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Active polar region on the nucleus of Comet Halley

The images of the nucleus of Comet Halley returned by the Giotto spacecraft reveal a number of active regions on the surface, one of which is near the expected location of the rotation pole. This feature is larger and brighter than other source regions, suggesting that the mechanism that drives this source is also different. At this active region near the rotation pole, the sun was circumpolar for a significant portion of the solar encounter. Continuous insolation heated the nucleus to greater depths than in other areas, producing the broad, active polar region.

Reitsema, H. J.↗

The effects of viewing angle on the inference of magnetic shear in preflare active regions

Analytic models for nonpotential force-free fields representative of preflaring active regions have been used to determine the degree of magnetic shear along the magnetic neutral line of these fields as a function of location and orientation of the active region on the solar disk. The results indicate that, with the exception of regions close to the disk center, the position of the inferred neutral line differs significantly from the actual neutral line. It is suggested that the significant variation of the inferred degree of shear with the position and orientation of the region is due to such factors as geometric projection effects, the shift of the inferred neutral line relative to its true position, and the variations in the reference potential field.

Wilkinson, Ladye Kathryn↗

Ultraviolet events observed in active regions. I - Observations and scenario

UV line data obtained in solar active regions on and near the limb, taken with the Ultraviolet Spectrometer and Polarimeter experiment on the Solar Maximum Mission are examined. The study provides insight into the physical processes behind sudden localized brightenings (or microflares) that occur within these active regions and their relation to surging activity. Time sequences of rasters and rasters through the line (taken in Ly-alpha and N V lines simultaneously) and C IV dopplergrams are the core of these data. They show the brightening events on the disk and Doppler shifts in dynamic events on the disk and above the limb. The study suggests, for the events, a localized energy deposition in a region of the chromosphere that heats the material and produces a pressure pulse. This mechanism explains the brightenings in transition region lines and also the observed surging behavior and jet-like events.

Fontenla, Juan M.↗

Correspondence between solar fine-scale structures in the corona, transition region, and lower atmosphere from collaborative observations

The Soft X-Ray Imaging Payload and the High Resolution Telescope and Spectrograph (HRTS) instrument were launched from White Sands on 11 December 1987 in coordinated sounding rocket flights to investigate the correspondence of coronal and transition region structures, especially the relationship between X-ray bright points (XBPs) and transition region small spatial scale energetic events. The coaligned data from X-ray images are presented along with maps of sites of transition region energetic events observed in C IV (100,000 K), HRTS 1600 A spectroheliograms of the T sub min region and ground based magnetogram and He I 10830 A images.

Moses, J. Daniel↗

Influence of non-stationary field of magnetospheric convection on the D-region

Perturbations of F region electron density caused by the extension of magnetospheric convection electric field to middle latitudes are already well known. For the D region of the first observations are believed to be reported by Eliseyev, Kashpar and Nikitin (1988). On several occasions, following the southward turning of the Bz-component of interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) small disturbances of the D region electron density were detected at night by steep-incidence VLF sounding, which may be attributed to the influence of the penetrated convection electric field (CEF). Some evidence is given of a local time dependence of the CEF effect in the D region and a rather good correlation is demonstrated at the initial stage of disturbance between high latitude magnetic field variations and simultaneous perturbation of the midlatitude ionospheric reflection height.

Eliseyev, A. YU.↗

Emittance bounds for transient radiative cooling of a scattering rectangular region

Transient cooling was analyzed for a two-dimensional gray rectangular region that emits, absorbs, and isotropically scatters radiation. The region, initially at uniform temperature, is placed in surroundings at a much lower temperature. The cooling analysis yields two simultaneous equations for the transient temperature and scattering source function distributions. The region starts to cool with the medium at uniform temperature. For this condition, the local emittance around the perimeter was obtained by a numerical solution of the radiative equations, and the rate of heat loss from the entire medium was evaluated. As cooling continues, the emissive ability decreases because of the lower temperatures in the outer regions of the rectangle. Based on some previous work, a lower limit for the transient overall emittance was found by obtaining a similarity solution. For some ranges of optical thickness and scattering albedo, the lower limit is only a small amount below the initial emittance. For these conditions, the initial emittance can be used to compute the entire transient resulting in a considerable simplification.

Siegel, Robert↗

A comparison between bright points in a coronal hole and a quiet-sun region

A comparison is made of the morphological structure and temporal behavior of the emission from coronal bright points in a coronal hole and a quiet region, using data from the Harvard EUV experiment on Skylab. It is found that, in both regions, coronal bright points are located at network boundaries and cover a range of sizes from 10 to 40 in in linear extent. In a given bright pint, the peaks of emission in the six different lines, measured simultaneously through the same instrument slit, are not always cospatial, implying that bright points consist of a complex of small-scale loops at different temperatures. The intensity of bright points in both regions is also characterized by a significant temporal variability in all the wavelengths measured. This variability exhibits no regular periodicity. Yet the ratio of the varying (ac) to the constant (dc) components of the emission, in all the bright points studied, has a local maximum at 1-2 x 10 to the 5th k which coincides with the peak of the radiative loss function, and another local maximum at Mg x (1.4 x 10 to the 6th K). It is found that coronal bright points in a coronal hole or a quiet region are indistinguishable structures, and, therefore, conclude that they are independent of the overlying background corona.

Habbal, Shadia Rifai↗

Observations of molecular and atomic gas in photodissociation regions

Dense gas at the ionized/neutral boundaries of molecular clouds illuminated by far-UV photons plays an important role in the appearance of the neutral interstellar medium. It also is a laboratory for the study of UV-photochemistry and of a number of heating and cooling phenomena not seen elsewhere. Fine structure lines of neutral and low ionization potential species dominate the cooling in the outer part of the photodissociation regions. Observations of these lines show that the regions are dense and highly clumped. Observations of H2 and CO show that heating by UV photons plays a significant role in the excitation of molecular lines near the H II/neutral boundary. Warm CO is more abundant in these regions than predicted by the standard theoretical models. Optical reflection nebulas provide an ideal laboratory for the study of photodissocciation region phenomena.

Jaffe, D. T.↗

Contribution of the graded region of a HgCdTe diode to its saturation current

Experimental results show that the contribution of the graded region to the current of Hg(1-x)Cd(x)Te diodes is not negligible, as compared to that of the p type bulk. The theoretical analysis reveals the influence of the electric field present outside the depletion region on the current generated by the graded region. The analysis shows the importance of the lifetime profile in the graded region, which is a function of the specific recombination mechanism and its dependence on the local dopant concentration. The effect of parameters such as substrate concentration, surface concentration, and junction depth on this current is discussed.

Schacham, S. E.↗

A study of HII regions in spiral galaxies using multiobject spectroscopy

Multiobject spectroscopy results of HII regions in nearby late-type spiral galaxies are given. Results include excitation measurements, log ((O III)/H beta), for 81 regions in M 101, 30 regions in NGC 2403, and 13 regions in M 51. Researchers conclude that late-type spirals can be classified into two distinct populations, examine possible causes of this division, and derive metallicity gradients for these galaxies. M 51 appears to have an anomalously shallow abundance gradient.

Zaritsky, Dennis↗

Dense gas and HII regions in the starburst galaxy NGC 253

The energetic activity in the nuclear barred region of NGC 253 is attributable to a burst of star formation. NGC 253 is in many ways a twin of the prototypical starburst galaxy M82; the strong non-thermal radio continuum, high far-infrared luminosity, and bright molecular emission of the central 1 Kpc parallel the morphology of the M82 starburst. Furthermore, the filamentary low ionization optical emission and extended x ray emission along the minor axis in NGC 253 is similar to a scaled down version of the well developed galactic bipolar wind in M82. The infrared luminosity of NGC 253, 3(exp 10) solar luminosity, is comparable to M82 but is emitted from a smaller region (Telesco and Harper 1980). This suggests that the NGC 253 starburst may be more intense and at an earlier evolutionary stage than M82. However, the presence of a non-stellar AGN in NGC 253 may complicate the comparison (Turner and Ho, 1985). Researchers used the Hat Creek millimeter interferometer to map emission from the J = 1 to 0 transitions of HCN and HCO(+) as well as 3 mm continuum emission, toward the nuclear region of NGC 253. The HCO(+) and continuum observations are sensitive to spatial scales from 6 to 45 seconds. The 2 minute field of view comfortably includes the entire starburst region (about 40 seconds; 650 pc). Because the longer baseline HCN observations are not yet complete, they are only sensitive to spatial scales from 15 to 45 seconds.

Carlstrom, J. E.↗

Bow shock models of ultracompact H II regions

This paper presents models of ultracompact H II regions as the bow shocks formed by massive stars, with strong stellar winds, moving supersonically through molecular clouds. The morphologies, sizes and brightnesses of observed objects match the models well. Plausible models are provided for the ultracompact H II regions G12.21 - 0.1, G29.96 - 0.02, G34.26 + 0.15, and G43.89 - 0.78. To do this, the equilibrium shape of the wind-blown shell is calculated, assuming momentum conservation. Then the shell is illuminated with ionizing radiation from the central star, radiative transfer for free-free emission through the shell is performed, and the resulting object is visualized at various angles for comparison with radio continuum maps. The model unifies most of the observed morphologies of ultracompact H II regions, excluding only those objects with spherical shells. Ram pressure confinement greatly lengthens the life of ultracompact H II regions, explaining the large number that exist in the Galaxy despite their low apparent kinematic ages.

Mac Low, Mordecai-Mark↗

A morphological study of vertical ionospheric flows in the high-latitude F region

The vertical bulk-ion-drift data between 200 and 1000 km, obtained by DE 2 satellite were used to examine ion flows in the high-latitude F region. The data indicated that field-aligned ion flows between 100 m/s and 3 km/s are a common occurrence in the F region. The ion flows were predominantly upward near the cusp region and throughout the auroral zone, with occasionally observed downward flows of smaller magnitude over the polar cap. The results on bulk-ion flows in F region are compared with the published characteristics of the magnetospheric ion outflow, and the possibility that the two flows are physically linked is discussed.

Loranc, M.↗

An evaluation of probable bedrock exposure in the Sinus Meridiani region of the Martian highlands

Estimates of the amount of probable bedrock exposures visible in the highest-resolution Viking imaging data for a selected region of the Martian surface are presented. The study region includes portions of the classical low-albedo regions of Sinus Meridiani and Sinus Sabaeus and the high-albedo region of Arabia, and is completely within the cratered highlands of Mars. More than 400 images were used to estimate the percentage of the area of each frame having locally steep slopes. It is seen that 42 percent of the high-resolution frames have less than one percent probable bedrock exposure while three percent of the frames have 15 percent probable bedrock exposure.

Zimbelman, J. R.↗

Low dimensional models of the wall region of a turbulent boundary layer, and the possibility of control

A method of identification of coherent structures in a random turbulent flow is outlined with emphasis on the structure best correlated with a random energy-integrable field and application of the proper orthogonal decomposition to the shear flow of the wall region. The wall region of a pipe flow with almost pure glycerine is investigated experimentally, dynamic equations are obtained, and an energy-transfer model is employed. Numerical solutions are obtained, implications for the flow in the wall region are discussed with focus placed on the sets of solutions exhibiting intermittency. The most significant finding of the study is considered to be the suggestion of the etiology of the bursting phenomenon; presuming that abrupt transitions from one fixed point to the other can be identified with a burst, these bursts appear to be produced autonomously by the wall region, but be triggered by pressure signals from the outer layer.

Lumley, John L.↗

Radial evolution of interaction regions

Near and outside 1 AU, corotating interaction regions bounded by shocks form at the leading edges of high-speed streams. This paper describes the radial evolution of interaction regions, the merging of interaction regions belonging to neighboring streams, and the coalescence of interaction regions belonging to successive solar rotations.

Whang, Y. C.↗

Studies of aerothermal loads generated in regions of shock/shock interaction in hypersonic flow

Experimental studies were conducted to examine the aerothermal characteristics of shock/shock/boundary layer interaction regions generated by single and multiple incident shocks. The presented experimental studies were conducted over a Mach number range from 6 to 19 for a range of Reynolds numbers to obtain both laminar and turbulent interaction regions. Detailed heat transfer and pressure measurements were made for a range of interaction types and incident shock strengths over a transverse cylinder, with emphasis on the 3 and 4 type interaction regions. The measurements were compared with the simple Edney, Keyes, and Hains models for a range of interaction configurations and freestream conditions. The complex flowfields and aerothermal loads generated by multiple-shock impingement, while not generating as large peak loads, provide important test cases for code prediction. The detailed heat transfer and pressure measurements proved a good basis for evaluating the accuracy of simple prediction methods and detailed numerical solutions for laminar and transitional regions or shock/shock interactions.

Holden, Michael S.↗

Physical properties of Oxia/Lunae Planum and Arabia-type units in the central equatorial region of Mars

Classification and mapping of surficial units in the central equatorial region of Mars Consortium data identified the relatively dark but 'red' materials that cover Lunae Planum and surround the Meridiani materials of Oxia Palus inertia region of Arabia. Oxia Province consists of the regions dominated by the characteristically dark 'red' Oxia materials, but it includes darker streaks and splotches of relatively 'blue' Meridiani materials and brighter 'red' deposits of dust belonging to Eos Province (the bright 'red' border between Oxia and regional Meridiani deposits to the south) and Xanthe Province (the moderately bright 'red' dust deposits in western Chryse Planitia and its vicinity, including the VL-1 landing site). Two Oxia units were recognized: a darker unit present on Lunae Planum and east of Oxia Palus that have intermediate to high inertias. Oxia Province surrounds the extremely low thermal inertia Arabia Province in the east part of the study area, and occurs as isolated patches within Arabia (often including splotches of Meridiani materials within the Oxia patches). Arabia Province's materials have been widely interpreted as unconsolidated dust deposits which are currently forming at this stage of Mars' precessional climate cycle, although the persistence of stable, moderately strong albedo contracts among Arabia materials has not been addressed in those models. A systematic interpretation of Oxia and Arabia Province materials based on currently available remote sensing data is given.

Strickland, Edwin L., III↗