Speckle interferometry observations of asteroids at tng

The Speckle camera of the 3.5 m Telescopio Nazionale Galileo (TNG) has been used to measure apparent sizes and shapes of a number of main belt asteroids. The average size measurements are in a generally good agreement with the results of indirect IRAS-based radiometric techniques. The measured shapes are compared with predictions based on previously derived spin axis directions and lightcurve photometry of some of the observed objects. Also in this case the agreement is reasonable and the speckle observations allow us to discriminate in some cases between the two pole solutions usually found for each object. No clear evidence of binaries was found. The results show that the TNG speckle camera can be a powerful tool to resolve relatively large main belt asteroids and to calibrate the results of the IRAS survey.     

Large-scale structure in the NIR-selected MUNICS survey

The Munich Near-IR Cluster Survey (MUNICS) is a wide-area, medium-deep, photometric survey selected in the K' band. The project's main scientific aims are the identification of galaxy clusters up to redshifts of unity and the selection of a large sample of field early-type galaxies up to z < 1.5 for evolutionary studies. We created a Large Scale Structure catalog, using a new structure finding technique specialized for photometric datasets, that we developed on the basis of a friends-of-friends algorithm. We tested the plausibility of the resulting galaxy group and cluster catalog with the help of Color-Magnitude Diagrams (CMD), as well as a likelihood- and Voronoi-approach. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Mesoscale linear streaks on Mars: environments of dust entrainment

Variable surface albedo features on Mars are likely caused by the entrainment and deposition of dust by the wind. Most discrete markings are associated with topographic forms or with regional slopes that serve to alter the effective wind shear stress on the surface. Some of the largest variable features, here termed mesoscale linear streaks, are up to 400 km in length and repeatedly occur in one of the smoothest regions of Mars: Amazonis Planitia. Their orientations and apparent season of variability as observed by Viking and Mars Orbiter cameras indicate linear streak formation by enhanced surface wind stresses during regional or local dust storms and during the initial stages of global dust storms. They provide an example of the ability of large-scale winds, without significant local enhancement, to initiate dust motion on Mars. The sizes and spacing of the linear streaks may be controlled by boundary layer rolls. The repetitive formation of these streaks, over a span of more than 11 Mars years, gives one measure of the stability of Mars’ eolian processes.     

Ionprobe U-Pb zircon ages from the high-pressure/low-temperature mélange of Syros, Greece: age diversity and the importance of pre-Eocene subduction

The Cycladic blueschist belt in the central Aegean Sea has experienced high‐pressure (HP) metamorphism during collisional processes between the Apulian microplate and Eurasia. The general geological and tectonometamorphic framework is well documented, but one aspect which is yet not sufficiently explored is the importance of HP mélanges which occur within volcano‐sedimentary successions. Unresolved issues concern the range in magmatic and metamorphic ages recorded by mélange blocks and the significance of eventual pre‐Eocene HP metamorphism. These aspects are here addressed in a U‐Pb zircon study focusing on the block–matrix association exposed on the island of Syros. Two gneisses from a tectonic slab of this mélange, consisting of an interlayered felsic gneiss‐glaucophanite sequence, yielded zircon ²⁰⁶Pb/²³⁸U ages of 240.1 ± 4.1 and 245.3 ± 4.9 Ma, respectively, similar to Triassic ages determined on zircon in meta‐volcanic rocks from structurally coherent sequences elsewhere in the Cyclades. This strongly suggests that parts of these successions have been incorporated in the mélanges and provides the first geochronological evidence that the provenance of mélange blocks/slabs is neither restricted to a single source nor confined to fragments of oceanic lithosphere. Zircon from a jadeitite and associated alteration zones (omphacitite, glaucophanite and chlorite‐actinolite rock) all yielded identical ²⁰⁶Pb/²³⁸U ages of c. 80 Ma. Similar Cretaceous U‐Pb zircon ages previously reported for mélange blocks have been interpreted by different authors to reflect magmatic or metamorphic ages. The present study adds a further argument in favour of the view that zircon formed newly in some rock types at c. 80 Ma, due to hydrothermal or metasomatic processes in a subduction zone environment, and supports the interpretation that the Cycladic blueschist belt records both Cretaceous and Eocene HP episodes and not only a single Tertiary HP event.     

High-resolution H i and radio continuum observations of the SNR G290.1−0.8

We have observed the supernova remnant (SNR) G290.1−0.8 in the 21-cm H  i line and the 20-cm radio continuum using the Australia Telescope Compact Array (ATCA). The H  i data were combined with data from the Southern Galactic Plane Survey to recover the shortest spatial frequencies. In contrast, H  i absorption was analysed by filtering extended H  i emission, with spatial frequencies shorter than 1.1 kλ. The low-resolution ATCA radio continuum image of the remnant shows considerable internal structure, resembling a network of filaments across its 13-arcmin diameter. A high-resolution ATCA radio continuum image was also constructed to study the small-scale structure in the SNR. It shows that there are no structures smaller than ∼17 arcsec, except perhaps for a bright knot to the south, which is probably an unrelated object. The H  i absorption study shows that the gas distribution and kinematics in front of SNR G290.1−0.8 are complex. We estimate that the SNR probably lies in the Carina arm, at a distance 7 (±1) kpc. In addition, we have studied nearby sources in the observed field using archival multiwavelength data to determine their characteristics.     

Search for groups of extragalactic radio sources

We explore the possibility of searching for groups of radio sources from the FIRST catalog on angular scales 1′–5′. We developed an efficient method of searching for such groups that takes into account the need for combining the components of extended sources represented in the catalog by separate objects. We found 31 groups of radio sources with angular sizes <5′ that contain no fewer than five sources with flux densities ≥3 mJy. This number is at least triple the expected number of such groups for a random Poisson distribution of radio sources in the sky. The prospects for using groups of radio sources to detect and study distant systems of galaxies are discussed.     

DISASTER ANALYSIS AND COUNTERMEASURES OF LAND SUBSIDENCE CAUSED BY COAL CUTTING IN CHINA

In recent years, many coal-producing countries have paid great attention to the land subsidence causedby coal cutting. In China, because of the dense population in coalfield areas, the land subsidence hazard is more seri-ous. After a brief analysis on the mechanism of land subsidence, this paper gives a comprehensive and systematical ac-count on all kinds of hazards caused by the land subsidence in China. The study shows that land subsidence has endan-gered land, buildings, traffic and communication lines, dykes and dams. It also causes damage to ecological and socialenvironment. In order to lessen the hazard of land subsidence, preventive measures should be taken to reduce the col-lapse amount, such as extraction with stowing, banded mining system, succession and coordination mining system, orhigh-pressure mudflow between rock strata. Measures of reinforcing or moving certain buildings should also be taken toreduce the destructive degree. In order to harness the subsidence land and bring them under control for fanning, mea-sures should be taken such as filling with spoil or fine breeze, excavating the deeper and covering the shallower land.     

The shape of the rotation curves of edge-on galaxies

We consider the effects of projection, internal absorption, and gas-or stellar-velocity dispersion on the measured rotation curves of galaxies with edge-on disks. Axisymmetric disk models clearly show that the rotational velocity in the inner galaxy is highly underestimated. As a result, an extended portion that imitates nearly rigid rotation appears. At galactocentric distances where the absorption is low (i.e., it does not exceed 0.3–0.5^m kpc^?1), the line profiles can have two peaks, and a rotation curve with minimum distortions can be obtained by estimating the position of the peak that corresponds to a higher rotational velocity. However, the high-velocity peak disappears in high-absorption regions and the actual shape of the rotation curve cannot be reproduced from line-of-sight velocity estimates. In general, the optical rotation curves for edge-on galaxies are of little use in reconstructing the mass distribution in the inner regions, particularly for galaxies with a steep velocity gradient in the central region. In this case, estimating the rotation velocities for outer (transparent) disk regions yields correct results.