Solar Image Restoration By Use Of Multi-frame Blind De-convolution With Multiple Objects And Phase Diversity

An extension of Joint Phase Diverse Speckle image restoration is presented. Multiple realizations of multiple objects having known wavefront relations with each other can now be restored jointly. As the alignment of the imaging setup does not change, near-perfect alignment can be achieved between different objects, thus greatly reducing false signals in the determination of derived quantities, such as magnetograms, Dopplergrams, etc. The method was implemented in C++ as an image restoration server, to which worker clients can connect and disconnect randomly, so that a large number of CPUs can be used to speed up the restorations. We present a number of examples of applications of the restoration method to observations obtained with the Swedish 1-m Solar Telescope on La Palma.     

Chemical Composition Diversity Among 24 Comets Observed At Radio Wavelengths

We present a comparative study on molecular abundances in comets basedon millimetre/submillimetre observations made with the IRAM 30-m,JCMT, CSO and SEST telescopes. This study concerns a sample of 24comets (6 Jupiter-family, 3 Halley-family, 15 long-period) observedfrom 1986 to 2001 and 8 molecular species (HCN, HNC, CH₃CN,CH₃OH, H₂CO, CO, CS, H₂S). HCN was detected in all comets,while at least 2 molecules were detected in 19 comets. From the sub-sample of comets for which contemporary H₂O productionrates are available, we infer that the HCN abundance relative to water variesfrom 0.08% to 0.25%. With respect to other species, HCN is the moleculewhich exhibits the lowest abundance variation from comet to comet. Therefore,production rates relative to that of HCN can be used for a comparative study ofmolecular abundances in the 19 comets. It is found that: CH₃OH/HCN varies from ≤ 9 to 64; CO/HCN varies from ≤ 24 to 180; H₂CO/HCN varies between 1.6 and 10; and H₂S/HCN varies between 1.5 and 7.6. This study does not show any clear correlation between the relative abundancesand the dynamical origins of the comets, or their dust-to-gas ratios.     

A Comparison Between Near-Infrared And Visible Imaging Of The Inner Coma Of Comet Hale-Bopp At Perihelion

We present a comparison between images of comet C/1995 O1 (Hale-Bopp) obtained from 12 March to 9 May 1997, with two telescopes of the Observatorio del Teide (IAC, Tenerife, Spain) in visible (Johnson-V filter) and three near-infrared narrowband filters (Brγ (2.166 μm), CO (2.295 μm), and K_con (2.260 μm)). No significant differences are observed between the images in the three near-infrared bands suggesting that any CO emission is very weak, or produced by an extended flat source. We do not find evidence for the existence of an additional infrared component due to emission by warm dust, or to dust grains of diverse composition and/or size. Visible and infrared images of the same rotational phase look almost identical, supporting the view that the observed jets and shells are mainly dust structures. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

波前相位差法探测器的设计

波前相位差法是利用焦面像和离焦面像通过一个相位多样性算法来拟合相位或对目标复原,这就要求采集两个图像,一个是焦面像,另一个是离焦面像。本文的设计是根据晶体的偏振原理分像,并将焦面像和离焦像同时采集到同一个CCD(Charge Coupled Device)上,这种方法保证了两个图像的同步、实时,而且光学系统简单。文中具体给出了一种新型波前相位差法探测器的设计方案、像差分析,并且模拟了波前相位差法探测器对模拟结果的影响。     

Implementation of the First Asteroid Landing

Spacecraft have successfully landed on the Moon, Venus, and Mars, and have penetrated the atmosphere of Jupiter. On 2001 February 12, the Near-Earth Asteroid Rendezvous (NEAR) Shoemaker spacecraft landed on the surface of the asteroid (433) Eros after a year of observations in orbit about the asteroid. NEAR Shoemaker was not designed to land on an asteroid, complicating the design of operations needed to accomplish this feat. However, the NEAR Shoemaker team wanted to attempt a landing after the year of orbital operations that consumed most of the remaining spacecraft fuel, operations funding, and planned Deep Space Network tracking. This would be a fitting end to the mission, and it would be possible to obtain images at much greater resolution during the descent than could be obtained from orbit. The operations were more successful than the NEAR Shoemaker team had hoped, obtaining 70 high-resolution images during the descent and two weeks of gamma-ray spectrometer data from the surface after the successful soft landing.     

A Theoretical Study Of The Whistler Mode Instability At The Uranian Bow Shock

Relativistic whistler wave mode with a perpendicular AC electric field has been studied for generalized distribution function with an index j, which is reducible to bi-Maxwellian for j = 0, loss-cone for j = 1 and delta function for j = ∞. Based on particle trajectories, the dispersionrelation is obtained using the techniques of a kinetic approach anda method of characteristic solutions Calculations are compassed with observations of low frequency waves of Voyager 2 The growth rates for the plasma parameters suited to the magnetosphere of Uranus are obtained. It is inferred that, not the magnitude but the frequency of the AC field, influences the growth rate. In addition to the temperature anisotropy, plasma particles having a loss-cone provide an additional source of energy. The relativistic electrons along with increasing the growth rate, widen the band width so as to cover a wide frequency range thus may explain the entire spectrum of whistler emissions at Uranian bow shock. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

基于相位差法的光学综合孔径望远镜失调检测技术

光学综合孔径望远镜常常因为子望远镜间的失调大于1λ而产生相位差,影响望远镜的分辨能力.基于相位差法的检测技术,主要是利用在焦面和离焦位置上同时采集的一对图像,对光瞳上的相位分布进行恢复,从而得出子望远镜间的微小失调误差.在计算机模拟成像系统的基础上,我们使用有限差分法对波前相位进行了恢复.模拟研究结果表明,相位差法可以较准确恢复出波前相位,检测出失调量.     

The Rotational Parameters Of Hale–Bopp (C/1995 O1) From Observations Of The Dust Jets At Pic Du Midi Observatory

We observed comet Hale-Bopp (C/1995 O1) at Pic du Midi Observatory in 1997 from February 2.24 UT to March 31.89 UT with the 1.05-m telescope equipped with a CCD camera and broad- and narrow-band IHW filters. A total of 30000 images were acquired both during night- and day-time. The images were automatically reduced and all the images obtained within 10 min. were co-added to give a set of ∼1000 images used during the analysis. We can identify two jets on the images. The position angle of the brightest jet from February 2.24 UT to March 5.22 UT is measured using an automatic routine which searches for the averaged position angle of the maximum of brightness at a projected distance of 3200–6100 km from the optocenter. A preliminary model of nucleus rotation is used to fit the data and retrieve the rotational parameters of the nucleus. The best fit is found for a source located at a latitude of 64 ± 3°, a sidereal rotation period of 11.35 ± 0.04 h and a right ascension and declination of the North pole of 275 ± 10° and -57 ± 10°. This preliminary analysis shows no evidence for a precession. Grains with velocities of 450–600 m s⁻¹ and radii <;∼ 1 μm dominate the optical scattering cross section in the jets. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

An Experimental Evidence Of Non-Ducted Propagation During Daytime From The Esd Whistler Observations At Low Latitude Ground Station Jammu

The propagationmechanism of low latitude daytime whistlers is investigated on the basis of ground measurements made continuously during daytime in North India at Jammu (geomag. lat. 22°26°N;L = 1.17). On February 14, 1998 extremely small dispersion (ESD) whistlers with dispersion varying from 5–10 sec^1/2 in surprisingly large numbers were recorded at Jammu during daytime in the late afternoon. The results of a study of the characteristics of ESD whistlers are presented and the discussion indicates that ESD whistlers recorded are the VLF waves radiated from the return stroke of the lightning discharge launched at the ionosphere with different initial wave normal angles, propagated upwards under eitherquasi-longitudinal conditions or pro-longitudinal whistler mode, turned around at different heights due to quasi-transverse propagation and received at Jammu with the dispersion of the order of 5–10 sec^1/2. The validity of this suggestion has been tested by performing actualray-tracing computations in thepresence of equatorial anomaly model. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

First View of the Extended Green-Line Emission Corona At Solar Activity Minimum Using the Lasco-C1 Coronagraph on Soho

The newly developed C1 coronagraph as part of the Large-Angle Spectroscopic Coronagraph (LASCO) on board the SOHO spacecraft has been operating since January 29, 1996. We present observations obtained in the first three months of operation. The green-line emission corona can be made visible throughout the instrument's full field of view, i.e., from 1.1 R⊙ out to 3.2 R⊙ (measured from Sun center). Quantitative evaluations based on calibrations cannot yet be performed, but some basic signatures show up even now: (1) There are often bright and apparently closed loop systems centered at latitudes of 30° to 45° in both hemispheres. Their helmet-like extensions are bent towards the equatorial plane. Farther out, they merge into one large equatorial ‘streamer sheet’ clearly discernible out to 32 R⊙. (2) At mid latitudes a more diffuse pattern is usually visible, well separated from the high-latitude loops and with very pronounced variability. (3) All high-latitude structures remain stable on time scales of several days, and no signature of transient disruption of high-latitude streamers was observed in these early data. (4) Within the first 4 months of observation, only one single ‘fast’ feature was observed moving outward at a speed of 70 km s^-1 close to the equator. Faster events may have escaped attention because of data gaps. (5) The centers of high-latitude loops are usually found at the positions of magnetic neutral lines in photospheric magnetograms. The large-scale streamer structure follows the magnetic pattern fairly precisely. Based on our observations we conclude that the shape and stability of the heliospheric current sheet at solar activity minimum are probably due to high-latitude streamers rather than to the near-equatorial activity belt. Supplementary material to this paper is available in electronic form at http://dx.doi.org/10.1023/A:1004948913883     

基于遗传算法的相位差法波前检测piston误差

光学综合孔径望远镜常常因为子望远镜间的失调大于1λ产生相位差,影响望远镜的分辨能力。基于相位差法的检测技术,可以检测出子望远镜间的微小失调误差。提出了相位差波前检测方法与遗传算法相结合,设计了一个相位差波前传感器,进行综合孔径望远系统的piston误差检测。在计算机模拟成像系统的基础上,仿真结果证明,基于遗传算法的相位差波前检测方法可以较准确地恢复波前相位,检测piston误差。     

Discovery Of Mg-Rich Pyroxenes In Comet C/1995 O1 (Hale-Bopp): Pristine Grains Revealed At Perihelion

The NASA Ames HIFOGS spectrometer observed comet C/1995 O1 (Hale-Bopp) at epochs including 96 Oct 7–14 UT (2.8 AU), 97 Feb 14–15 UT (1.2 AU), 97 Apr 11 UT (0.93 AU), and 97 Jun 22, 25 UT (1.7 AU). The HIFOGS 7.5–13.5 μm spectrophotometry (R = 360 - 180) of the silicate feature at 2.8 AU is identical in shape to the ISO SWS spectra of comet Hale-Bopp (Crovisier et al., 1997); the strong 11.2 μm peak in the structured silicate feature is identified as olivine. Upon close passage to the sun, the HIFOGS spectra at 1.2 AU and 0.93 AU reveals strong peaks at 9.3 μm and 10.0 μm. The post-perihelion 10 μm silicate feature at 1.7 AU is weaker but has nearly the same shape as the pre-perihelion spectra at 1.2 AU, reverting to its pre-perihelion shape: there is no change in the dust chemistry by close passage to the sun. The appearance of the strong peaks at 9.3 μm and 10.0 μm at r_h ≲ 1.7 AU is attributed to the rise in the contribution of pryoxenes (clino-pyroxene and orthopyroxene crystals) to the shape of the feature, and leads to the hypothesis that the pyroxenes are significantly cooler than the olivines. The pyroxenes are radiating on the Wien side of the blackbody at 2.8 AU and transition to the Rayleigh-Jeans tail of the blackbody upon closer approach to the Sun. Composite fits to the observed 10 μm silicate features using IDPs and laboratory minerals shows that a good empirical fit to the spectra is obtained when the pryoxenes are about 150 K cooler than the olivines. The pyroxenes, because they are cooler and contribute signficantly at perihelion, are more abundant than the olivines. The perihelion temperature of the pyroxenes implies that the pyroxenes are more Mg-rich than the other minerals including the olivines, amorphous olivines, and amorphous pyroxenes. The PUMA-1 flyby measurements of comet P/Halley also indicated an overabundance of Mg-rich pryoxenes compared to olivines. Comet Hale-Bopp's pyroxenes are similar to pyroxere IDPs from the ’Spray‘ class, known for their D-richness and their unaltered morphologies: Hale-Bopp's Mg-rich pyroxenes may be pristine relic ISM grains. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

The First Photometric Analyses Of Four New Discovered Ew-Type Eclipsing Binaries: GSC 1848-1264, GSC 0804-0118, GSC 0619-0232 And GSC 2936-0478

Photometric solutions of four new discovered W UMa-type binaries were carried out for the first time by using the 2003 version of the W-D program. It is discovered that all of the four systems are over-contact binaries. Two binaries, GSC 0804-0118 and GSC 2936-0478, are of A-subtype, while two other binaries, GSC 1848-1264 and GSC 0619-0232, are of W-subtype. From our solutions, the fundamental orbital and physical parameters were determined. For GSC 0619-0232 and GSC 2936-0478, the asymmetries of the light curves (i.e., the O'Connell effect) were explained by the presence of dark spots on the more massive components. Our photometric results reveal that GSC 0619-0232 is an important and interesting system. It is a W-type over-contact binary with a low mass ratio of q = 0.100 and a high over-contact degree of f = 93.4%, which suggests that GSC 0619-0232 may be evolved into a single rapid-rotating star.