新的太阳系起源假说——再论巨星依次分离说

本文以太阳系星球的物质状态、形态面貌、体积、物质密度、运动速度、运动方向和角动量等作为根据,研究它们在宇宙空间上的分布特点、相互关系、内在联系以及规律的基础上,提出太阳系(乃至宇宙星球)是在46亿年前,宇宙中一个巨大灼热的星球,在高速度左旋旋转(公转和自转)运动的过程中,从尾部分离出来的物质,经过……恒星、行星和卫星依次波状旋转分离运动产生的。     

Geopositioning Accuracy of Ikonos Imagery: Indications from Two Dimensional Transformations

Earth observation satellites with 1m resolution, such as Space Imaging's Ikonos system, offer the photogrammetric and remote sensing communities a significant new means for geospatial information collection. These satellites possess the potential for pixel-level geopositioning precision and promise timely, highly automated generation of two dimensional (2D) and three dimensional (3D) spatial information products. This paper concentrates on the pursuit of optimal accuracy and considers an essential first step in the evaluation of the Ikonos imaging system, namely the metric integrity of the sensor system. In the absence of sensor calibration information (the camera model), an empirical evaluation approach has been adopted. This involves an assessment of 2D transformations between image and planar object space. It is shown that based on results obtained in the Melbourne Ikonos Testfield, 2D geopositioning to 0.5 m accuracy is possible from the base-level "Geo"product when a modest amount of good quality ground control is available and sub-pixel image mensuration is achieved. These findings are applicable to both near-nadir imagery and oblique stereo images. Moreover, the results obtained suggest that there are no significant geometric perturbations in the sensor system and initial image processing, which augurs well for the successful application of non-collinearity based 3D orientation and triangulation models for Ikonos imagery.     

基于Swarm卫星GPS/TEC观测的顶部电离层三维电子密度分布的层析法研究

利用两颗伴飞的Swarm A/C卫星搭载的双频GPS接收机获取的TEC数据,在两个卫星轨道平面同时对顶部电离层电子密度进行层析成像,实现对顶部电离层电子密度的三维观测.为了能够重现扰动期间电离层电子密度的空间变化特征,在正则化求解过程中,我们引入了水平矩阵H和垂直矩阵V刻画电子密度的空间变化特征,引入整体约束矩阵C以调节不同空间对电子密度相对变化的权重.数值验证结果表明我们的算法对常见的观测误差具有较强的包容性,反演计算出的电子密度平均偏差优于10%.在不同地磁活动条件下,与第三方观测数据的对比,验证了本文反演算法的可靠性.实测数据反演结果表明我们的算法不仅能够较好地重现顶部电离层子午向百公里级别的不规则结构,还能有效分辨纬向相隔~150 km的两个卫星轨道平面的电子密度差异.     

Lunisolar Apsidal Resonances at low Satellite Orbits

Eccentricity resonances between the secular motion of an Earth satellite's orbit and the longitudes of the Sun and the Moon are studied within a Hamiltonian framework. The problem is approximated in a traditional manner, with the Earth's potential including only the second zonal harmonic, and a Hill‐type approximation for perturbing bodies. For a family of 10 resonances, stable and unstable points are identified and libration widths are estimated. Numerical values are given for the maximum variation of eccentricity available at each resonance. The respective amplitudes of the perigee heights' librations range from 2 to 750 km. The resonances of the solar origin are generally stronger than their lunar counterparts. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Sensor Calibration in Support for NOAA’s Satellite Mission

Sensor calibration, including its definition, purpose, traceability options, methodology, complexity, and importance, is examined in this paper in the context of supporting NOAA's satellite mission. Common understanding of sensor calibration is essential for the effective communication among sensor vendors, calibration scientists, satellite operators, program managers, and remote sensing data users, who must cooperate to ensure that a nation's strategic investment in a sophisticated operational environmental satellite system serves the nation's interest and enhances the human lives around the world. Examples of calibration activities at NOAA/NESDIS/ORA are selected to further illustrate these concepts and to demonstrate the lessons learned from the past experience.     

A deeper look at the colors of the saturnian irregular satellites

We have performed broadband color photometry of the twelve brightest irregular satellites of Saturn with the goal of understanding their surface composition, as well as their physical relationship. We find that the satellites have a wide variety of different surface colors, from the negative spectral slopes of the two retrograde satellites S IX Phoebe (S^′=−2.5±0.4) and S XXV Mundilfari (S^′=−5.0±1.9) to the fairly red slope of S XXII Ijiraq (S^′=19.5±0.9). We further find that there exist a correlation between dynamical families and spectral slope, with the prograde clusters, the Gallic and Inuit, showing tight clustering in colors among most of their members. The retrograde objects are dynamically and physically more dispersed, but some internal structure is apparent.     

Hydrocarbon lakes on Titan

The Huygens Probe detected dendritic drainage-like features, methane clouds and a high surface relative humidity (∼50%) on Titan in the vicinity of its landing site [Tomasko, M.G., and 39 colleagues, 2005. Nature 438, 765-778; Niemann, H.B., and 17 colleagues, 2005. Nature 438, 779-784], suggesting sources of methane that replenish this gas against photo- and charged-particle chemical loss on short (10-100) million year timescales [Atreya, S.K., Adams, E.Y., Niemann, H.B., Demick-Montelara, J.E., Owen, T.C., Fulchignoni, M., Ferri, F., Wilson, E.H., 2006. Planet. Space Sci. In press]. On the other hand, Cassini Orbiter remote sensing shows dry and even desert-like landscapes with dunes [Lorenz, R.D., and 39 colleagues, 2006a. Science 312, 724-727], some areas worked by fluvial erosion, but no large-scale bodies of liquid [Elachi, C., and 34 colleagues, 2005. Science 308, 970-974]. Either the atmospheric methane relative humidity is declining in a steady fashion over time, or the sources that maintain the relative humidity are geographically restricted, small, or hidden within the crust itself. In this paper we explore the hypothesis that the present-day methane relative humidity is maintained entirely by lakes that cover a small part of the surface area of Titan. We calculate the required minimum surface area coverage of such lakes, assess the stabilizing influence of ethane, and the implications for moist convection in the atmosphere. We show that, under Titan's surface conditions, methane evaporates rapidly enough that shorelines of any existing lakes could potentially migrate by several hundred m to tens of km per year, rates that could be detected by the Cassini orbiter. We furthermore show that the high relative humidity of methane in Titan's lower atmosphere could be maintained by evaporation from lakes covering only 0.002-0.02 of the whole surface.     

Degree-one convection and the origin of Enceladus' dichotomy

Recently, the Cassini spacecraft has detected ongoing geologic activity near the south pole of Saturn's moon Enceladus. In contrast, the satellite's north-polar region is heavily cratered and appears to have been geologically inactive for a long time. We propose that this hemispheric dichotomy is caused by interior dynamics with degree-one convection driving the south-polar activity. We investigate a number of core sizes and internal heating rates for which degree-one convection occurs. The numerical simulations imply that a core radius of less than 100±20 km and an energy input at a rate of 3.0 to 5.5 GW would be required for degree-one convection to prevail. This is within the range of the observed thermal power release near Enceladus' south pole. Provided that Enceladus is not fully differentiated, degree-one convection is found to be a viable mechanism to explain Enceladus' hemispheric dichotomy.     

Eclipses and Occultations of Galilean Satellites Observed at Yunnan Observatory in 2003

We describe and analyze observations of mutual events of Galilean satellites made at the Yunnan Observatory in February 2003 from CCD imaging for the first time in China. Astrometric positions were deduced from these photometric observations by modelling the relative motion and the photometry of the involved satellites during each event.     

Planetary migration to large radii

There is evidence for the existence of massive planets at orbital radii of several hundred au from their parent stars where the time-scale for planet formation by core accretion is longer than the disc lifetime. These planets could have formed close to their star and then migrated outwards. We consider how the transfer of angular momentum by viscous disc interactions from a massive inner planet could cause significant outward migration of a smaller outer planet. We find that it is in principle possible for planets to migrate to large radii. We note, however, a number of effects which may render the process somewhat problematic.