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Large Magellanic Cloud Near-infrared Synoptic Survey. II. The Wesenheit Relations and Their Application to the Distance Scale
Wagner-Kaiser, R.; Sarajedini, Ata; Macri, Lucas M. +4 more
We present new near-infrared (NIR) Cepheid period-Wesenheit (P-W) relations in the LMC using time-series observations from the Large Magellanic Cloud NIR Synoptic Survey. We also derive optical+NIR P-W relations using V and I magnitudes from the Optical Gravitational Lensing Experiment. We employ our new JHKs data to determine an indepe…
Optical Spectroscopic Observations of Gamma-ray Blazar Candidates. V. TNG, KPNO, and OAN Observations of Blazar Candidates of Uncertain Type in the Northern Hemisphere
Smith, Howard A.; Masetti, N.; Jiménez-Bailón, E. +12 more
The extragalactic γ-ray sky is dominated by emission from blazars, a peculiar class of active galactic nuclei. Many of the γ-ray sources included in the Fermi-Large Area Telescope Third Source catalog (3FGL) are classified as blazar candidates of uncertain type (BCUs) because there are no optical spectra available in the literature to confirm thei…
Observational Constraints on Planet Nine: Cassini Range Observations
Holman, Matthew J.; Payne, Matthew J.
We examine the tidal perturbations induced by a possible additional, distant planet in the solar system on the distance between the Earth and the Cassini spacecraft. We find that measured range residuals alone can significantly constrain the sky position, distance, and mass of the perturbing planet to sections of the sky essentially orthogonal to …
The Spectral Energy Distribution of the Coldest Known Brown Dwarf
Luhman, K. L.; Esplin, T. L.
WISE J085510.83-071442.5 (hereafter WISE 0855-0714) is the coldest known brown dwarf (∼250 K) and the fourth-closest known system to the Sun (2.2 pc). It has been previously detected only in the J band and two mid-IR bands. To better measure its spectral energy distribution (SED), we have performed deep imaging of WISE 0855-0714 in six optical and…
Changes in the Physical Environment of the Inner Coma of 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko with Decreasing Heliocentric Distance
Jorda, L.; Lamy, P. L.; Lara, L. M. +43 more
The Wide Angle Camera of the OSIRIS instrument on board the Rosetta spacecraft is equipped with several narrow-band filters that are centered on the emission lines and bands of various fragment species. These are used to determine the evolution of the production and spatial distribution of the gas in the inner coma of comet 67P with time and helio…
The Distance to M104
Dolphin, Andrew E.; Skillman, Evan D.; Berg, Danielle +2 more
M104 (NGC 4594; the Sombrero galaxy) is a nearby, well-studied elliptical galaxy included in scores of surveys focused on understanding the details of galaxy evolution. Despite the importance of observations of M104, a consensus distance has not yet been established. Here, we use newly obtained Hubble Space Telescope optical imaging to measure the…
Deep HST/STIS Visible-light Imaging of Debris Systems around Solar Analog Hosts
Henning, Thomas; Stark, Christopher C.; Debes, John H. +11 more
We present new Hubble Space Telescope observations of three a priori known starlight-scattering circumstellar debris systems (CDSs) viewed at intermediate inclinations around nearby close-solar analog stars: HD 207129, HD 202628, and HD 202917. Each of these CDSs possesses ring-like components that are more massive analogs of our solar system's Ed…
Parallax Results from URAT Epoch Data
Finch, Charlie T.; Zacharias, Norbert
We present 1103 trigonometric parallaxes and proper motions from the United States Naval Observatory Robotic Astrometric Telescope (URAT) observations taken at the Naval Observatory Flagstaff Station (NOFS) over a three-year period from 2012 April to 2015 June covering the entire sky north of about -10^\circ decl. We selected two samples: previous…
Comparing [C II] , HI, and CO Dynamics of Nearby Galaxies
Boquien, M.; Armus, L.; Walter, F. +12 more
The H I and CO components of the interstellar medium (ISM) are usually used to derive the dynamical mass {M}{{dyn}} of nearby galaxies. Both components become too faint to be used as a tracer in observations of high-redshift galaxies. In those cases, the 158 µm line of atomic carbon ([C II]) may be the only way to derive {M}{…
Star Formation in 3CR Radio Galaxies and Quasars at z < 1
Wilkes, Belinda J.; Willner, S. P.; Haas, Martin +8 more
Using the Herschel Space Observatory we have observed a representative sample of 87 powerful 3CR sources at redshift z\lt 1. The far-infrared (FIR, 70-500 µm) photometry is combined with mid-infrared (MIR) photometry from the Wide-Field Infrared Survey Explorer and cataloged data to analyze the complete spectral energy distributions (SEDs) o…