Engineering Papers⌕ Search

SEARCH · Engineering Papers

Results for “IRIS”

Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 181 records · Page 10
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Transient Events in the Chromosphere and Corona with IBIS, ALMA, IRIS, and XRT

The connection between the photosphere, chromosphere, and corona is essential for understanding energy flow throughout the solar atmosphere. Recent work shows strong correlations between observations of the chromospheric mm-continuum (e.g., ALMA) and the low chromospheric H alpha (e.g., IBIS), and also between mm-continuum and the upper chromosphere and corona, such as SDO and XRT. However, the features which correlate between ALMA and IBIS are not those that correlate between ALMA and observations higher in the atmosphere. In this work, we examine transient features observed from the photosphere to the corona, and determine when and where the atmospheric features agree, and when they diverge. In particular, we show that the established IBIS line-width and ALMA Band 3 relationships break down during transient events (such as blue-wing excursions), though the ALMA and the H-alpha blue wing transients appear related. We also explore features of these transients that appear to foreshadow coronal signatures and find consistent connections and time-lags between transients observed in ALMA and features seen in the upper atmosphere.

A.R. Kobelski↗
NASA NTRS2006

The International Reference Ionosphere - Climatological Standard for the Ionosphere

The International Reference Ionosphere (IRI) a joint project of URSI and COSPAR is the defacto standard for a climatological specification of ionospheric parameters. IRI is based on a wide range of ground and space data and has been steadily improved since its inception in 1969 with the ever-increasing volume of ionospheric data and with better mathematical descriptions of the observed global and temporal variation patterns. The IRI model has been validated with a large amount of data including data from the most recent ionospheric satellites (KOMPSAT, ROCSAT and TIMED) and data from global network of ionosondes. Several IRI teams are working on specific aspects of the IRI modeling effort including an improved representation of the topside ionosphere with a seamless transition to the plasmasphere, a new effort to represent the global variation of F2 peak parameters using the Neural Network (NN) technique, and the inclusion of several additional parameters in IRI, e.g., spread-F probability and ionospheric variability. Annual IRI workshops are the forum for discussions of these efforts and for all science activities related to IRI as well as applications of the IRI model in engineering and education. In this paper I will present a status report about the IRI effort with special emphasis on the presentations and results from the most recent IRI Workshops (Paris, 2004; Tortosa, 2005) and on the most important ongoing IRI activities. I will discuss the latest version of the IRI model, IRI-2006, highlighting the most recent changes and additions. Finally, the talk will review some of the applications of the IRI model with special emphasis on the use for radiowave propagation studies and communication purposes.

Bilitza, Dieter↗
NASA NTRS2010

The International Reference Ionosphere Today and in the Future

The international reference ionosphere (IRI) is the internationally recognized and recommended standard for the specification of plasma parameters in Earth's ionosphere. It describes monthly averages of electron density, electron temperature, ion temperature, ion composition, and several additional parameters in the altitude range from 60 to 1,500 km. A joint working group of the Committee on Space Research (COSPAR) and the International Union of Radio Science (URSI) is in charge of developing and improving the IRI model. As requested by COSPAR and URSI, IRI is an empirical model being based on most of the available and reliable data sources for the ionospheric plasma. The paper describes the latest version of the model and reviews efforts towards future improvements, including the development of new global models for the F2 peak density and height, and a new approach to describe the electron density in the topside and plasmasphere. Our emphasis will be on the electron density because it is the IRI parameter most relevant to geodetic techniques and studies. Annual IRI meetings are the main venue for the discussion of IRI activities, future improvements, and additions to the model. A new special IRI task force activity is focusing on the development of a real-time IRI (RT-IRI) by combining data assimilation techniques with the IRI model. A first RT-IRI task force meeting was held in 2009 in Colorado Springs. We will review the outcome of this meeting and the plans for the future. The IRI homepage is at http://www.IRI.gsfc.nasa.gov

Bilitza, Dieter↗
NASA NTRS1979

Coupling device for moving vehicles

A mechanical system is disclosed to capture and/or deploy a device or vehicle having relative motion with respect to another vehicle. The mechanism includes an onboard controlled collapsible iris assembly located at the end of a controlled manipulator system carried by one moving vehicle. The iris assembly by means of the manipulator system encircles a probe located on the other moving vehicle whereupon the iris assembly is activated and one or more iris elements close around the probe, thus capturing, and axially aligning the other vehicle with the iris assembly. Additionally, a rotator assembly is included for spinning the iris assembly in a manner adapted to engage the probe of a spinning vehicle. Deployment of the other vehicle is accomplished by reversing the capture procedure.

Rudmann, A. A.↗
NASA NTRS1993

Mars atmospheric dust properties: A synthesis of Mariner 9, Viking, and Phobos observations

We have modified a doubling-and-adding code to reanalyze the Mariner 9 IRIS spectra of Mars atmospheric dust as well as Viking IRTM EPF sequences in the 7, 9, and 20 micron channels. The code is capable of accurate emission/ absorption/scattering radiative transfer calculations over the 5-30 micron wavelength region for variable dust composition and particle size inputs, and incorporates both the Viking IRTM channel weightings and the Mariner 9 IRIS wavelength resolution for direct comparisons to these datasets. We adopt atmospheric temperature profiles according to the algorithm of Martin (1986) in the case of the Viking IRTM comparisons, and obtained Mariner 9 IRIS temperature retrievals from the 15 micron CO2 band for the case of the IRIS comparisons. We consider palagonite as the primary alternative to the montmorillonite composition of Mars atmospheric dust, based on several considerations. Palagonite absorbs in the ultraviolet and visible wavelength region due to its Fe content. Palagonite is also, in principal, consistent with the observed lack of clays on the Mars surface. Furthermore, palagonite does not display strong, structured absorption near 20 microns as does montmorillonite (in conflict with the IRIS observations). We propose that a palagonite composition with particle sizes roughly one-half that of the Toon et al. (1977) determination provide a much improved model to Mars atmospheric dust. Since palagonite is a common weathering product of terrrestrial basalts, it would not be unreasonable for palagonite to be a major surface component for Mars. The lack of even a minor component of Al-rich clays on the surface of Mars could be consistent with a palagonite composition for Mars dust if the conditions for basalt weathering on Mars were sufficiently anhydrous. Variations in palagonite composition could also lead to the inability of the modeled palagonite to fit the details of the 9 micron absorbtion indicated by the IRIS observations.

Clancy, R. T.↗
NASA NTRS2014

Hi-C Observations of Penumbral Bright Dots

We use high-quality data obtained by the High Resolution Coronal Imager (Hi-C) to examine bright dots (BDs) in a sunspot's penumbra. The sizes of these BDs are on the order of 1 arcsecond (1") and are therefore hard to identify using the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly's (AIA) 0.6" pixel(exp −1) resolution. These BD become readily apparent with Hi-C's 0.1" pixel(exp −1) resolution. Tian et al. (2014) found penumbral BDs in the transition region (TR) by using the Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph (IRIS). However, only a few of their dots could be associated with any enhanced brightness in AIA channels. In this work, we examine the characteristics of the penumbral BDs observed by Hi-C in a sunspot penumbra, including their sizes, lifetimes, speeds, and intensity. We also attempt to find any association of these BDs to the IRIS BDs. There are fewer Hi-C BDs in the penumbra than seen by IRIS, though different sunspots were studied. We use 193 Angstroms Hi-C data from July 11, 2012 which observed from approximately 18:52:00 UT- 18:56:00 UT and supplement it with data from AIA's 193 Angstrom passband to see the complete lifetime of the dots that were born before and/or lasted longer than Hi- C's 5-minute observation period. We use additional AIA passbands and compare the light curves of the BDs at different temperatures to test whether the Hi-C BDs are TR BDs. We find that most Hi-C BDs show clear movement, and of those that do, they move in a radial direction, toward or away from the sunspot umbra. Single BDs interact with other BDs, combining to fade away or brighten. The BDs that do not interact with other BDs tend to move less. Many of the properties of our BDs are similar to the extreme values of the IRIS BDs, e.g., they move slower on average and their sizes and lifetimes are on the higher end of the IRIS BDs. We infer that our penumbral BDs are the large-scale end of the distribution of BDs observed by IRIS.

Alpert, S. E.↗
NASA NTRS2017

Solar Flare Termination Shock and the Synthetic Fe XXI 1354.08 Å Line

Solar flares are one of the most energetic phenomena occurred in the solar system. In the standard solar flare model, a fast mode shock, which is often referred to as the flare termination shock (TS), can exist above the loop-top source of hard X-ray emissions. The existence of the termination shock has been recently related to spectral hardening of flare hard X-ray spectrum at energies > 300 keV. Observations of the Fe XXI 1354.08 Å line during solar flares by the IRIS spacecraft have found significant redshift with >100 km/s, which is consistent with a reconnection downflow. The ability to identify such a redshift by IRIS is made possible by IRIS's high time resolution, high spatial resolution, high sensitivity and cadence spectral observations. The ability to identify such a redshift by IRIS suggests that one may be able to use IRIS observations to identify flare termination shocks. Using a MHD simulation to model magnetic reconnection of a solar flare and assuming the existence of a TS in the downflow of the reconnection plasma, we model the synthetic emission of the Fe XXI 1354.08 Å line in this work. We show that the existence of the TS in the solar flare may manifest itself from the Fe XXI 1354.08 Å line.Plain Language SummaryA solar flare is a brief eruption of intense high-energy radiation from the sun's surface, associated with sunspots and causing electromagnetic disturbances on the earth, as with radio frequency communications and power line transmissions. The standard solar flare model proposes that magnetic reconnection drives solar flares and fast mode shock, which is often referred to as the flare termination shock (TS), can exist at the reconnection outflows. The existence of the termination shock has been recently related to spectral hardening of flare hard X-ray spectrum.

Guo, Lijia↗
NASA NTRS1991

Digital cartography of Io

A high resolution controlled mosaic of the hemisphere of Io centered on longitude 310 degrees is produced. Digital cartographic techniques were employed. Approximately 80 Voyager 1 clear and blue filter frames were utilized. This mosaic was merged with low-resolution color images. This dataset is compared to the geologic map of this region. Passage of the Voyager spacecraft through the Io plasma torus during acquisition of the highest resolution images exposed the vidicon detectors to ionized radiation, resulting in dark-current buildup on the vidicon. Because the vidicon is scanned from top to bottom, more charge accumulated toward the bottom of the frames, and the additive error increases from top to bottom as a ramp function. This ramp function was removed by using a model. Photometric normalizations were applied using the Minnaert function. An attempt to use Hapke's photometric function revealed that this function does not adequately describe Io's limb darkening at emission angles greater than 80 degrees. In contrast, the Minnaert function accurately describes the limb darkening up to emission angles of about 89 degrees. The improved set of discrete camera angles derived from this effort will be used in conjunction with the space telemetry pointing history file (the IPPS file), corrected on 4 or 12 second intervals to derive a revised time history for the pointing of the Infrared Interferometric Spectrometer (IRIS). For IRIS observations acquired between camera shutterings, the IPPS file can be corrected by linear interpolation, provided that the spacecraft motions were continuous. Image areas corresponding to the fields of view of IRIS spectra acquired between camera shutterings will be extracted from the mosaic to place the IRIS observations and hotspot models into geologic context.

Mcewen, Alfred S.↗
NASA NTRS1993

Particle sizes and composition of Mars atmospheric dust based upon Viking and Mariner 9 observations

Mars atmospheric dust can play an important role in the thermal structure of the Mars atmosphere during periods of high dust loading. However, the radiative properties of Mars atmospheric dust remain uncertain due to uncertain definitions of the dust composition and size distribution. The analysis by Toon et al., of Mariner 9 IRIS spectra during the 1971-1972 global dust storm indicated a reasonable match between the modeled 9-micron absorption of montmorillinite and the observed 9-micron absorption. Toon et al. also determined that an effective (cross-section weighted) mean radius of 2.5 microns (R(sub mode) = 0.4 microns) provided a consistent fit of montmorillinite to the IRIS dust spectra at 9 microns. Pollack et al. analyzed Viking lander observations of atmospheric extinction and scattering at visible-near IR wavelengths (0.5-1.0 microns), and obtained consistency with the Toon et al. dust size distribution when the effects of nonspherical particle shapes were included. An additional, minor (1 percent) component of visible-ultraviolet absorbing material was required to model the derived visible (0.86) and ultraviolet (0.4-0.6) single-scattering albedos of the dust, since montmorillinite does not absorb sufficiently in this wavelength region. A combined analysis of the Viking IRTM and Mariner 9 observations was conducted to reassess the model of Mars atmospheric ultraviolet-to-infrared measurements of dust absorption and scattering. The optical constants for palagonite are incorporated in a doubling-adding radiative transfer model of the Mars atmosphere to simulate Mariner 9 IRIS spectra as well as the Viking IRTM IR band observations. Visible and ultraviolet single-scattering albedos based on the Hansen and Travis Mie scattering code were also derived. A tentative conclusion is that smaller dust particles (R(sub mode) = 0.15 microns, cross-section weighted mean R = 1.2 microns) composed of palagonite provide a much improved fit to the Mariner 9 IRIS spectra; agreement with the observed ratio of visible-to-infrared extinction opacities; and ultraviolet and visible single-scattering albedos comparable to their observed values.

Clancy, R. T.↗
NASA NTRS1993

Retrieval of temperature profiles from Martian infrared spectra

In theory, a thermal emission spectrum of Mars (220-1600 cm(exp -1)) contains a wealth of information about the composition and thermal structure of the atmosphere and surface. However, in practice, the ability to retrieve quantitative information from the spectrum is limited by a number of factors including (1) the ill-posed nature of the spectral inversion problem and the resulting nonuniqueness of all solutions; (2) assumptions built into any spectral inversion program; (3) uncertainties in surface pressure, temperature, and emissivity; and (4) uncertainties in the optical properties of atmospheric aerosols. Below, factors (1) and (2) are discussed as fundamental limitations on temperature retrievals from Mariner 9 Infrared Interferometer Spectrometer (IRIS) spectra. In preparation for the Mars Observer mission and the return of tens of thousands of infrared spectra per day from the Thermal Emission Spectrometer (TES), we have developed a fast inversion algorithm to retrieve temperature structure and aerosol opacity from the infrared spectra. The derived atmospheric models will be used to provide the atmospheric contribution to the TES spectra, so that the thermal emission spectra of the underlying surface can be determined for making mineralogical identifications. As a test of our algorithm, we are undertaking a systematic analysis of the entire Mariner 9 Infrared Interferometric Spectrometer (IRIS) dataset of 21,000 plus spectra. While portions of the IRIS dataset have been previously analyzed, the lack of a speedy and robust algorithm to invert the IRIS spectra to retrieve temperature profiles and aerosol opacities has been a major impediment to a truly comprehensive analysis.

Mcmillan, W. Wallace↗
NASA NTRS1994

Evaluation of very long baseline interferometry atmospheric modeling improvements

We determine the improvement in baseline length precision and accuracy using new atmospheric delay mapping functions and MTT by analyzing the NASA Crustal Dynamics Project research and development (R&D) experiments and the International Radio Interferometric Surveying (IRIS) A experiments. These mapping functions reduce baseline length scatter by about 20% below that using the CfA2.2 dry and Chao wet mapping functions. With the newer mapping functions, average station vertical scatter inferred from observed length precision (given by length repeatabilites) is 11.4 mm for the 1987-1990 monthly R&D series of experiments and 5.6 mm for the 3-week-long extended research and development experiment (ERDE) series. The inferred monthly R&D station vertical scatter is reduced by 2 mm or by 7 mm is a root-sum-square (rss) sense. Length repeatabilities are optimum when observations below a 7-8 deg elevation cutoff are removed from the geodetic solution. Analyses of IRIS-A data from 1984 through 1991 and the monthly R&D experiments both yielded a nonatmospheric unmodeled station vertical error or about 8 mm. In addition, analysis of the IRIS-A exeriments revealed systematic effects in the evolution of some baseline length measurements. The length rate of change has an apparent acceleration, and the length evolution has a quasi-annual signature. We show that the origin of these effects is unlikely to be related to atmospheric modeling errors. Rates of change of the transatlantic Westford-Wettzell and Richmond-Wettzell baseline lengths calculated from 1988 through 1991 agree with the NUVEL-1 plate motion model (Argus and Gordon, 1991) to within 1 mm/yr. Short-term (less than 90 days) variations of IRIS-A baseline length measurements contribute more than 90% of the observed scatter about a best fit line, and this short-term scatter has large variations on an annual time scale.

Macmillan, D. S.↗