Asteroids in the Inner Solar System II - Observable Properties

This paper presents synthetic observations of long-lived, coorbiting asteroids of Mercury, Venus, the Earth and Mars. Our sample is constructed by taking the limiting semimajor axes, differential longitudes and inclinations for long-lived stability provided by simulations. The intervals are randomly populated with values to create initial conditions. These orbits are re-simulated to check that they are stable and then re-sampled every 2.5 years for 1 million years. The Mercurian sample contains only horseshoe orbits, the Martian sample only tadpoles. For both Venus and the Earth, the greatest concentration of objects on the sky occurs close to the classical Lagrange points at heliocentric ecliptic longitudes of 60 and 300 degrees. The distributions are broad especially if horseshoes are present in the sample. The full-width half maximum (FWHM) in heliocentric longitude for Venus is 325 degrees and for the Earth is 328 degrees. The mean and most common velocity of these coorbiting satellites coincides with the mean motion of the parent planet, but again the spread is wide with a FWHM for Venus of 27.8 arcsec/hr and for the Earth of 21.0 arcsec/hr. For Mars, the greatest concentration on the sky occurs at heliocentric ecliptic latitudes of 12 degrees. The peak of the velocity distribution occurs at 65 arcsec/hr, significantly less than the Martian mean motion, while its FWHM is 32.3 arcsec/hr. The case of Mercury is the hardest of all, as the greatest concentration occurs at heliocentric longitudes close to the Sun.Comment: 16 pages, 11 figures, Monthly Notices (in press). Higher quality figures available at http://www-thphys.physics.ox.ac.uk/users/WynEvans/home.htm

Cartography for Martian Trojans

The last few months have seen the discovery of a second Martian Trojan (1998 VF31), as well as two further possible candidates (1998 QH56 and 1998 SD4). Together with the previously discovered Martian satellite 5261 Eureka, these are the only known possible solar system Trojan asteroids not associated with Jupiter. Here, maps of the locations of the stable Trojan trajectories of Mars are presented. These are constructed by integrating an ensemble of in-plane and inclined orbits in the vicinity of the Martian Lagrange points for between 25 million and 60 million years. The survivors occupy a band of inclinations between 15 degrees and 40 degrees and longitudes between 240 degrees and 330 degrees at the L5 Lagrange point. Around the L4 point, stable Trojans inhabit two bands of inclinations (15 degrees < i < 30 degrees and 32 degrees < i < 40 degrees) with longitudes restricted between 25 degrees and 120 degrees. Both 5261 Eureka and 1998 VF31 lie deep within one of the stable zones, which suggests they may be of primordial origin. Around Mars, the number of such undiscovered primordial objects with sizes greater than 1 km may be as high as 50. The two candidates 1998 QH56 and 1998 SD4 are not presently on Trojan orbits and will enter the sphere of influence of Mars within half a million years.Comment: 14 pages, 3 figures, in press at the Astrophysical Journal (Letters

Juegos de narración colectiva en las comunidades virtuales

El entorno virtual – con su particular régimen de escritura y lectura –ofrece un nuevo espacio para el desarrollo de la ancestral vocación humana de narrar ficciones. Además de los formatos narrativos tradicionales, en el marco de las comunidades virtuales se está ejercitando ciertos juegos de narración colectiva designados por los participantes como “historias” o “relatos compartidos”. En estas prácticas algunos vestigios de las formas tradicionales de escritura colaborativa se combinan con elementos originales aportados por los nuevos soportes tecnológicos de comunicación. En este trabajo proponemos describir y analizar algunas de las propiedades específicas de este género en proceso de gestación que oscila tensivamente entre la escritura y la oralidad, entre la conversación y la narración.The virtual environment, with its particular writing and reading regime, offers a new space for the development of the ancient vocation of storytelling. As well as the traditional narrative formats, certain collective narrative games are being employed by virtual communities designed by participants as “stories” or “shared accounts”. In these practices certain remains of traditional collaborative writing can be found and this combined with original elements brought forward by new technological communication media. This works describes and analyzes some of the specific properties of a gestating genre which tensely oscillates between the written and the oral, and the conversation and the narration

Two years on, what has been the lasting legacy of the Ukraine crisis?

The fall of Viktor Yanukovych’s government in February 2014, and the subsequent Russian annexation of Crimea and civil war in eastern Ukraine, marked the beginning of an enduring standoff between Russia and the West. Two years on, Alexander Tabachnik assesses what the legacy of the crisis has been for Russia, Ukraine and the West

Bills, Bribery and Brutality: How Rampant Corruption in the Electoral System Has Helped Prevent Democracy in Uganda

This study looks at the electoral system in Uganda and the corruption and inefficiencies that go with it. In addition, this study delves into the most common electoral crimes and the way they are committed. Going even deeper, the study examines the reasons for bribery pervasiveness, the role of money in politics and the views locals have of their government and its leaders. Crucial institutions such as police, military, judiciary, Electoral Commission and civil society groups were also discussed in how they relate toelections and politics in Uganda. The research design was qualitative, historical and descriptive. Information was gatheredby in-person interviews, library research for access to local newspapers, and Internet searches. Subjects ranged in age from high school to retired with most falling somewhere in between as active members in their field of work. Participants included elected officials from different parties, civil society organizations, members of the police and judiciary, Electoral Commission, students and village residents. This study shines a direct light on the role that pervasive and extreme poverty plays in the Ugandan electoral system. Because of the desperate need of people—especially in the village—to acquire money, they were willing to accept bribes in order to feed their families, pay school fees or buy clothing. Political parties—including both the opposition and the rulings party—understand this immense need so they go door-to-door to buy votes before elections—a kilo of sugar in exchange for a tick on the ballot. Candidates did not stop at just bribing however. Violence and intimidation by youth militias or military officers prevented many from casting their rightful ballots, and blocked winning opposition candidates from earning a seat in parliament. Both the NRM and the opposition commit electoral fraud but it is the ruling party, led by PresidentYoweriMuseveni, that dominates the corrupt practices. More money, control of the military and all state institutions gives the NRM a powerful force that blows away the opposition, election after election. The future remains unclear but the people of Uganda are ready for change. Many, however, have little hope it can be attained anytime soon

Asteroids Observed by The Sloan Digital Sky Survey

We announce the first public release of the SDSS Moving Object Catalog, with SDSS observations for 58,117 asteroids. The catalog lists astrometric and photometric data for moving objects observed prior to Dec 15, 2001, and also includes orbital elements for 10,592 previously known objects. We analyze the correlation between the orbital parameters and optical colors for the known objects, and confirm that asteroid dynamical families, defined as clusters in orbital parameter space, also strongly segregate in color space. Their distinctive optical colors indicate that the variations in chemical composition within a family are much smaller than the compositional differences between families, and strongly support earlier suggestions that asteroids belonging to a particular family have a common origin.Comment: 6 pages, 1 color figure, to be presented at "Astronomical Telescopes & Instrumentation", SPIE 200

Struggling to strike the right balance between interests at stake:The ‘Yarovaya’, ‘Fake news’ and ‘Disrespect’ laws as examples of ill-conceived legislation in the age of modern technology

The article deals with the legislative amendments that have been recently adopted in the Russian Federation, the so-called ‘Yarovaya’ law, the ‘fake news’ law and the ‘disrespect’ law. It explains the essence and problems of implementation of the above-mentioned legal instruments and assesses them from the human rights angle. It is established that the rather complex laws under analysis pose significant threats to the human rights and fundamental freedoms of individuals, including privacy, data protection and freedom of expression, and introduce other additional negative effects to the Russian society and economy. While in the adoption of such legislation it is crucial to give due weight to the involved interests, the used examples indicate that the State’s interests seem to prevail at the cost of the rights and freedoms of those who need to be adequately protected

Is Moldova the next Ukraine? Why the EU must address the concerns of Moldova’s Russian-speaking minority

Following a high-profile banking scandal which involved politicians siding with pro-European positions, support for the EU has plunged among Moldovans, while Russia’s popularity has soared. But can similar unrest to that which emerged in Ukraine be avoided? Alexander Tabachnik and Nadav Kedem argue that the EU ought to reengage Moldova through its civil society rather than its elite, and that it needs to take into serious consideration the concerns of the country’s Russian-speaking minority – especially in separatist Transnistria