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Even though the original Kepler mission ended due to mechanical failures, the Kepler satellite continues to collect data. Using classification models, we can understand the features exoplanets possess and then use those features to…
We utilize the well-established properties of the solar gravitational lens (SGL) to consider realistic observational scenarios. Actual exoplanets, which may be the target of an SGL observational campaign, are not stationary. Their…
In a companion article, we discussed the radiometric sensitivity and resolution of a new passive optical sensing technique, Space-Time Projection Optical Tomography (SPOT), to detect and track sub-cm and larger space debris for Space…
Optical alignment and testing of the Integrated Science Instrument Module of the James Webb Space Telescope is underway. We describe the Optical Telescope Element Simulator used to feed the science instruments with point images of precisely…
As astronomical observations from space benefit from improved sensitivity, the effectiveness of scientific programs is becoming limited by systematics that often originate in poorly understood image sensor behavior. Traditional, bottom-up…
Observational astronomy is plagued with selection effects that must be taken into account when interpreting data from astronomical surveys. Because of the physical limitations of observing time and instrument sensitivity, datasets are…
Realistic simulations of experiments at large scale photon facilities, such as optical laser laboratories, synchrotrons, and free electron lasers, are of vital importance for the successful preparation, execution, and analysis of these…
Direct imaging of widely separated exoplanets from space will obtain their reflected light spectra and measure atmospheric properties. Previous calculations have shown that a change in the orbital phase would cause a spectral signal, but…
A new material characterization technique is emerging for the transmission electron microscope (TEM). Using electron energy-loss spectroscopy, real space mappings of the underlying electronic transitions in the sample, so called orbital…
Targeted spectroscopic exoplanet surveys face the challenge of maximizing their planet detection rates by means of careful planning. The number of possible observation combinations for a large exoplanet survey, i.e., the sequence of…
We present a Python-based framework for the complete operation of a robotic telescope observatory. It provides out-of-the-box support for many popular camera types while other hardware like telescopes, domes, and weather stations can easily…
"exoplanet" is a toolkit for probabilistic modeling of astronomical time series data, with a focus on observations of exoplanets, using PyMC3 (Salvatier et al., 2016). PyMC3 is a flexible and high-performance model-building language and…
This work investigates the use of stellar occultation measurements to enhance the orbit determination performance of the Lunar Meteoroid Impact Observer (LUMIO) mission, operating from a quasi-Halo orbit around the Earth-Moon L2 point.…
A defocused image of a bright single star in a small telescope contains rich information on the optical turbulence, i.e. the seeing. The concept of a novel turbulence monitor based on recording sequences of ring-like intrafocal images and…
Circumstellar disks play a key role in the understanding of stellar systems. Direct imaging of such extended structures is a challenging task. Current post-processing techniques, first tailored for exoplanets imaging, tend to produce…
We give an overview of the SImulation of X-ray TElescopes (SIXTE) software package, a generic, mission-independent Monte Carlo simulation toolkit for X-ray astronomical instrumentation. The package is based on a modular approach for the…
Aims: We compare the apparent difference in timing of transiting planets (or eclipsing binaries) that are observed from widely separated locations (parallactic delay). Methods: A simple geometrical argument allow us to show that the…
Photonic platforms have emerged as versatile and powerful classical simulators of quantum dynamics, providing clean, controllable optical analogs of extended structured (i.e., crystalline) electronic systems. While most realizations to date…
Space missions offer unique opportunities for studying ultra-high-energy (UHE) cosmic rays and neutrinos by leveraging secondary emissions generated by extensive air showers (EAS) resulting from their interactions with the atmosphere or…
Wave optics is a prominent part of the undergraduate physics curriculum, and many undergraduate labs contain experiments on wave optics. In our 3rd-year undergraduate lab, we run numerical simulations alongside the experiments (and when…