Investigations of space debris at Terskol observatory

Within the framework of the “Astronomy in the Elbrus Region” international program, investigations of space debris objects using optical measurements are carried out at the observation complex of the Zeiss-2000 telescope (developed by the International Center for Astronomical and Medico-Ecological Research, National Academy of Sciences, Ukraine) at Terskol Observatory. The objectives of this study are to detect, catalog, and determine the physical characteristics of small-sized space debris fragments, maintain orbit catalogs, and investigate the influence of nongravitational perturbations on the orbital motion and the evolution of orbits of these fragments.     

Evidence for high‐temperature fractionation of lithium isotopes during differentiation of the Moon

Lithium isotope and abundance data are reported for Apollo 15 and 17 mare basalts and the LaPaz low‐Ti mare basalt meteorites, along with lithium isotope data for carbonaceous, ordinary, and enstatite chondrites, and chondrules from the Allende CV3 meteorite. Apollo 15 low‐Ti mare basalts have lower Li contents and lower δ⁷Li (3.8 ± 1.2‰; all uncertainties are 2 standard deviations) than Apollo 17 high‐Ti mare basalts (δ⁷Li = 5.2 ± 1.2‰), with evolved LaPaz mare basalts having high Li contents, but similar low δ⁷Li (3.7 ± 0.5‰) to Apollo 15 mare basalts. In low‐Ti mare basalt 15555, the highest concentrations of Li occur in late‐stage tridymite (>20 ppm) and plagioclase (11 ± 3 ppm), with olivine (6.1 ± 3.8 ppm), pyroxene (4.2 ± 1.6 ppm), and ilmenite (0.8 ± 0.7 ppm) having lower Li concentrations. Values of δ⁷Li in low‐ and high‐Ti mare basalt sources broadly correlate negatively with ¹⁸O/¹⁶O and positively with ⁵⁶Fe/⁵⁴Fe (low‐Ti: δ⁷Li ≤4‰; δ⁵⁶Fe ≤0.04‰; δ¹⁸O ≥5.7‰; high‐Ti: δ⁷Li >6‰; δ⁵⁶Fe >0.18‰; δ¹⁸O <5.4‰). Lithium does not appear to have acted as a volatile element during planetary formation, with subequal Li contents in mare basalts compared with terrestrial, martian, or vestan basaltic rocks. Observed Li isotopic fractionations in mare basalts can potentially be explained through large‐degree, high‐temperature igneous differentiation of their source regions. Progressive magma ocean crystallization led to enrichment in Li and δ⁷Li in late‐stage liquids, probably as a consequence of preferential retention of ⁷Li and Li in the melt relative to crystallizing solids. Lithium isotopic fractionation has not been observed during extensive differentiation in terrestrial magmatic systems and may only be recognizable during extensive planetary magmatic differentiation under volatile‐poor conditions, as expected for the lunar magma ocean. Our new analyses of chondrites show that they have δ⁷Li ranging between ?2.5‰ and 4‰. The higher δ⁷Li in planetary basalts than in the compilation of chondrites (2.1 ± 1.3‰) demonstrates that differentiated planetary basalts are, on average, isotopically heavier than most chondrites.     

EJECTION–COLLISION ORBITS AND INVARIANT PUNCTURED TORI IN A RESTRICTED FOUR‐BODY PROBLEM

We study the motion of an infinitesimal mass point under the gravitational action of three mass points of masses μ, 1–2μ and μ moving under Newton's gravitational law in circular periodic orbits around their center of masses. The three point masses form at any time a collinear central configuration. The body of mass 1–2μ is located at the center of mass. The paper has two main goals. First, to prove the existence of four transversal ejection–collision orbits, and second to show the existence of an uncountable number of invariant punctured tori. Both results are for a given large value of the Jacobi constant and for an arbitrary value of the mass parameter 0<μ≤1/2. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Carbon Abundance in Early B-Stars. I. NLTE Calculations for ΓPeg.

NLTE calculations of carbon abundance in Peg atmosphere revealed a slight deficiency of this element ([C/H] =–0.25). A short discussion of this result is given. The list of CII that could be used for LTE calculation of carbon abundance in hot stars is presented.     

The Mars oxidant experiment (MOx) for Mars '96

The MOx instrument was developed to characterize the reactive nature of the martian soil. The objectives of MOx were: (1) to measure the rate of degradation of organics in the martian environment; (2) to determine if the reactions seen by the Viking biology experiments were caused by a soil oxidant and measure the reactivity of the soil and atmosphere: (3) to monitor the degradation, when exposed to the martian environment, of materials of potential use in future missions; and, finally, (4) to develop technologies and approaches that can be part of future soil analysis instrumentation. The basic approach taken in the MOx instrument was to place a variety of materials composed as thin films in contact with the soil and monitor the physical and chemical changes that result. The optical reflectance of the thin films was the primary sensing-mode. Thin films of organic materials, metals, and semiconductors were prepared. Laboratory simulations demonstrated the response of thin films to active oxidants.     

The detection of binary companions to subdwarf B stars

Intermediate dispersion spectroscopy of a sample of 40 hot subdwarf B stars between 5500 and 9000Å has been obtained. The sample includes a large fraction of targets which have been studied photometrically. Seven targets show strong lines arising from the infrared Ca  ii triplet, the unequivocal signature of a cool companion. The positive Ca  ii identifications include known photometric binaries and new targets; all are associated with a photometric red excess. Assuming a canonical value for the subdwarf luminosity, all of the detected companions are overluminous compared with the main sequence. The detection procedure indicates an improved and more secure method for the measurement of the binary frequency of hot subdwarfs.     

Semi-automated extraction of digital objective prism spectra

We describe a method for the extraction of spectra from high-dispersion objective prism plates. Our method is a catalogue-driven plate solution approach, making use of the right ascension and declination coordinates for the target objects. In contrast to existing methods of photographic plate reduction, we digitize the entire plate and extract spectra off-line. This approach has the advantages that it can be applied to CCD objective prism images and spectra can be re-extracted (or additional spectra extracted) without having to re-scan the plate. After a brief initial interactive period, the subsequent reduction procedure is completely automatic, resulting in fully reduced, wavelength-justified spectra. We also discuss a method of removing stellar continua using a combination of non-linear filtering algorithms.   The method described is used to extract over 12 000 spectra from a set of 92 objective prism plates. These spectra are used in an associated project to develop automated spectral classifiers based on neural networks.     

Dynamics of the Jupiter Trojans with Saturn’s perturbation when the two planets are in migration

In a previous paper (Hou et al. in Celest Mech Dyn Astron 119:119–142, 2014a), the problem of dynamical symmetry between two Jupiter triangular libration points (TLPs) with Saturn’s perturbation in the present configuration of the two planets was studied. A small short-time scale spatial asymmetry exists but gradually disappears with the time going, so the planar stable regions around the two Jupiter TLPs should be dynamically symmetric from a longtime perspective. In this paper, the symmetry problem is studied when the two planets are in migration. Several mechanisms that can cause asymmetries are discussed. Studies show that three important ones are the large short-time scale spatial asymmetry when Jupiter and Saturn are in resonance, the changing orbits of Jupiter and Saturn in the planet migration process, and the chaotic nature of Trojan orbits during the planet migration process. Their joint effects can cause an observable difference to the two Jupiter Trojan swarms. The thermal Yarkovsky effect is also found to be able to cause dynamical differences to the two TLPs, but generally they are too small to be practically observed.     

Spectrophotometry of the planetary nebula KjPn 8

Flux-calibrated low-resolution spectra covering the optical wavelength range from 3400 to 7500 Å have been obtained over the central region and the surroundings of the extraordinary planetary nebula (PN) KjPn 8 (PNG 112.5-00.1). The spectrum from the core is of low excitation with T _e(N  II ) = 8000 K and n _e(S  II ) = 550 cm⁻³. KjPn 8 is found to be a Type I PN according to the original classification scheme of Peimbert & Torres-Peimbert, with enriched He/H and N/O ratios with respect to mean values for PN. Increased O/H, Ne/H and Ar/H ratios over those of average PN reflect the possible metal-rich environment from which the progenitor star formed, and also are similar to those found in the extreme Type I PN He 2-111. The N/H ratio is found to be only moderately high compared to the average PN and consequently, the large O abundance pulls the N/O ratio towards the lower limit of the criterion for Type I planetary nebulae (PNe) in this case. In addition, the spectra of some knots and faint regions in the KjPn 8 surroundings are presented, which show only a few spectral lines. Low electron densities ranging from 100 to 300 cm⁻³ have been derived in these outer regions.     

Martian basalt (shergottite) Queen Alexandra Range 94201 and lunar basalt 15555: A tale of two pyroxenes

Abstract— We present here ion microprobe analyses of rare earth and other selected trace and minor elements in pyroxenes of shergottite Queen Alexandra Range 94201 and lunar basalt 15555. Pyroxene zonation patterns record the crystallization histories of these two basaltic samples from Mars and the Moon, respectively, and allow a comparison of mafic melt evolution on these two planetary bodies. Elemental abundances and trends in pyroxenes of these two rocks indicate that their minerals formed by continuous, closed system fractional crystallization of their respective parent melts. This further supports the idea that QUE 94201 closely represents the composition of a true Martian basaltic melt (McSween et al., 1996). The main differences in pyroxene elemental zonation patterns in these two objects are attributed to earlier crystallization of whitlockite in QUE 94201 (i.e., before the Fe-rich pyroxenes) than in 15555 (after the Fe-rich pyroxenes). The size of Eu anomalies in pyroxenes of QUE 94201 is intermediate between that in pyroxenes of 15555 and the other shergottites and may imply that fO₂ conditions during crystallization of this Martian basalt were significantly more reducing than for other shergottites, although not quite as reducing as for lunar basalts. Cerium anomalies appear to be less prevalent in pyroxenes of QUE 94201 than other Antarctic shergottites and could be indicative of lesser degree of weathering in the Antarctic.