Engineering Papers⌕ Search

SEARCH · Engineering Papers

Results for “Low Resolution”

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 739 records · Page 41
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1984

Measurements of vehicle glow on the Space Shuttle

From the combined data set of glow observations on STS-3, STS-4 and STS-5 some of the properties of the Shuttle glow were observed. Comparison of the STS-3 (240 km) and STS-5 (305 km) photographs show that the intensity of the glow is about a factor of 3.5 brighter on the low altitude (STS-3) flight. The orbiter was purposely rotated about the x axis in an experiment on STS-5 to observe the dependence of the intensity on the angle of incidence between the spacecraft surface normal and the velocity vector. For a relatively large angle between the velocity vector and the surface normal there is an appreciable glow, provided the surface is not shadowed by some other spacecraft structure. As the angle becomes less the glow intensifies. The grating experiments (STS-4 photography only, STS-5 image intensifier photography) provided a preliminary low resolution spectra of the spacecraft glow. Accurate wavelength calibrations of the STS-5 instrument permitted measuring of the spectrum and intensity of the earth's airglow.

Mende, S. B.↗
NASA NTRS1984

Spokes in Saturn's rings - Dynamical and reflectance properties

The results and implications of dynamical and reflectance studies of spokes in the Voyager 2 low-resolution ring movie are presented. The spoke of greater interest (Spoke 1) can be traced from its first appearance on the morning and to its terminal dispersion on the evening side. Orbital velocities, reflectances, and reflectance profiles are reported. The behavior of Spoke 1 conforms to the plasma cloud model of spoke formation and evolution proposed by Goertz and Morfill (1983). A second spoke observed in the ring movie provides corroborating support for the observed behavior of Spoke 1.

Eplee, R. E., Jr.↗
NASA NTRS1985

Mapping Structures Characteristic of the Highland Boundary Scarp on Mars

In an effort to shed some light on the processes which have produced the highlands/lowlands boundary scrap on Mars, the global distributions of knobby terrain, detached and separated blocks and mesas, and craters larger than 10 km diameter were mapped. These data were represented as fractional areal percentages of the sample box, which is 2.5 deg high (latitude) along north-south profiles every 5 deg in longitude. The fractional area of crater interiors provides a way of quantitatively characterizing the boundary between cratered highlands and relatively uncratered plains. In the vicinity of the nomimal scarp there is generally good agreement between the dropoff in fractional area of craters and a drop-off in topography. Contoured versions of the fractional area of crater interiors, even at the low resolution imposed by the sample box, show good agreement with the geologic mapping. The most northerly occurrence of detached plateaus and knobby terrain were located in order to test the plausibility of the hypothesis that much of the present day highland boundary scrap is due to southward migration of a former boundary.

Frey, H.↗
NASA NTRS1985

Deep sea mega-geomorphology: Progress and problems

Historically, marine geologists have always worked with mega-scale morphology. This is a consequence both of the scale of the ocean basins and of the low resolution of the observational remote sensing tools available until very recently. In fact, studies of deep sea morphology have suffered from a serious gap in observational scale. Traditional wide-beam echo sounding gave images on a scale of miles, while deep sea photography has been limited to scales of a few tens of meters. Recent development of modern narrow-beam echo sounding coupled with computer-controlled swath mapping systems, and development of high-resolution deep-towed side-scan sonar, are rapidly filling in the scale gap. These technologies also can resolve morphologic detail on a scale of a few meters or less. As has also been true in planetary imaging projects, the ability to observe phenomena over a range of scales has proved very effective in both defining processes and in placing them in proper context.

Bryan, W. B.↗
NASA NTRS1985

Development of metallization process: FSA project, cella and module formation research area

The optimization, evaluation, and demonstration of a novel metallization applied by a screen printing process is examined. Based on previous results of High Resolution, Low Cost Solar Cell Contact Development, a paste consisting of molybdenum, tin, and titanium hydride was selected as the promising composition. No satisfactory cells were made using any of the molybdenum/tin pastes used as a complete replacement for conventional silver pastes. The major problem is the inability to form a bond between the pastes and silicon that withstands soldering.

Garcia, A., III↗
NASA NTRS1984

Earth remote sensing - 1970-1995

The past-achievements, current status, and future prospects of the Landsat terrestrial-remote-sensing satellite program are surveyed. Topics examined include the early history of space flight; the development of analysis techniques to interpret the multispectral images obtained by Landsats 1, 2, and 3; the characteristics of the advanced Landsat-4 Thematic Mapper; microwave scanning by Seasat and the Shuttle Imaging Radar; the usefulness of low-resolution AVHRR data from the NOAA satellites; improvements in Landsats 4 and 5 to permit tailoring of information to user needs; expansion and internationalization of the remote-sensing market in the late 1980s; and technological advances in both instrumentation and data-processing predicted by the 1990s.

Thome, P. G.↗
NASA NTRS1984

The variable component of the NGC 4151 IUE spectrum - Evidence for an expanding spherical emission shell

The profile of the forbidden line of C III (1909) is the same in two pseudo-trailed, low-resolution SWP spectra of the nucleus of the Seyfert galaxy NGC 4151 obtained with the IUE in November 1980 and December 1982, respectively. In the 1980 spectrum, the C III forbidden line profile is also very nearly the same as that of the resonance line C IV (1550). In the 1982 spectrum, the continuum is 5 times higher and C IV is both much broader and much brighter. In the difference spectrum, which is interpreted to be the spectrum of a time-variable component, C IV (1550) is the only strong emission feature. The profile of this line closely resembles that of a spherical shell surrounding a less dense gas uniformly expanding from a central opaque object. From values of the profile parameters and from the observed time variability of the object, it is inferred that the shell has a radius of about 10 to the 15th cm, a mass of 0.25 solar mass, an expansion velocity of 13,000 km/s, and an electron density of 10 to the 11th per cu cm. From the line profile and the continuum, it is inferred that the opaque central source has approximate radius of 10 to the 14th cm and temperature 23,000 K.

Stoner, R.↗
NASA NTRS1984

The ultraviolet variability of early-type supergiants

Four early-type supergiants - HD 79186 (B5 Ia), HD 96919 (B9 Ia), HD 105056 (ON9.7 Iae), and HD 148379 (B2 Iae) - have been observed with the low-resolution spectrographs of IUE in the large aperture on 14 days. The behavior of the ultraviolet fluxes with time is studied. The light from all four stars seems to vary. Typically the dispersion about the mean magnitude at any wavelength corresponds to + or - 0.085, + or - 0.080, + or - 0.101, and + or - 0.106 mag, respectively. These amplitudes exceed the typical uncertainty in an IUE measurement of flux by about a factor of 3; they are somewhat larger than the variations known in the visible wavelength range. There are insufficient data to investigate periodicity in the observed light changes. The effective temperatures and angular diameters of the stars have been estimated using the present ultraviolet photometry, published UBV and uvby photometry, and the model-atmosphere fluxes reported by Kurucz in 1979. The program stars have dimensions typical for their spectral types. A brief discussion is given of possible causes of the variability of hot supergiants.

Underhill, A. B.↗
NASA NTRS1985

An analysis of scattered light in low dispersion IUE spectra

A detailed numerical simulation of light scattering from the low-resolution grating in the short wavelength spectrograph of the IUE Observatory was developed, in order to quantitatively analyze the effects of scattering on both continuum and line emission spectra. It is found that: (1) the redistribution of light by grating scattering did not appreciably alter either the shape or the absolute flux level of continuum spectra for A-F stars; (2) late-type stellar continua showed a tendency to flatten when observed in scattered light toward the shorter wavelengths; and (3) the effect of grating scattering on emission lines is to decrease measured line intensities by an increasing percentage toward the shorter wavelengths. The spectra obtained from scattering experiments for solar-type and late type stars are reproduced in graphic form.

Basri, G.↗
NASA NTRS1985

Chromospheric activity and TiO bands in M giants

Low-resolution IUE spectra of 23 cool giant stars ranging from K3 through M6 have been used to examine chromospheric activity in late-type giants. Previous studies have suggested a decrease in the fractional flux, normalized to bolometric flux, of the Mg II resonance lines (an indicator of chromospheric activity) with effective temperature. Using more accurately determined effective temperatures, this decrease is confirmed and found to be more rapid than previously suggested. A strong correlation is found between relative TiO band strengths, as measured by the Wing TiO index, and the level of chromospheric activity, as measured by Mg II fluxes. Cool giants which have weak TiO bands relative to the mean TiO strengths for stars of similar color also have Mg II lines that are weaker than the mean. Changes in composition and in chromospheric activity as a consequence of aging are suggested as a possible origin of this interesting relation.

Steiman-Cameron, T. Y.↗
NASA NTRS1985

Preliminary results on the various U.V. straylight sources for the VWFC onboard SL 1

Technical difficulties encountered using the Very Wide Field Camera (VWFC) during the Spacelab 1 Shuttle mission are reported. The VWFC is a wide low resolution (5 arcmin half-half width) photographic camera, capable of operating in both spectrometric and photometric modes. The bandpasses of the photometric mode of the VWFC are defined by three Al + MgF2 interference filters. A piggy-back spectrograph attached to the VWFC was used for observations in the spectrometric mode. A total of 48 astronomical frames were obtained using the VWFC, of which only 20 were considered to be of adequate quality for astronomical data processing. Preliminary analysis of the 28 poor-quality images revealed the following possible defects in the VWFC: darkness in the spacing frames, twilight/dawn UV straylight, and internal UV straylight. Improvements in the VWFC astronomical data processing scheme are expected to help identify and eliminate UV straylight sources in the future.

Viton, M.↗
NASA NTRS1985

The detection of global convective wave flows on the Sun

Global convective flows in the solar convection zone have been predicted by theoretical interpretations of the global-scale ordering of magnetic fields and activity centers and by theoretical analyses of rotating convection zones. Direct evidence of these flows in the photosphere has not previously been found despite several long-term efforts. The signatures of such flows have now been detected by analyzing the daily series of low-resolution Dopplergrams obtained at the Wilcox Solar Observatory at Stanford University. The signatures are patterns of alternating east and west flows with amplitudes on the order of 25 m/s and longitudinal extent of about 30 degrees. The patterns move across the disc at approximately the solar rotation rate and have lifetimes of at least several rotations. Boundaries of the fast and slow flows are often associated with large magnetic active regions.

Scherrer, P. H.↗
NASA NTRS1986

Digital filtering and acceleration pulse interpretation

It was concluded that the post processing digital filter is quite effective for removing unwanted high frequency and noise without distorting the signal. In addition, digital filtering is effective for smoothing low-level low resolution digital data where the digital stairstep phenomena are pronounced. Integrating the acceleration data to obtain velocity traces is quite useful. The velocity change provides a check on the validity of the acceleration trace. (Zero offsets in acceleration must be removed before integrating.) Average accelerations can be obtained from the velocity trace by dividing the change in velocity for an acceleration pulse by the pulse duration. One can obtain the peak of an equivalent triangular pulse by doubling the average acceleration.

Pasanella, E. L.↗
NASA NTRS1985

Radial growth of an extended spoke in Saturn's B ring

An analysis is reported of the pattern of radial growth of an extended spoke observed in the Voyager 2 low-resolution Saturn ring 'movie'. The feature is atypical in that it orbits Saturn at the corotational rate for 1-1/2 hours after the onset of its formation and then undergoes a 40-min acceleration to sustained Keplerian velocities. A correlation between the dynamical phases and the radial growth modes of the spoke is observed, one that seems consistent with the plasma cloud model of spoke formation and evolution proposed by Goertz and Morfill (1983), taken in the limit of high charge density.

Eplee, R. E., Jr.↗
NASA NTRS1985

Multispectral, thermal infrared satellite data for geologic applications

The value of multispectral thermal infrared satellite data for geologic mapping was assessed, applying the principal component and canonical analysis techniques to the images of the central part of the Arabian Peninsula (a 200 x 300 km area). Low resolution thermal infrared (TIR) data from the Nimbus 5 Surface Composition Mapping Radiometer (SCMR) and the NOAA-7 Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) were used. Color images included an 8.8 micrometer (SCMR) and 3.7 and 10.8 micrometer (AVHRR-night) data, ratioed AVHRR day/night TIR data, ratioed AVHRR reflected radiation data, and transformed 8- and 10-band TIR plus reflected radiation data. The results clearly demonstrated the potential geologic value of multispectral TIR data. Igneous and metamorphic units could be separated as a class (although not from each other except for young calc-alkaline granites). Some previously unmapped extensions of mapped faults below thick sedimentary units could be delineated. No single enhancement technique displayed all the potential information, implying that they should be used together.

Blodget, H. W.↗
NASA NTRS1985

A cryogenically cooled, multidetector spectrometer for infrared astronomy

A liquid helium-cooled, 24 detector grating spectrometer was developed and used for low resolution astronomical observations in the 5 to 14 micron spectral range. The instrument operated on the 91 cm Kuiper Airborne Observatory, the 3 m IRTF (Mauna Kea), the 3 m Shane telescope (Lick Observatory), and the 152 cm NASA and University of Arizona telescope. The detectors are discrete Si:Bi photoconductors with individual metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistor preamplifiers operating at 4 K. The system uses a liquid helium-cooled slit, order-sorter filter, collimator mirror, grating, and camera mirror arranged in a Czerny-Turner configuration with a cold stop added between the collimator mirror and the grating. The distances between components are chosen so that the collimator mirror images the secondary mirror of the telescope onto the cold stop, thus providing a very effective baffle. Scattered radiation is effectively reduced by using liquid helium-cooled, black baffles to divide the spectrometer into three separate compartments. The system noise-equivalent flux density, when used on the 152 cm telescope from 8 to 13 microns with a resolving power of 50, is 4.4 x 10 to the minus 17th power W/sq cm micron square root of Hz. The main applications are for measuring continuum radiation levels and solid state emission and absorption features in regions of star and planet formation.

Witteborn, F. C.↗
NASA NTRS1985

The intrinsic ultraviolet continua of O stars

Low-resolution IUE spectra of O and B stars in open clusters have been obtained. The main-sequence B stars are used to derive UV extinction curves for the program clusters, and these curves are used to determine the intrinsic UV to visual colors of O stars in NGC 2244, Trumpler 14, and NGC 6231. These data are analyzed in conjunction with the dereddened colors of O stars with color excesses less than 0.15 mag to obtain a set of reliable UV colors for O3-9, class V-I stars. The results can be summarized as follows: none of the observed O stars have UV colors significantly bluer than a normal B0 V star, and the late O supergiants have significantly redder UV colors than main-sequence O stars, although this luminosity distinction appears to vanish for the early O stars. Several possible explanations for these unexpected results are considered, but none of the presently available nonstandard models are sufficiently developed to be definitively tested.

Massa, D.↗
NASA NTRS1986

Spectral measurement of the Space Shuttle leeside shock layer and wake

Leeside shock layer and wake spectral radiation measured during the high altitude portion of the reentry of Space Shuttle Orbiter STS 51-D are presented and are compared with similar measurements obtained in an arc jet tunnel. The spectra, measured with a low-resolution spectral camera, are compared in order to identify the radiating species in a wavelength range from 4000 to 8000 angstroms. Emissions identified are: N2 first positive and N2 second positive systems, the N2(+) first negative system, and the sodium-D lines. No atomic air species or CN are observed. The spectra and procedure will be of use in comparison of flight flowfield properties with computational predictions and for guidance in developing future flight experiments.

Blackwell, H. E.↗