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Mcnall, J. F.

Publications and source records attributed to Mcnall, J. F..

11 records
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1974

Ultraviolet photometry from the Orbiting Astronomical Observatory. XI - The 1971 eclipse of 32 Cygni

We observed the 1971 eclipse of 32 Cyg at regular intervals from November 1 to 15 with the wide-band filter photometers aboard OAO-2. Data have been reduced for seven filter bands with effective wavelengths between 4250 and 1430 A. Both the constancy of the light near mid-eclipse for the shorter wavelengths, and the derived energy distribution of the B component over all of these wavelengths indicate that the eclipse was total. The spectral types determined from the photometry of the two components are B5 and K4 Ib, after correction for interstellar reddening of 0.10 mag in B-V.

Doherty, L. R.↗
NASA NTRS1973

Photon counting with a self-scanned diode array.

A self-scanned diode array may be used as temporary storage for individual photons if enough gain is provided by an image intensifier or electron multiplier to provide a detectable signal from each input event.

Mcnall, J. F.↗
NASA NTRS1973

The effect of system blocking in an intensifier dissector scanner.

Blocking an intensifier dissector scanner (IDS) system after an image element has seen one event is shown to shift the output pulse distribution toward one count per input photon and move the S/N ratio closer to the 'real' square root of the input photon rate.

Mcnall, J. F.↗
NASA NTRS1972

The automation of the Wisconsin echelle spectrograph.

The Wisconsin echelle spectrograph has been placed under computer control. The early operating system and techniques are discussed, as is the automatic data handling afforded by the computer. Some results are shown and future directions are pointed out.

Mcnall, J. F.↗
NASA NTRS1972

A note on the calculation of photon loss in an image-tube scanner.

It is found that in the case of 500 image elements and system gains above 3000 only a few per cent of input photons will be lost. Photon loss is not excessive for even lower gains. Aperture variations within a fairly wide range have little effect on the loss. However, losses increase if dead time at the end of a sweep is permitted. A system with continuous sweep at the fastest possible rates is recommended for optimal results.

Mcnall, J. F.↗
NASA NTRS1972

The University of Wisconsin OAO operating system

The Wisconsin OAO operating system is presented which consists of two parts: a computer program called HARUSPEX, which makes possible reasonably efficient and convenient operation of the package and ground operations equipment which provides real-time status monitoring, commanding and a quick-look at the data.

Heacox, H. C.↗
NASA NTRS1972

The temporal characteristics of the terrestrial radiation belt

The terrestrial radiation belt effects on the detectors in the Wisconsin equipment are considered. The lowest dark count rate observed in orbit, compared with that measured in the thermal vacuum test on the ground, shows no measurable difference for the solar blind ASCOP 541-F photomultiplier tubes while the EMI-6256B tubes show an increase in minimum dark count of a factor of from 20 to 150 times that observed on the ground. All instruments are perturbed when in the South Atlantic anomaly, but the EMI tubes are by far the most sensitive to it. Indeed, the effect never goes away.

Mcnall, J. F.↗