A regular period for Saturn's magnetic field that may track its internal rotation

The rotation rate of a planet is one of its fundamental properties. Saturn's rotation, however, is difficult to determine because there is no solid surface from which to time it, and the alternative 'clock'--the magnetic field--is nearly symmetrically aligned with the rotation axis. Radio emissions, thought to provide a proxy measure of the rotation of the magnetic field, have yielded estimates of the rotation period between 10 h 39 min 22 s and 10 h 45 min 45 s (refs 8-10). Because the period determined from radio measurements exhibits large time variations, even on timescales of months, it has been uncertain whether the radio-emission periodicity coincides with the inner rotation rate of the planet. Here we report magnetic field measurements that revealed a time-stationary magnetic signal with a period of 10 h 47 min 6 s +/- 40 s. The signal appears to be stable in period, amplitude and phase over 14 months of observations, pointing to a close connection with the conductive region inside the planet, although its interpretation as the 'true' inner rotation period is still uncertain.     

一个计算行星轮对定轴动量矩的新方法

推导了行星轮的运动分解为随转动参考系的转动和相对于转动参考系的转动时,计算其对定轴动量矩的一个新方法.该方法表明,行星轮对定轴动量矩等于牵连动量矩与相对动量矩之和,其物理意义直观明确,应用方便.     

The four final rotation states of Venus.

Venus rotates very slowly on its axis in a retrograde direction, opposite to that of most other bodies in the Solar System. To explain this peculiar observation, it has been generally believed that in the past its rotational axis was itself rotated to 180 degrees as a result of core-mantle friction inside the planet, together with atmospheric tides. But such a change has to assume a high initial obliquity (the angle between the planet's equator and the plane of the orbital motion). Chaotic evolution, however, allows the spin axis to flip for a large set of initial conditions. Here we show that independent of uncertainties in the models, terrestrial planets with dense atmosphere like Venus can evolve into one of only four possible rotation states. Moreover, we find that most initial conditions will drive the planet towards the configuration at present seen at Venus, albeit through two very different evolutionary paths. The first is the generally accepted view whereby the spin axis flips direction. But we have also found that it is possible for Venus to begin with prograde rotation (the same direction as the other planets) yet then develop retrograde rotation while the obliquity goes towards zero: a rotation of the spin axis is not necessary in this case.     

Mars exploration.

An international flotilla of spacecraft are to be sent to Mars over the next decade in an effort to understand the planet's geology and climate history, and to determine whether some form of life ever started there. At least two spacecraft will be sent at each launch opportunity, and at times up to four spacecraft may be operating simultaneously at the planet.     

Characterization of extrasolar terrestrial planets from diurnal photometric variability

The detection of massive planets orbiting nearby stars has become almost routine, but current techniques are as yet unable to detect terrestrial planets with masses comparable to the Earth's. Future space-based observatories to detect Earth-like planets are being planned. Terrestrial planets orbiting in the habitable zones of stars-where planetary surface conditions are compatible with the presence of liquid water-are of enormous interest because they might have global environments similar to Earth's and even harbour life. The light scattered by such a planet will vary in intensity and colour as the planet rotates; the resulting light curve will contain information about the planet's surface and atmospheric properties. Here we report a model that predicts features that should be discernible in the light curve obtained by low-precision photometry. For extrasolar planets similar to Earth, we expect daily flux variations of up to hundreds of per cent, depending sensitively on ice and cloud cover as well as seasonal variations. This suggests that the meteorological variability, composition of the surface (for example, ocean versus land fraction) and rotation period of an Earth-like planet could be derived from photometric observations. Even signatures of Earth-like plant life could be constrained or possibly, with further study, even uniquely determined.     

The crust and mantle of Mars.

Clues to the history of Mars are recorded in the chemistry and structure of the planet's crust and mantle. The mantle is the rocky, interior region of the planet that transports heat generated during accretion and subsequent core formation. The crust formed by melting of the upper mantle, and has been shaped and re-distributed by impact, volcanism, mantle flow and erosion. Observations point to a dynamically active interior in the early phases of martian history, followed by a rapid fall-off in heat transport that significantly influenced the geological, geophysical and geochemical evolution of the planet, including the history of water and climate.     

太阳系行星质量分布的内在规律及其成因分析

通过计算和分析发现太阳系8大行星质量分布具有内在规律:行星质量取值不是任意的,而是一些特定的数值,每个行星质量由1个或2个基本质量之和构成,基本质量取值符合233律.利用前期提出的理论对此进行了解释,认为该规律与万有引力和质量的起源有关.因为万有引力起源于大尺度微子微团的运动,其引力质量等于微子微团最大速度与广义粒子半径的乘积,在最大速度相同的情况下,微团在向内逐级嵌套过程中,相邻层次的半径具有2倍或3倍的关系,在半屏蔽的情况下形成了行星质量分布的233律.利用233律估算得到行星质量与实测符合得很好,但也存在小量误差,原因在于行星周围微子微团存在密度和压力,所产生的斥力削弱了万有引力,使得测量值略小于估算值.金星和天王星存在较大相对误差的原因就在于其周围微子微团的密度过大,也是行星存在逆向自转和金星转速极慢的原因.通过分析提出了行星形成的分裂说,认为所有行星都起源于同一母行星,该行星分裂成母木星和母土星,之后2颗行星进一步分裂,形成了4颗土系行星和4颗木系行星.     

Ocean circulation and climate during the past 120,000 years

Oceans cover more than two-thirds of our blue planet. The waters move in a global circulation system, driven by subtle density differences and transporting huge amounts of heat. Ocean circulation is thus an active and highly nonlinear player in the global climate game. Increasingly clear evidence implicates ocean circulation in abrupt and dramatic climate shifts, such as sudden temperature changes in Greenland on the order of 5-10 degrees C and massive surges of icebergs into the North Atlantic Ocean --events that have occurred repeatedly during the last glacial cycle.     

自由Poincaré行星模型的动力学分析

本文讨论了由一个刚性慢和一个液体核组成的行星的自转运动。得到了三组平衡解,并对其进行了详细的讨论。探讨了平衡解附近的运动,特别研究了两种极限情况。得到了由于液核的存在角动量轴趋向于形状轴的结论。分析表明行星核的大小及其动力学扁率决定了自由摆动的频率。     

水球世界气候态与经向热量输送的数值模拟试验

利用完全耦合的气候模式(FOAM), 通过两组理想的水球试验, 研究水球气候系统中的平均气候态和经向热量输送。两组水球试验分别是Aqua和Ridge, 前者整个星球完全被水覆盖, 没有任何陆地, 后者与前者的唯一区别是从南极到北极有一道连续的地脊。相比于现实世界, 水球世界的气候更加温暖, 极地几乎没有海冰。北半球的经向温度梯度较现实世界弱, 导致北半球的大气经向热量输送较小。这些差别主要来源于海陆分布改变造成的行星反照率的改变, 而云量的增加部分抵消了这种改变。尽管在两个水球试验中海洋环流和平均温度场差别很大, 但大气平均气候态差别不大。不同于Ridge, 在Aqua中赤道区域出现“反”哈德雷环流, 使得低纬度大气向赤道方向输送热量。尽管水球世界的海洋环流与现实世界相比发生了巨大改变, 但总的经向热量输送及其在大气和海洋之间的分配依然保持稳定。中小尺度的涡旋和扩散引起的经向热量输送部分抵消了大尺度环流引起的经向热量输送, 尤其在中纬度起着重要作用。     

行星曲线及应用

本文讨论了行星机构中行星轮运动轨迹的矩阵方程的建立方法,研究并提出了行星曲线封闭的条件.同时也提出了行星曲线的计算机模拟方法及数学模型,分析并讨论了行星曲线的特征及变化规律.最后,简单介绍了行星曲线在工程中的应用.     

A closely packed system of low-mass, low-density planets transiting Kepler-11

When an extrasolar planet passes in front of (transits) its star, its radius can be measured from the decrease in starlight and its orbital period from the time between transits. Multiple planets transiting the same star reveal much more: period ratios determine stability and dynamics, mutual gravitational interactions reflect planet masses and orbital shapes, and the fraction of transiting planets observed as multiples has implications for the planarity of planetary systems. But few stars have more than one known transiting planet, and none has more than three. Here we report Kepler spacecraft observations of a single Sun-like star, which we call Kepler-11, that reveal six transiting planets, five with orbital periods between 10 and 47?days and a sixth planet with a longer period. The five inner planets are among the smallest for which mass and size have both been measured, and these measurements imply substantial envelopes of light gases. The degree of coplanarity and proximity of the planetary orbits imply energy dissipation near the end of planet formation.     

行星运动影响大气环流变异

我们认为影响大气环流变异的主要因素是行星。主要依据有四：1、行星的会合周期影响着旱、涝周期。2、月亮与行星能在其对应纬度引发大气潮。3、行星、月球能给其对应纬度增温形成大气环流变异。4、以往预测特大旱、涝的实践对此也已充分地证明。由于行星的运行轨迹可以预知,因此在“行星对应区方法”下旱、涝、风、雪等自然灾害便由以往的”不测”成为可测。     

Modulation of Saturn's radio clock by solar wind speed

The internal rotation rates of the giant planets can be estimated by cloud motions, but such an approach is not very precise because absolute wind speeds are not known a priori and depend on latitude: periodicities in the radio emissions, thought to be tied to the internal planetary magnetic field, are used instead. Saturn, despite an apparently axisymmetric magnetic field, emits kilometre-wavelength (radio) photons from auroral sources. This emission is modulated at a period initially identified as 10 h 39 min 24 +/- 7 s, and this has been adopted as Saturn's rotation period. Subsequent observations, however, revealed that this period varies by +/-6 min on a timescale of several months to years. Here we report that the kilometric radiation period varies systematically by +/-1% with a characteristic timescale of 20-30 days. Here we show that these fluctuations are correlated with solar wind speed at Saturn, meaning that Saturn's radio clock is controlled, at least in part, by conditions external to the planet's magnetosphere. No correlation is found with the solar wind density, dynamic pressure or magnetic field; the solar wind speed therefore has a special function. We also show that the long-term fluctuations are simply an average of the short-term ones, and therefore the long-term variations are probably also driven by changes in the solar wind.     

Infrared radiation from an extrasolar planet

A class of extrasolar giant planets--the so-called 'hot Jupiters' (ref. 1)--orbit within 0.05 au of their primary stars (1 au is the Sun-Earth distance). These planets should be hot and so emit detectable infrared radiation. The planet HD 209458b (refs 3, 4) is an ideal candidate for the detection and characterization of this infrared light because it is eclipsed by the star. This planet has an anomalously large radius (1.35 times that of Jupiter), which may be the result of ongoing tidal dissipation, but this explanation requires a non-zero orbital eccentricity (approximately 0.03; refs 6, 7), maintained by interaction with a hypothetical second planet. Here we report detection of infrared (24 microm) radiation from HD 209458b, by observing the decrement in flux during secondary eclipse, when the planet passes behind the star. The planet's 24-microm flux is 55 +/- 10 microJy (1sigma), with a brightness temperature of 1,130 +/- 150 K, confirming the predicted heating by stellar irradiation. The secondary eclipse occurs at the midpoint between transits of the planet in front of the star (to within +/- 7 min, 1sigma), which means that a dynamically significant orbital eccentricity is unlikely.     

An extrasolar planet that transits the disk of its parent star

Planets orbiting other stars could in principle be found through the periodic dimming of starlight as a planet moves across--or 'transits'--the line of sight between the observer and the star. Depending on the size of the planet relative to the star, the dimming could reach a few per cent of the apparent brightness of the star. Despite many searches, no transiting planet has been discovered in this way; the one known transiting planet--HD209458b--was first discovered using precise measurements of the parent star's radial velocity and only subsequently detected photometrically. Here we report radial velocity measurements of the star OGLE-TR-56, which was previously found to exhibit a 1.2-day transit-like light curve in a survey looking for gravitational microlensing events. The velocity changes that we detect correlate with the light curve, from which we conclude that they are probably induced by an object of around 0.9 Jupiter masses in an orbit only 0.023 au from its star. We estimate the planetary radius to be around 1.3 Jupiter radii and its density to be about 0.5 g x cm(-3). This object is hotter than any known planet (approximately 1,900 K), but is still stable against long-term evaporation or tidal disruption.     

An auroral flare at Jupiter

Jupiter's aurora is the most powerful in the Solar System. It is powered largely by energy extracted from planetary rotation, although there seems also to be a contribution from the solar wind. This contrasts with Earth's aurora, which is generated through the interaction of the solar wind with the magnetosphere. The major features of Jupiter's aurora (based on far-ultraviolet, near-infrared and visible-wavelength observations) include a main oval that generally corotates with the planet and a region of patchy, diffuse emission inside the oval on Jupiter's dusk side. Here we report the discovery of a rapidly evolving, very bright and localized emission poleward of the northern main oval, in a region connected magnetically to Jupiter's outer magnetosphere. The intensity of the emission increased by a factor of 30 within 70 s, and then decreased on a similar timescale, all captured during a single four-minute exposure. This type of flaring emission has not previously been reported for Jupiter (similar, but smaller, transient events have been observed at Earth), and it may be related directly to changes in the solar wind.     

2K—H行星变速器运动简图设计

本文对２Ｋ—Ｈ负号机构的特性方程与机构单元进行了研究，并求得了该机构的单元图谱。提出了双排２Ｋ—Ｈ负号机构行星变速器运动简图的设计方法，求得了双排２Ｋ—Ｈ机构行星变速器的六种传动方案，可供该变速器结构设计时择优。     

采煤机摇臂系统行星轮系疲劳可靠性灵敏度设计

由于采煤机摇臂系统的行星轮系结构比较复杂,采用集中质量参数法对其进行有限元建模,分析行星轮与太阳轮的动态接触应力以确定其失效模式.主要考虑行星轮与太阳轮结构尺寸的随机性,利用BP神经网络的非线性映射功能,模拟得到疲劳寿命与随机参数的关系表达式.采用最大可能点摄动法进行可靠性设计.最后通过对行星轮与太阳轮的可靠性灵敏度设计,得到了各参数均值和方差对结构可靠性的影响情况.Monte-Carlo仿真试验验证了所提方法的正确性,为行星轮与太阳轮可靠性灵敏度设计提供了理论参考.     

全球地形影响大气和海洋经圈环流的耦合模式研究

利用气候系统模式(CESM1.0)研究陆地地形改变对大气?海洋经圈环流的影响。模式首先给出真实海陆分布及陆地地形情况下的大气?海洋气候态, 然后给出平板陆地情况下(陆地海拔均匀10 m)的气候态。与真实世界相比, 平板陆地情形下大气?海洋经圈环流发生重大改变: 首先, 年平均大气对流中心南移到赤道附近, 使得大气哈德雷环流相对于赤道对称; 其次, 海洋的经向翻转流变强, 大西洋经向翻转流完全消失, 取而代之的是在太平洋出现强大的经向翻转流及热盐环流。在平板陆地情形下, 北半球中高纬度大气抬升减弱, 向北的大气热量输送减少, 北半球温度降低, 大气对流中心因而向赤道迁移; 同时, 海洋向极地的热量输送也减弱, 中高纬度海洋变冷, 北太平洋海水密度增加很多, 北大西洋海水密度降低, 导致海洋经向翻转流从大西洋转移到太平洋。