Flight safety implications of the extreme solar proton event of 23 February 1956

There is considerable speculation about the effects at aircraft altitudes resulting from extreme solar proton events. The ground level event (GLE) of 23 February 1956 (GLE 5), remains the largest solar proton event of the neutron monitor era in terms of its influence on count rates at monitors near sea level. During this GLE the count rate was increased by as much as 4760% (15-min average) at the Leeds monitor relative to the count rate from galactic cosmic radiation (GCR). Two modern models of the event cumulative solar proton spectrum for this event, a 6-parameter fit in energy and a 4-parameter Band fit in rigidity, are compared with 1-h of GCR at solar minimum. While effective doses calculated with CARI-7A for both models at low geomagnetic cutoff rigidities are indeed high when compared with GCR and can exceed recommended exposure limits, both GLE spectra exhibit a much stronger dependence on cutoff rigidity than GCR, and a larger fraction of the dose from neutrons. At locations with cutoff rigidities above 4.2 and 6.4?GV, respectively, the GLE effective doses are smaller than the GCR hourly dose. At locations with cutoff rigidities above about 4?GV, GCR was the dominant source of exposure in 10?h or less at all altitudes examined. This suggests that if a similar event occurs in the future, low- and mid-latitude flights at modern jet flight altitudes could be well-protected by Earth’s magnetic field.     

Economic assessment of high-thrust and solar-sail propulsion for near-earth asteroid mining

Asteroid mining has the potential to greatly reduce the cost of in-space manufacturing, production of propellant for space transportation and consumables for crewed spacecraft, compared to launching the required resources from the Earth’s deep gravity well. This paper discusses the top-level mission architecture and trajectory design for these resource-return missions, comparing high-thrust trajectories with continuous low-thrust solar-sail trajectories. The paper focuses on maximizing the economic Net Present Value, which takes the time-cost of finance into account and therefore balances the returned resource mass and mission duration. The different propulsion methods are compared in terms of maximum economic return and sets of attainable target asteroids. Results for transporting resources to geostationary orbit show that the orbital parameter hyperspace of suitable target asteroids is considerably larger for solar sails, allowing for more flexibility in selecting potential target asteroids. Also, results show that the Net Present Value that can be realized is larger when employing solar sailing instead of chemical propulsion. In addition, it is demonstrated that a higher Net Present Value can be realized when transporting volatiles to the Lunar Gateway instead of geostationary orbit. The paper provides one more step towards making commercial asteroid mining an economically viable reality by integrating trajectory design, propulsion technology and economic modelling.     

Spectra of the two official GLEs of solar cycle 24

Based on ground-level data and on satellite data we determine in this work the observational spectrum of both, the Ground Level Enhancement of May 17, (2012) the so-called GLE71 and the Ground Level Enhancement of September 10, 2017 (GLE 72). We describe a simplified method to obtain the experimental spectrum at ground level. Data of the GLE71 and GLE72 indicate the presence of two different populations, each one with a different energy spectrum. On the other hand, we explore the kind of phenomena that take place at the source in these two particular events. In contrast with other methods based on the temporal synchronization between electromagnetic emissions of flares and coronal mass ejections (CME), here we develop an alternative option based on the study of the accelerated particles, by adjusting our theoretical spectra to the observational spectra. The main results of this work are the derivation of the source and acceleration parameters involved in the generation process. These results lead us to construct possible scenarios of particle generation in the source for each one of the two studied GLEs.     

Attitude stability criteria of axisymmetric solar sail

Passive attitude stability criteria of a solar sail whose membrane surface is axisymmetric are studied in this paper under a general SRP model. This paper proves that arbitrary attitude equilibrium position can be designed through adjusting the deviation between the pressure center and the mass center of the sail. The linearized method is applied to inspect analytically the stability of the equilibrium point from two different points of views. The results show that the attitude stability depends on the membrane surface shape and area. The results of simulation with full dynamic equations confirm that the two stability criteria are effective in judging the attitude stability for axisymmetric solar sail. Several possible applications of the study are also mentioned.     

Shocklike soliton because of an impinge of protons and electrons solar particles with Venus ionosphere

This paper introduces an investigation of shocklike soliton or small amplitude Double Layers (DLs) in a collisionless plasma, consisting of positive and negative ions, nonthermal electrons, as well as solar wind streaming protons and electrons. Gardner equation is derived and its shocklike soliton solution is obtained. The model is employed to recognize a possible nonlinear wave at Venus ionosphere. The results indicate that the number densities and velocities of the streaming particles play crucial role to determine the polarity and characteristic features (amplitude and width) of the shocklike soliton waves. An electron streaming speed modifies a negative shocklike wave profile, while an ion streaming speed modulates a positive shocklike wave characteristic.     

Statistical analysis of geomagnetic field variations during solar eclipses

We investigate the geomagnetic field variations recorded by INTERMAGNET geomagnetic observatories, which are observed while the Moon’s umbra or penumbra passed over them during a solar eclipse event. Though it is generally considered that the geomagnetic field can be modulated during solar eclipses, the effect of the solar eclipse on the observed geomagnetic field has proved subtle to be detected. Instead of exploring the geomagnetic field as a case study, we analyze 207 geomagnetic manifestations acquired by 100 geomagnetic observatories during 39 solar eclipses occurring from 1991 to 2016. As a result of examining a pattern of the geomagnetic field variation on average, we confirm that the effect can be seen over an interval of 180?min centered at the time of maximum eclipse on a site of a geomagnetic observatory. That is, demonstrate an increase in the Y component of the geomagnetic field and decreases in the X component and the total strength of the geomagnetic field. We also find that the effect can be overwhelmed, depending more sensitively on the level of daily geomagnetic events than on the level of solar activity and/or the phase of solar cycle. We have demonstrated it by dividing the whole data set into subsets based on parameters of the geomagnetic field, solar activity, and solar eclipses. It is suggested, therefore, that an evidence of the solar eclipse effect can be revealed even at the solar maximum, as long as the day of the solar eclipse is magnetically quiet.     

太阳微波双峰事件的初步分析

本文对1989年1月-1990年6月期间的11个微波双峰事件进行了初步的分析,发现大部分双峰事件的两个峰随频率的演化呈现出竟争的趋势。这一观测特征,可由不同的非热电子分布、或相同非热电子分布,但在相同频率上不同光厚导致谱相交特征得到合理的解释,井可得到双峰事件中两个峰产生在不同源区的推论。      

太阳宁静区色球磁场观测

利用中国科学院北京天文台怀柔太阳磁场望远镜,对日面中心宁静区光球和色球磁场进行了长时间的积分观测。通过对光球、色球以及色球不同层次的长时间积分的观测发现,网络磁元从光球到色球扩展不大,并且部分内网络磁元升到了色球。这些结果对描述太阳磁场的两大模型提出了挑战。      

1995年10月24日日食电离层效应的模式化研究

利用一个二维纬电离层理论模式模拟１９９５年１０月２４日日全食条件下东亚低纬电离层演变,探索低纬日食电离层效应。模式计算结果显示：日食散间日食区电离层电子与离子光致电离产生率减少使得Ｅ－Ｆ１区电离层光食效应显著,而较高部份电离层对日食影响的响应延迟。     

卫星电源系统配置方案的优化设计

对卫星电源系统配置方案进行优化设计是减轻电源系统质量的一条重要途径。以太阳则步轨道卫星为背景,对四种典型的直接能量传输方式的电源系统配置建立了能量传递图,推出了能量平衡方程。在此基础上,建立了以电源系统的质量功率比最小为目标函数的优化模型;以降交点地方时,高峰功耗与长期功耗比和光照区与星蚀区负载长期功率比为设计变量,通过算例对这四种ＤＥＴ方式进行了优化分析比较,归纳出电源系统配置方案的优化设计结论