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NASA NTRS1982

Chronology and petrogenesis of young achondrites, Shergotty, Zagami, and ALHA77005 - Late magmatism on a geologically active planet

Three achondrites were examined for chronology, petrogenesis, and relationships among the shergotites. Isotopic and trace elements analyses were carried out through neutron activation and mass spectrometry on Shergotty, Zagami, and ALHA77005 samples. Attention was given the Rb-Sr, Sm-Nd, and the Ar-39/Ar-40 ages in the samples. Evidence was detected for a shock metamorphism and a younger age of the meteorites than with most other achondrites. Depletions of the rare-earth elements were observed in Shergotty and Zagami, and to a more pronounced degree in ALHA77005. The Rb-Sr internal isochrons for all three meteorites were about 180 Myr, while the Ar-39/Ar-40 plateau ages of Shergotty and Zagami maskelynite were determined at 250-260 Myr. No precise identification of the crystallization ages was found. It is suggested that the achondrites originated in a parent body which experienced at least two epochs of sustained melting.

Shih, C.-Y.↗
NASA NTRS1982

Quadrupole distortions of the heliospheric current sheet in 1976 and 1977

Latitudinal variations in the position of the heliospheric current sheet were investigated using interplanetary measurements from Helios A, Helios B, IMP 8, and white light corona measurements in the period May 1976 to May 1977. The latitude of the heliospheric current sheet between 0.3 AU and I AU is consistent with that of the maximum brightness curve of white light polarization brightness at 1.75 solar radii within approximately + or - 7 deg. The combined data sets show that the four-sector magnetic sector pattern observed in the ecliptic plane for most of this epoch could be attributed to a warped current sheet whose shape near the sun resembles a saddle surface that is nearly symmetrical about the equatorial plane. The latitudinal extent of the current sheet is on the average 8 deg and the maximum extent is 15 deg (except on one rotation, when it is 20 deg). These results can be interpreted as a consequence of the solar magnetic field, the dominant components of the field being due to a dipole nearly aligned with the sun's spin axis and a quadrupole component whose strength is about 17 percent of the dipole.

Bruno, R.↗
NASA NTRS1981

Search strategy effects on PN acquisition performance

The present paper focusses on 'random' and 'expanding window' PN acquisition search strategies and analytically develops the PN acquisition time statistics as functions of salient system parameters such as prediction SNR, detection and false alarm probabilities and a priori information on epoch location. The significance of this analysis is its general applicability to arbitrary postdetection processing schemes. Computed performance results account for the above salient parameters, wherein sequential detection is employed in conjunction with random and selected expanding window search strategies.

Weinberg, A.↗
NASA NTRS1981

The effects of transmitter/receiver clock time base instability on coherent communication system performance

The purpose of this paper is to present a model and associated analysis of the deleterious effects which both transmitter and receiver data clock time-base instability have on bit error probability. The types of time-base instability modeled and analyzed include bit jitter (epoch jitter), bit jitter rate (time interval jitter) and data asymmetry. The bit error probability is determined as a function of the statistical characteristics of the time-base instability, the data transition density, the signal-to-noise ratio in the bit rate bandwidth and the mechanizations of both the data bit detector and bit synchronizer. Numerical results are provided.

Chie, C. M.↗
NASA NTRS1982

The faint young sun-climate paradox - Volcanic influences

It has been suggested that the early earth may have frozen over as a result of a fainter early sun (see Ulrich, 1975). If this had happened, climate models suggest the earth would have remained frozen through the present epoch and into the distant future. We suggest that volcanic influences could allow a passage from the frozen branch into the unfrozen branch of climate models should conditions on earth be suitable for the latter climate change. A broad equatorial belt of volcanic ash is one scenario which would allow a transfer from the frozen earth state into the unfrozen one.

Schatten, K. H.↗
NASA NTRS1983

The albedo of Uranus

New absolute spectrophotometry of Uranus between 3295 A and 7676 A obtained at spectral resolutions of 4 A and 8 A during its 1981 apparition is reported and compared with previous observations by Younkin (1970) recorded during the 1961-1963 apparitions. Geometric albedos are calculated, and Bond albedos are estimated for both sets of data. An increase in brightness of about 14% and a color change occurred during the interval between the epochs of observation, consistent with the high north-polar haze reported by Price and Franz (1979) and the change in aspect of the planet. An upper limit to the internal heat source is estimated from energy balance considerations.

Lockwood, G. W.↗
NASA NTRS1983

The magnetic field on the RS Canum Venaticorum star Lambda Andromedae

A program to detect and measure magnetic flux on the surfaces of late-type stars is discussed. A technique is adopted to deconvolve magnetically insensitive lines from similar, magnetically sensitive lines to infer the degree of Zeeman splitting in the latter lines. These measurements yield values for the magnetic field strength and filling factor (flux). To illustrate the approach, observations of the RS CVn star Lambda And are presented. At the epoch of observation, 1981 April 26, a field strength of 1290 + or - 320 gauss covering 48 + or - 7 percent of this star's surface is found. This measurement compares with an estimate of coronal magnetic flux in the cooler component of the stellar corona of 1110 gauss with a coronal volume filling factor of 75 percent, based on X-ray data for Lambda And.

Golub, L.↗
NASA NTRS1983

ANS spectrophotometry - Delta Pictoris as an upper-main-sequence algol system

The early-type eclipsing binary Delta Pictoris has been studied with 260 observations in each of five UV bands. These are the most accurate observations to date, and no strong evidence for light-curve complications produced by circumstellar material has been found. Combined light curves from four epochs separated by intervals of six months do not show any strong dips or shoulders as seen in earlier investigations. The strength of th C IV wavelength 1550 line is independent of phase to better than 0.01 m. The root-mean-square scatterer shown by the light curves ranges from 0.006 m to 0.014 and may be evidence that either or both of the components are intrinsically variable. The integrated colors of the system are consistent with a B1 V spectral type and very little interstellar extinction. A detached solution of the light curves for a Roche model well with the spectroscopic mass ratio, but a semidetached solution cannot be ruled out.

Eaton, J. A.↗
NASA NTRS1983

The photometric period of 39 AY Ceti

A photometric period of 77.65 days is derived for 39 AY Ceti through a comparison of photoelectric photometry obtained in 1971 and 1972 with that obtained in the periods 1980-1981 and 1981-1982. JD 2444636.0 is an epoch of minimum light, and the full amplitude is found to have been as large as 0.18 mag in V. It is noted that the mean light level has dropped by almost 0.2 mag over the last decade. The present binary star is also noteworthy in light of the recently discovered white dwarf secondary component, and because radial velocity measurements indicate an eccentricity as large as 0.1 and an orbital period which, at 57.1 days, differs considerably from the photometric period presented.

Hopkins, J. L.↗
NASA NTRS1983

Five years of photometry of Sigma Geminorum

Thirteen observatories have collaborated in obtaining five years of photoelectric photometry for the bright, K1 III RS CVn binary Sigma Geminorum. Except for one year, the light curve has exhibited two minima which are separated by approximately half a cycle. At the 1977.2 epoch of discovery one minimum was shallower, but as of 1982.2 they have become comparable in depth. During the 1979-80 season, the light curve changed shape rapidly, with the shallower minimum becoming as deep as the other within a period of no more than 80 days. The overall brightness range during the five years in V has been 4.13-4.29 mag, and it is found that the times of both minima can be fit with a photometric period of 19.423 days.

Fried, R. E.↗
NASA NTRS1984

STS-9 BET products

The final products generated for the STS-9, which landed on December 8, 1983 are reported. The trajectory reconstruction utilized an anchor epoch of GMT corresponding to an initial altitude of h 356 kft, selected in view of the limited tracking coverage available. The final state utilized IMU2 measurements and was based on processing radar tracking from six C-bands and a single S-band station, plus six photo-theodolite cameras in the vicinity of Runway 17 at Edwards Air Force Base. The final atmosphere (FLAIR9/UN=581199C) was based on a composite of the remote measured data and the 1978 Air Force Reference Atmosphere model. The Extended BET is available as STS9BET/UN=274885C. The AEROBET and MMLE input files created are discussed. Plots of the more relevant parameters from the AEROBET (reel number NL0624) are included. Input parameters, final residual plots, a trajectory listing, and data archival information are defined.

Findlay, J. T.↗
NASA NTRS1983

Documentation for the machine-readable version of the Survey of the Astrographic Catalogue From 1 to 31 Degrees of Northern Declination (Fresneau 1983)

A description of the machine readable catalog, including detailed format and tape file characteristics, is given. The machine file is a computation of mean values for position and magnitude at a mean epoch of observation for each unique star in the Oxford, Paris, Bordeaux, Toulouse and Northern Hemisphere Algiers zone. The format was changed to effect more efficient data searching by position and additional duplicate entries were removed. The final catalog contains data for 997311 stars.

Warren, W. H., Jr.↗
NASA NTRS1984

Origin and evolution of the Saturn system

As was the case for Jupiter, Saturn formed either as a result of a gas instability within the solar nebula or the accretion of a solid core that induced an instability within the surrounding solar nebula. In either case, the proto-planet's history is divided into three major stages: early, quasi-hydrostatic evolution (stage 1); hydrodynamical collapse (stage 2); and late, quasi-hydrostatic contraction (stage 3). During stage 1, Saturn had a radius of several hundred times that of its present radius, R(s), while stage 3 began when Saturn had a radius of 3.5 R(s). Stages 1 and 2 lasted 10(6) to 10(7) years and 1 year, respectively, while stage 3 is continuing through the present epoch. During the early history of the Saturn system, giant impact events may have catastrophically disrupted most of the original satellites of Saturn. Such disruption, followed by reaccretion, may be responsible, in part for the occurrence of Trojans and co-orbital moons in the Saturn system, the apparent presence of a stochastic component in the trend of satellite density with radial distance, and the present population of ring particles.

Pollack, J. B.↗
NASA NTRS1984

Does saturation cratering exist in the solar system?

A number of researchers have concluded that saturation equilibrium cratering exists nowhere in the solar system, and therefore that diameter distributions in even the most heavily cratered provinces reveal initial production functions related to impacting bodies. Based on this premise, different populations of impactors are identified in different epochs and regions of the solar system. These hypotheses are clearly crucial to interpreting planetary history and need further independent examination. The production function in the outer solar system may differ from that in the inner solar system, but it is also possible that viscous relaxation of ice craters or immediate flooding of craters that penetrate through an ice lithosphere into watery substrate may explain the greater deficiency of large craters on icy moons. This problem is controversial and needs more study.

Hartmann, W. K.↗
NASA NTRS1984

STS-13 (41-C) BET products

Results from the STS-13 (41-C) Shuttle entry flight are presented. The entry trajectory was reconstructed from an altitude of 700 kft through rollout on Runway 17 at EAFB. The anchor epoch utilized was April 13, 1984 13(h)1(m)30.(s)0 (46890(s).0) GMT. The final reconstructed inertial trajectory for this flight is BT13M23 under user catalog 169750N. Trajectory reconstruction and Extended BET development are discussed in Section 1 and 2, respectively. The NOAA totem-pole atmosphere extracted from the JSC/TRW BET was adopted in the development of the LaRC Extended BET, namely ST13BET/UN=274885C. The Aerodynamic BET was generated on physical nine track reel NC0728 with a duplicate copy on NC0740 for back-up. Plots of the more relevant parameters from the AEROBET are presented in Section 3. Section 4 discusses the MMLE input files created for STS-13. Appendices are attached which present spacecraft and physical constants utilized (Appendix A), residuals by station and data type (Appendix B), a two second spaced listing of trajectory and air data parameters (Appendix C), and input and output source products for archival (Appendix D).

Findlay, J. T.↗
NASA NTRS1984

Earth-Based Planetary Data

NASA sponsors Earth-based planetary astronomy to provide data needed for: planning future missions; supporting missions already in progress; and enhanching the scientific analysis of data returned by past missions. Such data complement spacecraft data by providing observational coverage of important planetary phenomena at epochs before and after spacecraft encounters, with time scales longer than a spacecraft encounter, and at wavelengths and spectral resolutions not covered by spacecraft instruments. Earth-based planetary data are defined here as: observations made with ground based telescopes, balloon-borne instruments, rocket-borne instruments, and Earth-orbiting spacecraft. Data in the last category differ somewhat in nature and availability from the other three. In all categories, planetary data are only a subset of the total astronomical observations on record. As a result part of the task is to identify and extract (or separately catalog) those observations which are planetary. The data cover wavelengths in the ultraviolet, the visual, and the infrared. The instrumental techniques addressed are: imaging, polarimetry, photometry, spectrophotometry, and spectroscopy.

Source record↗
NASA NTRS1984

Quasars as probes of the intergalactic medium

Spectral energy distributions for 10 high red shift quasars in the wavelength range 1250 to 10,000 A were obtained by IUE. A pronounced steepening is detected shortward of 1200 A, which correlates well with quasar red shift, but poorly with luminosity. The observed slope change is explained by Lyman continuum absorption from the strongest 5% of the Lyman alpha forest lines, identified with the low column density metal containing systems. Reddening may also contribute to the steepening, but a much lower neutral gas to dust ratio than that found in the Galaxy is required. Optically thick Lyman limit discontinuities are seen with zabs zem. These systems are metal containing, constant in comoving density with epoch, and require in L* galaxy to have a cross section of 5 to 10 Holmberg radii.

Green, R. F.↗