SBG camera of Kourovka Astronomical observatory

The set-up and principle of operation of the systems of the SBG telescope, which was upgraded in 2005–2006 at the Kourovka Astronomical observatory, are described in detail. The reduction of the field of view (photographic plates replaced by a CCD) is compensated by an increased operation speed, achieved by automating both the telescope drives and image processing procedure.     

Positional observations of small solar system bodies with the SBG telescope at the Astronomical Observatory of the Ural Federal University

The telescope SBG (D = 0.42 m, F = 0.76 m) at the Kourovka Astronomical Observatory of the Ural Federal University has undergone an upgrade in 2005–2006. A CCD camera (Apogee Alta U32) and a new drive system were installed, and a new system for telescope and observation control was implemented. This upgrade required verifying the astrometric quality of the telescope. The data processing approaches tested when searching for the optimum CCD image processing technique combined TYCHO2 and UCAC2 catalogues with various reduction models and methods for choosing reference stars. Lorentzian and Moffat profiles were used in the measurement of pixel coordinates. It was demonstrated that the accuracy of SBG observations of main-belt asteroids with precisely determined orbits depends on their brightness and varies from 0.06” (11.5 ^m ) to 0.4” (18.5 ^m ). Regular SBG observations of comets and asteroids (mostly near-Earth and potentially hazardous ones) have been performed since 2007. Coordinates of 8515 positions of 720 asteroids and more than 1000 positions of 40 comets were obtained. The RMS deviations of observed coordinates from their calculated values are typically smaller than 1”: the average deviations for asteroids are 0.33” (in right ascension) and 0.34” (in declination); the corresponding values for comets are 0.37” (in α) and 0.38” (in δ). The results of observations are sent to the Minor Planet Center and are used to determine orbits more accurately and solve other fundamental and applied problems.     

STK: A new CCD camera at the University Observatory Jena

The Schmidt‐Teleskop‐Kamera (STK) is a new CCD‐imager, which is operated since begin of 2009 at the University Observatory Jena. This article describes the main characteristics of the new camera. The properties of the STK detector, the astrometry and image quality of the STK, as well as its detection limits at the 0.9 m telescope of the University Observatory Jena are presented (© 2010 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

云台射电频谱仪预研

简要介绍了用于研究分子夭文学的各种射电频谱仪及国内外发展状况,讨论了各种频谱仪的优缺点,最后提出了云台建立射电频谱仪的型式。     

构建中国虚拟天文台的天文数据结点

随着天文观测数据的爆炸式增长以及数据网格技术等新兴IT技术的日趋成熟,虚拟天文台应运而生。虚拟天文台成为基于数据网格技术的解决复杂海量天文数据的访问和管理的一种有效手段。我们对现有中国虚拟天文台体系结构底层进行设计与实现,并完成了其核心部分一天文数据结点。天文数据结点可发布和管理异构的数据资源,为用户提供统一的数据访问接口,进而为天文学家实现对各种天文数据的无缝透明访问和处理提供了方便。本文重点介绍了我们设计的天文数据结点的体系结构,以及结点各部分的功能,并讨论了其关键技术的实现。     

构建虚拟太阳天文台的中国数据结点

随着不断对太阳展开多波段观测以及Web Services等新兴IT技术的应用,虚拟太阳天文台(VSO)应运而生.它基于Web Services技术,是解决异地异构海量多波段数据访问和获取的一种有效工具.在将VSO技术实现的方法引入中国天文界、空间物理、地球物理等领域的基础上,以怀柔太阳观测站(HSOS)为基点,设计了怀柔数据结点,并实现了与VSO系统的整合,为中国其他站点联入VSO提供了实例.     

LAMOST观测控制系统用户界面设计

位于国家天文台兴隆观测基地的大天区面积多目标光纤光谱天文望远镜(LAMOST)是世界上最大的、可操控的反射施密特望远镜。为了便于控制望远镜,提高观测效率,设计了观测控制系统图形用户界面。首先分析了LAMOST望远镜的控制软件体系结构,采用基于场景的以用户为中心的设计方法,对界面进行了分析和设计。使用Qt、CORBA、多线程技术和MVC模式,实现了用户界面,并对界面进行了测试。最后,用户界面得到了用户的认可,成功应用于LAMOST观测。     

虚拟天文台的科学意义

阐述了虚拟天文台的科学目标和一些基于虚拟天文台的成功范例及其优越性，以此显示创建虚拟天文台和构想新的研究范例的必要性，同时也说明虚拟天文台是由需求带动发展，并逐步由虚拟变为现实的研究途径。作为21世纪新的研究平台，虚拟天文台将在知识和技术等方面对天文学家提出新的挑战，提供新的机遇。     

The astroclimatological comparison of the Paranal Observatory and El Roque de Los Muchachos Observatory

The new extremely large telescope projects need accurate evaluation of the candidate sites. In this paper, we present the astroclimatological comparison between the Paranal Observatory, located on the coast of the Atacama Desert (Chile), and the Observatorio del Roque de Los Muchachos (ORM), located in La Palma (Canary Islands). We apply a statistical analysis using long-term data bases from Paranal and Carlsberg Automatic Meridian Circle (CAMC) weather stations. The monthly, seasonal and annual averages of the main synoptical parameters in the two sites are computed. We compare the long-term trends in order to understand the main differences between the two sites. Significant differences between the two analysed sites have been found. Temperature has increasing trends in both observatories with somewhat higher evidence at the ORM. Seasonal variations of pressure at Paranal have been highly decreasing since 1989, and we do not see the same phenomenon at the ORM. The two sites are dominated by high pressure. In cold seasons, relative humidity (RH) is lower than 60 per cent at CAMC and 15 per cent at Paranal. In warm seasons, RH is lower than 40 per cent at CAMC and 20 per cent at Paranal. The analysis of the dew point has shown better conditions at Paranal with respect to CAMC in winter, autumn and spring before 2001, while the two sites are becoming similar afterwards. Winds at the ORM are subject to pronounced local variations.     

云南天文台太阳光谱仪分光流量计算

针对云南天文台太阳光谱仪, 建立了光谱仪分光流量的计算机模型, 通过观测实验检验了该模型的可靠性。利用此模型我们还计算了该仪器的分光流量, 并在此基础上, 对探测器的选型进行了讨论。     

Computer Vision for the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO)

In Fall 2008 NASA selected a large international consortium to produce a comprehensive automated feature-recognition system for the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO). The SDO data that we consider are all of the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA) images plus surface magnetic-field images from the Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager (HMI). We produce robust, very efficient, professionally coded software modules that can keep up with the SDO data stream and detect, trace, and analyze numerous phenomena, including flares, sigmoids, filaments, coronal dimmings, polarity inversion lines, sunspots, X-ray bright points, active regions, coronal holes, EIT waves, coronal mass ejections (CMEs), coronal oscillations, and jets. We also track the emergence and evolution of magnetic elements down to the smallest detectable features and will provide at least four full-disk, nonlinear, force-free magnetic field extrapolations per day. The detection of CMEs and filaments is accomplished with Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO)/Large Angle and Spectrometric Coronagraph (LASCO) and ground-based Hα data, respectively. A?completely new software element is a trainable feature-detection module based on a generalized image-classification algorithm. Such a trainable module can be used to find features that have not yet been discovered (as, for example, sigmoids were in the pre-Yohkoh era). Our codes will produce entries in the Heliophysics Events Knowledgebase (HEK) as well as produce complete catalogs for results that are too numerous for inclusion in the HEK, such as the X-ray bright-point metadata. This will permit users to locate data on individual events as well as carry out statistical studies on large numbers of events, using the interface provided by the Virtual Solar Observatory. The operations concept for our computer vision system is that the data will be analyzed in near real time as soon as they arrive at the SDO Joint Science Operations Center and have undergone basic processing. This will allow the system to produce timely space-weather alerts and to guide the selection and production of quicklook images and movies, in addition to its prime mission of enabling solar science. We briefly describe the complex and unique data-processing pipeline, consisting of the hardware and control software required to handle the SDO data stream and accommodate the computer-vision modules, which has been set up at the Lockheed-Martin Space Astrophysics Laboratory (LMSAL), with an identical copy at the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory (SAO).     

2.4m望远镜数据管理子系统

2.4m光学望远镜长时间运行必然产生海量数据.这些原始观测数据需要存储以备将来研究.为了利用这些观测数据,需要在2.4m远程观测系统中建立一个数据管理子系统.该系统可实现下列任务:数据的压缩、归档、实时浏览、数据检索、下栽.此系统建立在Linux+MySQL平台上,使用J2EE技术开发.     

The Wave-Front Correction System for the Sunrise Balloon-Borne Solar Observatory

This paper describes the wave-front correction system developed for the Sunrise balloon telescope, and it provides information about its in-flight performance. For the correction of low-order aberrations, a Correlating Wave-Front Sensor (CWS) was used. It consisted of a six-element Shack??C?Hartmann wave-front sensor (WFS), a fast tip-tilt mirror for the compensation of image motion, and an active telescope secondary mirror for focus correction. The CWS delivered a stabilized image with a precision of 0.04?arcsec (rms), whenever the coarse pointing was better than ???45?arcsec peak-to-peak. The automatic focus adjustment maintained a focus stability of 0.01?waves in the focal plane of the CWS. During the 5.5?day flight, good image quality and stability were achieved during 33?hours, containing 45?sequences, which lasted between 10 and 45?min.     

陶寺观象台遗址的天文学分析

对陶寺观象台遗址的外观形态,用天文方法分析了12个测缝与日出日期的对应关系和天文学作用,对比了考古队的模拟观测与理论计算的结果.分析指出,测缝E2一E12对应于一周年的日出方向,大致均分,产生一个不均匀的时间体系.E1对应于"月南至",提供一个18-19年的年代指示.这是一个集礼仪祭祀和观象授时为一体的建筑.     

A method and results of color calibration for the Chang'e-3 terrain camera and panoramic camera

The terrain camera(TCAM) and panoramic camera(PCAM) are two of the major scientific payloads installed on the lander and rover of the Chang'e 3 mission respectively. They both use a Bayer color filter array covering CMOS sensor to capture color images of the Moon's surface. RGB values of the original images are related to these two kinds of cameras. There is an obvious color difference compared with human visual perception. This paper follows standards published by the International Commission on Illumination to establish a color correction model, designs the ground calibration experiment and obtains the color correction coefficient. The image quality has been significantly improved and there is no obvious color difference in the corrected images. Ground experimental results show that:(1) Compared with uncorrected images, the average color difference of TCAM is 4.30, which has been reduced by 62.1%.(2) The average color differences of the left and right cameras in PCAM are 4.14 and 4.16, which have been reduced by 68.3% and 67.6% respectively.     

2.4m望远镜网络安全初步设计

云南天文台将在2.4m望远镜建立远程观测系统。由于远程观测系统通过网络实现通信,必然会面临网络上的各种威胁。为了保证整个网络系统的安全,避免各种不安全因素造成的损失。在对现在望远镜网络分析基础上设计了安全的网络结构,并实现了具有入侵检测功能的防火墙,这些措施初步保障了2.4m望远镜网络系统的安全。     

云台40m射电望远镜的指向误差校正

首先综述了射电望远镜指向误差校正的原理并对软件校准的两种方法进行了比较。其次阐述了利用软件校准的方法对云南天文台40m射电望远镜进行指向校正的过程,并给出其指向校正结果。结果是经过指向校正后该射电望远镜的指向精度达到观测要求。