Analysis of thermal emission from the nightside of Venus at 1.51 and 1.55 μm

We present radiative transfer modelling of thermal emission from the nightside of Venus in two ‘spectral window’ regions at 1.51 and 1.55 μm. The first discovery of these windows, reported by Erard et al. [Erard, S., Drossart, P., Piccioni, G., 2009. J. Geophys. Res. Planets 114, doi:10.1029/2008JE003116. E00B27], was achieved using a principal component analysis of data from the VIRTIS instrument on Venus Express. These windows are spectrally narrow, with a full-width at half-maximum of ∼20 nm, and less bright than the well-known 1.7 and 2.3 μm spectral windows by two orders of magnitude.In this note we present the first radiative transfer analysis of these windows. We conclude that the radiation in these windows originates at an altitude of 20-35 km. As is the case for the other infrared window regions, the brightness of the windows is affected primarily by the optical depth of the overlying clouds; in addition, the 1.51 μm radiance shows a very weak sensitivity to water vapour abundance.     

Global-scale surface spectral variations on Titan seen from Cassini/VIMS

We present global-scale maps of Titan from the Visual and Infrared Mapping Spectrometer (VIMS) instrument on Cassini. We map at 64 near-infrared wavelengths simultaneously, covering the atmospheric windows at 0.94, 1.08, 1.28, 1.6, 2.0, 2.8, and 5 μm with a typical resolution of 50 km/pixel or a typical total integration time of 1 s. Our maps have five to ten times the resolution of ground-based maps, better spectral resolution across most windows, coverage in multiple atmospheric windows, and represent the first spatially resolved maps of Titan at 5 μm. The VIMS maps provide context and surface spectral information in support of other Cassini instruments. We note a strong latitudinal dependence in the spectral character of Titan's surface, and partition the surface into 9 spectral units that we describe in terms of spectral and spatial characteristics.     

Selection of radio astronomical observation sites and its dependence on human generated RFI

We investigate the influence of population density on radio-frequency interference(RFI) affecting radio astronomy.We use a new method to quantify the threshold of population density in order to determine the most suitable lower limit for site selection of a radio quiet zone(RQZ).We found that there is a certain trend in the population density-RFI graph that increases rapidly at lower values and slows down to almost flat at higher values.We use this trend to identify the thresholds for population density that produce RFI.Using this method we found that,for frequencies up to 2.8 GHz,low,medium and high population densities affecting radio astronomy are below 150 ppl km-2,between 150 ppl km-2and 5125 ppl km-2,and above5125 ppl km-2respectively.We also investigate the effect of population density on the environment of RFI in three astronomical windows,namely the deuterium,hydrogen and hydroxyl lines.We find that a polynomial fitting to the population density produces a similar trend,giving similar thresholds for the effect of population density.We then compare our interference values to the standard threshold levels used by the International Telecommunication Union within these astronomical windows.     

The candidate Seyfert 1-like objects found from ULIRGs in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, 2dF Galaxy Redshift Survey and 6dF Galaxy Survey

The infrared properties of ULIRGs in samples from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, 2dF Galaxy Redshift Survey and 6dF Galaxy Survey (SDSS-2dF-6dF Survey) and ULIRGs in the IRAS 1 Jy sample are compared. We find that the infrared properties are quite similar in both the far infrared and the near infrared for those two samples. By using the IRAS two-color diagram and the 2MASS two-color diagram we find that 24 sources in the SDSS-2dF-6dF Survey are candidate Seyfert 1-like sources indicative of strong AGN-dominant nature.     

The UKIDSS–2MASS proper motion survey – I. Ultracool dwarfs from UKIDSS DR4

The UK Infrared Telescope Infrared Deep Sky Survey (UKIDSS) is the first of a new generation of infrared surveys. Here, we combine the data from two UKIDSS components, the Large Area Survey (LAS) and the Galactic Cluster Survey (GCS), with Two-Micron All-Sky Survey (2MASS) data to produce an infrared proper motion survey for low-mass stars and brown dwarfs. In total, we detect 267 low-mass stars and brown dwarfs with significant proper motions. We recover all 10 known single L dwarfs and the one known T dwarf above the 2MASS detection limit in our LAS survey area and identify eight additional new candidate L dwarfs. We also find one new candidate L dwarf in our GCS sample. Our sample also contains objects from 11 potential common proper motion binaries. Finally, we test our proper motions and find that while the LAS objects have proper motions consistent with absolute proper motions, the GCS stars may have proper motions which are significantly underestimated. This is possibly due to the bulk motion of some of the local astrometric reference stars used in the proper motion determination.     

Finding outlier light curves in catalogues of periodic variable stars

We present a methodology to discover outliers in catalogues of periodic light curves. We use a cross-correlation as the measure of 'similarity' between two individual light curves, and then classify light curves with lowest average 'similarity' as outliers. We performed the analysis on catalogues of periodic variable stars of known type from the MACHO and OGLE projects. This analysis was carried out in Fourier space and we established that our method correctly identifies light curves that do not belong to those catalogues as outliers. We show how an approximation to this method, carried out in real space, can scale to large data sets that will be available in the near future such as those anticipated from the Panoramic Survey Telescope & Rapid Response System (Pan-STARRS) and Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST).     

Measuring the distribution of galaxies between haloes

We develop a method to measure the probability, P ( N;   M ), of finding N galaxies in a dark matter halo of mass M from the theoretically determined clustering properties of dark matter haloes and the observationally measured clustering properties of galaxies. Knowledge of this function and the distribution of the dark matter completely specifies all clustering properties of galaxies on scales larger than the size of dark matter haloes. Furthermore, P ( N;   M ) provides strong constraints on models of galaxy formation, since it depends upon the merger history of dark matter haloes and the galaxy–galaxy merger rate within haloes. We show that measurements from a combination of the Two Micron All Sky Survey and Sloan Digital Sky Survey or Two-degree Field Galaxy Redshift Survey data sets will allow P ( N;   M ) averaged over haloes occupied by bright galaxies to be accurately measured for N =0–2 .     

The ultraluminous and hyperluminous infrared galaxies in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, 2dF Galaxy Redshift Survey and 6dF Galaxy Survey

We present a result of cross-correlating the Infrared Astronomical Satellite Faint Source Catalogue with the spectroscopic catalogues of galaxies in the Fourth Data Release of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, the Final Data Release of the 2dF Galaxy Redshift Survey (2dFGRS) and the Second Data Release of the 6dF Galaxy Survey. We have identified 324 ultraluminous infrared galaxies (ULIRGs) including 190 newly discovered ULIRGs, and two hyperluminous infrared galaxies. Adding these new ULIRGs, we increase the number of known ULIRGs by about 30 per cent. The reliability of the cross-correlation is estimated using the likelihood ratio method. The incompleteness of our sample introduced by the identification procedure in this study is estimated to be about 5 per cent. Our sample covers the redshift range of   z = 0.037–0.517  with a median redshift of     , which is larger than that     of the sample of previously known ULIRGs.     

NOIRCAT – the Northern HIPASS Optical/IR Catalogue

We present the Northern HIPASS (H  i Parkes All-Sky Survey) Optical/Infrared Catalogue (NOIRCAT), an optical/near-infrared (NIR) counterpart to the Northern HIPASS Catalogue (NHICAT). Of the 1002 sources in NHICAT, 655 (66 per cent) have optical counterparts with matching optical velocities. A further 85 (8 per cent) sources have optical counterparts with matching velocities from previous radio emission-line surveys. We find a correlation between the gas and stellar content of the NOIRCAT sources. Our H  i -selected sample of isolated galaxies also presents a wider range in NIR colours than previous optically selected studies of regular, isolated galaxies. All H  i detections in optically unobscured fields could be matched with either a NASA/IPAC Extragalactic Database optical counterpart, or a galaxy visible in Second Palomar Observatory Sky Survey or Digitized Sky Survey images. However, as over 200 of these matched galaxies have no velocity information, further follow-up observations are needed to confirm the matches, and hence confirm or deny the existence of dark galaxies in this data set.     

The Results of Observing the Astroclimate on the Crimean Peninsula in the Shortwave Part of the Millimeter Wavelength Range

We present the results of a study of the astroclimate on the Crimean Peninsula in the vicinity of the UNN Kara-Dag radioastronomical station (located at a height of 105 m above sea level). The measurements were taken in semi-automatic mode every 2 minutes from July 22 to September 21, 2017. We consider the variation trends of the atmospheric transparency parameters and plot statistical charts.We obtained statistical data characterizing the astroclimate. Their analysis allows us to forecast the possibility of radioastronomical observations in the millimeter and submillimiter wavelength range transparency windows.     

The DEEP2 Galaxy Redshift Survey: the red sequence AGN fraction and its environment and redshift dependence

We measure the dependence of the active galactic nuclei (AGN) fraction on local environment at   z ∼ 1  , using spectroscopic data taken from the DEEP2 Galaxy Redshift Survey, and Chandra X-ray data from the All-Wavelength Extended Groth Strip International Survey (AEGIS). To provide a clean sample of AGN, we restrict our analysis to the red sequence population; this also reduces additional colour–environment correlations. We find evidence that high-redshift LINERs in DEEP2 tend to favour higher density environments relative to the red population from which they are drawn. In contrast, Seyferts and X-ray selected AGN at   z ∼ 1  show little (or no) environmental dependencies within the same underlying population. We compare these results with a sample of local AGN drawn from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS). Contrary to the high-redshift behaviour, we find that both LINERs and Seyferts in the SDSS show a slowly declining red sequence AGN fraction towards high-density environments. Interestingly, at   z ∼ 1  red sequence Seyferts and LINERs are approximately equally abundant. By   z ∼ 0  , however, the red Seyfert population has declined relative to the LINER population by over a factor of ∼4.5. We speculate on possible interpretations of our results.     

Deep low-frequency observations with the Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope: a search for relic radio emission

We present deep multifrequency observations using the Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope (GMRT) at 153, 244, 610 and 1260 MHz of a field centred on J0916+6348, to search for evidence of fossil radio lobes which could be due to an earlier cycle of episodic activity of the parent galaxy, as well as haloes and relics in clusters of galaxies. We do not find any unambiguous evidence of episodic activity in a list of 374 sources, suggesting that such activity is rare even in relatively deep low-frequency observations. We examine the spectra of all the sources by combining our observations with those from the Westerbork Northern Sky Survey (WENSS), NRAO (National Radio Astronomy Observatories) VLA (Very Large Array) Sky Survey (NVSS) and the Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty-Centimeters Survey (FIRST). Considering only those which have measurements at a minimum of three different frequencies, we find that almost all sources are consistent with a straight spectrum with a median spectral index,  α∼ 0.8 [S(ν) ∝ν^−α  ], which appears steeper than theoretical expectations of the injection spectral index. We identify 14 very steep-spectrum sources with  α≥ 1.3  . We examine their optical fields and discuss the nature of some of these sources.     

Reliable eigenspectra for new generation surveys

We present a novel technique to overcome the limitations of the applicability of principal component analysis to typical real-life data sets, especially astronomical spectra. Our new approach addresses the issues of outliers, missing information, large number of dimensions and the vast amount of data by combining elements of robust statistics and recursive algorithms that provide improved eigensystem estimates step by step. We develop a generic mechanism for deriving reliable eigenspectra without manual data censoring, while utilizing all the information contained in the observations. We demonstrate the power of the methodology on the attractive collection of the Visible Imaging Multi-Object Spectrograph (VIMOS) Very Large Telescope (VLT) Deep Survey spectra that manifest most of the challenges today, and highlight the improvements over previous workarounds, as well as the scalability of our approach to collections with sizes of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey and beyond.     

Unusual sources of fossil micrometeorites deduced from relict chromite in the small size fraction in ~467 Ma old limestone

Extraterrestrial chrome spinel and chromite extracted from the sedimentary rock record are relicts from coarse micrometeorites and rarely meteorites. They are studied to reconstruct the paleoflux of meteorites to the Earth and the collisional history of the asteroid belt. Minor element concentrations of Ti and V, and oxygen isotopic compositions of these relict minerals were used to classify the meteorite type they stem from, and thus to determine the relative meteorite group abundances through time. While coarse sediment-dispersed extraterrestrial chrome-spinel (SEC) grains from ordinary chondrites dominate through the studied time windows in the Phanerozoic, there are exceptions: We have shown that ~467 Ma ago, 1 Ma before the breakup of the L chondrite parent body (LCPB), more than half of the largest (>63 μm diameter) grains were achondritic and originated from differentiated asteroids in contrast to ordinary chondrites which dominated the meteorite flux throughout most of the past 500 Ma. Here, we present a new data set of oxygen isotopic compositions and elemental compositions of 136 grains of a smaller size fraction (32–63 μm) in ~467 Ma old pre-LCPB limestone from the Lynna River section in western Russia, that was previously studied by elemental analysis. Our study constitutes the most comprehensive oxygen isotopic data set of sediment-dispersed extraterrestrial chrome spinel to date. We also introduce a Raman spectroscopy-based method to identify SEC grains and distinguish them from terrestrial chrome spinel with ~97% reliability. We calibrated the Raman method with the established approach using titanium and vanadium concentrations and oxygen isotopic compositions. We find that ordinary chondrites are approximately three times more abundant in the 32–63 μm fraction than achondrites. While abundances of achondrites compared to ordinary chondrites are lower in the 32–63 μm size fraction than in the >63 μm one, achondrites are approximately three times more abundant in the 32–62 μm fraction than they are in the present flux. We find that the sources of SEC grains vary for different grain sizes, mainly as a result of parent body thermal metamorphism. We conclude that the meteorite flux composition ~467 Ma ago ~1 Ma before the breakup of the LCPB was fundamentally different from today and from other time windows studied in the Phanerozoic, but that in contrast to the large size fraction ordinary chondrites dominated the flux in the small size fraction. The high abundance of ordinary chondrites in the studied samples is consistent with the findings based on coarse extraterrestrial chrome-spinel from other time windows.     

The nature of faint submillimetre-selected galaxies

We present the source catalogue for the SCUBA Lens Survey. We summarize the results of extensive multiwavelength observations of the 15 submillimetre-selected galaxies in the catalogue, from X-rays to radio. We discuss the main observational characteristics of faint submillimetre galaxies as a population, and consider their interpretation within the framework of our understanding of galaxy formation and evolution.     

An RFI investigation for setting up a VLBI station below 2.8 GHz in Malaysia

In this paper, we investigated the radio frequency interference (RFI) that future Very Long Baseline Interferometer (VLBI) observations in Malaysia may encounter. Four frequency windows below 2.8 GHz were chosen for this study and their spectra were measured at four sites. The frequency windows are 322-328 MHz, 608-614 MHz, 1660-1660.5 MHz and 1660.5-1668.4 MHz. The measured averaged RFI floor noise levels in these windows are −99.992 (±0.570) dBm, −99.907 (±0.639) dBm, −100.220 (±0.4941) dBm and −100.359 (±0.110) dBm, respectively. We found that only two bands below 2.8 GHz are permitted for the purpose of radio astronomy in Malaysia. They are 608-614 MHz and 1660-1660.5 MHz. The RFI levels in these permissible bands at the best site (Langkawi) were also measured and concluded to be relatively low. Main sources of RFI in these bands in Malaysia were identified. We also reviewed several current VLBI observations in these two bands.     

The radio properties of a sample of optically selected radio-loud quasars

We searched for identification between the Large Bright Quasar Survey and the latest whole-sky survey catalog of 4.85 GHz radio sources. We found 34 quasars to have radio counterparts and they proved to be radio-loud objects. We found a nearly linear correlation between their radio and optical luminosities in this, probably the largest so far, sample of radio-loud quasars.     

SDSS unveils a population of intrinsically faint cataclysmic variables at the minimum orbital period

We discuss the properties of 137 cataclysmic variables (CVs) which are included in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) spectroscopic data base, and for which accurate orbital periods have been measured. 92 of these systems are new discoveries from SDSS and were followed-up in more detail over the past few years. 45 systems were previously identified as CVs because of the detection of optical outbursts and/or X-ray emission, and subsequently re-identified from the SDSS spectroscopy. The period distribution of the SDSS CVs differs dramatically from that of all the previously known CVs, in particular it contains a significant accumulation of systems in the orbital period range 80–86 min. We identify this feature as the elusive 'period minimum spike' predicted by CV population models, which resolves a long-standing discrepancy between compact binary evolution theory and observations. We show that this spike is almost entirely due to the large number of CVs with very low accretion activity identified by SDSS. The optical spectra of these systems are dominated by emission from the white dwarf photosphere, and display little or no spectroscopic signature from the donor stars, suggesting very low mass companion stars. We determine the average absolute magnitude of these low-luminosity CVs at the period minimum to be  〈 M_g 〉= 11.6 ± 0.7  . Comparison of the SDSS CV sample to the CVs found in the Hamburg Quasar Survey and the Palomar Green Survey suggests that the depth of SDSS is the key ingredient resulting in the discovery of a large number of intrinsically faint short-period systems.     

The cloud-in-cloud problem for non-Gaussian density fields

The cloud-in-cloud problem is studied in the context of the extension to non-Gaussian density fields of the PS approach for the calculation of the mass function. As an example of a non-Gaussian probability distribution function (PDF), we consider the chi-square distribution with various degrees of freedom. We generate density fields in cubic boxes with periodic boundary conditions, and then determine the number of points considered collapsed at each scale through a hierarchy of smoothing windows. We find that the mass function we obtain differs from that predicted using the extended PS formalism, particularly for low values of σ and for those PDFs that differ most from a Gaussian.     

Examples of extreme intraday variability

We present results of the ATCA IDV Survey of southern extragalactic radio sources. We discuss briefly the properties of the 22 new intraday variable sources discovered in the Survey. The follow-up observations of a few extreme examples of strong intraday variability are presented. We find that the characteristics of the total flux density fluctuations at different wavelengths are consistent with intersteller scintillations (ISS) of the microarcsecondsize soorten components. However, the scintillating components of a few extreme IDVs are characterized by the brightness temperatures far exceeding the T _B=10¹² K limit. The relativistic beaming invoked in such sources would require Doppler factors up to as high as δ∼ 10³. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.