Use of the Geometric Elements in Numerical Simulations

We derive the transformations to convert the state vector in cartesian coordinates into geometric orbital elements (and conversely the geometric elements into the state vector) for a test particle moving around an oblate planet. These transformations arise from the epicyclic theory and are accurate to second order in eccentricity and inclination. This paper is written to be directly used for computational purposes, such as the numerical study of ring dynamics.     

Latitudinal variations of CO and OCS in the lower atmosphere of Venus from near-infrared nightside spectro-imaging

Spectro-imaging of Venus' nightside in the 2.3-μm window provides a powerful means of probing the lower atmosphere in the 25-40 km altitude range. We present observations recorded at the NASA/IRTF in February 2003 and August 2004, using the SpeX spectro-imager in the 2.1-2.5-μm region. Abundances of CO and OCS have been derived as a function of latitude for different longitudes. The CO abundance increases by about 15% between the equatorial region and higher latitudes (±40°). No longitudinal or temporal variations are observed. The OCS abundance shows the opposite variation in observational sets with sufficient S/N. These variations and anticorrelation are consistent with upwelling motions in the equatorial region and downwelling at higher latitudes.     

Perturbations of the Kepler Problem in Global Coordinates: A Program

The present paper is a brief report of how, along the lines of a previous paper, the implementation of the program KEPLER¹, for the numerical integration of the perturbations of the Kepler problem, has been carried out.     

AVES: A high performance computer cluster array for the INTEGRAL satellite scientific data analysis

In this paper we describe a new computing system array, designed, built and now used at the Space Astrophysics and Planetary Institute (IAPS) in Rome, Italy, for the INTEGRAL Space Observatory scientific data analysis. This new system has become necessary in order to reduce the processing time of the INTEGRAL data accumulated during the more than 9 years of in-orbit operation. In order to fulfill the scientific data analysis requirements with a moderately limited investment the starting approach has been to use a ??cluster?? array of commercial quad-CPU computers, featuring the extremely large scientific and calibration data archive on line.     

Mercury resolved spectroscopy from NTT

Mercury has been observed in June 2006 with the SofI instrument at NTT. Resolved spectroscopy was performed in the range. The observations were acquired close to a favorable quadrature with maximum elongation, and span mostly the southern hemisphere in the 235–315°E longitude area.In contrast to recent observations from IRTF, the present study does not indicate any pyroxene absorption in the near-infrared range, neither in the region nor at . Detailed spectral analysis allows to derive an upper limit of 1.5% type-A pyroxene (hedenbergite) or 1.1% enstatite (assuming minimum lunar iron content) in the regions observed, at the 700 km scale. Assuming lunar-like maturity effects on band depth, this corresponds to an upper limit of 0.15 and 0.6 wt.% FeO content in silicates, an order of magnitude less than previous estimates.     

Why chromatic imaging matters

During the last two decades, the first generation of beam combiners at the Very Large Telescope Interferometer has proved the importance of optical interferometry for high-angular resolution astrophysical studies in the near- and mid-infrared. With the advent of 4-beam combiners at the VLTI, the u ? v coverage per pointing increases significantly, providing an opportunity to use reconstructed images as powerful scientific tools. Therefore, interferometric imaging is already a key feature of the new generation of VLTI instruments, as well as for other interferometric facilities like CHARA and JWST. It is thus imperative to account for the current image reconstruction capabilities and their expected evolutions in the coming years. Here, we present a general overview of the current situation of optical interferometric image reconstruction with a focus on new wavelength-dependent information, highlighting its main advantages and limitations. As an Appendix we include several cookbooks describing the usage and installation of several state-of-the art image reconstruction packages. To illustrate the current capabilities of the software available to the community, we recovered chromatic images, from simulated MATISSE data, using the MCMC software SQUEEZE. With these images, we aim at showing the importance of selecting good regularization functions and their impact on the reconstruction.     

An extended investigation of Helios 1 and 2 observations: The interplanetary magnetic field between 0.3 and 1 AU

Helios-1 and 2 spacecraft allowed a detailed investigation of the radial dependence of the interplanetary magnetic field components between 0.3 and 1 AU. The behaviour of the radial component B _ris in a very good agreement with Parker's model (B _r r ^-2) and the azimuthal component B also shows a radial dependence which is close to theoretical predictions (B r ^-1). Experimental results for the normal component B and for the field magnitude B are consistent with those from previous investigations. The relative amplitude of the directional fluctuations with periods less than 12 hr is essentially independent of heliocentric distance, while their power decreases approximately as r ^–3 without any appreciable difference between higher and lower velocity regimes.Also at Laboratorio Plasma nello Spazio, CNR, Frascati.     

The 1.10- and 1.18-μm nightside windows of Venus observed by SPICAV-IR aboard Venus Express

Observations of the 1.10- and 1.18-μm nightside windows by the SPICAV-IR instrument aboard Venus Express were analyzed to characterize the various sources of gaseous opacity and determine the H₂O mole fraction in the lower atmosphere of Venus. We showed that the line profile model of Afanasenko and Rodin (Afanasenko, T.S., Rodin, A.V. [2007]. Astron. Lett. 33, 203–210) underestimates the CO₂ absorption in the high-wavelength wing of the 1.18-μm window and we derived an empirical lineshape that matches this wing well. An additional continuum opacity is required to reproduce the variation of the 1.10- and 1.18-μm radiances with surface elevation as observed by the VIRTIS-M instrument aboard Venus Express. A constant absorption coefficient of 0.7 ± 0.2 × 10⁻⁹ cm⁻¹ am⁻² best reproduces the observed variation. We compared spectra calculated with different CO₂ and H₂O line lists. We found that the CDSD line list lacks the 5ν₁ + ν₃ series of CO₂ bands, which provide significant opacity in Venus’ deep atmosphere, and we have constructed a composite line list that best reproduces the observations. We also showed for the first time that HDO brings significant absorption at 1140–1190 nm. Using the best representation of the atmospheric opacity we could reach, we retrieved a water vapor mole fraction of ppmv, pertaining to the altitude range 5–25 km. Combined with previous measurements in the 1.74- and 2.3-μm windows, this result provides strong evidence for a uniform H₂O profile below 40 km, in agreement with chemical models.