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Soifer, B. T.

Publications and source records attributed to Soifer, B. T..

At least 163 records · Page 9
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1978

Spectrophotometry of OH 26.5+0.6 from 2 to 40 microns

Airborne and ground-based observations show that OH 26.5+0.6 has strong 10 micrometers and weak 18 micrometers silicate absorptions superposed on an overall energy distribution much like a blackbody. The flux level, color temperature, and depth of the 10 micrometers absorption have varied during two years of observations. A model of the source as a late-type variable star that has ejected an optically thick dust shell is suggested; the mass-loss rate implied is greater than about 0.00001 solar masses per year. The fact that significant flux from the source is observed between 4 and 7 micrometers is evidence that oxygen-rich dust has significant opacity in that wavelength range.

Forrest, W. J.↗
NASA NTRS1978

Instrumentation for infrared astronomy

During the last 10 years, infrared astronomy, based on observations in the wavelength range from 2 to 1000 micrometers, has become a major field of observational astrophysics. This development is mainly related to two major technical advances. Extremely sensitive detectors have been developed and become available for astronomical applications. Motivated by the first development, major groups have expended much effort in building and operating telescopes above most or all of the earth's atmosphere in order to circumvent its opacity and emission throughout the range. Attention is given to advances in the area of infrared detectors, platforms for infrared astronomy, focal plane instruments, high spatial resolution instrumentation, and infrared polarization measurements.

Soifer, B. T.↗
NASA NTRS1977

Observations of the unidentified 3.3 micron emission feature in nebulae

Spectrophotometric observations from 2.1 to 4.1 microns of a variety of objects exhibiting the 3.3-micron emission feature (first detected in NGC 7027) are reported. The characteristics of the feature, the various environments in which it is found, and possible emission mechanisms are discussed in light of all the available observations of the feature to date. A resonance feature in solids is the most probable emission mechanism; however, no satisfactory identification has yet been made on the basis of infrared spectroscopy of terrestrial materials.

Russell, R. W.↗
NASA NTRS1977

Observations of Jupiter and Saturn at 5-8 micron

Moderate-resolution spectrophotometry (about 0.015) has shown the effects of known atmospheric constituents (NH3, CH4, C2H6) on the 5-8 micron spectrum of Jupiter. Broadband observations of Saturn at 6.5 micron are also reported.

Russell, R. W.↗
NASA NTRS1976

2-4 micron spectrophotometric observations of compact H II regions

Spectrophotometric observations from 2 to 4 microns of the compact H II regions W51-IRS 2, K3-50, and NGC 7538 are reported. Spectral features observed include hydrogen recombination lines and an absorption attributed to interstellar ice. Extinctions to the various sources are derived based on the observed hydrogen lines and radio fluxes. Thermal dust emission is found to dominate free-free and bound-free emission for wavelengths not less than 2 microns. The ice absorption is analyzed and compared with the extinction and 10 microns silicate absorption. A 3.3 micron emission feature (potentially due to the same material as in NGC 7027) was observed.

Soifer, B. T.↗
NASA NTRS1976

16-25 micron spectroscopy of the Trapezium and BN-KL source in Orion

Spectrophotometric observations from 16 to 25 microns of the Trapezium and the Becklin-Neugebauer-Kleinmann-Low (BN-KL) object in Orion are reported. These observations were obtained with a liquid-helium-cooled grating spectrometer. The observations of the Trapezium show a relatively flat spectrum between 16 and 25 microns, which is consistent with a 20-micron emission peak similar to that previously found at 10 microns. The BN-KL source has a smooth spectrum over the same range, showing little absorption such as characterizes the 10-micron spectrum of this source. This lack of a deep 20-micron absorption is attributed to complex radiative-transfer processes within the molecular cloud.

Forrest, W. J.↗
NASA NTRS1976

Optical, infrared and radio studies of compact H II regions. I - The complex in S 106

The paper reports on combined optical, infrared, and radio observations of the compact complex S 106. The source could be resolved into ten components, three of which are compact components of size approximately 0.2 pc and were detected at 12.6 microns and 2.7 GHz. Two of the components are point-like sources detected at 8000 A. One of the components detected at 8000 A is spatially coincident with a strong 3.5 micron source and is suggested as a possible exciting star for the complex.

Pipher, J. L.↗
NASA NTRS1976

Far-infrared observations of IRC + 10216

Broadband photometric observations of IRC + 10216 in five wavelength intervals from 50 to 1000 microns are reported. The observed radiation is interpreted as thermal emission from dust in the extended molecular cloud heated by the compact 2-20-micron source at the cloud core. The shape of the 50-1000-micron spectrum suggests that the emissivity of the dust particles varies approximately as the inverse wavelength over this spectral interval. The mass of dust inferred from the far-infrared emission is comparable with the mass of heavy molecules in the cloud.

Campbell, M. P.↗
NASA NTRS1976

Infrared observations of ices and silicates in molecular clouds

Spectrophotometric observations from 2 to 4 microns and from 8 to 13 microns of several infrared sources associated with molecular clouds are reported. Narrow absorption features at 3.08 microns, attributed to interstellar ices, appear in all sources with a molecular cloud in the intervening line of sight. All sources showing ice absorptions also show broad absorption features, attributed to cold silicates, from 8 to 13 microns. The observed ice absorption profiles are all quite similar; however, they do not fit in detail Mie theory predictions of extinction for pure H2O or NH3 ices. The ratio of ice-to-silicate optical depths is found to vary, with most sources showing a ratio in the range 0.1-0.4. The ratio of visual extinction to ice absorption is found to increase rapidly from inside to outside the molecular cloud in NGC 2024.

Merrill, K. M.↗
NASA NTRS1976

Infrared spectrophotometry of OH 231.8 + 4.2 identified with OH 0739-14

Infrared spectrophotometry from 2.1 to 4.1 microns and from 7.7 to 13.3 microns of the peculiar OH maser source OH 231.8 + 4.2 identified with OH 0739-14 is reported. Deep absorption features are found at 3.1 microns and from 8 to 13 microns, and are identified with absorption by cold ices and silicates in the line of sight to the infrared source. The infrared flux is also found to vary. These infrared observations present new difficulties in understanding the nature of the object. Several possibly useful observations of OH 231.8 + 4.2 are suggested.

Gillett, F. C.↗
NASA NTRS1975

Spectrophotometry of CRL 2688 from 2 to 24 microns

Infrared spectrophotometric observations (2 to 24 microns) are reported for CRL 2688, an IR source in Cygnus associated with twin symmetric reflection nebulae. The entire spectrum from 3 to 24 microns is shown to be a generally featureless continuum and to be too broad to be fit by a single blackbody. No evidence is found for ice absorption near 3.1 microns, and the data suggest a possible emission feature near 3.3 microns.

Forrest, W. J.↗