Simple sunfollower assembly.
Sunfollower assembly for maintaining horizon scanner in Sun vertical
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Sunfollower assembly for maintaining horizon scanner in Sun vertical
Solar array design concepts for recording of Martian environmental data during probe
UV technology, discussing radiation sources, photodetectors, filters, polarizers, reflective coatings, etc
Instrumentation and solar observations at Bartol Observatory
Vacuum system for calibrating, aligning, and evaluating solar research instruments is described. Equipment consists of right-angle mounted cold trap connected to side pumping vacuum system. Operation of test facility and conditions obtainable in test chamber are discussed.
The ISEE-1 and ISEE-C instruments are designed to measure the elemental abundances, charge state composition, energy spectra, and angular distributions of energetic ions in the energy range 2 keV/charge to 80 MeV/nucleon and electrons between 75 and 1300 keV. The instrument consists of three sensor systems: (1) ULECA which is an electrostatic deflection system with rectangular solid-state detectors for the 3-560 keV/charge range; (2) ULEWATT which is a double dE/dX vs E thin-window flowthrough proportional counter/solid-state detector telescope for the 0.2-80 MeV/nucleon (Fe) range; and (3) ULEZEQ which is a combination of an electrostatic deflection analyzer and a thin-window dE/dX vs E system with thin-window proportional counter and position-sensitive solid-state detector. The applications of the instruments to solar and interplanetary phenomena and to magnetospheric acceleration and trapped particles are discussed.
Analysis of backscattered ultraviolet radiances observed at tropical latitudes by the Atmosphere Explorer-E satellite reveals both annual and semiannual cycles in upper stratospheric ozone. The annual variation dominates the signal at wavelengths which sense ozone primarily above 45 km while below this, to the lowest altitude sensed, 35 km, the semiannual component has comparable amplitude. Comparison of radiance measurements taken with the same instrument at solar minimum during 1976 and solar maximum in 1979 show no significant differences. This suggests that variations in upper stratospheric ozone over the solar cycle are small, although the data presently available do not allow a definite conclusion.
Properties of X-ray bright points using two of the instruments on Solar Maximum Mission were investigated. The mass outflows from magnetic regions were modeled using a two dimensional MHD code. It was concluded that mass can be detected from X-ray bright points provided that the magnetic topology is favorable.
The research is comprised of the following tasks: use of simple analytical and numerical models of a coupled troposphere-stratosphere system to examine the effects of radiation and ozone on planetary wave dynamics and the tropospheric circulation; use of satellite data obtained from the Nimbus 7 Limb Infrared Monitor of the Stratosphere (LIMS) instrument and Solar Backscattered Ultraviolet (SBUV) experiment, in conjunction with National Meteorological Center (NMC) data, to determine the planetary wave vertical structures, dominant wave spectra, ozone spectra, and time variations in diabatic heating rate; and synthesis of the modeling and observational results to provide a better understanding of the effects that stratospheric processes have on tropospheric dynamics.
Results are presented on the solar EUV irradiance measurements in the range 30-100 nm obtained in a sounding rocket experiment launched from the White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico, on November 10, 1988. The observed solar EUV irradiance was found to be about 20 percent less than the solar EUV flux from a proxy model based on the daily 10.7-cm solar flux and its 81-day mean and the AE-E solar EUV data taken in the 1970s. The November 10 measurement of the solar EUV flux provides a good calibration reference spectrum for the solar EUV instruments on the San Marco satellite.
Observations of the vertical profile of hydrogen fluoride (HF) vapor in the stratosphere and of the vertical column amounts of HF above certain altitudes were made using a variety of spectroscopic instruments in the 1982 and 1983 Balloon Intercomparison Campaigns. Both emission instruments working in the far-infrared spectral region and absorption instruments using solar occultation in the 2.5-micron region were employed. No systematic differences were seen in results from the two spectral regions. A mean profile from 20 - 45 km is presented, with uncertainties ranging from 20 to 50 percent. Total columns measured from ground and from 12 km are consistent with the profile if the mixing ratio for HF is small in the troposphere and low stratosphere.
NASA plans for a Geostationary Earth Observatory (GEO) platform meant to operate in conjunction with the polar orbiting Earth Observing System (EOS) are discussed. The scientific goals of the GEO platform are summarized, and the facility's instruments are examined, including the microwave precipitation radiometer, atmospheric profiler, earth processes spectrometer, advanced lightning mapper, high resolution earth processes imager, operational instrument suite, solar constant and spectrum monitors, earth climate sensor, and trace gas imager. The GEO system to provide data and information to users is addressed.
Preliminary results of the solar flux measurements performed by the Airglow-Solar Spectrometer Instrument (ASSI) aboard the San Marco-5 satellite in March-December 1988 are presented. Emphasis is placed on the in-flight performance of the ASSI, its in-flight calibration, and the planned scheme of the airglow modelling.
The mechanisms governing the interactions between two of the fundamental components of the solar-terrestrial system - solar ionizing radiation and the earth's upper atmosphere - are investigated. The physical parameters of the EUV emissions resulting from these interactions are characterized so that EUV remote sensing can gainfully be employed as a quantitative diagnostic of the terrestrial atmosphere and plasma environment. This analysis uses the solar flux measurements of the Airglow and Solar Spectrometer Instrument (ASSI) on board the San Marco D/L satellite. Preliminary modeling results of the altitude and zenith angle distribution of these emissions are presented along with the data.
Results are presented of water vapor observations in the troposphere and stratosphere performed by the Stratospheric Aerosol and Gas Experiment II solar occultation instrument, and the analysis procedure, the instrument errors, and data characteristics are discussed. The results are compared with correlative in situ measurements and other satellite data. The features of the data set collected between 1985 and 1989 include an increase in middle- and upper-tropospheric water vapor during northern hemisphere summer and autumn; minimum water vapor values of 2.5-3 ppmv in the tropical lower stratosphere; slowly increasing water vapor values with altitude in the stratosphere, reaching 5-6 ppmv or greater near the stratopause; extratropical values with minimum profile amounts occurring above the conventionally defined tropopause; and higher extratropical than tropical water vapor values throughout the stratosphere except in locations of possible polar stratospheric clouds.
Smoothing solar UV data on rotational timescale (approx. 27 days) improves identification of solar minimum. Smoothing intervals which are not multiples of rotational period (e.g. 35 days) can leave measurable residual signal. No evidence found for periodic behavior on intermediate (50-250 days) time scales during Cycle 22, based on data from three solar UV instruments.
We present results from coordinated observations in which instruments on Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) and Ulysses were used to measure the density and flow speed of plasma at the Sun and to again measure the same properties of essentially the same plasma in the solar wind. Plasma was sampled by Ultraviolet Coronagraph Spectrometer (UVCS) at 3.5 and 4.5 solar radii and by Ulysses/SWOOPS at 5 AU. Data were acquired during a nearly 2 week period in May-June 1997 at a latitude of 9-10 degrees north of the equator, on the east limb and, hence, in the streamer belt and the source location of slow wind. Density and outflow speed are compared, in order to check for preservation of the near Sun characteristics in the interplanetary medium. By chance, Ulysses was at the very northern edge of the visible streamer belt. Nevertheless, no evidence of fast wind, or mixing with fast wind coming from the northern polar coronal hole, was evident at Ulysses. The morphology of the streamer belt was similar at the beginning and end of the observation period, but was markedly different during the middle of the period. A corresponding change in density (but not flow speed) was noted at Ulysses.
The objective of this research project was to use high resolution spectroscopic observations from the SUMER (Solar Ultraviolet Measurements of Emitted Radiation) instrument on SOHO (Solar and Heliospheric Observatory) to study the structure of the solar transition region. Our main focus in this grant was to study the variation in density and emission across the quiet Sun transition region.