34,800 research outputs found
Spacecraft attitude sensor
A system for sensing the attitude of a spacecraft includes a pair of optical scanners having a relatively narrow field of view rotating about the spacecraft x-y plane. The spacecraft rotates about its z axis at a relatively high angular velocity while one scanner rotates at low velocity, whereby a panoramic sweep of the entire celestial sphere is derived from the scanner. In the alternative, the scanner rotates at a relatively high angular velocity about the x-y plane while the spacecraft rotates at an extremely low rate or at zero angular velocity relative to its z axis to provide a rotating horizon scan. The positions of the scanners about the x-y plane are read out to assist in a determination of attitude. While the satellite is spinning at a relatively high angular velocity, the angular positions of the bodies detected by the scanners are determined relative to the sun by providing a sun detector having a field of view different from the scanners
The role of the technical writer in the earth resources survey program
Technical writers role and requirements for coverage of Earth Resources Survey Progra
Do Two Temperature Debris Disks Have Multiple Belts?
We present a study of debris disks whose spectra are well modelled by dust
emission at two different temperatures. These disks are typically assumed to be
a sign of multiple belts, which in only a few cases have been confirmed via
high resolution observations. We first compile a sample of two-temperature
disks to derive their properties, summarised by the ratios of the warm and cool
component temperatures and fractional luminosities. The ratio of warm to cool
temperatures is constant in the range 2-4, and the temperatures of both warm
and cool components increases with stellar mass. We then explore whether this
emission can arise from dust in a single narrow belt, with the range of
temperatures arising from the size variation of grain temperatures. This model
can produce two-temperature spectra for Sun-like stars, but is not supported
where it can be tested by observed disk sizes and far-IR/mm spectral slopes.
Therefore, while some two-temperature disks arise from single belts, it is
probable that most have multiple spatial components. These disks are plausibly
similar to the outer Solar System's configuration of Asteroid and
Edgeworth-Kuiper belts separated by giant planets. Alternatively, the inner
component could arise from inward scattering of material from the outer belt,
again due to intervening planets. In either case, we suggest that the ratio of
warm/cool component temperatures is indicative of the scale of outer planetary
systems, which typically span a factor of about ten in radius.Comment: accepted to MNRA
Constraining the orbits of sub-stellar companions imaged over short orbital arcs
Imaging a star's companion at multiple epochs over a short orbital arc
provides only four of the six coordinates required for a unique orbital
solution. Probability distributions of possible solutions are commonly
generated by Monte Carlo (MCMC) analysis, but these are biased by priors and
may not probe the full parameter space. We suggest alternative methods to
characterise possible orbits, which compliment the MCMC technique. Firstly the
allowed ranges of orbital elements are prior-independent, and we provide means
to calculate these ranges without numerical analyses. Hence several interesting
constraints (including whether a companion even can be bound, its minimum
possible semi-major axis and its minimum eccentricity) may be quickly computed
using our relations as soon as orbital motion is detected. We also suggest an
alternative to posterior probability distributions as a means to present
possible orbital elements, namely contour plots of elements as functions of
line of sight coordinates. These plots are prior-independent, readily show
degeneracies between elements and allow readers to extract orbital solutions
themselves. This approach is particularly useful when there are other
constraints on the geometry, for example if a companion's orbit is assumed to
be aligned with a disc. As examples we apply our methods to several imaged
sub-stellar companions including Fomalhaut b, and for the latter object we show
how different origin hypotheses affect its possible orbital solutions. We also
examine visual companions of A- and G-type main sequence stars in the
Washington Double Star Catalogue, and show that per cent must be
unbound.Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRA
Optimal eavesdropping on QKD without quantum memory
We consider the security of the BB84, six-state and SARG04 quantum key
distribution protocols when the eavesdropper doesn't have access to a quantum
memory. In this case, Eve's most general strategy is to measure her ancilla
with an appropriate POVM designed to take advantage of the post-measurement
information that will be released during the sifting phase of the protocol.
After an optimization on all the parameters accessible to Eve, our method
provides us with new bounds for the security of six-state and SARG04 against a
memoryless adversary. In particular, for the six-state protocol we show that
the maximum QBER for which a secure key can be extracted is increased from
12.6% (for collective attacks) to 20.4% with the memoryless assumption.Comment: 7 pages, 3 figures. Analysis of six-state and SARG04 QKD protocols
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Using ACIS on the Chandra X-ray Observatory as a particle radiation monitor
The Advanced CCD Imaging Spectrometer (ACIS) is one of two focal-plane
instruments on the Chandra X-ray Observatory. During initial radiation-belt
passes, the exposed ACIS suffered significant radiation damage from trapped
soft protons scattering off the x-ray telescope's mirrors. The primary effect
of this damage was to increase the charge-transfer inefficiency (CTI) of the
ACIS 8 front-illuminated CCDs. Subsequently, the Chandra team implemented
procedures to remove the ACIS from the telescope's focus during high-radiation
events: planned protection during radiation-belt transits; autonomous
protection triggered by an on-board radiation monitor; and manual intervention
based upon assessment of space-weather conditions. However, as Chandra's
multilayer insulation ages, elevated temperatures have reduced the
effectiveness of the on-board radiation monitor for autonomous protection. Here
we investigate using the ACIS CCDs themselves as a radiation monitor. We
explore the 10-year database to evaluate the CCDs' response to particle
radiation and to compare this response with other radiation data and
environment models.Comment: 10 pages, 5 figures. To appear in Proc. SPIE vol. 773
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