Search Publications
Multi-instrument observations of the solar eclipse on 20 March 2015 and its effects on the ionosphere over Belgium and Europe
De Keyser, Johan; Berghmans, David; West, Matthew J. +19 more
A total solar eclipse occurred on 20 March 2015, with a totality path passing mostly above the North Atlantic Ocean, which resulted in a partial solar eclipse over Belgium and large parts of Europe. In anticipation of this event, a dedicated observational campaign was set up at the Belgian Solar-Terrestrial Centre of Excellence (STCE). The objecti…
The VMC survey - XXIII. Model fitting of light and radial velocity curves of Small Magellanic Cloud classical Cepheids
Clementini, G.; Ripepi, V.; Molinaro, R. +7 more
We present the results of the χ2 minimization model fitting technique applied to optical and near-infrared photometric and radial velocity data for a sample of nine fundamental and three first overtone classical Cepheids in the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC). The near-infrared photometry (JK filters) was obtained by the European Southern …
The Scientific Foundations of Forecasting Magnetospheric Space Weather
Eastwood, J. P.; Nakamura, R.; Turc, L. +2 more
The magnetosphere is the lens through which solar space weather phenomena are focused and directed towards the Earth. In particular, the non-linear interaction of the solar wind with the Earth's magnetic field leads to the formation of highly inhomogenous electrical currents in the ionosphere which can ultimately result in damage to and problems w…
Cosmic phylogeny: reconstructing the chemical history of the solar neighbourhood with an evolutionary tree
Jofré, Paula; Das, Payel; Foley, Robert +1 more
Using 17 chemical elements as a proxy for stellar DNA, we present a full phylogenetic study of stars in the solar neighbourhood. This entails applying a clustering technique that is widely used in molecular biology to construct an evolutionary tree from which three branches emerge. These are interpreted as stellar populations that separate in age …
Intrinsic AGN SED & black hole growth in the Palomar-Green quasars
Lani, Caterina; Lutz, Dieter; Netzer, Hagai
We present a new analysis of the Palomar-Green quasar sample based on Spitzer and Herschel observations. (I) Assuming polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH)-based star formation luminosities (LSF) similar to Symeonidis et al. (S16), we find mean and median intrinsic active galactic nucleus (AGN) spectral energy distributions (SEDs). Thes…
Swift Observations of SMC X-3 during Its 2016-2017 Super-Eddington Outburst
Wang, Wei; Weng, Shan-Shan; Ge, Ming-Yu +4 more
The Be X-ray pulsar SMC X-3 underwent a giant outburst from 2016 August to 2017 March, which was monitored with the Swift satellite. During the outburst, its broadband flux increased dramatically, and the unabsorbed X-ray luminosity reached an extreme value of ∼ {10}39 erg s-1 around August 24. Using the Swift/XRT data, we me…
Evidence against a supervoid causing the CMB Cold Spot
Kovács, András; Shanks, Tom; Bremer, Malcolm N. +5 more
We report the results of the 2dF-VST ATLAS Cold Spot galaxy redshift survey (2CSz) based on imaging from VST ATLAS and spectroscopy from 2dF AAOmega over the core of the CMB Cold Spot. We sparsely surveyed the inner 5° radius of the Cold Spot to a limit of IAB ≤ 19.2, sampling ∼7000 galaxies at z < 0.4. We have found voids at z = 0.1…
Astrometric Evidence for a Population of Dislodged AGNs
Chambers, Kenneth C.; Magnier, Eugene A.; Rest, Armin +5 more
We investigate a sample of 2293 ICRF2 extragalactic radio-loud sources with accurate positions determined by VLBI, mostly active galactic nuclei (AGNs) and quasars, which are cross-matched with optical sources in the first Gaia release (Gaia DR1). The distribution of offsets between the VLBI sources and their optical counterparts is strongly non-G…
A Multi-planet System Transiting the V = 9 Rapidly Rotating F-Star HD 106315
Vanderburg, Andrew; Cargile, Phillip A.; Bieryla, Allyson +10 more
We report the discovery of a multi-planet system orbiting HD 106315, a rapidly rotating mid F-type star, using data from the K2 mission. HD 106315 hosts a 2.51 ± 0.12 R ⊕ sub-Neptune in a 9.5-day orbit and a {4.31}-0.27+0.24 {R}\oplus super-Neptune in a 21-day orbit. The projected rotational velocity of…
HIFI Spectroscopy of H2O Submillimeter Lines in Nuclei of Actively Star-forming Galaxies
Menten, K. M.; van der Werf, P.; Stutzki, J. +10 more
We present a systematic survey of multiple velocity-resolved H2O spectra using Herschel/Heterodyne Instrument for the Far Infrared (HIFI) toward nine nearby actively star-forming galaxies. The ground-state and low-excitation lines (E up ≤ 130 K) show profiles with emission and absorption blended together, while absorption-fre…