Engineering Papers⌕ Search

SEARCH · Engineering Papers

Results for “Color”

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 253 records · Page 14
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1984

Color and Grey Scale in Sonar Displays

In spite of numerous publications 1 it is still rather unclear, whether color is of any help in sonar displays. The work presented here deals with a particular type of sonar data, i.e., LOFAR-grams (low frequency analysing and recording) where acoustic sensor data are continuously written as a time-frequency plot. The question to be answered quantitatively is, whether color coding does improve target detection when compared with a grey scale code. The data show significant differences in receiver-operating characteristics performance for the selected codes. In addition it turned out, that the background noise level affects the performance dramatically for some color codes, while others remain stable or even improve. Generally valid rules are presented on how to generate useful color scales for this particular application.

Kraiss, K. F.↗
NASA NTRS1985

The Mars ancient cratered terrain, smooth plains boundary: Implications of Viking color data for evolution of the Amenthes Region

The global color set compiled by the Mars Consortium was investigated. The problem of application of the martian surface color data to geologic interpretation are atmospheric contributions which increase with latitude, and the high correlation among the three color bands. In southern Amenthes the classified units show areas of possible mixing between cratered tarrain and smooth plains. It is suggested that some geologically meaningful correlation exists between surface units and the transformed color data in the Amenthes region. The knobby terrain protruding through the plains units appears to be remnants of ancient cratered terrain extending northward beneath the more youthful smooth plains.

Maxwell, T. A.↗
NASA NTRS1985

What color is the solar system?

Estimates are made of the true visual colors of various planets and moons in the solar system. Account is taken of the components of perceived color, i.e., hue, saturation and lightness. Earth is a blue planet while most of the others, including Mars, are yellow and differ only in their lightness. Widely disseminated Voyager images of Jupiter have been computer-enhanced to highlight details. A reflectance spectrum established by the International Commission on Illumination provides reference lines which are measured and compared with reference colors which would be seen on earth in normal daylight. Uranus is actually a light aqua color due to its absorption of 6190 A light and reflectance of 5000 A blue green light.

Young, A. T.↗
NASA NTRS1985

Variation of the UBV colors of S-class asteroids with semimajor axis and diameter

A large fraction of the several thousand asteroids which exist mainly between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter have now been separated into a small number of more or less distinct classes. The most populous classes are S (moderate albedo and red UBV color) and C (low albedo and neutral UBV color), while other less populous classes include M, E, R, D, A, F, and P. Asteroids in the S and C classes are considered to be the most likely sources of the abundant stony-iron and carbonaceous chondritic meteorites. An identification of the source asteroid of a particular meteorite, could lead to the use of the meteorite as a sample of that asteroid. Such a sample could then be employed to determine the bulk composition and the evolution of the asteroid. There are, however, factors which may make the interpretation of the observed albedos, colors, and spectra difficult. In the present investigation, it is shown that the mean UBV color of S-class asteroids varies markedly with distance from the sun and may vary with diameter. Interpretations of these findings are discussed.

Dermott, S. F.↗
NASA NTRS1985

Colors of reflection nebulae. I - Phase function effects in the Merope nebula

The subject of color differences between reflection nebulae and their illuminating stars is reexamined in the light of developments of observational techniques, permitting accurate surface-brightness photometry over an expanded spectral region from the UV to the IR. Color-color diagrams for reflection nebulae can yield useful information about the wavelength dependence of the scattering properties of nebular dust without excessive sensitivity to the specific nebular geometry or the presence of multiple scattering, resulting in considerable savings in computational efforts. As an illustration, the color-difference method was applied to existing data for the Merope nebula, covering the spectral region 1550-5500 A. Strong evidence for a monotonically changing phase function of scattering at wavelengths less than or equal to 3500 A is found. The result is interpreted in the context of a plausible geometry for the Merope environment as providing support for a bimodal size distribution of nebular dust grains.

Witt, A. N.↗
NASA NTRS1985

Emerging monochromatic fluxes and colors of red degenerate stars

The emerging monochromatic fluxes and the B-V, V-I, J-H, and V-K color indices are presented for red degenerate stars with helium atmospheres which were calculated using an equation of state and opacities based on a hot Thomas-Fermi model of the helium gas. The effective temperature range is 4500-2500 K. It is found that although the emerging fluxes resemble blackbody curves, red degenerates emit more radiation than blackbodies in the short wavelength range and less in the long wavelength range. Thus, red degenerates appear bluer than blackbodies of the same temperature. The calculated colors of these models are compared to the colors of some of the coolest known non-DA degenerate stars. In particular it is found that the B-V and V-I colors of the cool white dwarf VB 11, whose temperature had been previously estimated to be higher than 4000 K, suggest a temperature of 3750 K. If this result is correct, then VB 11 is probably the coolest known white dwarf.

Kapranidis, S.↗
NASA NTRS1986

Shaded-Color Picture Generation of Computer-Defined Arbitrary Shapes

SHADE computer program generates realistic color-shaded pictures from computer-defined arbitrary shapes. Objects defined for computer representation displayed as smooth, color-shaded surfaces, including varying degrees of transparency. Results also used for presentation of computational results. By performing color mapping, SHADE colors model surface to display analysis results as pressures, stresses, and temperatures. NASA has used SHADE extensively in sign and analysis of high-performance aircraft. Industry should find applications for SHADE in computer-aided design and computer-aided manufacturing. SHADE written in VAX FORTRAN and MACRO Assembler for either interactive or batch execution.

Cozzolongo, J. V.↗
NASA NTRS1986

Color constancy - A method for recovering surface spectral reflectance

An algorithm has been developed for estimating the surface reflectance functions of objects in a scene with incomplete knowledge of the spectral power distribution of the ambient light. An image processing system employing this algorithm can assign colors that are constant despite changes in the lighting of the scene; this capability is essential to correct color rendering in photography, TV, and in the construction of artificial visual systems for robotics. Attention is given to the way in which constraints on lights and surfaces in the environment make color-constancy possible for a visual system, and the algorithm's implications for human color vision are discussed.

Maloney, L. T.↗
NASA NTRS1985

Ocean color measurements

Ocean color observations by the Coastal Zone color scanner (CZCS) aboard the Nimbus-7 satellite are discussed, together with the factors contributing to the 'apparent' color of the ocean. The CZCS optical systems and the tecniques for extraction of the phytoplankton pigment concentration and the diffuse attenuation coefficient K from the 'apparent' water color are described in detail. Special consideration is given to the use of biooptical algorithms and the development of the K algorithm for the CZCS imagery. It is shown that under typical atmospheric conditions, the pigment concentration can be extracted from the satellite imagery to within + or - 30 percent over concentration ranges from 0 to 5 mg/cu m for the Morel case 1 water (Morel and Prieur, 1977), to which the oceanic waters belong as a rule.

Gordon, H. R.↗
NASA NTRS1987

Modelling the IRAS colors of galaxies

A physical interpretation is proposed for the color-color diagram of galaxies which are powered only by star formation. The colors of each galaxy result from the combination of two components: cirrus-like emission from the neutral disk, and warmer emission from regions directly involved in on-going star formation. This approach to modelling the emission is based on dust properties, but independent evidence for it is found in the relation between the color sequence and the luminosity sequence. Implications of data and interpretations are discussed and possible tests mentioned for the model.

Helou, George↗
NASA NTRS1986

A comparison of the continuum colors of P/Halley, other comets, and asteroids

Early observations (1985 Feb.) of P/Halley were made with broadband BVJK filters when a substantial fraction of the light came from the nucleus; the resulting colors appear red, but with signal-to-noise ratios less than or = 5. More recent observations were made with the narrower International Halley Watch continuum filters when the light from the comet is dominated by the coma. The colors over the wavelength range 0.3 to 0.7 microns are more neutral. Continuum colors were also observed for other comets. All show moderately red to very red colors that can be best matched by asteroids of the P and D spectral classes, suggesting that the refractory component of comets is similar to that of the more distant asteroids.

Tholen, D. J.↗
NASA NTRS1986

The IRAS colors of normal galaxies

In the IRAS color-color diagram, galaxies powered only by star formation are distributed in a band such that as systems get cooler at 12/25 microns they get warmer at 60/100 microns. A simple phenomenology is proposed which describes the emission from each galaxy as a combination of two components: cool, relatively constant 'cirrus' emission from the neutral medium, and from 'active' regions warmer emission whose colors depend on mean physical parameters in these regions. The model accounts for the IRAS colors of all galaxies detected as point sources in all four bands. The model implies that a galaxy's far-infrared flux as measured by IRAS is not simply proportional to the recent star formation rate, because only a (variable) fraction of the infrared is due to massive young stars, and only part of these stars' luminosity is reemitted in the infrared.

Helou, George↗
NASA NTRS1987

Bimodal star formation - Constraints from galaxy colors at high redshift

The possibility that at early epochs the light from elliptical galaxies is dominated by stars with an initial mass function (IMF) which is deficient in low-mass stars, relative to the solar neighborhood is investigated. V-R colors for the optical counterparts of 3CR radio sources offer the most severe constraints on the models. Reasonable fits are obtained to both the blue, high-redshift colors and the redder, low-redshift colors with a model galaxy which forms with initially equal star formation rates in each of two IMF modes: one lacking low-mass stars, and one with stars of all masses. The net effect is that the time-integrated IMF has twice as many high-mass stars as the solar neighborhood IMF, relative to low mass stars. A conventional solar neighborhood IMF does not simultaneously account for both the range in colors at high redshift and the redness of nearby ellipticals, with any single star formation epoch. Models with a standard IMF require half the stellar population to be formed in a burst at low redshift z of about 1.

Wyse, Rosemary F. G.↗
NASA NTRS1987

Color enhancement of highly correlated images. II - Channel ratio and 'chromaticity' transformation techniques

Two techniques for enhancing the color of multispectral images are described; both involve ratioing of data from different image channels. In the first technique, the ratioed data are assigned the primary color for display as color ratio pictures, and in the second method, image data are transformed to RGB chromaticity coordinates by ratioing the data acquired in three channels to the sum of their intensities. The two techniques are applied to a NASA Thermal-IR Multispectral Scanner (TIMS) image of Death Valley and to a Landsat MSS image of the Mojave Desert. The basic principles of ratioing are discussed, and the effects of atmospheric path radiances on the interpretation of ratioed images are investigated. It is observed that the color pictures produced using these two enhancement techniques are similar to the pictures enhanced by decorrelation and hue-saturation-intensity methods.

Gillespie, Alan R.↗
NASA NTRS1987

Preliminary estimation of color inhomogeneities on the surface of Venus according to the television images obtained by the VENERA-13 and VENERA-14 automated space probes

Digital processing of images obtained by the Venera 13 and Venera 14 probes led to the discovery of faint color differences of some areas of the observed surface. Maximum color differences were observed in the right part of 14-1 panorama. Color anomaly is associated with the bedrock outcrop having slightly higher albedo than the surrounding. Possible causes of the discovered color differences are discussed.

Shkuratov, Yu. G.↗
NASA NTRS1984

NIMBUS-7 CZCS. Coastal Zone Color Scanner Imagery for Selected Coastal Regions. North America - Europe. South America - Africa - Antarctica. Level 2 Photographic Product

The Nimbus-7 Coastal Zone Color Scanner (CZCS) is the first spacecraft instrument devoted to the measurement of ocean color. Although instruments on other satellites have sensed ocean color, their spectral bands, spatial resolution, and dynamic range were optimized for geographical or meteorological use. In the CZCS, every parameter is optimized for use over water to the exclusion of any other type of sensing. The signal-to-noise ratios in the spectral channels sensing reflected solar radiance are higher than those required in the past. These ratios need to be high because the ocean is such a poor reflecting surface that the majority of the signal seen by the reflected energy channels at spacecraft altitudes is backscattered solar radiation from the atmosphere rather than reflected solar energy from the ocean. The CZCS is a conventional multichannel scanning radiometer utilizing a rotating plane mirror at a 45 deg angle to the optic axis of a Cassegrain telescope. The mirror scans 360 deg; however, only 80 deg of data centered on the spacecraft nadir is collected for ocean color measurements. Spatial resolution at spacecraft nadir is 825x825 m with some degradation at the edges of the scan swath. The useful swath width from a spacecraft altitude of 955 km is 1600 km.

Source record↗
NASA NTRS1987

Two-color method for optical astrometry - Theory and preliminary measurements with the Mark III stellar interferometer

The two-color method for interferometric astrometry provides a means of reducing the error in a stellar position measurement attributable to atmospheric turbulence. The primary limitation of the method is shown to be turbulent water vapor fluctuations. Secondary atmospheric effects caused by diffraction from small refractive-index inhomogeneities and differential refraction for the observation of stars away from zenith are shown to introduce errors that behave as white noise and which should not be significant. Other potential error sources due to photon noise, systematic instrumental effects, and imperfect data reduction are also considered. The improvement in accuracy possible with the two-color method is estimated as a factor of 5-10 over the corresponding one-color measurement. Some preliminary two-color measurements with the Mark III stellar interferometer at Mt. Wilson are presented, which demonstrate a factor of about 5 reduction in the amplitude of the atmospheric fluctuations in a stellar position measurement.

Colavita, M. Mark↗
NASA NTRS1988

Color maps of X-ray globular clusters

The results of a search for optical counterparts to X-ray sources in six globular clusters, 47 Tuc, NGC 1851, NGC 6441, NGC 6624, NGC 6712, and M15, are reported. Maps of the U-B color of the central regions of the clusters were prepared. A candidate for the optical counterpart of the source in NGC 6712 was found, along with a blue region near the X-ray source in 47 Tuc. Upper limits on the colors and magnitudes of possible optical counterparts are reported for the other three clusters. The use of color maps to determine color gradients in globular clusters is explored. It is found that, while such gradients do exist and vary from cluster to cluster, they can be explained by crowding effects. Crude limits are placed on the excess populations of blue objects such as CVs, which have been postulated to be concentrated in the centers of dense clusters.

Bailyn, Charles D.↗