Related papers: Interplanetary Laser Tri-lateration Network: simul…
We propose a numerical interferometry method for identification of optical multiply-scattering systems when only intensity can be measured. Our method simplifies the calibration of optical transmission matrices from a quadratic to a linear…
Astrometry as a technique has so far proved of limited utility when employed as either a follow-up tool or to independently search for planetary mass companions orbiting nearby stars. However, this is bound to change during the next decade.…
The Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) will perform a two-year survey of nearly the entire sky, with the main goal of detecting exoplanets smaller than Neptune around bright and nearby stars. There do not appear to be any…
Low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites have been envisioned as a significant component of the sixth generation (6G) network architecture for achieving ubiquitous coverage and seamless access. However, the implementation of LEO satellites is…
This paper examines options for orbit configurations for a space interferometer. In contrast to previously presented concepts for space very long baseline interferometry, we propose a combination of regular and retrograde near-Earth…
The Space Interferometry Mission (SIM) will make precise astrometric measurements that can be used to detect planets around nearby stars. We have simulated SIM observations and estimated the ability of SIM to detect planets with given…
Astrometry is a powerful technique in astrophysics to measure three-dimensional positions of stars and other astrophysical objects, including exoplanets and the gravitational influence they have on each other. Interferometric astrometry is…
The proposed US Extremely Large Telescope (ELT) Program would secure national open access to at least 25% of the observing time on the Thirty Meter Telescope in the north and the Giant Magellan Telescope in the south. ELTs would advance…
Temporal scatter-broadening can seriously affect our ability to find pulsars orbiting the central mass in our Galaxy. Many of these invaluable probes of geometry around the black hole are expected, but none have been found in close orbits…
Planet formation is often considered in the context of one circumstellar disk around one star. Yet stellar binary systems are ubiquitous, and thus a substantial fraction of all potential planets must form and evolve in more complex,…
The Lunar Laser Ranging (LLR) experiment has accumulated 50 years of range data of improving accuracy from ground stations to the laser retroreflector arrays (LRAs) on the lunar surface. The upcoming decade offers several opportunities to…
For much of human history we have wondered how our solar system formed, and whether there are any other planets like ours around other stars. Only in the last 20 years have we had direct evidence for the existence of exoplanets, with the…
Direct-sampling observations of interstellar neutral (ISN) species and their secondary populations give information about the physical state of the local interstellar medium and processes occuring in the outer heliosheath. Such observations…
The goal of the present paper is to develop a simplified model to describe the gravitational fields of elongated asteroids. The proposed model consists of representing an elongated asteroid using a triple-particle-linkage system distributed…
We propose a realistic pathway to satisfy two goals, thermal infrared studies of Earth-like exoplanets and interferometric architectures.
This paper discusses experimental design for the Laser Astrometric Test Of Relativity (LATOR) mission. LATOR is designed to reach unprecedented accuracy of 1 part in 10^8 in measuring the curvature of the solar gravitational field as given…
We explore interstellar light transmission facilitated by gravitational lensing, focusing on axially-symmetric lensing configurations where the transmitter, lens, and receiver are nearly aligned. Positioning an optical transmitter in the…
For many years, lunar laser ranging (LLR) observations using a green wavelength have suffered an inhomogeneity problem both temporally and spatially. This paper reports on the implementation of a new infrared detection at the Grasse LLR…
Understanding of the formation and evolution of the Solar System requires understanding key and common materials found on and in planetary bodies. Mineral mixing and its implications on planetary body formation is a topic of high interest…
Kepler, K2, TESS, and similar time-domain photometric projects, while designed with exoplanet detection in mind, are also well-suited projects for searches for large artificial structures orbiting other stars in the Galaxy. An effort to…