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Harper, D. A.

Publications and source records attributed to Harper, D. A..

70 records · Page 4
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NASA NTRS1979

Compact H II regions in the far-infrared

Far-infrared (40-150 microns) observations of W51 (G49.5-0.4), K3-50, DR 21, NGC 7538, and W3(OH) are presented and discussed. At these wavelengths each source is dominated by a small bright component closely associated with a compact H II region. Their spectra can be explained as emission by dust at temperatures of 30-50 K. Some of the objects appear to be optically thick out to wavelengths of about 60 microns. Of the 10 source components in the five regions, at least four may be powered by pre-main-sequence stars. The far-infrared data are consistent with depletion of volatile components of the dust within compact H II regions, but do not clearly require destruction or expulsion of refractory grains. The bulk of the dust which emits primarily in the far-infrared must lie in a dense shell immediately outside the ionized zone. The sources are possible precursers to open clusters with stellar masses in the range from 1,000 to 10,000 solar masses.

Thronson, H. A., Jr.↗
NASA NTRS1979

Far infrared maps of the ridge between OMC-1 and OMC-2

Dust continuum emission from a 6 ft x 20 ft region surrounding OMC-1 and OMC-2 were mapped at 55 and 125 microns with 4 ft resolution. The dominant features of the maps are a strong peak at OMC-1 and a ridge of lower surface brightness between OMC-1 and OMC-2. Along the ridge the infrared flux densities and the color temperature decreases smoothly from OMC-1 to OMC-2. OMC-1 is heated primarily by several optical and infrared stars situated within or just at the boundary of the cloud. At the region of minimum column density between OMC-1 and OMC-2 the nearby B0.5 V star NU Ori may contribute significantly to the dust heating. Near OMC-2 dust column densities are large enough so that, in addition to the OMC-2 infrared cluster, the nonlocal infrared sources associated with OMC-1 and NU Ori can contribute to the heating.

Keene, J.↗
NASA NTRS1978

Observations of five moderate-luminosity far-infrared sources in Orion and Monoceros

Far-infrared and submillimeter observations of Orion Molecular Cloud-2 (OMC-2), OMC-1, OMC-3, NGC 2024 and Monoceros R2 are reported. The areas surveyed include far-infrared sources with luminosities between 100 and 250,000 solar luminosities. The data are employed to estimate masses and column densities for the radiating clouds, the radial dependence of the density in the clouds, and the masses of the stellar clusters. Brightness temperatures of both the extended and compact far-infrared sources in OMC-2 are found to be lower than the brightness temperature of the extended (C-12)O emission, indicating an important role in (C-12)O heating for stars external to the compact center.

Thronson, H. A., Jr.↗
NASA NTRS1978

Far-infrared observations of sources associated with double-lobed reflection nebulae

Far-infrared observations of GL 915, 618, 2688 and OH 0739-14 are presented. The data provide information on the total flux arising in each of these sources, and on the wavelength-dependence of the emissivity of the associated dust. Two sources, GL 618 and GL 2688, have far-infrared continua similar to those recently observed in planetary nebulae.

Kleinmann, S. G.↗
NASA NTRS1978

Far-infrared observations of H II regions near the galactic center

This paper presents and discusses far-infrared observations of nine H II regions within 1 deg of the galactic center, including Sgr A, Sgr B2, Sgr C, and G0.5-0.0. The far-infrared luminosity, color temperature, and optical depth of these regions and the ratio of infrared flux to radio-continuum flux lie in the range characteristic of spiral-arm H II regions. The far-infrared results are therefore consistent with the idea that the galactic-center H II regions are ionized by luminous early-type stars. Steep systematic gradients in far-infrared color temperature and optical depth are seen along the galactic plane between Sgr B2 and G0.5-0.0; the appearance of this area is similar to that of regions of star formation in the spiral arms.

Gatley, I.↗
NASA NTRS1978

The infrared emission of the Galactic center

Ground-based and airborne infrared observations of the Galactic center near Sgr A are presented. The principal results include: (1) A map at 56 microns (28-arcsec beam FWHM) which shows a ridge of emission in which are immersed two peaks, one at the infrared cluster and another 1 arcmin to the southwest. Early-type stars may produce much of the luminosity seen as thermally reradiated far-infrared flux. (2) A map of the infrared cluster at 34 microns (8.5-arcsec beam) which indicates that the distribution at this wavelength is similar to that at 21 microns, with most of the compact sources which emit at wavelengths shorter than 20 microns emitting relatively weakly at 34 microns. (3) A map at 10 microns which combines observations obtained with 1.5-, 2.3-, 3-, 5.5-, and 20-arcsec beams and shows for the first time the extended 10-micron structure, including the southwestern component, in relation to the cluster of compact sources. Most of the compact 10-micron sources have the structure and spectra to be expected if a luminous object is embedded in a tenuous dust cloud.

Rieke, G. H.↗
NASA NTRS1978

Submillimeter observations of the galactic center

A 15 by 15 arcmin region surrounding Sgr A has been mapped at a mean wavelength of 540 microns. The principal feature is a ridge about 10 arcmin long running parallel to the galactic equator and approximately centered on Sgr A but with no peak at that point. The ridge coincides with the 25- and 55-km/s clouds seen in molecular line observations. The mass of the clouds is estimated, and their positions with respect to the galactic center are discussed.

Hildebrand, R. H.↗
NASA NTRS1977

The effective temperature of Neptune

The brightness temperature of Neptune has been measured in two broad passbands with flux-weighted mean wavelengths of 45 and 93 microns, permitting a direct determination of its effective temperature. The derived value of 55.5 plus or minus 2.3 K implies that Neptune radiates twice as much power as it receives from the sun.

Loewenstein, R. F.↗
NASA NTRS1977

Submillimeter photometry of extragalactic objects

Submillimeter flux densities from five extragalactic objects have been measured, and upper limits set for three others. The galaxies NGC 253 and NGC 1068 have submillimeter spectra steeper than the cube of frequency. Of several source mechanisms considered for the far-infrared and submillimeter flux from NGC 1068, only thermal emission from dust at about 30 K is consistent with the data. The source of that flux, if thermal, must have a diameter of at least 5 arcsec. If one assumes radiation from dust, the masses of interstellar material derived for the central 80-arcsec diameter regions of NGC 253, NGC 1068, and NGC 5236 are, respectively, 800 million, 10 billion, and 3 billion solar masses. Measurements of submillimeter flux densities for 3C 273, BL Lac, NGC 1275, and NGC 5128 show no excess above values obtained by interpolation between radio and mid-infrared data.

Hildebrand, R. H.↗
NASA NTRS1977

Far-infrared and submillimeter observations of the planets

Broadband observations in several passbands between 30 and 500 microns of Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, and Uranus are presented. The best agreement between the data and various thermal models of Mars, Jupiter, and Uranus is obtained with a slightly cooler absolute temperature scale than that previously adopted by Armstrong et al. (1972). The effective temperature of Uranus is 58 + or - 2 K, which is in agreement with its solar equilibrium temperature. The existence of an internal energy source for Saturn has been reconfirmed; its output must lie within the range of 0.9 to 3.2 times the absorbed solar flux. A depression exists in the spectra of Jupiter, Saturn, and Uranus between 80 and 300 microns, which may be a result of NH3 opacity.

Loewenstein, R. F.↗
NASA NTRS1977

Far-infrared observations of NGC 7027

Far-infrared observations of the planetary nebula NGC 7027 show that its total infrared flux is 2.4 by 10 to the -10th power W/sq m, approximately one-third of which is emitted in each of the intervals from 1 to 17, 17 to 30, and 30 to 300 microns. Sufficient energy to account for the corresponding infrared luminosity of 23,000 times the solar value at 1.77 kpc is available as diffuse nebular radiation or from moderate competition between dust and gas for Lyman continuum photons. Most of the infrared flux arises from a source comparable in size to the H II region. The flux at wavelengths greater than 17 microns can be attributed to grains with temperatures not exceeding 120 K and total mass such that the gas-to-dust ratio is close to the lower limit allowed by cosmic abundances.

Telesco, C. M.↗
NASA NTRS1976

One arc-minute resolution maps of the Orion Nebula at 20, 50, and 100 microns

The paper presents maps of the central regions of the Orion Nebula which are based on observations made at wavelengths of 20, 50, and 100 microns with a resolution of 1 arcmin. The 50- and 100-micron observations were made with the NASA 91-cm Airborne Infrared Telescope. The principal far-IR features observed include a sharp emission peak near the position of the IR cluster, about 1 arcmin northwest of the Trapezium; a ridge of emission that is elongated north-south about this peak; and a barlike feature running northeast to southwest about 2 arcmin southeast of the Trapezium. The following conclusions are reached about the nature of the far-IR emission: (1) the total luminosity (between 10 and 1000 microns) of the IR cluster exceeds the solar luminosity by a factor of at least 120,000; (2) heating by both the IR cluster and the Trapezium stars is important in producing the central emission ridge; (3) the IR cluster is located within the molecular cloud; (4) the Trapezium stars are no more than 0.1 pc from that cloud; and (5) the bar of emission southeast of the Trapezium can be identified with an optically visible ionization front.

Werner, M. W.↗
NASA NTRS1976

Far-infrared photometry of NGC 1068

The detection of far-IR emission from the galaxy NGC 1068 in four passbands spanning the spectral range from 28 to 320 microns is reported. The observations were made with a 61-cm airborne IR telescope and a liquid-helium-cooled multifilter radiometer. It is found that the flux density between 38 and 100 microns increases with increasing wavelength to a maximum value of 454 (plus or minus 94) Jy, but decreases rapidly for wavelengths greater than 100 microns. The total flux is estimated to be about 3 by 10 to the -11th power W/sq m, which corresponds to a bolometric luminosity of 3.7 by 10 to 11th power times the solar luminosity at a distance of 20 Mpc. The nuclear M/L ratio is shown to be no greater than about 0.003, indicating that the scale, optical depth, or both, of a thermal far-IR source in NGC 1068 would have to be larger than those of the extended IR sources around the nuclei of our Galaxy, NGC 253, or M82.

Telesco, C. M.↗
NASA NTRS1976

Heat trap - An optimized far infrared field optics system

The article deals with the design and performance of a heat trap IR system designed to maximize the concentration and efficient reception of far IR and submillimeter wavelength radiation. The test object is assumed to be extended and/or viewed at wavelengths much longer than the detector, and the entrance aperture is limited to the size of the telescope Airy diffraction disk. The design of lenses, cavity, bolometers, light collectors, and mirrors for the system is discussed. Advantages and feasibility of arrays of heat traps are considered. Beam patterns, flux concentration, and performance variation with wavelength are dealt with. The heat trap is recommended for sensing all types of far IR sources and particularly for extended far IR sources.-

Harper, D. A.↗
NASA NTRS1974

Far-infrared emission from H II regions. II - Multicolor photometry of selected sources and 2.2 min resolution maps of M42 and NGC 2024

Medium- and broad-bandwidth photometric measurements have been made of seven compact H II regions at wavelengths between 30 and 650 microns. The results are consistent with the hypothesis that the far-infrared flux is continuum radiation from dust grains. Color temperatures range from 33 to 85 K. For most of the sources, the infrared flux is low enough so that the dust could conceivably be mixed with the ionized gas. In at least one case, however, the far-infrared spectrum and luminosity of the source cannot be reconciled with reasonable grain models unless the far-infrared flux comes from a shell surrounding the H II region. M42 (Orion) and NGC 2024 (Orion B) have been mapped at 90 microns with a resolution (half-power beam diameter) of 2.2 min. Although the peak far-infrared brightness in M42 occurs at the position of the Kleinmann-Low infrared nebula, most of the flux originates in a more extended (about 6 x 8 min) source. The energy for the diffuse component could be supplied by the stars in the Trapezium cluster. However, the single early-type star visible in NGC 2024 is not luminous enough to account for either the infrared flux or the observed free-free flux.

Harper, D. A.↗