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At least 379 records · Page 21

Solar prominences in the extreme ultraviolet as observed from the Apollo Telescope Mount

Observations of quiescent solar prominences with the Harvard College Observatory spectrometer aboard Skylab show that prominence material is optically thick in the Lyman alpha line and the Lyman continuum. The color temperature of the Lyman continuum has a mean of 6600 K and an upward gradient toward the top of the prominence. The departure coefficient of the ground state of hydrogen is found to be of the order of unity, as expected from theory. The optical depth of the C III sheath region is determined directly from the observation of the limb through the prominence and is used to infer the mean electron density and the temperature gradient of the sheath. The result implies that the sheath density is about 0.4, and the temperature gradient about 1.4 times the respective value in the C III transition zone of the quiet sun. The C III triplet-singlet ratio for the prominence is found to give a density compatible, within the uncertainty of the atomic parameters, with the density obtained from the optical depth.

Schmahl, E. J.↗

A sounding rocket spectroheliometer for photometric studies at extreme ultraviolet wavelengths

Construction and mode of operation are described for a sounding rocket spectroheliometer used to establish the sensitivity of the EUV spectroheliometer on the Skylab Apollo Telescope Mount (ATM). The sounding rocket instrument was calibrated immediately before and after two flights and the calibration was transferred when the rocket and ATM instruments simultaneously measured the average intensity emitted by a quiet area of the solar disk. Descriptions are presented for the payload assembly and flight sequence, the optical system (telescope, spectrometer, and pointing reference camera), the vacuum pumping system, and the instrument electronics. Results obtained from the two flights in August and December 1973 are discussed, which included unambiguous determinations of the absolute intensity emitted by a region of the quiet solar disk over the wavelength range from 1350 to 300 A on two separate occasions and the establishment of photometric accuracy to that of laboratory calibration procedures.

Timothy, J. G.↗

Search for extreme ultraviolet radiation from selected stars

Results are reported for a search for EUV radiation between 140 and 430 A from selected objects which was conducted with a rocket-borne EUV filter photometer. The candidate objects included the bright planetary nebula NGC 2392 and the stars gamma Gem, alpha CMa, omicron-prime CMa, and gamma-2 Vel. Upper limits (2-sigma level) to the flux near 200 A are determined for the five objects, and estimates of the expected 200-A helium-continuum flux are derived for two of the stars on the basis of the hot-corona model. It is found that the calculated upper limits are at least two orders of magnitude higher than plausible flux estimates based on the hot-corona model. However, it is noted that uncertainties in the flux estimates are great enough to make the upper limits useful.

Riegler, G. R.↗

Discovery of a nonsolar extreme-ultraviolet source

Results are reported for observations of EUV emission from an extrasolar object which were made with a grazing-incidence telescope during the Apollo-Soyuz mission. The total energy flux in the spectral band between 170 and 620 A is estimated to be approximately 4 by 10 to the -9th power erg/sq cm per sec. It is shown that the data support the identification of the EUV object with the ultrasoft X-ray source in Coma Berenices. The source of both emissions is suggested to be the hot white dwarf HZ 43, located at right ascension 13 hr 43 min and declination +29 deg 22 min (1950). The temperature of HZ 43 is estimated as 110,000 K, giving it the highest temperature of any known white dwarf.

Lampton, M.↗

The quiet sun in the extreme ultraviolet

Observations of the quiet sun with an XUV spectrometer during the Skylab mission are reported for the chromosphere, transition region, and corona. The changing structure of the network is examined over the temperature range from 10,000 to 1.5 million K, and the distribution of intensities in the cell interiors and the network are examined from the standpoint of creating characteristic models. Observations of traces of periodic oscillations at 300 s in the cells for temperatures not exceeding 20,000 K are reported together with the absence of any periodic contributions at higher temperatures or periodic effects at any height in the network elements. Frequent nonperiodic brightenings are observed, and their characteristics discussed. Observations of the increased thickness of the transition region in coronal holes, as well as other properties, are discussed in limited detail. Observations of the center-to-limb behavior of transition-region and coronal lines are used to construct coronal models, and the assumptions of spherical symmetry evaluated from the intensity data. The effects of spicules on the limb and disk data are discussed in relation to the observations.

Reeves, E. M.↗

Absolute measurement of the photoionization cross section of atomic hydrogen with a shock tube for the extreme ultraviolet

The paper reports an experiment which is part of a program to measure the absolute values of the atomic photoionization cross sections of astrophysically abundant elements, particularly in stars and planetary atmospheres. An aerodynamic pressure-driven shock tube constructed from stainless steel with a quadratic cross section was used to measure the photoionization cross section of H I at 19 wavelength points from 910 to 609 A with experimental uncertainties between 7 and 20%. The shock tube was used to produce fully dissociated hydrogen and neon mixtures for the photoabsorption measurements.

Palenius, H. P.↗

On the white dwarf HZ 43 as an extreme-ultraviolet source

It is confirmed by atmospheric modeling that both the visual continuum and the XUV spectrum (60 to 600 A) of HZ 43 can be fitted self-consistently with the emergent flux from a stellar atmosphere having an effective temperature of about 125,000 K and log g of at least 7. An examination of theoretical white-dwarf cooling sequences and estimates of the stellar luminosity indicate that the parameters of HZ 43 are consistent with a hot white dwarf of 0.6 to 1.2 solar masses. The age is estimated to be as short as 100,000 years, raising the possibility that the star may have ejected a planetary nebula or may be surrounded by an expanding H II region. It is concluded that the detection of a planetary nebula shell or an H II region around HZ 43 may provide an astrophysical test of the direct neutrino-electron interaction.

Durisen, R. H.↗

An extrasolar extreme-ultraviolet object. II - The nature of HZ 43

A variety of data are presented concerning the spectrum, distance, temperature, and evolutionary state of the hot white dwarf HZ 43, the first extrasolar object to be detected in the EUV band. The data include spectrophotometry of the star and its red dwarf companion (HZ 43B), a trigonometric parallax for the star, its tangential velocity, and results of soft X-ray and EUV observations. The main conclusions are that: (1) the spectrum of HZ 43A is that of a hot DAwk star, (2) HZ 43B is a dM3.5e star, (3) the distance of the system is about 65 pc, (4) the tangential velocity is not atypical of white dwarfs, and (5) the stellar energy distribution of HZ 43A is well fitted by a black body with an effective temperature of approximately 110,000 K. Evolutionary implications of the existence of an object as hot as HZ 43A are briefly considered, and it is suggested that the progenitors of hot DA stars must include objects hotter than spectral type sdB, with logical possibilities being nuclei of planetary nebulae and sdO stars.

Margon, B.↗

Solar wind and extreme ultraviolet modulation of the lunar ionosphere/exosphere

The ALSEP/SIDE detectors routinely monitor the dayside lunar ionosphere. Variations in the ionosphere are found to correlate with both the 2800 MHz radio index which can be related to solar EUV and with the solar wind proton flux. For the solar wind, the ionospheric variation is proportionately greater than that of the solar wind. This suggests an amplification effect on the lunar atmosphere due perhaps to sputtering of the surface or, less probably, an inordinate enhancement of noble gases in the solar wind. The surface neutral number density is calculated under the assumption of neon gas. During a quiet solar wind this number agrees with or is slightly above that expected for neon accreted from the solar wind. During an enhanced solar wind the neutral number density is much higher.

Freeman, J. W.↗

An intense extreme-ultraviolet source in Cetus

The detection of a second EUV (100-1000 A) probable white dwarf star with the EUV telescope aboard the Apollo Soyuz mission is reported. The positional error box includes Feige 24, a binary system consisting of a very blue white dwarf and a dMe star. A grid of LTE pure-hydrogen, high-surface-gravity model atmospheres, is used, in combination with the EUV data and optical spectrophotometry, to derive the stellar parameters, yielding an effective temperature of 60,000 K, a radius of 17,000 km at 100 pc, and a luminosity of 7(d/100 pc) squared solar luminosities. The Feige 24 models appear to rule out white dwarfs with pure hydrogen atmospheres if the interstellar helium abundance and ionization are not anomalous.

Margon, B.↗

The extreme ultraviolet albedos of the planet Mercury and of the moon

The albedo of the moon in the far UV was measured by Mariner 10 at a solar phase angle of 74 deg, and the geometric albedo of Mercury was measured in same wavelength range (584-1657 A) at solar phase angles ranging from 50 to 120 deg. For both the moon and Mercury there is a general increase in albedo for wavelengths decreasing from 1657 to 584 A. The ratio of the albedos of Mercury and the moon increases from about 0.6 to 0.8 in the range 600-1600 A. This merely points to a difference in the surfaces of the moon and Mercury, there being insufficient data to make any conclusions regarding the nature of the difference.

Wu, H. H.↗

Extreme ultraviolet photometer for observations of helium in interplanetary space

A four-channel photometer sensitive to two solar EUV lines which are resonantly scattered by helium gas was developed for flight on the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project. Two channels observed the 58.4-nm line of He I and used helium gas resonant absorption cells to determine the intensities of the center and wings of that line. The other two channels observed the 30.4-nm line of He II. The instrument surveyed much of the celestial sphere during a series of slow rolling maneuvers by the Apollo spacecraft. The experiment operated properly, and usable data were obtained. Study of the distributions of flux seen, and of the ratio 58.4-nm fluxes seen with gas cells full and empty, will refine current understanding of several poorly known properties of the local interstellar medium. Study of the 30.4-nm flux distribution will refine present knowledge of the structure of the earth's plasmasphere.

Bowyer, S.↗

Extreme-ultraviolet observations of coronal holes. I - Locations, sizes and evolution of coronal holes, June 1973-January 1974

The disk boundaries of coronal holes have been systematically determined from XUV observations taken during the manned Skylab missions (June 1973-January 1974). The resulting atlas was used to find the sizes, global distributions, differential rotation rates, growth/decay rates and lifetimes of holes during this period. The polar cap holes together covered 15% of the sun's total surface area, a number which remained surprisingly constant throughout Skylab despite the fact that each pole was independently evolving in time. Lower latitude holes contributed another 2 to 5%.

Bohlin, J. D.↗