Attitude dynamics and control of spacecraft using geomagnetic Lorentz force

Attitude stabilization of a charged rigid spacecraft in Low Earth Orbit using torques due to Lorentz force in pitch and roll directions is considered. A spacecraft that generates an electrostatic charge on its surface in the Earth's magnetic field will be subject to perturbations from the Lorentz force. The Lorentz force acting on an electrostatically charged spacecraft may provide a useful thrust for controlling a spacecraft's orientation. We assume that the spacecraft is moving in the Earth's magnetic field in an elliptical orbit under the effects of gravitational, geomagnetic and Lorentz torques. The magnetic field of the Earth is modeled as a non-tilted dipole.A model incorporating all Lorentz torques as a function of orbital elements has been developed on the basis of electric and magnetic fields. The stability of the spacecraft orientation is investigated both analytically and numerically. The existence and stability of equilibrium positions is investigated for different values of the charge to mass ratio(α*). Stable orbits are identified for various values of α*. The main parameters for stabilization of the spacecraft are α*and the difference between the components of the moment of inertia for the spacecraft.     

Stochastic parallel gradient descent based adaptive optics used for a high contrast imaging coronagraph

An adaptive optics(AO) system based on a stochastic parallel gradient descent(SPGD) algorithm is proposed to reduce the speckle noises in the optical system of a stellar coronagraph in order to further improve the contrast. The principle of the SPGD algorithm is described briey and a metric suitable for point source imaging optimization is given. The feasibility and good performance of the SPGD algorithm is demonstrated by an experimental system featured with a 140-actuator deformable mirror and a Hartmann-...     

Electromagnetic effects on the orbital motion of a charged spacecraft

This paper deals with the effects of electromagnetic forces on the orbital motion of a spacecraft.The electrostatic charge which a spacecraft generates on its surface in the Earth’s magnetic field will be subject to a perturbative Lorentz force.A model incorporating all Lorentz forces as a function of orbital elements has been developed on the basis of magnetic and electric fields.This Lorentz force can be used to modify or perturb the spacecraft’s orbits.Lagrange’s planetary equations in the Gauss variational form are derived using the Lorentz force as a perturbation to a Keplerian orbit.Our approach incorporates orbital inclination and the true anomaly.The numerical results of Lagrange’s planetary equations for some operational satellites show that the perturbation in the orbital elements of the spacecraft is a second order perturbation for a certain value of charge.The effect of the Lorentz force due to its magnetic component is three times that of the Lorentz force due to its electric component.In addition,the numerical results confirm that the strong effects are due to the Lorentz force in a polar orbit,which is consistent with realistic physical phenomena that occur in polar orbits.The results confirm that the magnitude of the Lorentz force depends on the amount of charge.This means that we can use artificial charging to create a force to control the attitude and orbital motion of a spacecraft.     

Implementation of New OPAL Tables in Eggleton's Stellar Evolution Code

Based on previous works of OPAL, we construct a series of opacity tables for various metallicities Z=0, 0.000 01, 0.000 03, 0.000 1, 0.000 3, 0.001, 0.004, 0.01, 0.02, 0.03, 0.04, 0.05, 0.06, 0.08 and 0.1. These tables can be easily used in Eggleton's stellar evolution code in place of the old tables without changing the code. The OPAL tables are used for log10(T/K) > 3.95 and Alexander's for log10(T/K) < 3.95. At log10(T/K) = 3.95, the two groups' data fit well for all hydrogen mass fractions. Conductive opacities are included by reciprocal addition according to the formulae of Yakovlev and Urpin. A comparison of 1 and 5 M models constructed with the older OPAL tables of Iglesias and Rogers shows that the new opacities have most effect in the late stages of evolution, the extension of the blue loop during helium burning for intermediate-mass and massive stars.     

星系大尺度本动速度

本文从高斯型的初始质量密度扰动出发,采用球对称演化模型计算了星系大尺度本动速度随尺度的分布。采用这样一种模型可以避免通常流体模型中线性增长以及窗函数的假设,对不同的宇宙物质主导成分的讨论表明,在各种情况下本动速度的期待值v_p在大尺度上的分布是随着尺度的增大而逐渐减小,这与流体模型以及宇宙弦模型下的趋势是一致的,但对所有参数的可能取值所作的计算表明,理论结果很难解释Dressler等人在r～60h~(-1)Mpc的尺度上观测到的大的本动速度,这很可能是由于在本星系群(LG)之外r 60h~(-1)Mpc的远处存在着一个大质量的物质凝聚区域。     

Rapid variability in S5 0716+714

S5 0716+714 is one of the targets in our long term blazar monitoring program carried out with the 1.56-m telescope at Sheshan Station of Shanghai Astronomical Observatory,China.We report a very rapid variability of ΔI = 0.611 ± 0.102 mag over 3.6 min detected in our monitoring program during the period from December 2000 to March 2007.The rapid variability suggests that the mass for the central black hole is log(M/M) = 7.68 8.38.     

UBVVI Surface Photometry of the Spiral Galaxy NGC 300 in the Sculptor Group

We present UBVI surface photometry over a 20.5' × 20.5' area of the late-type spiral galaxy NGC 300. We have derived isophotal maps, surface brightness profiles, ellipticity profiles, position angle profiles, and color profiles. By merging our I-band measurements with those of Boker et al. based on Hubble Space Telescope observations, we have obtained combined I-band surface brightness profiles for the region 0.02" < r < 500" and have decomposed the profiles into three components: a nucleus, a bulge, and an exponential disk.     

Modeling blue stragglers in young clusters

A grid of binary evolution models are calculated for the study of a blue straggler(BS) population in intermediate age(log Age = 7.85 8.95) star clusters.The BS formation via mass transfer and merging is studied systematically using our models.Both Case A and B close binary evolutionary tracks are calculated for a large range of parameters.The results show that BSs formed via Case B are generally bluer and even more luminous than those produced by Case A.Furthermore,the larger range in orbital separations of...     

Recent progress of solar physics research in China

Owing to the largely improved facilities and working conditions,solar physics research in China has recently shown marked development.This paper reports on the recent progress of solar physics research in Mainland China,mainly focusing on several hot issues,including instrumentations,magnetic field observations and research,solar flares,filaments and their eruptions,coronal mass ejections and related processes,as well as active regions and the corona,small-scale phenomena,solar activity and its predictions....     

The relationship between the radio core dominance parameter and the spectral index in different classes of extragalactic radio sources

Active galactic nuclei(AGNs)have two major classes,namely radio loud AGNs and radio quiet AGNs.A small subset of the radio-loud AGNs is called blazars,which display extreme observational properties,such as rapid variability,high luminosity,high and variable polarization,and superluminal motion.All of those observational properties are probably due to a relativistic beaming effect with the jet pointing close to the line of sight.Observations suggest that the orientation can be expressed by a core-dominance p...