Full Hemisphere Research Articles

Compact white dwarf binaries in the combined SRG/eROSITA/SDSS eFEDS survey

Context. X-ray surveys combined with optical follow-up observations are used to generate complete flux-limited samples of the main X-ray emitting source classes. eROSITA on the Spectrum-Roentgen-Gamma mission provides sufficient sensitivity to build significantly enhanced samples of rare X-ray emitting sources. Aims. We strive to identify and classify compact white dwarf binaries, cataclysmic variables (CVs), and related objects, which were detected in the sky area of eFEDS, the eROSITA Final Equatorial Depths Survey, and they were observed in the plate program of SDSS-V. Methods. Compact white dwarf binaries were selected from spectra obtained in the early SDSS-V plate program. A dedicated set of SDSS plate observations were carried out in the eFEDS field, providing spectroscopic classifications for a significant fraction of the optically bright end (r < 22.5) of the X-ray sample. The identification and subclassification rests on visual inspections of the SDSS spectra, spectral variability, color-magnitude and color-color diagrams involving optical and X-ray fluxes, optical variability, and literature work. Results. Upon visual inspection of SDSS spectra and various auxiliary data products, we have identified 26 accreting compact white dwarf binaries (aCWDBs) in eFEDS, of which 24 are proven X-ray emitters. Among those 26 objects, there are 12 dwarf novae, three WZ Sge-like disk-accreting nonmagnetic CVs with low accretion rates, five likely nonmagnetic high accretion rate nova-like CVs, two magnetic CVs of the polar subcategory, and three double degenerates (AM CVn objects). Period bouncing candidates and magnetic systems are rarer than expected in this sample, but it is too small for a thorough statistical analysis. Fourteen of the systems are new discoveries, of which five are fainter than the Gaia magnitude limit. Thirteen aCWDBs have measured or estimated orbital periods, of which five were presented here. Through a Zeeman analysis, we revise the magnetic field estimate of the polar system J0926+0105, which is likely a low-field polar at B = 16 MG. We quantified the success of X-ray versus optical/UV selection of compact white dwarf binaries which will be relevant for the full SDSS-V survey. We also identified six white dwarf main sequence (WDMS) systems, among them there is one confirmed pre-CV at an orbital period of 17.6 h and another pre-CV candidate. Conclusions. This work presents successful initial work in building large samples of all kinds of accreting and X-ray emitting compact white dwarf binaries that will be continued over the full hemisphere in the years to come.

Long-term clinical outcomes of the Biomet M2a-38: a retrospective review of 335 total hip arthroplasty cases

BackgroundAt the turn of the century, over one-third of total hip arthroplasties comprised metal-on-metal bearings. As this patient population and their implants age, it is crucial to understand associated late failure modes and expected long-term functional outcomes. We report the long-term results of a large metal-on-metal uncemented total hip arthroplasty system with unique design characteristics compared to others that have been reported with high failure rates.MethodsWe retrospectively analyze our prospective clinical database to determine overall implant survivorship and functional outcomes. Further, we compare these results to the clinical outcomes reported in orthopedic registries and in other published studies with similar metal-on-metal total hip arthroplasty cohorts.ResultsImplant survivorship at 10 years was 99.1% and continued to 97.6% survivorship at 20 years. Implant survivorship at 20 years did not vary significantly between sexes (Male: 98.3%, Female: 97.2%; log-rank p-value = 0.46). Mean whole blood cobalt levels were 2.6 µg/L in unilateral cases, 5.3 µg/L in bilateral patients, and 3.4 µg/L for the combined cohort. Average blood chromium levels were 1.4 µg/L in unilateral patients, 2.9 µg/L in bilateral patients, and 1.8 µg/L for group combined. We observed a 0.9% rate of failure due trunnion corrosion at a mean of 13.1 years postoperatively (10.6–15.6 years) but had no bearing wear failures.ConclusionsOur 20-year implant survivorship of 97.6% with the M2a-38 bearing surpassed registry benchmarks for THA. This large-bearing (38 mm), full hemisphere coverage metal-on-metal system had no bearing wear failures, one failure of instability, one failure of fixation, and three trunnion failures, perhaps suggesting an optimum balance between stability of the joint and the trunnion.

A Demonstration of Three-Satellite Stereo Winds

Stereo tracking of clouds from multiple satellites permits the simultaneous retrieval of an atmospheric motion vector (“wind”) and its height in the atmosphere. The direct measurement of height is a major advantage of stereo methods over observations made from a single satellite where the height must be inferred from infrared brightness temperatures. A pair of operational geostationary satellites over the Americas provides stereo coverage where their two fields of view intersect. Stereo coverage can be extended to nearly a full hemisphere with a third satellite. We demonstrate this configuration with the operational GOES-R constellation of GOES-16 (east) and GOES-17 (west) augmented by GOES-18 in its central test slot and use the 500-m resolution Advanced Baseline Imager Band 2. We examine the consistency of the pairwise products created from GOES-18 and -16 versus GOES-18 and -17 and create a fused triple-GOES product that spans nearly the full hemisphere seen from GOES-18. We also examine the retrieval of ground points observed under clear skies and compare their retrievals to zero speed and known terrain heights. The results are compatible with a wind accuracy about 0.1 m/s with height assignment uncertainty of 175 m.

Effect of Submergence on Transonic Flow Around a Hemisphere

The effect of varying submergence on the transonic flow past canonical wall-mounted hemispheres is investigated at a freestream Mach number using delayed detached eddy simulations. Four submergence levels are considered, ranging from a full hemisphere (100% exposed) to a highly submerged case where the equator is well below the waterline (40% exposed). Analysis of the mean and unsteady features indicates that the shock foot and line of surface separation move downstream with submergence. However, the frequency associated with the streamwise motion of the shock remains consistent between the cases in terms of a suitably nondimensionalized Strouhal number . Proper orthogonal decomposition is used to isolate and rank the different modes; as the hemisphere is submerged, there is an evident change in prominence from the asymmetric “shifting” to the symmetric “breathing” mode. Dynamic mode decomposition was used to investigate the spectral content of these modes; the results show that the breathing mode collapses at a frequency of for all cases, while the shifting mode extends over a broad frequency range of between 0.13 and 0.21. Aero-optic analysis shows that the distortion for the more submerged hemisphere cases is associated primarily with the breathing mode, while for the fully exposed hemisphere the shifting mode is dominant.

Vascular Response to Spreading Depolarization Predicts Stroke Outcome.

Cortical spreading depolarization (CSD) is a massive neuro-glial depolarization wave, which propagates across the cerebral cortex. In stroke, CSD is a necessary and ubiquitous mechanism for the development of neuronal lesions that initiates in the ischemic core and propagates through the penumbra extending the tissue injury. Although CSD propagation induces dramatic changes in cerebral blood flow, the vascular responses in different ischemic regions and their consequences on reperfusion and recovery remain to be defined. Ischemia was performed using the thrombin model of stroke and reperfusion was induced by r-tPA (recombinant tissue-type plasminogen activator) administration in mice. We used in vivo electrophysiology and laser speckle contrast imaging simultaneously to assess both electrophysiological and hemodynamic characteristics of CSD after ischemia onset. Neurological deficits were assessed on day 1, 3, and 7. Furthermore, infarct sizes were quantified using 2,3,5-triphenyltetrazolium chloride on day 7. After ischemia, CSDs were evidenced by the characteristic propagating DC shift extending far beyond the ischemic area. On the vascular level, we observed 2 types of responses: some mice showed spreading hyperemia confined to the penumbra area (penumbral spreading hyperemia) while other showed spreading hyperemia propagating in the full hemisphere (full hemisphere spreading hyperemia). Penumbral spreading hyperemia was associated with severe stroke-induced damage, while full hemisphere spreading hyperemia indicated beneficial infarct outcome and potential viability of the infarct core. In all animals, thrombolysis with r-tPA modified the shape of the vascular response to CSD and reduced lesion volume. Our results show that different types of spreading hyperemia occur spontaneously after the onset of ischemia. Depending on their shape and distribution, they predict severity of injury and outcome. Furthermore, our data show that modulating the hemodynamic response to CSD may be a promising therapeutic strategy to attenuate stroke outcome.

Effect of Pin Geometry and Orientation on Friction and Wear Behavior of Nickel-Coated EN8 Steel Pin and Al6061 Alloy Disc Pair

Most mechanical systems (in particular, gear transmission system) undergo relative motion which results in increased friction phenomenon (friction coefficient, stresses, and wear rate) and thereby results in loss of efficiency. Mechanical parts undergo relative motion in different geometry configurations and orientations that induce a different state of stress as a result of friction. Till date, attempts are being made to minimize the friction with full sphere pin geometry configuration. The present work focused to reduce the frictional and wear rate, and experiments are conducted with tribo-pairs. i.e., nickel-coated pin surface slide against Al6061 alloy disc. The friction studies are carried out at different loads and geometries of pin surfaces (sphere and hemisphere configured at different orientations such as full sphere and hemisphere configured at 0°, 45°, and 90°) to induce different stress states with reference to sliding directions. Change in the geometry of EN8 pin material and their orientation with reference to sliding direction resulted in a different state of stress. The resulting stress levels were examined under the scanning electron microscope, which revealed the mechanisms of adhesion, abrasion, and extrusion. At a lower magnitude of orientation and load, the extent of asperity breaking lessens and material removal from pin surface decreases. Abrasion wear mechanism was observed corresponding to full sphere configuration on Al 6061 disc, whereas adhesive wear mechanisms are seen with hemisphere pins. The amount of aluminum transfer on pin surface with a hemisphere pin is comparatively more than that of full sphere configuration. At a lower magnitude of state of stress, the mechanism of sliding was dominated by the adhesion effect. At a higher level of state of stress, the mechanism of sliding was dominated by abrasion and extrusion.

An Optimized Spatial Sampling Strategy for Wide-View Planar Array 3-D Sonar Sensors.

Array-based imaging sonar sensors often have the advantage that the sampling directions in which sensor data are processed can be arbitrarily chosen. The associated computational cost of the imaging algorithm scales linearly with the number of sampled directions, though, which may limit the use of such sensors for real-time applications such as robotics. This is especially true in the case of wide-field sensors, which generally require a larger number of sampled directions (e.g., to cover the full frontal hemisphere). For this reason, it is necessary to optimize the set of sampling directions and reduce its number to a minimum. In this article, we propose a spatial sampling strategy for array-based sonar sensors, which considers the point-spread function of the array sensor to obtain such a minimal set. We apply this strategy to optimize the set of sampling directions for a specific planar array sonar sensor and compare the efficiency of the resulting sampling grid with two commonly used sampling strategies.

Full Hemisphere Aperture-Antenna Far-Field Patterns From Planar Near-Field Measurements

A simple geometrical estimate resulting from rigorous asymptotic evaluation of the Fourier transform integral leads one to conclude that the angular range of the far-field obtainable using planar near-field measurement techniques is limited by the extent of the scan plane and the separation of this plane from the antenna under test. Here, it is shown that this angular range can be extended to a full hemisphere through proper selection of the measurement parameters and careful treatment of the transform integral. In particular, it is noted that the transverse spectrum of the field can possess singularities. These singularities are spectrally filtered by the finite size of the scan plane resulting in a “muting” effect that must be accounted for in the data processing. This is accomplished through the analytic approximation of the bandlimited singularities. Three hardware examples are shown that demonstrate this more detailed approach comparing the results with corresponding patterns obtained using spherical near-field measurement.

Rapid assessment of forest canopy and light regime using smartphone hemispherical photography.

Hemispherical photography (HP), implemented with cameras equipped with “fisheye” lenses, is a widely used method for describing forest canopies and light regimes. A promising technological advance is the availability of low‐cost fisheye lenses for smartphone cameras. However, smartphone camera sensors cannot record a full hemisphere. We investigate whether smartphone HP is a cheaper and faster but still adequate operational alternative to traditional cameras for describing forest canopies and light regimes.We collected hemispherical pictures with both smartphone and traditional cameras in 223 forest sample points, across different overstory species and canopy densities. The smartphone image acquisition followed a faster and simpler protocol than that for the traditional camera. We automatically thresholded all images. We processed the traditional camera images for Canopy Openness (CO) and Site Factor estimation. For smartphone images, we took two pictures with different orientations per point and used two processing protocols: (i) we estimated and averaged total canopy gap from the two single pictures, and (ii) merging the two pictures together, we formed images closer to full hemispheres and estimated from them CO and Site Factors. We compared the same parameters obtained from different cameras and estimated generalized linear mixed models (GLMMs) between them.Total canopy gap estimated from the first processing protocol for smartphone pictures was on average significantly higher than CO estimated from traditional camera images, although with a consistent bias. Canopy Openness and Site Factors estimated from merged smartphone pictures of the second processing protocol were on average significantly higher than those from traditional cameras images, although with relatively little absolute differences and scatter.Smartphone HP is an acceptable alternative to HP using traditional cameras, providing similar results with a faster and cheaper methodology. Smartphone outputs can be directly used as they are for ecological studies, or converted with specific models for a better comparison to traditional cameras.

Meridional circulation dynamics in a cyclic convective dynamo

Surface observations indicate that the speed of the solar meridional circulation in the photosphere varies in anti-phase with the solar cycle. The current explanation for the source of this variation is that inflows into active regions alter the global surface pattern of the meridional circulation. When these localized inflows are integrated over a full hemisphere, they contribute to the slow down of the axisymmetric poleward horizontal component. The behavior of this large scale flow deep inside the convection zone remains largely unknown. Present helioseismic techniques are not sensitive enough to capture the dynamics of this weak large scale flow. Moreover, the large time of integration needed to map the meridional circulation inside the convection zone, also masks some of the possible dynamics on shorter timescales. In this work we examine the dynamics of the meridional circulation that emerges from a 3D MHD global simulation of the solar convection zone. Our aim is to assess and quantify the behavior of meridional circulation deep inside the convection zone, where the cyclic large-scale magnetic field can reach considerable strength. Our analyses indicate that the meridional circulation morphology and amplitude are both highly influenced by the magnetic field, via the impact of magnetic torques on the global angular momentum distribution. A dynamic feature induced by these magnetic torques is the development of a prominent upward flow at mid latitudes in the lower convection zone that occurs near the equatorward edge of the toroidal bands and that peaks during cycle maximum. Globally, the dynamo-generated large-scale magnetic field drives variations in the meridional flow, in stark contrast to the conventional kinematic flux transport view of the magnetic field being advected passively by the flow.

Acoustic Flow-Based Control of a Mobile Platform Using a 3D Sonar Sensor

Moving a sensor through its environment creates signature time variations of the sensor’s readings often referred to as flow cues. We analyze the acoustic flow field generated by a sonar sensor, capable of imaging the full frontal hemisphere, mounted on a mobile platform. We show how the cues derived from this acoustic flow field can be used directly in a layered control strategy, which supports a robotic platform to perform a set of motion primitives, such as obstacle avoidance, corridor following, and negotiating corners and T-junctions. The programmable nature of the spatial sampling pattern of the sonar allows efficient support of the varying information requirements of the different motion primitives. The proposed control strategy is first validated in a simulated environment and subsequently transferred to a real mobile robot. We present simulated and experimental results on the controller’s performance while executing the different motion primitives. The results further show that the proposed control strategy can easily integrate minimal steering commands given by a user (electric wheelchair application) or by a high-level navigation module (autonomous simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM) applications).

Flexible field goniometer system: the Goniometer for Outdoor Portable Hyperspectral Earth Reflectance

This paper describes a portable hyperspectral goniometer system for measurement of hemispherical conical reflectance factor (HCRF) data for terrestrial applications, especially in the coastal zone. This system, the Goniometer for Portable Hyperspectral Earth Reflectance (GOPHER), consists of a computer-controlled Spectra Vista Corporation HR-1024 full-range spectrometer mounted on a rotating arc and track assembly, allowing complete coverage in zenith and azimuth of a full hemisphere for recording HCRF. The control software allows customized scan patterns to be quickly modified in the field, providing for flexibility in recording HCRF and the opposition effect with varying grid sizes and scan ranges in both azimuth and zenith directions. The spectrometer track can be raised and lowered on a mast to accommodate variations in terrain and land cover. To minimize the effect of variations in illumination during GOPHER scan cycles, a dual-spectrometer approach has been adapted to link records of irradiance recorded by a second spectrometer during the GOPHER HCRF scan cycle. Examples of field data illustrate the utility of the instrument for coastal studies.

AZO/Ag/AZO anode for resonant cavity red, blue, and yellow organic light emitting diodes

Indium tin oxide (ITO) is the transparent electrode of choice for organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs). Replacing ITO for cost and performance reasons is a major drive across optoelectronics. In this work, we show that changing the transparent electrode on red, blue, and yellow OLEDs from ITO to a multilayer buffered aluminium zinc oxide/silver/aluminium zinc oxide (AZO/Ag/AZO) substantially enhances total output intensity, with better control of colour, its constancy, and intensity over the full exit hemisphere. The thin Ag containing layer induces a resonant cavity optical response of the complete device. This is tuned to the emission spectra of the emissive material while minimizing internally trapped light. A complete set of spectral intensity data is presented across the full exit hemisphere for each electrode type and each OLED colour. Emission zone modelling of output spectra at a wide range of exit angles to the normal was in excellent agreement with the experimental data and hence could, in principle, be used to check and adjust production settings. These multilayer transparent electrodes show significant potential for both eliminating indium from OLEDs and spectrally shaping the emission.

Follow-up of high energy neutrinos detected by the ANTARES telescope

The ANTARES telescope is well suited to detect neutrinos produced in astrophysical transient sources as it can observe a full hemisphere of the sky with a high duty cycle. Potential neutrino sources are gamma-ray bursts, core-collapse supernovae and flaring active galactic nuclei. To enhance the sensitivity of ANTARES to such sources, a detection method based on follow-up observations from the neutrino direction has been developed. This program, denoted as TAToO, includes a network of robotic optical telescopes (TAROT, Zadko and MASTER) and the Swift-XRT telescope which are triggered when an “interesting” neutrino is detected by ANTARES. A follow-up of special events, such as neutrino doublets in time/space coincidence or single neutrino having a very high energy or in the specific directions of local galaxies, significantly improves the perspective for the detection of transient sources. As images can be taken within 20 seconds after the neutrino trigger and as observations are also made up to two months after the alert, the search for fast transient sources such as gamma-ray burst afterglows or slowly rising sources such as core-collapse supernovae becomes possible. Recently, the follow-up has been extended with a search for correlations between neutrinos and individual high energy photons detected by Fermi-LAT. The analysis of follow-up observations, as well as the search for ν/γ correlations have been done and the results covering optical, X-ray and gamma-ray data, will be presented.

Search for muon-neutrino emission from GeV and TeV gamma-ray flaring blazars using five years of data of the ANTARES telescope

The ANTARES telescope is well-suited for detecting astrophysical transient neutrino sources as it can observe a full hemisphere of the sky at all times with a high duty cycle. The background due to atmospheric particles can be drastically reduced, and the point-source sensitivity improved, by selecting a narrow time window around possible neutrino production periods. Blazars, being radio-loud active galactic nuclei with their jets pointing almost directly towards the observer, are particularly attractive potential neutrino point sources, since they are among the most likely sources of the very high-energy cosmic rays. Neutrinos and gamma rays may be produced in hadronic interactions with the surrounding medium. Moreover, blazars generally show high time variability in their light curves at different wavelengths and on various time scales. This paper presents a time-dependent analysis applied to a selection of flaring gamma-ray blazars observed by the FERMI/LAT experiment and by TeV Cherenkov telescopes using five years of ANTARES data taken from 2008 to 2012. The results are compatible with fluctuations of the background. Upper limits on the neutrino fluence have been produced and compared to the measured gamma-ray spectral energy distribution.

Effects of soil moisture content on reflectance anisotropy — Laboratory goniometer measurements and RPV model inversions

Abstract Optical methods to study soil moisture content (SMC) are often based on empirically or physically based models that relate changes in reflectance intensity to SMC. The effects of SMC on the reflectance anisotropy, however, have not received much attention. In this paper the effects of SMC on the anisotropic reflectance behaviour of soils were studied. Biconical reflectance factors (BCRFs) of five different soil samples were acquired at 60 positions covering the full hemisphere in the optical domain at different SMC levels using Wageningen University's laboratory goniometer facility. In addition, we inverted the Rahman–Pinty–Verstraete (RPV) model against the measured BCRFs in the principal plane. The results show that the anisotropic reflectance behaviour of soils is strongly influenced by the SMC. Dry soils displayed strong backward scattering behaviour, with a maximum reflectance close to the hotspot position. An increase of the SMC level up to the soil's saturation point caused the soils to scatter more in the forward direction and induced a weakening of the hotspot effect. Oversaturated soils displayed a strong sun-glint-like reflectance peak in the anti-solar direction. The RPV model fitted the measured BCRFs in the principal plane up to saturated SMC levels in general with an R 2 > 0.9. It was not possible to fit the model through observations of oversaturated soils, since the RPV model is not capable of simulating specular reflectance. The asymmetry parameter ( Θ ) of the RPV model, which controls the proportion of forward and backward scattering, showed a strong correlation to SMC for individual samples. This correlation remained significant when we considered all samples together with a maximum R 2 of 0.797 at 2123 nm, indicating that reflectance anisotropy contained information on the water content of soils. The amplitude parameter ( ρ 0 ), which is closely related to the reflectance intensity, only had a maximum R 2 of 0.622 at 1921 nm. This indicated that reflectance anisotropy contained more information on SMC than the level of spectral reflectance as such.

On the dynamics of persistent states and their secular trends in the waveguides of the Southern Hemisphere troposphere

We identify the dynamical drivers of systematic changes in persistent quasi-stationary states (regimes) of the Southern Hemisphere troposphere and their secular trends. We apply a purely data-driven approach, whereby a multiscale approximation to nonstationary dynamical processes is achieved through optimal sequences of locally stationary fast vector autoregressive factor processes, to examine a high resolution atmospheric reanalysis over the period encompassing 1958–2013. This approach identifies regimes and their secular trends in terms of the predictability of the flow and is Granger causal. A comprehensive set of diagnostics on both isentropic and isobaric surfaces is employed to examine teleconnections over the full hemisphere and for a set of regional domains. Composite states for the hemisphere obtained from nonstationary nonparametric cluster analysis reveal patterns consistent with a circumglobal wave 3 (polar)–wave 5 (subtropical) pattern, while regional composites reveal the Pacific South American pattern and blocking modes. The respective roles of potential vorticity sources, stationary Rossby waves and baroclinic instability on the dynamics of these circulation modes are shown to be reflected by the seasonal variations of the waveguides, where Rossby wave sources and baroclinic disturbances are largely contained within the waveguides and with little direct evidence of sustained remote tropical influences on persistent synoptic features. Warm surface temperature anomalies are strongly connected with regions of upper level divergence and anticyclonic Rossby wave sources. The persistent states identified reveal significant variability on interannual to decadal time scales with large secular trends identified in all sectors apart from a region close to South America.

Semi-automatic laboratory goniospectrometer system for performing multi-angular reflectance and polarization measurements for natural surfaces

In this paper, the design and operation of the Northeast Normal University Laboratory Goniospectrometer System for performing multi-angular reflected and polarized measurements under controlled illumination conditions is described. A semi-automatic arm, which is carried on a rotated circular ring, enables the acquisition of a large number of measurements of surface Bidirectional Reflectance Factor (BRF) over the full hemisphere. In addition, a set of polarizing optics enables the linear polarization over the spectrum from 350 nm to 2300 nm. Because of the stable measurement condition in the laboratory, the BRF and linear polarization has an average uncertainty of 1% and less than 5% depending on the sample property, respectively. The polarimetric accuracy of the instrument is below 0.01 in the form of the absolute value of degree of linear polarization, which is established by measuring a Spectralon plane. This paper also presents the reflectance and polarization of snow, soil, sand, and ice measured during 2010-2013 in order to illustrate its stability and accuracy. These measurement results are useful to understand the scattering property of natural surfaces on Earth.

Transient point source analyses in the ANTARES neutrino telescope

The ANTARES telescope, with a duty cycle close to unity and a full hemisphere of the sky at all the times visible, is well suited to detect neutrinos produced in astrophysical transient sources. Assuming a known neutrino production period, the background and the sensitivity can be drastically improved by selecting a narrow time window around it. GRBs, μ-quasars and AGNs are particularly attractive potential neutrino point sources since neutrinos and gamma-rays may be produced in hadronic interactions with the surrounding medium as they are the most likely sources of the observed ultra high energy cosmic rays. A strong correlation between the gamma-ray and the neutrino fluxes is expected in this scenario.ANTARES data has been analyzed in various transient source analyses with the goal of detecting cosmic neutrinos from GRBs, μ-quasars and AGNs. The sensitivity of a standard time-integrated point source search can be improved by a factor 2–3 by looking for neutrinos only during the most probable emission time. This information can be provided by the different satellite telescope types on the X-rays and γ-rays wavelengths. The results of these different analyses will be presented.

A Laboratory Goniometer System for Measuring Reflectance and Emittance Anisotropy

In this paper, a laboratory goniometer system for performing multi-angular measurements under controlled illumination conditions is described. A commercially available robotic arm enables the acquisition of a large number of measurements over the full hemisphere within a short time span making it much faster than other goniometers. In addition, the presented set-up enables assessment of anisotropic reflectance and emittance behaviour of soils, leaves and small canopies. Mounting a spectrometer enables acquisition of either hemispherical measurements or measurements in the horizontal plane. Mounting a thermal camera allows directional observations of the thermal emittance. This paper also presents three showcases of these different measurement set-ups in order to illustrate its possibilities. Finally, suggestions for applying this instrument and for future research directions are given, including linking the measured reflectance anisotropy with physically-based anisotropy models on the one hand and combining them with field goniometry measurements for joint analysis with remote sensing data on the other hand. The speed and flexibility of the system offer a large added value to the existing pool of laboratory goniometers.