1,163 research outputs found
Use of Fluorescence Microscopy in an Assay of Sperm Density for the Gorgonian Coral, Plexaura kuna
The density of sperm in the water column during the broadcast spawning events of marine invertebrates is often undetermined or reported in terms of fertilization potential. The density of sperm during such events can be determined by directly counting numbers of spermatozoa using a modification of the acridine orange direct count (AODC) technique for enumerating bacteria. A number of variables in the handling and processing of samples may bias estimates. Sample collection in glass and rapid fixation and filtration are necessary for reproducible estimates. Once filtered, samples are stable for many months, and counts on filters that were poorly stained in the field can be enhanced by additional staining with 4\u276-diamidino-2-phynlindole (DAPI). The AODC technique was employed to examine the effects of distance from a male colony on density of sperm for the gorgonian coral Plexaura kuna. In situ sperm densities ranged from 0 to 1,000 sperm/ml. Sperm densities in 18 l aquaria containing 20 cm long P. kuna explants reached 100,000 sperm/ml
Multicolor Photometry of the Vela Pulsar
Multicolor photometry of the Vela pulsar (PSR B0833-45), updated by recent
HST/WFPC2 observations obtained in the 555W, 675W and 814W filters, is
presented. The available data provide the best characterization so far of the
pulsar spectral shape, which is dominated by a flat power law continuum with
spectral index \alpha = -0.2 +/- 0.2, consistent with the extrapolation in the
optical domain of the power law component of the X-ray spectrum detected by
Chandra. In addition, a marginally significant dip (~ 3 sigma) seems to be
present at about 6500 AA. Spectroscopic observations with the VLT, now in
progress, will undoubtly provide a much better assessment of the reality and
characteristics of this feature.Comment: 4 pages, LaTex, 2 Postscript figures. Astronomy & Astrophysics,
accepte
Nothing to hide: An X-ray survey for young stellar objects in the Pipe Nebula
We have previously analyzed sensitive mid-infrared observations to establish
that the Pipe Nebula has a very low star-formation efficiency. That study
focused on YSOs with excess infrared emission (i.e, protostars and pre-main
sequence stars with disks), however, and could have missed a population of more
evolved pre-main sequence stars or Class III objects (i.e., young stars with
dissipated disks that no longer show excess infrared emission). Evolved
pre-main sequence stars are X-ray bright, so we have used ROSAT All-Sky Survey
data to search for diskless pre-main sequence stars throughout the Pipe Nebula.
We have also analyzed archival XMM-Newton observations of three prominent areas
within the Pipe: Barnard 59, containing a known cluster of young stellar
objects; Barnard 68, a dense core that has yet to form stars; and the Pipe
molecular ring, a high-extinction region in the bowl of the Pipe. We
additionally characterize the X-ray properties of YSOs in Barnard 59. The ROSAT
and XMM-Newton data provide no indication of a significant population of more
evolved pre-main sequence stars within the Pipe, reinforcing our previous
measurement of the Pipe's very low star formation efficiency.Comment: Accepted for publication in Ap
The identification of the optical companion to the binary millisecond pulsar J0610-2100 in the Galactic field
We have used deep V and R images acquired at the ESO Very Large Telescope to
identify the optical companion to the binary pulsar PSR J0610-2100, one of the
black-widow millisecond pulsars recently detected by the Fermi Gamma-ray
Telescope in the Galactic plane. We found a faint star (V~26.7) nearly
coincident (\delta r ~0".28) with the pulsar nominal position. This star is
visible only in half of the available images, while it disappears in the
deepest ones (those acquired under the best seeing conditions), thus indicating
that it is variable. Although our observations do not sample the entire orbital
period (P=0.28 d) of the pulsar, we found that the optical modulation of the
variable star nicely correlates with the pulsar orbital period and describes a
well defined peak (R~25.6) at \Phi=0.75, suggesting a modulation due to the
pulsar heating. We tentatively conclude that the companion to PSR J0610-2100 is
a heavily ablated very low mass star (~ 0.02Msun) that completely filled its
Roche Lobe.Comment: 17 pages, 5 figures - Accepted for pubblication in Ap
Deep optical observations of the central X-ray source in the Puppis A supernova remnant
X-ray observations reveiled a group of radio-silent isolated neutron stars
(INSs) at the centre of young supernova remnants (SNRs), dubbed central compact
objects or CCOs, with properties different from those of classical
rotation-powered pulsars. In at least three cases, evidence points towards CCOs
being low-magnetized INSs, born with slow rotation periods, and possibly
accreting from a debris disc of material formed out of the supernova event.
Understanding the origin of the diversity of the CCOs can shed light on
supernova explosion and neutron star formation models. Optical/infrared (IR)
observations are crucial to test different CCO interpretations. The aim of our
work is to perform a deep optical investigation of the CCO RX J0822.0-4300 in
the Puppis A SNR, one of the most poorly understood in the CCO family. By using
as a reference the Chandra X-ray coordinates of RX J0822.0-4300, we performed
deep optical observations in the B, V and I bands with the Very Large Telescope
(VLT). We found no candidate optical counterpart within 3 sigma of the computed
Chandra X-ray position down to 5 sigma limits of B~27.2, V~26.9, and I~25.6,
the deepest obtained in the optical band for this source. These limits confirm
the non-detection of a companion brighter than an M5 dwarf. At the same time,
they do not constrain optical emission from the neutron star surface, while
emission from the magnetosphere would require a spectral break in the
optical/IR.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures, Astronomy and Astrophysics, accepte
The recovery of octocoral populations following periodic disturbance masks their vulnerability to persistent global change
Funding: This research was funded by the US National Science Foundation through a series of grants to PJE (OCE 13-32915 and OCE 17-56678) and HRL (OCE 13-34052, OCE 17-56381 and OCE 18-01475) and was carried out under the necessary permits from the National Park Service (most recently VIIS-2019-SCI-0022).As the major form of coral reef regime shift, stony coral to macroalgal transitions have received considerable attention. In the Caribbean, however, regime shifts in which scleractinian corals are replaced by octocoral assemblages hold potential for maintaining reef associated communities. Accordingly, forecasting the resilience of octocoral assemblages to future disturbance regimes is necessary to understand these assemblagesâ capacity to maintain reef biodiversity. We parameterised integral projection models quantifying the survival, growth, and recruitment of the octocorals, Antillogorgia americana, Gorgonia ventalina, and Eunicea flexuosa, in St John, US Virgin Islands, before, during, and after severe hurricane disturbance. Using these models, we forecast the density of populations of each species under varying future hurricane regimes. We demonstrate that although hurricanes reduce population growth, A. americana, G. ventalina, and E. flexuosa each display a capacity for quick recovery following storm disturbance. Despite this recovery potential, we illustrate how the population dynamics of each species correspond with a longer- term decline in their population densities. Despite their resilience to periodic physical disturbance events, ongoing global change jeopardises the future viability of octocoral assemblages.Peer reviewe
The Second-Generation Guide Star Catalog: Description and Properties
The GSC-II is an all-sky database of objects derived from the uncompressed
DSS that the STScI has created from the Palomar and UK Schmidt survey plates
and made available to the community. Like its predecessor (GSC-I), the GSC-II
was primarily created to provide guide star information and observation
planning support for HST. This version, however, is already employed at some of
the ground-based new-technology telescopes such as GEMINI, VLT, and TNG, and
will also be used to provide support for the JWST and Gaia space missions as
well as LAMOST, one of the major ongoing scientific projects in China. Two
catalogs have already been extracted from the GSC-II database and released to
the astronomical community. A magnitude-limited (R=18.0) version, GSC2.2, was
distributed soon after its production in 2001, while the GSC2.3 release has
been available for general access since 2007.
The GSC2.3 catalog described in this paper contains astrometry, photometry,
and classification for 945,592,683 objects down to the magnitude limit of the
plates. Positions are tied to the ICRS; for stellar sources, the all-sky
average absolute error per coordinate ranges from 0.2" to 0.28" depending on
magnitude. When dealing with extended objects, astrometric errors are 20% worse
in the case of galaxies and approximately a factor of 2 worse for blended
images. Stellar photometry is determined to 0.13-0.22 mag as a function of
magnitude and photographic passbands (B,R,I). Outside of the galactic plane,
stellar classification is reliable to at least 90% confidence for magnitudes
brighter than R=19.5, and the catalog is complete to R=20.Comment: 52 pages, 33 figures, to be published in AJ August 200
Optical and X-ray observations of candidate isolated neutron stars in the G315.4-2.3 SNR
G315.4-2.3 is a young Galactic supernova remnant (SNR), whose identification
as the remains of a Type-II supernova (SN) explosion has been debated for a
long time. In particular, recent multi-wavelength observations suggest that it
is the result of a Type Ia SN, based on spectroscopy of the SNR shell and the
lack of a compact stellar remnant.However, two X-ray sources, one detected by
Einstein and ROSAT (Source V) and the other by Chandra (Source N) have been
proposed as possible isolated neutron star candidates. In both cases, no clear
optical identification was available and, therefore, we performed an optical
and X-ray study to determine the nature of these two sources. Based on Chandra
astrometry, Source V is associated with a bright V~14 star, which had been
suggested based on the less accurate ROSAT position. Similarly, from VLT
archival observations, we found that Source N is associated with a relatively
bright star (). These likely identifications suggest that both X-ray
sources cannot be isolated neutron stars.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures, accepted for publication in MNRA
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