Engineering topics

Elliot, J. L.

Publications and source records attributed to Elliot, J. L..

At least 19 records

NASA NTRS2000

The Prediction and Observation of the 1997 July 18 Stellar Occultation by Triton: More Evidence for Distortion and Increasing Pressure in Triton's Atmosphere

We used CCD (charge coupled device) astrometric data to predict where the occultation path of the star Tr 176 was located, on July 18, 1997. It could be seen from northern Australia and the southern section of North America. We set up an array of portable and mixed telescopes which had high-speed photometric equipment to observe the occultation. Goals included the following: (1) mapping the central flash; (2) obtaining light curves for the signal-to-noise ratio; (3) acquiring light curves from Triton's disk. We combined these with data from others to find the radius and geometry of the half-light surface of the atmosphere, as well as the equivalent-isothermal temperature latitudes below the occultation on Triton.

Elliot, J. L.↗

NASA NTRS1999

The Thermal Structure of Triton's Middle Atmosphere

The atmospheric structure of Triton in the altitude range 25-150 kilometers shows an unexpectedly steep thermal gradient of 0.26 K per kilometer above 50 kilometer altitude, with a nearly isothermal profile below. The upper part of the profile can be explained by downward conduction of heat deposited by magnetospheric electrons and solar UV. However, the atmospheric temperature below 50 kilometers is too cold for identified radiative processes to dispose of the inferred heat flux (0.0012 erg per square centimeter per second) from the upper atmosphere. This implies that either the atmosphere is not in a steady state and/or an unidentified cooling mechanism is at work in the altitude range 25-50 kilometers. When extrapolated to the surface, the inversion results yield a pressure of 19.0 sup (+1.8) sub (-1.5), mubar, about 5mubar greater than that observed by Voyager.

Elliot, J. L.↗

NASA NTRS1998

Triton's Distorted Atmosphere

A stellar-occultation light curve for Triton shows asymmetry that can be understood if Triton's middle atmosphere is distorted from spherical symmetry. Although a globally oblate model can explain the data, the inferred atmospheric flattening is so large that it could be caused only by an unrealistic internal mass distribution or highly supersonic zonal winds. Cyclostrophic winds confined to a jet near Triton's northern or southern limbs (or both) could also be responsible for the details of the light curve, but such winds are required to be slightly supersonic. Hazes and clouds in the atmosphere are unlikely to have caused the asymmetry in the light curve.

Elliot, J. L.↗

NASA NTRS1998

Global Warming on Triton

Triton, Neptune's largest moon, has been predicted to undergo significant seasonal changes that would reveal themselves as changes in its mean frost temperature. But whether this temperature should at the present time be increasing, decreasing or constant depends on a number of parameters (such as the thermal properties of the surface, and frost migration patterns) that are unknown. Here we report observations of a recent stellar occultation by Triton which, when combined with earlier results, show that Triton has undergone a period of global warming since 1989. Our most conservative estimates of the rate of temperature and surface-pressure increase during this period imply that the atmosphere is doubling in bulk every 10 years, significantly faster than predicted by any published frost model for Triton. Our result suggests that permanent polar caps on Triton play a c dominant role in regulating seasonal atmospheric changes. Similar processes should also be active on Pluto.

Elliot, J. L.↗

NASA NTRS1997

A Numerical Method for Calculating Stellar Occultation Light Curves from an Arbitrary Atmospheric Model

We present a method for speeding up numerical calculations of a light curve for a stellar occultation by a planetary atmosphere with an arbitrary atmospheric model that has spherical symmetry. This improved speed makes least-squares fitting for model parameters practical. Our method takes as input several sets of values for the first two radial derivatives of the refractivity at different values of model parameters, and interpolates to obtain the light curve at intermediate values of one or more model parameters. It was developed for small occulting bodies such as Pluto and Triton, but is applicable to planets of all sizes. We also present the results of a series of tests showing that our method calculates light curves that are correct to an accuracy of 10(exp -4) of the unocculted stellar flux. The test benchmarks are (i) an atmosphere with a l/r dependence of temperature, which yields an analytic solution for the light curve, (ii) an atmosphere that produces an exponential refraction angle, and (iii) a small-planet isothermal model. With our method, least-squares fits to noiseless data also converge to values of parameters with fractional errors of no more than 10(exp -4), with the largest errors occurring in small planets. These errors are well below the precision of the best stellar occultation data available. Fits to noisy data had formal errors consistent with the level of synthetic noise added to the light curve. We conclude: (i) one should interpolate refractivity derivatives and then form light curves from the interpolated values, rather than interpolating the light curves themselves; (ii) for the most accuracy, one must specify the atmospheric model for radii many scale heights above half light; and (iii) for atmospheres with smoothly varying refractivity with altitude, light curves can be sampled as coarsely as two points per scale height.

Chamberlain, D. M.↗

NASA NTRS1997

Determination of the Charon/Pluto Mass Ratio from Center-of-Light Astrometry

The Charon/Pluto mass ratio is a fundamental but poorly known parameter of the two-body system. Previous values for the mass ratio have ranged from 0.0837 plus or minus 0.0147 (Null et al., 1993, Astron. J. 105, 2319-2335) to 0.1566 plus or minus 0.0035 (Young et al., 1994, Icarus 108,186-199). We report here a new determination of the Charon/Pluto mass ratio, using five sets of groundbased images taken at four sites in support of Pluto occultation predictions. Unlike the Null et al. and Young et A determinations, where the centers of light for Pluto and Charon could be determined separately, this technique examines the motion of the center of light of the blended Pluto-Charon image. We compute the offsets of the observed center-of-light position of Pluto-Charon from the ephemeris position of the system and fit these offsets to a model of the Pluto-Charon system. The least-squares fits to the five data sets agree within their errors, and the weighted mean mass ratio is 0.117 plus or minus 0.006. The effects of errors in the Charon light fraction, semimajor axis, and ephemeris have been examined and are equal to only a small fraction of the formal error from the fit. This result is intermediate between those of Null et al., and Young et al. and matches a new value of 0.124 plus or minus 0.008 by Null and Owen (1996, Astron. J. 111, 1368-1381). The mass ratio and resulting individual masses and densities of Pluto and Charon are consistent with a collisional origin for the Pluto-Charon system.

Foust, Jeffrey A.↗

NASA NTRS1996

Astrometry of Single-Chord Occultations: Application to the 1993 Triton Event

This paper outlines a method for reducing astrometric data to derive the closest approach time and distance to the center of an occultation shadow for a single observer. The method applies to CCD frames, strip scans or photographic plates and uses a set of field stars of unknown positions to define a common coordinate system for all frames. The motion of the occulting body is used to establish the transformation between this common coordinate system and the celestial coordinate system of the body's ephemeris. This method is demonstrated by application to the Tr6O occultation by Triton on 1993 July 10 UT. Over an interval of four nights that included the occultation time, 80 frames of Triton and Tr6O were taken near the meridian with the U.S. Naval Observatory (USNO) 61-inch astrometric reflector. Application of the method presented here to these data yields a closest approach distance of 359 +/- 133 km (corresponding to 0.017 +/- 0.006 arcsec) for the occultation chord obtained with the Kuiper Airborne Observatory (KAO). Comparison of the astrometric closest approach time with the KAO light-curve midtime shows a difference of 2.2 +/- 4.1 s. Relative photometry of Triton and Tr6O, needed for photometric calibration of the occultation light curve, is also presented.

Olkin, Catherine B.↗

NASA NTRS1995

Hubble Space Telescope observations of the dwarf Nova Z Chamaeleontis through two eruption cycles

We have obtained the first high-speed photometry of the eclipsing dwarf nova Z Cha at ultraviolet wavelengths with the Hubble Space Telescope (HST). We observed the eclipse roughly every 4 days over two cycles of the normal eruptions of Z Cha, giving a uniquely complete coverage of its outburst cycle. The accretion disk dominated the ultraviolet light curve of Z Cha at the peak of an eruption; the white dwarf, the bright spot on the edge of the disk, and the boundary layer were all invisible. We were able to obtain an axisymmetric map of the accretion disk at this time only by adopting a flared disk with an opening angle of approximately 8 deg. The run of brightness temperature with radius in the disk at the peak of the eruption was too flat to be consistent with a steady state, optically thick accretion disk. The local rate of mass flow through the disk was approximately 5 x 10(exp -10) solar masses/yr near the center of the disk and approximately 5 x 10(exp -9) solar masses/yr near the outer edge. The white dwarf, the accretion disk, and the boundary layer were all significant contributors to the ultraviolet flux on the descending branches of the eruptions. The temperature of the white dwarf during decline was 18,300 K less than T(sub wd) less than 21,800 K, which is significantly greater than at minimum light. Six days after the maximum of an eruption Z Cha has faded to near minimum light at ultraviolet wavelenghts, but was still approximately 70% brighter at minimum light in the B band. About one-quarter of the excess flux in the B band came from the accretion disk. Thus, the accretion disk faded and became invisible at ultraviolet wavelengths before it faded at optical wavelenghts. The disk did, however, remain optically thick and obscured the lower half of the white dwarf at ultraviolet and possibly at optical wavelenghts for 2 weeks after the eruption ended. By the third week after eruptiuons the eclipse looked like a simple occultation of an unobscured, spherical white dwarf by a dark secondary star. The center of the accretion disk was, therfore, optically thin at ultraviolet wavelenghts and the boundary layer was too faint to be visible.

Robinson, E. L.↗

NASA NTRS1995

The gravitational lens system Q0957+561 in the ultraviolet

Photometric and polarimetric observations of both images of the gravitationally lensed quasar Q0957+561 (z(sub em) = 1.41) were obtained in the UV in 1993 with the High Speed Photometer on board the Hubble Space Photometer on board the Hubble Space Telescope. The images exhibited no significant polarization in a bandpass centered on 2770 A (observer's frame); p less than or = 3.2 % (2 sigma upper limit) in each image. The ratio of the flux density in image A to that in image B in late 1993 had a constant valuee, 1.021 +/- 0.008, in four different UV bandpass between 1400 A and 3040 A observer's frame). These results are consistent with the prediction of the gravitation lens interpretation that the photometric ratio of the images measured simultaneously should be independent of frequency. Reprocessed archival spectra of the two images obtained between 1981 and 1983 by the International Ultraviolet Explorer (IUE) show that the photometric ratio of A to B varies between 0.96 and 2.0 in the Ly alpha emission line, and between 0.77 and 1.8 in the O VI lambda 1037 emission line (quasar rest frame). The photometric ratio of A to B at any single epoch is often significantly different in the two emission lines. Accepting the system as a gravitational lens implies that in the quasar the flux in the Ly alpha emsisson line can vary independently of the flux in the 0 IV emission line.

Dolan, J. F.↗

NASA NTRS1995

Triton stellar occultation candidates: 1995-1999

We have completed a search for candidates for stellar occultations by Triton over the years 1995-1999. CCd strip scan images provided star positions in the relevant sky area to a depth of about 17.5 R magnitude. Over this time period, we find that Triton passes within 1.0 arcsec of 75 stars. Appulses with geocentric minimum separations of less than 0.35 arcsec will result in stellar occultations, but further astrometry and photometry is necessary to refine individual predictions for identification of actual occultations. Finder charts are included to aid in further studies and prediction refinement. The two most promising potential occultations, Tr176 and Tr180, occur in 1997.

Mcdonald, S. W.↗

NASA NTRS1995

Jet-like features near the Nucleus of Chiron

Considered as a comet, the object 2060 Chiron is unusual in two respects: it exhibits outbursts at very large distances from the Sun, and its nucleus is much larger than that of any other known comet. It is, however, similar in size to the recently discovered Kuiper-belt objects - a population of objects with orbits beyond Neptune, which are a possible source of short-period comets. This has led to the conjecture that Chiron is related to these objects, but its chaotic orbit has brought it much closer to the Sun. Here we report observations of a recent stellar occultation by Chiron which permit the identification of several features associated with Chiron's coma. The observation of discrete, jet-like features provides evidence that the coma material originates from just few, small active areas, rather than from uniform sublimations, and that the particles in at least one of these features have radii greater than 0.25 microns. The observations also suggest the presence of material in the plane of Chiron's orbit and are consistent with a gravitationally bound coma. Finally, the present data, and those from a previous occultation, constrain the radius of Chiron to lie between 83 and 156 km.

Elliot, J. L.↗

NASA NTRS1994

The linear polarization of 3C 345 in the ultraviolet

The linear polarization of 3C 345, a superluminal radio source and OVV quasar, was observed in two bandpasses in the ultraviolet (centered at 2160 A and 2770 A) in 1993 April using the High Speed Photometer on the Hubble Space Telescope. The quasar is significantly polarized in the UV (p greater than 5%). Ground-based polarimetry was obtained 11 days later, but a difference in the position angle between the observations in the visible and those in the UV indicate that the magnitude of the polarization of 3C 345 may have changed over that time. If the two observation sets represent the same state of spectral polarization, then the large UV flux implies that either the polarization of the synchrotron continuum must stop decreasing in the UV, or that there is an additional source of polarized flux in the ultraviolet. Only if the UV observations represent a spectral polarization state with the same position angle in the visible seen previously in 3C 345 can the polarized flux be represented by a single power law consistent with the three-component model of Smith et al. This model consists of a polarized synchrotron component, an unpolarized component from the broad-line region, and an unpolarized component attributed to thermal radiation from an optically thick accretion disk. Additional simultaneous polarimetry in the UV and visible will be required to further constrain models of the continuum emission processes in 3C 345 and determine if the UV polarized flux is synchrotron in origin.

Dolan, Joseph F.↗

NASA NTRS1994

Chiron stellar occultation candidates: 1993-1996

A photographic search was conducted for stars that may be occulted by the unusual solar system object (2060) Chiron during the period from fall 1993 through summer 1996. 44 candidates were identified to a limiting V magnitude of 16, and for which the minimum appulse separation with Chiron is predicted to be less than 2.5 arcsec. The successful observation of a stellar occultation by Chiron would give a direct measure of its diameter (currently estimated to be between 60 and 300 km), and would help considerably in constraining Chiron's surface properties and volatile makeup. If at the time of the occultation, Chiron exhibits a significant coma, there is also the potential for measuring the optical-depth profile of the dust in its inner coma.

Bus, S. J.↗

NASA NTRS1994

The Charon-Pluto mass ratio from MKO astrometry

Using the University of Hawaii (UH) 2.2-m telescope, we obtained charge coupled device (CCD) images of Pluto as it passed through a single field of 10 stars during 6 nights of Charon's 6.4-day orbital period. From these data, Charon's orbital semimajor axis is found to be 19,460 +/- 58 km, which is consistent with the recent measurement by Null et al. (1993), of 19,405 +/- 86 km. Our semimajor axis implies a system mass of (14.32 +/- 0.13) x 10(exp 24) g. From the motions of Pluto and Charon around their barycenter, we find that the ratio of Charon's mass to Pluto's is 0.1566 +/- 0.0035, indicating that the bodies both have densities near 2 g/cc. Our ratio is nearly twice that of Null et al., who find a ratio of 0.0837 +/- 0.0147. Possible reasons for the large discrepancy are discussed.

Young, L. A.↗

NASA NTRS1994

Ultraviolet photometry of Nova Cygni 1992 obtained with the high speed photometer

In this Letter we present the first high-speed ultraviolet photometry of an active, classical nova, Nova Cygni 1992. The 45 minute observation shows significant evidence for power at frequencies that correspond to periods of about 565 and 900 s. Each of these periods has an amplitude of about 3 mmag. Since this data set is short, we cannot establish the nature of the detected variability and so, we discuss possible physical mechanisms ranging from short-lived phenomena to stable periodic modulations that could result in the observed variations.

Taylor, M.↗

NASA NTRS1994

Occultation Predictions Using CCD Strip-Scanning Astrometry

We are developing the method of CCD strip-scanning astrometry for the purpose of deriving reliable advance predictions for occultations involving small objects in the outer solar system. We are using a camera system based on a Ford/Loral 2Kx2K CCD with the Crossley telescope at Lick Observatory for this work. The columns of die CCD are aligned East-West, the telescope drive is stopped, and the CCD is clocked at the same rate that the stars drift across it. In this way we obtain arbitrary length strip images 20 arcmin wide with 0.58" pixels. Since planets move mainly in RA, it is possible to obtain images of the planet and star to be occulted on the same strip well before the occultation occurs. The strip-to-strip precision (i.e. reproducibility) of positions is limited by atmospheric image motion to about 0.1" rms per strip. However, for objects that are nearby in R.A., the image motion is highly correlated and their relative positions are good to 0.02" rms per strip. We will show that the effects of atmospheric image motion on a given strip can be removed if a sufficient number of strips of a given area have been obtained. Thus, it is possible to reach an rms precision of 0.02" per strip, corresponding to about 0.3 of Pluto or Triton's angular radius. The ultimate accuracy of a prediction based on strip-scanning astrometry is currently limited by the accuracy of the positions of the stars in the astrometric network used and by systematic errors most likely due to the optical system. We will show the results of . the prediction of some recent occultations as examples of the current capabilities and limitations of this technique.

Dunham, Edward W.↗

NASA NTRS1993

An Occultation by Saturn's Rings on 1991 October 2-3 October 2-3 Observed with the Hubble Space Telescope

An occultation of the star GSC 6323-01396 (V = 11.9) by Saturn's rings was observed with the High-Speed Photometer on the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) on 1991 October 2-3. This occultation occurred when Saturn was near a stationary point, so the apparent motion of Saturn relative to the star was dominated by the HST orbital motion (8 km/s). Data were recorded simultaneously at effective wavelengths of 3200 and 7500 A, with an integration time of 0.15 s. Fifteen segments of occultation data, totaling 6.8 h, were recorded in 13 successive orbits during the 20.0 h interval from UTC 1991 October 2, 19:35 until UTC 1991 October 3, 15:35. Occultations by 43 different features throughout the classical rings were unambiguously identified in the light curve, with a second occultation by 24 of them occurring due to spacecraft orbital parallax during this extremely slow event. Occultation times for features currently presumed circular were measured and employed in a geometrical model for the rings. This model, relating the observed occultation times to feature radii and longitudes, is presented here and is used in a least-squares fit for the pole direction and radius scale of Saturn's ring system.

Elliot, J. L.↗

NASA NTRS1993

High-speed ultraviolet photometry of HD 60435

We present the first high-speed ultraviolet photometry of an oscillating Ap star, HD 60435. After removing known orbital effects related to the Hubble Space Telescope, we confirm the presence of a strong pulsation period at a frequency of 123.70 cycles per day. In addition, we find significant amplitude modulation of this frequency that we suggest could be the result of beating of multiple periodicities. In this context, we suggest evidence for the presence of four additional frequencies at nu = 120.56, 126.55, 149.49, and 221.03 cycles per day. Three of these frequencies correspond well to frequencies detected in optical observations of HD 60435. The fourth, at 149.49 cycles per day, if real, is a potentially new pulsation mode that has not been detected in ground-based observations of this star. The amplitude of the 123 cycles per day pulsation is significantly larger in the ultraviolet than it is in the blue.

Taylor, M.↗