Dust optical properties: A comparison between cometary and interplanetary grains

A better understanding of cometary dust optical properties has been derived from extensive observations of comet Halley, complemented by other cometary observations at large phase angles and/or in the infrared. Also, further analysis of IRAS observations and improvements in inversion techniques for zodiacal light have led to some progress in our knowledge of interplanetary dust.

Synthetic curves for phase angle dependence of intensity and polarization are presented, together with typical albedo values. The results obtained for interplanetary dust are quite reminiscent of those found for comets. However, the heterogeneity of the interplanetary dust cloud is demonstrated by the radial dependence of its local polarization and albedo; these parameters are also found to vary with inclination of the dust grains' orbits with respect to the ecliptic. Such results suggest drastic alterations with temperature in the texture of cometary dust, and would favor an important asteroidal component in the zodiacal cloud.     

The Lunar Terrestrial Observatory: Observing the Earth using photometers on the Moon’s surface

The Earth’s albedo is one of the least studied fundamental climate parameters. The albedo is a bi-directional variable, and there is a high degree of anisotropy in the light reflected from a given terrestrial surface. However, simultaneously observing from all points on Earth at all reflecting angles is a practical impossibility. Therefore, all measurements from which albedo can be inferred require assumptions and/or modeling to derive a good estimate. Nowadays, albedo measurements are taken regularly either from low Earth orbit satellite platforms or from ground-based measurements of the earthshine from the dark side of the Moon. But the results from these different measurements are not in satisfactory agreement. Clearly, the availability of different albedo databases and their inter-comparisons can help to constrain the assumptions necessary to reduce the uncertainty of the albedo estimates. In recent years, there has been a renewed interest in the development of robotic and manned exploration missions to the Moon. Returning to the Moon will enable diverse exploration and scientific opportunities. Here we discuss the possibility of a lunar-based Earth radiation budget monitoring experiment, the Lunar Terrestrial Observatory, and evaluate its scientific and practical advantages compared to the other, more standard, observing platforms. We conclude that a lunar-based terrestrial observatory can enable advances in Earth sciences, complementary to the present efforts, and to our understanding of the Earth’s climate.     

Physical study of outer belt asteroids

Located in the proximity of Jovian resonances, the outer belt asteroids are kept from interacting with other asteroids and are likely to represent a population of primitive bodies. The systematic investigation of the physical properties of these objects and the subsequent understanding of their nature and origin, will have a direct implication for any theoretical study on the evolution of the solar system. In the last decade the information on the spectral and photometric properties of distant asteroids has strongly increased, leading to the formulation of specific questions, the answer to which will enable a comprehensive picture of this class of bodies. Since 1988 our group is carrying out a program devoted to the physical study of the Trojans and outer belt asteroids (Hilda and Cybele groups) to characterize their rotational properties, composition and shapes. During several observing campaigns, carried out at different observatories, reliable rotational periods and light curve amplitudes have been determined for eight distant asteroids using both CCD and photoelectric photometry. We will here present some preliminary results of our campaigns.     

Improvements in broadband planetary albedo estimates from narrowband NOAA satellite observations

New and current algorithms for estimating the broadband planetary albedo from NOAA satellite narrowband observations are testes by applying them to retrospective NOAA-9 AVHRR (Advanced Very High Resolution) data of 2 July 1985. For comparison, broadband SW fluxes taken by the Earth Radiation Budget Experiment (ERBE) instrument, also on NOAA-9 are used as reference values. In contrast to the current scene-independent model, the new algorithms are all scene-dependent, but differ in the way they are classified by surface, cloud amount and albedo indices. The current operational model produces a global bias of magnitude 5 W/m² and a strong latitudinal dependence in error. The scene-dependent algorithms yield global biases of less than ±3 W/m² and have little latitudinal dependence over most of the globe.     

Dark matter in the solar system

Many small bodies in the solar system, including planetary satellites, comets, and asteroids, have a surface component consisting at least in part of a very low albedo (0.06 or less) solid substance of neutral or red color in the wavelength region 0.3–2.5 μm. Laboratory spectra of organic residues from meteorites and mixtures with hydrous silicates suggest that complex mixtures of complex organic molecules (kerogens) together with aqueous alteration products of igneous minerals may be the source of the dark matter that is distributed so widely throughout the solor system.     

Measurements of bidirectional reflectance of ordinary chondrite for muses-C in-situ detection

MUSES-C, a Japanese sample return mission, is targeting a small near Earth asteroid, 1998SF36, which is considered an S-type asteroid and is similar in spectroscopy to LL class ordinary chondrite meteorite ([Binzel et al., 2001]). Although this mission will bring us detailed photometric data, that is, disk-resolved bidirectional reflectance data of the asteroid, there were few bidirectional reflectance data of ordinary chondrite meteorites. For the purpose of comparison with the data obtained by the in-situ observation, we have performed measurements of bidirectional reflectance of ordinary chondrite samples.

Here we summarize the result of our laboratory measurements of the bidirectional reflectance and compare them with the scattering property of 1998SF36. Although the geometric albedo of 1998SF36 is higher than the typical value of S-type asteroids, however, the laboratory data of ordinary chondrite are similar to or brighter than the model disk-resolved reflectance of 1998SF36 derived from disk-integrated ground-based data. We found in our laboratory data that there is a positive correlation between the surface roughness and the strength of the opposition effect. A stronger opposition effect in the reflectance of 1998SF36 than the laboratory data may therefore indicate that the surface of the asteroid has rougher structure than our laboratory samples.     

The dynamical environments analysis of surface particles for different shaped asteroids

Asteroids are coming to be a popular topic in the areas of astrophysical studies and deep space exploration recently. However, surface dynamics of asteroids is still a difficult problem. This paper aims at the motion analysis of surface particles for different asteroids. The dynamical analysis method of particles’ movement is given for three parts: global motion trend, local motion trend and static analysis. A dimensionless parameter ζ is defined to distinguish the predominant term to determine the distribution of effective potential. Three kinds of common asteroids: spheroidal asteroid, spindle-shaped asteroid and dumbbell-shaped asteroid are all discussed for those three parts with different parameter ζ. The motion trend of particles on the surface of each kind of asteroid is given. The static analysis of surface particles for different asteroids is also illustrated. Based on them, some common rules for different shaped asteroids are revealed. This paper could not only provide a reference for asteroid exploration missions but also be meaningful for the research of morphologic evolution of asteroids.     

Interstellar dust models

Interstellar dust models, previously constrained only from the extinction curve, have been radically changed with the arrival of IRAS observations of the dust infrared emission. An important component of interstellar dust is likely to be made of small particles that show a fluctuating temperature upon impinging single photons and which can produce large near and mid infrared excesses ubiquitously observed in the Galaxy and external galaxies. The analysis of COBE data should soon improve our understanding of dust infrared emissivity and particularly for big grains in the submillimeter domain. We will discuss the key observations (spectral features, broad-band colors, correlations with gas tracers…) which put the best constraints on any dust models and show that the next generation of IR/submm satellites (ISO, SIRTF…) should improve our knowledge of interstellar dust composition and the dust redistribution of the stellar energy inside galaxies.     

Microcomputer applications in space-borne instruments

Although microprocessors have been available for over 10 years, they were not used extensively in the space science community for a variety of technical and management reasons until the mid 1970's. The recent applications of microprocessors to space experiments at Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) are presented. Closing comments discuss some of the lessons learned from these applications.     

Hemispheric differences in the earth radiation budget derived from Nimbus-7 related to climate studies

Earth Radiation Budget (ERB) data from Nimbus-7 over the period November 1978 – June 1980 has consistently shown strong hemispheric differences when analyzed over different temporal and spatial scales. Hemispheric variations in time latitude cross sections of net and emitted radiation were found to be caused by changes in the Earth-Sun distance and continental effects.Maps of annual range for the entire Earth calculated from monthly averages showed areas of high and low variability of the different ERB parameters. The ERB of these regional areas were examined and most of the variability was found to lay in the large amplitude of the annual solar cycle. Variations in the global annual cycle of albedo /1/ are studied with respect to differences in latitudinal averaged albedo. The anomaly in the annual cycle of global averaged albedo was found to be caused by tropical albedo changes.     

The composition of cosmic rays at high energies

Measurements of the composition of the cosmic rays at high energies, and of the energy spectra of the individual components provide the basis for the understanding of the sources, of the acceleration mechanism, and of the galactic containment of these particles. We briefly review the presently available information, and we describe a recent measurement on the Space Shuttle that we performed in order to substantially extend the range of energies in which the elemental composition is known. We present and discuss the results, and we also summarize and discuss recent data on the electron component of cosmic rays. The body of data now available contains several features that are difficult to explain within current models of galactic shock acceleration and “leaky box” containment. We emphasize the need for further measurements, and we briefly discuss possible opportunities for future work.     

High-velocity impact experiments needed to improve our understanding of the asteroids

The lifetime of almost all the asteroids against catastrophic impact events is less than the age of the solar system, implying that the asteroids can be considered as outcomes of catastrophic collisions. Therefore to understand their physical properties (structure, shape, rotation, regolith development) and their family memberships (since families are generated by the escape of breakup fragments), a systematic knowledge of the outcomes of catastrophic impacts under a variety of conditions seems needed. In particular, interesting fields to be explored by laboratory experiments are: the dependence of the critical energy densities associated with various degrees of fragmentation on the target's size and composition; the velocity distribution of the fragments and the inelasticity of the process in different cases; the shape of the fragments and its possible correlation with other quantities; the way a dust- or regolith-covered target affects the collisional outcomes; the angular momentum partitioning and the rotation of the fragments. On this latter problem very few experimental results are presently available; on the other hand, the rotation of small asteroids presents several intriguing “anomalies”.

A significant progress of our understanding of asteroid collisional evolution and related phenomena can be provided by new laboratory experiments of collisional breakup. The targets should have spherical and/or irregular shape (up to axial ratios of the order of 2), and should be made of (possibly different) geological materials. The interesting projectile velocities are of the order of the relative velocities commonly found among asteroids, i.e., in the range 1 to 10 Kms⁻¹. In order to get catastrophic collisions, the ratio of the projectile kinetic energy to the target mass (≡E/M) has to be chosen within a “critical” range (for basalt targets, from 10⁶ to 10⁸ erg/g). In some particular cases, this kind of experiments has been already performed in past (Gault and Wedekind [10]; Fujiwara et al. [7]; Fujiwara and Tsukamoto [9]); however the generalization of the results to a wide range of experimental conditions is lacking, and many problems of outstanding importance to model asteroid evolution are still completely open.     

陨石、流星体与小行星及彗星的演化关系

小行星、彗星和流星体(meteoroid)都是绕太阳公转的小天体,它们只是在轨道特性和物理-化学性质方面有所不同,流星体泛指在行星际空间运行的、质量从10~(-16)克微流星体或微尘到10~8克的所有小天体,当它们闯入地球大气时与大气剧烈碰撞而产生发光的流星(meteor)现象,落到地面的流星体残余则称为陨石或陨星(meteorite)。     

近地小行星威胁与防御研究现状

近地小行星与地球碰撞虽然罕见但可能会造成灾难性后果。近年来,各国加强了对近地小行星的监控、跟踪力度,并且实施了几次卓有成效的探测任务,如何防御近地小行星威胁的研究越来越多。总结了目前近地小行星的主要观测监视设施和现状,讨论了国际上对小行星威胁的评估情况,分析和评估了目前提出的防御手段的研究现状及其可行性。     

一种利用非均质多面体模型确定小行星附近引力场的方法

从力学的角度出发,如何准确地建立小行星附近的引力场模型是小行星研究中最为基础、最为关键的部分。提出一种基于多面体模型的模拟小行星附近引力场的方法。该方法的准确性一方面取决于多面体模型的精细程度,即模型分辨率,另一方面取决于勒让德级数的截断误差。选取均质小行星模型,求取其引力场并与使用原有多面体方法求得的引力场进行对比,以此验证本方法的可行性。通过对形状参数相同的均质、非均质多面体模型附近的引力场进行对比来说明非均质小行星引力场建模的重要意义。     

Development of New Capabilities Using Machine Learning for Space Weather Prediction

With the development of space exploration and space environment measurements, the numerous observations of solar, solar wind, and near Earth space environment have been obtained in last 20 years. The accumulation of multiple data makes it possible to better use machine learning technique, which has achieved unforeseen results in industrial applications in last decades, for developing new approaches and models in space weather investigation and prediction. In this paper, the efforts on the forecasting methods for space weather indices, events, and parameters using machine learning are briefly introduced based on the study works in recent years. These investigations indicate that machine learning, especially deep learning technique can be used in automatic characteristic identification, solar eruption prediction, space weather forecasting for solar and geomagnetic indices, and modeling of space environment parameters.      

小行星附近制导与控制研究综述

由于小行星具有引力场不规则、物理参数不确定性大、表面逃逸速度小等因素,使得小行星附近制导和控制极具挑战性。回顾了小行星探测任务的历史、现状和意义;针对小行星附近制导与控制研究的基础即小行星附近动力学,分析了研究现状;针对悬停、绕飞、转移、着陆等任务形式,详细介绍了轨道制导和控制方法方面的热点问题和研究现状;基于研究现状,列举了部分未来可进一步研究的方向和问题。     

Trajectory optimization of multiple asteroids exploration with asteroid 2010TK7 as main target

In this study, the Earth’s Trojan asteroid 2010 TK₇ is selected as the rendezvous target. The multiple flyby sequence of asteroid exploration was proposed by optimizing the probe’s orbit. Impulsive maneuvers and low-thrust propulsion were used respectively to design the trajectories of the multiple asteroids exploration mission. Under impulsive maneuvers, gravity assist technique was adopted to reduce fuel consumption. First a reference orbit with only 2010 TK₇ as the rendezvous target was designed. Then five asteroids near the reference orbit were selected as candidates. Finally, we obtained a multiple asteroids exploration sequence of three asteroids based on gravity assist technique and genetic algorithm, and an additional velocity impulse of 0.4?km/s was required. In the subsequent section, a sixth-degree inverse polynomial shape-based method is applied to the low-thrust trajectory design of 2010 TK₇, and the exploration sequence under the action of low-thrust propulsion was provided.     

On the relationship between clear-sky planetary and surface albedos: a parameterization for simple energy balance climate models

In simple energy balance climate models all physical and dynamical processes are parameterized in terms of the single unknown variable: the surface temperature. To simulate the ice-albedo feedback, the surface albedo is usually assumed to be a function of surface temperature. But to compute the absorbed solar radiation in such models one requires the top-of-the atmosphere albedo: the planetary albedo. In the present study, a simple linear relationship is derived between planetary albedo and surface albedo for the case of clear skies. The relationship is based upon a regression equation derived from simulations and has a standard error of estimate of 0.028. The estimation of planetary albedo from surface albedo is checked by comparing zonally averaged clear-sky planetary albedos, estimated from zonally averaged surface albedos, to satellite determinations of zonally averaged minimum albedos for monthly mean conditions. The minimum albedos are assumed to be representative of the clear-sky planetary albedos. The results show root-mean square differences of 0.05 between the estimated clear-sky planetary albedos and the minimum albedos.More accurate relationships can be obtained if one uses an additional parameter - the solar zenith angle. In this case, the standard errors of estimate are reduced to 0.017 for a zenith angle of 0°, 0.018 for a zenith angle of 60° and 0.021 for a zenith angle of 85°.     

The photometric study of light scattering from the surface of alumina powder and interpretations by Hapke formula

A laboratory experiment helps to understand the light scattering property of regolith like samples with known compositions and other physical parameters. The laboratory data so obtained can be compared with the existing in situ data on celestial objects like asteroids. Further, it may be analyzed with the help of various theoretical models to understand the light scattering processes from regolith more clearly. In this work we have performed laboratory based photometry of the light scattered from the surfaces of powdered alumina (Al₂O₃) at various tilt angles of the sample and at large phase angles, with the particles having diameter 0.3 μm. The wavelength of observation was 632.8 nm. These data have been fitted by a surface scattering model originally suggested by Hapke. Instead of using empirical Henyey–Greenstein phase function to fix the values of albedo and phase function to be used within Hapke formula, we have used Mie theory for the same. This approach helped us to determine the single particle properties such as particle diameter and complex refractive index from surface scattering phase curve alone. Mie theory depends only on the size parameter X(=2π(radius/wavelength)) and complex refractive index (n, k) of the material. Since the absorption coefficient (k) for alumina is known to be very low but not exactly zero, the best fit to the experimental data was obtained by least square technique with k as a free parameter, as the other parameters are known. Finally, we compare our results with other published results and discuss the scope of application of the method we adopted.