Search NASA⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search NASA

Results for “Photometry”

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.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 235 records · Page 13
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1984

Reduction to Outside the Atmosphere and Statistical Tests Used in Geneva Photometry

Conditions for creating a precise photometric system are investigated. The analytical and discriminatory potentials of a photometry obviously result from the localization of the passbands in the spectrum; they do, however, also depend critically on the precision attained. This precision is the result of two different types of precautions. Two procedures which contribute in an efficient manner to achieving greater precision are examined. These two methods are known as hardware related precision and software related precision.

Rufener, F.↗
NASA NTRS1984

Time Series Photometry with a CCD Camera

Time series observations of a field in the cluster NGC 4755 with a CCD camera are used to show that differential photometry between stars on the CCD frame is limited in accuracy mostly by photon statistics, over a 5 magnitude range. Scintillation noise appears to be almost entirely suppressed. The maximum accuracy possible is limited by the storage capacity of the CCD to about 0.001 mag.

Walker, A. R.↗
NASA NTRS1984

Photometry with Multi-anode Microchannel Arrays (mamas) and Charge Injection Devices (cids)

The characteristics of two kinds of detectors are summarized with emphasis on those aspects that would affect their use in high accuracy astronomical photometry. The first type, the multianode microchannel arrays (MAMA), are a family of pulse counting array detectors. Components and operation principles are reviewed and quantum efficiency, noise characteristics, and dynamic range characteristics are described. The second type, charge injection devices (CID), are discussed in reference to their applicability to photometric detection at optical wavelengths.

Timothy, J. G.↗
NASA NTRS1984

Tomographic inversion of satellite photometry

An inversion algorithm capable of reconstructing the volume emission rate of thermospheric airglow features from satellite photometry has been developed. The accuracy and resolution of this technique are investigated using simulated data, and the inversions of several sets of observations taken by the Visible Airglow Experiment are presented.

Solomon, S. C.↗
NASA NTRS1984

CCD surface photometry of field galaxies. I - Observations

Images of 105 galaxies selected from a larger complete sample of intrinsically luminous galaxies have been obtained for the purpose of computing surface brightness profiles. The intensity profiles along the major and minor axes are computed by a method in which elliptical contours whose position angle and ellipticity are allowed to vary with radius are fitted to the true isophotes of a galaxy. The resulting profiles and ellipse parameters are listed for each object. An extensive comparison of the present photometry with that of other workers is made to assess the reliability of the data. For most objects, additional photometric information is given, including an isophotal radius and magnitude within a limiting isophote of 24.0 mag/sq arcsec, an approximate total magnitude, the effective radius containing one-half the total light, and the mean surface brightness inside this radius. A full analysis of the data is deferred to a second paper where the profiles will be decomposed into bulge and disk components.

Kent, S. M.↗
NASA NTRS1984

Photometry of CPD - 48 deg 1577

U, B, and V photometry is presented for CPD - 48 deg 1577, the newly discovered cataclysmic variable with the greatest known apparent brightness. The light curves are dominated by flickering but do suggest an orbital period of nearly 4 hr. Power spectra of 5 nights of U-band observations failed to reveal the presence of any periodic or quasi-periodic oscillations. Autocorrelation functions suggest that two time-scales exist in the flickering activity, one of 77 s and the other 500 s. The implications for a shot noise model of flickering are discussed.

Williams, G. A.↗
NASA NTRS1984

Photometry of resolved galaxies. IV - Holmberg I and Holmberg II

Colors and magnitudes are presented for 279 resolved stars in the Holmberg I dwarf galaxy and 468 resolved stars in Holmberg II. Both systems are Magellanic type dwarf members of the M81-NGC 2403 Group, which lies at approximately 3 Mpc from the Local Group. The photometry was done in the GRI passbands using CCD detectors. Color-magnitude diagrams and luminosity functions are constructed; these are compared with results for several Local Group galaxies and with theoretical work. Holmberg I is found to have a low present star formation rate, while Holmberg II is very active at present.

Hoessel, J. G.↗
NASA NTRS1985

Surface photometry of comet P/Encke

A scheme to clean cometary digital images from offending background-star trails, and this technique has been applied to a pair of deep Kitt Peak 4-m plates of comet P/Encke, taken in October 1980. Simultaneous and subsequent digital spectra have been obtained at Lick Observatory. The non-polluted coma images show a strong asymmetric sunward-oriented fan/jet, and an extended and rounder (mostly gaseous) main coma, out to approximately 100,000 km radius. The stellar-trail point-spread function has a narrow width (sigma approximately 0.6 arcsec), so that spatial resolution better than approximately 300 km is achieved at the comet. The photometric gradient near the nucleus is very steep, strongly suggesting an icy-grain component which evaporates quickly (at radii equal to or less than 500 km) in the sunlight. Further from the nucleus, the profile becomes shallower, bluer, and more gas dominated. The effect of solar radiation pressure on C2, CN, and other molecules is probably responsible for the rounding of the outer, fainter isophotes. The source of the molecules is likely to be larger than the nucleus itself, and a substantial fraction may originate in the jet. The technique described here may also be applicable in surface photometry of galaxies, in cases where the heavy image pollution by foreground stars is present.

Djorgovski, S.↗
NASA NTRS1985

Absolute calibration of photometry at 1 through 5 microns

The solar-analog method is used to determine the absolute calibration of photometry in the J, H, K, L, and M bands to an accuracy of 3 percent, (5 percent at M). This calibration agrees well with the direct calibration obtained by Blackwell et al. (1983); this agreement gives confidence that the calibration is known to an accuracy of 2 percent to 3 percent. The agreement also implies that the behavior of solar type stars is well understood in the infrared and that such stars make reliable standards for calibration of nonstandard photometric bands and for planetary reflectance studies. Both methods indicate that Vega is slightly brighter than indicated by atmospheric models.

Campins, H.↗
NASA NTRS1985

Images in the rocket ultraviolet - The initial helium abundance and distance modulus of the globular cluster M5 from photometry of horizontal-branch stars

A natural laboratory for the study of postmain-sequence evolution of low-mass (less than one solar mass) metal-poor stars is provided by globular clusters. These clusters are, therefore, a critical aid for developing an understanding of advanced stages of stellar evolution and of the chemical evolution of the Galaxy. Bohlin et al. (1983) have described a study of the postasymptotic branch star near the center of M5. The present investigation is concerned with the fainter horizontal-branch stars. The observations were made with the aid of a rocket-borne 38 cm f/9.0 Ritchey-Chretien telescope. Attention is given to payload and flight data, preflight bandpass calibration, the reduction of flight data, star selection, position measurement, photometry, the minimum observed horizontal-branch mass and inferences on mass loss, and individual UV-bright stars.

Bohlin, R. C.↗
NASA NTRS1985

High-speed photometry of the eclipsing dwarf nova OY Carinae

High-speed photometry of the eclipsing dwarf nova OY Car in the quiescent state is presented. OY Car becomes highly reddened during eclipse, with minimum flux colours inconsistent with optically thick emission in the U and B bandpasses. Mass ratios in the range 6.5 to 12 are required to reconcile the eclipse structure with theoretical gas stream trajectories. Primary eclipse timings reveal a significant decrease in the orbital period and the duration of primary eclipse indicates the presence of a luminous ring about the white dwarf. The hotspot eclipse reveals a hotspot which is elongated along the rim of the accretion disc, with optical emission being non-uniformly distributed along the rim. The location of the hotspot in the accretion disc implies a disc radius larger than that of an inviscid disc, with variation in the position of the hotspot being consistent with a fixed stream trajectory.

Cook, M. C.↗
NASA NTRS1985

CCD observations of Abell clusters. IV - Surface photometry of 175 brightest cluster galaxies

The present data from a consistent body of CCD aperture and surface photometry for the brightest galaxies in 175 clusters from the Abell catalog confirm the dispersion in the aperture luminosities for first-ranked cluster galaxies of about 0.32 mag, as well as the documented trends of luminosity with Bautz-Morgan class and cluster richness. Half of these objects are multiple-nucleus systems; multiplicity is not strongly correlated with cluster morphology or richness, and the fraction of multiples is 2-10 times higher than would be produced by random projection in the cores of Hubble-law clusters. The average distance of the secondary nuclei from the luminosity center of the galaxy is significantly less than the value expected from random projections.

Hoessel, J. G.↗
NASA NTRS1985

High-speed photometry of Z Chamaeleontis covering the 1983 March normal outburst

High-speed photometry over a three-week period covering the Mar. 13, 1983 normal outburst of Z Cha is presented. Multicolor observations revealed significant reddening during eclipse in both the quiescent and outburst states. Quiescent primary eclipse timings remained consistent with an increasing orbital period. Hotspot eclipse timings revealed that the accretion disk had physically expanded in radius after the outburst. The duration of the eclipse during outburst, however, limited the optical emission to a region bounded by the radius of the preoutburst accretion disk. In the final stages of decline this emission region had shrunk in size by a factor of approximately 4. The postoutburst observations showed the hotspot eclipse to be less stable in structure compared to before the outburst.

Cook, M. C.↗
NASA NTRS1985

Infrared photometry of the 1982-4 eclipse of Epsilon Aurigae

The infrared photometry of epsilon Aur performed prior to and during the ingress phase of the recent eclipse allowed the first solid determination of the temperature of the secondary object. The eclipse depth was significantly less at lambda 5 micrometers than in the near-infrared. This is explained by a model of the secondary as an opaque and very cool object with a temperature of approx. 500 K. During eclipse, the secondary blocks approximately 45% of the near infrared radiation from the primary star. At the same time, the radiation from the secondary remains completely unobscured, resulting in a shallower light curve at longer wavelengths. This phenomenon is well known in the study of eclipsing binary stars; if the two stars have different colors, then the net color of the system changes during eclipse. In the case of epsilon Aur, the eclipsing object has a color deep in the infrared, so the effect is only noticeable there.

Backman, D. E.↗
NASA NTRS1985

Intermediate and narrow band photometry of Epsilon Aurigae

Intermediate band blue (4530A), far red (7790A) and H-alpha intermediate and narrow band photoelectric observations of the peculiar, 27 year eclipsing binary, Epsilon Aurigae were made from December 1981 through the present (December 1984). BD +42 1170 served as the primary comparison star because of its angular proximity to the variable star. The analysis of this data along with other available photometry was undertaken to study the characteristics of the low amplitude, semi-regular light variations that appear inside and outside of eclipse. It appears that these short term light variations arise from nonradial pulsations of the luminous f supergiant in the system. Furthermore, the semi-regular light variations found for Epsilon Aurigae are similar to those found for other luminous A-F supergiants. Also, the preliminary results from the analyses of the light variations produced by the eclipse of the F-supergiant by the mysterious cooler component is discussed.

Donovan, R. A.↗
NASA NTRS1986

A digital imaging photometry system for cometary data acquisition

This report describes a digital imaging photometry system developed in the Space Science Laboratory at the Marshall Space Flight center. The photometric system used for cometary data acquisition is based on an intensified secondary electron conduction (ISEC) vidicon coupled to a versatile data acquisition system which allows real-time interactive operation. Field tests on the Orion and Rosette nebulas indicate a limiting magnitude of approximately m sub v = 14 over the 40 arcmin field-of-view. Observations were conducted of Comet Giacobini-Zinner in August 1985. The resulting data are discussed in relation to the capabilities of the digital analysis system. The development program concluded on August 31, 1985.

Clifton, K. S.↗
NASA NTRS1985

Differential photometry of magnetic faculae

New observations extending the differential continuum photometry technique to the near-infrared are presented which demonstrate that the main factor determining the facular visibility near the solar disk center is the difference in H(-) opacity (and thus in penetration depth) between the continuum passbands. It is shown how the difference signal obtained depends on the temperature gradient difference between the two faculae and photosphere. The measured facular temperature gradient is compared with that given by empirical facular models based on Fraunhofer line observations, and with theoretical predictions. An explanation for the enhanced visibility of faculae against granular noise in the difference signal is suggested.

Foukal, P.↗
NASA NTRS1985

Faint photometry of edge-on spiral galaxies - A search for massive halos

Upper limits have been set to the luminosity from the massive halos of three late-type edge-on spiral galaxies: NGC 2683 (Sb), NGC 4244 (Scd), and NGC 5907 (Sc). The limits resulted from simultaneous photometry in the visual (V) and 2.2-micron (K) photometric bands which is sensitive to both luminosity and color changes along the minor axes of the three galaxies. The mass-to-light ratios for the halo of NGC 5907 are the largest ever recorded: M/L(V) greater than 2000 and M/L(K) greater than 64 in solar units. The results virtually eliminate the possibility that hydrogen-burning stars comprise more than a fraction of the halo masses. Variations of the V-K color along and perpendicular to the disks show no sign of population changes toward redder objects at large galactocentric radii. The nucleus of NGC 5907 contains an unresolved source less than 330 pc in size with a 2.2-micron luminosity of order 5 x 10 to the 9th solar luminosity and may be an example of a starburst galactic nucleus overlooked by visual observations.

Skrutskie, M. F.↗