Astrophysical parameters of ten poorly studied open star clusters

We present the fundamental parameters of ten open star clusters, nominated from Kronberger et al. who presented some newly discovered stellar groups on the basis of the Two Micron All Sky Survey photometry and Digitized Sky Survey visual images. Star counts and photometric parameters （radius, membership, distance, color excess, age, luminosity function, mass function, total mass, and dynamical relaxation time） have been determined for these ten clusters for the first time. In order to calibrate our procedures, the main parameters （distance, age, and color excess） have been reestimated for another five clusters, which are also studied by Kronberger et al.

Three-dimensional seismic attenuation tomography of Egypt

The main purpose of the paper is assessing the three-dimensional (3-D) seismic tomography beneath Egyptto reveal the laws of the tectonic activity, dynamic features of the crust and the upper mantle as well as the thermal structure. Thecoda wave attenuation (Q-1c ) was obtained using the single scattering theory for the central frequencies of interest laid between 1 and 24 Hz. A regionalization of the estimated Q-1c values was performed by means of a generalized inversion technique.The obtained spatial distribution of 3-D attenuation results revealshigh contrasts between East and West Egypt. A remarkable contrast in the attenuation levels was compared with the tectonic structures, geothermal gradient and heat flow features. The highest attenuations are concentrated in the east and north western offshore regionsat central frequency 1.5 Hzthat draw a good matching with the seismic andthermal features of Egypt. Smaller attenuation levels were detected with young sediments of the Nile Valley from South to the northern triangle of Nile Delta basin except seismic active areas. Low or normal attenuation was detected at western desert where there is a stable and simple shelf. We can conclude that the extended highest attenuation joins to the strong seismic sources and geothermal structures at lower frequency and the centralized high attenuation takes place at moderate seismic sources at a higher frequency. The 3D attenuation maps can draw not only tectonic and geothermal structures but also the general geologic structure map.

First PPMXL photometric analysis of open cluster Ruprecht 15

We present the first in a series studying the astrophysical parameters of open clusters using the PPMXL＊ database whose data are applied to study Ruprecht 15. The astrophysical parameters of Ruprecht 15 have been estimated for the first time.

Optical and near-infrared photometric study of NGC 6724

BVRI CCD photometry of the poorly studied open cluster NGC 6724 has been carried out down to a limiting magnitude of V-20 mag. The stars of the cluster have been observed using the Newtonian focus （f/4.84） of the 74-inch telescope at Kottamia Astronomical Observatory in Egypt. Also, the 2MASS - JHK system is used to confirm the results we obtained. The main photometric parameters have been estimated for the present object; the diameter is found to be 6 arcmin, the distance is 15304-60pc from the Sun and the age is 900＋50Myr. The optical reddening E（B - V） = 0.65 mag, while the infrared reddening is E（J - H） = 0.20 mag. The slope of the mass function distribution and the relaxation time estimations indicate that cluster NGC 6724 is dynamically relaxed.

Towards a Semi-Kinematic Datum for Egypt

Since 1990, positioning technology has undergone a dramatic improvement in terms of accuracy and accessibility. Prior to 1990, national geodetic datums were considered to be static with fixed coordinates assigned to the datum origin by convention. Datum coordinates were dynamic only as a consequence of re-observation and re-adjustment, or localized disturbance. This strategy has been suitable for terrestrial surveys within stable continental areas. The accessibility of Precise Point Positioning “PPP” is now widespread with the provision of free online processing facilities by various geodetic agencies. Such ready accessibility to a global datum has serious implication for this technology with static geocentric datums. The Geocentric Datum of Egypt (ITRF1994 Epoch 1996 based on GPS Observation Campaign 1996), for example, is now offset by -42.0 to +32.0cm from the ITRF2008 Epoch 2015 due to the inexorable tectonic movements of the Nubian plate since the datum realization in 1996. Unless the local geocentric datums are kept in step with global terrestrial reference frames, discrepancies between the two will increase in magnitude over time and will become discernable, even using PPP. The PPP users nowadays are unaware of this datum offset and incorrectly assume that a coordinated datum monument is in error if there is found to be a disagreement greater than the level of accuracy of the positioning technique. In this study, to avoid the discrepancies between the applied datum and On-Line GNSS Services, a semi-kinematic datum and related deformation mode are proposed for Egypt. The result also confirmed that the PMM model was giving good performance for the other parts out of Egypt. The evaluation study shows the best performances for the Egyptian deformation model over the ITRF2008 PMM.