Related papers: Roll Angle Adjustment Dims Starlink Satellites
We use 612 single stars with previously published trigonometric parallaxes placing them within 25 pc to evaluate parallaxes released in Gaia's first data release (DR1). We find that the Gaia parallaxes are, on average, $0.24 \pm 0.02$ mas…
Accurate measurement of pulsar distances via astrometry using very long baseline interferometry enables the improvement of Galactic electron density distribution models, improving distance estimates for the vast majority of pulsars for…
A moderately spinning neutron star acquires an oblate shape and a spacetime with a significant quadrupole moment. These two properties affect its apparent surface area for an observer at infinity, as well as the lightcurve arising from a…
Modelling is essential for studies that quantify the impact from satellite downlinks on radio astronomy sites. To estimate this impact it is necessary to know not only the position and velocity of satellites but also their behaviour in the…
Low Earth Orbit Satellite Networks such as Starlink promise to provide world-wide Internet access. While traditionally designed for stationary use, a new dish, released in April 2023 in Europe, provides mobile Internet access including…
Accurate alignment of the radio and optical celestial reference frames requires detailed understanding of physical factors that may cause offsets between the positions of the same object measured in different spectral bands. Opacity in…
We report a simulation and quantification of the impact of the Starlink constellation on LSST in terms of the trail surface brightness using a BRDF-based satellite photometric model. A total of 11,908 satellites from the Gen1 and Gen2A…
The highly flattened distribution of satellite galaxies in the Milky Way presents a number of puzzles. Firstly, its polar alignment stands out from the planar alignments commonly found in other galaxies. Secondly, recent proper motion…
We present the historic light curve of the BL Lac object S5 0716+714, spanning the time interval from 1953 to 2003, built using Asiago archive plates and our recent CCD observations, together with literature data. The source shows an…
The Gaia all-sky astrometric survey is challenged by several issues affecting the spacecraft stability. Amongst them, we find the focus evolution, straylight and basic angle variations Contrary to pre-launch expectations, the image quality…
Due to dramatic improvements in the precision of astrometric measurements, the observation of light centroid shifts in observed stars due to intervening massive compact objects (`astrometric microlensing') will become possible in the near…
Gravitational lenses with anomalous flux ratios are often cited as possible evidence for dark matter satellites predicted by simulations of hierarchical merging in cold dark matter cosmogonies. We show that the fraction of quads with…
Relativistic aberration influences apparent luminosities of objects moving with relativistic relative velocities. The superluminosity or dimming of incoming or receding jets ejected from Active Galactic Nuclei is believed to be the…
Observations have been carried out in order to assess the optical characteristics of the BlueWalker 3 spacecraft which is the prototype for a new satellite constellation. The illumination phase function has been determined and evaluated.…
Aperture photometry was performed on images (from the SuperWASP instrument) of the 19.2$^\circ$E geostationary Astras satellite constellation over 5 nights to form light curves and predict model and movement parameters of the satellites.…
One of the most powerful methods used to estimate sky-projected spin-orbit angles of exoplanetary systems is through a spectroscopic transit observation known as the Rossiter-McLaughlin (RM) effect. So far mostly single RM observations have…
The accuracy of orbit determination has a strong impact on the scientific output of the Space VLBI mission RadioAstron. The aim of this work is to improve the RadioAstron orbit reconstruction by means of sophisticated dynamical modelling of…
It is shown that the slow glitches in the spin rate of the pulsar B1822-09 can be explained by the reconstruction of the neutron star shape, which is not matched with the star rotation axis. Owing to the evolution of the inclination angle,…
Observing artificial satellites is a relatively new and unique branch of astronomy that is very interesting and dynamic. One specific aspect of observing these objects is that although they appear amongst the celestial background, as…
There are at least four unexplained anomalies connected with astrometric data. Perhaps the most disturbing is the fact that when a spacecraft on a flyby trajectory approaches the Earth within 2000 km or less, it often experiences a change…