Global Properties of Solar Flares

This article broadly reviews our knowledge of solar flares. There is a particular focus on their global properties, as opposed to the microphysics such as that needed for magnetic reconnection or particle acceleration as such. Indeed solar flares will always remain in the domain of remote sensing, so we cannot observe the microscales directly and must understand the basic physics entirely via the global properties plus theoretical inference. The global observables include the general energetics—radiation in flares and mass loss in coronal mass ejections (CMEs)—and the formation of different kinds of ejection and global wave disturbance: the type II radio-burst exciter, the Moreton wave, the EIT “wave”, and the “sunquake” acoustic waves in the solar interior. Flare radiation and CME kinetic energy can have comparable magnitudes, of order 10³² erg each for an X-class event, with the bulk of the radiant energy in the visible-UV continuum. We argue that the impulsive phase of the flare dominates the energetics of all of these manifestations, and also point out that energy and momentum in this phase largely reside in the electromagnetic field, not in the observable plasma.     

Solar total irradiance and sunspot area in 1981

Precise observations of the total solar irradiance in 1980 from the Solar Maximum Mission showed a strong correlation with the projected total sunspot area. This correlation “explained” about half of the variance (r ～ 0.75) in the total-irradiance data, leaving the other half for other solar phenomena and errors in the data. We have now begun the analysis of the intervening three years of “spin-mode” data, which have reduced coverage. We find that the correlation persists at about the same qualitative level, but with increased scatter that can be attributed to the smaller amount of data. The flatness of the distribution of areas of sunspot groups makes it possible to estimate PSI approximately from only the large groups.     

Thermal modeling of Halley's comet

The comet thermal model of Weissman and Kieffer is used to calculate gas production rates and other parameters for the 1986 perihelion passage of Halley's Comet. Gas production estimates are very close to revised pre-perihelion estimates by Newburn based on 1910 observations of Halley; the increase in observed gas production post-perihelion may be explained by a variety of factors. The energy contribution from multiply scattered sunlight and thermal emission by coma dust increases the total energy reaching the Halley nucleus at perihelion by a factor of 2.4. The high obliquity of the Halley nucleus found by Sekanina and Larson may help to explain the asymmetry in Halley's gas production rates around perihelion.     

High-energy solar-particle events

Conclusion Recent high-energy solar-particle events have been illustrated and described individually. The manner in which the observations have been used to develop and test concepts of the hydromagnetic behaviour of the solar plasma in space has been outlined. Some of the events have been analyzed in more detail than hitherto. The results seem to support the concept that the magnetic field of a sunspot tends to erupt, or to balloon, into space in the form of a great tongue or sack attached to the sun near the sunspot. Supersonic shock processes also must be involved in the propagation of disturbances in planetary space, and the fluxes of galactic and of solar particles may change in the vicinity of such shocks, but alone shocks do not appear to be capable of explaining all the observed effects.     

Coastal salinity measurement using a Doppler Radiometer

Coastal salinity is characterised by large and variable salinity contrasts on relatively small scales. Measurements of salinity at a resolution compatible with these coastal regions on a regular basis would provide a rich source of information that could be used for a number of applications that have a fundamental bearing on the world’s lifestyle. Doppler radiometry offers an approach to capture such measurements, as it reduces the number of required antennas needed to form an image, compared with an Interferometer type instrument.     

Characterization of Lithium-Polymer batteries for CubeSat applications

With the development of several key technologies, nanosatellites are emerging as important vehicles for carrying out technology demonstrations and space science research. Nanosatellites are attractive for several reasons, the most important being that they do not involve the prohibitive costs of a conventional satellite launch. One key enabling technology is in the area of battery technology. In this paper, we focus on the characterization of battery technologies suitable for nanosatellites.Several battery chemistries are examined in order to find a type suitable for typical nanosatellite missions. As a baseline mission, we examine York University's 1U CubeSat mission for its power budget and power requirements. Several types of commercially available batteries are examined for their applicability to CubeSat missions. We also describe the procedures and results from a series of environmental tests for a set of Lithium Polymer batteries from two manufacturers.     

An all-sky survey at 230 GHz by MLS on Aura

The Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS) instrument is a small satellite-borne radio telescope. Its purpose is to make limb-scanning measurements of atmospheric composition. One of the gases to which it is sensitive is carbon monoxide (CO), detected via the J = 2 → 1 rotational transition at 230 GHz. CO is present in molecular gas clouds in the Milky Way. Although it was not designed for the purpose, MLS can detect emissions from galactic CO, allowing a map of the 230 GHz radio sky to be constructed. We report the MLS measurements of galactic radio emission and discuss their effect on the atmospheric mission of MLS. The region of the Milky Way with emissions strong enough to significantly affect MLS observations of atmospheric CO is identified. Ground-based radio astronomers have been mapping the sky using CO emission for many years. However, the MLS data are the first such survey to be carried out from space. The MLS survey covers a larger area of the sky than any other 230 GHz survey, but no previously unknown gas clouds are observed.     

Study of the radiation fields in LEO with the Space Application of Timepix Radiation Monitor (SATRAM)

We present the analysis of data taken by the Space Application of Timepix Radiation Monitor (SATRAM). It is centred on a Timepix detector (300?$\mathrm{\mu }$m thick silicon sensor, pixel pitch 55?$\mathrm{\mu }$m, 256?×?256 pixels). It was flown on Proba-V, an Earth observing satellite of the European Space Agency (ESA) from an altitude of 820?km on a sun-synchronous orbit, launched on May 7, 2013. A Monte Carlo simulation was conducted to determine the detector response to electrons (0.5–7?MeV) and protons (10–400?MeV) in an omnidirectional field taking into account the shielding of the detector housing and the satellite. With the help of the simulation, a strategy was developed to separate electrons, protons and ions in the data. The measured dose rate and stopping power distribution are presented as well as SATRAM’s capability to measure some of the stronger events in Earth’s magnetosphere. The stopping power, the cluster height and the shape of the particle tracks in the sensor were used to separate electrons, protons and ions. The results are presented as well. Finally, the pitch angles for a short period of time were extracted from the data and corrected with the angular response determined by the simulation.     

The catalytic potential of cosmic dust: implications for prebiotic chemistry in the solar nebula and other protoplanetary systems

The synthesis of important prebiotic molecules is fundamentally reliant on basic starting ingredients: water, organic species [e.g., methane (CH(4))], and reduced nitrogen compounds [e.g., ammonia (NH(3)), methyl cyanide (CH(3)CN) etc.]. However, modern studies conclude that the primordial Earth's atmosphere was too rich in CO, CO(2), and water to permit efficient synthesis of such reduced molecules as envisioned by the classic Miller-Urey experiment. Other proposed sources of terrestrial nitrogen reduction, like those within submarine vent systems, also seem to be inadequate sources of chemically reduced C-H-O-N compounds. Here, we demonstrate that nebular dust analogs have impressive catalytic properties for synthesizing prebiotic molecules. Using a catalyst analogous to nebular iron silicate condensate, at temperatures ranging from 500K to 900K, we catalyzed both the Fischer-Tropsch conversion of CO and H(2) to methane and water, and the corresponding Haber-Bosch synthesis of ammonia from N(2) and H(2). Remarkably, when CO, N(2), and H(2) were allowed to react simultaneously, these syntheses also yielded nitrogen-containing organics such as methyl amine (CH(3)NH(2)), acetonitrile (CH(3)CN), and N-methyl methylene imine (H(3)CNCH(2)). A fundamental consequence of this work for astrobiology is the potential for a natural chemical pathway to produce complex chemical building blocks of life throughout our own Solar System and beyond.     

Consensus based on learning game theory with a UAV rendezvous application

Multi-agent cooperation problems are becoming more and more attractive in both civilian and military applications. In multi-agent cooperation problems, different network topologies will decide different manners of cooperation between agents. A centralized system will directly control the operation of each agent with information flow from a single centre, while in a distributed system, agents operate separately under certain communication protocols. In this paper, a systematic distributed optimization approach will be established based on a learning game algorithm.The convergence of the algorithm will be proven under the game theory framework. Two typical consensus problems will be analyzed with the proposed algorithm. The contributions of this work are threefold. First, the designed algorithm inherits the properties in learning game theory for problem simplification and proof of convergence. Second, the behaviour of learning endows the algorithm with robustness and autonomy. Third, with the proposed algorithm, the consensus problems will be analyzed from a novel perspective.