Related papers: A HERO for general relativity
Observations from the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) have the potential for allowing the helioseismic study of the formation of hundreds of active regions, which would enable us to perform statistical analyses. Our goal is to collate a…
The Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) will soon provide the first high-resolution images of the Galactic Centre supermassive black hole (SMBH) candidate Sagittarius A* (Sgr A*), enabling us to probe gravity in the strong-field regime. Besides…
Models of modified gravity offer promising alternatives to the concordance $\Lambda$CDM cosmology to explain the late-time acceleration of the universe. A popular such model is $f(R)$ gravity, in which the Ricci scalar in the…
We describe some new estimates concerning the recently proposed SEE (Satellite Energy Exchange) experiment for measuring the gravitational interaction parameters in space. The experiment entails precision tracking of the relative motion of…
JEM-EUSO is a space science mission to explore extreme energies and physics of the Universe. Its instrument will watch the dark-side of the earth and will detect UV photons emitted from the extensive air shower caused by an Ultra-High…
The long-term dynamics of the geostationary Earth orbits (GEO) is revisited through the application of canonical perturbation theory. We consider a Hamiltonian model accounting for all major perturbations: geopotential at order and degree…
Searches for physics beyond the Standard Model of particle physics are performed at accelerators worldwide. Although having poorer detection capabilities and large beam uncertainties, ultra high energy cosmic ray (UHECR) experiments present…
The sky-averaged brightness temperature of the 21cm line from neutral hydrogen provides a sensitive probe of the thermal state of the intergalactic medium, particularly before and during Cosmic Dawn and the Epoch of Reionisation. This…
The planned NASA Habitable Worlds Observatory (HWO) flagship mission aims to image and spectroscopically characterise 25 Earth-size planets in the habitable zones of their stars. However, one giant planet in the habitable zone can ruin your…
This paper presents an orbit estimation using non-simultaneous horizon detector measurements in the presence of uncertainties in the celestial body rotational velocity and its geometrical characteristics. The celestial body is modelled as a…
The 2017 Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) observations of the central source in M87 have led to the first measurement of the size of a black-hole shadow. This observation offers a new and clean gravitational test of the black-hole metric in…
The approach of Observational Astronomy is mainly aimed at the construction of larger aperture telescopes, more sensitive detectors and broader wavelength coverage. Certainly fruitful, this approach turns out to be not completely fulfilling…
We reexamine non-Einsteinian effects observable in the orbital motion of low-orbit artificial Earth satellites. The motivations for doing so are twofold: (i) recent theoretical studies suggest that the correct theory of gravity might…
Missions to rendezvous with or capture an asteroid present significant interest both from a geophysical and safety point of view. They are key to the understanding of our solar system are as well stepping stones for interplanetary human…
We report the discovery of Kepler-15b, a new transiting exoplanet detected by NASA's Kepler mission. The transit signal with a period of 4.94 days was detected in the quarter 1 (Q1) Kepler photometry. For the first time, we have used the…
To evaluate a potential usually one analyzes trajectories of test particles. For the Galactic Center case astronomers use bright stars or photons, so there are two basic observational techniques to investigate a gravitational potential,…
We present SpaceHopper, a three-legged, small-scale robot designed for future mobile exploration of asteroids and moons. The robot weighs 5.2kg and has a body size of 245mm while using space-qualifiable components. Furthermore,…
The Energetic X-ray Imaging Survey Telescope (EXIST) is under study for the proposed Black Hole Finder Probe, one of the three Einstein Probe missions in NASA's proposed Beyond Einstein Program. EXIST would have unique capabilities: it…
We derive the secular evolution of the orbital elements of a stellar-mass object orbiting a spinning massive black hole. We use the post-Newtonian approximation in harmonic coordinates, with test-body equations of motion for the…
In this paper we investigate the opportunities offered by the new Earth gravity models from the dedicated CHAMP and, especially, GRACE missions to the project of measuring the general relativistic Lense-Thirring effect with a new Earth's…