A method for automatic detection of equatorial spread-F in ionograms

A method is presented for automatic detection of spread-F. The method is based on an image recognition technique and is applied to ionograms recorded at the ionospheric station of Tucumán (26.9°S, 294.6°E). The performance achieved is statistically evaluated and demonstrated with significant examples. The proposed method improves Autoscala's ability to reject ionograms with insufficient information, including those featuring Spread-F. Automatic identification of cases of spread-F is of additional interest in Space Weather applications, when it helps detect degraded radio propagation conditions.The present data analysis is a retrospective study but forms the basis for real-time application as an extension of Autoscala’s capabilities.     

JIRAM,the Jovian Infrared Auroral Mapper

JIRAM is an imager/spectrometer on board the Juno spacecraft bound for a polar orbit around Jupiter. JIRAM is composed of IR imager and spectrometer channels. Its scientific goals are to explore the Jovian aurorae and the planet’s atmospheric structure, dynamics and composition. This paper explains the characteristics and functionalities of the instrument and reports on the results of ground calibrations. It discusses the main subsystems to the extent needed to understand how the instrument is sequenced and used, the purpose of the calibrations necessary to determine instrument performance, the process for generating the commanding sequences, the main elements of the observational strategy, and the format of the scientific data that JIRAM will produce.     

The calculation of ionospheric absorption with modern computers

New outcomes are proposed for ionospheric absorption starting from the Appleton–Hartree formula, in its complete form. The range of applicability is discussed for the approximate formulae, which are usually employed in the calculation of non-deviative absorption coefficient. These results were achieved by performing a more refined approximation that is valid under quasi-longitudinal (QL) propagation conditions. The more refined QL approximation and the usually employed non-deviative absorption are compared with that derived from a complete formulation. Their expressions, nothing complicated, can usefully be implemented in a software program running on modern computers. Moreover, the importance of considering Booker’s rule is highlighted. A radio link of ground range D = 1000 km was also simulated using ray tracing for a sample daytime ionosphere. Finally, some estimations of the integrated absorption for the radio link considered are provided for different frequencies.     

Study of a Coronal Mass Ejection with SOHO/UVCS and STEREO data

We study the 3-D kinematics of a Coronal Mass Ejection (CME) using data acquired by the LASCO C2 and UVCS instruments on board SOHO, and the COR1 coronagraphs and EUVI telescopes on board STEREO. The event, which occurred on May 20, 2007, was a partial-halo CME associated with a prominence eruption. This is the first CME studied with UVCS data that occurred in the STEREO era. The longitudinal angle between the STEREO spacecrafts was ∼7.7° at that time, and this allowed us to reconstruct via triangulation technique the 3-D trajectory of the erupting prominence observed by STEREO/EUVI. Information on the 3-D expansion of the CME provided by STEREO/COR1 data have been combined with spectroscopic observations by SOHO/UVCS. First results presented here show that line-of-sight velocities derived from spectroscopic data are not fully in agreement with those previously derived via triangulation technique, thus pointing out possible limitations of this technique.     

Preliminary assessment of a small robotic rover for Titan exploration

Titan is a very interesting target in deep space exploration. With its solid surface on which a rover can easily travel and its methane lakes which can be sailed it is the ideal target for a deep space mission which includes a mobile platform. In the present paper the general layout of a rover for a mission to Titan is studied, dealing with the mobility, power generation and trajectory control issues. A four-wheels configuration with slip steering was chosen; to compare this solution with the more conventional strategy based on steering wheels, simulations were performed on some trajectories computed through the well known ‘potential’ method, using both slip steering and conventional steering control, for different vehicle speeds. The comparison between the simulated trajectories allows to state the adequateness of the proposed approach.The results here obtained apply not only to a future mission to Titan, but also to other missions designed for the exploration of the satellites of the outer planets having a size comparable with that of Titan and the largest Kuiper belt objects like Pluto and 136472 Makemake.