An investigation of sand–dust storm events and land surface characteristics in China using NOAA NDVI data

Observations from 560 weather stations in China show that sand–dust storms occur most frequently in April in north China. The region consists of Sub-dry Mid Temperate, Dry Mid Temperate, Sub-dry South Temperate and Dry South Temperate Zones and much of the land surface is desert or semi-desert: it is relatively dry with minimal rainfall and a high annual mean temperature. In most regions of China, the annual mean frequency of sand–dust events decreased sharply between 1980 and 1997 and then increased from 1997 to 2000. Statistical analyses demonstrate that the frequency of sand–dust storms correlates highly with wind speed, which in turn is strongly related to land surface features; on the other hand, a significant correlation between storm events and other atmospheric quantities such as precipitation and temperature was not observed. Accordingly, land surface cover characteristics (vegetation, snowfall and soil texture) may play a significant role in determining the occurrence of sand–dust storms in China. Analysis of Normalized Difference Vegetation Index derived from National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and Empirical Orthogonal Function show that since 1995 surface vegetation cover in large areas of Northern China has significantly deteriorated. Moreover, a high correlation is shown to exist among the annual occurrence of sand–dust storms, surface vegetation cover and snowfall. This suggests that the deterioration of surface vegetation cover may strongly influence the occurrence of sand–dust storms in China. Soils with coarse and medium textures are found to be more associated with sand–dust storms than other soils.     

GEO空间碎片光度测量标定方法的研究

基于GEO卫星、太阳和观测站的空间几何关系,建立了消除太阳赤纬角对地球同步轨道( Geostationary Orbit,GEO)卫星光学特性的影响的方法.以三轴稳定GEO盒状卫星缩比模型为研究样本,在不同太阳赤纬角下进行仿真实验光度测量,研究太阳赤纬角和相位角的空间几何关系,得出消除太阳赤纬角对其辐亮度值以及以相位角...     

Infrared–red cores in nearby elliptical galaxies

We present the Spitzer Space Telescope Infrared Array Camera observations for a sample of local elliptical galaxies to study later stages of active galactic nucleus (AGN) activity. A sample of 36 elliptical galaxies is selected from the Palomar spectroscopic survey. We detect nuclear non-stellar infrared emission in nine of them. There is unambiguous evidence of circumnuclear dust in these nine galaxies in their optical images. We also find a remarkable correlation between the infrared excess emission and the nuclear radio/X-ray emission, suggesting that infrared excess emission is tightly related to nuclear activity. The possible origin of infrared excess emission from hot dust heated by the central AGN is supported by the spectral indices of the infrared excess emission.     

国际地球自转服务(IERS)评介

回顾了建立国际地球自转服务(IERS)的历史过程,简述了IERS机构各部门的设置及其作用。着重介绍了IERS重建的理由和过程以及新IERS机构的组成。最后给出IERS成果对现有科学研究的作用和意义。     

Similarity model of feed support system for FAST

A new design of feed support system for Five hundred meter Aperture Spherical Telescope (FAST) is proposed in this paper. According to the similarity theory, a 1:15 scale model of feed support system has been built to make systemic research on the feasibility of the system. Then the control system and hardware structure of the feed support system are illustrated. A complete astronomical observation track is run by the scale model and the experiments results demonstrate that the new feed support system can satisfy the observation accuracy requirement of FAST.     

Mirror Mode Waves Downstream of a Stream Interaction Region Forward Shock near 1 AU

Mirror mode waves in the solar wind are typically observed not as quasi-periodic sinusoidal signatures, but as trains of nonperiodic structures of two types: magnetic ??peaks?? and magnetic ??dips.?? Some trains of long durations have been called mirror mode storms. In this work we report mirror mode waves downstream of a stream interaction region (SIR) forward shock observed near 1?AU on 7?May 2007 with Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory (STEREO) and Time History of Events and Macroscale Interactions during Substorms (THEMIS) data. The high-resolution magnetic-field data (0.125-second resolution) from STEREO are scanned to search for magnetic dips and peaks (or upgoing magnetic ??mesas??) in the solar wind. STEREO-A observes a mirror mode storm: the appearance of mirror mode waves (mainly magnetic peaks and upgoing mesas) is simultaneous with the entry into a high-density, high-temperature, and high plasma ?? accompanied by a depressed field region; the magnetic dips survive in the lower plasma-?? region. STEREO-B observes mirror mode waves (mainly magnetic peaks) with different amplitudes and asymmetric forms, which can survive in a low plasma ?? region. THEMIS-D, which was located in the solar wind, also observes mirror mode waves (mainly magnetic peaks and upgoing mesas) as well as an enhanced ion temperature anisotropy (T _????3T _??). The enhanced ion temperature anisotropy and high plasma ?? satisfy the mirror-instability criterion. These observations of STEREO and THEMIS-D show that mirror mode waves can be excited downstream of a SIR forward shock near 1?AU.     

A rigorous method of calculating the deflection of light in the gravitational field of the sun

Starting from the equation for the path of a photon in a gravitational field, we give a method of calculating the deflection of starlight in the solar field. The transformation from the non-inertial system at the Sun to the locally inertial system of the observer is considered. Calculation was made under the Schwarzschild metric. Our calculated results for the deflection before making coordinate transformation agree well with the results according to the IAU formulae, but when an accuracy of 0'.'001 is required, then the coordinate transformation must be included.     

Statistical analysis of the optical variability of QSO's

For 34 QSOs and 9 active galaxies with known optical variation and measured redshifts, the rate of optical variation appears to be positively correlated with the age: older quasars vary more violently than younger ones and active galaxies are the most violent of all.