Eclipses and Occultations of Galilean Satellites Observed at Yunnan Observatory in 2003

We describe and analyze observations of mutual events of Galilean satellites made at the Yunnan Observatory in February 2003 from CCD imaging for the first time in China. Astrometric positions were deduced from these photometric observations by modelling the relative motion and the photometry of the involved satellites during each event.

The Q Values of the Galilean Satellites and their Tidal Contributions to the Deceleration of Jupiter's Rotation

The relationship between the k2/Q of the Galilean satellites and the k2J/QJ of Jupiter is derived from energy and momentum considerations. Calculations suggest that the Galilean satellites can be divided into two classes according to their Q values: Io and Ganymede have values between 10 and 50, while Europa and Callisto have values ranging from 200 to 700. The tidal contributions of the Galilean satellites to Jupiter's rotation are estimated. The main deceleration of Jupiter, which is about 99.04% of the total, comes from Io.

利用国内VLBI网跟踪大椭圆轨道卫星

2004年7月,昆明VLBI站经过改造,由上海、乌鲁木齐和昆明站组成的中国VLBI网(CVN)采用统一的MARK4格式编制器和CVN硬盘记录系统,对大椭圆轨道卫星“探测1号”的2圈轨道的共同可视弧段进行了跟踪观测．软件相关处理程序已成功地用于检测卫星遥测信号的干涉条纹和数据相关处理．采用基于条纹幅度的加权最小二乘条纹拟合方法,获得了卫星VLBI观测量及其精度估计,完成了卫星VLBI观测量的3基线闭合误差检验．应用河外射电源校准方法和多频点相位校正信号提取方法,进行了台站钟差和仪器延迟等系统误差改正．经系统差改正后的卫星VLBI观测量序列已用于“探测1号”卫星的轨道确定．

CHES: A Space-borne Astrometric Mission for the Detection of Habitable Planets of the Nearby Solar-type Stars

The Closeby Habitable Exoplanet Survey(CHES) mission is proposed to discover habitable-zone Earth-like planets of nearby solar-type stars(~10 pc away from our solar system) via microarcsecond relative astrometry.The major scientific objectives of CHES are:to search for Earth Twins or terrestrial planets in habitable zones orbiting100 FGK nearby stars;further to conduct a comprehensive survey and extensively characterize nearby planetary systems.The primary payload is a high-quality,low-distortion,high-stability telescope.The optical subsystem is a coaxial three-mirror anastigmat(TMA) with a 1.2 m-aperture,0°.44 × 0°.44 field of view and 500 nm-900 nm working wave band.The camera focal plane is composed of a mosaic of 81 scientific CMOS detectors each with4 k × 4 k pixels.The heterodyne laser interferometric calibration technology is employed to ensure microarcsecond level(1 μas) relative astrometry precision to meet the requirements for detection of Earth-like planets.The CHES satellite operates at the Sun-Earth L2 point and observes all the target stars for 5 yr.CHES will offer the first direct measurements of true masses and inclinations of Earth Twins and super-Earths orbiting our neighbor stars based on microarcsecond astrometry from space.This will definitely enhance our understanding of the formation of diverse nearby planetary systems and the emergence of other worlds for solar-type stars,and finally provide insights to the evolution of our own solar system.

Searching for exoplanets with HEPS:I.detection probability of Earth-like planets in multiple systems

The astrometry method has great advantages in searching for exoplanets in the habitable zone around solar-like stars. However, the presence of multiple planets may cause a problem with degeneracy when trying to compute accurate planet parameters from observation data and reduce detectability. The degeneracy problem is extremely critical, especially in a space mission which has limited observation time and cadence. In this series of papers, we study the detectability of habitable Earth-mass planets in different types of multi-planet systems, aiming to find the most favorable targets for the potential space mission–Habitable ExoPlanet Survey(HEPS). In the first paper, we present an algorithm to find planets in the habitable zone around solar-like stars using astrometry. We find the detectability can be well described by planets' signal-to-noise ratio(SNR) and a defined parameter S = M2/(T1-T2)2, where M2 and T2are the mass and period of the second planet, respectively. T1 is the period of the planet in the habitable zone. The parameter S represents the influence of planetary architectures. We fit the detectability as a function of both the SNR of the planet in the habitable zone and the parameter S. An Earth-like planet in a habitable zone is harder to detect(with detectability PHP< 80%) in a system with a hot Jupiter or warm Jupiter(within2 AU), in which the parameter S is large. These results can be used in target selections and to determine the priority of target stars for HEPS, especially when we select and rank nearby planet hosts with a single planet.

PyMsOfa:A Python Package for the Standards of Fundamental Astronomy(SOFA)Service

The Standards of Fundamental Astronomy(SOFA)is a service provided by the International Astronomical Union that offers algorithms and software for astronomical calculations,which was released in two versions for FORTRAN77 and ANSI C,respectively.In this work,we implement the Python package PyMsOfa for SOFA service by three ways:(1)a Python wrapper package based on a foreign function library for Python(ctypes),(2)a Python wrapper package with the foreign function interface for Python calling C code(cffi)and(3)a Python package directly written in pure Python codes from SOFA subroutines.The package PyMsOfa has fully implemented 247 functions of the original SOFA routines released on 2023 October 11.In addition,PyMsOfa is also extensively examined,which is exactly consistent with those test examples given by the original SOFA.This Python package can be suitable to not only the astrometric detection of habitable planets from the Closeby Habitable Exoplanet Survey mission,but also for the frontier themes of black holes and dark matter related to astrometric calculations and other fields.The source codes are available via http://pypi.org/project/PyMsOfa/and https://github.com/CHES2023/PyMsOfa.

Secular Increase in the Earth’s LOD Strongly Implies that the Earth Might Be Expanding Radially on a Global Scale

Exactly 101 years ago, German scientist—Alfred Lothar Wegener, sailed against the prevailing wisdom of his day when he posited that not only have the Earth’s continental plates receded from each other over the course of the Earth’s history, but that they are currently in a state of motion relative to one another. To explain this, Wegener set forth the hypothesis that the Earth must be expanding as a whole. Wegener’s inability to provide an adequate explanation of the forces and energy source responsible for continental drift and the prevailing belief that the Earth was a rigid solid body resulted in the acrimonious dismissal of his theories. Today, that the continents are receding from each other is no longer a point of debate but a sacrosanct pillar of modern geology and geophysics. What is debatable is the energy source driving this phenomenon. An expanding Earth hypothesis is currently an idea that is not accepted on a general consensus level. Antiproponent of the expanding Earth mercilessly dismiss it as a pseudo or fringe science with their main point of rejection being the energy source to power this supposed expansion. Be that asit may, we show herein that from the well accepted law of conversation of spin angular momentum, Stephenson [1]’s result that over the last 2700 years or so, the length of the Earth’s day has undergone a change of about +17.00 μs/yr, this result invariably leads to the plausibility the Earth may very be expanding radially at a paltry rate of about +0.60 mm/yr. If correct, this simple fact, automatically move the expanding Earth hypothesis from the realm of pseudo or fringe science, to that of plausible science.

The Possibility of Detecting our Solar System through Astrometry

Searching for exoplanets with different methods has always been the focus of astronomers over the past few years.Among multiple planet detection techniques,astrometry stands out for its capability to accurately determine the orbital parameters of exoplanets.In this study,we examine the likelihood of extraterrestrial intelligent civilizations detecting planets in our solar system using the astrometry method.By conducting injection-recovery simulations,we investigate the detectability of the four giant planets in our solar system under different observing baselines and observational errors.Our findings indicate that extraterrestrial intelligence could detect and characterize all four giant planets,provided they are observed for a minimum of 90 yr with signal-noise ratios exceeding 1.For individual planets such as Jupiter,Saturn,and Neptune,a baseline that surpasses half of their orbital periods is necessary for detection.However,Uranus requires longer observing baselines since its orbital period is roughly half of that of Neptune.If the astrometry precision is equal to or better than 10μas,all 8707 stars located within30 pc of our solar system possess the potential to detect the four giant planets within 100 yr.Additionally,our prediction suggests that over 300 stars positioned within 10 pc from our solar system could detect our Earth if they achieve an astrometry precision of 0.3μas.

Searching for exoplanets by HEPS II. detecting earth-like planets in habitable zone around planet hosts within 30 pc

HEPS(Habitable ExoPlanet Survey) is a planning astrometry satellite that aims to find Earth-like planets in the solar neighbourhood. In this paper, we selected 140 planet harboring stars within 30 pc of the solar system to be potential targets for HEPS. We calculate the detection probability of the planet in habitable zone(HZ) for each system using the simulated data of astrometry measurements. For those host stars without planets in HZ, we inject an additional planet of 10 M⊕ in their HZs and check the stability of the systems. Considering five observation modes of different sampling cadence and total observation time, we obtain a table containing the total detection probability of the planets in HZs for all of the 140 selected systems. This paper provides a potential ranked list of target stars for HEPS, or other astrometric mission to detect Earth-like planets in the future. We also calculate an empirical fitted expression of the detection probability as a function of both sampling cadence and total observation time. We conclude a quantitative method to estimate the detection probability for certain planet hosts and observation modes via the empirical expression. We show the minimum requirements of both sampling cadence and observation time for Proxima Centauri, HD 189733 and HD 102365, if the detection probability of habitable-zone planets of these three systems needs to be 90%.

On the Expanding Earth and Shrinking Moon

Exactly 101 years ago, German scientist Alfred Lothar Wegener, sailed against the prevailing wisdom of his day when he posited that not only have the Earth’s continental plates receded from each other over the course of the Earth’s history, but that they are currently in a state of motion relative to one another. To explain this, Wegener set forth the hypothesis that the Earth must be expanding as a whole. Wegener’s inability to provide an adequate explanation of the forces and energy source responsible for continental drift and the prevailing belief that the Earth was a rigid solid body resulted in the acrimonious dismissal of his theories. Today, that the continents are generally receding from each other is no longer a point of debate but a sacrosanct pillar of modern geology and geophysics. What is debatable is the energy source driving this phenomenon. Herein, we hold that continental drift is a result of the Earth undergoing a secular radial expansion. An expanding Earth hypothesis is currently an idea that is not accepted on a general consensus level. Be thatas it may, we show herein that the law of conservation of angular momentum and energy entail that the Earth must not only expand as a consequence of the secular recession of the Earth-Moon system from the Sun, but invariably, that the Moon must contract as well. As a result, the much sort for energy source driving plate tectonics can (hypothetically) be identified with the energy transfers occurring between the orbital and rotational kinetic energy of the Earth. If our calculations are to be believed—as we do;then, the Earth must be expanding radially at a paltry rate of about +1.50 mm/yr while the Moon is contracting radially at a relatively high rate of about -410 mm/yr.

寻找太阳系外的宜居行星

中国的一些科学家提出,在若干年内发射一颗专门的天体测量卫星,以0.5μas的定位精度,用天体测量方法,对距离约64光年范围内的约200颗类太阳恒星周围的类地行星进行搜索,获得一个在上述距离之内可能具有宜居条件的行星的完备样本;然后就用地面的大望远镜或者其他合适的太空望远镜,对这一样本中的恒星进行高精密度的测光观测,从中找出具有凌星现象的候选者;对这些候选者进行高分辨率分光观测,确定相应行星有无大气层以及其大气的化学成分,尤其是光谱中有无带有生命活动痕迹的气体的特征,并最终确定在这颗行星上是不是真正有生物生存。如果最终能够找到一颗这样的行星,那无疑将是科学上的一项巨大成就。

中国历代荧惑守列宿与四星聚、五星聚考查

利用授时历法和现代天文计算方法,对中国历代天文志记录的荧惑(火星)守列宿、四星聚、五星聚进行分析研究,结果表明:65条荧惑守列宿,正误率分别为49%和51%.如果把荧惑留、留守、在某宿等运动形态也考虑为守的范围,共有95条,其正误率分别为56%和44%.12条四星聚正误率各占一半,即50%.11条五星聚正误率分别为82%和18%(其中含五星并见).并对错误记录的原因做了初步探讨.

高精度测定外行星位置-可行性及实验

大行星位置的测量是天体测量学中的一项长期而重要的任务。如何在当前形势下高精度测定行星的位置是本文研究方向的最终目标。鉴于太阳系内行星和木星都有新技术进行高精度的位置观测，作者探讨了如何用光学手段高精度测定外行星（土星，天王星和海王星）的位置，提出了用长焦距望远镜ＣＣＤ观测行星卫星和用中天望远镜ＣＣＤ观测暗恒星相配合的思路。因此，对长焦距望远镜ＣＣＤ观测外行星卫星和中天望远镜ＣＣＤ相对观测恒星进行了系统调研，同时也对外行星卫星的理论从观测验证的角度进行了介绍。本文重点介绍了在长焦距望远镜上相对于天王星卫星高精度测定暗恒星的位置。结果表明，相对于天王星卫星确实可以精确测定同一ＣＣＤ视场中暗恒星的位置，位置测量的精度和国外最好的天王星卫星位置测量的精度相当或更高。还介绍了与观测资料的归算有关的天王星和卫星的位置历算。最后。

An improved solution to geometric distortion using an orthogonal method

The geometric distortion of a CCD field of view has a direct influence on the positional measurements of CCD observations. In order to obtain high precision astrometric results, the geometric distortion should be derived and corrected precisely. As presented in our previous work, a convenient solution has been carried out and has also been applied to observations of Phoebe. In order to fur- ther improve the solution, an orthogonal method based on Zernike polynomials is used in this work. Four nights of CCD observations including Himalia, the sixth satellite of Jupiter, and open clusters （NGC 1664 or NGC 2324） on each night have been processed as an application. The observations were obtained from the 2.4 m telescope administered by Yunnan Observatories. The catalog UCAC4 was used to match reference stars in all of the CCD frames. The ephemeris of Himalia is retrieved from the Institut de M6canique C61este et de Calcul des Ephemerides （IMCCE）. Our results show that the means of observed minus calculated （O - C） positional residuals are -0.034 and -0.026 arcsec in right ascension and declination, respectively. The corresponding standard deviations are 0.031＂ and 0.028＂. The measurement dispersion is significantly improved compared to that by using our previous solution.

Preliminary results of CCD observations targeting Himalia acquired at Yunnan Observatories in 2015

In order to study the potential associated with high precision CCD astrometry of irregular satel- lites, we have acquired experimental observations of Himalia, the sixth and irregular satellite of Jupiter. A total of 185 CCD observations were obtained by using the 2.4m and 1 m telescopes administered by Yunnan Observatories over ten nights. Preliminary analysis of the observations were made, including geo- metric distortion, atmospheric refraction, and also the phase effect. All positions of Himalia are measured relative to the reference stars from the catalog UCAC4 in each CCD field of view. The theoretical positions of Himalia were retrieved from the Institute de M6chanique C61este et de Calcul des t^ph6m6rides, while the positions of Jupiter were obtained based on the planetary ephemeris INPOP13c. The results show that the means of observed minus computed （O - C） residuals are -0.004＂ and -0.002＂ in right ascension and declination, respectively. The standard deviations of （O - C） residuals are estimated to be about 0.04＂ in each direction.

Precession effects on a liquid planetary core

Motivated by the desire to understand the rich dynamics of precessionally driven flow in a liquid planetary core, we investigate, through numerical simulations, the precessing fluid motion in a ro- taring cylindrical annulus, which simultaneously possesses slow precession. The same problem has been studied extensively in cylinders, where the precessing flow is characterized by three key parameters： the Ekman number E, the Poincar6 number Po and the radius-height aspect ratio F. While in an annulus, there is another parameter, the inner-radius-height aspect ratio T, which also plays an important role in controlling the structure and evolution of the flow. By decomposing the nonlinear solution into a set of inertial modes, we demonstrate the properties of both weakly and moderately precessing flows. It is found that, when the precessional force is weak, the flow is stable with a constant amplitude of kinetic energy. As the precessional force increases, our simulation suggests that the nonlinear interaction be- tween the boundary effects and the inertial modes can trigger more turbulence, introducing a transitional regime of rich dynamics to disordered flow. The inertial mode u111, followed by u113 or u112, always dominates the precessing flow when 0.001 ≤Po ≤ 0.05, ranging from weak to moderate precession. Moreover, the precessing flow in an annulus shows more stability than in a cylinder which is likely to be caused by the effect of the inner boundary that restricts the growth of resonant and non-resonant inertial modes. Furthermore, the mechanism of triadic resonance is not found in the transitional regime from a laminar to disordered flow.

STEP天体测量误差源分析

系外类地行星空间探测计划(Search for Terrestrial Exo-Planets,以下简称"STEP")采用天体测量法和微像素级焦平面定标测量技术,设计望远镜焦平面检测精度达到1μas.在假定焦平面设计能达到检测精度的前提条件下,系统分析了恒星自行、视差、卫星速度和位置、光学系统的光心等关键因素对检测系外行星的影响.有别于传统的窄视场照相底片常数法,提出了一种恒星相对角距测量方法,以检测由于可能存在的系外行星而引起星对角距变化的非线性项,消除了传统窄视场天体测量中参考星位置和自行精度对检测系外行星的直接影响.针对同一天区内的8颗参考星和1颗具有行星系统的待测星,分别模拟出5 yr内的观测数据,利用最小二乘法进行处理,发现基于STEP自身1μas的观测精度,在这种情况下是可以观测到类地行星的.

基于天体测量法探测系外行星的仿真模拟与轨道求解算法

天体测量法是探测系外行星一种有效的手段,具有其他探测方法所不具备的独特优势,如可以探测到行星的3维轨道参数及确定行星的质量等,这些将为现有的行星样本提供重要补充.高精度的空间天体测量卫星Gaia(Global Astrometric Interferometer for Astrophysics)在2013年成功发射升空,可以预期未来基于其探测数据,将可能发现大量的长周期类木行星.针对αCentauri A、HD 62509和GJ 876系统,根据Gaia单次天体测量精度生成对应的仿真数据,使用Lomb-Scargle周期谱分析行星轨道周期信号,并采用Markov Chain Monte Carlo(MCMC)算法对行星系统进行轨道反演,得到的结果与行星的初始参数相吻合.

天王星5颗主要卫星CCD定位观测试验

使用云南天文台1 m望远镜连续4个夜晚观测得到的248幅CCD图像对天王星5颗主要卫星(Ariel、Umbriel、Titania、Oberon和Miranda)进行了精确的位置测量.在位置归算过程中,采用了最新发布的Gaia DR1(Data Release 1)作为参考星表,并将卫星的观测值和理论计算值作比较.卫星的理论位置参考JPL(Jet Propulsion Laboratory)历表(其中天王星理论位置参考了DE431行星历表).结果显示:5颗卫星在赤经和赤纬方向的O-C平均值(观测值-理论值)均不超过0.027′′(天卫一Ariel:0.027′′和-0.007′′;天卫二Umbriel:0.024′′和-0.003′′;天卫三Titania:0.021′′和0.020′′;天卫四Oberon:0.024′′和-0.001′′;天卫五Miranda:0.021′′和0.001′′).前4颗卫星两个方向的测量精度均好于0.015′′,Miranda的精度可达到0.030′′.

对WASP-43 b和TrES-3 b凌星主食的测光后续观测及凌星中心时刻变化研究

使用紫金山天文台盱眙观测站近地天体望远镜对WASP-43 b和TrES-3 b分别做了2次和4次凌星主食的测光后续观测.经过较差测光和光变曲线拟合,分别得到了两个系统的相关物理参数,结果与之前的文献结果吻合.结合多篇文献中的数据,对两个系统凌星中心时刻的观测残差O-C分别作了线性和二次函数拟合,根据线性拟合得到了行星的轨道周期及凌星中心时刻变化即TTV,分析后认为在两个系统中尚未发现明显的周期性TTV信号,并给出了WASP-43和TrES-3系统中1:2轨道共振位置上可能存在行星的质量上限分别为1.826和1.504个地球质量.通过二次函数拟合,尚未发现TrES-3b存在长期TTV即轨道衰变;证认了WASP-43 b可能存在轨道衰变,得到其轨道衰变率P=(-0.005248±0.001714)s·yr^(-1),并与文献中的相关结果做了比较,还据此计算出了该系统的恒星潮汐质量参数下限为Q_*~'≥1.5×10~5,并分别对两个系统中不同的Q_*~'值给出了相应的行星剩余寿命.