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Context. The discovery of an extrasolar planet with an ocean has crucial importance in the search for life beyond Earth. The polarimetric detection of specularly reflected light from a smooth liquid surface is anticipated theoretically, though the polarimetric signature of Earths oceans has not yet been conclusively detected in disk-integrated planetary light. Aims. We aim to detect and measure the polarimetric signature of the Earths oceans. Methods. We conducted near-infrared polarimetry for lunar Earthshine and collected data on 32 nights with a variety of ocean fractions in the Earthshine-contributing region. Results. A clear positive correlation was revealed between the polarization degree and ocean fraction. We found hourly variations in polarization in accordance with rotational transition of the ocean fraction. The ratios of the variation to the typical polarization degree were as large as ~0.2-1.4. Conclusions. Our observations provide plausible evidence of the polarimetric signature attributed to Earths oceans. Near-infrared polarimetry may be considered a prospective technique in the search for exoplanetary oceans.
The identification of an extrasolar planet as Earth-like will depend on the detection of atmospheric signatures or surface non-uniformities. In this paper we present spatially unresolved flux light curves of Earth for the purpose of studying a protot
The origin of the Galactic center diffuse X-ray emission (GCDX) is still under intense investigation. We have found a clear excess in a longitudinal GCDX profile over a stellar number density profile in the nuclear bulge region, suggesting a signific
Diffuse glow has been observed around brightly lit cities in nighttime satellite imagery since at least the first publication of large scale maps in the late 1990s. In the literature, this has often been assumed to be an error related to the sensor,
We present J and K imaging linear polarimetric adaptive optics observations of NGC 1068 using MMT-Pol on the 6.5-m MMT. These observations allow us to study the torus from a magnetohydrodynamical (MHD) framework. In a 0.5 (30 pc) aperture at K, we fi
We build a conceptual coupled model of the climate and tidal evolution of the Earth-Moon system to find the influence of the former on the latter. An energy balance model is applied to calculate steady-state temperature field from the mean annual ins