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Publication Details
AFRICAN RESEARCH NEXUS
SHINING A SPOTLIGHT ON AFRICAN RESEARCH
earth and planetary sciences
Observational detection of eight mutual eclipses and occultations between the satellites of Uranus
Astronomy and Astrophysics, Volume 497, No. 2, Year 2009
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Description
Aims. We carried out observations, with five different instruments ranging in aperture from 0.4 m to 10 m, of the satellites of Uranus during that planet's 2007 Equinox. Our observations covered specific intervals of time when mutual eclipses and occultations were predicted. Methods. The observations were carried out in the near-infrared part of the spectrum to mitigate the glare from the planet. Frames were acquired at rates >1/min. Following modelling and subtraction of the planetary source from these frames, differential aperture photometry was carried out on the satellite pairs involved in the predicted events. In all cases but one, nearby bright satellites were used as reference sources. Results. We have obtained fifteen individual lightcurves, eight of which show a clear drop in the flux from the satellite pair, indicating that a mutual event took place. Three of these involve the faint satellite Miranda. All eight lightcurves were model-fitted to yield best estimates of the time of maximum flux drop and the impact parameter. In three cases best-fit albedo ratios were also derived. We used these estimates to generate intersatellite astrometric positions with typical formal uncertainties of <0. -01, several times better than conventional astrometry of these satellites. The statistics of our estimated event midtimes show a systematic lag, with the observations later than predictions. In addition, lightcurves of two partial eclipses of Miranda show no statistically significant evidence of a light drop, at variance with the predictions. These indicate that new information about the Uranian satellite system is contained in observations of mutual events acquired here and by other groups. © ESO 2009.
Authors & Co-Authors
Christou, Apostolos A.
United Kingdom, Armagh
Armagh Observatory
Lewis, Fraser W.
United Kingdom, Cardiff
Cardiff University
United States, Santa Barbara
Las Cumbres Observatory Global Telescope Network, Inc
United Kingdom, Milton Keynes
The Open University
Roche, Paul D.
United Kingdom, Cardiff
Cardiff University
United States, Santa Barbara
Las Cumbres Observatory Global Telescope Network, Inc
United Kingdom, Milton Keynes
The Open University
Hashimoto, Yasuhiro
South Africa, Cape Town
South African Astronomical Observatory
South Africa, Observatory
Southern African Large Telescope Foundation
O'Donoghue, Darragh E.
South Africa, Cape Town
South African Astronomical Observatory
Worters, Hannah L.
South Africa, Cape Town
South African Astronomical Observatory
South Africa, Observatory
Southern African Large Telescope Foundation
Buckley, David A.H.
South Africa, Cape Town
South African Astronomical Observatory
South Africa, Observatory
Southern African Large Telescope Foundation
Michalowski, Tadeusz
Poland, Poznan
Uniwersytet Im. Adama Mickiewicza w Poznaniu
Asher, D. J.
United Kingdom, Armagh
Armagh Observatory
Bitsaki, A.
Greece, Athens
Hellenic American Educational Foundation
Psalidas, A.
Greece, Patra
Hellenic Open University
Tsamis, V.
Greece, Athens
Hellenic Psychiatric Association
Greece, Athens
Ellinogermaniki Agogi
Gourgouliatos, Konstantinos Nektarios
United Kingdom, Cambridge
Institute of Astronomy
Liakos, Alexios
Greece, Athens
National and Kapodistrian University of Athens
Hidas, M. G.
United States, Santa Barbara
Las Cumbres Observatory Global Telescope Network, Inc
United States, Santa Barbara
University of California, Santa Barbara
Brown, Timothy M.
United States, Santa Barbara
Las Cumbres Observatory Global Telescope Network, Inc
United States, Santa Barbara
University of California, Santa Barbara
Statistics
Citations: 16
Authors: 16
Affiliations: 14
Identifiers
Doi:
10.1051/0004-6361/200811523
ISSN:
00046361
e-ISSN:
14320746