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Petty, S.

Publications and source records attributed to Petty, S..

Constructing a WISE High Resolution Galaxy Atlas

After eight months of continuous observations, the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) mapped the entire sky at 3.4 micron, 4.6 micron, 12 micron, and 22 micron. We have begun a dedicated WISE High Resolution Galaxy Atlas project to fully characterize large, nearby galaxies and produce a legacy image atlas and source catalog. Here we summarize the deconvolution techniques used to significantly improve the spatial resolution of WISE imaging, specifically designed to study the internal anatomy of nearby galaxies. As a case study, we present results for the galaxy NGC 1566, comparing the WISE enhanced-resolution image processing to that of Spitzer, Galaxy Evolution Explorer, and ground-based imaging. This is the first paper in a two-part series; results for a larger sample of nearby galaxies are presented in the second paper.

Jarrett, T. H.

DSN G/T(sub op) and telecommunications system performance

Provided here is an intersystem comparison of present and evolving Deep Space Network (DSN) microwave receiving systems. Comparisons of the receiving systems are based on the widely used G/T sub op figure of merit, which is defined as antenna gain divided by operating system noise temperature. In 10 years, it is expected that the DSN 32 GHz microwave receiving system will improve the G/T sub op performance over the current 8.4 GHz system by 8.3 dB. To compare future telecommunications system end-to-end performance, both the receiving systems' G/T sub op and spacecraft transmit parameters are used. Improving the 32 GHz spacecraft transmitter system is shown to increase the end-to-end telecommunications system performance an additional 3.2 dB, for a net improvement of 11.5 dB. These values are without a planet in the field of view (FOV). A Saturn mission is used for an example calculation to indicate the degradation in performance with a planet in the field of view.

Stelzried, C.

Low-noise receivers: S-band parametric up converter development

The combination of a cryogenically-cooled parametric upconverter and a higher frequency maser post amplifier was proposed as a method of achieving maser-like receiver noise temperatures over much larger instantaneous bandwidths and tuning ranges than are presently obtainable with masers in the range of 1 to 18 GHz. An experimental 2.0- to 2.5-GHz parametric upconverter/maser system was developed to explore these possibilities. Initial tests of this system resulted in an effective input noise temperature of 3.1 K at 2295 MHz and 3.2 K at 2388 MHz. The parametric upconverter logged over 1500 hours at 4.5 K and underwent 5 thermal cycles (300 K to 4.5 K to 300 K) without degradation.

Petty, S.