Related papers: An "Okay" Method for Observing Solar Eclipses
The occultation of background stars by foreground Solar system objects, such as planets and asteroids, has been widely used as an observational probe to study physical properties associated with the foreground sample. Similarly, the…
The diameter of the Sun has been measured using Baily's beads during central eclipses, observed with portable telescopes. A blend of tiny emission lines produced in the first several hundred kilometers above the photosphere gives a light…
Photon spheres play a pivotal role in the imaging of luminous objects near black holes. In this paper, we examine observational appearances of a star freely falling in hairy black holes, which can possess one or two photon spheres outside…
We propose and evaluate the feasibility of a new strategy to search for planets via microlensing. This new strategy is designed to detect planets in "wide" orbits, i.e., with orbital separation, $a$ greater than $\sim 1.5 R_E$. Planets in…
A recently discovered group of nearby co-orbital objects is an attractive location for extraterrestrial intelligence (ETI) to locate a probe to observe Earth while not being easily seen. These near-Earth objects provide an ideal way to…
Observations of the Sun and of Sun-like stars provide access to different aspects of stellar magnetic activity that, when combined, help us piece together a more comprehensive picture than can be achieved from only the solar or the stellar…
The observation of the Sun with a pinhole in order to check the first and the second Kepler's law has been realized for high school students. The settling of the experiment in order to minimize the errors of measure has permitted to verify…
Renewable energy systems are an increasingly popular way to generate electricity. As with any new technological paradigm, new challenges have emerged which are unique to the utilization of renewable energy systems. One of these challenges…
We are still in the early days of exoplanet discovery. Astronomers are beginning to model the atmospheres and interiors of exoplanets and have developed a deeper understanding of processes of planet formation and evolution. However, we have…
We propose to use transformation optics to generate a general illusion such that an arbitrary object appears to be like some other object of our choice. This is achieved by using a remote device that transforms the scattered light outside a…
Photovoltaic (PV) systems depend on irradiance, ambient temperature and module temperature. A solar eclipse causes significant changes in these parameters, thereby impacting PV generation profile, performance, and power quality of larger…
Extraterrestrial technology may exist in the Solar System without our knowledge. This is because the vastness of space, combined with our limited searches to date, implies that any remote unpiloted exploratory probes of extraterrestrial…
Due to the efforts by numerous ground-based surveys and NASA's Kepler and TESS, there will be hundreds, if not thousands, of transiting exoplanets ideal for atmospheric characterization via spectroscopy with large platforms such as JWST and…
The sun glare is one of the major environmental hazards that cause traffic accidents. Every year, many people died and injured in traffic accidents related to sun glare. Providing accurate information about when and where sun glare happens…
Geomagnetic storms, disturbances of Earth's magnetosphere caused by masses of charged particles being emitted from the Sun, are an uncontrollable threat to modern technology. Notably, they have the potential to damage satellites and cause…
Given the renewed scientific interest in lunar exploration missions, complete understanding of lunar near surface environment and its exosphere under different conditions is of paramount importance. Lunar exosphere has been extensively…
Space weather events such as solar flares can be harmful for life and infrastructure on earth or in near-earth orbit. In this paper we employ extreme value theory (EVT) to model extreme solar flare events; EVT offers the appropriate tools…
We consider the feasibility of directly observing gravitational microlensing in extra-galactic sources, whose stars are not generally resolved. This precludes use of the simple optical depth to microlensing formulation, which is applicable…
An elliptical invisible cloak is proposed using a coordinate transformation in the elliptical-cylindrical coordinate system, which crushes the cloaked object to a line segment instead of a point. The elliptical cloak is reduced to a…
Despite years of high accuracy observations, none of the available theoretical techniques has yet allowed the confirmation of a moon beyond the solar system. Methods are currently limited to masses about an order of magnitude higher than…