Combining asteroid models derived by lightcurve inversion with asteroidal occultation silhouettes

Asteroid sizes can be directly measured by observing occultations of stars by asteroids. When there are enough observations across the path of the shadow, the asteroid’s projected silhouette can be reconstructed. Asteroid shape models derived from photometry by the lightcurve inversion method enable us to predict the orientation of an asteroid for the time of occultation. By scaling the shape model to fit the occultation chords, we can determine the asteroid size with a relative accuracy of typically ∼10%. We combine shape and spin state models of 44 asteroids (14 of them are new or updated models) with the available occultation data to derive asteroid effective diameters. In many cases, occultations allow us to reject one of two possible pole solutions that were derived from photometry. We show that by combining results obtained from lightcurve inversion with occultation timings, we can obtain unique physical models of asteroids.     

On the possibility of the guidance of small asteroids to dangerous celestial bodies using the gravity-assist maneuver

In this paper, the method of changing the trajectories of hazardous asteroids with orbits known for some years to be on a possible collision course with the Earth is considered. The method relies on the use of small asteroids (asteroid-projectiles) directed at hazardous celestial bodies by giving the projectile a sufficiently small velocity impulse ensuring the Earth gravity assist. As a result, the asteroid-projectile vector can be controllably changed over a wide range. Apophis is considered as an example of the target asteroid. The technical feasibility of this method is discussed. It is noted that despite the potential use of this elegant method, its practical implementation requires further research and development.     

The Kepler Mission: Astrophysics and Eclipsing Binaries

The Kepler Mission is a photometric space mission that will continuously observe a single 100 square degree field of view (FOV) of the sky of more than 100,000 stars in the Cygnus-Lyra region for four or more years with a precision of 14 parts per million (ppm) for a 6.5 hour integration including shot noise for a twelfth magnitude star. The primary goal of the mission is to detect Earth-size planets in the habitable zone of solar-like stars. In the process, many eclipsing binaries (EB) will also be detected. Prior to launch, the stellar characteristics will have been determined for all the stars in the FOV with K<14.5. As part of the verification process, stars with transits (about 5%) will need to have follow-up radial velocity observations performed to determine the component masses and thereby separate grazing eclipses caused by stellar companions from transits caused by planets. The result will be a rich database on EBs. The community will have access to the archive for uses such as for EB modeling of the high-precision light curves. A guest observer program is also planned for objects not already on the target list.     

Rural industrialization, 'quality' and service: some findings from South Warwickshire and North Devon

Studies of UK rural industrialization have traditionally sought to explain the success of rural SMEs (Small and Medium-sized Enterprises) in terms of their capacity for innovative or enterprising behaviour. In turn, this has led researchers to focus their attention on the material aspects of competitive behaviour, particularly those connected to technology and technological exploitation, at the expense of more intangible aspects such as the advantages gained from novel working practices and marketing strategies. In particular, the notion of 'quality' as a determinant of competitive behaviour, an idea gaining increased emphasis within literature concerning rural SMEs in the food, farming and craft sectors, has been neglected in wider studies of rural industrialization. However, this paper contends that both 'formal' and 'informal' constructions of quality are significant factors in the success of manufacturers outside these specific sectors.     

Submicroscopic exsolution lamellae in pyroxenes in the Whin Sill,Northern England

Optically homogeneous pigeonites and augites from Whin Sill dolerite cores from Throckley (Northumberland) are shown by electron microscopy to be unmixed. The lamellae are 40 Å wide at the margins of the sill and up to 3200 Å wide at the centre. Homogeneous pyroxenes also occur with a composition intermediate between the pigeonite and augite. Electron diffraction patterns of the unmixed grains show that the augite contains pigeonite lamellae and the pigeonite contains augite lamellae. From the application of simple diffusion theory it is suggested that the size of the lamellae is dependent on the rate of cooling of the sill.     

Heulandite and mordenite-rich tuffs from Greece: a potential source for pozzolanic materials

The microcystalline mass of the Pliocene tuffs of Santorini and Polyegos islands, in the South Aegean Volcanic Arc, Greece, is very rich in zeolite minerals, more specifically heulandite type 3, i.e. clinoptilolite, and mordenite. In Santorini, clinoptilolite is the dominant authigenic phase and it was formed in a semi-closed system, by the activity of interstitial water within the volcaniclastic sequence. In Polyegos, mordenite dominates and it was formed by hydrothermal alteration of pyroclastics. Experiments described in this work show that the presence of the zeolite minerals has created materials with excellent pozzolanic properties. Tuffs from the two areas were calcined at 760 °C and for 12 h and then mixed with lime in a constant ratio of 1 part lime to 3 parts calcined tuff. As a result, the free lime content of the lime-calcined tuff mixtures was reduced from 25% to 2.05% (Santorini) and 1.31 % (Polyegos). Compressive strength tests were carried out on concrete cubes made with 100% Portland cement as the cementitious agent, to be used as reference cubes, and concrete cubes in which the Portland cement has been replaced in 4% and 7% proportions by the calcined tuff as pozzolans. The free lime estimation and the compressive strength tests were all carried out in accordance with the British Standards Institution (BS 4550 and BS 1881) guidelines. Early stage measurements of the compressive strength showed that pozzolan-bearing concrete cubes reached values as high as 140% of the reference cubes. The pozzolan-bearing concrete cubes maintained this superior strength throughout the entire one year period of the experiments. After 360 days, they finally maintained 107% of the compressive strength of the reference cubes.     

Lunar Occultation of Saturn II. The normal reflectances of Rhea,Titan, and Iapetus

An inversion procedure to obtain the reflectance of the central region of a satellite's disk from lunar occultation data is presented. The scheme assumes that the limb darkening of the satellite depends only on the radial distance from the center of the disk. Given this assumption, normal reflectances can be derived that are essentially independent of the limb darkening and the diameter of the satellite. The procedure has been applied to our observations of the March 1974 lunar occultation of Tethys, Dione, Rhea, Titan, and Iapetus. In the V passband we derive the following normal reflectances: Rhea (0.97±0.20), Titan (0.24±0.03), Iapetus, bright face (0.60±0.14). For Tethys and Dione the values derived have large uncertainties, but are consistent with our result for Rhea.     

Fresip: A mission to determine the character and frequency of extra-solar planets around solar-like stars

FRESIP (FRequency of Earth-Sized Inner Planets) is a mission designed to detect and characterize Earth-sizes planets around solar-like stars. The sizes of the planets are determined from the decrease in light from a star that occurs during planetary transits, while the orbital period is determined from the repeatability of the transits. Measurements of these parameters can be compared to theories that predict the spacing of planets, their distribution of size with orbital distance, and the variation of these quantities with stellar type and multiplicity. Because thousands of stars must be continually monitored to detect the transits, much information on the stars can be obtained on their rotation rates and activity cycles. Observations of p-mode oscillations also provide information on their age and composition. These goals are accomplished by continuously and simultaneously monitoring 500 solar-like stars for evidence of brightness changes caused by Earth-sized or larger planetary transits. To obtain the high precision needed to find planets as small as the Earth and Venus around solar-like stars, a wide field of view Schmidt telescope with an array of CCD detectors at its focal plane must be located outside of the Earth's at mosphere. SMM (Solar Maximum Mission) observations of the low-level variability of the Sun (1:100,000) on the time scales of a transit (4 to 16 hours), and our laboratory measurements of the photometric precision of charge-coupled devices (1:100,000) show that the detection of planets as small as the Earth is practical. The probability for detecting transits is quite favorable for planets in inner orbits. If other planetary systems are similar to our own, then approximately 1% of those systems will show transits resulting in the discovery of 50 planetary systems in or near the habitable zone of solar-like stars.     

Ground-Based Observations Of Lunar Meteoritic Phenomena

The occurrence and visibility of meteoroid impacts on the moon as seen from the earth were little more than speculation prior to November 1999. The best evidence of present-day impact activity came from the seismic experiments left on the Moon during the Apollo era. Past systematic attempts at earth-based observations to document lunar impacts revealed nothing conclusive. However, during the Leonid storms of 1999 and 2001, lunar impact events were for the first time confirmed by multiple independent observers. A total of 15 meteoritic impact flash events have been verified during these storms, with an additional 12 unconfirmed but likely events awaiting confirmation. Estimates of the mass of these meteoroids range from less than one gram for the faintest flashes to more than 10 kg for the brightest observed flash. The fraction of visible light to total energy produced by these events, a quantity known as luminous efficiency, averages about 0.001 for the established events. The confirmation of lunar meteoritic events on the Moon opens a new avenue in lunar and planetary research, one which could help bridge the gap between atmospheric sampling of the smallest components of meteoroid streams and interplanetary debris to the larger scale objects accessible to ground-based telescopes.