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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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31 records · Page 2

HCN production from comet Halley

The HCN J = 1-0 rotational transition at 3.4 mm wavelength has been detected and has been monitored in comet P/Halley during a total of 56 individual observing sessions between November 18, 1985 and May 11, 1986. The HCN spectra show significant daily variations in total intensity, but the average HCN production rate is well correlated with the visual magnitude of the comet over the range of heliocentric distance observed (between 0.59 and 1.8). Observations of the ratios of the F = 2-1 and F = 1-1 hyperfine components also exhibit significant daily variations but are, in the mean, consistent with the 5:3 ratio expected from the statistical weights of the hyperfine levels. The outflow velocity of the coma, deduced from the HCN linewidths, is 0.87 + or - 0.12 km/s, which is consistent with recent theoretical estimates as well as the measurements of the Giotto spacecraft.

Schloerb, F. Peter↗

Observations of HCN in Comet Halley

Observations of the HCN J = 1-0 rotational transition at 3.4 mm wavelength in comet P/Halley are discussed. The data were obtained during a total of 56 individual observing sessions between Nov. 18, 1985 and May 11, 1986, and represent the first time that a cometary parent molecule has been so extensively monitored. The HCN production rate is well correlated with the total visual magnitude of the comet, indicating that HCN follows the overall gas production. There is also evidence of time variability and variations in the HCN hyperfine ratios from their LTE values. Spectra obtained by binning the HCN data with heliocentric distance show that the HCN line width, and thus the parent outflow velocity, increases with decreasing heliocentric distance.

Schloerb, F. Peter↗

Search for molecules in Comet Halley at millimeter wavelengths

Data collected with the Five College Radio Astronomy Observatory 13.7-m radio telescope are used to search for the possible CN parent molecules HNC, HC3N, and CH3CN in Comet Halley at millimeter wavelengths. Maximum relative abundances for HNC/HCN of 0.3, for HC3N/HCN of 0.4, and for CH3CN/HCN of 0.8 are obtained, showing that these three molecules are not a major source of the CN radical observed in optical and UV spectroscopy. Upper limits to the beam averaged column densities and production rates of these molecules are determined (in addition to an upper limit for the beam averaged column density for the formyl ion of less than 10 to the 11th/sq cm), providing important constraints for chemical models of the coma.

Swade, Daryl A.↗

Observations of HCN in comet P/Halley

This paper presents observations of the HCN J =1-0 rotational transition at 3.4 mm wavelength in Comet P/Halley, obtained during 56 individual observing sessions between November 1985 and May 1986 carried out at the Five College Radio Astronomy Observatory. A comparison of the HCN production with the total gas production of the comet indicates that HCN is a relatively minor constituent with 0.1 percent the abundance of H2O. A comparison of HCN and CN production suggests that HCN is a major parent molecule of CN, but probably not the sole parent. Evidence is presented of day-to-day time variability in the total HCN emission and in the hyperfine ratios. The time variation of the total emission is consistent with the known time variable behavior of the comet.

Schloerb, F. P.↗

A survey of cyclopropenylidene (C3H2) in Galactic sources

A survey of various Galactic sources reveals that C3H2 is one of the more abundant organic constituents of the dense interstellar medium. Detections of the 2(20)-2(11) para line at 21.6 GHz in many sources having strong 1(10)-1(01) emission are discussed. The 2(11)-2(02) line of the para species at 46.8 GHz has been detected in the dark clouds TMC-1 and L134N. The C3H2 emission is shown to be extended in the TMC-1, L134N, W51, and Orion clouds.

Madden, S. C.↗

The physics and chemistry of the L134N molecular core

The dark cloud L134N is studied in detail via millimeter- and centimeter-wavelength emission-line spectra. A high-density core of molecular gas exists in L134N which has a kinetic temperature of about 12 K, a peak molecular hydrogen density of about 10 exp 4.5/cu cm, and a mass of about 23 solar. The core may be the site of future star formation. Maps of emission from (C-18)O, CS, H(C-13)O(+), SO, NH3, and C3H2 reveal morphologically different distributions resulting in part from both varying physical conditions within the cloud and optical depth effects. Significant differences also exist which are probably due to chemical abundance variations. A consistent set of LTE chemical abundances has been estimated at as many as seven positions, which can be used to constrain chemical models of dark clouds.

Swade, Daryl A.↗

Radio wavelength observations of the L134N molecular core

A detailed study of the L134N dense molecular core through radio astronomical observations of spectral lines at millimeter and centimeter wavelengths is presented. The prototypical dark cloud was chosen for the following reasons: it is a nearby cloud at a distance of 160 pc, and thus radio observations have high spatial resolution; it resides out of the galactic disk, providing unobscured viewing along the line of sight; and it is known to be a rich source of molecular emission. The absence af any embedded infrared sources leads to the assumption that L134N is either in a stage of evolution prior to star formation or is a cloud in which internal support will prohibit a star from forming. A spectral line survey of 24 molecular transitions at up to seven positions in the L134N core, and observations of molecular emission from C18O, CSm, H13CO+, SO, NH3, and C3H2 are reviewed. Results indicate different spatial distributions for each species which may be attributed to variations in the excitation conditions for each transition or chemical abundance variations within the cloud core. Observational techniques and results are presented.

Swade, Daryl A.↗

Double-lunar swingby trajectories for the spacecraft of the International Solar Terrestrial Physics program

The ISEE-3 satellite carried out the first extensive exploration of the distant geomagnetic tail during 1983. ISEE-3's orbit was altered with four lunar gravity assists that alternately decreased and increased its orbital energy while keeping the apogees aligned in the antisolar direction. Two spacecraft of the International Solar Terrestrial Physics program will use similar double-lunar swingby orbits to study the solar wind and the geomagnetic environment. Geotail will be built in Japan for the Institute of Space and Astronautical Sciences; its main purpose will be to explore the earth's geomagnetic tail. Wind is a NASA spacecraft that will monitor the solar wind upstream from the earth and will also study the bowshock region of the magnetosphere. Current plans call for launches of both by NASA with expendable launch vehicles during the second half of 1992.

Dunham, David W.↗

A source model for the L134N molecular cloud

The dark molecular cloud L134N is observed at millimeter wavelengths in the CS (J = 3-2), OCS (J = 7-6), and HDO (1 sub 11-1 sub 10) transitions. The CS (J = 3-2) transition was observed at four positions within the cloud, while the other two transitions were observed at one position each. Fractional abundances in the LTE approximation are calculated for each emission line detected. L134N appears to have a high-density core characterized by NH3, C3H2, and H(C-13)O(+) emission maps. A lower density envelope characterized by C(0-18), CS (J = 2-1), and SO emission surrounds the core. There appears to be a gas-phase oxygen abundance gradient in L134N with atomic oxygen depleted in the high-density core. Observed molecular distributions within L134N can be explained by a model in which chemical and physical processes in icy-dust-grain mantles influence the gas-phase molecular abundances.

Swade, Daryl A.↗

The TESS Science Processing Operations Center

The Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) will conduct a search for Earth’s closest cousins starting in late 2017. TESS will discover approx.1,000 small planets and measure the masses of at least 50 of these small worlds. The Science Processing Operations Center (SPOC) is being developed based on the Kepler science pipeline and will generate calibrated pixels and light curves on the NAS Pleiades supercomputer. The SPOC will search for periodic transit events and generate validation products for the transit-like features in the light curves. All TESS SPOC data products will be archived to the Mikulski Archive for Space Telescopes.

TESS↗

The TESS Science Processing Operations Center

The Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) will conduct a search for Earth's closest cousins starting in early 2018 and is expected to discover approximately 1,000 small planets with R(sub p) less than 4 (solar radius) and measure the masses of at least 50 of these small worlds. The Science Processing Operations Center (SPOC) is being developed at NASA Ames Research Center based on the Kepler science pipeline and will generate calibrated pixels and light curves on the NASA Advanced Supercomputing Division's Pleiades supercomputer. The SPOC will also search for periodic transit events and generate validation products for the transit-like features in the light curves. All TESS SPOC data products will be archived to the Mikulski Archive for Space Telescopes (MAST).

Jenkins, Jon M.↗