Moderate Resolution Spectroscopy For The Space Infrared Telescope Facility (SIRTF)

A conceptual design for an infrared spectrometer capable of both low resolution (λ/Δ-λ = 50; 2.5-200 microns) and moderate resolution (1000; 4-200 microns) and moderate resolution (1000; 4-200 microns) has been developed. This facility instrument will permit the spectroscopic study in the infrared of objects ranging from within the solar system to distant galaxies. The spectroscopic capability provided by this instrument for SIRTF will give astronomers orders of magnitude greater sensitivity for the study of faint objects than had been previously available. The low resolution mode will enable detailed studies of the continuum radiation. The moderate resolution mode of the instrument will permit studies of a wide range of problems, from the infrared spectral signatures of small outer solar system bodies such as Pluto and the satellites of the giant planets, to investigations of more luminous active galaxies and QS0s at substantially greater distances. A simple design concept has been developed for the spectrometer which supports the science investigation with practical cryogenic engineering. Operational flexibility is preserved with a minimum number of mechanisms. The five modules share a common aperture, and all gratings share a single scan mechanism. High reliability is achieved through use of flight-proven hardware concepts and redundancy. The design controls the heat load into the SIRTF cryogen, with all heat sources other than the detectors operating at 7K and isolated from the 4K cold station. Two-dimensional area detector arrays are used in the 2.5-120μm bands to simultaneously monitor adjacent regions in extended objects and to measure the background near point sources

Technical Note: Asteroid Detection Demonstration from SkySat-3 - B612 Data Using Synthetic Tracking

We report results from analyzing the data taken by the sCMOS cameras on board of SkySat3 using the synthetic tracking technique. The analysis demonstrates the expected sensitivity improvement in the signal-to-noise ratio of the faint asteroids from properly stacking up the short exposure images in post-processing

The Infrared Spectrograph on the Spitzer Space Telescope

The Infrared Spectrograph (IRS) is one of three science instruments on the Spitzer Space Telescope. The IRS comprises four separate spectrograph modules covering the wavelength range from 5.3 to 38micron with spectral resolutions, R \~90 and 600, and it was optimized to take full advantage of the very low background in the space environment. The IRS is performing at or better than the pre-launch predictions. An autonomous target acquisition capability enables the IRS to locate the mid-infrared centroid of a source, providing the information so that the spacecraft can accurately offset that centroid to a selected slit. This feature is particularly useful when taking spectra of sources with poorly known coordinates. An automated data reduction pipeline has been developed at the Spitzer Science Center.Comment: Accepted in ApJ Sup. Spitzer Special Issue, 6 pages, 4 figure

Moderate Resolution Spectroscopy For The Space Infrared Telescope Facility (SIRTF)

A conceptual design for an infrared spectrometer capable of both low resolution (λ/Δ-λ = 50; 2.5-200 microns) and moderate resolution (1000; 4-200 microns) and moderate resolution (1000; 4-200 microns) has been developed. This facility instrument will permit the spectroscopic study in the infrared of objects ranging from within the solar system to distant galaxies. The spectroscopic capability provided by this instrument for SIRTF will give astronomers orders of magnitude greater sensitivity for the study of faint objects than had been previously available. The low resolution mode will enable detailed studies of the continuum radiation. The moderate resolution mode of the instrument will permit studies of a wide range of problems, from the infrared spectral signatures of small outer solar system bodies such as Pluto and the satellites of the giant planets, to investigations of more luminous active galaxies and QS0s at substantially greater distances. A simple design concept has been developed for the spectrometer which supports the science investigation with practical cryogenic engineering. Operational flexibility is preserved with a minimum number of mechanisms. The five modules share a common aperture, and all gratings share a single scan mechanism. High reliability is achieved through use of flight-proven hardware concepts and redundancy. The design controls the heat load into the SIRTF cryogen, with all heat sources other than the detectors operating at 7K and isolated from the 4K cold station. Two-dimensional area detector arrays are used in the 2.5-120μm bands to simultaneously monitor adjacent regions in extended objects and to measure the background near point sources

Moderate Resolution Spectroscopy For The Space Infrared Telescope Facility (SIRTF)

A conceptual design for an infrared spectrometer capable of both low resolution (λ/Δ-λ = 50; 2.5-200 microns) and moderate resolution (1000; 4-200 microns) and moderate resolution (1000; 4-200 microns) has been developed. This facility instrument will permit the spectroscopic study in the infrared of objects ranging from within the solar system to distant galaxies. The spectroscopic capability provided by this instrument for SIRTF will give astronomers orders of magnitude greater sensitivity for the study of faint objects than had been previously available. The low resolution mode will enable detailed studies of the continuum radiation. The moderate resolution mode of the instrument will permit studies of a wide range of problems, from the infrared spectral signatures of small outer solar system bodies such as Pluto and the satellites of the giant planets, to investigations of more luminous active galaxies and QS0s at substantially greater distances. A simple design concept has been developed for the spectrometer which supports the science investigation with practical cryogenic engineering. Operational flexibility is preserved with a minimum number of mechanisms. The five modules share a common aperture, and all gratings share a single scan mechanism. High reliability is achieved through use of flight-proven hardware concepts and redundancy. The design controls the heat load into the SIRTF cryogen, with all heat sources other than the detectors operating at 7K and isolated from the 4K cold station. Two-dimensional area detector arrays are used in the 2.5-120μm bands to simultaneously monitor adjacent regions in extended objects and to measure the background near point sources

Integrating isotopes and documentary evidence : dietary patterns in a late medieval and early modern mining community, Sweden

We would like to thank the Archaeological Research Laboratory, Stockholm University, Sweden and the Tandem Laboratory (Ångström Laboratory), Uppsala University, Sweden, for undertaking the analyses of stable nitrogen and carbon isotopes in both human and animal collagen samples. Also, thanks to Elin Ahlin Sundman for providing the δ13C and δ15N values for animal references from Västerås. This research (Bäckström’s PhD employment at Lund University, Sweden) was supported by the Berit Wallenberg Foundation (BWS 2010.0176) and Jakob and Johan Söderberg’s foundation. The ‘Sala project’ (excavations and analyses) has been funded by Riksens Clenodium, Jernkontoret, Birgit and Gad Rausing’s Foundation, SAU’s Research Foundation, the Royal Physiographic Society of Lund, Berit Wallenbergs Foundation, Åke Wibergs Foundation, Lars Hiertas Memory, Helge Ax:son Johnson’s Foundation and The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

The influence of sex and diet on the characteristics of hibernation in Syrian hamsters

Research on deep hibernators almost exclusively uses species captured from the wild or from local breeding. An exception is Syrian hamster (Mesocricetus auratus), the only standard laboratory animal showing deep hibernation. In deep hibernators, several factors influence hibernation quality, including body mass, sex and diet. We examined hibernation quality in commercially obtained Syrian hamsters in relation to body mass, sex and a diet enriched in polyunsaturated fatty acids. Animals (M/F:30/30, 12 weeks of age) were obtained from Harlan (IN, USA) and individually housed at 21 A degrees C and L:D 14:10 until 20 weeks of age, followed by L:D 8:16 until 27 weeks. Then conditions were changed to 5 A degrees C and L:D 0:24 for 9 weeks to induce hibernation. Movement was continuously monitored with passive infrared detectors. Hamsters were randomized to control diet or a diet 3x enriched in linoleic acid from 16 weeks of age. Hamsters showed a high rate of premature death (n = 24, 40%), both in animals that did and did not initiate torpor, which was unrelated to body weight, sex and diet. Time to death (31.7 +/- 3.1 days, n = 12) or time to first torpor bout (36.6 +/- 1.6 days, n = 12) was similar in prematurely deceased hamsters. Timing of induction of hibernation and duration of torpor and arousal was unaffected by body weight, sex or diet. Thus, commercially obtained Syrian hamsters subjected to winter conditions showed poor survival, irrespective of body weight, sex and diet. These factors also did not affect hibernation parameters. Possibly, long-term commercial breeding from a confined genetic background has selected against the hibernation trait