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At least 703 records · Page 39
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1986

Temporal frequency of radio emissions for the April 25, 1984 flare

The National Geophysical Data Center archives data of the solar-terrestrial environment. The USAF Radio Solar Telescope Network (RSTN) data allow performance of time series analysis to determine temporal oscillations as low as three seconds. The X13/3B flare which erupted in region 4474 (S12E43) on the 24 to 25 of April 1984, was selected. The soft X-rays, 1 to 8 A, remained above X-levels for 50 minutes and the radio emissions measured at Learmonth Solar Observatory reached a maximum of 3.15 x 10 to the 5th power SFUs at 410 MHz at 0000UT. A power spectral analysis of the fixed frequency RSTN data from Learmonth shows possible quasi-periodic fluctuations in the range two to ten seconds. Repetition rates or quasi-periodicities, in the case of the power spectral analysis, generally showed the same trends as the average solar radio flux at 245 and 8800 MHz. The quasi-periodicities at 1415 MHz showed no such trends.

Wells, G. D.↗
NASA NTRS1989

Tracing Rays In A Solar Power System

OFFSET is ray-tracing computer code for analysis of optics of solar collector. Code models distributions of solar flux within receiver cavity, produced by reflections from collector. Developed to model mathematically offset solar collector of solar dynamic electric power system being developed for Space Station Freedom. Used to develop revised collector-facet concept of four groups of toroidally contoured facets. Also used to develop methods for tailoring distribution of flux incident on receiver. Written in FORTRAN 77 (100 percent).

Jefferies, Kent↗
NASA NTRS1991

ROSAT detection of an X-ray shadow in the 1/4-keV diffuse background in the Draco nebula

The detection by the Roentgen satellite (ROSAT) X-ray telescope of a shadow in the 1/4-keV (C-band, 0.1 to 0.284 keV) cosmic diffuse background is reported. The location and morphology of the local minimum in X-rays are in clear agreement with a discrete H I cloud. The shadow is very deep with a minimum level at 50 percent of the surrounding emission; therefore, a minimum of 50 percent of the observed off-cloud flux must originate on the far side of the cloud. The analysis of H I velocity components links the cloud with the Draco nebula (distance of about 600 parsecs); it then follows that there is significant 1/4-keV X-ray emission at large distance (more than 400 parsecs) from the galactic plane along this line of sight. The extent of the distant emission region is uncertain, and if it indicates the existence of a hot galactic corona, it must be patchy in nature.

Snowden, S. L.↗
NASA NTRS1991

Isothermal, Compton-heated coronae above accretion disks

The structure of Compton-heated coronae above accretion disks is studied here by using analytic and numerical approaches are used here to determine the direct and scattered radiation reaching the base of the corona for a range of central source luminosities. It is found that the outer region of the corona is unaffected by multiple scattering in the interior, provided that the luminosity of the central source is sufficient below the Eddington limit. How attenuation and scattering by the corona affects the strength of chromospheric emission lines is determined, as is the condition for which the irradiation due to the central source exceeds the locally generated flux from the disk. Finally, it is shown that the stability analysis for irradiated accretion disks of Tuchman et al. is not substantially altered by the corona.

Ostriker, Eve C.↗
NASA NTRS1990

The inner region of the unstable boundary layer over hilly prairie for temperature and humidity

The analytical treatment of wind-speed, temperature, and humidity data above nonuniform surfaces is utilized to test the Monin-Obukhov similarity at the inner region of the atmospheric boundary layer. The data profiles are analyzed, and independent measurements of the surface fluxes of sensible heat and water vapor are incorporated into the analysis. It is shown that the mean profiles of the potential temperature and specific humidity can be described using the Monin-Obukhov similarity functions in an area with unstable conditions.

Brutsaert, Wilfried↗
NASA NTRS1994

Evaluation of semiempirical atmospheric density models for orbit determination applications

This paper presents the results of an investigation of the orbit determination performance of the Jacchia-Roberts (JR), mass spectrometer incoherent scatter 1986 (MSIS-86), and drag temperature model (DTM) atmospheric density models. Evaluation of the models was performed to assess the modeling of the total atmospheric density. This study was made generic by using six spacecraft and selecting time periods of study representative of all portions of the 11-year cycle. Performance of the models was measured for multiple spacecraft, representing a selection of orbit geometries from near-equatorial to polar inclinations and altitudes from 400 kilometers to 900 kilometers. The orbit geometries represent typical low earth-orbiting spacecraft supported by the Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) Flight Dynamics Division (FDD). The best available modeling and orbit determination techniques using the Goddard Trajectory Determination System (GTDS) were employed to minimize the effects of modeling errors. The latest geopotential model available during the analysis, the Goddard earth model-T3 (GEM-T3), was employed to minimize geopotential model error effects on the drag estimation. Improved-accuracy techniques identified for TOPEX/Poseidon orbit determination analysis were used to improve the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System (TDRSS)-based orbit determination used for most of the spacecraft chosen for this analysis. This paper shows that during periods of relatively quiet solar flux and geomagnetic activity near the solar minimum, the choice of atmospheric density model used for orbit determination is relatively inconsequential. During typical solar flux conditions near the solar maximum, the differences between the JR, DTM, and MSIS-86 models begin to become apparent. Time periods of extreme solar activity, those in which the daily and 81-day mean solar flux are high and change rapidly, result in significant differences between the models. During periods of high geomagnetic activity, the standard JR model was outperformed by DTM. Modification of the JR model to use a geomagnetic heating delay of 3 hours, as used in DTM, instead of the 6.7-hour delay produced results comparable to or better than the DTM performance, reducing definitive orbit solution ephermeris overlap differences by 30 to 50 percent. The reduction in the overlap differences would be useful for mitigating the impact of geomagnetic storms on orbit prediction.

Cox, C. M.↗
NASA NTRS1994

Shortwave feedbacks and El Nino-Southern Oscillation: Forced ocean coupled ocean-atmosphere experiments

Changes in tropical sea surface temperature (SST) can produce changes in cloudiness that modify incoming solar shortwave (SW) radiation, which in turn affects SST. The effects of this negative feedback on Pacific interannual variability are examined in forced ocean model and hybrid coupled ocean-atmosphere model simulations. Two empirical schemes are used to model the large-scale, low-frequency response of surface SW to SST anomalies. The first scheme attempts to account for the nonlocal nature of the atmospheric response to SST based patterns of covariability analyzed through singular value decomposition. In the observations the primary coupled mode of variability is composed of a SW anomaly in the central Pacific that covaries with anomalous SST in the eastern Pacific. This is applied in the model as a nonlocal feedback. The second scheme examines the effects of a purely local feedback with a spatially varying coefficient of magnitude chosen similar to the first scheme. In almost all cases the second scheme behaved similarly to the first, presumably because the correlation scale of SST is large enough for El Nino-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) dynamics that there is little sensitivity to the local approximation in the SW feedback. In simulations forced by time series of observed wind stress the SW feedback induced very minor SST damping. Results for a simpified heat budget analysis showed that while the SW feedback increased the local heat flux damping on SST, it also induced a mean shallowing of the mixed layer. The resulting changes in both the local mean vertical temperature gradient and the zonal velocity response to the wind stress acted to oppose the local heat flux damping effects. When the observed SW anomalies were applied to forced simulations, the simulated SST anomalies were modified as expected, and agreement with observed SST improved. In coupled simulations the SW feedbacks had greater impact than in the case of specified stress. The main effects were to decrease the magnitude of the warm and cold SST anomalies in the central Pacific, while leaving the pattern and evolution of ENSO anomalies essentially unchanged elsewhere. The SW feedbacks thus produce a modest improvement of the model ENSO SST pattern compared with observations, although they tended to shorten the period of the model ENSO cycle. Overall the results suggest that large-scale SW feedbacks are of quantitative importance to simulating some aspects of the ENSO cycle but are not critical to the overall occurrence of the phenomenon.

Waliser, Duane E.↗
NASA NTRS1995

Measurements in Transitional Boundary Layers Under High Free-Stream Turbulence and Strong Acceleration Conditions

Measurements from transitional, heated boundary layers along a concave-curved test wall are presented and discussed. A boundary layer subject to low free-stream turbulence intensity (FSTI), which contains stationary streamwise (Gortler) vortices, is documented. The low FSTI measurements are followed by measurements in boundary layers subject to high (initially 8%) free-stream turbulence intensity and moderate to strong streamwise acceleration. Conditions were chosen to simulate those present on the downstream half of the pressure side of a gas turbine airfoil. Mean flow characteristics as well as turbulence statistics, including the turbulent shear stress, turbulent heat flux, and turbulent Prandtl number, are documented. A technique called "octant analysis" is introduced and applied to several cases from the literature as well as to data from the present study. Spectral analysis was applied to describe the effects of turbulence scales of different sizes during transition. To the authors'knowledge, this is the first detailed documentation of boundary layer transition under such high free-stream turbulence conditions.

Volino, Ralph J.↗
NASA NTRS1999

Optical Properties of Aerosols from Long Term Ground-Based Aeronet Measurements

AERONET is an optical ground-based aerosol monitoring network and data archive supported by NASA's Earth Observing System and expanded by federation with many non-NASA institutions including AEROCAN (AERONET CANada) and PHOTON (PHOtometrie pour le Traiteinent Operatonnel de Normalisation Satellitaire). The network hardware consists of identical automatic sun-sky scanning spectral radiometers owned by national agencies and universities purchased for their own monitoring and research objectives. Data are transmitted hourly through the data collection system (DCS) on board the geostationary meteorological satellites GMS, GOES and METEOSAT and received in a common archive for daily processing utilizing a peer reviewed series of algorithms thus imposing a standardization and quality control of the product data base. Data from this collaboration provides globally distributed near real time observations of aerosol spectral optical depths, aerosol size distributions, and precipitable water in diverse aerosol regimes. Access to the AERONET data base has shifted from the interactive program 'demonstrat' (reserved for PI's) to the AERONET homepage allowing faster access and greater development for GIS object oriented retrievals and analysis with companion geocoded data sets from satellites, LIDAR and solar flux measurements for example. We feel that a significant yet under utilized component of the AERONET data base are inversion products made from hourly principal plane and almucanter measurements. The current inversions have been shown to retrieve aerosol volume size distributions. A significant enhancement to the inversion code has been developed and is presented in these proceedings.

Holben, B. N.↗
NASA NTRS2001

Discovery of Weak EXO 2030+375 Outbursts With BATSE

EXO 2030+375 is a 42-second X-ray pulsar orbiting a Be star every 46 days. Previous work using epoch-folded frequency searches over 1-day intervals of BATSE data [1] indicated that EXO 2030+375 underwent a 2.5 year period of quiescence from 1993 September-1996 March. Improvements in the search method that reduced systematic errors due to (1) aperiodic noise from the nearby black hole candidate Cyg X-1 and (2) sources undergoing Earth occultation, have allowed longer time intervals to be searched, hence increasing BATSE's sensitivity. Using the improved method with 4-day intervals, we detect EXO 2030+375 near most of its periastron passages during 1993 September-1996 March and for most periastron passages during BATSE's 9 years in orbit. Earth occultation measurements in the 20-100 keV band, selected when Cyg X-1 was below the Earth's horizon and epoch-folded at EXO 2030+375's orbital period of 46 days, also indicate that EXO 2030+375 was active for most of the mission. We will present histories of EXO 2030+375's pulse frequency and pulsed flux. In addition, we will present results of a pulse timing analysis and evidence that EXO 2030+375's outbursts shift in orbital phase.

Wilson, Colleen A.↗
NASA NTRS2004

NGC 4388- Spectral Studies of the First Seyfert 2 Seen by INTEGRAL

We present first INTEGRAL and XMM-Newton ob- servations of a Seyfert galaxy, the type 2 AGN NGC 4388. Several INTEGRAL observations performed in 2003 allow us to study the spectrum in the 20 - 300 keV range. In addition two XMM-Newton observations give detailed insight into the 0.2 - 10 keV emission. Comparison with previous observations by BeppoSAX, SIGMA and CGROIOSSE show that the overall spectrum for soft X-rays up to the gamma-rays can be described by a highly absorbed and variable non-thermal component in addition to constant non-absorbed thermal emission of low abundance (2 - 5%Za), plus a constant Fe K alpha line. The hard X-ray component is well described by a simple power law with a mean photon index of 1 = 1.7. During the INTEGRAL observations the flux at 100 keV increased by a factor of 1.5. The analysis of XMM-Newton data implies that the emission below 3 keV is decoupled from the AGN and probably due to extended emission as seen in Chandra observations. The constant iron line emission is apparently also decoupled from the direct emission of the central engine and likely to be generated in the obscuring material, e.g. in the molecular torus or even further away.

Beckman, V.↗
NASA NTRS2004

INTEGRAL and XMM-Newton Spectral Studies of NGC 4388

We present first INTEGRAL and XMM-Newton observations of a Seyfert galaxy, the type 2 AGN NGC 4388. Several INTEGRAL observations performed in 2003 allow us to study the spectrum in the 20 - 300 keV range. In addition two XMM-Newton observations give detailed insight into the 0.2 - 10 keV emission. Comparison with previous observations by BeppoSAX, SIGMA and CGRO/OSSE show that the overall spectrum for soft X-rays up to the gamma-rays can be described by a highly absorbed (N(sub H approx. = 2.7 x 10(exp 23)/sq cm) and variable non-thermal component in addition to constant non-absorbed thermal emission (T approx. = 0.8 keV) of low abundance (Z approx. 5% Z (solar)), plus a constant Fe K a line. The hard X-ray component is well described by a simple power law with a mean photon index of Gamma = 1.7. During the INTEGRAL observations the flux at 100 keV increased by a factor of 1.5. The analysis of XMM-Newton data implies that the emission below 3 keV is decoupled from the AGN and probably due to extended emission as seen in Chandra observations. The constant iron line emission is apparently also decoupled from the direct emission of the central engine and likely to be generated in the obscuring material, e.g. in the molecular torus.

Beckmann, V.↗
NASA NTRS2008

Measurement of Fire Radiative Energy from Space and Implications for Fire-Disaster Monitoring and Smoke Emissions Modeling

Measurement of fire radiative energy (FRE) release rate or power (FRP) from satellite provides a vital mechanism for distinguishing different strengths of fires. Analysis of 1-km resolution fire data, acquired globally by the MODerate-resolution Imaging Spectro-radiometer (MODIS) sensor aboard the Terra and Aqua satellites from 2000 to 2006, showed instantaneous FRP values ranging between 0.02 MW and 1866 MW, to which simple thresholds can be applied to categorize fires by strength, in a similar fashion as the strengths of earthquakes and hurricanes. Analysis of regional mean FRP per unit area of land (FRP flux) shows that at peak fire season in certain regions, fires can be responsible for up to 0.2 W/m2 at peak time of day. When considered as the active fire contribution to the direct surface radiative forcing (RF) in the different fire regions, this order of magnitude of FRF fluxes is non negligible. It has been determined experimentally that the amount of FRE released by a fire over the course of its duration is directly proportional to the amount of biomass consumed by it. Furthermore, at the satellite observation scale, the rate of release of FRE (i.e. FRP) is proportional to the rate of biomass consumption, and that of emission of smoke particulates and eventually also other smoke constituents. Therefore, current research efforts are geared toward deriving simple parameterizations that will facilitate direct input of FRP measurements in models, not only to improve the accuracy of burned-biomass and smoke emissions estimations, but also to reduce the hitherto practiced heavy reliance on multiple indirect parameters with indeterminate uncertainties.

Ichoku, Charles↗
NASA NTRS2009

Characterizing Space Environments with Long-Term Space Plasma Archive Resources

A significant scientific benefit of establishing and maintaining long-term space plasma data archives is the ready access the archives afford to resources required for characterizing spacecraft design environments. Space systems must be capable of operating in the mean environments driven by climatology as well as the extremes that occur during individual space weather events. Long- term time series are necessary to obtain quantitative information on environment variability and extremes that characterize the mean and worst case environments that may be encountered during a mission. In addition, analysis of large data sets are important to scientific studies of flux limiting processes that provide a basis for establishing upper limits to environment specifications used in radiation or charging analyses. We present applications using data from existing archives and highlight their contributions to space environment models developed at Marshall Space Flight Center including the Chandra Radiation Model, ionospheric plasma variability models, and plasma models of the L2 space environment.

Minow, Joseph I.↗
NASA NTRS2012

Planning Coverage Campaigns for Mission Design and Analysis: Clasp for the Proposed DESDynI Mission

Mission design and analysis present challenges in that almost all variables are in constant flux, yet the goal is to achieve an acceptable level of performance against a concept of operations, which might also be in flux. To increase responsiveness, our approach is to use automated planning tools that allow for the continual modification of spacecraft, ground system, staffing, and concept of operations while returning metrics that are important to mission evaluation, such as area covered, peak memory usage, and peak data throughput. We have applied this approach to DESDynI (Deformation, Ecosystem Structure, and Dynamics of Ice) mission design concept using the CLASP (Compressed Large-scale Activity Scheduler/Planner) planning system [7], but since this adaptation many techniques have changed under the hood for CLASP and the DESDynI mission concept has undergone drastic changes, including that it has been renamed the Earth Radar Mission. Over the past two years, we have run more than fifty simulations with the CLASP-DESDynI adaptation, simulating different mission scenarios with changing parameters including targets, swaths, instrument modes, and data and downlink rates. We describe the evolution of simulations through the DESDynI MCR (Mission Concept Review) and afterwards.

DESDynI (Deformation, Ecosystem Structure, and Dyn↗
NASA NTRS2016

Genesis of Interplanetary Intermittent Turbulence: a Case Study of Rope-Rope Magnetic Reconnection

In a recent paper, the relation between current sheet, magnetic reconnection, and turbulence at the leading edge of an interplanetary coronal mass ejection was studied. We report here the observation of magnetic reconnection at the interface region of two interplanetary magnetic flux ropes. The front and rear boundary layers of three interplanetary magnetic flux ropes are identified, and the structures of magnetic flux ropes are reconstructed by the Grad Shafranov method. A quantitative analysis of the reconnection condition and the degree of intermittency reveals that rope-rope magnetic reconnection is the most likely site for genesis of interplanetary intermittency turbulence in this event. The dynamic pressure pulse resulting from this reconnection triggers the onset of a geomagnetic storm.

Chian, Abraham C.- L.↗
NASA NTRS1992

Analysis of cascades using a two dimensional Euler aeroelastic solver

A two-dimensional unsteady aerodynamic Euler solver based on a flux differencing scheme is being developed to analyze oscillating cascades. The cascades can have subsonic, transonic, or supersonic flow with either subsonic or supersonic axial velocity. The aerodynamic solver is coupled with a typical section structural model for each blade of the cascade. Flutter analysis methods both in time and frequency domains are then implemented into the resulting aeroelastic solver. Methods that reduce computational time for calculating the unsteady aerodynamic coefficients, namely the influence coefficient method and the pulse response method, are also implemented and validated. The present solver showed good correlation with published results for all the flow regimes. It is shown that grid coarsening improved the accuracy of the predictions. A representative flutter calculation showed that both the frequency domain and time domain methods are implemented correctly into the aeroelastic solver.

Reddy, T. S. R.↗
NASA NTRS2007

Aerothermodynamic Environments Definition for the Mars Science Laboratory Entry Capsule

An overview of the aerothermodynamic environments definition status is presented for the Mars Science Laboratory entry vehicle. The environments are based on Navier-Stokes flowfield simulations on a candidate aeroshell geometry and worst-case entry heating trajectories. Uncertainties for the flowfield predictions are based primarily on available ground data since Mars flight data are scarce. The forebody aerothermodynamics analysis focuses on boundary layer transition and turbulent heating augmentation. Turbulent transition is expected prior to peak heating, a first for Mars entry, resulting in augmented heat flux and shear stress at the same heatshield location. Afterbody computations are also shown with and without interference effects of reaction control system thruster plumes. Including uncertainties, analysis predicts that the heatshield may experience peaks of 225 W/sq cm for turbulent heat flux, 0.32 atm for stagnation pressure, and 400 Pa for turbulent shear stress. The afterbody heat flux without thruster plume interference is predicted to be 7 W/sq cm on the backshell and 10 W/sq cm on the parachute cover. If the reaction control jets are fired near peak dynamic pressure, the heat flux at localized areas could reach as high as 76 W/sq cm on the backshell and 38 W/sq cm on the parachute cover, including uncertainties. The final flight environments used for hardware design will be updated for any changes in the aeroshell configuration, heating design trajectories, or uncertainties.

Edquist, Karl T.↗