24,261 research outputs found
The NASA Suborbital Program: A status review
The status of the NASA suborbital program is reviewed and its importance to astrophysical and geophysical programs is assessed. A survey of past scientific and developmental accomplishments, an examination of the trends in program costs, and an analysis of current and future program roles are included. The technical disciplines examined are primarily those of astronomy/astrophysics/solar physics and magnetospheric/ionospheric/ atmospheric physics
WHAM Observations of H-Alpha, [S II], and [N II] toward the Orion and Perseus Arms: Probing the Physical Conditions of the Warm Ionized Medium
A large portion of the Galaxy (l = 123 deg to 164 deg, b = -6 deg to -35
deg), which samples regions of the Local (Orion) spiral arm and the more
distant Perseus arm, has been mapped with the Wisconsin H-Alpha Mapper (WHAM)
in the H-Alpha, [S II] 6716, and [N II] 6583 lines. Several trends noticed in
emission-line investigations of diffuse gas in other galaxies are confirmed in
the Milky Way and extended to much fainter emission. We find that the [S
II]/H-Alpha and [N II]/H-Alpha ratios increase as absolute H-Alpha intensities
decrease. For the more distant Perseus arm emission, the increase in these
ratios is a strong function of Galactic latitude and thus, of height above the
Galactic plane. The [S II]/[N II] ratio is relatively independent of H-Alpha
intensity. Scatter in this ratio appears to be physically significant, and maps
of it suggest regions with similar ratios are spatially correlated. The Perseus
arm [S II]/[N II] ratio is systematically lower than Local emission by 10%-20%.
With [S II]/[N II] fairly constant over a large range of H-Alpha intensities,
the increase of [S II]/H-Alpha and [N II]/H-Alpha with |z| seems to reflect an
increase in temperature. Such an interpretation allows us to estimate the
temperature and ionization conditions in our large sample of observations. We
find that WIM temperatures range from 6,000 K to 9,000 K with temperature
increasing from bright to faint H-Alpha emission (low to high [S II]/H-Alpha
and [N II]/H-Alpha) respectively. Changes in [S II]/[N II] appear to reflect
changes in the local ionization conditions (e.g. the S+/S++ ratio). We also
measure the electron scale height in the Perseus arm to be 1.0+/-0.1 kpc,
confirming earlier, less accurate determinations.Comment: 28 pages, 10 figures. Figures 2 and 3 are full color--GIFs provided
here, original PS figures at link below. Accepted for publication in ApJ.
More information about the WHAM project can be found at
http://www.astro.wisc.edu/wham/ . REVISION: Figure 6, bottom panel now
contains the proper points. No other changes have been mad
Searching for additional heating - [OII] emission in the diffuse ionized gas of NGC891, NGC4631 and NGC3079
We present spectroscopic data of ionized gas in the disk--halo regions of
three edge-on galaxies, NGC 891, NGC 4631 and NGC 3079, covering a wavelength
range from [\ion{O}{2}] 3727\AA to [\ion{S}{2}] 6716.4\AA.
The inclusion of the [\ion{O}{2}] emission provides new constraints on the
properties of the diffuse ionized gas (DIG), in particular, the origin of the
observed spatial variations in the line intensity ratios. We used three
different methods to derive electron temperatures, abundances and ionization
fractions along the slit. The increase in the [\ion{O}{2}]/H line ratio
towards the halo in all three galaxies requires an increase either in electron
temperature or in oxygen abundance. Keeping the oxygen abundance constant
yields the most reasonable results for temperature, abundances, and ionization
fractions. Since a constant oxygen abundance seems to require an increase in
temperature towards the halo, we conclude that gradients in the electron
temperature play a significant role in the observed variations in the optical
line ratios from extraplanar DIG in these three spiral galaxies.Comment: 43 pages, 29 figure
A computer operated mass spectrometer system
Digital computer system for processing mass spectrometer output dat
Cyclic Patterns of Central Florida Sooty Molds
Monographic work (Reynolds, 1970; Reynolds, 197la; Reynolds, 197lb) suggests that sooty molds exhibit distinct cyclic patterns of growth and reproduction. Furthermore, a tally of collection data recorded in other monographic work (Batista and Ciferri, 1962; Batista and Ciferri, 1963a) suggests that the sexual fruit bodies of ascomycetous neotropical sooty molds are prevalent during the drier season of the year. Asexual sooty molds may also occur seasonally (Batista and Ciferri, 1963b). A study was begun approximately two years ago to determine the reproductive unit frequency of select sooty molds at various times of the year
Iron fluorescence from within the innermost stable orbit of black hole accretion disks
The fluorescent iron Ka line is a powerful observational probe of the inner
regions of black holes accretion disks. Previous studies have assumed that only
material outside the radius of marginal stability can contribute to the
observed line emission. Here, we show that fluorescence by material inside the
radius of marginal stability, which is in the process of spiralling towards the
event horizon, can have a observable influence on the iron line profile and
equivalent width. For concreteness, we consider the case of a geometrically
thin accretion disk, around a Schwarzschild black hole, in which fluorescence
is excited by an X-ray source placed at some height above the disk and on the
axis of the disk. Fully relativistic line profiles are presented for various
source heights and efficiencies. It is found that the extra line flux generally
emerges in the extreme red wing of the iron line, due to the large
gravitational redshift experienced by photons from the region within the radius
of marginal stability. We apply our models to the variable iron line seen in
the ASCA spectrum of the Seyfert nucleus MCG-6-30-15. It is found that the
change in the line profile, equivalent width, and continuum normalization, can
be well explained as being due to a change in the height of the source above
the disk. We discuss the implications of these results for distinguishing
rapidly-rotating black holes from slowly rotating holes using iron line
diagnostics.Comment: 20 pages, LaTeX. Accepted for publication in Astrophysical Journal.
Figures 3 to 7 replaced with corrected versions (previous figures affected by
calculational error). Some changes in the best fitting parameter
Surface penetrators for planetary exploration: Science rationale and development program
Work on penetrators for planetary exploration is summarized. In particular, potential missions, including those to Mars, Mercury, the Galilean satellites, comets, and asteroids are described. A baseline penetrator design for the Mars mission is included, as well as potential instruments and their status in development. Penetration tests in soft soil and basalt to study material eroded from the penetrator; changes in the structure, composition, and physical properties of the impacted soil; seismic coupling; and penetrator deflection caused by impacting rocks, are described. Results of subsystem studies and tests are given for design of entry decelerators, high-g components, thermal control, data acquisition, and umbilical cable deployment
- …