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At least 55 records · Page 3

The HEAO A-1 X Ray Source Catalog (Wood Et Al. 1984): Documentation for the Machine-Readable Version

The machine-readable version of the catalog, as it is currently being distributed from the Astronomical Data Center, is described. The catalog is a compilation of data for 842 sources detected with the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory Large Area Sky Survey Experiment flown aboard the HEAO 1 satellite. The data include source identifications, positions, error boxes, mean X-ray intensities, and cross identifications to other source designations.

Warren, Wayne H., Jr.↗

Contamination control of the space shuttle Orbiter crew compartment

Effective contamination control as applied to manned space flight environments is a discipline characterized and controlled by many parameters. An introduction is given to issues involving Orbiter crew compartment contamination control. An effective ground processing contamination control program is an essential building block to a successful shuttle mission. Personnel are required to don cleanroom-grade clothing ensembles before entering the crew compartment and follow cleanroom rules and regulations. Prior to crew compartment entry, materials and equipment must be checked by an orbiter integrity clerk stationed outside the white-room entrance for compliance to program requirements. Analysis and source identification of crew compartment debris studies have been going on for two years. The objective of these studies is to determine and identify particulate generating materials and activities in the crew compartment. Results show a wide spectrum of many different types of materials. When source identification is made, corrective action is implemented to minimize or curtail further contaminate generation.

Bartelson, Donald W.↗

Source and identification of heavy ions in the equatorial F layer.

Further evidence is presented to show that the interpretation of some Ogo 6 retarding potential analyzer (RPA) results in terms of ambient Fe+ ions is correct. The Fe+ ions are observed only within dip latitudes of plus or minus 30 deg, and the reason for this latitudinal specificity is discussed in terms of a low-altitude source region and F region diffusion and electrodynamic drift. It is shown that the polarization field associated with the equatorial electrojet will raise ions to 160 km out of a chemical source region below 100 km but it will do so only in a narrow region centered on the dip equator. Subsequent vertical ExB drift, coupled with motions along the magnetic fields, can move the ions to greater heights and greater latitudes. There should be a resultant fountain of metallic ions rising near the equator that subsequently descends back to the E and D layers at tropical latitudes.

Hanson, W. B.↗

Neural Network Approaches for Mobile Spectroscopic Gamma-Ray Source Detection

Artificial neural networks (ANNs) for performing spectroscopic gamma-ray source identification have been previously introduced, primarily for applications in controlled laboratory settings. To understand the utility of these methods in scenarios and environments more relevant to nuclear safety and security, this work examines the use of ANNs for mobile detection, which involves highly variable gamma-ray background, low signal-to-noise ratio measurements, and low false alarm rates. Simulated data from a 2” × 4” × 16” NaI(Tl) detector are used in this work for demonstrating these concepts, and the minimum detectable activity (MDA) is used as a performance metric in assessing model performance.In addition to examining simultaneous detection and identification, binary spectral anomaly detection using autoencoders is introduced in this work, and benchmarked using detection methods based on Non-negative Matrix Factorization (NMF) and Principal Component Analysis (PCA). On average, the autoencoder provides a 12% and 23% improvement over NMF- and PCA-based detection methods, respectively. Additionally, source identification using ANNs is extended to leverage temporal dynamics by means of recurrent neural networks, and these time-dependent models outperform their time-independent counterparts by 17% for the analysis examined here. The paper concludes with a discussion on tradeoffs between the ANN-based approaches and the benchmark methods examined here.

Bilton, Kyle J. (ORCID:0000000184553689)↗

Improving the Near-Earth Micrometeoroid and Orbital Debris Environment Definition with LADC

The Large Area Debris Collector (LADC) is a 10 m(sup 2) aerogel and acoustic sensor system designed to characterize and collect submillimeter micrometeoroids and orbital debris on the International Space Station (ISS). The project is led by the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) with major collaboration by the NASA Orbital Debris Program Office at Johnson Space Center. The U.S. Department of Defense Space Test Program (STP) is responsible for the integration, deployment, and retrieval of the system. The deployment is scheduled for August 2007 with an orbital collection period of one to two years. The combined area time product of LADC will provide a much needed orbital debris population update in the size regime that is important to the safety community - 100 mm and larger. Another key element for LADC is the source identification of the collected samples. Impact features such as track length and track volume can be used to estimate the impact speed and direction of any selected residual embedded in aerogel. Acoustic sensors can provide impact timing and impact location information. The combined dynamical signatures make it possible to reconstruct the orbits of some of the collected samples and lead to their source identification. Compositional analysis on the residuals can also separate debris from meteoroids and provide additional population breakdown for orbital debris (e.g., Al, paint, steel, Al2O3). To maximize the science return and minimize potential contamination from other ISS modules, a careful selection of the location and orientation of LADC on the ISS is needed. Key issues and engineering constraints encountered during mission preparation, and the expected science return based on the mission configuration, are summarized in this paper.

Liou, J.-C.↗

Optical identifications of southern compact radio sources

Optical identifications are presented for 158 radio sources, mostly from the Southern Hemisphere, based on the coincidence between the position of the optical object and the compact milliarcsecond radio nucleus. Radio positions with an accuracy of typically 0.3 arcsec rms were measured from the observed delay and fringe rate of VLBI observations at 2.29 GHz on an Australia-to-South Africa baseline. Optical identifications and positions were measured from the UK Schmidt Telescope deep IIIa-J Southern Sky Survey plates, where available.

Jauncey, David L.↗

Methods and compositions for identification of source of microbial contamination in a sample

Herein are described 1058 different bacterial taxa that were unique to either human, grazing mammal, or bird fecal wastes. These identified taxa can serve as specific identifier taxa for these sources in environmental waters. Two field tests in marine waters demonstrate the capacity of phylogenetic microarray analysis to track multiple sources with one test.

Andersen, Gary L.↗

Spectral Models of Neutron Star Magnetospheres

We revisit the association of unidentified Galactic plane EGRET sources with tracers of recent massive star formation and death. Up-to-date catalogs of OB associations, SNR's, young pulsars, H2 regions and young open clusters were used in finding counterparts for a recent list of EGRET sources. It has been argued for some time that EGRET source positions are correlated with SNR's and OB associations as a class; we extend such analyses by finding additional counterparts and assessing the probability of individual source identifications. Among the several scenarios relating EGRET sources to massive stars, we focus on young neutron stars as the origin of the gamma-ray emission. The characteristics of the candidate identifications are compared to the known gamma-ray pulsar sample and to detailed Galactic population syntheses using our outer gap pulsar model of gamma-ray emission. Both the spatial distribution and luminosity function of the candidates are in good agreement with the model predictions; we infer that young pulsars can account for the bulk of the excess low latitude EGRET sources. We show that with this identification, the gamma-ray point sources provide an important new window into the history of recent massive star death in the solar neighborhood.

Romani, Roger W.↗

New hard X-ray sources observed with HEAO-A2

A search for new hard X-ray sources using data from the first complete view of the sky with the HEAO-A2 experiment discovered 47 new sources, detected 7 sources recently discovered with other experiments, and significantly reduced the size of the error boxes for 6 previously known sources. Intensities and error boxes are given for each of these sources; identifications are suggested when an error contains an object similar to known X-ray sources. The new identifications consist of seven Type 1 Seyfert galaxies, including two whose Seyfert characteristics were discovered due to their location in an X-ray error box; one intermediate Seyfert galaxy; three Abell clusters; five N-galaxies; two bursting radio sources; and an additional three nearby galaxies with bright nuclei and narrow emission lines.

Marshall, F. E.↗

New hard X-ray sources observed with HEAO A-2

A search for new hard X-ray sources using data from the first complete view of the sky with the HEAO A-2 experiment has discovered 47 new sources, detected seven sources recently discovered with other experiments, and significantly reduced the size of the error boxes for six previously known sources. Intensities and error boxes are given for each of these sources; identifications are suggested when an error box contains an object similar to known X-ray sources. The new identifications consist of seven type 1 Seyfert galaxies, including two whose Seyfert characteristics were discovered as a result of their location in an X-ray error box; one intermediate Seyfert galaxy; three Abell clusters; five N galaxies; two bursting radio sources; and an additional three nearby galaxies with bright nuclei and narrow emission lines.

Marshall, F. E.↗

Use of Tracer Elements for Estimating Community Exposure to Marcellus Shale Development Operations

Since 2009, unconventional natural gas development (UNGD) has significantly increased in Appalachia’s Marcellus Shale formation. Elevations of fine particulate matter <2.5 µm (PM2.5), have been documented in areas surrounding drilling operations during well stimulation. Furthermore, many communities are experiencing increased industrial activities and probable UNGD air pollutant exposures. Recent studies have associated UNGD emissions with health effects based on distances from well pads. In this study, PM2.5 filter samples were collected on an active gas well pad in Morgantown, West Virginia, and three locations downwind during hydraulic stimulation. Fine particulate samples were analyzed for major and trace elements. An experimental source identification model was developed to determine which elements appeared to be traceable downwind of the UNGD site and whether these elements corresponded to PM2.5 measurements. Results suggest that 1) magnesium may be useful for detecting the reach of UNGD point source emissions, 2) complex surface topographic and meteorological conditions in the Marcellus Shale region could be modeled and confounding sources discounted, and 3) well pad emissions may be measurable at distances of at least 7 km. If shown to be more widely applicable, future tracer studies could enhance epidemiological studies showing health effects of UNGD-associated emissions at ≥15 km.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗

Acoustic Source Localization in Aircraft Interiors Using Microphone Array Technologies

Using three microphone array configurations at two aircraft body stations on a Boeing 777-300ER flight test, the acoustic radiation characteristics of the sidewall and outboard floor system are investigated by experimental measurement. Analysis of the experimental data is performed using sound intensity calculations for closely spaced microphones, PATCH Inverse Boundary Element Nearfield Acoustic Holography, and Spherical Nearfield Acoustic Holography. Each method is compared assessing strengths and weaknesses, evaluating source identification capability for both broadband and narrowband sources, evaluating sources during transient and steady-state conditions, and quantifying field reconstruction continuity using multiple array positions.

Sklanka, Bernard J.↗

Development and testing of a portable wind sensitive directional air sampler

A portable wind sensitive directional air sampler was developed as part of an air pollution source identification system. The system is designed to identify sources of air pollution based on the directional collection of field air samples and their analysis for TSP and trace element characteristics. Sources can be identified by analyzing the data on the basis of pattern recognition concepts. The unit, designated Air Scout, receives wind direction signals from an associated wind vane. Air samples are collected on filter slides using a standard high volume air sampler drawing air through a porting arrangement which tracks the wind direction and permits collection of discrete samples. A preset timer controls the length of time each filter is in the sampling position. At the conclusion of the sampling period a new filter is automatically moved into sampling position displacing the previous filter to a storage compartment. Thus the Air Scout may be set up at a field location, loaded with up to 12 filter slides, and left to acquire air samples automatically, according to the wind, at any timer interval desired from 1 to 30 hours.

Deyo, J.↗

Development and testing of a portable wind sensitive directional air sampler

A portable wind-sensitive directional air sampler has been developed as part of an air pollution source identification system. The system is designed to identify sources of air pollution based on the directional collection of field air samples and their analysis for TSP and trace element characteristics. Sources can be identified by analyzing the data on the basis of pattern recognition concepts. Functional testing of a prototype sampler is described; all items exhibited performance and life sufficient to carry out field performance test operations. Life testing of the wind direction sensor and the directional porting valves, which are critical to reliable operation, was emphasized with successful results.

Deyo, J.↗

Helicopter cabin noise: Methods of source and path identification and characterization

Internal noise sources in a helicopter are considered. These include propulsion machinery, comprising engine and transmission, and turbulent boundary layer effects. It is shown that by using relatively simple concepts together with careful experimental work it is possible to generate reliable data on which to base the design of high performance noise control treatments.

Murray, B. S.↗