The engineering design integration (EDIN) system

A digital computer program complex for the evaluation of aerospace vehicle preliminary designs is described. The system consists of a Univac 1100 series computer and peripherals using the Exec 8 operating system, a set of demand access terminals of the alphanumeric and graphics types, and a library of independent computer programs. Modification of the partial run streams, data base maintenance and construction, and control of program sequencing are provided by a data manipulation program called the DLG processor. The executive control of library program execution is performed by the Univac Exec 8 operating system through a user established run stream. A combination of demand and batch operations is employed in the evaluation of preliminary designs. Applications accomplished with the EDIN system are described

Spacelab data analysis and interactive control study

The study consisted of two main tasks, a series of interviews of Spacelab users and a survey of data processing and display equipment. Findings from the user interviews on questions of interactive control, downlink data formats, and Spacelab computer software development are presented. Equipment for quick look processing and display of scientific data in the Spacelab Payload Operations Control Center (POCC) was surveyed. Results of this survey effort are discussed in detail, along with recommendations for NASA development of several specific display systems which meet common requirements of many Spacelab experiments

ACCESS III: The Nature of Star Formation in the Shapley Supercluster

We present a joint analysis of panoramic Spitzer/MIPS mid-infrared and GALEX ultraviolet imaging of the Shapley supercluster at z=0.048. Combining this with spectra of 814 supercluster members and 1.4GHz radio continuum maps, this represents the largest complete census of star-formation (both obscured and unobscured) in local cluster galaxies to date, reaching SFRs~0.02Msun/yr. We take advantage of this comprehensive panchromatic dataset to perform a detailed analysis of the nature of star formation in cluster galaxies, using several quite independent diagnostics of the quantity and intensity of star formation to develop a coherent view of the types of star formation within cluster galaxies. We observe a robust bimodality in the infrared (f_24/f_K) galaxy colours, which we are able to identify as another manifestation of the broad split into star-forming spiral and passive elliptical galaxy populations seen in UV-optical surveys. This diagnostic also allows the identification of galaxies in the process of having their star formation quenched as the infrared analogue to the UV "green valley" population. The bulk of supercluster galaxies on the star-forming sequence have specific-SFRs consistent with local field specific-SFR-M* relations, and form a tight FIR-radio correlation confirming that their FIR emission is due to star formation. We show that 85% of the global SFR is quiescent star formation within spiral disks, as manifest by the observed sequence in the IRX-beta relation being significantly offset from the starburst relation of Kong et al. (2004), while their FIR-radio colours indicate dust heated by low-intensity star formation. Just 15% of the global SFR is due to nuclear starbursts. The vast majority of star formation seen in cluster galaxies comes from normal infalling spirals who have yet to be affected by the cluster environment.Comment: 17 pages, 9 figures. Accepted for publication in MNRA

The Application of the Montage Image Mosaic Engine To The Visualization Of Astronomical Images

The Montage Image Mosaic Engine was designed as a scalable toolkit, written in C for performance and portability across *nix platforms, that assembles FITS images into mosaics. The code is freely available and has been widely used in the astronomy and IT communities for research, product generation and for developing next-generation cyber-infrastructure. Recently, it has begun to finding applicability in the field of visualization. This has come about because the toolkit design allows easy integration into scalable systems that process data for subsequent visualization in a browser or client. And it includes a visualization tool suitable for automation and for integration into Python: mViewer creates, with a single command, complex multi-color images overlaid with coordinate displays, labels, and observation footprints, and includes an adaptive image histogram equalization method that preserves the structure of a stretched image over its dynamic range. The Montage toolkit contains functionality originally developed to support the creation and management of mosaics but which also offers value to visualization: a background rectification algorithm that reveals the faint structure in an image; and tools for creating cutout and down-sampled versions of large images. Version 5 of Montage offers support for visualizing data written in HEALPix sky-tessellation scheme, and functionality for processing and organizing images to comply with the TOAST sky-tessellation scheme required for consumption by the World Wide Telescope (WWT). Four online tutorials enable readers to reproduce and extend all the visualizations presented in this paper.Comment: 16 pages, 9 figures; accepted for publication in the PASP Special Focus Issue: Techniques and Methods for Astrophysical Data Visualizatio

Computer Graphics. Volume 2 - an Annotated Bibliography to the NASA-MSFC Digital Computer Graphics Program

Annotated bibliography on digital computer graphic

Silicon compilation

Silicon compilation is a term used for many different purposes. In this paper we define silicon compilation as a mapping from some higher level description into layout. We define the basic issues in structural and behavioral silicon compilation and some possible solutions to those issues. Finally, we define the concept of an intelligent silicon compiler in which the compiler evaluates the quality of the generated design and attempts to improve it if it is not satisfactory

SPIRITS 16tn in NGC 3556: A heavily obscured and low-luminosity supernova at 8.8 Mpc

We present the discovery by the SPitzer InfraRed Intensive Transients Survey (SPIRITS) of a likely supernova (SN) in NGC 3556 at only 8.8 Mpc, which, despite its proximity, was not detected by optical searches. A luminous infrared (IR) transient at $M_{[4.5]} = -16.7$ mag (Vega), SPIRITS 16tn is coincident with a dust lane in the inclined, star-forming disk of the host. Using IR, optical, and radio observations, we attempt to determine the nature of this event. We estimate $A_V \approx$ 8 - 9 mag of extinction, placing it among the three most highly obscured IR-discovered SNe to date. The [4.5] light curve declined at a rate of 0.013 mag day$^{-1}$, and the $[3.6] - [4.5]$ color grew redder from 0.7 to $\gtrsim$ 1.0 mag by 184.7 days post discovery. Optical/IR spectroscopy shows a red continuum, but no clearly discernible features, preventing a definitive spectroscopic classification. Deep radio observations constrain the radio luminosity of SPIRITS 16tn to $L_{\nu} \lesssim 10^{24}$ erg s$^{-1}$ Hz$^{-1}$ between 3 - 15 GHz, excluding many varieties of radio core-collapse SNe. A type Ia SN is ruled out by the observed red IR color, and lack of features normally attributed to Fe-peak elements in the optical and IR spectra. SPIRITS 16tn was fainter at [4.5] than typical stripped-envelope SNe by $\approx$ 1 mag. Comparison of the spectral energy distribution to SNe II suggests SPIRITS 16tn was both highly obscured, and intrinsically dim, possibly akin to the low-luminosity SN 2005cs. We infer the presence of an IR dust echo powered by a peak luminosity of the transient of $5 \times 10^{40}$ erg s$^{-1} < L_{\mathrm{peak}} < 4\times10^{43}$ erg s$^{-1}$, consistent with the observed range for SNe II. This discovery illustrates the power of IR surveys to overcome the compounding effects of visible extinction and optically sub-luminous events in completing the inventory of nearby SNe.Comment: 25 pages, 10 figures, submitted to Ap