The fall of the Grimsby meteorite—I: Fireball dynamics and orbit from radar,video, and infrasound records

Abstract– The Grimsby meteorite (H4–6) fell on September 25, 2009. As of mid‐2010, 13 fragments totaling 215 g have been recovered. Records of the accompanying fireball from the Southern Ontario Meteor Network, including six all‐sky video cameras, a large format CCD, infrasound and radar records, have been used to characterize the trajectory, speed, orbit, and initial mass of the meteoroid. From the four highest quality all‐sky video records, the initial entry velocity was 20.91 ± 0.19 km s^?1 while the derived radiant has a local azimuth of 309.40° ± 0.19° and entry angle of 55.20° ± 0.13°. Three major fragmentation episodes are identified at 39, 33, and 30 km height, with corresponding uncertainties of approximately 2 km. Evidence for early fragmentation at heights of approximately 70 km is found in radar data; dynamic pressure of this earliest fragmentation is near 0.1 MPa while the main flare at 39 km occurred under ram pressures of 1.5 MPa. The fireball was luminous to at least 19.7 km altitude and the dynamic mass estimate of the largest remaining fragment at this height is approximately several kilograms. The initial mass is constrained to be <100 kg from infrasound data and ablation modeling, with a most probable mass of 20–50 kg. The preatmospheric orbit is typical of an Apollo asteroid with a likely immediate origin in either the 3:1 or ν₆ resonances.     

Spectral lag of gamma‐ray bursts caused by the intrinsic spectral evolution and the curvature effect

Assuming an intrinsic ‘Band’ shape spectrum and an intrinsic energy‐independent emission profile we have investigated the connection between the evolution of the rest‐frame spectral parameters and the spectral lags measured in gamma‐ray burst (GRB) pulses by using a pulse model. We first focus our attention on the evolution of the peak energy, E_0,p, and neglect the effect of the curvature effect. It is found that the evolution of E_0,p alone can produce the observed lags. When E_0,p varies from hard to soft only the positive lags can be observed. The negative lags would occur in the case of E_0,p varying from soft to hard. When the evolution of E_0,p and the low‐energy spectral index α₀ varying from soft to hard then to soft we can find the aforesaid two sorts of lags. We then examine the combined case of the spectral evolution and the curvature effect of fireball and find the observed spectral lags would increase. A sample including 15 single pulses whose spectral evolution follows hard to soft has been investigated. All the lags of these pulses are positive, which is in good agreement with our theoretical predictions. Our analysis shows that only the intrinsic spectral evolution can produce the spectral lags and the observed lags should be contributed by the intrinsic spectral evolution and the curvature effect. But it is still unclear what cause the spectral evolution (© 2011 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

A 2007 photometric study and UV spectral analysis of the Wolf‐Rayet binary V444 Cyg

Photometric and spectroscopic characteristics of the WN5+O6 binary system, V444 Cyg, were studied. The Wilson‐Devinney (WD) analysis, using new BV observations carried out at the Ankara University Observatory, revealed the masses, radii, and temperatures of the components of the system as M_WR = 10.64 M_⊙, M_O = 24.68 M_⊙, R_WR = 7.19 R_⊙, R_O = 6.85 R_⊙, T_WR = 31 000 K, and T_O = 40000 K, respectively. It was found that both components had a full spherical geometry, whereas the circumstellar envelope of the WR component had an asymmetric structure. The O – C analysis of the system revealed a period lengthening of 0.139 ± 0.018 syr^–1, implying a mass loss rate of (6.76 ± 0.39) ×10^–6 M_⊙ yr^–1 for the WR component. Moreover, 106 IUE‐NEWSIPS spectra were obtained from NASA's IUE archive for line identification and determination of line profile variability with phase, wind velocities and variability in continuum fluxes. The integrated continuum flux level (between 1200–2000 Å) showed a mild and regular increase from orbital phase 0.00 up to 0.50 and then a decrease in the same way back to phase 0.00. This is evaluated as the O component making a constant and regular contribution to the system's UV light as the dominant source. The C IV line, originating in the circumstellar envelope, had the highest velocity while N IV line, originating in deeper layers of the envelope, had the lowest velocity. The average radial velocity calculated by using the C IV line (wind velocity) was found as 2326 km s^–1 (© 2011 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Features of a comet nucleus: The case of 103P/Hartley 2

In the paper two chosen features of the comet 103P/Hartley 2 are studied. The first one are ‘cometary geysers’ which have been recorded by the camera on Deep Impact spacecraft. The numerical calculations related with this phenomenon have been carried out for large number of values of probable cometary characteristics. Our calculations confirm the assumption what also has been observed by NASA's scientists that the jets of carbon dioxide from the geysers are able to lift large chunks of water ice from the comet. The second discussed feature of the comet 103P/Hartley 2 is the lack of impact holes on the surface of its nucleus. The expected rate of impact holes on the surface of the nucleus of 103P/Hartley 2 is discussed. These holes could be the product of impacts between this comet and other small bodies orbiting in the main asteroid belt. The probability of such impacts, the total number of expected perceptible holes and changes in the luminosity of the comet caused by collisions are examined. We conclude that indeed the number of visible holes on its surface should be negligible (© 2011 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Kleť minor planet discovery frequency by months (comparison)

Abstrakt The Kle search programme for minor planets using 0,63m Maksutov camera of Kle Observatory was begun in 1977 as a long-term project continuing up to the present day. The discovery frequency according to seasons in the year shows multiple differences between particular months.The comparison with the number of observing nights and obtained search plates; weather conditions and other influences will be discussed. The Kle minor planet discovery frequency also will be compared with the data base of all numbered minor planets.     

On the internal structure and magnetic fields of

First, a sequence of four-zone models for the interior of Venus is constructed under the assumption of hydrostatic equilibrium. While the equation of state for each zone is taken to be the Bullen's relation with its coefficients consistent with the PREM Earth model (Dziewonski and Anderson, 1981), the position of core-mantle boundary is determined by matching solutions of the Emden's equation in different regions. The results of hydrostatic models indicate the presence of a reasonably large molten iron core in Venus, broadly similar to the Earth. It is also found that the position of the core-mantle interface is nearly model-independent. Second, we focus on the question why Venus does not possess a significant global magnetic field and on what we can learn from this fact. Solutions of magnetohydrodynamic equations appropriate for the molten core of Venus are discussed. It is argued that, because the Elsasser number measuring the relative importance of Coriolis and Lorentz forces satisfies 1, equations for the problem of thermal convection in the Venusian fluid core must be nearly uncoupled with the dynamo equation. The existence of a global magnetic field, though small, then suggests that the size of the magnetic Reynolds numberR _m must beR _m =O(10), sustaining a dynamo action near its marginal state but not an active dynamo in the Venusian molten core. On the basis of asymptotic relations for finite amplitude convection, a useful constraint on important physical parameters for the liquid core of Venus is derived and discussed.     

The effect of an optically thin region on stability of an accretion disk around a supermassive black hole

We analyse conditions of the innermost portion of an accretion disk and establish a set of equations for this region. A stable innermost region may exist, which can probably explain the observed UV and X-ray spectra, avoiding the unstable emission. We then discuss the detailed radial structure of a disk around a black hole for typical AGN parameters and obtain different kinds of- relationships for different regions of a disk. On the basis of this, we discuss the stability. A new type of cycle is present, which we call a double S shaped cycle. In this cycle, the extent of accretion rate variability is much larger than that in dwarf nova cycles. This probably solves the problem of violent variability of AGN. In the meantime, the very high accretion rate at the hottest state in limit cycles in the unstable region may provide continuous injection of matter to the jet and power the relativistic motion of the jet.     

Solar Stokes Spectrum Observation at Yunnan Astronomical Observatory

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Long transequatorial interconnecting loops of the new solar cycle

We study two long transequatorial loops connecting high-latitude regions of the new solar cycle. These loops (with lengths of 47 and 61 heliographic degrees) provide evidence that the upper length limit of 37° found by Chase et al. (1976) from Skylab data was determined simply by the typical distances between northern and southern active regions during the period of Skylab observations. We find strong support for the idea that these long interconnecting loops originate through reconnection of field lines extending from the two active regions towards and beyond the equator, and confirm the earlier finding by Canfield, Pevtsov, and McClymont (1996) that only field lines from active regions with the same chirality reconnect. As we are not aware of any longitudinal (E–W) loops of comparable lengths, we suggest that it is mainly the solar differential rotation which drives the reconnection of latitudinal (N–S) field lines.