Related papers: Space Debris -- Optical Measurements
Artificial satellites and space debris increasingly contaminate astronomical images, affecting scientific surveys and producing large volumes of streaked exposures. Manual inspection is no longer feasible at scale, and reliable detection…
Asteroids can be considered as sources of contamination of point sources and also sources of confusion noise, depending whether their presence is detected in the image or their flux is under the detection limit. We estimate that at low…
Observations of circumstellar disks provide a powerful tool for our understanding of planetary systems dynamics. Analogs to the Solar System asteroid belts, debris disks result from the collision of the remaining solid material of the…
Laboratory experiments provide a valuable complement to explore the fundamental physics of space plasmas without the limitations inherent to spacecraft measurements. Specifically, experiments overcome the restriction that spacecraft…
The serendipitous detection of stellar occultations by Outer Solar System objects is a powerful method for ascertaining the small end ($r \lesssim 15$ km) of the size distribution of Kuiper Belt Objects and may potentially allow the…
The Large Synoptic Survey Telescope is designed to provide an unprecedented optical imaging dataset that will support investigations of our Solar System, Galaxy and Universe, across half the sky and over ten years of repeated observation.…
I briefly review recent developments in the study of circumstellar debris disks, particularly at infrared and sub-millimeter wavelengths, and discuss possible avenues of research for the near future.
Exoplanetary science has reached a historic moment. The James Webb Space Telescope will be capable of probing the atmospheres of rocky planets, and perhaps even search for biologically produced gases. However this is contingent on…
The vertical thickness of debris discs is often used as a measure of these systems' dynamical excitation and as clues to the presence of hidden massive perturbers such as planetary embryos. However, this argument could be flawed because the…
We present a World-Wide-Web-accessible database of astronomical images which suffer from a variety of observational problems, ranging from common occurences, such as dust grains on filters and/or the dewar window, to more exotic phenomena,…
Looking ahead to the next decade and imagining the landscape of astronomy in 2020, it is clear that astronomical surveys, large and small, plus extensive follow-up projects, will be a great engine of progress in our profession. Surveys have…
The shell bound by the Karman line at a height of 80 to 100km above the Earth's surface, and Geosynchronous Orbit, at 36,000km, is defined as the orbital space surrounding the Earth. It is within this region, and especially in Low Earth…
The Debris Disk Explorer (DDX) is a proposed balloon-borne investigation of debris disks around nearby stars. Debris disks are analogs of the Asteroid Belt (mainly rocky) and Kuiper Belt (mainly icy) in our Solar System. DDX will measure…
Of all planet-finding techniques, microlensing is potentially the most sensitive to Earth-mass planets. However, microlensing lightcurves generically yield only the planet-star mass ratio: the mass itself is uncertain to a factor of a few.…
Radio astronomical observations have very poor signal to noise ratios, unlike in other disciplines. On the other hand, it is possible to observe the object of interest for long time intervals as well as using a wider bandwidth.…
I review the transfer of technology from accelerator-based equipment to space-borne astroparticle detectors. Requirements for detection, identification and measurement of ions, electrons and photons in space are recalled. The additional…
Plastic has imbibed itself as an indispensable part of our day to day activities, becoming a source of problems due to its non-biodegradable nature and cheaper production prices. With these problems, comes the challenge of mitigating and…
White dwarf planetary science is a rapidly growing field of research featuring a diverse set of observations and theoretical explorations. Giant planets, minor planets, and debris discs have all been detected orbiting white dwarfs. The…
Massive Compact Objects (Machos) are currently being discovered at substantially higher rates than would be expected from standard models of known stellar populations. To determine whether they are due to non-standard distri- butions of…
With the development of coastal construction, a large amount of human-generated waste, particularly plastic debris, is continuously entering the ocean, posing a severe threat to marine ecosystems. The key to effectively addressing plastic…