X-Ray Interferometry

For the astronomer, X-ray interferometry is the theory and practice of building dilute aperture telescopes for studying celestial X-ray sources. The short wavelengths and high surface brightness of X-ray sources will make the eventual scientific payoff very high, with direct imaging of the event horizons of black holes as the centerpiece. In this article, we review the history of X-ray interferometry and discuss the recent technical developments toward astronomical applications. We present several mission concepts and show they are achievable with todays technology.     

60年代末与70年代末中国4个地磁台处Jerk的分析

外场的影响可以通过一定的方法从地磁月均值中消除,本文用通日月均值资料分析了广州、余山、兰州和北京的Jerk的大小．结果显示,上述4台的X和Y分量都存在二次寻数阶跃．Z分量上Jerk不明显,只有兰州和北京台较易看出60年代末的Jerk．由于本文结果是尽量消除外场影响后的结果,又是中低纬度地区的结果,所以作者认为它可支持Jerk是源于地核的推论,而且认为应将60年代末的Jerk与70年代末的Jerk一并研究．     

Karl Knorre,the first astronomer of Nikolaev Observatory (on the occasion of his bicentenary)

Karl Friedrich Knorre (1801–1883) was the son of Ernst Knorre, an astronomy professor at Dorpat university. During his education at Dorpat university, he became acquainted with Wilhelm Struve, the future director of Pulkovo observatory. Because of Knorre's passion for astronomy, Struve recommended him to the post of director of the planned naval observatory in Nikolaev. From its foundation in 1821, Karl Knorre was director of the Nikolaev Naval (and later Astronomical) Observatory. He carried out star position observations with the meridian circle, worked as an astronomy instructor for sea navigators, compiled the fifth section of the star charts of the Berlin Academy of Sciences and lead all hydrographic determinations on the Azov and Black seas. In 1871, Karl Nikolaev Observatory, and moved to Berlin.     

Introduction to Volume 323 (6) – Proceedings of the Special Colloquium “European Astronomy in the 20th Century” at the Joint European and National Astronomical Meeting (JENAM) for 2001

This issue of AN contains the proceedings of the Special Colloquium “European Astronomy in the 20th Century”, which formed part of the JENAM (2001) conference in Munich, Germany. Subjects covered are the history of γ‐ray and radio astronomy, extragalactic research and compact objects, new media, southern observatories and ESO, as well as some archaeoastronomical questions. Some biographic sketches of individual European astronomers are also given.     

Observations of the X-ray binaries 4U 1700-37 and GRO J1655-40 during the Grif experiment onboard the mir orbiting station

Various areas of the sky, including the Galactic-center region and the region with the X-ray binaries 4U 1700-37 and GRO J1655-40, were observed in the hard (10–300 keV) energy range during the Grif experiment onboard the Mir orbiting station. An epoch-folding analysis of the data has revealed periodicities with periods of 82 and 62 h, which are equal to the orbital periods of 4U 1700-37 and GRO J1655-40. Previously, these periodicities were observed during the Prognoz-9 X-ray experiment. Periodicities with periods in the range of days, 98 and 152 h, which were also observed during the Prognoz-9 experiment, were not revealed by the Grif data. We obtained upper limits on the intensities of these periodicities in various energy ranges. For the 62-h periodicity, we constructed an average 25–50-keV light curve and estimated the spectral flux density, which characterizes the intensity of the periodic component at different energies in different observing intervals during 1995–1997. The Prognoz-9 and Grif observations of GRO J1655-40 are compared with its CGRO, RXTE, and BeppoSax observations. The orbital periodicity is shown to manifest itself in the hard emission from the extremely bright X-ray transient GRO J1655-40, a likely black-hole candidate, even at the epochs between its X-ray outbursts.     

Thirty Years of the Seafloor CORK Borehole Observatories: Development,Applications and Future Perspective

In the past 50 years, we have witnessed remarkable progress in our understanding of the Earth and ocean system, as a result of the internationally integrated deep ocean drilling programs, the Deep Sea Drilling Program (DSDP), the Ocean Drilling Program (ODP), and the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP). One of the legacies of the deep ocean drilling programs is the development and applications of the CORK, Circulation Obviation Retrofit Kit. Earth and ocean sciences have been shifting from a traditional discontinuous, expeditionary mode toward a mode of sustained in situ observations today. The seafloor CORK observatories offer Earth, ocean and life scientists new opportunities to study multiple, interrelated deep marine subsurface processes, over time scales ranging from seconds to decades. Here, we first provided a concise examination of the development history of the CORKs, then described the first installations of ODP CORKs, the evolution of different models of CORK, and finally, summarized the scientific lessons learned in the installation and operation effort of the CORKs. In the end, we offered our perspectives on using CORKs to study geological, hydrogeological, microbiological, and biogeochemical processes in the deep marine subsurface biosphere, particularly pertaining to China’s efforts in establishing and enhancing its deep-sea and deep-biosphere research and monitoring programs.     

中国地磁台观测的2014年地磁急变

地磁急变（jerk）是起源于地球外核并在导电地幔过滤效应后在地球表面观测到的一种地磁现象,其反映了地核内部某些动力学过程.Jerks在空间范围上既可以是区域性的,也可以是全球性的.中国地区地磁台能否检测到2014年jerk？针对这一问题,利用中国大陆10个地磁台的磁静日月均值和CHAOS-6全球磁场模型,分析了X、Y和Z分量2008—2018年期间的长期变化,估算了2014年前、后的长期加速度值,确定了2014年地磁jerk的时间和强度.研究表明中国地磁台Y分量的长期变化为"Λ"型,Z分量存在明显的"V"型,具有典型的jerk特点.Y分量jerk出现的时间大约在2014年6月,比非洲大陆的Algeria TAM台和南美洲French Guiana KOU台时间滞后大约4个月.这暗示着产生jerks的地核流体波动的时序特点.中国西部和东北部地磁台的长期变化形态有明显的差别,主要由非偶极磁场引起.CHAOS-6模型与地面台站的长期变化形态并非始终一致.本文结果有助于更好地理解和解释长期变化的时间演变和地理分布,并为深入探讨jerks的地核起源和驱动机制提供新的观测约束.     

Growing new generations of critical zone scientists

Critical zone (CZ) science is entering its second decade. A new generation of scientists is emerging trained specifically in CZ science and are contributing to advances in environmental science across disciplines. Concurrently, the global scope of CZ science is being elevated as new countries invest in CZ observatories. Global CZ science has great potential to address a diverse array of questions beyond any single discipline. In this commentary we discuss a series of CZ science grand challenges that should be targeted by early‐career researchers: understanding water availability in the CZ; expanding CZ science into new environments; communicating the societal relevance of CZ science including earthcasting to the public; seamlessly integrating biological sciences within the CZ framework; and scaling CZ processes over large spatial and temporal gradients. Targeting these grand challenges will push CZ science well into the future. We also highlight mechanisms for increased leadership within the CZ community. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.