplanet transits

Science.gov (United States)

Cessa, V.; Beck, T.; Benz, W.; Broeg, C.; Ehrenreich, D.; Fortier, A.; Peter, G.; Magrin, D.; Pagano, I.; Plesseria, J.-Y.; Steller, M.; Szoke, J.; Thomas, N.; Ragazzoni, R.; Wildi, F.

2017-11-01

The CHaracterising ExOPlanet Satellite (CHEOPS) is a joint ESA-Switzerland space mission dedicated to search for exoplanet transits by means of ultra-high precision photometry whose launch readiness is expected end 2017. The CHEOPS instrument will be the first space telescope dedicated to search for transits on bright stars already known to host planets. By being able to point at nearly any location on the sky, it will provide the unique capability of determining accurate radii for a subset of those planets for which the mass has already been estimated from ground-based spectroscopic surveys. CHEOPS will also provide precision radii for new planets discovered by the next generation ground-based transits surveys (Neptune-size and smaller). The main science goals of the CHEOPS mission will be to study the structure of exoplanets with radii typically ranging from 1 to 6 Earth radii orbiting bright stars. With an accurate knowledge of masses and radii for an unprecedented sample of planets, CHEOPS will set new constraints on the structure and hence on the formation and evolution of planets in this mass range. To reach its goals CHEOPS will measure photometric signals with a precision of 20 ppm in 6 hours of integration time for a 9th magnitude star. This corresponds to a signal to noise of 5 for a transit of an Earth-sized planet orbiting a solar-sized star (0.9 solar radii). This precision will be achieved by using a single frame-transfer backside illuminated CCD detector cool down at 233K and stabilized within {10 mK . The CHEOPS optical design is based on a Ritchey-Chretien style telescope with 300 mm effective aperture diameter, which provides a defocussed image of the target star while minimizing straylight using a dedicated field stop and baffle system. As CHEOPS will be in a LEO orbit, straylight suppression is a key point to allow the observation of faint stars. The telescope will be the only payload on a spacecraft platform providing pointing stability of

Extended Aperture Photometry of K2 RR Lyrae stars

Science.gov (United States)

Plachy, Emese; Klagyivik, Péter; Molnár, László; Sódor, Ádám; Szabó, Róbert

2017-10-01

We present the method of the Extended Aperture Photometry (EAP) that we applied on K2 RR Lyrae stars. Our aim is to minimize the instrumental variations of attitude control maneuvers by using apertures that cover the positional changes in the field of view thus contain the stars during the whole observation. We present example light curves that we compared to the light curves from the K2 Systematics Correction (K2SC) pipeline applied on the automated Single Aperture Photometry (SAP) and on the Pre-search Data Conditioning Simple Aperture Photometry (PDCSAP) data.

Flatfielding Errors in Strömvil CCD Photometry

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Boyle R. P.

2003-12-01

Full Text Available The importance of determining the error of the flat field in CCD photometry is detailed and our methods of doing this are described. We now have reached a precision of 1-1.5 % in our photometry. Color-magnitude diagrams of the open cluster M67 (ours and Laugalys et al. 2003 are compared.

Corotation-driven magnetosphere-ionosphere coupling currents in Saturn’s magnetosphere and their relation to the auroras

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

S. W. H. Cowley

2003-08-01

Full Text Available We calculate the latitude profile of the equatorward-directed ionospheric Pedersen currents that are driven in Saturn’s ionosphere by partial corotation of the magnetospheric plasma. The calculation incorporates the flattened figure of the planet, a model of Saturn’s magnetic field derived from spacecraft flyby data, and angular velocity models derived from Voyager plasma data. We also employ an effective height-integrated ionospheric Pedersen conductivity of 1 mho, suggested by a related analysis of Voyager magnetic field data. The Voyager plasma data suggest that on the largest spatial scales, the plasma angular velocity declines from near-rigid corotation with the planet in the inner magnetosphere, to values of about half of rigid corotation at the outer boundary of the region considered. The latter extends to ~ 15–20 Saturn radii (RS in the equatorial plane, mapping along magnetic field lines to ~ 15° co-latitude in the ionosphere. We find in this case that the ionospheric Pedersen current peaks near the poleward (outer boundary of this region, and falls toward zero over ~ 5°–10° equator-ward of the boundary as the plasma approaches rigid corotation. The peak current near the poleward boundary, integrated in azimuth, is ~ 6 MA. The field-aligned current required for continuity is directed out of the ionosphere into the magnetosphere essentially throughout the region, with the current density peaking at ~ 10 nA m-2 at ~ 20° co-latitude. We estimate that such current densities are well below the limit requiring field-aligned acceleration of magnetospheric electrons in Saturn’s environment ( ~ 70 nAm-2, so that no significant auroral features associated with this ring of upward current is anticipated. The observed ultraviolet auroras at Saturn are also found to occur significantly closer to the pole (at ~ 10°–15° co-latitude, and show considerable temporal and local time variability, contrary to expectations for corotation

Extended Aperture Photometry of K2 RR Lyrae stars

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Plachy Emese

2017-01-01

Full Text Available We present the method of the Extended Aperture Photometry (EAP that we applied on K2 RR Lyrae stars. Our aim is to minimize the instrumental variations of attitude control maneuvers by using apertures that cover the positional changes in the field of view thus contain the stars during the whole observation. We present example light curves that we compared to the light curves from the K2 Systematics Correction (K2SC pipeline applied on the automated Single Aperture Photometry (SAP and on the Pre-search Data Conditioning Simple Aperture Photometry (PDCSAP data.

Classical variables in the era of space photometric missions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Molnár L.

2015-01-01

Full Text Available The space photometric missions like CoRoT and Kepler transformed our view of pulsating stars, including the well-known RR Lyrae and Cepheid classes. The K2, TESS and PLATO missions will expand these investigations to larger sample sizes and to specific stellar populations.

Real time 3D photometry

Science.gov (United States)

Fernandez-Balbuena, A. A.; Vazquez-Molini, D.; García-Botella, A.; Romo, J.; Serrano, Ana

2017-09-01

The photometry and radiometry measurement is a well-developed field. The necessity of measuring optical systems performance involves the use of several techniques like Gonio-photometry. The Gonio photometers are a precise measurement tool that is used in the lighting area like office, luminaire head car lighting, concentrator /collimator measurement and all the designed and fabricated optical systems that works with light. There is one disadvantage in this kind of measurements that obtain the intensity polar curves and the total flux of the optical system. In the industry, there are good Gonio photometers that are precise and reliable but they are very expensive and the measurement time is long. In industry the cost can be of minor importance but measuring time that is around 30 minutes is of major importance due to trained staff cost. We have designed a system to measure photometry in real time; it consists in a curved screen to get a huge measurement angle and a CCD. The system to be measured projects light onto the screen and the CCD records a video of the screen obtaining an image of the projected profile. A complex calibration permits to trace screen data (x,y,z) to intensity polar curve (I,αγ). This intensity is obtained in candels (cd) with an image + processing time below one second.

Photometry of faint blue stars

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kilkenny, D.; Hill, P.W.; Brown, A.

1977-01-01

Photometry on the uvby system is given for 61 faint blue stars. The stars are classified by means of the Stromgren indices, using criteria described in a previous paper (Kilkenny and Hill (1975)). (author)

UBV-photometry of flare stars in pleiades

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chavushyan, O.S.; Garibdzhanyan, A.T.

1975-01-01

The results are presented of UBV-photometry of 283 flare stars at the minimum of brightness in the Pleiad region. A new method has been developed and used of taking into account the background in photographic UBV-photometry with an iris microphotometer. The data obtained indicate that the flare Pleiad stars are located on both sides of the main sequence in the light-luminosity (V,B-V) diagram, while in the (U-B,B-V) diagram they are largely located above the main sequence

Finding Exoplanets Using Point Spread Function Photometry on Kepler Data

Science.gov (United States)

Amaro, Rachael Christina; Scolnic, Daniel; Montet, Ben

2018-01-01

The Kepler Mission has been able to identify over 5,000 exoplanet candidates using mostly aperture photometry. Despite the impressive number of discoveries, a large portion of Kepler’s data set is neglected due to limitations using aperture photometry on faint sources in crowded fields. We present an alternate method that overcomes those restrictions — Point Spread Function (PSF) photometry. This powerful tool, which is already used in supernova astronomy, was used for the first time on Kepler Full Frame Images, rather than just looking at the standard light curves. We present light curves for stars in our data set and demonstrate that PSF photometry can at least get down to the same photometric precision as aperture photometry. As a check for the robustness of this method, we change small variables (stamp size, interpolation amount, and noise correction) and show that the PSF light curves maintain the same repeatability across all combinations for one of our models. We also present our progress in the next steps of this project, including the creation of a PSF model from the data itself and applying the model across the entire data set at once.

APPHi: Automated Photometry Pipeline for High Cadence Large Volume Data

Science.gov (United States)

Sánchez, E.; Castro, J.; Silva, J.; Hernández, J.; Reyes, M.; Hernández, B.; Alvarez, F.; García T.

2018-04-01

APPHi (Automated Photometry Pipeline) carries out aperture and differential photometry of TAOS-II project data. It is computationally efficient and can be used also with other astronomical wide-field image data. APPHi works with large volumes of data and handles both FITS and HDF5 formats. Due the large number of stars that the software has to handle in an enormous number of frames, it is optimized to automatically find the best value for parameters to carry out the photometry, such as mask size for aperture, size of window for extraction of a single star, and the number of counts for the threshold for detecting a faint star. Although intended to work with TAOS-II data, APPHi can analyze any set of astronomical images and is a robust and versatile tool to performing stellar aperture and differential photometry.

TNO Photometry and Spectroscopy at ESO and Calar Alto

Science.gov (United States)

Boehnhardt, H.; Sekiguchi, T.; Vair, M.; Hainaut, O.; Delahodde, C.; West, R. M.; Tozzi, G. P.; Barrera, L.; Birkle, K.; Watanabe, J.; Meech, K.

New photometry and spectroscopy of Transneptunian objects (TNO) has been obtained at ESO (VLT+FORS1, NTT+SOFI) and the Calar Alto (3.5m+MOSCA) observatory. BVRI photometry of more than 10 objects confirms the general colour-colour distribution of TNOs found previously. Quasi-simultaneous spectroscopy in the visible wavelength range of 5 TNOs did not reveal any spectral signature apart from the spetral gradients which are in agreement with the broadband colours. JHK filter photometry of 3 objects indicates that the reddening may only occur in the near-IR at least in some cases. Using new observations from the ESO VLT the lightcurve, colours and spectrum of 1996TO66 are investigated: the rotation period of 6.25h is confirmed, also the change in the lightcurve between 1997 and 1998 which indicates an exceptional behaviour in this object (temporary cometary activity ?). The 1999 photometry and spectroscopy in the visible revealed solar colours, no reddening and no spectral features. V-R colour changes over the rotation phase are not found. This works is done in colaboration with:

Improved moving source photometry with TRIPPy

Science.gov (United States)

Alexandersen, Mike; Fraser, Wesley Cristopher

2017-10-01

Photometry of moving sources is more complicated than for stationary sources, because the sources trail their signal out over more pixels than a point source of the same magnitude. Using a circular aperture of same size as would be appropriate for point sources can cut out a large amount of flux if a moving source moves substantially relative to the size of the aperture during the exposure, resulting in underestimated fluxes. Using a large circular aperture can mitigate this issue at the cost of a significantly reduced signal to noise compared to a point source, as a result of the inclusion of a larger background region within the aperture.Trailed Image Photometry in Python (TRIPPy) solves this problem by using a pill-shaped aperture: the traditional circular aperture is sliced in half perpendicular to the direction of motion and separated by a rectangle as long as the total motion of the source during the exposure. TRIPPy can also calculate the appropriate aperture correction (which will depend both on the radius and trail length of the pill-shaped aperture), and has features for selecting good PSF stars, creating a PSF model (convolved moffat profile + lookup table) and selecting a custom sky-background area in order to ensure no other sources contribute to the background estimate.In this poster, we present an overview of the TRIPPy features and demonstrate the improvements resulting from using TRIPPy compared to photometry obtained by other methods with examples from real projects where TRIPPy has been implemented in order to obtain the best-possible photometric measurements of Solar System objects. While TRIPPy has currently mainly been used for Trans-Neptunian Objects, the improvement from using the pill-shaped aperture increases with source motion, making TRIPPy highly relevant for asteroid and centaur photometry as well.

Photometry of the Variable Bright Red Supergiant Betelgeuse from the Ground and from Space with the BRITE Nano-satellites

Science.gov (United States)

Minor, Robert; Guinan, Edward F.

2016-01-01

Robert B. Minor, Edward Guinan, Richard Wasatonic Betelgeuse (Alpha Orionis) is a large, luminous semi-regular red supergiant of spectral class M1.5-2Iab. It is the 8th brightest star in the night sky. Betelgeuse is 30,000 times more luminous than the Sun and 700 times larger. It has an estimated age of ~8 +/- 2 Myr. Betelgeuse explode in a Type II supernova (anytime within the next million years). When it explodes, it will shine with about the intensity of a full moon and may be visible during the day. However, it is too far away to cause any major damage to Earth. Photometry of this pre-supernova star has been ongoing at Villanova for nearly 45 years. These observations are being used to define the complex brightness variations of this star. Semi-regular periodic light variations have been found with periods of 385 days up to many years. These light variations are used to study its unstable atmosphere and resulting complex pulsations. Over the last 15 years, it has been observed by Wasatonic who has accumulated a large photometric database. The ground-based observations are limited to precisions of 1.5%, and due to poor weather, limit observations to about 1-2 times per week. However, with the recent successful launch of the BRITE Nano-satellites (http://www.brite-constellation.at) during 2013-14, it is possible to secure high precision photometry of bright stars, including Betelgeuse, continuously for up to 3 months. Villanova has participated in the BRITE guest investigators program and has been awarded observing time and data rights many bright stars, including Betelgeuse. BRITE blue and red observations of Betelgeuse were carried out during the Nov-Feb 2013-14 season and the 2014-15. These datasets were given to Villanova and have been combined with coexistent photometry from Wasatonic. Although BRITE's red data is saturated, the blue data is useable. The BRITE datasets were combined with our ground-based V, red, and near-IR photometry. Problems were

The AAVSO Photoelectric Photometry Program in its Scientific and Socio-Historic Context

Science.gov (United States)

Percy, John R.

2011-05-01

Photoelectric photometry began in the 1900s through the work of Guthnick, Stebbins, and others who constructed and used photometers based on the recently-discovered photoelectric effect. The mid 20th century saw a confluence of several areas of amateur interest: astronomy, telescope making, radio and electronics, and general interest in space. This is the time when AAVSO photoelectric photometry (PEP) began, with observers using mostly hand-built photometers on hand-built telescopes. The 1980s brought a revolution: affordable off-the-shelf solid-state photometers, and infrastructure such as the International Amateur-Professional Photoelectric Photometry (IAPPP) conferences, books, and journal. The AAVSO developed a formal PEP program in the early 1980s. Its emphasis was on long-term monitoring of pulsating red giants. It was competing, not always successfully, with programs such as active sun-like binaries (RS CVn stars) which offered "instant gratification" in the form of publicity and quick publications. Nevertheless, the AAVSO PEP program has, through careful organization, motivation, and feedback to observers, produced extensive scientific results. In this presentation, I shall describe, as examples, my own work, its scientific significance, its educational benefit to dozens of my students, and its satisfaction to the observers. To some extent, the AAVSO PEP program has been superceded by its CCD program, but there is still a useful place for ongoing PEP observations of thousands of variable stars. Reference: http://www.aavso.org/sites/default/files/newsletter/PEP/lastpepnl.pdf Acknowledgements: I thank NSERC Canada for research support, my students, and AAVSO staff and observers, especially Howard Landis.

Feasibility of spectro-photometry in X-rays (SPHINX) from the moon

Science.gov (United States)

Sarkar, Ritabrata; Chakrabarti, Sandip Kumar

2010-08-01

Doing space Astronomy on lunar surface has several advantages. We present here feasibility of an All Sky Monitoring Payload for Spectro-photometry in X-rays (SPHINX) which can be placed on a lander on the moon or in a space craft orbiting around the moon. The Si-PIN photo-diodes and CdTe crystals are used to detect solar flares, bright gamma bursts, soft gamma-ray repeaters from space and also X-ray fluorescence (XRF) from lunar surface. We present the complete Geant4 simulation to study the feasibility of such an instrument in presence of Cosmic Diffused X-Ray Background (CDXRB). We find that the signal to noise ratio is sufficient for moderate to bright GRBs (above 5 keV), for the quiet sun (up to 100 keV), solar flares, soft gamma-ray repeaters, X-ray Fluorescence (XRF) of lunar surface etc. This is a low-cost system which is capable of performing multiple tasks while stationed at the natural satellite of our planet.

WISE PHOTOMETRY FOR 400 MILLION SDSS SOURCES

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lang, Dustin; Hogg, David W.; Schlegel, David J.

2016-01-01

We present photometry of images from the Wide-Field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) of over 400 million sources detected by the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS). We use a “forced photometry” technique, using measured SDSS source positions, star–galaxy classification, and galaxy profiles to define the sources whose fluxes are to be measured in the WISE images. We perform photometry with The Tractor image modeling code, working on our “unWISE” coaddds and taking account of the WISE point-spread function and a noise model. The result is a measurement of the flux of each SDSS source in each WISE band. Many sources have little flux in the WISE bands, so often the measurements we report are consistent with zero given our uncertainties. However, for many sources we get 3σ or 4σ measurements; these sources would not be reported by the “official” WISE pipeline and will not appear in the WISE catalog, yet they can be highly informative for some scientific questions. In addition, these small-signal measurements can be used in stacking analyses at the catalog level. The forced photometry approach has the advantage that we measure a consistent set of sources between SDSS and WISE, taking advantage of the resolution and depth of the SDSS images to interpret the WISE images; objects that are resolved in SDSS but blended together in WISE still have accurate measurements in our photometry. Our results, and the code used to produce them, are publicly available at http://unwise.me

Inertia-gravity wave radiation from the merging of two co-rotating vortices in the f-plane shallow water system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sugimoto, Norihiko

2015-01-01

Inertia-gravity wave radiation from the merging of two co-rotating vortices is investigated numerically in a rotating shallow water system in order to focus on cyclone–anticyclone asymmetry at different values of the Rossby number (Ro). A numerical study is conducted on a model using a spectral method in an unbounded domain to estimate the gravity wave flux with high accuracy. Continuous gravity wave radiation is observed in three stages of vortical flows: co-rotating of the vortices, merging of the vortices, and unsteady motion of the merged vortex. A cyclone–anticyclone asymmetry appears at all stages at smaller Ro (≤20). Gravity waves from anticyclones are always larger than those from cyclones and have a local maximum at smaller Ro (∼2) compared with that for an idealized case of a co-rotating vortex pair with a constant rotation rate. The source originating in the Coriolis acceleration has a key role in cyclone–anticyclone asymmetry in gravity waves. An additional important factor is that at later stages, the merged axisymmetric anticyclone rotates faster than the elliptical cyclone due to the effect of the Rossby deformation radius, since a rotation rate higher than the inertial cutoff frequency is required to radiate gravity waves

Inertia-gravity wave radiation from the merging of two co-rotating vortices in the f-plane shallow water system

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sugimoto, Norihiko, E-mail: nori@phys-h.keio.ac.jp [Department of Physics, Research and Education Center for Natural Sciences, Keio University, 4-1-1 Hiyoshi, Kouhoku-ku, Yokohama, Kanagawa 223-8521 (Japan)

2015-12-15

Inertia-gravity wave radiation from the merging of two co-rotating vortices is investigated numerically in a rotating shallow water system in order to focus on cyclone–anticyclone asymmetry at different values of the Rossby number (Ro). A numerical study is conducted on a model using a spectral method in an unbounded domain to estimate the gravity wave flux with high accuracy. Continuous gravity wave radiation is observed in three stages of vortical flows: co-rotating of the vortices, merging of the vortices, and unsteady motion of the merged vortex. A cyclone–anticyclone asymmetry appears at all stages at smaller Ro (≤20). Gravity waves from anticyclones are always larger than those from cyclones and have a local maximum at smaller Ro (∼2) compared with that for an idealized case of a co-rotating vortex pair with a constant rotation rate. The source originating in the Coriolis acceleration has a key role in cyclone–anticyclone asymmetry in gravity waves. An additional important factor is that at later stages, the merged axisymmetric anticyclone rotates faster than the elliptical cyclone due to the effect of the Rossby deformation radius, since a rotation rate higher than the inertial cutoff frequency is required to radiate gravity waves.

Stellar photometry and polarimetry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Golay, M.; Serkowski, K.

1976-01-01

A critical review of progress made in stellar photometry and polarimetry over the period 1973-1975 is presented. Reports of photometric measurements from various observatories throughout the world are summarized. The summary of work on stellar polarimetry lists the review papers, the catalogues and lists of standard stars, and descriptions of new observing techniques. (B.R.H.)

A Practical Guide to Lightcurve Photometry and Analysis

CERN Document Server

Warner, Brian D

2006-01-01

A Practical Guide to Lightcurve Photometry and Analysis provides, for those with access to even a modest telescope and CCD camera, all the information needed to take part in the scientific study of asteroids and variable stars. Using commercially available equipment, amateur astronomers can determine the rotation rate, size, and shape of asteroids. Similarly, it is possible to discover the size, temperature, and orbits of stars in binary systems by using this powerful technique. A Practical Guide to Lightcurve Photometry and Analysis contains all the material needed for readers to understand the theory, and avoid the practical pitfalls of lightcurve photometry. Detailed examples are given for obtaining data, and of course for the exciting and rewarding task of analyzing the data to determine the physical properties of the object. Any college student or amateur astronomer who wants to go beyond mere imaging with a CCD camera and enter the challenging world of "real science" via the lightcurves of asteroids and...

Models of red giants in the CoRoT asteroseismology fields combining asteroseismic and spectroscopic constraints - The open cluster NGC 6633 and field stars-

Science.gov (United States)

Lagarde, Nadège; Miglio, Andrea; Eggenberger, Patrick; Morel, Thierry; Montalbàn, Josefina; Mosser, Benoit

2015-08-01

The availability of asteroseismic constraints for a large sample of red giant stars from the CoRoT and Kepler missions paves the way for various statistical studies of the seismic properties of stellar populations.We use the first detailed spectroscopic study of CoRoT red-giant stars (Morel et al 2014) to compare theoretical stellar evolution models to observations of the open cluster NGC 6633 and field stars.In order to explore the effects of rotation-induced mixing and thermohaline instability, we compare surface abundances of carbon isotopic ratio and lithium with stellar evolution predictions. These chemicals are sensitive to extra-mixing on the red-giant branch.We estimate mass, radius, and distance for each star using the seismic constraints. We note that the Hipparcos and seismic distances are different. However, the uncertainties are such that this may not be significant. Although the seismic distances for the cluster members are self consistent they are somewhat larger than the Hipparcos distance. This is an issue that should be considered elsewhere. Models including thermohaline instability and rotation-induced mixing, together with the seismically determined masses can explain the chemical properties of red-giants targets. Tighter constraints on the physics of the models would be possible if there were detailed knowledge of the core rotation rate and the asymptotic period spacing.

Characterizing the observational properties of δ Sct stars in the era of space photometry from the Kepler mission

Science.gov (United States)

Bowman, Dominic M.; Kurtz, Donald W.

2018-05-01

The δ Sct stars are a diverse group of intermediate-mass pulsating stars located on and near the main sequence within the classical instability strip in the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram. Many of these stars are hybrid stars pulsating simultaneously with pressure and gravity modes that probe the physics at different depths within a star's interior. Using two large ensembles of δ Sct stars observed by the Kepler Space Telescope, the instrumental biases inherent to Kepler mission data and the statistical properties of these stars are investigated. An important focus of this work is an analysis of the relationships between the pulsational and stellar parameters, and their distribution within the classical instability strip. It is found that a non-negligible fraction of main-sequence δ Sct stars exist outside theoretical predictions of the classical instability boundaries, which indicates the necessity of a mass-dependent mixing length parameter to simultaneously explain low and high radial order pressure modes in δ Sct stars within the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram. Furthermore, a search for regularities in the amplitude spectra of these stars is also presented, specifically the frequency difference between pressure modes of consecutive radial order. In this work, it is demonstrated that an ensemble-based approach using space photometry from the Kepler mission is not only plausible for δ Sct stars, but that it is a valuable method for identifying the most promising stars for mode identification and asteroseismic modelling. The full scientific potential of studying δ Sct stars is as yet unrealized. The ensembles discussed in this paper represent a high-quality data set for future studies of rotation and angular momentum transport inside A and F stars using asteroseismology.

Jonckheere Double Star Photometry - Part VII: Aquarius

Science.gov (United States)

Knapp, Wilfried R. A.

2017-10-01

If any double star discoverer is in urgent need of photometry then it is Jonckheere. There are over 3000 Jonckheere objects listed in the WDS catalog and a good part of them with magnitudes obviously far too bright. This report covers the Jonckheere objects in the constellation Aquarius. One image per object was taken with V-filter to allow for visual magnitude measurement by differential pho-tometry. All objects were additionally checked for common proper motion by comparing 2MASS to GAIA DR1 positions and a rather surprisingly large part of the objects qualify indeed as potential CPM pairs. For a few objects also WDS position errors were found.

Visible photometry of NEOs in support of a Warm Spitzer program

Science.gov (United States)

Trilling, David E.; Jones, Sarah; Penprase, Bryan; Emery, Josh; Harris, Alan; Spahr, Tim; Delbo, Marco

2009-08-01

Near Earth Objects (NEOs) may act as dynamical and compositional tracers of the history of near-Earth space. However, despite their scientific importance, key characteristics of the NEO population -- such as the size distribution, mix of albedos and mineralogies, and contributions from so-called dead or dormant comets -- remain largely unexplored; some 99% of all presently known NEOs are essentially uncharacterized. We have been awarded 500 hours of Warm Spitzer time to study some 700 NEOs. The Spitzer data will allow us to measure thermal fluxes and, in combination with optical data, derive albedos and diameters for a large fraction of all known NEOs. Remarkably, the primary uncertainty in our Spitzer results will derive from a lack of good optical photometry for our targets. Fortunately, our targets are generally bright, and obtaining good V band measurements of them requires only a modest amount of time on modest aperture telescopes. We propose here for 36 hours of SMARTS 1.3-m time or 54 hours of SMARTS 0.9-m time to obtain visible photometry of the 72 southern moderately bright ``B'' semester targets in our Warm Spitzer program. These program is ideal for queue/service observing because each observation requires only ~30 minutes and our targets are all over the sky.

Isochrone Fitting of Hubble Photometry in UV–VIS–IR Bands

Science.gov (United States)

Barker, Hallie; Paust, Nathaniel E. Q.

2018-03-01

We present new isochrone fits to color–magnitude diagrams from Hubble Space Telescope Wide Field Camera 3 and Advanced Camera for Surveys photometry of the globular clusters M13 and M80 in five bands from the ultraviolet to near-infrared. Isochrone fits to the photometry using the Dartmouth Stellar Evolution Program (DSEP), the PAdova and TRieste Stellar Evolution Code (PARSEC), and MESA Isochrones and Stellar Tracks (MIST) are examined to study the isochrone morphology. Additionally, cluster ages, extinctions, and distances are found from the visible-infrared color–magnitude diagrams. We conduct careful qualitative analysis on the inconsistencies of the fits across twelve color combinations of the five observed bands, and find that the (F606W‑F814W) color generally produces very good fits, but that there are large discrepancies when the data is fit using colors including UV bands for all three models. We also find that the best fits in the UV are achieved using MIST isochrones, but that they require metallicities that are lower than the other two models, as well published spectroscopic values. Finally, we directly compare DSEP and PARSEC by performing isochrone-isochrone fitting, and find that, for globular cluster aged populations, similar appearing PARSEC isochrones are on average 1.5 Gyr younger than DSEP isochrones. We find that the two models become less discrepant at lower metallicities.

Phase-Averaged Method Applied to Periodic Flow Between Shrouded Corotating Disks

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shen-Chun Wu

2003-01-01

Full Text Available This study investigates the coherent flow fields between corotating disks in a cylindrical enclosure. By using two laser velocimeters and a phase-averaged technique, the vortical structures of the flow could be reconstructed and their dynamic behavior was observed. The experimental results reveal clearly that the flow field between the disks is composed of three distinct regions: an inner region near the hub, an outer region, and a shroud boundary layer region. The outer region is distinguished by the presence of large vortical structures. The number of vortical structures corresponds to the normalized frequency of the flow.

Applied photometry, radiometry, and measurements of optical losses

CERN Document Server

Bukshtab, Michael

2012-01-01

Applied Photometry, Radiometry, and Measurements of Optical Losses reviews and analyzes physical concepts of radiation transfer, providing quantitative foundation for the means of measurements of optical losses, which affect propagation and distribution of light waves in various media and in diverse optical systems and components. The comprehensive analysis of advanced methodologies for low-loss detection is outlined in comparison with the classic photometric and radiometric observations, having a broad range of techniques examined and summarized: from interferometric and calorimetric, resonator and polarization, phase-shift and ring-down decay, wavelength and frequency modulation to pulse separation and resonant, acousto-optic and emissive - subsequently compared to direct and balancing methods for studying free-space and polarization optics, fibers and waveguides. The material is focused on applying optical methods and procedures for evaluation of transparent, reflecting, scattering, absorbing, and aggregat...

First Kepler results on compact pulsators – VIII. Mode identifications via period spacings in g-mode pulsating subdwarf B stars

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Reed, M.D.; Baran, A.; Quint, A.C.

2011-01-01

We investigate the possibility of nearly equally spaced periods in 13 hot subdwarf B (sdB) stars observed with the Kepler spacecraft and one observed with CoRoT. Asymptotic limits for gravity (g-)mode pulsations provide relationships between equal-period spacings of modes with differing degrees ℓ...

Recurrent variations of anomalous oxygen in association with a corotating interaction region

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. K. Reuss

Full Text Available The fluxes of anomalous oxygen (E ranging from 3.5-6.8 MeV/amu, as measured by the EPAC instrument on ULYSSES, show a recurrent variation with the solar rotation period, which is anticorrelated with the fluxes of particles accelerated at the shocks of a corotating interaction region (CIR, and correlated with the fluxes of galactic cosmic rays known to be modulated by the CIR. The amplitude of this variation is much higher than expected for galactic cosmic rays of the same rigidity.

McDonald 2.1-m and CRTS Photometry of Eclipsing Polars

Science.gov (United States)

Wells, Natalie; Mason, Paul

2018-01-01

We present broadband optical photometry of five polars made using the 2.1-m telescope of McDonald Observatory. Four of the polars are eclipsing (EP Dra, FL Cet, V2301 Oph, and a Catalina Sky Survey (CSS) polar candidate). In addition, a pre-polar (MQ Dra) was observed. Typical integration times were 1-3 seconds with no dead time. At this time resolution, eclipse structure can be seen in both one- and two-pole accretors. McDonald 2.1-m data over several years is phased together with CSS photometry covering up to 7 years, in search of indications of period variation. Combining the high-resolution, high-speed photometry obtained using the ProEm camera on the McDonald 2.1-m with the sparse, but high-quality multi-year baseline photometry of the CSS places strong constraints on the time variability of the eclipse periods in these binary systems. In most cases, eclipse variations do not perfectly fit a linear ephemeris. We investigate the source of variations using standard O-C diagram techniques and period search algorithms.

Jonckheere Double Star Photometry – Part X: Hercules

Science.gov (United States)

Knapp, Wilfried

2018-04-01

If any double star discoverer is in urgent need of photometry then it is Jonckheere. There are over 3000 Jonckheere objects listed in the WDS catalog and a good part of them with magnitudes obviously far too bright. This report covers 28 of the in total 82 Jonckheere objects in the constellation Hercules selected by a quick WDS data check for being potentially listed with questionable magnitudes. At least one image per object was taken with V-filter to allow for visual magnitude measurement by differential photometry. All objects were additionally checked for common proper motion and two qualify indeed as potential CPM pairs.

A Method for Transferring Photoelectric Photometry Data from Apple II+ to IBM PC

Science.gov (United States)

Powell, Harry D.; Miller, James R.; Stephenson, Kipp

1989-06-01

A method is presented for transferring photoelectric photometry data files from an Apple II computer to an IBM PC computer in a form which is compatible with the AAVSO Photoelectric Photometry data collection process.

Vector space methods of photometric analysis - Applications to O stars and interstellar reddening

Science.gov (United States)

Massa, D.; Lillie, C. F.

1978-01-01

A multivariate vector-space formulation of photometry is developed which accounts for error propagation. An analysis of uvby and H-beta photometry of O stars is presented, with attention given to observational errors, reddening, general uvby photometry, early stars, and models of O stars. The number of observable parameters in O-star continua is investigated, the way these quantities compare with model-atmosphere predictions is considered, and an interstellar reddening law is derived. It is suggested that photospheric expansion affects the formation of the continuum in at least some O stars.

Affirmation of triggered Jovian radio emissions and their attribution to corotating radio lasers

Science.gov (United States)

Calvert, W.

1985-01-01

It is argued that the original statistical evidence for the existence of triggered radio emissions and corotating radio lasers on Jupiter remains valid notwithstanding the critique of Desch and Kaiser (1985). The Voyager radio spectrograms used to identify the triggered emissions are analyzed and the results are discussed. It is shown that the critique by Desch and Kaiser is unjustified because it is not based on the original event criteria, i.e., the correlation between the occurrence of Jovian auroral kilometric radiation and fast-drift type III solar bursts in the same frequency.

A NURBS-based finite element model applied to geometrically nonlinear elastodynamics using a corotational approach

KAUST Repository

Espath, L. F R

2015-02-03

A numerical model to deal with nonlinear elastodynamics involving large rotations within the framework of the finite element based on NURBS (Non-Uniform Rational B-Spline) basis is presented. A comprehensive kinematical description using a corotational approach and an orthogonal tensor given by the exact polar decomposition is adopted. The state equation is written in terms of corotational variables according to the hypoelastic theory, relating the Jaumann derivative of the Cauchy stress to the Eulerian strain rate.The generalized-α method (Gα) method and Generalized Energy-Momentum Method with an additional parameter (GEMM+ξ) are employed in order to obtain a stable and controllable dissipative time-stepping scheme with algorithmic conservative properties for nonlinear dynamic analyses.The main contribution is to show that the energy-momentum conservation properties and numerical stability may be improved once a NURBS-based FEM in the spatial discretization is used. Also it is shown that high continuity can postpone the numerical instability when GEMM+ξ with consistent mass is employed; likewise, increasing the continuity class yields a decrease in the numerical dissipation. A parametric study is carried out in order to show the stability and energy budget in terms of several properties such as continuity class, spectral radius and lumped as well as consistent mass matrices.

A NURBS-based finite element model applied to geometrically nonlinear elastodynamics using a corotational approach

KAUST Repository

Espath, L. F R; Braun, Alexandre Luis; Awruch, Armando Miguel; Dalcin, Lisandro

2015-01-01

A numerical model to deal with nonlinear elastodynamics involving large rotations within the framework of the finite element based on NURBS (Non-Uniform Rational B-Spline) basis is presented. A comprehensive kinematical description using a corotational approach and an orthogonal tensor given by the exact polar decomposition is adopted. The state equation is written in terms of corotational variables according to the hypoelastic theory, relating the Jaumann derivative of the Cauchy stress to the Eulerian strain rate.The generalized-α method (Gα) method and Generalized Energy-Momentum Method with an additional parameter (GEMM+ξ) are employed in order to obtain a stable and controllable dissipative time-stepping scheme with algorithmic conservative properties for nonlinear dynamic analyses.The main contribution is to show that the energy-momentum conservation properties and numerical stability may be improved once a NURBS-based FEM in the spatial discretization is used. Also it is shown that high continuity can postpone the numerical instability when GEMM+ξ with consistent mass is employed; likewise, increasing the continuity class yields a decrease in the numerical dissipation. A parametric study is carried out in order to show the stability and energy budget in terms of several properties such as continuity class, spectral radius and lumped as well as consistent mass matrices.

CoRoT-2b: a Tidally Inflated, Young Exoplanet?

Science.gov (United States)

Guillot, Tristan; Havel, M.

2009-09-01

CoRoT-2b is among the most anomalously large transiting exoplanet known. Due to its large mass (3.3 Mjup), its large radius ( 1.5 Rjup) cannot be explained by standard evolution models. Recipes that work for other anomalously large exoplanets (e.g. HD209458b), such as invoking kinetic energy transport in the planetary interior or increased opacities, clearly fail for CoRoT-2b. Interestingly, the planet's parent star is an active star with a large fraction (7 to 20%) of spots and a rapid rotation (4.5 days). We first model the star's evolution to accurately constrain the planetary parameters. We find that the stellar activity has little influence on the star's evolution and inferred parameters. However, stellar evolution models point towards two kind of solutions for the star-planet system: (i) a very young system (20-40 Ma) with a star still undergoing pre-main sequence contraction, and a planet which could have a radius as low as 1.4 Rjup, or (ii) a young main-sequence star (40 to 500 Ma) with a planet that is slightly more inflated ( 1.5 Rjup). In either case, planetary evolution models require a significant added internal energy to explain the inferred planet size: from a minimum of 3x1028 erg/s in case (i), to up to 1.5x1029 erg/s in case (ii). We find that evolution models consistently including planet/star tides are able to reproduce the inferred radius but only for a short period of time ( 10 Ma). This points towards a young age for the star/planet system and dissipation by tides due to either circularization or synchronization of the planet. Additional observations of the star (infrared excess due to disk?) and of the planet (precise Rossiter effect, IR secondary eclispe) would be highly valuable to understand the early evolution of star-exoplanet systems.

Investigation of Flow Behavior around Corotating Blades in a Double-Spindle Lawn Mower Deck

OpenAIRE

Chon W.; Amano R. S.

2005-01-01

When the airflow patterns inside a lawn mower deck are understood, the deck can be redesigned to be efficient and have an increased cutting ability. To learn more, a combination of computational and experimental studies was performed to investigate the effects of blade and housing designs on a flow pattern inside a 1.1m wide corotating double-spindle lawn mower deck with side discharge. For the experimental portion of the study, air velocities inside the deck were measured using a laser Do...

Fundamental properties of stars using asteroseismology from Kepler and CoRoT and interferometry from the CHARA Array

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Huber, D.; Ireland, M.J.; Bedding, T.R.

2012-01-01

We present results of a long-baseline interferometry campaign using the PAVO beam combiner at the CHARA Array to measure the angular sizes of five main-sequence stars, one subgiant and four red giant stars for which solar-like oscillations have been detected by either Kepler or CoRoT. By combinin...

Inflows, Outflows, and a Giant Donor in the Remarkable Recurrent Nova M31N 2008-12a?—Hubble Space Telescope Photometry of the 2015 Eruption

Science.gov (United States)

Darnley, M. J.; Hounsell, R.; Godon, P.; Perley, D. A.; Henze, M.; Kuin, N. P. M.; Williams, B. F.; Williams, S. C.; Bode, M. F.; Harman, D. J.; Hornoch, K.; Link, M.; Ness, J.-U.; Ribeiro, V. A. R. M.; Sion, E. M.; Shafter, A. W.; Shara, M. M.

2017-11-01

The recurrent nova M31N 2008-12a experiences annual eruptions, contains a near-Chandrasekhar-mass white dwarf, and has the largest mass accretion rate in any nova system. In this paper, we present Hubble Space Telescope (HST) WFC3/UVIS photometry of the late decline of the 2015 eruption. We couple these new data with archival HST observations of the quiescent system and Keck spectroscopy of the 2014 eruption. The late-time photometry reveals a rapid decline to a minimum luminosity state, before a possible recovery/rebrightening in the run up to the next eruption. Comparison with accretion disk models supports the survival of the accretion disk during the eruptions, and uncovers a quiescent disk mass accretion rate of the order of {10}-6 {M}⊙ {{yr}}-1, which may rise beyond {10}-5 {M}⊙ {{yr}}-1 during the super-soft source phase—both of which could be problematic for a number of well-established nova eruption models. Such large accretion rates, close to the Eddington limit, might be expected to be accompanied by additional mass loss from the disk through a wind and even through collimated outflows. The archival HST observations, combined with the disk modeling, provide the first constraints on the mass donor: {L}{donor}={103}-11+12 {L}⊙ ,{R}{donor}={14.14}-0.47+0.46 {R}⊙ , and {T}{eff,{donor}}=4890+/- 110 K, which may be consistent with an irradiated M31 red-clump star. Such a donor would require a system orbital period ≳ 5 days. Our updated analysis predicts that the M31N 2008-12a WD could reach the Chandrasekhar mass in < 20 kyr.

L' AND M' Photometry Of Ultracool Dwarfs

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Marley, M

2004-01-01

We have compiled L' (3.4-4.1 microns) and M' (4.6-4.8 microns) photometry of 63 single and binary M, L, and T dwarfs obtained at the United Kingdom Infrared Telescope using the Mauna Kea Observatory filter set...

STELLAR POPULATIONS IN MEDIUM REDSHIFT CLUSTERS .2. OPTICAL-INFRARED PHOTOMETRY AND SPECTRA

NARCIS (Netherlands)

PICKLES, AJ; VANDERKRUIT, PC

1991-01-01

We present optical and infrared photometry (BV RI, J H K) and spectra of galaxies in 6 medium redshift clusters covering the redshift range 0.19 less-than-or-equal-to z less-than-or-equal-to 0.4. The array photometry is used to note the radial distribution of the cluster galaxies with optical and

Copernicus spectra and infrared photometry of 42 Orionis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Johnson, H.M.; Snow, T.P. Jr.; Gehrz, R.D.; Hackwell, J.A.

1977-01-01

The Orion sword star 42 Ori is embedded in a nebula north of and separated from the Orion nebula. The B1 V star is probably normal. Other members of the multiple remain poorly defined, and the nebula may exhibit some peculiarities that may depend on them. Copernicus ultraviolet spectra of the star are described here, especially in the form of tables of wavelength identifications. The properties of the interstellar material in the line of sight are also discussed. We present infrared photometry which suggests that 3 less than or equal to R less than or equal to 3.5 for the interstellar matter in the direction of 42 Ori. The IR photometry provides no evidence for companion stellar or circumstellar components

Spitzer Photometry of WISE-Selected Brown Dwarf and Hyper-Lumninous Infrared Galaxy Candidates

Science.gov (United States)

Griffith, Roger L.; Kirkpatrick, J. Davy; Eisenhardt, Peter R. M.; Gelino, Christopher R.; Cushing, Michael C.; Benford, Dominic; Blain, Andrew; Bridge, Carrie R.; Cohen, Martin; Cutri, Roc M.;

COLUROUTE : a mobile gonio-reflectometer to characterize the road surface photometry

OpenAIRE

MUZET, Valérie; PAUMIER, Jean Luc; GUILLARD, Yannick

2008-01-01

Designing a lighting installation involves accounting for site-specific geometric parameters and photometric characteristics of both the light sources and the road surface. The standard tool for characterizing road surface photometry is the reduced luminance coefficient table (or R-table), as defined in the 70's by the CIE. However, recent studies have shown that these tables are no longer representative. In this context, measuring road photometry is necessary for optimizing a lighting ins...

The expected interior and surface environment of CoRoT-7b

Science.gov (United States)

Ziethe, R.; Wurz, P.; Lammer, H.

2010-12-01

The discovery of extrasolar planets - planets that orbit stars other than our sun - has always been fascinating. Meanwhile more than 400 so--called exoplanets have been detected. However, most of the detected exoplanets so far are relatively large (beyond 10 Earth masses) and can be regarded as gaseous planets, but scientists have always seeked after smaller and rocky planets, which could be compared to Earth or other earth--like bodies. Recently, the COROT mission discovered an object, Corot-7b, with a radius of only 1.68 REarth corresponding to a mass of 4.8 +/- 0.8 MEarth. This first low-mass exoplanet -- a so-called Super-Earth -- can be considered to be solid. Corot-7b orbits its primary at a very close distance and is therefore tidally locked in an 1:1 spin-orbit resonance. This implies a very inhomogeneous energy input from the star into the planet. Since the dayside is constantly exposed to the star, there is a strong temperature gradient towards the nightside. The surface temperature on the illuminated side is estimated with 2700K, while the shadowed side is thought to be at 110K. The high temperatures on the dayside will cause the evaporation of volatiles, which gives rise to the formation of an atmosphere. We introduce a three dimensional thermal convection model by solving the pertaining dimensionless hydrodynamical equations, computing the temperature field and especially investigate the formation of partially molten regions due to the inhomogeneous energy input onto the surface. The temperature of the surface and subsurface regions is enormously important for the composition of the atmosphere fed from volatiles, which escaped from the planet. The atmosphere is the only part of this exoplanet, which can be observed with remote sensing methods. Henceforth, understanding the conditions for the formation of an atmosphere (i.e., surface temperature map) is an important step forward in understanding extrasolar planets. We found that the highest temperatures

THE 100 Myr STAR FORMATION HISTORY OF NGC 5471 FROM CLUSTER AND RESOLVED STELLAR PHOTOMETRY

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Garcia-Benito, Ruben; Perez, Enrique; Maiz Apellaniz, Jesus; Cervino, Miguel; Diaz, Angeles I.

2011-01-01

We show that star formation in the giant H II region NGC 5471 has been ongoing during the past 100 Myr. Using Hubble Space Telescope/Wide-Field Planetary Camera 2 F547M and F675W, ground-based JHK s , and GALEX FUV and NUV images, we have conducted a photometric study of the star formation history (SFH) in the massive giant extragalactic H II region NGC 5471 in M101. We perform a photometric study of the color-magnitude diagram (CMD) of the resolved stars and an integrated analysis of the main individual star-forming clusters and of NGC 5471 as a whole. The integrated UV-optical-NIR photometry for the whole region provides two different reference ages, 8 Myr and 60 Myr, revealing a complex SFH, clearly confirmed by the CMD-resolved stellar photometry analysis. The spatial distribution of the stars shows that the star formation in NGC 5471 has proceeded along the whole region during, at least, the last 100 Myr. The current ionizing clusters are enclosed within a large bubble, which is likely to have been produced by the stars that formed in a major event ∼20 Myr ago.

FAINT NEAR-ULTRAVIOLET/FAR-ULTRAVIOLET STANDARDS FROM SWIFT/UVOT, GALEX, AND SDSS PHOTOMETRY

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Siegel, Michael H.; Hoversten, Erik A.; Roming, Peter W. A.; Brown, Peter

2010-01-01

At present, the precision of deep ultraviolet photometry is somewhat limited by the dearth of faint ultraviolet standard stars. In an effort to improve this situation, we present a uniform catalog of 11 new faint (u ∼ 17) ultraviolet standard stars. High-precision photometry of these stars has been taken from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey and Galaxy Evolution Explorer archives and combined with new data from the Swift Ultraviolet Optical Telescope to provide precise photometric measures extending from the near-infrared to the far-ultraviolet. These stars were chosen because they are known to be hot (20, 000 eff < 50, 000 K) DA white dwarfs with published Sloan spectra that should be photometrically stable. This careful selection allows us to compare the combined photometry and Sloan spectroscopy to models of pure hydrogen atmospheres to both constrain the underlying properties of the white dwarfs and test the ability of white dwarf models to predict the photometric measures. We find that the photometry provides good constraints on white dwarf temperatures, which demonstrates the ability of Swift/UVOT to investigate the properties of hot luminous stars. We further find that the models reproduce the photometric measures in all 11 passbands to within their systematic uncertainties. Within the limits of our photometry, we find the standard stars to be photometrically stable. This success indicates that the models can be used to calibrate additional filters to our standard system, permitting easier comparison of photometry from heterogeneous sources. The largest source of uncertainty in the model fitting is the uncertainty in the foreground reddening curve, a problem that is especially acute in the UV.

Jonckheere Double Star Photometry – Part VIII: Sextans

Science.gov (United States)

Knapp, Wilfried

2018-01-01

If any double star discoverer is in urgent need of photometry then it is Jonckheere. There are over 3000 Jonckheere objects listed in the WDS catalog and a good part of them with magnitudes obviously far too bright. This report covers the Jonckheere objects in the constellation Sextans. One image per object was taken with V-filter to allow for visual magnitude measurement by differential photometry. All objects were additionally checked for common proper motion and a good part of the objects qualify indeed as potential CPM pairs.

Ultraviolet photometry of the Cepheid beta Doradus from the ANS satellite

CERN Document Server

Lub, J; Pel, J W; Wesselius, P R

1979-01-01

Extensive satellite (ANS) and ground-based (VBLUW-system) photometry is presented for the Cepheid. These data cover the wavelength range 5500-1800 AA. The ANS photometry does not confirm the evidence for shock waves as found by Hutchinson et al. from OAO-2 ultraviolet photometry of beta Doradus. A comparison of the theoretical fluxes of Kurucz with the observed energy distributions of beta Doradus gives very good agreement in the wavelength range 5500-3300 AA. In the ultraviolet the agreement is still satisfactory around maximum light, but towards lower temperatures there appear discrepancies, particularly shortly after light minimum. The difference in these discrepancies on the rising and on the falling branches of the lightcurve indicates that the observed excess ultraviolet flux is probably partly due to that the observed excess ultraviolet flux is probably partly due to dynamical effects in the moving atmosphere of the Cepheid. (25 refs).

Visualizing the quantum interaction picture in phase space

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mehmani, Bahar; Aiello, Andrea

2012-01-01

We present a graphical example of the interaction picture-time evolution. Our aim is to help students understand in a didactic manner the simplicity that this picture provides. Visualizing the interaction picture unveils its advantages, which are hidden behind the involved mathematics. Specifically, we show that the time evolution of a driven harmonic oscillator in the interaction picture corresponds to a local transformation of a phase space-reference frame into the one that is co-rotating with the Wigner function. (paper)

Azimuthal magnetic fields in Saturn’s magnetosphere: effects associated with plasma sub-corotation and the magnetopause-tail current system

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

E. J. Bunce

Full Text Available We calculate the azimuthal magnetic fields expected to be present in Saturn’s magnetosphere associated with two physical effects, and compare them with the fields observed during the flybys of the two Voyager spacecraft. The first effect is associated with the magnetosphere-ionosphere coupling currents which result from the sub-corotation of the magnetospheric plasma. This is calculated from empirical models of the plasma flow and magnetic field based on Voyager data, with the effective Pedersen conductivity of Saturn’s ionosphere being treated as an essentially free parameter. This mechanism results in a ‘lagging’ field configuration at all local times. The second effect is due to the day-night asymmetric confinement of the magnetosphere by the solar wind (i.e. the magnetopause and tail current system, which we have estimated empirically by scaling a model of the Earth’s magnetosphere to Saturn. This effect produces ‘leading’ fields in the dusk magnetosphere, and ‘lagging’ fields at dawn. Our results show that the azimuthal fields observed in the inner regions can be reasonably well accounted for by plasma sub-corotation, given a value of the effective ionospheric Pedersen conductivity of ~ 1–2 mho. This statement applies to field lines mapping to the equator within ~ 8 R_S (1 R_S is taken to be 60 330 km of the planet on the dayside inbound passes, where the plasma distribution is dominated by a thin equatorial heavy-ion plasma sheet, and to field lines mapping to the equator within ~ 15 R_S on the dawn side outbound passes. The contributions of the magnetopause-tail currents are estimated to be much smaller than the observed fields in these regions. If, however, we assume that the azimuthal fields observed in these regions are not due to sub-corotation but to some other process, then the above effective conductivities define an upper limit, such that values above ~ 2 mho can definitely be

Near-infrared photometry of bright elliptical galaxies

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Peletier, R. F.; Valentijn, E. A.; Jameson, R. F.

High-quality visual-infrared color profiles have been determined for elliptical galaxies for the first time. Surface photometry in J and K is presented for 12 bright elliptical galaxies, and the results have been combined with CCD data in visual passbands. It is shown that the galaxies become bluer

EXO-DAT: AN INFORMATION SYSTEM IN SUPPORT OF THE CoRoT/EXOPLANET SCIENCE

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Deleuil, M.; Meunier, J. C.; Moutou, C.; Surace, C.; Barbieri, M.; Agneray, F.; Granet, Y.; Guterman, P.; Deeg, H. J.; Almenara, J. M.; Debosscher, J.; Hodgkin, S.

2009-01-01

Exo-Dat is a database and an information system created primarily in support of the exoplanet program of the COnvection ROtation and planetary Transits (CoRoT) mission. In the directions of CoRoT pointings, it provides a united interface to several sets of data: stellar published catalogs, photometric and spectroscopic data obtained during the mission preparation, results from the mission and from follow-up observations, and several mission-specific technical parameters. The new photometric data constitute the subcatalog Exo-Cat, and give consistent 4-color photometry of 14.0 million stars with a completeness to 19th magnitude in the r-filter. It covers several zones in the galactic plane around CoRoT pointings, with a total area of 209 deg 2 . This Exo-Dat information system provides essential technical support to the ongoing CoRoT light-curve analyses and ground-based follow-up by supplying additional complementary information such as the prior knowledge of the star's fundamental parameters or its contamination level inside the large CoRoT photometric mask. The database is fully interfaced with VO tools and thus benefits from existing visualization and analysis tools like TOPCAT or ALADIN. It is accessible to the CoRoT community through the Web, and will be gradually opened to the public. It is the ideal tool to prepare the foreseen statistical studies of the properties of the exoplanetary systems. As a VO-compliant system, such analyses could thus benefit from the most up-to-date classifier tools.

Laser flare photometry in clinical practice

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yury S Astakhov

2016-06-01

Full Text Available Laser flare photometry (LFP is the only quantitative and objective method for the evaluation of aqueous flare. There are numerous opportunities to use LFP in clinical practice, and they are discussed in the paper. It is especially helpful in management of uveitis patients, because it allows estimating the correct diagnosis, managing the patient during the treatment with noninvasive method and predicting relapses and complications.

Southern Milky Way carbon stars - New candidates, JHK photometry, and radial velocities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Blanco, V.M.; Cook, K.H.; Schechter, P.L.; Aaronson, M.

1989-01-01

Data are presented for low-latitude southern Milky Way carbon stars. Coordinates and cross identifications are given for carbon stars (67 of which are confirmed new discoveries) in seven fields deemed to be unusually transparent. JHK photometry is presented for 520 stars. Velocities are presented for 393 stars. Improved coordinates are presented for selected stars in Westerlund's catalog. Averaged photometry and velocities are presented for a sample of 336 stars. 26 refs

SURFACE PHOTOMETRY OF LOW SURFACE BRIGHTNESS GALAXIES

NARCIS (Netherlands)

DEBLOK, WJG; VANDERHULST, JM; BOTHUN, GD

1995-01-01

Low surface brightness (LSB) galaxies are galaxies dominated by an exponential disc whose central surface brightness is much fainter than the value of mu(B)(0) = 21.65 +/- 0.30 mag arcsec(-2) found by Freeman. In this paper we present broadband photometry of a sample of 21 late-type LSB galaxies.

K2 photometry and HERMES spectroscopy of the blue supergiant rho Leo

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Aerts, C.; Bowman, D. M.; Simon-Diaz, S.

2018-01-01

We present an 80-d long uninterrupted high-cadence K2 light curve of the B1Iab supergiant rho Leo (HD91316), deduced with the method of halo photometry. This light curve reveals a dominant frequency of f(rot) = 0.0373 d(-1) and its harmonics. This dominant frequency corresponds with a rotation...... period of 26.8 d and is subject to amplitude and phase modulation. The K2 photometry additionally reveals multiperiodic low-frequency variability (

BV photographic and CCD photometry of IC 4651

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anthony-Twarog, B.J.; Mukherjee, K.; Twarog, B.A.; Caldwell, N.

1988-01-01

A BV photometric survey in IC 4651 based on photographic and CCD material calibrated with photoelectric photometry from Eggen (1971) and Anthony-Twarog and Twarog (1987) has been completed. The color-magnitude diagram is consistent with an age of 2.4 + or - 0.3 x 10 to the 9th yr derived by comparison with the isochrones of VandenBerg (1985) if the apparent distance modulus and reddening derived from uvby photometry in Anthony-Twarog and Twarog (1987) are employed. While evidence is found of a hook in the upper main sequence, no evidence is found of a significantly bifurcated main sequence for this cluster, although it is similar in age to NGC 752 and NGC 3680, where this phenomenon has been noted. Finally, the survey has not resolved the apparent deficit of main-sequence stars fainter than V = 14.5 noted in Anthony-Twarog and Twarog (1987). 16 references

Optical photometry of TX0506+056

Science.gov (United States)

Keel, William; Santander, Marcos

2017-10-01

The blazar TX0506+056 has attracted recent attention through its location in the error box of a high-energy Ice Cube neutrino detection (https://gcn.gsfc.nasa.gov/gcn3/21916.gcn3) and gamma-ray flaring (Atel #10791) We report recent photometry of TX0506+056 obtained in Johnson V and Cousins R passbands using the 1-meter Kapteyn telescope at La Palma, operated remotely by the SARA consortium.

Sub-corotating region of Saturn's magnetosphere: Cassini observations of the azimuthal field and implications for the ionospheric Pederesen Current (Invited)

Science.gov (United States)

Smith, E. J.; Dougherty, M. K.; Zhou, X.

2010-12-01

A consensus model of Saturn’s magnetosphere that has broad acceptance consists of four regions in which the plasma and field are corotating, sub-corotating or undergoing Vasyliunas or Dungey convection. In this model, the sub-corotating magnetosphere contains a large scale circuital current system comprised of radial, field-aligned and ionospheric currents. A quantitative rendering of this system developed by S. Cowley and E. Bunch relates the azimuthal field component, B phi, that causes the field to spiral to the ionospheric Pedersen current , Ip. Cassini measurements of B phi over the four year interval between 2005 and 2008 that are widely distributed in radial distance, latitude and local time have been used to compute Ip from a Bunce-Cowley formula. A striking north-south asymmetry of the global magnetosphere has been found. In the southern hemisphere, the magnitude and variation of Ip with invariant colatitude, θ, agree qualitatively with the model but Ip (θ) is shifted poleward by about 10°. In the northern hemisphere, however, the data fail to reproduce the profile of Ip (θ) predicted by the model but are dominated by two high latitude currents having the wrong polarities. Possible causes of this asymmetry are seasonal variations (summer in the southern hemisphere) and/or asymmetric plasma outflow from the inner magnetosphere such as the plumes extending southward from Enceladus. Another finding is a significant local time dependence of Ip(θ) rather than the axisymmetry assumed in the model. There is a close correspondence with the model in the noon sector. The currents in the midnight and dawn sectors are significantly larger than in the noon sector and the current in the dusk sector is dramatically weaker.

Photometry and polarimetry of Nova Andromedae 1986

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kikuchi, Sen; Mikami, Yoshitaka; Kondo, Masayuki

1988-01-01

We have carried out photometry of Nova Andromedae 1986 and find that it should be classified as a fast nova. We have also made polarimetry simultaneously at six wavelengths between 0.36-0.70 ..mu..m. The polarization increased between 2 and 22 days after the light maximum showing that dust formation was associated with the nova explosion.

In Pursuit of LSST Science Requirements: A Comparison of Photometry Algorithms

Science.gov (United States)

Becker, Andrew C.; Silvestri, Nicole M.; Owen, Russell E.; Ivezić, Željko; Lupton, Robert H.

2007-12-01

We have developed an end-to-end photometric data-processing pipeline to compare current photometric algorithms commonly used on ground-based imaging data. This test bed is exceedingly adaptable and enables us to perform many research and development tasks, including image subtraction and co-addition, object detection and measurements, the production of photometric catalogs, and the creation and stocking of database tables with time-series information. This testing has been undertaken to evaluate existing photometry algorithms for consideration by a next-generation image-processing pipeline for the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST). We outline the results of our tests for four packages: the Sloan Digital Sky Survey's Photo package, DAOPHOT and ALLFRAME, DOPHOT, and two versions of Source Extractor (SExtractor). The ability of these algorithms to perform point-source photometry, astrometry, shape measurements, and star-galaxy separation and to measure objects at low signal-to-noise ratio is quantified. We also perform a detailed crowded-field comparison of DAOPHOT and ALLFRAME, and profile the speed and memory requirements in detail for SExtractor. We find that both DAOPHOT and Photo are able to perform aperture photometry to high enough precision to meet LSST's science requirements, and less adequately at PSF-fitting photometry. Photo performs the best at simultaneous point- and extended-source shape and brightness measurements. SExtractor is the fastest algorithm, and recent upgrades in the software yield high-quality centroid and shape measurements with little bias toward faint magnitudes. ALLFRAME yields the best photometric results in crowded fields.

Observations of Hot-Jupiter occultations combining Spitzer and Kepler photometry

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Knutson H.

2011-02-01

Full Text Available We present the status of an ongoing program which aim at measuring occultations by their parent stars of transiting hot giant exoplanets discovered recently by Kepler. The observations are obtained in the near infrared with WarmSpitzer Space Telescope and at optical wavelengths by combining more than a year of Kepler photometry. The investigation consists of measuring the mid-occultation times and the relative occultation depths in each band-passes. Our measurements of occultations depths in the Kepler bandpass is turned into the determination of the optical geometric albedo Ag in this wavelength domain. The brightness temperatures of these planets are deduced from the infrared observations. We combine the optical and near infrared planetary emergent fluxes to obtain broad band emergent spectra of individual planet. We finally compare these spectra to hot Jupiter atmospheric models in order broadly distinguishing these atmospheres between different classes of models.

Jonckheere Double Star Photometry – Part IX: Sagitta

Science.gov (United States)

Knapp, Wilfried

2018-01-01

If any double star discoverer is in urgent need of photometry then it is Jonckheere. There are over 3000 Jonckheere objects listed in the WDS catalog and a good part with magnitudes obviously far too bright. This report covers a part of the Jonckheere objects in the constellation Sagitta including a check if physical by means of UCAC5 proper motion data. In most cases only one image per object is taken for differential photometry as even a single image based measurement is better than the currently often given mere estimation. As by-product a new CPM candidate pair was discovered and as appendix the UCAC5 proper motion data quality was counter-checked with GAIA DR1 (TGAS).

Infrared photometry of the nuclei of early-type radio galaxies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sparks, W.B.; Bailey, J.

1986-01-01

J,H,K,L' two-aperture photometry and single-aperture 10-μm(N) photometry of the nuclei of 44 nearby radio elliptical and SO galaxies are presented. Clear infrared excesses are found from the galaxies with broad emission-lines, the BL Lac objects, and two other galaxies, one of which appears to have an extended infrared excess. In addition, the sample as a whole appears to have positive 10-μm emission which is believed to be largely due to starlight. The near-infrared colours in general are characteristic of normal starlight, with only the strongest 10-μm emitters showing a significant near-infrared excess. These latter galaxies have blue optical colours. (author)

Determination of palladium by flame photometry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Parellada Bellod, R.

1964-01-01

A study on the determination of palladium by lame photometry, fixing the most convent experimental conditions and using solvents to increase the emission of this elements is carried out. Among the organic solvents, acetone has been found the most efficient. The interferences produced by anions and cations have also been studied and an analytical method is related, in which lines of calibration of 0 to 100 ppm palladium re used. (Author) 7 refs

Three-colour photometry of four suspected double-mode cepheids

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pike, C.D.; Andrews, P.J.

1979-01-01

UBV photometry of the cepheids DY Car, EY Car, FZ Car and TZ Mus covering several periods show no evidence for the variable light curves to be expected if they were in fact double-mode cepheids. (author)

THE ARAUCARIA PROJECT. A DISTANCE DETERMINATION TO THE LOCAL GROUP SPIRAL M33 FROM NEAR-INFRARED PHOTOMETRY OF CEPHEID VARIABLES

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gieren, Wolfgang; Pietrzynski, Grzegorz; Graczyk, Dariusz, E-mail: wgieren@astro-udec.cl, E-mail: pietrzyn@hubble.cfm.udec.cl [Warsaw University Observatory, Al. Ujazdowskie 4, 00-478 Warsaw (Poland); and others

2013-08-10

Motivated by an amazing range of reported distances to the nearby Local Group spiral galaxy M33, we have obtained deep near-infrared photometry for 26 long-period Cepheids in this galaxy with the ESO Very Large Telescope. From the data, we constructed period-luminosity relations in the J and K bands which together with previous optical VI photometry for the Cepheids by Macri et al. were used to determine the true distance modulus of M33, and the mean reddening affecting the Cepheid sample with the multiwavelength fit method developed in the Araucaria Project. We find a true distance modulus of 24.62 for M33, with a total uncertainty of {+-}0.07 mag which is dominated by the uncertainty on the photometric zero points in our photometry. The reddening is determined as E(B - V) = 0.19 {+-} 0.02, in agreement with the value used by the Hubble Space Telescope Key Project of Freedman et al. but in some discrepancy with other recent determinations based on blue supergiant spectroscopy and an O-type eclipsing binary which yielded lower reddening values. Our derived M33 distance modulus is extremely insensitive to the adopted reddening law. We show that the possible effects of metallicity and crowding on our present distance determination are both at the 1%-2% level and therefore minor contributors to the total uncertainty of our distance result for M33.

BVI CCD photometry of the globular cluster M4

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Alcaino, G.; Liller, W.; Alvarado, F.

1988-01-01

CCD BV1 main-sequence (MS) photometry of M4, the globular cluster closest to the sun, is presented. The photometry is matched to the BVI isochrones of VandenBerg and Bell (1985). The MS turnoffs are found to be at V = 16.90 + or - 0.05, B-V = 0.81 + or - 0.02, V-I = 0.96 + or - 0.02, and B - I = 1.77 + or - 0.02. The magnitude difference between the MS turnoff and the horizontal branch is Delta M(V) = 3.52 + or - 0.1 for all three color indices. Using Y = 0.2, (Fe/H) = - 1.27, and alpha = 1.65, with a distance modulus of (m-M)V = 12.7 and E(B-V) = 0.41, a consistent age for M4 is deduced in all three color indices of 17 + or - 1.5 Gyr. 34 references

Modeling heat efficiency, flow and scale-up in the corotating disc scraped surface heat exchanger

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Friis, Alan; Szabo, Peter; Karlson, Torben

2002-01-01

A comparison of two different scale corotating disc scraped surface heat exchangers (CDHE) was performed experimentally. The findings were compared to predictions from a finite element model. We find that the model predicts well the flow pattern of the two CDHE's investigated. The heat transfer...... performance predicted by the model agrees well with experimental observations for the laboratory scale CDHE whereas the overall heat transfer in the scaled-up version was not in equally good agreement. The lack of the model to predict the heat transfer performance in scale-up leads us to identify the key...

Thirteen-colour photometry of Be stars

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Alvarez, M; Schuster, W J [Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, Mexico City. Inst. de Astronomia

1981-01-01

Thirteen-colour photometry made at the San Pedro Martir Observatory in Baja California, for a number of spectroscopically variable Be and shell stars is presented. Several of these stars also show photometric variability in the ultraviolet and/or infrared over a time base of two to three years. We analyze the more interesting stars in terms of colour-colour diagrams, colour excesses, spectral characteristics and changes in their energy distributions. Prospects for future research are discussed.

Lightcurve Photometry Opportunities: 2018 April-June

Science.gov (United States)

Warner, Brian D.; Harris, Alan W.; Durech, Josef; Benner, Lance A. M.

2018-04-01

We present lists of asteroid photometry opportunities for objects reaching a favorable apparition and having either none or poorly-defined lightcurve parameters. Additional data on these objects will help with shape and spin axis modeling via lightcurve inversion. We also include lists of objects that will be the target of radar observations. Lightcurves for these objects can help constrain pole solutions and/or remove rotation period ambiguities that might not come from using radar data alone.

Recent photometry of selected symbiotic stars

Science.gov (United States)

Vrašťák, M.

2018-04-01

A new multicolour (BVRcIc) photometric observations of symbiotic stars UV Aur, YY Her, V443 Her, V1016 Cyg, PU Vul, V407 Cyg, V471 Per and suspected symbiotic stars ZZ CMi, NQ Gem, V934 Her, V335 Vul, V627 Cas is presented. The data were obtained from 2016 October to 2018 January by the metod of classical CCD photometry. The monitoring program is still running, so on this paper partial light curves are presented.

Thirteen-colour photometry of Be stars

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Alvarez, M.; Schuster, W.J.

1981-01-01

Thirteen-colour photometry made at the San Pedro Martir Observatory in Baja California, for a number of spectroscopically variable Be and shell stars is presented. Several of these stars also show photometric variability in the ultraviolet and/or infrared over a time base of two to three years. We analyze the more interesting stars in terms of colour-colour diagrams, colour excesses, spectral characteristics and changes in their energy distributions. Prospects for future research are discussed. (author)

Four-color and Hβ photometry for open clusters I: NGC 2516

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Snowden, M.S.

1975-01-01

Extensive uvby and Hβ photometry was obtained for stars in the region of the open cluster NGC 2516. A photometric analysis revealed variable reddening and a mean reddening of E(b - y) = 0.088 m. In addition to determining a new age of 137 x 10 6 years and a new adopted distance modulus of 8.01 m, several possible new variable stars were discovered, one of which may be an eclipsing Ap star. From the photometry of the Si-lambda4200 stars in the cluster it appears the absolute magnitudes and masses for this type of star are not as restricted as previously thought

An Investigation of Interplanetary Structures for Solar Cycles 23 and 24 and their Space Weather Consequences.

Science.gov (United States)

Sultan, M. S.; Jules, A.; Marchese, P.; Damas, M. C.

2017-12-01

It is crucial to study space weather because severe interplanetary conditions can cause geomagnetic storms that may damage both space- and ground-based technological systems such as satellites, communication systems, and power grids. Interplanetary coronal mass ejections (ICMEs) and corotating interaction regions (CIRs) are the primary drivers of geomagnetic storms. As they travel through interplanetary space and reach geospace, their spatial structures change which can result in various geomagnetic effects. Therefore, studying these drivers and their structures is essential in order to better understand and mitigate their impact on technological systems, as well as to forecast geomagnetic storms. In this study, over 150 storms were cross-checked for both solar cycles (SC) 23 and 24. This data has revealed the most common interplanetary structures, i.e., sheath (Sh); magnetic cloud following a shock front (sMC); sheath region and magnetic cloud (Sh/MC); and corotating interaction regions (CIRs). Furthermore, plasma parameters as well as variation in the intensity and duration of storms resulting from different interplanetary structures are studied for their effect on geomagnetically induced currents (GICs), as well as for their effect on power grids. Although preliminary results for SC 23 indicate that storm intensity may play a dominant role for GICs, duration might also be a factor, albeit smaller. Results from both SC 23 and 24 are analyzed and compared, and should lead to an enhanced understanding of space weather consequences of interplanetary structures and their possible forecasting.

Long-Term Photometry of Very Slow Novae

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chochol D.

2003-12-01

Full Text Available Long-term photographic, photoelectric and recent CCD photometry of the classical nova V723 Cas and symbiotic novae V1329 Cyg, PU Vul, V1016 Cyg and HM Sge were used to find their orbital periods. The arguments in favor of the presence of the third components in these systems are given. Physical processes, responsible for the brightness variations, are discussed.

Photometry and Multipolar Magnetic Field Modeling of Polars: BY Camelopardalis and FL Ceti

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

P. A. Mason

2015-02-01

Full Text Available We present new broad band optical photometry of two magnetic cataclysmic variable stars, the asynchronous polar BY Camelopardalis and the short period polar FL Ceti. Observations were obtained at the 2.1-m Otto Struve Telescope of McDonald Observatory with 3s and 1s integration times respectively. In an attempt to understand the observed complex changes in accretion flow geometry observed in BY Cam, we performed full 3D MHD simulations assuming a variety of white dwarf magnetic field structures. We investigate fields with increasing complexity including both aligned and non-aligned dipole plus quadrupole field components. We compare model predictions with photometry at various phases of the beat cycle and find that synthetic light curves derived from a multipolar field structure are broadly consistent with optical photometry. FL Ceti is observed to have two very small accretion regions at the foot-points of the white dwarf’s magnetic field. Both accretion regions are visible at the same time in the high state and are about 100 degrees apart. MHD modeling using a dipole plus quadrupole field structure yields quite similar accretion regions as those observed in FL Ceti. We conclude that accretion flows calculated from MHD modeling of multi-polar magnetic fields produce synthetic light curves consistent with photometry of these magnetic cataclysmic variables.

Photometry and models of eight near-Earth asteroids

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Kaasalainen, M.; Pravec, Petr; Krugly, Yu. N.; Kotková, Lenka; Torppa, J.; Virtanen, J.; Kaasalainen, S.; Erikson, A.; Nathues, A.; Ďurech, J.; Wolf, M.; Lagerros, J. S. V.; Lindgren, M.; Lagerkvist, C.-I.; Koff, R.; Davies, J.; Mann, R.; Kušnirák, Peter; Gaftonyuk, N. M.; Shevchenko, V. G.; Chiorny, V. G.; Belskaya, I. N.

2004-01-01

Roč. 167, č. 1 (2004), s. 178-196 ISSN 0019-1035 R&D Projects: GA AV ČR IAA3003204; GA ČR GA205/99/0255 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z1003909 Keywords : asteroids * rotation * photometry Subject RIV: BN - Astronomy, Celestial Mechanics, Astrophysics Impact factor: 3.074, year: 2004

EVIDENCE FOR GRANULATION IN EARLY A-TYPE STARS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kallinger, Thomas; Matthews, Jaymie M.

2010-01-01

Stars with spectral types earlier than about F0 on (or close) to the main sequence have long been believed to lack observable surface convection, although evolutionary models of A-type stars do predict very thin surface convective zones. We present evidence for granulation in two δ Scuti stars of spectral type A2: HD 174936 and HD 50844. Recent analyses of space-based CoRoT data revealed up to some 1000 frequencies in the photometry of these stars. The frequencies were interpreted as individual pulsation modes. If true, there must be large numbers of nonradial modes of very high degree l which should suffer cancellation effects in disk-integrated photometry (even of high space-based precision). The p-mode interpretation of all the frequencies in HD 174936 and HD 50844 depends on the assumption of white (frequency-independent) noise. Our independent analyses of the data provide an alternative explanation: most of the peaks in the Fourier spectra are the signature of non-white granulation background noise, and less than about 100 of the frequencies are actual stellar p-modes in each star. We find granulation timescales which are consistent with scaling relations that describe cooler stars with known surface convection. If the granulation interpretation is correct, the hundreds of low-amplitude Fourier peaks reported in recent studies are falsely interpreted as independent pulsation modes and a significantly lower number of frequencies are associated with pulsation, consistent with only modes of low degree.

Variations of the Electron Fluxes in the Terrestrial Radiation Belts Due To the Impact of Corotating Interaction Regions and Interplanetary Coronal Mass Ejections

Science.gov (United States)

Benacquista, R.; Boscher, D.; Rochel, S.; Maget, V.

2018-02-01

In this paper, we study the variations of the radiation belts electron fluxes induced by the interaction of two types of solar wind structures with the Earth magnetosphere: the corotating interaction regions and the interplanetary coronal mass ejections. We use a statistical method based on the comparison of the preevent and postevent fluxes. Applied to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration-Polar Operational Environmental Satellites data, this gives us the opportunity to extend previous studies focused on relativistic electrons at geosynchronous orbit. We enlighten how corotating interaction regions and Interplanetary Coronal Mass Ejections can impact differently the electron belts depending on the energy and the L shell. In addition, we provide a new insight concerning these variations by considering their amplitude. Finally, we show strong relations between the intensity of the magnetic storms related to the events and the variation of the flux. These relations concern both the capacity of the events to increase the flux and the deepness of these increases.

Cosmic-Ray Transport in Heliospheric Magnetic Structures. II. Modeling Particle Transport through Corotating Interaction Regions

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kopp, Andreas [Université Libre de Bruxelles, Service de Physique Statistique et des Plasmas, CP 231, B-1050 Brussels (Belgium); Wiengarten, Tobias; Fichtner, Horst [Institut für Theoretische Physik IV, Ruhr-Universität Bochum, D-44780 Bochum (Germany); Effenberger, Frederic [Department of Physics and KIPAC, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305 (United States); Kühl, Patrick; Heber, Bernd [Institut für Experimentelle und Angewandte Physik, Christian-Albrecht-Universität zu Kiel, D-24098 Kiel (Germany); Raath, Jan-Louis; Potgieter, Marius S. [Centre for Space Research, North-West University, 2520 Potchefstroom (South Africa)

2017-03-01

The transport of cosmic rays (CRs) in the heliosphere is determined by the properties of the solar wind plasma. The heliospheric plasma environment has been probed by spacecraft for decades and provides a unique opportunity for testing transport theories. Of particular interest for the three-dimensional (3D) heliospheric CR transport are structures such as corotating interaction regions (CIRs), which, due to the enhancement of the magnetic field strength and magnetic fluctuations within and due to the associated shocks as well as stream interfaces, do influence the CR diffusion and drift. In a three-fold series of papers, we investigate these effects by modeling inner-heliospheric solar wind conditions with the numerical magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) framework Cronos (Wiengarten et al., referred as Paper I), and the results serve as input to a transport code employing a stochastic differential equation approach (this paper). While, in Paper I, we presented results from 3D simulations with Cronos, the MHD output is now taken as an input to the CR transport modeling. We discuss the diffusion and drift behavior of Galactic cosmic rays using the example of different theories, and study the effects of CIRs on these transport processes. In particular, we point out the wide range of possible particle fluxes at a given point in space resulting from these different theories. The restriction of this variety by fitting the numerical results to spacecraft data will be the subject of the third paper of this series.

CCD photometry of apparent dwarf galaxies in Fornax

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Phillipps, S.; Grimley, P.L.; Disney, M.J.; Cawson, M.G.M.; Kibblewhite, E.J.

1986-01-01

Blue and red CCD surface photometry of two apparent dwarf galaxies in the Fornax cluster region is presented. Luminosity profiles are derived and their form discussed. The fainter galaxy resembles an archetypal diffuse dwarf elliptical but the brighter of the pair is either an unusual red dwarf or a background galaxy in chance juxtaposition. (author)

Muon and neutron observations in connection with the corotating interaction regions

Science.gov (United States)

da Silva, M. R.; Dal Lago, A.; Echer, E.; de Lucas, A.; Gonzalez, W. D.; Schuch, N. J.; Munakata, K.; Vieira, L. E. A.; Guarnieri, F. L.

Ground cosmic ray observations are used for studying several kinds of interplanetary structures. The cosmic ray data has different responses to each kind of interplanetary structure. This article has as objective to study cosmic ray muon and neutron signatures due to the passage of corotating interaction region (CIR) in the interplanetary medium, and identify the signatures in the cosmic ray data due to these events. The cosmic ray muon data used in this work are recorded by the multidirectional muon detector installed at INPE’s Observatório Espacial do Sul OES/CRSPE/INPE-MCT, in São Martinho da Serra, RS (Brazil) and the neutron data was recorded by the neutron monitor installed in Newark (USA). The CIR events were selected in the period from 2001 to 2004. CIRs clearly affect cosmic ray density in the interplanetary medium in the Earth’s vicinity, where the magnetic field plays an important role.

Progress in photometry. Sokko ni okeru saikinno shinpo

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Krochmann, J

1991-07-01

A recent progress in photometry was summarized. As to photometric error, photometric head, luminous intensity, luminous flux, and lighting system, a present situation was introduced. Was described the error in photometry using a silicon photodiode, which became in a level of 0.1% by the self-calibration. Also were illustrated the photometric heads for evaluating spatial luminous intensities, the detector for ratio temperature measurement needed for calibration of a normal standard light source, the filter-type monochromator for measuring a difference of spectral response, and the solar battery for reference which can correct the photometer used for the long period in the field. A measurement of high-speed photocurrent was shown, in which the resolving power of 10{sup {minus}14}ampere (10{sup {minus}6}lux) can be achieved. A goniophotometer for luminous flux measurement was also introduced. Furthermore, the stimulation direct-reading colorimeter, the reflectance and transmission measuring apparatus, the illumination meter with a remote control transmitter, the diffuse reflectance measuring apparatus, and the daylight factor measuring apparatus were illustrated. 14 refs., 11 figs.

Space research in the Netherlands 1980

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1981-01-01

In 1960, the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences established a committee with the task of coordinating space research in the Netherlands and maintaining the necessary international contacts. This committe, usually called GROC, has instituted four working groups, in which most of the Netherlands space research is concentrated. These groups are: Working Group for Solar and Stellar Space Research, Working Group for Cosmic Rays, Working Group for Photometry and the Working Group for Satellite Geodesy. General information on space research in the Netherlands Anno 1980 is given. Detailed data about the working groups, their work during 1980 and their programmes are presented, together with a survey of their scientific publications. A financial summary is also included. (Auth.)

Dynamic Young Stars and their Disks: A Temporal View of NGC 2264 with Spitzer and CoRoT*

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Cody Ann Marie

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Variability is a signature feature of young stars. Among the well known light curve phenomena are periodic variations attributed to surface spots and irregular changes associated with accretion or circumstellar disk material. While decades of photometric monitoring have provided a framework for classifying young star variability, we still know surprisingly little about its underlying mechanisms and connections to the surrounding disks. In the past few years, dedicated photometric monitoring campaigns from the ground and space have revolutionized our view of young stars in the time domain. We present a selection of optical and infrared time series from several recent campaigns, highlighting the Coordinated Synoptic Investigation of NGC 2264 (“CSI 2264”– a joint30-day effort with the Spitzer, CoRoT, and MOST telescopes. The extraordinary photometric precision, high cadence, and long time baseline of these observations is now enabling correlation of variability properties at very different wavelengths, corresponding to locations from the stellar surface to the inner 0.1 AU of the disk. We present some results of the CSI 2264 program, including new classes of optical/infrared behavior. Further efforts to tie observed variability features to physical models will provide insights into the inner disk environment at a time when planet formation may be underway.

Ks-BAND DETECTION OF THERMAL EMISSION AND COLOR CONSTRAINTS TO CoRoT-1b: A LOW-ALBEDO PLANET WITH INEFFICIENT ATMOSPHERIC ENERGY REDISTRIBUTION AND A TEMPERATURE INVERSION

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rogers, Justin C.; Apai, Daniel; Lopez-Morales, Mercedes; Sing, David K.; Burrows, Adam

2009-01-01

We report the detection in Ks-band of the secondary eclipse of the hot Jupiter CoRoT-1b from time series photometry with the ARC 3.5 m telescope at Apache Point Observatory. The eclipse shows a depth of 0.336 ± 0.042% and is centered at phase 0.5022 +0.0023 -0.0027 , consistent with a zero eccentricity orbit (e cos ω = 0.0035 +0.0036 -0.0042 ). We perform the first optical to near-infrared multi-band photometric analysis of an exoplanet's atmosphere and constrain the reflected and thermal emissions by combining our result with the recent 0.6, 0.71, and 2.09 μm secondary eclipse detections by Snellen et al., Gillon et al., and Alonso et al. Comparing the multi-wavelength detections to state-of-the-art radiative-convective chemical-equilibrium atmosphere models, we find the near-infrared fluxes difficult to reproduce. The closest blackbody-based and physical models provide the following atmosphere parameters: a temperature T = 2460 +80 -160 K; a very low Bond albedo A B = 0.000 +0.081 -0.000 ; and an energy redistribution parameter P n = 0.1, indicating a small but nonzero amount of heat transfer from the day to nightside. The best physical model suggests a thermal inversion layer with an extra optical absorber of opacity κ e = 0.05 cm 2 g -1 , placed near the 0.1 bar atmospheric pressure level. This inversion layer is located 10 times deeper in the atmosphere than the absorbers used in models to fit mid-infrared Spitzer detections of other irradiated hot Jupiters.

Stroemgren photometry of southern white dwarfs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bessell, M.S.; Wickramasinghe, D.T.

1978-01-01

Colours of southern white dwarfs in the uvby (Stroemgren four-colour) system have been obtained. The results are compared with those of Graham. The extensive absolute photometry of white dwarfs published by Greenstein has also been transferred into the four-colour system and both sets of results are compared with model atmosphere calculations. The scatter in log (g) is higher than previously supposed, and the evidence for an increase in at the cooler (Tsub(e) < 10 000 K) end of the DA sequence is discussed. (author)

The analysis of influence of field of co-rotation on motion of submicronic particles in the Earth's plasmasphere

Science.gov (United States)

Yakovlev, A. B.

2018-05-01

The analysis of the motion of micro-particles with radii of several dozens of nanometers in the Earth's plasmasphere has confirmed that the earlier proved statement about conservation of the form for an orbit of a particle with constant electric charge which moves in superposition of the central gravitational field and the field of a magnetic dipole is true also for the case of a quasi-equilibrium electric charge. For a wide range of altitudes and the sizes of micro-particles other forces that act on the charged grain make considerably smaller impact on its motion. On the basis of numerical simulation it has been shown that for motion in an equatorial plane the field of co-rotation leads to very small monotonous growth of the semimajor axis and an orbit eccentricity, and for not-equatorial orbits there are fluctuations of the semimajor axis, an eccentricity and an inclination of an orbit with the period that considerably exceeds the period of orbital motion. In this paper, on the basis of the analysis of the canonical equations of the motion of a micro-particle in superposition of the central gravitational field and the field of co-rotation the explanation of the time dependences obtained numerically for the basic characteristics of an orbit of a micro-particle is proposed.

IMPROVED VARIABLE STAR SEARCH IN LARGE PHOTOMETRIC DATA SETS: NEW VARIABLES IN CoRoT FIELD LRa02 DETECTED BY BEST II

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fruth, T.; Cabrera, J.; Csizmadia, Sz.; Eigmüller, P.; Erikson, A.; Kirste, S.; Pasternacki, T.; Rauer, H.; Titz-Weider, R.; Kabath, P.; Chini, R.; Lemke, R.; Murphy, M.

2012-01-01

The CoRoT field LRa02 has been observed with the Berlin Exoplanet Search Telescope II (BEST II) during the southern summer 2007/2008. A first analysis of stellar variability led to the publication of 345 newly discovered variable stars. Now, a deeper analysis of this data set was used to optimize the variability search procedure. Several methods and parameters have been tested in order to improve the selection process compared to the widely used J index for variability ranking. This paper describes an empirical approach to treat systematic trends in photometric data based upon the analysis of variance statistics that can significantly decrease the rate of false detections. Finally, the process of reanalysis and method improvement has virtually doubled the number of variable stars compared to the first analysis by Kabath et al. A supplementary catalog of 272 previously unknown periodic variables plus 52 stars with suspected variability is presented. Improved ephemerides are given for 19 known variables in the field. In addition, the BEST II results are compared with CoRoT data and its automatic variability classification.

The High Road to Astronomical Photometric Precision : Differential Photometry

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Milone, E. F.; Pel, Jan Willem

2011-01-01

Differential photometry offers the most precise method for measuring the brightness of astronomical objects. We attempt to demonstrate why this should be the case, and then describe how well it has been done through a review of the application of differential techniques from the earliest visual

The ASTRODEEP Frontier Fields catalogues. I. Multiwavelength photometry of Abell-2744 and MACS-J0416

Science.gov (United States)

Merlin, E.; Amorín, R.; Castellano, M.; Fontana, A.; Buitrago, F.; Dunlop, J. S.; Elbaz, D.; Boucaud, A.; Bourne, N.; Boutsia, K.; Brammer, G.; Bruce, V. A.; Capak, P.; Cappelluti, N.; Ciesla, L.; Comastri, A.; Cullen, F.; Derriere, S.; Faber, S. M.; Ferguson, H. C.; Giallongo, E.; Grazian, A.; Lotz, J.; Michałowski, M. J.; Paris, D.; Pentericci, L.; Pilo, S.; Santini, P.; Schreiber, C.; Shu, X.; Wang, T.

2016-05-01

Context. The Frontier Fields survey is a pioneering observational program aimed at collecting photometric data, both from space (Hubble Space Telescope and Spitzer Space Telescope) and from ground-based facilities (VLT Hawk-I), for six deep fields pointing at clusters of galaxies and six nearby deep parallel fields, in a wide range of passbands. The analysis of these data is a natural outcome of the Astrodeep project, an EU collaboration aimed at developing methods and tools for extragalactic photometry and creating valuable public photometric catalogues. Aims: We produce multiwavelength photometric catalogues (from B to 4.5 μm) for the first two of the Frontier Fields, Abell-2744 and MACS-J0416 (plus their parallel fields). Methods: To detect faint sources even in the central regions of the clusters, we develop a robust and repeatable procedure that uses the public codes Galapagos and Galfit to model and remove most of the light contribution from both the brightest cluster members, and the intra-cluster light. We perform the detection on the processed HST H160 image to obtain a pure H-selected sample, which is the primary catalogue that we publish. We also add a sample of sources which are undetected in the H160 image but appear on a stacked infrared image. Photometry on the other HST bands is obtained using SExtractor, again on processed images after the procedure for foreground light removal. Photometry on the Hawk-I and IRAC bands is obtained using our PSF-matching deconfusion code t-phot. A similar procedure, but without the need for the foreground light removal, is adopted for the Parallel fields. Results: The procedure of foreground light subtraction allows for the detection and the photometric measurements of ~2500 sources per field. We deliver and release complete photometric H-detected catalogues, with the addition of the complementary sample of infrared-detected sources. All objects have multiwavelength coverage including B to H HST bands, plus K

Studies of dwarf irregular galaxies. 1. B and V CCD photometry of the brighter stars in Sextans A

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Walker, A.R.

1987-02-15

B and V CCD photometry of Sextans A to limits V=22, B=23.5 demonstrate that two recent studies of the galaxy contain considerable systematic errors in their B and V photometry. These errors are determined here so that corrections can be made to this photometry. The mean absolute magnitudes of the three brightest red and blue stars are found to be =-7.6 and -7.4, =-5.8 and -7.4, respectively. The Cephied distance modulus of Sextans A is revised to 26.0 +- 0.4 mag.

Infrared photometry of galaxies in the Butcher-Oemler cluster 0024+1654

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lilly, S.J.; Gunn, J.E.

1985-01-01

Infrared photometry is presented for 21 galaxies that are spectroscopically confirmed members of the Butcher-Oemler cluster C10024+1654 at z=0.39. These data are combined with optical CCD photometry and transformed to produce rest-frame UBVK colours. The distribution of colours in the (U-V)/(V-K) plane is analysed. The 11 'red' galaxies have colours that are broadly similar to those of nearby elliptical galaxies. All but one of the 10 'blue' galaxies have the colours of nearby spiral galaxies, including one Im-type galaxy, and other interpretations, e.g. a young age, may be discounted. The (V-K) colour of the remaining 'blue' galaxy, however, suggests the presence of a substantial intermediate age (approx. 1 Gyr) stellar population. (author)

Dynamic modeling of geometrically nonlinear electrostatically actuated microbeams (Corotational Finite Element formulation and analysis)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Borhan, H; Ahmadian, M T [Sharif University of Technology, Center of Excellence for Design, Robotics and Automation, School of Mechanical Engineering, PO Box 11365-9567, Tehran (Iran, Islamic Republic of)

2006-04-01

In this paper, a complete nonlinear finite element model for coupled-domain MEMS devices with electrostatic actuation and squeeze film effect is developed. For this purpose, a corotational finite element formulation for the dynamic analysis of planer Euler beams is employed. In this method, the internal nodal forces due to deformation and intrinsic residual stresses, the inertial nodal forces, and the damping effect of squeezed air film are systematically derived by consistent linearization of the fully geometrically nonlinear beam theory using d'Alamber and virtual work principles. An incremental-iterative method based on the Newmark direct integration procedure and the Newton-Raphson algorithm is used to solve the nonlinear dynamic equilibrium equations. Numerical examples are presented and compared with experimental findings which indicate properly good agreement.

BV RI CCD photometry of 361,281 objects in the field of M 31

Science.gov (United States)

Magnier, E. A.; Lewin, W. H. G.; Van Paradijs, J.; Hasinger, G.; Jain, A.; Pietsch, W.; Truemper, J.

1992-01-01

Deep BV RI CCD photometry was performed on a 1 sq deg region of M 31. A catalog of photometry and astrometry of a total of 361,281 stars is presented, with typical completion limits of BV RI = (22.3, 22.2, 22.2, 20.9). Photometric accuracy is about 2 percent at V = 19. This catalog allows detailed studies of stellar populations and reddening. The data are currently being used to assist in finding the optical counterparts of Einstein and ROSAT X-ray sources.

Heartbeat stars and the ringing of tidal pulsations

OpenAIRE

García, RA; Hambleton, K; Kurtz, DW; Prsa, A; Fuller, J; Thompson (SU), S; Ballot, J

2015-01-01

With the advent of high precision photometry from satellites such as Kepler and CoRoT, a whole new layer of interesting and astounding astronomical objects has been revealed: heartbeat stars are an example of such objects. Heartbeat stars are eccen- tric ellipsoidal variables that undergo strong tidal interactions when the stars are almost in contact at the time of closest approach. These interactions deform of the stars and cause a notable light curve variation in the form of a tidal pulse. ...

Heartbeat Stars and the Ringing of Tidally Induced Pulsations

OpenAIRE

Hambleton, K.; Kurtz, D.; Prša, A.; Fuller, J.; Thompson, S.

2015-01-01

With the advent of high precision photometry from satellites such as Kepler and CoRoT, a whole new layer of interesting and astounding astronomical objects has been revealed: heartbeat stars are a prime example of such objects. Heartbeat stars are eccentric ellipsoidal variables that undergo strong tidal interactions at the time of closest approach, when the stars are almost in contact. These interactions cause a significant variation in the surface areas of the stars and are observed in the ...

CCD photometry in the Vilnius photometric system. I. region in Lyra

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Boyle, R.P.; Smriglio, F.; Straizys, V.

1990-01-01

Three-dimensional photometric classification can be made for stars measured in the Vilnius seven-color intermediate-band system, even if they are reddened by dust. Such classification is important for questions relating to the structure and evolution of our Galaxy. Presented here for general use is CCD photometry of 231 field stars in Lyra observed with the 0.9 meter telescope of Kitt Peak National Observatory. The measurements are of higher accuracy than those of a photographic study in the same direction in Lyra for which they can also be used for a deeper calibration of the photographic photometry. The data sets cover two small fields each about 31 arcmin 2 and are complete to 90% for all stars up to the faint limit of V = 17.5

The possibilities of CCD photometry of optical afterglows of GRBs

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Šimon, Vojtěch; Polášek, Cyril; Jelínek, M.; Hudec, René; Štrobl, Jan

-, č. 125 (2010), s. 24-28 ISSN 1801-5964. [Conference on Variable Stars Research /41./. Prague, 27.11.2009-29.11.2009] Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z10030501 Keywords : gamma-ray bursts * optical afterglows * CCD photometry Subject RIV: BN - Astronomy, Celestial Mechanics, Astrophysics

High-temperature measurement techniques for the application in photometry, radiometry and thermometry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hartmann, Juergen

2009-01-01

Well characterised sources of thermal radiation are essential for photometry, radiometry, and thermometry. They serve as reference radiators for the calibration of detectors and radiance sources. Thermal radiation sources are advantageous for this purpose compared to other radiance sources such as lamps or LEDs because they possess a continuous spectrum of the emitted spectral radiance, which, for blackbody sources, can be calculated analytically using Planck's law of radiation. For application in thermometry, blackbody sources starting from temperatures near absolute zero to temperatures up to 3000 deg. C are needed for the calibration of radiation thermometers. For application in photometry and radiometry high intensity sources of radiation in the visible and UV region of the optical spectrum were required. This latter requirement is met by blackbody sources at temperatures well above 2000 deg. C. An ideal reference source should always emit the same amount of radiation at any time of use. This is realised by fixed-point radiators. Such radiators are based on a phase transition of a substance, at high temperatures the melting and freezing points of metals. However, current metal fixed-points are limited to relatively low temperatures. In the present work innovative techniques necessary for research into high-temperature thermal radiation sources are developed and thoroughly described. Starting with variable temperature blackbody sources the techniques required are: Precise apertures determination and detailed characterisation of the applied optical detectors. The described techniques are then used to undertake research into the development of high-temperature fixed-points above the copper fixed-point for application in photometry, radiometry, and thermometry. Applying these sophisticated techniques it was shown that these new high-temperature fixed-points are reproducible and repeatable to better than 100 mK at temperatures up to nearly 3200 K. Finally, a forward

RECTIFIED ASTEROID ALBEDOS AND DIAMETERS FROM IRAS AND MSX PHOTOMETRY CATALOGS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ryan, Erin Lee; Woodward, Charles E.

2010-01-01

Rectified diameters and albedo estimates of 1517 main-belt asteroids selected from IRAS and the Mid-Course Space Experiment asteroid photometry catalogs are derived from updated infrared thermal models, the Standard Thermal Model and the Near-Earth Asteroid Thermal Model (NEATM), and Monte Carlo simulations, using new Minor Planet Center compilations of absolute magnitudes (H values) constrained by occultation- and radar-derived parameters. The NEATM approach produces a more robust estimate of albedos and diameters, yielding albedos of p v (NEATM mean) =0.081 ± 0.064. The asteroid beaming parameter (η) for the selected asteroids has a mean value of 1.07 ± 0.27, and the smooth distribution of η suggests that this parameter is independent of asteroid properties such as composition. No trends in η due to size-dependent rotation rates are evident. Comparison of derived values of η as a function of taxonomic type indicates that the beaming parameter values for S- and C-type asteroids are identical within the standard deviation of the population of beaming parameters.

Stellar CCD Photometry: New Approach, Principles and Application

Science.gov (United States)

El-Bassuny Alawy, A.

A new approach is proposed and developed to handle pre-processed CCD frames in order to identify stellar images and derive their relevant parameters. It relies on: 1) Identifying stellar images and assigning approximate positions of their centres using an artificial intelligence technique, (Knowledge Based System), 2) Accurate determination of the centre co-ordinates applying an elementary statistical concept and 3) Estimating the image peak intensity as a stellar magnitude measure employing simple numerical analysis approach. The method has been coded for personal computer users. A CCD frame of the star cluster M67 was adopted as a test case. The results obtained are discussed in comparison with the DAOPHOTII ones and the corresponding published data. Exact coincidence has been found between both results except in very few cases. These exceptions have been discussed in the light of the basis of both methods and the cluster plates. It has been realised that the method suggested represents a very simple, extremely fast, high precision method of stellar CCD photometry. Moreover, it is more capable than DAOPHOTII of handling blended and distorted stellar images. These characteristics show the usefulness of the present method in some astronomical applications, such as auto-focusing and auto-guiding, beside the main purpose, viz. stellar photometry.

3-color photometry of a sunspot using speckle masking techniques

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Wiehr, E.; Sütterlin, P.

1998-01-01

A three-colour photometry is used to deduce the temperature of sunspot fine-structures. Using the Speckle-Masking method for image restoration, the resulting images (one per colour and burst) have a spatial resolution only limited by the telescope's aperture, i.e. 95km (blue), 145 km (red) and

The Westerbork HI survey of spiral and irregular galaxies - II. R-band surface photometry of late-type dwarf galaxies

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Swaters, RA; Balcells, M

R-band surface photometry is presented for 171 late-type dwarf and irregular galaxies. For a subsample of 46 galaxies B-band photometry is presented as well. We present surface brightness profiles as well as isophotal and photometric parameters including magnitudes, diameters and central surface

Innovative isothermal oil-free co-rotating scroll compressor–expander for energy storage with first expander tests

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Iglesias, A.; Favrat, D.

2014-01-01

Highlights: • Doing a new concept of small scale compressed air energy storage. • Presenting a new working process of scroll machinery. • Updating a thermodynamic model of scroll compressor that take into account water injection. • Updating a mathematical model of volumetric loses that take into account sealing effect of liquid water. • Encouraging results to investigate more deeply this new concept. - Abstract: The development of an efficient isothermal turbine and compressor is essential for the realization of a small-scale compressed air energy storage (CAES). This article presents the theoretical development of an oil-free co-rotating scroll air compressor and turbine working with water injection to make the operations of expansion and compression as isothermal as possible. First experimental results in expander mode are shown. The theoretical performance is predicted with the help of a mathematical model using the equations of energy and mass conservation and the equation of state. This model takes into account the effects of water injection and volumetric losses. The experimental prototype is an oil-free scroll air compressor with the distinctive feature of having two mobile involutes working in synchronized co-rotation one relative to another. The prime-mover is an electric motor driving the two scrolls with two synchronizing belts. Water injection in the housing intends to provide a quasi-isothermal compression. The same device is used as an isothermal expander by supplying high-pressure air with water when it rotates backwards in expander mode, the electric motor acting then as a generator. Expected improvements to a standard scroll compressor and expander are a better volumetric efficiency and a greater power density due to a higher rotational speed of the scrolls, thanks to their symmetrical masses. The isothermal processes increase also the overall performance

USING STELLAR DENSITIES TO EVALUATE TRANSITING EXOPLANETARY CANDIDATES

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tingley, B.; Deeg, H. J.; Bonomo, A. S.

2011-01-01

One of the persistent complications in searches for transiting exoplanets is the low percentage of the detected candidates that ultimately prove to be planets, which significantly increases the load on the telescopes used for the follow-up observations to confirm or reject candidates. Several attempts have been made at creating techniques that can pare down candidate lists without the need of additional observations. Some of these techniques involve a detailed analysis of light curve characteristics; others estimate the stellar density or some proxy thereof. In this paper, we extend upon this second approach, exploring the use of independently calculated stellar densities to identify the most promising transiting exoplanet candidates. We use a set of CoRoT candidates and the set of known transiting exoplanets to examine the potential of this approach. In particular, we note the possibilities inherent in the high-precision photometry from space missions, which can detect stellar asteroseismic pulsations from which accurate stellar densities can be extracted without additional observations.

Infrared polarimetry and photometry of BL Lac objects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Impey, C.D.; Williams, P.M.

1984-01-01

Photometry and polarimetry in the JHK wavebands have now been obtained for 25 BL Lac objects. Several new objects have been monitored for periods of up to five days, and accumulated data is sufficient for a statistical analysis of polarization properties. The selection effects operating on this sample are examined first. A power-law spectrum is consistent with the spectra of all but three objects. A number of important new results are reported. (author)

Asteroseismic inversions in the Kepler era: application to the Kepler Legacy sample

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Buldgen Gaël

2017-01-01

Full Text Available In the past few years, the CoRoT and Kepler missions have carried out what is now called the space photometry revolution. This revolution is still ongoing thanks to K2 and will be continued by the Tess and Plato2.0 missions. However, the photometry revolution must also be followed by progress in stellar modelling, in order to lead to more precise and accurate determinations of fundamental stellar parameters such as masses, radii and ages. In this context, the long-lasting problems related to mixing processes in stellar interior is the main obstacle to further improvements of stellar modelling. In this contribution, we will apply structural asteroseismic inversion techniques to targets from the Kepler Legacy sample and analyse how these can help us constrain the fundamental parameters and mixing processes in these stars. Our approach is based on previous studies using the SOLA inversion technique [1] to determine integrated quantities such as the mean density [2], the acoustic radius, and core conditions indicators [3], and has already been successfully applied to the 16Cyg binary system [4]. We will show how this technique can be applied to the Kepler Legacy sample and how new indicators can help us to further constrain the chemical composition profiles of stars as well as provide stringent constraints on stellar ages.

Asteroseismic inversions in the Kepler era: application to the Kepler Legacy sample

Science.gov (United States)

Buldgen, Gaël; Reese, Daniel; Dupret, Marc-Antoine

2017-10-01

In the past few years, the CoRoT and Kepler missions have carried out what is now called the space photometry revolution. This revolution is still ongoing thanks to K2 and will be continued by the Tess and Plato2.0 missions. However, the photometry revolution must also be followed by progress in stellar modelling, in order to lead to more precise and accurate determinations of fundamental stellar parameters such as masses, radii and ages. In this context, the long-lasting problems related to mixing processes in stellar interior is the main obstacle to further improvements of stellar modelling. In this contribution, we will apply structural asteroseismic inversion techniques to targets from the Kepler Legacy sample and analyse how these can help us constrain the fundamental parameters and mixing processes in these stars. Our approach is based on previous studies using the SOLA inversion technique [1] to determine integrated quantities such as the mean density [2], the acoustic radius, and core conditions indicators [3], and has already been successfully applied to the 16Cyg binary system [4]. We will show how this technique can be applied to the Kepler Legacy sample and how new indicators can help us to further constrain the chemical composition profiles of stars as well as provide stringent constraints on stellar ages.

AN UPDATED CATALOG OF M33 CLUSTERS AND CANDIDATES: UBVRI PHOTOMETRY AND SOME STATISTICAL RESULTS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ma Jun

2012-01-01

We present UBVRI photometry for 392 star clusters and candidates in the field of M33, which are selected from the most recent star cluster catalog. In this catalog, the authors listed star clusters' parameters such as cluster positions, magnitudes, colors in the UBVRIJHK s filters, and so on. However, a large fraction of objects in this catalog do not have previously published photometry. Photometry is performed using archival images from the Local Group Galaxies Survey, which covers 0.8 deg 2 along the major axis of M33. Detailed comparisons show that, in general, our photometry is consistent with previous measurements. Positions (right ascension and declination) for some clusters are corrected here. Combined with previous literature, ours constitute a large sample of M33 star clusters. Based on this cluster sample, we present some statistical results: none of the youngest M33 clusters (∼10 7 yr) have masses approaching 10 5 M ☉ ; roughly half the star clusters are consistent with the 10 4 -10 5 M ☉ mass models; the continuous distribution of star clusters along the model line indicates that M33 star clusters have been formed continuously from the epoch of the first star cluster formation until recent times; and there are ∼50 star clusters which are overlapped with the Galactic globular clusters on the color-color diagram, and these clusters are old globular cluster candidates in M33.

THE IMPACT OF CONTAMINATED RR LYRAE/GLOBULAR CLUSTER PHOTOMETRY ON THE DISTANCE SCALE

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Majaess, D.; Turner, D.; Lane, D. [Department of Astronomy and Physics, Saint Mary' s University, Halifax, NS B3H 3C3 (Canada); Gieren, W., E-mail: dmajaess@ap.smu.ca [Departamento de Astronomia, Universidad de Concepcion, Casilla 160-C, CL Concepcion (Chile)

2012-06-10

RR Lyrae variables and the stellar constituents of globular clusters are employed to establish the cosmic distance scale and age of the universe. However, photometry for RR Lyrae variables in the globular clusters M3, M15, M54, M92, NGC 2419, and NGC 6441 exhibit a dependence on the clustercentric distance. For example, variables and stars positioned near the crowded high-surface brightness cores of the clusters may suffer from photometric contamination, which invariably affects a suite of inferred parameters (e.g., distance, color excess, absolute magnitude, etc.). The impetus for this study is to mitigate the propagation of systematic uncertainties by increasing awareness of the pernicious impact of contaminated and radial-dependent photometry.

VBLUM photometry of RR Lyrae stars in ω Cen and M4

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

DeBruijn, J.W.; Lub, J.

1987-01-01

Multicolour VBLUW photometry of RR Lyrae stars in the globular clusters M4 and ω Cen is used to derive information on reddening, blanketing, effective temperatures and gravity of these stars. The methods employed in the literature to determine the reddening of globular clusters from the UBV colours of the RR Lyrae stars are in complete agreement with the results from VBLUW photometry. The most important conclusions of the present work are: the close similarity between the RR Lyrae variables in the field and in globular clusters, and the agreement between the reddenings derived for RR Lyrae in the field and in globular clusters. This means that at least one parameter which normally is taken as a free parameter in studying globular cluster colour magnitude diagrams can be constrained very precisely

The changing phases of extrasolar planet CoRoT-1b.

Science.gov (United States)

Snellen, Ignas A G; de Mooij, Ernst J W; Albrecht, Simon

2009-05-28

Hot Jupiters are a class of extrasolar planet that orbit their parent stars at very short distances. They are expected to be tidally locked, which can lead to a large temperature difference between their daysides and nightsides. Infrared observations of eclipsing systems have yielded dayside temperatures for a number of transiting planets. The day-night contrast of the transiting extrasolar planet HD 189733b was 'mapped' using infrared observations. It is expected that the contrast between the daysides and nightsides of hot Jupiters is much higher at visual wavelengths, shorter than that of the peak emission, and could be further enhanced by reflected stellar light. Here we report the analysis of optical photometric data obtained over 36 planetary orbits of the transiting hot Jupiter CoRoT-1b. The data are consistent with the nightside hemisphere of the planet being entirely black, with the dayside flux dominating the optical phase curve. This means that at optical wavelengths the planet's phase variation is just as we see it for the interior planets in the Solar System. The data allow for only a small fraction of reflected light, corresponding to a geometric albedo of <0.20.

Precise Estimates of the Physical Parameters for the Exoplanet System HD 17156 Enabled by Hubble Space Telescope Fine Guidance Sensor Transit and Asteroseismic Observations

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nutzman, Philip; Gilliland, Ronald L.; McCullough, Peter R.

2011-01-01

We present observations of three distinct transits of HD 17156b obtained with the Fine Guidance Sensors on board the Hubble Space Telescope. We analyzed both the transit photometry and previously published radial velocities to find the planet-star radius ratio Rp /R sstarf = 0.07454 ± 0.00035, in......We present observations of three distinct transits of HD 17156b obtained with the Fine Guidance Sensors on board the Hubble Space Telescope. We analyzed both the transit photometry and previously published radial velocities to find the planet-star radius ratio Rp /R sstarf = 0.07454 ± 0......-composition gas giant of the same mass and equilibrium temperature. For the three transits, we determine the times of mid-transit to a precision of 6.2 s, 7.6 s, and 6.9 s, and the transit times for HD 17156 do not show any significant departures from a constant period. The joint analysis of transit photometry...

Multibody dynamic analysis using a rotation-free shell element with corotational frame

Science.gov (United States)

Shi, Jiabei; Liu, Zhuyong; Hong, Jiazhen

2018-03-01

Rotation-free shell formulation is a simple and effective method to model a shell with large deformation. Moreover, it can be compatible with the existing theories of finite element method. However, a rotation-free shell is seldom employed in multibody systems. Using a derivative of rigid body motion, an efficient nonlinear shell model is proposed based on the rotation-free shell element and corotational frame. The bending and membrane strains of the shell have been simplified by isolating deformational displacements from the detailed description of rigid body motion. The consistent stiffness matrix can be obtained easily in this form of shell model. To model the multibody system consisting of the presented shells, joint kinematic constraints including translational and rotational constraints are deduced in the context of geometric nonlinear rotation-free element. A simple node-to-surface contact discretization and penalty method are adopted for contacts between shells. A series of analyses for multibody system dynamics are presented to validate the proposed formulation. Furthermore, the deployment of a large scaled solar array is presented to verify the comprehensive performance of the nonlinear shell model.

Large-deflection statics analysis of active cardiac catheters through co-rotational modelling.

Science.gov (United States)

Peng Qi; Chen Qiu; Mehndiratta, Aadarsh; I-Ming Chen; Haoyong Yu

2016-08-01

This paper presents a co-rotational concept for large-deflection formulation of cardiac catheters. Using this approach, the catheter is first discretized with a number of equal length beam elements and nodes, and the rigid body motions of an individual beam element are separated from its deformations. Therefore, it is adequate for modelling arbitrarily large deflections of a catheter with linear elastic analysis at the local element level. A novel design of active cardiac catheter of 9 Fr in diameter at the beginning of the paper is proposed, which is based on the contra-rotating double helix patterns and is improved from the previous prototypes. The modelling section is followed by MATLAB simulations of various deflections when the catheter is exerted different types of loads. This proves the feasibility of the presented modelling approach. To the best knowledge of the authors, it is the first to utilize this methodology for large-deflection static analysis of the catheter, which will enable more accurate control of robot-assisted cardiac catheterization procedures. Future work would include further experimental validations.

New BVI C photometry of low-mass pleiades stars: Exploring the effects of rotation on broadband colors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kamai, Brittany L.; Stassun, Keivan G.; Vrba, Frederick J.; Stauffer, John R.

2014-01-01

We present new BVI C photometry for 350 Pleiades proper motion members with 9 < V ≲ 17. Importantly, our new catalog includes a large number of K- and early M-type stars, roughly doubling the number of low-mass stars with well-calibrated Johnson/Cousins photometry in this benchmark cluster. We combine our new photometry with existing photometry from the literature to define a purely empirical isochrone at Pleiades age (≈100 Myr) extending from V = 9 to 17. We use the empirical isochrone to identify 48 new probable binaries and 14 likely nonmembers. The photometrically identified single stars are compared against their expected positions in the color-magnitude diagram (CMD). At 100 Myr, the mid K and early M stars are predicted to lie above the zero-age main sequence (ZAMS) having not yet reached the ZAMS. We find in the B – V versus V CMD that mid K and early M dwarfs are instead displaced below (or blueward of) the ZAMS. Using the stars' previously reported rotation periods, we find a highly statistically significant correlation between rotation period and CMD displacement, in the sense that the more rapidly rotating stars have the largest displacements in the B – V CMD.

Evaluation of the brightness of lightning channels and branches using the magnitude system: Application of astronomical photometry

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nobuaki Shimoji

Full Text Available In this paper, we have evaluated the brightness of lightning leaders shown in a digital still image by applying the astronomical magnitude system. In order to analyze the only lightning leaders, these were extracted from the digital still image. For photometry of the lightning leaders, there is no a standard reference source such as Vega in astronomical photometry. Therefore, assuming the maximum pixel value 255 (in 256 levels as the brightness of a standard reference source, the magnitude of the lightning leaders was obtained. The result showed that the magnitude of the lightning leaders vary spatially (i.e. 2D spatial variability. Furthermore, the result suggested that a low current channel is high magnitude and a high current channel is low magnitude. Keywords: Lightning, Fechner’s law, Magnitude system, Astronomical photometry, Image analysis

Recovering physical properties from narrow-band photometry

Science.gov (United States)

Schoenell, W.; Cid Fernandes, R.; Benítez, N.; Vale Asari, N.

2013-05-01

Our aim in this work is to answer, using simulated narrow-band photometry data, the following general question: What can we learn about galaxies from these new generation cosmological surveys? For instance, can we estimate stellar age and metallicity distributions? Can we separate star-forming galaxies from AGN? Can we measure emission lines, nebular abundances and extinction? With what precision? To accomplish this, we selected a sample of about 300k galaxies with good S/N from the SDSS and divided them in two groups: 200k objects and a template library of 100k. We corrected the spectra to z = 0 and converted them to filter fluxes. Using a statistical approach, we calculated a Probability Distribution Function (PDF) for each property of each object and the library. Since we have the properties of all the data from the STARLIGHT-SDSS database, we could compare them with the results obtained from summaries of the PDF (mean, median, etc). Our results shows that we retrieve the weighted average of the log of the galaxy age with a good error margin (σ ≈ 0.1 - 0.2 dex), and similarly for the physical properties such as mass-to-light ratio, mean stellar metallicity, etc. Furthermore, our main result is that we can derive emission line intensities and ratios with similar precision. This makes this method unique in comparison to the other methods on the market to analyze photometry data and shows that, from the point of view of galaxy studies, future photometric surveys will be much more useful than anticipated.

The Photometry Pipeline of the Watcher Robotic Telescope

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A. Ferrero

2010-01-01

Full Text Available The Watcher robotic telescope was developed primarily to perform rapid optical follow-up observations of Gamma-Ray Bursts (GRBs. Secondary scientific goals include blazar monitoring and variable star studies. An automated photometry pipeline to rapidly analyse data from Watcher has been implemented. Details of the procedures to get image zero-point, source instrumental measurement, and limiting magnitude are presented. Sources of uncertainty are assessed and the performance of the pipeline is tested by comparison with a number of catalogue sources.

CCD photometry of Cepheid sequences in four nearby galaxies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Metcalfe, N.; Shanks, T.

1991-01-01

We present Isaac Newton Telescope B and V CCD observations of deep photometric sequences in the vicinity of Cepheid variable stars in three nearby galaxies - M31, M33 and NGC 2403. We have also checked the photometry of the brightest stars in M81 and its dwarf companion, Holmberg IX. We use our data, combined with other recent results, to re-analyse the Cepheid distances to these galaxies. (author)

Strategy for infrared photometry of comets with ISO

Science.gov (United States)

Solc, M.; Vanysek, V.; Gruen, E.

1994-07-01

The launch of the ISO (Infrared Satellite Observatory) by the European Space Agency is scheduled for autumn 1995. Photometry and spectrophotometry observing programs of comets in the wavelength range 2.5-200 microns for the onboard spectrophotometer ISOPHOT is now under final preparation. Technical details for preparing propasals are given. Phenomena in comets to be studied are surface properties of bare cometary nuclei at large heliocentric distances, onset of coma activity, and coma dust and gas emission (in inner solar system). Dust production, dust/gas mass ratio, dust distribution in coma, and their temporal variability are important for understanding the physical processes on nuclei, and spectrophotometry in the range of 2.5-12 microns could provide us with data of the chemical composition of cometary dust. Several active comets expected for the 18-month lifetime of ISO in 1995-1997 were selected for the ISO Central Program according to their orbital and physical parameters: P/Schwassman-Wachmann 1, P/Encke, P/d'Arrest, P/Honda-Mrkos-Pajdusakova, P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, P/Kopff, P/IRAS, P/Wirtanen, P/Wild 2, P/Grigg-Skjellerup, P/Schwassman-Wachmann 3, P/Machholz, and (2060) Chiron. Four of them match well various constraints put on the observations by the technical arrangement of the satellite and instrument. A simple four-parameter model (size, albedo, rotation, optical thickness)was developed to estimate the temperatures and thermal fluxes of both solid nuclei and dust coma.

SEARCHING FOR TROJAN ASTEROIDS IN THE HD 209458 SYSTEM: SPACE-BASED MOST PHOTOMETRY AND DYNAMICAL MODELING

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Moldovan, Reka; Matthews, Jaymie M.; Gladman, Brett; Bottke, William F.; Vokrouhlicky, David

2010-01-01

We have searched Microvariability and Oscillations of Stars (MOST) satellite photometry obtained in 2004, 2005, and 2007 of the solar-type star HD 209458 for Trojan asteroid swarms dynamically coupled with the system's transiting 'hot Jupiter' HD 209458b. Observations of the presence and nature of asteroids around other stars would provide unique constraints on migration models of exoplanetary systems. Our results set an upper limit on the optical depth of Trojans in the HD 209458 system that can be used to guide current and future searches of similar systems by upcoming missions. Using cross-correlation methods with artificial signals implanted in the data, we find that our detection limit corresponds to a relative Trojan transit depth of 1 x10 -4 , equivalent to ∼1 lunar mass of asteroids, assuming power-law Trojan size distributions similar to Jupiter's Trojans in our solar system. We confirm with dynamical interpretations that some asteroids could have migrated inward with the planet to its current orbit at 0.045 AU, and that the Yarkovsky effect is ineffective at eliminating objects of >1 m in size. However, using numerical models of collisional evolution we find that, due to high relative speeds in this confined Trojan environment, collisions destroy the vast majority of the asteroids in -7 .

Wolf-Rayet stars and O-star runaways with HIPPARCOS - II. Photometry

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Marchenko, SV; Moffat, AFJ; van der Hucht, KA; Seggewiss, W; Schrijver, H; Stenholm, B; Lundstrom, [No Value; Setia Gunawan, DYA; Sutantyo, W; van den Heuvel, EPJ; De Cuyper, JP; Gomez, AE

Abundant HIPPARCOS photometry over 3 years of 141 O and Wolf-Rayet stars, including 8 massive X-ray binaries, provides a magnificent variety of light curves at the sigma similar to 1-5% level. Among the most interesting results, we mention: optical outbursts in HD 102567 (MXRB), coinciding with

High-resolution imaging and crowded-field photometry of the stellar populations in the cores of the Globular Clusters M15 and M4

Science.gov (United States)

Butler, R. F.

1999-02-01

This thesis presents work performed at the Department of Physics, University College Galway from 1992 to 1997. It is concerned with ground- and space-based high-resolution optical imaging of globular cluster cores, and the subsequent application of image-restoration and crowded-field photometry techniques; thus we may gain an improved understanding of the nature of their stellar populations, by either monitoring their temporal behaviour over moderate periods for the first time, or by obtaining a more precise "static" picture than was hitherto possible. These goals can be achieved by the development of innovative instrumentation and data analysis techniques. The particularly unique aspect of this work is that it deals with the first application of two-dimensional photon-counting detectors (2D-PCDs) and post-exposure image sharpening (PEIS) for crowded-field photometry. The thesis starts by introducing some basic concepts and characteristics of globular clusters and the diverse stellar species which they contain, in particular those predicted to have formed as a result of dynamical processes in the cluster cores, and those which exhibit variability in emission over time. It then reviews the fields of high-resolution imaging through the turbulent atmosphere & image deconvolution, optical stellar photometry, and Hubble Space Telescope observing and data reduction, each concluded with a description of the systems used in the work reported here (for the HST chapter this involves photometry of WFPC2 (Wide Field & Planetary Camera 2) observations of M15 (NGC 7078) released into the archives in 1995). The core of the thesis begins with a review of the observations to date of the objects with which this thesis is chiefly concerned, M15 and M4 (NGC 6121). In the following sections we describe the observations of these clusters which were made using the TRIFFID camera between 1992 and 1995, the image sharpening and calibration steps performed, and the photometric techniques

Effect of line-of-sight inclinations on the observation of solar activity cycle: Lessons for CoRoT and Kepler

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vazquez Ramio, H; Regulo, C; Mathur, S; GarcIa, R A

2011-01-01

CoRoT and Kepler missions are collecting data of solar-like oscillating stars of unprecedented quality. Moreover, thanks to the length of the time series, we are able to study their seismic variability. In this work we use numerical simulations based on the last 3 solar cycles to analyze the light curves as a function of the line-of-sight inclination angle. These preliminary results showed that the direct observation of the light curve can induce some bias in the position of the maximum of the cycle.

APASS Landolt-Sloan BVgri photometry of Rave stars. I. Data, effective temperatures, and reddenings

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Munari, U.; Siviero, A. [INAF Osservatorio Astronomico di Padova, I-36012 Asiago (VI) (Italy); Henden, A. [AAVSO, Cambridge, MA (United States); Frigo, A. [ANS Collaboration, c/o Astronomical Observatory, Padova (Italy); Zwitter, T. [Faculty of Mathematics and Physics, University of Ljubljana, 1000 Ljubljana (Slovenia); Bienaymé, O.; Siebert, A. [Observatoire Astronomique, Université de Strasbourg, CNRS, 11 rue de l' université F-67000 Strasbourg (France); Bland-Hawthorn, J. [Sydney Institute for Astronomy, University of Sydney, NSW 2006 (Australia); Boeche, C.; Grebel, E. K. [Astronomisches Rechen-Institut, Zentrum für Astronomie der Universität Heidelberg, Mönchhofstr. 12-14, D-69120 Heidelberg (Germany); Freeman, K. C. [Mount Stromlo Observatory, RSAA, Australian National University, Weston Creek, Canberra, ACT 2611 (Australia); Gibson, B. K. [Jeremiah Horrocks Institute, University of Central Lancashire, Preston, PR1 2HE (United Kingdom); Gilmore, G.; Kordopatis, G. [Institute of Astronomy, Cambridge University, Madingley Road, Cambridge CB3 0HA (United Kingdom); Helmi, A. [Kapteyn Astronomical Institute, University of Groningen, PO Box 800, 9700 AV Groningen (Netherlands); Levine, S. E. [Lowell Observatory, Flagstaff, AZ (United States); Navarro, J. F. [Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Victoria, Victoria, BC V8P 5C2 (Canada); Parker, Q. A.; Reid, W. [Department of Physics and Astronomy, Macquarie University, NSW 2109 (Australia); Seabroke, G. M. [Mullard Space Science Laboratory, University College London, Holmbury St. Mary, Dorking, RH5 6NT (United Kingdom); and others

2014-11-01

We provide AAVSO Photometric All-Sky Survey (APASS) photometry in the Landolt BV and Sloan g'r'i' bands for all 425,743 stars included in the fourth RAVE Data Release. The internal accuracy of the APASS photometry of RAVE stars, expressed as the error of the mean of data obtained and separately calibrated over a median of four distinct observing epochs and distributed between 2009 and 2013, is 0.013, 0.012, 0.012, 0.014, and 0.021 mag for the B, V, g', r', and i' bands, respectively. The equally high external accuracy of APASS photometry has been verified on secondary Landolt and Sloan photometric standard stars not involved in the APASS calibration process and on a large body of literature data on field and cluster stars, confirming the absence of offsets and trends. Compared with the Carlsberg Meridian Catalog (CMC-15), APASS astrometry of RAVE stars is accurate to a median value of 0.098 arcsec. Brightness distribution functions for the RAVE stars have been derived in all bands. APASS photometry of RAVE stars, augmented by 2MASS JHK infrared data, has been χ{sup 2} fitted to a densely populated synthetic photometric library designed to widely explore temperature, surface gravity, metallicity, and reddening. Resulting T {sub eff} and E {sub B–V}, computed over a range of options, are provided and discussed, and will be kept updated in response to future APASS and RAVE data releases. In the process, we find that the reddening caused by a homogeneous slab of dust, extending for 140 pc on either side of the Galactic plane and responsible for E{sub B−V}{sup poles} = 0.036 ± 0.002 at the Galactic poles, is a suitable approximation of the actual reddening encountered at Galactic latitudes |b| ≥ 25°.

APASS Landolt-Sloan BVgri Photometry of RAVE Stars. I. Data, Effective Temperatures, and Reddenings

Science.gov (United States)

Munari, U.; Henden, A.; Frigo, A.; Zwitter, T.; Bienaymé, O.; Bland-Hawthorn, J.; Boeche, C.; Freeman, K. C.; Gibson, B. K.; Gilmore, G.; Grebel, E. K.; Helmi, A.; Kordopatis, G.; Levine, S. E.; Navarro, J. F.; Parker, Q. A.; Reid, W.; Seabroke, G. M.; Siebert, A.; Siviero, A.; Smith, T. C.; Steinmetz, M.; Templeton, M.; Terrell, D.; Welch, D. L.; Williams, M.; Wyse, R. F. G.

2014-11-01

We provide AAVSO Photometric All-Sky Survey (APASS) photometry in the Landolt BV and Sloan g'r'i' bands for all 425,743 stars included in the fourth RAVE Data Release. The internal accuracy of the APASS photometry of RAVE stars, expressed as the error of the mean of data obtained and separately calibrated over a median of four distinct observing epochs and distributed between 2009 and 2013, is 0.013, 0.012, 0.012, 0.014, and 0.021 mag for the B, V, g', r', and i' bands, respectively. The equally high external accuracy of APASS photometry has been verified on secondary Landolt and Sloan photometric standard stars not involved in the APASS calibration process and on a large body of literature data on field and cluster stars, confirming the absence of offsets and trends. Compared with the Carlsberg Meridian Catalog (CMC-15), APASS astrometry of RAVE stars is accurate to a median value of 0.098 arcsec. Brightness distribution functions for the RAVE stars have been derived in all bands. APASS photometry of RAVE stars, augmented by 2MASS JHK infrared data, has been χ2 fitted to a densely populated synthetic photometric library designed to widely explore temperature, surface gravity, metallicity, and reddening. Resulting T eff and E B - V , computed over a range of options, are provided and discussed, and will be kept updated in response to future APASS and RAVE data releases. In the process, we find that the reddening caused by a homogeneous slab of dust, extending for 140 pc on either side of the Galactic plane and responsible for EpolesB-V = 0.036 ± 0.002 at the Galactic poles, is a suitable approximation of the actual reddening encountered at Galactic latitudes |b| >= 25°.

Near infrared photometry of violent star formation regions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Melnick, J.; Terlevich, R.; Moles, M.

1985-01-01

Near infrared broad band photometry and CO indices for a significant number of Violent Star Formation Regions are presented. The existence of a narrow correlation between W (Hβ) and IR colour is confirmed. The interpretation of this relation as an age sequence implies a correlation between CO index and W(Hβ) which is not found. It is argued however that this failure is most likely a consequence of using narrow band filters to determine CO indices in objects with strong emission-line spectra. (author)

Hubble Space Telescope-NICMOS Observations of M31'S Metal-Rich Globular Clusters and Their Surrounding Fields. I. Techniques

Science.gov (United States)

Stephens, Andrew W.; Frogel, Jay A.; Freedman, Wendy; Gallart, Carme; Jablonka, Pascale; Ortolani, Sergio; Renzini, Alvio; Rich, R. Michael; Davies, Roger

2001-05-01

Astronomers are always anxious to push their observations to the limit-basing results on objects at the detection threshold, spectral features barely stronger than the noise, or photometry in very crowded regions. In this paper we present a careful analysis of photometry in crowded regions and show how image blending affects the results and interpretation of such data. Although this analysis is specifically for our NICMOS observations in M31, the techniques we develop can be applied to any imaging data taken in crowded fields; we show how the effects of image blending will limit even the Next Generation Space Telescope. We have obtained HST-NICMOS observations of five of M31's most metal-rich globular clusters. These data allow photometry of individual stars in the clusters and their surrounding fields. However, to achieve our goals-obtain accurate luminosity functions to compare with their Galactic counterparts, determine metallicities from the slope of the giant branch, identify long-period variables, and estimate ages from the AGB tip luminosity-we must be able to disentangle the true properties of the population from the observational effects associated with measurements made in very crowded fields. We thus use three different techniques to analyze the effects of crowding on our data, including the insertion of artificial stars (traditional completeness tests) and the creation of completely artificial clusters. These computer simulations are used to derive threshold- and critical-blending radii for each cluster, which determine how close to the cluster center reliable photometry can be achieved. The simulations also allow us to quantify and correct for the effects of blending on the slope and width of the RGB at different surface brightness levels. We then use these results to estimate the limits blending will place on future space-based observations. Based on observations with the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope obtained at the Space Telescope Science

Infrared polarimetry and photometry of BL Lac objects. 2

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Impey, C D [Hawaii Univ., Honolulu (USA). Inst. for Astronomy; Brand, P W.J.L. [Edinburgh Univ. (UK). Dept. of Astronomy; Wolstencroft, R D [Royal Observatory, Edinburgh (UK); Williams, P M [United Kingdom Infrared Telescope Unit, Hilo, Hawaii (USA)

1984-07-15

Photometry and polarimetry in the JHK wavebands have now been obtained for 25 BL Lac objects. Several new objects have been monitored for periods of up to five days, and accumulated data is sufficient for a statistical analysis of polarization properties. The selection effects operating on this sample are examined first. A power-law spectrum is consistent with the spectra of all but three objects. A number of important new results are reported.

Prospective Out-of-ecliptic White-light Imaging of Interplanetary Corotating Interaction Regions at Solar Maximum

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Xiong, Ming; Yang, Liping; Liu, Ying D.; Keiji, Hayashi; Li, Huichao [State Key Laboratory of Space Weather, National Space Science Center, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing (China); Davies, Jackie A.; Harrison, Richard A. [RAL Space, STFC-Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Harwell Campus, Didcot (United Kingdom); Li, Bo; Xia, Lidong, E-mail: mxiong@spacweather.ac.cn [Shandong Provincial Key Laboratory of Optical Astronomy and Solar-Terrestrial Environment, Institute of Space Sciences, Shandong University, Weihai (China)

2017-07-20

Interplanetary corotating interaction regions (CIRs) can be remotely imaged in white light (WL), as demonstrated by the Solar Mass Ejection Imager (SMEI) on board the Coriolis spacecraft and Heliospheric Imagers (HIs) on board the twin Solar TErrestrial RElations Observatory ( STEREO ) spacecraft. The interplanetary WL intensity, due to Thomson scattering of incident sunlight by free electrons, is jointly determined by the 3D distribution of electron number density and line-of-sight (LOS) weighting factors of the Thomson-scattering geometry. The 2D radiance patterns of CIRs in WL sky maps look very different from different 3D viewpoints. Because of the in-ecliptic locations of both the STEREO and Coriolis spacecraft, the longitudinal dimension of interplanetary CIRs has, up to now, always been integrated in WL imagery. To synthesize the WL radiance patterns of CIRs from an out-of-ecliptic (OOE) vantage point, we perform forward magnetohydrodynamic modeling of the 3D inner heliosphere during Carrington Rotation CR1967 at solar maximum. The mixing effects associated with viewing 3D CIRs are significantly minimized from an OOE viewpoint. Our forward modeling results demonstrate that OOE WL imaging from a latitude greater than 60° can (1) enable the garden-hose spiral morphology of CIRs to be readily resolved, (2) enable multiple coexisting CIRs to be differentiated, and (3) enable the continuous tracing of any interplanetary CIR back toward its coronal source. In particular, an OOE view in WL can reveal where nascent CIRs are formed in the extended corona and how these CIRs develop in interplanetary space. Therefore, a panoramic view from a suite of wide-field WL imagers in a solar polar orbit would be invaluable in unambiguously resolving the large-scale longitudinal structure of CIRs in the 3D inner heliosphere.

No Conclusive Evidence for Transits of Proxima b in MOST Photometry

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kipping, David M.; Chen, Jingjing; Sandford, Emily [Department of Astronomy, Columbia University, 550 W. 120th Street, New York, NY 10027 (United States); Cameron, Chris [Department of Mathematics, Physics and Geology, Cape Breton University, 1250 Grand Lake Road, Sydney, NS B1P 6L2 (Canada); Hartman, Joel D.; Bakos, Gáspár Á.; Penev, Kaloyan; Csubry, Zoltan [Department of Astrophysical Sciences, 4 Ivy Lane, Princeton, NJ 08544 (United States); Davenport, James R. A. [Department of Physics and Astronomy, Western Washington University, 516 High Street, Bellingham, WA 98225 (United States); Matthews, Jaymie M. [Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of British Columbia, 6224 Agricultural Road, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z1 (Canada); Sasselov, Dimitar [Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, 60 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138 (United States); Rowe, Jason [Observatoire Astronomque du Mont Mégantic, Départment de Physique, Université de Montréal C. P. 6128, Succursale, Centre-Ville, Montréal, QC H3C 3J7 (Canada); Siverd, Robert J. [Las Cumbres Observatory Global Telescope Network, 6740 Cortona Drive, Suite 102, Santa Barbara, CA 93117 (United States); Jordán, Andrés [Instituto de Astrofísica, Universidad Católica de Chile, Av. Vicuña Mackenna 4860, 7820436 Macul, Santiago (Chile); Bayliss, Daniel [Observatoire Astronomique de Universite de Genéve, 51 ch. des Maillettes, 1290 Versoix (Switzerland); Henning, Thomas; Mancini, Luigi [Max Plank Institute for Astronomy, Königstuhl 17, D-69117 Heidelberg (Germany); and others

2017-03-01

The analysis of Proxima Centauri’s radial velocities recently led Anglada-Escudé et al. to claim the presence of a low-mass planet orbiting the Sun’s nearest star once every 11.2 days. Although the a priori probability that Proxima b transits its parent star is just 1.5%, the potential impact of such a discovery would be considerable. Independent of recent radial velocity efforts, we observed Proxima Centauri for 12.5 days in 2014 and 31 days in 2015 with the Microwave and Oscillations of Stars space telescope. We report here that we cannot make a compelling case that Proxima b transits in our precise photometric time series. Imposing an informative prior on the period and phase, we do detect a candidate signal with the expected depth. However, perturbing the phase prior across 100 evenly spaced intervals reveals one strong false positive and one weaker instance. We estimate a false-positive rate of at least a few percent and a much higher false-negative rate of 20%–40%, likely caused by the very high flare rate of Proxima Centauri. Comparing our candidate signal to HATSouth ground-based photometry reveals that the signal is somewhat, but not conclusively, disfavored (1 σ –2 σ ), leading us to argue that the signal is most likely spurious. We expect that infrared photometric follow-up could more conclusively test the existence of this candidate signal, owing to the suppression of flare activity and the impressive infrared brightness of the parent star.

Improving the Photometry of the Pi of the Sky System

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A. F. Żarnecki

2011-01-01

Full Text Available The “Pi of the Sky” robotic telescope was designed to monitor a significant fraction of the sky with good time resolution and range. The main goal of the “Pi of the Sky” detector is to look for short timescale optical transients arising from various astrophysical phenomena, mainly for the optical counterparts of Gamma Ray Bursts (GRB. The system design, the observation methodology and the algorithms that have been developed make this detector a sophisticated instrument for looking for novae and supernovae stars and for monitoring blasars and AGNs activity. The final detector will consist of two sets of 12 cameras, one camera covering a field of view of 20◦ ×20◦. For data taken with the prototype detector at the Las Campanas Observatory, Chile, photometry uncertainty of 0.018–0.024 magnitudo for stars 7–10m was obtained. With a new calibration algorithm taking into account the spectral type of reference stars, the stability of the photometry algorithm can be significantly improved. Preliminary results from the BGInd variable are presented, showing that uncertainty of the order of 0.013 can be obtained.

CCD photometry of NGC 2419

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Christian, C.A.; Heasley, J.N.

1988-01-01

The properties of the globular cluster NGC 2419 are reexamined using CCD photometry deepened to the vicinity of the main-sequence turnoff. A new color-magnitude diagram is derived that extends to V = 24.5 mag. It is concluded that NGC 2419 is an outer-halo analog of the metal-poor globulars closer to the Galactic center. NGC 2419 is probably nearly the same age as M15 and differs only slightly, if at all, in metallicity. NGC 2419 has many similarities with the clusters NGC 5466, M15, and M92. Comparison of the data with the isochrones of VandenBerg and Bell (1985) implies a distance modulus of 20.1 with Delta (B-V) = 0.18 mag. Oxygen-rich models can be fit to the data; such a comparison yields a lower limit to the acceptable distance modulus of the cluster. 26 references

Temperature mapping of sunspots and pores from speckle reconstructed three colour photometry

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Sütterlin, P.; Wiehr, E.

1998-01-01

The two-dimensional temperature distribution in a highly structured sunspot and in two small umbrae is determined from a three-colour photometry in narrow spectral continua. Disturbing influences from the earth’s atmosphere are removed by speckle masking techniques, yielding a spatial resolution

Correlation of propagation characteristics of solar cosmic rays detected onboard the spatially separated space probes Mars-7 and Prognoz-3

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gombosi, T.; Somogyi, A.J.; Kolesov, G.Ya.; Kurt, V.G.; Kuzhevskii, B.M.; Logachev, Yu.I.; Savenko, I.A.

1977-01-01

Solar flare generated particle fluxes during the period 3-5 November, 1973 are analysed using the data of the Mars 7 and Prognoz-3 spacecrafts. The intensity profiles registrated onboard these satellites were quite similar, although the space probes were spatially separated by 0.3 AU. The general characteristics of the event can well be understood in terms of the effect of a corotating streat-stream interaction region on the general behaviour of energetic charged particles. (author)

Investigation of Flow Behavior around Corotating Blades in a Double-Spindle Lawn Mower Deck

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chon W.

2005-01-01

Full Text Available When the airflow patterns inside a lawn mower deck are understood, the deck can be redesigned to be efficient and have an increased cutting ability. To learn more, a combination of computational and experimental studies was performed to investigate the effects of blade and housing designs on a flow pattern inside a 1.1m wide corotating double-spindle lawn mower deck with side discharge. For the experimental portion of the study, air velocities inside the deck were measured using a laser Doppler velocimetry (LDV system. A high-speed video camera was used to observe the flow pattern. Furthermore, noise levels were measured using a sound level meter. For the computational fluid dynamics (CFD work, several arbitrary radial sections of a two-dimensional blade were selected to study flow computations. A three-dimensional, full deck model was also developed for realistic flow analysis. The computational results were then compared with the experimental results.

Herschel-PACS photometry of faint stars for sensitivity performance assessment and establishment of faint FIR primary photometric standards

Science.gov (United States)

Klaas, U.; Balog, Z.; Nielbock, M.; Müller, T. G.; Linz, H.; Kiss, Cs.

2018-05-01

Aims: Our aims are to determine flux densities and their photometric accuracy for a set of seventeen stars that range in flux from intermediately bright (≲2.5 Jy) to faint (≳5 mJy) in the far-infrared (FIR). We also aim to derive signal-to-noise dependence with flux and time, and compare the results with predictions from the Herschel exposure-time calculation tool. Methods: We obtain aperture photometry from Herschel-PACS high-pass-filtered scan maps and chop/nod observations of the faint stars. The issues of detection limits and sky confusion noise are addressed by comparison of the field-of-view at different wavelengths, by multi-aperture photometry, by special processing of the maps to preserve extended emission, and with the help of large-scale absolute sky brightness maps from AKARI. This photometry is compared with flux-density predictions based on photospheric models for these stars. We obtain a robust noise estimate by fitting the flux distribution per map pixel histogram for the area around the stars, scaling it for the applied aperture size and correcting for noise correlation. Results: For 15 stars we obtain reliable photometry in at least one PACS filter, and for 11 stars we achieve this in all three PACS filters (70, 100, 160 μm). Faintest fluxes, for which the photometry still has good quality, are about 10-20 mJy with scan map photometry. The photometry of seven stars is consistent with models or flux predictions for pure photospheric emission, making them good primary standard candidates. Two stars exhibit source-intrinsic far-infrared excess: β Gem (Pollux), being the host star of a confirmed Jupiter-size exoplanet, due to emission of an associated dust disk, and η Dra due to dust emission in a binary system with a K1 dwarf. The investigation of the 160 μm sky background and environment of four sources reveals significant sky confusion prohibiting the determination of an accurate stellar flux at this wavelength. As a good model

Multiband photometry and spectroscopy of an all-sky sample of bright white dwarfs

Science.gov (United States)

Raddi, R.; Gentile Fusillo, N. P.; Pala, A. F.; Hermes, J. J.; Gänsicke, B. T.; Chote, P.; Hollands, M. A.; Henden, A.; Catalán, S.; Geier, S.; Koester, D.; Munari, U.; Napiwotzki, R.; Tremblay, P.-E.

2017-12-01

The upcoming NASA Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) will obtain space-based uninterrupted light curves for a large sample of bright white dwarfs distributed across the entire sky, providing a very rich resource for asteroseismological studies and the search for transits from planetary debris. We have compiled an all-sky catalogue of ultraviolet, optical and infrared photometry as well as proper motions, which we propose as an essential tool for the preliminary identification and characterization of potential targets. We present data for 1864 known white dwarfs and 305 high-probability white dwarf candidates brighter than 17 mag. We describe the spectroscopic follow-up of 135 stars, of which 82 are white dwarfs and 25 are hot subdwarfs. The new confirmed stars include six pulsating white dwarf candidates (ZZ Cetis), and nine white dwarf binaries with a cool main-sequence companion. We identify one star with a spectroscopic distance of only 25 pc from the Sun. Around the time TESS is launched, we foresee that all white dwarfs in this sample will have trigonometric parallaxes measured by the ESA Gaia mission next year.

CCD Photometry of W UMa Type Binary TY UMa

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Young Woon Kang

2001-06-01

Full Text Available We present VRI CCD photometry of W UMa type binary TY UMa. The light curves show that the secondary minimum is deeper than theprimary minimum and the maximum I (0.p25 is 0.m023 brighter than the maximum II (0.p75. The V light curve has beenanalyzed and the photometric solutions have been determined by the method of Wilson & Devinney differential correction. Weadopted the spot model to explain the asymetric light curve.

An Improved Technique for the Photometry and Astrometry of Faint Companions

Science.gov (United States)

Burke, Daniel; Gladysz, Szymon; Roberts, Lewis; Devaney, Nicholas; Dainty, Chris

2009-07-01

We propose a new approach to differential astrometry and photometry of faint companions in adaptive optics images. It is based on a prewhitening matched filter, also referred to in the literature as the Hotelling observer. We focus on cases where the signal of the companion is located within the bright halo of the parent star. Using real adaptive optics data from the 3 m Shane telescope at the Lick Observatory, we compare the performance of the Hotelling algorithm with other estimation algorithms currently used for the same problem. The real single-star data are used to generate artificial binary objects with a range of magnitude ratios. In most cases, the Hotelling observer gives significantly lower astrometric and photometric errors. In the case of high Strehl ratio (SR) data (SR ≈ 0.5), the differential photometry of a binary star with a Δm = 4.5 and a separation of 0.6″ is better than 0.1 mag a factor of 2 lower than the other algorithms considered.

Diagnostics of corotating interaction regions with the kinetic properties of iron ions as determined with STEREO/PLASTIC

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

P. Bochsler

2010-02-01

Full Text Available STEREO/PLASTIC determines three-dimensional distributions of solar wind iron ions with unprecedented time resolution. Typically 300 to 1000 counts are registered within each 5 min time interval. For the present study we use the information contained in these distributions to characterize CIRs (Corotating Interaction Regions in two test cases. We perform a consistency test for both the derived physical parameters and for the analytical model of CIRs of Lee (2000. At 1 AU we find that apart from compositional changes the most indicative parameter for marking the time when a CIR passes a spacecraft is the angular deflection of the flow vector of particles. Changes in particle densities and the changes in magnitudes of speeds are apparently less reliable indicators of stream interfaces.

Near infrared photometry of globular clusters

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Evans, T.L.; Menzies, J.W.

1977-01-01

Photographic photometry on the V, Isub(K) system has been obtained for giant stars in the metal-rich globular clusters NGC 5927, 6171, 6352, 6356, 6388, 6522, 6528, 6712 and 6723. Colour-magnitude diagrams are presented. These data, with earlier observations of NGC 104 (47 Tuc), yield new parameters to describe the giant branch. These are the colour of the red variables, represented by their mean colour (V - Isub(K)) 0 or by the colour (V - Isub(K))sub(BO) of the bluest red variable on the giant branch of a cluster, and ΔV' which is the magnitude difference between the horizontal branch and the highest point on the giant branch. The latter is independent of reddening, since the giant branch of the most metal-rich clusters passes through a maximum in the V, V - Isub(K) plane. These parameters are correlated with the metal content, deduced from integrated photometry: the red variables are redder and the giant branch fainter the higher the metal content. Comparison with theoretical evolutionary tracks suggests that the range in metal content of these clusters is at most a factor of 10, the most metal-rich clusters possibly approaching the solar value. The cluster giant branches and those of open clusters, groups and field stars of the old disk population are compared. The assumption that all the globular clusters have an absolute magnitude on the horizontal branch of Msub(v) = + 0.9, as found recently for 47 Tuc, gives good agreement between the magnitudes of giant stars in the most metal rich of the globular clusters and those of field stars deduced from statistical parallaxes and moving group parallaxes. The values of the parameters ΔV' and (V - Isub(k))sub(BO) also approach those in the moving groups. The globular clusters have a longer horizontal branch, however, and the subgiants are bluer even when the values of ) 7Fe/H{ appear to be the same. (author). )

The emergent 1.1-1.7 μm spectrum of the exoplanet COROT-2B as measured using the Hubble space telescope

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wilkins, Ashlee N.; Deming, Drake; Madhusudhan, Nikku; Burrows, Adam; Knutson, Heather; McCullough, Peter; Ranjan, Sukrit

2014-01-01

We have used Hubble/WFC3 and the G141 grism to measure the secondary eclipse of the transiting, very hot Jupiter CoRoT-2b in the 1.1-1.7 μm spectral region. We find an eclipse depth averaged over this band equal to 395 −45 +69 parts per million, equivalent to a blackbody temperature of 1788 ± 18 K. We study and characterize several WFC3 instrumental effects, especially the 'hook' phenomenon described by Deming et al. We use data from several transiting exoplanet systems to find a quantitative relation between the amplitude of the hook and the exposure level of a given pixel. Although the uncertainties in this relation are too large to allow us to develop an empirical correction for our data, our study provides a useful guide for optimizing exposure levels in future WFC3 observations. We derive the planet's spectrum using a differential method. The planet-to-star contrast increases to longer wavelength within the WFC3 bandpass, but without water absorption or emission to a 3σ limit of 85 ppm. The slope of the WFC3 spectrum is significantly less than the slope of the best-fit blackbody. We compare all existing eclipse data for this planet to a blackbody spectrum, and to spectra from both solar abundance and carbon-rich (C/O = 1) models. A blackbody spectrum is an acceptable fit to the full data set. Extra continuous opacity due to clouds or haze, and flattened temperature profiles, are strong candidates to produce quasi-blackbody spectra, and to account for the amplitude of the optical eclipses. Our results show ambiguous evidence for a temperature inversion in this planet.

The emergent 1.1-1.7 μm spectrum of the exoplanet COROT-2B as measured using the Hubble space telescope

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wilkins, Ashlee N.; Deming, Drake [Department of Astronomy, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742 (United States); Madhusudhan, Nikku [Yale Center for Astronomy and Astrophysics, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06511 (United States); Burrows, Adam [Department of Astrophysical Sciences, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544-1001 (United States); Knutson, Heather [Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125 (United States); McCullough, Peter [Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, MD 21218 (United States); Ranjan, Sukrit, E-mail: awilkins@astro.umd.edu [Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, Cambridge, MA 02138 (United States)

2014-03-10

We have used Hubble/WFC3 and the G141 grism to measure the secondary eclipse of the transiting, very hot Jupiter CoRoT-2b in the 1.1-1.7 μm spectral region. We find an eclipse depth averaged over this band equal to 395{sub −45}{sup +69} parts per million, equivalent to a blackbody temperature of 1788 ± 18 K. We study and characterize several WFC3 instrumental effects, especially the 'hook' phenomenon described by Deming et al. We use data from several transiting exoplanet systems to find a quantitative relation between the amplitude of the hook and the exposure level of a given pixel. Although the uncertainties in this relation are too large to allow us to develop an empirical correction for our data, our study provides a useful guide for optimizing exposure levels in future WFC3 observations. We derive the planet's spectrum using a differential method. The planet-to-star contrast increases to longer wavelength within the WFC3 bandpass, but without water absorption or emission to a 3σ limit of 85 ppm. The slope of the WFC3 spectrum is significantly less than the slope of the best-fit blackbody. We compare all existing eclipse data for this planet to a blackbody spectrum, and to spectra from both solar abundance and carbon-rich (C/O = 1) models. A blackbody spectrum is an acceptable fit to the full data set. Extra continuous opacity due to clouds or haze, and flattened temperature profiles, are strong candidates to produce quasi-blackbody spectra, and to account for the amplitude of the optical eclipses. Our results show ambiguous evidence for a temperature inversion in this planet.

Multicolor surface photometry of 17 ellipticals

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Franx, M.; Illingworth, G.; Heckman, T.

1989-01-01

Multicolor two-dimensional surface photometry was used to obtain radial profiles for surface brightness, color, ellipticity, position angle, and the residuals from the fitted ellipses described by the cos(n phi) and sin(n phi) terms (where n = 3 and 4) for 17 elliptical galaxies. It is found that at radii as large as five times the seeing FWHM, seeing can affect the ellipticity at the 10 percent level and introduce uncertainty in the position angles of several degrees, particularly for very round ellipticals. The present profiles are found to agree well with previous data, with rms differences of 0.02 in ellipticity and 2 deg in position angle. The observed color gradients are consistent with a decrease in the metallicity by a factor of about 2 per decade in radius. 61 refs

TRANSIT MODEL OF PLANETS WITH MOON AND RING SYSTEMS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tusnski, Luis Ricardo M.; Valio, Adriana

2011-01-01

Since the discovery of the first exoplanets, those most adequate for life to begin and evolve have been sought. Due to observational bias, however, most of the discovered planets so far are gas giants, precluding their habitability. However, if these hot Jupiters are located in the habitable zones of their host stars, and if rocky moons orbit them, then these moons may be habitable. In this work, we present a model for planetary transit simulation considering the presence of moons and planetary rings around a planet. The moon's orbit is considered to be circular and coplanar with the planetary orbit. The other physical and orbital parameters of the star, planet, moon, and rings can be adjusted in each simulation. It is possible to simulate as many successive transits as desired. Since the presence of spots on the surface of the star may produce a signal similar to that of the presence of a moon, our model also allows for the inclusion of starspots. The result of the simulation is a light curve with a planetary transit. White noise may also be added to the light curves to produce curves similar to those obtained by the CoRoT and Kepler space telescopes. The goal is to determine the criteria for detectability of moons and/or ring systems using photometry. The results show that it is possible to detect moons with radii as little as 1.3 R ⊕ with CoRoT and 0.3 R ⊕ with Kepler.

SECONDARY ECLIPSE PHOTOMETRY OF THE EXOPLANET WASP-5b WITH WARM SPITZER

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Baskin, Nathaniel J.; Knutson, Heather A.; Desert, Jean-Michel [Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125 (United States); Burrows, Adam [Department of Astrophysical Sciences, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 05844 (United States); Fortney, Jonathan J.; Laughlin, Gregory [Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA 95064 (United States); Lewis, Nikole K. [Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139 (United States); Agol, Eric [Department of Astronomy, University of Washington, Box 351580, Seattle, WA 98195 (United States); Charbonneau, David [Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, Cambridge, MA 02138 (United States); Cowan, Nicolas B. [Center for Interdisciplinary Exploration and Research in Astrophysics, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60208 (United States); Deming, Drake [Department of Astronomy, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742 (United States); Langton, Jonathan [Department of Physics, Principia College, Elsah, IL 62028 (United States); Showman, Adam P. [Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721 (United States)

2013-08-20

We present secondary eclipse photometry of the extrasolar planet WASP-5b taken in the 3.6 and 4.5 {mu}m bands with the Spitzer Space Telescope's Infrared Array Camera as part of the extended warm mission. By estimating the depth of the secondary eclipse in these two bands we can place constraints on the planet's atmospheric pressure-temperature profile and chemistry. We measure secondary eclipse depths of 0.197% {+-} 0.028% and 0.237% {+-} 0.024% in the 3.6 {mu}m and 4.5 {mu}m bands, respectively. For the case of a solar-composition atmosphere and chemistry in local thermal equilibrium, our observations are best matched by models showing a hot dayside and, depending on our choice of model, a weak thermal inversion or no inversion at all. We measure a mean offset from the predicted center of eclipse of 3.7 {+-} 1.8 minutes, corresponding to ecos {omega} = 0.0025 {+-} 0.0012 and consistent with a circular orbit. We conclude that the planet's orbit is unlikely to have been perturbed by interactions with another body in the system as claimed by Fukui et al.

Luminosities and temperatures of M dwarf stars from infrared photometry

Science.gov (United States)

Veeder, G. J.

1974-01-01

Bolometric magnitudes for a large number of M type dwarf stars, obtained by broadband infrared photometry at 1.65, 2.2, and 3.5 microns, are reviewed. The data obtained indicate that one parameter is sufficient to describe the blanketing in all of the UBVRI bands for all types of M dwarfs. In general, late M dwarfs seem to have lower effective temperatures than are predicted by theoretical models.

Deriving Physical Properties from Broadband Photometry with Prospector: Description of the Model and a Demonstration of its Accuracy Using 129 Galaxies in the Local Universe

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Leja, Joel; Johnson, Benjamin D.; Conroy, Charlie [Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, 60 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138 (United States); Dokkum, Pieter G. van [Department of Astronomy, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06511 (United States); Byler, Nell [Department of Astronomy, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98185 (United States)

2017-03-10

Broadband photometry of galaxies measures an unresolved mix of complex stellar populations, gas, and dust. Interpreting these data is a challenge for models: many studies have shown that properties derived from modeling galaxy photometry are uncertain by a factor of two or more, and yet answering key questions in the field now requires higher accuracy than this. Here, we present a new model framework specifically designed for these complexities. Our model, Prospector- α , includes dust attenuation and re-radiation, a flexible attenuation curve, nebular emission, stellar metallicity, and a six-component nonparametric star formation history. The flexibility and range of the parameter space, coupled with Monte Carlo Markov chain sampling within the Prospector inference framework, is designed to provide unbiased parameters and realistic error bars. We assess the accuracy of the model with aperture-matched optical spectroscopy, which was excluded from the fits. We compare spectral features predicted solely from fits to the broadband photometry to the observed spectral features. Our model predicts H α luminosities with a scatter of ∼0.18 dex and an offset of ∼0.1 dex across a wide range of morphological types and stellar masses. This agreement is remarkable, as the H α luminosity is dependent on accurate star formation rates, dust attenuation, and stellar metallicities. The model also accurately predicts dust-sensitive Balmer decrements, spectroscopic stellar metallicities, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon mass fractions, and the age- and metallicity-sensitive features D{sub n}4000 and H δ . Although the model passes all these tests, we caution that we have not yet assessed its performance at higher redshift or the accuracy of recovered stellar masses.

PHAT STELLAR CLUSTER SURVEY. I. YEAR 1 CATALOG AND INTEGRATED PHOTOMETRY

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Johnson, L. Clifton; Dalcanton, Julianne J.; Fouesneau, Morgan; Hodge, Paul W.; Weisz, Daniel R.; Williams, Benjamin F.; Beerman, Lori C.; Seth, Anil C.; Caldwell, Nelson; Gouliermis, Dimitrios A.; Larsen, Søren S.; Olsen, Knut A. G.; San Roman, Izaskun; Sarajedini, Ata; Bianchi, Luciana; Dolphin, Andrew E.; Girardi, Léo; Guhathakurta, Puragra; Kalirai, Jason; Lang, Dustin

2012-01-01

The Panchromatic Hubble Andromeda Treasury (PHAT) survey is an ongoing Hubble Space Telescope (HST) multi-cycle program to obtain high spatial resolution imaging of one-third of the M31 disk at ultraviolet through near-infrared wavelengths. In this paper, we present the first installment of the PHAT stellar cluster catalog. When completed, the PHAT cluster catalog will be among the largest and most comprehensive surveys of resolved star clusters in any galaxy. The exquisite spatial resolution achieved with HST has allowed us to identify hundreds of new clusters that were previously inaccessible with existing ground-based surveys. We identify 601 clusters in the Year 1 sample, representing more than a factor of four increase over previous catalogs within the current survey area (390 arcmin 2 ). This work presents results derived from the first ∼25% of the survey data; we estimate that the final sample will include ∼2500 clusters. For the Year 1 objects, we present a catalog with positions, radii, and six-band integrated photometry. Along with a general characterization of the cluster luminosities and colors, we discuss the cluster luminosity function, the cluster size distributions, and highlight a number of individually interesting clusters found in the Year 1 search.

PHAT STELLAR CLUSTER SURVEY. I. YEAR 1 CATALOG AND INTEGRATED PHOTOMETRY

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Johnson, L. Clifton; Dalcanton, Julianne J.; Fouesneau, Morgan; Hodge, Paul W.; Weisz, Daniel R.; Williams, Benjamin F.; Beerman, Lori C. [Department of Astronomy, University of Washington, Box 351580, Seattle, WA 98195 (United States); Seth, Anil C. [Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT 84112 (United States); Caldwell, Nelson [Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, 60 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138 (United States); Gouliermis, Dimitrios A. [Institut fuer Theoretische Astrophysik, Zentrum fuer Astronomie der Universitaet Heidelberg, Albert-Ueberle-Strasse 2, D-69120 Heidelberg (Germany); Larsen, Soren S. [Department of Astrophysics, IMAPP, Radboud University Nijmegen, P.O. Box 9010, 6500 GL Nijmegen (Netherlands); Olsen, Knut A. G. [National Optical Astronomy Observatory, 950 North Cherry Avenue, Tucson, AZ 85719 (United States); San Roman, Izaskun; Sarajedini, Ata [Department of Astronomy, University of Florida, 211 Bryant Space Science Center, Gainesville, FL 32611-2055 (United States); Bianchi, Luciana [Department of Physics and Astronomy, Johns Hopkins University, 3400 North Charles Street, Baltimore, MD 21218 (United States); Dolphin, Andrew E. [Raytheon Company, 1151 East Hermans Road, Tucson, AZ 85756 (United States); Girardi, Leo [Osservatorio Astronomico di Padova-INAF, Vicolo dell' Osservatorio 5, I-35122 Padova (Italy); Guhathakurta, Puragra [Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, University of California Observatories/Lick Observatory, University of California, 1156 High Street, Santa Cruz, CA 95064 (United States); Kalirai, Jason [Space Telescope Science Institute, 3700 San Martin Drive, Baltimore, MD 21218 (United States); Lang, Dustin, E-mail: lcjohnso@astro.washington.edu [Department of Astrophysical Sciences, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544 (United States); and others

2012-06-20

The Panchromatic Hubble Andromeda Treasury (PHAT) survey is an ongoing Hubble Space Telescope (HST) multi-cycle program to obtain high spatial resolution imaging of one-third of the M31 disk at ultraviolet through near-infrared wavelengths. In this paper, we present the first installment of the PHAT stellar cluster catalog. When completed, the PHAT cluster catalog will be among the largest and most comprehensive surveys of resolved star clusters in any galaxy. The exquisite spatial resolution achieved with HST has allowed us to identify hundreds of new clusters that were previously inaccessible with existing ground-based surveys. We identify 601 clusters in the Year 1 sample, representing more than a factor of four increase over previous catalogs within the current survey area (390 arcmin{sup 2}). This work presents results derived from the first {approx}25% of the survey data; we estimate that the final sample will include {approx}2500 clusters. For the Year 1 objects, we present a catalog with positions, radii, and six-band integrated photometry. Along with a general characterization of the cluster luminosities and colors, we discuss the cluster luminosity function, the cluster size distributions, and highlight a number of individually interesting clusters found in the Year 1 search.

Polarimetry and Photometry of Gamma-Ray Bursts with RINGO2

Science.gov (United States)

Steele, I. A.; Kopač, D.; Arnold, D. M.; Smith, R. J.; Kobayashi, S.; Jermak, H. E.; Mundell, C. G.; Gomboc, A.; Guidorzi, C.; Melandri, A.; Japelj, J.

2017-07-01

We present a catalog of early-time (˜ {10}2-{10}4 s) photometry and polarimetry of all gamma-ray burst (GRB) optical afterglows observed with the RINGO2 imaging polarimeter on the Liverpool Telescope. Of the 19 optical afterglows observed, the following nine were bright enough to perform photometry and attempt polarimetry: GRB 100805A, GRB 101112A, GRB 110205A, GRB 110726A, GRB 120119A, GRB 120308A, GRB 120311A, GRB 120326A, and GRB 120327A. We present multiwavelength light curves for these 9 GRBs, together with estimates of their optical polarization degrees and/or limits. We carry out a thorough investigation of detection probabilities, instrumental properties, and systematics. Using two independent methods, we confirm previous reports of significant polarization in GRB 110205A and 120308A, and report the new detection of P={6}-2+3% in GRB101112A. We discuss the results for the sample in the context of the reverse- and forward-shock afterglow scenario, and show that GRBs with detectable optical polarization at early time have clearly identifiable signatures of reverse-shock emission in their optical light curves. This supports the idea that GRB ejecta contain large-scale magnetic fields, and it highlights the importance of rapid-response polarimetry.

Infrared polarimetry and photometry of BL Lac objects. 3

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Holmes, P A; Brand, P W.J.L. [Edinburgh Univ. (UK). Dept. of Astronomy; Impey, C D [Hawaii Univ., Honolulu (USA). Inst. for Astronomy; Williams, P M [UKIRT, Hilo, HI (USA)

1984-10-15

The data presented here is part of a continuing monitoring programme of BL lac objects with J, H and K photometry and polarimetry. A total of 30 BL Lac objects have now been observed photometrically. Infrared polarimetry has also been obtained for 24 of these objects. The sample is sufficiently large to examine statistically, and several important correlations have emerged. Internight variations and wavelength dependence of polarization indicate that BL Lac objects, as a class, may be understood in terms of a relatively simple two-component model.

MiNDSTEp differential photometry of the gravitationally lensed quasars WFI2033-4723 and HE0047-1756: Microlensing and a new time delay

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Giannini, E.; Schmidt, R. W.; Wambsganss, J.

2017-01-01

Aims. We present V and R photometry of the gravitationally lensed quasars WFI 2033-4723 and HE 0047-1756. The data were taken by the MiNDSTEp collaboration with the 1.54 m Danish telescope at the ESO La Silla observatory from 2008 to 2012.Methods. Differential photometry has been carried out using...

Reflected Light Curves of Extrasolar Planets

Science.gov (United States)

Green, D.; Matthews, J.; Kuschnig, R.; Seager, S.

The planned launches of ultra-precise photometric satellites such as MOST, COROT and MONS should provide the first opportunity to study the reflected light curves from extrasolar planets. To predict the capabilities of these missions, we have constructed a series of models of such light curves, improving upon the Monte Carlo simulations by Seager et al. (2000). These models include more realistic features such limb darkening of the star and broad band photometry. For specific models, the resulting planet light curves exhibit unique behavior with the variation of radius, inclination and presence or absence of clouds.

Photometry and imaging of Comet 103P/Hartley in the 2010-2011 apparition

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Milani, G.; Bryssinck, E.; Nicolini, M.; Mikuž, H.; Sostero, G.; Bacci, P.; Borghini, W.; Castellano, D.; Facchini, M.C.; Favero, G.; Galli, G.; Guidou, E.; Hausler, B.; Hornoch, Kamil; Howes, N.; Ligustri, R.; Perrella, C.; Prosperi, E.; Skvarc, J.; Srba, J.; Trabatti, R.; Vinante, C.; Szabo, G.

2013-01-01

Roč. 222, č. 2 (2013), s. 786-798 ISSN 0019-1035 R&D Projects: GA ČR GA205/09/1107 Institutional support: RVO:67985815 Keywords : comet s * dust * photometry Subject RIV: BN - Astronomy, Celestial Mechanics, Astrophysics Impact factor: 2.840, year: 2013

THE QUASIPERIODIC AUTOMATED TRANSIT SEARCH ALGORITHM

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Carter, Joshua A.; Agol, Eric

2013-01-01

We present a new algorithm for detecting transiting extrasolar planets in time-series photometry. The Quasiperiodic Automated Transit Search (QATS) algorithm relaxes the usual assumption of strictly periodic transits by permitting a variable, but bounded, interval between successive transits. We show that this method is capable of detecting transiting planets with significant transit timing variations without any loss of significance— s mearing — as would be incurred with traditional algorithms; however, this is at the cost of a slightly increased stochastic background. The approximate times of transit are standard products of the QATS search. Despite the increased flexibility, we show that QATS has a run-time complexity that is comparable to traditional search codes and is comparably easy to implement. QATS is applicable to data having a nearly uninterrupted, uniform cadence and is therefore well suited to the modern class of space-based transit searches (e.g., Kepler, CoRoT). Applications of QATS include transiting planets in dynamically active multi-planet systems and transiting planets in stellar binary systems.

A SEARCH FOR THE TRANSIT OF HD 168443b: IMPROVED ORBITAL PARAMETERS AND PHOTOMETRY

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pilyavsky, Genady; Mahadevan, Suvrath; Wright, Jason T.; Wang, Xuesong X. [Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, Pennsylvania State University, 525 Davey Laboratory, University Park, PA 16802 (United States); Kane, Stephen R.; Ciardi, David R.; Dragomir, Diana; Von Braun, Kaspar [NASA Exoplanet Science Institute, Caltech, MS 100-22, 770 South Wilson Avenue, Pasadena, CA 91125 (United States); Howard, Andrew W. [Department of Astronomy, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720 (United States); De Pree, Chris; Marlowe, Hannah [Department of Physics and Astronomy, Agnes Scott College, 141 East College Avenue, Decatur, GA 30030 (United States); Fischer, Debra [Department of Astronomy, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06511 (United States); Henry, Gregory W. [Center of Excellence in Information Systems, Tennessee State University, 3500 John A. Merritt Blvd., Box 9501, Nashville, TN 37209 (United States); Jensen, Eric L. N. [Department of Physics and Astronomy, Swarthmore College, Swarthmore, PA 19081 (United States); Laughlin, Gregory [UCO/Lick Observatory, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA 95064 (United States); Rabus, Markus, E-mail: gcp5017@psu.edu, E-mail: suvrath@astro.psu.edu [Departamento de Astonomia y Astrofisica, Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile, Casilla 306, Santiago 22 (Chile)

2011-12-20

The discovery of transiting planets around bright stars holds the potential to greatly enhance our understanding of planetary atmospheres. In this work we present the search for transits of HD 168443b, a massive planet orbiting the bright star HD 168443 (V = 6.92) with a period of 58.11 days. The high eccentricity of the planetary orbit (e = 0.53) significantly enhances the a priori transit probability beyond that expected for a circular orbit, making HD 168443 a candidate for our ongoing Transit Ephemeris Refinement and Monitoring Survey. Using additional radial velocities from Keck High Resolution Echelle Spectrometer, we refined the orbital parameters of this multi-planet system and derived a new transit ephemeris for HD 168443b. The reduced uncertainties in the transit window make a photometric transit search practicable. Photometric observations acquired during predicted transit windows were obtained on three nights. Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory 1.0 m photometry acquired on 2010 September 7 had the required precision to detect a transit but fell just outside of our final transit window. Nightly photometry from the T8 0.8 m automated photometric telescope at Fairborn Observatory, acquired over a span of 109 nights, demonstrates that HD 168443 is constant on a timescale of weeks. Higher-cadence photometry on 2011 April 28 and June 25 shows no evidence of a transit. We are able to rule out a non-grazing transit of HD 168443b.

A Search for the Transit of HD 168443b: Improved Orbital Parameters and Photometry

Science.gov (United States)

Pilyavsky, Genady; Mahadevan, Suvrath; Kane, Stephen R.; Howard, Andrew W.; Ciardi, David R.; de Pree, Chris; Dragomir, Diana; Fischer, Debra; Henry, Gregory W.; Jensen, Eric L. N.; Laughlin, Gregory; Marlowe, Hannah; Rabus, Markus; von Braun, Kaspar; Wright, Jason T.; Wang, Xuesong X.

2011-12-01

The discovery of transiting planets around bright stars holds the potential to greatly enhance our understanding of planetary atmospheres. In this work we present the search for transits of HD 168443b, a massive planet orbiting the bright star HD 168443 (V = 6.92) with a period of 58.11 days. The high eccentricity of the planetary orbit (e = 0.53) significantly enhances the a priori transit probability beyond that expected for a circular orbit, making HD 168443 a candidate for our ongoing Transit Ephemeris Refinement and Monitoring Survey. Using additional radial velocities from Keck High Resolution Echelle Spectrometer, we refined the orbital parameters of this multi-planet system and derived a new transit ephemeris for HD 168443b. The reduced uncertainties in the transit window make a photometric transit search practicable. Photometric observations acquired during predicted transit windows were obtained on three nights. Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory 1.0 m photometry acquired on 2010 September 7 had the required precision to detect a transit but fell just outside of our final transit window. Nightly photometry from the T8 0.8 m automated photometric telescope at Fairborn Observatory, acquired over a span of 109 nights, demonstrates that HD 168443 is constant on a timescale of weeks. Higher-cadence photometry on 2011 April 28 and June 25 shows no evidence of a transit. We are able to rule out a non-grazing transit of HD 168443b.

Updated 34-band Photometry for the SINGS/KINGFISH Samples of Nearby Galaxies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dale, D. A.; Turner, J. A.; Cook, D. O.; Roussel, H.; Armus, L.; Helou, G.; Bolatto, A. D.; Boquien, M.; Brown, M. J. I.; Calzetti, D.; Looze, I. De; Galametz, M.; Gordon, K. D.; Groves, B. A.; Jarrett, T. H.; Herrera-Camus, R.; Hinz, J. L.; Hunt, L. K.; Kennicutt, R. C.; Murphy, E. J.

2017-01-01

We present an update to the ultraviolet-to-radio database of global broadband photometry for the 79 nearby galaxies that comprise the union of the KINGFISH (Key Insights on Nearby Galaxies: A Far-Infrared Survey with Herschel ) and SINGS ( Spitzer Infrared Nearby Galaxies Survey) samples. The 34-band data set presented here includes contributions from observational work carried out with a variety of facilities including GALEX , SDSS, Pan-STARRS1, NOAO , 2MASS, Wide-Field Infrared Survey Explorer , Spitzer , Herschel , Planck , JCMT , and the VLA. Improvements of note include recalibrations of previously published SINGS BVR C I C and KINGFISH far-infrared/submillimeter photometry. Similar to previous results in the literature, an excess of submillimeter emission above model predictions is seen primarily for low-metallicity dwarf or irregular galaxies. This 33-band photometric data set for the combined KINGFISH+SINGS sample serves as an important multiwavelength reference for the variety of galaxies observed at low redshift. A thorough analysis of the observed spectral energy distributions is carried out in a companion paper.

Updated 34-band Photometry for the SINGS/KINGFISH Samples of Nearby Galaxies

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dale, D. A.; Turner, J. A. [Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Wyoming, Laramie WY (United States); Cook, D. O. [Cahill Center for Astronomy and Astrophysics, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena CA (United States); Roussel, H. [Institut d’Astrophysique de Paris, Sorbonne Universités, Paris (France); Armus, L.; Helou, G. [Spitzer Science Center, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA (United States); Bolatto, A. D. [Department of Astronomy, University of Maryland, College Park, MD (United States); Boquien, M. [Unidad de Astronomía, Universidad de Antofagasta, Antofagasta (Chile); Brown, M. J. I. [School of Physics and Astronomy, Monash University, Victoria 3800 (Australia); Calzetti, D. [Department of Astronomy, University of Massachusetts, Amherst MA (United States); Looze, I. De [Sterrenkundig Observatorium, Universiteit Gent, Gent (Belgium); Galametz, M. [European Southern Observatory, Garching (Germany); Gordon, K. D. [Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore MD (United States); Groves, B. A. [Research School of Astronomy and Astrophysics, Australian National University, Canberra (Australia); Jarrett, T. H. [Astronomy Department, University of Capetown, Rondebosch (South Africa); Herrera-Camus, R. [Max-Planck-Institut für Extraterrestrische Physik, Garching (Germany); Hinz, J. L. [Steward Observatory, University of Arizona, Tucson AZ (United States); Hunt, L. K. [INAF—Osservatorio Astrofisico di Arcetri, Firenze (Italy); Kennicutt, R. C. [Institute of Astronomy, University of Cambridge, Cambridge (United Kingdom); Murphy, E. J., E-mail: ddale@uwyo.edu [National Radio Astronomy Observatory, Charlottesville, VA (United States); and others

2017-03-01

We present an update to the ultraviolet-to-radio database of global broadband photometry for the 79 nearby galaxies that comprise the union of the KINGFISH (Key Insights on Nearby Galaxies: A Far-Infrared Survey with Herschel ) and SINGS ( Spitzer Infrared Nearby Galaxies Survey) samples. The 34-band data set presented here includes contributions from observational work carried out with a variety of facilities including GALEX , SDSS, Pan-STARRS1, NOAO , 2MASS, Wide-Field Infrared Survey Explorer , Spitzer , Herschel , Planck , JCMT , and the VLA. Improvements of note include recalibrations of previously published SINGS BVR {sub C} I {sub C} and KINGFISH far-infrared/submillimeter photometry. Similar to previous results in the literature, an excess of submillimeter emission above model predictions is seen primarily for low-metallicity dwarf or irregular galaxies. This 33-band photometric data set for the combined KINGFISH+SINGS sample serves as an important multiwavelength reference for the variety of galaxies observed at low redshift. A thorough analysis of the observed spectral energy distributions is carried out in a companion paper.

REFERENCE-LESS DETECTION, ASTROMETRY, AND PHOTOMETRY OF FAINT COMPANIONS WITH ADAPTIVE OPTICS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gladysz, Szymon; Christou, Julian C.

2009-01-01

We propose a complete framework for the detection, astrometry, and photometry of faint companions from a sequence of adaptive optics (AO) corrected short exposures. The algorithms exploit the difference in statistics between the on-axis and off-axis intensity of the AO point-spread function (PSF) to differentiate real sources from speckles. We validate the new approach and illustrate its performance using moderate Strehl ratio data obtained with the natural guide star AO system on the Lick Observatory's 3 m Shane Telescope. We obtain almost a 2 mag gain in achievable contrast by using our detection method compared to 5σ detectability in long exposures. We also present a first guide to expected accuracy of differential photometry and astrometry with the new techniques. Our approach performs better than PSF-fitting in general and especially so for close companions, which are located within the uncompensated seeing (speckle) halo. All three proposed algorithms are self-calibrating, i.e., they do not require observation of a calibration star. One of the advantages of this approach is improved observing efficiency.

Adaptive, Small-Rotation-Based, Corotational Technique for Analysis of 2D Nonlinear Elastic Frames

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jaroon Rungamornrat

2014-01-01

Full Text Available This paper presents an efficient and accurate numerical technique for analysis of two-dimensional frames accounted for both geometric nonlinearity and nonlinear elastic material behavior. An adaptive remeshing scheme is utilized to optimally discretize a structure into a set of elements where the total displacement can be decomposed into the rigid body movement and one possessing small rotations. This, therefore, allows the force-deformation relationship for the latter part to be established based on small-rotation-based kinematics. Nonlinear elastic material model is integrated into such relation via the prescribed nonlinear moment-curvature relationship. The global force-displacement relation for each element can be derived subsequently using corotational formulations. A final system of nonlinear algebraic equations along with its associated gradient matrix for the whole structure is obtained by a standard assembly procedure and then solved numerically by Newton-Raphson algorithm. A selected set of results is then reported to demonstrate and discuss the computational performance including the accuracy and convergence of the proposed technique.

Three-dimensional model of corotating streams in the solar wind 3. Magnetohydrodynamic streams

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pizzo, V.J.

1982-01-01

The focus of this paper is two-fold: (1) to examine how the presence of the spiral magnetic field affects the evolution of interplanetary corotating solar wind streams, and (2) to ascertain the nature of secondary large-scale phenomena likely to be associated with streams having a pronounced three-dimensional (3-D) structure. The dynamics are presumed to be governed by the nonlinear polytropic, single-fluid, 3-D MHD equations. Solutions are obtained with an explicit, Eulerian, finite differences technique that makes use of a simple form of artificial diffusion for handling shocks. For smooth axisymmetric flows, the picture of magnetically induced meridional motions previously established by linear models requires only minor correction. In the case of broad 3-D streams input near the sun, inclusion of the magnetic field is found to retard the kinematic steepening at the stream front substantially but to produce little deviation from planar flow. For the more realistic case of initially sharply bounded streams, however, it becomes essential to account for magnetic effects in the formulation. Whether a full 3-D treatment is required depends upon the latitudinal geometry of the stream

Circular orbits of corotating binary black holes: Comparison between analytical and numerical results

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Damour, Thibault; Gourgoulhon, Eric; Grandclement, Philippe

2002-01-01

We compare recent numerical results, obtained within a 'helical Killing vector' approach, on circular orbits of corotating binary black holes to the analytical predictions made by the effective one-body (EOB) method (which has been recently extended to the case of spinning bodies). On the scale of the differences between the results obtained by different numerical methods, we find good agreement between numerical data and analytical predictions for several invariant functions describing the dynamical properties of circular orbits. This agreement is robust against the post-Newtonian accuracy used for the analytical estimates, as well as under choices of the resummation method for the EOB 'effective potential', and gets better as one uses a higher post-Newtonian accuracy. These findings open the way to a significant 'merging' of analytical and numerical methods, i.e. to matching an EOB-based analytical description of the (early and late) inspiral, up to the beginning of the plunge, to a numerical description of the plunge and merger. We illustrate also the 'flexibility' of the EOB approach, i.e. the possibility of determining some 'best fit' values for the analytical parameters by comparison with numerical data

uvbyHβ photometry of UV-bright stars

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wade, B.R.; Smith, L.F.

1985-01-01

uvbyHβ photometry is presented for 90 stars taken from an early version of the Carnochan and Wilson catalogue (1983. Mon. Not. R. astr. Soc. 202,317) of stars that have very negative UV colours. Two have definite UV excesses, (HD 36629, and HD81307). Four early-B stars have UV colours too positive for their visible classification, and β-indices that indicate higher luminosities than appear possible on galactic distribution grounds. Six late-B stars appear to have discordant flux distributions for which there are no obvious explanations. It is suggested that the high population of subluminous stars derived by Carnochan and Wilson is the product of the statistical treatment used and the extreme patchiness in the interstellar absorption. (author)

CHARACTERIZATION OF SLOAN DIGITAL SKY SURVEY STELLAR PHOTOMETRY

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fukugita, Masataka; Yasuda, Naoki; Doi, Mamoru; Gunn, James E.; York, Donald G.

2011-01-01

We study the photometric properties of stars in the data archive of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS), the prime aim being to understand the photometric calibration over the entire data set. It is confirmed that the photometric calibration of point sources is accurately on the system defined by the SDSS standard stars. We have also confirmed that the photometric synthesis of the SDSS spectrophotometric data gives broadband fluxes that agree with the photometry with errors of no more than 0.04 mag and little systematic tilt with wavelength. This verifies that the response functions of the 2.5 m telescope system are well characterized. We locate stars in the SDSS photometric system, so that stars can roughly be classified into spectral classes from the color information. We show how metallicity and surface gravity affect colors, and that stars contained in the SDSS general catalog, plotted in color space, show a distribution that matches well with what is anticipated from the variations of metallicity and surface gravity. The color-color plots are perfectly consistent among the three samples-stars in the SDSS general catalog, SDSS standard stars, and spectrophotometric stars of Gunn and Stryker-especially when some considerations are taken into account of the differences (primarily metallicity) of the samples. We show that the g - r-inverse temperature relation is tight and can be used as a good estimator of the effective temperature of stars over a fairly wide range of effective temperatures. We also confirm that the colors of G2V stars in the SDSS photometric system match well with the Sun.

uvby photometry in McCormick proper motion fields

Science.gov (United States)

Degewij, J.

1982-01-01

The Danish 50 cm telescope at the European Southern Observatory was used to obtain high-precision uvby photometry for 50 F2 to G2 stars, with V values in the 9.4-12.3 mag range, which were selected in the southern galactic polar regions of the McCormick proper motion fields and measured on six different nights. The brighter stars are found to systematically exhibit smaller m(1) indices, of about 0.02 mag, upon comparison with the earlier data of Blaauw et al (1976). Single measurements are given for 98 stars in eight McCormick fields at intermediate southern galactic latitudes.

High-precision photometry by telescope defocusing - I. The transiting planetary system WASP-5

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Southworth, J.; Hinse, T. C.; Jørgensen, U. G.

2009-01-01

We present high-precision photometry of two transit events of the extrasolar planetary system WASP-5, obtained with the Danish 1.54-m telescope at European Southern Obseratory La Silla. In order to minimize both random and flat-fielding errors, we defocused the telescope so its point spread...

Pathways Towards Habitable Planets: Capabilities of the James Webb Space Telescope

Science.gov (United States)

Clampin, Mark

2009-01-01

The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is a large aperture (6.5 meter), cryogenic space telescope with a suite of near and mid-infrared instruments covering the wavelength range of 0.6 m to 28 m. JWST s primary science goal is to detect and characterize the first galaxies. It will also study the assembly of galaxies, star formation, and the formation of evolution of planetary systems. We also review the expected scientific performance of the observatory for observations of exosolar planets by means of transit photometry and spectroscopy, and direct coronagraphic imaging and address its role in the search for habitable planets.

Studying Titan's surface photometry in the 5 microns atmospheric window with the Cassini/VIMS instrument

Science.gov (United States)

Cornet, T.; Altobelli, N.; Sotin, C.; Le Mouelic, S.; Rodriguez, S.; Philippe, S.; Brown, R. H.; Barnes, J. W.; Buratti, B. J.; Baines, K. H.; Clark, R. N.; Nicholson, P. D.

2014-12-01

Due to the influence of methane gas and a thick aerosols haze in the atmosphere, Titan's surface is only visible in 7 spectral atmospheric windows centered at 0.93, 1.08, 1.27, 1.59, 2.01, 2.7-2.8 and 5 microns with the Cassini Visual and Infrared Mapping Spectrometer (VIMS). The 5 microns atmospheric window constitutes the only one being almost insensitive to the haze scattering and which presents only a reduced atmospheric absorption contribution to the signal recorded by the instrument. Despite these advantages leading to the almost direct view of the surface, the 5 microns window is also the noisiest spectral window of the entire VIMS spectrum (an effect highly dependent on the time exposure used for the observations), and it is not totally free from atmospheric contributions, enough to keep "artefacts" in mosaics of several thousands of cubes due to atmospheric and surface photometric effects amplified by the very heterogeneous viewing conditions between each Titan flyby. At first order, a lambertian surface photometry at 5 microns has been used as an initial parameter in order to estimate atmospheric opacity and surface photometry in all VIMS atmospheric windows and to determine the albedo of the surface, yet unknown, both using radiative transfer codes on single cubes or empirical techniques on global hyperspectral mosaics. Other studies suggested that Titan's surface photometry would not be uniquely lambertian but would also contain anisotropic lunar-like contributions. In the present work, we aim at constraining accurately the surface photometry of Titan and residual atmospheric absorption effects in this 5 microns window using a comprehensive study of relevant sites located at various latitudes. Those include bright and dark (dunes) terrains, 5-microns bright terrains (Hotei Regio and Tui Regio), the Huygens Landing Site and high latitudes polar lakes and seas. The VIMS 2004 to 2014 database, composed of more than 40,000 hyperspectral cubes acquired on

First evidence of multiple populations along the AGB from Strömgren photometry

Science.gov (United States)

Gruyters, Pieter; Casagrande, Luca; Milone, Antonino P.; Hodgkin, Simon T.; Serenelli, Aldo; Feltzing, Sofia

2017-07-01

Spectroscopic studies have demonstrated that nearly all Galactic globular clusters (GCs) harbour multiple stellar populations with different chemical compositions. Moreover, colour-magnitude diagrams based exclusively on Strömgrem photometry have allowed us to identify and characterise multiple populations along the RGB of a large number of clusters. In this paper we show for the first time that Strömgren photometry is also very efficient at identifying multiple populations along the AGB, and demonstrate that the AGB of M 3, M 92, NGC 362, NGC 1851, and NGC 6752 are not consistent with a single stellar population. We also provide a catalogue of RGB and AGB stars photometrically identified in these clusters for further spectroscopic follow-up studies. We combined photometry and elemental abundances from the literature for RGB and AGB stars in NGC 6752 where the presence of multiple populations along the AGB has been widely debated. We find that, while the MS, SGB, and RGB host three stellar populations with different helium and light element abundances, only two populations of AGB stars are present in the cluster. These results are consistent with standard evolutionary theory. Based on observations made with the Isaac Newton Telescope operated on the island of La Palma by the Isaac Newton Group in the Spanish Observatorio del Roque de los Muchachos of the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias.Full Tables B.1 and B.2 are only available at the CDS via anonymous ftp to http://cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (http://130.79.128.5) or via http://cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr/viz-bin/qcat?J/A+A/603/A37

Stromvil Photometry of Clusters II. The Open Cluster M67

Science.gov (United States)

Boyle, R. P.; Philip, A. G. D.; Straižys, V.

1998-12-01

Use of the Stromgren four-color photometric system with the addition of three filters (P, Z, S) of the Vilnius system allows classifying all the types of stars, even in the presence of significant reddening by interstellar dust (Strai\\v{z}ys et al, 1996). With this Stromvil system we have begun a long-term observational program on the Vatican Advanced Technology Telescope (VATT) on Mt. Graham, Arizona, (see Philip et al,1996). The Loral 2K by 2K CCD, prepared by M. Lesser of the University of Arizona CCD Lab, gives as high as 90% quantum efficiency in most of the filters and notably 65% at the u filter. To demonstrate the degree of success so far attained in this CCD Stromvil System, we present preliminary results on the open cluster M67. We will compare some of our photometry with the CCD results of B. A. Twarog (1987) and the photoelectric photometry of Nissen et al. (1987). REFERENCES Nissen, P.E., Twarog, B.A., and Crawford, D.L. 1987, A.J. 93,634 Philip, A.G. Davis, Boyle, R.P., Strai\\v{z}ys, V. 1996, Baltic Astronomy,5,445 Strai\\v{z}ys, V., Crawford, D.L., Philip, A.G.Davis 1996, Baltic Astronomy, 5,83 Twarog, B.A. 1987, A.J. 93,647

BVI CCD photometry of 47 Tucanae

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Alcaino, G.; Liller, W.

1987-01-01

CCD BVI main-sequence photometry of 47 Tuc is presented, matched to the recent BVI isochrones of VandenBerg and Bell (1985). The main-sequence turnoffs are found to be at V = 17.60 + or - 0.1, B-V = 0.56 + or - 0.02; V-I = 0.68 + or - 0.02, and B-I = 1.24 + or - 0.02. The magnitude difference between the main-sequence turnoff and the horizontal branch is 3.55 + or - 0.15 for all three color indices. A consistent age for 47 Tuc of 17 Gyr and a consistent distance modulus of (m-M)v = 13.2 are obtained for all three indices, and an absolute magnitude of Mv = 0.85 is determined for the horizontal branch stars. The results also favor the adoption of (Fe/H) near -0.5 as the best abundance value for 47 Tuc. 38 references

A Space Weather mission concept: Observatories of the Solar Corona and Active Regions (OSCAR)

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Strugarek, Antoine; Janitzek, Nils; Lee, Arrow

2015-01-01

advancements in the field of solar physics, improvements of the current CME prediction models, and provide data for reliable space weather forecasting. These objectives are achieved by utilising two spacecraft with identical instrumentation, located at a heliocentric orbital distance of 1 AU from the Sun......Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs) and Corotating Interaction Regions (CIRs) are major sources of magnetic storms on Earth and are therefore considered to be the most dangerous space weather events. The Observatories of Solar Corona and Active Regions (OSCAR) mission is designed to identify the 3D...... structure of coronal loops and to study the trigger mechanisms of CMEs in solar Active Regions (ARs) as well as their evolution and propagation processes in the inner heliosphere. It also aims to provide monitoring and forecasting of geo-effective CMEs and CIRs. OSCAR would contribute to significant...

Precision Photometry to Study the Nature of Dark Energy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lorenzon, Wolfgang; Schubnell, Michael

2011-01-01

Over the past decade scientists have collected convincing evidence that the expansion of the universe is accelerating, leading to the conclusion that the content of our universe is dominated by a mysterious 'dark energy'. The fact that present theory cannot account for the dark energy has made the determination of the nature of dark energy central to the field of high energy physics. It is expected that nothing short of a revolution in our understanding of the fundamental laws of physics is required to fully understand the accelerating universe. Discovering the nature of dark energy is a very difficult task, and requires experiments that employ a combination of different observational techniques, such as type-Ia supernovae, gravitational weak lensing surveys, galaxy and galaxy cluster surveys, and baryon acoustic oscillations. A critical component of any approach to understanding the nature of dark energy is precision photometry. This report addresses just that. Most dark energy missions will require photometric calibration over a wide range of intensities using standardized stars and internal reference sources. All of the techniques proposed for these missions rely on a complete understanding of the linearity of the detectors. The technical report focuses on the investigation and characterization of 'reciprocity failure', a newly discovered count-rate dependent nonlinearity in the NICMOS cameras on the Hubble Space Telescope. In order to quantify reciprocity failure for modern astronomical detectors, we built a dedicated reciprocity test setup that produced a known amount of light on a detector, and to measured its response as a function of light intensity and wavelength.

Infrared photometry of upper main sequence stars in M39

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Manteiga, M.; Martinez-Roger, C.; Morales, C.; Sabau, L.

1991-01-01

Infrared photometry of 19 Main sequence stars in the open cluster M39 is presented. Infrared-infrared and optical-infrared colour-colour and colour-magnitude diagrams are presented and compared with mean intrinsic colours for Population I stars. An interstellar reddening of E(B - V) = 0.01 is obtained by analysis of the colour-colour diagrams. Comparison with a set of theoretical isochrones leads to an age estimate for the cluster between 2.4 and 4.8 x 10 8 years

Infrared photometry of upper main sequence stars in M39

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Manteiga, M.; Martinez-Roger, C. (Instituto de Astrofisica de Canarias, Tenerife, (ES)); Morales, C.; Sabau, L. (Instituto de Tecnica Aeroespacial, Madrid, (ES))

1991-03-01

Infrared photometry of 19 Main sequence stars in the open cluster M39 is presented. Infrared-infrared and optical-infrared colour-colour and colour-magnitude diagrams are presented and compared with mean intrinsic colours for Population I stars. An interstellar reddening of E(B - V) = 0.01 is obtained by analysis of the colour-colour diagrams. Comparison with a set of theoretical isochrones leads to an age estimate for the cluster between 2.4 and 4.8 x 10{sup 8} years.

Cepheid distance scale: a new application for infrared photometry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

McGonegal, R.; McLaren, R.A.; McAlary, C.W.; Madore, B.F.

1982-01-01

It is shown that near-infrared photometry of Cepheid variables provides a powerful and practical means of calibrating the distance scale to nearby galaxies. Compared with similar work in the blue, random-phase observations in the near-infrared produce a factor of 2.5 decrease in the apparent width of the period-luminosity relation. This we attribute to a substantially decreased effect of differential reddening at long wavelengths, to the low sensitivity of the infrared flux to metallicity variations, and furthermore to the fact that the cyclical luminosity variations are also greatly reduced in the infrared

A PSF photometry tool for NASA's Kepler, K2, and TESS missions

Science.gov (United States)

Cardoso, Jose Vinicius De Miranda; Barentsen, Geert; Hedges, Christina L.; Gully-Santiago, Michael A.; Cody, Ann Marie; Montet, Ben

2018-01-01

NASA's Kepler and K2 missions have impacted all areas of astrophysics in unique and important ways by delivering high-precision time series data on asteroids, stars, and galaxies. For example, both the official Kepler pipeline and the various community-owned pipelines have been successful at discovering a myriad of transiting exoplanets around a wide range of stellar types. However, the existing pipelines tend to focus on studying isolated stars using simple aperture photometry, and often perform sub-optimally in crowded fields where objects are blended. To address this issue, we present a Point Spread Function (PSF) photometry toolkit for Kepler and K2 which is able to extract light curves from crowded regions, such as the Beehive Cluster, the Lagoon Nebula, and the M67 globular cluster, which were all recently observed by Kepler. We present a detailed discussion on the theory, the practical use, and demonstrate our tool on various levels of crowding. Finally, we discuss the future use of the tool on data from the TESS mission. The code is open source and available on GitHub as part of the PyKE toolkit for Kepler/K2 data analysis.

Infrared photometry of cool white dwarfs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wickramasinghe, D.T.; Allen, D.A.; Bessell, M.S.

1982-01-01

The results are presented of a search for the effects of pressure induced H 2 dipole opacity on the infrared JHK magnitudes of cool white dwarfs. LHS 1126 is found to be a very cool (Tsub(e) approximately 4250 K) DC white dwarf with a H rich atmospheric composition dominated by H 2 dipole opacity in the infrared. JHK photometry also favours a H rich atmospheric composition for the DK white dwarfs LP 658-2 and W 489. The surprisingly high proportion of hydrogen rich white dwarfs in the sample appears to suggest that the mechanism which inhibits the accretion of hydrogen in the hotter helium stars becomes less effective at low (Tsub(e) approximately 3 + ion in cool hydrogen rich white dwarf atmospheres is pointed out and it is suggested that the opacity due to this ion may be responsible for the blanketing observed in the U and B magnitudes of some cool white dwarfs. (author)

Determination of trace impurities in high purity water by emission spectroscopy and flame photometry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Charbel, M.Y.; Lordello, A.R.

1985-01-01

A spectrochemical method for the determination of trace amounts of Fe, Mg, Mn, Sn, Cr, Bi, Ni, Ca, Na, Zn, Sr, Al, Ba and Cu in high purity water is described. In addition Na, Li and K are measured by flame photometry. The standards used in the spectrochemical method are prepared by evaporation in hot plate of 50 mL standard solution in Teflon becker to dryness, the residue being dissolved with 500 μL hot HCl (1:1). Four hundred μL of this solution is evaporated under infra-red lamp on Apiezon treated flat top graphite electrodes. The residue is submitted to a direct current arc excitation. The accuracy is estimated by the spectrochemical method with a direct procedure sample preparation. The relative standard deviation varies from +- 4% to +- 27%. For the elements Na, Li and K standard solutions are concentrated fiftyfold by a simple evaporation procedure and then measured by flame photometry. The standard deviation and accuracy are given. (Author) [pt

KIC 8462852: Maria Mitchell Observatory Photographic Photometry 1930 to 1985

Science.gov (United States)

Castelaz, Michael; Barker, Thurburn

2018-01-01

KIC 8462852 is an F3V star which decreased 20% in visual brightness twice from 5 to 20 days (Boyajian et al., 2016, MNRAS, 457, 3988) in 2011 and again in 2013. New observations show decreases of a few percent in May 2017 (Waagen 2017, AAVSO Alert Notice, 579), and reanalysis of Kepler data shows a variation of 928.25 days and 22 dimming events (Kiefer et al. 2017, accepted). Photometry from the All-Sky Automated Survey for Supernovae and the All-Sky Automated Survey (ASAS) indicate two brightening episodes and a steady decrease in magnitude of 6.3 +/- 1.4 mmag/yr (Simon et al 2017, accepted). Photometric studies from photographic plate collections include a light curve from 1338 Harvard College Observatory plates over the period 1890 to 1989 (Schaefer 2016, ApJ, 822, L34) that indicates KIC 8462852 is dimming 0.164 +/- 0.013 magnitudes per century. Hippke et al. (2016, ApJ, 825, 73) present B and V light curves from photometry from the Sonneberg Observatory photographic plate collection (Brauer and Fuhrmann 1992, Die Sterne, 68, 19) covering the period from 1934 to 1995. The light curve suggests less than 3% or 0.03 magnitude per century decrease in brightness, consistent with the ASAS light curve and Kepler data.Another consistent set of astronomical photographic plates with KIC 8462852 are in the Maria Mitchell Observatory (MMO) collection (Strelnitski 2009 in ASP Conference Series Vol. 410 p. 96). This collection is located in the Astronomical Photographic Data Archive at the Pisgah Astronomical Research Institute. We extracted the photographic magnitudes of KIC 8462852 from 743 plates from 1930 to 1988. We chose 8 nearby comparison stars within one spectral subclass and within 0.05 magnitudes of KIC 8462852, and not identified as variables. The photometry is calibrated to the USNO B filter, closest in bandpass to the emulsion wavelength sensitivity. The light curve of KIC 8462852 suggests a trend of about 0.1 +/- 0.07 magnitudes per century decrease, an

Short-term variability and mass loss in Be stars. III. BRITE and SMEI satellite photometry of 28 Cygni

Science.gov (United States)

Baade, D.; Pigulski, A.; Rivinius, Th.; Carciofi, A. C.; Panoglou, D.; Ghoreyshi, M. R.; Handler, G.; Kuschnig, R.; Moffat, A. F. J.; Pablo, H.; Popowicz, A.; Wade, G. A.; Weiss, W. W.; Zwintz, K.

2018-03-01

Context. Be stars are important reference laboratories for the investigation of viscous Keplerian discs. In some cases, the disc feeder mechanism involves a combination of non-radial pulsation (NRP) modes. Aims: We seek to understand whether high-cadence photometry can shed further light on the role of NRP modes in facilitating rotation-supported mass loss. Methods: The BRITE-Constellation of nanosatellites obtained mmag photometry of 28 Cygni for 11 months in 2014-2016. We added observations with the Solar Mass Ejection Imager (SMEI) in 2003-2010 and 118 Hα line profiles, half of which were from 2016. Results: For decades, 28 Cyg has exhibited four large-amplitude frequencies: two closely spaced frequencies of spectroscopically confirmed g modes near 1.5 c/d, one slightly lower exophotospheric (Štefl) frequency, and at 0.05 c/d the difference (Δ) frequency between the two g modes. This top-level framework is indistinguishable from η Cen (Paper I), which is also very similar in spectral type, rotation rate, and viewing angle. The circumstellar (Štefl) frequency alone does not seem to be affected by the Δ frequency. The amplitude of the Δ frequency undergoes large variations; around maximum the amount of near-circumstellar matter is increased and the amplitude of the Štefl frequency grows by a factor of a few. During such brightenings dozens of transient spikes appear in the frequency spectrum; these spikes are concentrated into three groups. Only 11 frequencies were common to all years of BRITE observations. Conclusions: Be stars seem to be controlled by several coupled clocks, most of which are not very regular on timescales of weeks to months but function for decades. The combination of g modes to the slow Δ variability and/or the atmospheric response to it appears significantly non-linear. As in η Cen, the Δ variability seems to be mainly responsible for the modulation of the star-to-disc mass transfer in 28 Cyg. A hierarchical set of Δ frequencies

Deep Photometry of GRB 041006 Afterglow: Hypernova Bump at Redshift z = 0.716

Science.gov (United States)

Stanek, K. Z.; Garnavich, P. M.; Nutzman, P. A.; Hartman, J. D.; Garg, A.; Adelberger, K.; Berlind, P.; Bonanos, A. Z.; Calkins, M. L.; Challis, P.; Gaudi, B. S.; Holman, M. J.; Kirshner, R. P.; McLeod, B. A.; Osip, D.; Pimenova, T.; Reiprich, T. H.; Romanishin, W.; Spahr, T.; Tegler, S. C.; Zhao, X.

2005-06-01

We present deep optical photometry of the afterglow of gamma-ray burst (GRB) 041006 and its associated hypernova obtained over 65 days after detection (55 R-band epochs on 10 different nights). Our early data (tVatican Advanced Technology Telescope, the Magellan 6.5 m Baade and Clay telescopes, and the Keck II 10 m telescope.

Multi-Epoch Hubble Space Telescope Observations of IZw18 : Characterization of Variable Stars at Ultra-Low Metallicities

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Fiorentino, G.; Ramos, R. Contreras; Clementini, G.; Marconi, M.; Musella, I.; Aloisi, A.; Annibali, F.; Saha, A.; Tosi, M.; van der Marel, R. P.

2010-01-01

Variable stars have been identified for the first time in the very metal-poor blue compact dwarf galaxy IZw18, using deep multi-band (F606W, F814W) time-series photometry obtained with the Advanced Camera for Surveys on board the Hubble Space Telescope. We detected 34 candidate variable stars in the

GALACTIC COSMIC-RAY INTENSITY MODULATION BY COROTATING INTERACTION REGION STREAM INTERFACES AT 1 au

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Guo, X. [State Key Laboratory of Space Weather, National Space Science Center, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100190 (China); Florinski, V. [Center for Space Plasma and Aeronomic Research, University of Alabama, Huntsville, AL 35899 (United States)

2016-07-20

We present a new model that couples galactic cosmic-ray (GCR) propagation with magnetic turbulence transport and the MHD background evolution in the heliosphere. The model is applied to the problem of the formation of corotating interaction regions (CIRs) during the last solar minimum from the period between 2007 and 2009. The numerical model simultaneously calculates the large-scale supersonic solar wind properties and its small-scale turbulent content from 0.3 au to the termination shock. Cosmic rays are then transported through the background, and thus computed, with diffusion coefficients derived from the solar wind turbulent properties, using a stochastic Parker approach. Our results demonstrate that GCR variations depend on the ratio of diffusion coefficients in the fast and slow solar winds. Stream interfaces inside the CIRs always lead to depressions of the GCR intensity. On the other hand, heliospheric current sheet (HCS) crossings do not appreciably affect GCR intensities in the model, which is consistent with the two observations under quiet solar wind conditions. Therefore, variations in diffusion coefficients associated with CIR stream interfaces are more important for GCR propagation than the drift effects of the HCS during a negative solar minimum.

GALACTIC COSMIC-RAY INTENSITY MODULATION BY COROTATING INTERACTION REGION STREAM INTERFACES AT 1 au

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Guo, X.; Florinski, V.

2016-01-01

We present a new model that couples galactic cosmic-ray (GCR) propagation with magnetic turbulence transport and the MHD background evolution in the heliosphere. The model is applied to the problem of the formation of corotating interaction regions (CIRs) during the last solar minimum from the period between 2007 and 2009. The numerical model simultaneously calculates the large-scale supersonic solar wind properties and its small-scale turbulent content from 0.3 au to the termination shock. Cosmic rays are then transported through the background, and thus computed, with diffusion coefficients derived from the solar wind turbulent properties, using a stochastic Parker approach. Our results demonstrate that GCR variations depend on the ratio of diffusion coefficients in the fast and slow solar winds. Stream interfaces inside the CIRs always lead to depressions of the GCR intensity. On the other hand, heliospheric current sheet (HCS) crossings do not appreciably affect GCR intensities in the model, which is consistent with the two observations under quiet solar wind conditions. Therefore, variations in diffusion coefficients associated with CIR stream interfaces are more important for GCR propagation than the drift effects of the HCS during a negative solar minimum.

VizieR Online Data Catalog: HK photometry in an UCHII region near Sh2-217 (Brand+, 2011)

Science.gov (United States)

Brand, J.; Massi, F.; Zavagno, A.; Deharveng, L.; Lefloch, B.

2010-11-01

Coordinates and photometric parameters (magnitudes and colours) are presented of the stars located in a molecular condensation on the SW-border of the Galactic HII region Sh2-217. The data were obtained on January 4, 2004 with the 3.58-m Telescopio Nazionale Galileo (TNG; La Palma, Canary Islands, Spain). Near-infrared observations were carried out through H and K' broad-band filters with the camera NICS. The image scale is 0.25arcsec/pixel, yielding a field of view of about 4.2'x4.2'. Observing strategy and exposure times are described in Deharveng et al. (2006A&A...458..191D), the only difference being that the dithering sequence for the H-band images was the same as adopted for K'. The data reduction steps adopted are outlined in Deharveng et al. (2006A&A...458..191D). Aperture photometry was done using the DAOPHOT package in IRAF. We followed the same procedure described in Deharveng et al. (2006A&A...458..191D) to obtain aperture photometry, after which PSF-fitting photometry was performed. Although the seeing was good (<1"), the night was barely photometric, so we calibrated our H, K' photometry with that performed on the same field by Deharveng et al. (2003, Cat. J/A+A/399/1135). We calculated the difference in magnitudes for each coinciding source and plotted it against our derived instrumental H-K'. A colour term was present in K' because of the difference between the K and K' filters. After a best-fit calibration, a residual r.m.s. of about 0.2mag. was present in the difference between our photometry and that of Deharveng et al. (2003, J/A+A/399/1135), probably because of the different seeing and possibly also due to the intrinsic variability of young stars. Our photometry is thus on the same HK standard system as Deharveng et al. (2003, J/A+A/399/1135). Sources with K, H < 11-12 are in the non-linear regime or saturated, but such bright objects are few in number and lie outside the cluster, and are probably foreground stars. The approximate limiting

PHOTOMETRY AND PHOTOMETRIC REDSHIFT CATALOGS FOR THE LOCKMAN HOLE DEEP FIELD

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fotopoulou, S.; Salvato, M.; Hasinger, G.; Rovilos, E.; Brusa, M.; Lutz, D.; Burwitz, V.; Egami, E.; Henry, J. P.; Huang, J. H.; Rigopoulou, D.; Vaccari, M.

2012-01-01

We present broadband photometry and photometric redshifts for 187,611 sources located in ∼0.5 deg 2 in the Lockman Hole area. The catalog includes 388 X-ray-detected sources identified with the very deep XMM-Newton observations available for an area of 0.2 deg 2 . The source detection was performed on the R c -, z'-, and B-band images and the available photometry is spanning from the far-ultraviolet to the mid-infrared, reaching in the best-case scenario 21 bands. Astrometry corrections and photometric cross-calibrations over the entire data set allowed the computation of accurate photometric redshifts. Special treatment is undertaken for the X-ray sources, the majority of which are active galactic nuclei (AGNs). For normal galaxies, comparing the photometric redshifts to the 253 available spectroscopic redshifts, we achieve an accuracy of σ Δz/(1+z) = 0.036, with 12.6% outliers. For the X-ray-detected sources, compared to 115 spectroscopic redshifts, the accuracy is σ Δz/(1+z) = 0.069, with 18.3% outliers, where the outliers are defined as sources with |z phot – z spec | > 0.15 × (1 + z spec ). These results are a significant improvement over the previously available photometric redshifts for normal galaxies in the Lockman Hole, while it is the first time that photometric redshifts are computed and made public for AGNs for this field.

Crowded Field Photometry and Moving Object Detection with Optimal Image Subtraction

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Austin A. T.; Scheulen, F.; Sauro, C. M.; McMahon, C. T.; Berry, S. J.; Robinson, C. H.; Buie, M. W.; Little, P.

2010-05-01

High precision photometry and moving object detection are essential in the study of Pluto and the Kuiper Belt. In particular, the New Horizons mission would benefit from an accurate and fast method of performing image subtraction to locate faint Kuiper Belt Objects (KBO) among large data sets. The optimal image subtraction (OIS) algorithm was optimized for IDL to decrease execution time by a factor of about 140 from a previous implementation (Miller 2008, PASP, 120, 449). In addition, a powerful image transformation and interpolation routine was written to provide OIS with well-aligned input images using astrometric fit data. The first half of this project is complete including the code optimization and the alignment routine. The second half of the project is focused on using these tools to search a 5 x 10 degree search area to find KBOs for possible targets for the New Horizons mission. We will present examples of how these tools work and along with resulting Pluto photometry and KBO target lists. The optimized OIS and transformation routines are available in Marc Buie's IDL library at http://www.boulder.swri.edu/ buie/idl/ as ois.pro and dewarp.pro. This project was conducted for Harvey Mudd College's Clinic Program with financial support from the NASA Planetary Astronomy Program grant number NNX09AB43G.

OV Bootis: Forty Nights of World-Wide Photometry (Abstract)

Science.gov (United States)

Patterson, J.; de Miguel, E.; Barret, D.; Brincat, S.; Boardman, J., Jr.; Buczynski, D.; Campbell, T.; Cejudo, D.; Cook, L.; Cook, M. J.; Collins, D.; Cooney, W.; Dubois, F.; Dvorak, S.; Halpern, J. P.; Kroes, A. J.; Lemay, D.; Licchelli, D.; Mankel, D.; Marshall, M.; Novak, R.; Oksanen, A.; Roberts, G.; Seargeant, J.; Sears, H.; Silcox, A.; Slauson, D.; Stone, G.; Thorstensen, J. R.; Ulowetz, J.; Vanmunster, T.; Wallgren, J.; Wood, M.

2017-12-01

(Abstract only) Among the 1000 known cataclysmic variables, only one appears to belong to the "Galactic halo"-the Population II stars. We report round-the-world photometry of this star (OV Boo) during March-April 2017, when it staged its first certified dwarf-nova outburst. The star is remarkable for its short binary period (66 minutes), high proper motion, metal-poor composition, substellar secondary, sharp white-dwarf eclipses, and nonradial pulsations. Something for everybody - and it even had the good manners to erupt in northern springtime, when it transits near local midnight. Move over, SS Cyg and WZ Sge; there's a new celebrity in town!

13-colour photometry of pre-main sequence stars: preliminary report and results

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chavarria-K, C; de Lara, E [Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, Mexico City. Inst. de Astronomia

1981-01-01

Broad (UBVRI) and intermediate (13-colour) band photometry of 160 stars selected mainly from the Herbig Rao catalogue are being carried on currently, mainly to complement the published data of these stars in the optical window (for example shortward of the Balmer and longward of the Paschen discontinuities). The 13-colour photometric system and its applications to pre-main sequences stars are briefly discussed. First results are presented.

Polarimetry and photometry of the AM Her polar

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Efimov, Yu S; Shakhovskoj, N M

1982-01-01

The results of the polarization observations and photometry of AM Her obtained during 11 nights from April to September 1978 are presented. The observations were carried out in V spectral region with time resolution of about four minutes. The results of measurements are in agreement with previous observations. The polarization maximum, being mostly on the 1.3 % level, was rising up to 2 % only at an active state of the star. No correlation was found between rapid variations of light and linear polarization at an inactive state of the star. The phase dependence of mean polarization parameters is revealed. The displaced dipole magnetic field with different strength on the poles is assumed for the polar model to interpret the vector diagram of polarization.

Keck i LWS Mid-Ir Images and Photometry of 9P/TEMPEL 1

Science.gov (United States)

Fernandez, Y. R.; Lisse, C. M.; A'Hearn, M. F.; Belton, M. J. S.

2010-01-01

This data set contains raw and reduced mid-infrared images and photometry of comet 9P/Tempel 1, the target of the Deep Impact mission. Images were acquired on the night of 21 August 2000, about 7.5 months after perihelion, by Y. Fernandez, C. Lisse, M. A'Hearn and M. Belton using the Long Wavelength Spectrometer instrument at the Keck I telescope.

VizieR Online Data Catalog: From optical to infrared photometry of SN 2013dy (Pan+, 2015)

Science.gov (United States)

Pan, Y.-C.; Foley, R. J.; Kromer, M.; Fox, O. D.; Zheng, W.; Challis, P.; Clubb, K. I.; Filippenko, A. V.; Folatelli, G.; Graham, M. L.; Hillebrandt, W.; Kirshner, R. P.; Lee, W. H.; Pakmor, R.; Patat, F.; Phillips, M. M.; Pignata, G.; Ropke, F.; Seitenzahl, I.; Silverman, J. M.; Simon, J. D.; Sternberg, A.; Stritzinger, M. D.; Taubenberger, S.; Vinko, J.; Wheeler, J. C.

2017-11-01

We obtained broad-band BVRI photometry of SN 2013dy with the 0.76m Katzman Automatic Imaging Telescope (KAIT; Filippenko et al. 2001ASPC..246..121F). The multiband images were observed with the KAIT4 filter set from -16d to +337d relative to B-band maximum (MJD=56501.105). We also obtained riZYJH photometry of SN 2013dy with the multichannel Reionization And Transients InfraRed camera (RATIR; Butler et al. 2012SPIE.8446E..10B) mounted on the 1.5m Johnson telescope at the Mexican Observatorio Astronomico Nacional on Sierra San Pedro Martir in Baja California, Mexico (Watson et al. 2012SPIE.8444E..5LW). Typical observations include a series of 80s exposures in the ri bands and 60s exposures in the ZYJH bands, with dithering between exposures. (2 data files).

The Araucaria Project. The Distance to the Sculptor Group Galaxy NGC 7793 from Near-infrared Photometry of Cepheid Variables

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zgirski, Bartlomiej; Pietrzyński, Grzegorz; Wielgorski, Piotr; Narloch, Weronika; Graczyk, Dariusz [Nicolaus Copernicus Astronomical Center, Polish Academy of Sciences, Bartycka 18, 00-716 Warsaw (Poland); Gieren, Wolfgang; Gorski, Marek [Universidad de Concepcion, Departamento de Astronomia, Casilla 160-C, Concepcion (Chile); Karczmarek, Paulina [Warsaw University Observatory, Al. Ujazdowskie 4, 00-478, Warsaw (Poland); Kudritzki, Rolf-Peter; Bresolin, Fabio, E-mail: bzgirski@camk.edu.pl, E-mail: pietrzyn@camk.edu.pl, E-mail: pwielgor@camk.edu.pl, E-mail: wnarloch@camk.edu.pl, E-mail: darek@astro-udec.cl, E-mail: mgorski@astrouw.edu.pl, E-mail: wgieren@astro-udec.cl, E-mail: pkarczmarek@astrouw.edu.pl, E-mail: kud@ifa.hawaii.edu, E-mail: bresolin@ifa.hawaii.edu [Institute for Astronomy, University of Hawaii at Manoa, 2680 Woodlawn Drive, Honolulu HI 96822 (United States)

2017-10-01

Following the earlier discovery of classical Cepheid variables in the Sculptor Group spiral galaxy NGC 7793 from an optical wide-field imaging survey, we have performed deep near-infrared J - and K -band follow-up photometry of a subsample of these Cepheids to derive the distance to this galaxy with a higher accuracy than what was possible from optical photometry alone, by minimizing the effects of reddening and metallicity on the distance result. Combining our new near-infrared period–luminosity relations with previous optical photometry, we obtain a true distance modulus to NGC 7793 of (27.66 ± 0.04) mag (statistical) ±0.07 mag (systematic), i.e., a distance of (3.40 ± 0.17) Mpc. We also determine the mean reddening affecting the Cepheids to be E(B − V) = (0.08 ± 0.02) mag, demonstrating that there is significant dust extinction intrinsic to the galaxy in addition to the small foreground extinction. A comparison of the new, improved Cepheid distance to earlier distance determinations of NGC 7793 from the Tully–Fisher and TRGB methods is in agreement within the reported uncertainties of these previous measurements.

VizieR Online Data Catalog: HST photometry of M31 globular clusters (Federici+, 2012)

Science.gov (United States)

Federici, L.; Cacciari, C.; Bellazzini, M.; Fusi Pecci, F.; Galleti, S.; Perina, S.

2013-01-01

Tables g58.dat, g108.dat, g105.dat, g219.dat, b468.dat, g1.dat, g64.dat, g87.dat, g119.dat, g287.dat, g302.dat, g11.dat, g33.dat, g76.dat, g312.dat, g319.dat, g322.dat present the photometry of the individual stars of 17 M31 globular clusters observed with the WFPC2 on board of the HST, employing the F555W/F814W filters (Fusi Pecci et al. 1996AJ....112.1461F (FFP96), Rich et al. 2005AJ....129.2670R (R05)). The data reduction has been performed using ROMAFOT (Buonanno et al. 1983A&A...126..278B), a multicomponent fitting package purposely adapted to handle HST data, that provides as output the magnitudes and the pixel positions of the detected sources. The CTE-corrected photometric data were converted to the Johnson-Cousins V,I magnitudes according to Holtzman et al (1995PASP..107..156H). Table g351.dat presents the photometry of the individual stars of the M31 globular cluster B405-G351 observed with the HST/COSTAR-corrected FOC + the F430W/F480LP filters. The data reduction has been performed using ROMAFOT; the photometric data were converted to the Johnson-Cousins system B,V magnitudes (see FFP96). Tables gc1.dat, gc2.dat, gc3.dat, gc5.dat, gc6.dat, gc7.dat, gc8.dat, gc9.dat, gc10.dat, gc4.dat, ec1.dat, ec2.dat, ec3.dat, ec4.dat present the photometry of the individual stars of 14 M31 globular clusters observed with the WFC/ACS on board of the HST + F435W/F606W filters (see Galleti et al., 2006ApJ...650L.107G; Mackey et al., 2007ApJ...655L..85M; Mackey et al., 2006ApJ...653L.105M). The data reduction has been performed using the ACS module of DOLPHOT, a point spread function-fitting package specifically devoted to the photometry of HST data, that provides as output the magnitudes and the pixel positions of the detected sources, and a number of quality parameters for a suitable sample selection. The tables present, for the ACS chip holding the cluster, all the stars with valid measurements in both passbands, global quality flag=1, crowding parameter 23.5,and noise

On the age and metallicity estimation of spiral galaxies using optical and near-infrared photometry

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Lee, Hyun-Chul; Worthey, Guy; Trager, Scott C.; Faber, S. M.

2007-01-01

In integrated light, some color-color diagrams that use optical and near-infrared photometry show surprisingly orthogonal grids as age and metallicity are varied, and they are coming into common usage for estimating the average age and metallicity of spiral galaxies. In this paper we reconstruct

Direct illumination LED calibration for telescope photometry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Barrelet, E.; Juramy, C.

2008-01-01

A calibration method for telescope photometry, based on the direct illumination of a telescope with a calibrated light source regrouping multiple LEDs, is proposed. Its purpose is to calibrate the instrument response. The main emphasis of the proposed method is the traceability of the calibration process and a continuous monitoring of the instrument in order to maintain a 0.2% accuracy over a period of years. Its specificity is to map finely the response of the telescope and its camera as a function of all light ray parameters. This feature is essential to implement a computer model of the instrument representing the variation of the overall light collection efficiency of each pixel for various filter configurations. We report on hardware developments done for SNDICE, the first application of this direct illumination calibration system which will be installed in Canada France Hawaii telescope (CFHT) for its leading supernova experiment (SNLS)

The Gemini/HST Galaxy Cluster Project: Redshift 0.2–1.0 Cluster Sample, X-Ray Data, and Optical Photometry Catalog

Science.gov (United States)

Jørgensen, Inger; Chiboucas, Kristin; Hibon, Pascale; Nielsen, Louise D.; Takamiya, Marianne

2018-04-01

The Gemini/HST Galaxy Cluster Project (GCP) covers 14 z = 0.2–1.0 clusters with X-ray luminosity of {L}500≥slant {10}44 {erg} {{{s}}}-1 in the 0.1–2.4 keV band. In this paper, we provide homogeneously calibrated X-ray luminosities, masses, and radii, and we present the complete catalog of the ground-based photometry for the GCP clusters. The clusters were observed with either Gemini North or South in three or four of the optical passbands g‧, r‧, i‧, and z‧. The photometric catalog includes consistently calibrated total magnitudes, colors, and geometrical parameters. The photometry reaches ≈25 mag in the passband closest to the rest-frame B band. We summarize comparisons of our photometry with data from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. We describe the sample selection for our spectroscopic observations, and establish the calibrations to obtain rest-frame magnitudes and colors. Finally, we derive the color–magnitude relations for the clusters, and briefly discuss these in the context of evolution with redshift. Consistent with our results based on spectroscopic data, the color–magnitude relations support passive evolution of the red sequence galaxies. The absence of change in the slope with redshift constrains the allowable age variation along the red sequence to <0.05 dex between the brightest cluster galaxies and those four magnitudes fainter. This paper serves as the main reference for the GCP cluster and galaxy selection, X-ray data, and ground-based photometry.

Modeling of exoplanets interiors in the framework of future space missions

Science.gov (United States)

Brugger, B.; Mousis, O.; Deleuil, M.

2017-12-01

Probing the interior of exoplanets with known masses and radii is possible via the use of models of internal structure. Here we present a model able to handle various planetary compositions, from terrestrial bodies to ocean worlds or carbon-rich planets, and its application to the case of CoRoT-7b. Using the elemental abundances of an exoplanet’s host star, we significantly reduce the degeneracy limiting such models. This further constrains the type and state of material present at the surface, and helps estimating the composition of a secondary atmosphere that could form in these conditions through potential outgassing. Upcoming space missions dedicated to exoplanet characterization, such as PLATO, will provide accurate fundamental parameters of Earth-like planets orbiting in the habitable zone, for which our model is well adapted.

Photometry-based estimation of the total number of stars in the Universe.

Science.gov (United States)

Manojlović, Lazo M

2015-07-20

A novel photometry-based estimation of the total number of stars in the Universe is presented. The estimation method is based on the energy conservation law and actual measurements of the extragalactic background light levels. By assuming that every radiated photon is kept within the Universe volume, i.e., by approximating the Universe as an integrating cavity without losses, the total number of stars in the Universe of about 6×1022 has been obtained.

UBV photometry of 262 southern galaxies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wegner, G.

1979-01-01

Multi-aperture photometry of 262 bright southern galaxies in the Johnson UBV system is given. Most of these are south of delta = -30 0 , although some northward to delta = -10 0 are included. A total of 169 objects have published radial velocity determinations. These provide distances, and enable construction of colour-magnitude diagrams for this subset of objects througha physical diameter of 2.0 kpc (with H 0 = 100). The two-colour diagrams for the inner regions of the galaxies differ from those of integrated galaxies due to the colour changes towards their centres. Comparison with theoretical models of Larson and Tinsley (1978) suggest that the colours of the inner portions of most ellipticals and lenticulars are consistent with their having all stars formed at nearly one epoch with little subsequent star formation, while for spirals larger amounts of star formation, either in bursts of continuously, are suggested. This simple picture is complicated by the presence of certain objects having peculiar colours indicative of large amounts of recent star formation. (Auth.)

uvby and JHKL photometry of OB stars in the association Cygnus OB2

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Torres-Dodgen, A.V.; Carroll, M.; Tapia, M.

1991-01-01

We have obtained uvby and JHK photometry of about 80 stars in the association Cygnus OB2 (VI Cygni), including some foreground stars and three infrared sources. We present colour-colour and colour-magnitude diagrams from which we derive the interstellar extinction and approximate spectral types. We confirm that the interstellar extinction law in the direction of Cyg OB2 is similar to the galactic mean. (author)

Planetary transit candidates in the CoRoT-SRc01 field

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Erikson, A.; Santerne, A.; Renner, S.

2012-01-01

Context. CoRoT is a pioneering space mission whose primary goals are stellar seismology and extrasolar planets search. Its surveys of large stellar fields generate numerous planetary candidates whose lightcurves have transit-like features. An extensive analytical and observational follow-up effort...... is undertaken to classify these candidates. Aims. We present the list of planetary transit candidates from the CoRoT LRa01 star field in the Monoceros constellation toward the Galactic anti-center direction. The CoRoT observations of LRa01 lasted from 24 October 2007 to 3 March 2008. Methods. We acquired...... and analyzed 7470 chromatic and 3938 monochromatic lightcurves. Instrumental noise and stellar variability were treated with several filtering tools by different teams from the CoRoT community. Different transit search algorithms were applied to the lightcurves. Results. Fifty-one stars were classified...

Time Resolved Precision Differential Photometry with OAFA's Double Astrograph

Science.gov (United States)

González, E. P. A.; Podestá, F.; Podestá, R.; Pacheco, A. M.

2018-01-01

For the last 50 years, the Double Astrograph located at the Carlos U. Cesco station of the Observatorio Astronómico Félix Aguilar (OAFA), San Juan province, Argentina, was used for astrometric observations and research. The main programs involved the study of asteroid positions and proper motions of stars in the Southern hemisphere, being the latter a long time project that is near completion from which the SPM4 catalog is the most recent version (Girard et al. 2011). In this paper, new scientific applications in the field of photometry that can be accomplished with this telescope are presented. These first attempts show the potential of the instrument for such tasks.

Watching Stars Grow: The adaptation and creation of instructional material for the acquisition, reduction, and analysis of data using photometry tools at the WestRock Observatory.

Science.gov (United States)

O'Keeffe, Brendon; Johnson, Michael; Murphy Williams, Rosa Nina

2018-06-01

The WestRock observatory at Columbus State University provides laboratory and research opportunities to earth and space science students specializing in astrophysics and planetary geology. Through continuing improvements, the observatory has been expanding the types of research carried out by undergraduates. Photometric measurements are an essential tool for observational research, especially for objects of variable brightness.Using the American Association of Variable Star Observers (AAVSO) database, students choose variable star targets for observation. Students then perform observations to develop the ability to properly record, calibrate, and interpret the data. Results are then submitted to a large database of observations through the AAVSO.Standardized observation procedures will be developed in the form of manuals and instructional videos specific to the equipment housed in the WestRock Observatory. This procedure will be used by students conducting laboratory exercises and undergraduate research projects that utilize photometry. Such hands-on, direct observational experience will help to familiarize the students with observational techniques and contribute to an active dataset, which in turn will prepare them for future research in their field.In addition, this set of procedures and the data resulting from them will be used in the wider outreach programs of the WestRock Observatory, so that students and interested public nationwide can learn about both the process and importance of photometry in astronomical research.

Asteroseismology of the Transiting Exoplanet Host HD 17156 with Hubble Space Telescope Fine Guidance Sensor

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Gilliland, Ronald L.; McCullough, Peter R.; Nelan, Edmund P.

2011-01-01

light curve. Using the density constraint from asteroseismology, and stellar evolution modeling results in M * = 1.285 ± 0.026 M sun, R * = 1.507 ± 0.012 R sun, and a stellar age of 3.2 ± 0.3 Gyr. Based on observations with the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, obtained at the Space Telescope Science......Observations conducted with the Fine Guidance Sensor on the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) providing high cadence and precision time-series photometry were obtained over 10 consecutive days in 2008 December on the host star of the transiting exoplanet HD 17156b. During this time, 1.0 × 1012 photons...... Institute, which is operated by AURA, Inc., under NASA contract NAS 5-26555....

Near-infrared Thermal Emission Detections of a Number of Hot Jupiters and the Systematics of Ground-based Near-infrared Photometry

Science.gov (United States)

Croll, Bryce; Albert, Loic; Jayawardhana, Ray; Cushing, Michael; Moutou, Claire; Lafreniere, David; Johnson, John Asher; Bonomo, Aldo S.; Deleuil, Magali; Fortney, Jonathan

2015-03-01

We present detections of the near-infrared thermal emission of three hot Jupiters and one brown dwarf using the Wide-field Infrared Camera (WIRCam) on the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope (CFHT). These include Ks-band secondary eclipse detections of the hot Jupiters WASP-3b and Qatar-1b and the brown dwarf KELT-1b. We also report Y-band, K CONT-band, and two new and one reanalyzed Ks-band detections of the thermal emission of the hot Jupiter WASP-12b. We present a new reduction pipeline for CFHT/WIRCam data, which is optimized for high precision photometry. We also describe novel techniques for constraining systematic errors in ground-based near-infrared photometry, so as to return reliable secondary eclipse depths and uncertainties. We discuss the noise properties of our ground-based photometry for wavelengths spanning the near-infrared (the YJHK bands), for faint and bright stars, and for the same object on several occasions. For the hot Jupiters WASP-3b and WASP-12b we demonstrate the repeatability of our eclipse depth measurements in the Ks band; we therefore place stringent limits on the systematics of ground-based, near-infrared photometry, and also rule out violent weather changes in the deep, high pressure atmospheres of these two hot Jupiters at the epochs of our observations. Based on observations obtained with WIRCam, a joint project of Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope (CFHT), Taiwan, Korea, Canada, France, at the CFHT, which is operated by the National Research Council (NRC) of Canada, the Institute National des Sciences de l'Univers of the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique of France, and the University of Hawaii.

The Carnegie Supernova Project. I. Third Photometry Data Release of Low-redshift Type Ia Supernovae and Other White Dwarf Explosions

Science.gov (United States)

Krisciunas, Kevin; Contreras, Carlos; Burns, Christopher R.; Phillips, M. M.; Stritzinger, Maximilian D.; Morrell, Nidia; Hamuy, Mario; Anais, Jorge; Boldt, Luis; Busta, Luis; Campillay, Abdo; Castellón, Sergio; Folatelli, Gastón; Freedman, Wendy L.; González, Consuelo; Hsiao, Eric Y.; Krzeminski, Wojtek; Persson, Sven Eric; Roth, Miguel; Salgado, Francisco; Serón, Jacqueline; Suntzeff, Nicholas B.; Torres, Simón; Filippenko, Alexei V.; Li, Weidong; Madore, Barry F.; DePoy, D. L.; Marshall, Jennifer L.; Rheault, Jean-Philippe; Villanueva, Steven

2017-11-01

We present final natural-system optical (ugriBV) and near-infrared (YJH) photometry of 134 supernovae (SNe) with probable white dwarf progenitors that were observed in 2004-2009 as part of the first stage of the Carnegie Supernova Project (CSP-I). The sample consists of 123 Type Ia SNe, 5 Type Iax SNe, 2 super-Chandrasekhar SN candidates, 2 Type Ia SNe interacting with circumstellar matter, and 2 SN 2006bt-like events. The redshifts of the objects range from z=0.0037 to 0.0835; the median redshift is 0.0241. For 120 (90%) of these SNe, near-infrared photometry was obtained. Average optical extinction coefficients and color terms are derived and demonstrated to be stable during the five CSP-I observing campaigns. Measurements of the CSP-I near-infrared bandpasses are also described, and near-infrared color terms are estimated through synthetic photometry of stellar atmosphere models. Optical and near-infrared magnitudes of local sequences of tertiary standard stars for each supernova are given, and a new calibration of Y-band magnitudes of the Persson et al. standards in the CSP-I natural system is presented.

BVRI CCD photometry of the metal-poor globular cluster M68 (NGC 4590)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Alcaino, G.; Liller, W.; Alvarado, F.; Wenderoth, E.

1990-01-01

BVRI photometry of the low metallicity globular cluster M68 (NGC 4590) was obtained with a CCD camera and the 2.2-m ESO telescope. The resulting BV color-magnitude diagrams are compared with the observations of McClure et al. (1987). The observations are also compared with theoretical isochrones, yielding a cluster age of 13 Gyr with a likely external uncertainty of 2 or 3 Gyr. 25 refs

The seesaw space, a vector space to identify and characterize large-scale structures at 1 AU

Science.gov (United States)

Lara, A.; Niembro, T.

2017-12-01

We introduce the seesaw space, an orthonormal space formed by the local and the global fluctuations of any of the four basic solar parameters: velocity, density, magnetic field and temperature at any heliospheric distance. The fluctuations compare the standard deviation of a moving average of three hours against the running average of the parameter in a month (consider as the local fluctuations) and in a year (global fluctuations) We created this new vectorial spaces to identify the arrival of transients to any spacecraft without the need of an observer. We applied our method to the one-minute resolution data of WIND spacecraft from 1996 to 2016. To study the behavior of the seesaw norms in terms of the solar cycle, we computed annual histograms and fixed piecewise functions formed by two log-normal distributions and observed that one of the distributions is due to large-scale structures while the other to the ambient solar wind. The norm values in which the piecewise functions change vary in terms of the solar cycle. We compared the seesaw norms of each of the basic parameters due to the arrival of coronal mass ejections, co-rotating interaction regions and sector boundaries reported in literature. High seesaw norms are due to large-scale structures. We found three critical values of the norms that can be used to determined the arrival of coronal mass ejections. We present as well general comparisons of the norms during the two maxima and the minimum solar cycle periods and the differences of the norms due to large-scale structures depending on each period.

VizieR Online Data Catalog: 2014-2017 photometry for ASASSN-13db (Sicilia-Aguilar+, 2017)

Science.gov (United States)

Sicilia-Aguilar, A.; Oprandi, A.; Froebrich, D.; Fang, M.; Prieto, J. L.; Stanek, K.; Scholz, A.; Kochanek, C. S.; Henning, T.; Gredel, R.; Holoien, T. S. W.; Rabus, M.; Shappee, B. J.; Billington, S. J.; Campbell-White, J.; Zegmott, T. J.

2017-08-01

Table 1 contains the full photometry from the All Sky Automated Survey for Supernovae (ASAS-SN) for the variable star ASASSN-13db. Detections with their errors and 5-sigma upper limits are given. Upper limits are marked by the "<" sign and have the error column set to 99.99. (1 data file).

Asteroid models from photometry and complementary data sources

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kaasalainen, Mikko [Department of Mathematics, Tampere University of Technology (Finland)

2016-05-10

I discuss inversion methods for asteroid shape and spin reconstruction with photometry (lightcurves) and complementary data sources such as adaptive optics or other images, occultation timings, interferometry, and range-Doppler radar data. These are essentially different sampling modes (generalized projections) of plane-of-sky images. An important concept in this approach is the optimal weighting of the various data modes. The maximum compatibility estimate, a multi-modal generalization of the maximum likelihood estimate, can be used for this purpose. I discuss the fundamental properties of lightcurve inversion by examining the two-dimensional case that, though not usable in our three-dimensional world, is simple to analyze, and it shares essentially the same uniqueness and stability properties as the 3-D case. After this, I review the main aspects of 3-D shape representations, lightcurve inversion, and the inclusion of complementary data.

Asteroid models from photometry and complementary data sources

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kaasalainen, Mikko

2016-01-01

I discuss inversion methods for asteroid shape and spin reconstruction with photometry (lightcurves) and complementary data sources such as adaptive optics or other images, occultation timings, interferometry, and range-Doppler radar data. These are essentially different sampling modes (generalized projections) of plane-of-sky images. An important concept in this approach is the optimal weighting of the various data modes. The maximum compatibility estimate, a multi-modal generalization of the maximum likelihood estimate, can be used for this purpose. I discuss the fundamental properties of lightcurve inversion by examining the two-dimensional case that, though not usable in our three-dimensional world, is simple to analyze, and it shares essentially the same uniqueness and stability properties as the 3-D case. After this, I review the main aspects of 3-D shape representations, lightcurve inversion, and the inclusion of complementary data.

C-M diagram and luminosity function of the Galactic globular cluster NGC 7099. I. Photographic photometry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Piotto, G.; Rosino, L.; Capaccioli, M.; Ortolani, S.; Alcaino, G.; Osservatorio Astronomico, Padua, Italy; Ministerio de Educacion de Chile, Instituto Isaac Newton, Santiago)

1987-01-01

New photographic photometry of about 4400 stars in the field of the Galactic globular cluster NGC 7099 = M30 is presented. A C-M diagram and a luminosity function are obtained from this photometry. The distance modulus is estimated at 14.5 + or - 0.5 assuming V(HB) = 15.11 + or - 0.10 and E(B-V) = 0.03 + or - 0.03. The metallicity is (Fe/H) = 1.9 + or - 0.3 based on the dereddened color index (B-V)0,g = 0.71 + or - 0.03. The theoretical isochrones of VandenBerg and Bell (1985) give a better fit to the observations assuming (Fe/H) = -1.8, (m-M)V = 14.6, and E(B-V) = 0.02. A fair fit is also obtained using isochrones of low iron content with an oxygen enhancement of 0.7. From the fit, an age of 17 + or - 4 Gyr is deduced. 41 references

Imaging and mapping the impact of clouds on skyglow with all-sky photometry.

Science.gov (United States)

Jechow, Andreas; Kolláth, Zoltán; Ribas, Salvador J; Spoelstra, Henk; Hölker, Franz; Kyba, Christopher C M

2017-07-27

Artificial skyglow is constantly growing on a global scale, with potential ecological consequences ranging up to affecting biodiversity. To understand these consequences, worldwide mapping of skyglow for all weather conditions is urgently required. In particular, the amplification of skyglow by clouds needs to be studied, as clouds can extend the reach of skyglow into remote areas not affected by light pollution on clear nights. Here we use commercial digital single lens reflex cameras with fisheye lenses for all-sky photometry. We track the reach of skyglow from a peri-urban into a remote area on a clear and a partly cloudy night by performing transects from the Spanish town of Balaguer towards Montsec Astronomical Park. From one single all-sky image, we extract zenith luminance, horizontal and scalar illuminance. While zenith luminance reaches near-natural levels at 5 km distance from the town on the clear night, similar levels are only reached at 27 km on the partly cloudy night. Our results show the dramatic increase of the reach of skyglow even for moderate cloud coverage at this site. The powerful and easy-to-use method promises to be widely applicable for studies of ecological light pollution on a global scale also by non-specialists in photometry.

NEAR-INFRARED PHOTOMETRY OF Y DWARFS: LOW AMMONIA ABUNDANCE AND THE ONSET OF WATER CLOUDS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Leggett, S. K.; Morley, Caroline V.; Marley, M. S.; Saumon, D.

2015-01-01

We present new near-infrared photometry for seven late-type T dwarfs and nine Y-type dwarfs, and lower limit magnitudes for a tenth Y dwarf, obtained at Gemini Observatory. We also present a reanalysis of H-band imaging data from the Keck Observatory Archive, for an 11th Y dwarf. These data are combined with earlier MKO-system photometry, Spitzer and WISE mid-infrared photometry, and available trigonometric parallaxes, to create a sample of late-type brown dwarfs that includes 10 T9-T9.5 dwarfs or dwarf systems, and 16 Y dwarfs. We compare the data to our models, which include updated H 2 and NH 3 opacity, as well as low-temperature condensate clouds. The models qualitatively reproduce the trends seen in the observed colors; however, there are discrepancies of around a factor of two in flux for the Y0-Y1 dwarfs, with T eff ≈ 350-400 K. At T eff ∼ 400 K, the problems could be addressed by significantly reducing the NH 3 absorption, for example by halving the abundance of NH 3 possibly by vertical mixing. At T eff ∼ 350 K, the discrepancy may be resolved by incorporating thick water clouds. The onset of these clouds might occur over a narrow range in T eff , as indicated by the observed small change in 5 μm flux over a large change in J – W2 color. Of the known Y dwarfs, the reddest in J –W2 are WISEP J182831.08+265037.8 and WISE J085510.83–071442.5. We interpret the former as a pair of identical 300-350 K dwarfs, and the latter as a 250 K dwarf. If these objects are ∼3 Gyr old, their masses are ∼10 and ∼5 Jupiter-masses, respectively

Energetic electron precipitation in weak to moderate corotating interaction region-driven storms

Science.gov (United States)

Ødegaard, Linn-Kristine Glesnes; Tyssøy, Hilde Nesse; Søraas, Finn; Stadsnes, Johan; Sandanger, Marit Irene

2017-03-01

High-energy electron precipitation from the radiation belts can penetrate deep into the mesosphere and increase the production rate of NOx and HOx, which in turn will reduce ozone in catalytic processes. The mechanisms for acceleration and loss of electrons in the radiation belts are not fully understood, and most of the measurements of the precipitating flux into the atmosphere have been insufficient for estimating the loss cone flux. In the present study the electron flux measured by the NOAA POES Medium Energy Proton and Electron Detectors 0° and 90° detectors is combined together with theory of pitch angle diffusion by wave-particle interaction to quantify the electron flux lost below 120 km altitude. Using this method, 41 weak and moderate geomagnetic storms caused by corotating interaction regions during 2006-2010 are studied. The dependence of the energetic electron precipitation fluxes upon solar wind parameters and geomagnetic indices is investigated. Nine storms give increased precipitation of >˜750 keV electrons. Nineteen storms increase the precipitation of >˜300 keV electrons, but not the >˜750 keV population. Thirteen storms either do not change or deplete the fluxes at those energies. Storms that have an increase in the flux of electrons with energy >˜300 keV are characterized by an elevated solar wind velocity for a longer period compared to the storms that do not. Storms with increased precipitation of >˜750 keV flux are distinguished by higher-energy input from the solar wind quantified by the ɛ parameter and corresponding higher geomagnetic activity.

Near-infrared photometry of HDE 245770 (A 0535 + 26)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Persi, P.; Ferrari-Toniolo, M.; Spada, G.; Conti, G.; Di Benedetto, P.; Tanzi, E.G.; Tarenghi, M.

1979-01-01

A derivation is presented of the optical-infrared energy distribution of the OBe star HDE 245770, the optical counterpart of the transient X-ray source A 0535 + 26, using infrared observations made in the period 1976 November - 1977 March and UBV photometry obtained by other workers in 1976 November. An infrared excess is evident with flux density Ssub(ν) varies as νsup(approximately 0.6). The excess is explained in terms of thermal free-free emission from an ionized gaseous envelope around the OBe star. Assuming a matter outflow through the envelope with uniform velocity of a few hundred km/s, a value is obtained for the mass loss rate in HDE 245770 of about 10 -6 solar masses/yr. (author)

SPITZER IRAC PHOTOMETRY FOR TIME SERIES IN CROWDED FIELDS

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Novati, S. Calchi; Beichman, C. [NASA Exoplanet Science Institute, MS 100-22, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125 (United States); Gould, A.; Fausnaugh, M.; Gaudi, B. S.; Pogge, R. W.; Wibking, B.; Zhu, W.; Poleski, R. [Department of Astronomy, Ohio State University, 140 W. 18th Ave., Columbus, OH 43210 (United States); Yee, J. C. [Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, 60 Garden St., Cambridge, MA 02138 (United States); Bryden, G.; Henderson, C. B.; Shvartzvald, Y. [Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, 4800 Oak Grove Drive, Pasadena, CA 91109 (United States); Carey, S. [Spitzer, Science Center, MS 220-6, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA (United States); Udalski, A.; Pawlak, M.; Szymański, M. K.; Skowron, J.; Mróz, P.; Kozłowski, S. [Warsaw University Observatory, Al. Ujazdowskie 4, 00-478 Warszawa (Poland); Collaboration: Spitzer team; OGLE group; and others

2015-12-01

We develop a new photometry algorithm that is optimized for the Infrared Array Camera (IRAC) Spitzer time series in crowded fields and that is particularly adapted to faint or heavily blended targets. We apply this to the 170 targets from the 2015 Spitzer microlensing campaign and present the results of three variants of this algorithm in an online catalog. We present detailed accounts of the application of this algorithm to two difficult cases, one very faint and the other very crowded. Several of Spitzer's instrumental characteristics that drive the specific features of this algorithm are shared by Kepler and WFIRST, implying that these features may prove to be a useful starting point for algorithms designed for microlensing campaigns by these other missions.

VARIABLE STARS IN THE LARGE MAGELLANIC CLOUD GLOBULAR CLUSTER NGC 2257. I. RESULTS BASED ON 2007-2008 B, V PHOTOMETRY

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nemec, James M.; Walker, Alistair; Jeon, Young-Beom

2009-01-01

The variable stars in the Large Magellanic Cloud star cluster NGC 2257 are reinvestigated using photometry (to ∼20th mag) of over 400 new B, V CCD images taken with the CTIO 0.9 m telescope on 14 nights in 2007 December and 2008 January. New period searches have been made using two independent algorithms (CLEAN, Period04); the resultant periods of most of the stars are consistent with the pulsation periods derived previously, and where there are discrepancies these have been resolved. For the B and V light curves, accurate Fourier coefficients and parameters are given. Six new variable stars have been discovered (V45-50), including a bright candidate long-period variable star showing secondary oscillations (V45) and two anomalously bright RRc stars (V48 and V50), which are shown to be brightened and reddened by nearby red giant stars. Also discovered among the previously known variable stars are three double-mode RR Lyrae stars (V8, V16, and V34) and several Blazhko variables. Archival Hubble Space Telescope images and the photometry by Johnson et al. have been used to define better the properties of the most crowded variable stars. The total number of cluster variable stars now stands at forty-seven: 23 RRab stars, four of which show Blazhko amplitude variations; 20 RRc stars, one showing clear Blazhko variations and another showing possible Blazhko variations; the three RRd stars, all having the dominant period ∼0.36 day and period ratios P 1 /P 0 ∼0.7450; and an LPV star located near the tip of the red giant branch. A comparison of the RRd stars with those in other environments shows them to be most similar to those in IC4499.

Determination of palladium by flame photometry; Determinacion de paladio por fotometria de llama

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Parallada Bellod, R

1964-07-01

A study on the determination of palladium by lame photometry, fixing the most convent experimental conditions and using solvents to increase the emission of this elements is carried out. Among the organic solvents, acetone has been found the most efficient. The interferences produced by anions and cations have also been studied and an analytical method is related, in which lines of calibration of 0 to 100 ppm palladium re used. (Author) 7 refs.

INT WFC follow-up photometry of the M31 nova M31N 2017-10a

Science.gov (United States)

Hermosa-Munoz, L.; Garcia-Rivas, M.; Gonzalez-Cuesta, L.; Jimenez-Gallardo, A.; Mantero-Castaneda, E. A.; Arce-Tord, C.; Prendin, M. G.; Rodriguez-Sanchez, M.; Esteban-Gutierrez, A.; Garcia-Broock, E.; Hernandez-Sanchez, M.; Lopez-Navas, E.; Otero-Santos, J.; Perez-Fournon, I.

2017-12-01

We report follow-up photometry in the Sloan g, r, and i bands, 240s per band, of the nova M31N 2017-10a ( = PNV J00423905+4123006) from observations on the night of 29 October 2017 with the Wide Field Camera of the Isaac Newton Telescope*.

SPARC: MASS MODELS FOR 175 DISK GALAXIES WITH SPITZER PHOTOMETRY AND ACCURATE ROTATION CURVES

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lelli, Federico; McGaugh, Stacy S. [Department of Astronomy, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH 44106 (United States); Schombert, James M., E-mail: federico.lelli@case.edu [Department of Physics, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR 97403 (United States)

2016-12-01

We introduce SPARC ( Spitzer Photometry and Accurate Rotation Curves): a sample of 175 nearby galaxies with new surface photometry at 3.6  μ m and high-quality rotation curves from previous H i/H α studies. SPARC spans a broad range of morphologies (S0 to Irr), luminosities (∼5 dex), and surface brightnesses (∼4 dex). We derive [3.6] surface photometry and study structural relations of stellar and gas disks. We find that both the stellar mass–H i mass relation and the stellar radius–H i radius relation have significant intrinsic scatter, while the H i   mass–radius relation is extremely tight. We build detailed mass models and quantify the ratio of baryonic to observed velocity ( V {sub bar}/ V {sub obs}) for different characteristic radii and values of the stellar mass-to-light ratio (ϒ{sub ⋆}) at [3.6]. Assuming ϒ{sub ⋆} ≃ 0.5 M {sub ⊙}/ L {sub ⊙} (as suggested by stellar population models), we find that (i) the gas fraction linearly correlates with total luminosity; (ii) the transition from star-dominated to gas-dominated galaxies roughly corresponds to the transition from spiral galaxies to dwarf irregulars, in line with density wave theory; and (iii)  V {sub bar}/ V {sub obs} varies with luminosity and surface brightness: high-mass, high-surface-brightness galaxies are nearly maximal, while low-mass, low-surface-brightness galaxies are submaximal. These basic properties are lost for low values of ϒ{sub ⋆} ≃ 0.2 M {sub ⊙}/ L {sub ⊙} as suggested by the DiskMass survey. The mean maximum-disk limit in bright galaxies is ϒ{sub ⋆} ≃ 0.7 M {sub ⊙}/ L {sub ⊙} at [3.6]. The SPARC data are publicly available and represent an ideal test bed for models of galaxy formation.

Absolute photometry of the corona of July 10, 1972 total solar eclipse

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Khetsuriani, Ts.S.; Tetruashvili, Eh.I.

1985-01-01

The observations were carried out by the Abastumani astrophysical observatory expedition at July 10.1972 total solar eclipse from a site of the Chukotka Peninsula. The photometry of the corona images is performed by the equidensity method having expressed the intensities in absolute units. The F and K components of the corona are separated on the basis of photometric and polarisation data. The variations of the electron concentration with the distance from the centre of the Sun and tempeatures at various distances are calculated.

Particle acceleration at corotating interaction regions in the three-dimensional heliosphere

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Desai, M.I.; Marsden, R.G.; Sanderson, T.R.; Balogh, A.; Forsyth, R.J.; Gosling, J.T.

1998-01-01

We have investigated the relationship between the energetic (∼1MeV) proton intensity (J) and the magnetic compression ratio (C) measured at the trailing edges of corotating interaction regions observed at Ulysses. In general, our results show that the proton intensity was well correlated with the compression ratio, provided that the seed intensity remained constant, consistent with predictions of the Fermi model. Specifically, our results indicate that particles were accelerated to above ∼1MeV in energy at or near the trailing edges of the compression regions observed in the midlatitude southern heliosphere, irrespective of whether the bounding reverse shocks were present or not. On the basis of this, we conclude that shock acceleration is probably not the only mechanism by which particles are accelerated to above ∼1MeV in energy at compression or interaction regions (CIRs). On the basis of magnetic field measurements obtained near the trailing edges of several midlatitude CIRs, we propose that particles could have been accelerated via the Fermi mechanism by being scattered back and forth across the trailing edges of the compression regions by large-amplitude Alfvacute en waves. Our results also show that the proton intensity was well correlated with the compression ratio during low solar activity periods but was essentially independent of C during periods of high solar activity. We suggest that the correlation between J and C was not observed during solar active periods because of significant variations in the seed intensity that result from sporadic contributions from transient solar events. In contrast, the correlation was observable during quiescent periods probably because contributions from transients had decreased dramatically, which allowed the CIRs to accelerate particles out of a seed population whose intensity remained relatively unperturbed. copyright 1998 American Geophysical Union

VARIATIONS OF THE MUON FLUX AT SEA LEVEL ASSOCIATED WITH INTERPLANETARY ICMEs AND COROTATING INTERACTION REGIONS

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Augusto, C. R. A.; Kopenkin, V.; Navia, C. E.; Tsui, K. H.; Shigueoka, H. [Instituto de Fisica, Universidade Federal Fluminense, 24210-346, Niteroi, RJ (Brazil); Fauth, A. C.; Kemp, E.; Manganote, E. J. T. [Instituto de Fisica Gleb Wathagin, Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Campinas, SP (Brazil); Leigui de Oliveira, M. A. [Centro de Ciencias Naturais e Humanas da Universidade Federal do ABC, Santo Andre, SP (Brazil); Miranda, P.; Ticona, R.; Velarde, A. [Instituto de Investigaciones Fisicas, UMSA, La Paz Bolivia (United States)

2012-11-10

We present the results of an ongoing survey on the association between the muon flux variation at ground level (3 m above sea level) registered by the Tupi telescopes (Niteri-Brazil, 22.{sup 0}9S, 43.{sup 0}2W, 3 m) and the Earth-directed transient disturbances in the interplanetary medium propagating from the Sun (such as coronal mass ejections (CME), and corotating interaction regions (CIRs)). Their location inside the South Atlantic Anomaly region enables the muon telescopes to achieve a low rigidity of response to primary and secondary charged particles. The present study is primarily based on experimental events obtained by the Tupi telescopes in the period from 2010 August to 2011 December. This time period corresponds to the rising phase of solar cycle 24. The Tupi events are studied in correlation with data obtained by space-borne detectors (SOHO, ACE, GOES). Identification of interplanetary structures and associated solar activity was based on the nomenclature and definitions given by the satellite observations, including an incomplete list of possible interplanetary shocks observed by the CELIAS/MTOF Proton Monitor on the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) spacecraft. Among 29 experimental events reported in the present analysis, there are 15 possibly associated with the CMEs and sheaths, and 3 events with the CIRs (forward or reverse shocks); the origin of the remaining 11 events has not been determined by the satellite detectors. We compare the observed time (delayed or anticipated) of the muon excess (positive or negative) signal on Earth (the Tupi telescopes) with the trigger time of the interplanetary disturbances registered by the satellites located at Lagrange point L1 (SOHO and ACE). The temporal correlation of the observed ground-based events with solar transient events detected by spacecraft suggests a real physical connection between them. We found that the majority of observed events detected by the Tupi experiment were delayed in

3D-HST WFC3-selected Photometric Catalogs in the Five CANDELS/3D-HST Fields: Photometry, Photometric Redshifts, and Stellar Masses

Science.gov (United States)

Skelton, Rosalind E.; Whitaker, Katherine E.; Momcheva, Ivelina G.; Brammer, Gabriel B.; van Dokkum, Pieter G.; Labbé, Ivo; Franx, Marijn; van der Wel, Arjen; Bezanson, Rachel; Da Cunha, Elisabete; Fumagalli, Mattia; Förster Schreiber, Natascha; Kriek, Mariska; Leja, Joel; Lundgren, Britt F.; Magee, Daniel; Marchesini, Danilo; Maseda, Michael V.; Nelson, Erica J.; Oesch, Pascal; Pacifici, Camilla; Patel, Shannon G.; Price, Sedona; Rix, Hans-Walter; Tal, Tomer; Wake, David A.; Wuyts, Stijn

2014-10-01

The 3D-HST and CANDELS programs have provided WFC3 and ACS spectroscopy and photometry over ≈900 arcmin2 in five fields: AEGIS, COSMOS, GOODS-North, GOODS-South, and the UKIDSS UDS field. All these fields have a wealth of publicly available imaging data sets in addition to the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) data, which makes it possible to construct the spectral energy distributions (SEDs) of objects over a wide wavelength range. In this paper we describe a photometric analysis of the CANDELS and 3D-HST HST imaging and the ancillary imaging data at wavelengths 0.3-8 μm. Objects were selected in the WFC3 near-IR bands, and their SEDs were determined by carefully taking the effects of the point-spread function in each observation into account. A total of 147 distinct imaging data sets were used in the analysis. The photometry is made available in the form of six catalogs: one for each field, as well as a master catalog containing all objects in the entire survey. We also provide derived data products: photometric redshifts, determined with the EAZY code, and stellar population parameters determined with the FAST code. We make all the imaging data that were used in the analysis available, including our reductions of the WFC3 imaging in all five fields. 3D-HST is a spectroscopic survey with the WFC3 and ACS grisms, and the photometric catalogs presented here constitute a necessary first step in the analysis of these grism data. All the data presented in this paper are available through the 3D-HST Web site (http://3dhst.research.yale.edu).

3D-HST WFC3-SELECTED PHOTOMETRIC CATALOGS IN THE FIVE CANDELS/3D-HST FIELDS: PHOTOMETRY, PHOTOMETRIC REDSHIFTS, AND STELLAR MASSES

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Skelton, Rosalind E.; Whitaker, Katherine E.; Momcheva, Ivelina G.; Van Dokkum, Pieter G.; Bezanson, Rachel; Leja, Joel; Nelson, Erica J.; Oesch, Pascal; Brammer, Gabriel B.; Labbé, Ivo; Franx, Marijn; Fumagalli, Mattia; Van der Wel, Arjen; Da Cunha, Elisabete; Maseda, Michael V.; Förster Schreiber, Natascha; Kriek, Mariska; Lundgren, Britt F.; Magee, Daniel; Marchesini, Danilo

2014-01-01

The 3D-HST and CANDELS programs have provided WFC3 and ACS spectroscopy and photometry over ≈900 arcmin 2 in five fields: AEGIS, COSMOS, GOODS-North, GOODS-South, and the UKIDSS UDS field. All these fields have a wealth of publicly available imaging data sets in addition to the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) data, which makes it possible to construct the spectral energy distributions (SEDs) of objects over a wide wavelength range. In this paper we describe a photometric analysis of the CANDELS and 3D-HST HST imaging and the ancillary imaging data at wavelengths 0.3-8 μm. Objects were selected in the WFC3 near-IR bands, and their SEDs were determined by carefully taking the effects of the point-spread function in each observation into account. A total of 147 distinct imaging data sets were used in the analysis. The photometry is made available in the form of six catalogs: one for each field, as well as a master catalog containing all objects in the entire survey. We also provide derived data products: photometric redshifts, determined with the EAZY code, and stellar population parameters determined with the FAST code. We make all the imaging data that were used in the analysis available, including our reductions of the WFC3 imaging in all five fields. 3D-HST is a spectroscopic survey with the WFC3 and ACS grisms, and the photometric catalogs presented here constitute a necessary first step in the analysis of these grism data. All the data presented in this paper are available through the 3D-HST Web site (http://3dhst.research.yale.edu)

3D-HST WFC3-SELECTED PHOTOMETRIC CATALOGS IN THE FIVE CANDELS/3D-HST FIELDS: PHOTOMETRY, PHOTOMETRIC REDSHIFTS, AND STELLAR MASSES

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Skelton, Rosalind E. [South African Astronomical Observatory, PO Box 9, Observatory, Cape Town 7935 (South Africa); Whitaker, Katherine E. [Astrophysics Science Division, Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771 (United States); Momcheva, Ivelina G.; Van Dokkum, Pieter G.; Bezanson, Rachel; Leja, Joel; Nelson, Erica J.; Oesch, Pascal [Department of Astronomy, Yale University, 260 Whitney Avenue, New Haven, CT 06511 (United States); Brammer, Gabriel B. [Space Telescope Science Institute, 3700 San Martin Drive, Baltimore, MD 21218 (United States); Labbé, Ivo; Franx, Marijn; Fumagalli, Mattia [Leiden Observatory, Leiden University, Leiden (Netherlands); Van der Wel, Arjen; Da Cunha, Elisabete; Maseda, Michael V. [Max Planck Institute for Astronomy (MPIA), Königstuhl 17, D-69117, Heidelberg (Germany); Förster Schreiber, Natascha [Max-Planck-Institut für extraterrestrische Physik, Giessenbachstrasse, D-85748 Garching (Germany); Kriek, Mariska [Astronomy Department, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720 (United States); Lundgren, Britt F. [Department of Astronomy, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 475 North Charter Street, Madison, WI 53706 (United States); Magee, Daniel [Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA (United States); Marchesini, Danilo, E-mail: ros@saao.ac.za [Department of Physics and Astronomy, Tufts University, Medford, MA 02155 (United States); and others

2014-10-01

The 3D-HST and CANDELS programs have provided WFC3 and ACS spectroscopy and photometry over ≈900 arcmin{sup 2} in five fields: AEGIS, COSMOS, GOODS-North, GOODS-South, and the UKIDSS UDS field. All these fields have a wealth of publicly available imaging data sets in addition to the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) data, which makes it possible to construct the spectral energy distributions (SEDs) of objects over a wide wavelength range. In this paper we describe a photometric analysis of the CANDELS and 3D-HST HST imaging and the ancillary imaging data at wavelengths 0.3-8 μm. Objects were selected in the WFC3 near-IR bands, and their SEDs were determined by carefully taking the effects of the point-spread function in each observation into account. A total of 147 distinct imaging data sets were used in the analysis. The photometry is made available in the form of six catalogs: one for each field, as well as a master catalog containing all objects in the entire survey. We also provide derived data products: photometric redshifts, determined with the EAZY code, and stellar population parameters determined with the FAST code. We make all the imaging data that were used in the analysis available, including our reductions of the WFC3 imaging in all five fields. 3D-HST is a spectroscopic survey with the WFC3 and ACS grisms, and the photometric catalogs presented here constitute a necessary first step in the analysis of these grism data. All the data presented in this paper are available through the 3D-HST Web site (http://3dhst.research.yale.edu)

VizieR Online Data Catalog: Frequency spacing of δ Scuti stars. II. (Paparo+, 2016)

Science.gov (United States)

Paparo, M.; Benko, J. M.; Hareter, M.; Guzik, J. A.

2016-07-01

The CoRoT satellite was launched in 2006. LRa01, the first long run in the direction of anti-center, started on 2007 October 15 and finished on 2008 March 3, resulting in a ΔT=131d time span. Both chromatic and monochromatic data were obtained on the EXO field with a regular sampling of 8 minutes, although for some stars an oversampling mode (32s) was applied. We systematically searched in the CoRoT data archive all light curves in the EXO field for δ Scuti and γ Doradus light curves (Hareter M., 2013, PhD thesis Univ. Vienna). (2 data files).

Automated Classification of Variable Stars in the Asteroseismology Program of the Kepler Space Mission

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Blomme, J.; Debosscher, J.; De Ridder, J.

2010-01-01

missions, are capable of identifying the most common types of stellar variability in a reliable way. Many new variables have been discovered, among which a large fraction are eclipsing/ellipsoidal binaries unknown prior to launch. A comparison is made between our classification from the Kepler data...... and the pre-launch class based on data from the ground, showing that the latter needs significant improvement. The noise properties of the Kepler data are compared to those of the exoplanet program of the CoRoT satellite.We find that Kepler improves on CoRoT by a factor of 2–2.3 in point-to-point scatter....

BVRI main-sequence photometry of the globular cluster M4

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Alcaino, G.; Liller, W.

1984-01-01

We present BV and RI photographic photometry of 1421 and 189 stars, respectively, in the intermediate metallicity globular cluster M4 (NGC 6121). This investigation includes the first results of RI main-sequence photometry of a globular cluster. The use of longer wavelengths and longer color baselines provides the potential of improved isochrone fittings and underscores the urgent need for calculations of RI synthetic isochrones to be compared with observations. The Pickering-Racine wedge was used with the ESO 3.6 m telescope, the Las Campanas 2.5 m du Pont telescope, and the CTIO 1 m Yale telescope to extend the photoelectric limit from Vroughly-equal16.1 to Vroughly-equal19.1. We have determined the position of the main-sequence turnoff to lie at V = 16.6 +- 0.2 (m.e.) and B-V = 0.80 +- 0.03 (m.e.). A comparison of our BV observations with the CCD data of Richer and Fahlman shows excellent agreement: the two fifucial main sequences agree at all points to within 0.025 mag and, on average, to 0.013 mag. For the cluster we derive a distance modulus (m-M)/sub V/ = 12.52 +- 0.2 and reddening E(B-V) = 0.44 +- 0.03, results which confirm that at a distance of 2 kpc, M4 is the closest globular clusters to the Sun. Using the isochrones of VandenBerg, we deduce an age 13 +- 2 Gyr. As noted in several other investigations, there is a striking deficiency of stars in certain parts of the color-magnitude diagram; in M4 we find a pronounced gap over approx.0.6 mag at the base of the subgiant branch

Photoelectric UBV and DDO photometry of NGC 5138

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Claria, J.J.

1980-01-01

Results of UBV photoelectric photometry in NGC 5138 are presented for 50 stars brighter than 14.0 mag. In addition, four probable red giants were also observed in the DDO system. Sixteen stars previously considered members by Lindoff (1972), were found not to be physically connected with the cluster. NGC 5138 is located 1.80 kpc from the Sun and the visual interstellar absorption determined from the reddened B stars amounts to Asub(v) = 0.75 mag. There of the four red stars observed in the DDO system were found to be cluster members. The mean cyanogen anomaly is = 0.043 +- 0.018(m.e.), which implies that NGC 5138 is richer in CN than the field K giants in the solar neighbourhodd, but poorer than the Hyades giants. The cluster age is estimated to be approx. 1.5 x 10 8 yr. (orig.)

Testbed for High-Acuity Imaging and Stable Photometry

Science.gov (United States)

Gregory, James

This proposal from MIT Lincoln Laboratory (LL) accompanies the NASA/APRA proposal enti-tled THAI-SPICE: Testbed for High-Acuity Imaging - Stable Photometry and Image-Motion Compensa-tion Experiment (submitted by Eliot Young, Southwest Research Institute). The goal of the THAI-SPICE project is to demonstrate three technologies that will help low-cost balloon-borne telescopes achieve diffraction-limited imaging: stable pointing, passive thermal stabilization and in-flight monitoring of the wave front error. This MIT LL proposal supplies a key element of the pointing stabilization component of THAI-SPICE: an electronic camera based on an orthogonaltransfer charge-coupled device (OTCCD). OTCCD cameras have been demonstrated with charge-transfer efficiencies >0.99999, noise of 90%. In addition to supplying a camera with an OTCCD detector, MIT LL will help with integration and testing of the OTCCD with the THAI-SPICE payload’s guide camera.

Infrared polarimetry and photometry of BL Lac objects

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Impey, C D; Brand, P W.J.L. [Edinburgh Univ. (UK); Wolstencroft, R D; Williams, P M [Royal Observatory, Edinburgh (UK)

1982-07-01

Infrared polarimetry and photometry have been obtained for a sample of 18 BL Lac objects. The data covers a period of one year and is part of a continuing monitoring programme; all observations were in the J,H and K wavebands. Large and variable degrees of polarization are a common property of the sample. Two BL Lac objects show wavelength-dependent polarization, with the polarization increasing towards shorter wavelengths, and two objects show evidence for position angle rotations over a five-day period. The relationship between changes in polarized and total flux is also discussed. The BL Lac objects cover an enormous range of infrared luminosity; the three most luminous having Lsub(IR) > 10/sup 46/ erg s/sup -1/ and the other end of the range having infrared luminosities similar to normal elliptical galaxies. These are the first published infrared polarimetric observations for eight of the sample.

Spectroscopy and photometry of IP Peg in the near-infrared

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Martin, J.S.; Jones, D.H.P.; Smith, R.C.

1987-01-01

Time-resolved spectroscopy in the range lambdalambda7600-8300 A of the dwarf nova IP Peg has been used to derive a radial velocity curve for the secondary star, with semi-amplitude K=288.3+-4 km s -1 . The curve is slightly distorted, giving an orbit with an apparent eccentricity of 0.075+-0.024. The radial velocity curve gives a mass function for the primary of 0.394+-0.016 M(sun). From this constraints are derived on the possible masses of the components and on the inclination of the system. Photometry in a wavelength band around 9300 Angstroms shows the existence of a large ellipsoidal variation in the light from the secondary star. (author)

The Y-type Brown Dwarfs: Estimates of Mass and Age from New Astrometry, Homogenized Photometry, and Near-infrared Spectroscopy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Leggett, S. K.; Tremblin, P.; Esplin, T. L.; Luhman, K. L.; Morley, Caroline V.

2017-01-01

The survey of the mid-infrared sky by the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer ( WISE ) led to the discovery of extremely cold, low-mass brown dwarfs, classified as Y dwarfs, which extend the T class to lower temperatures. Twenty-four Y dwarfs are known at the time of writing. Here we present improved parallaxes for four of these, determined using Spitzer images. We give new photometry for four late-type T and three Y dwarfs and new spectra of three Y dwarfs, obtained at Gemini Observatory. We also present previously unpublished photometry taken from HST , ESO, Spitzer , and WISE archives of 11 late-type T and 9 Y dwarfs. The near-infrared data are put onto the same photometric system, forming a homogeneous data set for the coolest brown dwarfs. We compare recent models to our photometric and spectroscopic data set. We confirm that nonequilibrium atmospheric chemistry is important for these objects. Nonequilibrium cloud-free models reproduce well the near-infrared spectra and mid-infrared photometry for the warmer Y dwarfs with 425 ≤ T eff (K) ≤ 450. A small amount of cloud cover may improve the model fits in the near-infrared for the Y dwarfs with 325 ≤ T eff (K) ≤ 375. Neither cloudy nor cloud-free models reproduce the near-infrared photometry for the T eff = 250 K Y dwarf W0855. We use the mid-infrared region, where most of the flux originates, to constrain our models of W0855. We find that W0855 likely has a mass of 1.5–8 Jupiter masses and an age of 0.3–6 Gyr. The Y dwarfs with measured parallaxes are within 20 pc of the Sun and have tangential velocities typical of the thin disk. The metallicities and ages we derive for the sample are generally solar-like. We estimate that the known Y dwarfs are 3 to 20 Jupiter-mass objects with ages of 0.6–8.5 Gyr.

The Y-type Brown Dwarfs: Estimates of Mass and Age from New Astrometry, Homogenized Photometry, and Near-infrared Spectroscopy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Leggett, S. K. [Gemini Observatory, Northern Operations Center, 670 N. A’ohoku Place, Hilo, HI 96720 (United States); Tremblin, P. [Maison de la Simulation, CEA-CNRS-INRIA-UPS-UVSQ, USR 3441, Centre d’étude de Saclay, F-91191 Gif-Sur-Yvette (France); Esplin, T. L.; Luhman, K. L. [Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802 (United States); Morley, Caroline V., E-mail: sleggett@gemini.edu [Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138 (United States)

2017-06-20

The survey of the mid-infrared sky by the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer ( WISE ) led to the discovery of extremely cold, low-mass brown dwarfs, classified as Y dwarfs, which extend the T class to lower temperatures. Twenty-four Y dwarfs are known at the time of writing. Here we present improved parallaxes for four of these, determined using Spitzer images. We give new photometry for four late-type T and three Y dwarfs and new spectra of three Y dwarfs, obtained at Gemini Observatory. We also present previously unpublished photometry taken from HST , ESO, Spitzer , and WISE archives of 11 late-type T and 9 Y dwarfs. The near-infrared data are put onto the same photometric system, forming a homogeneous data set for the coolest brown dwarfs. We compare recent models to our photometric and spectroscopic data set. We confirm that nonequilibrium atmospheric chemistry is important for these objects. Nonequilibrium cloud-free models reproduce well the near-infrared spectra and mid-infrared photometry for the warmer Y dwarfs with 425 ≤ T {sub eff} (K) ≤ 450. A small amount of cloud cover may improve the model fits in the near-infrared for the Y dwarfs with 325 ≤ T {sub eff} (K) ≤ 375. Neither cloudy nor cloud-free models reproduce the near-infrared photometry for the T {sub eff} = 250 K Y dwarf W0855. We use the mid-infrared region, where most of the flux originates, to constrain our models of W0855. We find that W0855 likely has a mass of 1.5–8 Jupiter masses and an age of 0.3–6 Gyr. The Y dwarfs with measured parallaxes are within 20 pc of the Sun and have tangential velocities typical of the thin disk. The metallicities and ages we derive for the sample are generally solar-like. We estimate that the known Y dwarfs are 3 to 20 Jupiter-mass objects with ages of 0.6–8.5 Gyr.

Electronographic photometry of star clusters in the Magellanic Clouds

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Walker, M.F.

1979-01-01

Electronographic magnitudes and colours of 78 stars in the cluster Hodge 11 in the Large Magellanic Cloud have been measured to V = 21.5 on electrographs taken with a Spectracon image-converter attached to the focus of the 1.5-m (60-inch) Cerro Tololo reflector. The zero point of the electronographic photometry was provided by photoelectric observations of four stars in the cluster field using the same telescope. The colour-magnitude diagram of the cluster consists of an evolved main sequence, whose termination point corresponds to an age of about 6 x 10 8 yr, but with a giant branch which is displaced blueward by about Δ(B-V) 0 = 0.4 from the positions of the giant branches of open clusters of similar age in our Galaxy. (author)

Stroemgren and BV photometry of potential halo blue horizontal branch field stars

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Flynn, C; Sommer-Larsen, J

1988-11-01

Stroemgren four-colour and broadband BV photoelectric photometry has been obtained for a sample of potential halo blue horizontal branch stars in two high galactic latitude fields. The large majority of the stars observed are classified as blue horizontal branch stars on the basis of two different surface gravity indicators. Measurements of Ca K-line equivalent widths from medium-dispersion spectra of the stars confirm that most are Population II objects. No metal-rich A-stars were found beyond a few kpc from the galactic disc in the study of faint blue stars.

Dynamic auroral storms on Saturn as observed by the Hubble Space Telescope.

Science.gov (United States)

Nichols, J D; Badman, S V; Baines, K H; Brown, R H; Bunce, E J; Clarke, J T; Cowley, S W H; Crary, F J; Dougherty, M K; Gérard, J-C; Grocott, A; Grodent, D; Kurth, W S; Melin, H; Mitchell, D G; Pryor, W R; Stallard, T S

2014-05-28

We present observations of significant dynamics within two UV auroral storms observed on Saturn using the Hubble Space Telescope in April/May 2013. Specifically, we discuss bursts of auroral emission observed at the poleward boundary of a solar wind-induced auroral storm, propagating at ∼330% rigid corotation from near ∼01 h LT toward ∼08 h LT. We suggest that these are indicative of ongoing, bursty reconnection of lobe flux in the magnetotail, providing strong evidence that Saturn's auroral storms are caused by large-scale flux closure. We also discuss the later evolution of a similar storm and show that the emission maps to the trailing region of an energetic neutral atom enhancement. We thus identify the auroral form with the upward field-aligned continuity currents flowing into the associated partial ring current.

PATTERN SPEEDS OF BARS AND SPIRAL ARMS FROM Hα VELOCITY FIELDS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fathi, K.; Pinol-Ferrer, N.; Beckman, J. E.; MartInez-Valpuesta, I.; Hernandez, O.; Carignan, C.

2009-01-01

We have applied the Tremaine-Weinberg method to 10 late-type barred spiral galaxies using data cubes, in Hα emission, from the FaNTOmM and GHAFAS Fabry-Perot spectrometers. We have combined the derived bar (and/or spiral) pattern speeds with angular frequency plots to measure the corotation radii for the bars in these galaxies. We base our results on a combination of this method with a morphological analysis designed to estimate the corotation radius to bar-length ratio using two independent techniques on archival near-infrared images, and although we are aware of the limitation of the application of the Tremaine-Weinberg method using Hα observations, we find consistently excellent agreement between bar and spiral arm parameters derived using different methods. In general, the corotation radius, measured using the Tremaine-Weinberg method, is closely related to the bar length, measured independently from photometry and consistent with previous studies. Our corotation/bar-length ratios and pattern speed values are in good agreement with general results from numerical simulations of bars. In systems with identified secondary bars, we measure higher Hα velocity dispersion in the circumnuclear regions, whereas in all the other galaxies, we detect flat velocity dispersion profiles. In the galaxies where the bar is almost purely stellar, Hα measurements are missing, and the Tremaine-Weinberg method yields the pattern speeds of the spiral arms. The excellent agreement between the Tremaine-Weinberg method results and the morphological analysis and bar parameters in numerical simulations suggests that although the Hα emitting gas does not obey the continuity equation, it can be used to derive the bar pattern speed. In addition, we have analyzed the Hα velocity dispersion maps to investigate signatures of secular evolution of the bars in these galaxies. The increased central velocity dispersion in the galaxies with secondary bars suggests that the formation of inner

Astrometry, Radial Velocity, and Photometry: The HD 128311 System Remixed with Data from HST, HET, and APT

Science.gov (United States)

McArthur, Barbara. E.; Benedict, G. Fritz; Henry, Gregory W.; Hatzes, Artie; Cochran, William D.; Harrison, Tom E.; Johns-Krull, Chris; Nelan, Ed

2014-11-01

We have used high-cadence radial velocity measurements from the Hobby-Eberly Telescope with published velocities from the Lick 3 m Shane Telescope, combined with astrometric data from the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) Fine Guidance Sensors to refine the orbital parameters of the HD 128311 system, and determine an inclination of 55.°95 ± 14.°55 and true mass of 3.789 +0.924 -0.432 M JUP for HD 128311 c. The combined radial velocity data also reveal a short period signal which could indicate a third planet in the system with an Msin i of 0.133 ± 0.005 M JUP or stellar phenomena. Photometry from the T12 0.8 m automatic photometric telescope at the Fairborn Observatory and HST are used to determine a photometric period close to, but not within the errors of the radial velocity signal. We performed a cross-correlation bisector analysis of the radial velocity data to look for correlations with the photometric period and found none. Dynamical integrations of the proposed system show long-term stability with the new orbital parameters of over 10 million years. Our new orbital elements do not support the claims of HD 128311 b and c being in mean motion resonance. Based on observations made with the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, obtained at the Space Telescope Science Institute, which is operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc., under NASA contract NAS5-26555. Based on observations obtained with the Hobby-Eberly Telescope, which is a joint project of the University of Texas at Austin, the Pennsylvania State University, Stanford University, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, and Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, and observations with T12 0.8 m automatic photoelectric telescope (APT) at Fairborn Observatory.

In-flight measurements of propeller blade deformation on a VUT100 cobra aeroplane using a co-rotating camera system

Science.gov (United States)

Boden, F.; Stasicki, B.; Szypuła, M.; Ružička, P.; Tvrdik, Z.; Ludwikowski, K.

2016-07-01

Knowledge of propeller or rotor blade behaviour under real operating conditions is crucial for optimizing the performance of a propeller or rotor system. A team of researchers, technicians and engineers from Avia Propeller, DLR, EVEKTOR and HARDsoft developed a rotating stereo camera system dedicated to in-flight blade deformation measurements. The whole system, co-rotating with the propeller at its full speed and hence exposed to high centrifugal forces and strong vibration, had been successfully tested on an EVEKTOR VUT 100 COBRA aeroplane in Kunovice (CZ) within the project AIM2—advanced in-flight measurement techniques funded by the European Commission (contract no. 266107). This paper will describe the work, starting from drawing the first sketch of the system up to performing the successful flight test. Apart from a description of the measurement hardware and the applied IPCT method, the paper will give some impressions of the flight test activities and discuss the results obtained from the measurements.

On acceleration of <1 MeV/n He ions in the corotating compression regions near 1 AU: STEREO observations

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

R. Bučík

2009-09-01

Full Text Available Observations of multi-MeV corotating interaction region (CIR ions are in general consistent with models of CIR shock acceleration and transport. The presence of suprathermal particles near 1 AU in unshocked compression regions is not adequately explained. Nonetheless, more recent works demonstrate that unshocked compression regions associated with CIRs near 1 AU could energize particles. In the energy range from ~0.1 to ~1 MeV/n we investigate CIR events observed in 2007–2008 by the STEREO A and B spacecraft. We treat the predictions of compression acceleration by comparing the observed ion intensities with the model parameters. These observations show that the ion intensity in CIR events with in-situ reverse shock is well organized by the parameters which characterize the compression region itself, like compression width, solar wind speed gradients and the total pressure. In turn, for CIR events with the absence of the shocks the model predictions are not fulfilled.

Solar wind interaction with comet 67P: Impacts of corotating interaction regions

Science.gov (United States)

Edberg, N. J. T.; Eriksson, A. I.; Odelstad, E.; Vigren, E.; Andrews, D. J.; Johansson, F.; Burch, J. L.; Carr, C. M.; Cupido, E.; Glassmeier, K.-H.; Goldstein, R.; Halekas, J. S.; Henri, P.; Koenders, C.; Mandt, K.; Mokashi, P.; Nemeth, Z.; Nilsson, H.; Ramstad, R.; Richter, I.; Wieser, G. Stenberg

2016-02-01

We present observations from the Rosetta Plasma Consortium of the effects of stormy solar wind on comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. Four corotating interaction regions (CIRs), where the first event has possibly merged with a coronal mass ejection, are traced from Earth via Mars (using Mars Express and Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN mission) to comet 67P from October to December 2014. When the comet is 3.1-2.7 AU from the Sun and the neutral outgassing rate ˜1025-1026 s-1, the CIRs significantly influence the cometary plasma environment at altitudes down to 10-30 km. The ionospheric low-energy (˜5 eV) plasma density increases significantly in all events, by a factor of >2 in events 1 and 2 but less in events 3 and 4. The spacecraft potential drops below -20 V upon impact when the flux of electrons increases. The increased density is likely caused by compression of the plasma environment, increased particle impact ionization, and possibly charge exchange processes and acceleration of mass-loaded plasma back to the comet ionosphere. During all events, the fluxes of suprathermal (˜10-100 eV) electrons increase significantly, suggesting that the heating mechanism of these electrons is coupled to the solar wind energy input. At impact the magnetic field strength in the coma increases by a factor of 2-5 as more interplanetary magnetic field piles up around the comet. During two CIR impact events, we observe possible plasma boundaries forming, or moving past Rosetta, as the strong solar wind compresses the cometary plasma environment. We also discuss the possibility of seeing some signatures of the ionospheric response to tail disconnection events.

Photometric and structural properties of NGC 6544: A combined VVV-Hubble space telescope study

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cohen, Roger E.; Mauro, Francesco; Geisler, Doug [Departamento de Astronomía, Universidad de Concepción, Casilla 160-C, Concepción (Chile); Moni Bidin, Christian [Instituto de Astronomía, Universidad Católica del Norte, Av. Angamos 0610, Antofagasta (Chile); Dotter, Aaron [Research School of Astronomy and Astrophysics, The Australian National University, Canberra ACT 2611 (Australia); Bonatto, Charles [Departamento de Astronomia, Universidade Federal de Rio Grande do Sul, Av. Bento Gonçalves 9500, Porto Alegre 91501-970, RS (Brazil)

2014-07-01

We combine archival Hubble Space Telescope imaging with wide-field near-infrared photometry to study the neglected metal-poor Galactic globular cluster NGC 6544. A high spatial resolution map of differential reddening over the inner portion of the cluster is constructed, revealing variations of up to half of the total reddening, and the resulting corrected color-magnitude diagrams reveal a sparse blue horizontal branch and centrally concentrated blue straggler population, verified via relative proper motions. Using the corrected photometry to investigate the cluster distance, reddening, and age via direct comparison to well-calibrated photometry of clusters with similar metallicities, we estimate (m – M){sub 0} = 11.96, E(B – V) = 0.79, and an age coeval with M13 to within the relevant uncertainties. Although our data are insufficient to place tight constraints on the reddening law toward NGC 6544, we find no strong evidence that it is non-standard at optical or near-infrared wavelengths. We also provide near-infrared fiducial sequences extending nearly 2 mag below the cluster main sequence turnoff, generated from a statistically decontaminated sample of cluster stars. Lastly, we redetermine the cluster center and construct a radial number density profile which is well fit by an atypically flat power law with a slope of about 1.7. We discuss this result, together with a flattened main sequence luminosity function and inverted mass function, in the context of mass segregation and tidal stripping via interactions with Milky Way potential.

Efficient Photometry In-Frame Calibration (EPIC) Gaussian Corrections for Automated Background Normalization of Rate-Tracked Satellite Imagery

Science.gov (United States)

Griesbach, J.; Wetterer, C.; Sydney, P.; Gerber, J.

Photometric processing of non-resolved Electro-Optical (EO) images has commonly required the use of dark and flat calibration frames that are obtained to correct for charge coupled device (CCD) dark (thermal) noise and CCD quantum efficiency/optical path vignetting effects respectively. It is necessary to account/calibrate for these effects so that the brightness of objects of interest (e.g. stars or resident space objects (RSOs)) may be measured in a consistent manner across the CCD field of view. Detected objects typically require further calibration using aperture photometry to compensate for sky background (shot noise). For this, annuluses are measured around each detected object whose contained pixels are used to estimate an average background level that is subtracted from the detected pixel measurements. In a new photometric calibration software tool developed for AFRL/RD, called Efficient Photometry In-Frame Calibration (EPIC), an automated background normalization technique is proposed that eliminates the requirement to capture dark and flat calibration images. The proposed technique simultaneously corrects for dark noise, shot noise, and CCD quantum efficiency/optical path vignetting effects. With this, a constant detection threshold may be applied for constant false alarm rate (CFAR) object detection without the need for aperture photometry corrections. The detected pixels may be simply summed (without further correction) for an accurate instrumental magnitude estimate. The noise distribution associated with each pixel is assumed to be sampled from a Poisson distribution. Since Poisson distributed data closely resembles Gaussian data for parameterized means greater than 10, the data may be corrected by applying bias subtraction and standard-deviation division. EPIC performs automated background normalization on rate-tracked satellite images using the following technique. A deck of approximately 50-100 images is combined by performing an independent median

Nonlinear asteroseismology: insight from amplitude and frequency modulations of oscillation modes in compact pulsators from Kepler photometry

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Zong Weikai

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Nonlinear mode interactions are difficult to observe from ground-based telescopes as the typical periods of the modulations induced by those nonlinear phenomena are on timescales of weeks, months, even years. The launch of space telescopes, e.g., Kepler, has tremendously changed the situation and shredded new light on this research field. We present results from Kepler photometry showing evidence that nonlinear interactions between modes occur in the two compact pulsators KIC 8626021, a DB white dwarf, and KIC 10139564, a short period hot B subdwarf. KIC 8626021 and KIC 10139564 had been monitored by Kepler in short-cadence for nearly two years and more than three years without interruption, respectively. By analyzing these high-quality photometric data, we found that the modes within the triplets induced by rotation clearly reveal different behaviors: their frequencies and amplitudes may exhibit either periodic or irregular modulations, or remain constant. These various behaviors of the amplitude and of the frequency modulations of the oscillation modes observed in these two stars are in good agreement with those predicted within the amplitude equation formalism in the case of the nonlinear resonant mode coupling mechanism.

Investigating light curve modulation via kernel smoothing. I. Application to 53 fundamental mode and first-overtone Cepheids in the LMC

Science.gov (United States)

Süveges, Maria; Anderson, Richard I.

2018-03-01

Context. Recent studies have revealed a hitherto unknown complexity of Cepheid pulsations by discovering irregular modulated variability using photometry, radial velocities, and interferometry. Aim. We aim to perform a statistically rigorous search and characterization of such phenomena in continuous time, applying it to 53 classical Cepheids from the OGLE-III catalog. Methods: We have used local kernel regression to search for both period and amplitude modulations simultaneously in continuous time and to investigate their detectability. We determined confidence intervals using parametric and non-parametric bootstrap sampling to estimate significance, and investigated multi-periodicity using a modified pre-whitening approach that relies on time-dependent light curve parameters. Results: We find a wide variety of period and amplitude modulations and confirm that first overtone pulsators are less stable than fundamental mode Cepheids. Significant temporal variations in period are more frequently detected than those in amplitude. We find a range of modulation intensities, suggesting that both amplitude and period modulations are ubiquitous among Cepheids. Over the 12-year baseline offered by OGLE-III, we find that period changes are often nonlinear, sometimes cyclic, suggesting physical origins beyond secular evolution. Our method detects modulations (period and amplitude) more efficiently than conventional methods that are reliant on certain features in the Fourier spectrum, and pre-whitens time series more accurately than using constant light curve parameters, removing spurious secondary peaks effectively. Conclusions: Period and amplitude modulations appear to be ubiquitous among Cepheids. Current detectability is limited by observational cadence and photometric precision: detection of amplitude modulation below 3 mmag requires space-based facilities. Recent and ongoing space missions (K2, BRITE, MOST, CoRoT) as well as upcoming ones (TESS, PLATO) will

Joint Soviet-French studies of the solar corona. II - Photometry of the solar corona on June 30, 1973

Science.gov (United States)

Vsekhsvyatsky, S. K.; Dzyubenko, N. I.; Ivanchuk, V. I.; Popov, O. S.; Rubo, G. A.; Koutchmy, S.; Koutchmy, O.; Shtelmacher, G.

1981-04-01

Results are presented of a study of negatives obtained on June 30, 1973 during the total solar eclipse in Africa; the study was part of a joint Soviet-French experiment on white corona dynamics, carried out by expeditions of Kiev University (Atar, Mauritania) and the Paris Astrophysical Institute (Moussoro, Chad). The distribution of total corona brightness up to 4.5 solar radii and its K and F corona components for east and north directions were found on the basis of novel methods of photometry and colorimetry using star images up to 8.5m as the photometry standards. Neither the color effect nor flattening is found in the inner part (less than 2.5 solar radii) of the F corona. Integral corona brightness in the standard zone of 1.03-6.00 solar radii was found to be 0.64 x 10 to the -6th solar-E.

Precision photometry with difference imaging in the WTS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pinfield D.J.

2013-04-01

Full Text Available The Wide Field Camera Transit Survey is a pioneer program aimed to search for extra-solar planets in the near-infrared. The standard data reduction pipeline of the program uses aperture photometry to construct the light curves. We alternatively apply the difference imaging method for the most complete field in the survey and carry out a quantitative comparison between the photometric precision of both methods. We also report an implementation on the box-fitting detection algorithm, which performs a trapezoid-fit to the folded light curve. Subsequently we apply a set of selection criteria to the light curves to search for transit candidates, incorporating a parameter to characterize the shape of the transit. We carry out a detailed analysis of 11 candidates and provide a classification scheme to separate binary from planet candidates. Furthermore we report the detection of five faint extremely-short period eclipsing binary systems with periods shorter than 0.23 days and one candidate M-dwarf/M-dwarf eclipsing binary.

A practical guide to lightcurve photometry and analysis

CERN Document Server

Warner, Brian D

2016-01-01

For those with access to even a modest telescope and CCD camera, this new and improved guide delivers all the information needed to take part in the scientific study of asteroids and variable stars. New techniques in photometry continue to be refined, and expert Brian Warner covers the developing territory in detail for those both new and experienced. Updated to reflect changes in telescope and CCD technology, it also includes an expanded chapter on the analysis of asteroid lightcurves to cover some of the common pitfalls that lead to incorrect answers as well as how to discover an asteroid satellite via lightcurves. With this information, amateur astronomers can use commercially available equipment to determine the rotation rate, size, and shape of asteroids. Similarly, it is possible to discover the size, temperature, and orbits of stars in binary systems by using this powerful technique. Brian Warner yet again delivers all the material needed for readers to understand the theory, and avoid the practical pi...

Systematic main sequence photometry of globular cluster stars for age determination

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Alcaino, G.; Liller, W.

1984-01-01

The individual photometric study of the coeval stars in globular clusters presents one of the best observational tests of the stellar evolution theory. Our own globular cluster system provides fundamental clues to the dynamical and chemical evolutionary history of the galaxy, and the study of their ages give a lower limit to the age of the galaxy as well as to that of the universe. The authors have undertaken a systematic research program, and discuss the ages deduced by fitting main sequence photometry to theoretical isochrones of six galactic globular clusters: M4, M22, M30, NGC 288, NGC 3201 and NGC 6397. (Auth.)

DO COROTATING INTERACTION REGION ASSOCIATED SHOCKS SURVIVE WHEN THEY PROPAGATE INTO THE HELIOSHEATH?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Provornikova, E.; Opher, M.; Izmodenov, V.; Toth, G.

2012-01-01

During the solar minimum at the distance of 42-52 AU from the Sun, Voyager 2 observed recurrent sharp, shock-like increases in the solar wind speed that look very much like forward shocks (Lazarus et al.). The shocks were produced by corotating interaction regions (CIRs) that originated near the Sun. After the termination shock (TS) crossing in 2007, Voyager 2 entered the heliosheath and has been observing the plasma emanated during the recent solar minima. Measurements show high variable flow, but there were no shocks detected in the heliosheath. When CIR-driven shocks propagate to the outer heliosphere, their structure changes due to collision and merging processes of CIRs. In this Letter, we explore an effect of the merging of CIRs on the structure of CIR-associated shocks. We use a three-dimensional MHD model to study the outward propagation of the shocks with characteristics similar to those observed by Voyager 2 at ∼45 AU (Lazarus et al. 1999). We show that due to merging of CIRs (1) reverse shocks disappear, (2) forward shocks become weaker due to interaction with rarefaction regions from preceding CIRs, and (3) forward shocks significantly weaken in the heliosheath. Merged CIRs produce compression regions in the heliosheath with small fluctuations of plasma parameters. Amplitudes of the fluctuations diminish as they propagate deeper in the sheath. We conclude that interaction of shocks and rarefaction regions could be one of the explanations, why shocks produced by CIRs are not observed in the heliosheath by Voyager 2 while they were frequently observed upstream the TS.

Polarimetry and photometry of M87: is the jet fading

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Warren-Smith, R F; King, D J; Scarrott, S M [Durham Univ. (UK). Dept. of Physics

1984-09-15

Optical linear polarization mapping and photometry of M87 is presented in B and R wavebands. The results indicate significant polarization in the galactic nucleus. Polarization in the jet in B is consistent with other recent maps obtained for this area in blue light and no significant variation with wavelength between B and R wavebands is found. The spectral index of the jet radiation is measured to be S=-1.65+-0.2 over the wavelength range observed. Comparison of the integrated B magnitude of the jet with previous independent measurements over the period 1934-80 suggests that the jet is variable and has been fading more or less uniformly by about 0.8 mag per decade between 1964 and 1980.

Thermal infrared and optical photometry of Asteroidal Comet C/2002 CE10

Science.gov (United States)

Sekiguchi, Tomohiko; Miyasaka, Seidai; Dermawan, Budi; Mueller, Thomas; Takato, Naruhisa; Watanabe, Junichi; Boehnhardt, Hermann

2018-04-01

C/2002 CE10 is an object in a retrograde elliptical orbit with Tisserand parameter - 0.853 indicating a likely origin in the Oort Cloud. It appears to be a rather inactive comet since no coma and only a very weak tail was detected during the past perihelion passage. We present multi-color optical photometry, lightcurve and thermal mid-IR observations of the asteroidal comet. With the photometric analysis in BVRI, the surface color is found to be redder than asteroids, corresponding to cometary nuclei and TNOs/Centaurs. The time-resolved differential photometry supports a rotation period of 8.19 ± 0.05 h. The effective diameter and the geometric albedo are 17.9 ± 0.9 km and 0.03 ± 0.01, respectively, indicating a very dark reflectance of the surface. The dark and redder surface color of C/2002 CE10 may be attribute to devolatilized material by surface aging suffered from the irradiation by cosmic rays or from impact by dust particles in the Oort Cloud. Alternatively, C/2002 CE10 was formed of very dark refractory material originally like a rocky planetesimal. In both cases, this object lacks ices (on the surface at least). The dynamical and known physical characteristics of C/2002 CE10 are best compatible with those of the Damocloids population in the Solar System, that appear to be exhaust cometary nucleus in Halley-type orbits. The study of physical properties of rocky Oort cloud objects may give us a key for the formation of the Oort cloud and the solar system.

The Ultimate Catalog of Omega Centauri: 15-BAND Photometry and Proper Motions

Science.gov (United States)

Anderson, Jay

2011-10-01

We propose to construct the most comprehensive catalog of photometry and proper motions ever assembled for a globular cluster {GC}. The core of Omega Centauri has been imaged nearly 500 times through WFC3's UVIS and IR channels for the purposes of detector calibration. There exist 30 exposures through each of 15 filters, stretching uniformly from F225W in the UV to F160W in the infrared. Furthermore, the 8-year baseline between this data and a 2002 ACS survey will more than double the accuracy and triple the number of well-measured stars compared to our previous groundbreaking effort. This totally unprecedented complete spectral coverage for over 300,000 stars, from the red-giant branch {RGB} down to the white dwarfs {WDs}, provides the best chance yet to understand the multiple-population phenomenon in any GC. A preliminary analysis of the color-magnitude diagrams in different bands already allows us to identify more than 10 distinct sequences.We will make the full catalog of 15-band photometry and proper motions available to the community within 6 months of starting this project. We will then be the first to exploit this tremendous resource. The science we will address includes: {1} identifying all the sequences and tying them together, from the main sequence up to the RGB;{2} continuing the search for a central massive object; {3} examination of the WD sequence for any manifestations of multiple-populations; and{4} searching for cataclysmic variables and He WDs.

OBSERVATIONS OF BINARY STARS WITH THE DIFFERENTIAL SPECKLE SURVEY INSTRUMENT. IV. OBSERVATIONS OF KEPLER, CoRoT, AND HIPPARCOS STARS FROM THE GEMINI NORTH TELESCOPE

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Horch, Elliott P.; Howell, Steve B.; Everett, Mark E.; Ciardi, David R.

2012-01-01

We present the results of 71 speckle observations of binary and unresolved stars, most of which were observed with the DSSI speckle camera at the Gemini North Telescope in 2012 July. The main purpose of the run was to obtain diffraction-limited images of high-priority targets for the Kepler and CoRoT missions, but in addition, we observed a number of close binary stars where the resolution limit of Gemini was used to better determine orbital parameters and/or confirm results obtained at or below the diffraction limit of smaller telescopes. Five new binaries and one triple system were discovered, and first orbits are calculated for other two systems. Several systems are discussed in detail.

Propagation Characteristics of Two Coronal Mass Ejections from the Sun Far into Interplanetary Space

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zhao, Xiaowei; Liu, Ying D.; Hu, Huidong; Wang, Rui, E-mail: liuxying@spaceweather.ac.cn [State Key Laboratory of Space Weather, National Space Science Center, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190 (China)

2017-03-01

Propagation of coronal mass ejections (CMEs) from the Sun far into interplanetary space is not well understood, due to limited observations. In this study we examine the propagation characteristics of two geo-effective CMEs, which occurred on 2005 May 6 and 13, respectively. Significant heliospheric consequences associated with the two CMEs are observed, including interplanetary CMEs (ICMEs) at the Earth and Ulysses , interplanetary shocks, a long-duration type II radio burst, and intense geomagnetic storms. We use coronagraph observations from SOHO /LASCO, frequency drift of the long-duration type II burst, in situ measurements at the Earth and Ulysses , and magnetohydrodynamic propagation of the observed solar wind disturbances at 1 au to track the CMEs from the Sun far into interplanetary space. We find that both of the CMEs underwent a major deceleration within 1 au and thereafter a gradual deceleration when they propagated from the Earth to deep interplanetary space, due to interactions with the ambient solar wind. The results also reveal that the two CMEs interacted with each other in the distant interplanetary space even though their launch times on the Sun were well separated. The intense geomagnetic storm for each case was caused by the southward magnetic fields ahead of the CME, stressing the critical role of the sheath region in geomagnetic storm generation, although for the first case there is a corotating interaction region involved.

The Carnegie Supernova Project I. Photometry data release of low-redshift stripped-envelope supernovae

Science.gov (United States)

Stritzinger, M. D.; Anderson, J. P.; Contreras, C.; Heinrich-Josties, E.; Morrell, N.; Phillips, M. M.; Anais, J.; Boldt, L.; Busta, L.; Burns, C. R.; Campillay, A.; Corco, C.; Castellon, S.; Folatelli, G.; González, C.; Holmbo, S.; Hsiao, E. Y.; Krzeminski, W.; Salgado, F.; Serón, J.; Torres-Robledo, S.; Freedman, W. L.; Hamuy, M.; Krisciunas, K.; Madore, B. F.; Persson, S. E.; Roth, M.; Suntzeff, N. B.; Taddia, F.; Li, W.; Filippenko, A. V.

2018-02-01

The first phase of the Carnegie Supernova Project (CSP-I) was a dedicated supernova follow-up program based at the Las Campanas Observatory that collected science data of young, low-redshift supernovae between 2004 and 2009. Presented in this paper is the CSP-I photometric data release of low-redshift stripped-envelope core-collapse supernovae. The data consist of optical (uBgVri) photometry of 34 objects, with a subset of 26 having near-infrared (YJH) photometry. Twenty objects have optical pre-maximum coverage with a subset of 12 beginning at least five days prior to the epoch of B-band maximum brightness. In the near-infrared, 17 objects have pre-maximum observations with a subset of 14 beginning at least five days prior to the epoch of J-band maximum brightness. Analysis of this photometric data release is presented in companion papers focusing on techniques to estimate host-galaxy extinction and the light-curve and progenitor star properties of the sample. The analysis of an accompanying visual-wavelength spectroscopy sample of 150 spectra will be the subject of a future paper. Based on observations collected at Las Campanas Observatory.Tables 2-8 are only available at the CDS via anonymous ftp to http://cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (http://130.79.128.5) or via http://cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr/viz-bin/qcat?J/A+A/609/A134

Estudo comparativo da flarefotometria em pacientes com melanoma maligno e nevo de coróide Comparative study of flare photometry in patients with choroidal malignant melanoma and choroidal nevus

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Priscilla Luppi Ballalai

2002-01-01

Full Text Available Introdução: Os tumores malignos intra-oculares estão associados com um aumento do "flare" na câmara anterior, causado por uma quebra na barreira hemato-aquosa, que pode ocorrer por vários mecanismos. Estudos utilizando a flarefotometria confirmam o aumento do "flare" em olhos com tumores intra-oculares malignos e benignos. Objetivo: Avaliar a flarefotometria como auxiliar no diagnóstico diferencial de melanoma maligno e nevo de coróide, comparando-se com olhos contralaterais normais. Métodos: Foram avaliados olhos com melanoma maligno e olhos com nevo de coróide diagnosticados por meio de oftalmoscopia indireta e/ou ultra-sonografia. Os olhos normais contralaterais foram utilizados como controles. A flarefotometria foi realizada em todos os pacientes, sob midríase bilateral, utilizando equipamento Laser Flare Meter (FC 500, Kowa. Foram aplicados os testes de Wilcoxon, Mann-Whitney, e Spearman para análise estatística. Resultados: A média da flarefotometria nos olhos com melanoma maligno de coróide foi 17,1 ph/ms e nos olhos normais contralaterais foi 4,06 ph/ms. Nos olhos com nevo de coróide o valor da flarefotometria foi 6,12 ph/ms e nos olhos contralaterais normais foi 4,47 ph/ms. O valor da flarefotometria foi maior nos olhos com melanoma maligno e nevo quando comparado com os olhos contralaterais normais (pIntroduction: Malignant intraocular tumors are associated with an increase in the aqueous flare, caused by alterations of the blood-ocular barriers through various mechanisms. Several studies have demonstrated an ocular flare increase using flare photometry in eyes with benign and malignant tumors. Purpose: To evaluate flare photometry as an adjunct method in the differential diagnosis of choroidal malignant melanoma and choroidal nevus comparing to normal control eyes. Methods: Eyes with melanoma and nevus were diagnosed by indirect binocular ophthalmoscopy and/or ultrasound were evaluated. The fellow normal eyes were used

Photometry of High-Redshift Gravitationally Lensed Type Ia Supernovae

Science.gov (United States)

Haynie, Annastasia

2018-01-01

Out of more than 1100 well-identified Type Ia Supernovae, only roughly 10 of them are at z> 1.5. High redshift supernovae are hard to detect but this is made easier by taking advantage of the effects of gravitational lensing, which magnifies objects in the background field of massive galaxy clusters. Supernova Nebra (z= ~1.8), among others, was discovered during observations taken as part of the RELICS survey, which focused on fields of view that experience strong gravitational lensing effects. SN Nebra, which sits behind galaxy cluster Abell 1763, is magnified and therefore appears closer and easier to see than with HST alone. Studying high-redshift supernovae like SN Nebra is an important step towards creating cosmological models that accurately describe the behavior of dark energy in the early Universe. Recent efforts have been focused on improving photometry and the building and fitting of preliminary light curves.

FRAM telescope - monitoring of atmospheric extinction and variable star photometry

Science.gov (United States)

Jurysek, J.; Honkova, K.; Masek, M.

2015-02-01

The FRAM (F/(Ph)otometric Robotic Atmospheric Monitor) telescope is a part of the Pierre Auger Observatory (PAO) located near town Malargüe in Argentina. The main task of the FRAM telescope is the continuous night - time monitoring of the atmospheric extinction and its wavelength dependence. The current methodology of the measurement of a atmospheric extinction and for instrumentation properties also allows simultaneous observation of other interesting astronomical targets. The current observations of the FRAM telescope are focused on the photometry of eclipsing binaries, positional refinement of minor bodies of the Solar system and observations of optical counterparts of gamma ray bursts. In this contribution, we briefly describe the main purpose of the FRAM telescope for the PAO and we also present its current astrono mical observing program.

Results of the 2017 Mexican Asteroid Photometry Campaign - Part 1

Science.gov (United States)

Sada, Pedro; Loera-Gonzalez, Pablo; Olguin, Lorenzo; Saucedo-Morales, Julio C.; Ayala-Gómez, Sandra A.; Garza, Jaime R.

2018-04-01

We report the results for the first semester of the 2017 Mexican Asteroid Photometry Campaign. Asteroid 1218 Aster (synodic period of 3.1581 ± 0.0002 h and amplitude of 0.35 mag) was well observed and showed slight variations of its lightcurve at the end of the seven week observing window. An uncertain, but long, period of 93.23 ± 0.02 h and amplitude of 0.36 mag were estimated for 2733 Hamina from sparse data. Asteroid 8443 Svecica was also well observed and yielded a period of 20.9905 ± 0.0015 h and amplitude of 0.65 mag. Observations of NEA (143404) 2003 BD44 also resulted in an uncertain and long period of 78.617 ± 0.009 h and amplitude of 0.66 mag with a sparsely covered lightcurve.

VizieR Online Data Catalog: Polarimetry & photometry of GRB with RINGO2 (Steele+, 2017)

Science.gov (United States)

Steele, I. A.; Kopac, D.; Arnold, D. M.; Smith, R. J.; Kobayashi, S.; Jermak, H. E.; Mundell, C. G.; Gomboc, A.; Guidorzi, C.; Melandri, A.; Japelj, J.

2018-03-01

Between 2010 and 2012, 19 optical afterglows were observed with the RINGO2 polarimeter on the Liverpool Telescope (LT) at La Palma. Table 2 shows observational properties of the complete sample. In addition to the RINGO2 observations, optical band photometry of each burst was carried out using the RATCam CCD imaging camera on the same telescope, using either g'r'i' or r'i'z' filter sequences, in intervals between and after the RINGO2 observations. (3 data files).

The γ Dor stars as revealed by Kepler: A key to reveal deep-layer rotation in A and F stars

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Salmon S. J. A. J.

2017-01-01

Full Text Available The γ Dor pulsating stars present high-order gravity modes, which make them important targets in the intermediate-and low-mass main-sequence region of the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram. Whilst we have only access to rotation in the envelope of the Sun, the g modes of γ Dor stars can in principle deliver us constraints on the inner layers. With the puzzling discovery of unexpectedly low rotation rates in the core of red giants, the γ Dor stars appear now as unique targets to explore internal angular momentum transport in the progenitors of red giants. Yet, the γ Dor pulsations remain hard to detect from the ground for their periods are close to 1 day. While the CoRoT space mission first revealed intriguing frequency spectra, the almost uninterrupted 4-year photometry from the Kepler mission eventually shed a new light on them. It revealed regularities in the spectra, expected to bear signature of physical processes, including rotation, in the shear layers close to the convective core. We present here the first results of our effort to derive exploitable seismic diagnosis for mid- to fast rotators among γ Dor stars. We confirm their potential to explore the rotation history of this early phase of stellar evolution.

Solar Wind 0.1-1 keV Electrons in the Corotating Interaction Regions

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, L.; Tao, J.; Li, G.; Wimmer-Schweingruber, R. F.; Jian, L. K.; He, J.; Tu, C.; Tian, H.; Bale, S. D.

2017-12-01

Here we present a statistical study of the 0.1-1 keV suprathermal electrons in the undisturbed and compressed slow/fast solar wind, for the 71 corotating interaction regions (CIRs) with good measurements from the WIND 3DP and MFI instruments from 1995 to 1997. For each of these CIRs, we separate the strahl and halo electrons based on their different behaviors in pitch angle distributions in the undisturbed and compressed solar wind. We fit both the strahl and halo energy spectra to a kappa function with an index κ index and effective temperature Teff, and calculate the pitch-angle width at half-maximum (PAHM) of the strahl population. We also integrate the electron measurements between 0.1 and 1.0 keV to obtain the number density n and average energy Eavg for the strahl and halo populations. We find that for both the strahl and halo populations within and around these CIRs, the fitted κ index strongly correlates with Teff, similar to the quiet-time solar wind (Tao et al., ApJ, 2016). The number density of both the strahl and halo shows a strong positive correlation with the electron core temperature. The strahl number density ns is correlated with the magnitude of interplanetary magnetic field, and the strahl PAHM width is anti-correlated with the solar wind speed. These results suggest that the origin of strahl electrons from the solar corona is likely related to the electron core temperature and magnetic field strength, while the production of halo electrons in the interplanetary medium could depend on the solar wind velocity.

In situ observations from STEREO/PLASTIC: a test for L5 space weather monitors

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

K. D. C. Simunac

2009-10-01

Full Text Available Stream interaction regions (SIRs that corotate with the Sun (corotating interaction regions, or CIRs are known to cause recurrent geomagnetic storms. The Earth's L5 Lagrange point, separated from the Earth by 60 degrees in heliographic longitude, is a logical location for a solar wind monitor – nearly all SIRs/CIRs will be observed at L5 several days prior to their arrival at Earth. Because the Sun's heliographic equator is tilted about 7 degrees with respect to the ecliptic plane, the separation in heliographic latitude between L5 and Earth can be more than 5 degrees. In July 2008, during the period of minimal solar activity at the end of solar cycle 23, the two STEREO observatories were separated by about 60 degrees in longitude and more than 4 degrees in heliographic latitude. This time period affords a timely test for the practical application of a solar wind monitor at L5. We compare in situ observations from PLASTIC/AHEAD and PLASTIC/BEHIND, and report on how well the BEHIND data can be used as a forecasting tool for in situ conditions at the AHEAD spacecraft with the assumptions of ideal corotation and minimal source evolution. Preliminary results show the bulk proton parameters (density and bulk speed are not in quantitative agreement from one observatory to the next, but the qualitative profiles are similar.

Astrometry, radial velocity, and photometry: the HD 128311 system remixed with data from HST, HET, and APT

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

McArthur, Barbara E.; Benedict, G. Fritz.; Cochran, William D.; Henry, Gregory W.; Hatzes, Artie; Harrison, Tom E.; Johns-Krull, Chris; Nelan, Ed

2014-01-01

We have used high-cadence radial velocity measurements from the Hobby-Eberly Telescope with published velocities from the Lick 3 m Shane Telescope, combined with astrometric data from the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) Fine Guidance Sensors to refine the orbital parameters of the HD 128311 system, and determine an inclination of 55.°95 ± 14.°55 and true mass of 3.789 −0.432 +0.924 M JUP for HD 128311 c. The combined radial velocity data also reveal a short period signal which could indicate a third planet in the system with an Msin i of 0.133 ± 0.005 M JUP or stellar phenomena. Photometry from the T12 0.8 m automatic photometric telescope at the Fairborn Observatory and HST are used to determine a photometric period close to, but not within the errors of the radial velocity signal. We performed a cross-correlation bisector analysis of the radial velocity data to look for correlations with the photometric period and found none. Dynamical integrations of the proposed system show long-term stability with the new orbital parameters of over 10 million years. Our new orbital elements do not support the claims of HD 128311 b and c being in mean motion resonance.

CCD photometry in the Vilnius photometric systems. II. Analysis of a region in Lyra

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Smriglio, F.; Dasgupta, A.K.; Boyle, R.P.; Straizys, V.; Janulis, R.

1991-01-01

Two-dimensional classification of 216 stars down to 17 mag based on their seven color photoelectric and CCD photometry in the Vilnius system is presented. Except for normal stars, several subdwarfs, metal-deficient giants, and stars of other peculiarities are suspected. Interstellar extinction is determined for normal stars in two areas north and south of globular cluster M56, as well as for a 1 square degree area around M56. The mean value of A v outside the galactic dust layer is ∼ 0.75 mag

Karl Schwarzschild's investigations of `out-of-focus photometry' between 1897 and 1899 at Kuffner Observatory in Vienna

Science.gov (United States)

Habison, Peter

From 1897 to 1899 Karl Schwarzschild worked at the Kuffner Observatory in Vienna. During these years he developed new measuring techniques in the field of photographic photometry, where he studied particularly the quantitative determination of the departure from the reciprocity law during photographic exposure. This paper concentrates on Schwarzschild's early work in this field and gives an overview of his important Viennese years.

Ground Based Support for Exoplanet Space Missions

Science.gov (United States)

Haukka, H.; Hentunen, V.-P.; Salmi, T.; Aartolahti, H.; Juutilainen, J.; Vilokki, H.; Nissinen, M.

2011-10-01

Taurus Hill Observatory (THO), observatory code A95, is an amateur observatory located in Varkaus, Finland. The observatory is maintained by the local astronomical association Warkauden Kassiopeia. THO research team has observed and measured various stellar objects and phenomena. Observatory has mainly focused to asteroid [1] and exoplanet light curve measurements, observing the gamma rays burst, supernova discoveries and monitoring [2] and long term monitoring projects [3]. In the early 2011 Europlanet NA1 and NA2 organized "Coordinated Observations of Exoplanets from Ground and Space"-workshop in Graz, Austria. The workshop gathered together proam astronomers who have the equipment to measure the light curves of the exoplanets. Also there were professional scientists working in the exoplanet field who attended to the workshop. The result of the workshop was to organize coordinated observation campaign for follow-up observations of exoplanets (e.g. CoRoT planets). Also coordinated observation campaign to observe stellar CME outbreaks was planned. THO has a lot of experience in field of exoplanet light curve measurements and therefore this campaign is very supported by the research team of the observatory. In next coming observing seasons THO will concentrate its efforts for this kind of campaigns.

High-speed photometry of the dwarf nova Z Cha in quiescence

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wood, Janet; Horne, Keith; Berriman, Graham; O'Donoghue, Darragh; Warner, Brian

1986-01-01

High-speed white light photometry of the cataclysmic variable star Z Cha is used to study the structure of the system and to derive the properties of its components. The white dwarf and bright spot eclipse timings require a mass ratio, q=Msub(R)/Msub(WD) of 0.146 0 .9>i>81 0 .6. The infalling stream passes through the light centre of the bright spot. If the central luminous object is the white dwarf its mass is 0.54+-0.01 Msolar mass which corresponds to a secondary star mass of 0.081+-0.003 Msolar mass. Agreement between colour and brightness temperatures for the white dwarf and bright spot provide a rough confirmation of the 97 pc distance. (author)

UBV photometry of 16 Psyche and 22 Kalliope M type asteroids

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lupishko, D.F.; Bel'skaya, I.N.; Tupieva, F.A.; Chernova, G.P.; AN Tadzhikskoj SSR, Dushanbe. Inst. Astrofiziki)

1982-01-01

In May - September 1979 UBV photometry of the asteroids 16 Psyche and 22 Kalliope was carried out. The detailed phase dependences of magnitude brightness and color were obtained including the opposition effect region up to the phase angle αsub(min)=1 deg.0 for Psyche and 0 deg.4 for Kalliope. Rotation period of Psyche determined for the interval 1974-1979 is 4sup(h)11sup(m)45sup(s).4+- 0sup(s).1. It is shorter by about 6sup(m).5 than obtained before. On the base of the observational data of 1978 and 1979 it is shown that Psyche rotates around the shortest axis. Axial ratios of the modelling triaxial ellipsoid are 1.7:1.3:1 [ru

UBV photometry of 16 Psyche and 22 Kalliope M type asteroids

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lupishko, D.F.; Bel' skaya, I.N.; Tupieva, F.A.; Chernova, G.P. (Khar' kovskij Gosudarstvennyj Univ. (Ukrainian SSR). Astronomicheskaya Observatoriya; AN Tadzhikskoj SSR, Dushanbe. Inst. Astrofiziki)

In May - September 1979 UBV photometry of the asteroids 16 Psyche and 22 Kalliope was carried out. The detailed phase dependences of magnitude brightness and color were obtained including the opposition effect region up to the phase angle ..cap alpha..sub(min)=1 deg.0 for Psyche and 0 deg.4 for Kalliope. Rotation period of Psyche determined for the interval 1974-1979 is 4sup(h)11sup(m)45sup(s).4+- 0sup(s).1. It is shorter by about 6sup(m).5 than obtained before. On the base of the observational data of 1978 and 1979 it is shown that Psyche rotates around the shortest axis. Axial ratios of the modelling triaxial ellipsoid are 1.7:1.3:1.

Space Infrared Telescope Facility (SIRTF) science instruments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ramos, R.; Hing, S.M.; Leidich, C.A.; Fazio, G.; Houck, J.R.

1989-01-01

Concepts of scientific instruments designed to perform infrared astronomical tasks such as imaging, photometry, and spectroscopy are discussed as part of the Space Infrared Telescope Facility (SIRTF) project under definition study at NASA/Ames Research Center. The instruments are: the multiband imaging photometer, the infrared array camera, and the infrared spectograph. SIRTF, a cryogenically cooled infrared telescope in the 1-meter range and wavelengths as short as 2.5 microns carrying multiple instruments with high sensitivity and low background performance, provides the capability to carry out basic astronomical investigations such as deep search for very distant protogalaxies, quasi-stellar objects, and missing mass; infrared emission from galaxies; star formation and the interstellar medium; and the composition and structure of the atmospheres of the outer planets in the solar sytem. 8 refs

Multicolor photometry of the merging galaxy cluster A2319: Dynamics and star formation properties

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yan, Peng-Fei; Yuan, Qi-Rong [Department of Physics and Institute of Theoretical Physics, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing 210023 (China); Zhang, Li [QuFu Education Bureau, QuFu 273100 (China); Zhou, Xu, E-mail: pfyan0822@sina.com, E-mail: yuanqirong@njnu.edu.cn [National Astronomical Observatories, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100012 (China)

2014-05-01

Asymmetric X-ray emission and a powerful cluster-scale radio halo indicate that A2319 is a merging cluster of galaxies. This paper presents our multicolor photometry for A2319 with 15 optical intermediate filters in the Beijing-Arizona-Taiwan-Connecticut (BATC) system. There are 142 galaxies with known spectroscopic redshifts within the viewing field of 58' × 58' centered on this rich cluster, including 128 member galaxies (called sample I). A large velocity dispersion in the rest frame, 1622{sub −70}{sup +91} km s{sup –1}, suggests merger dynamics in A2319. The contour map of projected density and localized velocity structure confirm the so-called A2319B substructure, at ∼10' northwest to the main concentration A2319A. The spectral energy distributions (SEDs) of more than 30,000 sources are obtained in our BATC photometry down to V ∼ 20 mag. A u-band (∼3551 Å) image with better seeing and spatial resolution, obtained with the Bok 2.3 m telescope at Kitt Peak, is taken to make star-galaxy separation and distinguish the overlapping contamination in the BATC aperture photometry. With color-color diagrams and photometric redshift technique, 233 galaxies brighter than h {sub BATC} = 19.0 are newly selected as member candidates after an exclusion of false candidates with contaminated BATC SEDs by eyeball-checking the u-band Bok image. The early-type galaxies are found to follow a tight color-magnitude correlation. Based on sample I and the enlarged sample of member galaxies (called sample II), subcluster A2319B is confirmed. The star formation properties of cluster galaxies are derived with the evolutionary synthesis model, PEGASE, assuming a Salpeter initial mass function and an exponentially decreasing star formation rate (SFR). A strong environmental effect on star formation histories is found in the manner that galaxies in the sparse regions have various star formation histories, while galaxies in the dense regions are found to have

The TERMS Project: Improved Orbital Parameters and Photometry of HD168443 and the Photometry Pipeline

Science.gov (United States)

Pilyavsky, Genady; Mahadevan, S.; Kane, S. R.; Howard, A. W.; Ciardi, D. R.; de Pree, C.; Dragomir, D.; Fischer, D.; Henry, G. W.; Jensen, E. L. N.; Laughlin, G.; Marlowe, H.; Rabus, M.; von Braun, K.; Wright, J. T.; Wang, X.

2012-01-01

The discovery of transiting planets around bright stars holds the potential to greatly enhance our understanding of planetary atmospheres. The Transit Ephemeris Refinement and Monitoring Survey (TERMS) project focuses on updating the ephemerides of known exoplanets, put tighter constraints on the orbital parameters and shrink the large errors on the predicted transit windows, enabling photometric monitoring to search for a transit signature. Here, we present the revised orbital parameters and the photometric coverage during a predicted transit window of HD168443b, a massive planet orbiting the bright star HD 168443 (V = 6.92) with a period of 58.11 days. The high eccentricity of the planetary orbit (e = 0.53) significantly enhances the a-priori transit probability (3.7%) from what is expected for a circular orbit (2.5%). The transit ephemeris was updated using refined orbital parameters from additional Keck-HIRES radial velocities. The photometry obtained at the 1 m telescope in Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory (CTIO) and the T8 0.8 m Automated Photometric Telescope (APT) at Fairborn Observatory achieved the necessary millimag precision. The expected change in flux (0.5%) for HD168443 was not observed during the predicted transit window, thus allowing us to rule out the transit and put tighter constrains on the orbital inclination of HD168443b. Additionally, we present the software used to analyze the CTIO data. Developed by the TERMS team, this IDL based package is a fast, precise, and easy to use program which has eliminated the need for external software and command line prompts by utilizing the functionality of a graphical user interface (GUI).

CCD photometry in the Vilnius photometric systems. II. Analysis of a region in Lyra

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Smriglio, F.; Dasgupta, A.K. (Rome Univ. (IT). Ist. Astronomico); Nandy, K. (Royal Observatory, Edinburgh (UK)); Boyle, R.P. (Vatican Observatory, Rome (IT)); Straizys, V.; Janulis, R. (AN Litovskoj SSR, Vilnius (SU). Inst. Fiziki)

1991-04-01

Two-dimensional classification of 216 stars down to 17 mag based on their seven color photoelectric and CCD photometry in the Vilnius system is presented. Except for normal stars, several subdwarfs, metal-deficient giants, and stars of other peculiarities are suspected. Interstellar extinction is determined for normal stars in two areas north and south of globular cluster M56, as well as for a 1 square degree area around M56. The mean value of A{sub v} outside the galactic dust layer is {similar to} 0.75 mag.

The Optical Gravitational Lensing Experiment. UBVI Photometry of Stars in Baade's Window

Science.gov (United States)

Paczynski, B.; Udalski, A.; Szymanski, M.; Kubiak, M.; Pietrzynski, G.; Soszynski, I.; Wozniak, P.; Zebrun, K.

1999-09-01

We present UBVI photometry for 8530 stars in Baade's Window obtained during the OGLE-II microlensing survey. Among these are over one thousand red clump giants. 1391 of them have photometry with errors smaller than 0.04, 0.06, 0.12, and 0.20 mag in the I, V, B, and U-band, respectively. We constructed a map of interstellar reddening. The corrected colors of the red clump giants: (U-B)_0, (B-V)_0, and (V-I)_0 are very well correlated, indicating that a single parameter determines the observed spread of their values, reaching almost 2 mag in the (U-B)_0. It seems most likely that heavy element content is the dominant parameter, but it is possible that another parameter: the age (or mass) of a star moves it along the same trajectory in the color-color diagram as the metallicity. The current ambiguity can be resolved with spectral analysis, and our catalog may be useful as a finding list of red clump giants. We point out that these K giants are more suitable for a fair determination of the distribution of metallicity than brighter M giants. We also present a compilation of UBVI data for 308 red clump giants near the Sun, for which Hipparcos parallaxes are more accurate than 10%. Spectral analysis of their metallicity may provide information about the local metallicity distribution as well as the extent to which mass (age) of these stars affects their colors. It is remarkable that in spite of a number of problems, stellar models agree with observations at the 0.1-0.2 mag level, making red clump giants not only the best calibrated but also the best understood standard candle.

Sseven-color Photometry and Classification of Stars in the Vicinity of the Emission Nebula Sh2-205

Science.gov (United States)

Čepas, V.; Zdanavičius, J.; Zdanavičius, K.; Straižys, V.; Laugalys, V.

We present the results of CCD photometry in the seven-color Vilnius system for 922 stars down to V = 17 mag in a 1.5 square degree field at the northern edge of the H II region Sh2-205, at the Perseus and Camelopardalis border. Using the intrinsic color indices and photometric reddening-free Q-parameters, two-dimensional spectral types for most stars are determined.

Source Population and Acceleration Location of Suprathermal Heavy Ions in Corotating Interaction Regions

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Filwett, R. J.; Desai, M. I. [University of Texas at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX (United States); Dayeh, M. A.; Broiles, T. W. [Southwest Research Institute, San Antonio, TX (United States)

2017-03-20

We have analyzed the ∼20–320 keV nucleon{sup −1} suprathermal (ST) heavy ion abundances in 41 corotating interaction regions (CIRs) observed by the Wind spacecraft from 1995 January to 2008 December. Our results are: (1) the CIR Fe/CNO and NeS/CNO ratios vary with the sunspot number, with values being closer to average solar energetic particle event values during solar maxima and lower than nominal solar wind values during solar minima. The physical mechanism responsible for the depleted abundances during solar minimum remains an open question. (2) The Fe/CNO increases with energy in the 6 events that occurred during solar maximum, while no such trends are observed for the 35 events during solar minimum. (3) The Fe/CNO shows no correlation with the average solar wind speed. (4) The Fe/CNO is well correlated with the corresponding upstream ∼20–320 keV nucleon{sup −1} Fe/CNO and not with the solar wind Fe/O measured by ACE in 31 events. Using the correlations between the upstream ∼20–40 keV nucleon{sup −1} Fe/CNO and the ∼20–320 keV nucleon{sup −1} Fe/CNO in CIRs, we estimate that, on average, the ST particles traveled ∼2 au along the nominal Parker spiral field line, which corresponds to upper limits for the radial distance of the source or acceleration location of ∼1 au beyond Earth orbit. Our results are consistent with those obtained from recent surveys, and confirm that CIR ST heavy ions are accelerated more locally, and are at odds with the traditional viewpoint that CIR ions seen at 1 au are bulk solar wind ions accelerated between 3 and 5 au.

Infrared photometry, extinctions and R values for some Northern Milky Way stars

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Breda, I.G. van; Whittet, D.C.B.

1977-01-01

Infrared wideband photometry for 21 early-type stars in the Northern Milky Way is used to determine extinction values by the colour-difference method. The mean extinction curve is similar to the van de Hulst theoretical curve No. 15, and there is no significant difference in the results for stars lying towards and away from nebulosity. None of the stars exhibit infrared excesses at 3.5 μ. A mean value of R=3.15 +- 0.15 is deduced for the ratio of total to selective extinction. R is found to be normal towards the open cluster IC 1805 for which high values have been suggested; a distance of 2.0 +- 0.2 kpc is deduced for this cluster. (Auth.)

Infrared photometry of the nova-like system IX Velorum (= CPD -4801577)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Haug, Karlheinz

1988-01-01

Continuous IR photometry of the UX UMa-type nova-like system IX Velorum reveals phase-correlated light variations in JHK filter bands with an amplitude of about O m .06. From a periodogram analysis an orbital period of P = 0.1939 ± 0.0001 day is determined. Physical reasons for the observed IR light variability are discussed. Model light curve calculations demonstrate that the observed light curves can be interpreted by a superposition of ellipsoidal light variations and asymmetric light distribution on the surface of the secondary component owing to illumination from the disc. The observation of different heights of the two light maxima might be an indication for an additional orbital light variation due to the changing aspect of the disc and/or bright spot region. (author)

BRITE-Constellation: Nanosatellites for precision photometry of bright stars

Science.gov (United States)

Weiss, W. W.; Moffat, A. F. J.; Schwarzenberg-Czerny, A.; Koudelka, O. F.; Grant, C. C.; Zee, R. E.; Kuschnig, R.; Mochnacki, St.; Rucinski, S. M.; Matthews, J. M.; Orleański, P.; Pamyatnykh, A. A.; Pigulski, A.; Alves, J.; Guedel, M.; Handler, G.; Wade, G. A.; Scholtz, A. L.; Scholtz

2014-02-01

BRITE-Constellation (where BRITE stands for BRIght Target Explorer) is an international nanosatellite mission to monitor photometrically, in two colours, brightness and temperature variations of stars brighter than V ~ 4, with precision and time coverage not possible from the ground. The current mission design consists of three pairs of 7 kg nanosats (hence ``Constellation'') from Austria, Canada and Poland carrying optical telescopes (3 cm aperture) and CCDs. One instrument in each pair is equipped with a blue filter; the other, a red filter. The first two nanosats (funded by Austria) are UniBRITE, designed and built by UTIAS-SFL (University of Toronto Institute for Aerospace Studies-Space Flight Laboratory) and its twin, BRITE-Austria, built by the Technical University Graz (TUG) with support of UTIAS-SFL. They were launched on 25 February 2013 by the Indian Space Agency, under contract to the Canadian Space Agency. Each BRITE instrument has a wide field of view (~ 24 degrees), so up to 15 bright stars can be observed simultaneously in 32 × 32 sub-rasters. Photometry (with reduced precision but thorough time sampling) of additional fainter targets will be possible through on-board data processing. A critical technical element of the BRITE mission is the three-axis attitude control system to stabilize a nanosat with very low inertia. The pointing stability is better than 1.5 arcminutes rms, a significant advance by UTIAS-SFL over any previous nanosatellite. BRITE-Constellation will primarily measure p- and g-mode pulsations to probe the interiors and ages of stars through asteroseismology. The BRITE sample of many of the brightest stars in the night sky is dominated by the most intrinsically luminous stars: massive stars seen at all evolutionary stages, and evolved medium-mass stars at the very end of their nuclear burning phases (cool giants and AGB stars). The Hertzsprung-Russell diagram for stars brighter than mag V=4 from which the BRITE-Constellation sample

In situ observations from STEREO/PLASTIC: a test for L5 space weather monitors

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

K. D. C. Simunac

2009-10-01

Full Text Available Stream interaction regions (SIRs that corotate with the Sun (corotating interaction regions, or CIRs are known to cause recurrent geomagnetic storms. The Earth's L5 Lagrange point, separated from the Earth by 60 degrees in heliographic longitude, is a logical location for a solar wind monitor – nearly all SIRs/CIRs will be observed at L5 several days prior to their arrival at Earth. Because the Sun's heliographic equator is tilted about 7 degrees with respect to the ecliptic plane, the separation in heliographic latitude between L5 and Earth can be more than 5 degrees. In July 2008, during the period of minimal solar activity at the end of solar cycle 23, the two STEREO observatories were separated by about 60 degrees in longitude and more than 4 degrees in heliographic latitude. This time period affords a timely test for the practical application of a solar wind monitor at L5. We compare in situ observations from PLASTIC/AHEAD and PLASTIC/BEHIND, and report on how well the BEHIND data can be used as a forecasting tool for in situ conditions at the AHEAD spacecraft with the assumptions of ideal corotation and minimal source evolution. Preliminary results show the bulk proton parameters (density and bulk speed are not in quantitative agreement from one observatory to the next, but the qualitative profiles are similar.

Calibrating the Near-Infrared Tip of the Red Giant Branch with Multiwavelength Photometry

Science.gov (United States)

Durbin, Meredith

2017-08-01

The near-infrared (NIR) tip of the red giant branch (TRGB) shows outstanding promise as a distance indicator. In the JWST era, the NIR-TRGB will bridge the gap from local geometric parallax (with Gaia) out to the low-velocity Hubble flow in a single step, in all types of galaxies. However, there currently exist several impediments to JWST's using the TRGB to full advantage. Dalcanton et al. (2012) presented the most comprehensive dataset available for calibrating the TRGB absolute magnitude, with optical and NIR coverage of 23 nearby dwarf and spiral galaxies spanning a wide range of ages and metallicities. However, subtle offsets between this dataset, theoretical models, and globular clusters raise concerns about the calibration.We propose to perform a complete re-reduction and re-analysis of this dataset. We have developed a pipeline that leverages simultaneous fitting of optical and NIR data to produce NIR photometry of higher quality and completeness, with up to 1.5 mag greater depth than can be achieved with the NIR alone. With this added depth, improvements in photometric precision, and updated WFC3/IR PSFs and flux calibration, we will derive uniform, precise, and accurate NIR TRGB measurements, with which we will be able to resolve standing issues with the TRGB color-absolute magnitude relation and its behavior with changing star-formation histories. This work will lay the groundwork for extending the TRGB distance scale out to at least 37 Mpc with JWST. We will release the resulting 4-filter optical-NIR photometry as HLSPs for use by the community before the launch of JWST, to serve as a resource for proposing for stellar population observations in the NIR.

High-speed photometry of the eclipsing dwarf nova OY Carinae

Science.gov (United States)

Cook, M. C.

1985-01-01

High-speed photometry of the eclipsing dwarf nova OY Car in the quiescent state is presented. OY Car becomes highly reddened during eclipse, with minimum flux colours inconsistent with optically thick emission in the U and B bandpasses. Mass ratios in the range 6.5 to 12 are required to reconcile the eclipse structure with theoretical gas stream trajectories. Primary eclipse timings reveal a significant decrease in the orbital period and the duration of primary eclipse indicates the presence of a luminous ring about the white dwarf. The hotspot eclipse reveals a hotspot which is elongated along the rim of the accretion disc, with optical emission being non-uniformly distributed along the rim. The location of the hotspot in the accretion disc implies a disc radius larger than that of an inviscid disc, with variation in the position of the hotspot being consistent with a fixed stream trajectory.

VizieR Online Data Catalog: CCD Hα and R photometry of 334 galaxies (James+, 2004)

Science.gov (United States)

James, P. A.; Shane, N. S.; Beckman, J. E.; Cardwell, A.; Collins, C. A.; Etherton, J.; de Jong, R. S.; Fathi, K.; Knapen, J. H.; Peletier, R. F.; Percival, S. M.; Pollacco, D. L.; Seigar, M. S.; Stedman, S.; Steele, I. A.

2004-01-01

Hα plus [NII] and R-band CCD photometry and derived parameters are presented for the full sample of 334 spiral and irregular galaxies. Galaxy distances are derived using a Virgo-infall corrected model which is described in the paper, and star formation rates are derived from Hα plus [NII] fluxes using the conversion defined by Kennicutt et al. (1994ApJ...435...22K). The entries are arranged within five bins in recession velocity, and in order of increasing Right Ascension within these bins. (1 data file).

Seven-Color Photometry and Classification of Stars in the Vicinity of the Emission Nebula Sh2-205

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Čepas V.

2013-09-01

Full Text Available We present the results of CCD photometry in the seven-color Vilnius system for 922 stars down to V ~ 17 mag in a 1.5 square degree field at the northern edge of the HII region Sh2-205, at the Perseus and Camelopardalis border. Using the intrinsic color indices and photometric reddening-free Q-parameters, two-dimensional spectral types for most stars are determined.

The Carnegie Supernova Project. I. Third Photometry Data Release of Low-redshift Type Ia Supernovae and Other White Dwarf Explosions

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Krisciunas, Kevin; Contreras, Carlos; Burns, Christopher R.

2017-01-01

We present final natural-system optical (ugriBV) and near-infrared (YJH) photometry of 134 supernovae (SNe) with probable white dwarf progenitors that were observed in 2004-2009 as part of the first stage of the Carnegie Supernova Project (CSP-I). The sample consists of 123 Type. Ia SNe, 5 Type...

Deep CCD photometry in globular clusters. VII. M30

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Richer, H.B.; Fahlman, G.G.; Vandenberg, D.A.

1988-01-01

New UBV CCD photometry in a single field of the globular cluster M30 was obtained, and the data were used to obtain the color magnitude diagram (CMD) of the cluster, its luminosity function, and to derive fundamental cluster parameters. No blue stragglers were found, nor any evidence of a binary sequence in the data even though the field under study is only 21 core radii from the cluster center. The cluster reddening is observed to be 0.068 + or - 0.035, significantly higher than that adopted in most current papers on M30. An intercomparison of the CMDs of three very metal-poor clusters clearly shows that there is no evidence for any age difference between them. The age of M30 itself is found to be about 14 Gyr. The luminosity function of M30 is determined to be M(V) = 8. Comparison of this function with one found by Bolte (1987) at 65 core radii shows clear evidence of mass segregation in the low-mass stars. 44 references

Near Continuous Photometry with the Whole Earth Telescope (WET

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Solheim J. E.

2003-12-01

Full Text Available The Whole Earth Telescope (WET saw first light in 1988. It was invented by scientists from the Astronomy Department, University of Texas at Austin. The idea was to generate a world-wide network of cooperating astronomical observatories to obtain uninterrupted time-series measurements of some variable stars. The technological goal was to resolve the multi-periodic oscillations in these objects into their individual components; the scientific goal was to construct accurate theoretical models of the target objects, constrained by their observed behavior, from which fundamental astrophysical parameters could be derived. This approach has been extremely successful, and has placed stellar seismology at the forefront of stellar astrophysics. The network is run as a single astronomical instrument with many operators, and the collaboration includes scientists from all continents on our planet, taking part in the observations, data reduction, analysis and theoretical interpretation. The expertise of Lithuanian astronomers in photometry, and their access to the observing station Mt. Maidanak in Uzbekistan, has been important for the success of the network.

A 'Rosetta Stone' to Interpret the UV-HST Photometry of Multiple Stellar Populations in Globular Clusters

Science.gov (United States)

Renzini, Alvio

2011-10-01

In this proposal we intend to firmly identify the chemical species responsible for the UV and UV-optical color differences exhibited by the multiple stellar populations harboured by two Galactic globular clusters: omega Centauri and 47 Tucanae, one with highly helium enriched sub-populations {omega Centauri}, the other not.We plan to collect ultraviolet STIS spectra for stars in the crowded cores of the clusters, where HST photometry is already available for thousands of stars in more than 10 filters, from F225W to F850LP. This WFC3+ACS photometric database has allowed us to show that UV colors are remarkably effective in separating the different cluster sub-populations, and with the proposed STIS spectroscopy we can quantify the chemical abundance differences among such sub-populations, most notably in Nitrogen and Oxygen. The resulting calibration of the UV colors in terms of CNO abundances will provide a new effective tool for the chemical characterization of large numbers of globular cluster stars belonging to the various sub-populations in each cluster, and to better isolate the specific role of the helium abundance.The plan is to observe at least one star for each of the main principal stellar sub-populations in each of the two clusters. These objects are selected on the basis of their accurate photometry and astrometry already in hand, based on existing UV-HST images.

VizieR Online Data Catalog: Follow-up photometry of M101 OT2015-1 (Blagorodnova+, 2017)

Science.gov (United States)

Blagorodnova, N.; Kotak, R.; Polshaw, J.; Kasliwal, M. M.; Cao, Y.; Cody, A. M.; Doran, G. B.; Elias-Rosa, N.; Fraser, M.; Fremling, C.; Gonzalez-Fernandez, C.; Harmanen, J.; Jencson, J.; Kankare, E.; Kudritzki, R.-P.; Kulkarni, S. R.; Magnier, E.; Manulis, I.; Masci, F. J.; Mattila, S.; Nugent, P.; Ochner, P.; Pastorello, A.; Reynolds, T.; Smith, K.; Sollerman, J.; Taddia, F.; Terreran, G.; Tomasella, L.; Turatto, M.; Vreeswijk, P. M.; Wozniak, P.; Zaggia, S.

2017-07-01

The location of M101-OT2015-1 has been serendipitously imaged by numerous telescopes and instruments over the last 15 years (from 2000 to 2015). Our best quality pre-discovery image (seeing of 0.55") is an r-band exposure at -3625 days pre-peak from the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope (CFHT). The historical optical data for M101-OT was retrieved from the CFHT MegaPrime and CFHT12K/Mosaic, using single and combined exposures, Pan-STARRS-1/GPC1 (PS1), Isaac Newton Telescope/Wide Field Camera (INT/WFC), and Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) DR 10 (Ahn+ 2014, see V/147). Unfortunately, there are no HST images covering the location of the source. Post-discovery optical magnitudes were obtained from the reported followup astronomer's telegrams (ATels), Liverpool Telescope (LT), the Nordic Optical Telescope (NOT), and the Palomar P48 and P60 telescopes. The infrared data were retrieved from CFHT/WIRCam, UKIRT/WFCAM, and the Spitzer Infrared Array Camera in 3.6 and 4.5um as part of the SPitzer InfraRed Intensive Transients Survey (SPIRITS) (Kasliwal+, 2017ApJ...839...88K). Details of pre-discovery photometry and post-discovery optical photometry may be found in the Appendices Tables 1 and 2, respectively. We obtained spectra of M101-OT using a range of facilities in 2015 Feb-Jul. (3 data files).

Peering through the veil: near-infrared photometry and extinction for the Galactic nuclear star cluster. Accurate near infrared H, Ks, and L' photometry and the near-infrared extinction-law toward the central parsec of the Galaxy

Science.gov (United States)

Schödel, R.; Najarro, F.; Muzic, K.; Eckart, A.

2010-02-01

Context. The nuclear star cluster of the Galaxy is an important template for understanding its extragalactic counterparts, which can currently not be resolved into individual stars. Important drawbacks of observations of the Galactic center are, however, the presence of strong and spatially highly variable interstellar extinction and extreme crowding of the sources, which makes the use of adaptive optics techniques necessary. Both points pose serious obstacles to precise photometry that is needed for analyzing the stellar population. Aims: The aims of this work are to provide accurate photometry in multiple near-infrared broadband filters, to determine the power-law index of the extinction-law toward the central parsec of the Galaxy, to provide measurements of the absolute extinction toward the Galactic center, and finally to measure the spatial variability of extinction on arcsecond scales. Methods: We use observations of the central parsec of the Milky Way that were obtained with the near-infrared camera and adaptive optics system NAOS/CONICA at the ESO VLT unit telescope 4. The photometric method takes into account anisoplanatic effects and limits the corresponding systematic uncertainties to ≲2%. Absolute values for the extinction in the H, Ks, and L'-bands as well as of the power-law indices of the H to Ks and Ks to L' extinction-laws are measured based on the well-known properties of red clump stars. Extinction maps are derived based on H-Ks and Ks-L' colors. Results: We present Ks-band photometry for ~7700 stars, and additionally photometry for stars detected in the H and/or L'-bands. From a number of recently published values we compute a mean distance of the Galactic center of R0=8.03±0.15 kpc, which has an uncertainty of just 2%. Based on this R0 and on the RC method, we derive absolute mean extinction values toward the central parsec of the Galaxy of AH=4.48±0.13 mag, AKs=2.54±0.12 mag, and AL'=1.27±0.18 mag. We estimate values of the power

Compression of Jupiter's magnetosphere by the solar wind: Reexamination via MHD simulation of evolving corotating interaction regions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Smith, Z.K.; Dryer, M.; Fillius, R.W.; Smith, E.J.; Wolfe, J.H.

1981-01-01

We examine the major changes in the solar wind before, during, and after the Pioneer 10 and 11 encounters with the Jovian magnetosphere during 1973 and 1974, respectively. In an earlier study, Smith et al. (1978) concluded that the Jovian magnetosphere was subjected to large-scale compression during at least three or four intervals during which it appeared that the spacecraft had reentered the solar wind or magnetosheath near 50 R/sub J/ after having first entered the magnetosphere near 100 R/sub J/. They based this suggestion on the observations of the sister spacecraft, which indicated--on the basis of a kinematic translation of corotating interaction regions (CIR's)--that these structures would be expected to arrive at Jupiter at the appropriate beginning of these three intervals. Our reexamination of this suggestion involved the numerical simulation of the multiple CIR evolutions from one spacecraft to the sister spacecraft. This approach, considered to be a major improvement, confirms the suggestion by Smith et al. (1978) that Jupiter's magnetosphere was compressed by interplanetary CIR's during three or four of these events. Our MHD simulation also suggests that Jupiter's magnetosphere reacts to solar wind rarefactions in the opposite way--by expanding. A previously unexplained pair of magnetopause crossings on the Pioneer 11 outbound pass may simply be due to a delayed reexpansion of Jupiter's magnetosphere from a compression that occurred during the inbound pass

The Properties of XO-5b and WASP-82b Redetermined Using New High-Precision Transit Photometry and Global Data Analyses

Science.gov (United States)

Smith, A. M. S.

2015-03-01

This paper presents new transit photometry from the Isaac Newton Telescope of two transiting exoplanetary systems, XO-5 and WASP-82. In each case the new transit light curve is more precise than any other of that system previously published. The new data are analyzed alongside previously-published photometry and radial velocities, resulting in an improved orbital ephemeris and a refined set of system parameters in each case. The observational baseline of XO-5 is extended by very nearly four years, resulting in a determination of the orbital period of XO-5b to a precision of just 50 ms. The mass and radius of XO-5b are 1.19±0.03 and 1.14±0.03 times those of Jupiter, respectively. The light curve of WASP-82 is only the second published for this system. The planetary mass is 1.25±0.05 MJup, and the radius is 1.71±0.08 RJup.

Photometry of long-period Algol binaries. VI. Multicolor photometric solutions for RZ Cancri

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Olson, E.C. (Illinois Univ., Urbana (USA))

1989-09-01

New intermediate-band photometry of the late-giant eclipsing system RZ CNc is used to obtain photometric solutions, both with the Popper (1976) spectroscopic mass ratio and by allowing the mass ratio and gravity-darkening coefficients to vary. New y observations are combined with earlier V data of Lenouvel (1957) and Broglia and Conconi (1973) in one solution set. Additional solutions are obtained from the new observations. The mean photometric mass ratio is somewhat larger than Popper's spectroscopic values; the general indeterminacy of photometric solutions may explain this apparent discrepancy. Possible photometric effects of a mass-transferring stream are discussed, and it is concluded that such effects cannot account for the mass-ratio discrepancy. 26 refs.

Photometry of long-period Algol binaries. VI. Multicolor photometric solutions for RZ Cancri

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Olson, E.C.

1989-01-01

New intermediate-band photometry of the late-giant eclipsing system RZ CNc is used to obtain photometric solutions, both with the Popper (1976) spectroscopic mass ratio and by allowing the mass ratio and gravity-darkening coefficients to vary. New y observations are combined with earlier V data of Lenouvel (1957) and Broglia and Conconi (1973) in one solution set. Additional solutions are obtained from the new observations. The mean photometric mass ratio is somewhat larger than Popper's spectroscopic values; the general indeterminacy of photometric solutions may explain this apparent discrepancy. Possible photometric effects of a mass-transferring stream are discussed, and it is concluded that such effects cannot account for the mass-ratio discrepancy. 26 refs

Hubble Space Telescope Imaging and Spectral Analysis of Two Brown Dwarf Binaries at the L Dwarf/T Dwarf Transition

OpenAIRE

Burgasser, Adam J.; Gagliuffi, Daniella C. Bardalez; Gizis, John E.

2010-01-01

We present a detailed examination of the brown dwarf multiples 2MASS J08503593+1057156 and 2MASS J17281150+3948593, both suspected of harboring components that straddle the L dwarf/T dwarf transition. Resolved photometry from Hubble Space Telescope/NICMOS show opposite trends in the relative colors of the components, with the secondary of 2MASS J0850+1057 being redder than its primary, while that of 2MASS J1728+3948 is bluer. We determine near-infrared component types by matching combined-lig...

Observations of the Hubble Deep Field with the Infrared Space Observatory .2. Source detection and photometry

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Goldschmidt, P.; Oliver, S.J.; Serjeant, S.B.G.

1997-01-01

We present positions and fluxes of point sources found in the Infrared Space Observatory (ISO) images of the Hubble Deep Field (HDF) at 6.7 and 15 mu m. We have constructed algorithmically selected 'complete' flux-limited samples of 19 sources in the 15-mu m image, and seven sources in the 6.7-mu m...

Infrared imaging and photometry of Comet Giacobini-Zinner

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Campins, H.

1986-01-01

Infrared images and photometry were obtained to determine the spatial distribution and physical characteristics (temperature, albedo, size distribution, total mass, etc.) of the grains in the coma of Comet GZ. A 10.8 m image of Comet GZ obtained on August 4 represents the first ground-based thermal-infrared image of a Comet. Among the most significant results are: (1) an estimate of the number of grains that the ICE spacecraft must have encountered, which led the plasma wave team to conclude that they could only detect impacts on the antennae and not on the whole body of the ICE spacecraft; (2) the discovery of a population of large grains (radius > 100 micrometer), not observed in most other comets, which formed a curved tail near the nucleus (within 80 arcsec or 34,000 km); and (3) the detection of structure in the spatial distribution in the coma of the particle albedo, which was tentatively attributed to the presence of very fluffy grains which are likely to have multiple internal scattering of incident sunlight. The albedo map of Comet GZ was obtained by combining the 10.8 micrometer image shown with a simultaneous image taken at 0.68 micrometer, a bandpass which isolates the scattered continuum

New 2MASS near-infrared photometry for globular clusters in M31

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wang, Song; Ma, Jun; Wu, Zhenyu; Zhou, Xu, E-mail: majun@nao.cas.cn [Key Laboratory of Optical Astronomy, National Astronomical Observatories, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100012 (China)

2014-07-01

We present Two Micron All Sky Survey JHK {sub s} photometry for 913 star clusters and candidates in the field of M31, which are selected from the latest Revised Bologna Catalog of M31 globular clusters (GCs) and candidates. The photometric measurements in this paper supplement this catalog, and provide the most comprehensive and homogeneous photometric catalog for M31 GCs in the JHK {sub s} bandpasses. In general, our photometry is consistent with previous measurements. The globular cluster luminosity function (GCLF) peaks for the confirmed GCs derived by fitting a t {sub 5} distribution using the maximum likelihood method are J{sub 0}=15.348{sub −0.208}{sup +0.206}, H{sub 0}=14.703{sub −0.180}{sup +0.176}, and K{sub s0}=14.534{sub −0.146}{sup +0.142}, all of which agree well with previous studies. The GCLFs are different between metal-rich (MR) and metal-poor (MP), and between inner and outer subpopulations, as MP clusters are fainter than their MR counterparts and the inner clusters are brighter than the outer ones, which confirm previous results. The NIR colors of the GC candidates are on average redder than those of the confirmed GCs, which leads to an obscure bimodal distribution of color indices. The relation of (V – K {sub s}){sub 0} and metallicity shows a notable departure from linearity, with a shallower slope toward the redder end. The color-magnitude diagram (CMD) and color-color diagram show that many GC candidates are located out of the evolutionary tracks, suggesting that some of them may be false M31 GC candidates. The CMD also shows that the initial mass function of M31 GCs covers a large range, and the majority of the clusters have initial masses between 10{sup 3} and 10{sup 6} M {sub ☉}.

Measuring metallicities with Hubble space telescope/wide-field camera 3 photometry

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ross, Teresa L.; Holtzman, Jon A. [Department of Astronomy, New Mexico State University, P.O. Box 30001, MSC 4500, Las Cruces, NM 88003-8001 (United States); Anthony-Twarog, Barbara J.; Twarog, Bruce [Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS 66045-7582 (United States); Bond, Howard E. [Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802 (United States); Saha, Abhijit [National Optical Astronomy Observatory, P.O. Box 26732, Tucson, AZ 85726 (United States); Walker, Alistair, E-mail: rosst@nmsu.edu, E-mail: holtz@nmsu.edu, E-mail: bjat@ku.edu, E-mail: btwarog@ku.edu, E-mail: heb11@psu.edu, E-mail: awalker@ctio.noao.edu [Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory (CTIO), National Optical Astronomy Observatory, Casilla 603, La Serena (Chile)

2014-01-01

We quantified and calibrated the metallicity and temperature sensitivities of colors derived from nine Wide-Field Camera 3 filters on board the Hubble Space Telescope using Dartmouth isochrones and Kurucz atmosphere models. The theoretical isochrone colors were tested and calibrated against observations of five well studied galactic clusters, M92, NGC 6752, NGC 104, NGC 5927, and NGC 6791, all of which have spectroscopically determined metallicities spanning –2.30 < [Fe/H] <+0.4. We found empirical corrections to the Dartmouth isochrone grid for each of the following color-magnitude diagrams (CMDs): (F555W-F814W, F814W), (F336W-F555W, F814W), (F390M-F555W, F814W), and (F390W-F555W, F814W). Using empirical corrections, we tested the accuracy and spread of the photometric metallicities assigned from CMDs and color-color diagrams (which are necessary to break the age-metallicity degeneracy). Testing three color-color diagrams [(F336W-F555W),(F390M-F555W),(F390W-F555W), versus (F555W-F814W)], we found the colors (F390M-F555W) and (F390W-F555W) to be the best suited to measure photometric metallicities. The color (F390W-F555W) requires much less integration time, but generally produces wider metallicity distributions and, at very low metallicity, the metallicity distribution function (MDF) from (F390W-F555W) is ∼60% wider than that from (F390M-F555W). Using the calibrated isochrones, we recovered the overall cluster metallicity to within ∼0.1 dex in [Fe/H] when using CMDs (i.e., when the distance, reddening, and ages are approximately known). The measured MDF from color-color diagrams shows that this method measures metallicities of stellar clusters of unknown age and metallicity with an accuracy of ∼0.2-0.5 dex using F336W-F555W, ∼0.15-0.25 dex using F390M-F555W, and ∼0.2-0.4 dex with F390W-F555W, with the larger uncertainty pertaining to the lowest metallicity range.

VizieR Online Data Catalog: Standard Galactic field RR Lyrae. I. Photometry (Monson+, 2017)

Science.gov (United States)

Monson, A. J.; Beaton, R. L.; Scowcroft, V.; Freedman, W. L.; Madore, B. F.; Rich, J. A.; Seibert, M.; Kollmeier, J. A.; Clementini, G.

2017-06-01

The Three-hundred MilliMeter Telescope (TMMT) is a fully robotic, 300mm telescope at Las Campanas Observatory (LCO), for which the nightly operation and data processing have been completely automated. Over the course of two years data were collected on 179 individual nights for our sample of the 55 RR Lyrae in the B, V, and IC broadband filters. Of these nights, 76 were under photometric conditions and calibrated directly. The 103 nonphotometric nights were roughly calibrated by using the default transformation equations, but only provide differential photometry relative to the calibrated frames. This resulted in 59698 final individual observations. Individual data points have a typical photometric precision of 0.02mag. The statistical error falls rapidly with hundreds of observations, with the zero-point uncertainties being the largest source of uncertainty in the final reported mean magnitude. To compare the results of our TMMT campaign to previous studies of these RR Lyrae (RRL) and to fill gaps in our TMMT phase coverage, we have compiled available broadband data from literature published over the past 30 years and spanning our full wavelength coverage (0.4 to 4.5μm) from the optical to mid-infrared. We have homogenized these diverse data sets to the following filter systems: Johnson UBV, Kron-Cousins RI, 2MASS J,H,Ks, and Spitzer [3.6], [4.5]. The All Sky Automated Survey (ASAS; http://www.astrouw.edu.pl/asas/) is a long-term project monitoring all stars brighter than V~14mag. The program covers both hemispheres, with telescopes at Las Campanas Observatory in Chile and Haleakala on Maui, both of which provide simultaneous I and V photometry. The GEOS RR Lyr Survey (http://www.ast.obs-mip.fr/users/leborgne/dbRR/grrs.html) is a long-term program utilizing TAROT (http://tarot.obs-hp.fr/) at Calern Observatory (Nice University, France). Annual data releases from this project add times for maximum light for program stars over the last year of observations. In

Atmospheric Characterization of Five Hot Jupiters with the Wide Field Camera 3 on the Hubble Space Telescope

Science.gov (United States)

Ranjan, Sukrit; Charbonneau, David; Desert, Jean-Michel; Madhusudhan, Nikku; Deming, Drake; Wilkins, Ashlee; Mandell, Avi M.

2014-01-01

We probe the structure and composition of the atmospheres of five hot Jupiter exoplanets using the Hubble Space Telescope Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3) instrument. We use the G141 grism (1.1-1.7 micrometers) to study TrES-2b, TrES-4b, and CoRoT-1b in transit; TrES-3b in secondary eclipse; and WASP-4b in both. This wavelength region includes a predicted absorption feature from water at 1.4 micrometers, which we expect to be nondegenerate with the other molecules that are likely to be abundant for hydrocarbon-poor (e.g., solar composition) hot Jupiter atmospheres. We divide our wavelength regions into 10 bins. For each bin we produce a spectrophotometric light curve spanning the time of transit or eclipse. We correct these light curves for instrumental systematics without reference to an instrument model. For our transmission spectra, our mean 1s precision per bin corresponds to variations of 2.1, 2.8, and 3.0 atmospheric scale heights for TrES-2b, TrES-4b, and CoRoT-1b, respectively. We find featureless spectra for these three planets. We are unable to extract a robust transmission spectrum for WASP-4b. For our dayside emission spectra, our mean 1 sigma precision per bin corresponds to a planet-to-star flux ratio of 1.5 x 10(exp -4) and 2.1 x 10(exp -4) for WASP-4b and TrES-3b, respectively. We combine these estimates with previous broadband measurements and conclude that for both planets isothermal atmospheres are disfavored. We find no signs of features due to water. We confirm that WFC3 is suitable for studies of transiting exoplanets, but in staring mode multivisit campaigns are necessary to place strong constraints on water abundance.

Atmospheric characterization of five hot Jupiters with the wide field Camera 3 on the Hubble space telescope

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ranjan, Sukrit; Charbonneau, David [Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, Cambridge, MA 02138 (United States); Désert, Jean-Michel [Department of Astrophysical and Planetary Sciences, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309 (United States); Madhusudhan, Nikku [Yale Center for Astronomy and Astrophysics, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06511 (United States); Deming, Drake; Wilkins, Ashlee [Department of Astronomy, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742 (United States); Mandell, Avi M., E-mail: sranjan@cfa.harvard.edu [NASA' s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771 (United States)

2014-04-20

We probe the structure and composition of the atmospheres of five hot Jupiter exoplanets using the Hubble Space Telescope Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3) instrument. We use the G141 grism (1.1-1.7 μm) to study TrES-2b, TrES-4b, and CoRoT-1b in transit; TrES-3b in secondary eclipse; and WASP-4b in both. This wavelength region includes a predicted absorption feature from water at 1.4 μm, which we expect to be nondegenerate with the other molecules that are likely to be abundant for hydrocarbon-poor (e.g., solar composition) hot Jupiter atmospheres. We divide our wavelength regions into 10 bins. For each bin we produce a spectrophotometric light curve spanning the time of transit or eclipse. We correct these light curves for instrumental systematics without reference to an instrument model. For our transmission spectra, our mean 1σ precision per bin corresponds to variations of 2.1, 2.8, and 3.0 atmospheric scale heights for TrES-2b, TrES-4b, and CoRoT-1b, respectively. We find featureless spectra for these three planets. We are unable to extract a robust transmission spectrum for WASP-4b. For our dayside emission spectra, our mean 1σ precision per bin corresponds to a planet-to-star flux ratio of 1.5 × 10{sup –4} and 2.1 × 10{sup –4} for WASP-4b and TrES-3b, respectively. We combine these estimates with previous broadband measurements and conclude that for both planets isothermal atmospheres are disfavored. We find no signs of features due to water. We confirm that WFC3 is suitable for studies of transiting exoplanets, but in staring mode multivisit campaigns are necessary to place strong constraints on water abundance.

Deep CCD photometry in globular clusters III. M15

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fahlman, G.G.; Richer, H.B.; Vandenberg, D.A.

1985-01-01

CCD photometry in U, B, and V is presented for a 5' x 3' field in the globular cluster M15. The location of the main sequence in the color-magnitude diagram is found here to be significantly bluer than previous studies have indicated. The luminosity function of the cluster is studied down to V = 22.8 (Mroughly-equal7.5) and shown to be consistent with a power-law mass function, n(M) = QM/sup -alpha/ with α = 2.5 +- 1.0, to the limit of our data. The field star population brighter than V = 21.5, is examined in some detail. There appears to be about 50% more stars belonging to the disk in the field as compared with the Bahcall-Soneira standard galaxy model. The reddening to the cluster is found to be E(B-V) = 0.11 +- 0.04 from nine bright field stars. A new value for the ultraviolet excess of the cluster main-sequence stars is obtained, delta(0.6) = 0.25 +- 0.02, and confirms the well-known fact that M15 is among the metal poorest of the globular clusters

Atomic absorption photometry of excess Zn in ZnO

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lott, K.; Shinkarenko, S.; Tuern, L. [Department of Materials Science, Tallinn University of Technology, Ehitajate tee 5, 19086 Tallinn (Estonia); Kirsanova, T.; Grebennik, A.; Vishnjakov, A. [Department of Physical Chemistry, D. Mendelejev University of Chemical Technology of Russia, Miusskaya Sq. 9, 125047 Moscow (Russian Federation)

2005-02-01

Zn excess in ZnO is built up automatically at high temperatures. Excess Zn in hydrothermally grown ZnO single crystals were investigated by the atomic absorption photometry (AAP) method. To determine the excess zinc in ZnO samples, the AAP of zinc vapour was used in the conditions of solid-vapour equilibrium. Zn AAP allowed to eliminate excess Zn connected differentially in ZnO samples. To fix Zn non-stoichiometry, all the ZnO samples tested were previously heat treated at temperature interval from 850 to 900 C and at fixed Zn vapour pressures from 0.1 to 0.9 of saturated zinc vapour pressure at given treatment temperature. The analysis of temperature dependence of zinc vapour pressure indicated that the impurity metals take active role in the determination of non-stoichiometric zinc. The impurities Mn, Fe, Co, Ni and Cu form oxides which will reduce during annealing in Zn vapor up to metals form. During AAP measurement in optical cuvette, these metals react with ZnO and give additional Zn vapor pressure. (copyright 2005 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH and Co. KGaA, Weinheim) (orig.)

macula: Rotational modulations in the photometry of spotted stars

Science.gov (United States)

Kipping, David M.

2012-09-01

Photometric rotational modulations due to starspots remain the most common and accessible way to study stellar activity. Modelling rotational modulations allows one to invert the observations into several basic parameters, such as the rotation period, spot coverage, stellar inclination and differential rotation rate. The most widely used analytic model for this inversion comes from Budding (1977) and Dorren (1987), who considered circular, grey starspots for a linearly limb darkened star. That model is extended to be more suitable in the analysis of high precision photometry such as that by Kepler. Macula, a Fortran 90 code, provides several improvements, such as non-linear limb darkening of the star and spot, a single-domain analytic function, partial derivatives for all input parameters, temporal partial derivatives, diluted light compensation, instrumental offset normalisations, differential rotation, starspot evolution and predictions of transit depth variations due to unocculted spots. The inclusion of non-linear limb darkening means macula has a maximum photometric error an order-of-magnitude less than that of Dorren (1987) for Sun-like stars observed in the Kepler-bandpass. The code executes three orders-of-magnitude faster than comparable numerical codes making it well-suited for inference problems.

SOFIA FORCAST Far-IR Photometry of Comet ISON and Constraints on the Coma Grain Size Distribution

Science.gov (United States)

Wooden, D. H.; DeBuizer, J. M.; Kelley, M. S.; Woodward, C. E.; Harker, D. E.; Reach, W. T.; Sitko, M. L.; Russell, R. W.; Gehrz, R. D.; dePater, Imke;

An Application of Multi-band Forced Photometry to One Square Degree of SERVS: Accurate Photometric Redshifts and Implications for Future Science

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nyland, Kristina; Lacy, Mark [National Radio Astronomy Observatory, Charlottesville, VA 22903 (United States); Sajina, Anna [Department of Physics and Astronomy, Tufts University, Medford, MA 02155 (United States); Pforr, Janine [ESA/ESTEC SCI-S, Keplerlaan 1, 2201 AZ, Noordwijk (Netherlands); Farrah, Duncan [Department of Physics, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA 24061 (United States); Wilson, Gillian [Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of California-Riverside, 900 University Avenue, Riverside, CA, 92521 (United States); Surace, Jason [Spitzer Science Center, California Institute of Technology, M/S 314-6, Pasadena, CA 91125 (United States); Häußler, Boris [European Southern Observatory, Alonso de Cordova 3107, Vitacura, Casilla 19001, Santiago (Chile); Vaccari, Mattia [Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of the Western Cape, Robert Sobukwe Road, 7535 Bellville, Cape Town (South Africa); Jarvis, Matt, E-mail: knyland@nrao.edu [Department of Physics, Oxford Astrophysics, University of Oxford, Keble Road, Oxford OX1 3RH (United Kingdom)

2017-05-01

We apply The Tractor image modeling code to improve upon existing multi-band photometry for the Spitzer Extragalactic Representative Volume Survey (SERVS). SERVS consists of post-cryogenic Spitzer observations at 3.6 and 4.5 μ m over five well-studied deep fields spanning 18 deg{sup 2}. In concert with data from ground-based near-infrared (NIR) and optical surveys, SERVS aims to provide a census of the properties of massive galaxies out to z  ≈ 5. To accomplish this, we are using The Tractor to perform “forced photometry.” This technique employs prior measurements of source positions and surface brightness profiles from a high-resolution fiducial band from the VISTA Deep Extragalactic Observations survey to model and fit the fluxes at lower-resolution bands. We discuss our implementation of The Tractor over a square-degree test region within the XMM Large Scale Structure field with deep imaging in 12 NIR/optical bands. Our new multi-band source catalogs offer a number of advantages over traditional position-matched catalogs, including (1) consistent source cross-identification between bands, (2) de-blending of sources that are clearly resolved in the fiducial band but blended in the lower resolution SERVS data, (3) a higher source detection fraction in each band, (4) a larger number of candidate galaxies in the redshift range 5 <  z  < 6, and (5) a statistically significant improvement in the photometric redshift accuracy as evidenced by the significant decrease in the fraction of outliers compared to spectroscopic redshifts. Thus, forced photometry using The Tractor offers a means of improving the accuracy of multi-band extragalactic surveys designed for galaxy evolution studies. We will extend our application of this technique to the full SERVS footprint in the future.

Photometry of Pluto-Charon mutual events and Hirayama family asteroids

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Binzel, R.P.

1988-01-01

Once every 124 years, nature provides earth-bound astronomers with the opportunity to observe occultation and transit phenomena between Pluto and its satellite, Charon. Ground-based observations of these events will allow precise physical parameters for the Pluto-Charon system to be derived which are unlikely to be improved upon until in situ spacecraft observations are obtained. The proposed program will continue to support photometry observations from McDonald Observatory, a critical location in an international Pluto Campaign network. Knowledge of the diameters, masses, densities, and compositions derived from these observations will augment our understanding of Pluto's origin and its context within the problem of solar system formation. A second task will continue to research the evolutionary processes which have occurred in the asteroid belt by measuring the physical properties of specific Hirayama family members. Photoelectric lightcurve observations of Koronis and Themis family members will be used to investigate the individual catastrophic collision events which formed each family. By comparing these properties with results of laboratory and numerical experiments, the outcomes of catastrophic disruptions and collisional evolution may be more precisely determined

Integrated photometry of globular star clusters in the Vilnius system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zdanavichyus, K.V.

1983-01-01

Integrated colour indices in the Vilnius photometric system and newly determined colour excesses Esub(B-V) for 39 globular clusters are presented. It is shown that the coincidence of integrated spectral types are not a sufficient criterion for the identity of intrinsic colour indices of globular clusters. Relation of integrated colour indices with the slope of the giant branch S and with the horizontal branch morphological type D is investigated. Integrated colour indices of clusters with a blue horizontal branch show no correlation with either D or S. The increase of colour indices of the clusters of types D >= 4 correlates with the distribution of stars along the horizontal branch. Integrated photometry of globular star clusters in the Vilnius multicoloured photometric system permits to determine their colour excesses from some Q diagrams and normal colour index. Integral normal colour indexes and Q parameters for I globular star clusters of the Mironov group display small changes as compared to clusters of group 2. Colour indexes among star clusters having only red horizontal branches (D=7) change most considerably

Ground-based photometry for 42 Kepler-field RR Lyrae stars

Science.gov (United States)

Jeon, Young-Beom; Ngeow, Chow-Choong; Nemec, James M.

2014-02-01

Follow-up (U)BVRI photometric observations have been carried out for 42 RR Lyrae stars in the Kepler field. The new magnitude and color information will complement the available extensive high-precision Kepler photometry and recent spectroscopic results. The photometric observations were made with the following telescopes: 1-m and 41-cm telescopes of Lulin Observatory (Taiwan), 81-cm telescope of Tenagra Observatory (Arizona, USA), 1-m telescope at the Mt. Lemmon Optical Astronomy Observatory (LOAO, Arizona, USA), 1.8-m and 15-cm telescopes at the Bohyunsan Optical Astronomy Observatory (BOAO, Korea) and 61-cm telescope at the Sobaeksan Optical Astronomy Observatory (SOAO, Korea). The observations span from 2010 to 2013, with ~200 to ~600 data points per light curve. Preliminary results of the Korean observations were presented at the 5th KASC workshop in Hungary. In this work, we analyze all observations. These observations permit the construction of full light curves for these RR Lyrae stars and can be used to derive multi-filter Fourier parameters.

Infrared photometry, extinction curves and R values for stars in the southern Milky Way

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Whittet, D.C.B.; Breda, I.G. Van; Glass, I.S.

1976-01-01

Infrared photometry in the JHKL bands is combined with photoelectric scanner photometry to give interstellar extinction curves in the range lambda 0.34 to 3.4 μ for 22 early-type stars in the Southern Milky Way. The extinction curves show variations in curvature in the infrared which are related to the well-known change in slope in the near ultraviolet. The curves are extrapolated to lambda -1 = 0 with the aid of Mie theory computations for a graphite-iron-silicate grain model, and values of the ratio of total to selective extinction R = Asub(v)/Esub(B-V) are deduced. R is found to vary between 2.7 and 3.5 with a median value of 3.2 for stars with long-path-length reddening, while two stars in the rho Ophiuchi dark cloud have R values of 3.6 and 4.3. The variations found in the extinction curves probably result from regional fluctuations in the mean grain size and/or composition along the line of sight, and any systematic variation in R with galactic longitude is likely to be small. The derived R values are correlated with the wavelength of maximum polarization. R is found to be normal for HD 90706 in the cluster IC 2581, for which a high R value has been suggested. It is noted that R has now been shown to lie in the range 4.1 to 4.4 for stars in the denser regions of the rho Ophiuchi cloud by four independent methods. None of the observed stars show strong infrared excess radiation at 3.4 μ. Small excesses measured for a few high-luminosity stars associated with mass loss may be due to free-free emission in gaseous stellar envelopes. (author)

A Synthesis of Star Calibration Techniques for Ground-Based Narrowband Electron-Multiplying Charge-Coupled Device Imagers Used in Auroral Photometry

Science.gov (United States)

Grubbs, Guy II; Michell, Robert; Samara, Marilia; Hampton, Don; Jahn, Jorg-Micha

2016-01-01

A technique is presented for the periodic and systematic calibration of ground-based optical imagers. It is important to have a common system of units (Rayleighs or photon flux) for cross comparison as well as self-comparison over time. With the advancement in technology, the sensitivity of these imagers has improved so that stars can be used for more precise calibration. Background subtraction, flat fielding, star mapping, and other common techniques are combined in deriving a calibration technique appropriate for a variety of ground-based imager installations. Spectral (4278, 5577, and 8446 A ) ground-based imager data with multiple fields of view (19, 47, and 180 deg) are processed and calibrated using the techniques developed. The calibration techniques applied result in intensity measurements in agreement between different imagers using identical spectral filtering, and the intensity at each wavelength observed is within the expected range of auroral measurements. The application of these star calibration techniques, which convert raw imager counts into units of photon flux, makes it possible to do quantitative photometry. The computed photon fluxes, in units of Rayleighs, can be used for the absolute photometry between instruments or as input parameters for auroral electron transport models.

K2 photometry and HERMES spectroscopy of the blue supergiant ρ Leo: rotational wind modulation and low-frequency waves

Science.gov (United States)

Aerts, C.; Bowman, D. M.; Símon-Díaz, S.; Buysschaert, B.; Johnston, C.; Moravveji, E.; Beck, P. G.; De Cat, P.; Triana, S.; Aigrain, S.; Castro, N.; Huber, D.; White, T.

2018-05-01

We present an 80-d long uninterrupted high-cadence K2 light curve of the B1Iab supergiant ρ Leo (HD 91316), deduced with the method of halo photometry. This light curve reveals a dominant frequency of frot = 0.0373 d-1 and its harmonics. This dominant frequency corresponds with a rotation period of 26.8 d and is subject to amplitude and phase modulation. The K2 photometry additionally reveals multiperiodic low-frequency variability (<1.5 d-1) and is in full agreement with low-cadence high-resolution spectroscopy assembled during 1800 d. The spectroscopy reveals rotational modulation by a dynamic aspherical wind with an amplitude of about 20 km s-1 in the H α line, as well as photospheric velocity variations of a few km s-1 at frequencies in the range 0.2-0.6 d-1 in the Si III 4567 Å line. Given the large macroturbulence needed to explain the spectral line broadening of the star, we interpret the detected photospheric velocity as due to travelling superinertial low-degree large-scale gravity waves with dominant tangential amplitudes and discuss why ρ Leo is an excellent target to study how the observed photospheric variability propagates into the wind.

RETURN OF THE KING: TIME-SERIES PHOTOMETRY OF FO AQUARII’S INITIAL RECOVERY FROM ITS UNPRECEDENTED 2016 LOW STATE

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Littlefield, Colin; Garnavich, Peter; Kennedy, Mark R.; Aadland, Erin; Terndrup, Donald M.; Calhoun, Grace V.; Holoien, Thomas; Callanan, Paul; Abe, Lyu; Bendjoya, Philippe; Rivet, Jean-Pierre; Vernet, David; Devogèle, Maxime; Shappee, Benjamin; Heras, Teófilo Arranz; Bonnardeau, Michel; Cook, Michael; Coulter, Daniel; Debackère, André; Dvorak, Shawn

2016-01-01

In 2016 May, the intermediate polar FO Aqr was detected in a low state for the first time in its observational history. We report time-resolved photometry of the system during its initial recovery from this faint state. Our data, which includes high-speed photometry with cadences of just 2 s, show the existence of very strong periodicities at 22.5 and 11.26 minutes, equivalent to the spin–orbit beat frequency and twice its value, respectively. A pulse at the spin frequency is also present but at a much lower amplitude than is normally observed in the bright state. By comparing our power spectra with theoretical models, we infer that a substantial amount of accretion was stream-fed during our observations, in contrast to the disk-fed accretion that dominates the bright state. In addition, we find that FO Aqr’s rate of recovery has been unusually slow in comparison to rates of recovery seen in other magnetic cataclysmic variables, with an e -folding time of 115 ± 7 days. The recovery also shows irregular variations in the median brightness of as much as 0.2 mag over a 10-day span. Finally, we show that the arrival times of the spin pulses are dependent upon the system’s overall brightness.

RETURN OF THE KING: TIME-SERIES PHOTOMETRY OF FO AQUARII’S INITIAL RECOVERY FROM ITS UNPRECEDENTED 2016 LOW STATE

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Littlefield, Colin; Garnavich, Peter; Kennedy, Mark R.; Aadland, Erin [Department of Physics, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN (United States); Terndrup, Donald M.; Calhoun, Grace V.; Holoien, Thomas [Department of Astronomy, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio (United States); Callanan, Paul [Department of Physics, University College Cork, Cork (Ireland); Abe, Lyu; Bendjoya, Philippe; Rivet, Jean-Pierre; Vernet, David; Devogèle, Maxime [Université Côte d’Azur, OCA, CNRS, Laboratoire Lagrange, Nice (France); Shappee, Benjamin [Carnegie Observatories, 813 Santa Barbara Street, Pasadena, CA 91101 (United States); Heras, Teófilo Arranz [Observatorio Las Pegueras de Navas de Oro (Segovia) (Spain); Bonnardeau, Michel [MBCAA Observatory, Le Pavillon, F-38930 Lalley (France); Cook, Michael [AAVSO, Newcastle Observatory, Newcastle, Ontario (Canada); Coulter, Daniel [Department of Physics and Astronomy, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI (United States); Debackère, André [LCOGT, Monistrol sur Loire (France); Dvorak, Shawn [AAVSO, Rolling Hill Observatory, Lake County, Florida (United States); and others

2016-12-10

In 2016 May, the intermediate polar FO Aqr was detected in a low state for the first time in its observational history. We report time-resolved photometry of the system during its initial recovery from this faint state. Our data, which includes high-speed photometry with cadences of just 2 s, show the existence of very strong periodicities at 22.5 and 11.26 minutes, equivalent to the spin–orbit beat frequency and twice its value, respectively. A pulse at the spin frequency is also present but at a much lower amplitude than is normally observed in the bright state. By comparing our power spectra with theoretical models, we infer that a substantial amount of accretion was stream-fed during our observations, in contrast to the disk-fed accretion that dominates the bright state. In addition, we find that FO Aqr’s rate of recovery has been unusually slow in comparison to rates of recovery seen in other magnetic cataclysmic variables, with an e -folding time of 115 ± 7 days. The recovery also shows irregular variations in the median brightness of as much as 0.2 mag over a 10-day span. Finally, we show that the arrival times of the spin pulses are dependent upon the system’s overall brightness.

High-speed photometry of Gaia14aae: an eclipsing AM CVn that challenges formation models

Science.gov (United States)

Green, M. J.; Marsh, T. R.; Steeghs, D. T. H.; Kupfer, T.; Ashley, R. P.; Bloemen, S.; Breedt, E.; Campbell, H. C.; Chakpor, A.; Copperwheat, C. M.; Dhillon, V. S.; Hallinan, G.; Hardy, L. K.; Hermes, J. J.; Kerry, P.; Littlefair, S. P.; Milburn, J.; Parsons, S. G.; Prasert, N.; van Roestel, J.; Sahman, D. I.; Singh, N.

2018-05-01

AM CVn-type systems are ultracompact, hydrogen-deficient accreting binaries with degenerate or semidegenerate donors. The evolutionary history of these systems can be explored by constraining the properties of their donor stars. We present high-speed photometry of Gaia14aae, an AM CVn with a binary period of 49. 7 min and the first AM CVn in which the central white dwarf is fully eclipsed by the donor star. Modelling of the light curves of this system allows for the most precise measurement to date of the donor mass of an AM CVn, and relies only on geometric and well-tested physical assumptions. We find a mass ratio q = M2/M1 = 0.0287 ± 0.0020 and masses M1 = 0.87 ± 0.02 M⊙ and M2 = 0.0250 ± 0.0013 M⊙. We compare these properties to the three proposed channels for AM CVn formation. Our measured donor mass and radius do not fit with the contraction that is predicted for AM CVn donors descended from white dwarfs or helium stars at long orbital periods. The donor properties we measure fall in a region of parameter space in which systems evolved from hydrogen-dominated cataclysmic variables are expected, but such systems should show spectroscopic hydrogen, which is not seen in Gaia14aae. The evolutionary history of this system is therefore not clear. We consider a helium-burning star or an evolved cataclysmic variable to be the most likely progenitors, but both models require additional processes and/or fine-tuning to fit the data. Additionally, we calculate an updated ephemeris which corrects for an anomalous time measurement in the previously published ephemeris.

Discovering transits of HD 209458-b type planets with Hipparcos and FAME photometry

Science.gov (United States)

Castellano, Timothy Paul

The motivation and prospects for success of a search for transits of short-period extrasolar planets of late-type main sequence stars in the Hipparcos satellite photometry archive is outlined. Recent extrasolar planet discoveries by the radial velocity (RV) method reveal that 1 in 20 spectral type F, G and K dwarfs possess short-period planets. Careful consideration of the transit detection probability as a function of stellar spectral type and planet orbit size results in the expectation that 6 to 24 transiting planets may be found among the 118,204 Hipparcos catalog stars. A search algorithm based on the known properties of the single known transiting extrasolar planet HD 209458-b was applied to carefully- selected samples of stars. The results of these searches and simulations of the detection efficiency for idealized transits are presented. Statistical and catalog-based methods for discriminating transits from intrinsic stellar variability and eclipses due to stellar companions are developed and described. Candidate lists that are the results of these searches are presented. Each candidate is placed in a color magnitude diagram based on Hipparcos derived distances and absolute magnitudes in order to clearly identify evolved stars. The effect of Lutz-Kelker bias on this main sequence membership determination is discussed in an Appendix. A Hipparcos-photometry-based intrinsic stellar variability determination is performed and compared to ground-based measurements. It is shown that intrinsic stellar variability of late-type main sequence stars is not a major concern for extrasolar jovian planet transit searches. The prospects for transit detection by the higher precision measurements of several hundred thousand main sequence stars to be made by the upcoming Full Sky Astrometric Explorer (FAME) satellite are similarly explored. A novel method for directly determining the mass of a transiting planet's parent star from timing measurements is introduced briefly in an

SEEING THROUGH THE RING: NEAR-INFRARED PHOTOMETRY OF V582 MON (KH 15D)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Arulanantham, Nicole A.; Herbst, William [Astronomy Department, Wesleyan University, Middletown, CT 06459 (United States); Cody, Ann Marie [NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA 94035 (United States); Stauffer, John R.; Rebull, Luisa M. [Spitzer Science Center, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125 (United States); Agol, Eric; Windemuth, Diana [Department of Astronomy, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195-1580 (United States); Marengo, Massimo [Department of Physics and Astronomy, Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50011 (United States); Winn, Joshua N. [Department of Physics and Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139 (United States); Hamilton, Catrina M. [Physics and Astronomy Department, Dickinson College, Carlisle, PA 17013 (United States); Mundt, Reinhard [Max Planck Institute for Astronomy, D-69117 Heidelberg (Germany); Johns-Krull, Christopher M. [Department of Physics and Astronomy, Rice University, Houston, TX 77005 (United States); Gutermuth, Robert A. [Department of Astronomy, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA 01002 (United States)

2016-04-15

We examine the light and color evolution of the T Tauri binary KH 15D through photometry obtained at wavelengths between 0.55 and 8.0 μm. The data were collected with A Novel Dual Imaging CAMera (ANDICAM) on the 1.3 m SMARTS telescope at Cerro-Tololo Inter-American Observatory and with InfraRed Array Camera on the Spitzer Space Telescope. We show that the system’s circumbinary ring, which acts as a screen that covers and uncovers different portions of the binary orbit as the ring precesses, has reached an orientation where the brighter component (star B) fully or nearly fully emerges during each orbital cycle. The fainter component (star A) remains fully occulted by the screen at all phases. The leading and trailing edges of the screen move across the sky at the same rate of ∼15 m s{sup −1}, consistent with expectation for a ring with a radius and width of ∼4 au and a precession period of ∼6500 years. Light and color variations continue to indicate that the screen is sharp edged and opaque at VRIJH wavelengths. However, we find an increasing transparency of the ring edge at 2.2, 3.6, and 4.5 μm. Reddening seen at the beginning of the eclipse that occurred during the CSI 2264 campaign particularly suggests selective extinction by a population of large dust grains. Meanwhile, the gradual bluing observed while star B is setting is indicative of forward scattering effects at the edge of the ring. The spectral energy distribution of the system at its bright phase shows no evidence of infrared excess emission that can be attributed to radiation from the ring or other dust component out to 8 μm.

IR photometry results and dust envelope model for symbiotic Mira star candidate V 335 Vul

Science.gov (United States)

Bogdanov, M. B.; Taranova, O. G.; Shenavrin, V. I.

2017-10-01

We present the results of JHKLM-photometry for the symbiotic Mira star candidate V 335 Vul. Based on the average flux data, supplemented by IRAS, MSX, AKARI, and WISE mid-IR observations, we calculated a model of a spherically symmetric dust envelope of the star, made up of amorphous carbon and silicon carbide particles. The optical depth of the envelope in the visible range with a dust temperature at the inner boundary of T 1 = 1300 K is τ V = 0.58. For an envelope expansion velocity of 26.5 km s-1, the estimated mass loss rate is equal to 5.7 × 10-7 M ⊙ yr-1.

A Transient Transit Signature Associated with the Young Star RIK-210

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

David, Trevor J.; Hillenbrand, Lynne A.; Howard, Andrew W.; Wang, Ji [Department of Astronomy, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125 (United States); Petigura, Erik A.; Benneke, Björn [Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125 (United States); Cody, Ann Marie; Howell, Steve B. [NASA Ames Research Center, Mountain View, California 94035 (United States); Cameron, Andrew Collier [SUPA, School of Physics and Astronomy, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, KY16 9SS (United Kingdom); Stauffer, John R. [Spitzer Science Center, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125 (United States); Fulton, B. J. [Institute for Astronomy, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, Hawaii 96822 (United States); Isaacson, Howard T. [Department of Astronomy, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720 (United States); Everett, Mark E. [National Optical Astronomy Observatory, 950 N. Cherry Avenue, Tucson, AZ 85719 (United States); Hellier, Coel; Anderson, David R. [Astrophysics Group, Keele University, Staffordshire, ST5 5BG (United Kingdom); West, Richard G.; Pollacco, Don, E-mail: tjd@astro.caltech.edu [Department of Physics, University of Warwick, Coventry CV4 7AL (United Kingdom)

2017-02-01

We find transient transit-like dimming events within the K2 time series photometry of the young star RIK-210 in the Upper Scorpius OB association. These dimming events are variable in depth, duration, and morphology. High spatial resolution imaging revealed that the star is single and radial velocity monitoring indicated that the dimming events cannot be due to an eclipsing stellar or brown dwarf companion. Archival and follow-up photometry suggest the dimming events are transient in nature. The variable morphology of the dimming events suggests they are not due to a single spherical body. The ingress of each dimming event is always shallower than egress, as one would expect for an orbiting body with a leading tail. The dimming events are periodic and synchronous with the stellar rotation. However, we argue it is unlikely the dimming events could be attributed to anything on the stellar surface based on the observed depths and durations. Variable obscuration by a protoplanetary disk is unlikely on the basis that the star is not actively accreting and lacks the infrared excess associated with an inner disk. Rather, we explore the possibilities that the dimming events are due to magnetospheric clouds, a transiting protoplanet surrounded by circumplanetary dust and debris, eccentric orbiting bodies undergoing periodic tidal disruption, or an extended field of dust or debris near the corotation radius.

Worldwide photometry and lightcurve observations of 16 Psyche during the 1975-1976 apparition

Science.gov (United States)

Tedesco, E. F.; Taylor, R. C.; Drummond, J.; Harwood, D.; Nickoloff, I.; Scaltriti, F.; Zappala, V.

1983-01-01

Twenty-six lightcurves of Psyche are presented together with UBV photometry and phase functions from 1975 and 1976. Combining photometric data from this opposition with those from previous apparitions resulted in a mean phase coefficient in V of 0.026 + or - 0.002 mag/deg. No significant phase-dependent variation in the U-B color could be determined from the data; the B-V color, however, displayed a reddening with phase of 0.0010 + or - 0.0004 mag/deg. It is concluded that compositional variations over Psyche's surface are minor, and that Psyche's opposition effect is typical of that for other well-observed asteroids. Psyche's behavior is accounted for if, to the first order, its shape is that of a triaxial ellipsoid with axial ratios near 5:4:3.

Worldwide photometry and lightcurve observations of 16 Psyche during the 1975-1976 apparition

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tedesco, E.F.; Taylor, R.C.; Drummond, J.; Harwood, D.; Nickoloff, I.

1983-01-01

Twenty-six lightcurves of Psyche are presented together with UBV photometry and phase functions from 1975 and 1976. Combining photometric data from this opposition with those from previous apparitions resulted in a mean phase coefficient in V of 0.026 + or - 0.002 mag/deg. No significant phase-dependent variation in the U-B color could be determined from the data. The B-V color, however, displayed a reddening with phase of 0.0010 + or - 0.0004 mag/deg. It is concluded that compositional variations over Psyche's surface are minor, and that Psyche's opposition effect is typical of that for other well-observed asteroids. Psyche's behavior is accounted for if, to the first order, its shape is that of a triaxial ellipsoid with axial ratios near 5:4:3

Three Temperate Neptunes Orbiting Nearby Stars

Science.gov (United States)

Fulton, Benjamin J.; Howard, Andrew W.; Weiss, Lauren M.; Sinukoff, Evan; Petigura, Erik A.; Isaacson, Howard; Hirsch, Lea; Marcy, Geoffrey W.; Henry, Gregory W.; Grunblatt, Samuel K.; Huber, Daniel; von Braun, Kaspar; Boyajian, Tabetha S.; Kane, Stephen R.; Wittrock, Justin; Horch, Elliott P.; Ciardi, David R.; Howell, Steve B.; Wright, Jason T.; Ford, Eric B.

2016-10-01

We present the discovery of three modestly irradiated, roughly Neptune-mass planets orbiting three nearby Solar-type stars. HD 42618 b has a minimum mass of 15.4 ± 2.4 {M}\\oplus , a semimajor axis of 0.55 au, an equilibrium temperature of 337 K, and is the first planet discovered to orbit the solar analogue host star, HD 42618. We also discover new planets orbiting the known exoplanet host stars HD 164922 and HD 143761 (ρ CrB). The new planet orbiting HD 164922 has a minimum mass of 12.9 ± 1.6 {M}\\oplus and orbits interior to the previously known Jovian mass planet orbiting at 2.1 au. HD 164922 c has a semimajor axis of 0.34 au and an equilibrium temperature of 418 K. HD 143761 c orbits with a semimajor axis of 0.44 au, has a minimum mass of 25 ± 2 {M}\\oplus , and is the warmest of the three new planets with an equilibrium temperature of 445 K. It orbits exterior to the previously known warm Jupiter in the system. A transit search using space-based CoRoT data and ground-based photometry from the Automated Photometric Telescopes (APTs) at Fairborn Observatory failed to detect any transits, but the precise, high-cadence APT photometry helped to disentangle planetary-reflex motion from stellar activity. These planets were discovered as part of an ongoing radial velocity survey of bright, nearby, chromospherically inactive stars using the Automated Planet Finder (APF) telescope at Lick Observatory. The high-cadence APF data combined with nearly two decades of radial velocity data from Keck Observatory and gives unprecedented sensitivity to both short-period low-mass, and long-period intermediate-mass planets. Based on observations obtained at the W. M. Keck Observatory, which is operated jointly by the University of California and the California Institute of Technology. Keck time was granted for this project by the University of Hawai‘I, the University of California, and NASA.

FUNDAMENTAL PROPERTIES OF STARS USING ASTEROSEISMOLOGY FROM KEPLER AND CoRoT AND INTERFEROMETRY FROM THE CHARA ARRAY

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Huber, D.; Ireland, M. J.; Bedding, T. R.; Maestro, V.; White, T. R. [Sydney Institute for Astronomy (SIfA), School of Physics, University of Sydney, NSW 2006 (Australia); Brandao, I. M.; Sousa, S. G.; Cunha, M. S. [Centro de Astrofo Latin-Small-Letter-Dotless-I sica and Faculdade de Ciencias, Universidade do Porto, Rua das Estrelas, P-4150-762 Porto (Portugal); Piau, L. [Department of Physics and Astronomy, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48823-2320 (United States); Bruntt, H.; Aguirre, V. Silva; Christensen-Dalsgaard, J. [Stellar Astrophysics Centre, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Aarhus University, Ny Munkegade 120, DK-8000 Aarhus C (Denmark); Casagrande, L. [Research School of Astronomy and Astrophysics, Mount Stromlo Observatory, The Australian National University, ACT 2611 (Australia); Molenda-Zakowicz, J. [Astronomical Institute of the University of Wroclaw, ul. Kopernika 11, 51-622 Wroclaw (Poland); Barclay, T. [Bay Area Environmental Research Institute/NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA 94035 (United States); Burke, C. J. [SETI Institute/NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA 94035 (United States); Chaplin, W. J. [School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Birmingham, Birmingham B15 2TT (United Kingdom); De Ridder, J. [Instituut voor Sterrenkunde, K. U. Leuven, B-3001 Leuven (Belgium); Farrington, C. D. [Center for High Angular Resolution Astronomy, Georgia State University, P.O. Box 3969, Atlanta, GA 30302 (United States); Frasca, A., E-mail: daniel.huber@nasa.gov [INAF Osservatorio Astrofisico di Catania, I-95123 Catania (Italy); and others

2012-11-20

We present results of a long-baseline interferometry campaign using the PAVO beam combiner at the CHARA Array to measure the angular sizes of five main-sequence stars, one subgiant and four red giant stars for which solar-like oscillations have been detected by either Kepler or CoRoT. By combining interferometric angular diameters, Hipparcos parallaxes, asteroseismic densities, bolometric fluxes, and high-resolution spectroscopy, we derive a full set of near-model-independent fundamental properties for the sample. We first use these properties to test asteroseismic scaling relations for the frequency of maximum power ({nu}{sub max}) and the large frequency separation ({Delta}{nu}). We find excellent agreement within the observational uncertainties, and empirically show that simple estimates of asteroseismic radii for main-sequence stars are accurate to {approx}< 4%. We furthermore find good agreement of our measured effective temperatures with spectroscopic and photometric estimates with mean deviations for stars between T {sub eff} = 4600-6200 K of -22 {+-} 32 K (with a scatter of 97 K) and -58 {+-} 31 K (with a scatter of 93 K), respectively. Finally, we present a first comparison with evolutionary models, and find differences between observed and theoretical properties for the metal-rich main-sequence star HD 173701. We conclude that the constraints presented in this study will have strong potential for testing stellar model physics, in particular when combined with detailed modeling of individual oscillation frequencies.

Applicability of Broad-Band Photometry for Determining the Properties of Stars and Interstellar Extinction

Science.gov (United States)

Sichevskij, S. G.

2018-01-01

The feasibility of the determination of the physical conditions in star's atmosphere and the parameters of interstellar extinction from broad-band photometric observations in the 300-3000 nm wavelength interval is studied using SDSS and 2MASS data. The photometric accuracy of these surveys is shown to be insufficient for achieving in practice the theoretical possibility of estimating the atmospheric parameters of stars based on ugriz and JHK s photometry exclusively because such determinations result in correlations between the temperature and extinction estimates. The uncertainty of interstellar extinction estimates can be reduced if prior data about the temperature are available. The surveys considered can nevertheless be potentially valuable sources of information about both stellar atmospheric parameters and the interstellar medium.

The interstellar extinction in the open clusters Tr 14, Tr 15, Tr 16/Cr 232 and Cr 228 in NGC 3372. New near-infrared photometry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tapia, M.; Roth, M.; Ruiz, M.T.

1988-01-01

Near-infrared JHKL photometry of more than 200 stars, members of the open clusters Tr14, Tr15, Tr16, Cr228 and Cr232 in the Carina Nebula are presented. From comparing these results with the available visual photometry and spectroscopy, it is found that, except in Tr15, the intracluster reddening is characterized by a 'normal' extinction law at λ > 0.5μm but is highly anomalous and variable in the U- and B-bands. This behaviour may be explained by the presence of intracluster interstellar grains 'processed' by shock waves presumably associated with the explosive history of η Carinae. All clusters are found to be at the same distance from the Sun at d = 2.4 ± 0.2 kpc or Vsub(o) - Msub(v) 11.9 ± 0.2. The total amount of reddening, though, differs significantly from cluster to cluster. (author)

A PANCHROMATIC CATALOG OF EARLY-TYPE GALAXIES AT INTERMEDIATE REDSHIFT IN THE HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE WIDE FIELD CAMERA 3 EARLY RELEASE SCIENCE FIELD

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rutkowski, M. J.; Cohen, S. H.; Windhorst, R. A. [School of Earth and Space Exploration, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287-1404 (United States); Kaviraj, S.; Crockett, R. M.; Silk, J. [Department of Physics, University of Oxford, Denys Wilkinson Building, Keble Road, Oxford OX1 3RH (United Kingdom); O' Connell, R. W. [Department of Astronomy, University of Virginia, P.O. Box 3818, Charlottesville, VA 22903 (United States); Hathi, N. P.; McCarthy, P. J. [Observatories of the Carnegie Institute of Washington, Pasadena, CA 91101 (United States); Ryan, R. E. Jr.; Koekemoer, A.; Bond, H. E. [Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, MD 21218 (United States); Yan, H. [Center for Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics, Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210 (United States); Kimble, R. A. [NASA-Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771 (United States); Balick, B. [Department of Astronomy, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195-1580 (United States); Calzetti, D. [Department of Astronomy, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA 01003 (United States); Disney, M. J. [School of Physics and Astronomy, Cardiff University, Cardiff CF24 3AA (United Kingdom); Dopita, M. A. [Research School of Physics and Astronomy, The Australian National University, ACT 2611 (Australia); Frogel, J. A. [Astronomy Department, King Abdulaziz University, P.O. Box 80203, Jeddah (Saudi Arabia); Hall, D. N. B. [Institute for Astronomy, University of Hawaii, Honolulu, HI 96822 (United States); and others

2012-03-01

In the first of a series of forthcoming publications, we present a panchromatic catalog of 102 visually selected early-type galaxies (ETGs) from observations in the Early Release Science (ERS) program with the Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3) on the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) of the Great Observatories Origins Deep Survey-South (GOODS-S) field. Our ETGs span a large redshift range, 0.35 {approx}< z {approx}< 1.5, with each redshift spectroscopically confirmed by previous published surveys of the ERS field. We combine our measured WFC3 ERS and Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS) GOODS-S photometry to gain continuous sensitivity from the rest-frame far-UV to near-IR emission for each ETG. The superior spatial resolution of the HST over this panchromatic baseline allows us to classify the ETGs by their small-scale internal structures, as well as their local environment. By fitting stellar population spectral templates to the broadband photometry of the ETGs, we determine that the average masses of the ETGs are comparable to the characteristic stellar mass of massive galaxies, 10{sup 11} < M{sub *}[M{sub Sun }]<10{sup 12}. By transforming the observed photometry into the Galaxy Evolution Explorer FUV and NUV, Johnson V, and Sloan Digital Sky Survey g' and r' bandpasses we identify a noteworthy diversity in the rest-frame UV-optical colors and find the mean rest-frame (FUV-V) = 3.5 and (NUV-V) = 3.3, with 1{sigma} standard deviations {approx_equal}1.0. The blue rest-frame UV-optical colors observed for most of the ETGs are evidence for star formation during the preceding gigayear, but no systems exhibit UV-optical photometry consistent with major recent ({approx}<50 Myr) starbursts. Future publications which address the diversity of stellar populations likely to be present in these ETGs, and the potential mechanisms by which recent star formation episodes are activated, are discussed.

Investigating the Bright End of LSST Photometry

Science.gov (United States)

Ojala, Elle; Pepper, Joshua; LSST Collaboration

2018-01-01

The Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST) will begin operations in 2022, conducting a wide-field, synoptic multiband survey of the southern sky. Some fraction of objects at the bright end of the magnitude regime observed by LSST will overlap with other wide-sky surveys, allowing for calibration and cross-checking between surveys. The LSST is optimized for observations of very faint objects, so much of this data overlap will be comprised of saturated images. This project provides the first in-depth analysis of saturation in LSST images. Using the PhoSim package to create simulated LSST images, we evaluate saturation properties of several types of stars to determine the brightness limitations of LSST. We also collect metadata from many wide-field photometric surveys to provide cross-survey accounting and comparison. Additionally, we evaluate the accuracy of the PhoSim modeling parameters to determine the reliability of the software. These efforts will allow us to determine the expected useable data overlap between bright-end LSST images and faint-end images in other wide-sky surveys. Our next steps are developing methods to extract photometry from saturated images.This material is based upon work supported in part by the National Science Foundation through Cooperative Agreement 1258333 managed by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA), and the Department of Energy under Contract No. DE-AC02-76SF00515 with the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory. Additional LSST funding comes from private donations, grants to universities, and in-kind support from LSSTC Institutional Members.Thanks to NSF grant PHY-135195 and the 2017 LSSTC Grant Award #2017-UG06 for making this project possible.

Contamination of Broad-Band Photometry by Nebular Emission in High Redshift Galaxies: Investigations with Keck's MOSFIRE Near-Infrared Spectrograph

OpenAIRE

Schenker, Matthew A.; Ellis, Richard S.; Konidaris, Nick P.; Stark, Daniel P.

2013-01-01

Earlier work has raised the potential importance of nebular emission in the derivation of the physical characteristics of high-redshift Lyman break galaxies. Within certain redshift ranges, and especially at z ≃ 6-7, such lines may be strong enough to reduce estimates of the stellar masses and ages of galaxies compared with those derived assuming the broadband photometry represents stellar light alone. To test this hypothesis at the highest redshifts where such lines can be probed with ground...

BV CCD photometry of the old open cluster NGC 2243

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bergbusch, P.A.; Vandenberg, D.A.; Infante, L.

1991-01-01

The photometry of NGC 2243 is presented, which reaches approximately 4 mag below the turnoff point calibrated independently of studies of the cluster. The color-magnitude diagram (CMD) and luminosity function (LF) are calibrated by utilizing stars from the lists of Landolt and Graham. A strong binary sequence is noted in the CMD which contributes approximately 30 percent of the stars, a gap is observed in the turnoff region, and a clump of HB stars is located. The CMD data are compared to those for the cluster 47 Tuc and are found to match well, although a slightly higher metal abundance accounts for the redder giant branch of the NGC 2243. The distance modulus and the cluster age are calculated, and the Fe/H = -0.47, O/Fe = +0.23 isochrones are the only isochrones that reproduce the location of the giant branch. A flat mass spectrum characterizes the LF, and a small gap is found where V is 16.1. Convective overshooting in the cores of moderate mass stars is theorized as the cause of the gap, and other models of the structure are shown to provide inadequate descriptions. 41 refs

Photometry of the rich cluster of galaxies 0004.8-3450

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Carter, D.

1980-01-01

Photographic photometry in b, r and i wavebands of an extremely rich cluster of galaxies at 00sup(h)04sup(m).8 - 34 0 50'is presented. The cluster is centred on an unusually elongated cD galaxy. The brighter members of this cluster tend to lie along the axis of the cD. The luminosity function for 1552 galaxies shows, after application of a suitable correction for non-members, a form more characteristic of loose clusters with some spirals than of clusters with cD galaxies. The colour-magnitude and colour-colour diagrams for a smaller sample of galaxies are discussed. The distributions of very red and blue galaxies show no evidence for a significant proportion of either being cluster members. The cluster probably contains few spirals, although it appears to lie in a supercluster which may contain spirals. A few galaxies are unusually bright in the i band, their properties are discussed briefly. There is some evidence for a deficiency of other elongated galaxies with the same position angle as the cD. The cluster itself is aligned with the cD. (author)

The RSA survey of dwarf galaxies, 1: Optical photometry

Science.gov (United States)

Vader, J. Patricia; Chaboyer, Brian

1994-01-01

We present detailed surface photometry, based on broad B-band charge coupled device (CCD) images, of about 80 dwarf galaxies. Our sample represents approximately 10% of all dwarf galaxies identified in the vicinity of Revised Shapley-Ames (RSA) galaxies on high resolution blue photographic plates, referred to as the RSA survey of dwarf galaxies. We derive global properties and radial surface brightness profiles, and examine the morphologies. The radial surface brightness profiles of dwarf galaxies, whether early or late type, display the same varieties in shape and complexity as those of classical giant galaxies. Only a few are well described by a pure r(exp 1/4) law. Exponential profiles prevail. Features typical of giant disk galaxies, such as exponential profiles with a central depression, lenses, and even, in one case (IC 2041), a relatively prominent bulge are also found in dwarf galaxies. Our data suggest that the central region evolves from being bulge-like, with an r(exp 1/4) law profile, in bright galaxies to a lens-like structure in dwarf galaxies. We prove detailed surface photometry to be a helpful if not always sufficient tool in investigating the structure of dwarf galaxies. In many cases kinematic information is needed to complete the picture. We find the shapes of the surface brightness profiles to be loosely associated with morphological type. Our sample contains several new galaxies with properties intermediate between those of giant and dwarf ellipticals (but no M32-like objects). This shows that such intermediate galaxies exist so that at least a fraction of early-type dwarf ellipticals is structurally related to early-type giants instead of belonging to a totally unrelated, disjunct family. This supports an origin of early-type dwarf galaxies as originally more massive systems that acquired their current morphology as a result of substantial, presumable supernova-driven, mass loss. On the other hand, several early-type dwarfs in our sample are

Characterization of the Praesepe Star Cluster by Photometry and Proper Motions With 2MASS, PPMXL, and Pan-STARRS

Science.gov (United States)

2014-03-20

reserved. Printed in the U.S.A. CHARACTERIZATION OF THE PRAESEPE STAR CLUSTER BY PHOTOMETRY AND PROPER MOTIONS WITH 2MASS , PPMXL, AND Pan-STARRS P. F. Wang1... 2MASS ) and the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) data, covering a sky area of 100 deg2, Adams et al. (2002) extended the lower main sequence to 0.1M, and...incompleteness is caused by the detection limits of USNO-B1 and 2MASS . Recently, Khalaj & Baumgardt (2013) used SDSS and PPMXL data to characterize

The Delta Scuti star 38 Eri from the ground and from space

Science.gov (United States)

Paparó, M.; Kolláth, Z.; Shobbrook, R. R.; Matthews, J. M.; Antoci, V.; Benkő, J. M.; Park, N.-K.; Mirtorabi, M. T.; Luedeke, K.; Kusakin, A.; Bognár, Zs; Sódor, Á.; García-Hernández, A.; Pe na, J. H.; Kuschnig, R.; Moffat, A. F. J.; Rowe, J.; Rucinski, S. M.; Sasselov, D.; Weiss, W. W.

2018-04-01

We present and discuss the pulsational characteristics of the Delta Scuti star 38 Eri from photometric data obtained at two widely spaced epochs, partly from the ground (1998) and partly from space (MOST, 2011). We found 18 frequencies resolving the discrepancy among the previously published frequencies. Some of the frequencies appeared with different relative amplitudes at two epochs, however, we carried out investigation for amplitude variability for only the MOST data. Amplitude variability was found for one of three frequencies that satisfy the necessary frequency criteria for linear-combination or resonant-mode coupling. Checking the criteria of beating and resonant-mode coupling we excluded them as possible reason for amplitude variability. The two recently developed methods of rotational-splitting and sequence-search were applied to find regular spacings based only on frequencies. Doublets or incomplete multiplets with l = 1, 2 and 3 were found in the rotational splitting search. In the sequence search method we identified four sequences. The averaged spacing, probably a combination of the large separation and the rotational frequency, is 1.724 ± 0.092 d-1. Using the spacing and the scaling relation \\bar{ρ }= [0.0394, 0.0554] gcm-3 was derived. The shift of the sequences proved to be the integer multiple of the rotational splitting spacing. Using the precise MOST frequencies and multi-colour photometry in a hybrid way, we identified four modes with l = 1, two modes with l = 2, two modes with l = 3, and two modes as l = 0 radial modes.

Making the Most of Kepler Photometry: Characterizing Exoplanets through Phase Curve Analysis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Esteves Lisa J.

2015-01-01

Full Text Available The Kepler mission’s long-term monitoring of stars through high-precision photometry has not only revealed a plethora of exoplanet transits but also provided valuable data for characterizing a subset of these planets. Using over four years of Kepler observations, we have derived phase curves for over a dozen planets, and use these measurements to constrain their mass, brightness/temperature and energy redistribution between the day and the night sides. In our new study, we also investigate possible offsets of the peak brightness of the phase curve, which could be indicative of inhomogeneous clouds and/or substantial winds in the planet’s atmosphere. We find significant offsets for over a half-dozen planets. With this growing sample of measured phase curves, we are able to better examine the trends of hot Jupiter energy budgets and albedos, and for the first time relate these properties to the presence of clouds or winds on a planet.

Photometric and spectroscopic variability of the B5IIIe star HD 171219

Science.gov (United States)

Andrade, L.; Janot-Pacheco, E.; Emilio, M.; Frémat, Y.; Neiner, C.; Poretti, E.; Mathias, P.; Rainer, M.; Suárez, J. C.; Uytterhoeven, K.; Briquet, M.; Diago, P. D.; Fabregat, J.; Gutiérrez-Soto, J.

2017-07-01

We analyzed the star HD 171219, one of the relatively bright Be stars observed in the seismo field of the CoRoT satellite, in order to determine its physical and pulsation characteristics. Classical Be stars are main-sequence objects of mainly B-type, whose spectra show, or have shown at some epoch, Balmer lines in emission and an infrared excess. Both characteristics are attributed to an equatorially concentrated circumstellar disk fed by non-periodic mass-loss episodes (outbursts). Be stars often show nonradial pulsation gravity modes and, as more recently discovered, stochastically excited oscillations. Applying the CLEANEST algorithm to the high-cadence and highly photometrically precise measurements of the HD 171219 light curve led us to perform an unprecedented detailed analysis of its nonradial pulsations. Tens of frequencies have been detected in the object compatible with nonradial g-modes. Additional high-resolution ground-based spectroscopic observations were obtained at La Silla (HARPS) and Haute Provence (SOPHIE) observatories during the month preceding CoRoT observations. Additional information was obtained from low-resolution spectra from the BeSS database. From spectral line fitting we determined physical parameters of the star, which is seen equator-on (I = 90°). We also found in the ground data the same frequencies as in CoRoT data. Additionally, we analyzed the circumstellar activity through the traditional method of violet to red emission Hα line variation. A quintuplet was identified at approximately 1.113 c d-1 (12.88 μHz) with a separation of 0.017 c d-1 that can be attributed to a pulsation degree ℓ 2. The light curve shows six small- to medium-scale outbursts during the CoRoT observations. The intensity of the main frequencies varies after each outburst, suggesting a possible correlation between the nonradial pulsations regime and the feeding of the envelope. The CoRoT space mission was developed and operated by the French space agency

Rotational Modulation and Activity Cycles at Rotational Extremes: 25 yrs of NURO Photometry for HII 1883

Science.gov (United States)

Milingo, Jackie; Saar, Steven; Marschall, Laurence

2018-01-01

We present a 25 yr compilation of V-band differential photometry for the Pleiades K dwarf HII 1883 (V660 Tau). HII 1883 has a rotational period of ~ 0.24 d and displays significant rotational modulation due to non-uniform surface brightness or "starspots". Preliminary work yields a cycle period of ~ 9 yrs and rotational shear (ΔP_rot/) considerably less than solar. HII 1883 is one of the fastest rotating single stars with a known cycle. With additional data available we compare newly determined P_cyc and ΔP_rot/ values with those of other stars, putting HII 1883 into the broader context of dynamo properties in single cool dwarfs.

PHOTOMETRY OF VARIABLE STARS FROM DOME A, ANTARCTICA: RESULTS FROM THE 2010 OBSERVING SEASON

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wang, Lingzhi; Zhu, Zonghong [Department of Astronomy, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875 (China); Macri, Lucas M.; Wang, Lifan [Mitchell Institute for Fundamental Physics and Astronomy, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Texas A and M University, College Station, TX 77843 (United States); Ashley, Michael C. B.; Lawrence, Jon S.; Luong-Van, Daniel; Storey, John W. V. [School of Physics, University of New South Wales, NSW 2052 (Australia); Cui, Xiangqun; Feng, Long-Long; Gong, Xuefei; Liu, Qiang; Shang, Zhaohui; Yang, Huigen; Yang, Ji; Yuan, Xiangyan; Zhou, Xu; Zhu, Zhenxi [Chinese Center for Antarctic Astronomy, Nanjing 210008 (China); Pennypacker, Carl R. [Center for Astrophysics, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA (United States); York, Donald G., E-mail: wanglingzhi@bao.ac.cn [Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics and Enrico Fermi Institute, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637 (United States)

2013-12-01

We present results from a season of observations with the Chinese Small Telescope ARray, obtained over 183 days of the 2010 Antarctic winter. We carried out high-cadence time-series aperture photometry of 9125 stars with i ∼< 15.3 mag located in a 23 deg{sup 2} region centered on the south celestial pole. We identified 188 variable stars, including 67 new objects relative to our 2008 observations, thanks to broader synoptic coverage, a deeper magnitude limit, and a larger field of view. We used the photometric data set to derive site statistics from Dome A. Based on two years of observations, we find that extinction due to clouds at this site is less than 0.1 and 0.4 mag during 45% and 75% of the dark time, respectively.

New Cepheid distances to nearby galaxies based on BVRI CCD photometry. III - NGC 300

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Freedman, W.L.; Madore, B.F.; Hawley, S.L.; Horowitz, I.K.; Mould, J.; Navarrete, M.; Sallmen, S. (Carnegie Institution of Washington, Observatories, Pasadena, CA (United States) JPL, Pasadena, CA (United States) Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, CA (United States) California Institute of Technology, Pasadena (United States) Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory, La Serena (Chile) California, University, Berkeley (United States))

1992-09-01

A true distance modulus of (m - M) sub 0 = 26.66 +/- 0.10 mag (corresponding to 2.1 +/- 0.1 Mpc) has been determined for the Sculptor Group spiral galaxy NGC 300. New CCD data have been obtained for a sample of known Cepheids in this galaxy from which apparent distance moduli at B, V, R, and I wavelengths are determined. Combining the data available at different wavelenghts, and assuming a true distance modulus to the LMC of 18.5 mag, a true distance modulus is obtained for NGC 300, corrected for the effects of interstellar reddening. The availability of a new distance to NGC 300 brings to five the total number of galaxies with new CCD photometry of Cepheids, useful for calibration of the Hubble constant. 26 refs.

Worldwide photometry of the January 1989 Tau Persei eclipse

Science.gov (United States)

Hall, Douglas S.; Curott, David R.; Barksdale, William S.; Diethelm-Sutter, Roger; Ells, Jack

1991-01-01

New UBV photoelectric photometry of Tau Persei obtained at 19 different observatories during its recent January 1989 eclipse is presented. Mideclipse occurred at JD 2 447 542.31 + or - 0.01. The resulting light curve, though not complete at all phases, is solved for the elements with the help of two quantities derived from spectroscopy: the eclipse is 84 percent total at mideclipse, and the ratio of the radii is 0.135 + or - 0.01. Radii relative to the semimajor axis are 0.0236 for the G5 giant and 0.0032 for the A2 star. With a reasonable total mass assumed, the absolute radii say the A2 star could be luminosity class V or somewhat evolved and the G5 star is between III and II but could be closer to II. The G5 giant is brighter than the A2 star by 1.72 mag in V and the color excess in B - V is 0.06 mag, both quantities consistent (within uncertainties) with earlier estimates of Ake (1986). The eclipse duration, from first to fourth contact, is 2.09 day. The orbital inclination is 88.74 deg, consistent with what McAlister derived from speckle interferometry. Because of the large (e = 0.73) eccentricity, there is no secondary eclipse at all.

High-precision ground-based photometry of exoplanets

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

de Mooij Ernst J.W.

2013-04-01

Full Text Available High-precision photometry of transiting exoplanet systems has contributed significantly to our understanding of the properties of their atmospheres. The best targets are the bright exoplanet systems, for which the high number of photons allow very high signal-to-noise ratios. Most of the current instruments are not optimised for these high-precision measurements, either they have a large read-out overhead to reduce the readnoise and/or their field-of-view is limited, preventing simultaneous observations of both the target and a reference star. Recently we have proposed a new wide-field imager for the Observatoir de Mont-Megantic optimised for these bright systems (PI: Jayawardhana. The instruments has a dual beam design and a field-of-view of 17' by 17'. The cameras have a read-out time of 2 seconds, significantly reducing read-out overheads. Over the past years we have obtained significant experience with how to reach the high precision required for the characterisation of exoplanet atmospheres. Based on our experience we provide the following advice: Get the best calibrations possible. In the case of bad weather, characterise the instrument (e.g. non-linearity, dome flats, bias level, this is vital for better understanding of the science data. Observe the target for as long as possible, the out-of-transit baseline is as important as the transit/eclipse itself. A short baseline can lead to improperly corrected systematic and mis-estimation of the red-noise. Keep everything (e.g. position on detector, exposure time as stable as possible. Take care that the defocus is not too strong. For a large defocus, the contribution of the total flux from the sky-background in the aperture could well exceed that of the target, resulting in very strict requirements on the precision at which the background is measured.

Gaia , an all sky astrometric and photometric survey

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Carrasco, J.M.

2017-01-01

Gaia space mission includes a low resolution spectroscopic instrument to classify and parametrize the observed sources. Gaia is a full-sky unbiased survey down to about 20th magnitude. The scanning law yields a rather uniform coverage of the sky over the full mission. The data reduction is a global one over the full mission. Both sky coverage and data reduction strategy ensure an unprecedented all-sky homogeneous spectrophotometric survey. Certainly, that survey is of interest for future on-ground and space projects (LSST, PLATO, EUCLID, ...). This work addresses the exploitation of the Gaia spectrophotometry as standard photometry reference through the discussion of the sky coverage, the spectrophotometric precision and the expected uncertainties of the synthetic photometry derived from the low resolution Gaia spectra and photometry.

Radius constraints from high-speed photometry of 20 low-mass white dwarf binaries

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hermes, J. J.; Brown, Warren R.; Kilic, Mukremin; Gianninas, A.; Chote, Paul; Sullivan, D. J.; Winget, D. E.; Bell, Keaton J.; Falcon, R. E.; Winget, K. I.; Harrold, Samuel T.; Montgomery, M. H.; Mason, Paul A.

2014-01-01

We carry out high-speed photometry on 20 of the shortest-period, detached white dwarf binaries known and discover systems with eclipses, ellipsoidal variations (due to tidal deformations of the visible white dwarf), and Doppler beaming. All of the binaries contain low-mass white dwarfs with orbital periods of less than four hr. Our observations identify the first eight tidally distorted white dwarfs, four of which are reported for the first time here. We use these observations to place empirical constraints on the mass-radius relationship for extremely low-mass (≤0.30 M ☉ ) white dwarfs. We also detect Doppler beaming in several of these binaries, which confirms their high-amplitude radial-velocity variability. All of these systems are strong sources of gravitational radiation, and long-term monitoring of those that display ellipsoidal variations can be used to detect spin-up of the tidal bulge due to orbital decay.

Radius constraints from high-speed photometry of 20 low-mass white dwarf binaries

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hermes, J. J. [Department of Physics, University of Warwick, Coventry CV4 7AL (United Kingdom); Brown, Warren R. [Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, 60 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138 (United States); Kilic, Mukremin; Gianninas, A. [Homer L. Dodge Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Oklahoma, 440 West Brooks Street, Norman, OK 73019 (United States); Chote, Paul; Sullivan, D. J. [School of Chemical and Physical Sciences, Victoria University of Wellington, Wellington 6140 (New Zealand); Winget, D. E.; Bell, Keaton J.; Falcon, R. E.; Winget, K. I.; Harrold, Samuel T.; Montgomery, M. H. [Department of Astronomy, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712 (United States); Mason, Paul A., E-mail: j.j.hermes@warwick.ac.uk [Department of Physics, University of Texas at El Paso, El Paso, TX 79968 (United States)

2014-09-01

We carry out high-speed photometry on 20 of the shortest-period, detached white dwarf binaries known and discover systems with eclipses, ellipsoidal variations (due to tidal deformations of the visible white dwarf), and Doppler beaming. All of the binaries contain low-mass white dwarfs with orbital periods of less than four hr. Our observations identify the first eight tidally distorted white dwarfs, four of which are reported for the first time here. We use these observations to place empirical constraints on the mass-radius relationship for extremely low-mass (≤0.30 M {sub ☉}) white dwarfs. We also detect Doppler beaming in several of these binaries, which confirms their high-amplitude radial-velocity variability. All of these systems are strong sources of gravitational radiation, and long-term monitoring of those that display ellipsoidal variations can be used to detect spin-up of the tidal bulge due to orbital decay.

CHARACTERIZING TWO SOLAR-TYPE KEPLER SUBGIANTS WITH ASTEROSEISMOLOGY: KIC 10920273 AND KIC 11395018

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Doğan, G.; Metcalfe, T. S.; Mathur, S.; Deheuvels, S.; Pinsonneault, M.; Di Mauro, M. P.; Eggenberger, P.; Creevey, O. L.; Monteiro, M. J. P. F. G.; Sousa, S. G.; Brandão, I. M.; Campante, T. L.; Frasca, A.; Karoff, C.; Handberg, R.; Thygesen, A. O.; Bruntt, H.; Biazzo, K.; Niemczura, E.; Bedding, T. R.

2013-01-01

Determining fundamental properties of stars through stellar modeling has improved substantially due to recent advances in asteroseismology. Thanks to the unprecedented data quality obtained by space missions, particularly CoRoT and Kepler, invaluable information is extracted from the high-precision stellar oscillation frequencies, which provide very strong constraints on possible stellar models for a given set of classical observations. In this work, we have characterized two relatively faint stars, KIC 10920273 and KIC 11395018, using oscillation data from Kepler photometry and atmospheric constraints from ground-based spectroscopy. Both stars have very similar atmospheric properties; however, using the individual frequencies extracted from the Kepler data, we have determined quite distinct global properties, with increased precision compared to that of earlier results. We found that both stars have left the main sequence and characterized them as follows: KIC 10920273 is a one-solar-mass star (M = 1.00 ± 0.04 M ☉ ), but much older than our Sun (t = 7.12 ± 0.47 Gyr), while KIC 11395018 is significantly more massive than the Sun (M = 1.27 ± 0.04 M ☉ ) with an age close to that of the Sun (t = 4.57 ± 0.23 Gyr). We confirm that the high lithium abundance reported for these stars should not be considered to represent young ages, as we precisely determined them to be evolved subgiants. We discuss the use of surface lithium abundance, rotation, and activity relations as potential age diagnostics.

Homogeneous Studies of Transiting Extrasolar Planets: Current Status and Future Plans

Science.gov (United States)

Taylor, John

2011-09-01

We now know of over 500 planets orbiting stars other than our Sun. The jewels in the crown are the transiting planets, for these are the only ones whose masses and radii are measurable. They are fundamental for our understanding of the formation, evolution, structure and atmospheric properties of extrasolar planets. However, their characterization is not straightforward, requiring extremely high-precision photometry and spectroscopy as well as input from theoretical stellar models. I summarize the motivation and current status of a project to measure the physical properties of all known transiting planetary systems using homogeneous techniques (Southworth 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011 in preparation). Careful attention is paid to the treatment of limb darkening, contaminating light, correlated noise, numerical integration, orbital eccentricity and orientation, systematic errors from theoretical stellar models, and empirical constraints. Complete error budgets are calculated for each system and can be used to determine which type of observation would be most useful for improving the parameter measurements. Known correlations between the orbital periods, masses, surface gravities, and equilibrium temperatures of transiting planets can be explored more safely due to the homogeneity of the properties. I give a sneak preview of Homogeneous Studies Paper 4, which includes the properties of thirty transiting planetary systems observed by the CoRoT, Kepler and Deep Impact space missions. Future opportunities are discussed, plus remaining problems with our understanding of transiting planets. I acknowledge funding from the UK STFC in the form of an Advanced Fellowship.

A PANCHROMATIC CATALOG OF EARLY-TYPE GALAXIES AT INTERMEDIATE REDSHIFT IN THE HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE WIDE FIELD CAMERA 3 EARLY RELEASE SCIENCE FIELD

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rutkowski, M. J.; Cohen, S. H.; Windhorst, R. A.; Kaviraj, S.; Crockett, R. M.; Silk, J.; O'Connell, R. W.; Hathi, N. P.; McCarthy, P. J.; Ryan, R. E. Jr.; Koekemoer, A.; Bond, H. E.; Yan, H.; Kimble, R. A.; Balick, B.; Calzetti, D.; Disney, M. J.; Dopita, M. A.; Frogel, J. A.; Hall, D. N. B.

2012-01-01

In the first of a series of forthcoming publications, we present a panchromatic catalog of 102 visually selected early-type galaxies (ETGs) from observations in the Early Release Science (ERS) program with the Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3) on the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) of the Great Observatories Origins Deep Survey-South (GOODS-S) field. Our ETGs span a large redshift range, 0.35 ∼ 11 * [M ☉ ] 12 . By transforming the observed photometry into the Galaxy Evolution Explorer FUV and NUV, Johnson V, and Sloan Digital Sky Survey g' and r' bandpasses we identify a noteworthy diversity in the rest-frame UV-optical colors and find the mean rest-frame (FUV–V) = 3.5 and (NUV–V) = 3.3, with 1σ standard deviations ≅1.0. The blue rest-frame UV-optical colors observed for most of the ETGs are evidence for star formation during the preceding gigayear, but no systems exhibit UV-optical photometry consistent with major recent (∼<50 Myr) starbursts. Future publications which address the diversity of stellar populations likely to be present in these ETGs, and the potential mechanisms by which recent star formation episodes are activated, are discussed.

Atmospheric parameters and chemical properties of red giants in the CoRoT asteroseismology fields

Science.gov (United States)

Morel, T.; Miglio, A.; Lagarde, N.; Montalbán, J.; Rainer, M.; Poretti, E.; Eggenberger, P.; Hekker, S.; Kallinger, T.; Mosser, B.; Valentini, M.; Carrier, F.; Hareter, M.; Mantegazza, L.

2014-04-01

A precise characterisation of the red giants in the seismology fields of the CoRoT satellite is a prerequisite for further in-depth seismic modelling. High-resolution FEROS and HARPS spectra were obtained as part of the ground-based follow-up campaigns for 19 targets holding great asteroseismic potential. These data are used to accurately estimate their fundamental parameters and the abundances of 16 chemical species in a self-consistent manner. Some powerful probes of mixing are investigated (the Li and CNO abundances, as well as the carbon isotopic ratio in a few cases). The information provided by the spectroscopic and seismic data is combined to provide more accurate physical parameters and abundances. The stars in our sample follow the general abundance trends as a function of the metallicity observed in stars of the Galactic disk. After an allowance is made for the chemical evolution of the interstellar medium, the observational signature of internal mixing phenomena is revealed through the detection at the stellar surface of the products of the CN cycle. A contamination by NeNa-cycled material in the most massive stars is also discussed. With the asteroseismic constraints, these data will pave the way for a detailed theoretical investigation of the physical processes responsible for the transport of chemical elements in evolved, low- and intermediate-mass stars. Based on observations collected at La Silla Observatory, ESO (Chile) with the FEROS and HARPS spectrograph at the 2.2 and 3.6-m telescopes under programs LP178.D-0361, LP182.D-0356, and LP185.D-0056.Appendix A is available in electronic form at http://www.aanda.orgTables A.2 to A.6 are available at the CDS via anonymous ftp to http://cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (ftp://130.79.128.5) or via http://cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr/viz-bin/qcat?J/A+A/564/A119

Data Products From Particle Detectors On-Board NOAA's Newest Space Weather Monitor

Science.gov (United States)

Kress, B. T.; Rodriguez, J. V.; Onsager, T. G.

2017-12-01

community and data for future studies of space weather effects. This presentation will include an overview of these algorithms and examples of their performance during recent co-rotation interaction region (CIR) associated radiation belt enhancements and a solar particle event on 14-15 July 2017.

Possible detection of a bimodal cloud distribution in the atmosphere of HAT-P-32 A b from multiband photometry

Science.gov (United States)

Tregloan-Reed, J.; Southworth, J.; Mancini, L.; Mollière, P.; Ciceri, S.; Bruni, I.; Ricci, D.; Ayala-Loera, C.; Henning, T.

2018-03-01

We present high-precision photometry of eight separate transit events in the HAT-P-32 planetary system. One transit event was observed simultaneously by two telescopes of which one obtained a simultaneous multiband light curve in three optical bands, giving a total of 11 transit light curves. Due to the filter selection and in conjunction with using the defocused photometry technique, we were able to obtain an extremely high-precision, ground-based transit in the u band (350 nm), with an rms scatter of ≈1 mmag. All 11 transits were modelled using PRISM and GEMC, and the physical properties of the system calculated. We find the mass and radius of the host star to be 1.182 ± 0.041 M⊙ and 1.225 ± 0.015 R⊙, respectively. For the planet, we find a mass of 0.80 ± 0.14 MJup, a radius of 1.807 ± 0.022 RJup, and a density of 0.126 ± 0.023 ρJup. These values are consistent with those found in the literature. We also obtain a new orbital ephemeris for the system T0 = BJD/TDB 2 454 420.447187(96) + 2.15000800(10) × E. We measured the transmission spectrum of HAT-P-32 A b and compared it to theoretical transmission spectra. Our results indicate a bimodal cloud particle distribution consisting of Rayleigh-like haze and grey absorbing cloud particles within the atmosphere of HAT-P-32 A b.

BL Lacertae Objects Beyond Redshift 1.3 - UV-to-NIR Photometry and Photometric Redshift for Fermi/LAT Blazars

Science.gov (United States)

Rau, A.; Schady, P.; Greiner, J.; Salvato, M.; Ajello, M.; Bottacini, E.; Gehrels, N.; Afonso, P. M. J.; Elliott, J.; Filgas, R.;

CONTAMINATION OF BROADBAND PHOTOMETRY BY NEBULAR EMISSION IN HIGH-REDSHIFT GALAXIES: INVESTIGATIONS WITH KECK'S MOSFIRE NEAR-INFRARED SPECTROGRAPH

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schenker, Matthew A; Ellis, Richard S; Konidaris, Nick P; Stark, Daniel P

2013-01-01

Earlier work has raised the potential importance of nebular emission in the derivation of the physical characteristics of high-redshift Lyman break galaxies. Within certain redshift ranges, and especially at z ≅ 6-7, such lines may be strong enough to reduce estimates of the stellar masses and ages of galaxies compared with those derived assuming the broadband photometry represents stellar light alone. To test this hypothesis at the highest redshifts where such lines can be probed with ground-based facilities, we examine the near-infrared spectra of a representative sample of 28 3.0 < z < 3.8 Lyman break galaxies using the newly commissioned MOSFIRE near-infrared spectrograph at the Keck I telescope. We use these data to derive the rest-frame equivalent widths (EWs) of [O III] emission and show that these are comparable with estimates derived using the spectral energy distribution (SED) fitting technique introduced for sources of known redshift by Stark et al. Although our current sample is modest, its [O III] EW distribution is consistent with that inferred for Hα based on SED fitting of Stark et al.'s larger sample of 3.8 < z < 5 galaxies. For a subset of survey galaxies, we use the combination of optical and near-infrared spectroscopy to quantify kinematics of outflows in z ≅ 3.5 star-forming galaxies and discuss the implications for reionization measurements. The trends we uncover underline the dangers of relying purely on broadband photometry to estimate the physical properties of high-redshift galaxies and emphasize the important role of diagnostic spectroscopy

THE HIGH A{sub V} Quasar Survey: Reddened Quasi-Stellar Objects selected from optical/near-infrared photometry. II

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Krogager, J.-K.; Fynbo, J. P. U.; Vestergaard, M. [Dark Cosmology Centre, Niels Bohr Institute, University of Copenhagen, Juliane Maries Vej 30, DK-2100 Copenhagen Ø (Denmark); Geier, S. [Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC), E-38205 La Laguna, Tenerife (Spain); Venemans, B. P. [Max-Planck Institute for Astronomy, Königstuhl 17, D-69117 Heidelberg (Germany); Ledoux, C. [European Southern Observatory, Alonso de Córdova 3107, Vitacura, Casilla 19001, Santiago 19 (Chile); Møller, P. [European Southern Observatory, Karl-Schwarzschildstrasse 2, D-85748 Garching bei München (Germany); Noterdaeme, P. [Institut d’Astrophysique de Paris, CNRS-UPMC, UMR7095, 98bis bd Arago, F-75014 Paris (France); Kangas, T.; Pursimo, T.; Smirnova, O. [Nordic Optical Telescope, Apartado 474, E-38700 Santa Cruz de La Palma (Spain); Saturni, F. G. [Tuorla Observatory, Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Turku, Väisäläntie 20, 21500 Piikkiö (Finland)

2015-03-15

Quasi-stellar objects (QSOs) whose spectral energy distributions (SEDs) are reddened by dust either in their host galaxies or in intervening absorber galaxies are to a large degree missed by optical color selection criteria like the ones used by the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS). To overcome this bias against red QSOs, we employ a combined optical and near-infrared (near-IR) color selection. In this paper, we present a spectroscopic follow-up campaign of a sample of red candidate QSOs which were selected from the SDSS and the UKIRT Infrared Deep Sky Survey (UKIDSS). The spectroscopic data and SDSS/UKIDSS photometry are supplemented by mid-infrared photometry from the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer. In our sample of 159 candidates, 154 (97%) are confirmed to be QSOs. We use a statistical algorithm to identify sightlines with plausible intervening absorption systems and identify nine such cases assuming dust in the absorber similar to Large Magellanic Cloud sightlines. We find absorption systems toward 30 QSOs, 2 of which are consistent with the best-fit absorber redshift from the statistical modeling. Furthermore, we observe a broad range in SED properties of the QSOs as probed by the rest-frame 2 μm flux. We find QSOs with a strong excess as well as QSOs with a large deficit at rest-frame 2 μm relative to a QSO template. Potential solutions to these discrepancies are discussed. Overall, our study demonstrates the high efficiency of the optical/near-IR selection of red QSOs.

SOLAR-LIKE OSCILLATIONS IN A METAL-POOR GLOBULAR CLUSTER WITH THE HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stello, Dennis; Gilliland, Ronald L.

2009-01-01

We present analyses of variability in the red giant stars in the metal-poor globular cluster NGC 6397, based on data obtained with the Hubble Space Telescope. We use a nonstandard data reduction approach to turn a 23 day observing run originally aimed at imaging the white dwarf population, into time-series photometry of the cluster's highly saturated red giant stars. With this technique we obtain noise levels in the final power spectra down to 50 parts per million, which allows us to search for low-amplitude solar-like oscillations. We compare the observed excess power seen in the power spectra with estimates of the typical frequency range, frequency spacing, and amplitude from scaling the solar oscillations. We see evidence that the detected variability is consistent with solar-like oscillations in at least one and perhaps up to four stars. With metallicities 2 orders of magnitude lower than those of the Sun, these stars present so far the best evidence of solar-like oscillations in such a low-metallicity environment.

HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE AND GROUND-BASED OBSERVATIONS OF V455 ANDROMEDAE POST-OUTBURST

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Szkody, Paula; Mukadam, Anjum S.; Brown, Justin; Funkhouser, Kelsey [Department of Astronomy, University of Washington, Box 351580, Seattle, WA 98195 (United States); Gänsicke, Boris T. [Department of Physics, University of Warwick, Coventry CV4 7AL (United Kingdom); Henden, Arne [AAVSO, 49 Bay State Road, Cambridge, MA 02138 (United States); Sion, Edward M. [Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, Villanova University, Villanova, PA 19085 (United States); Townsley, Dean M. [Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL 35487 (United States); Christian, Damian [Department of Physics and Astronomy, California State University, Northridge, CA 91330 (United States); Falcon, Ross E. [Department of Astronomy, University of Texas, Austin, TX 78712 (United States); Pyrzas, Stylianos, E-mail: szkody@astro.washington.edu, E-mail: anjum@astro.washington.edu, E-mail: boris.gaensicke@warwick.ac.uk, E-mail: arne@aavso.org, E-mail: edward.sion@villanova.edu, E-mail: Dean.M.Townsley@ua.edu, E-mail: damian.christian@csun.edu, E-mail: cylver@astro.as.utexas.edu, E-mail: stylianos.pyrzas@gmail.com [Instituto de Astronomia, Universidad Catolica del Norte, Avenida Angamos 0619, Antofagasta (Chile)

2013-09-20

Hubble Space Telescope spectra obtained in 2010 and 2011, 3 and 4 yr after the large amplitude dwarf nova outburst of V455 And, were combined with optical photometry and spectra to study the cooling of the white dwarf, its spin, and possible pulsation periods after the outburst. The modeling of the ultraviolet (UV) spectra shows that the white dwarf temperature remains ∼600 K hotter than its quiescent value at 3 yr post-outburst, and still a few hundred degrees hotter at 4 yr post-outburst. The white dwarf spin at 67.6 s and its second harmonic at 33.8 s are visible in the optical within a month of outburst and are obvious in the later UV observations in the shortest wavelength continuum and the UV emission lines, indicating an origin in high-temperature regions near the accretion curtains. The UV light curves folded on the spin period show a double-humped modulation consistent with two-pole accretion. The optical photometry 2 yr after outburst shows a group of frequencies present at shorter periods (250-263 s) than the periods ascribed to pulsation at quiescence, and these gradually shift toward the quiescent frequencies (300-360 s) as time progresses past outburst. The most surprising result is that the frequencies near this period in the UV data are only prominent in the emission lines, not the UV continuum, implying an origin away from the white dwarf photosphere. Thus, the connection of this group of periods with non-radial pulsations of the white dwarf remains elusive.

DIGITAL ACCESS TO A SKY CENTURY AT HARVARD: INITIAL PHOTOMETRY AND ASTROMETRY

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Laycock, S.; Tang, S.; Grindlay, J.; Los, E.; Simcoe, R.; Mink, D.

2010-01-01

Digital Access to a Sky Century at Harvard (DASCH) is a project to digitize the collection of ∼500,000 glass photographic plates held at Harvard College Observatory. The collection spans the time period from 1880 to 1985, during which time every point on the sky was been observed from 500 to 1000 times. In this paper, we describe the DASCH commissioning run, during which we developed the data-reduction pipeline, characterized the plates and fine-tuned the digitizer's performance and operation. This initial run consisted of 500 plates taken from a variety of different plate series, all containing the open cluster Praeseppe (M44). We report that accurate photometry at the 0.1 mag level is possible on the majority of plates, and demonstrate century-long light curves of various types of variable stars in and around M44. DASCH will generate a public online archive of the entire plate collection, including images, source catalogs, and light curves for nearly all astronomical objects brighter than about 17th magnitude.

Digital Access to a Sky Century at Harvard: Initial Photometry and Astrometry

Science.gov (United States)

Laycock, S.; Tang, S.; Grindlay, J.; Los, E.; Simcoe, R.; Mink, D.

2010-10-01

Digital Access to a Sky Century at Harvard (DASCH) is a project to digitize the collection of ~500,000 glass photographic plates held at Harvard College Observatory. The collection spans the time period from 1880 to 1985, during which time every point on the sky was been observed from 500 to 1000 times. In this paper, we describe the DASCH commissioning run, during which we developed the data-reduction pipeline, characterized the plates and fine-tuned the digitizer's performance and operation. This initial run consisted of 500 plates taken from a variety of different plate series, all containing the open cluster Praeseppe (M44). We report that accurate photometry at the 0.1 mag level is possible on the majority of plates, and demonstrate century-long light curves of various types of variable stars in and around M44. DASCH will generate a public online archive of the entire plate collection, including images, source catalogs, and light curves for nearly all astronomical objects brighter than about 17th magnitude.

Multicolor photometry of the nearby galaxy cluster A119

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tian Jintao; Zhou Xu; Jiang Zhaoji; Ma Jun; Wu Zhenyu; Fan Zhou; Zhang Tianmeng; Zou Hu; Yuan Qirong; Wu Jianghua

2012-01-01

This paper presents multicolor optical photometry of the nearby galaxy cluster Abell 119 (z = 0.0442) with the Beijing-Arizona-Taiwan-Connecticut system of 15 intermediate bands. Within the BATC field of view of 58' × 58', there are 368 galaxies with known spectroscopic redshifts, including 238 member galaxies (called sample I). Based on the spectral energy distributions of 1376 galaxies brighter than i BATC = 19.5, the photometric redshift technique and the color-magnitude relation of early-type galaxies are applied to select faint member galaxies. As a result, 117 faint galaxies were selected as new member galaxies. Combined with sample I, an enlarged sample (called sample II) of 355 member galaxies is obtained. Spatial distribution and localized velocity structure for two samples demonstrate that A119 is a dynamically complex cluster with at least three prominent substructures in the central region within 1 Mpc. A large velocity dispersion for the central clump indicates a merging along the line of sight. No significant evidence for morphology or luminosity segregations is found in either sample. With the PEGASE evolutionary synthesis model, the environmental effect on the properties of star formation is confirmed. Faint galaxies in the low-density region tend to have longer time scales of star formation, smaller mean stellar ages, and lower metallicities in their interstellar medium, which is in agreement with the context of the hierarchical cosmological scenario. (research papers)

CSI 2264: Simultaneous Optical and Infrared Light Curves of Young Disk-Bearing Stars in NGC 2264 With CoRoT and Spitzer-Evidence For Multiple Origins of Variability

Science.gov (United States)

2014-03-13

2005). the first position, two exposures were acquired with an 8" dither to mitigate any detector artifacts or cosmic-ray hits. Total frame time...with a ŕ/ f" trend in amplitude; two examples are provided in Figure 17. This is in contrast to typical red or " flicker " noise, which follows a 1...transitions between staring and mapping photometry. Following pixel-phase mitigation , we selected the set of ~280 by-BCD staring points lying within 1.2

Photoelectric UBV-photometry of the In(YY) DR Tauri-type young star in 1982-1986

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kolotilov, E.A.

1987-01-01

The results of photoelectric UBV-photometry carried out in 1982-1986 for DR TAU - the star which undergone nova-like brightness increase in 1965-1980 - are presented. The brightness variations of the star during the post-maximum period include several days lasting flares and much more rare deep minima. The averaged colour-brightness relations are as follows: the higher brightness, the bluer B - V colour and the redder U - B colour. However the fast variations on a time scale of days do not always follow this relation. The observed pattern of variability of DR Tau is in agreement with the model of young stars activity (Grinin, 1980) proposing the appearance of hot spots in stellar atmosphere due to accretion of gas. Some arguments for the binarity of DR Tau are presented

INT WFC photometry of a Galactic flare star spatially coincident with the recurrent nova candidate M31N 1966-08a = 1968-10c

Science.gov (United States)

Arce-Tord, C.; Esteban-Gutierrez, A.; Garcia-Broock, E.; Garcia-Rivas, M.; Gonzalez-Cuesta, L.; Hermosa-Muñoz, L.; Hernandez-Sanchez, M.; Jimenez-Gallardo, A.; Lopez-Navas, E.; Mantero-Castañeda, E. A.; Otero-Santos, J.; Prendin, M. G.; Rodriguez-Sanchez, M.; Perez-Fournon, I.

2017-12-01

We report photometry in the Sloan g (3x150s), r (3x100s), and i (3x100s) bands of the recurrent nova candidate M31N 1966-08a = 1968-10c (= PNV J00412371+4114594) from observations with the Wide Field Camera of the Isaac Newton Telescope* on the night of 28 October 2017.

Seismic analysis of HD 43587Aa, a solar-like oscillator in a multiple system

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Boumier, P.; Benomar, O.; Baudin, F.; Verner, G.; Appourchaux, T.; Lebreton, Y.; Gaulme, P.; Chaplin, W.; García, R.A.; Hekker, S.; Regulo, C.; Salabert, D.; Stahn, T.; Elsworth, Y.; Gizon, L.; Hall, M.; Mathur, S.; Michel, E.; Morel, T.; Mosser, B.; Poretti, E.; Rainer, M.; Roxburgh, I.; do Nascimento Jr., J.D.; Samadi, R.; Auvergne, M.; Chaintreuil, S.; Baglin, A.; Catala, C.

2014-01-01

Context. The object HD 43587Aa is a G0V star observed during the 145-day LRa03 run of the COnvection, ROtation and planetary Transits space mission (CoRoT), for which complementary High Accuracy Radial velocity Planet Searcher (HARPS) spectra with S/N > 300 were also obtained. Its visual magnitude

Modeling of CME and CIR driven geomagnetic storms by means of artificial neural networks

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Revallo, M.; Valach, F.; Hejda, Pavel; Bochníček, Josef

2015-01-01

Roč. 45, č. 1 (2015), s. 53-65 ISSN 1335-2806 Institutional support: RVO:67985530 Keywords : space weather * coronal mass ejections * corotating interaction regions * geomagnetic storms * magnetosphere Subject RIV: DE - Earth Magnetism, Geodesy, Geography https://www.degruyter.com/downloadpdf/j/congeo.2015.45.issue-1/congeo-2015-0013/congeo-2015-0013.pdf

AGES AND METALLICITIES OF CLUSTER GALAXIES IN A779 USING MODIFIED STROeMGREN PHOTOMETRY

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sreedhar, Yuvraj Harsha; Rakos, Karl D.; Hensler, Gerhard; Zeilinger, Werner W. [University of Vienna, Institute of Astronomy, Tuerkenschanzstrasse 17, A-1180 Vienna (Austria); Odell, Andrew P. [Department of Physics and Astronomy, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ (United States)

2012-03-01

In the quest for the formation and evolution of galaxy clusters, Rakos and co-workers introduced a spectrophotometric method using modified Stroemgren photometry, but with the considerable debate toward the project's abilities, we re-introduce the system by testing for the repeatability of the modified Stroemgren colors and compare them with the Stroemgren colors, and check for the reproducibility of the ages and metallicities (using the Principle Component Analysis (PCA) technique and the GALEV models) for the six common galaxies in all three A779 data sets. As a result, a fair agreement between two filter systems was found to produce similar colors (with a precision of 0.09 mag in (uz - vz), 0.02 mag in (bz - yz), and 0.03 mag in (vz - vz)) and the generated ages and metallicities are also similar (with an uncertainty of 0.36 Gyr and 0.04 dex from PCA and 0.44 Gyr and 0.2 dex using the GALEV models). We infer that the technique is able to relieve the age-metallicity degeneracy by separating the age effects from the metallicity effects, but it is still unable to completely eliminate it. We further extend this paper to re-study the evolution of galaxies in the low mass, dynamically poor A779 cluster (as it was not elaborately analyzed by Rakos and co-workers in their previous work) by correlating the luminosity (mass), density, and radial distance with the estimated age, metallicity, and the star formation history. Our results distinctly show the bimodality of the young, low-mass, metal-poor population with a mean age of 6.7 Gyr ({+-} 0.5 Gyr) and the old, high-mass, metal-rich galaxies with a mean age of 9 Gyr ({+-} 0.5 Gyr). The method also observes the color evolution of the blue cluster galaxies to red (Butcher-Oemler phenomenon), and the downsizing phenomenon. Our analysis shows that modified Stroemgren photometry is very well suited for studying low- and intermediate-z clusters, as it is capable of observing deeper with better spatial resolution at

Seven-Color Photometry and Classification of Stars in the Vicinity of the Dark Cloud TGU H994 (LDN 1399, 1400 and 1402

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Čepas V.

2013-09-01

Full Text Available The results of CCD photometry in the seven-color Vilnius system are given for 727 stars down to V ~ 17 mag in a 1.5 square degree field in the region of dark cloud TGU H994 P1 (or LDN 1399, LDN 1400 and LDN 1402 in Camelopardalis. Using the intrinsic color indices and photometric reddening-free Q-parameters, two-dimensional spectral types for 73% of stars are determined.

The Secrets of the Nearest Starburst Cluster. I. Very Large Telescope/ISAAC Photometry of NGC 3603

Science.gov (United States)

Stolte, Andrea; Brandner, Wolfgang; Brandl, Bernhard; Zinnecker, Hans; Grebel, Eva K.

2004-08-01

VLT/ISAAC JHKL photometry with subarcsecond resolution of the dense, massive starburst cluster NGC 3603 YC forming the core of the NGC 3603 giant molecular cloud is analyzed to reveal characteristics of the stellar population in unprecedented detail. The color-magnitude plane features a strong pre-main-sequence/main-sequence (PMS/MS) transition region, including the PMS/MS transition point, and reveals a secondary sequence for the first time in a nearby young starburst cluster. Arguments for a possible binary nature of this sequence are given. The resolved PMS/MS transition region allows isochrone fitting below the hydrogen-burning turn-on in NGC 3603 YC, yielding an independent estimate of global cluster parameters. A distance modulus of 13.9 mag, equivalent to d=6.0+/-0.3 kpc, is derived, as well as a line-of-sight extinction of AV=4.5+/-0.6 toward PMS stars in the cluster center. The interpretation of a binary candidate sequence suggests a single age of 1 Myr for NGC 3603 YC, providing evidence for a single burst of star formation without the need to employ an age spread in the PMS population, as argued for in earlier studies. Disk fractions are derived from L-band excesses, indicating a radial increase in the disk frequency from 20% to 40% from the core to the cluster outskirts. The low disk fraction in the cluster core, as compared to the 42% L-band excess fraction found for massive stars in the Trapezium cluster of a comparably young age, indicates strong photoevaporation in the cluster center. The estimated binary fraction of 30%, as well as the low disk fraction, suggest strong impacts on low-mass star formation due to stellar interactions in the dense starburst. The significant differences between NGC 3603 YC and less dense and massive young star clusters in the Milky Way reveal the importance of using local starbursts as templates for massive extragalactic star formation. Based on observations obtained at the ESO VLT on Paranal, Chile, under programs 63.I

Photometry, Astrometry, and Discoveries of Ultracool Dwarfs in the Pan-STARRS 3π Survey

Science.gov (United States)

Best, William M. J.; Magnier, Eugene A.; Liu, Michael C.; Deacon, Niall; Aller, Kimberly; Zhang, Zhoujian; Pan-STARRS1 Builders

2018-01-01

The Pan-STARRS1 3π Survey (PS1)'s far-red optical sensitivity makes it an exceptional new resource for discovering and characterizing ultracool dwarfs. We present a PS1-based catalog of photometry and proper motions of nearly 10,000 M, L, and T dwarfs, along with our analysis of the kinematics of nearby M6-T9 dwarfs, building a comprehensive picture of the local ultracool population. We highlight some especially interesting ultracool discoveries made with PS1, including brown dwarfs with spectral types in the enigmatic L/T transition, wide companions to main sequence stars that serve as age and metallicity bechmarks for substellar models, and free-floating members of the nearby young moving groups and star-forming regions with masses down to ≈5 MJup. With its public release, PS1 will continue to be a vital tool for studying the ultracool population.

NEW EXTINCTION AND MASS ESTIMATES FROM OPTICAL PHOTOMETRY OF THE VERY LOW MASS BROWN DWARF COMPANION CT CHAMAELEONTIS B WITH THE MAGELLAN AO SYSTEM

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wu, Ya-Lin; Close, Laird M.; Males, Jared R.; Morzinski, Katie M.; Follette, Katherine B.; Bailey, Vanessa; Rodigas, Timothy J.; Hinz, Philip [Steward Observatory, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721 (United States); Barman, Travis S. [Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721 (United States); Puglisi, Alfio; Xompero, Marco; Briguglio, Runa, E-mail: yalinwu@email.arizona.edu [INAF-Osservatorio Astrofisico di Arcetri, Largo E. Fermi 5, I-50125 Firenze (Italy)

2015-03-01

We used the Magellan adaptive optics system and its VisAO CCD camera to image the young low mass brown dwarf companion CT Chamaeleontis B for the first time at visible wavelengths. We detect it at r', i', z', and Y{sub S}. With our new photometry and T {sub eff} ∼ 2500 K derived from the shape of its K-band spectrum, we find that CT Cha B has A{sub V} = 3.4 ± 1.1 mag, and a mass of 14-24 M{sub J} according to the DUSTY evolutionary tracks and its 1-5 Myr age. The overluminosity of our r' detection indicates that the companion has significant Hα emission and a mass accretion rate ∼6 × 10{sup –10} M {sub ☉} yr{sup –1}, similar to some substellar companions. Proper motion analysis shows that another point source within 2'' of CT Cha A is not physical. This paper demonstrates how visible wavelength adaptive optics photometry (r', i', z', Y{sub S}) allows for a better estimate of extinction, luminosity, and mass accretion rate of young substellar companions.

Solar-wind turbulence and shear: a superposed-epoch analysis of corotating interaction regions at 1 AU

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Borovsky, Joseph E [Los Alamos National Laboratory; Denton, Michael H [LANCASTER UNIV.

2009-01-01

A superposed-epoch analysis of ACE and OMNI2 measurements is performed on 27 corotating interaction regions (CIRs) in 2003-2008, with the zero epoch taken to be the stream interface as determined by the maximum of the plasma vorticity. The structure of CIRs is investigated. When the flow measurements are rotated into the local-Parker-spiral coordinate system the shear is seen to be abrupt and intense, with vorticities on the order of 10{sup -5}-10{sup -4} sec{sup -1}. Converging flows perpendicular to the stream interface are seen in the local-Parker-spiral coordinate system and about half of the CIRs show a layer of divergent rebound flow away from the stream interface. Arguments indicate that any spreading of turbulence away from the region where it is produced is limited to about 10{sup 6} km, which is very small compared with the thickness of a CrR. Analysis of the turbulence across the CrRs is performed. When possible, the effects of discontinuities are removed from the data. Fluctuation amplitudes, the Alfvenicity, and the level of Alfvenic correlations all vary smoothly across the CrR. The Alfven ratio exhibits a decrease at the shear zone of the stream interface. Fourier analysis of 4.5-hr subintervals of ACE data is performed and the results are superposed averaged as an ensemble of realizations. The spectral slopes of the velocity, magnetic-field, and total-energy fluctuations vary smoothly across the CIR. The total-energy spectral slope is {approx} 3/2 in the slow and fast wind and in the CrRs. Analysis of the Elsasser inward-outward fluctuations shows a smooth transition across the CrR from an inward-outward balance in the slow wind to an outward dominance in the fast wind. A number of signatures of turbulence driving at the shear zone are sought (entropy change, turbulence amplitude, Alfvenicity, Alfven ratio, spectral slopes, in-out nature): none show evidence of driving of turbulence by shear.

Recurrent modulation of galactic cosmic ray electrons and protons: Ulysses COSPIN/KET observations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Heber, B.; Blake, J.B.; Paizis, C.; Bothmer, V.; Kunow, H.; Wibberenz, G.; Burger, R.A.; Potgieter, M.S.

2000-01-01

Since measurements of space probes in the interplanetary space became available it has been known that associated with the occurrence of recurrent fast and slow solar wind streams, forming Corotating Interaction Regions, recurrent variations in the cosmic ray nuclei flux are observed. As pointed out recently by Jokipii and Kota (2) recurrent modulation for positively and negatively charged particles may be different. In the time interval extending from July 1992 to July 1994, Ulysses on its journey to high heliographic latitudes registered ∼20 stable and long-lasting Corotating Interaction Regions (CIRs). In this work we use data from the Cosmic Ray and Solar Particle Investigation Kiel Electron Telescope (COSPIN/KET) instrument on board Ulysses to study the recurrent variation of 2.5 GV electrons and protons. We find that 1) electrons are indeed periodically modulated, but that 2) the periodicity of ∼29 days is longer than the period of ∼26 days for protons, and that 3) the amplitude is larger than the one observed for protons

UBVRI photometry of variable red dwarf emission objects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Martins, D.H.

1974-01-01

A review of the history and nature of small scale variability of red dwarf emission line stars is presented. This discussion is accompanied by a description of equipment developed for the purpose of expediting data acquisition for photoelectric photometry of faint stars. Data obtained at the Kitt Peak National Observatory, the Lowell Observatory, and the Rosemary Hill Observatory of the University of Florida are tabulated and analyzed to determine their implications with respect to the known variability of four stars. BY Draconis, GT Pegasus, FF Andromeda, and LP101-15 (an eclipsing binary) are studied. LP101-15 and BY Draconis were observed on the Johnson UBVRI system at Kitt Peak while BY Draconis, GT Pegasus, and FF Andromeda were observed on the Johnson RI system at the Lowell Observatory. UBV''R'' observations were carried out on all four objects at Rosemary Hill Observatory since the spring of 1972. Analysis of the data centers on discussions relative to the proposed ''spot model'' to account for the observed variations in V, R, B--V, V--R, and R--I. After allowance is made for the influence of flare activity (found to be very important), the spot model appears to be adequate in its predictions when compared with observations. A period of 0.63398 day is supported for LP101-15, and a possible secondary minimum is proposed (this secondary eclipse would be less than 0.05 magnitude deep in V), assuming the above period to be correct. This star also appears to exhibit small scale variability with a period of 0.63398 day implying synchronous rotation and revolution. Flare activity is seen to be very important on this star as well. Continued observation of these stars and similar objects is suggested, since further data are essential for complete understanding of their behavior. (U.S.)

CCD BVRI and 2MASS photometry of the poorly studied open cluster NGC 6631

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A.L. Tadross

2014-12-01

Full Text Available Here we have obtained the BVRI CCD photometry down to a limiting magnitude of V∼20 for the southern poorly studied open cluster NGC 6631. It is observed from the 1.88 m Telescope of Kottamia Observatory in Egypt. About 3300 stars have been observed in an area of ∼10′×10′ around the cluster center. The main photometric parameters have been estimated and compared with the results that determined for the cluster using JHKs 2MASS photometric database. The cluster’s diameter is estimated to be 10 arcmin; the reddening E(B-V=0.68 ± 0.10 mag, E(J-H=0.21 ± 0.10 mag, the true modulus (m-Mo=12.16 ± 0.10 mag, which corresponds to a distance of 2700 ± 125 pc and age of 500 ± 50 Myr.

THE CARNEGIE SUPERNOVA PROJECT: SECOND PHOTOMETRY DATA RELEASE OF LOW-REDSHIFT TYPE Ia SUPERNOVAE

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stritzinger, Maximilian D.; Phillips, M. M.; Campillay, Abdo; Morrell, Nidia; Krzeminski, Wojtek; Roth, Miguel; Boldt, Luis N.; Burns, Chris; Freedman, Wendy L.; Madore, Barry F.; Persson, Sven E.; Contreras, Carlos; Gonzalez, Sergio; Folatelli, Gaston; Salgado, Francisco; DePoy, D. L.; Marshall, J. L.; Rheault, Jean-Philippe; Suntzeff, Nicholas B.; Hamuy, Mario

2011-01-01

The Carnegie Supernova Project (CSP) was a five-year observational survey conducted at Las Campanas Observatory that obtained, among other things, high-quality light curves of ∼100 low-redshift Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia). Presented here is the second data release of nearby SN Ia photometry consisting of 50 objects, with a subset of 45 having near-infrared follow-up observations. Thirty-three objects have optical pre-maximum coverage with a subset of 15 beginning at least five days before maximum light. In the near-infrared, 27 objects have coverage beginning before the epoch of B-band maximum, with a subset of 13 beginning at least five days before maximum. In addition, we present results of a photometric calibration program to measure the CSP optical (uBgVri) bandpasses with an accuracy of ∼1%. Finally, we report the discovery of a second SN Ia, SN 2006ot, similar in its characteristics to the peculiar SN 2006bt.

THE EVIL-MC MODEL FOR ELLIPSOIDAL VARIATIONS OF PLANET-HOSTING STARS AND APPLICATIONS TO THE HAT-P-7 SYSTEM

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jackson, Brian K. [Carnegie Institution for Science, Washington, DC 20015 (United States); Lewis, Nikole K.; Showman, Adam P. [Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, University of Arizona, Kuiper Space Sciences Building, Tucson, AZ 85721 (United States); Barnes, Jason W. [Department of Physics, University of Idaho, Engineering-Physics Building, Moscow, ID 83844 (United States); Deming, L. Drake [Department of Astronomy, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742 (United States); Fortney, Jonathan J., E-mail: bjackson@dtm.ciw.edu [Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, UCO/Lick Observatory, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA 95064 (United States)

2012-06-01

We present a new model for Ellipsoidal Variations Induced by a Low-Mass Companion, the EVIL-MC model. We employ several approximations appropriate for planetary systems to substantially increase the computational efficiency of our model relative to more general ellipsoidal variation models and improve upon the accuracy of simpler models. This new approach gives us a unique ability to rapidly and accurately determine planetary system parameters. We use the EVIL-MC model to analyze Kepler Quarter 0-2 (Q0-2) observations of the HAT-P-7 system, an F-type star orbited by a {approx} Jupiter-mass companion. Our analysis corroborates previous estimates of the planet-star mass ratio q = (1.10 {+-} 0.06) Multiplication-Sign 10{sup -3}, and we have revised the planet's dayside brightness temperature to 2680{sup +10}{sub -20} K. We also find a large difference between the day- and nightside planetary flux, with little nightside emission. Preliminary dynamical+radiative modeling of the atmosphere indicates that this result is qualitatively consistent with high altitude absorption of stellar heating. Similar analyses of Kepler and CoRoT photometry of other planets using EVIL-MC will play a key role in providing constraints on the properties of many extrasolar systems, especially given the limited resources for follow-up and characterization of these systems. However, as we highlight, there are important degeneracies between the contributions from ellipsoidal variations and planetary emission and reflection. Consequently, for many of the hottest and brightest Kepler and CoRoT planets, accurate estimates of the planetary emission and reflection, diagnostic of atmospheric heat budgets, will require accurate modeling of the photometric contribution from the stellar ellipsoidal variation.

A SENSITIVE IDENTIFICATION OF WARM DEBRIS DISKS IN THE SOLAR NEIGHBORHOOD THROUGH PRECISE CALIBRATION OF SATURATED WISE PHOTOMETRY

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Patel, Rahul I.; Metchev, Stanimir A.; Heinze, Aren

2014-01-01

We present a sensitive search for WISE W3 (12 μm) and W4 (22 μm) excesses from warm optically thin dust around Hipparcos main sequence stars within 75 pc from the Sun. We use contemporaneously measured photometry from WISE, remove sources of contamination, and derive and apply corrections to saturated fluxes to attain optimal sensitivity to >10 μm excesses. We use data from the WISE All-Sky Survey Catalog rather than the AllWISE release because we find that its saturated photometry is better behaved, allowing us to detect small excesses even around saturated stars in WISE. Our new discoveries increase by 45% the number of stars with warm dusty excesses and expand the number of known debris disks (with excess at any wavelength) within 75 pc by 29%. We identify 220 Hipparcos debris disk host stars, 108 of which are new detections at any wavelength. We present the first measurement of a 12 μm and/or 22 μm excess for 10 stars with previously known cold (50-100 K) disks. We also find five new stars with small but significant W3 excesses, adding to the small population of known exozodi, and we detect evidence for a W2 excess around HIP 96562 (F2V), indicative of tenuous hot (780 K) dust. As a result of our WISE study, the number of debris disks with known 10-30 μm excesses within 75 pc (379) has now surpassed the number of disks with known >30 μm excesses (289, with 171 in common), even if the latter have been found to have a higher occurrence rate in unbiased samples

Joint Soviet--French investigations of the solar corona. 2. Photometry of solar corona of June 30, 1973

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vsekhsvyatskii, S.; Dzyubenko, N.; Ivanchuk, V.; Popov, O.; Rubo, G.; Koutchmy, S.; Koutchmy, O.; Stellmacher, G.

1981-01-01

The results are presented on a study of eclipse negative obtained on June 30, 1973, in Africa in the program of the Soviet--French experiment ''Dynamics of the White Corona'' by expeditions of Kiev University (Atar, Mauritania) and the Paris Astropysical Institute (Moussoro, Chad). The distributions of the total brightness of the corona out to rapprox. =4.5 R/sub sun/ and of its K and F components for the E and N directions are found with high accuracy on the basis of a new method of photometry and colorimetry using the images of stars down to 8.5/sup m/ as photometric standards. Neither reddening nor flattening of the dusty F component were detected at r -6 E/sub sun/

CONTAMINATION OF BROADBAND PHOTOMETRY BY NEBULAR EMISSION IN HIGH-REDSHIFT GALAXIES: INVESTIGATIONS WITH KECK'S MOSFIRE NEAR-INFRARED SPECTROGRAPH

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Schenker, Matthew A; Ellis, Richard S; Konidaris, Nick P [Department of Astrophysics, California Institute of Technology, MC 249-17, Pasadena, CA 91125 (United States); Stark, Daniel P, E-mail: schenker@astro.caltech.edu [Department of Astronomy and Steward Observatory, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721 (United States)

2013-11-01

Earlier work has raised the potential importance of nebular emission in the derivation of the physical characteristics of high-redshift Lyman break galaxies. Within certain redshift ranges, and especially at z ≅ 6-7, such lines may be strong enough to reduce estimates of the stellar masses and ages of galaxies compared with those derived assuming the broadband photometry represents stellar light alone. To test this hypothesis at the highest redshifts where such lines can be probed with ground-based facilities, we examine the near-infrared spectra of a representative sample of 28 3.0 < z < 3.8 Lyman break galaxies using the newly commissioned MOSFIRE near-infrared spectrograph at the Keck I telescope. We use these data to derive the rest-frame equivalent widths (EWs) of [O III] emission and show that these are comparable with estimates derived using the spectral energy distribution (SED) fitting technique introduced for sources of known redshift by Stark et al. Although our current sample is modest, its [O III] EW distribution is consistent with that inferred for Hα based on SED fitting of Stark et al.'s larger sample of 3.8 < z < 5 galaxies. For a subset of survey galaxies, we use the combination of optical and near-infrared spectroscopy to quantify kinematics of outflows in z ≅ 3.5 star-forming galaxies and discuss the implications for reionization measurements. The trends we uncover underline the dangers of relying purely on broadband photometry to estimate the physical properties of high-redshift galaxies and emphasize the important role of diagnostic spectroscopy.

Photographic surface photometry of NGC 2855 and NGC 6771 galaxies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schroeder, M. de F.S.

1984-01-01

Photographic surface photometry in the BV system was carried out two Southern SO's galaxies, NGC 2855 and NGC 6771. B and V isophote maps were obtained as well as geometric and integrated parameters as position angles, inclination, diameters, magnitudes and integrated colors. Each luminosity profile was decomposed into bulge and disk contributions, each component being fitted to convenient laws. For NGC 2855 de Vaucouleurs law described well the bulge whereas the disk showed an exponential distribution. For NGC 6771 the barred nuclear bulge as well as the disk was best fitted by exponential laws. Additional luminosity components due to an inner fragmented ring were identified in NGC 2855 and due to both a quite prominent lens and well defined ring in NGC 6771. In this galaxy the minor axis, oriented almost edge-on, present clues of another luminosity component besides the bulge and the thin disk. For both galaxies the disk central surface brightness was found to be fainter than the standard value observed by Freeman. The fitting parameters were used to determine the bulge-to-disk luminosity ratios as well as their contribution to total luminosity. The domination by the bulge light over the disk light was clear in both galaxies. From the B and V luminosity profile the color gradients were estimated. For both objects the local color indices decreased from inner to outer regions, this effect being relatively smooth in NGC 2855 and more prominent in NGC 6771 [pt

Infrared properties of Mira-type variables and other cool stars as determined from JHKL photometry

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Feast, M W; Robertson, B S.C.; Catchpole, R M; Evans, T L; Glass, I S; Carter, B S [South African Astronomical Observatory, Cape

1982-11-01

Extensive infrared photometry of Me(Mira) variables and of C, S, SC and related stars is used to establish two-colour diagrams and period-colour relations. The characteristic areas in these plots occupied by the different classes of objects are delineated. The main aim is to provide a norm with which other stars (e.g. red variables in the Galactic Center and in the Magellanic Clouds and peculiar stars) can be compared. The (J-H) versus period relation offers a method for determining the interstellar reddenings of Me variables. The strong concentration to the longer periods of Miras which are OH masers is probably due primarily to the fact that in the sample surveyed, these stars also have the brightest apparent bolometric magnitudes. Period-amplitude plots are shown for Me variables. The Mira components in symbiotic stars are found to have exceptionally large amplitudes.

Water maser emission from exoplanetary systems

Science.gov (United States)

Cosmovici, C. B.; Pogrebenko, S.

2018-01-01

Since the first discovery of a Jupiter-mass planet in 1995 more than 2000 exo-planets have been found to exist around main sequence stars. The detection techniques are based on the radial velocity method (which involves the measurement of the star's wobbling induced by the gravitational field of the orbiting giant planets) or on transit photometry by using space telescopes (Kepler, Corot, Hubble and Spitzer) outside the absorbing Earth atmosphere. From the ground, as infrared observations are strongly limited by atmospheric absorption, radioastronomy offers almost the only possible way to search for water presence and abundance in the planetary atmospheres of terrestrial-type planets where life may evolve. Following the discovery in 1994 of the first water maser emission in the atmosphere of Jupiter induced by a cometary impact, our measurements have shown that the water maser line at 22 GHz (1.35 cm) can be used as a powerful diagnostic tool for water search outside the solar system, as comets are able to deliver considerable amounts of water to planets raising the fascinating possibility of extraterrestrial life evolution. Thus in 1999 we started the systematic search for water on 35 different targets up to 50 light years away from the Sun. Here we report the first detection of the water maser emission from the exoplanetary systems Epsilon Eridani, Lalande 21185 and Gliese 581. We have shown the peculiar feasibility of water detection and its importance in the search for exoplanetary systems especially for the Astrobiology programs, given the possibility of long period observations using powerful radiotelescopes equipped with adequate spectrometers.

Infrared photometry of the dwarf nova V2051 Ophiuchi - I. The mass-donor star and the distance

Science.gov (United States)

Wojcikiewicz, Eduardo; Baptista, Raymundo; Ribeiro, Tiago

2018-04-01

We report the analysis of time series of infrared JHKs photometry of the dwarf nova V2051 Oph in quiescence. We modelled the ellipsoidal variations caused by the distorted mass-donor star to infer its JHKs fluxes. From its infrared colours, we estimate a spectral type of M(8.0 ± 1.5) and an equivalent blackbody temperature of TBB = (2700 ± 270) K. We used the Barnes & Evans relation to infer a photometric parallax distance of dBE = (102 ± 16) pc to the binary. At this short distance, the corresponding accretion disc temperatures in outburst are too low to be explained by the disc-instability model for dwarf nova outbursts, underscoring a previous suggestion that the outbursts of this binary are powered by mass-transfer bursts.