An estimation of the oblateness of Sun from the motion of Icarus

From astrometric observations of minor planet (1566) Icarus from 1949 to 1987 were made solutions for improved orbital elements of Icarus and the quadrupole moment of the Sun. The formal result was J₂ = -0.6±5.8 &d 10^–6. From this we can conclude that J ₂ is very probably less than 2 · 10^–-5.     

Dynamical equinox and analytical theory of the Sun

A concept of the dynamical equinox and its relation to the analytical form of the adopted theory of the Sun is discussed. Connection between the FK4 equinox and the dynamical equinox is determined by comparing two analytical theories of the Sun (the adopted Newcomb's theory and a new one (AT-1) constructed at the Institute of Theoretical Astronomy) with solar meridian observations made at the U.S. Naval Observatory (1911–1971). Corrections to the FK4 right ascensions, ₀ to declinations and to the angle between the equator and the ecliptic are: Secular variations in and are negligible. Large secular variations of ₀ may be explained by improvement of observational conditions after the reconstruction of the telescope pavilion in the forties.Proceedings of the Conference on Analytical Methods and Ephemerides: Theory and Observations of the Moon and Planets. Facultés universitaires Notre Dame de la Paix Namur, Belgium, 28–31 July, 1980.     

The enigmatic periodicity of the solar oblateness

The complex wave-form of the 25 2/3 day periodicity of the solar oblateness is exhibited. The statistical significance and strength of the fluctuation is examined. Using several lines of evidence the periodic fluctuation is shown to be a fluctuation in shape, not brightness. The fluctuation does not correlate with indicators of sunspots, faculae, prominences or magnetic fields. The detailed results of the analysis of the correlation with faculae are given. A possible explanation for the absence of the negative-correlated fluctuation delayed by 1/2 the period is examined.     

On the abundance of chlorine in the Sun

A low-noise photoelectric scan which includes the predicted position of the Cli transition 4s ⁴ P _5/2-4 _p ⁴ D ⁰ _7/2 provides inconclusive evidence for the presence of the line in the solar photospheric spectrum. An upper limit logN(Cl) 5.5 is derived. It is pointed out that the fundamental vibration rotation band of HC1 at 3.3 should be detectable in the sunspot spectrum unless logN(Cl) < 4.6. Sunspot spectra may also provide the isotopic abundance ratio N(Cl³⁵)/N(Cl³⁷).A new derivation of the chlorine abundance for the Orion nebula is presented: logN(Cl) 5.8. It is suggested that a cosmic abundance logN(Cl) = 5.5 to 5.8 be adopted.Operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy Inc., under contract with the National Science Foundation.     

A case of commensurability induced by oblateness

In the three-dimensional restricted three-body problem, it is known that there exists a near one-to-one commensurability ratio between the planar angular frequencies (s _{1, 2, 3}) and the corresponding angular frequency (S ₂) in thez-direction at the three collinear equilibria (L _{1, 2, 3}), which is significant for small and practically important values of the mass parameter (). When the more massive primary is treated as an oblate spheroid with its equatorial plane coincident with the plane of motion of the primaries, it is established that oblateness induces a one-to-one commensurability at the exterior pointL ₃ (to the right of the more massive primary) and at the interior pointL ₂ for 01/2 and that atL ₁ no such commensurability exists. However, the values of the oblateness coefficient (A ₁) involved atL ₂ are too high to have any practical significance, while those atL ₃ being small for small values of may be useful for generating periodic orbits of the third kind.     

First-order effects of the Earth's oblateness upon coasting bodies

The Kustaanheimo-Stiefel transformation and perturbation techniques are employed in deriving approximate closed-form expressions for the trajectories of bodies coasting about an oblate Earth. The solutions are used to obtain Lambert type solutions which include oblateness effects.Research primarily supported by a NASA-ASEE Fellowship, supporting work with the Mission Planning and Analysis Division, Johnson Space Center.     

On the collision probability for comets with the Sun

We consider the collision probability for comets with the Sun under the suppositions of different velocity distributions and various initial conditions. We solve the problem applying Laplace's method and using Schiaparelli's hyperboloid of visibility. The probabilities obtained in this manner are given separately for elliptic and hyperbolic orbits.     

Periodic orbits of the Hill problem with radiation and oblateness

The modification of Hill’s problem where the primary is radiating and the secondary is an oblate spheroid is considered. The evolution of the network of the basic families of planar periodic orbits for various values of the parameters of the problem is studied. For specific values of the parameters these families are determined accurately together with their stability properties. The stability of retrograde satellites in an appropriate space of initial conditions is also determined by means of surface of section portraits of the Poíncare map and higher order resonances are studied. Simple asymmetric periodic orbits of the problem are also determined.     

Calculation of oblateness perturbations using Hansen's method

The basic principles and equations of Hansen's method are briefly stated. These equations are integrated to first order accuracy by analytic quadratures for the case of perturbations due to the Earth's oblateness and the procedure for obtaining the position of a satellite acted upon by such a perturbation is described in detail. Comparison of accuracies of one day predictions made with this Hansen's method and a first order variation of parameters method indicates comparable accuracies can be achieved with approximately 1/10 of the computation time when using Hansen's method.Presented at the AIAA/AAS Astrodynamics Conference, Princeton, N.J., August 20–22, 1969 (AIAA Preprint No. 69-909).     

On the solar oblateness: The combined effect of a pole-equator difference in effective temperature and mechanical heating

With the help of a model atmosphere of the Sun we evaluate the pole-equator difference in flux (as measured by Dicke and Goldenberg) assuming the following type of pole-equator temperature difference (T=T _e –T _p ): (a) T 2K for > ₀ (₀ 0.05); (b) T 10K for < ₀.The small T at all optical depths given by (a) could, for example, be due to a pole-equator difference in effective temperatures. At small optical depths a difference in mechanical heating could give rise to the larger temperature difference given by (b). We compare the results of our calculations with Dicke and Goldenberg's observations.The National Center for Atmospheric Research is sponsored by the National Science Foundation.     

On the apparent secular accelerations of the Moon and the Sun

The discussion of tidal friction in the Earth-Moon system given in successive editions ofThe Earth by Jeffreys is shown to contain a serious dynamical error. When the treatment is corrected, it shows that the moment of inertia of the Earth must be changing. The apparent secular accelerations of the Moon and Sun require a diminishing moment of inertia, and the rate is in agreement with the phase-change hypothesis for the nature of the core.Paper presented at the European Workshop on Planetary Sciences, organised by the Laboratorio di Astrofisica Spaziale di Frascati, and held between April 23–27, 1979, at the Accademia Nazionale del Lincei in Rome, Italy.     

On the topology of basins of convergence linked to libration points in the modified R3BP with oblateness

We numerically investigate the effect of oblateness parameter on the topology of basins of convergence connected with the equilibrium points in the restricted three-body problem when the test particle is an oblate spheroid, and the influence of the gravitational potential from the belt is taken into consideration. Additionally, the primaries are also not spherical in shape, on the contrary, it is oblate or prolate spheroid. The parametric variation of the equilibrium points, their stability, and the regions of possible motion are illustrated as the function of the parameters involved. The domain of convergence, on the several two dimensional planes, are unveiled by applying the bi-variate version of the Newton–Raphson iterative method. In addition, we perform a systematic investigation in an order to show how the used parameters affect the topology as well as the degree of fractality of basins of convergence. Moreover, it is also unveiled that how the region of the convergence is related with the number of the required iterations to achieve the desired accuracy with the corresponding probability distribution.     

Extension of the rotating dipole model with oblateness of both primaries

A rotating mass dipole can be used to understand the dynamical behaviors around elongated asteroids as well as binary asteroids. In this paper an improved dipole model with oblateness in both primaries is investigated. The dynamical equations of a particle around the improved model are first derived by introducing the oblateness coefficients. The characteristic equations of equilibrium points are obtained, resulting in the emergence of new equilibria in the equatorial plane and the plane xoz depending on the shape of the spheroid. Numerical simulations are performed to illustrate the distribution of these equilibrium points. Significant influence from the oblateness of the primaries on the topological structure is also analyzed via zero-velocity curves.     

Perturbation of a satellite orbiter by the oblateness of the primary planet

The perturbation of an orbiter around a large satellite of a giant planet (Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus or Neptune) produced by the oblateness of the planet is investigated. The perturbing force of theJ ₂-term (general case) and theJ ₄-term (special case of small eccentricity and inclination) is expanded in an appropriate form and the main term and the parallactic term are given explicitly. The variations of the orbital elements are derived using the stroboscopic method. An example shows that the perturbation of the orbit cannot be neglected.     

Effect of oblateness on triangular solutions at critical mass

At critical mass the triangular equilibria in the planar restricted three-body problem, when the more massive primary is an oblate spheroid with its equatorial plane coincident with the plane of motion, are in general unstable due to the presence of secular terms in the solutions of linearized equations of motion in the vicinity of these points. Existence of retrograde elliptic periodic orbits is established through suitable velocity components. The eccentricity of these orbits increases with the oblateness.