Engineering topics
Publications and source records attributed to Dempsey, Robert.
This paper describes our flight aboard NASA's C9 Weightless Wonder, more affectionately known as The Vomit Comet. The C9 is NASA's aircraft that creates multiple periods of microgravity by conducting a series of parabolic maneuvers over the Gulf of Mexico.
A great deal of progress has been made in recent years in decomposing the 2-D structure in the atmospheres of late-type stars. Doppler images of many photospheres single stars, T Tauri stars, Algols, RS CV(sub n) binaries to name a few - are regularly published (Strassmeier 1996; Richards and Albright 1996; Rice and Strassmeier 1996; Kuerster et al. 1994). Ultraviolet spectral images of chromospheres appear in the literature (e.g., Walter et al. 1987; Neff et al. 1989) but are less common owing to the difficult nature of obtaining complete phase coverage. Zeeman doppler images of magnetic fields are now feasible (e.g., Donati et al. 1992). Performing Doppler imaging of the same targets over many seasons has also been accomplished (e.g, Vogt et al. 1997). Even when a true image reconstruction is not possible due to poor spectral resolution, we can still infer a great deal about spatial structure if enough phases are observed. However, it is increasingly apparent that to make sense of recent results, many different spectral features spanning a range of formation temperature and density must be observed simultaneously for a coherent picture to emerge. Here we report on one such campaign. In 1996, we observed the southern hemisphere RS CV(sub n) binary V824 Ara (P=1(sup d).68, G5IV+K0V-IV-IV) over one complete stellar rotation with the Hubble Space Telescope and EUVE. In conjunction, radio and optical photometry and spectroscopy were obtained from the ground. Unique to this campaign is the complete phase coverage of a number of activity proxy indicators that cover source temperatures ranging from the photosphere to the corona.
The active-chromosphere giant HD 12545 is noteworthy for its remarkable 1990 photmetric amplitude of 0.6 mag in V, which implies that nearly half the visible hemisphere of the star was covered by cool spots. We report the results of a spectroscopic study of HD 12545, showing it to be an active-chromosphere binary with an orbital period of 23.97 days. We establish the spectral type as KO III, and measure v sin i = 17 +/- 2 km/s. The various indicators of activity in the optical and ultraviolet suggest that HD 12545 is one of the most active RS CVn systems yet observed. H alpha is a broad, variable emission feature, with a strength comparable to what is observed in very active RS CVn systems such as V711 Tau (HR 1099) or II Peg. The surface fluxes of chromospheric and transition-regions lines in the UV range from 10 to nearly 400 times the solar values. With a moderately strong Li I lambda 6707 feature and a large space motion, HD 12545 is an unusual but not unique giant, since these properties are similar to those of the single active-chromosphere giant HD 33798.
The sixth-magnitude K star HD 17433 (VY Ari) is shown to be an active-chromosphere binary with an orbital period of 13.198 days. A photometric (rotational) period of 17.4 days is indicated by the existing photometry, implying that HD 17433 is not in synchronous rotation. In the optical, H-alpha is seen in emission, with variable profile and intensity; He I lambda-5876 is present in absorption. IUE observations show chromospheric and transition-region emission lines with surface fluxes up to 200 times greater than those observed in the quiet sun. The luminosity and radius are appropriate for a subgiant, and the kinematics suggest Pleiades group membership. The presence of a lithium absorption feature indicates it may either be a young object, possibly a pre-main sequence star or an evolved spotted RS CVn system. Interpretations from the optical measurement of the magnetic field strength of HD 17433 are given.