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Bohlin, R. C.

Publications and source records attributed to Bohlin, R. C..

63 records · Page 4

Mariner 9 ultraviolet spectrometer experiment - Measurements of the Lyman alpha sky background

During the flight of Mariner 9 to Mars, the ultraviolet spectrometer on board the spacecraft measured the L-alpha intensity for several points in the sky. These data are compared with a sky map obtained by OGO-5 and the observations of Mariner 6. The absolute calibration of Mariner 9 and Mariner 6 differ by a factor of 1.43 at L-alpha. The low values of the sky brightness measured by Mariner 9 near the sky minimum suggest that the nearby interstellar medium has a kinetic temperature of 200-1100 K and a relative velocity with respect to the sun in the range 13-14 km/sec.

Bohlin, R. C.↗

Mariner 9 ultraviolet spectrometer experiment - Upper limits on the Lyman-alpha flux from clusters of galaxies.

Data from the ultraviolet spectrometer on the Mariner 9 Mars orbiter have been used to set upper limits on the redshifted Lyman-alpha flux from the Perseus and Pegasus I (NGC 7619) clusters of galaxies. The limit for the Perseus cluster implies that the temperature of the intergalactic gas required for gravitational binding must be greater than 100,000 K, if it exists. A less severe limit is set for the Pegasus I cluster.

Bohlin, R. C.↗

Lyman-alpha measurements of neutral hydrogen in the outer geocorona and in interplanetary space.

Results of hydrogen Lyman-alpha (1216 A) measurements made on a continuous basis by a two-channel photometer on Ogo 5 from March 1968 to June 1971. The highly elliptical orbit provided measurements of both the outer geocorona and of the 1216-A sky background emission, since geocoronal scattering is minimal at the apogee distance of 150,000 km. Selected data (through 1970) are presented, as well as an interpretation of the three principal discoveries to date - namely, (1) a pronounced antisolar enhancement of the geocoronal scattering beyond 70,000 km, which is regarded as evidence for a hydrogen 'geotail' produced by solar Lyman-alpha radiation pressure; (2) a clear correlation of periodic variations in the sky background emission with solar activity associated with solar rotation; and (3) an annual variation of the 1216-A sky background emission, caused by the earth's orbital motion within the cavity created by the solar wind in the nearby interstellar hydrogen.

Thomas, G. E.↗

Mariner 9 ultraviolet spectrometer experiment - Stellar observations.

Photoelectric spectra have been obtained for a number of early-type stars in the 1100- to 2000-A region with the Mariner 9 UV spectrometer. The resonance lines of H I, Si IV, and C IV are easily identified, as are features due to C II, C III, Si III, Fe II N IV. The absolute energy distribution derived from the data lie about 20% below those of OAO-2 in the 1200- to 2000-A region.

Lillie, C. F.↗