Related papers: Eclipse, solar limb darkening function and diamete…
For terrestrial exoplanets with thin atmospheres or no atmospheres, the surface contributes light to the reflected light signal of the planet. Measurement of the variety of disk-integrated brightnesses of bodies in the Solar System and the…
We describe a new technique to measure the height of the X-ray limb with observations from occulted X-ray flare sources as observed by the RHESSI (the Reuven Ramaty High-Energy Spectroscopic Imager) satellite. This method has model…
Stellar rotation is closely linked to both age and magnetic activity. Through gyrochronology, it provides a means to estimate stellar ages and trace the evolution of planetary systems, and it is also crucial to constrain and correct stellar…
The geometric Baade-Wesselink method is one of the most promising techniques for obtaining a better calibration of the Cepheid period-luminosity relation by means of interferometric measurements of accurate diameters. In this paper we…
We introduce a new method for the investigation of low-amplitude transverse oscillations of solar plasma non-uniformities, such as coronal loops, individual strands in coronal arcades, jets, prominence fibrils, polar plumes, and other…
This white paper is a call for a concerted effort to support total solar eclipse observations over the next decade, in particular for the 21 August 2017 eclipse which will traverse the US continent. With the recent advances in image…
The variations of gravity were measured with a high precision LaCoste-Romberg D gravimeter during a total solar eclipse to investigate the effect of solar eclipse on the gravitational field. The observed anomaly $(7.0 \pm 2.7) \times…
Lunar Laser Ranging (LLR) measurements are crucial for advanced exploration of the laws of fundamental gravitational physics and geophysics. Current LLR technology allows us to measure distances to the Moon with a precision approaching 1…
The availability of a number of new interferometric measurements of Main Sequence and subgiant stars makes it possible to calibrate the surface brightness relations of these stars using exclusively direct angular diameter measurements.…
Model-predicted and observed properties of the brightness distribution on M-type Mira disks are discussed. Fundamental issues of limb-darkening and diameter definition, of assigning observational data to diameter-type quantities and of…
Here we explore a novel approach in order to try to measure the post-Newtonian 1/c^2 Lense-Thirring secular effect induced by the gravitomagnetic field of the Sun on the planetary orbital motion. Due to the relative smallness of the solar…
The geometry of a star's Alfv\'en surface determines stellar angular momentum loss, separates a causally distinct 'corona' and stellar wind, and potentially affects exoplanetary habitability. The solar Alfv\'en surface is the only such…
Accurate limb-darkening models are needed for accurate characterisation of eclipsing binary stars and transiting exoplanets from the analysis of their light curves. The limb-darkening observed in solar-type stars from the analysis of light…
Limb darkening is an important stellar phenomenon and must be accounted for in the study of stellar spectra, eclipsing binaries, transiting planetary systems, and microlensing events. The power-2 limb-darkening law provides a good match to…
The measurement of an exoplanet's oblateness and obliquity provides insights into the planet's internal structure and formation history. Previous work using small differences in the shape of the transit light curve has been moderately…
To determine the local dark matter density (LDMD) of the solar system is a classical problem in astronomy. Recently, a novel method of determining the LDMD from stellar distribution and vertical velocity dispersion profiles perpendicular to…
Modern astrometry is based on angular measurements at the micro-arcsecond level. At this accuracy a fully general relativistic treatment of the data reduction is required. This paper concludes a series of articles dedicated to the problem…
Lunar Laser Ranging (LLR) measurements are crucial for advanced exploration of the evolutionary history of the lunar orbit, the laws of fundamental gravitational physics, selenophysics and geophysics as well as for future human missions to…
The published Mount Wilson Doppler-shift measurements of the solar velocity field taken in 1967--1982 are revisited with a more accurate model, which includes two terms representing the meridional flow and three terms corresponding to the…
The observation of a central eclipse from the umbral band and, even better, from its edge allows to measure the solar diameter with an accuracy up to a part over 100000. The data of the annular eclipse of 22 september 2006 observed from…