9,664 research outputs found
The results of an agricultural analysis of the ERTS-1 MSS data at the Johnson Space Center
The initial analysis of the ERTS-1 multispectral scanner (MSS) data at the Johnson Space Center (JSC), Houston, Texas is discussed. The primary data set utilized was the scene over Monterey Bay, California, on July 25, 1972, NASA ERTS ID No. 1002-18134. It was submitted to both computerized and image interpretative processing. An area in the San Joaquin Valley was submitted to an intensive evaluation of the ability of the data to (1) discriminate between crop types and (2) to provide a reasonably accurate area measurement of agricultural features of interest. The results indicate that the ERTS-1 MSS data is capable of providing the identifications and area extent of agricultural lands and field crop types
Extragalactic infrared spectroscopy
The spectra of galaxies in the near infrared atmospheric transmission windows are explored. Emission lines were detected due to molecular hydrogen, atomic hydrogen recombination lines, a line attributed to FEII, and a broad CO absorption feature. Lines due to H2 and FEII are especially strong in interacting and merging galaxies, but they were also detected in Seyferts and normal spirals. These lines appear to be shock excited. Multi-aperture measurements show that they emanate from regions as large as 15 kpc. It is argued that starbursts provide the most plausible and consistent model for the excitation of these lines, but the changes of relative line intensity of various species with aperture suggest that other excitation mechanisms are also operating in the outer regions of these galaxies
Long-term magnetic field stability of Vega
We present new spectropolarimetric observations of the normal A-type star
Vega, obtained during the summer of 2010 with NARVAL at T\'elescope Bernard
Lyot (Pic du Midi Observatory). This new time-series is constituted of 615
spectra collected over 6 different nights. We use the
Least-Square-Deconvolution technique to compute, from each spectrum, a mean
line profile with a signal-to-noise ratio close to 20,000. After averaging all
615 polarized observations, we detect a circularly polarized Zeeman signature
consistent in shape and amplitude with the signatures previously reported from
our observations of 2008 and 2009. The surface magnetic geometry of the star,
reconstructed using the technique of Zeeman-Doppler Imaging, agrees with the
maps obtained in 2008 and 2009, showing that most recognizable features of the
photospheric field of Vega are only weakly distorted by large-scale surface
flows (differential rotation or meridional circulation).Comment: Proceedings of the conference "Stellar polarimetry: from birth to
death", 2011 Jun 27-30, Madiso
Thermocline management of stratified tanks for heat storage
Stratified tanks are useful for maximising the thermal energy efficiency of non-continuous and semi-continuous processes. Liquid at two or more dissimilar temperatures is stored within the same tank to provide a buffer for variations in heating and cooling loads. Control of the thermocline between the hot and cold fluid regions is needed to minimise thermocline growth and maximise operation of the storage tank. An experimental programme using a scale model of an industrial stratified tank (aspect ratio 3.5) and Perspex tank (aspect ratio 8.2) is reported. The behaviour and growth of the hot-cold thermocline under various operating conditions is presented. A siphoning method to re-establish the thermocline without interrupting the use of the tank is tested. Siphoning of the thermocline region from either 20%, 50% or 80% of the tank height is an effective strategy for uninterrupted interface re-establishment. However, the rate and position of siphoning and the load balance of the exit streams are critical variables for minimising the time for effective re-establishment of the two temperature zones
Investigating the Magnetospheres of Rapidly Rotating B-type Stars
Recent spectropolarimetric surveys of bright, hot stars have found that ~10%
of OB-type stars contain strong (mostly dipolar) surface magnetic fields (~kG).
The prominent paradigm describing the interaction between the stellar winds and
the surface magnetic field is the magnetically confined wind shock (MCWS)
model. In this model, the stellar wind plasma is forced to move along the
closed field loops of the magnetic field, colliding at the magnetic equator,
and creating a shock. As the shocked material cools radiatively it will emit
X-rays. Therefore, X-ray spectroscopy is a key tool in detecting and
characterizing the hot wind material confined by the magnetic fields of these
stars. Some B-type stars are found to have very short rotational periods. The
effects of the rapid rotation on the X-ray production within the magnetosphere
have yet to be explored in detail. The added centrifugal force due to rapid
rotation is predicted to cause faster wind outflows along the field lines,
leading to higher shock temperatures and harder X-rays. However, this is not
observed in all rapidly rotating magnetic B-type stars. In order to address
this from a theoretical point of view, we use the X-ray Analytical Dynamical
Magnetosphere (XADM) model, originally developed for slow rotators, with an
implementation of new rapid rotational physics. Using X-ray spectroscopy from
ESA's XMM-Newton space telescope, we observed 5 rapidly rotating B-type stars
to add to the previous list of observations. Comparing the observed X-ray
luminosity and hardness ratio to that predicted by the XADM allows us to
determine the role the added centrifugal force plays in the magnetospheric
X-ray emission of these stars.Comment: IAUS Conference Proceeding
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