Data processing and data products from 2017 to 2019 campaign of astronomical site testing at Ali,Daocheng and Muztagh-ata

Based on previous site testing and satellite cloud data,Ali,Daocheng and Muztagh-ata have been selected as candidate sites for the Large Optical/Infrared Telescope(LOT) in China.We present the data collection,processing,management and quality analysis for our site testing based on using similar hardware.We analyze meteorological data,seeing,background light,cloud and precipitable water vapor data from 2017 March 10 to 2019 March 10.We also investigated the relative usefulness of our all-sky camera data in comparison to that from the meteorological TERRA satellite data based on a night-by-night comparison of the correlation and consistency between them.We find a 6% discrepancy arising from a wide range of factors.

Quantitative Analysis of Seeing with Height and Time at Muztagh-Ata Site Based on ERA5 Database

Seeing is an important index to evaluate the quality of an astronomical site.To estimate seeing at the Muztagh-Ata site with height and time quantitatively,the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts reanalysis database(ERA5)is used.Seeing calculated from ERA5 is compared consistently with the Differential Image Motion Monitor seeing at the height of 12 m.Results show that seeing decays exponentially with height at the Muztagh-Ata site.Seeing decays the fastest in fall in 2021 and most slowly with height in summer.The seeing condition is better in fall than in summer.The median value of seeing at 12 m is 0.89 arcsec,the maximum value is1.21 arcsec in August and the minimum is 0.66 arcsec in October.The median value of seeing at 12 m is 0.72arcsec in the nighttime and 1.08 arcsec in the daytime.Seeing is a combination of annual and about biannual variations with the same phase as temperature and wind speed indicating that seeing variation with time is influenced by temperature and wind speed.The Richardson number Ri is used to analyze the atmospheric stability and the variations of seeing are consistent with Ri between layers.These quantitative results can provide an important reference for a telescopic observation strategy.

An Analysis of the Fragmentation of Observing Time At the Muztagh-Ata Site

Cloud cover plays a pivotal role in assessing observational conditions for astronomical site-testing.Except for the fraction of observing time,its fragmentation also wields a significant influence on the quality of nighttime sky clarity.In this article,we introduce the functionΓ∈[0,1],designed to comprehensively capture both the fraction of available observing time and its continuity.Leveraging in situ measurement data gathered at the Muztagh-Ata site between 2017 and 2021,we showcase the effectiveness of our approach.The statistical result illustrates that the Muztagh-Ata site affords approximately 122 nights that were absolutely clear and 205 very good nights annually,corresponding toΓ≥0.9 andΓ≥0.36 respectively.

A study of the strong pulses detected from PSR B0656+14 using the Urumqi 25-m radio telescope at 1540 MHz

We report on the properties of strong pulses from PSR B0656＋14 by analyzing the data obtained using the Urumqi 25-m radio telescope at 1540 MHz from August 2007 to September 2010.In 44 h of observational data,a total of 67 pulses with signal-to-noise ratios above a 5σthreshold were detected.The peak flux densities of these pulses are 58 to 194 times that of the average profile,and their pulse energies are 3 to 68 times that of the average pulse.These pulses are clustered around phases about 5-ahead of the peak of the average profile.Compared with the width of the average profile,they are relatively narrow,with the full widths at half-maximum ranging from 0.28 ° to 1.78 °.The distribution of pulse-energies follows a lognormal distribution.These sporadic strong pulses detected from PSR B0656＋14 have different characteristics from both typical giant pulses and its regular pulses.

银道面附近若干天区变星搜寻

对新疆天文台南山1 m大视场天文望远镜观测的历史数据进行细致的数据挖掘,发现了百余颗变源。数据处理流水线为新疆天文台时域巡天数据处理包,该处理包同时考虑了测光系统内部权重和相关性,并结合快速混合算法编写。除去已知的变源,又发现了很多新的变源。对新变源证认的过程中,将结果与LAMOST,GCVS,VSX,Gaia DR2等星表进行交叉。在讨论部分,对各星表的使用情况给出了说明。最后发现这些新变源绝大部分是食双星,少部分是脉动变星,并有一颗表现相对复杂的变源。

Site-testing at Muztagh-ata site Ⅰ:ground meteorology and sky brightness

Site-testing is crucial for achieving the goal of scientific research and analysis of meteorological and optical observing conditions,one of the associated basic tasks.As one of three potential sites to host the 12-meter Large Optical/infrared Telescope(LOT),the Muztagh-ata site,which is located on the Pamir Plateau in Xinjiang,in west China,began its site-testing task in the spring of 2017.In this paper,we firstly start with an introduction to the site and then present a statistical analysis of the ground-level meteorological properties such as air temperature,barometric pressure,relative humidity,and wind speed and direction,recorded by an automatic weather station with standard meteorological sensors for a two-year duration.We also show the monitoring results of sky brightness during this period.

Site-testing at Muztagh-ata site Ⅲ:temperature inversion in surface-layer atmosphere

In this article,we present detailed seasonal,monthly and daily statistics of temperature difference in the surface layer at the Muztagh-ata site based on the temperature measurements at two heights of 2 m and6 m.We find that temperature inversion occurs frequently at our site during nighttime,especially during the cold season.Strong temperature inversion always represents stable atmospheric turbulence,which is crucial for an optical observatory.By analyzing the behavior of temperature inversion and its correlation with wind and cloud amount,one conclusion can be made that radiation inversion is the main reason for the existence of temperature inversion in the surface-layer at the Muztagh-ata site.

Observations of Giant Pulses of the Crab Pulsar

The Crab Pulsar was observed at 1540MHz with the 25m radio telescope at Urumqi with a filterbank de-dispersion backend. A total of 2436 giant pulses with pulse energies larger than 4300 Jy μs were detected in two observing sets. All of these giant pulses are located in the main pulse （MP） and inter pulse （IP） windows of the average profile of the Crab Pulsar. The ratio of the numbers of giant pulses detected in the IP and MP windows is about 0.05. Our results show that, at 1540MHz, the emission in the IP is contributed by giant and normal pulses, while that in the MP is almost dominated by giant pulses. The distribution of energy of the 2436 giant pulses at 1540 MHz can be described by a power-law with index α = 3.13 ± 0.09. The intrinsic threshold of giant pulse energy in the MP window is about 1400Jy μs at 1540MHz.

Site testing campaign for the Large Optical/infrared Telescope of China:overview

The Large Optical/infrared Telescope(LOT)is a ground-based 12 m diameter optical/infrared telescope which is proposed to be built in the western part of China in the next decade.Based on satellite remote sensing data,along with geographical,logistical and political considerations,three candidate sites were chosen for ground-based astronomical performance monitoring.These sites include:Ali in Tibet,Daocheng in Sichuan and Muztagh-ata in Xinjiang.Up until now,all three sites have continuously collected data for two years.In this paper,we will introduce this site testing campaign,and present its monitoring results obtained during the period between March 2017 and March 2019.

The wide-field photometric system of the Nanshan One-meter Telescope

The Nanshan One-meter Wide-field Telescope is a prime focus system that is located at Nanshan Station of Xinjiang Astronomical Observatories.The field of view was designed to 1.5°× 1.5°,and the Johnson-Cousins UBVRI system was chosen as the main filter set.The telescope has been providing observation services for astronomers since September 2013.Variable source searching and time-domain surveys are the main scientific goals.The system’s test results are reported including linearity,dark current,bias,readout noise and gain of the CCD camera.The accurate instrumental calibration coefficients in UBVRI bands were driven with Landolt standard stars during photometric nights.Finally,the limiting magnitudes are given with signal-to-noise ratios and various exposure times for observers.

Site testing at Muztagh-ata site Ⅱ:seeing statistics

In this article,we present a detailed analysis of the statistical properties of seeing for the Muztaghata site which is a candidate site for hosting the future Chinese Large Optical/infrared Telescope(LOT)project.The measurements were obtained with differential image motion monitors(DIMMs)from April2017 to November 2018 at different heights during different periods.The median seeings at 11 m and6 m are very close but significantly different from that on the ground.We mainly analyzed the seeing at11 m monthly and hourly,having found that the best season for observing was from late autumn to early winter and seeing tended to improve during the night only in autumn.The analysis of the dependence on temperature inversion,wind speed and direction also was made and the best meteorological conditions for seeing are given.

A study of variable stars in the open cluster NGC 1582 and its surrounding field

This paper presents Charge-Coupled Device time-series photometric observations of the open cluster NGC 1582 and its surrounding field with Johnson B, V and R filters by using the Nanshan 1 m telescope administered by Xinjiang Astronomical Observatory. 19 variable stars and three variable candi- dates were detected in a 45＇ - 48.75＇ field around the cluster. 12 of the variable stars are newly-discovered variable objects. The physical properties, classifications and memberships of these 22 objects are studied through their light curves, their positions on the color-magnitude diagram and with archival data from the Naval Observatory Merged Astrometric Dataset. Among these objects, five are eclipsing binary systems, six are pulsating variable stars including one known 6 Scuti star and one newly-discovered RR Lyrae star. The distance to the RR Lyrae star is estimated to be 7.9 - 0.3 kpc, indicating that the star is located far behind the cluster. Four variable stars are probable members of the cluster, and 13 of the 22 objects are confirmed to be field stars.

Long-term analysis of clear nights using satellite data considering astronomical sites in western China

A large ground-based optical/infrared telescope is being planned for a world-class astronomical site in China.The cloud-free night percentage is the primary meteorological consideration for evaluating candidate sites.The data from GMS and NOAA satellites and the MODIS instrument were utilized in this research,covering the period from 1996 to 2015.Our data analysis benefits from overlapping results from different independent teams as well as a uniform analysis of selected sites using GMS+NOAA data.Although significant ground-based monitoring is needed to validate these findings,we identify three different geographical regions with a high percentage of cloud-free conditions(~83%on average),which is slightly lower than at Mauna Kea and Cerro Armazones(~85%on average)and were chosen for the large international projects TMT and ELT respectively.Our study finds evidence that cloud distributions and the seasonal changes affected by the prevailing westerly winds and summer monsoons reduce the cloud cover in areas influenced by the westerlies.This is consistent with the expectations from climate change models and is suggestive that most of the identified sites will have reduced cloud cover in the future.

Pulsations of the High-Amplitude δ Scuti star YZ Bootis

We present a study on pulsations of the high-amplitudeδScuti star YZ Boo based on photometric observations in Johnson V and R bands with both the Nanshan 1-m telescope of Xinjiang Astronomical Observatory（XAO）and the Xinglong 85-cm telescope of National Astronomical Observatories,Chinese Academy of Sciences（NAOC）.Fourier analysis of the light curves reveals the fundamental radial mode and its five harmonics,with the fourth and fifth being newly detected.Thirtynine new times of maximum light are determined from the light curves,and combined with those in the literature,we construct the O-C diagram,derive a new ephemeris and determine a new value for the updated period of 0.104091579（2）.In addition,the O-C diagram reveals an increasing rate of period change for YZ Boo.Theoretical models are calculated and constrained with the observationally determined parameters of YZ Boo.The mass and age of YZ Boo are hence derived as M=1.61±0.05 M_⊙ and age=（1.44±0.14）×10~9 yr,respectively.With both the frequency of the fundamental radial mode and the rate of period change,YZ Boo is located at the post main sequence stage.

Variable Star Detection in the Field of Open Cluster NGC 188

This work presents the charge-coupled device(CCD)photometric survey of the old open cluster NGC 188.Timeseries V-band photometric observations were conducted for ten nights in 2017 January using the Nanshan Onemeter Wide-field Telescope to search for variable stars in the field of the cluster.A total of 25 variable stars,including one new variable star,were detected in the target field.Among the detected variables,16 are cluster member stars,and the others are identified as field stars.The periods,radial velocities,effective temperatures,and classifications of the detected variables are discussed in this work.Most of the stars’effective temperatures are between 4200 and 6600 K,indicating their spectral types are G or K.The newly discovered variable is probably a W UMa system.In this study,a known cluster variable star(V21=V0769 Cep)is classified as an EA-type variable star based on the presence of an 0.5 mag eclipse in its light curve.

KIC 10417986:Spectroscopic Confirmation of the Nature of the Binary System with aδScuti Component

KIC 10417986 is a short orbital period(0.0737 day)ellipsoidal variable star with aδSct andγDor hybrid pulsation component discovered by Kepler.The ground-based spectroscopic observations were carried out in the winters of 2020 and 2021 to investigate the binary nature of this star.We derive the orbital parameters using the rvfit code with a result of K_(1)=29.7±1.5 km s^(-1),γ=-18.7±1.7 km s^(-1),and confirm an orbital period of 0.84495 day instead of the result given by Kepler.The atmospheric parameters of the primary are determined by the synthetic spectral fitting technique with the estimated values of T_(eff)=7411±187 K,log g=4.2±0.3 dex,[M/H]=0.08±0.09 dex and vsini=52±11 km s^(-1).KIC 10417986 is a circular orbit binary system.From the single-lined nature and mass function of the star,the derived orbital inclination is 26°±6°,and the mass of the secondary is 0.52_(-0.09)^(+0.18)M_(⊙),which should be a late-K to early-M type star.Fourteen frequencies are extracted from Kepler light curves,of which six independent frequencies in the high-frequency region are identified as the p-mode pulsations ofδSct star,and one independent frequency in the low-frequency region(f_(2)=1.3033 cd^(-1))is probably the rotational frequency due to the starspots rather than the ellipsoidal effect.

A digital pulsar backend based on FPGA

A digital pulsar backend based on a Field Programmable Gate Array （FPGA） is developed. It is designed for incoherent de-dispersion of pulsar observations and has a maximum bandwidth of 512MHz. The channel bandwidth is fixed to 1 MHz, and the highest time resolution is 10 p.s. Testing observations were carried out using the Urumqi 25-m telescope administered by Xinjiang Astronomical Observatory and the Kunming 40-m telescope administered by Yunnan Observatories, targeting PSR J0332＋5434 in the L band and PSR J0437-4715 in the S band, respectively. The successful observation of PSR J0437-4715 demonstrates its ability to observe millisecond pulsars.

KIC 5197256:an eclipsing binary containing a δ Scuti variable star

This paper reports analysis of an eclipsing binary system KIC 5197256 with aδSct variable component.Utilizing light-curve modeling,several stellar parameters are derived,e.g.,temperature,mass,and mass ratio.The O-C diagram is a straight line with a negative slope which means that its period is almost constant for about 2 yr.Frequency analyses are performed for the residual light curve after subtracting the binary variations.The frequency spectrum reveals that one component star is aδScuti variable.Large frequency separation is cross-identified with the histogram graph and the Fourier transform method.Based on the large separation and density relationship,the mean density of theδSct component is estimated to be 0.05 g·cm-3.Five frequencies with the same frequency spacing in the range of 25 d-1-34 d-1 are detected.Statistically,the pulsation amplitudes ofδSct stars increase with decreasing of rotations,so we propose that KIC 5197256 might have a relatively large rotational velocity,and the frequency f10 might be the rotation frequency.

Photometric and spectroscopic study of flares on Ross 15

We conducted photometric and spectroscopic observations of Ross 15 in order to further study the flare properties of this less observed flare star.A total of 28 B-band flares are detected in 128 hr of photometric observations,leading to a total flare rate of 0.22-0.040.04 h-1,more accurate than that provided by previous work.We give the energy range of the B-band flare(1029.5-1031.5 erg) and the flare frequency distribution(FFD) for the star.Within the same energy range,the FFD is lower than that of GJ 1243(M4)and YZ CMi(M4.5),roughly in the middle of those of three M5-type stars and higher than the average FFDs of spectral types> M6.We performed,for the first time for Ross 15,simultaneous high-cadence spectroscopic and photometric observations,resulting in detection of the most energetic flare in our sample.The intensity enhancements of the continuum and Balmer lines with significant correlations between them are detected during the flare,which is the same as those of other deeply studied flare stars with similar spectral type.

Investigating variable stars in the open cluster NGC 1912 and its surrounding field

In this work,we studied the variable stars in the open cluster NGC 1912 based on the photometric observations and Gaia DR2 data.More than 3600 CCD frames in B,V,R filters were reduced,and we obtained the light curves that span about 63 hours.By analyzing these light curves,we detected 24 variable stars,including 16 periodic variable stars,seven eclipsing binaries and one star whose type is unclear.Among these 24 variable stars,11 are newly discovered,which are classified as sixγDoradus stars,oneδScuti star,three detached binaries and one contact binary.We also confirmed 13 previously known variable stars.Based on cluster members identified by Cantat-Gaudin et al.(2018),we inferred cluster memberships for these detected variable stars.Using Gaia DR2 data,we plotted a new color-magnitude diagram for NGC1912,and showed the nature of variable cluster members in kinematical properties and heliocentric distance.Among the 24 variable stars,seven variables are probable cluster members,which show homogeneity in kinematic characters and space position with the established cluster members.Four of the seven variable cluster members are the previously discovered stars,consisting of twoγDor stars and twoδSct stars.The remaining three variable cluster members,which are allγDor stars,are firstly detected in this work.The main physical parameters of these variable cluster members estimated from the color-magnitude diagram are log(age/yr)=8.75,[Fe/H]=-0.1,m-M=10.03 mag,and E(B-V)=0.307.