Related papers: Measuring the Interplanetary Medium with a Solar S…
Thermal convection is commonly believed to be the energy source of stellar or planetary dynamo. In this short paper we provide another possibility, namely large-scale tidal flow. In close binary stars, say, solar-like stars with orbital…
When an object impacts onto a bed of very loose, fine sand, the drag it experiences depends on the ambient pressure in a surprising way: Drag is found to increase significantly with decreasing pressure. We use a modified penetrometer…
The turnover of interstellar gas on $\sim 10^9$yr timescales argues for the continuous operation of a galactic dynamo. The conductivity of interstellar gas is so high that the dynamo must be "fast" - i.e. the magnetic field must be…
In recent years (2000-2021), human-space activities have been increasing faster than ever. More than 36000 Earth' orbiting objects, all larger than 10 cm, in orbit around the Earth, are currently tracked by the European Space Agency (ESA).…
The standard method of mapping the interstellar medium in a galaxy, by observing the molecular gas in the CO 1-0 line and the atomic gas in the 21-cm line, is largely limited with current telescopes to galaxies in the nearby universe. In…
The quest for other habitable worlds and the search for life among them are major goals of modern astronomy. One way to make progress towards these goals is to obtain high-quality spectra of a large number of exoplanets over a broad range…
A good understanding of the ionization rates of neutral species in the heliosphere is important for studies of the heliosphere and planetary atmospheres. So far, the intensities of the ionization reactions have been studied based on…
In the solar atmosphere, jets are prevalent and they are significant for the mass and energy transport. Here we conduct numerical simulations to investigate the mass and energy contributions of the recently observed high-speed jets to the…
A review is presented of the scientific benefits of rapid (v >= 0.1c) interstellar spaceflight. Significant benefits are identified in the fields of interstellar medium studies, stellar astrophysics, planetary science and astrobiology. In…
The gases of the interstellar medium (ISM) possess orders of magnitude more mass than those of all the stars combined and are thus the prime component of the baryonic universe. With L-band surface sensitivity even better than the planned…
In the interstellar medium, the cosmic elemental carbon abundance includes the total carbon in both gas and solid phases. The aim of the study was to trial a new method for measuring the amount and distribution of aliphatic carbon within…
Recent successes in the deployment of sails in space have reduced the risk associated with solar sailing missions. The attitude control requirements for a solar sailing mission is low with only slow attitude maneuvers needed to maintain a…
In this paper, we detail the scientific objectives and outline a strawman payload of the SOLAR sail Investigation of the Sun (SOLARIS). The science objectives are to study the 3D structure of the solar magnetic and velocity field, the…
A relativistic spacecraft of the type envisioned by the Breakthrough Starshot initiative will inevitably get charged through collisions with interstellar particles and UV photons. Interstellar magnetic fields would, therefore, deflect the…
We investigate the trapping of interstellar objects during the early stages of star and planet formation. Our results show a very wide range of possible values that will be narrowed down as the population of interstellar objects becomes…
The X-ray Navigation and Autonomous position Verification (XNAV) is tested which use the Crab pulsar under the Space Test Program that use starlight refraction. It provide the way that the spacecraft could autonomously determine its…
The number of planetary satellites around solid objects in the inner Solar System is small either because they are difficult or unlikely to form, or that they do not survive for astronomical timescales. Here we conduct a pilot study on the…
Light scalar fields can drive the accelerated expansion of the universe. Hence, they are obvious dark energy candidates. To make such models compatible with tests of General Relativity in the solar system and "fifth force" searches on…
We introduce a new method for observationally estimating the fraction of momentum density (${\rho}{\mathbf{v}}$) power contained in solenoidal modes (for which $\nabla \cdot {\rho}{\mathbf{v}} = 0$) in molecular clouds. The method is…
High ambient interstellar pressure is suggested as a possible factor to explain the ubiquitous observed growth-rate discrepancy for supernova-driven superbubbles and stellar wind bubbles. Pressures of P/k ~ 1e5 cm-3 K are plausible for…