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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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All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS2017

Atmospheric Beacons of Life from Exoplanets Around G and K Stars

The current explosion in detection and characterization of thousands of extrasolar planets from the Kepler mission, the Hubble Space Telescope, and large ground-based telescopes opens a new era in searches for Earth-analog exoplanets with conditions suitable for sustaining life. As more Earth-sized exoplanets are detected in the near future, we will soon have an opportunity to identify habitale worlds. Which atmospheric biosignature gases from habitable planets can be detected with our current capabilities? The detection of the common biosignatures from nitrogen-oxygen rich terrestrial-type exoplanets including molecular oxygen (O2), ozone (O3), water vapor (H2O), carbon dioxide (CO2), nitrous oxide (N2O), and methane (CH4) requires days of integration time with largest space telescopes, and thus are very challenging for current instruments. In this paper we propose to use the powerful emission from rotational-vibrational bands of nitric oxide, hydroxyl and molecular oxygen as signatures of nitrogen, oxygen, and water rich atmospheres of terrestrial type exoplanets "highlighted" by the magnetic activity from young G and K main-sequence stars. The signals from these fundamental chemical prerequisites of life we call atmospheric "beacons of life" create a unique opportunity to perform direct imaging observations of Earth-sized exoplanets with high signal-to-noise and low spectral resolution with the upcoming NASA missions.

exoplanets↗
NASA NTRS2023

Superconducting Notch Filter for RFI Mitigation in Ground-Based Radio Telescope

This paper presents a high-rejection, thin-film HTS, microstrip bandstop filter to prevent a local and high-power RFI source from interfering with NASA GGAO’s VGOS cryogenic receiver. This filter has an excellent 2.7%, 50-dB-fractionalbandwidth and a center stop-band frequency of 9.41 GHz. It does not contain any narrow or interdigital features as found in some designs, which reduces the fringing electric fields and improves its power handling capability. The YBCO films were grown on 435-µm-thick R-plane sapphire substrate and the anisotropic behavior was modeled and simulated with a high degree of accuracy. The device was tested while cooled to 77 K and the measurements agree well with simulation.

high-temperature superconductors↗
NASA NTRS2010

SOFIA: Science Vision and Current Status

This slide presentation details the science and status of the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA). SOFIA is a 2.5 m Telescope designed to fit into a modified Boeing 747SP aircraft. It will have imaging and spectroscopy from .03 micron to 1.6 mm, emphasizing the obscured infrared spectrum (i.e., 30-300 micron). It will fly between 39,000 to 45,000 feet, above over 99.8 % of the water vapor which obscures the infrared from other ground based telescopes. Since it is on a ground based airplane, the instrumentation can be interchangeable between flights, it can fly anywhere and anytime. Diagrams show an overview of the observatory, the optical layout, and a comparison of SOFIA with the other major IR Imaging spectroscopic Space Observatories. Pictures include a shot of the installation of the primary mirror, and the Telescope instrument interface. Charts show the first generation instruments, and their ranges of spectral observation. Also the presentation reviews the science questions that SOFIA's instruments will assist in reviewing.

Horner, Scott D.↗
NASA NTRS2012

How to Calibrate Edge Sensors on Segmented Mirror Telescopes

The next generation of large ground based telescopes use segmented mirrors. Sensors mounted on the edge of the segments measure the relative heights of the segments. The segments are actively controlled in height by three actuators per segment, but lateral motion is only passively constrained. Thus there will be some small change in the gap and shear between segments as changing telescope orientation and temperature make small distortions in the telescope structure. These "in-plane" motions place an additional performance burden on the edge sensors, and on the precision with which they must be mounted relative to the optical surface. In addition, both the scaling and offset of sensor edge height readings also vary with changes in gap.

segmented mirrors↗
NASA NTRS2004

Multivariable Parametric Cost Model for Ground Optical: Telescope Assembly

A parametric cost model for ground-based telescopes is developed using multi-variable statistical analysis of both engineering and performance parameters. While diameter continues to be the dominant cost driver, diffraction limited wavelength is found to be a secondary driver. Other parameters such as radius of curvature were examined. The model includes an explicit factor for primary mirror segmentation and/or duplication (i.e. multi-telescope phased-array systems). Additionally, single variable models based on aperture diameter were derived.

Stahl, H. Philip↗
NASA NTRS2005

Multivariable Parametric Cost Model for Ground Optical Telescope Assembly

A parametric cost model for ground-based telescopes is developed using multivariable statistical analysis of both engineering and performance parameters. While diameter continues to be the dominant cost driver, diffraction-limited wavelength is found to be a secondary driver. Other parameters such as radius of curvature are examined. The model includes an explicit factor for primary mirror segmentation and/or duplication (i.e., multi-telescope phased-array systems). Additionally, single variable models Based on aperture diameter are derived.

Stahl, H. Philip↗
NASA NTRS1990

The whole earth telescope - A new astronomical instrument

A new multimirror ground-based telescope for time-series photometry of rapid variable stars, designed to minimize or eliminate gaps in the brightness record caused by the rotation of the earth, is described. A sequence of existing telescopes distributed in longitude, coordinated from a single control center, is used to measure designated target stars so long as they are in darkness. Data are returned by electronic mail to the control center, where they are analyzed in real time. This instrument is the first to provide data of continuity and quality that permit true high-resolution power spectroscopy of pulsating white dwarf stars.

Nather, R. E.↗
NASA NTRS2018

The Large Ultraviolet/Optical/Infrared Surveyor

Astronomy crossed a threshold three decades ago with the discovery of planets around other stars. Compared to scientists' previous expectations set by the Solar System, exoplanets are wonderfully abundant and varied. Indirect planet discovery techniques have shown that small rocky planets residing in stellar habitable zones, where such planets may have liquid water on their surfaces, are not rare. This revelation drives us to ask more ambitious and fundamental questions, that fascinate scientists and the public alike: are there other truly Earth-like planets out there and do any of them harbour life? Today, exoplanets are largely ‘small black shadows' to us, with measurements of orbits, sizes and masses (all three in the best cases).The upcoming James Webb Space Telescope and future 30-m-class ground-based telescopes will characterize the atmospheres of habitable planet candidates orbit in glow-mass M dwarf stars. However, deeply probing atmospheres of the exoplanets most similar to the Earth, those around Sun-like stars, remains out of reach for currently planned observatories. Bringing them within our grasp is a primary motivation for the Large UV/Optical/Infrared Surveyor(LUVOIR) mission concept, currently the focus of a three-year NASA study.

exoplanets↗
NASA NTRS2022

Ogle-2018-BLG-0799lb: A Q ∼ 2.7 × 10(−3) Planet With Spitzer Parallax

We report the discovery and analysis of a planet in the microlensing event OGLE-2018-BLG-0799. The planetary signal was observed by several ground-based telescopes, and the planet-host mass ratio is q = (2.65 ± 0.16) × 10(−3). The ground-based observations yield a constraint on the angular Einstein radius θE, and the microlensing parallax vector πE, is strongly constrained by the Spitzer data. However, the 2019 Spitzer baseline data reveal systematics in the Spitzer photometry, so there is ambiguity in the magnitude of the parallax. In our preferred interpretation, a full Bayesian analysis using a Galactic model indicates that the planetary system is composed of an Mplanet = 0.26+0.22 −0.11M(J) planet orbiting an Mhost = 0.093+0.082 −0.038 Mʘ , at a distance of DL = 3.71+3.24 −1.70 kpc. An alternate interpretation of the data shifts the localization of the minima along the arc-shaped microlens parallax constraints. This, in turn, yields a more massive host with median mass of 0.13 Mʘ at a distance of 6.3 kpc. This analysis demonstrates the robustness of the osculating circles formalism, but shows that further investigation is needed to assess how systematics affect the specific localization of the microlens parallax vector and, consequently, the inferred physical parameters.

gravitational lensing↗
NASA NTRS1991

Reconstruction of the Hubble Space Telescope mirror figure from out-of-focus stellar images

Both the amplitude and the phase of the incoming wave front viewed from the focal plane are reconstructed from the illumination recorded in defocused stellar images taken in flight by the HST. The reconstructed wavefront surface shows very little aberration. Compared to geometrical optics methods, the technique produces high spatial resolution wavefront maps with images taken closer to the telescope's focal plane. For the HST, the quality of the wavefront reconstruction is limited by the telescope jitter. The technique cannot be applied to ground-based telescopes at optical wavelength where the image is heavily blurred by the atmosphere. It is argued to be promising as a diagnostic tool for optical telescopes in space.

Roddier, C.↗
NASA NTRS2018

Exoplanet Biosignatures: Observational Prospects

Exoplanet hunting efforts have revealed the prevalence of exotic worlds with diverse properties, including Earth-sized bodies, which has fueled our endeavor to search for life beyond the Solar System. Accumulating experiences in astrophysical, chemical, and climatological characterization of uninhabitable planets are paving the way to characterization of potentially habitable planets. In this paper, we review our possibilities and limitations in characterizing temperate terrestrial planets with future observational capabilities through the 2030s and beyond, as a basis of a broad range of discussions on how to advance "astrobiology" with exoplanets. We discuss the observability of not only the proposed biosignature candidates themselves but also of more general planetary properties that provide circumstantial evidence, since the evaluation of any biosignature candidate relies on its context. Characterization of temperate Earth-sized planets in the coming years will focus on those around nearby late-type stars. The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) and later 30-meter-class ground-based telescopes will empower their chemical investigations. Spectroscopic studies of potentially habitable planets around solar-type stars will likely require a designated spacecraft mission for direct imaging, leveraging technologies that are already being developed and tested as part of the Wide Field InfraRed Survey Telescope (WFIRST) mission. Successful initial characterization of a few nearby targets will be an important touchstone toward a more detailed scrutiny and a larger survey that are envisioned beyond 2030. The broad outlook this paper presents may help develop new observational techniques to detect relevant features as well as frameworks to diagnose planets based on the observables.

Characterization↗
NASA NTRS2022

A History of the NASA Planetary Astronomy Program: 1958-2022

For decades, the public has been enraptured by popular high-resolution images and data taken of our multicolored planets by space-based telescopes. However, at the time NASA was established in October 1958, there was limited astronomical interest in planetary science with ground-based telescopes. Instead, stellar astronomy dominated most of the observing time at facilities, as astrophysics was considered the forefront of astronomical research. Once NASA determined that it wanted launch planetary missions to explore the solar system in detail, it became obvious that there were not enough high-quality solar system observations to lay the foundation for these missions. Therefore, the NASA Planetary Astronomy program (PAST) was established to fund ground-based research on solar system objects. This research covers the history of this important but little-known NASA program, which not only provided necessary support for planetary missions but also was responsible for rejuvenating astronomer interest in solar system research.

NASA PAST Program↗
NASA NTRS2005

Unraveling the Origin of Short Gamma-ray Bursts

The origin of the short (<2 s) class of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) is finally becoming clear after decades of search. The first one localized to a few arcseconds accuracy, GRB 050509B, was found to have a highly probable association with a nearby (z = 0.225) elliptical galaxy. A second one with arcsecond localization, GRB 050709, was also associated with a low redshift (z = 0.16) galaxy. We report here the detection of short GRB 050724 with remarkable properties; in particular, it has low energy gamma-ray emission that lasts for 100 s after the main short pulse, strong early X-ray afterglow, and an unusual lightcurve that rebrightens at 3x10(exp 4) s. A position on the sky accurate to 9 arcsec was determined and provided as a GCN alert to ground-based telescopes within 80 s. A subsequent high-resolution X-ray image provided a sub-arcsec position coincident with ground-based optical and radio observations of the afterglow. Like GRB 050509B, this burst is located off-center in an elliptical galaxy. The energy output of the GRB at the host distance of z = 0.258 is 2-3 orders of magnitude less than for long bursts. The low level of star formation in such galaxies is strong evidence against a collapsar or hypernova origin like that associated with long GRBs. Based on these new data, it is highly probable that short GRBs are produced by the coalescence of orbiting neutron stars (NSs) or black holes (BHs), with some evidence for a NS-BH merger in this burst.

Barthelmy, S. D.↗
NASA NTRS2006

Kalman Filter for Calibrating a Telescope Focal Plane

The instrument-pointing frame (IPF) Kalman filter, and an algorithm that implements this filter, have been devised for calibrating the focal plane of a telescope. As used here, calibration signifies, more specifically, a combination of measurements and calculations directed toward ensuring accuracy in aiming the telescope and determining the locations of objects imaged in various arrays of photodetectors in instruments located on the focal plane. The IPF Kalman filter was originally intended for application to a spaceborne infrared astronomical telescope, but can also be applied to other spaceborne and ground-based telescopes. In the traditional approach to calibration of a telescope, (1) one team of experts concentrates on estimating parameters (e.g., pointing alignments and gyroscope drifts) that are classified as being of primarily an engineering nature, (2) another team of experts concentrates on estimating calibration parameters (e.g., plate scales and optical distortions) that are classified as being primarily of a scientific nature, and (3) the two teams repeatedly exchange data in an iterative process in which each team refines its estimates with the help of the data provided by the other team. This iterative process is inefficient and uneconomical because it is time-consuming and entails the maintenance of two survey teams and the development of computer programs specific to the requirements of each team. Moreover, theoretical analysis reveals that the engineering/ science iterative approach is not optimal in that it does not yield the best estimates of focal-plane parameters and, depending on the application, may not even enable convergence toward a set of estimates.

Kang, Bryan↗
NASA NTRS1994

Pushing the limits of spatial resolution with the Kuiper Airborne observatory

The study of astronomical objects at high spatial resolution in the far-IR is one of the most serious limitations to our work at these wavelengths, which carry information about the luminosity of dusty and obscured sources. At IR wavelengths shorter than 30 microns, ground based telescopes with large apertures at superb sites achieve diffraction-limited performance close to the seeing limit in the optical. At millimeter wavelengths, ground based interferometers achieve resolution that is close to this. The inaccessibility of the far-IR from the ground makes it difficult, however, to achieve complementary resolution in the far-IR. The 1983 IRAS survey, while extraordinarily sensitive, provides us with a sky map at a spatial resolution that is limited by detector size on a spatial scale that is far larger than that available in other wavelengths on the ground. The survey resolution is of order 4 min in the 100 micron bandpass, and 2 min at 60 microns (IRAS Explanatory Supplement, 1988). Information on a scale of 1' is available on some sources from the CPC. Deconvolution and image resolution using this database is one of the subjects of this workshop.

Lester, Daniel↗
NASA NTRS1990

Pupil geometry and pupil re-imaging in telescope arrays

This paper considers the issues of lateral and longitudinal pupil geometry in ground-based telescope arrays, such as IOTA. In particular, it is considered whether or not pupil re-imaging is required before beam combination. By considering the paths of rays through the system, an expression is derived for the optical path errors in the combined wavefront as a function of array dimensions, telescope magnification factor, viewing angle, and field-of-view. By examining this expression for the two cases of pupil-plane and image-plane combination, operational limits can be found for any array. As a particular example, it is shown that for IOTA no pupil re-imaging optics will be needed.

Traub, Wesley A.↗
NASA NTRS1998

Near Infrared Observations of a Redshift 5.34 Galaxy: Further Evidence for Significant Dust Absorption in the Early Universe

In the last several years, the combination of new wavelength dropout discovery techniques coupled with the incredible power of deep imaging of the Hubble Space Telescope and the spectroscopic capabilities of a new generation of large ground-based telescopes, has lead to an astonishing blossoming of the study of galaxies at redshifts of z=2-4, when the Universe was less than 10-20% of its current age.

near infrared redshift 5.34 galaxy high redshift y↗