The Orbits of Uranus, Its Satellites and Rings, the Gravity Field of the Uranian System, and the Orientation of the Poles of Uranus and Its Satellites

R. A. Jacobson determined the orbits of the Uranian satellites, the masses of Uranus and its satellites, and the orientation of the pole of Uranus from Earth-based astrometry, Earth-based ring occultations, and observations acquired with the Voyager 2 spacecraft. Subsequent to that publication, seve...

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Main Authors: Robert A. Jacobson, Ryan S. Park
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: IOP Publishing 2025-01-01
Series:The Astronomical Journal
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-3881/ad99d1
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author Robert A. Jacobson
Ryan S. Park
author_facet Robert A. Jacobson
Ryan S. Park
author_sort Robert A. Jacobson
collection DOAJ
description R. A. Jacobson determined the orbits of the Uranian satellites, the masses of Uranus and its satellites, and the orientation of the pole of Uranus from Earth-based astrometry, Earth-based ring occultations, and observations acquired with the Voyager 2 spacecraft. Subsequent to that publication, several observers obtained new astrometry, and some of the original astrometry was rereduced against the Gaia star catalog. Moreover, R. G. French et al. made a new determination of the orbits of the Uranian rings, the orientation of the Uranian pole, and the gravity harmonics of Uranus from the entire set of Uranian ring occultations. Here we report the results of an analysis that redetermined the Uranus and satellite masses, satellite orbits, and the orbit of Uranus. In addition, we obtained a value for the Uranus tidal dissipation factor and produced an independent determination of the Uranian ring orbits, Uranus pole direction, and Uranus gravity harmonics. We also developed new expressions for the orientations of the satellites. We processed all of the data from our previous work plus the new and rereduced astrometry and the ring occultations. We extended our data arc forward to 2016 and backward to 1847. Our new orbit for Uranus is an update of that in ephemeris DE440 incorporating the occultation data and Gaia astrometry.
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spelling doaj-art-6e59c1b14e2e48efbeda9cbf6f312efc2025-01-14T16:16:03ZengIOP PublishingThe Astronomical Journal1538-38812025-01-0116926510.3847/1538-3881/ad99d1The Orbits of Uranus, Its Satellites and Rings, the Gravity Field of the Uranian System, and the Orientation of the Poles of Uranus and Its SatellitesRobert A. Jacobson0https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3899-236XRyan S. Park1https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9896-4585Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology , 4800 Oak Grove Drive, Pasadena, CA 91109-8099, USA ; robert.a.jacobson@jpl.nasa.govJet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology , 4800 Oak Grove Drive, Pasadena, CA 91109-8099, USA ; robert.a.jacobson@jpl.nasa.govR. A. Jacobson determined the orbits of the Uranian satellites, the masses of Uranus and its satellites, and the orientation of the pole of Uranus from Earth-based astrometry, Earth-based ring occultations, and observations acquired with the Voyager 2 spacecraft. Subsequent to that publication, several observers obtained new astrometry, and some of the original astrometry was rereduced against the Gaia star catalog. Moreover, R. G. French et al. made a new determination of the orbits of the Uranian rings, the orientation of the Uranian pole, and the gravity harmonics of Uranus from the entire set of Uranian ring occultations. Here we report the results of an analysis that redetermined the Uranus and satellite masses, satellite orbits, and the orbit of Uranus. In addition, we obtained a value for the Uranus tidal dissipation factor and produced an independent determination of the Uranian ring orbits, Uranus pole direction, and Uranus gravity harmonics. We also developed new expressions for the orientations of the satellites. We processed all of the data from our previous work plus the new and rereduced astrometry and the ring occultations. We extended our data arc forward to 2016 and backward to 1847. Our new orbit for Uranus is an update of that in ephemeris DE440 incorporating the occultation data and Gaia astrometry.https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-3881/ad99d1Uranian satellitesUranus
spellingShingle Robert A. Jacobson
Ryan S. Park
The Orbits of Uranus, Its Satellites and Rings, the Gravity Field of the Uranian System, and the Orientation of the Poles of Uranus and Its Satellites
The Astronomical Journal
Uranian satellites
Uranus
title The Orbits of Uranus, Its Satellites and Rings, the Gravity Field of the Uranian System, and the Orientation of the Poles of Uranus and Its Satellites
title_full The Orbits of Uranus, Its Satellites and Rings, the Gravity Field of the Uranian System, and the Orientation of the Poles of Uranus and Its Satellites
title_fullStr The Orbits of Uranus, Its Satellites and Rings, the Gravity Field of the Uranian System, and the Orientation of the Poles of Uranus and Its Satellites
title_full_unstemmed The Orbits of Uranus, Its Satellites and Rings, the Gravity Field of the Uranian System, and the Orientation of the Poles of Uranus and Its Satellites
title_short The Orbits of Uranus, Its Satellites and Rings, the Gravity Field of the Uranian System, and the Orientation of the Poles of Uranus and Its Satellites
title_sort orbits of uranus its satellites and rings the gravity field of the uranian system and the orientation of the poles of uranus and its satellites
topic Uranian satellites
Uranus
url https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-3881/ad99d1
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