丽江天文观测站全天相机介绍

全天相机作为一个对天文观测台站全天云量信息进行监视的工具,对天文观测的正常进行发挥着重要的作用,目前世界上主要天文台均配备有全天相机,为了满足对全天云量信息进行实时监视的需求,丽江天文观测站正式安装架设了一套全天相机系统。从硬件安装架设、软件调试到实际测试等方面,详细介绍了全天相机系统的设计方案以及遇到的问题,讨论了对问题的解决措施,重点介绍了根据天光亮度数值调整相机曝光时间的方法,这也是主要创新与特色之处。     

一种全天相机云图的自动处理方法

使用全天相机拍摄云图是现在天文界广泛使用的监测天空云量的方法。云量的估算结果对望远镜观测有重要的影响,目前对云量的估算完全由人工处理,费时、费力而且准确度不够高,判别过程也完全依赖个人的经验。为此,提出一种针对全天相机云图的云量自动计算方法。首先针对多云和少云云图分别使用时间分割法和差分法去除云图中月亮影响区域;然后对去除月亮影响区域后的多云云图进行二值化处理,将云与背景进行分割,并使用基于灰度值的聚类算法对少云云图的云的厚薄进行量化分类;最后计算总云量,并依据30 m口径望远镜(Thirty Meters Telescope,TMT)判读全天相机云图的方法对云图进行自动分类。实验结果表明,该方法可提高云图判读效率,在有效解放人工的同时,也达到了平均值为76. 67%的识别准确率。     

基于虚拟天文馆对全天相机姿态的精确测量

全天相机已广泛应用在气象、天文等领域,在监测云量、夜天光、流星时,需要准确掌握相机的姿态参数,特别是在安装和运维中造成的偏差.旨在开发一套基于虚拟天文馆的像场测量方法,通过比较参考恒星的虚拟坐标及其像点的实测坐标,高精度地测量相机的姿态参数.使用中国科学院云南天文台安置于四川无名山观测站的全天相机,分析了2016年至2...     

一种基于全天相机云图的云量测量指标

全天相机云图是监测云量的重要手段,提出了一种新的云量测量量化指标——云分布密度(Cloud Distribution Density of ASI Images,ASICDD),并基于该指标建立全天相机云图自动分类系统.首先对云图进行去噪,利用最大类间方差法(Otsu)分割云区域;然后对去除背景的云区域图像使用云分布密...     

全天相机云图去噪算法的研究

全天相机云图在天文观测领域具有重要价值,但云图所含噪声会造成不良影响.先后分析了星光噪声、月光噪声、日光噪声、雷电噪声、反光噪声和特殊噪声等对云图的影响,并总结出不同类型噪声的分布、区域大小等特点,最后结合与云层的相对位置关系提出了边界阈值法、时间轴法、反比例线性变换等8种图像处理去噪算法,并形成一个完整的去噪系统.通...     

RS CVn型密近双星系统的红外辐射

本文给出了41个RS CVn型密近双星系统的J,H和K的测光结果和经证认为IRAS点源的40个Rs CVn系统的数据。对那些子星具有光谱分类的系统,我们讨论了它们的红外色余,发现只有少数系统具有红外色余。在近红外区有UX Ari,Z Her和HR 1099;在12μm处为SZ Psc。对那些具有确切的12、25μm流量并作了K星等测量的系统,我们讨论了他们在logf_(2.2)/f_(12)和logf_(25)/f_(12)的双色图上的位置。大多数RS CVn系统都在黑体线的附近。这一些结论却和P.Biermann和D.Hall所指出的红外色余是RS CVn型密近双星的一般特性所不相符合。对一些红外辐射有差异的天体应进一步研究。     

宇宙信息

斯皮策空间望远镜液氦耗尽美国东部时间2009年5月15日18时11分,美国宇航局的斯皮策空间望远镜由于液氦制冷剂耗尽而进入了待机模式,整个望远镜在此后开始逐渐升温。     

基于直接成像法的多星系统观测

系外行星直接成像探测能够获取系外行星更全面的物理信息,是未来搜寻系外生命的关键技术之一.针对近期地基望远镜高对比度成像观测数据,对新发现的多星候选体进行系统展示.前期,结合地基系外行星高对比度成像设备观测能力,从已发表文献整理的Gaia星表恒星数据中筛选,得到约1000个观测目标.这些目标分布于不同的年轻星团中.近期,使用Palomar天文台Hale望远镜对上述观测目标中的42个目标在K波段开展了高对比度成像观测.这些目标恒星在可见光波段为7.5-14.2019年经过两轮观测,发现了6个多星系统候选体,这些目标在Gaia Data Release 2星表和Gaia early Data Release 3星表中难以确认是单星还是多星系统.     

宇宙信息

最大红外深度巡天图像 欧洲南方天文台的可见光及红外天文巡天望远镜在红外波段绘制出了迄今最大的深度r巡天图像,揭示出了超过20万个星系。这一新的图像只是其大规模巡天的结果之一,     

宇宙信息

深入蓝色礁湖星云 作为对银河系为期5年研究的一部分,欧洲南方天文台的可见光和红外天文巡天望远镜拍摄了礁湖星云（M8）新的红外图像。     

A simple flux integration photometer for day time site testing at Oukaimeden

We describe here a simple irradiance photometer built at Astrophysical and Geophysical Laboratory (LAG) for the integrated photometry of sun light at Oukaimeden, a 2700m summit in the Morrocan High Atlas. The solar irradiance measurement is performed simultaneously at three wavelengths to sample different levels of the sky transparency. The total of 1182 days in the data base shows that the number of clear hours is about 3086 per year which represents 65.32% of clear sky. The extinction coefficient is computed to evaluate the quality of the sky transparency at the site. We find that there is a seasonal effect for the sky transparency, and the monthly average of the extinction coefficient has a minimum value of about 0.05 in winter (oct-nov-dec) and a maximum of about 0.15 in summer (jun-jul) at 700 nm.     

Saao standards for infrared photometry

I discuss the Infrared standards used at the South African Astronomical Observatory and their comparisons to the other Southern hemisphere Infrared standard systems. The new faint standards suitable for Infrared arrays are also discussed.     

Instrumentation plans for 1024×1024 HgCdTe detector arrays at the University of Hawaii

The U.S. Air Force Phillips Laboratory will build the 3.63 m Advanced Electro Optical System (AEOS) telescope on Haleakala, Maui. The Institute for Astronomy will participate in this project and will develop astronomical instruments optimized for using the AEOS telescope in survey projects. As part of this instrument development program 1024×1024 HgCdTe near-infrared detector arrays will be developed at the Rockwell International Science Center.     

A powerful new infrared array camera for the NASA Infrared Telescope Facility

We have just finished building a 1.0–5.5 m infrared array camera for the NASA Infrared Telescope Facility based upon the SBRC 256×256 InSb array. After a brief overview of the capabilities of the camera (named NSFCAM), we present some of the first images obtained with this new camera, including results obtained with our realtime shift & add speckle imaging mode.     

Impact cratering and the Oort Cloud

We calculate the expected flux profile of comets into the planetary system from the Oort Cloud arising from Galactic tides and encounters with molecular clouds. We find that both periodic and sporadic bombardment episodes, with amplitudes an order of magnitude above background, occur on characteristic time-scales ∼25–35 Myr. Bombardment episodes occurring preferentially during spiral arm crossings may be responsible both for mass extinctions of life and the transfer of viable microorganisms from the bombarded Earth into the disturbing nebulae. Good agreement is found between the theoretical expectations and the age distribution of large, well-dated terrestrial impact craters of the past 250 Myr. A weak periodicity of ∼36 Myr in the cratering record is consistent with the Sun's recent passage through the Galactic plane, and implies a central plane density  ∼0.15 M_⊙ pc⁻³  . This leaves little room for a significant dark matter component in the disc.     

Analysis of a cryolava flow-like feature on Titan

This paper reports on the analysis of the highest spatial resolution hyperspectral images acquired by the Visual and Infrared Mapping Spectrometer (VIMS) onboard the Cassini spacecraft during its prime mission. A bright area matches a flow-like feature coming out of a caldera-like feature observed in Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) data recorded by the Cassini radar experiment [Lopes et al., 2007. Cryovolcanic features on Titan's surface as revealed by the Cassini Titan Radar Mapper. Icarus 186, 395-412, doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2006.09.006]. In this SAR image, the flow extends about 160 km east of the caldera. The contrast in brightness between the flow and the surroundings progressively vanishes, suggesting alteration or evolution of the composition of the cryolava during the lifetime of the eruptions. Dunes seem to cover part of this flow on its eastern end. We analyze the different terrains using the Spectral Mixing Analysis (SMA) approach of the Multiple-Endmember Linear Unmixing Model (MELSUM, Combe et al., 2008). The study area can be fully modeled by using only two types of terrains. Then, the VIMS spectra are compared with laboratory spectra of known materials in the relevant atmospheric windows (from 1 to 2.78 μm). We considered simple molecules that could be produced during cryovolcanic events, including H₂O, CO₂ (using two different grain sizes), CH₄ and NH₃. We find that the mean spectrum of the cryoflow-like feature is not consistent with pure water ice. It can be best fitted by linear combinations of spectra of the candidate materials, showing that its composition is compatible with a mixture of H₂O, CH₄ and CO_2.     

A new imaging infrared polarimeter

A new infrared imaging polarimeter operating in dual-beam mode is described, together with some of the early results.     

NICMOS and its arrays

NICMOS is a second generation instrument for the Hubble Space Telescope to provide imaging and spectroscopic capabilities in the near infrared region. NICMOS utilizes HgCdTe detectors in three cameras, one with grisms, to image in the 0.8–2.5 mm spectral region.