Solar adaptive optics systems for the New Vacuum Solar Telescope at the Fuxian Lake Solar Observatory

Adaptive optics(AO)is essential for high-quality ground-based observations with large telescopes because it counters the impact of wavefront aberrations caused by atmospheric turbulence.The new vacuum solar telescope(NVST)is one of the most important high-resolution solar observation instruments in the world.Three sets of solar adaptive optics systems have been developed and installed on this telescope:conventional adaptive optics,ground layer adaptive optics,and multi-conjugate adaptive optics.These have been in operation from 2018 to 2023.This paper details the development and application of solar adaptive optics on the NVST and discusses the newest instrumentation.

Non-tidal tilt and strain signals recorded at the Geodynamic Observatory Moxa,Thuringia/Germany

Since end of the 90s of the last century the seismological station Moxa was extended and developed into the modern Geodynamic Observatory. It comprises also the new installation of borehole-tilt meters in front of the observatory building and laser-strain meters in the gallery. The question arises how non-tidal signals are displayed in the measured time series. The investigation of such signals which can be caused naturally or man-made, can result in different sensitivities for the various tilt- and strainmeter systems, e.g. regarding barometric pressure impacts and hydrological induced pore pressure effects.

Climatological analysis of the seeing at Fuxian Solar Observatory

There is a significant seasonal variation in the seeing of Fuxian Solar Observatory(FSO). The seeing in summer and autumn is better than that in winter and spring. The overall seeing is divided into the boundary layer seeing and free atmosphere seeing to investigate the climatic phenomena or meteorological events that might lead to seasonal variation in the seeing. The overall seeing was measured by the solar difference image motion monitor(SDIMM). The boundary layer seeing is calculated from the temperature difference between air and water. The analysis results show that the seasonal variation in seeing is caused by the alternation of subtropical high and westerly jet. The decrease of seeing in winter and spring at FSO is probably related to the westerly jet. A complete analysis of the seeing at FSO is given in this paper. It is also the first time to describe FSO's boundary layer seeing and its measurement method.

Measurements of atmospheric turbulence parameters at Vainu Bappu Observatory using short-exposure CCD images

We report atmospheric turbulence parameters, namely atmospheric seeing, tilt-anisoplanatic angle(θ_0) and coherence time(Τ_0), measured under various sky conditions, at Vainu Bappu Observatory in Kavalur. Bursts of short exposure images of selected stars were recorded with a high-speed, frame-transfer CCD mounted on the Cassegrain focus of a newly commissioned 1.3 m telescope. The estimated median seeing is ≈ 1.85 " at wavelength of ～ 600 nm, the image motion correlation between different pairs of stars is ～44% for θ0≈ 36" and mean Τ_0 is ≈ 2.4 ms. This work was motivated by the design considerations and expected performance of an adaptive optics system that is currently being planned for the telescope.

The Long-Term Field Experiment Observatory and Preliminary Analysis of Land-Atmosphere Interaction over Hilly Zone in the Subtropical Monsoon Region of Southern China

To improve current understanding of the water cycle,energy partitioning and CO2 exchange over hilly zone vegetative land surfaces in the subtropical monsoon environment of southern China,a long-term field experiment observatory was set up at Ningxiang,eastern Hunan Province.This paper presents a preliminary analysis of the field observations at the observatory collected from August to November 2012.Results show that significant diurnal variations in soil temperature occur only in shallow soil layers(0.05,0.10,and 0.20 m),and that heavy rainfall affects soil moisture in the deep layers(≥ 0.40 m).During the experimental period,significant diurnal variations in albedo,radiation components,energy components,and CO2 flux were observed,but little seasonal variation.Strong photosynthesis in the vegetation canopy enhanced the CO2 absorption and the latent heat released in daylight hours;Latent heat of evaporation was the main consumer of available energy in late summer.Because the field experiment data are demonstrably reliable,the observatory will provide reliable long-term measurements for future investigations of the land-atmosphere interaction over hilly land surfaces in the subtropical monsoon region of southern China.

A GRB Follow-up System at the Xinglong Observatory and Detection of the High-Redshift GRB 060927

A gamma-ray burst （GRB） optical photometric follow-up system at the Xinglong Observatory of National Astronomical Observatories of China （NAOC） has been constructed. It uses the 0.8-m Tsinghua-NAOC Telescope （TNT） and the 1-m EST telescope, and can au- tomatically respond to GRB Coordinates Network （GCN） alerts. Both telescopes slew relatively fast, being able to point to a new target field within - 1 min upon a request. Whenever available, the 2.16-m NAOC telescope is also used. In 2006 the system responded to 15 GRBs and detected seven early afterglows. In 2007 six GRBs have been detected among 18 follow- up observations. TNT observations of the second most distant GRB 060927 （z = 5.5） are shown, which started as early as 91 s after the GRB trigger. The afterglow was detected in the combined image of the first 19 × 20 s unfiltered exposures. This GRB follow-up system has joined the East-Asia GRB Follow-up Observation Network （EAFON）.

The quality examination of observative data at Geomagnetic observatories

The basic task of geomagnetic observatory is .to produce accurate, relaible,continuous and complete observative data. The aim of examination is to judge the quality status of data. According to the operative principle of geomagnetic instruments and its operative status that should be achieved, geomagnetic activity and spread characteristics in time domain and location domain, authers proposed a complete set of data quality examination. The paper discusses respectively physical basement, examination method and the result about scalevalues, base-line values, monthly mean values, daily mean values, maximum and minimum values in daily range, magnetic storm and K index. The practice has proved that this set of examination is feasible and useful to raise and to guarantee the quality of observative data.

The Beijing network of digital geomagnetic pulsation observatories

We present herein an introduction to the Beijing network of digital geomagnetic pulsation observatories, and describe its essential features, and important roles in earthquake prediction studies and other geomagnetic investigations. The network provides digitalized data of geomagnetic events, such as magnetic storms, magnetic disturbances, geomagnetic daily variations, and geomagnetic pulsations. The digitalized data, convenient for processing and analysis, contain very rich information because of high accuracy and wide dynamic range of the instruments.

Full-disk synoptic observations of the chromosphere using Hα telescope at the Kodaikanal Observatory

This paper reports on the installation and observations of a new solar telescope installed on 2014 October 7 at the Kodaikanal Observatory. The telescope is a refractive type equipped with a tunable Lyot Hα filter. A CCD camera with size 2k ×2k acquires images of the Sun and has a pixel size of 1.21″ pixel^-1 and a full field-of-view of 41＇. The telescope is equipped with a guiding system which keeps the image of the Sun within a few pixels throughout the observations. The FWHM of the Lyot filter is 0.4A and the filter is motorized, capable of scanning the Hα line profile at a smaller step size of 0.01 A. Partial-disk imaging covering about 10＇ is also possible with the help of a relay lens kept in front of the CCD camera. In this paper, we report the detailed specifications of the telescope, filter unit, the installation, observations and the procedures we have followed to calibrate and align the data. We also present preliminary results with this new full-disk telescope.

Major Earthquakes in and Around Yunnan Province and Variations of Astronomical Time-Latitude Residuals Determined by Yunnan Observatory

In this paper,the features of medium-term anomalies for strong earthquakes and the criteria for the prediction of such earthquakes are discussed,as well as the feasibility of applying the anomalies of astronomical time-latitude residuals to earthquake prediction and their limitation when applied to imminent-term prediction.The criteria used to identify the anomalies of time-latitude residuals for M≥6.0 earthquakes in Yunnan Province and for M≥7.0 earthquakes around Yunnan are also discussed.The last strong earthquake in the data used for testing passed the whole process of earthquake prediction practice.In addition,some special features of the case in which anomalies appeared but no strong earthquake followed are also discussed.

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.

LASER RANGING OF LAGEOS AND ITS ACCURACY ESTIMATION AT SHANGHAI OBSERVATORY DURING MAIN MERIT CAMPAIGN

During the Main MERIT Campaign (September 1, 1983—October 31, 1984), the Laser Geodynamic Satellite(LAGEOS) has been successfully observed at the Shanghai Observatory, Academia Sinica, with the second-generation Satellite Laser Ranging(SLR) system. The first echo from LAGEOS was received on November 7, 1983. In those days, the visually tracking mode was used. Through the main spectroscope optics system, the observer visually detected and tracked satellites with the joystick. The status and

Three years' systematic GRB follow-up at the Xinglong Observatory and the optical afterglow observations of GRB 080330

We present a brief overview of follow-up observations of GRB afterglows made by the 0.8-m TNT and other telescopes at the Xinglong observatory during the last three years.Our system,dedicated to the measurement of early-time optical afterglow emission,responded to 50 GRBs from Jan.2006 to Apr.2009.Among them,about 50% have been successfully detected.The fastest response time is 76 sec(GRB 061110A and GRB 090426) after the space-borne GRB detector was triggered.The redshift distribution spans the range from z = 0.033(GRB 060218) to z = 5.6(GRB 060927).We also report the optical photometric follow-up of GRB 080330,which is an X-ray flash,as an example of our observations.

Simultaneous multicolor photometry of fast-moving objects using the 1-meter telescope at Xinglong Observatory

Simultaneous multicolor photometry of fast-moving objects is discussed in this paper. In conventional astronomical photometry, the accuracy of flux and color indices of fast-moving objects is affected by the variations of the targets and weather conditions in space and time domains.We optimize related techniques and methods of observation and data reduction, including image cal- ibration, background fitting, targets detection and location, isophotal photometry, and flux calibration by using background stars from different fields. We consider that simultaneous multicolor data acquisition and differential flux calibration are critical for improving photometric accuracy of fast-moving objects. Our results show the photometric accuracy is better than 5% based on the observations carried out by a 1-meter telescope under ordinary, non-photometric conditions.

EARTHQUAKE (M_s=5) IN TAICANG AND ANOMALOUS RESIDUALS OF TIME DETERMINATION AT SHANGHAI OBSERVATORY

There happened an earthquake (M_s=5) in Taicang, a small town of Jiangsu Province in the eastern part of China, on February 10, 1989. The site of photoelectric transit instrument (PTI)at Shanghai Observatory is about 60 km far from the epicentre. Some analyses have been made to the observational data obtained with the PTI. It is found that there

Vibration Control of A Flexible Marine Riser System Subject to Input Dead Zone and Extraneous Disturbances

An observer-based adaptive backstepping boundary control is proposed for vibration control of flexible offshore riser systems with unknown nonlinear input dead zone and uncertain environmental disturbances.The control algorithm can update the control law online through real-time data to make the controller adapt to the environment and improve the control precision.Specifically,based on the adaptive backstepping framework,virtual control laws and Lyapunov functions are designed for each subsystem.Three direction interference observers are designed to track the timevarying boundary disturbance.On this basis,the inverse of the dead zone and linear state transformation are used to compensate for the original system and eliminate the adverse effects of the dead zone.In addition,the stability of the closed-loop system is proven by Lyapunov stability theory.All the system states are bounded,and the vibration offset of the riser converges to a small area of the initial position.Finally,four examples of flexible marine risers are simulated in MATLAB to verify the effectiveness of the proposed controller.

Research progress on the water vapor channel within the Yarlung Zsangbo Grand Canyon, China

The Second Tibetan Plateau Scientific Expedition and Research Program tasked a research team with the“Investigation of the water vapor channel of the Yarlung Zsangbo Grand Canyon(INVC)”in the southeastern Tibetan Plateau(TP).This paper summarizes the scientific achievements obtained from the data collected by the INVC observation network and highlights the progress in investigating the development of heavy rainfall events associated with water vapor changes.The rain gauge network of the INVC can represent the impacts of the Yarlung Zsangbo Grand Canyon(YGC)topography on precipitation at the hourly scale.The microphysical characteristics of the precipitation in the YGC are different than those in the lowland area.The GPM-IMERG(Integrated MultisatellitE Retrievals for Global Precipitation Measurement)satellite precipitation data for the YGC region should be calibrated before they are used.The meridional water vapor flux through the YGC is more important than the zonal flux for the precipitation over the southeastern TP.The decreased precipitation around the YGC region is partly due to the decreased meridional water vapor flux passing through the YGC.High-resolution numerical models can benefit precipitation forecasting in this region by using a combination of specific schemes that capture the valley wind and water vapor flux along the valley floor.

Magnetopause properties at the dusk magnetospheric flank from global magnetohydrodynamic simulations,the kinetic Vlasov equilibrium,and in situ observations--Potential implications for SMILE

We derived the properties of the terrestrial magnetopause(MP)from two modeling approaches,one global–fluid,the other local–kinetic,and compared the results with data collected in situ by the Magnetospheric Multiscale 2(MMS2)spacecraft.We used global magnetohydrodynamic(MHD)simulations of the Earth’s magnetosphere(publicly available from the NASA-CCMC[National Aeronautics and Space Administration–Community Coordinated Modeling Center])and local Vlasov equilibrium models(based on kinetic models for tangential discontinuities)to extract spatial profiles of the plasma and field variables at the Earth’s MP.The global MHD simulations used initial solar wind conditions extracted from the OMNI database at the time epoch when the MMS2 observes the MP.The kinetic Vlasov model used asymptotic boundary conditions derived from the same in situ MMS measurements upstream or downstream of the MP.The global MHD simulations provide a three-dimensional image of the magnetosphere at the time when the MMS2 crosses the MP.The Vlasov model provides a one-dimensional local view of the MP derived from first principles of kinetic theory.The MMS2 experimental data also serve as a reference for comparing and validating the numerical simulations and modeling.We found that the MP transition layer formed in global MHD simulations was generally localized closer to the Earth(roughly by one Earth radius)from the position of the real MP observed by the MMS.We also found that the global MHD simulations overestimated the thickness of the MP transition by one order of magnitude for three analyzed variables:magnetic field,density,and tangential speed.The MP thickness derived from the local Vlasov equilibrium was consistent with observations for all three of these variables.The overestimation of density in the Vlasov equilibrium was reduced compared with the global MHD solutions.We discuss our results in the context of future SMILE(Solar wind Magnetosphere Ionosphere Link Explorer)campaigns for observing the Earth’s MP.

A modified stochastic model for LS+AR hybrid method and its application in polar motion short-term prediction

Short-term(up to 30 days)predictions of Earth Rotation Parameters(ERPs)such as Polar Motion(PM:PMX and PMY)play an essential role in real-time applications related to high-precision reference frame conversion.Currently,least squares(LS)+auto-regressive(AR)hybrid method is one of the main techniques of PM prediction.Besides,the weighted LS+AR hybrid method performs well for PM short-term prediction.However,the corresponding covariance information of LS fitting residuals deserves further exploration in the AR model.In this study,we have derived a modified stochastic model for the LS+AR hybrid method,namely the weighted LS+weighted AR hybrid method.By using the PM data products of IERS EOP 14 C04,the numerical results indicate that for PM short-term forecasting,the proposed weighted LS+weighted AR hybrid method shows an advantage over both the LS+AR hybrid method and the weighted LS+AR hybrid method.Compared to the mean absolute errors(MAEs)of PMX/PMY sho rt-term prediction of the LS+AR hybrid method and the weighted LS+AR hybrid method,the weighted LS+weighted AR hybrid method shows average improvements of 6.61%/12.08%and 0.24%/11.65%,respectively.Besides,for the slopes of the linear regression lines fitted to the errors of each method,the growth of the prediction error of the proposed method is slower than that of the other two methods.

Dynamical Dark Energy in Light of Cosmic Distance Measurements.Ⅱ.A Study Using Current Observations

We extract key information on dark energy from current observations of BAO,OHD and H_(0),and find hints of dynamical behavior of dark energy.In particular,a dynamical dark energy model whose equation of state crosses-1 is favored by observations.We also find that the Universe has started accelerating at a lower redshift than expected.