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Gunn, J. E.

Publications and source records attributed to Gunn, J. E..

At least 37 records · Page 2
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1982

An efficient low- and moderate-resolution spectrograph for the Hale telescope

A new low-to-moderate resolution spectrograph has been designed and built for the Cassegrain focus of the Hale 5.08-meter telescope. To maximize efficiency, resolution, and wavelength coverage the light is divided into two spectra regions by a dichroic filter behind the entrance slit, after which there are two completely separate spectrographs. The blue spectrograph operates from 3200 A to 5200 A while the red one goes from 5200 A to 10,000 A. The red detector is an 800 x 800 TI CCD while the blue detector is a 320 x 512 RCA CCD or a Shectrograph image pulse-counting system. A Boksenberg IPCS can also be mounted on the blue camera. The overall efficiency of the Cassegrain telescope, spectrographs, and CCD's combined, ranges from 5 percent to 13 percent between 3600 A and 8200 A. The spectrograph is usable from 3200 A to 10,400 A.

Oke, J. B.↗
NASA NTRS1982

The wide field/planetary camera

A wide site of potential astronomical and solar system scientific studies using the wide field planetary camera on space telescope are described. The expected performance of the camera as it approaches final assembly and testing is also detailed.

Westphal, J. A.↗
NASA NTRS1982

The evolution of galaxies

The recent observational evidence on the evolution of galaxies is reviewed and related to the framework of current ideas for galaxy formation from primordial density fluctuations. Recent strong evidence for the evolution of the stellar population in ellipticals is presented, as well as evidence that not all ellipticals behave as predicted by any simple theory. The status of counts of faint galaxies and the implications for the evolution of spirals is discussed, together with a discussion of recent work on the redshift distribution of galaxies at faint magnitudes and a spectroscopic investigation of the Butcher-Oemler blue cluster galaxies. Finally a new picture for the formation and evolution of disk galaxies which may explain most of the features of the Hubble sequence is outlined.

Gunn, J. E.↗
NASA NTRS1981

The extragalactic nature of CL4

The variable, unresolved radio source CL4 (2048 + 312) is identified as a quasar, in light of spectroscopy of its faint optical counterpart which shows a single, broad emission line at 6480 A. Although candidate redshifts of 1.31, 2.39, and 3.18 are proposed for identification of the emission feature as Mg II, semiforbidden C III, and C IV, respectively, the precise redshift cannot be determined without an extension of the current spectral coverage of this red object into the blue. CL4, together with the radio source 1910 + 052, which shows similar properties and for which an optical identification search was unsuccessfully conducted, is part of a group of eight compact, variable radio sources which may be related to SS 433. A compilation of evidence for this association shows that none of the eight objects are good candidates for an SS 433 analog.

Margon, B.↗
NASA NTRS1981

M5 V101 - A close binary system in a globular cluster

Spectrophotometric and photographic observations of the large amplitude variable V101 in the globular cluster M5 show it to have the characteristics of a dwarf nova. In particular, a spectrum obtained with the Hale 5 m reflector of the object in quiescence (V approximately equal to 20) shows strong, broad Balmer and He I emission. It is suggested that M5 V101 is the strongest case for the existence of close binary systems in globular clusters.

Margon, B.↗
NASA NTRS1981

The triple quasar Q1115+080A, B, C - A quintuple gravitational lens image

Spectroscopy and direct imaging of Q1115+080A, B, C with a CCD camera support the hypothesis that they are gravitational images of a single object. Spectroscopy of the semiforbidden C III 1909-A emission line shows all the images to have identical spectra and redshifts (to within 100 km/s), except that B is slightly redder. Gravitational lens imaging by a massive spiral galaxy is investigated, and a quintuple image model resembling Q1115+080A, B, C is found. In this model, Q1115+080A is a highly magnified close pair of images oriented in the position angle 23 deg. An elongation Q1115+080A at this angle is seen in the CCD pictures.

Young, P.↗
NASA NTRS1981

Q0957+561 - Detailed models of the gravitational lens effect

The galaxy responsible for causing multiple gravitational lens images of QSO Q0957+561 has been reobserved spectroscopically and a more accurate redshift of 0.36 was obtained. In addition, detailed models of the gravitational lens effect were computed. These models, which can explain all optical and radio data for the system, predict delays of up to five years between variations in the A and B images (with A preceding B). It is suggested that the third image is rather faint and located close to the center of the lens galaxy; it is possible that this third image contributes to the observed galaxy core. The possibility that this system can be used to measure the Hubble constant is discussed.

Young, P.↗
NASA NTRS1981

Care, feeding, and use of charge-coupled device /CCD/ imagers at Palomar observatory

The paper describes the optical, mechanical, and electronic properties of the TI and RCA CCDs which have been applied to two-dimensional photometry and spectroscopy at Palomar. The drive, processing, and recording techniques are also discussed, and consideration is given to a focal conversion optical system, the Prime Focus Universal Extragalactic Instrument (PFUEI), which is used to more optimally match the Hale 5 meter plate scale. Calibration and data analysis are also examined.

Gunn, J. E.↗
NASA NTRS1980

The photometric properties of brightest cluster galaxies. I - Absolute magnitudes in 116 nearby Abell clusters

Two-color aperture photometry of the brightest galaxies in a complete sample of nearby Abell clusters is presented. The results are used to anchor the bright end of the Hubble diagram; essentially the entire formal error for this method is then due to the sample of distant clusters used. New determinations of the systematic trend of galaxy absolute magnitude with the cluster properties of richness and Bautz-Morgan type are derived. When these new results are combined with the Gunn and Oke (1975) data on high-redshift clusters, a formal value (without accounting for any evolution) of q sub 0 = -0.55 + or - 0.45 (1 standard deviations) is found.

Hoessel, J. G.↗
NASA NTRS1980

The double quasar Q0957 + 561 A, B - A gravitational lens image formed by a galaxy at z = 0.39

Deep CCD pictures show a rich cluster of galaxies around the double quasar Q0957 + 561 as well as faint extended wings on the image of the southern quasar. Calculations of gravitational imaging by King model mass distributions show that the cluster and the brightest galaxy together, acting as a gravitational lens on the light from a single, more distant QSO, can easily reproduce all of the present observations. It is concluded that the double quasar is almost certainly the multiple image of a single object produced by a gravitational lens.

Young, P.↗
NASA NTRS1978

Some astrophysical consequences of the existence of a heavy stable neutral lepton

It is suggested that a stable, massive, neutral lepton may dominate the present mass density in the universe. To investigate this assumption, attention is given to an analysis of extended gauge theories as they apply to a lepton with a mass of a few GeV/sq cm. A critical factor in the accuracy of the hypothesis is the actual mass of the lepton, and it is noted that the more massive the individual particle, the smaller the particle's aggregate contribution to the universal mass density. High energy accelerators could prove a useful tool in an empirical determination of the lepton's mass. It is further suggested that the lepton considered might provide the material in galactic halos, or supply the mass necessary to bind galactic clusters. A study of intergalactic annihilation radiation is expected to yield more data pertaining to the lepton's existence.

Gunn, J. E.↗
NASA NTRS1975

Further observations of BL Lacertae

Spectrophotometric observations of BL Lac have been obtained under conditions of fair to excellent seeing with BL Lac near the zenith. The nucleus was faint for all observations. Four absorption features identified as the Mg I and MgH band, the 4410-A band, the G-band, and H and K of Ca II, are observed. The redshift is approximately 0.070, in agreement with results in a previous paper. When the effects of the radiation from the central bright source are removed as well as possible, the residual spectral energy distribution is found to be very similar to that of a standard giant elliptical galaxy redshifted by 0.070 and reddened by a factor corresponding to a color excess of 0.28 to 0.40. The absolute visual magnitude of the underlying galaxy is -22.6 if the Hubble constant is 60 km/s per Mpc and the color excess is 0.28.

Thuan, T. X.↗
NASA NTRS1975

Spectrophotometry of faint cluster galaxies and the Hubble diagram - An approach to cosmology

New spectrophotometric data are presented for large-redshift galaxies in clusters. A new approach to aperture corrections and the analysis of the Hubble diagram is outlined, including the explicit incorporation of evolutionary effects. The importance of selection effects on the usual methods of analysis are in principle overcome in the analysis, although the heterogeneity of the sample still makes conclusions about cosmology slightly suspect. Formal values of the deceleration parameter are derived under several sets of assumptions, yielding results between +0.33 and -1.27 with formal standard deviations of order 0.7.

Gunn, J. E.↗
NASA NTRS1974

The distance of BL Lacertae

Spectrophotometric observations of the extended object around BL Lacertae have been conducted from August 1969 to October 1973 using circular apertures of various diameters as well as an annular aperture with an outer diameter of 10-in. and an inner obscuring disk of 5 in. All observations were carried out with a multichannel spectrometer attached to the 200-in. Hale telescope. The annular-aperture spectrum shows the absorption lines normally seen in spectra of ordinary giant galaxies; these lines yield a redshift (z) equal to 0.07. The central source shows a power law spectrum with the exponent (alpha) equal to -1.55. The underlying galaxy energy distribution is consistent with that of a normal giant elliptical galaxy. If a Hubble constant of 60 km/sec per Mpc is used, the absolute visual magnitude of the galaxy is -22.9, and the distance is 350 Mpc.

Oke, J. B.↗
NASA NTRS1972

3C 323.1 - A QSO in a rich cluster of galaxies.

The redshift and structural data on the compact cluster Zw Cl 1545.1+2104 have been determined from deep plates of the cluster region and from spectral scans of the central galaxy in the cluster. The cluster is of richness 1 on Abell's (1958) scale, and the redshift of its central galaxy agrees well with that of the quasar 3C 323.1 which lies at a projected distance of 6.5 sec from the center of the cluster. The data indicate that the quasar is a member of the cluster as opposed to the observed trend.

Oemler, A., Jr.↗