Related papers: Satellite Optical Brightness
High-contrast scattered light observations have revealed the surface morphology of several dozens of protoplanetary disks at optical and near-infrared wavelengths. Inclined disks offer the opportunity to measure part of the phase function…
The irradiance of the Sun is modulated on all time scales. Small-scale solar magnetic elements composed of quiet-Sun network and active region plages contribute to this modulation on solar cycle time scales. The evaluation of their contrast…
Remote-sensing observations of Solar System objects with a space telescope offer a key method of understanding celestial bodies and contributing to planetary formation and evolution theories. The capabilities of Twinkle, a space telescope…
With a motive of ubiquitous connectivity over the globe with enhanced spectral efficiency, intelligent reflecting surfaces (IRS) integrated satellite-terrestrial communications is a topic of research interest in an infrastructure-deficient…
The Space Infrared Telescope Facility (SIRTF) will drift away from the Earth at about 0.1 AU/yr. Microlensing events will therefore have different characteristics as seen from the satellite and the Earth. From the difference, it is possible…
We study the influence of low-level water and high-level ice clouds on low-resolution reflection spectra and planetary albedos of Earth-like planets orbiting different types of stars in both the visible and near infrared wavelength range.…
Studying the albedos of the planets and moons of the Solar System dates back at least a century. Of particular interest is the relationship between the albedo measured at superior conjunction, known as the ``geometric albedo", and the…
Natural (such as lunar) occultations have long been used to study sources on small angular scales, while coronographs have been used to study high contrast sources. We propose launching the Improved Resolution and Image Selection (IRIS)…
Using a simple model based on the characteristics of sunspots and faculae in solar active regions, the effects of surface brightness inhomogeneities on the position of the photocentre of the disk of a solar-like, magnetically active star,…
The next generation of high-contrast imaging instruments will provide the first unresolved image of an extrasolar planet. While the emitted infrared light from the planet in thermal equilibrium should show almost no phase effect, the…
We develop an inversion technique of annual scattered light curves to sketch a two-dimensional albedo map of exoplanets in face-on orbits. As a test-bed for future observations of extrasolar terrestrial planets, we apply this mapping…
A proof of concept for a frost detection imager using reflected starlight is presented; the limitations of this technique are explored experimentally. An ice-covered lunar surface is simulated inside a vacuum chamber, which is then…
We present results of numerical simulations of the flux (irradiance), F, and the degree of polarization (i.e. the ratio of polarized to total flux), P, of light that is reflected by Earth-like extrasolar planets orbiting solar-type stars,…
We investigate the reflectivity and optical scattering characteristics at 1064\,nm of an antireflection coated fused silica window of the type being used in the Advanced LIGO gravitational-wave detectors. Reflectivity is measured in the…
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…
In spite of their overall success, semi-analytic models of galaxy formation and evolution predict slopes of luminosity functions which are steeper than the observed ones. This discrepancy has generally been explained by subtle surface…
Broadband and omnidirectional antireflection coating is a generally effective way to improve solar cell efficiency, because the destructive interference between the reflected and input waves could maximize transmission light in the…
This paper considers an angle-domain intelligent reflecting surface (IRS) system. We derive maximum likelihood (ML) estimators for the effective angles from the base station (BS) to the user and the effective angles of propagation from the…
The practice of measuring galaxy distances from their spatial fluctuations in surface brightness is now a decade old. While several past articles have included some review material, this is the first intended as a comprehensive review of…
Comparing solar and stellar brightness variations is hampered by the difference in spectral passbands used in observations as well as by the possible difference in the inclination of their rotation axes from the line of sight. We calculate…