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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.

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At least 199 records · Page 11
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NASA NTRS1987

The fate of the earth in the red giant envelope of the sun

The effect on the earth of entering the red giant envelope of the future sun is studied. Employing a 30-zone red giant model, the earth orbital decay timescale, neglecting ablation/vaporization, is determined to be of the order of 200 years, rendering earth survival impossible. The effects of ablation/vaporization processes are found to increase the ballistic coefficient of earth, thereby setting the 200-year decay timescale as an upper limit.

Goldstein, J.↗
NASA NTRS1987

X-ray intensity and spectral variations in the BL Lac sources H2155-304 and PKS0548-322

The results from the X-ray observations of two BL Lacertae objects, H2155-304 and PKS0548-322, are presented. The observations were carried out with the HEAO-1 A2 Low Energy Detectors, the High Resolution Imager, and the Monitor Proportional Counter aboard the Einstein Observatory. Correlated X-ray intensity variations of about 20 percent in the 0.15-3.5 keV energy band and about 40 percent in the 1.5-10 keV energy band are observed in H2155-304 over a period of about 8 hr. A factor of two change in the intensity of PKS0548-322 in the 3.5-10 keV energy interval is also detected over a time interval of 1 hr. Variations in the X-ray intensity over a timescale of months and the hardening of the spectrum with increasing intensity are seen in the HEAO-1 A2 data on H2155-304. The shortest observed timescale for the variability is used to derive an upper limit on the mass of the central accreting source in the two BL Lac objects studied here.

Agrawal, P. C.↗
NASA NTRS1987

The sn stars - Magnetically controlled stellar winds among the helium-weak stars

The paper reports observations of magnetically controlled stellar mass outflows in three helium-weak sn stars: HD 21699 = HR 1063; HD 5737 = Alpha Scl; and HD 79158 = 36 Lyn. IUE observations show that the C IV resonance doublet is variable on the rotational timescale but that there are no other strong-spectrum variations in the UV. Magnetic fields, which reverse sign on the rotational timescale, are present in all three stars. This phenomenology is interpreted in terms of jetlike mass loss above the magnetic poles, and these objects are discussed in the context of a general survey of the C IV and Si IV profiles of other more typical helium-weak stars.

Shore, Steven N.↗
NASA NTRS1988

Volatiles on Mars

The long-term evolution of both the atmosphere and the surface of Mars can be understood by examining the history of volatiles in the Mars atmosphere, their non-atmospheric reservoirs, and the processes of exchange between the two. Clearly, the present state of both the surface and the atmosphere can only be seen, so that any inferences about the evolution of the climate system are just that, inferences. The processes which control the atmosphere and surface on a seasonal basis, however, are the same processes which can act on longer timescales; only the specific solar and atmospheric forcing will differ. Once the ability of each process to affect the seasonal behavior is understood, the long-timescale forcing may be applied to the various processes in order to clearly identify the ability of the processes to act over the entire history of Mars. The areas of surface-atmospheric interaction of Mars are addressed in the ongoing research. The climate system on Mars is controlled by processes involving the exchange between the surface and atmosphere, so it is important to understand the current behavior of those processes. This is especially so in light of the current interest in understanding Mars; the upcoming Mars Observer mission, and the potential for a future sample-return or human-exploration mission will focus emphasis on this area of Mars science.

Jakosky, Bruce M.↗
NASA NTRS1988

Earth rotation and core topography

The NASA Geodynamics program has as one of its missions highly accurate monitoring of polar motion, including changes in length of day (LOD). These observations place fundamental constraints on processes occurring in the atmosphere, in the mantle, and in the core of the planet. Short-timescale (t less than or approx 1 yr) variations in LOD are mainly the result of interaction between the atmosphere and the solid earth, while variations in LOD on decade timescales result from the exchange of angular momentum between the mantle and the fluid core. One mechanism for this exchange of angular momentum is through topographic coupling between pressure variations associated with flow in the core interacting with topography at the core-mantel boundary (CMB). Work done under another NASA grant addressing the origin of long-wavelength geoid anomalies as well as evidence from seismology, resulted in several models of CMB topography. The purpose of work supported by NAG5-819 was to study further the problem of CMB topography, using geodesy, fluid mechanics, geomagnetics, and seismology. This is a final report.

Hager, Bradford H.↗
NASA NTRS1988

Doppler imaging of AR Lacertae at three epochs

Observations from IUE were used to study the structure of the lower chromosphere of AR Lacertae in the light of Mg II k. Sequences of LWR/P-HI images distributed around the binary period at three epochs were obtained. Discrete plage-like regions of enhanced Mg II surface flux in this system are identified. There are temporal variations in the Mg II flux on timescales of hours as well as substantial changes in chromospheric morphology on timescales of years. Even with the limited S/N attainable with the IUE, one can map the gross structures of active stellar atmospheres. With such information, one can begin to study the true 3-D structure of the atmospheres of late-type stars.

Walter, Frederick M.↗
NASA NTRS1988

Head-on collision of viscous vortex rings

The head-on collision of two identical axisymmetric viscous vortex rings is studied through direct simulations of the incompressible Navier-Stokes equations. The initial vorticity distributions considered are those of Hill's spherical vortex and of rings with circular Gaussian cores, each at Reynolds numbers of about 350 and 1000. The Reynolds number is defined by Gamma/Nu, the ratio of circulation to viscosity. As the vortices approach each other by self-induction, the radii increase by mutual induction, and vorticy cancels through viscous cross-diffusion across the collision plane. Following contact, the vorticity distribution in the core forms a head-tail structure (for the cases considered). The characteristic time of vorticity annihilation is compared with that of a 3D collision experiment and 3D numerical simulations. It is found that the annihilation time is somewhat longer in the axisymmetric case than it is in the symmetry plane of the experiment and 3D numerical simulation. By comparing the annihilatiom time with a viscous timescale and a circulation timescale, it is deduced that both the strain rate due to local effects and to 3D vorticity realignment are important.

Stanaway, S.↗
NASA NTRS1988

Investigation of the flow between a pair of circular cylinders in the flopping regime

The wakes of a pair of circular cylinders are grossly unsteady when the cylinders are separated in a direction normal to the approaching flow by less than one cylinder diameter. The wakes flop randomly between two asymmetric states. The time-scale for the flopping is several orders of magnitude longer than the timescale of vortex shedding, and also several orders of magnitude longer than the timescale for instability of the separating shear layers. When a splitter plate is positioned suitably on the centerline of the cylinders, the flopping can be stopped and the flow made to assume either of the asymmetric states, or a symmetric steady state. For a range of plate positions a new, periodic oscillation occurs. Acoustic excitation can also destroy the flopping mean flow, replacing it by a symmetric flow.

Kim, H. J.↗
NASA NTRS1989

X ray timing observations and gravitational physics

Photon-rich x ray observations on bright compact galactic sources will make it possible to detect many fast processes that may occur in these systems on millisecond and submillisecond timescales. Many of these processes are of direct relevance to gravitational physics because they arise in regions of strong gravity near neutron stars and black holes where the dynamical timescales for compact objects of stellar mass are milliseconds. To date, such observations have been limited by the detector area and telemetry rates available. However, instruments such as the proposed X ray Large Array (XLA) would achieve collecting areas of about 100 sq m. This instrument has been described elsewhere (Wood and Michelson 1988) and was the subject of a recent prephase A feasibility study at Marshall Space Flight Center. Observations with an XLA class instrument will directly impact five primary areas of astrophysics research: the attempt to detect gravitational radiation, the study of black holes, the physics of mass accretion onto compact objects, the structure of neutron stars and nuclear matter, and the characterization of dark matter in the universe. Those observations are discussed that are most directly relevant to gravitational physics: the search for millisecond x ray pulsars that are potential sources of continuous gravitational radiation; and the use of x ray timing observations to probe the physical conditions in extreme relativistic regions of space near black holes, both stellar-sized and supermassive.

Michelson, Peter F.↗
NASA NTRS1990

A sensitive 10-micron search for emission arising from circumstellar dust associated with solar-type pre-main-sequence stars

The presence and evolutionary timescales of circumstellar disks surrounding solar-type premain-sequence stars are studied using excess IR radiation above photospheric levels. The analysis is based on optical photometry, published near-IR fluxes, IRAS fluxes, and 10-micron flux measurements of 20 stars in Taurus-Auriga obtained with the NASA IR telescope facility. About half of the stars with ages less than 3 Myr show excess 2.2 and 10 micron emission, consistent with emission from optically thick disks extending inward to the stellar surface. At ages of about 10 Myr, less than 10 percent of the sample stars show evidence of dust emission from optically thick disks. It is concluded that the timescale over which disks survive as IR-luminous, optically thick structures is less than 10 Myr. Also, evidence for inner holes in premain-sequence stars surrounded by optically thick disks is discussed.

Skrutskie, M. F.↗
NASA NTRS1991

CCD photometry of 2060 Chiron, 1991 January

Observations of 2060 Chiron was performed on 7 to 8 Jan. 1991 with the Mt. Palomar 1.52 m telescope in the Gunn-R passband. On-chip field stars were used to perform differential reductions. The repeatability of the 5.9 hour light curve was excellent, both within a night and from night to night. No evidence for short-term secular variations similar to those seen last year by both Luu and Jewitt (1990) and Buratti and Dunbar (1991) is seen in the new light curve. Chiron's rotational light curve appears strikingly similar to that obtained a year earlier by Luu and Jewitt (1990), both in amplitude and shape. Both light curves show strongly correlated changes over a timescale of perhaps 15 minutes. These same features were marginally visible in the 1986 light curve. Such behavior is believed to be evidence that Chiron may be more aspherical than the 4 percent intensity variation might otherwise indicate, and favors a viewing geometry where the subearth latitude is rather low. Chiron was much fainter in 1985, when a partial light curve was obtained by Marcialis. Due to the lower sampling rate of these early data, no conclusions can be made regarding the high-frequency light curve structure back then. All three of these light curves differ significantly from that obtained by Buratti and Dunbar (1991), one week before the observations of Luu and Jewitt. The Chiron field was calibrated using Landolt standards on Ut 15 Mar. 1991. A mean R-magnitude of 15.6 + or - 0.1 was found. Variability of 2060 Chiron was demonstrated over timescales of minutes, hours, and years. An intense campaign was urged to monitor the photometric behavior of Chiron throughout the 1990s.

Buratti, B. J.↗
NASA NTRS1991

Planetological implications of mass loss from the early Sun

The element lithium is observed to be underabundant in the Sun by a factor of approx. equal to 100. To account for this depletion, Boothroyd et al. (Ap. J., in press 1991) proposed a model in which the Sun's zero-age-main-sequence mass was approx. 1.1 solar magnitude. If this is the explanation for the lithium depletion, then astronomical observations of F/G dwarfs in clusters suggest that the timescale for mass loss is approx. equal to 0.6 Gyr. Assuming this approximate timescale, the authors investigated several planetological implications of the astrophysical model.

Whitmire, D. P.↗
NASA NTRS1991

Aerodynamic and gasdynamic effects in cosmogony

An improved numerical code was constructed to model coagulation and settling of particles in disk nebula containing generic turbulence with arbitrary velocities in the gas. The turbulence is assumed to have a Kolmogorov eddy spectrum. Relative velocities of particles, which lead to collisions and possible coagulation, are computed as due all significant causes in their appropriate regimes: thermal motion, shear and inertial effects in turbulent eddies, and systematic motions due to settling and non-keplerian rotation of the gas. Significant improvements to this program were produced. One significant problem was the disparity of timescales for turbulent mixing and coagulation. To accurately compute the former, the timestep must be shorter than the smallest spatial scale (layer thickness) divided by the turbulent velocity. However, the size distribution often varies due to coagulation on much longer timescales. To minimize the computational overhead associated with collisions between particles of all sizes, a dual timestep was introduced. Collisional changes in the size distribution are computed once in every N substeps, where the substep is controlled by the turbulent diffusion velocity, and N is determined by the rate of collisions. This algorithm allowed simulations to be extended to longer times and later stages.

Weidenschilling, S. J.↗
NASA NTRS1992

Constraints on crustal rheology and age of deformation from models of gravitational spreading in Ishtar Terra, Venus

Gravitational spreading is expected to lead to rapid relaxation of high relief due to the high surface temperature and associated weak crust on Venus. In this study, we use new Magellan radar and altimetry data to determine the extent of gravitational relaxation in Ishtar Terra, which contains the highest relief on Venus as well as areas of extremely high topographic slope. Within Ishtar Terra the only mountain belts found on Venus, Akna, Danu, Freyja, and Maxwell Montes, nearly encircle the smooth, high (3-4 km) plateau of Lakshmi Planum. Finite-element models of this process give expected timescales for relaxation of relief and failure at the surface. From these modeling results we attempt to constrain the strength of the crust and timescales of deformation in Ishtar Terra. Below we discuss observational evidence for gravitational spreading in Ishtar Terra, results from the finite-element modeling, independent age constraints, and implications for the rheology and timing of deformation.

Smrekar, Suzanne E.↗
NASA NTRS1992

The x ray variability of AGN and the anomalous behavior of NGC6814

The power spectra of the X-ray variable AGN are typically scale invariant with no characteristic timescale. The one strong exception to this is NGC6814, where the EXOSAT data showed evidence for a periodic component at 12200 plus or minus 100 seconds. The power spectra of a GINGA lightcurve from this source, found using simulation techniques to account for the uneven sampling, also cannot be well fit by a single power law. A folded light curve analysis of the GINGA data shows a strong peak in the variance, indicative of a periodic component, at 12130.9 plus or minus 0.6 seconds. A second GINGA observation of this source taken one year later is consistent with the periodicity maintaining phase coherence for 7 periods in the range of 12110-12145 seconds. Including the limits from the folding selects a period of 12130.39 plus or minus 0.05 seconds. Phase coherence is not maintained between this and the EXOSAT observations, as the structure of the folded light curves is very different. Thus the periodicity is long lived and stable, but phase coherence is only maintained on timescales of approximately 1 year.

Done, C.↗
NASA NTRS1992

The X-ray variability of AGN and the anomalous behavior of NGC 6814

The power spectra of the X-ray variable AGN are typically scale invariant with no characteristic timescale. The one strong exception to this is NGC 6814, where the EXOSAT data showed evidence for a periodic component at 12200 +/- 100 seconds. The power spectra of a GINGA lightcurve from this source, found using simulation techniques to account for the uneven sampling, also cannot be well fit by a single power law. A folded light curve analysis of GINGA data shows strong evidence for this periodic component. A second GINGA observation of this source taken one year later is consistent with the phenomena being completely periodic and phase coherent for 7 periods in the range of 12,110-12,145 seconds. Including the (optimistic) limits from the folding selects a period of 12130.39 +/- 0.05 seconds. Phase coherence is not maintained between this and the EXOSAT observations, as the structure of the folded light curves is very different. Thus the periodicity is long lived and stable, but phase coherence is only maintained on timescales of about 1 year.

Done, C.↗
NASA NTRS1992

Current status of the Explosive Transient Camera

The current configuration and performance of the Explosive Transient Camera (ETC), a wide-field sky monitor capable of detecting short-timescale optical transients, are briefly reviewed, as are plans for future improvements. The primary objective of the ETC is to detect an optical transient that is spatially and temporally coincident with a gamma-ray burster. However, the ETC is sensitive to all sources of short-timescale optical transients and will conduct a systematic survey of the night sky for all optical transients. Results of preliminary observations of the night sky conducted since January 1991 are summarized, and long-term variability searches with the ETC are discussed.

Vanderspek, Roland↗
NASA NTRS1993

Mapping the stability region of the 3:2 Neptune-Pluto resonance

Pluto and Charon are most likely the remnants of a large number of objects that existed in the Uranus-Neptune region at early epochs of the solar system. Numerical integrations have shown that, in general, such objects were ejected from the planetary region on timescales of approximately 10(exp 7) years after Neptune and Uranus reached their current masses. It is thought that the Pluto-Charon system survived to current times without being dynamically removed in this way because it is trapped in a set of secular and mean motion resonances with Neptune. The best-known Pluto-Neptune orbit coupling is the 3:2 mean motion resonance discovered almost 30 years ago by C. Cohen and E. Hubbard. These workers showed that the resonance angle, delta is equivalent to 3(lambda(sub P)) - 2(lambda(sub N)) - omega-bar(sub P) where omega-bar(sub P) is the longitude of perihelion of the Pluto-Charon system, and lambda(sub N) and lambda(sub P) are the mean longitude of Neptune and Pluto-Charon respectively, librates about 180 deg with an amplitude, A(sub delta), of 76 deg. A numerical simulation project to map out the stability region of the 3:2 resonance is reported. The results of these simulations are important to understanding whether Pluto's long-term heliocentric stability requires only the 3:2 resonance, or whether it instead requires one or more of the other Pluto-Neptune resonances. Our study also has another important application. By investigating stability timescales as a function of orbital elements, we gain insight into the fraction of orbital phase space which the stable 3:2 resonance occupies. This fraction is directly related to the probability that the Pluto-Charon system (and possibly other small bodies) could have been captured into this resonance.

Levison, H. F.↗