Context. High-mass X-ray binaries are bright X-ray sources. The high-energy emission is caused by the accretion of matter from the massive companion onto a neutron star. The accreting material comes from either the strong stellar wind in binaries with supergiant companions or the cirscumstellar disk in Be/X-ray binaries. In either case, the Hα line stands out as the main source of information about the state of the accreting material. Aims. We present the results of our monitoring program to study the long-term variability of the Hα line in high-mass X-ray binaries. Our aim is to characterise the optical variability timescales and study the interaction between the neutron star and the accreting material. Methods. We fitted the Hα line with Gaussian profiles and obtained the line parameters and equivalent width. The peak separation in split profiles was used to determine the disk velocity law and estimate the disk radius. The relative intensity of the two peaks (V/R ratio) allowed us to investigate the distribution of gas particles in the disk. The equivalent width was used to characterise the degree of variability of the systems. We also studied the variability of the Hα line in correlation with the X-ray activity. Results. Our results can be summarised as follows: i) we find that Be/X-ray binaries with narrow orbits are more variable than systems with long orbital periods; ii) we show that a Keplerian distribution of gas particles provides a good description of the disks in Be/X-ray binaries, as it does in classical Be stars; iii) a decrease in the Hα equivalent width is generally observed after major X-ray outbursts; iv) we confirm that the Hα equivalent width correlates with disk radius; v) while systems with supergiant companions display multistructured profiles, most of the Be/X-ray binaries show, at some epoch, double-peak asymmetric profiles, which indicates that density inhomogeneities is a common property in the disk of Be/X-ray binaries; vi) the profile variability (V/R ratio) timescales are shorter and the Hα equivalent widths are smaller in Be/X-ray binaries than in isolated Be stars; and vii) we provide new evidence that the disk in Be/X-ray binaries is, on average, denser than in classical Be stars. Conclusions. We carried out the most complete optical spectroscopic study of the global properties of high-mass X-ray binaries with the analysis of more than 1100 spectra from 20 sources. Our results provide further evidence for the truncation of the disk in Be/X-ray binaries. We conclude that the interaction between the compact object and the Be-type star works in two directions: the massive companion provides the source of matter for accretion, affecting the surroundings of the compact object, and the continuous revolution of the neutron star around the optical counterpart also produces the truncation of the Be star's equatorial disk.

The O(1S) metastable atoms can radiatively relax by emitting airglow at 557.7 and 297.2 nm. The latter one has been observed with the Imaging Ultraviolet Spectrograph onboard the Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution Mars orbiter since 2014. Limb profiles of the 297.2‐nm dayglow have been collected near periapsis with a spatial resolution of 5 km or less. They show a double‐peak structure that was previously predicted but never observed during earlier Mars missions. The production of both 297.2‐nm layers is dominated by photodissociation of CO2. Their altitude and brightness is variable with season and latitude, reflecting changes in the total column of CO2 present in the lower thermosphere. Since the lower emission peak near 85 km is solely produced by photodissociation, its peak is an indicator of the unit optical depth pressure level and the overlying CO2 column density. Its intensity is directly controlled by the Lyman‐α solar flux reaching the Martian upper atmosphere. We take advantage of the Lyman‐α flux measurements of the solar Extreme Ultraviolet Monitor instrument onboard Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution to model the observed OI 297.2‐nm limb profiles. For this, we combine photodissociation sources with chemical processes and photoelectron impact excitation. To determine the relative importance of the excitation processes, we apply the model to the atmospheric structure measured by the Viking 1 lander before applying it to a model atmosphere. We find very good agreement with the lower peak structure and intensity if the CO2 density provided by the Mars Climate Database is scaled down by a factor between 0.50 and 0.66. We also determine that the previously uncertain quantum yield for production of O(1S) atoms by photodissociation of CO2 at Lyman‐α wavelength is about 8%.

We present comparisons of precipitating electron flux and auroral brightness measurements made during several Juno transits over Jupiter's auroral regions in both hemispheres. We extract from the ultraviolet spectrograph (UVS) spectral imager H 2 emission intensities at locations magnetically conjugate to the spacecraft using the JRM09 model. We use UVS images as close in time as possible to the electron measurements by the Jupiter Energetic Particle Detector Instrument (JEDI) instrument. The upward electron flux generally exceeds the downward component and shows a broadband energy distribution. Auroral intensity is related to total precipitated electron flux and compared with the energy-integrated JEDI flux inside the loss cone. The far ultraviolet color ratio along the spacecraft footprint maps variations of the mean energy of the auroral electron precipitation. A wide diversity of situations has been observed. The intensity of the diffuse emission equatorward of the main oval is generally in fair agreement with the JEDI downward energy flux. The intensity of the ME matches exceeds or remains below the value expected from the JEDI electron energy flux. The polar emission may be more than an order of magnitude brighter than associated with the JEDI electron flux in association with high values of the color ratio. We tentatively explain these observations by the location of the electron energization region relative to Juno's orbit as it transits the auroral region. Current models predict that the extent and the altitude of electron acceleration along the magnetic field lines are consistent with this assumption.The main auroral emission (ME) or "auroral oval" is a zone of emission encircling, sometimes only partially, Jupiter's magnetic poles. This "ring" of emission is rather stable on time scales of minutes to hours (Grodent,

Ionospheric conductivity perpendicular to the magnetic field plays a crucial role in the electrical coupling between planetary magnetospheres and ionospheres. At Jupiter, it controls the flow of ionospheric current from above and the closure of the magnetosphere‐ionosphere circuit in the ionosphere. We use multispectral images collected with the Ultraviolet Spectral (UVS) imager on board Juno to estimate the two‐dimensional distribution of the electron energy flux and characteristic energy. These values are fed to an ionospheric model describing the generation and loss of different ion species, to calculate the auroral Pedersen conductivity. The vertical distributions of H3+, hydrocarbon ions, and electrons are calculated at steady state for each UVS pixel to characterize the spatial distribution of electrical conductance in the auroral region. We find that the main contribution to the Pedersen conductance stems from collisions of H3+and heavier ions with H2. However, hydrocarbon ions contribute as much as 50% to Σp when the auroral electrons penetrate below the homopause. The largest values are usually associated with the bright main emission, the Io auroral footprint and occasional bright emissions at high latitude. We present examples of maps for both hemispheres based on Juno‐UVS images, with Pedersen conductance ranging from less than 0.1 to a few mhos.

The oxygen emission at 557.7 nm is a ubiquitous component of the spectrum of the terrestrial polar aurora and the reason for its usual green colour 1 . It is also observed as a thin layer of glow surrounding the Earth near 90 km altitude in the dayside atmosphere 2,3 but it has so far eluded detection in other planets. Here we report dayglow observations of the green line outside the Earth. They have been performed with the Nadir and Occultation for Mars Discovery ultraviolet and visible spectrometer instrument on board the European Space Agency's ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter. Using a special observation mode, scans of the dayside limb provide the altitude distribution of the intensity of the 557.7 nm line and its variability. Two intensity peaks are observed near 80 and 120 km altitude, corresponding to photodissociation of CO 2 by solar Lyman α and extreme ultraviolet radiation, respectively. A weaker emission, originating from the same upper level of the oxygen atom, is observed in the near ultraviolet at 297.2 nm. These simultaneous measurements of both oxygen lines make it possible to directly derive a ratio of 16.5 between the visible and ultraviolet emissions, and thereby clarify a controversy between discordant ab initio calculations and atmospheric measurements that has persisted despite multiple efforts. This ratio is considered a standard for measurements connecting the ultraviolet and visible spectral regions. This result has consequences for the study of auroral and airglow processes and for spectral calibration.The presence of the Martian green line dayglow emission was predicted about 40 years ago 4 . However, observations dedicated to the Martian dayglow have so far been sensitive to radiation beyond 340 nm, and thus focused on the ultraviolet (UV) spectrum [5][6][7][8] , including the Oi 297.2 nm emission. The [Oi] 557.7 and 297.2 nm forbidden emissions have the same 1 S upper state, so their intensity ratio is equal to that of their transition probability. The two transition probabilities and their ratio R = I(557.7 nm)/I(297.2 nm) have been obtained from ab initio calculations. The value recommended by NIST 1 is R = 16.7. However, atmospheric observations of the two emissions have led to lower values: R = 9.8 ± 1.0 in the terrestrial nightglow 9 and 9.3 ± 0.5 in the aurora 10 . These values depend on the instrumental calibration of two spectral windows bridged with the O 2 Herzberg i transition. As this ratio is invariant at low pressure, it is a useful standard for measurements connecting the UV and the visible regions.

We analyze two Martian years of dayglow measurements of the CO Cameron bands and the CO2+ ultraviolet doublet (UVD) at 298–299 nm with the Imaging UltraViolet Spectrograph on board the Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN (MAVEN) orbiter. We show that the altitude and the brightness of the two emissions peaks are strongly correlated, although data were collected over a wide range of latitudes and seasons. Averaged limb profiles are presented and compared with numerical simulations based on updated calculations of the production of the CO (a3Π) and the CO2+ (B 2Σ) states. The model simulations use the solar flux directly measured on board MAVEN with the Extreme Ultraviolet Monitor and the neutral densities provided by the Mars Climate Database version 5.3, adapted to the conditions of the observations. We show that the altitude and the shape of the sample limb profiles are well reproduced using the Mars Climate Database neutral atmosphere. The simulated peak intensities of the CO2+ UVD and Cameron bands are in good agreement considering the uncertainties on the excitation cross sections and the calibration of the Imaging Ultraviolet Spectrograph (IUVS) and Extreme Ultraviolet Monitor instruments. No significant adjustment of the electron impact cross section on CO2 to produce the a3Π state is needed. Seasonal‐latitudinal maps of the Cameron and UVD peak altitude observed during two Martian years show variations as large as 23 km. Model simulations of the amplitude of these changes are in fair agreement with the observations except during the southern summer dust period (Ls = 270–320°) when the calculated rise of the dayglow layer is underestimated.

We present a semi-automatic procedure to obtain fundamental physical parameters and distances of classical Be (CBe) stars, based on the Barbier-Chalonge-Divan (BCD) spectrophotometric system. Our aim is to apply this procedure to a large sample of CBe stars detected by the IPHAS photometric survey, to determine their fundamental physical parameters and to explore their suitability as galactic structure tracers. In this paper we describe the methodology used and the validation of the procedure by comparing our results with those obtained from different independent astrophysical techniques for subsamples of stars in common with other studies. We also present a test case study of the galactic structure in the direction of the Perseus Galactic Arm, in order to compare our results with others recently obtained with different techniques and the same sample of stars. We did not find any significant clustering of stars at the expected positions of the Perseus and Outer Galactic Arms, in agreement with previous studies in the same area that we used for verification.

No abstract