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In survey series of unknown Earth orbiting objects, no a priori orbital elements are available. In surveys of wide field telescopes possibly many nonresolved object images are present on the single frames of the series. Reliable methods…
The attitude stabilization of a charged rigid spacecraft in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) using torques due to Lorentz force in pitch and roll directions is considered. A spacecraft that generates an electrostatic charge on its surface in the Earth…
Radiolocation methods of probing minor celestial bodies (asteroids) by the nanosecond pulses can be used for monitoring of near-Earth space with the purpose of identification of hazardous cosmic objects able to impact the Earth. Development…
A significant fraction of an exoplanet transit model evaluation time is spent calculating projected distances between the planet and its host star. This is a relatively fast operation for a circular orbit, but slower for an eccentric one.…
Armed with an astrolabe and Kepler's laws one can arrive at accurate estimates of the orbits of planets.
Stellar occultations provide a powerful tool to explore objects of the outer solar system. The Gaia mission now provides milli-arcsec accuracy on the predictions of these events and makes possible observations that were previously…
We present a novel orbit parameterization in spherical coordinates. This parameterization enables the mixing of varying and invariant orbital parameters, and clarifies the physics of the orbit. It also simplifies the process of placing…
We present a simple but powerful technique for the analysis of polarized emission from radio galaxies and other objects. It is based on the fact that images of Stokes parameters often contain considerably more information than is available…
For 61 transiting hot Jupiters, the projection of the angle between the orbital plane and the stellar equator (called the spin-orbit angle) has been measured. For about half of them, a significant misalignment is detected, and retrograde…
Large scale surveys have brought about a revolution in astronomy. To analyse the resulting wealth of data, we need automated tools to identify, classify, and quantify the important underlying structures. We present here a method for…
We present preliminary results from measuring Galactic orientation angles of 800 elliptical and bipolar Planetary Nebulae (PNe) in the Hong Kong/Australian Astronomical Observatory/Strasbourg Observatory H-alpha Planetary Nebula (HASH)…
We discuss the interpretation of distortions to stellar spectral lines with particular attention to line bisectors in the presence of an orbiting planetary companion. We present a simple model whereby light reflected by the companion can…
Rotation curves of spiral galaxies are the major tool for determining the distribution of mass in spiral galaxies. They provide fundamental information for understanding the dynamics, evolution and formation of spiral galaxies. We describe…
We recommend an intensive effort to survey and understand the obliquity distribution of small close-in extrasolar planets over the coming decade. The orbital obliquities of exoplanets--i.e., the relative orientation between the planetary…
The detections of small, rocky exoplanets have surged in recent years and will likely continue to do so. To know whether a rocky exoplanet is habitable, we have to characterise its atmosphere and surface. A promising characterisation method…
Co-orbital planets have not yet been discovered, although they constitute a frequent by-product of planetary formation and evolution models. This lack may be due to observational biases, since the main detection methods are unable to spot…
The trajectories of colloidal particles driven through a periodic potential energy landscape can become kinetically locked in to directions dictated by the landscape's symmetries. When the landscape is realized with forces exerted by a…
Transiting planet lightcurves have historically been used predominantly for measuring the depth and hence ratio of the planet-star radii, p. Equations have been previously presented by Seager & Mallen-Ornelas (2003) for the analysis of the…
We describe a technique that uses radial color gradients in disk galaxies to detect the presence of bulk non-circular motion or elliptical orbits. In a disk galaxy with both a radial color gradient and non-circular motion, isochromes or…
We describe a new iteration method to estimate asteroid coordinates, which is based on the subpixel Gaussian model of a discrete object image. The method operates by continuous parameters (asteroid coordinates) in a discrete observational…