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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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At least 883 records · Page 49
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2017

Collisions of Terrestrial Worlds: The Occurrence of Extreme Mid-infrared Excesses around Low-mass Field Stars

We present the results of an investigation into the occurrence and properties (stellar age and mass trends) of low-mass field stars exhibiting extreme mid-infrared (MIR) excesses (L{sub IR}/L{sub ∗}≳0.01). Stars for the analysis were initially selected from the Motion Verified Red Stars (MoVeRS) catalog of photometric stars with Sloan Digital Sky Survey, 2MASS, and WISE photometry and significant proper motions. We identify 584 stars exhibiting extreme MIR excesses, selected based on an empirical relationship for main-sequence W1−W3 colors. For a small subset of the sample, we show, using spectroscopic tracers of stellar age (Hα and Li i) and luminosity class, that the parent sample is most likely comprised of field dwarfs (≳1 Gyr). We also develop the Low-mass Kinematics (LoKi) galactic model to estimate the completeness of the extreme MIR excess sample. Using Galactic height as a proxy for stellar age, the completeness-corrected analysis indicates a distinct age dependence for field stars exhibiting extreme MIR excesses. We also find a trend with stellar mass (using r − z color as a proxy). Our findings are consistent with the detected extreme MIR excesses originating from dust created in a short-lived collisional cascade (≲100,000 years) during a giant impact between two large planetismals or terrestrial planets. These stars with extreme MIR excesses also provide support for planetary collisions being the dominant mechanism in creating the observed Kepler dichotomy (the need for more than a single mode, typically two, to explain the variety of planetary system architectures Kepler has observed), rather than different formation mechanisms.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2017

Dynamically Hot Super-Earths from Outer Giant Planet Scattering

The hundreds of multiple planetary systems discovered by the Kepler mission are typically observed to reside in close-in (≲0.5 AU), low-eccentricity, low-inclination orbits. We run N-body experiments to study the effect that unstable outer (≳1 AU) giant planets, whose end orbital configurations resemble those in the Radial Velocity population, have on these close-in multiple super-Earth systems. Our experiments show that the giant planets greatly reduce the multiplicity of the inner super-Earths, and the surviving population can have large eccentricities (e≳0.3) and inclinations (i≳20{sup ∘}) at levels that anti-correlate with multiplicity. Consequently, this model predicts the existence of a population of dynamically hot single-transiting planets with typical eccentricities and inclinations of ∼0.1–0.5 and ∼10°–40°. We show that these results can explain the following observations: (i) the recent eccentricity measurements of Kepler super-Earths from transit durations; (ii) the tentative observation that single-transiting systems have a wider distribution of stellar obliquity angles compared to the multiple-transiting systems; (iii) the architecture of some eccentric super-Earths discovered by Radial Velocity surveys such as HD 125612c. Future observations from TESS will reveal many more dynamically hot single transiting planets, for which follow up radial velocity studies will be able to test our models and see whether they have outer giant planets.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2018

A Catalog of Cool Dwarf Targets for the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite

We present a catalog of cool dwarf targets (V-J>2.7, T {sub eff} ≲ 4000 K) and their stellar properties for the upcoming Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS), for the purpose of determining which cool dwarfs should be observed using two minute observations. TESS has the opportunity to search tens of thousands of nearby, cool, late K- and M-type dwarfs for transiting exoplanets, an order of magnitude more than current or previous transiting exoplanet surveys, such as Kepler, K2, and ground-based programs. This necessitates a new approach to choosing cool dwarf targets. Cool dwarfs are chosen by collating parallax and proper motion catalogs from the literature and subjecting them to a variety of selection criteria. We calculate stellar parameters and TESS magnitudes using the best possible relations from the literature while maintaining uniformity of methods for the sake of reproducibility. We estimate the expected planet yield from TESS observations using statistical results from the Kepler mission, and use these results to choose the best targets for two minute observations, optimizing for small planets for which masses can conceivably be measured using follow-up Doppler spectroscopy by current and future Doppler spectrometers. The catalog is available in machine readable format and is incorporated into the TESS Input Catalog and TESS Candidate Target List until a more complete and accurate cool dwarf catalog identified by ESA’s Gaia mission can be incorporated.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2019

Orbital Period Variation of KIC 10544976: Applegate Mechanism versus Light Travel Time Effect

In recent years, several close post-common-envelope eclipsing binaries have been found to show cyclic eclipse timing variations (ETVs). This effect is usually interpreted either as the gravitational interaction among circumbinary bodies and the host binary—known as the light travel time (LTT) effect—or as the quadrupole moment variations in one magnetic active component—known as the Applegate mechanism. In this study, we present an analysis of the ETV and the magnetic cycle of the close binary KIC 10544976. This system is composed of a white dwarf and a red dwarf in a short orbital period (0.35 days) and was monitored by ground-based telescopes between 2005 and 2017 and by the Kepler satellite between 2009 and 2013. Using the Kepler data, we derived the magnetic cycle of the red dwarf by two ways: the rate and energy of flares and the variability due to spots. Both methods resulted in a cycle of ∼600 days, which is in agreement with magnetic cycles measured for single low-mass stars. The orbital period of KIC 10544976 shows only one long-term variation which can be fitted by an LTT effect with period of ∼16.8 yr. Hence, one possible explanation for the ETVs is the presence of a circumbinary body with a minimal mass of ∼13.4 M {sub Jup}. In the particular scenario of coplanarity between the external body and the inner binary, the third body mass is also ∼13.4 M {sub Jup}. In this case, the circumbinary planet must either have survived the evolution of the host binary or have been formed as a consequence of its evolution.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2019

Ultra-short-period Planets from Secular Chaos

Over 100 rocky planets orbiting Sun-like stars in very short orbital periods (≲1 day) have been discovered by the Kepler mission. The origin of these planets, known as ultra-short-period (USP) planets, remains elusive. Here, we propose that most of these planets, originally at periods of ∼5–10 days, reach their current orbits via high-eccentricity migration. In a scaled-down version of the dynamics that may have been experienced by their high-mass analogs, the hot Jupiters, these planets reach high eccentricities via chaotic secular interactions with their companion planets and then undergo orbital circularization due to dissipation from tides raised on the planet. This proposal is motivated by the following observations: planetary systems observed by Kepler often contain several super-Earths with non-negligible eccentricities and inclinations, possibly extending beyond ∼au distances; by contrast, only a small fraction of USP planets have known transiting companions, which are generally not closely spaced, and we argue that most of them should have companions with periods ≳10 days. The proposed scenario naturally explains the observation that most USP planets have significantly more distant transiting companions compared to their counterparts at slightly longer periods (1–3 days). Our model predicts that USP planets should have: (i) spin–orbit angles, and inclinations relative to outer planets, in the range of ∼10–50°; (ii) several outer planetary companions extending beyond ∼1 au distances. Both of these predictions may be tested by TESS and its follow-up observations.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2020

SOAR TESS Survey. I. Sculpting of TESS Planetary Systems by Stellar Companions

The Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) is finding transiting planet candidates around bright, nearby stars across the entire sky. The large field of view, however, results in low spatial resolution; therefore, multiple stars contribute to almost every TESS light curve. High angular resolution imaging can detect the previously unknown companions to planetary candidate hosts that dilute the transit depths, lead to host star ambiguity, and, in some cases, are the source of false-positive transit signals. We use speckle imaging on the Southern Astrophysical Research (SOAR) telescope to search for companions to 542 TESS planet candidate hosts in the southern sky. We provide correction factors for the 117 systems with resolved companions due to photometric contamination. The contamination in TESS due to close binaries is similar to that found in surveys of Kepler planet candidates. For the solar-type population, we find a deep deficit of close binary systems with projected stellar separations less than 100 au among planet candidate hosts (44 observed binaries compared to 124 expected based on field binary statistics). The close binary suppression among TESS planet candidate hosts is similar to that seen for the more distant Kepler population. We also find a large surplus of TESS planet candidates in wide binary systems detected in both SOAR and Gaia DR2 (119 observed binaries compared to 77 expected). These wide binaries almost exclusively host giant planets, however, suggesting that orbital migration caused by perturbations from the stellar companion may lead to planet–planet scattering and suppress the population of small planets in wide binaries. Both trends are also apparent in the M dwarf planet candidate hosts.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2020

Exploring the Evolution of Stellar Rotation Using Galactic Kinematics

The rotational evolution of cool dwarfs is poorly constrained after ∼1–2 Gyr due to a lack of precise ages and rotation periods for old main-sequence stars. In this work, we use velocity dispersion as an age proxy to reveal the temperature-dependent rotational evolution of low-mass Kepler dwarfs and demonstrate that kinematic ages could be a useful tool for calibrating gyrochronology in the future. We find that a linear gyrochronology model, calibrated to fit the period–T{sub eff} relationship of the Praesepe cluster, does not apply to stars older than around 1 Gyr. Although late K dwarfs spin more slowly than early-K dwarfs when they are young, at old ages, we find that late K dwarfs rotate at the same rate or faster than early-K dwarfs of the same age. This result agrees qualitatively with semiempirical models that vary the rate of surface-to-core angular momentum transport as a function of time and mass. It also aligns with recent observations of stars in the NGC 6811 cluster, which indicate that the surface rotation rates of K dwarfs go through an epoch of inhibited evolution. We find that the oldest Kepler stars with measured rotation periods are late K and early M dwarfs, indicating that these stars maintain spotted surfaces and stay magnetically active longer than more massive stars. Finally, based on their kinematics, we confirm that many rapidly rotating GKM dwarfs are likely to be synchronized binaries.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2020

Multiple Explanations for the Single Transit of KIC 5951458 Based on Radial Velocity Measurements Extracted with a Novel Matched-template Technique

Planetary systems that show single-transit events are a critical pathway to increasing the yield of long-period exoplanets from transit surveys. From the primary Kepler mission, KIC 5951458 b (Kepler-456b) was thought to be a single-transit giant planet with an orbital period of 1310 days. However, radial velocity (RV) observations of KIC 5951458 from the HIRES instrument on the Keck telescope suggest that the system is far more complicated. To extract precise RVs for this V≈13 star, we develop a novel matched-template technique that takes advantage of a broad library of template spectra acquired with HIRES. We validate this technique and measure its noise floor to be 4–8 m s{sup −1} (in addition to internal RV error) for most stars that would be targeted for precision RVs. For KIC 5951458, we detect a long-term RV trend that suggests the existence of a stellar companion with an orbital period greater than a few thousand days. We also detect an additional signal in the RVs that is possibly caused by a planetary or brown dwarf companion with mass in the range of 0.6–82 M {sub Jup} and orbital period below a few thousand days. Curiously, from just the data on hand, it is not possible to determine which object caused the single “transit” event. We demonstrate how a modest set of RVs allows us to update the properties of this unusual system and predict the optimal timing for future observations.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2020

On the Orbital Elements of the Two-body Problem with Slowly Decreasing Mass: The Gyldén–Mestchersky Cases

We study the dynamics of two-body problems with gravitational parameters μ = μ(t) decreasing with the time. In particular we focus our attention on the behavior of the orbital elements in the first two Gyldén–Mestchersky cases: in the first case (GM-I) μ(t)=μ{sub 0}(1+αt){sup −1}, where μ{sub 0} is the constant initial value of the parameter and α a small positive constant. In the second case (GM-II) μ(t)=μ{sub 0}(1+2αt){sup −1/2}. In the GM-I problem, using a suitable transformation of the radius vector and the physical time, which reduces the original problem to a pure Kepler problem, we are able to obtain explicit analytical expressions of the orbital elements that hold true for all t⩾0 and therefore derive their asymptotic behavior. Moreover using the alternative scaled time these expressions show clearly their periodic and secular terms. For the GM-II problem a similar transformation to the GM-I problem leads to a perturbed Kepler problem with a radial direction perturbation. Although exact solutions in terms of elliptic functions may be obtained, the use of some integrals leads to analytical expressions of orbital elements that allow us to study their behavior. Finally, some comparisons between the time evolution of elements in both problems are also included.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2021

KIC 10975348: A Double-mode or Triple-mode High-amplitude δ Scuti Star?

In this paper, we analyze the light variations of KIC 10975348 using photometric data delivered from the Kepler mission. This star is exceptionally faint (K {sub p} = 18.6 mag) compared to most well-studied δ Scuti stars. The Fourier analysis of the short-cadence data (i.e., Q14, Q15, and Q16, spanning 220 days) reveals that the variations are dominated by the strongest mode with a frequency of F0 = 10.231899 day{sup −1}, which is compatible with that obtained from RATS–Kepler. The other two independent modes with F1 (=13.4988 day{sup −1}) and F2 (=19.0002 day{sup −1}) are newly detected and have amplitudes two orders of magnitude smaller than F0. We note that, for the first time, this star is identified to be a high-amplitude δ Sct (HADS) star with an amplitude of about 0.7 mag, and the lower ratio of F0/F1 = 0.758 suggests that it might be a metal-rich variable star. The frequency F2 may be a third overtone mode, suggesting that this target might be a new radial triple-mode HADS star. We perform an O − C analysis using 1018 newly determined times of maximum light and derive an ephemeris formula of T {sub max} = 2456170.241912(0)+0.097734(1) × E. The O − C diagram shows that the pulsation period of KIC 10975348 seems to show no obvious change, which is in contrast to that of the majority of HADS stars. The possible cause of that may be due to the current short time span of the observations. To verify its possible period variations, regular observation from space with a longer time span in the future is needed.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗
DOE OSTI2021

On the Estimation of Circumbinary Orbital Properties

We describe a fast, approximate method to characterize the orbits of satellites around a central binary in numerical simulations. A goal is to distinguish the free eccentricity—the random motion of a satellite relative to a dynamically cool orbit—from oscillatory modes driven by the central binary’s time-varying gravitational potential. We assess the performance of the method using the Kepler-16, Kepler-47, and Pluto–Charon systems. We then apply the method to a simulation of orbital damping in a circumbinary environment, resolving relative speeds between small bodies that are slow enough to promote mergers and growth. These results illustrate how dynamical cooling can set the stage for the formation of Tatooine-like planets around stellar binaries and the small moons around the Pluto–Charon binary planet.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2021

Flaring and Spot Activities on the Semi-detached Binary System KIC 06852488

The continuous and unbroken time-series photometry data of Kepler and the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) provide a good opportunity to study the continuous variations in the light curve of binary stars. This paper reports the discoveries of the correlation between the two maxima on the light curve of KIC 06852488 and the correlation between the O’Connell effect and the O – C curve. The Max I and Max II vary with a same cycle length of ~2000 days and a 180° phase difference, and the variation of the Max II coincides with the O – C curve of the primary light minima. After analyzing the Kepler and TESS light curves, it is detected that this binary is a semi-detached system with a mass ratio of 0.4622(±0.0036). The secondary component is filling its critical Roche lobe, while the primary component is only filling 12.25(±0.10)% of the lobe volume that contributes more than 85% luminosity of the total system. The variation of the O’Connell effect could be explained by an evolving hot spot on the primary component and an evolving cool spot on the secondary component. It is found that their positions are symmetrical with the inner Lagrange L1 point. After subtracting the binary brightness changes, six optical flares are detected that come from the cool secondary. We calculated the energy of flares and found that all of the flares are superflares. Both the flares and an evolving dark spot on the lobe-filling secondary component make the system a very interesting source to investigate the effects of binary interaction on the magnetic activities.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗
DOE OSTI2021

KIC 12602250: A Low-amplitude Double-mode Delta Scuti Star with Amplitude Modulation

We report a detailed light-curve analysis of the Kepler target Kepler Input Catalog (KIC) 12602250. The results show that KIC 12602250 is a low-amplitude radial double-mode δ-Scuti star with amplitude modulation. The Fourier analysis of the long cadence data (i.e., Q0—Q17, spanning 1471 days) reveals that the variations of the light curve are dominated by the strongest mode with frequency F0 = 11.6141 d{sup -1}, suggesting that KIC 12602250 is a δ-Scuti star. The other independent mode F1 = 14.9741 d{sup -1} is newly detected. The amplitude of the light variations of KIC 12602250 is ~0.06 mag, which indicates that this is a low-amplitude δ-Scuti star; but the ratio of F0/F1 is estimated as 0.7756, which is typical of HADS, and a slow amplitude growth is detected in F1 and f {sub 3}, which could be due to stellar evolution, suggesting that KIC 12602250 could be a post-main-sequence δ Scuti that is crossing the instability strip for the first time.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2026

Red Noise–based False Alarm Thresholds for Astrophysical Periodograms via Whittle’s Approximation to the Likelihood

Astronomers who search for periodic signals using Lomb–Scargle periodograms rely on false alarm level (FAL) estimates to identify statistically significant peaks. Although FALs are often calculated from white noise models, many astronomical time series suffer from red noise. Prewhitening is a statistical technique in which a continuum model is subtracted from the log power spectrum estimate, after which the observer can proceed with a white-noise treatment. Here we present a prewhitening-based method of calculating frequency-dependent FALs. We fit power laws and autoregressive models of order 1 to each Lomb–Scargle periodogram by minimizing the Whittle approximation to the negative log-likelihood (NLL), then calculate FALs based on the best-fit model power spectrum. Our technique is a novel extension of the Whittle NLL to datasets with uneven time sampling. We demonstrate FAL calculations using observations of α Cen B, GJ 581, HD 192310, synthetic data from the radial velocity (RV) fitting challenge, and Kepler observations of a differential rotator. The Kepler data analysis shows that only true rotation signals are detected by red noise FALs, while white noise FALs suggest all spurious peaks in the low-frequency range are significant. A high-frequency sinusoid injected into α Cen B logR$'$ HK observations exceeds the 1% red noise FAL despite having only 8.9% of the power of the dominant rotation signal. In a periodogram of HD 192310 RVs, peaks associated with differential rotation and planets are detected against the 5% red noise FAL without iterative model fitting or subtraction. The software for calculating red noise–based FALs is available on GitHub.

Astrostatistics (1882)↗
DOE OSTI2017

Asteroseismic Diagram for Subgiants and Red Giants

Asteroseismology is a powerful tool for constraining stellar parameters. NASA’s Kepler mission is providing individual eigenfrequencies for a huge number of stars, including thousands of red giants. Besides the frequencies of acoustic modes, an important breakthrough of the Kepler mission is the detection of nonradial gravity-dominated mixed-mode oscillations in red giants. Unlike pure acoustic modes, mixed modes probe deeply into the interior of stars, allowing the stellar core properties and evolution of stars to be derived. In this work, using the gravity-mode period spacing and the large frequency separation, we construct the ΔΠ{sub 1}–Δ ν asteroseismic diagram from models of subgiants and red giants with various masses and metallicities. The relationship ΔΠ{sub 1}–Δ ν is able to constrain the ages and masses of the subgiants. Meanwhile, for red giants with masses above 1.5 M {sub ⊙}, the ΔΠ{sub 1}–Δ ν asteroseismic diagram can also work well to constrain the stellar age and mass. Additionally, we calculate the relative “isochrones” τ , which indicate similar evolution states especially for similar mass stars, on the ΔΠ{sub 1}–Δ ν diagram.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2017

KIC 8262223: A Post-mass Transfer Eclipsing Binary Consisting of a Delta Scuti Pulsator and a Helium White Dwarf Precursor

KIC 8262223 is an eclipsing binary with a short orbital period (P = 1.61 day). The Kepler light curves are of Algol-type and display deep and partial eclipses, ellipsoidal variations, and pulsations of δ Scuti type. We analyzed the Kepler photometric data, complemented by phase-resolved spectra from the R-C Spectrograph on the 4 meter Mayall telescope at the Kitt Peak National Observatory and determined the fundamental parameters of this system. The low-mass and oversized secondary (M{sub 2}=0.20M{sub ⊙}, R{sub 2}=1.31R{sub ⊙}) is the remnant of the donor star that transferred most of its mass to the gainer, and now the primary star. The current primary star is thus not a normal δ Scuti star but the result of mass accretion from a lower mass progenitor. We discuss the possible evolutionary history and demonstrate with the MESA evolution code that this system and several other systems discussed in prior literature can be understood as the result of non-conservative binary evolution for the formation of EL CVn-type binaries. The pulsations of the primary star can be explained as radial and non-radial pressure modes. The equilibrium models from single star evolutionary tracks can match the observed mass and radius (M{sub 1}=1.94M{sub ⊙}, R{sub 1}=1.67R{sub ⊙}) but the predicted unstable modes associated with these models differ somewhat from those observed. We discuss the need for better theoretical understanding of such post-mass transfer δ Scuti pulsators.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2017

Observational Evidence for High Neutronization in Supernova Remnants: Implications for Type Ia Supernova Progenitors

The physical process whereby a carbon–oxygen white dwarf explodes as a Type Ia supernova (SN Ia) remains highly uncertain. The degree of neutronization in SN Ia ejecta holds clues to this process because it depends on the mass and the metallicity of the stellar progenitor, and on the thermodynamic history prior to the explosion. We report on a new method to determine ejecta neutronization using Ca and S lines in the X-ray spectra of Type Ia supernova remnants (SNRs). Applying this method to Suzaku data of Tycho, Kepler , 3C 397, and G337.2−0.7 in the Milky Way, and N103B in the Large Magellanic Cloud, we find that the neutronization of the ejecta in N103B is comparable to that of Tycho and Kepler , which suggests that progenitor metallicity is not the only source of neutronization in SNe Ia. We then use a grid of SN Ia explosion models to infer the metallicities of the stellar progenitors of our SNRs. The implied metallicities of 3C 397, G337.2−0.7, and N103B are major outliers compared to the local stellar metallicity distribution functions, indicating that progenitor metallicity can be ruled out as the origin of neutronization for these SNRs. Although the relationship between ejecta neutronization and equivalent progenitor metallicity is subject to uncertainties stemming from the {sup 12}C + {sup 16}O reaction rate, which affects the Ca/S mass ratio, our main results are not sensitive to these details.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2017

Very Low-energy Supernovae: Light Curves and Spectra of Shock Breakout

The brief transient emitted as a shock wave erupts through the surface of a pre-supernova star carrying information about the stellar radius and explosion energy. Here, the CASTRO code, which treats radiation transport using multigroup flux-limited diffusion, is used to simulate the light curves and spectra of shock breakout in very low-energy supernovae (VLE SNe), explosions in giant stars with final kinetic energy much less than 10{sup 51} erg. VLE SN light curves, computed here with the KEPLER code, are distinctively faint, red, and long-lived, making them challenging to find with transient surveys. The accompanying shock breakouts are brighter, though briefer, and potentially easier to detect. Previous analytic work provides general guidance, but numerical simulations are challenging, due to the range of conditions and lack of equilibration between color and effective temperatures. We consider previous analytic work and extend discussions of color temperature and opacity to the lower energy range explored by these events. Since this is the first application of the CASTRO code to shock breakout, test simulations of normal energy shock breakout of SN 1987A are carried out and compared with the literature. A set of breakout light curves and spectra are then calculated for VLE SNe with final kinetic energies in the range 10{sup 47}--10{sup 50} erg for red supergiants with main-sequence masses of 15 and 25 M{sub ⊙}. The importance of uncertainties in stellar atmosphere model, opacity, and ambient medium is discussed, as are observational prospects with current and forthcoming missions.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗