Theia: Faint Objects in Motion Or the New Astrometry Frontier
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Characterisation of Young Nearby Stars – the Ursa Major Group
FRIEDRICH-SCHILLER-UNIVERSITAT¨ JENA Physikalisch-Astronomische Fakult¨at Characterisation of young nearby stars – The Ursa Major group Dissertation zur Erlangung des akademischen Grades doctor rerum naturalium (Dr. rer. nat.) vorgelegt dem Rat der Physikalischen-Astronomischen Fakult¨at der Friedrich-Schiller-Universit¨at Jena von Dipl.-Phys. Matthias Ammler geboren am 10.01.1977 in Neuburg a. d. Donau Gutachter 1. Prof. Dr. Ralph Neuh¨auser 2. Dr. habil. Matthias H¨unsch 3. Prof. Dr. Artie P. Hatzes Tag der letzten Rigorosumspr¨ufung: 26. Juni 2006 Tag der ¨offentlichen Verteidigung: 11. Juli 2006 Meinen Eltern Contents List of Figures vii List of Tables ix Abstract xi Zusammenfassung xiii Remarks and Acknowledgements xv 1 Introduction 1 1.1 WhatistheUrsaMajorgroup? . 1 1.1.1 Co-movingstarsin the BigDipper constellation . .... 1 1.1.2 Stellarmotionandmovinggroups . 1 1.1.3 Formation and evolution of open clusters and associations ... 6 1.1.4 The nature of the UMa group – cluster or association, or some- thingelse? ............................ 8 1.2 WhyistheUMagroupinteresting?. 8 1.2.1 Asnapshotinstellarevolution . 8 1.2.2 Alaboratoryinfrontofthedoor . 9 1.2.3 Thecensusofthesolarneighbourhood . 10 1.3 ConstrainingtheUMagroup–previousapproaches . ..... 11 1.3.1 Spatialclustering . 11 1.3.2 Kinematic criteria – derived from a “canonical” memberlist . 12 1.3.3 Kinematic parameters – derived from kinematic clustering ... 15 1.3.4 Stellarparametersandabundances . 17 1.3.5 TheageoftheUMagroup–photometriccriteria . 19 1.3.6 Spectroscopicindicatorsforageandactivity . .... 19 1.3.7 Combining kinematic, spectroscopic, and photometric criteria . 21 1.4 Anewhomogeneousspectroscopicstudy . 21 1.4.1 Definingthesample ....................... 22 1.4.2 Howtoobtainprecisestellarparameters? . .. 23 2 Observations,reductionandcalibration 25 2.1 Requireddata ............................... 25 2.2 Instruments ............................... -
Plotting Variable Stars on the H-R Diagram Activity
Pulsating Variable Stars and the Hertzsprung-Russell Diagram The Hertzsprung-Russell (H-R) Diagram: The H-R diagram is an important astronomical tool for understanding how stars evolve over time. Stellar evolution can not be studied by observing individual stars as most changes occur over millions and billions of years. Astrophysicists observe numerous stars at various stages in their evolutionary history to determine their changing properties and probable evolutionary tracks across the H-R diagram. The H-R diagram is a scatter graph of stars. When the absolute magnitude (MV) – intrinsic brightness – of stars is plotted against their surface temperature (stellar classification) the stars are not randomly distributed on the graph but are mostly restricted to a few well-defined regions. The stars within the same regions share a common set of characteristics. As the physical characteristics of a star change over its evolutionary history, its position on the H-R diagram The H-R Diagram changes also – so the H-R diagram can also be thought of as a graphical plot of stellar evolution. From the location of a star on the diagram, its luminosity, spectral type, color, temperature, mass, age, chemical composition and evolutionary history are known. Most stars are classified by surface temperature (spectral type) from hottest to coolest as follows: O B A F G K M. These categories are further subdivided into subclasses from hottest (0) to coolest (9). The hottest B stars are B0 and the coolest are B9, followed by spectral type A0. Each major spectral classification is characterized by its own unique spectra. -
Ioptron AZ Mount Pro Altazimuth Mount Instruction
® iOptron® AZ Mount ProTM Altazimuth Mount Instruction Manual Product #8900, #8903 and #8920 This product is a precision instrument. Please read the included QSG before assembling the mount. Please read the entire Instruction Manual before operating the mount. If you have any questions please contact us at [email protected] WARNING! NEVER USE A TELESCOPE TO LOOK AT THE SUN WITHOUT A PROPER FILTER! Looking at or near the Sun will cause instant and irreversible damage to your eye. Children should always have adult supervision while observing. 2 Table of Content Table of Content ......................................................................................................................................... 3 1. AZ Mount ProTM Altazimuth Mount Overview...................................................................................... 5 2. AZ Mount ProTM Mount Assembly ........................................................................................................ 6 2.1. Parts List .......................................................................................................................................... 6 2.2. Identification of Parts ....................................................................................................................... 7 2.3. Go2Nova® 8407 Hand Controller .................................................................................................... 8 2.3.1. Key Description ....................................................................................................................... -
The NTT Provides the Deepest Look Into Space 6
The NTT Provides the Deepest Look Into Space 6. A. PETERSON, Mount Stromlo Observatory,Australian National University, Canberra S. D'ODORICO, M. TARENGHI and E. J. WAMPLER, ESO The ESO New Technology Telescope r on La Silla has again proven its extraor- - dinary abilities. It has now produced the "deepest" view into the distant regions of the Universe ever obtained with ground- or space-based telescopes. Figure 1 : This picture is a reproduction of a I.1 x 1.1 arcmin portion of a composite im- age of forty-one 10-minute exposures in the V band of a field at high galactic latitude in the constellation of Sextans (R.A. loh 45'7 Decl. -0' 143. The individual images were obtained with the EMMI imager/spectrograph at the Nas- myth focus of the ESO 3.5-m New Technolo- gy Telescope using a 1000 x 1000 pixel Thomson CCD. This combination gave a full field of 7.6 x 7.6 arcmin and a pixel size of 0.44 arcsec. The average seeing during these exposures was 1.0 arcsec. The telescope was offset between the indi- vidual exposures so that the sky background could be used to flat-field the frame. This procedure also removed the effects of cos- mic rays and blemishes in the CCD. More than 97% of the objects seen in this sub- field are galaxies. For the brighter galax- ies, there is good agreement between the galaxy counts of Tyson (1988, Astron. J., 96, 1) and the NTT counts for the brighter galax- ies. -
Ghost Imaging of Space Objects
Ghost Imaging of Space Objects Dmitry V. Strekalov, Baris I. Erkmen, Igor Kulikov, and Nan Yu Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, 4800 Oak Grove Drive, Pasadena, California 91109-8099 USA NIAC Final Report September 2014 Contents I. The proposed research 1 A. Origins and motivation of this research 1 B. Proposed approach in a nutshell 3 C. Proposed approach in the context of modern astronomy 7 D. Perceived benefits and perspectives 12 II. Phase I goals and accomplishments 18 A. Introducing the theoretical model 19 B. A Gaussian absorber 28 C. Unbalanced arms configuration 32 D. Phase I summary 34 III. Phase II goals and accomplishments 37 A. Advanced theoretical analysis 38 B. On observability of a shadow gradient 47 C. Signal-to-noise ratio 49 D. From detection to imaging 59 E. Experimental demonstration 72 F. On observation of phase objects 86 IV. Dissemination and outreach 90 V. Conclusion 92 References 95 1 I. THE PROPOSED RESEARCH The NIAC Ghost Imaging of Space Objects research program has been carried out at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Caltech. The program consisted of Phase I (October 2011 to September 2012) and Phase II (October 2012 to September 2014). The research team consisted of Drs. Dmitry Strekalov (PI), Baris Erkmen, Igor Kulikov and Nan Yu. The team members acknowledge stimulating discussions with Drs. Leonidas Moustakas, Andrew Shapiro-Scharlotta, Victor Vilnrotter, Michael Werner and Paul Goldsmith of JPL; Maria Chekhova and Timur Iskhakov of Max Plank Institute for Physics of Light, Erlangen; Paul Nu˜nez of Coll`ege de France & Observatoire de la Cˆote d’Azur; and technical support from Victor White and Pierre Echternach of JPL. -
A Review on Substellar Objects Below the Deuterium Burning Mass Limit: Planets, Brown Dwarfs Or What?
geosciences Review A Review on Substellar Objects below the Deuterium Burning Mass Limit: Planets, Brown Dwarfs or What? José A. Caballero Centro de Astrobiología (CSIC-INTA), ESAC, Camino Bajo del Castillo s/n, E-28692 Villanueva de la Cañada, Madrid, Spain; [email protected] Received: 23 August 2018; Accepted: 10 September 2018; Published: 28 September 2018 Abstract: “Free-floating, non-deuterium-burning, substellar objects” are isolated bodies of a few Jupiter masses found in very young open clusters and associations, nearby young moving groups, and in the immediate vicinity of the Sun. They are neither brown dwarfs nor planets. In this paper, their nomenclature, history of discovery, sites of detection, formation mechanisms, and future directions of research are reviewed. Most free-floating, non-deuterium-burning, substellar objects share the same formation mechanism as low-mass stars and brown dwarfs, but there are still a few caveats, such as the value of the opacity mass limit, the minimum mass at which an isolated body can form via turbulent fragmentation from a cloud. The least massive free-floating substellar objects found to date have masses of about 0.004 Msol, but current and future surveys should aim at breaking this record. For that, we may need LSST, Euclid and WFIRST. Keywords: planetary systems; stars: brown dwarfs; stars: low mass; galaxy: solar neighborhood; galaxy: open clusters and associations 1. Introduction I can’t answer why (I’m not a gangstar) But I can tell you how (I’m not a flam star) We were born upside-down (I’m a star’s star) Born the wrong way ’round (I’m not a white star) I’m a blackstar, I’m not a gangstar I’m a blackstar, I’m a blackstar I’m not a pornstar, I’m not a wandering star I’m a blackstar, I’m a blackstar Blackstar, F (2016), David Bowie The tenth star of George van Biesbroeck’s catalogue of high, common, proper motion companions, vB 10, was from the end of the Second World War to the early 1980s, and had an entry on the least massive star known [1–3]. -
Information Bulletin on Variable Stars
COMMISSIONS AND OF THE I A U INFORMATION BULLETIN ON VARIABLE STARS Nos November July EDITORS L SZABADOS K OLAH TECHNICAL EDITOR A HOLL TYPESETTING K ORI ADMINISTRATION Zs KOVARI EDITORIAL BOARD L A BALONA M BREGER E BUDDING M deGROOT E GUINAN D S HALL P HARMANEC M JERZYKIEWICZ K C LEUNG M RODONO N N SAMUS J SMAK C STERKEN Chair H BUDAPEST XI I Box HUNGARY URL httpwwwkonkolyhuIBVSIBVShtml HU ISSN COPYRIGHT NOTICE IBVS is published on b ehalf of the th and nd Commissions of the IAU by the Konkoly Observatory Budap est Hungary Individual issues could b e downloaded for scientic and educational purp oses free of charge Bibliographic information of the recent issues could b e entered to indexing sys tems No IBVS issues may b e stored in a public retrieval system in any form or by any means electronic or otherwise without the prior written p ermission of the publishers Prior written p ermission of the publishers is required for entering IBVS issues to an electronic indexing or bibliographic system to o CONTENTS C STERKEN A JONES B VOS I ZEGELAAR AM van GENDEREN M de GROOT On the Cyclicity of the S Dor Phases in AG Carinae ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: : J BOROVICKA L SAROUNOVA The Period and Lightcurve of NSV ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: :::::::::::::: W LILLER AF JONES A New Very Long Period Variable Star in Norma ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: :::::::::::::::: EA KARITSKAYA VP GORANSKIJ Unusual Fading of V Cygni Cyg X in Early November ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: -
Open Batalha-Dissertation.Pdf
The Pennsylvania State University The Graduate School Eberly College of Science A SYNERGISTIC APPROACH TO INTERPRETING PLANETARY ATMOSPHERES A Dissertation in Astronomy and Astrophysics by Natasha E. Batalha © 2017 Natasha E. Batalha Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy August 2017 The dissertation of Natasha E. Batalha was reviewed and approved∗ by the following: Steinn Sigurdsson Professor of Astronomy and Astrophysics Dissertation Co-Advisor, Co-Chair of Committee James Kasting Professor of Geosciences Dissertation Co-Advisor, Co-Chair of Committee Jason Wright Professor of Astronomy and Astrophysics Eric Ford Professor of Astronomy and Astrophysics Chris Forest Professor of Meteorology Avi Mandell NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Research Scientist Special Signatory Michael Eracleous Professor of Astronomy and Astrophysics Graduate Program Chair ∗Signatures are on file in the Graduate School. ii Abstract We will soon have the technological capability to measure the atmospheric compo- sition of temperate Earth-sized planets orbiting nearby stars. Interpreting these atmospheric signals poses a new challenge to planetary science. In contrast to jovian-like atmospheres, whose bulk compositions consist of hydrogen and helium, terrestrial planet atmospheres are likely comprised of high mean molecular weight secondary atmospheres, which have gone through a high degree of evolution. For example, present-day Mars has a frozen surface with a thin tenuous atmosphere, but 4 billion years ago it may have been warmed by a thick greenhouse atmosphere. Several processes contribute to a planet’s atmospheric evolution: stellar evolution, geological processes, atmospheric escape, biology, etc. Each of these individual processes affects the planetary system as a whole and therefore they all must be considered in the modeling of terrestrial planets. -
Is It a Planet, Asteroid Or a Planetoid? on March 14, 2004 Astronomers at the Palomar Observatory Site Discovered the Most Distant Object in the Solar System
Vol. 35, No. 4 April 2004 Is it a planet, asteroid or a planetoid? On March 14, 2004 astronomers at the Palomar observatory site discovered the most distant object in the solar system. It is 90 AU from the sun, twice as far as anything discovered to date, and three times further than Pluto. It has a highly elliptical orbit that will take it 1000 AU from the sun in the next 5000 years. Its size is estimated to be up to 1800 km, somewhere between the 1250 km of the largest known Kuiper belt object, Quaoar, and the size of Pluto at 2390 km. (Largest asteroid is Ceres at 933 km.) It seems to have a rotational period of 40 days, and appears to be the reddest object in the solar system. Currently known as 2003 VB12, it has been suggested that because of its frigid temperatures it be named Sedna, after the Inuit goddess of the sea. There is much debate on what to call it. It is further than the objects discovered in the Kuiper belt, the zone of large objects discovered around and beyond Pluto, but nearer than the hypothesized Oort cloud zone believed to be the source of comets. It has rekindled the debate over whether Pluto is a planet. If Pluto is a planet then this, and many other large objects, should also be called planets. If this can’t be a planet then maybe Pluto should be declassified. Some have suggested a new category called planetoids. At magnitude 20.5 amateur astronomers won’t have much opportunity to do direct observations of this new object, but we can contribute to the discussion of what the definition of a planet should be. -
Mètodes De Detecció I Anàlisi D'exoplanetes
MÈTODES DE DETECCIÓ I ANÀLISI D’EXOPLANETES Rubén Soussé Villa 2n de Batxillerat Tutora: Dolors Romero IES XXV Olimpíada 13/1/2011 Mètodes de detecció i anàlisi d’exoplanetes . Índex - Introducció ............................................................................................. 5 [ Marc Teòric ] 1. L’Univers ............................................................................................... 6 1.1 Les estrelles .................................................................................. 6 1.1.1 Vida de les estrelles .............................................................. 7 1.1.2 Classes espectrals .................................................................9 1.1.3 Magnitud ........................................................................... 9 1.2 Sistemes planetaris: El Sistema Solar .............................................. 10 1.2.1 Formació ......................................................................... 11 1.2.2 Planetes .......................................................................... 13 2. Planetes extrasolars ............................................................................ 19 2.1 Denominació .............................................................................. 19 2.2 Història dels exoplanetes .............................................................. 20 2.3 Mètodes per detectar-los i saber-ne les característiques ..................... 26 2.3.1 Oscil·lació Doppler ........................................................... 27 2.3.2 Trànsits -
Interstellar Travel Slides
Interstellar Travel . Why Interstellar Travel Where Can We Go? How Can We Get There What Would an Interstellar Civilization Might Be Like G. David Nordley OryCon 2010 © G. Nordley 2012 160 150 Interstellar Travel: A Major Undertaking. 140 Journey times in years. 130 Astronomical Energy requirements 0.05c "Generation. 120 Ship" 110 112 ZJ 0.87c Zetajoules Starship 100 (ZJ) 90.4 ZJ 90 Zeta = 1021 80 Joule= 1 Watt-Second 70 Flying 60 gamma =2 1,000,000 biosphere2, time mT about 10 50 1000 mT 0.05 c aircraft carriers 0.87 c dilation or big cruise 40 cold ships sleep 0.5c ≈2 centuries 30 to alpha Cen. ≈Present Starship small World cold crew 20 Energy 14 ZJ sleep Use 10 1000 mT small 1 ZJ 0.5 c crew © G. Nordley 2012 Why Interstellar Travel? Provide realtime human guidance to exploration robots. Entertainment value for actual and vicarious participants Commerce? Unique artifacts? - Extrasolar artwork by aliens or human colonists? - Archeological SETI exhibits for Earth museums Not for... Resources--much cheaper to mine or make in the solar system © G. Nordley 2012 Extrasolar Colonies for More Living Room? Short term: --Isolation. Some folks just can't get along ...or are tired of putting up with idiots. --Empire building No room on Earth for this antisocial occupation, but go grow your own? Long term: --External disasters we can't cope with otherwise? (When Worlds Collide) we know Jupiter-sized rogue planets exist... --Our habitable zone is moving out as the Sun ages and expands; we might buy a few billion years with sunshields or moving Earth.. -
A Terrestrial Planet Candidate in a Temperate Orbit Around Proxima Centauri
A terrestrial planet candidate in a temperate orbit around Proxima Centauri Guillem Anglada-Escude´1∗, Pedro J. Amado2, John Barnes3, Zaira M. Berdinas˜ 2, R. Paul Butler4, Gavin A. L. Coleman1, Ignacio de la Cueva5, Stefan Dreizler6, Michael Endl7, Benjamin Giesers6, Sandra V. Jeffers6, James S. Jenkins8, Hugh R. A. Jones9, Marcin Kiraga10, Martin Kurster¨ 11, Mar´ıa J. Lopez-Gonz´ alez´ 2, Christopher J. Marvin6, Nicolas´ Morales2, Julien Morin12, Richard P. Nelson1, Jose´ L. Ortiz2, Aviv Ofir13, Sijme-Jan Paardekooper1, Ansgar Reiners6, Eloy Rodr´ıguez2, Cristina Rodr´ıguez-Lopez´ 2, Luis F. Sarmiento6, John P. Strachan1, Yiannis Tsapras14, Mikko Tuomi9, Mathias Zechmeister6. July 13, 2016 1School of Physics and Astronomy, Queen Mary University of London, 327 Mile End Road, London E1 4NS, UK 2Instituto de Astrofsica de Andaluca - CSIC, Glorieta de la Astronoma S/N, E-18008 Granada, Spain 3Department of Physical Sciences, Open University, Walton Hall, Milton Keynes MK7 6AA, UK 4Carnegie Institution of Washington, Department of Terrestrial Magnetism 5241 Broad Branch Rd. NW, Washington, DC 20015, USA 5Astroimagen, Ibiza, Spain 6Institut fur¨ Astrophysik, Georg-August-Universitat¨ Gottingen¨ Friedrich-Hund-Platz 1, 37077 Gottingen,¨ Germany 7The University of Texas at Austin and Department of Astronomy and McDonald Observatory 2515 Speedway, C1400, Austin, TX 78712, USA 8Departamento de Astronoma, Universidad de Chile Camino El Observatorio 1515, Las Condes, Santiago, Chile 9Centre for Astrophysics Research, Science & Technology Research Institute, University of Hert- fordshire, Hatfield AL10 9AB, UK 10Warsaw University Observatory, Aleje Ujazdowskie 4, Warszawa, Poland 11Max-Planck-Institut fur¨ Astronomie Konigstuhl¨ 17, 69117 Heidelberg, Germany 12Laboratoire Univers et Particules de Montpellier, Universit de Montpellier, Pl.