Search Publications
Investigating the formation of small Solar System objects using stellar occultations by satellites: present, future and its use to update satellite orbits
Sicardy, B.; Desmars, J.; Braga-Ribas, F. +2 more
The history of the outer solar system is intrinsically related to the Giant Planets migration. A massive disk of material within a radius of 30 au was scattered during the planetary migration, creating different dynamic populations in the Transneptunian region. They were formed in a collisional environment when massive collisions allowed them to g…
Centaur 29P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 1 and its near-nucleus environment from a stellar occultation
Sicardy, B.; Ortiz, J. L.; Desmars, J. +9 more
Comets offer valuable insights into the early Solar System's conditions and processes. Stellar occultations enable detailed study of cometary nuclei typically hidden by their coma. Observing the star's light passing through the coma helps infer dust's optical depth near the nucleus and determine dust opacity detection limits. 29P/Schwassmann-Wachm…
Physical characteristics of Jupiter's Trojan (1437) Diomedes from a tri-chord stellar occultation in 2020 and dimensionless three-dimensional model
Sicardy, B.; Gomes-Júnior, A. R.; Ortiz, J. L. +15 more
Jupiter Trojans preserve primitive formation characteristics owing to their collisionless, stable orbits. Determination of their shapes and size-frequency distribution helps constrain the collisional evolution of their parent population, which also originated the Kuiper Belt. We started a programme to find precise sizes/shapes for Trojans, combini…
Contributions of `citizen science' to occultation astronomy
Beisker, Wolfgang; Guhl, Konrad; Midavaine, Thierry
The modern term `citizen science' describes a very old tradition in the natural sciences. Until the specialization of the sciences at the end of the eighteenth century, the emergence of technical universities and the formation of a modern scientific enterprise, citizen science was the norm. Since the 1960s, amateur astronomers have increasingly ob…
Occultation constraints on solar system formation models
Buie, Marc W.; Porter, Simon B.; Keller, John M. +1 more
The process by which a system of non-luminous bodies form around a star is fundamental to understanding the origins of our own solar system and how it fits into the context of other systems we have begun to study around other stars. Some basics of solar system formation have emerged to describe the process by which dust and gas around a newly form…
Ulysses spacecraft in situ detections of cometary dust trails
Krüger, Harald; Grün, Eberhard; Strub, Peter
The Ulysses spacecraft was launched in 1990 and, after a Jupiter swing-by in 1992, became the first interplanetary spacecraft orbiting the Sun on a highly inclined trajectory with an inclination of 79 ∘ . The spacecraft was equipped with an impact ionization dust detector which provided 17 years of in situ dust measurements in interplan…
Acoustic-gravity wave propagation characteristics in three-dimensional radiation hydrodynamic simulations of the solar atmosphere
Carlsson, M.; Rempel, M.; Fleck, B. +3 more
There has been tremendous progress in the degree of realism of three-dimensional radiation magneto-hydrodynamic simulations of the solar atmosphere in the past decades. Four of the most frequently used numerical codes are Bifrost, CO5BOLD, MANCHA3D and MURaM. Here we test and compare the wave propagation characteristics in model runs from these fo…
A new method for detecting solar atmospheric gravity waves
Fleck, Bernhard; Berrilli, Francesco; Calchetti, Daniele +2 more
Internal gravity waves have been observed in the Earth's atmosphere and oceans, on Mars and Jupiter, and in the Sun's atmosphere. Despite ample evidence for the existence of propagating gravity waves in the Sun's atmosphere, we still do not have a full understanding of their characteristics and overall role for the dynamics and energetics of the s…
A review of Morlet wavelet analysis of radial profiles of Saturn's rings
Hedman, Matthew M.; Tiscareno, Matthew S.
Spiral waves propagating in Saturn's rings have wavelengths that vary with radial position within the disc. The best-quality observations of these waves have the form of radial profiles centred on a particular azimuth. In that context, the wavelength of a given spiral wave is seen to change substantially with position along the one-dimensional pro…
The composition of cometary ices
Biver, N.; Bockelée-Morvan, D.
The chemical composition of cometary ices provides clues for the conditions of formation and evolution of the early Solar System. A large number of molecules have been identified in cometary atmospheres, from both ground-based observations and space, including in situ investigations. This includes large organic molecules, which are also observed i…