Error Analysis and Improved Design of Target Board Reflection for Visibility Measurement by the Image Method

The reflection of colors and surfaces of common targets lead to errors in the measurement of visibility by the image method. This study aims to investigate the problem of inaccurate visibility detection. Through analysis of the error of visibility measurement caused by the reflection of the blackboard surface of an artificial target, the design method of improving the structure of the target board is proposed, so as to improve the accuracy of atmospheric visibility measurement by the image method. The experimental results show that the new target board designed by this method can greatly improve the measurement accuracy of the intrinsic apparent brightness ratio, which can increase 18.4% in the fairing environment and closer to −1 in the side light environment. Therefore, when the side light is selected for the image method visibility measurement, more accurate visibility results can be obtained.

Extreme intra-hour variability of the radio source J1402+5347 discovered with Apertif

The propagation of radio waves from distant compact radio sources through turbulent interstellar plasma in our Galaxy causes these sources to twinkle, a phenomenon called interstellar scintillation. Such scintillations are a unique probe of the micro-arcsecond structure of radio sources as well as of the sub-AU-scale structure of the Galactic interstellar medium. Weak scintillations (i.e. an intensity modulation of a few percent) on timescales of a few days or longer are commonly seen at centimetre wavelengths and are thought to result from the line-of-sight integrated turbulence in the interstellar plasma of the Milky Way. So far, only three sources were known that show more extreme variations, with modulations at the level of some dozen percent on timescales shorter than an hour. This requires propagation through nearby (d ≲ 10 pc) anomalously dense (ne ∼ 102 cm−3) plasma clouds. Here we report the discovery with Apertif of a source (J1402+5347) showing extreme (∼50%) and rapid variations on a timescale of just 6.5 min in the decimetre band (1.4 GHz). The spatial scintillation pattern is highly anisotropic, with a semi-minor axis of about 20 000 km. The canonical theory of refractive scintillation constrains the scattering plasma to be within the Oort cloud. The sightline to J1402+5347, however, passes unusually close to the B3 star Alkaid (η UMa) at a distance of 32 pc. If the scintillations are associated with Alkaid, then the angular size of J1402+5347 along the minor axis of the scintels must be smaller than ≈10 μas, yielding an apparent brightness temperature for an isotropic source of ≳1014 K.

Spectroscopic confirmation and modelling of two lensed quadruple quasars in the Dark Energy Survey public footprint

ABSTRACT Quadruply lensed quasars are extremely rare objects, but incredibly powerful cosmological tools. Only few dozen are known in the whole sky. Here we present the spectroscopic confirmation of two new quadruplets WG0214-2105 and WG2100-4452 discovered by Agnello & Spiniello (2018) within the Dark Energy Survey public footprints. We have conducted spectroscopic follow-up of these systems with the Southern African Large Telescope as part of a program that aims at confirming the largest possible number of strong gravitational lenses in the equatorial and Southern hemisphere. For both systems, we present the sources spectra that allowed us to estimate their redshifts and unambiguously confirm their lensing nature. For the brighter deflector (WG2100-4452) we measure the spectroscopic redshift and the stellar velocity dispersion from optical absorption lines in the spectrum. For the other system we infer the lens redshift from photometry, being the quality of the spectra not good enough. We obtain photometry for both lenses, directly from multiband images, isolating the lenses from the quasars. One of the quadruplets, WG0214-2105, was also observed by Pan-STARRS, allowing us to estimate the apparent brightness of each quasar image at two different epochs, and thus to find evidence for flux variability. This result could suggest a microlensing event for the faintest components, although intrinsic variability cannot be excluded with only two epochs. Finally, we present simple lens models for both quadruplets, obtaining Einstein radii, singular isothermal ellipsoid velocity dispersions, ellipticities, and position angles of the lenses, as well as time-delay predictions assuming a concordance cosmological model.

Global millimeter VLBI array survey of ultracompact extragalactic radio sources at 86 GHz

Context. Very long baseline interferometry (VLBI) observations at 86 GHz (wavelength, λ = 3 mm) reach a resolution of about 50 μas, probing the collimation and acceleration regions of relativistic outflows in active galactic nuclei (AGN). The physical conditions in these regions can be studied by performing 86 GHz VLBI surveys of representative samples of compact extragalactic radio sources. Aims. To extend the statistical studies of compact extragalactic jets, a large global 86 GHz VLBI survey of 162 compact radio sources was conducted in 2010–2011 using the Global Millimeter VLBI Array (GMVA). Methods. The survey observations were made in a snapshot mode, with up to five scans per target spread over a range of hour angles in order to optimize the visibility coverage. The survey data attained a typical baseline sensitivity of 0.1 Jy and a typical image sensitivity of 5 mJy beam−1, providing successful detections and images for all of the survey targets. For 138 objects, the survey provides the first ever VLBI images made at 86 GHz. Gaussian model fitting of the visibility data was applied to represent the structure of the observed sources and to estimate the flux densities and sizes of distinct emitting regions (components) in their jets. These estimates were used for calculating the brightness temperature (Tb) at the jet base (core) and in one or more moving regions (jet components) downstream from the core. These model-fit-based estimates of Tb were compared to the estimates of brightness temperature limits made directly from the visibility data, demonstrating a good agreement between the two methods. Results. The apparent brightness temperature estimates for the jet cores in our sample range from 2.5 × 109 K to 1.3 × 1012 K, with the mean value of 1.8 × 1011 K. The apparent brightness temperature estimates for the inner jet components in our sample range from 7.0 × 107 K to 4.0 × 1011 K. A simple population model with a single intrinsic value of brightness temperature, T0, is applied to reproduce the observed distribution. It yields T0 = (3.77−0.14+0.10) × 1011 K for the jet cores, implying that the inverse Compton losses dominate the emission. In the nearest jet components, T0 = (1.42−0.19+0.16) × 1011 K is found, which is slightly higher than the equipartition limit of ∼5 × 1010 K expected for these jet regions. For objects with sufficient structural detail detected, the adiabatic energy losses are shown to dominate the observed changes of brightness temperature along the jet.

Gaia Data Release 2

Context. We present the second Gaia data release, Gaia DR2, consisting of astrometry, photometry, radial velocities, and information on astrophysical parameters and variability, for sources brighter than magnitude 21. In addition epoch astrometry and photometry are provided for a modest sample of minor planets in the solar system. Aims. A summary of the contents of Gaia DR2 is presented, accompanied by a discussion on the differences with respect to Gaia DR1 and an overview of the main limitations which are still present in the survey. Recommendations are made on the responsible use of Gaia DR2 results. Methods. The raw data collected with the Gaia instruments during the first 22 months of the mission have been processed by the Gaia Data Processing and Analysis Consortium (DPAC) and turned into this second data release, which represents a major advance with respect to Gaia DR1 in terms of completeness, performance, and richness of the data products. Results. Gaia DR2 contains celestial positions and the apparent brightness in G for approximately 1.7 billion sources. For 1.3 billion of those sources, parallaxes and proper motions are in addition available. The sample of sources for which variability information is provided is expanded to 0.5 million stars. This data release contains four new elements: broad-band colour information in the form of the apparent brightness in the GBP (330–680 nm) and GRP (630–1050 nm) bands is available for 1.4 billion sources; median radial velocities for some 7 million sources are presented; for between 77 and 161 million sources estimates are provided of the stellar effective temperature, extinction, reddening, and radius and luminosity; and for a pre-selected list of 14 000 minor planets in the solar system epoch astrometry and photometry are presented. Finally, Gaia DR2 also represents a new materialisation of the celestial reference frame in the optical, the Gaia-CRF2, which is the first optical reference frame based solely on extragalactic sources. There are notable changes in the photometric system and the catalogue source list with respect to Gaia DR1, and we stress the need to consider the two data releases as independent. Conclusions. Gaia DR2 represents a major achievement for the Gaia mission, delivering on the long standing promise to provide parallaxes and proper motions for over 1 billion stars, and representing a first step in the availability of complementary radial velocity and source astrophysical information for a sample of stars in the Gaia survey which covers a very substantial fraction of the volume of our galaxy.

Edward Gresham, Copernican Cosmology, and Planetary Occultations in Pre-Telescopic Astronomy

This article introduces an understudied source in the history of astronomy, the Astrostereon or the Discourse of the Falling of the Planet (1603). Written by the English astrologer Edward Gresham, this text presents, among other things, the earliest known set of predicted planetary occultations (for 1603–1604) and the use of these phenomena to defend the Copernican cosmology. We analyse those predictions and then briefly survey all known pre-telescopic observations of reported planetary occulations and the motivations for such observations. These data suggest that for early observers, the greater the difference in apparent brightness between the two occulting bodies, the greater the angular separation could be for an occultation nonetheless to be reported. An appendix seeks to explain this finding by considering several factors known from modern experimental analyses of human visual performance.

Wavelet theory applied to the study of spectra of trans-Neptunian objects

Context. Reflection spectroscopy in the near-infrared (NIR) is used to investigate the surface composition of trans-Neptunian objects (TNOs). In general, these spectra are difficult to interpret due to the low apparent brightness of the TNOs, causing low signal-to-noise ratio even in spectra obtained with the largest telescopes available on Earth, making it necessary to use filtering techniques to analyze and interpret them. Aims. The purpose of this paper is to present a methodology to analyze the spectra of TNOs. Specifically, our aim was to filter these spectra in the best possible way: maximizing noise removal, while minimizing the loss of signal. Methods. We used wavelets to filter the spectra. Wavelets are a mathematical tool that decompose the signal into its constituent parts, allowing us to analyze the data in different areas of frequencies with the resolution of each component tied to its scale. To check the reliability of our method, we compared the filtered spectra with the spectra of water and methanol ices to identify some common structures between them. Results. Of the 50 TNOs in our sample, we identify traces of water ices and methanol in the spectra of several of them, some with previous reports, while for other objects there were no previous reports. Conclusions. We conclude that the wavelet technique is successful in filtering spectra of TNOs.

Second-Order Mach Bands, Chevreul, and Craik-O’Brien-Cornsweet Illusions

Second-order texture illusions, corresponding to Mach bands, Chevreul, and Craik-O’Brien-Cornsweet illusions in brightness perception, are generated by replacing luminance modulations in the classic stimuli with modulations of texture contrast. Whereas the classic (first-order) illusions exhibit changes in lightness or darkness near boundaries, the second-order stimuli exhibit analogous perceptual effects that are increases or decreases in apparent texture contrast with no concomitant change in apparent brightness. The magnitudes of the second-order texture-contrast changes are comparable to brightness changes in the classic first-order illusions. These results indicate that second-order (texture) illusions involve spatial interactions that are remarkably similar to those in first-order (luminance) processing.

A unique approach toward near-infrared fluorescent probes for bioimaging with remarkably enhanced contrast

A universal sensing platform with significantly enhanced image contrast and apparent brightness in biological imaging applications.

Discovery, Observational Data and the Orbit of the Transneptunian Object (420356) Praamžius

A project for astrometric and photometric observations of asteroids with the VATT telescope on Mt. Graham is described. One of the most important results is the discovery of the Transneptunian object (420356) Praamžius. We computed its orbit applying 198 optical observations from 2003 February 1 to 2016 January 30. We also followed its orbit searching for minimal distances to Neptune between the years 17 000 and −13 000. Combined with the apparent brightness, the orbit gives the absolute magnitude