8,493 research outputs found
OPTIC: Orbiting Plutonian Topographic Image Craft Proposal for an Unmanned Mission to Pluto
The proposal for an unmanned probe to Pluto is presented and described. The Orbiting Plutonian Topographic Image Craft's (OPTIC's) trip will take twenty years and after its arrival, will begin its data collection which includes image and radar mapping, surface spectral analysis, and magnetospheric studies. This probe's design was developed based on the request for proposal of an unmanned probe to Pluto requirements. The distinct problems which an orbiter causes for each subsystem of the craft are discussed. The final design revolved around two important factors: (1) the ability to collect and return the maximum quantity of information on the Plutonian system; and (2) the weight limitations which the choice of an orbiting craft implied. The velocity requirements of this type of mission severely limited the weight available for mission execution-owing to the large portion of overall weight required as fuel to fly the craft with present technology. The topics covered include: (1) scientific instrumentation; (2) mission management; (3) power and propulsion; (4) attitude and articulation control; (5) structural subsystems; and (6) command, control, and communication
Dissipation in Quasi One-Dimensional Superconducting Single-Crystal Sn Nanowires
Electrical transport measurements were made on single-crystal Sn nanowires to
understand the intrinsic dissipation mechanisms of a one-dimensional
superconductor. While the resistance of wires of diameter larger than 70 nm
drops precipitately to zero at Tc near 3.7 K, a residual resistive tail
extending down to low temperature is found for wires with diameters of 20 and
40 nm. As a function of temperature, the logarithm of the residual resistance
appears as two linear sections, one within a few tenths of a degree below Tc
and the other extending down to at least 0.47 K, the minimum temperature of the
measurements. The residual resistance is found to be ohmic at all temperatures
below Tc of Sn. These findings are suggestive of a thermally activated phase
slip process near Tc and quantum fluctuation-induced phase slip process in the
low temperature regime. When the excitation current exceeds a critical value,
the voltage-current (V-I) curves show a series of discrete steps in approaching
the normal state. These steps cannot be fully understood with the classical
Skocpol-Beasley-Tinkham phase slip center model (PSC), but can be qualitatively
accounted for partly by the PSC model modified by Michotte et al.Comment: 7 pages, 5 figures. To be appeared on Physical Review B 71, 200
Interstellar Carbon in Translucent Sightlines
We report interstellar C II column densities or upper limits determined from
weak absorption of the 2325.4029 A intersystem transition observed in six
translucent sightlines with STIS. The sightlines sample a wide range of
interstellar characteristics including total-to-selective extinction, R_{V} =
2.6 - 5.1; average hydrogen density along the sightline, = 3 - 14
cm^{-3}; and fraction of H in molecular form, 0 - 40%. Four of the sightlines,
those toward HD 37021, HD 37061, HD 147888 and HD 207198, have interstellar
gas-phase abundances that are consistent with the diffuse sightline ratio of
161 +/- 17 carbon atoms in the gas per million hydrogen nuclei. We note that
while it has a gas-phase carbon abundance that is consistent with the other
sightlines, a large fraction of the C II toward HD 37061 is in an excited
state. The sightline toward HD 152590 has a measured interstellar gas-phase
carbon abundance that is well above the diffuse sightline average; the column
density of C in this sightline may be overestimated due to noise structure in
the data. Toward HD 27778 we find a 3 sigma abundance upper limit of <108 C
atoms in the gas per million H, a substantially enhanced depletion of C as
compared to the diffuse sightline value. The interstellar characteristics
toward HD 27778 are otherwise not extreme among the sample except for an
unusually large abundance of CO molecules in the gas.Comment: Accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journa
Lifetimes of lunar satellite orbits
The Space Exploration Initiative has generated a renewed interest in lunar mission planning. The lunar missions currently under study, unlike the Apollo missions, involve long stay times. Several lunar gravity models have been formulated, but mission planners do not have enough confidence in the proposed models to conduct detailed studies of missions with long stay times. In this report, a particular lunar gravitational model, the Ferrari 5 x 5 model, was chosen to determine the lifetimes for 100-km and 300-km perilune altitude, near-circular parking orbits. The need to analyze orbital lifetimes for a large number of initial orbital parameters was the motivation for the formulation of a simplified gravitational model from the original model. Using this model, orbital lifetimes were found to be heavily dependent on the initial conditions of the nearly circular orbits, particularly the initial inclination and argument of perilune. This selected model yielded lifetime predictions of less than 40 days for some orbits, and other orbits had lifetimes exceeding a year. Although inconsistencies and limitations are inherent in all existing lunar gravity models, primarily because of a lack of information about the far side of the moon, the methods presented in this analysis are suitable for incorporating the moon's nonspherical gravitational effects on the preliminary design level for future lunar mission planning
The ``Outside-In'' Outburst of HT Cassiopeiae
We present results from photometric observations of the dwarf nova system HT
Cas during the eruption of November 1995. The data include the first
two--colour observations of an eclipse on the rise to outburst. They show that
during the rise to outburst the disc deviates significantly from steady state
models, but the inclusion of an inner-disc truncation radius of about 4
and a ``flared'' disc of semi-opening angle of produces
acceptable fits. The disc is found to have expanded at the start of the
outburst to about , as compared to quiescent measurements. The
accretion disc then gradually decreases in radius reaching during
the last stages of the eruption. Quiescent eclipses were also observed prior to
and after the eruption and a revised ephemeris is calculated.Comment: 9 pages, 11 figures, to appear in MNRA
Telescope to Observe Planetary Systems (TOPS): a high throughput 1.2-m visible telescope with a small inner working angle
The Telescope to Observe Planetary Systems (TOPS) is a proposed space mission
to image in the visible (0.4-0.9 micron) planetary systems of nearby stars
simultaneously in 16 spectral bands (resolution R~20). For the ~10 most
favorable stars, it will have the sensitivity to discover 2 R_E rocky planets
within habitable zones and characterize their surfaces or atmospheres through
spectrophotometry. Many more massive planets and debris discs will be imaged
and characterized for the first time. With a 1.2m visible telescope, the
proposed mission achieves its power by exploiting the most efficient and robust
coronagraphic and wavefront control techniques. The Phase-Induced Amplitude
Apodization (PIAA) coronagraph used by TOPS allows planet detection at 2
lambda/d with nearly 100% throughput and preserves the telescope angular
resolution. An efficient focal plane wavefront sensing scheme accurately
measures wavefront aberrations which are fed back to the telescope active
primary mirror. Fine wavefront control is also performed independently in each
of 4 spectral channels, resulting in a system that is robust to wavefront
chromaticity.Comment: 12 pages, SPIE conference proceeding, May 2006, Orlando, Florid
Particle Sizing in Strongly Turbid Suspensions with the One-Beam Cross-Correlation Dynamic Light-Scattering Technique
The utility of the one-beam cross-correlation dynamic light-scattering system for sizing small particles in suspension was previously limited by its small-intensity signal-to-baseline ratio for strongly turbid suspensions. We describe three improvements in the optical system and sample cell that raise the ratio to a value comparable with that of other cross-correlation dynamic light-scattering systems. These improvements are (i) using a square cross-sectional sample cell to minimize the attenuation of the incident beam and singly scattered light, (ii) placing a 200-mu m-wide slit between the sample cell and the detector fibers to mask off the region of weak single scattering and strong multiple scattering from the detectors\u27 field of view, and (iii) aligning the center of the detectors\u27 field of view with the region of strongest single scattering. We analyze a number of suspensions of polystyrene latex spheres with a diameter between 65 and 562 Ma in water using this improved one-beam instrument and find that the measured radius is determined in a 2-min data collection time to better than +/-10% for volume fractions of the suspended polystyrene latex spheres up to a few percent. (C) 1999 Optical Society of America
Hybrid Reflection-transmission Surface Light-scattering Instrument with Reduced Sensitivity to Surface Sloshing
A hybrid reflection-transmission surface light-scattering instrumental design is presented, examined theoretically, and tested experimentally. The purpose of the design is to reduce the sensitivity of the instrument to vibration in general and surface sloshing in particular while sacrificing Little performance. Traditional optical arrangements and two new optical configurations with varying trade-offs between slosh resistance and instrumental simplicity and accuracy are examined by use of Fourier optics methods. The most promising design was constructed and tested with acetone, ethanol, and water as subject fluids. The test involved backcalculation of the wave number of the capillary wave examined with the known physical parameters for the test fluids. The agreement of the computed wave number was +/-1.4%. (C) 1997 Optical Society of America
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