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At least 523 records · Page 29

Global properties of infrared bright galaxies

Infrared flux densities of 182 galaxies, including 50 galaxies in the Virgo cluster, were analyzed using IRAS data for 12, 25, 60, and 100 microns, and the results were compared with data listed in the Point Source Catalog (PSC, 1985). In addition, IR luminosities, L(IRs), colors, and warm dust masses were derived for these galaxies and were compared with the interstellar gas masses and optical luminosities of the galaxies. It was found that, for galaxies whose optical diameter measures between 5 and 8 arcmin, the PSC flux densities are underestimated by a factor of 2 at 60 microns, and by a factor of 1.5 at 100 microns. It was also found that, for 49 galaxies, the mass of warm dust correlated well with the H2 mass, and that L(IR) correlated with L(H-alpha), demonstrating that the L(IR) measures the rate of star formation in these galaxies.

Young, Judith S.↗

Venus small volcano classification and description

The high resolution and global coverage of the Magellan radar image data set allows detailed study of the smallest volcanoes on the planet. A modified classification scheme for volcanoes less than 20 km in diameter is shown and described. It is based on observations of all members of the 556 significant clusters or fields of small volcanoes located and described by this author during data collection for the Magellan Volcanic and Magmatic Feature Catalog. This global study of approximately 10 exp 4 volcanoes provides new information for refining small volcano classification based on individual characteristics. Total number of these volcanoes was estimated to be 10 exp 5 to 10 exp 6 planetwide based on pre-Magellan analysis of Venera 15/16, and during preparation of the global catalog, small volcanoes were identified individually or in clusters in every C1-MIDR mosaic of the Magellan data set. Basal diameter (based on 1000 measured edifices) generally ranges from 2 to 12 km with a mode of 34 km, and follows an exponential distribution similar to the size frequency distribution of seamounts as measured from GLORIA sonar images. This is a typical distribution for most size-limited natural phenomena unlike impact craters which follow a power law distribution and continue to infinitely increase in number with decreasing size. Using an exponential distribution calculated from measured small volcanoes selected globally at random, we can calculate total number possible given a minimum size. The paucity of edifice diameters less than 2 km may be due to inability to identify very small volcanic edifices in this data set; however, summit pits are recognizable at smaller diameters, and 2 km may represent a significant minimum diameter related to style of volcanic eruption. Guest, et al, discussed four general types of small volcanic edifices on Venus: (1) small lava shields; (2) small volcanic cones; (3) small volcanic domes; and (4) scalloped margin domes ('ticks'). Steep-sided domes or 'pancake domes', larger than 20 km in diameter, were included with the small volcanic domes. For the purposes of this study, only volcanic edifices less than 20 km in diameter are discussed. This forms a convenient cutoff since most of the steep-sided domes ('pancake domes') and scalloped margin domes ('ticks') are 20 to 100 km in diameter, are much less numerous globally than are the smaller diameter volcanic edifices (2 to 3 orders of magnitude lower in total global number), and do not commonly occur in large clusters or fields of large numbers of edifices.

Aubele, J. C.↗

Automated navigation assessment for earth survey sensors using island targets

An automated method has been developed for performing navigation assessment on satellite-based Earth sensor data. The method utilizes islands as targets which can be readily located in the sensor data and identified with reference locations. The essential elements are an algorithm for classifying the sensor data according to source, a reference catalog of island locations, and a robust pattern-matching algorithm for island identification. The algorithms were developed and tested for the Sea-viewing Wide Field-of-view Sensor (SeaWiFS), an ocean color sensor. This method will allow navigation error statistics to be automatically generated for large numbers of points, supporting analysis over large spatial and temporal ranges.

Patt, Frederick S.↗

Main-Sequence CMEs as Magnetic Explosions: Compatibility with Observed Kinematics

We examine the kinematics of 26 CMEs of the morphological main sequence of CMEs, those having the classic three-part bubble structure of (1) a bright front eveloping (2) a dark cavity within which rides (3) a bright blob/filamentary feature. Each CME is observed in Yohkoh/SXT images to originate from near the limb (> or equal to 0.7 R(sub Sun) from disk center). The basic data (from the SOHO LASCO CME Catalog) for the kinematics of each CME are the sequence of LASCO images of the CME, the time of each image, the measured radial distance of the front edge of the CME in each image, and the measured angular extent of the CME. About half of our CMEs (12) occur with a flare, and the rest (14) occur without a flare. While the average linear-fit speed of the flare CMEs (1000 km/s) is twice that of the non-flare CMEs (510 km/s), the flare CMEs and the non-flare CMEs are similar in that some have nearly flat velocity-height (radial extent) profiles (little acceleration), some have noticeably falling velocity profiles (noticeable deceleration), and the rest have velocity profiles that rise considerably through the outer corona (blatant acceleration). This suggests that in addition to sharing similar morphology, main-sequence CMEs all have basically the same driving mechanism. The observed radial progression of each of our 26 CMEs is fit by a simple model magnetic plasmoid that is in pressure balance with the radial magnetic field in the outer corona and that propels itself outward by magnetic expansion, doing no net work on its surroundings. On average over the 26 CMEs, this model fits the observations as well as the assumption of constant acceleration. This is compatible with main-sequence CMEs being magnetically driven, basically magnetic explosions, with the velocity profile in the outer corona being largely dictated by the initial Alfien speed in the CME (when the front is at approx. 3 (sub Sun), analogous to the mass of a main-sequence star dictating the luminosity.

Moore, Ron↗

The ASTER Emergency Backup System

This paper discusses the international aspect of the ASTER project by specifying data flow among Japan, the EDC DAAC, the JPL SCF, The Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), and the ASTER Science Team.

ASTER↗

Surface Expression of Bed Topography in Greenland and Antarctica

It has long been recognized that major subglacial topographic features beneath the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets – whether especially prominent or wide – can generate an observable surface expression. Recent advances in digital elevation models (ArcticDEM, REMA) and bed-to-surface transfer theory now permit widespread observation of this phenomena and a more robust interpretation. Hillshading a digital elevation model from the direction of ice flow permits straightforward detection of major surface features. For Greenland, comparison against the growing catalog of airborne radar-sounding data confirms that the large majority of these features are associated with subglacial topography – typically valleys. These observations suggest a better path toward interpolating subglacial topography between sparse radar observations by developing methods that also require fidelity to observed surface relief.

Joe Macgregor↗

Processing the Viking lander camera data

Over 1000 camera events were returned from the two Viking landers during the Primary Mission. A system was devised for processing camera data as they were received, in real time, from the Deep Space Network. This system provided a flexible choice of parameters for three computer-enhanced versions of the data for display or hard-copy generation. Software systems allowed all but 0.3% of the imagery scan lines received on earth to be placed correctly in the camera data record. A second-order processing system was developed which allowed extensive interactive image processing including computer-assisted photogrammetry, a variety of geometric and photometric transformations, mosaicking, and color balancing using six different filtered images of a common scene. These results have been completely cataloged and documented to produce an Experiment Data Record.

Levinthal, E. C.↗

Distant Cluster Hunting: A Comparison of X-Ray and Optical Cluster Detection Techniques and Catalogs from the ROSAT Optical X-Ray Survey - II

We present and analyze the optical and X-ray catalogs of moderate-redshift cluster candidates from the ROSA TOptical X-Ray Survey, or ROXS. The survey covers the sky area contained in the fields of view of 23 deep archival ROSA T PSPC pointings, 4.8 square degrees. The cross-correlated cluster catalogs were con- structed by comparing two independent catalogs extracted from the optical and X-ray bandpasses, using a matched-filter technique for the optical data and a wavelet technique for the X-ray data. We cross-identified cluster candidates in each catalog. As reported in Paper 1, the matched-filter technique found optical counter- parts for at least 60% (26 out of 43) of the X-ray cluster candidates; the estimated redshifts from the matched filter algorithm agree with at least 7 of 1 1 spectroscopic confirmations (Az 5 0.10). The matched filter technique. with an imaging sensitivity of ml N 23, identified approximately 3 times the number of candidates (155 candidates, 142 with a detection confidence >3 u) found in the X-ray survey of nearly the same area. There are 57 X-ray candidates, 43 of which are unobscured by scattered light or bright stars in the optical images. Twenty-six of these have fairly secure optical counterparts. We find that the matched filter algorithm, when applied to images with galaxy flux sensitivities of mI N 23, is fairly well-matched to discovering z 5 1 clusters detected by wavelets in ROSAT PSPC exposures of 8000-60,000 s. The difference in the spurious fractions between the optical and X-ray (30%) and IO%, respectively) cannot account for the difference in source number. In Paper I, we compared the optical and X-ray cluster luminosity functions and we found that the luminosity functions are consistent if the relationship between X-ray and optical luminosities is steep (Lx o( L&f). Here, in Paper 11, we present the cluster catalogs and a numerical simulation of the ROXS. We also present color-magnitude plots for several of the cluster candidates, and examine the prominence of the red sequence in each. We find that the X-ray clusters in our survey do not all have a prominent red sequence. We conclude that while the red sequence may be a distinct feature in the color-magnitude plots for virialized massive clusters, it may be less distinct in lower mass clusters of galaxies at even moderate redshifts. Multiple, complementary methods of selecting and defining clusters may be essential, particularly at high redshift where all methods start to run into completeness limits, incomplete understanding of physical evolution, and projection effects.

Donahue, Megan↗

Enhancing and Archiving the APS Catalog of the POSS I

We have worked on two different projects: 1) Archiving the APS Catalog of the POSS I for distribution to NASA's NED at IPAC, SIMBAD in France, and individual astronomers and 2) The automated morphological classification of galaxies. We have completed archiving the Catalog into easily readable binary files. The database together with the software to read it has been distributed on DVD's to the national and international data centers and to individual astronomers. The archived Catalog contains more than 89 million objects in 632 fields in the first epoch Palomar Observatory Sky Survey. Additional image parameters not available in the original on-line version are also included in the archived version. The archived Catalog is also available and can be queried at the APS web site (URL: http://aps.umn.edu) which has been improved with a much faster and more efficient querying system. The Catalog can be downloaded as binary datafiles with the source code for reading it. It is also being integrated into the SkyQuery system which includes the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, 2MASS, and the FIRST radio sky survey. We experimented with different classification algorithms to automate the morphological classification of galaxies. This is an especially difficult problem because there are not only a large number of attributes or parameters and measurement uncertainties, but also the added complication of human disagreement about the adopted types. To solve this problem we used 837 galaxy images from nine POSS I fields at the North Galactic Pole classified by two independent astronomers for which they agree on the morphological types. The initial goal was to separate the galaxies into the three broad classes relevant to issues of large scale structure and galaxy formation and evolution: early (ellipticals and lenticulars), spirals, and late (irregulars) with an accuracy or success rate that rivals the best astronomer classifiers. We also needed to identify a set of parameters derived from the digitized images that separate the galaxies by type. The human eye can easily recognize complicated patterns in images such as spiral arms which can be spotty, blotchy affairs that are difficult for automated techniques. A galaxy image can potentially be described by hundreds of parameters, all of which may have some relation to the morphological type. In the set of initial experiments we used 624 such parameters, in two colors, blue and red. These parameters include the surface brightness and color measured at different radii, ratios of these parameters at different radii, concentration indices, Fourier transforms and wavelet decomposition coefficients. We experimented with three different classes of classification algorithms; decision trees, k-nearest neighbors, and support vector machines (SVM). A range of experiments were conducted and we eventually narrowed the parameters to 23 selected parameters. SVM consistently outperformed the other algorithms with both sets of features. By combining the results from the different algorithms in a weighted scheme we achieved an overall classification success of 86%.

Humphreys, Roberta M.↗

A spatial data handling system for retrieval of images by unrestricted regions of user interest

The Intelligent Data Management (IDM) project at NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center has prototyped an Intelligent Information Fusion System (IIFS), which automatically ingests metadata from remote sensor observations into a large catalog which is directly queryable by end-users. The greatest challenge in the implementation of this catalog was supporting spatially-driven searches, where the user has a possible complex region of interest and wishes to recover those images that overlap all or simply a part of that region. A spatial data management system is described, which is capable of storing and retrieving records of image data regardless of their source. This system was designed and implemented as part of the IIFS catalog. A new data structure, called a hypercylinder, is central to the design. The hypercylinder is specifically tailored for data distributed over the surface of a sphere, such as satellite observations of the Earth or space. Operations on the hypercylinder are regulated by two expert systems. The first governs the ingest of new metadata records, and maintains the efficiency of the data structure as it grows. The second translates, plans, and executes users' spatial queries, performing incremental optimization as partial query results are returned.

Dorfman, Erik↗

LANDSAT 2 world standard catalog, 1 May - 31 July 1978

Information regarding the availability of LANDSAT imagery processed and input to the data files by the NASA Data Processing Facility is published on a monthly basis. The U.S. Standard Catalog includes imagery covering the continental United States, Alaska and Hawaii. The Non-U.S. Standard Catalog identifies all the remaining coverage. Sections 1 and 2 describe the contents and format for the catalogs and the associated microfilm. Section 3 provides a cross-reference defining the beginning and ending dates for LANDSAT cycles.

Source record↗

[Development Of 25-Year Imp 8 Bow Shock Crossing "List, Ingestion Of This List To Cdaweb, & Enhancement"]

The MIT portion of this project was to use the plasma data from IMP 8 to identify bow shock crossings for construction of a bow shock data base. In collaboration with Goddard, we determined which shock parameters would be included in the catalog and developed a set of flags for characterizing the data. IMP 8 data from 1973-2001 were surveyed for bow shock crossings; the crossings apparent in the plasma data were compared to a list of crossing chosen in the magnetometer data by Goddard. Differences were reconciled to produce a single list. The data were then provided to the NSSDC for archiving. All the work ascribed to MIT in the proposal was completed.

Merka, J.↗

Infrared Astronomical Satellite (IRAS) Catalogs and Atlases. Explanatory Supplement

The Infrared Astronomical Satellite (IRAS) mission is described. An overview of the mission, a description of the satellite and its telescope system, and a discussion of the mission design, requirements, and inflight modifications are given. Data reduction, flight tests, flux reconstruction and calibration, data processing, and the formats of the IRAS catalogs and atlases are also considered.

Beichman, C. A.↗

Collation of earth resources data collected by ERIM airborne sensors

Earth resources imagery from nine years of data collection with developmental airborne sensors is cataloged for reference. The imaging sensors include single and multiband line scanners and side-looking radars. The operating wavelengths of the sensors include ultraviolet, visible and infrared band scanners, and X- and L-band radar. Imagery from all bands (radar and scanner) were collected at some sites and many sites had repeated coverage. The multiband scanner data was radiometrically calibrated. Illustrations show how the data can be used in earth resource investigations. References are made to published reports which have made use of the data in completed investigations. Data collection sponsors are identified and a procedure described for gaining access to the data.

Hasell, P. G., Jr.↗

Documentation for the machine-readable version of the Fourth Cambridge Radio Survey Catalogue (4C) (Pilkington, Gower, Scott and Wills 1965, 1967)

The machine readable catalogue contains survey data from the papers of Pilkington and Scott and Gower, Scott and Wills. These data result from a survey of radio sources between declinations -07 deg and +80 deg using the large Cambridge interferometer at 178 MHz. The computerized catalog contains for each source the 4C number, 1950 position, measured flux density, and accuracy class. For some sources miscellaneous brief comments such as cross identifications to the 3C catalog or remarks on contamination from nearby sources are given at the ends of the data records. A detailed description of the machine readable catalog as it is currently being distributed by the Astronomical Data Center is given to enable users to read and process the data.

Warren, W. H., Jr.↗