Outer planet studies

The tasks of this grant include observational studies of the composition, structure and variability of planetary and satellite atmospheres, and the investigation of the problems associated with the fundamental calibration of these data. These studies are essential to providing ground-truth support for observations of the solar system by NASA's missions, including the VOYAGER and GALILEO spacecraft, the Hubble Space Telescope, and the proposed CRAF-Cassini mission. Complementary spectroscopic observations of comets were added in BY88 to support NASA's cometary program goals of the CRAF-Cassini mission. A very modest laboratory effort is also maintained to provide essential data needed by these observational programs, which may be otherwise unavailable. Many accomplishments during BY88 include: (1) discovery of HDO in the spectrum of Mars and the first determination of the D/H ratio in its atmosphere; (2) completion and publication of the study of CH3D in the spectrum of Titan and a determination of the mixing ratio in its atmosphere; and, completion of observations of CH3D in the spectrum of Neptune and a preliminary analysis of the CH3D/CH4 mixing ratio in its atmosphere

Deuterium on Venus: Observations from Earth

In view of the importance of the deuterium-to-hydrogen ratio in understanding the evolutionary scenario of planetary atmospheres and its relationship to understanding the evolution of our own Earth, we undertook a series of observations designed to resolve previous observational conflicts. We observed the dark side of Venus in the 2.3 micron spectral region in search of both H2O and HDO, which would provide us with the D/H ratio in Venus' atmosphere. We identified a large number of molecular lines in the region, belonging to both molecules, and, using synthetic spectral techniques, obtained mixing ratios of 34 plus or minus 10 ppm and 1.3 plus or minus 0.2 ppm for H2O and HDO, respectively. These mixing ratios yield a D/H ratio for Venus of D/H equals 1.9 plus or minus 0.6 times 10 (exp 12) and 120 plus or minus 40 times the telluric ratio. Although the detailed interpretation is difficult, our observations confirm that the Pioneer Venus Orbiter results and establish that indeed Venus had a period in its early history in which it was very wet, perhaps not unlike the early wet period that seems to have been present on Mars, and that, in contrast to Earth, lost much of its water over geologic time

The Cepheid Period-Luminosity Relation at Mid-Infrared Wavelengths: I. First-Epoch LMC Data

We present the first mid-infrared Period-Luminosity (PL) relations for Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) Cepheids. Single-epoch observations of 70 Cepheids were extracted from Spitzer IRAC observations at 3.6, 4.5, 5.8 and 8.0 microns, serendipitously obtained during the SAGE (Surveying the Agents of a Galaxy's Evolution) imaging survey of the LMC. All four mid-infrared PL relations have nearly identical slopes over the period range 6 - 88 days, with a small scatter of only +/-0.16 mag independent of period for all four of these wavelengths. We emphasize that differential reddening is not contributing significantly to the observed scatter, given the nearly two orders of magnitude reduced sensitivity of the mid-IR to extinction compared to the optical. Future observations, filling in the light curves for these Cepheids, should noticeably reduce the residual scatter. These attributes alone suggest that mid-infrared PL relations will provide a practical means of significantly improving the accuracy of Cepheid distances to nearby galaxies.Comment: 19 pages, 4 figures, 1 table, Accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journa

Ion abundances and implications for photochemistry in comets Halley (1986 III) and Bradfield (1987 XXIX).

Spectra of the plasma tails of comets P/Halley (1986 III) and P/Bradfield (1987 XXIX, also 1987s) were recorded using the Ohio State University Image Dissector Scanner (IDS) on the Perkins 1.8 m telescope at the Lowell Observatory. The ionic species CO+, N2+, CH+, and H2O+ were identified in these spectra and column densities for them were calcd. from measured fluxes. The obsd. abundance ratios of CO+/H2O+ in comets Halley and Bradfield are consistent with predictions by photochem. models, provided that CO+ and H2O+ are produced primarily from photoionization of CO and H2O, resp. However, the obsd. N2+/H2O+ ratios are at least an order of magnitude lower and the obsd. CH+/H2O+ ratios are a factor of 100 higher, than theor. results. The abundance ratio N2/CO was derived in the plasma tail of Bradfield from N2+ and CO+ data, and found to be an order of magnitude higher than a value measured in Halley. The relative ion abundances of CH+, N2+, and H2O+ in Halley are consistent with in situ measurements obtained from the Giotto spacecraft. Fluorescence efficiencies have been recalcd. for optical transitions of N2+, CH+, NH, CH, OH+, and CO and are also presented. [on SciFinder(R)

Pre- and postperihelion abundances of gas and dust in comet Halley.

Photometrically calibrated spectra of comet P/Halley (1986 III) were recorded between 1985 Sept. 12-1986 June 10 using the Ohio State University Image Dissector Scanner on the Perkins 72 in. telescope at the Lowell Observatory. Column densities of CN, C3, CH, C2, and NH2 were calcd. from measured fluxes in these spectra, and mol. scale lengths were deduced from the radial distribution of CN, C3, C2, and NH2. Prodn. rates were computed using the new scale lengths and a Haser model anal. Continuum emission at 4260 Å was used to derive gas-to-dust ratios. The data indicate than comet Halley was ∼2-5 times more abundant in gas and dust at postperihelion than preperihelion. On 1986 June 8 the authors obsd. the onset of a cometary outburst which appeared very strong in dust prodn. The gas-to-dust ratios appeared to be subject to changes as a result of short-term outbursts but otherwise did not exhibit any systematic dependence on heliocentric distance. Reflectivity gradients of the continuum were also measured from the spectra. While most of the continua were red, blue continua were also obsd. which may be correlated with dust outbursts. [on SciFinder(R)

Carbon and oxygen depletion and extinction in the translucent cloud toward HD 24534 (X Persei)

Recent studies of the gas-phase abundances of carbon and oxygen in diffuse clouds have suggested that the depletions of both elements are invariant and independent of extinction curve properties. We show, however, that in the line of sight toward HD 24534 (X Persei), the depletion of carbon is at least a factor of 3 greater than in the diffuse clouds previously surveyed. For HD 24534, the interstellar gas-phase C/H ratio is lower than the mean of diffuse sight lines by a factor of about 3.5. We conclude that the carbon depletion may be enhanced in translucent molecular clouds and also that carbon begins to show an enhanced level of depletion at lower extinctions than oxygen, which is also discussed. We argue that it is imperative to measure abundances and depletions in translucent and denser clouds in order to understand the interaction between gas and dust as the thicknesses and densities of clouds increase

CO and C_2 Absorption Toward W40 IRS 1a

The H II region W40 harbors a small group of young, hot stars behind roughly 9 magnitudes of visual extinction. We have detected gaseous carbon monoxide (CO) and diatomic carbon (C_2) in absorption toward the star W40 IRS 1a. The 2-0 R0, R1, and R2 lines of 12CO at 2.3 micron were measured using the CSHELL on the NASA IR Telescope Facility (with upper limits placed on R3, R4, and R5) yielding an N_CO of (1.1 +/- 0.2) x 10^18 cm^-2. Excitation analysis indicates T_kin > 7 K. The Phillips system of C_2 transitions near 8775 Ang. was measured using the Kitt Peak 4-m telescope and echelle spectrometer. Radiative pumping models indicate a total C_2 column density of (7.0 +/- 0.4) x 10^14 cm^-2, two excitation temperatures (39 and 126 K), and a total gas density of n ~ 250 cm^-3. The CO ice band at 4.7 micron was not detected, placing an upper limit on the CO depletion of delta < 1 %. We postulate that the sightline has multiple translucent components and is associated with the W40 molecular cloud. Our data for W40 IRS 1a, coupled with other sightlines, shows that the ratio of CO/C_2 increases from diffuse through translucent environs. Finally, we show that the hydrogen to dust ratio seems to remain constant from diffuse to dense environments, while the CO to dust ratio apparently does not.Comment: To appear in The Astrophysical Journal 17 pages total, 5 figures Also available at http://casa.colorado.edu/~shuping/research/w40/w40.htm