ODAA1
Hundreds of regular observers are sharing their work providing very valuable data to professional astronomers. This is very valuable at a time when professional astronomers face increasing competition accessing observational resources. Additionally, networks of amateur observers can react at very short notice when triggered by a new event occurring on a solar system object requiring observations, or can contribute to a global observation campaign along with professional telescopes.
Moreover, some experienced amateur astronomers use advanced methods for analysing their data meeting the requirements of professional researchers, thereby facilitating regular and close collaboration with professionals. Often this leads to publication of results in peer-reviewed scientific journals. Examples include planetary meteorology of Jupiter, Saturn, Neptune or Venus; meteoroid or bolide impacts on Jupiter; asteroid studies, cometary or exoplanet research.
Space missions also sollicitate amateur astronomers support. For example, to understand the atmospheric dynamics of the planet at the time of Juno flybys, NASA collaborates with amateur astronomers observing the Giant Planet. It showcases an exciting opportunity for amateurs to provide an unique dataset that is used to plan the high-resolution observations from JunoCam and that advances our knowledge of the Giant planet Jupiter. Contribution of amateurs range from their own images to Junocam images processing and support on selecting by vote the feature to be observed during the flybys. Other probes like Ariel or Lucy sollicitate amateur astronomers observation to support exoplanets and small bodies science.
This session will showcase results from amateur astronomers, working either by themselves or in collaboration with members of the professional community. In addition, members from both communities will be invited to share their experiences of pro-am partnerships and offer suggestions on how these should evolve in the future.
On November 17, 2020, a 3,000 km long cloud was observed on the surface of Mars following a joint effort by a group of amateur and professional astronomers. Never before has a planet been so closely targeted by space missions, with 7 robots currently active in orbit and on the surface, but paradoxically almost none of them offers a global view of the planet (with the exception of the Emirates Mars Mission). So it was from Earth that this discovery was made (Lilensten et al., 2021). The Red Planet is not continuously monitored by professional ground-based astronomers. In fact, at present, only amateur astronomers carry out this work around periods of opposition. They contribute to several participatory science databases, such as Association of Lunar and Planetary Observers in Japan (ALPO, http://www.alpo-j.sakura.ne.jp/Contents/homeE.htm) or Planetary Virtual Observatory and Laboratory (PVOL, http://pvol2.ehu.eus/pvol2/). Some of these enthusiastic persons have joined the monitoring program. In 2018, they set up a network of 10 observers spread across all continents to be able to follow the Red Planet at all times.
On November 17, 2020, 2 of the 10 observers were able to photograph Mars: Frenchmen Christophe Pellier and Emmanuel Beaudoin. Their data, acquired under excellent conditions, made it possible to follow a huge cloud structure located at the terminator for 3 hours in a row through different filters. The images obtained show the formation emerging from the night, clearly separated from the terminator. Its evolution was followed until the sun rose over the terrain beneath the cloud. The cloud dissipates shortly afterwards. What was observed here is atypical in two respects: not only is the cloud complex gigantic in relation to the planet, it is also located at an altitude of 92 km, at the gateway to the interplanetary void. This altitude is comparable to that of noctilucent clouds regularly observed on Earth at high latitudes around the summer solstices. The altitude was assessed by 3 independent methods, notably by Marc Delcroix, head of the Société Astronomique de Françe (SAF, https://saf-astronomie.fr/) planetary observations commission.
Detailed analysis of the photometric data showed that the cloud scatters light at all visible wavelengths, with a maximum in the red. This suggests that the light is scattered by dust, water ice or CO2 ice particles. The dust hypothesis has been ruled out as incompatible with observations, but water and CO2 are good candidates. Water ice clouds, for example, have already been observed at this altitude and in this season. However, water is rare on Mars, and spectroscopic detections to date show that water ice crystals are usually very small at this altitude, with a typical size of around 0.1 to 0.5 µm. However, the photometric data obtained on November 17, 2020 suggest that they are rather larger particles of 1 to 2 µm, which would make this cloud atypical, beyond its unusual dimensions. CO2, on the other hand, is abundant, and is the main component of the Martian atmosphere. Previously observed CO2 clouds at these altitudes may be composed of ice crystals of this size. However, the observation was obtained outside the typical season for CO2 clouds, and these are usually a few hundred km or even 1000 km across, but never 3000 km, which would also make this cloud an atypical event.
At the same time, on November 17, 2020, a dust storm was developing on Mars, questioning the possibility that this activity could be contributing to a rise in atmospheric layers, favoring the formation of cloud structures atypical in size. We also propose that cosmic rays play a role in the nucleation of ice crystals at this altitude, especially as the structures observed are on the edge of a magnetic zone.
The initial aim of the program was however fairly different: it was to detect polar aurorae on Mars, following the prediction made in Lilensten et al., 2015. This hypothesis was seriously considered to explain the observation of November 17, 2020, but then dismissed because the structures observed cast a shadow on the ground. Moreover, the phenomenon tends to occur at the edge of areas where Mars' magnetic field is most disturbed, and solar activity was low that day. On the other hand, a review of previous amateur observations published in 2015 by Sanchez et al. shows that the 2012 observations they report take place above this magnetic zone and coincide with coronal mass ejection episodes. We are therefore potentially dealing with two different phenomena.
Both phenomenon – high altitude clouds and aurorae – are observable from the Earth while the planets are in opposition. This occurs about every 2 years. We were lucky in November 2020 but the weather conditions were unfavorable in 2022. We are now preparing for the next opposition (January 16, 2025). The best periods for these observations are around November 15-20, 2024, around Christmas, and the first ten days of March 2025. In this lecture, we will therefore give a call for participation to this program over the 5 Earth continents, so that whatever the local time and the local weather, observers can help either to better characterize these clouds and/or to make the first observation of the Mars visible aurorae.
How to cite: Lilensten, J., Dauvergne, J.-L., Beaudoin, E., Pellier, C., Delcroix, M., and Vincendon, M.: Observation from Earth of Mars aurorae and upper altitude clouds: state of the art, future prospective and call for participation, Europlanet Science Congress 2024, Berlin, Germany, 8–13 Sep 2024, EPSC2024-25, https://doi.org/10.5194/epsc2024-25, 2024.
Introduction
The extended portion of NASA’s Juno mission began on 1 August 2021 and will continue through September 2025, after which the mission is not expected to continue providing useful observations, due to a combination of fuel exhaustion and radiation damage. In the meantime, the extended mission is successfully expanding Juno’s science goals beyond those of the prime mission, as noted previously by Orton et al. (2021, 2022, 2023). Atmospheric studies will continue to be among Juno’s science goals and an area in which the world-wide community of Jupiter observers can provide significant contextual support. Juno’s remote-sensing observations will take advantage of the migration of its closest approaches (“perijoves” or PJs) toward increasingly northern latitudes. The observations include close-ups of the circumpolar cyclones and semi-chaotic cyclones known as “folded filamentary regions”. A series of radio occultations are providing vertical profiles of electron density and the neutral-atmospheric temperature over several atmospheric regions. The mission can also characterize the variability of lightning on Jupiter’s night side.
Physical Details of the Mission
The sequence of orbits and key investigations of the primary and extended missions are shown in Figure 1. We note that on PJ34, the orbital period was reduced from 53 days to 43-44 days. It was further reduced on PJ45 to 38 days and reduced again on PJ57 to ~33 days. Some characteristics of perijoves of the extended mission are shown in Table 1. We caution that while the day of year for the perijoves is reasonably fixed, the exact times may change.
Role of Amateur Astronomers
We’ve noted at previous EPSC and EPSC-DPS meetings how the amateur community can contribute to the Juno mission via their collective world-wide 24/7 coverage of Jupiter. This applies also to the cadre of professional astronomers supporting the Juno mission and its reconnaissance of the Jupiter system over a broad spectral range. For example, this community have provided the context of different regions over which Juno’s Microwave Radiometer (MWR) has sensed plumes and “hot spots” (Fletcher et al. 2020). They have also alerted observers to strong interactions between the Great Red Spot and smaller anticyclones (Sanchez-Lavega et al. 2021) and the occurrence and evolution of prominent and unusual vortices, such as “Clyde’s spot” (Hueso et al. 2022). More recently, observations were made with the NASA Infrared Telescope Facility (IRTF) that showed slow-moving bright patches in the Equatorial Zone (EZ) that were observed more continuously among the amateur community with 890-nm (“methane”) filters. The continued tracking of outbreaks in the southern part of the North Equatorial Belt (NEB) also greatly informed the Juno team and supporting astronomers regarding the systematic longitudinal distribution of outbreaks and the range of atmospheric features they generate. A perijove-by-perijove summary of Juno-supporting observations – past, current and planned - is available at the following web site: https://www.missionjuno.swri.edu/planned-observations.
We emphasize that after PJ50, Juno’s perijoves migrated to the nightside. From now through the end of the mission, images from this community will be extremely useful to provide a context for several investigations. One of these will be high on JunoCam’s agenda during this part of the mission: searches for lightning. But similar contextual information will be sought for measurements of thermal emission from the JIRAM instrument’s high-resolution maps of 5-µm emission, as well as the MWR measurements of thermal emission from the deep atmosphere. Although the highest spatial resolution from these instruments will include high northern latitudes (see Table 1) that are not well resolved by small telescopes, measurements of mid-northern latitudes will continue to be made in the absence of close-up JunoCam images. The JunoCam images will not be able to provide a visual context, except from a distance with worse spatial resolution than is possible from the amateur community. Besides the mid-northern latitudes, observations from the amateur community will also provide the visible-wavelength context for anticipated continuation of JIRAM’s 5-µm maps of much of the southern hemisphere.
Some of this research was carried out at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, under a contract with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (80NM0018D0004).
References
Fletcher et al. 2020. J. Geophys. Res. 125, 306399.
Hueso et al. 2022. Icarus 380,114994
Orton et al. 2021. EPSC2021-58. doi: 10.5194/epsc02921-58.
Orton et al. 2022. EPSC2022-769. doi: 10.5194/epsc2022-769.
Orton et al. 2023. DPS. id. 115.01. Bull. Amer. Astron. Soc. 55, e-id 2023n8i115p01.
Sanchez-Lavega et al. 2021. J. Geophys. Res. 126, e006686.
Figure 1. Progression of Juno orbits viewed from above Jupiter’s north pole with respect to local time of day. “PJ” designates a “perijove”, the closest approach to Jupiter on each numbered orbit. Following a Ganymede flyby on PJ34 (green orbit), the orbital period decreased from 53 days to 43-44 days (green + blue orbits). The “Great Blue Spot” (blue) orbits map an isolated patch of intense magnetic field. Following a close Europa flyby on PJ45 (aqua orbit), the period decreased to 38 days (orange orbits). Following close flybys of Io on PJ57 and PJ58 (black orbits) the period decreased to 33 days (red orbits). In reflected sunlight, Jupiter mostly appears as a crescent at perijoves following PJ58.
Figure 2. Latitudes and longitudes to be measured by the 20 radio occultations of the Juno spacecraft between PJ52 and PJ77. Locations of ingress lie largely in the northern hemisphere - locations of egress in the southern hemisphere. Locations of the Galileo Probe and Voyager-1 radio occultations are also shown for reference.
Table 1. Current estimates of perijove properties for the remainder of Juno’s extended mission: PJ64-PJ76. Information for previous perijoves and a summary of proposed, planned and executed observations at large telescopes is listed in: https://www.missionjuno.swri.edu/planned-observations.
How to cite: Orton, G., Rogers, J., Momary, T., Brueshaber, S., Hansen, C., Bolton, S., and Fletcher, L.: The Juno Extended Mission: A Final Call for Continued Support from Amateur Observers, Europlanet Science Congress 2024, Berlin, Germany, 8–13 Sep 2024, EPSC2024-134, https://doi.org/10.5194/epsc2024-134, 2024.
Amateur observers (Hill et al., 2024) have shown that filter-averaged measurements of the reflectance of Jupiter in molecular absorption bands of ammonia and methane can be made with modest-sized telescopes and reduced to yield spatial maps of ammonia. We now create an empirical limb correction for the ammonia abundance and effective cloud-top pressure and assemble sets of synoptic maps with partial or complete longitude coverage taken in moderately close temporal proximity (fewer than 10 Jupiter days). We then examine the maps to evaluate the characteristics and changes seen in localized ammonia enhancements and gradients in the context of effective cloud-top pressure and visual features. The ammonia depletion associated with the Great Red Spot (GRS) and the enhancements in the NEZ show significant contrast and are the focus of the study. The GRS region shows generally persistent characteristics over the period of observation, including a small southward offset of the depleted regions from the visual centroid of the GRS. The NEZ enhancements and their relationship to visual features such as plumes and North Equatorial Dark Features (NEDFs) are presented along with changes seen on timescales of days to weeks. This work demonstrates the utility of frequent observations in following the evolution of the Jovian ammonia distribution.
How to cite: Hill, S., Irwin, P., Alexander, C., and Rogers, J.: Characteristics and Changes in Ammonia Abundance Features in Jupiter’s Upper Troposphere 2022-2023, Europlanet Science Congress 2024, Berlin, Germany, 8–13 Sep 2024, EPSC2024-160, https://doi.org/10.5194/epsc2024-160, 2024.
After 1994 Shoemaker/Levy 9 comet fragmentation and impacts on Jupiter was predicted and observed by professional astronomers, it was estimated that impacts on Jupiter should be very rarely observed events, maybe once per century. But an Australian amateur observed dark traces of an impact on Jupiter with his backyard telescope in 2009 and observed a flash provoked by another smaller impactor on Jupiter atmosphere in 2010 [1]. This started a series of 13 observations of such events [2],[3], and a long monitoring program supported by a software (DeTeCt) aiming at estimating such impacts frequency, through both semi-automatic detection of flashes on amateur videos of Jupiter and logging of all observations period without any events.
With those 13 observations, we have now enough data to analyze the apparent distribution of those impacts’ location on Jupiter. 75% occurred in the equatorial area (between -30° and 30 ° latitude), which could be an indication that the impactor bodies are originating from the same orbiting plan as Jupiter.
Over the years, we could collect a year worth of videos analysis with our software, from 262 different observers (almost 360 000 videos). To refine the rate of Jupiter impacts’ frequency estimation, we analyzed the data in a more detailed way than before, per Jupiter apparition, and considering for each apparition the number of impacts discovered, the total duration and period of all negative observations collected through DeTeCt. Focusing on most relevant apparitions with around or more than a month worth of data collected, we find an impact frequency varying from none per year (no impacts detected in 2018 and 2022), and ~80/year (4 observed in 2023). Averaging the result for these apparitions (between 2018 and 2023), we estimate the impact frequency to ~29/y (twice as much as the previous way of estimating it).
References:
[1] Impact flux on Jupiter: From superbolides to large-scale collisions ", Hueso R., Delcroix M. et al., Astronomy & Astrophysics, September 2013
[2] Small impacts on the Giant planet Jupiter, Hueso R., M. Delcroix et al. Astronomy & Astrophysics 617, A68 pp1-13 2018
[3] Fragmentation modelling of the 2019 August impact on Jupiter, Sankar R. et al. (incl. Delcroix M.), Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society 2020
How to cite: Delcroix, M., Hueso, R., and Delcroix, T.: 15 years of Jupiter impacts monitoring and observations, Europlanet Science Congress 2024, Berlin, Germany, 8–13 Sep 2024, EPSC2024-1178, https://doi.org/10.5194/epsc2024-1178, 2024.
Our team is part of the Italian non-profit association AstronomiAmo, which aims at disseminating astronomy and promoting respect for the environment. The All-Sky TRacking, ALerts and Environment (ASTRALE) project merges both purposes, providing a beautiful view of the night sky, an automatic detection of meteors and an evaluation of the air quality index.
Specifically, ASTRALE consists of several devices installed across Italy, which collect data in the form of images or numbers, make a first processing and send them to a central server for storage, analysis and reporting. As shown in Figure 1, each peripheral device comes with two installation possibilities:
- ASTRALE Meteor: for those who have a good sky and visibility in all directions: the system is equipped with a Raspberry PI 4 camera for all-sky monitoring, as well as sensors for sky and air quality.
- ASTRALE Air: for those who lack a good sky, due to light pollution and / or reduced visibility, but wish to keep under control the quality of the air they breathe.
What makes ASTRALE unique?
- Automatic detection system: an auomtated detection tool has been developed to identify each transient event recorded by our devices. To date, over 10000 events have been visually inspected and classified by each volunteer citizen. This amount of data has been training an artificial intelligence algorithm that provides a real-time classification of each image. Citizen science is the driving engine to make this ambitious goal possible.
- Low-cost: As a non-profit association, we are fully committed to keep the cost as low as possible, while ensuring a high-quality performance. This cost simply matches the reimbursement for all hardware components purchased from the market. No earning is present, neither at personal nor at association level.
- User-friendly: our system can be distributed across Europe and easily installed at home, with no need for maintenance. The only requirements are Internet connection, a socket and an outdoor space. Our team provides full-time assistance to the user.
- Interdisciplinary: this project has blossomed from the close interaction between amateur astronomers, professionals, outreach providers, who are all part of AstronomiAmo. The ASTRALE project encompasses complementary fields of expertise, such as astronomy, environmental science, software engineering, science communication and citizen science. For this reason, ASTRALE aims at engaging the widest possible audience, driven by a common passion for science and environmental awareness.
How does it work?
Images are captured with a Raspberry HQ Cam with a 12.3 Mpixel Sony IMX477 and a CS-mount with a 2.5mm fisheye lens. A dew heater is used to keep the lens and the dome free of moisture. The camera is coupled with a Raspberry PI4 2GB single board computer with a Debian based Linux distribution. The control software is developed in Python and OpenCV. The camera also provides the Sky Quality Meter (SQM) to measure the brightness of the sky (in mag/arcsec2).
Temperature, pressure and humidity are measured by an I2C BME680, while a PMS5003 is used to measure particulate matter (PM1, PM2.5, PM10). The device is completed by the ozone MQ131 sensor and the MICS6814, a MEME sensor that can detect CO, NO2 and NH3. The air quality index (AQI) is then computed as the highest among the above concentration indices, where each can be measured on a daily or hour-moving average.
Our popular participation project Meteor Lens is inspired by the fantastic project of "Zooniverse", a worldwide platform for citizen science open to volunteers and enthusiasts. Figure 2 displays an all-sky snapshot taken from the webcam with a 20 sec integration exposure, reaching down to an apparent magnitude of 4.5. Our algorithm draws a rectangle around each transient object, sending an automatic alert with recording date, time and image coordinates.
Citizen science is crucial to help the ASTRALE system to better and better discriminate between celestial events related to meteors (Figure 2) and false positives related to clouds, reflections, lightning or passage of satellites and / or aircraft (see Figure 3). To this end, a self-explanatory tutorial guides the user on how to recognize different classes of events. “Lens'' refers instead to the flagship tool we provide for meteor recognition: a digital lens to increase the size of possible meteors (Figure 4).
What can you do for ASTRALE?
Meteorites are the oldest rocks in our Solar System and they represent a physical record of the formation and evolution of planet Earth. Observing the trajectory and colour of these bodies from multiple cameras allows us to calculate their velocity and path and, if a meteorite is recovered, give us key information around the origin of rocks and planets in the Solar System.
The improvement of the detection algorithm needs your participation! In order to achieve this goal, we have dedicated an area to anyone who wants to participate. The user will be given a list of images obtained from our cameras and will be asked to classify each of them.
If the sky conditions are not ideal for all-sky monitoring, the Astrale Air tool can be installed to measure the AQI (Figure 5). Those estimates provided by our device will expand the existing network supplied by the Regional Agency for Environmental Protection (ARPA) across the Italian territory, further tightening the monitoring of the air that we breathe.
How to cite: delvecchio, I., Capretti, S., Di Mario, L., Gulic, A., and Piccialli, A.: ASTRALE: an Artificial Intelligence and Citizen-Science driven project, Europlanet Science Congress 2024, Berlin, Germany, 8–13 Sep 2024, EPSC2024-1041, https://doi.org/10.5194/epsc2024-1041, 2024.
Abstract:
This study investigates the physical properties of asteroids using optical data obtained by the Unistellar network of citizen astronomers. Leveraging the extensive observations provided by hundreds of users, we aim to characterize the size, shape, and rotation properties of a diverse sample of asteroids. Our analysis encompasses data collected over multiple observing campaigns conducted between 2021 and 2024, focusing on both near-Earth and main belt asteroids. By combining photometric light curves and stellar occultations, we derive comprehensive physical models for these celestial bodies. Our findings contribute to a deeper understanding of the asteroid population and provide valuable insights into their formation and evolution.
Introduction:
Asteroids represent remnants of the early solar system and offer valuable insights into its formation and evolution. Studying their physical properties, such as size, shape, and rotation, is crucial for understanding their composition and origins. The Unistellar network of citizen astronomers comprised of over 10,000 telescopes provides a unique opportunity to collect large-scale optical data for a wide range of asteroids, enabling comprehensive studies of their physical characteristics.
Data and Methods:
We utilized optical data collected by the Unistellar network between 2021 and 2024, focusing on observations of both near-Earth and main belt asteroids. Photometric light curves and stellar occultations were used to derive the sizes, shapes, and rotation properties of the asteroids. We analyzed data from multiple observing campaigns that targeted specific asteroids of scientific interest. We utilized the convex inversion method developed by Mikko Kaasalainen.
Results:
Our analysis resulted in rotation state properties and detailed 3D models for tens of asteroids. We obtained accurate measurements of size, shape, and rotation period for numerous celestial bodies, shedding light on their individual characteristics and variability within the asteroid population. Additionally, we identified intriguing phenomena, such as concavities and asymmetric light curves, providing insights into the dynamical processes shaping these objects.
Conclusions:
The optical data obtained by the Unistellar network of citizen astronomers offers valuable insights into the physical properties of asteroids. By leveraging these observations, we have advanced our understanding of the asteroid population, contributing to ongoing efforts to explore the solar system's early history. Our study highlights the importance of citizen science initiatives in expanding our knowledge of celestial objects and their origins.
Figure 1. The Unistellar European network comprises citizen astronomers. As of May 2023, approximately 10,000 eVscopes are distributed globally, with over 3,000 of them located in Europe
Figure 2. The plot showcases light curve observations of asteroid (216) Kleopatra revealing variations in brightness over its rotation.
Figure 3. The plot showcases light curve observations of near-Earth asteroid (1627) Ivar revealing variations in brightness over its rotation.
How to cite: Hanus, J., Marchis, F., Lambert, R., Esposito, T., and Durech, J.: Exploring Asteroids: Unraveling Physical Properties Through Citizen Science Astronomy, Europlanet Science Congress 2024, Berlin, Germany, 8–13 Sep 2024, EPSC2024-591, https://doi.org/10.5194/epsc2024-591, 2024.
Introduction
A group of amateur astronomers from the Sabadell Astronomical Society is using small professional telescopes to obtain exoplanets transits photometry for the ExoClock project and ARIEL mission. Contact was taken in 2022 with MuSCAT2 team who uses the Carlos Sánchez Telescope, a telescope of 1.50 m diameter, almost fully dedicated to exoplanet, located in Tenerife. It appeared than that some exoplanet targets were common to MuSCAT2 investigations and ExoClock exoplanet database. This talk will explain how both shared a large number of past transits. As a result, all MuSCAT2 team has been included as co-authors to the IV ExoClock transit data release
MuSCAT2 and Carlos Sánchez Telescope project
First, The MuSCAT2 camera, will be described, it allows to obtain simultaneous four channels of observations. It is mounted on the Carlos Sánchez Telescope. The main purpose of MuSCAT2 team is to validate or not the exoplanet candidates published by TESS mission. Once it is validated, the group means to characterize the main parameters of the exoplanet like, radius, mass but also other characteristics.
ExoClock mission
ExoClock purpose is to bring correct ephemeris of interesting exoplanets for the ARIEL space mission, to be launched in 2029. This mission will study exoplanets atmospheres.
Collaboration development
Around a hundred of targets are common to both projects. The process to adapt MuSCAT2 transits files to ExoClock database is explained. This was done by a student, Gareb Enoc Fernández Rodríguez, from La Laguna University, with Enric Pallé as a mentor.
The TCS transits information has a specific format, not compatible with ExoClock database, so it was necessary to develop a “pipeline” to do this job. For that, contacts with Angelos from ExoClock were key.
As amateur, I belong to MuSCAT2 team and I observe on the TCS regularly, together with students and professional astronomers. I will describe briefly how the work is organized and what is my job in the collaboration between the IAC, TCS and ExoClock.
How to cite: Libotte, F. and Fernández-Rodríguez, G. E.: Exoplanet observations at the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias IAC and its collaboration with the ExoClock project, Europlanet Science Congress 2024, Berlin, Germany, 8–13 Sep 2024, EPSC2024-275, https://doi.org/10.5194/epsc2024-275, 2024.
Since 2021, a small group of amateurs from the Sabadell Astronomical Group have requested and obtained several observation projects to be carried out with the telescope network (ETN) that Europlanet has made available to the planetary observation community.
Our group has focused on the observation of Exoplanets, collaborating with the ExoClock project. A successful platform initiated and led by Anastasia Kokori and Angelos Tsiaras from the University of Thessaloniki, to monitor exoplanet transits that will be observed by the Ariel space mission, which will be launched in 2029, and will observe known exoplanets to obtain their spectrum and characterize their atmosphere. ExoClock is a platform with double scope: To monitor Ariel's goals to increase mission efficiency and open exoplanet science to diverse communities and facilitate collaborations.
For this project we have used three telescopes offered in Europlanet's ETN network. The most used telescope has been the IAC80 located at the Teide observatory in Canary Islands and equipped with the Camelot 2 CCD or, failing that, with the CARONTE camera. With this telescope we have made more than 27 observations as of January 31, 2024 and with 23 published transits. This telescope is used in service mode.
The second most used is the 1.23m telescope located in Calar Alto Observatory in Andalusia. It is equipped with the DLR-MKIII CCD camera. This telescope is used remotely and for this we have previously had to carry out in-person observations, to learn its subsequent use remotely. With this telescope we have made 10 observations, of which 8 have been published. All these observations have been funded by Europlanet.
In parallel, we have also used the Joan Oró telescope, located at the Montsec Observatory, in Catalonia. This telescope is used in robotic mode and its nights have been achieved through the relationship with the observatory manager who showed his interest in participating in the EcoClock project. In this case, Europlanet funding was not needed. With this telescope, 16 observations have been made, 11 published. It will be briefly explained how this experience has turned out and the current state of collaboration with these observatories. (10 minutes needed)
Mercè Correa is technical engineer in Food Industries. Vice-president of Sabadell Astronomical Group. Member of GEOS group, European Star Observing Group, and member of Europlanet Society. She is a member of the Advisory Commission of the FAAE (Spanish Federation of Astronomical amateurs’ groups). She is focused on observation and photometry of variable stars, mainly RR Lyrae stars type, and exoplanets.
How to cite: Correa, M.: Use of the Europlanet network by a group of amateur astronomers, Europlanet Science Congress 2024, Berlin, Germany, 8–13 Sep 2024, EPSC2024-266, https://doi.org/10.5194/epsc2024-266, 2024.
Summary
Long-term observations by amateur astronomers show that Jupiter’s major domains commonly show cyclic phenomena repeated for several decades, but which can then switch to a different mode of activity [ref.1]. Now these cycles can be characterised thoroughly by modern amateur imaging, complemented by spacecraft images which provide very-high-resolution images of the component features. This is exemplified by the South Temperate Belt (STB), which showed a consistent cyclic pattern of disturbances from 1998-2018, in which new structured sectors of STB would arise preceding oval BA and drift eastward and expand, eventually catching up with oval BA from the following side. From 2019-20 onwards, the style of the disturbances has changed although many consistent aspects remain. Here, we describe the origins of new cyclonic spots preceding Oval BA, similar to previous examples but observed closely by JunoCam. These provide well-studied models for the origins and metamorphoses of cyclonic spots not only in this domain but also in others. We also describe how the new spots have developed into structured segments, showing variations on the previous theme, and resulting in the revival of a dark STB around much of the circumference in a way not seen since the mid-1990s.
Introduction: The cyclic behaviour (1998-2018)
The merger of three large white ovals in 1998 and 2000 left only a single large anticyclonic oval, called BA. Major cyclonic features are ‘structured sectors’ of STB, separated by largely undisturbed sectors, and there are always between two and four of them. One is always a dark sector of STB following BA (STB Segment A), of variable length and activity. Each additional structured sector arose tens of degrees preceding BA, first seen as a small dark spot, then developed in one of two ways: either it would expand as a dark turbulent STB segment, or it would change from dark through reddish to white and then expand as a pale, quiescent loop. In either case, the new structured sector would drift eastward faster than BA and therefore eventually, after several years, having become tens of degrees long, it would collide with dark STB Segment A following BA. This collision caused vigorous activity (including, in two cases, a sudden convective outburst that transformed the formerly quiescent structured segment into a turbulent dark segment); and soon it would merge with Segment A, and emit streams of dark spots eastward (in the STBn jet) and westward. The reinvigorated Segment A would then shrink down towards BA again over one or more years.
All this is summarised in Figure 1 & Ref.2. There were five repeats of this cycle, creating structured segments designated sequentially from B to F.
Shift to a new regime
In 2019 there was just one structured sector apart from Segment A: a long pale loop called the ‘STB Spectre’ (Segment F). Unlike previous examples, it grew extremely long, so its following end was no longer approaching BA; and when its preceding end arrived at Segment A, in early 2020, it did not transform internally. Instead, Segment A itself grew more active and longer as it accelerated BA eastward, and initiated the usual streams of dark spots eastward and westward. The STB Spectre itself became unrecognisable.
Meanwhile, we were expecting one or more new cyclonic spot(s) to arise some way preceding BA to initiate the next structured sector. This eventually happened in 2020, with appearance of two dark spots which we named spots 6 and 7. Spot 7 would become the more important: a sudden convective outburst within it created “Clyde’s Spot”, a turbulent feature which has expanded continually from that time to become the new turbulent, dark STB Segment G [refs. 3&4]. As oval BA had accelerated to similar speed, the longitudinal cycle of successive segments has been broken. Instead, the expanding Segments A and G, and the streams of dark spots emitted from both of them, have led to re-creation of a visibly dark STB around much of the circumference (Figure 2).
Evolution of cyclonic spots
Spots 6 and 7, and a new Spot 8 which appeared in 2021, have all undergone various transformations during their lifetimes, intermittently observed close up by JunoCam. Even before 2020, JunoCam had revealed several small, pale cyclones in the whitened STB latitudes p. BA, and spots 6, 7, and 8 developed by transformation of these cyclones [ref.4]. Subsequently, they transformed variously between three canonical types of cyclonic circulation (e.g. Figure 3): dark oval (“mini-barge”); white oval (which may expand); and turbulent patch (“mini-FFR”, which may also expand, to become a dark STB segment). Figure 4 summarises the metamorphoses of these three spots.
The same three types of cyclonic circulation are common in other domains, with minor variations. In the S2 domain, where they are often longer oblongs, we have documented how each type can change into any other type [see our EPSC abstract in the OPS2 session].
Acknowledgements:
Some of this research was carried out at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, under a contract with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (80NM0018D0004).
Details of the observations are posted in regular reports on the JunoCam and BAA websites:
https://www.missionjuno.swri.edu/junocam; https://britastro.org/sections/jupiter
References:
1. J.H. Rogers, The Giant Planet Jupiter. CUP (1995).
2. J. Rogers et al., BAA reports on Jupiter’s South Temperate domain, 1991-1999-2012-2015-2018: https://britastro.org/node/17283 & refs. therein.
3. C. Foster et al., EPSC Abstracts (2020) no.196 & (2021) no.121.
4. R. Hueso et al., ‘Convective storms in closed cyclones in Jupiter’s South Temperate Belt: I. Observations.’ Icarus 380, 114994 (2022).
Figure 1:
Figure 2:
Figure 3:
Figure 4:
How to cite: Rogers, J., Hansen, C., Eichstädt, G., Orton, G., Momary, T., Adamoli, G., Bullen, R., Foster, C., Jacquesson, M., Vedovato, M., and Mettig, H.-J.: Jupiter’s South Temperate Domain: Origins of new cyclonic features and a change in the cyclic regime, 2019-2024, Europlanet Science Congress 2024, Berlin, Germany, 8–13 Sep 2024, EPSC2024-362, https://doi.org/10.5194/epsc2024-362, 2024.
We are presenting online tools for asteroids studies: the Ground-based Observational Service for Astroids (GaiaGOSA) (Santana-Ros et al., 2016) and Interactive Service for Asteroid Models (ISAM) (Marciniak et al., 2012). Both tools are used by both: amateur and proffesional astronomers. Nowadays, small telescopes are commonly used and they are located all over the world. This is a perfect situation for coordination of the observing campaigns and observations of space and time critical events. The service allows to upload raw observations taken by means of small telescopes.
The GaiaGOSA service is an online tool dedicated for amateur observers who want to support professional researchers in asteroid studies. The service is hosted in Astronomical Observatory Institute at Adam Mickiewicz University and all data are processed by researchers working there. There is always a list of objects visible from each location in the whole globe. Using developed tools observers can create an observing plan and establish the best strategy for observations. After taking observations the data are uploaded to the service and processed. Outcomes are presented in the GaiaGOSA (see Fig. 1), and the results are used for further studies of physical properties of asteroids. GaiaGOSA can be found at the website: gaiagosa.eu. GaiaGOSA provides a clear tutorial and a constant technical support for observers.
Fig1. An example of the lightcurve obtained by GaiaGOSA Observer.
On second presented tool ISAM, one can choose a polyhedral asteroid model and display its orientation for any requested date and in different modes (see Fig. 2), including stereoscopic views. One can also generate animations, both for the rotating model and the resulting lightcurve. Making predictions for the future light variations and object orientations is also possible. The latter is particularly useful in preparation of resolved observations such as stellar occultations or adaptive optics. ISAM can be found at http://isam.astro.amu.edu.pl/
Fig2. An example of the model of 89 Julia asteroid in the ISAM service.
Both services are a part of the Europlanet PARSEC Alert System (http://www.parsec-europlanet.eu), which was developped in the framework of Europlanet-2024-Ri project. The PARSEC (PlAnetaRy SciencE Collaboration tool) service is a tool for coordinating the Solar System observations for amateur observers and researchers. Parsec contains observational campaign coordination tool with alert system not only for asteroids but also for other Solar System Bodies.
References:
Santana-Ros, T. , Bartczak, P., Marciniak, a., 2016, The Minor Planet Bulletin (ISSN 1052-8091). Bulletin of the Minor Planets Section of the Association of Lunar and Planetary Observers, Vol. 43, No. 3, pp. 205-207
Marciniak A., Bartczak P. Santana-Ros T. et al. 2012, "Photometry and models of selected main belt asteroids IX. Introducing interactive service for asteroid models (ISAM)", Astronomy and Astrophysics, Volume 545, id.A131
How to cite: Podlewska-Gaca, E., Bartczak, P., Santana-Ros, T., Marciniak, A., Wilawer, E., and Langner, K.: Online services for asteroids studies , Europlanet Science Congress 2024, Berlin, Germany, 8–13 Sep 2024, EPSC2024-304, https://doi.org/10.5194/epsc2024-304, 2024.
The aim of the project is to create spin and shape models of selected main belt asteroids based on dense ground-based lightcurves and
the data from space missions.
Research on asteroids is important for understanding the origin and evolution of the whole Solar System. Studying them will allow us to
better understand the nature of asteroids. Knowledge of the physical properties of
asteroids will also facilitate future space mining. The basis for creating asteroid models are the photomrtric lightcurves, which allows for the
determination of various asteroid parameters. The data used to create these brightness changes come from observations conducted by both: professional
astronomers and amateurs. Such collaboration enables the accumulation of large amounts of data necessary for modeling.
Ground-based observations are also supplemented by data from space missions like TESS anf Gaia.
The main modeling tool is the SAGE program, developed in the Astronomical Observatory Institute at Adam Mickiewicz University.
Using genetic algorithm it enables to create non-convex spin and shape model for asteroids basing solely on lightcurves.
The first source of data is photometric observations of asteroids made by amateur astronomers, who submit the raw observations to the GaiaGOSA
service. Another source is data from the Roman Baranowski Telescope (RBT) located in Arizona, obtained by professional astronomers.
To create an accurate model, the data from multiple
opositions are necessary. Gathered observations display the view of asteroids from different phase angles and
ecliptic coordinates. Thanks to this we observe the amount of light incoming from different geometrical orientation of the object.
Using advanced genetic algorithm SAGE(Dudziński, & Bartczak, 2018) calculates
a good approximation of the three-dimensional shape of the asteroid, as well as its rotation period and the orientation of the rotation axis (pole position).
We have created the models for large main belt asteroids. Thanks to long and dense lightcurves from TESS mission we were able to determine
spin orientation and precise shapes of the asteroids. Moreover, the sparse data from Gaia mission allowed to determine the proper size of asteroids
along rotation axis. We are presenting here the results for 59 Elpis, 96 Aegle and 134 Sophrosyne. In Fig. 1 we show the calculated shape of 96 Aegle.
In the near future precise models for next objects will be determined.
Fig 1: Calculated shape model for 96 Aegle.
Bartczak, P. ; Dudziński, G. , "Shaping asteroid models using genetic evolution (SAGE)", 2018, Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, Volume 473, Issue 4, p.5050-506
How to cite: Najda, K., Podlewska-Gaca, E., Bartczak, P., Takacs, N., Kiss, C., Bosh, J. M., Kamiński, K., Kamińska, M., and Polińska, M.: Determination of physical parameters of asteroids based on data from space and ground-based telescopes., Europlanet Science Congress 2024, Berlin, Germany, 8–13 Sep 2024, EPSC2024-340, https://doi.org/10.5194/epsc2024-340, 2024.
The Europlanet Association and its related Europlanet Society are a key part of the long-standing legacy of several research infrastructure projects funded by the European Commission. The last of those projects was the Europlanet 2024 Research Infrastructure (grant agreement No 871149), which was a partnership among more than 50 different beneficiary institutions and run from Feb. 2020 to July 2024. Europlanet 2024 RI provided free access to the world’s largest collection of planetary simulation and analysis facilities, developed data services and tools, offered funding to access a network of small (40 cm) and mid-size (1.0-2.0 m) telescopes and organized a large set of community support activities. While most of the project was oriented towards planetary scientists, the ground-based observational network was also open to applications from amateur astronomers [1]. In addition, several activities oriented towards amateur astronomers were organized with funding from Europlanet, including meetings, training workshops and topical workshops on professional and amateur astronomy collaborations. As an example of the later, the Europlanet Science Conference (EPSC), organized by the Europlanet Society, remains the largest European annual meeting on planetary science, and the only one with a well-stablished tradition to incorporate amateur astronomy sessions.
In this presentation, we will highlight some of the key points in the support to amateur astronomy covered throughout the Europlanet 2024 RI. We will show lessons learnt, which include the importance of practical training, and successful examples of collaborations highlighting those that grew far beyond the expectations put in place in the project. We will also review the status of data and alert services oriented towards amateur astronomers and developed in Europlanet projects like the PARSEC Alert System (http://www.parsec-europlanet.eu/) [2] or PVOL (http://pvol2.ehu.eus/) [3].
While the funding from the Europlanet 2024 RI has ended, the Europlanet Society continues to provide support to amateur astronomy in Europe and beyond. The Europlanet Society is looking for funding opportunities to provide a healthy range of supporting activities to planetary sciences. These include specific actions to further develop collaborations between professional and amateur astronomy. The Europlanet Society is a membership society open to individual and organizational memberships including amateur astronomers and amateur organizations.
Acknowledgments: The Europlanet-2024 Research Infrastructure project has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreements No 871149.
References:
[1] Heward et al. Telescopes united, Astronomy & Geophysics, 61, (2020). https://doi.org/10.1093/astrogeo/ataa059.
[2] Podlewska-Gaca et al. PARSEC Alert System. European Planetary Science Congress. (2022) doi:10.5194/epsc2022-553. https://doi.org/10.5194/epsc2022-553.
[3] Hueso et al. The Planetary Virtual Observatory and Laboratory (PVOL) and its integration into the Virtual European Solar and Planetary Access (VESPA), Planetary and Space Science, 150, 22-35 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pss.2017.03.014
How to cite: Hueso, R., Kargl, G., Tautvaišienė, G., Podlewska-Gaca, E., Snodgrass, C., Garate-Lopez, I., Colas, F., Heward, A., and Vandaele, A.-C.: The Europlanet Society support to Amateur Astronomy in planetary science and exoplanets observations, Europlanet Science Congress 2024, Berlin, Germany, 8–13 Sep 2024, EPSC2024-702, https://doi.org/10.5194/epsc2024-702, 2024.
