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At least 379 records · Page 21
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1991

Sun-as-a-star spectrum variability

The sun is observed as a start in order to determine luminosity change, detect minute variability in average granulation and focular signals, and to use as a standard against which other stars might be compared. In this regard, topics discussed include: total irradiance variability as measured from space by the Activity Cavity Radiometer Irradiance Monitor and Earth Radiation Budget radiometers; Fraunhofer line heights of formation and examples of their variability in visible wavelenghts; ultraviolet and extreme ultraviolet irradiance variability as observed from space; the magnetic origin of irradiance change; and the observed mean magnetic field of the sun.

Livingston, William↗
NASA NTRS1991

Do meteorites contain irradiation records from exposure to an enhanced-activity sun?

The meteoritic evidence for a T Tauri phase in the sun's evolution is reviewed. Emphasis is given to effects recorded in meteoritic grains before final compaction of the meteorite parent body and the evidence that these precompaction irradiation effects do or do not require an active early sun. Several other effects attributed to such early activity are also reviewed.

Caffee, M. W.↗
NASA NTRS1992

Observations of the quiet Sun from the soft x ray telescope on Yohkoh

The Soft X-ray Telescope (SXT) on Yohkoh has obtained many thousands of images suitable for studying the quiet Sun. It will give a new perspective on the types of structures, their frequency of occurrence, and their lifetimes that will provide an invaluable tool for planning SOHO (Solar and Heliospheric Observatory) observations of the solar corona. The range of corona phenomena and the dynamic nature of the quiet Sun are illustrated.

Strong, Keith T.↗
NASA NTRS1992

Variable EUV emission in the quiet sun and coronal heating

We review the characteristics of the variable emission from the small scale structure in the quiet sun, in view of the recent theoretical proposals that microflares are responsible for the heating of the corona and the solar wind. We consider the observational properties of the variable emission in quiet regions and coronal holes. Our results are based primarily on simultaneous multiwavelength EUV observations, supplemented by combinations of simultaneous cm radio, He I 10830 A, X-ray and line of sight photospheric magnetic field measurements. We show that the variable emission from the small-scale structure has surprisingly well-defined properties. Yet, within the limit of the temporal and spatial resolution of data currently available, the radiative losses, from this component of the emission, are a factor of ten smaller than that in the quiet sun. Hence, the theory of microflare heating cannot rely on these observations for support.

Habbal, S. R.↗
NASA NTRS1992

Methodology for the passive control of orbital inclination and mean local time to meet sun-synchronous orbit requirements

The mean local time (MLT) of equatorial crossing of a sun-synchronous Earth-observing spacecraft orbit drifts with inclination; therefore, in order to maintain the MLT, the inclination must be controlled. Inclination may be maintained actively by costly out-of-plane maneuvers or passively by using the perturbing forces due to the sun and moon. This paper examines the passive control approach using the Earth Observing System (EOS) as a basis for the discussion. Applications to Landsat and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) spacecraft are presented for comparison. This technique is especially beneficial to spacecraft lacking propulsion systems. The results indicate that passive inclination control appears to be the preferable maintenance method when spacecraft weight restrictions, operational considerations, and scientific requirements apply.

Folta, David↗
NASA NTRS1993

The controversial sun

The sun serves as an important test case for a variety of problems related to stellar structure and evolution as well as fundamental physics. The sun also influences the terrestrial environment through its varied outputs. These two aspects of the solar interior combine to generate a surprising level of controversy for such an inherently simple star. I review three topics each of which is the subject of some degree of controversy: 1) the solar neutrino problem, 2) the status of modeling and observational efforts to understand the solar cycle of activity, and 3) observational efforts to detect and identify solar g-modes.

Ulrich, Roger K.↗
NASA NTRS1993

SCR neon and argon in Kapoeta feldspar: Evidence for an active ancient Sun

From etched feldspar size-fractions of Kapoeta, we determine a significant excess of cosmogenic Ne-21 and Ar-38 over that produced by galactic cosmic rays. This excess component is attributed to early production by energetic solar protons and suggest that the energetic proton flux from the ancient Sun was several hundred times more intense than that of the contemporary Sun.

Rao, M. N.↗
NASA NTRS1993

Mars and the early Sun

Global mean temperatures near 273 K on early Mars are difficult to explain in the context of standards solar evolution models. Even assuming maximum CO2 greenhouse warming, the required flux is approximately 15 percent too low. Here we consider two astrophysical models that could increase the flux by this amount. The first model is a nonstandard solar model in which the early Sun had a mass somewhat greater than today's mass (1.02-1.06 solar mass). The second model is based on a standard evolutionary solar model, but the ecliptic flux is increased due to focusing by an (expected) heavily spotted early Sun.

Whitmire, D. P.↗
NASA NTRS1994

A geometric model of a V-slit Sun sensor correcting for spacecraft wobble

A V-Slit sun sensor is body-mounted on a spin-stabilized spacecraft. During injection from a parking or transfer orbit to some final orbit, the spacecraft may not be dynamically balanced. This may result in wobble about the spacecraft spin axis as the spin axis may not be aligned with the spacecraft's axis of symmetry. While the widely used models in Spacecraft Attitude Determination and Control, edited by Wertz, correct for separation, elevation, and azimuthal mounting biases, spacecraft wobble is not taken into consideration. A geometric approach is used to develop a method for measurement of the sun angle which corrects for the magnitude and phase of spacecraft wobble. The algorithm was implemented using a set of standard mathematical routines for spherical geometry on a unit sphere.

Mcmartin, W. P.↗
NASA NTRS1994

Ulysses charged particle measurements between 1 and 5 AU from the Sun

Proton fluxes obtained by two instruments carried on the European Space Agency (ESA)/NASA Ulysses spacecraft are reported for the period from launch in October 1990 till Jupiter encounter in February 1992. Proton energy ranges are 24-59, 71-99, 130-320, 320-2100 and greater than 2100 MeV. The Sun was very active during this period, the events of March 1991 being some of the largest of the solar cycle. The relationship between events on the Sun and the observed proton flux is discussed.

Page, D. E.↗
NASA NTRS1994

Helicity charging and eruption of magnetic flux from the Sun

The ejection of helical toroidal fields from the solar atmosphere and their detection in interplanetary space are described. The discovery that solar magnetic fields are twisted and that they are segregated by hemisphere according to their chirality has important implications for the escape process. The roles played by erupting prominences, coronal mass ejections (CME's) and active region (AR) loops in expressing the escape of magnetic flux and helicity are discussed. Sporadic flux escape associated with filament eruptions accounts for less than one-tenth the flux loss. Azimuthal flux loss by CME's could account for more, but the major contributor to flux escape may be AR loop expansion. It is shown how the transfer of magnetic helicity from the sun's interior into emerged loops ('helicity charging') could be the effective driver of solar eruptions and of flux loss from the sun.

Rust, David M.↗
NASA NTRS1994

Near-Sun solar wind consequences of solar structure and dynamic phenomena observed by radio scintillation measurements

Since radio propagation measurements using either natural or spacecraft radio signals are used for probing the solar wind in the vicinity of the sun, they represent a key tool for studying the interplanetary consequences of solar structure and dynamic phenomena. New information on the near sun consequences was obtained from radio scintillation observations of coherent spacecraft signals. The results covering density fluctuations, fractional density fluctuations, coronal streamers, heliospheric current sheets, coronal mass ejections and interplanetary shocks are reviewed. A joint ICE S-band (13 cm wavelength) Doppler scintillation measurement with the SOHO white-light coronograph (LASCO) is described.

Woo, Richard↗
NASA NTRS1994

Effect of high-latitude ionospheric convection on Sun-aligned polar caps

A coupled magnetospheric-ionospheric (M-I) magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) model has been used to simulate the formation of Sun-aligned polar cap arcs for a variety of interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) dependent polar cap convection fields. The formation process involves launching an Alfven shear wave from the magnetosphere to the ionosphere where the ionospheric conductance can react self-consistently to changes in the upward currents. We assume that the initial Alfven shear wave is the result of solar wind-magnetosphere interactions. The simulations show how the E region density is affected by the changes in the electron precipitation that are associated with the upward currents. These changes in conductance lead to both a modified Alfven wave reflection at the ionosphere and the generation of secondary Alfven waves in the ionosphere. The ensuing bouncing of the Alfven waves between the ionosphere and magnetosphere is followed until an asymptotic solution is obtained. At the magnetosphere the Alfven waves reflect at a fixed boundary. The coupled M-I Sun-aligned polar cap arc model of Zhu et al.(1993a) is used to carry out the simulations. This study focuses on the dependence of the polar cap arc formation on the background (global) convection pattern. Since the polar cap arcs occur for northward and strong B(sub y) IMF conditions, a variety of background convection patterns can exist when the arcs are present. The study shows that polar cap arcs can be formed for all these convection patterns; however, the arc features are dramatically different for the different patterns. For weak sunward convection a relatively confined single pair of current sheets is associated with the imposed Alfven shear wave structure. However, when the electric field exceeds a threshold, the arc structure intensifies, and the conductance increases as does the local Joule heating rate. These increases are faster than a linear dependence on the background electric field strength. Furthermore, above the threshold, the single current sheet pair splits into multiple current sheet pairs. For the fixed initial ionospheric and magnetospheric conditions used in this study, the separation distance between the current pairs was found to be almost independent of the background electric field strength. For either three-cell or distorted two-cell background convection patterns the arc formation favored the positive B(sub y) case in the northern hemisphere.

Sojka, J. J.↗
NASA NTRS1994

Change in the radiative output of the Sun in 1992 and its effect in the thermosphere

Ground and space measurements of the solar spectral irradiance at radio, visible, UV, and X ray wavelengths show a large decline in the first 6 months of 1992. This sustained drop in the solar output is important in understanding the connection between the emergent magnetic flux on the Sun and the radiative output as well as in understanding the effects of such change in the upper atmosphere of the earth. We present preliminary estimates of the observed changes as the means to spur inquiry into this solar event in the declining phase of solar cycle 22. Typical decreases are 15% in Lyman alpha and 40% in 10.7-cm radio flux. Mass spectrometer and incoherent scatter model calculations at 600 km in the thermosphere indicate a 30% decrease in the temperature and a 3X decrease in the density of the thermosphere near the altitude where both the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite (UARS) and Hubble Space Telescope (HST) are flying. Decrease of the orbital period of the UARS shows the expected effect of decreasing density at flight altitude. Work in progress indicates that the output change results from the decline in solar magnetic flux to a lower level of activity in the southern hemisphere of the Sun.

White, O. R.↗
NASA NTRS1995

Kinematic models of supergranular diffusion on the Sun

We develop kinematic models of diffusion generated by supergranulation at the solar surface. These models use current observations for the size, horizontal velocity, and lifetime of supergranules. Because there is no observational description of the appearance and disappearance of supergranules, we investigate models using several plausible evolution processes, including the effect of different lifetime distribution functions for the cells. The results are quite insensitive to the methods chosen to replace old supergranules, the distribution of cell lifetimes, and even the cell lifetime itself, for mean lifetimes between 15 to 30 hr. Calculated diffusion coefficients range between 500 and 700 sq km/s, in agreement with the best fit diffusion coefficients used by Sheeley and his collaborators to model the large-scale distribution of magnetic fields over the solar surface. However, our models do not explain the field distribution in plage, and they predict that virtually all the strong field in quiet Sun exists in relatively isolated clumps. We suggest possible mechanisms for the creation of plage and the bright network seen in quiet Sun.

Simon, G. W.↗
NASA NTRS1995

Solar cycle dependence of the sun's radius at lambda = 525.0 nm

The Mount Wilson (California) synoptic program of solar magnetic observations scans the solar disk between 1 and 20 times per day. As part of this program, the radius is determined as an average distance between the image center and the point where the intensity in the FeI line at lambda = 525.0 nm drops to 25 percent of its value at the disk's center. The data base of information was analyzed and corrected for effects such as scattered light and atmospheric reflection. The solar variability and the measurement techniques are described. The observation data sets, the corrections made to the data, and the observed variations, are discussed. It is stated that similar spectral lines at lambda = 525.0 nm, which are common in the solar spectrum, probably exhibit similar radius changes. All portions of the sun are weighted equally so that it is concluded that, within spectral lines, the radiating area of the sun is increased at the solar maximum.

Ulrich, Roger K.↗
NASA NTRS1995

Observations of micro-turbulence in the solar wind near the sun with interplanetary scintillation

Velocity and density turbulence of solar wind were inferred from interplanetary scintillation (IPS) observations at 2.3 GHz and 8.5 GHz using a single-antenna. The observations were made during September and October in 1992 - 1994. They covered the distance range between 5 and 76 solar radii (Rs). We applied the spectrum fitting method to obtain a velocity, an axial ratio, an inner scale and a power-law spectrum index. We examined the difference of the turbulence properties near the Sun between low-speed solar wind and high-speed solar wind. Both of solar winds showed acceleration at the distance range of 10 - 30 Rs. The radial dependence of anisotropy and spectrum index did not have significant difference between low-speed and high-speed solar winds. Near the sun, the radial dependence of the inner scale showed the separation from the linear relation as reported by previous works. We found that the inner scale of high-speed solar wind is larger than that of low-speed wind.

Yamauchi, Y.↗
NASA NTRS1996

On the Dynamics of the Zodiacal Dust Cloud Close to the Sun

We study the interplanetary dust cloud near the Sun - inside Mercury's orbit - with particular emphasis on the clouds out-of-ecliptic distribution. In addition to the Poynting-Robertson effect, we discuss the Lorentz force, the relativistic advance of the perihelion, and the perturbation of the gravitational potential due to the rotation of the Sun, and planetary perturbations.

Scherer, K.↗