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Strecker, D. W.

Publications and source records attributed to Strecker, D. W..

At least 19 records
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1983

Brief characterization of germanium junction field effect transistors (FETs) at 77, 4, and 1.8 K

In the case of modern infrared focal planes, one of the major problems is related to the noise contribution of the cooled, impedance-matching device used as the preamplifier stage in the detector electronics system. An ideal preamp device should have the low-noise advantages of a buried-channel device and operate isothermally with the low-temperature detector array. The Ge JFET might provide this ideal device. A testing program with Ge JFETs is discussed. It is concluded that germanium JFETs offer an attractive alternative for cryogenic preamplifier designs. They operate well with high transconductance and low noise at LHe temperatures. It is believed that these devices point the way for the development of large, integrated-array, long wavelength, infrared focal planes which incorporate germanium detectors, germanium load resistors, and germanium preamplifiers within the same monolithic structure.

Arentz, R. F.↗
NASA NTRS1983

System design parameter study for Shuttle Infrared Telescope Facility (SIRTF)

SIRTF is a high-sensitivity, cooled astronomical telescope operating from 2 to 1000 microns. The techniques used in analyzing the sensitivity of the SIRTF system performance to several technical issues are presented. Lowering the telescope temperature to near 4K is found to produce margin in several areas. A refined observing requirements model relieves the hardware performance requirements, and identifies extended source size/observing strategy as an important system specification. Other major conclusions are presented.

Mord, A. J.↗
NASA NTRS1981

Mars - Far-infrared spectra and thermal-emission models

Spectra of Mars from 100 to 360 kaysers were obtained during three different observation periods from NASA's Kuiper Airborne Observatory. Also, a new thermal model was constructed for the surface of Mars, and synthetic spectra were computed from the models to compare with the observations. The models include the effects of a dusty atmosphere which absorbs, scatters, and reradiates energy. The synthetic spectra show significant effects on disk-averaged brightness temperatures, as well as absorption features due to silicate dust. The spectra of Mars, which are ratios of Mars to the moon, do not fit the synthetic spectra unless the surface emissivities of Mars and the moon have different dependencies on wavelength. A possible explanation for this behavior is a difference in soil particle-size distributions between Mars and the moon, with Mars being depleted in large particles compared to the moon. Small particles are consistent with clay minerals which have been suggested elsewhere as constituents of the Martian surface.

Simpson, J. P.↗
NASA NTRS1980

The spectrum of IRC + 10216 from 2.0 to 8.5 microns

Low-resolution spectra of IRC + 10216 have been obtained from 2 to 8.5 microns from NASA's Kuiper Airborne Observatory at an altitude of 12.5 km (41,000 feet). Observations were made during 1976 January and 1977 February. In both sets of data, the spectral flux reaches its maximum between 6.0 and 6.6 microns and the previously reported 3.1-micron feature is observed; no obvious new absorption features have been found. The new data together with other spectral data and measurements of the spatial extent of IRC + 10216 impose conditions that must be met by models of the continuum. Several simple models for 2-8.5 micron radiation are examined. The new continuum data impose a constraint on the size of the grains in the cooler, optically thin part of the object. Earlier photometry has been combined with the present data to yield an improved value of the average period: 644 + or - 17 days. It appears that the variability is irregular and that the minima have been deeper in recent years than they were in 1965-1969.

Witteborn, F. C.↗
NASA NTRS1980

The infrared spectrum of the carbon star Y Canum Venaticorum between 1.2 and 30 microns

The paper deals with spectrophotometric observations covering the essentially complete wavelength interval between 1.2 and 30.0 microns. The observations confirm the identification of the C3 band at 5.2 microns. They show that if SiC2 is present, the SiC1 absorption band at 5.7 microns would be obscured by C3 at a 1% spectral resolution. Silicon carbide emission at 11.5 microns exists simultaneously with C3 absorption at 5.2 microns, requiring a contribution of both species to the violet opacity of Y CVn.

Goebel, J. H.↗
NASA NTRS1979

Airborne stellar spectrophotometry from 1.2 to 5.5 microns - Absolute calibration and spectra of stars earlier than M3

Airborne infrared spectrophotometry (1.2-5.5 microns, 1.5% resolution) is presented for 13 stars which have been extensively used as infrared calibration objects: alpha Lyr, alpha CMA, alpha UMi, beta Dra, and mu Her; the K giants beta Gem, alpha UMa, alpha Boo, gamma-1 And, and alpha Tau; and the M giants beta And, beta Peg, and alpha Cet. These spectra, obtained using NASA's Kuiper Airborne Observatory and Lear Jet Observatory, are virtually free of the interfering effects of terrestrial absorptions. Absolute calibration of the spectrophotometry was based on the theoretical model of alpha Lyr by Schild, Peterson, and Oke (1971), which fits photometric measurements at shorter wavelengths. The resulting flux densities are compared with previous ground-based photometry.

Strecker, D. W.↗
NASA NTRS1978

Near-infrared spectra of the Galilean satellites - Observations and compositional implications

Reflectivity spectra of the trailing and leading sides of Io, Europa, Callisto, and Ganymede are analyzed which were obtained at an altitude of 41,000 ft from the Kuiper Airborne Observatory with circular variable filter-wheel spectrometers in the spectral region from 0.7 to 5.5 microns. The data are compared with laboratory spectrum and with synthetic spectra constructed on the basis of simple multiscattering theory. The 2.9-micron feature in Callisto's spectra is attributed primarily to bound water; the fractional amounts of water-ice cover on the trailing and leading sides of Ganymede and on the leading side of Europa are estimated. The bare-ground areas on Ganymede are shown to have reflectivity properties comparable to those of Callisto's surface in the studied spectral region, and the surfaces of both satellites are found to contain significant quantities of bound water. It is suggested that minor but significant amounts of ferrous-bearing material (either ferrous salts or alkali feldspars) can account for the 1.35-micron feature of Io.

Pollack, J. B.↗
NASA NTRS1978

Infrared excesses in early-type stars - Gamma Cassiopeiae

Spectrophotometry of the classical Be star Gamma Cas (1-4 microns, with about 2% spectral resolution) is presented. These data, together with existing broad-band observations, are accurately described by simple isothermal LTE models for the IR excess which differ from most previously published work in three ways: (1) hydrogenic bound-free emission is included; (2) the attenuation of the star by the shell is included; and (3) no assumption is made that the shell contribution is negligible in some bandpass. It is demonstrated that the bulk of the IR excess consists of hydrogenic bound-free and free-free emission from a shell of hot ionized hydrogen gas, although a small thermal component cannot be ruled out. The bound-free emission is strong, and the Balmer, Paschen, and Brackett discontinuities are correctly represented by the shell model with physical parameters as follows: a shell temperature of approximately 18,000 K, an optical depth (at 1 micron) of about 0.5, an electron density of approximately 1 trillion per cu cm, and a size of about 2 trillion cm. Phantom shells (i.e., ones which do not alter the observed spectrum of the underlying star) are discussed.

Scargle, J. D.↗
NASA NTRS1978

Identification of the 3.9 micron absorption band in carbon stars

With a 1.7% spectral-resolution filter-wheel spectrometer, 1.2-5.2-micron spectra have been obtained for a sample of carbon stars. The previously unidentified 3.9-micron band is attributed to a combination of CS and C2H2. The first observation of SiO in a carbon star is also reported.

Bregman, J. D.↗
NASA NTRS1978

Far infrared spectrophotometry of Jupiter and Saturn

Infrared spectral measurements of Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn were obtained from 100 to 470 kaysers and, by taking Mars as a calibration source, brightness temperatures of Jupiter and Saturn were determined with approximately 5 kayser resolution. Internal luminosities were determined from the data and are reported to be approximately 8 times 10 to the minus tenth power of the sun's luminosity for Jupiter and approximately 3.6 times 10 to the minus tenth power of the sun's luminosity for Saturn. Comparison of data with spectra predicted by models suggests the need for an opacity source in addition to gaseous hydrogen and ammonia to help explain Jupiter's observed spectrum in the vicinity of 250 kaysers.

Erickson, E. F.↗
NASA NTRS1978

C3 and infrared spectrophotometry of Y Canum Venaticorum

The 1.2- to 5.6-micron spectrum of the carbon star Y CVn is presented and discussed. The observations were made from the Kuiper Airborne Observatory at an altitude of 12.5 km, thereby avoiding most of the absorption due to terrestrial water vapor. Comparison of Y CVn near 5 microns with laboratory spectra provides possible evidence for the presence of the linear triatomic molecule C3. For the first time in a carbon star the clearly formed band heads of the CN red system between 1.2 and 2.3 microns are observed. Corroborative evidence for the presence of the molecules HCN and C2H2 is presented, and the relative contributions of C3, HCN, and C2H2 to the 3.1-micron absorption band are discussed. Spectra of two other carbon stars, TX Psc and S Cep, are presented for comparison.

Goebel, J. H.↗
NASA NTRS1978

Engineering tests of the C-141 telescope

Data on image quality, chopper performance, and the closed-loop operation of the 91 cm telescope of the Kuiper Airborne Observatory which were obtained in September 1977 are presented.

Erickson, E. F.↗
NASA NTRS1978

Properties of the clouds of Venus, as inferred from airborne observations of its near-infrared reflectivity spectrum

The shape and absolute value of Venus' reflectivity spectrum is measured in the 1.2- to 4.0 micrometer spectral region with a circular variable filter wheel spectrometer having a spectral resolution of 1.5%. Comparing these spectra with synthetic spectra generated with a multiple-scattering computer code, a number of properties of the Venus clouds are inferred. Evidence is obtained indicating that the clouds are made of a water solution of sulfuric acid in their top unit optical depth, and that the clouds are made of this material down to an optical depth of at least 25. In addition, the acid concentration is 84 plus or minus 2% H2SO4 by weight in the top unit optical depth, the total optical depth of the clouds is 37.5 plus or minus 12.5, and the cross-sectional weighted mean particle radius lies between 0.5 and 1.4 micrometers in the top unit optical depth of the clouds. It is found that the average volume mixing ratio of H2SO4 and H2O contained in the cloud material both equal approximately 2 x 10 to the -6. Employing vapor pressure arguments, the acid concentration is shown to equal 84 plus or minus 6% at the cloud bottom and the water vapor mixing ratio beneath the clouds lies between 6 x 10 to the -4 and 10 to the -2.

Pollack, J. B.↗
NASA NTRS1978

Airborne infrared spectrophotometry of Mira variables

Airborne spectrophotometric observations of R Cas near minimum and maximum light, R Leo near minimum, and NML Tau near maximum are reported which were obtained over the wavelength range from 1.2 to 4 microns with 1.5% resolution. The spectral energy distributions of the three stars at the indicated times are presented, and it is shown that the H2O bands at 1.4, 1.9, and 2.7 microns are clearly evident in all the spectra, while the absorption bands of CO at about 1.6 and 2.3 microns are probably present although they are masked by the strong water vapor features. The results indicate that water vapor is the dominant opacity source in the atmospheres of Mira variables, that R Leo and NML Tau may be fitted well over the entire spectrum by respective single temperatures of 2250 and 1800 K, and that R Cas near both minimum and maximum cannot be adequately described by one temperature over the entire wavelength range investigated. The shapes and depths of the absorption bands are determined together with the apparent angular diameter of each star and the equivalent widths of the H2O + CO absorption bands. It is concluded that water vapor absorption is more strongly correlated with color temperature than with spectral type for R Cas and R Leo.

Strecker, D. W.↗
NASA NTRS1977

Observation of preplanetary disks around MWC 349 and LKH-alpha 101

Infrared spectra of three highly reddened emission-line objects (MWC 349, MWC 297, and LKH-alpha 101) have been obtained from both aircraft and ground-based observatories. These spectra show bright emission lines which are consistent with recombination in an H II region. Additional optical data for MWC 349 yield a model which consists of a central O6.5 star with circumstellar disk seen face-on, a surrounding H II region, and circumstellar dust. The parameters of the disk are discussed in terms of the viscous dissipation model of Lynden-Bell and Pringle (1974). The observations are in excellent agreement with the predictions of the model and represent the first substantial case for a newly formed star with a preplanetary disk.

Thompson, R. I.↗
NASA NTRS1977

The far-infrared spectrum of the core of Sagittarius B2

A Michelson interferometer aboard NASA's Kuiper Airborne Observatory has been used to measure the spectrum of Sgr B2 from 40 to 200 kaysers with 5-kayser resolution in a 1.4-arcmin beam. The measured spectrum is smooth and featureless with a broad maximum at about 85 kaysers. The data can be fitted analytically with a model corresponding to thermal emission by a uniform sla of dust filling the beam, with an average temperature of approximately 32 K, an optical depth at 100 microns of about 1.6, and a spectral index of the dust emissivity about 1.5. The absence of features implies either that the source is optically thick or that the emission spectrum of the individual grains is smooth in the passband. The possible physical significance of this model is discussed.

Erickson, E. F.↗