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At least 1,333 records · Page 74

Galaxy interactions and star formation: Results of a survey of global H-alpha emission in spiral galaxies in 8 clusters

Kennicutt and Kent (1983) have shown that the global H alpha emission from a spiral galaxy is an indicator of the formation rate of massive stars. Moss, Whittle and Irwin (1988) have surveyed two clusters (Abell 347 and 1367) for galaxies with H alpha emission using a high dispersion objective prism technique. The purpose of the survey is to investigate environmental effects on star formation in spiral galaxies, and in particular to ascertain whether star formation is enhanced in cluster spirals. Approximately 20 percent of CGCG galaxies were detected in emission. Two plates of excellent quality were obtained for each of the two clusters, and galaxies were only identified to have emission if this was detected on both plates of a plate pair. In this way, plate flaws and other spurious identifications of emission could be rejected, and weak emission confirmed. The results of this survey have been discussed by Moss (1987). The detected galaxies are of types SO-a and later. The frequency with which galaxies are detected in emission increases towards later morphological type as expected (cf. Kennicutt and Kent 1983). There is no evidence of any dependence of the frequency of detected emission on the absolute magnitude of the galaxy (cf. Moss and Whittle 1990), but there is a strong correlation between a disturbed morphological appearance of the galaxy and the detection of emission. Furthermore it is found that the emission is more centrally concentrated in those galaxies which show a disturbed morphology. It may be noted that the objective prism plate gives a spectrum of a 400 A region around rest wavelength H alpha, but superposed on this is the H alpha emission from the galaxy which, because the light is essentially monochromatic, results in a true two-dimensional image of the H alpha distribution. The visual appearance of the emission on the prism plates was classified according to its diffuseness on a 5 point scale (very diffuse, diffuse, intermediate, compact, and very compact). In tabular form, the relation is shown between this classification and a morphologically disturbed appearance for the galaxy.

Moss, C.↗

Assessing Hurricane Katrina Damage to the Mississippi Gulf Coast Using IKONOS Imagery

Hurricane Katrina hit southeastern Louisiana and the Mississippi Gulf Coast as a Category 3 hurricane with storm surges as high as 9 m. Katrina devastated several coastal towns by destroying or severely damaging hundreds of homes. Several Federal agencies are assessing storm impacts and assisting recovery using high-spatial-resolution remotely sensed data from satellite and airborne platforms. High-quality IKONOS satellite imagery was collected on September 2, 2005, over southwestern Mississippi. Pan-sharpened IKONOS multispectral data and ERDAS IMAGINE software were used to classify post-storm land cover for coastal Hancock and Harrison Counties. This classification included a storm debris category of interest to FEMA for disaster mitigation. The classification resulted from combining traditional unsupervised and supervised classification techniques. Higher spatial resolution aerial and handheld photography were used as reference data. Results suggest that traditional classification techniques and IKONOS data can map wood-dominated storm debris in open areas if relevant training areas are used to develop the unsupervised classification signatures. IKONOS data also enabled other hurricane damage assessment, such as flood-deposited mud on lawns and vegetation foliage loss from the storm. IKONOS data has also aided regional Katrina vegetation damage surveys from multidate Land Remote Sensing Satellite and Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer data.

Spruce, Joseph↗

NASA's Astromaterials Database: Enabling Research Through Increased Access to Sample Data, Metadata and Imagery

The Astromaterials Acquisition & Curation Office at NASA's Johnson Space Center (JSC) is the designated facility for curating all of NASA's extraterrestrial samples. Today, the suite of collections includes the lunar samples from the Apollo missions, cosmic dust particles falling into the Earth's atmosphere, meteorites collected in Antarctica, comet and interstellar dust particles from the Stardust mission, asteroid particles from Japan's Hayabusa mission, solar wind atoms collected during the Genesis mission, and space‐exposed hardware from several missions. To support planetary science research on these samples, JSC's Astromaterials Curation Office hosts NASA's Astromaterials Curation digital repository and data access portal [http://curator.jsc.nasa.gov/], providing descriptions of the missions and collections, and critical information about each individual sample. Our office is designing and implementing several informatics initiatives to better serve the planetary research community. First, we are re‐hosting the basic database framework by consolidating legacy databases for individual collections and providing a uniform access point for information (descriptions, imagery, classification) on all of our samples. Second, we continue to upgrade and host digital compendia that summarize and highlight published findings on the samples (e.g., lunar samples, meteorites from Mars). We host high resolution imagery of samples as it becomes available, including newly scanned images of historical prints from the Apollo missions. Finally we are creating plans to collect and provide new data, including 3D imagery, point cloud data, micro CT data, and external links to other data sets on selected samples. Together, these individual efforts will provide unprecedented digital access to NASA's Astromaterials, enabling preservation of the samples through more specific and targeted requests, and supporting new planetary science research and collaborations on the samples.

Evans, Cindy↗

The Caltech-NRAO Stripe 82 Survey (CNSS) Paper. I. The Pilot Radio Transient Survey in 50 Deg.(exp. 2)

We have commenced a multiyear program, the Caltech-NRAO Stripe 82 Survey (CNSS), to search for radio transients with the Jansky VLA in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Stripe 82 region. The CNSS will deliver five epochs over the entire approx. 270 deg.(exp. 2) of Stripe 82, an eventual deep combined map with an rms noise of approx. 40 proper motion epoch y and catalogs at a frequency of 3 GHz, and having a spatial resolution of 3 inches. This first paper presents the results from an initial pilot survey of a 50 deg.(exp. 2) region of Stripe 82, involving four epochs spanning logarithmic timescales between 1 week and 1.5 yr, with the combined map having a median rms noise of 35 proper motion epoch y. This pilot survey enabled the development of the hardware and software for rapid data processing, as well as transient detection and follow-up, necessary for the full 270 deg.(exp. 2) survey. Data editing, calibration, imaging, source extraction, cataloging, and transient identification were completed in a semi-automated fashion within 6 hr of completion of each epoch of observations, using dedicated computational hardware at the NRAO in Socorro and custom-developed data reduction and transient detection pipelines. Classification of variable and transient sources relied heavily on the wealth of multiwavelength legacy survey data in the Stripe 82 region, supplemented by repeated mapping of the region by the Palomar Transient Factory. A total of 3.9(+0.5%/-0.9%) of the few thousand detected point sources werefound to vary by greater than 30%, consistent with similar studies at 1.4 and 5 GHz. Multiwavelength photometric data and light curves suggest that the variability is mostly due to shock-induced flaring in the jets of active galactic nuclei (AGNs). Although this was only a pilot survey, we detected two bona fide transients, associated with an RS CVn binary and a dKe star. Comparison with existing legacy survey data (FIRST, VLA-Stripe 82) revealed additional highly variable and transient sources on timescales between 5 and 20 yr, largely associated with renewed AGN activity. The rates of such AGNs possibly imply episodes of enhanced accretion and jet activity occurring once every approx. 40,000 yr in these galaxies. We compile the revised radio transient rates and make recommendations for future transient surveys and joint radio-optical experiments.

galaxies: active – radio continuum: galaxies –↗

The Future of Oaks in the Santa Monica Mountains: A Case Study in Using Remote Sensing Data for Species Distributions Models

The Woolsey Fire began on November 8, 2018, and lasted for almost two weeks, during which it burned almost 100,000 acres of valuable landscape and habitat, including a vast area of woodland. The persistence of key woodland species provides aesthetic, monetary, and ecological value to the landscape through carbon sequestration, air temperature moderation, and erosion mitigation, among other ecosystem services. This study investigated the impact of the Woolsey Fire on native woodland species distributions and identified areas suitable for restoration within the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area. The team partnered with the Resource Conservation District of the Santa Monica Mountains; National Park Service, Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area; California Department of Parks and Recreation, Los Angeles County Division; County of Los Angeles Fire Department, Prevention Services Bureau, Forestry Division; County of Los Angeles Department of Regional Planning; and the University of Montana. The Earth observations used include data from Landsat 8 Operational Land Imager, NASA ER-2 Jet Airborne Visible InfraRed Imaging Spectrometer, Shuttle Radar Topography Mission, and RapidEye. The team produced maps of burn severity from the Woolsey Fire, its impact on plant species distributions, and habitat suitability projections for 2050 and 2099 to assist partners in prioritizing areas for restoration. A plant community classification was successfully created using Multiple Endmember Spectral Mixture Analysis (MESMA). Overall accuracy was assessed at 90.54% by comparing the classification to validation pixels derived from ground truth information provided by our partners.

Roger Ly↗

Optical Classification of Lower Amazon Waters Based on In Situ Data and Sentinel-3 Ocean and Land Color Instrument Imagery

Optical water types (OWTs) were identified from an in situ dataset of concomitant biogeochemical and optical parameters acquired in the Amazon River and its tributaries, in the Lower Amazon region, at different hydrological conditions from 2014 to 2017. A seasonal bio-optical characterization was performed. The k-means classification was applied to the in situ normalized reflectance spectra (rn(λ)), allowing the identification of four OWTs. An optical index method was also applied to the rn(λ) defining the thresholds of the OWTs. Next, level-3 Sentinel-3 Ocean and Land Color Instrument images representative of the seasonal discharge conditions were classified using the identified in situ OWTs as reference. The differences between Amazon River and clearwater tributary OWTs were dependent on the hydrological dynamics of the Amazon River, also showing a strong seasonal variability. Each OWT was associated with a specific bio-optical and biogeochemical environment assessed from the corresponding absorption coefficient values of colored dissolved organic matter (aCDOM) and particulate matter (ap), chlorophyll-a and suspended particulate matter (SPM) concentrations, and aCDOM/ap ratio. The rising water season presented a unique OWT with high SPM concentration and high relative contribution of ap to total absorption compared to the other OWTs. This bio-optical characterization of Lower Amazon River waters represents a first step for developing remote sensing inversion models adjusted to the optical complexity of this region.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

Interpretation techniques

The image enhancement and geometric correction and registration techniques developed and/or demonstrated on ERTS data are relatively mature and greatly enhance the utility of the data for a large variety of users. Pattern recognition was improved by the use of signature extension, feature extension, and other classification techniques. Many of these techniques need to be developed and generalized to become operationally useful. Advancements in the mass precision processing of ERTS were demonstrated, providing the hope for future earth resources data to be provided in a more readily usable state. Also in evidence is an increasing and healthy interaction between the techniques developers and the user/applications investigators.

Dragg, J. L.↗

LANDSAT image differencing as an automated land cover change detection technique

Image differencing was investigated as a technique for use with LANDSAT digital data to delineate areas of land cover change in an urban environment. LANDSAT data collected in April 1973 and April 1975 for Austin, Texas, were geometrically corrected and precisely registered to United States Geological Survey 7.5-minute quadrangle maps. At each pixel location reflectance values for the corresponding bands were subtracted to produce four difference images. Areas of major reflectance differences are isolated by thresholding each of the difference images. The resulting images are combined to obtain an image data set to total change. These areas of reflectance differences were found, in general, to correspond to areas of land cover change. Information on areas of land cover change was incorporated into a procedure to mask out all nonchange areas and perform an unsupervised classification only for data in the change areas. This procedure identified three broad categories: (1) areas of high reflectance (construction or extractive), (2) changes in agricultural areas, and (3) areas of confusion between agricultural and other areas.

Stauffer, M. L.↗

Mapping project on land use changes in the carboniferous region of Santa Catarina

The utilization of remote sensing data for monitoring land use changes by means of digital image analysis is described. The following data were utilized: LANDSAT data from September 4, 1975, April 24, 1978, and September 8, 1981; LANDSAT paper photography data; area IV color photographs; IBGE topography maps, and auxiliary data about the Brazilian state of Santa Catarina. Three kinds of analyses of digital images were carried out. The project identified and mapped major classes of land use areas including urban areas, coal deposits, agricultural areas, forests, lakes, and flood plains. Five areas directly affected by coal exploration southeast of Santa Catarina are identified and described. In addition, the classification system used for organizing data about land cover in a hierarchical arrangement is presented. The project made use of two remote sensing data sources: data of MSS spectral (Mulitspectral Scanner System)/LANDSAT on a scale of 1:100,000 with approximately 80 m resolution, and infrared color aerial photographs on a scale of 1:45,000 with approximately 5 m resolution. Therefore, the classification system included three levels, two selected to be compatible with aerial photography data and the third to conform to the resolution of MSS/LANDSAT.

Valeriano, D. D.↗

Coronal Activity in Low-Mass Pre-Main Sequence Stars: NGC 2264

We present the preliminary results of an analysis of ROSAT images in the region of the populous young (age approx. 3 Myr) star-forming region NGC 2264. The cluster was imaged with the ROSAT HRI in two sets of pointings -- one set near the central region of the cluster, centered on the star LW Mon, and the other set in the southern part of the cluster, centered near the star V428 Mon, just south of the Cone Nebula. In total 113 unique X-ray sources have been identified in the ROSAT images with signal-to-noise ratios greater than 3. The limiting luminosities (log Lx(ergs/sec)) for 3-sigma detections are estimated to be 30.18, 30.23, and 30.08 for the northern field, southern field, and overlap region between the two fields respectively. Extensive optical photometry, classification spectroscopy, and proper motions, obtained from recent ground-based surveys of this region, were used to identify the most likely optical counterpart to each X-ray source. Although most of our X-ray selected sample appears to be associated with NGC 2264 members, we find that the vast majority of the cluster membership was undetected in the ROSAT HRI survey. The X-ray cumulative luminosity function for solar-mass stars in NGC 2264 shows that most of the low-mass members probably have X-ray luminosities similar to those seen for the X-ray brightest members of older clusters such as IC 2391/IC 2602 (age approx. 50 Myr) and the Pleiades (age approx. 100 Myr). This research was funded in part by the SAO Summer Intern Program and NASA grant NAG5-8120.

Tebbe, H. J.↗

Artificial Immune System for Recognizing Patterns

A method of recognizing or classifying patterns is based on an artificial immune system (AIS), which includes an algorithm and a computational model of nonlinear dynamics inspired by the behavior of a biological immune system. The method has been proposed as the theoretical basis of the computational portion of a star-tracking system aboard a spacecraft. In that system, a newly acquired star image would be treated as an antigen that would be matched by an appropriate antibody (an entry in a star catalog). The method would enable rapid convergence, would afford robustness in the face of noise in the star sensors, would enable recognition of star images acquired in any sensor or spacecraft orientation, and would not make an excessive demand on the computational resources of a typical spacecraft. Going beyond the star-tracking application, the AIS-based pattern-recognition method is potentially applicable to pattern- recognition and -classification processes for diverse purposes -- for example, reconnaissance, detecting intruders, and mining data.

Huntsberger, Terrance↗

The extended atmosphere and circumstellar environment of the cool evolved star VX Sagittarii as seen by MATISSE

Context. VX Sgr is a cool, evolved, and luminous red star whose stellar parameters are difficult to determine, which affects its classification. Aims. We aim to spatially resolve the photospheric extent as well as the circumstellar environment. Methods. We used interferometric observations obtained with the MATISSE instrument in the L (3–4 μm), M (4.5–5 μm), and N (8–13 μm) bands. We reconstructed monochromatic images using the MIRA software. We used 3D radiation-hydrodynamics simulations carried out with CO5BOLD and a uniform disc model to estimate the apparent diameter and interpret the stellar surface structures. Moreover, we employed the radiative transfer codes OPTIM3D and RADMC3D to compute the spectral energy distribution for the L, M, and N bands, respectively. Results. MATISSE observations unveil, for the first time, the morphology of VX Sgr across the L, M, and N bands. The reconstructed images show a complex morphology with brighter areas whose characteristics depend on the wavelength probed. We measured the angular diameter as a function of the wavelength and showed that the photospheric extent in the L and M bands depends on the opacity through the atmosphere. In addition to this, we also concluded that the observed photospheric inhomogeneities can be interpreted as convection-related surface structures. The comparison in the N band yielded a qualitative agreement between the N-band spectrum and simple dust radiative transfer simulations. However, it is not possible to firmly conclude on the interpretation of the current data because of the difficulty in constraing the model parameters using the limited accuracy of our absolute flux calibration. Conclusions. MATISSE observations and the derived reconstructed images unveil the appearance of VX Sgr’s stellar surface and circumstellar environment across a very large spectral domain for the first time.

stars: atmospheres↗

Evaluation of entropy and JM-distance criterions as features selection methods using spectral and spatial features derived from LANDSAT images

A study area near Ribeirao Preto in Sao Paulo state was selected, with predominance in sugar cane. Eight features were extracted from the 4 original bands of LANDSAT image, using low-pass and high-pass filtering to obtain spatial features. There were 5 training sites in order to acquire the necessary parameters. Two groups of four channels were selected from 12 channels using JM-distance and entropy criterions. The number of selected channels was defined by physical restrictions of the image analyzer and computacional costs. The evaluation was performed by extracting the confusion matrix for training and tests areas, with a maximum likelihood classifier, and by defining performance indexes based on those matrixes for each group of channels. Results show that in spatial features and supervised classification, the entropy criterion is better in the sense that allows a more accurate and generalized definition of class signature. On the other hand, JM-distance criterion strongly reduces the misclassification within training areas.

Parada, N. D. J.↗

Domain adaptation techniques for improved cross-domain study of galaxy mergers

In astronomy, neural networks are often trained on simulated data with the prospect of being applied to real observations. Unfortunately, simply training a deep neural network on images from one domain does not guarantee satisfactory performance on new images from a different domain. The ability to share cross-domain knowledge is the main advantage of modern deep domain adaptation techniques. Here we demonstrate the use of two techniques - Maximum Mean Discrepancy (MMD) and adversarial training with Domain Adversarial Neural Networks (DANN) - for the classification of distant galaxy mergers from the Illustris-1 simulation, where the two domains presented differ only due to inclusion of observational noise. We show how the addition of either MMD or adversarial training greatly improves the performance of the classifier on the target domain when compared to conventional machine learning algorithms, thereby demonstrating great promise for their use in astronomy.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

A preliminary evaluation of land use mapping and change detection capabilities using an ERTS image covering a portion of the CARETS region

The author has identified the following significant results. A preliminary study on the capabilities of ERTS data in land use mapping and change detection was carried out in the area around Frederick County, Maryland, which lies in the northwest corner of the Central Atlantic Regional Ecological Test Site. The investigation has revealed that Level 1 (of the Anderson classification system) land use mapping can be performed and that, in some cases, land undergoing change can be identified. Results to date suggest that more work should be done in areas where land use changes are known to exist, in order to establish some form of base for recognizing the spectral signature indicative of change areas.

Fitzpatrick, K. A.↗

Bulk processing techniques for very large areas - Landsat classification of California

In 1977, California Law AB452 was passed to provide a mandate for the California Department of Forestry (CDF) to design and implement an information system to assess the forest land base for multiple uses and values. In connection with this mandate, a land-cover map of the entire state, emphasizing forest types, was produced. In producing this map, the latest techniques in digital image mosaicking were combined with the highspeed processing capability available on the ILLIAC IV parallel processor and other computer systems at the Ames Research Center (ARC). An operational and very responsive analysis method was developed at ARC that permitted on-time response to weekly workshops conducted with CDF field personnel to identify all 1,200 spectral classes and to produce final products. Over 100,000,000 acres were classified in the period between December 1, 1978, and April 15, 1979. All analyses were conducted using existing software.

Newland, W.↗

Real-time tracking of structural evolution in 2D MXenes using theory-enhanced machine learning

In situ Electron Energy Loss Spectroscopy (EELS) combined with Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) has traditionally been pivotal for understanding how material processing choices affect local structure and composition. However, the ability to monitor and respond to ultrafast transient changes, now achievable with EELS and TEM, necessitates innovative analytical frameworks. Here, we introduce a machine learning (ML) framework tailored for the real-time assessment and characterization of in operando EELS Spectrum Images (EELS-SI). We focus on 2D MXenes as the sample material system, specifically targeting the understanding and control of their atomic-scale structural transformations that critically influence their electronic and optical properties. This approach requires fewer labeled training data points than typical deep learning classification methods. By integrating computationally generated structures of MXenes and experimental datasets into a unified latent space using Variational Autoencoders (VAE) in a unique training method, our framework accurately predicts structural evolutions at latencies pertinent to closed-loop processing within the TEM. This study presents a critical advancement in enabling automated, on-the-fly synthesis and characterization, significantly enhancing capabilities for materials discovery and the precision engineering of functional materials at the atomic scale.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗

Automated image processing of Landsat II digital data for watershed runoff prediction

Digital image processing of Landsat data from a 230 sq km area was examined as a possible means of generating soil cover information for use in the watershed runoff prediction of Kern County, California. The soil cover information included data on brush, grass, pasture lands and forests. A classification accuracy of 94% for the Landsat-based soil cover survey suggested that the technique could be applied to the watershed runoff estimate. However, problems involving the survey of complex mountainous environments may require further attention

Sasso, R. R.↗