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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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At least 199 records · Page 11
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NASA NTRS1972

An unusual absorption feature in the far ultraviolet spectrum of early type supergiants

The OAO-2 satellite has been used to obtain far ultraviolet scans of six early-type supergiants. The data reveal the presence of a distinct, broad absorption feature centered near 1720 A. This feature is unique in that it remains essentially constant in strength, breadth and central position over the spectral type range B0 I to A2 I. The feature also appears in the spectrum of the B-type shell star beta Tauri, with a strength comparable to that observed for the supergiants. It appears weakly, or not at all, in the B and A main sequence spectra we have examined. The hypothesis that the feature is due to a fortuitous blend of intrinsically strong lines arising primarily from the ground configurations of abundant metallic ions is discussed in detail.

Underhill, A. B.↗
NASA NTRS1972

HD 50896 and the composition of Wolf-Rayet atmospheres

Measurements of the Pickering lines of He II in the spectrum of HD 50896 suggest that the upper limit to the H/He ratio is 0.05 by numbers. Spectral scans from OAO-2 show strong lines, nitrogen being observed most strongly as N IV, but also as N III and N V. Carbon and oxygen are observed dominantly in the triply ionized states. Thus, the degree of ionization of C, N and O are comparable. No indication of extensive selective excitation effects is observed. It is concluded that the differences between the WN and WC stars cannot be explained by selective excitation or ionization effects in the WN stars.

Smith, L. F.↗
NASA NTRS1972

Metal line blanketing and opacity in the ultraviolet of alpha 2 Canum Venaticorum

Ultraviolet photometry by OAO-2 was made of alpha 2 CVn covering the entire 5.5d period of this magnetic Ap variable. The light curves ranging from 1330 A to 3320 A indicate the dominant role of rare-earth line-blanketing in redistributing flux. In a broad depression of the continuum covering 2300-2600 A, scanner observations possibly identify strong lines of Eu III as major contributors to this feature. At maximum intensity of the rare-earth lines, the ultraviolet continuum shortward of 2900 A is greatly diminished while the longer wavelength regions into the visual become brighter. In addition, there is evidence that the hydrogen line opacity is variable and the photoionization edge of Si I at 1680 A is identified.

Molnar, M. R.↗
NASA NTRS1972

Spectrophotometry of beta Lyrae

Two hundred and fourteen scans over the wavelength region 1100 A to 1800 A with 10 A resolution were obtained by OAO spacecraft for the eclipsing binary Beta Lyrae between JD 2440889.5 and JD 2440904.5. Preliminary results indicate that: (1) The intensity at primary minimum is almost exactly one-half that at maximum and that the primary eclipse is less deep than that in the visual or longer ultraviolet wavelengths; (2) except for the 1100 to 1200 A region, the depth of the primary eclipse appears independent of wavelength; (3) the energy distribution at secondary minimum is similar to that at primary; (4) the two most prominent emission lines match well both with Si IV and C IV emission observed in gamma Vel and imply an exciting source of high temperature; (5) the emission lines do not show variation with phase.

Houck, T. E.↗
NASA NTRS1972

Balmer continuous emission and polarization in Be stars

Observations by OAO-2 of two Be stars, gamma Cassiopeiae and 60 Cygni, are analyzed to show that unpolarized radiation produced by Balmer continuous emission in the extended atmospheres of Be stars is probably a significant factor in explaining the polarization observed shortwards of the Balmer discontinuity. The ratio of the energy flux of Be stars to normal B stars with the same amount of reddening varies from about 1.4 at 3600 A to 1.05 at 2500 A. This is interpreted as due to Balmer continuous emission in the Be stars. For gamma Cas the polarizations at 3300 and 3600 A are respectively 0.6 and 0.7 of the values one expects from interstellar polarization.

Coyne, G. V.↗
NASA NTRS1972

Preliminary results of ultraviolet photometry of shell stars

Photometry of 40 B stars acquired by the OAO-2 has been examined for systematic differences between the 25 standard stars and 15 program objects. The latter include shell and Be stars and a few objects with at least a modest infrared excess. Although individual deviations did occur, no definite distinction between the program and comparison stars was found. A possible, but very weak, tendency for the program objects to lie somewhat below the standards in color-color plots is discussed, especially with reference to errors of misclassification and variability of the ultraviolet reddening law.

Bottemiller, R. L.↗
NASA NTRS1972

Ultraviolet observations of weak-helium stars

Ultraviolet filter photometry aboard OAO-2 has been carried out for the weak helium stars 3 Cen A, 3 Sco, HD 144334, HD 21699, HD 144844, alpha Scl, HR 8535, HR 8770 and HD 144661. The flux distribution is compared with that of B3 to B8 main sequence and giant stars in terms of color-color diagrams. When allowance is made for line blocking shortward of 2800 A that most of the weak helium stars have normal fluxes in good agreement with their ground-based colors. The star alpha Scl is a light and spectrum variable. The strengthening of Ti II and Sr II lines around 2400 A appears to redistribute flux longward of the Balmer discontinuity. The flux distribution indicates an effective temperature about 1500 K higher than previously determined.

Bernacca, P. L.↗
NASA NTRS1972

Ultraviolet photometry of Nova Serpentis 1970

The appearance of the bright nova, Nova Serpentis 1970, provided the first opportunity to obtain spectrophotometric observations of a nova in the vacuum ultraviolet. OAO-2 carried out systematic measurements from shortly after outburst on through the first sixty days of nova activity. This data consist of filter photometry and spectral scans. General characteristics of the light and spectral variations in the ultraviolet exhibited by this set of data are described.

Code, A. D.↗
NASA NTRS1972

Ultraviolet photometry of globular clusters

Filter photometry measurements of the integrated light from several globular clusters between 1500 and 4000 A are discussed. The techniques and problems associated with carrying out photometry of faint extended sources with the OAO-2 instrumentation are described first. The energy distribution for globular clusters determined from these data are corrected for interstellar extinction on the basis of B-V color excesses and a mean ultraviolet extinction curve. The results are compared with synthetic cluster calculations. The ultraviolet energy distribution is primarily determined by the number of stars at the blue end of the horizontal branch.

Welch, G. A.↗
NASA NTRS1972

Possibility that the far ultraviolet excess in M31 is due to main sequence stars

The far ultraviolet excess in the central region of M31, observed by OAO-2, could be due to young main sequence stars. More than enough such stars are present in the model for the M31 inner disk population derived by Tinsley and Spinrad (1971) to match line- and color-indices at longer wavelengths. If the far ultraviolet radiation of typical galaxies arises from young stars, the theoretical ultraviolet background is enhanced greatly by evolutionary effects. For evolution at the rate of Tinsley and Spinrad's model for M31, or of Arnett's (1971) linear model for our galaxy, the enhancement is a factor 2.5 to 14, depending on the Hubble constant and the spectrum at wavelengths below 1700 A.

Tinsley, B. M.↗
NASA NTRS1971

Design guide for space shuttle low-cost payloads

A handbook is presented which delineates the principles of the new low-cost design methodology for designers of unmanned payloads to be carried by the space shuttle. The basic relationships between payload designs and program cost effects are discussed, and some concepts for designing low-cost payloads and implementing low-cost programs are given. The data are summarized from a payloads effects study of three unmanned earth satellites (OAO, a syneq orbiter, and a small research satellite), and the earth satellite design is emphasized. Brief summaries of space shuttle and space tug performance, environmental, and interface data pertinent to low-cost payload concepts are included.

Source record↗
NASA NTRS1972

C-4 155 nm line in beta Cephei

The class of early B variable stars known as beta Cephei stars are characterized by short-period radial velocity and light variations. The coolest stars of this group have an effective temperature of about 20,000 K and the hottest, about 28,000 K. These stars are not related to the classical Cepheids whose temperatures are of the order of 6000 K. The amplitude of the radial velocity variation beta Cephei stars is in the tens of kilometers per second and the light variation is less than 0.2 mag, that is, less than 10 percent. The fastest pulsation interval is 3 hr and the slowest is 6 hr. The prototype beta Cephei has a period of 4 hr 34 min. Ultraviolet observations were taken using OAO 2 to investigate the relationship between the visual and the ultraviolet variations.

Fischel, D.↗
NASA NTRS1972

An unusual absorption feature in the far-ultraviolet spectrum of early-type supergiants.

The OAO-II satellite has been used to obtain far-UV scans of six early-type supergiants. The data reveal the presence of a distinct, broad absorption feature centered near 1720 A. This feature is unique in that it remains essentially constant in strength, breadth, and central position over the spectral type range BO I to A2 I. The feature also appears in the spectrum of the B-type shell star zeta Tau, with a strength comparable to that observed for the supergiants. It appears weakly, or not at all, in the B and A main-sequence spectra examined. The presence of the feature in spectra of supergiants and a shell star supports the hypothesis that it is an extended-envelope phenomenon.

Underhill, A. B.↗
NASA NTRS1972

Mariner 9 ultraviolet spectrometer experiment - Stellar observations.

Photoelectric spectra have been obtained for a number of early-type stars in the 1100- to 2000-A region with the Mariner 9 UV spectrometer. The resonance lines of H I, Si IV, and C IV are easily identified, as are features due to C II, C III, Si III, Fe II N IV. The absolute energy distribution derived from the data lie about 20% below those of OAO-2 in the 1200- to 2000-A region.

Lillie, C. F.↗
NASA NTRS1972

Sounding rocket heat pipe experiment.

An experiment was conducted during October 1971 aboard a sounding rocket to observe the operation of several heat pipes in a zero gravity environment. The pipe designs which were tested included a spiral artery, a pedestal artery, and a plain groove. Two control pipes without wicking were also flown. The two artery pipes were similar to those which will be used on the OAO-C satellite, while the groove pipe was similar to that used on the ATS-F spacecraft. The results of the experiment indicate that the heat pipes operated satisfactorily during the flight which included four minutes of zero gravity.

Mcintosh, R.↗
NASA NTRS1972

The absolute energy flux envelopes of B type stars.

Absolute energy flux envelopes covering the region of 1100 to 6000 A for main-sequence stars of types B3, B7 and A0 derived from published, ground-based observations and from spectrum scans with OAO-II are presented. These flux envelopes are compared with the predicted flux envelopes from lightly line-blanketed model atmospheres. The line blanketing at wavelengths shorter than 3000 A is severe, about one-half the predicted light being observed at 1600 A. These results demonstrate that a model which represents well the observed visible spectrum of a star may fail seriously for representing the ultraviolet spectrum.

Underhill, A. B.↗
NASA NTRS1972

Heat pipe investigations

The OAO-C spacecraft has three circular heat pipes, each of a different internal design, located in the space between the spacecraft structural tube and the experiment tube, which are designed to isothermalize the structure. Two of the pipes are used to transport high heat loads, and the third is for low heat loads. The test problems deal with the charging of the pipes, modifications, the mobile tilt table, the position indicator, and the heat input mechanisms. The final results showed that the techniques used were adequate for thermal-vacuum testing of heat pipes.

Marshburn, J. P.↗
NASA NTRS1973

Ultraviolet photometry from the orbiting astronomical observatory. 8: The blue Ap stars

The filter photometers in the Wisconsin Experiment Package on OAO-2 were used to obtain data for a carefully selected set of 24 blue Ap stars and 31 comparison standard B and A dwarfs and giants for a program of relative photometry. Observations were made in seven bandpasses over the effective wavelength range 1430A-4250A. The Ap stars observed include members of the Si, Hg-Mn and Sr-Cr-Eu peculiarity classes. Most of them are too blue in B-V for their published MK spectral classes. The blue Ap stars are markedly deficient in emitted ultraviolet flux and are underluminous as compared to normal stars with the same UBV colors. The Hg-Mn stars appear less flux deficient in the ultraviolet for their UBV colors than do Si or Sr-cr-Eu stars. Most of the Ap stars observed possess ultraviolet flux distributions, or ultraviolet color temperatures, consistent with their published MK spectral classes to well within the classification uncertainties.

Leckrone, D. S.↗