Constraining the orbits of small solar system bodies using spectroscopic Doppler shift measurements – a preliminary study

In this short paper we examine whether the measurement of Doppler shifts in the solar light reflected off an asteroid surface may improve the accuracy of the determined orbit. Our results suggest it will be worthwhile to use high‐resolution spectrographs, of the exoplanet‐hunting type, to measure those Doppler shifts. Spectroscopic Doppler shifts might improve the accuracy of Earth‐impact predictions, help to recover “lost” near‐Earth objects, and may also significantly enhance the knowledge about dynamics of the Kuiper belt. Future high‐resolution spectrographs on the VLT and the E‐ELT may thus have an important role in studies of Solar‐System dynamics and kinematics. (© 2015 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Structure and kinematics of the interstellar medium around WR 142a: Searching for traces of the action of stellar wind

Based on our Hα interferometric observations and CO data, we analyze the structure and kinematics of the gas in an extended region of the Cygnus arm around the recently discovered star WR 142a. We have established that WR 142a and the ionized hydrogen in its immediate neighborhood are associated with the complex of molecular clouds observed in a region with l ～ 78°–80°30′, b ～ 2°–3°20′, and V _LSR ～ 4–16 km s^?1. Traces of the action of the stellar wind from WR 142a on the ambient gas have been found to the northeast of the star in a region devoid of dense absorbing foreground clouds. These include very weak thin gas and dust filaments as well as high-velocity components of the Hα profile, which can be interpreted as a possible expansion of the shell swept up by the wind with a velocity as high as 50–80 km s^?1. Giant regions of reduced CO emission dominated by high-velocity motions of ionized hydrogen have been detected. Stars of the Cyg OB2 association and the cluster NGC 6910 can be responsible for these motions.     

exofit: orbital parameters of extrasolar planets from radial velocities

Retrieval of orbital parameters of extrasolar planets poses considerable statistical challenges. Due to sparse sampling, measurement errors, parameters degeneracy and modelling limitations, there are no unique values of basic parameters, such as period and eccentricity. Here, we estimate the orbital parameters from radial velocity data in a Bayesian framework by utilizing Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) simulations with the Metropolis–Hastings algorithm. We follow a methodology recently proposed by Gregory and Ford. Our implementation of MCMC is based on the object-oriented approach outlined by Graves. We make our resulting code, exofit , publicly available with this paper. It can search for either one or two planets as illustrated on mock data. As an example we re-analysed the orbital solution of companions to HD 187085 and HD 159868 from the published radial velocity data. We confirm the degeneracy reported for orbital parameters of the companion to HD 187085, and show that a low-eccentricity orbit is more probable for this planet. For HD 159868, we obtained slightly different orbital solution and a relatively high 'noise' factor indicating the presence of an unaccounted signal in the radial velocity data. exofit is designed in such a way that it can be extended for a variety of probability models, including different Bayesian priors.     

Search for companions of nearby isolated galaxies

The radial velocities are measured for 45 galaxies located in the neighborhoods of 29 likely isolated galaxies in a new catalog. We find that about 85% of these galaxies actually are well isolated objects. 4% of nearby galaxies with V _LG < 3500 km/s are this kind of cosmic "orphan" Translated from Astrofizika, Vol. 52, No. 2, pp. 203–210 (May 2009).     

The enhanced spectrum of the symbiotic variable star CH Cygni on November 2, 2006

The symbiotic variable star CH Cygni went on the deepest minimum phase in December 2006. A high-resolution spectrum of CH Cygni obtained at the Bohyunsan Optical Astronomy Observatory (BOAO) on November 2, 2006, is reported. The spectrum of CH Cygni obtained at the BOAO was calibrated on a scale of an absolute-flux density. Emission lines of H I, [O III], [N II], and [S II] were strong, with several components, and Ca II, H, and K lines had P-Cygni profiles. Removal of the spectrum of the underlying M-type star from the CH Cygni spectrum was completed to obtain the true emission profiles. The radial velocities of all emission and absorption lines were measured. Some of the observed lines were also deconvoluted using multi-Gaussian functions to find the relationship between line shapes and the corresponding sources of these lines. The results obtained are discussed in terms of an accretion disk around the hot star, and in non-spherically extended nebular regions.