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Traub, W. A.

Publications and source records attributed to Traub, W. A..

At least 55 records · Page 3
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1981

Test results of Spacelab 2 infrared telescope focal plane

The small helium cooled infrared telescope for Spacelab 2 is designed for sensitive mapping of extended, low-surface-brightness celestial sources as well as highly sensitive investigations of the shuttle contamination environment (FPA) for this mission is described as well as the design for a thermally isolated, self-heated J-FET transimpedance amplifier. This amplifier is Johnson noise limited for feedback resistances from less than 10 to the 8th power Omega to greater than 2 x 10 to the 10th power Omega at T = 4.2K. Work on the focal plane array is complete. Performance testing for qualification of the flight hardware is discussed, and results are presented. All infrared data channels are measured to be background limited by the expected level of zodiacal emission.

Young, E. T.↗
NASA NTRS1981

Mapping the infrared background radiation from the Shuttle

The Spacelab-2 Small Helium-Cooled Infrared Telescope will be used to map extended astronomical sources of low surface brightness emission, to measure the Shuttle induced environment and to develop techniques for managing large volumes of superfluid helium in space. The instrument is an f/4 15.2-cm Herschelian telescope with ten photoconductor detectors in the focal plane. This paper describes the hardware and software aspects of the instrument with emphasis on mission operations. In particular, a description is given of the observing plan formulated to meet the scientific and engineering objectives, the scan drive system, the precautions in design and operation necessary to prevent the sun, moon, and earth from adversely affecting the observations, the implications of thruster firings, and the on-board experiment computer application software to control the scanning of the telescope and support on-board displays.

Koch, D.↗
NASA NTRS1980

Far infrared measurement of stratospheric HCl

Thermal emission from three rotational lines of H(Cl-35) and H(Cl-37) was observed with a Fourier transform spectrometer from a balloon platform at 28.9 km. The measured HCl line-of-sight density at 1.9 deg elevation above 28.9 km is 4.7 + or - 1.3 x 10 to the 15th/sq cm, implying an average volume mixing ratio of 0.8 + or - 0.2 x 10 to the -9th at the mean sampling altitude of 32.5 km. For a uniform mixing ratio model, this corresponds to a vertical column density of 2.4 + or - 0.6 x 10 to the 14th/sq cm. This result is in reasonable agreement with near infrared spectroscopic determinations and an abundance from a chemical sampling technique of HCl at this altitude; a pressure modulator radiometer measurement yields a significantly higher amount of HCl.

Chance, K. V.↗
NASA NTRS1979

O2/1 Delta/ emission in the day and night airglow of Venus

An intense airglow from O2(1 Delta) at 1.27 microns on both the light and the dark sides of Venus has been detected by using a ground-based high-resolution Fourier-transform spectrometer. Both dayglow and nightglow are roughly 1,000 times brighter than the visible O2 nightglow found by Veneras 9 and 10 in 1975. The column emission rate of O2(1 Delta) from Venus is close to the rate at which fresh O atoms are produced from photolysis of CO2 on the day side. Formation of O2(1 Delta) is thus a major step in the removal of O atoms from the atmosphere, and dynamical processes must carry these atoms to the night side fast enough to yield a maximum density near 90 km, which is almost constant over the planet.

Connes, P.↗
NASA NTRS1979

The latitude variation of O2 dayglow and O3 abundance on Mars

Spectroscopic observations of the Martian O2 dayglow near 1.27 microns directly show that the parent molecule, O3, has a strong latitude variation. These measurements give actual data on the equatorial concentrations, where Mariner gave only upper limits. The data also agree with a recent photochemical model, and the derived atmospheric temperature is in good agreement with this model.

Traub, W. A.↗
NASA NTRS1979

Retrograde winds on Venus - Possible periodic variations

Spectroscopic observations of the differential Doppler shift in a CO2 absorption line on Venus show that the upper atmospheric wind near the equator appears to have both a retrograde motion of about -85 + or - 10 m/s (confirming previous results) and, in addition, a periodically varying component, with an amplitude of about 40 + or - 14 m/s and a period of 4.3 + or - 0.2 days.

Traub, W. A.↗
NASA NTRS1978

Far-infrared observations of Uranus, Neptune, and Ceres

During a single flight of our 102 cm balloon-borne telescope and 40-250 micron photometer we observed Uranus, Neptune, Ceres, Venus, Mars, and Saturn. Effective temperatures for Uranus (58.5 plus or minus 2 K) and Neptune (59.7 plus or minus 4 K) were determined, thus confirming the absence of a substantial internal heat source for Uranus and the presence of one for Neptune. Ceres has a brightness temperature of 195 plus or minus 12 K at an effective wavelength of 60 microns.

Stier, M. T.↗
NASA NTRS1976

The effective temperature of Uranus

Uranus was observed in the spectral region from 40 to 250 microns with a 102-cm balloon-borne telescope, and the results were interpreted in terms of model atmosphere calculations to yield an effective temperature of 58 plus or minus 3 K; this sets an upper limit of about 28 per cent on the relative contribution of an internal heat source to the total thermal radiation. On the same flight, the brightness temperatures of Venus (215 plus or minus 13 K) and Jupiter (135 plus or minus 6 K) were also measured, thus reconfirming the existence of an internal heat source for Jupiter.

Fazio, G. G.↗
NASA NTRS1976

Detection of O2 dayglow emission from Mars and the Martian ozone abundance

High-resolution spectroscopy of Mars in the vicinity of 1.27 microns has revealed the presence of emission lines of O2 which are interpreted as the result of production of O2(1 delta g) in the ultraviolet photolysis of Martian ozone. In the equatorial region of Mars, the dayglow intensity implies an ozone abundance near 0.2 microatm, which seems consistent with theoretical models which utilize the measured water-vapor abundance. A much larger ozone abundance exists in the atmosphere at high winter latitude, in agreement with direct measurement of ozone absorption performed by the Mariner spacecraft.

Noxon, J. F.↗
NASA NTRS1976

Theoretical atmospheric transmission in the mid- and far-infrared at four altitudes

The IR transmission of the terrestrial atmosphere is calculated at four altitudes of interest: Mauna Kea at 4.2 km (2-1000 microns), aircraft at 14 km (5-1000 microns), and balloon at 28 km and 41 km (10-1000 microns). We show both high resolution spectra and broadband averages. The results are intended to serve both as a detailed guide to the interference that is expected from the atmosphere for astronomical spectroscopy and also as an indicator of the relative change in absorption and emission that can be expected at various observing altitudes. One salient result for the spectral region around 100 microns is that the absorption (and emissivity) of the atmosphere drops by a factor of 10 for each increase in altitude of 15 km throughout the aircraft and balloon range; thus balloon-borne astronomical photometry and spectroscopy should both enjoy a considerable advantage over aircraft observations in the 30-300-micron region.

Traub, W. A.↗
NASA NTRS1976

Balloon-borne transform spectroscopy

The design and construction of a high-resolution far-infrared Fourier-transform spectrometer for use on the Smithsonian balloon-borne one-meter telescope is described. The instrument will operate at a resolution of about 0.1 kayser in the region from 25 to 150 microns. It will be used to obtain spectra of Jupiter, Venus, Orion, and other H II and molecular cloud regions, as well as the terrestrial stratosphere.

Traub, W. A.↗
NASA NTRS1975

Spectroscopic observations of winds on Venus

Measurements of the differential Doppler shift between various points on Venus using a high-resolution PEPSIOS interferometer. Using both a CO2 line and a Fraunhofer line a mean zonal-wind velocity of about -83 m/s is found near the equator; the velocity appears to vary from about -2 to -125 m/s with a time scale of greater than one week. Meridional velocities are measured to be weak. The equatorial zonal velocity appears to be smaller in the 'morning' than in the 'afternoon'. A comparison with reported velocities of the ultraviolet dark markings reveals general agreement in that both find the motion to be retrograde, variable, and accelerated during the day. A new potential source of systematic error in all spectroscopic determinations of the differential Doppler shift of nonuniformly illuminated objects is pointed out.

Traub, W. A.↗
NASA NTRS1974

A search for H2O and CH4 in Comet Kohoutek

A spectroscopic search for H2O and CH4 in Comet Kohoutek (1973f) was made using a Pepsios interferometer. No evidence was found for either molecule, allowing to set an upper limit on their production rates (on about Jan. 21, 1974) of Q(H2O) less than 6.2 times 10 to the 28th power per sec and Q(CH4) less than 20 times 10 to the 30th power per sec.

Traub, W. A.↗
NASA NTRS1974

Cosmic background radiation at 1.32 millimeters

The R(2) line of the 3874 A band of interstellar CN toward zeta Oph was measured. An equivalent width of 0.120 mA implying an R(2)-R(1) rotational temperature of about 3.1 K was observed. Taking into account also earlier observations, it is found that the R(2) equivalent width is about 0.089 mA. The results imply a temperature of about 2.9 K for the cosmic background radiation at 1.32 mm.

Hegyi, D. J.↗
NASA NTRS1974

Search for deuterium in Orion and detection of high-velocity features

Results of a search for D alpha emission near the bright H alpha line in Orion. The observations revealed a high-velocity H alpha feature near -60 km/sec, whose intensity varied across the nebula, ranging from 0.005 to 0.005 relative to H alpha; another much weaker feature, possibly also H alpha, was observed at about -100 km/sec. Because these high-velocity H alpha features partially overlap the expected position of D alpha, only an upper limit D/H less than .00013 for the number ratio in Orion can be derived.

Traub, W. A.↗
NASA NTRS1973

Observation of HD on Jupiter and the D/H ratio.

The measurement of the HD (7467 A) 4-0 P(1) absorption line on Jupiter was carried out during integration times on an off-axis PEPSIOS spectrometer with a resolution exceeding 100,000. A nearly model-independent number ratio D/H was determined for the Jovian atmosphere by comparing the results with the H2 (6367 A) 4-0 S(1) line.

Trauger, J. T.↗