Preliminary optical design for the common fore optics of METIS

METIS is the Mid-infrared E-ELT Imager and Spectrograph, which will provide outstanding observing capabilities, focusing on high angular and spectral resolution. It consists of two diffraction-limited imagers operating in the LM and NQ bands respectively and an IFU fed diffraction-limited high-resolution (R=100,000) LM band spectrograph. These science subsystems are preceded by the common fore optics (CFO), which provides the following essential functionalities: calibration, chopping, image de-rotation, thermal background and stray light reduction. We show the evolution of the CFO optical design from the conceptual design to the preliminary optical design, detail the optimization steps and discuss the necessary trade-offs

Influence of weather parameters on a fireball’s dark flight

The computation of the dark flight of a bright fireball requires knowledge of the atmospheric parameters. In particular wind and wind direction as a function of height are crucial for an accurate trajectory. In this paper we compare different sources of sounding balloon and model data, and study the effect on the dark flight.Green Open Access added to TU Delft Institutional Repository ‘You share, we take care!’ – Taverne project https://www.openaccess.nl/en/you-share-we-take-care Otherwise as indicated in the copyright section: the publisher is the copyright holder of this work and the author uses the Dutch legislation to make this work public.Planetary Exploratio

Trajectory and orbit of the unique carbonaceous meteorite Flensburg

The C1-ungrouped carbonaceous chondrite Flensburg fell in Germany on September 12, 2019, in the daytime. We determined the atmospheric trajectory, velocity, and heliocentric orbit using one dedicated AllSky6 meteor camera and three casual video records of the bolide. It was found that the meteorite originated in the vicinity of the 5:2 resonance with Jupiter at heliocentric distance of 2.82 AU. When combined with the bolide energy reported by the U.S. Government sensors (USGS), the pre-atmospheric diameter of the meteoroid was estimated to 2 - 3 meters and the mass to 10,000 - 20,000 kg. The meteoroid fragmented heavily in the atmosphere at heights of 46 - 37 km, under dynamic pressures of 0.7 - 2 MPa. The recovery of just one meteorite suggests that only a very small part of the original mass reached the ground. The bolide velocity vector was compared with that reported by the USGS. There is good agreement in the radiant but the velocity value has been underestimated by the USGS by almost 1 km/s.Comment: Preprint accepted for publication in Meteoritics & Planetary Science after a minor revisio

MASCARA: The Multi-site All-Sky CAmeRA

The Multi-site All-Sky CAmeRA, MASCARA, is an instrument currently in the design phase, that is aimed to find the brightest transiting planet systems in the sky. It will consist of several stations across the globe, each monitoring the near-entire sky using a battery of CCD-detectors plus wide-field lenses, targeting stars in the V = 4 − 8 magnitude range. MASCARA will be able to detect individual transits from Jupiter-size planets over this whole magnitude range, while smaller planets will be found by co-adding transit events. We expect to discover up to a dozen bright transit systems in this way. These will be extremely valuable for atmospheric follow-up studies

MASCARA: The Multi-site All-Sky CAmeRA

The Multi-site All-Sky CAmeRA, MASCARA, is an instrument currently in the design phase, that is aimed to find the brightest transiting planet systems in the sky. It will consist of several stations across the globe, each monitoring the near-entire sky using a battery of CCD-detectors plus wide-field lenses, targeting stars in the V = 4 − 8 magnitude range. MASCARA will be able to detect individual transits from Jupiter-size planets over this whole magnitude range, while smaller planets will be found by co-adding transit events. We expect to discover up to a dozen bright transit systems in this way. These will be extremely valuable for atmospheric follow-up studies

Data handling and control for the European Solar Telescope

International audienc

Data handling and control of the European Solar Telescope

International audienc