UBV lightcurves of asteroid 433 Eros

UBV photometry and lightcurves of Eros were obtained on nine dates between October 1974 and March 1975. The absolute V magnitude at photometric maximum extrapolated to a solar phase angle of zero is 10.75 while the linear phase coefficient is 0.026mag deg^?1. The mean colors at solar phase angles greater than 30° are B?V = 0.92 and U?B = 0.52mag. No significant color variations over the surface were detected.     

Voyager disk-integrated photometry of Io

Voyager full-disk images of Io, available at solar phase angle of α = 2?29° and 101?159°, allow comparisons of the satellite's near-opposition photometric behavior with Earth-based results and the determination of the phase curve out to very high phase angles. The near-opposition data were reduced iteratively for self-consistent phase and rotation curves in each Voyager filter; the resulting phase coefficients, geometric albedos, and rotational lightcurves are consistent with Earth-based findings, except for a previously noted tendency for Voyager to yield somewhat redder spectral information. The derived near-opposition phase coefficients, ranging between 0.016 and 0.024 mag/ deg, decrease with increasing wavelength, a trend weakly noted in some Earth-based observations. The full, α = 2?159° phase curves allow the first direct determination of the phase integral of Io at several wavelengths: q rises from ≈0.7 in the ultraviolet to ≈0.8 in the orange. Combination of the Voyager phase integrals with Earth-based albedo information leads to a best estimate of the bolometric Bond albedo of 0.50 ± 0.10, a value consistent with, but slightly below, previous estimates.     

The phase ratios of the color index: Mapping of two regions of the near side of the Moon

From the ground-based colorimetry performed for two surface regions of the near side of the Moon, images of the phase ratio of the color index C(600 nm/470 nm) have been built for the phase angles between 2° and 95°. It has been found that for phase angles smaller than α ∼ 40°–50°, the color index of the highlands grows with the phase quicker than that of the mare regions. For larger phase angles, α > 50°, a reverse situation is observed. The laboratory data on the spectrophotometry of the lunar samples confirm the peculiarities found in the phase dependence of color. The influence of multiple scattering on the phase dependence of the color of the mare and highland regions of the Moon are discussed.     

Photometry of Venus: I. Observation of the brightness distribution over the disk

Isophotes of the luminance distribution over the disk of Venus at several phase angles and in several wavelengths are constructed by means of isodensitometry of high-quality photographic negatives of Venus. Twenty-three plates were selected from more than 2000 original negatives available at the IAU Planetary Photographs Center of Meudon Observatory. Six isophote maps were made from a series of yellow light images (λ = 5850Å), corresponding to phase angles from 22° to 129°. Special attention was paid to the rare occurrences of distinct features in yellow light. A sequence of isophote maps was taken in six wavelengths from λ = 5850 to 3250Å. The ultraviolet cloud markings appear as changes in the isophote configurations for different wavelengths. Variations of contrast with wavelengths are deduced. Dark features, almost invisible at 4500Å, reach a contrast of 25% at 3500Å which then no longer increases toward ultraviolet. The polar bright clouds give contrasts of 40% to 60% in ultraviolet. A series of images taken in ultraviolet at 3500Åshows configurations characteristic of observations at short wavelengths for both the waxing and the waning crescent.In Parts II and III of this series of papers, the isophote maps will be compared with theoretical curves computed from the theory of multiple-order scattering by aerosol particles.     

Search for and limits on plume activity on Mimas, Tethys, and Dione with the Cassini Visual Infrared Mapping Spectrometer (VIMS)

Cassini Visual Infrared Mapping Spectrometer (VIMS) observations of Mimas, Tethys, and Dione obtained during the nominal and extended missions at large solar phase angles were analyzed to search for plume activity. No forward scattered peaks in the solar phase curves of these satellites were detected. The upper limit on water vapor production for Mimas and Tethys is one order of magnitude less than the production for Enceladus. For Dione, the upper limit is two orders of magnitude less, suggesting this world is as inert as Rhea (Pitman, K.M., Buratti, B.J., Mosher, J.A., Bauer, J.M., Momary, T., Brown, R.H., Nicholson, P.D., Hedman, M.M. [2008]. Astrophys. J. Lett. 680, L65-L68). Although the plumes are best seen at ∼2.0 μm, Imaging Science Subsystem (ISS) Narrow Angle Camera images obtained at the same time as the VIMS data were also inspected for these features. None of the Cassini ISS images shows evidence for plumes. The absence of evidence for any Enceladus-like plumes on the medium-sized saturnian satellites cannot absolutely rule out current geologic activity. The activity may below our threshold of detection, or it may be occurring but not captured on the handful of observations at large solar phase angles obtained for each moon. Many VIMS and ISS images of Enceladus at large solar phase angles, for example, do not contain plumes, as the active “tiger stripes” in the south pole region are pointed away from the spacecraft at these times. The 7-year Cassini Solstice Mission is scheduled to gather additional measurements at large solar phase angles that are capable of revealing activity on the saturnian moons.     

The lightcurve and phase function of the asteroid 304 Olga

Photoelectric lightcurves of 304 Olga were obtained at Table Mountain Observatory in 1978 near opposition. From these observations, and several observations made from Lowell Observatory a month later, we obtain a rotation period of 18.36 ± 0.02 hr and lightcurve amplitude of 0^m·20. The range of solar phase angle covered by the observations is from 2°·0 to 22°. The resulting phase function is well fit by the Bowell and Lumme model (1979, in Asteroids, T. Gehrels, Ed., pp. 132–169, Univ. of Arizona Press, Tucson), with Q = 0.02. This low value of Q is suggestive of a low-albedo object.     

Photometric study of the major satellites of Uranus

In this paper, we analyze the results of ground-based and space-born photometric observations of the major satellites of Uranus—Miranda, Ariel, Umbriel, Titania, and Oberon. All sets of photometric observations of the satellites available in the literature were examined for uniformity and systematic differences and summarized to a unified set by wavelength ranging from 0.25 to 2.4 μm. This set covers the interval of phase angles from 0.034° to 35°. The compound phase curves of brightness of the satellites in the spectral bands at 0.25, 0.41, 0.48, 0.56, 0.75, 0.91, 1.4, and 1.8 μm, which include a pronounced opposition surge and linear part, were constructed. For each satellite, the geometric albedo was found in different spectral bands taking into account the brightness opposition effect, and its spectral dependence was studied. It has been shown that the reflectance of the satellites linearly depends on the wavelength at different phase angles, but has different spectral gradients. The parameters of the phase functions of brightness, including the amplitude and the angular width of the brightness opposition surge, the phase coefficient, and the phase angle at which the nonlinear increase in brightness starts, were determined and their dependences on wavelength and geometric albedo were analyzed. Our investigations show that, in their optical properties, the satellites Miranda and Ariel, Titania and Oberon, and Umbriel present three types of surfaces. The observed parameters of the brightness opposition effect for the Uranian satellites, some ice satellites of Jupiter and Saturn, and the E-and S-type asteroids are analyzed and compared within the framework of the coherent backscattering and mutual shadowing mechanisms.     

Storm time response of GPS-derived total electron content (TEC) during low solar active period at Indian low latitude station Varanasi

The present paper analyzes the dual frequency signals from GPS satellites recorded at Varanasi (Geographic latitude 25°, 16′ N, longitude 82°, 59′ E) near the equatorial ionization anomaly (EIA) crest in India, to study the effect of geomagnetic storm on the variation of TEC, during the low solar active period of May 2007 to April 2008. Three most intense—but still moderate class—storms having a rapid decrease of Dst-index observed during the GPS recorded data have been analyzed, which occurred on 20 November 2007, 9 March 2008 and 11 October 2008 were selected and storm induced features in the vertical TEC (VTEC) have been studied considering the mean VTEC value of quiet days as reference level. The possible reasons for storm time effects on VTEC have been discussed in terms of local time dependence, storm wind effect as well as dawn-dusk component of interplanetary electric field (IEF) Ey intensity dependence.     

利用双行根数计算太阳相位角的精度评估

光度特性测量是获取空间目标的物理特性的重要技术手段之一,无论是光变曲线的事后分析还是建立光度变化的仿真模型,都离不开一个重要的参数——太阳相位角（太阳-空间目标-测站的空间夹角）.目前空间目标的位置通常是通过双行根数（TLE）外推获得,存在一定误差,且随外推时间的延长而变大,因而有必要对其计算所得的太阳相位角的精度进行评估.以典型的不同高度的激光测距卫星LAGEOS1、AJISAI、STELLA为研究对象,以全球激光测距资料解算所得的高精度轨道作为参考轨道,对2012年全年利用双行根数计算所得的太阳相位角数据进行了比对分析,结果表明对于LAGEOS1、AJISAI这样的中高轨卫星,由于轨道较高,表征阻力的B＊恒定,计算所得的太阳相位角偏差较小,角分量级,且随外推时间的延长不会导致偏差明显增大;而对于STELLA这样的低轨卫星,因轨道较低、受变化的大气的影响显著,计算所得的太阳相位角偏差较大,尤其是当B＊比较大、变化较快时,偏差显著变大,且随外推时间的延长显著增大,在最差情况下：外推1d约为13＇,外推3d约为50＇,外推7d约为251＇,已超出目前的精度要求.因此,在事后分析中应尽可能使用1d之内的TLE计算太阳相位角,对于B＊较大且变化较快情况尤其需要注意.另外,针对UTC闰秒的情况,提出了一种处理方法,即在双行根数外推时判断外推时段是否跨越了闰秒时刻,若跨越了则进行修正：增加或减少1s,相应地需要修改结果对应的时间戳计算方法.     

Photoelectric lightcurves of the asteroid 1862 Apollo

Photoelectric lightcurves of the asteroid 1862 Apollo were obtained in November–December 1980 and in April–May 1982. The period of rotation is unambiguously determined to be 3.0655 ± 0.0008 hr. The 1980 observations span a range of solar phase angle from 30° to 90°, and the 1982 observations, 0.°2 to 90°. The Lumme-Bowell-Harris phase relation can be fit to the absolute magnitudes at maximum light with an RMS scatter of 0.06 magnitude over the entire range of phase angle. The constants of the solution are absolute V magnitude at zero phase angle and at maximum light, 16.23 ± 0.02; slope parameter, 0.23 ± 0.01. These constant corresponds to values in the linear phase coefficient system of V(1, 0) = 16.50 ± 0.02 and a phase coefficient of β_v = 0.0305 ± 0.0012 mag/degree in the phase range 10°–20°. The slope of the phase curve is typical for a moderate albedo asteroid. The absolute magnitudes observed in 1980 and 1982 fall along a common phase curve. That is, Apollo was not intrinsically brighter at one apparition than the other. This is not surprising, since the two apparitions were almost exactly opposite one another in the sky. A pole position was calculated from the observed deviation of the lightcurve from constant periodicity (synodic-sidereal difference) during both apparitions. The computed 1950 ecliptic coordinates of the pole are: longitude = 56°, latitude = −26°. This is the “north” pole with respect to right-handed (counter-clockwise) rotation. The formal uncertainty of the solution for the pole position is less than 10°, but realistically may be several times that, or even completely wrong. The sidereal period of rotation asscociated with this pole solution is 3.065436 ± 0.000012 hr.     

Asteroid lightcurve phase shift from rough‐surface shadowing

We have simulated asteroid lightcurves for simple shape models using a realistic surface scattering law. The scattering law includes a shadowing function computed with numerical ray‐tracing. We computed lightcurves in a variety of illumination geometries for both the traditional Lommel–Seeliger law and our seminumerical law. We observe a shift in the rotational phase of the lightcurves, which depends on the parameters of the scattering law as well as the illumination geometry and the direction of the spin axis of the asteroid. This phase shift is always zero at opposition, and can be as large as 10° for illumination geometries typical for Main Belt asteroids. The phase shift has implications on the accuracy of other results which are based on asteroid lightcurve analysis, such as spin‐state or shape determination.     

Visible spectral reflectance measurements (0.33–1.1 μm) of the Galilean satellites at many orbital phase angles

One hundred eighty-seven reflectance spectra (0.33–1.10 μm) of the Galilean satellites have been obtained. Solar phase angle color correction coefficients were derived and the spectra corrected to a solar phase of 6°. Solar phase angle coefficients beyond 0.55 μm are presented for the first time. The spectra as a function of orbital phase angle are presented in the form of images to display hemispheric spectral variations. Io and Europa are redder on their trailing hemispheres while Callisto is redder on its leading hemisphere. Ganymede shows small longitudinal color variations despite the complex albedo structure visible in Voyager images. Comparisons of these data with previous measurements reveal that most differences can be attributed to the solar calibration. Reflectance measurements of Io at 0.73 μm observed 8.5 years apart show a 6% global reflectance decrease. However, it is difficult to unambigously attribute this particular decrease in reflectance to a change in Io's surface composition.     

Observations of global oscillations of the sun in the SOKOL experiment onboard the CORONAS-PHOTON satellite

The helioseismological experiment onboard the CORONAS-PHOTON satellite is intended for the study of characteristics and the internal structure of the Sun using the solar eigenmodes spectrum obtained by the measurement of fluctuations of the solar radiation intensity. This experiment is the continuation of investigations of solar global oscillations started onboard artificial satellites CORONAS-I and CORONAS-F. Measurements of fluctuations of the solar radiation intensity in seven optical ranges—from the near ultraviolet to infrared spectral regions—are carried out by the solar photometer SOKOL (SOlnechnye KOLebaniya (Solar Oscillations)) developed at IZMIRAN. Over an instrument operation period of more than 9 months, a large volume of the scientific information (more than 500 MB) has been obtained. The primary processing of obtained data was performed, and spectra of fluctuations of the solar radiation intensity were constructed. On the basis of part of the processed information obtained by the photometer SOKOL, and data of the experiment DIFOS (Differential Oscillations of the Sun) onboard the artificial satellite CORONAS-F, the dependence of the relative amplitude of oscillations on the wavelength of the observation was determined.     

Polarimetry of Pluto

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

The Rotation Rates of Solar Magnetic Fields During Solar Cycles 21 – 23

Employing the synoptic maps of the photospheric magnetic fields from the beginning of solar cycle 21 to the end of 23, we first build up a time – longitude stackplot at each latitude between ±35°. On each stackplot there are many tilted magnetic structures clearly reflecting the rotation rates, and we adopt a cross-correlation technique to explore the rotation rates from these tilted structures. Our new method avoids artificially choosing magnetic tracers, and it is convenient for investigating the rotation rates of the positive and negative fields by omitting one kind of field on the stackplots. We have obtained the following results. i) The rotation rates of the positive and negative fields (or the leader and follower polarities, depending on the hemispheres and solar cycles) between latitudes ±35° during solar cycles 21–23 are derived. The reversal times of the leader and follower polarities are usually not consistent with the years of the solar minimum, nevertheless, at latitudes ±16°, the reversal times are almost simultaneous with them. ii) The rotation rates of the three solar cycles averaged over each cycle are calculated separately for the positive, negative and total fields. The latitude profiles of rotation of the positive and negative fields exhibit equatorial symmetries with each other, and those of the total fields lie between them. iii) The differences in rotation rates between the leader and follower polarities are obtained. They are very small near the equator, and increase as latitude increases. In the latitude range of 5° – 20°, these differences reach 0.05 deg day⁻¹, and the mean difference for solar cycle 22 is somewhat smaller than cycles 21 and 23 in these latitude regions. Then, the differences reduce again at latitudes higher than 20°.     

Study of the unknown hemisphere of mercury by ground-based astronomical facilities

The short exposure method proved to be very productive in ground-based observations of Mercury. Telescopic observations with short exposures, together with computer codes for the processing of data arrays of many thousands of original electronic photos, make it possible to improve the resolution of images from ground-based instruments to almost the diffraction limit. The resulting composite images are comparable with images from spacecrafts approaching from a distance of about 1 million km. This paper presents images of the hemisphere of Mercury in longitude sectors 90°–180°W, 215°–350°W, and 50°–90°W, including, among others, areas not covered by spacecraft cameras. For the first time a giant S basin was discovered in the sector of longitudes 250°–290°W, which is the largest formation of this type on terrestrial planets. Mercury has a strong phase effects. As a result, the view of the surface changes completely with the change in the planetary phase. But the choice of the phase in the study using spacecrafts is limited by orbital characteristics of the mission. Thus, ground-based observations of the planet provide a valuable support.     

The opposition effect in the outer Solar system: A comparative study of the phase function morphology

In this paper, we characterize the morphology of the disk-integrated phase functions of satellites and rings around the giant planets of our solar system. We find that the shape of the phase function is accurately represented by a logarithmic model [Bobrov, M.S., 1970. Physical properties of Saturn's rings. In: Dollfus, A. (Ed.), Surfaces and Interiors of Planets and Satellites. Academic, New York, pp. 376-461]. For practical purposes, we also parametrize the phase curves by a linear-exponential model [Kaasalainen, S., Muinonen, K., Piironen, J., 2001. Comparative study on opposition effect of icy solar system objects. Journal of Quantitative Spectroscopy and Radiative Transfer 70, 529-543] and a simple linear-by-parts model [Lumme, K., Irvine, W.M., 1976. Photometry of Saturn's rings. Astronomical Journal 81, 865-893], which provides three morphological parameters: the amplitude A and the half-width at half-maximum (HWHM) of the opposition surge, and the slope S of the linear part of the phase function at larger phase angles.Our analysis demonstrates that all of these morphological parameters are correlated with the single-scattering albedos of the surfaces.By taking more accurately into consideration the finite angular size of the Sun, we find that the Galilean, Saturnian, Uranian and Neptunian satellites have similar HWHMs (?0.5^°), whereas they have a wide range of amplitudes A. The Moon has the largest HWHM (∼2^°). We interpret that as a consequence of the “solar size bias”, via the finite angular size of the Sun which varies dramatically from the Earth to Neptune. By applying a new method that attempts to morphologically deconvolve the phase function to the solar angular size, we find that icy and young surfaces, with active resurfacing, have the smallest values of A and HWHM, whereas dark objects (and perhaps older surfaces) such as the Moon, Nereid and Saturn's C ring have the largest A and HWHM.Comparison between multiple objects also shows that solar system objects belonging to the same planet have comparable opposition surges. This can be interpreted as a “planetary environmental effect” that acts to locally modify the regolith and the surface properties of objects which are in the same environment.     

The Distribution of Craters Within Craters

Photometric correction is a necessary step in planetary image pre-processing since the images of planetary surfaces are acquired by orbiting spacecraft at various observational geometries. In this study, visible (748 nm) and near-infrared (948 nm) bands of Hyper Spectral Imager (HySI) onboard Chandrayaan-1 have been used to derive a preliminary photometric correction for lunar data. The purpose of the proposed photometric correction for HySI is to convert observations taken at solar incidence (i), sensor emission (e), and the solar phase angles (α) to a fixed geometry by applying i?=?α?=?30° and e?=?0° to each image. The Lommel–Seeliger function was used to model the lunar limb darkening effect, while topography data from the merged Digital Elevation Model of Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter—Lunar Orbiter Laser Altimeter (LRO-LOLA) and SELENE Terrain Camera (TC) was used to correct local topographic effects. Data from Moon Mineralogy Mapper (M³), SELENE Multiband Imager (MI) and Clementine Ultraviolet and Visible Camera (UV/VIS) were also used to compare radiance, reflectance and phase functions derived from HySI. Our analysis reveals that HySI is darker than M³ primarily due to low surface radiance conditions observed by HySI. The derived phase functions for the two HySI bands indicate a good correlation between the derived reflectance and phase angle as well as with the phase functions derived for the empirically corrected M³ data. This approach led to the derivation of a photometric correction for maria regions. Finally, it is expected that the proposed correction would be applicable to all HySI images covering the lunar mare region.

     

The Observed Long- and Short-Term Phase Relation between the Toroidal and Poloidal Magnetic Fields in Cycle 23

The observed phase relations between the weak background solar magnetic (poloidal) field and strong magnetic field associated with sunspots (toroidal field) measured at different latitudes are presented. For measurements of the solar magnetic field (SMF) the low-resolution images obtained from Wilcox Solar Observatory are used and the sunspot magnetic field was taken from the Solar Feature Catalogues utilizing the SOHO/MDI full-disk magnetograms. The quasi-3D latitudinal distributions of sunspot areas and magnetic fields obtained for 30 latitudinal bands (15 in the northern hemisphere and 15 in the southern hemisphere) within fixed longitudinal strips are correlated with those of the background SMF. The sunspot areas in all latitudinal zones (averaged with a sliding one-year filter) reveal a strong positive correlation with the absolute SMF in the same zone appearing first with a zero time lag and repeating with a two- to three-year lag through the whole period of observations. The residuals of the sunspot areas averaged over one year and those over four years are also shown to have a well defined periodic structure visible in every two – three years close to one-quarter cycle with the maxima occurring at − 40° and + 40° and drifts during this period either toward the equator or the poles depending on the latitude of sunspot occurrence. This phase relation between poloidal and toroidal field throughout the whole cycle is discussed in association with both the symmetric and asymmetric components of the background SMF and relevant predictions by the solar dynamo models.     

Photospheric Magnetic Field of the Sun: Two Patterns of the Longitudinal Distribution

Longitudinal distributions of the photospheric magnetic field studied on the basis of National Solar Observatory (Kitt Peak) data (1976 – 2003) displayed two opposite patterns during different parts of the 11-year solar cycle. Helio-longitudinal distributions differed for the ascending phase and the maximum of the solar cycle on the one hand and for the descending phase and the minimum on the other, depicting maxima around two diametrically opposite Carrington longitudes (180° and 0°/360°). Thus the maximum of the distribution shifted its position by 180° with the transition from one characteristic period to the other. Two characteristic periods correspond to different situations occurring in the 22-year magnetic cycle of the Sun, in the course of which both global magnetic field and the magnetic field of the leading sunspot in a group change their sign. During the ascending phase and the maximum (active longitude 180°) polarities of the global magnetic field and those of the leading sunspots coincide, whereas for the descending phase and the minimum (active longitude 0°/360°) the polarities are opposite. Thus the observed change of active longitudes may be connected with the polarity changes of Sun’s magnetic field in the course of 22-year magnetic cycle.