Electron content near the lunar surface using dual-frequency VLBI tracking data in a single lunar orbiter mission

In VLBI observations of Vstar, a subsatellite of the Japanese lunar mission SELENE, there were opportunities for lunar grazing occultation when Vstar was very close to the limb of the Moon. This kind of chance made it possible to probe the thin plasma layer above the Moon's surface as a meaningful by-product of VLBI,by using the radio occultation method with coherent radio waves from the S/X bands.The dual-frequency measurements were carried out at Earth-based VLBI stations. In the line-of-sight direction between the satellite and the ground-based tracking station where VLBI measurements were made, the effects of the terrestrial ionosphere, interplanetary plasma and the thin lunar ionosphere mixed together in the combined observables of dual-frequency Doppler shift and phase shift. To separate the variation of the ionospheric total electron content(TEC) near the surface of the Moon from the mixed signal, the influences of the terrestrial ionosphere and interplanetary plasma have been removed by using an extrapolation method based on a short-term trend. The lunar TEC is estimated from the dual-frequency observation for Vstar from UT 22:18to UT 22:20 on 2008 June 28 at several tracking stations. The TEC results obtained from VLBI sites are identical, however, they are not as remarkable as the result obtained at the Usuda deep space tracking station.     

Future possibilities for lunar occultation studies of faint X-ray sources

Lunar occultation can be considered of interest for future missions dedicated to X-ray astronomy only if instruments with a large enough collecting area are used. In this case, observations of the numerous, faint X-ray sources occulted by the moon during a typical satellite lifetime of several years, can, in principle, add good source positioning as a free bonus to a high-throughput, medium-imaging mission. In the practical case of the EPIC instrument aboard the XMM ESA satellite, a simple calculation shows the potential usefulness of this technique.     

Insight-building models for lunar range and range rate

The analysis of range or Doppler data between sites on the Earth and Moon requires an accurate computation of the lunar orbit and detailed models of the orientation of the Earth and Moon. Models constructed to understand range and range rate can lack detail, but if they include the largest lunar orbit variations, tracking stations on a rotating Earth, and lunar sites on a synchronously rotating Moon, then they will display the largest effects for orbit elements, Earth orientation, tracking station locations, and lunar site coordinates. The range and range rate are expanded into periodic series. To understand accurate solutions, the largest periodic terms that are sensitive to various solution parameters indicate the sensitivity of data to solution parameters and the time spans needed for their determination. Conclusions include: cylindrical coordinates work well for sites on the rapidly rotating Earth, but Cartesian coordinates are more natural for the synchronously rotating Moon since the series for the three coordinate projections are distinct. For range and range rate data, daily, semimonthly, monthly, and longer periods are present. For Doppler data, the daily periods may be stronger and more useful than the long periods, particularly for terms associated with the terrestrial tracking station. Doppler data do not determine the lander coordinate toward the Earth well. Observational strategies for range and Doppler data are not identical. For all data types, one wishes a variety of hour angles, lunar declinations, times of month, and longer periods. A long span of high-quality range data can improve the lunar orbit, orientation of the Earth’s equator, and physical librations. The locations of new lunar sites or new tracking stations can be determined from shorter spans of data.     

Analytical methods for the orbits of artificial satellites of the Moon

The motion of a close artificial satellite of the Moon is considered. The principal perturbations taken into account are caused by the nonsphericity of the Moon and the attraction of the Earth and the Sun. To begin with, the expansions of the disturbing functions due to the nonsphericity of the primary body and the action of the disturbing mass-point body have been derived. The second expansion is produced in terms of the Keplerian elements of a satellite and the spherical coordinates of the disturbing body. Both expansions are valid for an arbitrary reference plane. The motion of a satellite of the Moon is studied in the selenocentric coordinate system referred to the Lunar equator and rotating with respect to the fixed ecliptic system. However, the coordinate exes in the equatorial plane are chosen so that the angular speed of rotation of the system is small. The motion of the satellite is described by means of the contact elements which enable one to utilize the conventional Lagrange's planetary equations and may be regarded as the generalization of the notion of the osculating elements to the case of the disturbing function depending not only o the coordinates and the time but on the velocities as well. Two methods are proposed to represent the motion of Lunar satellites over long intervals of time: the von Zeipel method and the Euler method of analytical integration with application of the variation-of-elements technique at every step of integration. The second method is exposed in great detail.Presented at the Meeting of Commission 7 of the IAU on Analytical Methods for the Orbits of Artificial Celestial Objects 14-th General Assembly of the IAU, Brighton, 1970.     

Baily’s Beads Atlas in 2005 – 2008 Eclipses

In the annular or total eclipses of 3 October 2005, 29 March 2006, 22 September 2006, and 1 August 2008, observational campaigns were organized to record the phenomenon of Baily’s beads. These campaigns were internationally coordinated through the International Occultation Timing Association (IOTA) at both its American and European sections. From the stations in the northern and southern zones of grazing eclipse, the eclipses have been recorded on video. Afterward, as many beads as possible have been identified by analyzing the video data of each observing station. The atlas presented in this paper includes 598 data points, obtained by 23 observers operating at 28 different observing stations. The atlas lists the geographic positions of the observing stations and the observed time instants of disappearance or reappearance of beads, identified by an angle measured relative to the Moon’s axis of rotation. The atlas will serve as a basis for determining the solar diameter. Electronic Supplementary Material  The online version of this article () contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

非坐标方法确定卫星时间信号的传递时延

在卫星电视授时系统方案中，为确定标准秒信号从发射站经卫星到用户接收站的传播时延值，需要知道收、发地面站及卫星的坐标，所以，在高精度的卫星电视授时系统中，需要建立高精度的同步卫星定位同。本文提出在没有卫星定位同的条件下，用非坐标方法来确定卫星时间信号到用户的传递时延，其授时精度为几μｓ。     

de Sitter's theory flattens Jupiter

A correction to the Galilean satellite ephemerides indicated by the observations of 1973 mutual eclipse and occultation phenomena acts to reduce significantly the discrepancy between the dynamical oblateness of Jupiter measured by spacecraft and the optical oblateness measured by the 1971 β Sco occultations.     

The results of the third geodetic campaign in the local geodynamic test area of the MAO NAS of Ukraine

The high-precision coordinates of reference (reduction) points of stations located in the geodynamic area of the MAO NAS of Ukraine were determined in the local topocentric coordinate system. The local geodetic ties (eccentricities) between the reference points of the GPS station “Kiev/Goloseev” and satellite laser location station “Goloseev-Kiev” that are equal to 100.2358 m, ?11.0398 m, ?85.8256 m on the X, Y, Z axes, respectively, were obtained in the ITRF97 system as of the epoch 1997.0. The coordinates of the reference point of the station “Goloseev-Kiev” were determined in the ITRF97 system as of the epoch 1997.0 by adding local geodetic ties to the coordinates of the reference point of the GPS station “Kiev/Goloseev.” They were compared with the estimates of the coordinates of these stations obtained by the methods of cosmic geodesy and geodynamics. The local deformations of the geodynamic area that took place in the 1997–2006 period were estimated and the conclusion was made about the existence of certain trends with respect to the local displacements of the points of the geodynamic area of the MAO NAS of Ukraine.     

Tropospheric Delay from VLBI and GNSS Measurements

Using an updated version of the QUASAR software package developed at the Institute of Applied Astronomy of the Russian Academy of Sciences, we have processed the VLBI observations within the international CONT14 program (May 6–20, 2014), in which a global network of 17 stations was involved (a total of ~250 000 observations). The package update concerned the optimization of data structure and the refinement of stochastic models for the random variations in wet tropospheric delay and atomic clock difference. The main goal of this paper is to compare the VLBI determinations of the tropospheric delay with its independent determinations using global navigation satellite systems (GNSS). We show that both these determinations agree well between themselves only in the case of a global analysis of the VLBI observations, where the VLBI station coordinates are also refined, along with the tropospheric delay and the clock synchronization and Earth orientation parameters. If, alternatively, the station coordinates are insufficiently accurate and are not refined from VLBI observations, then it is appropriate not to determine the tropospheric delay from these observations, but to take it from the publicly accessible independent GNSS data. However, this requires that the VLBI and GNSS techniques operate simultaneously at a common observing site. We have established the shortcomings of the universally accepted method of stabilizing the global solution associated with the absence of a criterion for choosing reference stations and radio sources. Two ways of their elimination are proposed: (i) introducing a coordinated list of weight factors for the errors in the coordinates of such stations and sources into the stabilization algorithm and (ii) adopting a coordinated list of stations and sources the refinement of whose coordinates is not required at all for a certain time.     

满足约束条件的月球卫星飞行轨道的初步设计

讨论满足约束条件的月球卫星飞行轨道的设计问题，将约束条件分类为只与太阳，月球，地球，飞行器和观测站之间的相对位置有关的运行学约束条件以及涉及到飞行器轨道运行的动力学约束条件，在考虑月球卫星轨道的受力情况后，给出一种准确快速地计算和设计满足约束条件的标准飞行轨道的方法，并应用于不同约束条件下月球卫星的轨道预设计，初步讨论了轨道设计的误差分析，轨道跟踪及实时精密定轨等正在进行的其它相关工作。     

On the possibility of investigating the galactic center region with the integral observatory by the method of lunar and terrestrial occultations

The possibility of investigating the sky region near the Galactic center with instruments of the INTEGRAL orbital astrophysical gamma-ray observatory by the method of its occultation by the Earth and the Moon is considered. Existing engineering constraints on the observing conditions, such as the admissible orientation of the INTEGRAL satellite relative to the direction to the Sun and the performance of measurements only outside the Earth??s radiation belts, are taken into account. Long time intervals during which the lunar occultation center passes at angular distances of less than 2° from the Galactic center have been found. Such events occur under the adopted constraints two or three times per year without any correction of the INTEGRAL satellite orbit. The orbit can be corrected to reduce the angular distance between the Moon and the Galactic center in occultation events. The required velocity impulses do not exceed several meters per second. The possibility of the Galactic center being occulted by the Earth has been analyzed. In this case, to perform measurements, the admissible (in radiation exposure) height of the working segment of the orbit should be reduced to 25 000 km, which can be problematic. At the same time, part of the Galaxy??s equatorial region is shadowed by the Earth for a time long enough to carry out the corresponding experiments.     

Lunar occultation of Saturn. I. The diameters of Tethys,Dione, Rhea,Titan, and Iapetus

The diameters of Tethys, Dione, Rhea, Titan and Iapetus were determined from observations of their March 30, 1974, lunar occultations, made with the Mauna Kea 224 and 61 cm telescopes. Light curves were obtained simultaneously in four colors, and the difference between the time of occultation at the two telescopes provided a direct measurement of the slope of the lunar limb, found to be small in all cases. The satellite diameters were determined by least-squares fits of model occultation light curves to the data. In these fits the diameter and degree of limb darkening of the satellite are correlated variables, requiring the limb darkening to be specified before the diameter can be determined, or vice versa. However, for Titan the signal-to-noise ratio is sufficiently high to allow some assessment of the amount of limb darkening, which was found to be substantial. Titan's diameter must be at least 5800 km, much larger than the currently accepted value of 5000 km, making it the largest satellite in the solar system. This larger diameter implies a low mean density. For the other four satellites arguments are presented in favor of accepting the occultation diameters corresponding to limb darkened disks. Except for Titan, the lunar occultation diameters generally agree with previous diskmeter and radiometric determinations.     

火星电离层无线电掩星探测仿真研究

对中俄联合火星星-星电离层掩星技术体制进行了分析和介绍,采用三维射线追踪方法对电离层掩星事件的电波观测值进行了模拟计算,并利用模拟的掩星观测数据进行了电子密度廓线反演,结果说明仿真算法可靠.利用仿真的方法,分别对掩星电波相位观测误差和卫星轨道误差等带来的反演误差进行了个例计算和分析,结果得到:5%周的相位测量误差对白天电离层掩星探测结果的影响可以忽略,而夜间电子密度测量的绝对误差小于4×108 m-3;卫星轨道误差对掩星的主要影响是导致电离层高度抬升或下降.结果表明,中俄联合火星电离层掩星探测技术体制先进,可望获得高精度的电子密度廓线;其技术体制也可以用于月球电离层环境的探测.     

How to survive a Lunar night

In the frame of the recent worldwide activities of Lunar research, including various studies for surface stations, the aspect of longevity of such stations has been identified as a particular technical challenge. The reason for this lies in the long (about 14 days) and cold Lunar night during which it is non-trivial to keep spacecraft systems alive and sensitive equipment within an acceptable temperature range.The following paper analyzes and compares various concepts to survive Lunar night, both with and without radioisotope heater technology.The latter normally implies the use of highly toxic material (typically plutonium), which is politically problematic and a driver for cost and safety procedures.Concepts without radioisotope heating need to foresee special measures, like extremely efficient thermal insulation or sub-surface positioning of all temperature sensitive components.Special emphasis has been taken on the thermal analysis of a penetrator-type surface station. The relevant issues are discussed and results for day–night cycles are presented, assuming a typical set of engineering parameters. This concept appears to be the easiest to implement from a thermal point of view, if the use of radioisotope heaters has to be avoided.     

Combining asteroid models derived by lightcurve inversion with asteroidal occultation silhouettes

Asteroid sizes can be directly measured by observing occultations of stars by asteroids. When there are enough observations across the path of the shadow, the asteroid’s projected silhouette can be reconstructed. Asteroid shape models derived from photometry by the lightcurve inversion method enable us to predict the orientation of an asteroid for the time of occultation. By scaling the shape model to fit the occultation chords, we can determine the asteroid size with a relative accuracy of typically ∼10%. We combine shape and spin state models of 44 asteroids (14 of them are new or updated models) with the available occultation data to derive asteroid effective diameters. In many cases, occultations allow us to reject one of two possible pole solutions that were derived from photometry. We show that by combining results obtained from lightcurve inversion with occultation timings, we can obtain unique physical models of asteroids.     

彩色电视副载波信号在卫星定轨中的应用（摘要）

即使静止、同步卫星有着标称位置，但由于各种摄动的存在会使卫星轨道发生漂移．而在许多应用中，例如高精度时间同步，必须精确知道卫星的轨道．另外，由于很少为时间传递、时间同步发射专用卫星，所以它通常使用以其他目的为基本任务的卫星，如气象卫星、通信广播卫星等．以往，这些卫星的轨道信息总是由卫星主管部门给出，在这种情况下，卫星的轨道确定不可能专门考虑第二目的．为此，应用部门为了满足自己的需要，在不影响卫星基本功能条件下，采用闭路动态技术来精确确定卫星的轨道．本文在简要叙述闭路动态卫星定轨原理的基础上，探讨了利用卫星彩色电视副载波信号测速进行同步卫星定轨的可能性．并给出单台站的某些试验测量结果．     

Observing total solar eclipses from near the edge of the predicted path

Suitable observations from various locations in the predicted path of a total solar eclipse can provide information about the relative positions and shapes of the Sun and Moon to about ±0.02. The total solar eclipse of 1972, July 10 was observed from locations near the edges of its predicted path. The durations of the limb phenomena were greatly enhanced. Preliminary analysis of the observations shows that the eclipse shadow passed 3 km northeast of its predicted path.Communication presented at the conference on Lunar Dynamics and Observational Coordinate Systems held January 15–17, 1973 at the Lunar Science Institute, Houston, Tex., U.S.A.     

Computer applications to lunar and artificial satellite laser ranging

The University of Texas McDonald Observatory has long been a pioneer in acquiring laser ranging data, a data type which has substantially improved our knowledge of the dynamics of the earth-moon system as well as various aspects of geophysics and general relativity. (See Mulholland, 1980; Shelus, 1985; Shelus, 1987.) The McDonald Laser Ranging System (MLRS) is one of only 2 laser ranging stations world-wide having the capability of routine data acquisition on both lunar and artificial satellite targets (Shelus,IEEE, 1985). In this paper we discuss the current applications of modern computer technology to the problems of acquiring and reducing that ranging data. As technology continues to improve, the logical upgrade is the replacement of obsolescent station minicomputers with the resource-rich environment of micro-computers. The goal is to allow the automation of many station ranging functions as well as the enhancement of onsite data quality control, filtering, and analysis. Plans for such upgrades and their implications for dynamical astronomy are discussed.     

Study of total electron content variations over equatorial and low latitude ionosphere during extreme solar minimum

In recent years with the advancement in satellite based navigational applications, study of Total Electron Content (TEC) has gained significant importance. It is well known that due to dynamical behaviour of equatorial and low latitude ionosphere, the levels of ionization is relatively high herein. The sustained decrease in solar extreme ultraviolet radiations during the current minimum is greater than any in recent history. This gives us the opportunity to study the observations of global positioning system total electron content (GPS-TEC) dual frequency signals from the GPS satellites continuously recorded at Trivandrum (an equatorial station) and Delhi (a low latitude station) during the extremely low solar activity period from January 2007 to June 2009. This study illustrates the diurnal, seasonal and annual variations of TEC during the extended solar minimum period. This study also investigates the behaviour of daytime ionosphere around spring and autumn equinoxes at low solar activity period. The results clearly reveal the presence of equinoctial asymmetry which is more pronounced at equatorial station Trivandrum. The diurnal variation of TEC shows a short-lived day minimum which occurs between 0500 to 0600 LT at both the stations. Delhi TEC values show its steep increase and reach at its peak value between 1200 and 1400 LT, while at the equator the peak is broad and occurs around 1600 LT. Further, the daily maximum TEC ranges from about 5 to 40 TEC units at Trivandrum and about 10 to 40 TEC units at Delhi, which correspond to range delay variations of about 1 to 8 m at the GPS L1 frequency of 1.575 GHz. The Maximum values of TEC were observed during spring equinox rather than autumn equinox, showing presence of semi annual variation at both the locations. The minimum values of TEC were observed during the summer solstice at Trivandrum indicating the presence of winter anomaly at equatorial region while Delhi TEC values were minimum during winter solstice showing absence of winter anomaly. Also the TEC values at both the locations have been decreasing since 2007 onwards exhibit good positive correlation with solar activity.     

CVN硬盘系统和软件相关处理在e-VLBI试验中的应用

介绍了中国VLBI网（CVN）的e-VLBI技术研究进展．CVN包括上海佘山、乌鲁木齐南山2个固定观测站和云南昆明的流动站，以及上海天文台的2台站硬件相关处理机。2003年上海天文台自行研制了基于PC技术的VLBI数据记录、回放系统，命名为CVN硬盘系统，并成功将其安置于CVN观测站和处理机系统。硬件处理机经过改造后，已能处理来自硬盘和原有磁带系统的数据．从2003年至今，中国VLBI网采用该硬盘系统进行了多次VLBI观测和e-VLBI试验。在CVN硬盘系统基础上，软件相关处理技术的研究也得以开展。软件相关处理原型程序已经被用于台站条纹检测、卫星条纹搜索和数据处理中。该软件获得的计算结果被成功用于国内第一个3台站卫星VLBI的延迟和延迟率闭合试验，以及国内首次利用VLBI数据进行的卫星定轨试验。除此之外，该软件还用作硬件处理机的条纹引导器。为适应未来“嫦娥”月球探测工程，CVN将扩展成含有4个观测站和2个相关处理机（硬件、软件）的实时VLBI网。今后，e-VLBI将被应用于月球卫星导航以及测地和天体物理的VLBI观测。