On the prevention of a possible collision of asteroid Apophis with the Earth

Currently, there is some positive probability of a collision of the asteroid Apophis with the Earth in 2036. In this study, the problem of preventing the collision by correcting the asteroid’s orbit is examined. The characteristics of the impulsive correction are investigated, as well as the ways of its implementation by kinetic and nuclear impacts. Impulsive and weak effects are compared. Weak effects leading to slow changes in the asteroid’s orbit are considered to be more usable because of the potentially higher accuracy of this correction. The characteristics of the gravitational effect of the asteroid by a special spacecraft (SC) kept by its control jet engines at a certain point near the asteroid and gravitationally perturbing the motion of Apophis are analyzed. The change in the perigee radius of the Apophis orbit in 2036 and the SC mass consumption are examined as functions of the effect duration, the SC mass, its distance to the asteroid, the start time of the correction, and the velocity of the SC engine exhaust jet.     

Three tenuous rings/arcs for three tiny moons

Using Cassini images, we examine the faint material along the orbits of Methone, Anthe and Pallene, three small moons that reside between the orbits of Mimas and Enceladus. A continuous ring of material covers the orbit of Pallene; it is visible at extremely high phase angles and appears to be localized vertically to within ±25 km of Pallene's inclined orbit. By contrast, the material associated with Anthe and Methone appears to lie in longitudinally confined arcs. The Methone arc extends over ∼10° in longitude around the satellite's position, while the Anthe arc reaches ∼20° in length. The extents of these arcs are consistent with their confinement by nearby corotation eccentricity resonances with Mimas. Anthe has even been observed to shift in longitude relative to its arc in the expected manner given the predicted librations of the moon.     

Sorted stone circles in Elysium Planitia, Mars: Implications for recent martian climate

We have found sorted stone circles and polygons near the equator of Mars, using new 25 cm/pixel NASA HiRISE (High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment) images. The sorted circles occur in geologically recent catastrophic flood deposits in the equatorial Elysium Planitia region, and are diagnostic of periglacial processes: sorted polygons do not form from volcanic activity, as has been suggested for non-sorted polygons in this region. These landforms indicate that (i) a long-lived, geologically recent, active cryoturbation layer of ground ice was present in the regolith, (ii) there was some degree of freeze-thaw, and thus (iii) there were sustained period(s), likely within the last 10 Ma, in which the martian climate was 40 to 60 K warmer than current models predict.     

New M-Type Variables in Galactic Dark Clouds

The results of the spectral classification of newly discovered M-type variables obtained as part of an H-alpha survey of Galactic dark cloud regions are presented. The survey was carried out with the 40 Schmidt camera of Byurakan Observatory, and the spectra of the variable stars for the classification were obtained with the Observatory's 2.6-m telescope. The observational material allowed register of late M-type variables as well as their brightness variations. Among the 97 newly discovered M-type stars, 22 show brightness variations. The results of the spectral classification of these new variables show that 21 out of 22 are red giants, and in all probability they are Mira Ceti type long period variables.     

Astronomy or biology?

The role of biology in astronomical phenomena and processes was first discussed extensively by us in the period from 1979-1982. The two sections reproduced below are the concluding chapters of `Space Travellers' which we published in 1981. The ideas discussed here have turned out to be forerunners to several recent developments in astrobiology. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Preparation of the AMBER integrations

The Astronomical Multi-Beam Recombiner (AMBER) is a near infrared/red focal interferometric instrument. Its integration takes place in Grenoble where each sub-system is tested, aligned and the AMBER requirements validated. In a preliminary phase the environment of the AMBER integration room was characterized. Several tests were made in order to determine, and when required to reduce, environmental constraints (temperature, turbulence and vibrations of the optical table). This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.