No Arabic abstract
Presented are the first interferometric images of cool starspots on the chromospherically active giant $lambda$ Andromedae. These images represent the first model-independent images of cool starspots on a star other than the Sun to date. The interferometric observations, taken with the Michigan Infra-Red Combiner coupled to the Center for High Angular Resolution Astronomy Array, span 26 days from Aug 17$^{th}$, 2008 to Sep 24$^{th}$, 2011. The photometric time series acquired at Fairborn Observatory spanning Sep 20$^{th}$, 2008 to Jan 20$^{th}$, 2011 is also presented. The angular diameter and power law limb-darkening coefficient of this star are 2.759 $pm$ 0.050 mas and 0.229 $pm$ 0.111, respectively. Starspot properties are obtained from both modeled and SQUEEZE reconstructed images. The images from 2010 through 2011 show anywhere from one to four starspots. The measured properties of identical starspots identified in both the model and reconstructed images are within two $sigma$ error bars in 51$%$ of cases. The cadence in the data for the 2010 and 2011 data sets are sufficient to measure a stellar rotation period based on apparent starspot motion. This leads to estimates of the rotation period (P$_{2010}$ = 60 $pm$ 13 days, P$_{2011}$ = 54.0 $pm$ 7.6 days) that are consistent with the photometrically determined period of 54.8 days. In addition, the inclination and position angle of the rotation axis is computed for both the 2010 and 2011 data sets; values ($bar{Psi}$ = 21.5$degree$, $bar{emph{i}}$ = 78.0$degree$) for each are nearly identical between the two years. end{abstract}
We present temperature maps of RS CVn star lambda Andromedae, reconstructed from interferometric data acquired in 2010 and 2011 by the MIRC instrument at the Center for High Angular Resolution Astronomy Array. To constrain the stellar parameters required for this imaging task, we first modeled the star using our GPU-accelerated code SIMTOI. The stellar surface was then imaged using our open source interferometric imaging code ROTIR, in the process further refining the estimation of stellar parameters. We report that the measured angular diameter is 2.742 +/- 0.010 mas with a limb-darkening coefficient of 0.231 +/- 0.024. While our images are consistent with those of prior works, we provide updated physical parameters for lambda Andromedae (R_star = 7.78 +/- 0.05 R_odot, M_star = 1.24 +/- 0.72 M_odot, log L/L_odot = 1.46 +/- 0.04).
Reinhold et al. (Science, 1 May 2020, p. 518) provided two possible interpretations of measurements showing that the Sun is less active than other solar-like stars. We argue that one of those interpretations anticipates the observed differences between the properties of their two stellar samples. This suggests that solar-like stars become permanently less variable beyond a specific evolutionary phase.
Discovering other worlds the size of our own has been a long-held dream of astronomers. The transiting planets Kepler-20e and Kepler-20f, which belong to a multi-planet system, hold a very special place among the many groundbreaking discoveries of the Kepler mission because they finally realized that dream. The radius of Kepler-20f is essentially identical to that of the Earth, while Kepler-20e is even smaller (0.87 R[Earth]), and was the first exoplanet to earn that distinction. Their masses, however, are too light to measure with current instrumentation, and this has prevented their confirmation by the usual Doppler technique that has been used so successfully to confirm many other larger planets. To persuade themselves of the planetary nature of these tiny objects, astronomers employed instead a statistical technique to validate them, showing that the likelihood they are planets is orders of magnitude larger than a false positive. Kepler-20e and 20f orbit their Sun-like star every 6.1 and 19.6 days, respectively, and are most likely of rocky composition. Here we review the history of how they were found, and present an overview of the methodology that was used to validate them.
Sunspots are cool areas caused by strong surface magnetic fields inhibiting convection. Moreover, strong magnetic fields can alter the average atmospheric structure, degrading our ability to measure stellar masses and ages. Stars more active than the Sun have more and stronger dark spots than in the solar case, including on the rotational pole itself. Doppler imaging, which has so far produced the most detailed images of surface structures on other stars than the Sun, cannot always distinguish the hemisphere in which the starspots are located, especially in the equatorial region and if the data quality is not optimal. This leads to problems in investigating the north-south distribution of starspot active latitudes (those latitudes with more spot activity), which are crucial constraints of dynamo theory. Polar spots, inferred only from Doppler tomography, could plausibly be observational artifacts, casting some doubt on their very existence. Here we report imaging of the old, magnetically-active star $zeta$ Andromedae using long-baseline infrared interferometry. In our data, a dark polar spot is seen in each of two epochs, while lower-latitude spot structures in both hemispheres do not persist between observations revealing global starspot asymmetries. The north-south symmetry of active latitudes observed on the Sun is absent on $zeta$ And, which hosts global spot patterns that cannot be produced by solar-type dynamos.
We present results from the the first campaign of dedicated solar observations undertaken by the textit{Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope ARray} ({em NuSTAR}) hard X-ray telescope. Designed as an astrophysics mission, {em NuSTAR} nonetheless has the capability of directly imaging the Sun at hard X-ray energies ($>$3~keV) with an increase in sensitivity of at least two magnitude compared to current non-focusing telescopes. In this paper we describe the scientific areas where textit{NuSTAR} will make major improvements on existing solar measurements. We report on the techniques used to observe the Sun with textit{NuSTAR}, their limitations and complications, and the procedures developed to optimize solar data quality derived from our experience with the initial solar observations. These first observations are briefly described, including the measurement of the Fe K-shell lines in a decaying X-class flare, hard X-ray emission from high in the solar corona, and full-disk hard X-ray images of the Sun.