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At least 37 records · Page 2

Stark-broadening measurement and calculations for a singly ionized aluminum line

Using an electromagnetically driven shock tube and rapid scanning Fabry-Perot spectrometer, the Lorentzian half-width of the 4663-A line of singly ionized aluminum was measured and found to be 0.45 A plus or minus 20% for an environment corresponding to an electron density of 10 to the 17th power and an electron temperature of 18,500 K. Semiclassical and semiempirical calculations yielded values of 0.56 A and 0.41 A, respectively, while the distorted-wave approximation gave 0.51 A.

Allen, A. W.↗

Spectrophotometry of comets at optical wavelengths

Techniques for spectrophotometry of comets are discussed, and results are reviewed for line and continuum spectrophotometry of comets at optical wavelengths. The techniques considered include photographic spectroscopy and spectrophotometry, photoelectric spectrophotometry, and methods based on the use of image dissector scanners, Fourier-transform instruments, and Fabry-Perot spectrometers. Results are summarized for the study of cometary emission features due to C2, CN, CH, OH, NH, C3, NH2, O, H, CO(plus), and H2O(plus). Relative abundances of various species in comets are examined, along with continuum spectrophotometry of the nuclei, comas, and tails of comets.

Ahearn, M. F.↗

OI and OIII in Sgr A - Neutral and ionized gas at the galactic center

Measurements of the 63 micron O I fine structure line displayed by the galactic center were made with an LHe-cooled tandem scanned Fabry-Perot spectrometer. Data were taken from 10 positions in 40 arcsec steps along and perpendicular to the galactic plane. A peak intensity of within 0.5 of 1.5 x 10 to the -16th W/sq cm was calculated, while an 88 micron O III had an intensity of within 2 of 7 x 10 to the -18th W/sq cm on the same beam. The O I emission was spread over 4 arcmin along and 2.6 arcmin perpendicular to the galactic plane. The velocity centroids were blueshifted south of center and redshifted to the north, data indicating either large-scale excitation or kinematic inhomogeneities. A peak brightness temperature of the O I line was 130 K, i.e., a lower limit for excitation of O I. Finally, an electron density of more than 1000/cu cm was calculated.

Genzel, R.↗

Periodic intensity variation in (SIII) 9531 A emission from the Jupiter plasma torus

The intensity variation of (SIII) 9531 A line emission from the hot plasma torus of Jupiter was measured from Kitt Peak National Observatory during April 1982, using a scanning Fabry-Perot spectrometer with a field of view 2 R(J) in diameter, centered at 6 R (J) on the centrifugal equator. During the observational period, which covered 43 rotations of Jupiter, the intensities showed a periodic variation consistent with a zone of enhanced emission approximately 90 deg in longitude rotating with a period of 10.2 hours, or 2.8 percent longer than Jupiter's rotational period.

Roesler, F. L.↗

Winds in the lower thermosphere over Mawson, Antarctica

Measurements are presented of the neutral wind field in the lower thermosphere over Mawson, Antarctica, made during the austral Spring of 1981. The Mawson Institute's Fabry-Perot spectrometer was used to study the OI lambda 588 nm emission in the night airglow and aurora. Wind velocities were inferred from Doppler shifts of this emission.

Jones, N. P.↗

Observations of the plasma torus of Jupiter with a Fabry-Perot/charge-coupled device /CCD/ imaging spectrometer

A description is presented of the use of a CCD imaging spectrometer which has been employed at a 2.1 m telescope to obtain monochromatic images in the red and near infrared. The system studied was Jupiter's plasma torus which circles the planet with radial extent about 5 RJ and 7 RJ (RJ is the radius of Jupiter). In ground based measurements the torus has been observed in the forbidden emission lines of S(plus) at 6716 A and 6731 A and S(plus plus) at 9531 A. Attention is given to aspects of instrumentation, observations, and performance. It is felt that the particular significance of the obtained results from the instrumental point of view is the demonstration that the CCD is an excellent detector for monochromatic imaging in the near infrared out to at least 10830 A and that pixel binning before readout can produce significantly improved S/N ratios for the study of faint, diffuse sources in cases where readout noise is dominant.

Roesler, F. L.↗

O I (7990 A) emission and radiative entrapment of auroral EUV

The auroral O I 7990-A multiplet intensity distribution has been observed by means of a 2-m grille spectrometer and a Fabry-Perot interferometer during 1977 and 1982, respectively, in Alaska. Grille spectrometer results indicate a nonstatistical distribution in the excited state, consistent with the preferential scattering of the O I 989-A EUV emission and in accord with recent radiative transfer calculations. A comparison of O I 7990-A intensities measured on the nightside with those from dayside magnetospheric cleft aurora shows a cascade contribution to the O I 8446-A line, and ultimately to the O I 1304-A transition, that depends on the altitude of the aurora. This is attributed to the greater radiative enhancement of O I 989-A at low altitude, and the correspondingly enhanced probability for branching from the 3 s-prime to the 3 p level in atomic O.

Christensen, A. B.↗

Infrared instrumentation on NASA airborne observatories

Two airborne observatories operated above much of the earth's atmosphere are providing effective platforms for infrared astronomical observations. A summary is given of the wide variety of instrumentation currently in use and continuing to be developed for these facilities. The classes of instruments include various far infrared photometers, filter wheel and grating spectrometers, Fourier transform spectrometers, Michelson and Fabry-Perot interferometers, a polarimeter, and a microwave line receiver.

Boggess, N. W.↗

Wave motions in the upper atmospheric sodium layer observed with a lidar technique

Since the middle of 1980, the vertical profile of the atmospheric sodium layer was observed with a tunable laser radar at Mt. Zao Observatory in northern Japan. The principal characteristics of the lidar system are summarized. The output wavelength is continuously monitored by using a sodium resonance cell, a spectrometer, and a Fabry-Perot interferometer provided with the reference spectrum of the sodium lamp. Owing to the strict temperature control of the filters, the tuning is sufficiently stable throughout the night. The calibration of the absolute sodium density was carried out by adopting the method established by previous works.

Kamiyama, H.↗

Thermosphere zonal winds - Vertical motions and temperature as measured from Dynamics Explorer

Dynamics Explorer 2 has made possible, for the first time, global extent in situ measurements of upper thermosphere neutral particle winds. Zonal and vertical wind components, and the kinetic temperature, are being measured by the Wind and Temperature Spectrometer (WATS), while the Fabry-Perot Interferometer provides the meridional component. The present investigation is concerned with the zonal wind component, the vertical motions, and the temperature measured by the WATS. Preliminary studies of the neutral zonal wind components conducted for many orbits confirm a global pattern of upper thermosphere winds which blow over the earth from the mid-afternoon sector. Velocities range from near zero to a few hundred meters per second. Major perturbations to the basic thermally driven wind patterns are observed in both polar regions where the directions are frequently reversed and where the zonal velocities sometimes exceed 1 km/sec.

Spencer, N. W.↗

Observations of the dynamics of the polar thermosphere

The dynamics of the polar thermosphere are examined by using observations made from the Dynamics Explorer 2 satellite. The results used in this study were obtained primarily from the Fabry-Perot interferometer (FPI) and the wind and temperature spectrometer (WATS) during the time period from September 1981 through January 1982. Two primary geophysical conditions were examined: these were the southern summer and the northern winter polar regions. The results support the conclusion that above 60 degrees of latitude the neutral winds are strongly controlled by ion/neutral frictional momentum transfer resulting from magnetospheric convection. This implies that the natural coordinate system within which to display the neutral winds in the high polar thermosphere is magnetic. The collected observations of this study were used to assess the validity of two of the large thermospheric general circulation models. The result of this assessment was that the models reasonably represent the vector winds at high altitudes but do not, at present, accurately simulate the thermodynamics of that regime.

Hays, P. B.↗

Far-infrared spectroscopy of the earth's stratosphere

This paper discusses the spectrum of the earth's stratosphere in the far-infrared, from 5 to 250/cm. Many of the trace gases that are important in stratospheric photochemistry have been measured, or are potentially measurable in the far-infrared. The spectral features of these gases are discussed with application to spacecraft measurements. In particular, the suitability of the spectrum for measurements of the HO(x) and ClO(x) families and of O3 are compared for different classes of instruments: Fourier transform spectrometers, filter radiometers, and scanning high-resolution Fabry-Perot instruments. It is found that these types of instruments have complementary capabilities that would best be used in combination in a comprehensive multispecies measurement scheme.

Chance, K. V.↗

Investigation of thermospheric winds relative to space station orbital altitudes

An investigation of thermospheric winds, relative to the space station orbital altitudes, was made in order to provide information that is useful in an environmental disturbance assessment. Current plans are for this low Earth orbiting facility to orbit at an inclination of 28.5 deg. The orbital altitudes were not yet defined due to the evolutionary configuration of the Space Station. The upper and lower bounds of the orbital altitudes will be based on constraints set by the drag and expected orbital decay and delivery altitude capability of the Shuttle. The orbital altitude will be estimated on the order of 500 km. Neutral winds in the region from about 80 to 600 km which were derived from satellite drag data, Fabry-Perot interferometers, sounding rockets, ground-based optical Doppler techniques, incoherent scatter radar measurements from Millstone Hill combined with the mass spectrometer and lithium trail neutral wind measurements are examined. The equations of motion of the low Earth orbiting facility are also discussed.

Susko, M.↗

Neutral winds in the polar thermosphere as measured from Dynamics Explorer

Remote sensing measurements of the meridional thermospheric neutral wind using the Fabry-Perot Interferometer on Dynamics Explorer have been combined with in-situ measurements of the zonal component using the Wind and Temperature Spectrometer on the same spacecraft. The two data sets with appropriate spatial phasing and averaging determine the vector wind along the track of the polar orbiting spacecraft. A study of fifty-eight passes over the Southern (sunlit) pole has enabled the average Universal Time dependence of the wind field to be determined for essentially a single solar local time cut. The results show the presence of a 'back-ground' wind field driven by solar EUV heating upon which is superposed a circulating wind field driven by high latitude momentum and energy sources.

Killeen, T. L.↗

The LPL radial accelerometer

The LPL stellar accelerometer, an interferometrically calibrated spectrometer, is described. Particular attention is given to light feed, image scrambling, and interferometric wavelength calibration. Changes in radial velocity are inferred from changes in the relative intensities of starlight transmitted through the Fabry-Perot.

Mcmillan, R. S.↗

Search for planets by spectroscopic methods

Spectroscopic means of detecting the motion of a star around a star-planet barycenter are considered. The precision of such an observation, which requires a radial velocity error of not more than 5 m/sec, is discussed in relation to the spectral resolutions of the detectors utilized. The University of Arizona radial velocity spectrometer is then presented, with particular attention given to the location of the absorption cell in a beam of light from an incandescent bulb, high-accuracy wavelength calibration involving the use of a Fabry-Perot interferometer in front of an echelle spectrograph, and future plans for the use of light reflected from a Fabry-Perot etalon to improve transmittance. On the basis of these techniques, it is expected that radial velocities with accuracies sufficient for the detection of extrasolar planets will be obtained.

Serkowski, K.↗

Neutral winds in the polar thermosphere as measured from Dynamics Explorer

Possibilities for experimental investigations related to the study of the dynamics of the thermosphere have been markedly improved by the new instrumentation deployed on the Dynamics Explorer Satellite (DE). The Fabry-Perot interferometer (FPI) on DE measures altitude profiles of the meridional component of the neutral wind below the spacecraft by remotely sensing the Doppler shift of the thermospheric O(1D). The Wind and Temperature Spectrometer (WATS) measures the in situ zonal component of the neutral wind by measuring the angle of arrival of the beam of neutral atoms entering the aperture to a mass spectrometer. A description is provided of data handling procedures, and the first results obtained by combining the data sets from the two instruments are presented. Acquisition and determination of neutral wind vectors from the remote (FPI) and in-situ (WATS) measurements requires careful handling of the data to ensure that the two components relate to the same volume of space.

Killeen, T. L.↗

Escape of suprathermal O(+) ions in the polar cap

Instruments on board the Dynamics Explorer (DE) 1 and 2 spacecraft have been used to investigate the characteristics of a very low-energy (less than 10 eV) outflow of O(+) ions at high altitudes over the polar cap. The measured O(+) outflow has a relatively high Mach number (2-6) and a flux of about 2 x 10 to the 8th/(sq cm s). A statistical study using 50 orbits of retarding ion mass spectrometer data indicates that the outflows occur during active magnetic conditions, lasting for several hours over large areas of the polar cap. The observations are then discussed and analyzed in a framework based on polar wind models with particular attention paid to the new information obtained by the DE 2 Fabry-Perot interferometer, and the impact these flows have on the composition of the magnetosphere. The observed suprathermal outflow of O(+) suggests a scenario requiring both significant compositional changes in the high latitude thermosphere and significant heating of the ions and electrons in the topside ionoshpere.

Waite, J. H., Jr.↗