Solar radius measurements with the SODISM instrument : methods and algorithm developments for the PICARD Payload Data Center

International audienceThe PICARD space mission is scheduled for a launch in 2010. Its payload consists in 3 instruments: SODISM from LATMOS, SOVAP from IRMB (Belgium) and PREMOS from PMOD (Switzerland). SODISM key objective is to measure the diameter and shape of the Sun with an accuracy of a few milliarcseconds (mas), and their potential change during the increasing phase of the current solar cycle. We will present here some simulations and methods developed to make these measurements from SODISM images, and how these ones have been implemented at the PICARD Payload Data Center (PPDC) located at the B-USOC in Belgium

Electronic Absorption, Emission and Two-Photon Absorption Properties of Some Functional 1,3,5-Triphenylbenzenes

International audienceWe report herein the linear optical properties of some extended 1,3,5-triphenylbenzene derivatives 1,3,5-[(1,4-C6H4)CC(4-C6H4X)](3)(C6H3) (3-X; X=NO2, CN, H, OMe, NMe2, NPh2) and briefly discuss the two-photon absorption (2PA) cross-sections determined for the derivatives featuring the most electron-rich substituents, contrasting their 2PA performance with the 2PA values previously gathered for their triphenylisocyanurate analogues N,N',N ''-[(1,4-C6H4)CC(4-C6H4X)](3)(N-3{C(O)}(3)) (1-X). When functionalized by electron-releasing substituents at their periphery, 3-X derivatives are potent substitutes for 1-X compounds in NLO applications, especially when maximal transparency is not required in the visible range. Some rationalization of this unexpected outcome is proposed based on DFT calculations

NanoStar University Network: Hands-on higher Aerospace Education through Nanosatellite Student Challenges

International audienc