Thirty Years of Natural Satellites Mutual Events Observations

Details Thirty Years of Natural Satellites Mutual Events Observations Thirty Years of Natural Satellites Mutual Events Observations

Sep 2009

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2009dps....41.5101a&link_type=abstract

American Astronomical Society, DPS meeting #41, #51.01

Astronomy and Astrophysics

Astronomy

Scientific paper

Phenomena in the Solar System have been observed for years: solar and lunar eclipses, occultations of stars by the Moon and the asteroids, eclipses of the satellites of Jupiter.
Since 1973, mutual occultations and eclipses of the satellites of Jupiter, Saturn and Uranus were observed extensively during each opportunity i.e. the equinox on the planet: why?
The study of the systems of natural satellites needs to explore the dynamics of these objects: each small dynamical effect is the signature of some physical property. In order to validate the theoretical models, very accurate observations are needed. Most of the direct astrometric observations have their accuracy limited by the diffraction of the light in the telescope and by the star catalogues used for calibration. Phenomena have not this limitation: the accuracy is not in angle but in kilometres in space. Since, the observed satellites have no atmosphere, these photometric events are easy to analyse providing relative positions accurate to a few kilometres corresponding to a few mas in geocentric angle. More, during an occultation, the surface of the satellites may be studied: volcanoes of Io (positions and fluxes) were observed that way.
Mutual events observations together with the best observations made since several decades allowed improving dynamical models of the satellites systems of Jupiter, Saturn and Uranus. Concerning Io, the dissipation of energy in its internal structure by the Jovian tides has been made into evidence thanks to fitting the models on accurate observations including mutual events.
Eight observational campaigns were organized for the Jovian satellites, three for the Saturnians and one for the Uranians providing more than 1400 light curves (see the data base at http://www.imcce.fr/fr/ephemerides/generateur/saimirror/obsindhe.htm ).
The author acknowledges the numerous observers worldwide who provide the observations, the observatories permitting observations and the French CNRS who supported these campaigns.

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