The Newsletter of the MONS Science Consortium: http://astro.ifa.au.dk/MSC/
Welcome to the first issue of the MONS Newsletter! A look through the early issues of the STScI Newsletter shows that they started from similar humble beginnings, with a gradual increase in the professionalism of the layout as HST went through design and construction through to launch and operation. I expect we will do the same, perhaps one day even reaching the colourful glossy standards set by the ESO Messenger!
The aim of this Newsletter is to keep the community informed of developments and opportunities in the project. We welcome articles, reports and comments - please e-mail them to the following address:
Tim Bedding (bedding@physics.usyd.edu.au)
The very successful ``Third MONS Workshop on Science Preparation and Target Selection'' was held at Aarhus University on 24-26 January 2000. The Proceedings have now been published by Aarhus University and thanks go both to the authors for their prompt submissions and to the Chief Editor Teresa Teixeira. Copies can be obtained free of charge from Anette Skovgaard (as@ifa.au.dk), as can copies of the First Workshop Proceedings and of the MONS Proposal. All papers are also available as gzipped PostScript files from http://www.obs.aau.dk/MSC/#conferences
A note on the spelling of ``Rømer'': the Danish letter ``ø'' should be used whenever possible. If this letter is not available, such as in ascii e-mails, the correct form is ``Roemer.'' The ``ø'' is pronounced to rhyme with the first syllable in ``learner,'' and the ``R'' should be done with a roll. Have fun practising!
The design of the main telescope, which is being carried out by Auspace Limited, will be discussed during a series of meetings in Australia in late May 2000. The final design will be fixed soon afterwards.
For the Star Trackers, the current plan is to have two identical trackers pointing in opposite directions (forwards and backwards), each with a blue filter. By using bracketed exposures (short, medium and long), we should be able to record stars with V magnitudes ranging from 0 down to 8-9 (and 10 in extreme cases). The STs will downlink data for about 500 stars in each field.
There have been some changes to the Web pages for the MONS project:
It is intended to maintain this general structure throughout the project. Needless to say, the detailed structure of pages and links, following the entry pages, will develop.
You will find a proposal for a logo at the top of the entry pages. This is not yet in its final form, but the general principle may be similar. The logos are very kindly being developed by Elmo Schreder.
Jørgen Christensen-Dalsgaard (jcd@ifa.au.dk)
The MIS has two main purposes:
Selection of the MONS fields (i.e., the prime targets of MONS Cam) is still in progress. This implies that no definite field selection is available. Ultimately, the decision for some fields may be based on what other targets are in the field, i.e., on Star Tracker science. If your interest is in a large class of stars which is well represented over the entire sky, so that there are going to be representative members of that class in any field to be selected, there is no need to put in a specific proposal. If you are interested in B-stars, for example, you should join the appropriate team if you haven't already done so. However, if you are interested in star(s) that might not be automatically observed, such as special targets within a class, you should consider (i) providing MIS with all relevant data for it; (ii) submitting a proposal.
MIS has a Web-based interface that can be accessed with your usual Web
browser:
You will first be asked to register as a user, if you have not already done so. After this, both submission of proposals and data are possible through forms. For every entry there is a help facility which explains what is expected (in a separate window). The submission of large quantities of data can be cumbersome through the form interface, so a special ASCII format has been devised to allow you to submit files by e-mail (see the instructions on the Archive Data Submission Form, and please follow them carefully). Note that for all data submissions, either through the Web interface or by e-mailed files, every individual item requires an associated reference. Only data that have gone through the validation process of having been refereed for an international journal will be incorporated into the archive. Published catalogues (e.g., the Bright Star Catalogue) are also accepted as validated references.
Teresa Teixeira (tct@ifa.au.dk)
A major goal of MONS is to study stochastically excited oscillations, similar to those seen in the Sun, in other main-sequence stars. These oscillations typically have extremely low amplitudes and hence the observations will be carried out with the MONS main telescope. However, as an extension of the group's activities similarly excited oscillations, in subgiants and giants, may also be considered; here the expected amplitudes are substantially larger, and hence valuable data can be expected from the Star Trackers.
The structure, and expected activities, of the group are presented on the Web, accessible from http://astro.ifa.au.dk/MSC/#science_groups. Briefly, the group has been organized into the following teams:
An immediate priority is to define procedures for selecting the solar-like targets for MONS. This involves assembling observational data for potential targets, as well as carrying out modelling to determine the extent to which the expected observations are likely to constrain the properties of the stars. As part of this effort we shall also simulate time series of solar-like oscillations, for various stellar parameters, and perform analysis of these to determine the assumed frequencies and amplitudes. This will be carried out in `blind' fashion, modelled on the `Hare and Hounds' exercises that have been very productive in helioseismology.
The activities in this group are wide-ranging and essential to the success of MONS. Thus anybody interested in contributing is urged to join one or more of the teams.
Jørgen Christensen-Dalsgaard (jcd@ifa.au.dk)
Hi everybody! With this short communication, I would like to present the MONS B-star Group to everyone who is interested and to give the current status of our actions so far. The B-star Group will be involved in the program of the two MONS Star Trackers. Those will produce photometric measurements of very high precision for a large number of B-type stars (among many other objects). Each star will be monitored for about one month.
At the first meeting of our group, held in January in Århus during the Third MONS workshop, we decided to split our group into several teams, according to different types of B stars. Each team is led by a specialist on these particular sub-group of B-type variables. You can find more information on our group, on the team heads, and on the way we operate at the Web page, accessible from http://astro.ifa.au.dk/MSC/#science_groups.
The idea is that each of the groups holds lively discussions on topics related to the MONS mission, in order to prepare the mission in the best possible way and to make efficient use of the data after launch. These topics can be of general interest to all users of MONS data and/or be very specific issues on certain properties of some kinds of B-type variables. The discussion medium is e-mail. Each group member receives an e-mail on a certain topic to be discussed and is asked for her/his opinion about it. The PI then summarizes the e-mail discussions in a report that is sent to the MONS team in Århus and is put on the above-mentioned Web page. Topics so far discussed are general comments on the preparation strategy of the mission regarding B-stars and on the MONS Information System (MIS). I refer to our Web page for the minutes of these discussions.
During the first four months, large parts of the discussions were still through ``personal'' contact, e.g., at the Third MONS workshop. Because of this, it was difficult to have e-mail discussions that were accessible for every member. This start-up phase is behind us now, and from the next discussion topic onwards, a special B-star group e-mail address will be set up to allow all group members to receive all comments and suggestions given by any of the members. This is the most open and efficient way of discussing and is encourages everyone to take part actively in the group.
Anybody who is interested in B-stars is very welcome to join our group. I am sure that the frequency of our discussions will increase as we move along and come closer to the launch date.
Conny Aerts (conny@ster.kuleuven.ac.be)
Just on the hot side of the solar-type stars we find stars that oscillate, but in this case due to self-excitation. The delta Scuti stars show the richest pulsation spectra among main sequence stars. They have masses around 2 solar masses and occupy the lower part of the instability strip. There are borderline cases, among the lambda Boo stars, which may show both self-excited and stochastically excited modes. Also, we must not forget the very interesting roAp and gamma Dor stars.
All these stars are being considered by the A and F Star Group. The Web page is accessible via the MONS Science Consortium page, at http://astro.ifa.au.dk/MSC/#science_groups. Various information is presented there, including discussion of possible targets. Among the recent actions is a proposal for time on the Nordic Optical Telescope to observe the delta Scuti star 44 Tau. The proposal has been placed on the Web. Other group members have offered to join the observing run, if time is allocated.
If you are interested in participating in the activities of this group, you are welcome to contact the Group leader:
Søren Frandsen (srf@ifa.au.dk)
MONS is carried out from space for the obvious reason that the principal goals (studying oscillations in a sample of stars through the acquisition of at least one year of precise magnitude and colour-index measurements) cannot be accomplished from an established observatory, nor even from a network of ground-based facilities.
There are three crucial reasons why ground-based observations must be supplied:
The most straightforward form of ground-based support of MONS will be the coordinated effort, whereby participants use classic application channels to obtain telescope time to perform simultaneous imaging or spectroscopy during the monitoring of targets throughout the MONS flight.
A proper increase in time baseline will yield many bonuses:
A preliminary list of group members is given below (in some cases, particular areas of responsibility are listed).
| Name | E-mail address | |
| Chris Sterken | csterken@vub.ac.be | Group Leader |
| Søren Frandsen | srf@ifa.au.dk | |
| Frank Grundahl | fgj@ifa.au.dk | |
| Poul Erik Nissen | pen@ifa.au.dk | Spectroscopic analysis |
| Derek Buzasi | dbuzasi@ssl.berkeley.edu | |
| Tim Bedding | bedding@Physics.usyd.edu.au | |
| Fabio Favata | ffavata@estsa2.estec.esa.nl | |
| A. Cacciani | Alessandro.Cacciani@roma1.infn.it | |
| Eric Michel | Eric.Michel@obspm.fr | EVRIS and COROT coordination |
| Claude Catala | catala@ast.obs-mip.fr | COROT coordination |
| Teresa Teixeira | tct@ifa.au.dk | MONS-IS coordination |
| Peter Martinez | peter@da.saao.ac.za | SAAO coordination |
| Teodoro Roca Cortes | trc@astro.iac.es | IAC |
| Dante Minniti | dante@astro.puc.cl | Universidad Catolica, Santiago, Chile |
| Janos Nuspl | nuspl@ogyalla.konkoly.hu | Konkoly Obs. coordination |
| Conny Aerts | conny@ster.kuleuven.ac.be | Mercator Telescope Project, La Palma |
| Saul J. Adelman | adelmans@adelvx.citadel.edu | Four College APT, The Citadel |
Chris Sterken (csterken@vub.ac.be)
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