9,195 research outputs found
Prospects in the orbital and rotational dynamics of the Moon with the advent of sub-centimeter lunar laser ranging
Lunar Laser Ranging (LLR) measurements are crucial for advanced exploration
of the laws of fundamental gravitational physics and geophysics. Current LLR
technology allows us to measure distances to the Moon with a precision
approaching 1 millimeter. As NASA pursues the vision of taking humans back to
the Moon, new, more precise laser ranging applications will be demanded,
including continuous tracking from more sites on Earth, placing new CCR arrays
on the Moon, and possibly installing other devices such as transponders, etc.
Successful achievement of this goal strongly demands further significant
improvement of the theoretical model of the orbital and rotational dynamics of
the Earth-Moon system. This model should inevitably be based on the theory of
general relativity, fully incorporate the relevant geophysical processes, lunar
librations, tides, and should rely upon the most recent standards and
recommendations of the IAU for data analysis. This paper discusses methods and
problems in developing such a mathematical model. The model will take into
account all the classical and relativistic effects in the orbital and
rotational motion of the Moon and Earth at the sub-centimeter level. The new
model will allow us to navigate a spacecraft precisely to a location on the
Moon. It will also greatly improve our understanding of the structure of the
lunar interior and the nature of the physical interaction at the core-mantle
interface layer. The new theory and upcoming millimeter LLR will give us the
means to perform one of the most precise fundamental tests of general
relativity in the solar system.Comment: 26 pages, submitted to Proc. of ASTROCON-IV conference (Princeton
Univ., NJ, 2007
From Predicting Solar Activity to Forecasting Space Weather: Practical Examples of Research-to-Operations and Operations-to-Research
The successful transition of research to operations (R2O) and operations to
research (O2R) requires, above all, interaction between the two communities. We
explore the role that close interaction and ongoing communication played in the
successful fielding of three separate developments: an observation platform, a
numerical model, and a visualization and specification tool. Additionally, we
will examine how these three pieces came together to revolutionize
interplanetary coronal mass ejection (ICME) arrival forecasts. A discussion of
the importance of education and training in ensuring a positive outcome from
R2O activity follows. We describe efforts by the meteorological community to
make research results more accessible to forecasters and the applicability of
these efforts to the transfer of space-weather research.We end with a
forecaster "wish list" for R2O transitions. Ongoing, two-way communication
between the research and operations communities is the thread connecting it
all.Comment: 18 pages, 3 figures, Solar Physics in pres
Diffuse reflectance imaging with astronomical applications
Diffuse objects generally tell us little about the surrounding lighting, since the radiance they reflect blurs together incident lighting from many directions. In this paper we discuss how occlusion geometry can help invert diffuse reflectance to recover lighting or surface albedo. Self-occlusion in the scene can be regarded as a form of coding, creating high frequencies that improve the conditioning of diffuse light transport. Our analysis builds on a basic observation that diffuse reflectors with sufficiently detailed geometry can fully resolve the incident lighting. Using a Bayesian framework, we propose a novel reconstruction method based on high-resolution photography, taking advantage of visibility changes near occlusion boundaries. We also explore the limits of single-pixel observations as the diffuse reflector (and potentially the lighting) vary over time. Diffuse reflectance imaging is particularly relevant for astronomy applications, where diffuse reflectors arise naturally but the incident lighting and camera position cannot be controlled. To test our approaches, we first study the feasibility of using the moon as a diffuse reflector to observe the earth as seen from space. Next we present a reconstruction of Mars using historical photometry measurements not previously used for this purpose. As our results suggest, diffuse reflectance imaging expands our notion of what can qualify as a camera.Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) (Postdoctoral Fellowship)United States-Israel Binational Science Foundation (Grant 2008155)United States. National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NEGI-1582-04-0004)United States. Multidisciplinary University Research Initiative (Grant N00014-06-1-0734
Shape modeling technique KOALA validated by ESA Rosetta at (21) Lutetia
We present a comparison of our results from ground-based observations of
asteroid (21) Lutetia with imaging data acquired during the flyby of the
asteroid by the ESA Rosetta mission. This flyby provided a unique opportunity
to evaluate and calibrate our method of determination of size, 3-D shape, and
spin of an asteroid from ground-based observations. We present our 3-D
shape-modeling technique KOALA which is based on multi-dataset inversion. We
compare the results we obtained with KOALA, prior to the flyby, on asteroid
(21) Lutetia with the high-spatial resolution images of the asteroid taken with
the OSIRIS camera on-board the ESA Rosetta spacecraft, during its encounter
with Lutetia. The spin axis determined with KOALA was found to be accurate to
within two degrees, while the KOALA diameter determinations were within 2% of
the Rosetta-derived values. The 3-D shape of the KOALA model is also confirmed
by the spectacular visual agreement between both 3-D shape models (KOALA pre-
and OSIRIS post-flyby). We found a typical deviation of only 2 km at local
scales between the profiles from KOALA predictions and OSIRIS images, resulting
in a volume uncertainty provided by KOALA better than 10%. Radiometric
techniques for the interpretation of thermal infrared data also benefit greatly
from the KOALA shape model: the absolute size and geometric albedo can be
derived with high accuracy, and thermal properties, for example the thermal
inertia, can be determined unambiguously. We consider this to be a validation
of the KOALA method. Because space exploration will remain limited to only a
few objects, KOALA stands as a powerful technique to study a much larger set of
small bodies using Earth-based observations.Comment: 15 pages, 8 figures, 2 tables, accepted for publication in P&S
Determination of the cosmological rate of change of G and the tidal accelerations of earth and moon from ancient and modern astronomical data
The theory and numerical analysis of ancient astronomical observations (1374 to 1715) are combined with modern data in a simultaneous solution for: the tidal acceleration of the lunar longitude; the observed apparent acceleration of the earth's rotation; the true nontidal geophysical part of this acceleration; and the rate of change in the gravitational constant. Provided are three independent determinations of a rate of change of G consistent with the Hubble Constant and a near zero nontidal rotational acceleration of the earth. The tidal accelerations are shown to have remained constant during the historical period within uncertainties. Ancient and modern solar system data, and extragalactic observations provided a completely consistent astronomical and cosmological scheme
Advanced engineering - Tracking and navigational accuracy analysis
Deep Space Network tracking and navigational accuracy analyses, lunar gravimetry, terrestrial gravitational constant, and orbit calculations for planetary orbite
Advancing Tests of Relativistic Gravity via Laser Ranging to Phobos
Phobos Laser Ranging (PLR) is a concept for a space mission designed to
advance tests of relativistic gravity in the solar system. PLR's primary
objective is to measure the curvature of space around the Sun, represented by
the Eddington parameter , with an accuracy of two parts in ,
thereby improving today's best result by two orders of magnitude. Other mission
goals include measurements of the time-rate-of-change of the gravitational
constant, and of the gravitational inverse square law at 1.5 AU
distances--with up to two orders-of-magnitude improvement for each. The science
parameters will be estimated using laser ranging measurements of the distance
between an Earth station and an active laser transponder on Phobos capable of
reaching mm-level range resolution. A transponder on Phobos sending 0.25 mJ, 10
ps pulses at 1 kHz, and receiving asynchronous 1 kHz pulses from earth via a 12
cm aperture will permit links that even at maximum range will exceed a photon
per second. A total measurement precision of 50 ps demands a few hundred
photons to average to 1 mm (3.3 ps) range precision. Existing satellite laser
ranging (SLR) facilities--with appropriate augmentation--may be able to
participate in PLR. Since Phobos' orbital period is about 8 hours, each
observatory is guaranteed visibility of the Phobos instrument every Earth day.
Given the current technology readiness level, PLR could be started in 2011 for
launch in 2016 for 3 years of science operations. We discuss the PLR's science
objectives, instrument, and mission design. We also present the details of
science simulations performed to support the mission's primary objectives.Comment: 25 pages, 10 figures, 9 table
Halo orbits around the collinear points of the restricted three-body problem
We perform an analytical study of the bifurcation of the halo orbits around
the collinear points , , for the circular, spatial, restricted
three--body problem. Following a standard procedure, we reduce to the center
manifold constructing a normal form adapted to the synchronous resonance.
Introducing a detuning, which measures the displacement from the resonance and
expanding the energy in series of the detuning, we are able to evaluate the
energy level at which the bifurcation takes place for arbitrary values of the
mass ratio. In most cases, the analytical results thus obtained are in very
good agreement with the numerical expectations, providing the bifurcation
threshold with good accuracy. Care must be taken when dealing with for
small values of the mass-ratio between the primaries; in that case, the model
of the system is a singular perturbation problem and the normal form method is
not particularly suited to evaluate the bifurcation threshold.Comment: 35 pages, 3 figures, updated version accepted for publication on
Physica
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