Observational signatures of nanoflare heated solar stellar coronae

Using time-dependent dynamical models of the radiating gas in coronal flux tubes, we identify features in UV spectral line profiles that can reveal the direction in which energy flows through the solar transition region, in observations without temporal or spatial resolution. The profile features survive spatial and temporal averaging through non-linear dependencies of the line emission coefficients on thermal properties of the plasma that are correlated with the material velocity. This approach requires only low noise data of high spectral resolution and could naturally be applied to stars as well as the solar corona. We make predictions for the SUMER instrument that can in principle test whether energy propagates upwards or downwards in coronal flux tubes, suggesting a new angle of attack on the long standing problem of determining coronal heating mechanisms.     

Comparative study of the influence of natural convection on directional solidification of Al–3.5 wt% Ni and Al–7 wt% Si alloys

We present numerical simulations of thermosolutal convection for directional solidification of Al–3.5 wt% Ni and Al–7 wt% Si. Numerical results predict that fragmentation of dendrite arms resulting from dissolution could be favored in Al–7 wt% Si, but not in Al–3.5 wt% Ni. Corresponding experiments are in qualitative agreement with the numerical predictions. Distinguishing the two fragmentation mechanisms, namely dissolution and remelting, is critical during experiments on earth, when fluid flow is dominant.     

Atmospheric Science with InSight

In November 2018, for the first time a dedicated geophysical station, the InSight lander, will be deployed on the surface of Mars. Along with the two main geophysical packages, the Seismic Experiment for Interior Structure (SEIS) and the Heat-Flow and Physical Properties Package (HP³), the InSight lander holds a highly sensitive pressure sensor (PS) and the Temperature and Winds for InSight (TWINS) instrument, both of which (along with the InSight FluxGate (IFG) Magnetometer) form the Auxiliary Sensor Payload Suite (APSS). Associated with the RADiometer (RAD) instrument which will measure the surface brightness temperature, and the Instrument Deployment Camera (IDC) which will be used to quantify atmospheric opacity, this will make InSight capable to act as a meteorological station at the surface of Mars. While probing the internal structure of Mars is the primary scientific goal of the mission, atmospheric science remains a key science objective for InSight. InSight has the potential to provide a more continuous and higher-frequency record of pressure, air temperature and winds at the surface of Mars than previous in situ missions. In the paper, key results from multiscale meteorological modeling, from Global Climate Models to Large-Eddy Simulations, are described as a reference for future studies based on the InSight measurements during operations. We summarize the capabilities of InSight for atmospheric observations, from profiling during Entry, Descent and Landing to surface measurements (pressure, temperature, winds, angular momentum), and the plans for how InSight’s sensors will be used during operations, as well as possible synergies with orbital observations. In a dedicated section, we describe the seismic impact of atmospheric phenomena (from the point of view of both “noise” to be decorrelated from the seismic signal and “signal” to provide information on atmospheric processes). We discuss in this framework Planetary Boundary Layer turbulence, with a focus on convective vortices and dust devils, gravity waves (with idealized modeling), and large-scale circulations. Our paper also presents possible new, exploratory, studies with the InSight instrumentation: surface layer scaling and exploration of the Monin-Obukhov model, aeolian surface changes and saltation / lifing studies, and monitoring of secular pressure changes. The InSight mission will be instrumental in broadening the knowledge of the Martian atmosphere, with a unique set of measurements from the surface of Mars.     

Observing Chaos in External Spiral Galaxies

The feasibility of observing chaotic behavior in the stellar component of spiral galaxies is discussed. Three sources for development of chaos are considered namely: steep potential gradients, resonances and growing spiral perturbations. Several regions where chaos could be expected are identified such as the very central region, the end of the bar, the start of the main spiral pattern and the termination of strong spiral arms.The main observational signature is likely to be an increased velocity dispersion while multiple peaks in the velocity profile due to bifurcation of the main family of periodic orbits near resonances could be viewed as an indicator of increased stochasticity. It is non-trivial to distinguish between a higher velocity dispersion due to chaotic motions and non-periodic orbits trapped around the central family of stable periodic orbits. This requires a good dynamic model which can be obtained by combining near-infrared K surface photometry maps and kinematic information.The ESO VLT 8m unit telescopes were taken as a reference to judge if it is feasible to observe chaos in disk galaxies with current state-of-the-art equipment. Whereas surface photometry map easily can be obtained with smaller telescopes, detailed line-of-sight velocity profiles from absorption lines are difficult to observed below an isophotal level of I20 mag/ even with an 8m class telescope. This suggests that it would be possible to observe chaotic behavior in spiral galaxies out to the end of the bar or start of the main spiral pattern but not further out in the spiral arms.     

Determination of surface global radiation from meteosat images using relative brightness as new parameter to characterize the cloudiness

For the investigation of radiative properties of clouds using satellite images an objective parameter is required which is independent of conditions of illumination and of recorders. We found a new parameter - the relative brightness - which seems to serve this purpose. Using the relative brightness the daily amount of surface global radiation can be determined easily by linear regression with sufficient accuracy from METEOSAT images. Period between November 1981 and July 1983 was studied and our results are not worse than the ones using more complicated methods.     

Planned Products of the Mars Structure Service for the InSight Mission to Mars

Space Science Reviews - The InSight lander will deliver geophysical instruments to Mars in 2018, including seismometers installed directly on the surface (Seismic Experiment for Interior Structure,...     

Narrative psychological content analysis as a tool for psychological status monitoring of crews in isolated,confined and extreme settings

This paper is about a pilot application of narrative psychological content analysis in the psychological status monitoring of Crew 71 of a space analog simulation environment, the Mars Desert Research Station (MDRS). Both the method and its theoretical framework, Scientific Narrative Psychology, are original developments by Hungarian psychologists [5] (László, 2008). The software was NooJ, a multilingual linguistic development environment [11] (Silberztein, 2008). Three measures were conceptualized and assessed: emotional status, team spirit and subjective physical comfort. The results showed the patterns of these three measures on a daily basis at group level, and allowed for detecting individual differences as well. The method is adaptable to languages involved in space psychology, e.g. Russian, French and German in addition to English.     

Apparent rotation properties of space debris extracted from photometric measurements

Knowledge about the rotation properties of space debris objects is essential for the active debris removal missions, accurate re-entry predictions and to investigate the long-term effects of the space environment on the attitude motion change. Different orbital regions and object’s physical properties lead to different attitude states and their change over time.Since 2007 the Astronomical Institute of the University of Bern (AIUB) performs photometric measurements of space debris objects. To June 2016 almost 2000 light curves of more than 400 individual objects have been acquired and processed. These objects are situated in all orbital regions, from low Earth orbit (LEO), via global navigation systems orbits and high eccentricity orbit (HEO), to geosynchronous Earth orbit (GEO). All types of objects were observed including the non-functional spacecraft, rocket bodies, fragmentation debris and uncorrelated objects discovered during dedicated surveys. For data acquisition, we used the 1-meter Zimmerwald Laser and Astrometry Telescope (ZIMLAT) at the Swiss Optical Ground Station and Geodynamics Observatory Zimmerwald, Switzerland. We applied our own method of phase-diagram reconstruction to extract the apparent rotation period from the light curve. Presented is the AIUB’s light curve database and the obtained rotation properties of space debris as a function of object type and orbit.     

Spin motion determination of the Envisat satellite through laser ranging measurements from a single pass measured by a single station

The Satellite Laser Ranging (SLR) technology is used to accurately determine the position of space objects equipped with so-called retro-reflectors or retro-reflector arrays (RRA). This type of measurement allows to measure the range to the spacecraft with high precision, which leads to determination of very accurate orbits for these targets. Non-active spacecraft, which are not attitude controlled any longer, tend to start to spin or tumble under influence of the external and internal torques and forces.If the return signal is measured for a non-spherical non-active rotating object, the signal in the range residuals with respect to the reference orbit is more complex. For rotating objects the return signal shows an oscillating pattern or patterns caused by the RRA moving around the satellite’s centre of mass. This behaviour is projected onto the radial component measured by the SLR.In our work, we demonstrate how the SLR ranging technique from one sensor to a satellite equipped with a RRA can be used to precisely determine its spin motion during one passage. Multiple SLR measurements of one target over time allow to accurately monitor spin motion changes which can be further used for attitude predictions. We show our solutions of the spin motion determined for the non-active ESA satellite Envisat obtained from measurements acquired during years 2013–2015 by the Zimmerwald SLR station, Switzerland. All the necessary parameters are defined for our own so-called point-like model which describes the motion of a point in space around the satellite centre of mass.