2,162 research outputs found
Results of the Rio de Janeiro magnetic observations 1781?1788
International audienceWe have compiled a relatively extensive catalogue of geomagnetic declination measurements performed by the Portuguese Bento Sanches Dorta in Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) between 1781 and 1788. All the information was retrieved from printed documents compiled in the first three volumes of the Memories of the Portuguese Royal Academy of Sciences. During this period Sanches Dorta performed roughly 20000 individual observations, however, only a fraction of this data is presently available. In this work, all available information about these measurements is analysed. The annual change (variability and trend) and the daily cycle of geomagnetic declination at monthly scale are discussed. Keywords. Geomagnetism and paleomagnetism, History of geophysics, Geomagnetic field declinatio
The 2011 October Draconids Outburst. II. Meteoroid Chemical Abundances from Fireball Spectroscopy
On October 8, 2011 the Earth crossed dust trails ejected from comet
21P/Giacobini-Zinner in the late 19th and early 20th Century. This gave rise to
an outburst in the activity of the October Draconid meteor shower, and an
international team was organized to analyze this event. The SPanish Meteor
Network (SPMN) joined this initiative and recorded the October Draconids by
means of low light level CCD cameras. In addition, spectroscopic observations
were carried out. Tens of multi-station meteor trails were recorded, including
an extraordinarily bright October Draconid fireball (absolute mag. -10.5) that
was simultaneously imaged from three SPMN meteor ob-serving stations located in
Andalusia. Its spectrum was obtained, showing a clear evolution in the relative
intensity of emission lines as the fireball penetrated deeper into the
atmosphere. Here we focus on the analysis of this remarkable spectrum, but also
discuss the atmospheric trajectory, atmospheric penetration, and orbital data
computed for this bolide which was probably released during
21P/Giacobini-Zinner return to perihelion in 1907. The spectrum is discussed
together with the tensile strength for the October Draconid meteoroids. The
chemical profile evolution of the main rocky elements for this extremely bright
bolide is compared with the elemental abundances obtained for 5 October
Draconid fireballs also recorded during our spectroscopic campaign but observed
only at a single station. Significant chemical heterogeneity between the small
meteoroids is found as we should expect for cometary aggregates being formed by
diverse dust components.Comment: Manuscript in press in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical
Society. Accepted for publication in MNRAS on April 28th, 2013 Manuscript
Pages: 28 Tables: 5 Figures: 12. Manuscript associated: "The 2011 October
Draconids outburst. I. Orbital elements, meteoroid fluxes and
21P/Giacobini-Zinner delivered mass to Earth" by Trigo-Rodriguez et al. is
also in press in the same journa
Generation and remote detection of THz sound using semiconductor superlattices
The authors introduce a novel approach to study the propagation of high
frequency acoustic phonons in which the generation and detection involves two
spatially separated superlattices apart. Propagating modes
of frequencies up to escape from the superlattice where they
are generated and reach the second superlattice where they are detected. The
measured frequency spectrum reveals finite size effects, which can be accounted
for by a continuum elastic model.Comment: Submitted to Applied Physics Letter
Data Reduction and Control Software for Meteor Observing Stations Based on CCD Video Systems
The SPanish Meteor Network (SPMN) is performing a continuous monitoring of meteor activity over Spain and neighbouring countries. The huge amount of data obtained by the 25 video observing stations that this network is currently operating made it necessary to develop new software packages to accomplish some tasks, such as data reduction and remote operation of autonomous systems based on high-sensitivity CCD video devices. The main characteristics of this software are described here
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