ABSTRACT
We report on the occultation of the star TYC 1947-290-1 by the asteroid (87) Sylvia. While asteroidal occultations occurring at fixed professional-level locations are relatively rare and are ...only recently starting to be observed with sufficiently high time resolution and sensitivity, they have the capability to measure sub-milliarcsecond angular diameters. The event described here was especially outstanding because the star was revealed to be a small-separation binary (≈10 mas at discovery), while at the same time the asteroid is not only one of the largest in size but it also has two satellite moons. The observations were carried out at the Russian 6-m telescope in 2019 December, and initially consisted of both a fast photometric series of the occultation itself, as well as of extensive speckle interferometry of the star and asteroid in the time immediately before and after the occultation. Subsequently, we obtained speckle data of TYC 1947-290-1 over a period of 1 yr after the event. We are able to present a detailed study of the binary star including measurements of the angular diameter of the stellar components, their geometry, and relative fluxes over several bandpasses, and to provide an accurate determination of the size of (87) Sylvia. We emphasize that we have been able to obtain the smallest ever directly measured stellar diameter, below the 100 micro-arcsecond level. Our data are also suitable for imaging of the asteroid by speckle holography, a task which we intend to carry out in a separate work.
ABSTRACT
We report on 26 lunar occultation events observed in the context of a programme started at Devasthal in 2017. In addition to the customary observations with the 1.3-m telescope, we report ...here also the first attempts performed with the TIRCAM2 camera at the 3.6-m Devasthal Optical Telescope in the near-infrared (near-IR). The results consist in the first-time angular diameters for two late-type giants, in a measurement of the well-known asymptotic giant branch pulsating variable SW Vir, and in the measurement of eight small separation binaries one of which is detected for the first time (HR 1860). We also measured the wider binaries SAO 94431 and 55 Tau (twice). The remaining sources were found to be unresolved with upper limits as small as 1 mas. We plan to develop further the high-speed capability of the TIRCAM2 instrument, so as to include in our programme also more near-IR, highly extincted sources.
ABSTRACT
Recently, a novel idea has been proposed to use a spacecraft orbiting closely around the L4 or L5 Lagrangian points of the Earth–Moon system as a vantage location for astronomical ...observations under unique and advantageous conditions, e.g. to investigate the Solar corona or Kordylewski clouds. In this paper, we explore the scientific advantages of this configuration to observe lunar occultations. By using simulations based on actual orbital parameters and detector performance, we find that even a telescope as small as 10 cm in a L4 orbit would enable better light-curve sampling and higher angular resolution than from ground, and open up at the same time new spectral windows such as e.g. in the UV. We focus in particular on angular diameter measurements, which we find would be possible at the 100 $\mu$as level even at magnitudes normally considered faint in the context of ground-based LOs. Considerable benefits would also be afforded in the area of small separation binary objects, not just in terms of angular resolution but also by the capability of L4-based observations to repeat an LO scan of a source at multiple different position angles. Additional science cases would be made possible by the high time resolution intrinsic to the LO technique and the access to UV wavelengths. On-board data pipeline codes already exist, greatly simplifying the automatic pre-processing and the data transfer requirements.
We present the latest lunar occultation (LO) results obtained at the 2.4 m Thai National Telescope, continuing a program started in 2014. We report on 21 LO events for 20 stellar sources, yielding 7 ...binary stars, 1 angular diameter, and 1 star with extended circumstellar emission. These results, some of which are obtained for the first time, are discussed in the context of previous observations when available.
ABSTRACT
We have initiated a program to systematically observe lunar occultations from the SAO RAS 6-m telescope (BTA). So far, 25 events have been recorded with some of them leading to accurate ...measurements of angular diameters in late-type stars and of binary stars. One interesting aspect is that the observations are carried out by the same group and with the same equipment dedicated also to speckle interferometry, so that many of the target objects are being investigated by two independent and complementary techniques almost simultaneously. This represents a novel approach with a potential to provide more complete and extended results than possible until now. In this paper we focus on a general description of the scientific aim and methods, and we provide an overview of the results including an assessment of the quantitative performance, showing that milliarcsecond resolution is achieved on sources as faint as ≈12 mag. Among the sources we discuss in detail are the binary stars SAO 98270 and μ Cet, and the resolved late-type stars 74 Gem, DE Psc, and IRC+00213. Other stars with positive results are the subject of dedicated papers. We foresee to continue routine observations with this facility in the immediate future, and to coordinate with other observatories equipped with similar instrumentation.
Context. The mass-loss process from evolved stars is a key ingredient for our understanding of many fields of astrophysics, including stellar evolution and the chemical enrichment of the interstellar ...medium (ISM) via stellar yields. Nevertheless, many questions are still unsolved, one of which is the geometry of the mass-loss process. Aims. Taking advantage of the results from the Herschel Mass loss of Evolved StarS (MESS) programme, we initiated a coordinated effort to characterise the geometry of mass loss from evolved red giants at various spatial scales. Methods. For this purpose we used the MID-infrared interferometric Instrument (MIDI) to resolve the inner envelope of 14 asymptotic giant branch stars (AGBs) in the MESS sample. In this contribution we present an overview of the interferometric data collected within the frame of our Large Programme, and we also add archive data for completeness. We studied the geometry of the inner atmosphere by comparing the observations with predictions from different geometric models. Results. Asymmetries are detected for the following five stars: R Leo, RT Vir, π1Gruis, omi Ori, and R Crt. All the objects are O-rich or S-type, suggesting that asymmetries in the N band are more common among stars with such chemistry. We speculate that this fact is related to the characteristics of the dust grains. Except for one star, no interferometric variability is detected, i.e. the changes in size of the shells of non-mira stars correspond to changes of the visibility of less than 10%. The observed spectral variability confirms previous findings from the literature. The detection of dust in our sample follows the location of the AGBs in the IRAS colour–colour diagram: more dust is detected around oxygen-rich stars in region II and in the carbon stars in region VII. The SiC dust feature does not appear in the visibility spectrum of the U Ant and S Sct, which are two carbon stars with detached shells. This finding has implications for the theory of SiC dust formation.
We have recorded three lunar occultations of Aldebaran (a Tau) at different telescopes and using various band-passes, from the ultraviolet to the far red. The data have been analysed using both ...model-dependent and model-independent methods. The derived uniform-disc angular diameter values have been converted to limb-darkened values using model atmosphere relations and are found in broad agreement among themselves and with previous literature values. The limb-darkened diameter is about 20.3 mas on average. However, we have found indications that the photospheric brightness profile of Aldebaran may have not been symmetric, a finding already reported by other authors for this and for similar late-type stars. At the sampling scale of our brightness profile, between 1 and 2 mas, the uniform and limb-darkened disc models may not be a good description for Aldebaran. The asymmetries appear to differ with wavelength and over the 137-d time span of our measurements. Surface spots appear as a likely explanation for the differences between observations and the models.
The HU Aqr planetary system hypothesis revisited Goździewski, K; Słowikowska, A; Dimitrov, D ...
Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society,
04/2015, Volume:
448, Issue:
2
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
Open access
We study the mid-egress eclipse timing data gathered for the cataclysmic binary HU Aquarii during the years 1993–2014. The (O−C) residuals were previously attributed to a single ∼7 Jupiter mass ...companion in ∼5 au orbit or to a stable two-planet system with an unconstrained outermost orbit. We present 22 new observations gathered between 2011 June and 2014 July with four instruments around the world. They reveal a systematic deviation of ∼60–120 s from the older ephemeris. We re-analyse the whole set of the timing data available. Our results provide an erratum to the previous HU Aqr planetary models, indicating that the hypothesis for a third and fourth body in this system is uncertain. The dynamical stability criterion and a particular geometry of orbits rule out coplanar two-planet configurations. A putative HU Aqr planetary system may be more complex, e.g. highly non-coplanar. Indeed, we found examples of three-planet configurations with the middle planet in a retrograde orbit, which are stable for at least 1 Gyr, and consistent with the observations. The (O−C) may be also driven by oscillations of the gravitational quadrupole moment of the secondary, as predicted by the Lanza et al. modification of the Applegate mechanism. Further systematic, long-term monitoring of HU Aqr is required to interpret the (O−C) residuals.
Our Solar System was formed from a cloud of gas and dust. Most of the dust mass is contained in amorphous silicates, yet crystalline silicates are abundant throughout the Solar System, reflecting the ...thermal and chemical alteration of solids during planet formation. (Even primitive bodies such as comets contain crystalline silicates.) Little is known about the evolution of the dust that forms Earth-like planets. Here we report spatially resolved detections and compositional analyses of these building blocks in the innermost two astronomical units of three proto-planetary disks. We find the dust in these regions to be highly crystallized, more so than any other dust observed in young stars until now. In addition, the outer region of one star has equal amounts of pyroxene and olivine, whereas the inner regions are dominated by olivine. The spectral shape of the inner-disk spectra shows surprising similarity with Solar System comets. Radial-mixing models naturally explain this resemblance as well as the gradient in chemical composition. Our observations imply that silicates crystallize before any terrestrial planets are formed, consistent with the composition of meteorites in the Solar System.
We report on 13 subarcsecond binaries, detected by means of lunar occultations in the near-infrared at the ESO Very Large Telescope (VLT). They are all first-time detections except for the visual ...binary HD 158122, which we resolved for the first time in the near-infrared. The primaries have magnitudes in the range K = 4.5-10.0, and companions in the range K = 6.8-11.1. The magnitude differences have a median value of 2.4, with the largest being 4.6. The projected separations are in the range of 4-168 mas, with a median of 13 mas. We discuss and compare our results with the available literature. With this paper, we conclude the mining for binary star detections in the 1226 occultations recorded at the VLT with the ISAAC instrument. We expect that the majority of these binaries may be unresolvable by adaptive optics on current telescopes, and they might be challenging for long-baseline interferometry. However, they constitute an interesting sample for future larger telescopes and for astrometric missions such as GAIA.
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