Near-Earth asteroid (3200) Phaethon. Characterization of its orbit, spin state, and thermophysical parameters

The near-Earth asteroid (3200) Phaethon is an intriguing object: its perihelion is at only 0.14 au and is associated with the Geminid meteor stream. We aim to use all available disk-integrated optical data to derive a reliable convex shape model of Phaethon. By interpreting the available space- and ground-based thermal infrared data and Spitzer spectra using a thermophysical model, we also aim to further constrain its size, thermal inertia, and visible geometric albedo. We applied the convex inversion method to the new optical data obtained by six instruments and to previous observations. The convex shape model was then used as input for the thermophysical modeling. We also studied the long-term stability of Phaethon's orbit and spin axis with a numerical orbital and rotation-state integrator. We present a new convex shape model and rotational state of Phaethon: a sidereal rotation period of 3.603958(2) h and ecliptic coordinates of the preferred pole orientation of (319$^{\circ}$, $-$39$^{\circ}$) with a 5$^{\circ}$ uncertainty. Moreover, we derive its size ($D$=5.1$\pm$0.2 km), thermal inertia ($\Gamma$=600$\pm$200 J m$^{-2}$ s$^{-1/2}$ K$^{-1}$), geometric visible albedo ($p_{\mathrm{V}}$=0.122$\pm$0.008), and estimate the macroscopic surface roughness. We also find that the Sun illumination at the perihelion passage during the past several thousand years is not connected to a specific area on the surface, which implies non-preferential heating.Comment: Astronomy and Astrophysics. In pres

Stability of Terrestrial Planets in the Habitable Zone of Gl 777 A, HD 72659, Gl 614, 47 Uma and HD 4208

We have undertaken a thorough dynamical investigation of five extrasolar planetary systems using extensive numerical experiments. The systems Gl 777 A, HD 72659, Gl 614, 47 Uma and HD 4208 were examined concerning the question of whether they could host terrestrial like planets in their habitable zones (=HZ). First we investigated the mean motion resonances between fictitious terrestrial planets and the existing gas giants in these five extrasolar systems. Then a fine grid of initial conditions for a potential terrestrial planet within the HZ was chosen for each system, from which the stability of orbits was then assessed by direct integrations over a time interval of 1 million years. The computations were carried out using a Lie-series integration method with an adaptive step size control. This integration method achieves machine precision accuracy in a highly efficient and robust way, requiring no special adjustments when the orbits have large eccentricities. The stability of orbits was examined with a determination of the Renyi entropy, estimated from recurrence plots, and with a more straight forward method based on the maximum eccentricity achieved by the planet over the 1 million year integration. Additionally, the eccentricity is an indication of the habitability of a terrestrial planet in the HZ; any value of e>0.2 produces a significant temperature difference on a planet's surface between apoapse and periapse. The results for possible stable orbits for terrestrial planets in habitable zones for the five systems are summarized as follows: for Gl 777 A nearly the entire HZ is stable, for 47 Uma, HD 72659 and HD 4208 terrestrial planets can survive for a sufficiently long time, while for Gl 614 our results exclude terrestrial planets moving in stable orbits within the HZ.Comment: 14 pages, 18 figures submitted to A&

Noninvasive Fuel Flow Monitoring System for Vented Fuel Oil Heaters

In this work, we present hardware and firmware design and preliminary testing results for a noninvasive device for measuring fuel oil consumption in fuel oil vented heaters. Fuel oil vented heaters are a popular space heating method in northern climates. Monitoring fuel consumption is useful to understanding residential daily and seasonal heating patterns and understanding the thermal characteristics of buildings. The device is a pump monitoring apparatus (PuMA) that employs a magnetoresistive sensor to monitor the activity of solenoid driven positive displacement pumps, which are commonly used in fuel oil vented heaters. PuMA accuracy for calculating fuel oil consumption was evaluated in a lab setting and found to vary up to 7% from the measured consumption value during testing. This variance will be explored more in field testing

Relative photometry of transiting exoplanet COROT-Exo-2b

Relative CCD photometry of the extrasolar planet COROT-Exo-2b transiting in front of its parent star was carried out at the Astronomical and Geophysical Observatory of Comenius University at Modra (AGO). Physical and orbital parameters were determined and compared with the previous published data

All-sky Meteor Orbit System AMOS and preliminary analysis of three unusual meteor showers

All-sky Meteor Orbit System (AMOS) is a semi-autonomous video observatory for detection of transient events on the sky, mostly the meteors. Its hardware and software development and permanent placement on several locations in Slovakia allowed the establishment of Slovak Video Meteor Network (SVMN) monitoring meteor activity above the Central Europe. The data reduction, orbital determination and additional results from AMOS cameras–the SVMN database– as well as from observational expeditions on Canary Islands and in Canada provided dynamical and physical data for better understanding of mutual connections between parent bodies of asteroids and comets and their meteoroid streams. We present preliminary results on exceptional and rare meteor streams such as September ε Perseids (SPE) originated from unknown long periodic comet on a retrograde orbit, suspected asteroidal meteor stream of April α Comae Berenicids (ACO) in the orbit of meteorites Příbram and Neuschwanstein and newly observed meteor stream Camelopardalids (CAM) originated from Jupiter family comet 209P/Linear

Forme, taille, propriétés physiques et nature de l'astéroïde (3200) Pheathon

We apply the convex inversion method to the new optical data obtained by six instruments together with the already existing observations and derive convex shape model of low-perihelion near-Earth asteroid (3200) Phaethon. This shape model is then used as an input for the thermophysical modeling. We present new convex shape model and rotational state of Phaethon - sidereal rotation period of 3.603958(2) h and ecliptic coordinates of the preferred pole orientation of (319, -39) with a 5 degree uncertainty. Moreover, we derive its size (D=5.1±0.2 km), thermal inertia (Γ=600±200 J m-2s-1/2K-1), geometric visible albedo (pV=0.122±0.008), and estimate the macroscopic surface roughness by the thermophysical model. We also estimate the average size of the surface regolith to few centimeters. The Spitzer emission spectrum of Phaethon is similar to those of CV/CK carbonaceous chondrite meteorites, match with CI/CM carbonaceous chondrites is ruled out. We also study the long-term stability of Phaethon's orbit and spin axis by a numerical orbital and rotation-state integrator. We find that the Sun illumination at the perihelion passage during past thousands of years is not connected to a specific area on the surface implying non-preferential heating. Considering the most important meteor stream of the Geminids is associated with Phaethon, we predict that the meteorites dropped by Geminids are CVs or CKs. We also discuss the possible dynamical link between Phaethon and Pallas and its collisional family

The Kosice meteorite fall: Recovery and strewn field

We provide the circumstances and details of the fireball observation, search expeditions, recovery, strewn field, and physical characteristics of the Kosice meteorite that fell in Slovakia on February 28, 2010. The meteorite was only the 15th case of an observed bolide with a recovered mass and subsequent orbit determination. Despite multiple eyewitness reports of the bolide, only three videos from security cameras in Hungary were used for the strewn field determination and orbit computation. Multiple expeditions of professionals and individual searchers found 218 fragments with total weight of 11.3 kg. The strewn field with the size of 593 km is characterized with respect to the space distribution of the fragments, their mass and size-frequency distribution. This work describes a catalog of 78 fragments, mass, size, volume, fusion crust, names of discoverers, geographic location, and time of discovery, which represents the most complex study of a fresh meteorite fall. From the analytical results, we classified the Kosice meteorite as an ordinary H5 chondrite

Slovakian Optical Sensor for HAMR Objects Cataloguing and Research

Slovakia became the 9th ESA European Cooperative State in 2015 and the first calls to action for the Plan for European Cooperating State (PECS) were announced shortly after. The Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, a part of the Faculty of Mathematics, Physics and Informatics of Comenius University in Bratislava, Slovakia (FMPI CU), won the call and an activity with a main goal to transform a 0.7-m Newton telescope (AGO70) dedicated to amateur astronomical observations to a professional optical system for regular support of the space debris tracking and research has started. The transformation includes the necessary hardware and software modifications to the existing solution. The presented activity has been performed in cooperation with the Astronomical Institute of University of Bern (AIUB). The AGO70 has been installed at the FMPI's Astronomical and Geophysical Observatory in Modra, Slovakia (AGO) in fall 2016. There are several predefined objectives to be accomplished within the activity. First, it was imperative to adapt the low-level telescope control for the needs of space debris tracking. Second, the image processing software must have been developed in a modular way. The observation planning has been formulated according to the AGO70 system's hardware limitations with focus on GEO, GTO and GNSS like orbits. To verify the system's capabilities, the whole activity is concluded with an observation campaign measuring AIUB's HAMR (High-Area-to-Mass-Ratio) objects and public TLE objects. The quality of the system's output is monitored by the AIUB via its state-of-the-art epoch bias and astrometric accuracy analysis routines