Determination of Thermophysical Characteristics of the Surface Layer of the Lunar Soil under Natural Conditions

Solar System Research - The schemes of unburied thermal probes and the principles of their operation are considered. The efficiency of each scheme is evaluated.     

TERMO-LR Experiment on the Luna-27 Lander: Study of Thermophysical,Physicomechanical, and Electromagnetic Properties of the Lunar Soil

Solar System Research - The device is being developed for the TERMO-LR experiment on the Luna-27 lunar lander; it is intended for contact geophysical measurements of various properties of the lunar...     

Probing the Fundamental Physics of the Solar Corona with Lunar Solar Occultation Observations

Imaging and spectroscopy of the solar corona, coupled with polarimetry, are the only tools available at present to capture signatures of physical processes responsible for coronal heating and solar wind acceleration within the first few solar radii above the solar limb. With the recent advent of improved detector technology and image processing techniques, broad-band white light and narrow-band multi-wavelength observations of coronal forbidden lines, made during total solar eclipses, have started to yield new views about the thermodynamic and magnetic properties of coronal structures. This paper outlines these unique capabilities, which until present, have been feasible primarily with observations during natural total solar eclipses. This work also draws attention to the exciting possibility of greatly increasing the frequency and duration of solar eclipse observations with Moon orbiting observatories utilizing lunar limb occultation of the solar disk for coronal measurements.     

A Spectropolarimetric Maturity Index of Lunar Soil

The lunar soil maturity is the most important parameter of the Moon's surface material. The degree of regolith processing should be taken into account in remote determinations of the chemical and mineralogical surface compositions. However, the possibilities for directly determining the lunar regolith maturity are limited to laboratory studies of the fine fraction and microparticles of samples returned to Earth. In these conditions, the urgency of developing methods for remotely determining the lunar soil maturity increases sharply. The suggested method of using spectropolarimetric data to quantitatively estimate the maturity of the surface material has an advantage that the derived maturity index is determined only by structural parameters of the reflecting layer and is completely free from the effects of chemical and mineralogical surface rock compositions. The reference catalog of spectropolarimetric indices contains values for 92 objects on the Moon's visible hemisphere and includes a wide range of structures with various degrees of maturity of the surface material. We obtained correlations with other maturity indices determined by laboratory and remote sensing techniques and the time scale that represents the correspondence between the spectropolarimetric maturity index and the soil exposure age.     

"嫦娥一号"探月卫星发射期间太阳活动现象监测

为发射"嫦娥一号"探月卫星,保障其在空间环境运行的安全和国家载人航天计划的正常实施,云南天文台全日面Hα色球望远镜为中国科学院空间环境研究预报中心实时提供太阳活动数据资料,协作完成特殊时期空间环境监测任务.     

Reflectance Spectral Characteristics of Lunar Surface Materials

Based on a comprehensive analysis of the mineral composition of major lunar rocks (highland anorthosite, lunar mare basalt and KREEP rock), we investigate the reflectance spectral characteristics of the lunar rock-forming minerals, including feldspar, pyroxene and olivine. The affecting factors, the variation of the intensity of solar radiation with wavelength and the reflectance spectra of the lunar rocks are studied. We also calculate the reflectivity of lunar mare basalt and highland anorthosite at 300 nm, 415 nm, 750 nm, 900 nm, 950 nm and 1000 nm. It is considered that the difference in composition between lunar mare basalt and highland anorthosite is so large that separate analyses are needed in the study of the reflectivity of lunar surface materials in the two regions covered by mare basalt and highland anorthosite, and especially in the region with high Th contents, which may be the KREEP-distributed region.     

太阳和月球射电辐射对40m天线数据接收影响分析

利用标准射电源和标准噪声源,对宁静太阳和月球射电辐射的噪声温度进行了测量,估计它们对40m天线接收绕月卫星信号的影响,结论是:(1)40m天线指向偏离太阳超过2°时,能够满足正常数据接收要求;(2)40m天线指向月球时,系统接收的噪声温度增加值为87.1K, 此时系统的总噪声温度能够满足正常数据接收要求.     

A Study of the Lunar Soil in Regions with Temperature Anomalies

Based on a large body of observational data on radio emission from the Moon, we study the dependence of lunar radio temperature variations on illumination conditions. The data were obtained with the RATAN-600 radio telescope with a high sensitivity and resolution, which has not yet been used to construct radio images of the Moon. The harmonic parameters (amplitudes and phase angles) were determined both for the average Moon and for regions with temperature anomalies revealed by the RATAN-600 observations. These parameters allow the physical properties of the lunar soil to be investigated. The distribution of the loss-angle tangent (tan ), one of the characteristics of the lunar material, over the Moon was determined. The loss-angle tangent is related to the content of ilmenite, a rock containing oxygen, iron, and titanium, in the lunar soil. Studies of the ilmenite distribution on the Moon are particularly important in view of the prospects for building a habitable lunar base that needs oxygen. It is relatively easy and cheap to extract oxygen, iron, and titanium from ilmenite.     

Unique Observation of a Solar Flare by Lunar Occultation During the 2010 Annular Solar Eclipse Through Ionospheric Disturbances of VLF Signals

Very Low Frequency (VLF) radio waves propagate through the Earth-ionosphere waveguide. Irregularities caused by excess or deficient extreme ultra-violet and X-rays, which otherwise sustain the ionosphere, change the waveguide properties and hence the signals are modified. We report the results of monitoring of the NWC transmitter (19.8?kHz) by a receiver placed at Khukurdaha (22°27′N, 87°45′E) during the partial solar eclipse (75?%) of 15th January, 2010. The propagation path from the transmitter to the receiver crosses the annular eclipse belt. We got a clear depression in the data during the period of the eclipse. Most interestingly, there was also a X-ray flaring activity in the sun on that day which reached its peak (C-type) right after the time when the eclipse reached its maximum. We saw the effects of the occultation of this flare in our VLF signal since a part of the X-ray active region was clearly blocked by the moon. We quantitatively compared by using analogies with previous observations and found best fitting parameters for the time when the flare was occulted. We then reconstructed the VLF signal in the absence of the occulted flare. To our knowledge, this is the first such incident where the solar flare was observed through lunar occultation and that too during a partial eclipse.     

Prediction of Solar Cycle Maximum Using Solar Cycle Lengths

If the rise time RT, fall time FT, and total time TT (i.e., RT+FT) of a solar cycle are compared against the maximum amplitude Rz(max ) for the following cycle, then only the association between TT and Rz(max ) is inferred to be well anticorrelated, inferring that the larger (smaller) the value of Rz(max ) for the following cycle, the shorter (longer) the TT of the preceding cycle. Although the inferred correlation (−0.68) is statistically significant, the inferred standard error of estimate is quite large, so predictions using the inferred correlation are not very precise. Removal of cycle pairs 15/16, 19/20, and 20/21 (statistical outliers) yields a regression that is highly statistically significant (−0.85) and reduces the standard error of estimate by 18%. On the basis of the adjusted regression and presuming TT=140 months for cycle 23, the present ongoing cycle, cycle 24’s 90% prediction interval for Rz(max ) is estimated to be about 94±44, inferring only a 5% probability that its Rz(max ) will be larger than about 140, unless of course cycle pair 23/24 is a statistical outlier.     

环月飞行器精密定轨的模拟仿真

以中国正在实施的探月计划“嫦娥1号”工程为背景，分析了在中国联合S波段(USB)测控网和甚长基线射电干涉(VLBI)跟踪网的现有空间分布、观测精度水平下的环月飞行器精密定轨．采用的方法是模拟仿真计算，即首先模拟观测数据，然后在计入各误差源的影响后进行求解，并对解算结果进行比较．模拟仿真的工具是美国宇航局哥达德飞行中心的空间数据分析软件系统GEODYN．环月飞行的主要误差源是月球重力场，为此首先讨论了目前精度最高的月球重力场模型JGL165P1的(形式)误差．在模拟了测距、测速以及VLBI的时延、时延率数据后，计入月球重力场的误差进行精密轨道确定．定轨时采用了减缩动力学(reduced dynamic)方法，即选用合适的经验加速度参数吸收重力场误差对定轨的影响．结果表明对于一个不将月球重力场作为主要科学目标的探月计划(如“嫦娥1号”)，减缩动力学方法是一个简单、有效地提高环月飞行器定轨精度的方法．     

Lunar Palaeoregolith Deposits as Recorders of the Galactic Environment of the Solar System and Implications for Astrobiology

One of the principal scientific reasons for wanting to resume in situ exploration of the lunar surface is to gain access to the record it contains of early Solar System history. Part of this record will pertain to the galactic environment of the Solar System, including variations in the cosmic ray flux, energetic galactic events (e.g., supernovae and/or gamma-ray bursts), and passages of the Solar System through dense interstellar clouds. Much of this record is of astrobiological interest as these processes may have affected the evolution of life on Earth, and perhaps other Solar System bodies. We argue that this galactic record, as for that of more local Solar System processes also of astrobiological interest, will be best preserved in ancient, buried regolith (‘palaeoregolith’) deposits in the lunar near sub-surface. Locating and sampling such deposits will be an important objective of future lunar exploration activities.     

太阳黑子周极小年的统计性质——兼论第22周起始极小是否已经出现

探讨太阳周极小年的性质关系到确定极小值的位置及太阳周的长度,从而与太阳活动周的研究、太阳活动预报及水文、气象等地球物理现象的研究密切相关.当前对第22黑子周特征值的预报相当弥散,第22周起始极小是否已经出现的问题受到普遍关注.不同的太阳活动指标达到极值的时间不同,一般以太阳黑子数月均平滑最低值的位置来定义极小年.     

Precise Determination of the Orientation of the Solar Image

Accurate heliographic coordinates of objects on the Sun have to be known in several fields of solar physics. One of the factors that affect the accuracy of the measurements of the heliographic coordinates is the accuracy of the orientation of a solar image. In this paper the well-known drift method for determining the orientation of the solar image is applied to data taken with a solar telescope equipped with a CCD camera. The factors that influence the accuracy of the method are systematically discussed, and the necessary corrections are determined. These factors are as follows: the trajectory of the center of the solar disk on the CCD with the telescope drive turned off, the astronomical refraction, the change of the declination of the Sun, and the optical distortion of the telescope. The method can be used on any solar telescope that is equipped with a CCD camera and is capable of taking solar full-disk images. As an example to illustrate the method and its application, the orientation of solar images taken with the Gyula heliograph is determined. As a byproduct, a new method to determine the optical distortion of a solar telescope is proposed.     

Computer Simulation of Sputtering of Lunar Regolith by Solar Wind Protons: Contribution to Change of Surface Composition and to Hydrogen Flux at the Lunar Poles

A computer simulation of the sputtering of lunar soil by solar wind protons was performed with the TRIM program. The rate of the sputtering-induced erosion of regolith particles was shown to be less than 0.2 Å per year. A preferential sputtering of Ca, Mg, and O was found along with a less intense sputtering of Fe, Si, and Ti. However, with no other selection mechanisms, surface concentrations of the atoms would differ from the volume ones by no more than 6 %. The enrichment of rims of regolith particles with iron occurs as a result of selective removal of lighter atoms from the lunar surface because of different energies of escape from the Moon's gravity. The energy distributions proved to be the same for all sorts of the sputtered atoms, except for implanted hydrogen; thus, a greater fraction of the atoms left on the lunar surface corresponds to heavier elements. According to simulation results, the concentration of reduced iron observed in the mature regolith could be attained during the time of regolith particle exposure to the present flux of solar wind (10⁵ years). Thus, sputtering can provide the concentration of Fe₀ observed in regolith. On periphery of a cloud of impact vapor the temperature is too low for an irreversible selective removal of evaporation products; thus, a meteoritic bombardment contributes to the formation of composition of the rims of regolith particles mainly through enrichment of the rims with elements from the bulk of the particles. The estimates of fluxes of backscattered solar wind protons and of sputtered protons, earlier implanted to the regolith, demonstrated that their contribution to the proton flux near the poles is only 10⁴ cm^–2 s^–1. This is by two orders of magnitude smaller than the proton flux from the Earth's magnetosphere which is, therefore, the main source of protons for permanently shaded polar craters of the Moon.     

太阳过渡区的结构与特性

太阳过渡区是位于色球与日冕之间的一个高度动态的等离子体区域.通过对太阳紫外光谱的研究发现,过渡区的主要结构是以磁场集中为特征的网络组织.首先回顾太阳过渡区的研究历史,接着从整体上介绍太阳过渡区的结构及观测特征,然后介绍过渡区各种结构和现象的主要模型和物理解释,并结合作者的认识进行必要的评论,最后对未来的研究方向提出看法.     

Determination of some physical parameters of the Moon with Lunar Laser Ranging data

Information about the structure of lunar interior and evolution could be obtained from measurements of lunar free librations, gravitational field, dissipation etc.. In this paper the precision of determining free librations with Lunar Laser Ranging (LLR) data are estimated. Using the observing data from four telescopes for eighteen years the amplitudes and phases of free librations, the moments of inertia ratio of The Moon were determined.     

复杂型爆发事件的特征

太阳射电宽带动态频谱仪1.10～2.06 GHz、2.6～3.8 GHz、5.2～7.6 GHz从2000年～2005年同时在3个频段上观测到复杂型频谱事件(45C爆发:双峰或多峰结构,单频辐射流量小于500 sfu)158个,有139个事件对应高能事件,其中对应X级耀斑3个,对应M级耀斑86个,对应C级耀斑44个。36个爆发对应发生日冕物质抛射(Coronal Mass Ejection,CME)事件,29个事件对应有II型爆发,20个事件对应IV型爆发。在76个事件中显示了丰富的毫秒级精细结构,有尖峰辐射(Spike)、鱼群结构(Fish)、斑马纹结构(Zebra)、纤维结构(Fiber)、漂移脉动结构(DPS)、准周期振荡(QPPS)、M型结构以及II、III型爆发等。举两例说明复杂爆发的观测特征。     

Temperature-Dependent Near-Infrared Spectral Properties of Minerals, Meteorites, and Lunar Soil

The near-IR spectral properties of minerals, meteorites, and lunar soil vary with temperature. The manner in which these materials vary is diagnostic of aspects of their composition. We quantify the spectral dependence on temperature by reporting the change in relative reflectance with temperature as a function of wavelength. We call this quantity, ΔR/ΔT (in units of K⁻¹), as a function of temperature the “thermo-reflectance spectrum.” The thermo-reflectance spectra of olivine and pyroxene are distinct, and most of the observable structure in thermo-reflectance spectra of the ordinary and carbonaceous chondrites can be understood in terms of a mixture of the thermo-reflectance spectra of olivine and pyroxene. The magnitude of thermo-reflectance spectra of meteorites and lunar soils is much less than that of pure minerals. Lunar soils are particularly subdued. While conventional analysis of remotely obtained spectra of the Moon can neglect temperature effects, spatially resolved measurements of the surface of the asteroid Vesta will likely have a strong temperature-dependent component based on measurements of a eucrite and a howardite.