Surpassing the resolution limit of adaptive optics imaging in the living human eye by combining annular pupil illumination with sub-Airy disk confocal pinhole detection

Context. Over the past decades, several interplanetary missions have studied small bodies in situ, leading to major advances in our understanding of their geological and geophysical properties. These missions, however, have had a limited number of targets. Among them, the NASA Dawn mission has characterised in detail the topography and albedo variegation across the surface of asteroid (4) Vesta down to a spatial resolution of ~20 m pixel−1 scale. Aims. Here our aim was to determine how much topographic and albedo information can be retrieved from the ground with VLT/SPHERE in the case of Vesta, having a former space mission (Dawn) providing us with the ground truth that can be used as a benchmark. Methods. We observed Vesta with VLT/SPHERE/ZIMPOL as part of our ESO large programme (ID 199.C-0074) at six different epochs, and deconvolved the collected images with a parametric point spread function (PSF). We then compared our images with synthetic views of Vesta generated from the 3D shape model of the Dawn mission, on which we projected Vesta’s albedo information. Results. We show that the deconvolution of the VLT/SPHERE images with a parametric PSF allows the retrieval of the main topographic and albedo features present across the surface of Vesta down to a spatial resolution of ~20–30 km. Contour extraction shows an accuracy of ~1 pixel (3.6 mas). The present study provides the very first quantitative estimate of the accuracy of ground-based adaptive-optics imaging observations of asteroid surfaces. Conclusions. In the case of Vesta, the upcoming generation of 30–40 m telescopes (ELT, TMT, GMT) should in principle be able to resolve all of the main features present across its surface, including the troughs and the north–south crater dichotomy, provided that they operate at the diffraction limit.

Download Full-text

Kepler-411: a four-planet system with an active host star

Astronomy and Astrophysics ◽

10.1051/0004-6361/201834275 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 624 ◽

pp. A15 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

L. Sun ◽

P. Ioannidis ◽

S. Gu ◽

J. H. M. M. Schmitt ◽

X. Wang ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Adaptive Optics ◽

Detailed Characterization ◽

Dynamical Interaction ◽

Transiting Planets ◽

Imaging Results ◽

Adaptive Optics Imaging ◽

Dynamical Simulations ◽

Mutual Inclination ◽

Rocky Planets

We present a detailed characterization of the Kepler-411 system (KOI 1781). This system was previously known to host two transiting planets: one with a period of 3 days (R = 2.4 R⊕; Kepler-411b) and one with a period of 7.8 days (R = 4.4 R⊕; Kepler-411c), as well as a transiting planetary candidate with a 58-day period (R = 3.3 R⊕; KOI 1781.03) from Kepler photometry. Here, we combine Kepler photometry data and new transit timing variation (TTV) measurements from all the Kepler quarters with previous adaptive-optics imaging results, and dynamical simulations, in order to constrain the properties of the Kepler-411 system. From our analysis, we obtain masses of 25.6 ± 2.6 M⊕ for Kepler-411b and 26.4 ± 5.9 M⊕ for Kepler-411c, and we confirm the planetary nature of KOI 1781.03 with a mass of 15.2 ± 5.1 M⊕, hence the name Kepler-411d. Furthermore, by assuming near-coplanarity of the system (mutual inclination below 30°), we discover a nontransiting planet, Kepler-411e, with a mass of 10.8 ± 1.1 M⊕ on a 31.5-day orbit, which has a strong dynamical interaction with Kepler-411d. With densities of 1.71 ± 0.39 g cm−3 and 2.32 ± 0.83 g cm−3, both Kepler-411c and Kepler-411d belong to the group of planets with a massive core and a significant fraction of volatiles. Although Kepler-411b has a sub-Neptune size, it belongs to the group of rocky planets.

Download Full-text