Duplicity amongst HIPPARCOS stars

Stars observed by the astrometry satellite Hipparcos may be unknown double stars. A subsample of those are dangerous for the extragalactic link of Hipparcos proper motions by long-term photographic proper motions, if the time base of Hipparcos is too short to detect the orbital motion. The probability of these cases and the typical size of the photocentric orbital motion are estimated by Monte Carlo simulations for the sample of 33 stars used in the Bonn extragalactic link. Both are found to be considerable: about 16% and 9 mas/yr respectively.     

Paralleltransport and geodesic deviation in static spherically symmetric space-times

Tetrads which are parallelpropagated along time-like geodesics in static spherically symmetric spce-times are constructed. Its connection with the geodesic precession is explained. Moreover, we express the solution of the equations of geodesic deviation in terms of the Killing vectors and the fourvelocity.     

First Observation of Objects Found by the Tautenburg Objective Prism Survey

The spectra of ten objects discovered by the Tautenburg objective prism survey were obtained at a higher spectral resolution in order to refine the selection criteria. We found four objects to be quasars and three MARKARIAN -type galaxies.     

GPS for real-time earthquake source determination and tsunami warning systems

We identify the key design aspects of a GPS-based system (and in the future, GNSS-based systems) that could contribute to real-time earthquake source determination and tsunami warning systems. Our approach is based on models of both transient and permanent displacement of GPS stations caused by large earthquakes, while considering the effect of GPS errors on inverted earthquake source parameters. Our main conclusions are that (1) the spatial pattern, magnitude, and timing of permanent displacement of GPS stations can be inverted for the earthquake source and so predict the 3D displacement field of the ocean bottom, thus providing the initial conditions for tsunami models, and (2) there are no inherently limiting factors arising from real-time orbit and positioning errors, provided sufficient near-field GPS stations are deployed. This signal could be readily exploited by GPS networks currently in place, and will be facilitated by the IGS Real-Time Project as it comes to fruition.     

Use of SPOT 5 and IKONOS imagery for mapping biocenoses in a Tunisian Coastal Lagoon (Mediterranean Sea)

Mapping marine biocenoses is an efficient method for providing useful data for the management and conservation of Mediterranean lagoons. Fused images from two satellites, SPOT 5 and IKONOS, were tested as management tools for identifying specific ecosystems in the El Bibane lagoon, situated in southern Tunisia near the Libyan border. The objectives of this study were to provide a precise map of the entire El Bibane lagoon using fused images from SPOT 5 and to compare fused images from SPOT 5 and IKONOS over a test-area. After applying a supervised classification, pixels are automatically classified in four classes: low seagrass cover, high seagrass cover, superficial mobile sediments and deep mobile sediments. The maps of the lagoon revealed and confirmed an extremely wide distribution of seagrass meadows within the lagoon (essentially Cymodocea nodosa; 19 546 ha) and a large area of mobile sediments more or less parallel to the shore (3 697 ha). A direct comparison of overall accuracy between SPOT 5 over the entire area, SPOT 5 over the test-area and IKONOS over the test-area revealed that these tools provided accurate mapping of the lagoon environment (83.25%, 85.91% and 73.41% accuracy, respectively). The SPOT 5 images provided greater overall accuracy than the IKONOS image, but did not take into account the heterogeneous spatial structure of the seagrasses and sediments present in the lagoon environment. Although IKONOS imagery provided lower overall accuracy than SPOT 5, it proved a very useful tool for the mapping of heterogeneous structures as it enabled the patchiness of formations to be better taken into account. The use of SPOT 5 and IKONOS fused images appears to be very promising for completing the mapping of lagoons in other regions and countries of the Mediterranean Sea.     

Dusty KING Spheres

In order to determine the quantitative influence of small amounts of dust on the luminosity profile of spherical galaxies, we represent an elliptical galaxy by a KING sphere filled with dust. The density of dust particles is assumed to be related to the density of stars according to a simple power law. Assuming that the observed central reddenings in NGC 4874 and NGC 4889 are really caused by dust, we estimate the optical depths in the centres of both galaxies to be about 0.75.