12 research outputs found

    The Atmospheric Chemistry Suite (ACS) of Three Spectrometers for the ExoMars 2016 Trace Gas Orbiter

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    The Atmospheric Chemistry Suite (ACS) package is an element of the Russian contribution to the ESA-Roscosmos ExoMars 2016 Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO) mission. ACS consists of three separate infrared spectrometers, sharing common mechanical, electrical, and thermal interfaces. This ensemble of spectrometers has been designed and developed in response to the Trace Gas Orbiter mission objectives that specifically address the requirement of high sensitivity instruments to enable the unambiguous detection of trace gases of potential geophysical or biological interest. For this reason, ACS embarks a set of instruments achieving simultaneously very high accuracy (ppt level), very high resolving power (>10,000) and large spectral coverage (0.7 to 17 μm—the visible to thermal infrared range). The near-infrared (NIR) channel is a versatile spectrometer covering the 0.7–1.6 μm spectral range with a resolving power of ∼20,000. NIR employs the combination of an echelle grating with an AOTF (Acousto-Optical Tunable Filter) as diffraction order selector. This channel will be mainly operated in solar occultation and nadir, and can also perform limb observations. The scientific goals of NIR are the measurements of water vapor, aerosols, and dayside or night side airglows. The mid-infrared (MIR) channel is a cross-dispersion echelle instrument dedicated to solar occultation measurements in the 2.2–4.4 μm range. MIR achieves a resolving power of >50,000. It has been designed to accomplish the most sensitive measurements ever of the trace gases present in the Martian atmosphere. The thermal-infrared channel (TIRVIM) is a 2-inch double pendulum Fourier-transform spectrometer encompassing the spectral range of 1.7–17 μm with apodized resolution varying from 0.2 to 1.3 cm−1. TIRVIM is primarily dedicated to profiling temperature from the surface up to ∼60 km and to monitor aerosol abundance in nadir. TIRVIM also has a limb and solar occultation capability. The technical concept of the instrument, its accommodation on the spacecraft, the optical designs as well as some of the calibrations, and the expected performances for its three channels are described

    New whole earth telescope observations of cd-247599 : steps towards delta scuti star seismology

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    92 h of new Whole Earth Telescope observations have been acquired for the δ Scuti star CD -24 7599. All the seven pulsation modes reported by Handler et al. are confirmed. However, significant amplitude variations which are not caused by beating of closely spaced frequencies occurred within two years. Analysing the combined data of both WET runs, we detect six further pulsation modes, bringing the total number up to 13. We also examine our data for high-frequency pulsations similar to those exhibited by rapidly oscillating Ap stars, but we do not find convincing evidence for variability in this frequency domain. From new colour photometry and spectroscopy we infer that CD-24 7599 is a hot mainsequence δ Scuti star with approximately solar metallicity and ν sin i = 52 ± 2 km s -1. We cannot yet propose a definite pulsation mode identification, but we report the detection of a characteristic frequency spacing between the different modes. We ascribe it to the simultaneous presence of l = 1 and l = 2 modes of consecutive radial order. A comparison of this frequency spacing with frequencies of solar-metallicity models, as well as stability analysis, allows us to constrain tightly the evolutionary state of CD - 24 7599. It is in the first half of its main-sequence evolution, and has a mass of 1.85 ± 0.05 M̛ and a mean density of p = 0.246 ± 0.020 P̛. This yields a seismological distance of 650 ± 70 pc, which i~ as accurate as distance determinations for 0 Scuti stars observed in clusters. Most of the pulsation modes are pure p modes of radial order k = 4-6, but the gl mode of l = 2 is likely to be excited and observed as well. Since a significant contribution to this mode's kinetic energy comes from the outer part of the convective core, CD-247599 becomes particularly interesti1)g for testing convective overshooting theories

    New whole earth telescope observations of cd-247599 : steps towards delta scuti star seismology

    No full text
    92 h of new Whole Earth Telescope observations have been acquired for the δ Scuti star CD -24 7599. All the seven pulsation modes reported by Handler et al. are confirmed. However, significant amplitude variations which are not caused by beating of closely spaced frequencies occurred within two years. Analysing the combined data of both WET runs, we detect six further pulsation modes, bringing the total number up to 13. We also examine our data for high-frequency pulsations similar to those exhibited by rapidly oscillating Ap stars, but we do not find convincing evidence for variability in this frequency domain. From new colour photometry and spectroscopy we infer that CD-24 7599 is a hot mainsequence δ Scuti star with approximately solar metallicity and ν sin i = 52 ± 2 km s -1. We cannot yet propose a definite pulsation mode identification, but we report the detection of a characteristic frequency spacing between the different modes. We ascribe it to the simultaneous presence of l = 1 and l = 2 modes of consecutive radial order. A comparison of this frequency spacing with frequencies of solar-metallicity models, as well as stability analysis, allows us to constrain tightly the evolutionary state of CD - 24 7599. It is in the first half of its main-sequence evolution, and has a mass of 1.85 ± 0.05 M̛ and a mean density of p = 0.246 ± 0.020 P̛. This yields a seismological distance of 650 ± 70 pc, which i~ as accurate as distance determinations for 0 Scuti stars observed in clusters. Most of the pulsation modes are pure p modes of radial order k = 4-6, but the gl mode of l = 2 is likely to be excited and observed as well. Since a significant contribution to this mode's kinetic energy comes from the outer part of the convective core, CD-247599 becomes particularly interesti1)g for testing convective overshooting theories
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