Ionospheric disturbances on 8 September, 2010: Was it connected with the incoming moderate Chongqing earthquake?

Earthquake prediction stimulates the searches for a correlation between seismic activity and ionospheric anomalies. Contrary to common focuses on strong earthquakes, we report the ionospheric disturbances, 2 days before a moderate Ms = 4.7 Chongqing earthquake (29.4°N, 105.5°E, depth = 7.0 km, occurred at 21:21 LT, 10 September, 2010) with the data of ground-based ionosondes and IGS receivers. The data covering the period under the quiet geomagnetic conditions and a geomagnetic storm was analyzed with upper and lower bounds. It is found that there were significant enhancements of foF2 and total electron content (TEC) on the afternoon of 8 September, 2010, with a limited area close to the epicentre, which was different from the feature of ionospheric perturbations triggered by the geomagnetic storm on 15 September. Taking into account the heliogeomagnetical condition, we conclude that the observed ionospheric enhancements were very likely associated with the forthcoming moderate Chongqing earthquake, which implies that the relationship between the amplitudes of ionospheric disturbances and earthquakes is very complicated.     

同温层气球平台反向定位系统的研究

反向定位系统是针对驻留型同温层气球平台的一种新型定位系统 ,该系统的基本原理是由接收站的位置计算得出发射机的位置。文章采用卡尔曼滤波的方法 ,建立了反向定位系统的模型 ,给出其滤波算法 ;鉴于地面接收站的位置选择对该系统的定位精度有较大的影响 ,给出地面站选址依据 ,并通过计算、仿真获得一组较为理想的布站方式。此外 ,钟差是系统的一个主要误差源 ,文中对其引起的定位误差进行了分析 ,并给出估算的方法 ;对系统中的传播误差、设备误差也进行了分析。最后 ,对系统建立了仿真模型进行仿真。结果表明 ,该定位系统具有较好的定位精度     

极区电离层不均匀结构与增亮极光薄层

磁层亚暴期间随着电子沉降到极区产生极光,一个磁层电场也投射到极区电离层,在电场会聚作用下形成不均匀离子薄层。本文解出稳态动力学平衡E_s层,并把它和反常的极光增亮薄层联系起来,与观测结果比较。      

利用自然能的轨迹可控临近空间浮空器初步设计

文章针对现有临近空间浮空器持久区域驻留期间面临的“超热”、“超压”和抗风机动飞行对材料和能源技术的挑战,提出一种充分利用自然界热能和准零风层风场环境的新型临近空间浮空器技术方案。文章分别介绍了新型临近空间浮空器的工作原理、系统组成、功能特点和飞行操控策略;通过浮空器热建模仿真分析和参数总体设计,研究了主气囊热控参数、浮空器白天和夜间“超热”能力,以及浮空器体积规模之间的耦合关系。结果表明,通过主气囊热控参数优化设计,可使浮空器白天“超热”值在100K以上,夜间“超热”值在20K以上,并给出了20~80K“超热”范围内的新型浮空器总体参数设计结果,这些结果满足浮空器高度调节所需浮升能力变化要求。     

一种基于星载GPS的月球探测器导航算法

为验证GNSS旁瓣信号对中高轨航天器在轨飞行的导航支持能力,"嫦娥5号"飞行试验器搭载了GPS导航接收机。由于目前使用的星载导航解平稳性不够,为此,根据月球探测器不同飞行段落轨道动力学特性,建立了一种基于星载GPS数据的月球探测器实时导航算法。该算法充分考虑了月球探测器不同段落的动力学特性,基于UKF滤波设计,并引入了自适应策略,以降低滤波参数选取的难度。在分析星载GPS数据特点基础上,月地返回段实测数据的处理结果验证了算法的可行性和有效性。     

Stability of the seasonal variations in diurnal and semidiurnal components of mid-latitude F2 layer parameters

We report work utilizing 15-min resolution ionospheric data obtained with DPS-4 digisonde in 2003–2011 to study the seasonal variations in amplitudes and phases of the most powerful spectral components of the F2 layer critical frequency (foF2) and peak height (hmF2) fluctuations over Irkutsk (52.5°N, 104.0°E). We show that fluctuations of both parameters contain quasi-harmonic components with periods of T_n = 24/n h (n = 1–7). The number of distinct spectral peaks varies from 3 in summer to 7 in winter. Amplitude and phase characteristics of the diurnal (n = 1) and semidiurnal (n = 2) components is studied using the data sets extracted from the original data sets with band-pass filter. It has been found that the amplitudes of diurnal/semidiurnal foF2 and diurnal hmF2 components are maximum in winter and minimum in summer. Amplitudes of the diurnal components vary gradually; those of the foF2 semidiurnal one, abruptly, thus forming a narrow winter maximum in November–January. The phase (local time of maximum) of the diurnal foF2 component increases gradually by 4–6 h from winter to summer. The phase of the semidiurnal foF2 component is nearly stable in winter/summer and sharply decreases (increases) by 2–3 h near the spring (autumn) equinox. The phase of the diurnal component of hmF2 (local time of minimum) varies slightly between 1130 and 1300 LT; that of the semidiurnal one decreases (increases) by 4–6 h from January to March (from September to November). The results obtained show that the main features of seasonal variations in the diurnal and semidiurnal components of the mid-latitude F2 layer parameters recur consistently during the solar activity growth and decline phases.     

Alternative transfer to the Earth–Moon Lagrangian points L4 and L5 using lunar gravity assist

Lagrangian points L4 and L5 lie at 60° ahead of and behind the Moon in its orbit with respect to the Earth. Each one of them is a third point of an equilateral triangle with the base of the line defined by those two bodies. These Lagrangian points are stable for the Earth–Moon mass ratio. As so, these Lagrangian points represent remarkable positions to host astronomical observatories or space stations. However, this same distance characteristic may be a challenge for periodic servicing mission. This paper studies elliptic trajectories from an Earth circular parking orbit to reach the Moon’s sphere of influence and apply a swing-by maneuver in order to re-direct the path of a spacecraft to a vicinity of the Lagrangian points L4 and L5. Once the geocentric transfer orbit and the initial impulsive thrust have been determined, the goal is to establish the angle at which the geocentric trajectory crosses the lunar sphere of influence in such a way that when the spacecraft leaves the Moon’s gravitational field, its trajectory and velocity with respect to the Earth change in order to the spacecraft arrives at L4 and L5. In this work, the planar Circular Restricted Three Body Problem approximation is used and in order to avoid solving a two boundary problem, the patched-conic approximation is considered.     

Features of the occurrence of the additional stratification on the bottom-side F region over the equatorial location of Trivandrum

The general features of occurrence of an additional layer on the bottom side of F region, referred to as F0.5 layer in the pre noon period, over the magnetic equatorial location of Trivandrum (8.5° N; 77° E; dip lat of 0.5° N) in India during the period from 2004 to 2007 are presented using ionosonde observations. The F0.5 layer has a June (northern summer) solsticial maximum probability of occurrence with secondary maxima during December (northern winter) solstice. The seasonal as well as the day-to-day variability in the occurrence of F0.5 layer as mentioned in this paper seems to be a result of the variations in the amplitude and phases of the tides and gravity waves, and inventory of the metallic ions of meteoric origin. This study brings out an important manifestation of morning time F layer base region dynamics.     

A comparative sporadic-E layer study between two mid-latitude ionospheric stations

Hourly systematic measurements of the highest frequency reflected by the sporadic-E layer (foEs) recorded from January 1976 to June 2009 at the ionospheric stations of Rome (Italy, 41.8°N, 12.5°E) and Gibilmanna (Italy, 37.9°N, 14.0°E) were considered to carry out a comparative study between the sporadic E layer (Es) over Rome and Gibilmanna. Different statistical analysis were performed taking into account foEs observations near the periods of minimum and maximum solar activity. The results reveal that: (1) independently from the solar activity, Es develops concurrently over extended regions in space, instead of being a spatially limited layer which is transported horizontally by neutral winds over a larger area; especially during summer months, when an Es layer is present at Rome, there is a high probability that an Es layer is also present over Gibilmanna, and vice versa; (2) Es layer lifetimes of 1–5 h were found; in particular, Es layers with lifetimes of 5 h both over Gibilmanna and Rome are observed with highest percentages of occurrence in summer ranging between 80% and 90%, independently from the solar activity; (3) latitudinal effects on Es layer occurrence emerge mostly for low solar activity during winter, equinoctial, and summer months, when Es layers are detected more frequently over Gibilmanna rather than Rome; (4) when the presence of an Es layer over Rome and Gibilmanna is not simultaneous, Es layer appearance both over Rome and Gibilmanna confirms to be a locally confined event, because drifting phenomena from Rome to Gibilmanna or vice versa have not been emphasized.     

武汉上空Na层季节和夜间变化的观测研究

根据武汉大学激光雷达2001年3月到2002年10月的观测数据,对武汉上空（30.5°N,114.4°E）的背景Na层结构进行了研究,并与其他观测站尤其是Urbana（40°N,88°W）的观测结果进行了比较。发现武汉上空11月的Na层柱密度最大,是4月的2.5倍,质心高度的极小值出现在5月和11月,极大值在4月、9月和12月;全年平均Na层均方根宽度为4.47km.Na层各参数呈现出周期性变化规律,其中Na层均方很宽度呈现出明显的半年周期性变化规律。夜间Na层柱密度呈现总体增加的趋势,质心高度在入夜后立即迅速上升,在2000LT以后上升速度趋缓,凌晨0500LT以后出现下降;Na层均方根宽度在夜间约有1.3km的起伏变化,它入夜后迅速减小,在午夜0035LT时出现一低谷,然后随时间逐渐变宽。