Galilean satellite mutual occultation data processing

Results of processing seven mutual occultation lightcurves are presented. The lightcurves were obtained using the 60-inch telescope (152 cm) at Mt. Wilson to observe six J1 occulting J2 events and one J3 occulting J2 event. Using a uniformly illuminated disk model, local satellite Jovicentric longitude corrections of 675 ± 150 km, 275 ± 240 km, and 1175 ± 350 km for J1, J2, and J3, respectively, were determined. These corrections enabled the event midpoint times to be computed to ±5sec of the observed midpoint times for all seven events. These longitude corrections have been verified by Pioneer 10 and recent (1973 and 1974) conventional Jovian eclipse observations. A relative J1:J2 out-of-plane error of less than a few hundred kilometers has been indicated; however, it appears that the relative J3:J2 out-of-plane error is larger than 600 km. Deficiencies in both the uniformly illuminated disk model and Sampson's theory of the Galilean satellite motions for the reduction of mutual event data are described.     

Ultraviolet observations of Mars made by the orbiting astronomical observatory

Ultraviolet albedos of Mars in the region γγ2000–3600 Å are discussed. When the reflectivity due to the known amount of CO₂ on Mars is accounted for, the remaining reflectivity may be used to set an upper limit for the surface albedo. The result disagrees qualitatively with published ultraviolet reflectivities of limonite and carbon suboxide. An alternate interpretation of the observations leads to the conclusion that CO₂ comprises at least 60% of the molecular atmosphere of Mars, assuming the remainder to be argon. A comparison of the OAO results with 1969 Mariner ultraviolet data reveals some important areas of conflict.Attempts to detect Mars at wavelengths less than γ2000 Å were unsuccessful, with only very high upper limits being set.     

Determination of velocities of East European stations from GNSS observations at the GNSS data analysis center of the main astronomical observatory,national academy of sciences of Ukraine

Dynamics of horizontal and vertical motions of East European GNSS stations has been studied at the GNSS Data Analysis Center, Main Astronomical Observatory, National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine (MAO NASU). The GNSS station coordinates have been estimated from regional processing and reprocessing performed with the Bernese GNSS Software ver. 5.2 at the GNSS Data Analysis Center, MAO NASU. The velocity values have been computed for 42 GNSS stations, 15 of them located in Ukraine. Global and local offsets of the horizontal and vertical motions of the GNSS stations have been determined.     

The astrolabe catalogue (ACPI) of the Peking astronomical observatory

Using the results of our latitude and time programs obtained with the impersonal astrolabe (OPL No. 30) of the Peking Observatory, we have calculated the corrections to individual star positions and the systematic corrections Δα_δ and Δδ_δ to catalogue positions.     

Digitizer of astronomical plates at Shanghai Astronomical Observatory and its performance test

Before CCD detectors were widely employed in observational astronomy, the main method of detection was the use of glass astrophotographic plates. Astronomical plates have been used to record information on the position and activity of celestial bodies for more than 100 years. There are about30 000 astronomical plates in China, and the digitization of astronomical plates is of great significance for permanent preservation and to make full use of these valuable observation data. A digitizer with high precision and high measuring speed is a key piece of equipment for carrying out the task of digitizing these astronomical plates. A digitizer for glass astrophotographic plates was developed jointly by Shanghai Astronomical Observatory and Nishimura Co., Ltd of Japan. The digitizer's hardware was manufactured by Nishimura Co., Ltd, and the performance test, error corrections as well as image processing of the digitizer were carried out by Shanghai Astronomical Observatory. The main structure and working mode of the digitizer are introduced in this paper. A performance test shows that brightness uniformity of illumination within the measuring area is better than 0.15%, the repeatability of digitized positions is better than 0.2 μm and the repeatability of digitized brightness is better than 0.01 instrumental magnitude. The systematic factors affecting digitized positions, such as lens distortion, the actual optical resolution, non-linearity of guide rails, non-uniformity of linear motors in the mobile platform,deviation of the image mosaic, and non-orthogonality between the direction of scanning and camera linear array, are calibrated and evaluated. Based on an astronomical plate with a size of 300 mm × 300 mm,which was digitized at different angles, the conversion residuals of positions of common stars on different images were investigated. The results show that the standard deviations of the residuals are better than 0.9 μm and the residual distribution is almost random, which demonstrates the digitizer has a higher precision for digitization.     

Early results from the Chandra X-ray observatory

We present some early results on AGN from the Chandra X-ray Observatory, highlighting high resolution spectroscopy using the High Energy Transmission Grating Spectrometer (HETGS). The quasar PKS 0637–752 was found to have a very bright X-ray jet whose shape is remarkably similar to that of the radio jet on a size scale of 100 kpc, but the X-ray emission is still inexplicably bright. Two BL Lac objects, PKS 2155–304 and Mrk 421, observed with the spectrometer were found to have no strong absorption or emission features. Other radio loud AGN observed with the HETGS show simple power law spectra without obvious features.     

Data processing and data products from 2017 to 2019 campaign of astronomical site testing at Ali,Daocheng and Muztagh-ata

Based on previous site testing and satellite cloud data,Ali,Daocheng and Muztagh-ata have been selected as candidate sites for the Large Optical/Infrared Telescope(LOT) in China.We present the data collection,processing,management and quality analysis for our site testing based on using similar hardware.We analyze meteorological data,seeing,background light,cloud and precipitable water vapor data from 2017 March 10 to 2019 March 10.We also investigated the relative usefulness of our all-sky camera data in comparison to that from the meteorological TERRA satellite data based on a night-by-night comparison of the correlation and consistency between them.We find a 6% discrepancy arising from a wide range of factors.     

A New look at the ionosphere of Jupiter in light of the UVS occultation results

Simple photochemical models cannot reconcile Jupiter's ionospheric electron density profiles with the observed neutral atmosphere. The location of the peak electron density predicted when the neutral atmosphere determined by theVoyager Ultraviolet Spectrometer is combined with simple models falls about 1000km lower than the peak determined by radio occultation. The locations and magnitudes of the peaks in electron density can be accounted for by including the effects of vertical transport of ions in the ionospheric models. This vertical transport may be induced by meridional winds in the neutral atmosphere or external electric fields. It is probable that precipitating particles and an altitude-variable H₂ vibrational temperature play important roles in determining the character of the iono?phere. In view of the complex relationship between the ionosphere and neutral atmosphere, an attempt to infer one from the other cannot succeed. However, combining independent information on the two leads to new insights into the coupling of the neutral atmosphere, the ionosphere and the magnetosphere.     

Statistical data analysis for gamma-ray astronomy

Significance testing, parameter estimation and sensitivity calculations for -ray telescopes are discussed for single on-off astronomical observations. Four widely used significance test methods are examined by Monte-Carlo simulations. The Maximum Likelihood Ratio Method is found to consistently over-estimate the significance of an observation by a few percents whereas the Fisher's Exact Test is shown to be slightly conservative and always under-estimates the significance by about the same amount when the reported significance is about 3 and therefore it is preferred for -ray astronomy applications. Two methods for constructing a confidence interval and an upper limit for -ray source counts are discussed. It is found that the method based on the Smooth Transformation provides slightly better estimations. A new formula for the calculation of the sensitivity of a -ray telescope is presented, in contrast to the widely accepted one, and their statistical meanings are explained in detail.     

An analysis of bending waves in Saturn's rings using voyager radio occultation data

The oblique geometry of the Voyager 1 radio occulation of Saturn's rings resulted in a strong coupling between the local slope of the ring midplane and the associated radio opacity (optical depth). We apply a model of this relationship to those regions of the rings where bending waves have been observed in the radio data. Using the Shu et al. linear model for a bending wave (F.H. Shu, J.N. Cuzzi, and J.J. Lissauer, 1983,Icarus53, 185–206), we obtain height profiles for the Mimas 5:3 and 7:4 bending waves. The first oscillation of the Mimas 5:3 bending wave has an amplitude of about 800 m, in agreement with the prediction of the Shu et al. model. However, the rest of the wave may be explained only by either a greatly decreased amplitude in the region beyond the second cycle, or by a significant enhancement in radio optical depth in the region of the bending wave. The shape of the enhancement necessary is similar to that of the enhancement at photopolarimetry wavelengths (L.W. Esposito, M. O'Callaghan, and R.A. West, 1983,Icarus56, 439–452), but differs in the region of the first cycle. Our solution gives 131,901±6 km as the resonance location, and a surface mass density of 35±6g cm⁻². The error bars on the resonance location do not include the uncertainty in the radial scale of the radio occultation data, which is approximately 10 km (R.A. Simpson, G.L. Tyler, and J.B. Holberg, 1983,Astron. J.88, 1531–1536). The Mimas 7:4 bending wave conforms more closely to the linear model, and requires no reduction in amplitude or enhancement in optical depth. We find a surface mass density of 30.5±9 g cm⁻², and resonance location at 127,765±7km.     

Early latitude observations at the Pulkovo observatory

Pulkovo astrometric observations began in the 1840s using the Repsold transit instrument in the prime vertical and Ertel vertical circle. The first observers on these instruments were W.I. Struve, 1840–1856, and Kh.I. Peters, 1842–1849. In the present work, we collected and analyzed different series of latitude variations from observations made by M.O. Nuren, B. Wanach, A.A. Ivanov, I.N. Bonsdorf, and A.Ya. Orlov. In addition, results are given of investigations of a specific behavior of the Chandler polar motion in this interval, obtained by C. Chandler, Ivanov, Kh. Kimura, Orlov, and N. Sekiguchi. The aim of this paper is to search for and analyze the earliest series of Pulkovo latitudes, in order to evaluate the possibility of their use to study the motion of the pole at the maximum available range of observations. Different methods were used to isolate and analyze the sum of Chandler and annual latitude variations. The annex provides a series of Pulkovo latitude variations for 1840–1848, which may be used to extend latitude variation back to 1840.     

Ionospheric inversion of the Venus Express radio occultation data observed by Shanghai 25m and New Norcia 35m antennas

Electron density profiles of Venus' ionosphere are inverted from the Venus Express(VEX) one-way open-loop radio occultation experiments carried out by the Shanghai 25 m antenna from November 2011 to January 2012 at solar maximum conditions and by the New Norcia 35 m antenna from August 2006 to June 2008 at solar intermediate conditions. The electron density profile(from 110 km to 400 km), retrieved from the X-band egress observation at the Shanghai station, shows a single peak near 147 km with a peak density of about 2 × 104cm-3at a solar zenith angle of 94?. As a comparison, the VEX radio science(Ve Ra) observations at the New Norcia station were also examined, including S- and X-band and dual-frequency data in the ingress mode. The results show that the electron density profiles retrieved from the S-band data are more analogous to the dual-frequency data in terms of the profile shape, compared with the X-band data. Generally, the S-band results slightly underestimate the magnitude of the peak density, while the X-band results overestimate it.The discrepancy in the X-band profile is probably due to the relatively larger unmodeled orbital errors. It is also expected that the ionopause height is sensitive to the solar wind dynamical pressure in high and intermediate solar activities, usually in the range of 200–1000 km on the dayside and much higher on the nightside. Structural variations("bulges" and fluctuations) can be found in the electron density profiles during intermediate solar activity, which may be caused by the interaction of the solar wind with the ionosphere. Considerable ionizations can be observed in Venus' nightside ionosphere, which are unexpected for the Martian nightside ionosphere in most cases.     

Enhanced management of personal astronomical data with FITSManager

Although the roles of data centers and computing centers are becoming more and more important, and on-line research is becoming the mainstream for astronomy, individual research based on locally hosted data is still very common. With the increase of personal storage capacity, it is easy to find hundreds to thousands of FITS files in the personal computer of an astrophysicist. Because Flexible Image Transport System (FITS) is a professional data format initiated by astronomers and used mainly in the small community, data management toolkits for FITS files are very few. Astronomers need a powerful tool to help them manage their local astronomical data. Although Virtual Observatory (VO) is a network oriented astronomical research environment, its applications and related technologies provide useful solutions to enhance the management and utilization of astronomical data hosted in an astronomer’s personal computer. FITSManager is such a tool to provide astronomers an efficient management and utilization of their local data, bringing VO to astronomers in a seamless and transparent way. FITSManager provides fruitful functions for FITS file management, like thumbnail, preview, type dependent icons, header keyword indexing and search, collaborated working with other tools and on-line services, and so on. The development of the FITSManager is an effort to fill the gap between management and analysis of astronomical data.     

Long-term analysis of clear nights using satellite data considering astronomical sites in western China

A large ground-based optical/infrared telescope is being planned for a world-class astronomical site in China.The cloud-free night percentage is the primary meteorological consideration for evaluating candidate sites.The data from GMS and NOAA satellites and the MODIS instrument were utilized in this research,covering the period from 1996 to 2015.Our data analysis benefits from overlapping results from different independent teams as well as a uniform analysis of selected sites using GMS+NOAA data.Although significant ground-based monitoring is needed to validate these findings,we identify three different geographical regions with a high percentage of cloud-free conditions(～83% on average),which is slightly lower than at Mauna Kea and Cerro Armazones(～85% on average) and were chosen for the large international projects TMT and ELT respectively.Our study finds evidence that cloud distributions and the seasonal changes affected by the prevailing westerly winds and summer monsoons reduce the cloud cover in areas influenced by the westerlies.This is consistent with the expectations from climate change models and is suggestive that most of the identified sites will have reduced cloud cover in the future.     

Statistical properties of polarized radio continuum emission and effects of data processing

Polarized intensity and polarization angles are calculated from Stokes parameters Q and U in a nonlinear way. The statistical properties of polarized emission hold information about the structure of magnetic fields in a large range of scales, but the contributions of different stages of data processing to the statistical properties should first be understood. We use 1.4 GHz polarization data from the Effelsberg 100‐m telescope of emission in the Galactic plane, near the plane and far out of the plane. We analyze the probability distribution function and the wavelet spectrum of the original maps in Stokes parameters Q, U and corresponding PI. Then we apply absolute calibration (i.e. adding the large‐scale emission to the maps in Q and U), subtraction of polarized sources and subtraction of the positive bias in PI due to noise (“denoising”). We show how each procedure affects the statistical properties of the data. We find a complex behavior of the statistical properties for the different regions analyzed which depends largely on the intensity level of polarized emission. Absolute calibration changes the morphology of the polarized structures. The statistical properties change in a complex way: Compact sources in the field flatten the wavelet spectrum over a substantial range. Adding large‐scale emission does not change the spectral slopes in Q and U at small scales, but changes the PI spectrum in a complex way. “Denoising” significantly changes the p.d.f. of PI and raises the entire spectrum. The final spectra are flat in the Galactic plane due to magnetic structures in the ISM, but steeper at high Galactic latitude and in the anticenter. For a reliable study of the statistical properties of magnetic fields and turbulence in the ISM based on radio polarization observations, absolute calibration and source subtraction are required. (© 2007 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

NBFTP: a dedicated data transfer system for remote astronomical observation at Dome A

Dome A,Antarctica,has been thought to be one of the best astronomical sites on the Earth for decades.Since it was first visited by astronomers in 2008,dozens of facilities for astronomical observation and site testing were deployed.Due to its special geographical location,the data and message exchange between Dome A and the domestic control center could only depend on Iridium.Because the link bandwidth of Iridium is extremely limited,the network traffic cost is quite expensive and the network is rather unstable,the commonly used data transfer tools,such as rsync and scp,are not suitable in this case.In this paper,we design and implement a data transfer tool called NBFTP(narrow bandwidth file transfer protocol)for the astronomical observation of Dome A.NBFTP uses a uniform interface to arrange all types of data and matches specific transmission schemes for different data types according to rules.Break-point resuming and extensibility functions are also implemented.Our experimental results show that NBFTP consumes 60%less network traffic than rsync when detecting the data pending to be transferred.When transferring small files of 1 KB,the network traffic consumption of NBFTP is 40%less than rsync.However,as the file size increases,the network traffic consumption of NBFTP tends to approach rsync,but it is still smaller than rsync.