The spectrum of the slowly varying component of solar radio emission at wavelengths of 3.3 mm – 21 cm

The spectrum and diameter of the source of the S-component emission (McMath Plage No. 244) observed on March 4, 1968 has been investigated at 3.3 mm, 4.3 mm, 8.5 mm, 2 cm, 9.1 cm, 21 cm, and 43 cm wavelengths.On leave of absence from the Astronomical Institute of the Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences, Observatory Ondfejov, Czechoslovakia.Operated by Associated Universities, Inc., under contract with the National Science Foundation.     

Slowly varying component spectrum of the solar radio emission at millimetre wavelengths

This paper deals with the observed data on the solar S-component sources at millimetre wavelengths. The observations were made in 1968 and 1969 using the 22-m radio telescope of the Crimean Astrophysical Observatory at six wavelengths: 2, 4, 6, 8, 13 and 17 mm. The enhanced intensity of the solar active region in comparison with the quiet Sun level varies proportionally to ^–2 if the wavelength is within the range of 2 ÷ 6 mm. In the wavelength band of 6 ÷ 17 mm almost flat spectra of the solar S-component sources is observed. Assuming the bremsstrahlung mechanism of the radio emission for the quiet Sun and the solar active regions an attempt has been made to treat the above presented data. It appears that the most probable explanation of the 2 ÷ 6 mm spectrum is that the S-component sources are opaque. In the 6 ÷ 17 mm wavelength band there are two possibilities: the active region may be either transparent or opaque. But in the last case the source brightness temperature must be proportional to ². Some differences in the spectra of the sources, identified with flocculi and with bipolar sunspot groups, were mentioned. The cold regions (as compared with the quiet Sun) were observed up to = 2 mm and identified with the filaments. However, its visibility falls when the wavelength decreases.     

Observations and interpretation of the slowly varying component of solar radio emission at decameter wavelengths

We have observed the slowly varying component of solar radio emission at a frequency of 34.5 MHz with half power beam widths of 26/40 in the east-west and north-south directions, respectively. It is found that the observed brightness temperatures vary within the limits of 0.3×10⁶K to 1.5×10⁶K, and the average half power widths of the brightness distribution on the Sun is about 3R . Thermal emission from coronal regions of various electron densities and temperatures with and without the magnetic field has been computed and compared with the observed results.     

One-meter Schmidt telescope of the Byurakan Astrophysical Observatory: New capabilities

In 2013–2015 the Laboratory of spectroscopy and photometry of extragalactic objects (LS-PEO) of the Special Astrophysical Observatory together with Armenian specialists upgraded the 1-m Schmidt telescope of the Byurakan Astrophysical Observatory of the National Academy of Sciences of Armenia. We completely redesigned the control system of the telescope: we replaced the actuating mechanisms, developed telescope control software, and made the guiding system. We reworked and prepared a 4k × 4k Apogee (USA) liquid-cooled CCD with RON ~ 11.1 e^?, a pixel size of 0.″868, and field of view of about 1□°, and in October 2015 mounted it in the focus of the telescope. The detector is equipped with a turret bearing 20 intermediate-band filters (FWHM = 250 Å) uniformly covering the 4000–9000 Å wavelength range, five broadband filters (u, g, r, i, z SDSS), and three narrow-band filters (5000 Å, 6560 Å and 6760 Å, FWHM = 100 Å). During the first year of test operation of the 1-m telescope we performed pilot observations within the framework of three programs: search for young stellar objects, AGNevolution, and stellar composition of galaxy disks.We confirmed the possibility of efficiently selecting of young objects using observations performed in narrow-band Hα and [SII] filters and the intermediate-band 7500 Å filter. Three-hours long exposures with SDSS g-, r-, and i-band filters allow us to reach the surface brightness level of 28^m/□″ when investigating the stellar content of galaxy disks for a sample of nine galaxies. We used observations performed with the 1-m telescope in five broadband (SDSS u, g, r, i, and z) and 15 intermediate-band filters (4000–7500 Å) to construct a sample of quasar candidates with 0.5 < z < 5 (330 objects) in about one-sq. degree SA68 field complete down to R_AB = 23^m. Spectroscopic observations of 29 objects (19.^m5 < R < 22^m) carried out at the 6-m telescope of the Special Astrophysical Observatory of the Russian Academy of Sciences confirmed the quasar nature of 28 objects.     

Pulsating radio emission at decametre wavelengths from the sun

Observations on the pulsation pattern in the time profile of short duration solar radio bursts at decametre wavelengths are presented. The pulsations are found to be present predominantly in the saturation phase of the burst. A tentative physical model based on the non-linear development of the waves interacting in a turbulent medium is invoked to explain the origin of the pulsations.     

Photometry of Io and Europa at the Crimean Astrophysical Observatory and reasons for differences between ground-based and space observations

Photometric observations of Jupiter’s moons Io and Europa in the spectral band V have been made at the Crimean Astrophysical Observatory for four years in order to construct their light curves reduced to a Solar phase angle of 6°. Comparison of these data with other ground-based observations shows good agreement. This study confirms why the moons that are close to Jupiter have a brighter leading hemisphere. The trailing hemispheres of Io and Europa, which are located in the rapidly rotating magnetic field of Jupiter, are exposed to bombardment by charged particles of the magnetic field. Leaving out of consideration the differences in brightness between the two hemispheres results in serious discrepancies between the space and ground-based photometry data.     

Installation of solar chromospheric telescope at the Indian Astronomical Observatory,Merak

We report the observations of the solar chromosphere from a newly commissioned solar telescope at the incursion site near Pangong Tso lake in Merak (Leh/Ladakh). This new \(\hbox {H}_{\alpha }\) telescope at the Merak site is identical to the Kodaikanal \(\hbox {H}_{\alpha }\) telescope. The telescope was installed in the month of August 2017 at the Merak site. The telescope consists of a 20-cm doublet lens with additional re-imaging optics. A Lyot filter with 0.5 Å passband isolates the Balmer line of the hydrogen spectra to make the observations of the solar chromosphere. The observations made in \(\hbox {H}_{\alpha }\) wavelength delineates the magnetic field directions at the sunspot and the quiet regions. A CCD detector records the images of the chromosphere with a pixel resolution of 0.27\(^{\prime \prime }\) and covers 9.2\(^{\prime }\) field-of-view. This telescope has a good guiding system that keeps the FoV in the intended position. We report the development of control software for tuning the filter unit, control detector system, observations and calibration of the data to make it useful for the scientific community. Some preliminary results obtained from the Merak \(\hbox {H}_{\alpha }\) telescope are also presented. This high altitude facility is a timely addition to regularly obtain \(\hbox {H}_{\alpha }\) images around the globe.     

A model for solar oscillations at cm and mm wavelengths

It is suggested that large scale oscillations of the Sun give rise to the periodic fluctuations observed in the quiet Sun at radio wavelengths. These fluctuations would be most readily observed from regions where there is a large gradient of electron temperature with electron density, and are thus more readily observed at cm wavelengths than at millimetre wavelengths.     

Observational capabilities of the new medium- and low-resolution spectrograph at the 1.6-m telescope of the Sayan Observatory

The capabilities of the new medium- and low-resolution spectrograph installed recently on the 1.6-m AZT-33IK telescope at the Sayan Observatory of the Institute of Solar–Terrestrial Physics to solve the problems of ground-based optical support for the future all-skyX-ray survey of the SRGobservatory are discussed. Results of the test observations of galaxy clusters, active galactic nuclei (AGNs) and quasars, and cataclysmic variables performed immediately after the installation of the spectrograph on the telescope are presented. The results of these observations show that the AZT-33IK telescope equipped with the new medium- and low-resolution spectrograph can provide a substantial fraction of the necessary optical observations in the program of ground-based optical support for the all-sky survey of the SRG observatory.     

Spectrum of slowly varying component of solar radio emission on millimeter wavelengths

The spectrum of the S-component of solar radio emission has been investigated at 4 GHz, 17 GHz, 35 GHz, 70 GHz, and 94 GHz. The spectrum for a spot group which appeared late in March 1966 (McMath plage No. 8223), seems to be flat at the frequencies above about 35 GHz. This implies that the emission is due to pure free-free emission at the frequencies above 35 GHz.     

Stabilization of the spectrum position in the main stellar spectrograph of the 6-m telescope of the Special Astrophysical Observatory of the Russian Academy of Sciences

New results on the stability analysis study of the Main Stellar Spectrograph of the 6-m telescope of the Special Astrophysical Observatory of the Russian Academy of Sciences when it operated jointly with the CCD detection system on a laboratory source are reported. The spectrum is found to drift along the dispersion direction for several tenths of a pixel (several hundredths of angstrom) over a one-hour time scale. To prevent this drift (i.e., the spectrum shift)—a plane parallel glass plate is mounted; tilt angle of this plate varies as a function of the misalignment between the current and reference spectra of a hollow-cathode tube laboratory source. Operation of the spectrum stabilizer is described. The correction time is of about 1 minute, allowing the position of the spectrum to be maintained to within ±0.0006Å.     

Diffuse radio emission from the Coma cluster of galaxies at decametre wavelengths

We have observed the region of the Coma cluster at 34.5 MHz with a resolution of 26 arcmin × 40 arcmin. A map of the diffuse halo (Coma C) is presented. The size of the halo is found to be 54 arcmin × 30 arcmin. The position angle is 50° ± 10° and the integrated flux is 60 ± 11 Jy. We have also found an extended source to the south of Coma A. The measured half-power widths of this source are 30 arcmin × 40 arcmin. The position angle is 135° and the integrated flux is ~ 15 Jy at 34.5 MHz. The spectral index in the frequency range 408 to 34.5 MHz is -1.0. It is suggested that this source also belongs to the Coma cluster.     

Unusually low coronal radio emission at the solar minimum

We present two-dimensional observations of the quiet Sun at 73.8, 50.0, and 38.5 MHz obtained with the Clark Lake Radioheliograph during the sunspot minimum period of September 1986. The observed peak brightness temperatures during the entire period of sunspot minimum are found to be extremely low, lying in the range (0.6 × 10⁵ K – 2.5 × 10⁵ K). It is shown that these low values cannot be explained by the generally adopted models for N _e and T _e in a homogeneous corona. The effect of scattering by random density fluctuations is introduced in order to decrease the values of predicted T _b . The value of peak T _b is computed as a function of relative r.m.s. density fluctuations = <N _e >/N _e ; and it is found that should be in the range from 0.07 to 0.19, 0.1 to 0.25, and 0.15 to 0.35, respectively, at 38.5, 50.0, and 73.8 MHz, respectively, to explain the observed low brightness temperatures.On leave from Indian Institute of Astrophysics, Bangalore, India.     

Observations of OH maser lines at an 18-cm wavelength in 9P/Temper1 and Lulin C/2007 N3 comets with RT-22 at the Crimean Astrophysical Observatory

Investigations on OH maser lines in comets have been performed with the RT-22 at CrAO. The results of observations of 9P/Temper1 and Lulin C/2007 N3 comets in the OH molecule line at a wavelength of 18 cm are presented. An original technique for observation data analysis has been developed. The gas production rate of OH molecules in these comets is estimated.     

Observations and analysis of lunar radio emission at 3.09 mm wavelength

Earth, Moon, and Planets - Observations of lunar radio emission were made at 3.09 mm wavelength (97.1 GHz) from April 18 to May 20, 1971. Absolute brightness temperatures were measured for five...     

Astrometric observations of planetary satellites at the Abastumani Astrophysical Observatory

We present and discuss the results of the astrometry project during which we observed the satellites of Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune at the Abastumani Astrophysical Observatory (Georgia) between 1983 and 1994. Observations at the Abastumani Observatory were performed with the double Zeiss astrograph (DZA: D/F = 400/3024 mm) and AZT-11 telescope (F = 16 m). We processed a large array of observations and determined exact coordinates of the planets and their satellites in a system of reference stars of modern catalogues as well as relative coordinates of the satellites. The results were compared with modern ephemerides using the MULTI-SAT software. The comparison enabled us to estimate the accuracy of observations (their random and systematic uncertainties) and the accuracy of modern theories of the motion of planets and their satellites. Random uncertainties of observations are estimated to be 0.10??C0.40?? for various objects and observational conditions. Observational results obtained for Uranus, Neptune and the satellites Titania and Oberon were shown to deviate appreciably and systematically from theories of their motion. The results of observations are presented in the Pulkovo database for Solar System bodies that is available at the website http://www.puldb.ru.     

Observation of the S-component of the solar radio emission by an eight element grating interferometer at 17 Gc/s

The slowly varying components (S-components) of the solar radio emission were observed by a 17 Gc/s grating interferometer. In combination with 4 Gc/s data, it is deduced that the source of the 17 Gc/s S-component is optically thin.     

Polarimetry of major Uranian moons at the 6-m telescope

We present the results of polarimetric observations of the icymoons of Uranus (Ariel, Titania, Oberon, and Umbriel) performed at the 6-m BTA telescope of the SAO RAS with the SCORPIO-2 focal reducer within the phase angle range of $0_.^ \circ 06 - 2_.^ \circ 37$ . The parameters of the negative polarization branch (referred to the scattering plane) are obtained in the V filter: for Ariel the maximum branch depth of P _min ≈ ?1.4% is reached at the phase angle of α _min ≈ 1°; for Titania P _min ≈ ?1.2%, $\alpha _{\min } \approx 1_.^ \circ 4$ ; for Oberon P _min ≈ ?1.1%, $\alpha _{\min } \approx 1_.^ \circ 8$ . For Umbriel the polarization minimum was not reached: for the last measurement point at $\alpha _{\min } \approx 2_.^ \circ 4$ , polarization amounts to ?1.7%. The declining P _min and shifting α_min towards larger phase angles correlate with a decrease of the geometric albedo of the Uranian moons. There is no longitudinal dependence of polarization for the moons within the observational errors which indicates a similarity in the physical properties of the leading and trailing hemispheres. The phase-angle dependences of polarization for the major moons of Uranus are quite close to those observed in the group of small trans-Neptunian objects (Ixion, Huya, Varuna, 1999 DE9, etc.), which are characterized by a large gradient of negative polarization, about ?1% per degree in the phase-angle range of $0_.^ \circ 1 - 1^ \circ$ .