60,757 research outputs found
Improving the Spatial Resolution of Imaging Instruments Using Software
In order to overcome spatial resolution limitations associated with physical sensor limitations when using smallsats and cubesats, we utilize an image processing technology referred to as Super-Resolution (SR). In general, software approaches are increasingly considered in connection with smaller satellites for which size, mass and power constraints limit the sensor capabilities. Being able to perform hardware vs. software trades might enable more capabilities for a lower cost. This paper describes recent experiments conducted to optimize the spatial enhancement of acquired observations using multiple sub-pixel shifted low resolution image
The SSDC contribution to the improvement of knowledge by means of 3D data projections of minor bodies
The latest developments of planetary exploration missions devoted to minor
bodies required new solutions to correctly visualize and analyse data acquired
over irregularly shaped bodies. ASI Space Science Data Center (SSDC-ASI,
formerly ASDC-ASI Science Data Center) worked on this task since early 2013,
when started developing the web tool MATISSE (Multi-purpose Advanced Tool for
the Instruments of the Solar System Exploration) mainly focused on the
Rosetta/ESA space mission data. In order to visualize very high-resolution
shape models, MATISSE uses a Python module (vtpMaker), which can also be
launched as a stand-alone command-line software. MATISSE and vtpMaker are part
of the SSDC contribution to the new challenges imposed by the "orbital
exploration" of minor bodies: 1) MATISSE allows to search for specific
observations inside datasets and then analyse them in parallel, providing
high-level outputs; 2) the 3D capabilities of both tools are critical in
inferring information otherwise difficult to retrieve for non-spherical targets
and, as in the case for the GIADA instrument onboard Rosetta, to visualize data
related to the coma. New tasks and features adding valuable capabilities to the
minor bodies SSDC tools are planned for the near future thanks to new
collaborations
The Thirty Meter Telescope International Observatory facilitating transformative astrophysical science
The next major advancement in astronomy and cosmology will be driven by deep
observations using very sensitive telescopes with high spatial and spectral
resolution capabilities. An international consortium of astronomers, including
Indian astronomers are building the Thirty Meter Telescope to achieve
breakthroughs in different areas of astronomy starting from studies of the
solar system to that of the early universe. This article provides a brief
overview of the telescope, science objectives and details of the first light
instruments.Comment: 10 page
CHARIS Science: Performance Simulations for the Subaru Telescope's Third-Generation of Exoplanet Imaging Instrumentation
We describe the expected scientific capabilities of CHARIS, a high-contrast
integral-field spectrograph (IFS) currently under construction for the Subaru
telescope. CHARIS is part of a new generation of instruments, enabled by
extreme adaptive optics (AO) systems (including SCExAO at Subaru), that promise
greatly improved contrasts at small angular separation thanks to their ability
to use spectral information to distinguish planets from quasistatic speckles in
the stellar point-spread function (PSF). CHARIS is similar in concept to GPI
and SPHERE, on Gemini South and the Very Large Telescope, respectively, but
will be unique in its ability to simultaneously cover the entire near-infrared
, , and bands with a low-resolution mode. This extraordinarily broad
wavelength coverage will enable spectral differential imaging down to angular
separations of a few , corresponding to 0.\!\!''1. SCExAO
will also offer contrast approaching at similar separations,
0.\!\!''1--0.\!\!''2. The discovery yield of a CHARIS survey will
depend on the exoplanet distribution function at around 10 AU. If the
distribution of planets discovered by radial velocity surveys extends unchanged
to 20 AU, observations of 200 mostly young, nearby stars targeted
by existing high-contrast instruments might find 1--3 planets. Carefully
optimizing the target sample could improve this yield by a factor of a few,
while an upturn in frequency at a few AU could also increase the number of
detections. CHARIS, with a higher spectral resolution mode of , will
also be among the best instruments to characterize planets and brown dwarfs
like HR 8799 cde and And b.Comment: 13 pages, 7 figures, proceedings from SPIE Montrea
Tomorrow optical interferometry: astrophysical prospects and instrumental issues
Interferometry has brought many new constraints in optical astronomy in the
recent years. A major leap in this field is the opening of large
interferometric facilities like the Very Large Telescope Interferometer and the
Keck Interferometer to the astronomical community. Planning for the future is
both easy --most specialists know in which directions to develop
interferometry-- and difficult because of the increasing complexity of the
technique. I present a short status of interferometry today. Then I detail the
possible astrophysical prospects. Finally I address some important instrumental
issues that are decisive for the future of interferometry.Comment: 8 pages, invited review at the "Visions in IR astronomy" conference
held in Paris, 21-23 March 200
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