Search NASA⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search NASA

Results for “distance map”

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.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 73 records · Page 4
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS2002

A New Component of Solar Dynamics: North-South Diverging Flows Migrating toward the Equator with an 11 Year Period

Time-distance helioseismology analysis of dopplergrams provides maps of torsional oscillations and meridional flows. Meridional flow maps show a time-varying component that has a banded structure which matches the torsional oscillations with an equatorward migration over the solar cycle. The time-varying component of meridional flow consists of a flow diverging from the dominant latitude of magnetic activity. These maps are compared with other torsional oscillation maps and with magnetic flux maps, showing a strong correlation with active latitudes. These results demonstrate a strong link between the time-varying component of the meridional flow and the torsional oscillations.

Beck, J. G.↗
NASA NTRS2011

Identifying Geographic Areas at Risk of Soil-transmitted Helminthes Infection Using Remote Sensing and Geographical Information Systems: Boaco, Nicaragua as a Case Study

Several types of intestinal nematodes, that can infect humans and specially school-age children living in poverty, develop part of their life cycle in soil. Presence and survival of these parasites in the soil depend on given environmental characteristics like temperature and moisture that can be inferred with remote sensing (RS) technology. Prevalence of diseases caused by these parasitic worms can be controlled and even eradicated with anthelmintic drug treatments and sanitation improvement. Reliable and updated identification of geographic areas at risk is required to implement effective public health programs; to calculate amount of drug required and to distribute funding for sanitation projects. RS technology and geographical information systems (GIS) will be used to analyze for associations between in situ prevalence and remotely sensed data in order to establish RS proxies of environmental parameters that indicate the presence of these parasits. In situ data on helminthisasis will be overlaid over an ecological map derived from RS data using ARC Map 9.3 (ESRI). Temperature, vegetation, and distance to bodies of water will be inferred using data from Moderate-Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) and Landsat TM and ETM+. Elevation will be estimated with data from The Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM). Prevalence and intensity of infections are determined by parasitological survey (Kato Katz) of children enrolled in rural schools in Boaco, Nicaragua, in the communities of El Roblar, Cumaica Norte, Malacatoya 1, and Malacatoya 2). This study will demonstrate the importance of an integrated GIS/RS approach to define clusters and areas at risk. Such information will help to the implementation of time and cost efficient control programs and sanitation efforts.

Moreno, Max J.↗
NASA NTRS1994

A quantitative analysis of IRAS maps of molecular clouds

We present an analysis of IRAS maps of five molecular clouds: Orion, Ophiuchus, Perseus, Taurus, and Lupus. For the classification and description of these astrophysical maps, we use a newly developed technique which considers all maps of a given type to be elements of a pseudometric space. For each physical characteristic of interest, this formal system assigns a distance function (a pseudometric) to the space of all maps: this procedure allows us to measure quantitatively the difference between any two maps and to order the space of all maps. We thus obtain a quantitative classification scheme for molecular clouds. In this present study we use the IRAS continuum maps at 100 and 60 micrometer(s) to produce column density (or optical depth) maps for the five molecular cloud regions given above. For this sample of clouds, we compute the 'output' functions which measure the distribution of density, the distribution of topological components, the self-gravity, and the filamentary nature of the clouds. The results of this work provide a quantitative description of the structure in these molecular cloud regions. We then order the clouds according to the overall environmental 'complexity' of these star-forming regions. Finally, we compare our results with the observed populations of young stellar objects in these clouds and discuss the possible environmental effects on the star-formation process. Our results are consistent with the recently stated conjecture that more massive stars tend to form in more 'complex' environments.

Wiseman, Jennifer J.↗
NASA NTRS1993

The effect of scene content on speed, time, and distance perception

Helicopter flights performed at low-levels place high demands on pilots; they must simultaneously control the vehicle, avoid obstacles, and navigate. Therefore, pilots must correlate cues viewed in the external scene with information on map in order to maintain their geographical orientation. This is a particularly difficult task when helicopter pilots fly through visually unfamiliar terrain without highly detailed maps. As a result, pilots must often use estimates of elapsed time, distance traveled, and/or average speed in order to maintain a flight path indicated on a map during flight segments when these cues are absent. Therefore, the current study is concerned with the perception of speed, time, and distance, which we assume underlies the ability to orient oneself during these types of flight segments.

Awe, Cynthia A.↗
NASA NTRS1990

Efficient algorithms for dilated mappings of binary trees

The problem is addressed to find a 1-1 mapping of the vertices of a binary tree onto those of a target binary tree such that the son of a node on the first binary tree is mapped onto a descendent of the image of that node in the second binary tree. There are two natural measures of the cost of this mapping, namely the dilation cost, i.e., the maximum distance in the target binary tree between the images of vertices that are adjacent in the original tree. The other measure, expansion cost, is defined as the number of extra nodes/edges to be added to the target binary tree in order to ensure a 1-1 mapping. An efficient algorithm to find a mapping of one binary tree onto another is described. It is shown that it is possible to minimize one cost of mapping at the expense of the other. This problem arises when designing pipelined arithmetic logic units (ALU) for special purpose computers. The pipeline is composed of ALU chips connected in the form of a binary tree. The operands to the pipeline can be supplied to the leaf nodes of the binary tree which then process and pass the results up to their parents. The final result is available at the root. As each new application may require a distinct nesting of operations, it is useful to be able to find a good mapping of a new binary tree over existing ALU tree. Another problem arises if every distinct required binary tree is known beforehand. Here it is useful to hardwire the pipeline in the form of a minimal supertree that contains all required binary trees.

Iqbal, M. Ashraf↗
NASA NTRS2014

Methods of Real Time Image Enhancement of Flash LIDAR Data and Navigating a Vehicle Using Flash LIDAR Data

A method for creating a digital elevation map ("DEM") from frames of flash LIDAR data includes generating a first distance R(sub i) from a first detector i to a first point on a surface S(sub i). After defining a map with a mesh THETA having cells k, a first array S(k), a second array M(k), and a third array D(k) are initialized. The first array corresponds to the surface, the second array corresponds to the elevation map, and the third array D(k) receives an output for the DEM. The surface is projected onto the mesh THETA, so that a second distance R(sub k) from a second point on the mesh THETA to the detector can be found. From this, a height may be calculated, which permits the generation of a digital elevation map. Also, using sequential frames of flash LIDAR data, vehicle control is possible using an offset between successive frames.

Vanek, Michael D.↗
NASA NTRS1990

Maps or analogies? A comparison of instructional aids for menu navigation

The relative efficacy of a variety of spatial maps and analogies as instructional aids for the learning and navigation of hierachical data bases is studied. Subjects performed single- and multinode retrieval tasks with novel data bases. The results of one experiment indicated that subjects who studied an analogy prior to performing data-retrieval tasks were less affected by increasing search distance than were subjects who studied a spatial map. The second experiment suggested that the benefits of analogy relative to other instructional aids increased as time passed between initial instruction and interaction with the data base.

Webb, Jayson M.↗
NASA NTRS2004

Advances in Measuring Antarctic Sea-Ice Thickness and Ice-Sheet Elevations with ICESat Laser Altimetry

NASA's Ice, Cloud and Land Elevation Satellite (ICESat) has been measuring elevations of the Antarctic ice sheet and sea-ice freeboard elevations with unprecedented accuracy. Since February 20,2003, data has been acquired during three periods of laser operation varying from 36 to 54 days, which is less than the continuous operation of 3 to 5 years planned for the mission. The primary purpose of ICESat is to measure time-series of ice-sheet elevation changes for determination of the present-day mass balance of the ice sheets, study of associations between observed ice changes and polar climate, and estimation of the present and future contributions of the ice sheets to global sea level rise. ICESat data will continue to be acquired for approximately 33 days periods at 3 to 6 month intervals with the second of ICESat's three lasers, and eventually with the third laser. The laser footprints are about 70 m on the surface and are spaced at 172 m along-track. The on-board GPS receiver enables radial orbit determinations to an accuracy better than 5 cm. The orbital altitude is around 600 km at an inclination of 94 degrees with a 8-day repeat pattern for the calibration and validation period, followed by a 91 -day repeat period for the rest of the mission. The expected range precision of single footprint measurements was 10 cm, but the actual range precision of the data has been shown to be much better at 2 to 3 cm. The star-tracking attitude-determination system should enable footprints to be located to 6 m horizontally when attitude calibrations are completed. With the present attitude calibration, the elevation accuracy over the ice sheets ranges from about 30 cm over the low-slope areas to about 80 cm over areas with slopes of 1 to 2 degrees, which is much better than radar altimetry. After the first period of data collection, the spacecraft attitude was controlled to point the laser beam to within 50 m of reference surface tracks over the ice sheets. Detection of ice elevation changes over select areas of the ice sheet is demonstrated with using both crossover analysis and precise-repeat track analysis. Sea ice freeboard-height distributions over the Antarctic sea pack are derived over distances of 50 km and converted into maps of average freeboard thickness and sea-ice thickness.

Zwally, H. Jay↗
NASA NTRS1983

High-resolution X-ray and radio maps of the millisecond pulsar

The 1.5 millisecond pulsar (PSR1937+214) discovered in the radio source 4C21.53 is more closely located and characterized. High-resolution radio maps of the region were obtained with the Very Large Array, and no evidence was found in the morphology of 4C21.53 to connect it with the pulsar, which was determined to be at a different distance. A high-resolution imager X-ray map of the region was made using the Einstein Observatory, and no detectable X-ray emission could be associated with either 4C21.53 or the pulsar. From the stringent upper limit on X-ray emissions, substantial differences in the magnetospheric structure of the pulsar compared to that of other radio pulsars are inferred.

Becker, R. H.↗
NASA NTRS1994

Two-dimensional maps of the infrared-to-radio ratio in spiral galaxies

We have produced two-dimensional maps of the intensity ratio Q(sub 60) of 60 micron infrared to 20 cm radio continuum emission, for a set of 25 nearby galaxies, mostly spirals. The ratio maps were obtained from infrared images made using Infrared Astronomical Satellite (IRAS) data with the Maximum Correlation Method, and radio images made using VLA data. Before taking the ratio, the radio images were processed so as to have the same resolution properties as the infrared images; the final spatial resolution in all cases is approximately 1 min, corresponding to 1-2 kpc for most galaxies. These images allow us to study the variations for the Q(sub 60) ratio with unprecedented spatial resolution, and thus represents a major improvement over earlier work. Our new high-resolution maps confirm the slow decrease of Q(sub 60) with increasing radial distance from the nucleus, but show additional structure which is probably associated with separate sites of active star formation in the spiral arms. The maps show Q(sub 60) to be more closely related to infrared surface brightness than to the radial distance in the galaxy disk. We expect that the results will provide improved constraints on the evolution (diffusion, decay and escape) of cosmic-ray electrons in the magnetic field of the disks.

Marsh, Kenneth A.↗
NASA NTRS1995

The spatial variation of the infrared-to-radio ratio in spiral galaxies

We have produced two-dimensional maps of the intensity ratio, Q(sub 60), of 60 micron infrared to 20 cm radio continuum emission, for a set of 25 nearby galaxies, mostly spirals. The ratio maps were obtained from infrared images made using IRAS data with the maximum correlation method, and radio images made using VLA data. Before taking the ratio, the radio images were processed so as to have the same resolution properties as the infrared images; the final spatial resolution in all cases is approximately 1 min, corresponding to 1 - 2 kpc for most galaxies. This resolution represents a significant improvement over previous studies. Our new high-resolution maps confirm the slow decrease of Q(sub 60) with increasing radial distance from the nucleus, but show additional structure which is probably associated with separate sites of active star formation in the spiral arms. The maps show Q(sub 60) to be more closely related to infrared surface brightness than to the radial distance r in the galaxy disk. We note also that the Q(sub 60) gradients are absent (or at least reduced) for the edge-on galaxies, a property which can be attributed to the dilution of contrast due to the averaging of the additional structure along the line of sight. The results are all in qualitative agreement with the suggestion that the radio image represents a smeared version of the infrared image, as would be expected on the basis of current models in which the infrared-radio correlation is driven by the formation of massive stars, and the intensity distribution of radio emission is smeared as a result of the propagation of energetic electrons accelerated during the supernova phase.

Marsh, K. A.↗
NASA NTRS1990

Multi-level modulation codes and multi-stage decoding

Multi-level method is a powerful technique for constructing bandwidth efficient modulation codes. It allows the construction of modulation codes systematically with arbitrary large minimum squared Euclidean distance from component codes in conjunction with proper bits-to-signal mapping. If the component codes are chosen properly, the resultant modulation code not only has good minimum squared Euclidean distance but is also rich in structural properties such as: linear structure, phase invariant property, and trellis structure. A modulation code with linear structure has invariant distance distribution. Phase invariant property is useful in resolving carrier-phase ambiguity and ensuring rapid carrier-phase resynchronization after temporary loss of synchronization. It the component codes have trellis structure, the resultant multi-level modulation code also has trellis structure. Trellis structure allows decoding of a multi-level modulation code with the soft-decision Viterbi decoding algorithm. Furthermore, the multi-level structure allows decoding of a multi-level modulation code with the multi-stage decoding. This type of decoding reduces the decoding complexity. Multi-stage decoding is not optimum even though the decoding of each component is optimum. Based on the analysis and simulation results, the difference in error performance between the optimum decoding of the overall multi-level modulation code and the suboptimum multi-stage decoding of the code is very little, a fraction of dB loss.

Lin, Shu↗
NASA NTRS2011

Multiple-Zone Diffractive Optic Element for Laser Ranging Applications

A diffractive optic element (DOE) can be used as a beam splitter to generate multiple laser beams from a single input laser beam. This technology has been recently used in LRO s Lunar Orbiter Laser Altimeter (LOLA) instrument to generate five laser beams that measure the lunar topography from a 50-km nominal mapping orbit (see figure). An extension of this approach is to use a multiple-zone DOE to allow a laser altimeter instrument to operate over a wider range of distances. In particular, a multiple-zone DOE could be used for applications that require both mapping and landing on a planetary body. In this case, the laser altimeter operating range would need to extend from several hundred kilometers down to a few meters. The innovator was recently involved in an investigation how to modify the LOLA instrument for the OSIRIS asteroid mapping and sample return mission. One approach is to replace the DOE in the LOLA laser beam expander assembly with a multiple-zone DOE that would allow for the simultaneous illumination of the asteroid with mapping and landing laser beams. The proposed OSIRIS multiple-zone DOE would generate the same LOLA five-beam output pattern for high-altitude topographic mapping, but would simultaneously generate a wide divergence angle beam using a small portion of the total laser energy for the approach and landing portion of the mission. Only a few percent of the total laser energy is required for approach and landing operations as the return signal increases as the inverse square of the ranging height. A wide divergence beam could be implemented by making the center of the DOE a diffractive or refractive negative lens. The beam energy and beam divergence characteristics of a multiple-zone DOE could be easily tailored to meet the requirements of other missions that require laser ranging data. Current single-zone DOE lithographic manufacturing techniques could also be used to fabricate a multiple-zone DOE by masking the different DOE zones during the manufacturing process, and the same space-compatible DOE substrates (fused silica, sapphire) that are used on standard DOE s could be used for multiple- zone DOE s. DOEs are an elegant and cost-effective optical design option for spacebased laser altimeters that require multiple output laser beams. The use of multiple-zone DOEs would allow for the design and optimization of a laser altimeter instrument required to operate over a large range of target distances, such as those designed to both map and land on a planetary body. In addition to space-based laser altimeters, this technology could find applications in military or commercial unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) that fly at an altitude of several kilometers and need to land. It is also conceivable that variations of this approach could be used in land-based applications such as collision avoidance and robotic control of cars, trains, and ships.

Ramos-Izquierdo, Luis A.↗
NASA NTRS1990

Solving unstructured grid problems on massively parallel computers

A highly parallel graph mapping technique that enables one to efficiently solve unstructured grid problems on massively parallel computers is presented. Many implicit and explicit methods for solving discretized partial differential equations require each point in the discretization to exchange data with its neighboring points every time step or iteration. The cost of this communication can negate the high performance promised by massively parallel computing. To eliminate this bottleneck, the graph of the irregular problem is mapped into the graph representing the interconnection topology of the computer such that the sum of the distances that the messages travel is minimized. It is shown that using the heuristic mapping algorithm significantly reduces the communication time compared to a naive assignment of processes to processors.

Hammond, Steven W.↗
NASA NTRS1984

New radio observations of the composite supernova remnant G29.7-0.3

The galactic supernova remnant G29.7-0.3, recently identified as a new member of the class of composite remnants, has been imaged with the VLA at three wavelengths: 2, 6, and 20 cm. Two spectrally distinct components, a flat-spectrum core surrounded by a shell with alpha of about -0.7, suggested by early observations, have been confirmed. Neutral hydrogen absorption measurements of these two components confirm their physical association and place the remnant at a distance of about 21 kpc. A radio polarization map of the Crab-like core and results of an examination of existing X-ray data for evidence of emission from the shell component are also presented. A comparison of the radio and X-ray properties of G29.7-0.3 and other composite SNRs concludes the report.

Becker, R. H.↗
NASA NTRS2012

Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) Mission: Mission Status and Initial Science Results

The Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) Mission is a component of the NASA Discovery Program. GRAIL is a twin-spacecraft lunar gravity mission that has two primary objectives: to determine the structure of the lunar interior, from crust to core; and to advance understanding of the thermal evolution of the Moon. GRAIL launched successfully from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on September 10, 2011, executed a low-energy trajectory to the Moon, and inserted the twin spacecraft into lunar orbit on December 31, 2011 and January 1, 2012. A series of maneuvers brought both spacecraft into low-altitude (55-km), near-circular, polar lunar orbits, from which they perform high-precision satellite-to-satellite ranging using a Ka-band payload along with an S-band link for time synchronization. Precise measurements of distance changes between the spacecraft are used to map the lunar gravity field. GRAIL completed its primary mapping mission on May 29, 2012, collecting and transmitting to Earth >99.99% of the possible data. Spacecraft and instrument performance were nominal and has led to the production of a high-resolution and high-accuracy global gravity field, improved over all previous models by two orders of magnitude on the nearside and nearly three orders of magnitude over the farside. The field is being used to understand the thickness, density and porosity of the lunar crust, the mechanics of formation and compensation states of lunar impact basins, and the structure of the mantle and core. GRAIL s three month-long-extended mission will initiate on August 30, 2012 and will consist of global gravity field mapping from an average altitude of 22 km.

Neumann, Gregory A.↗
NASA NTRS2022

UV Spectropolarimetry with Polstar: Massive Star Binary Colliding Winds

The winds of massive stars are important for their direct impact on the interstellar medium, and for their influence on the final state of a star prior to it exploding as a supernova. However, the dynamics of these winds is understood primarily via their illumination from a single central source. The Doppler shift seen in resonance lines is a useful tool for inferring these dynamics, but the mapping from that Doppler shift to the radial distance from the source is ambiguous. Binary systems can reduce this ambiguity by providing a second light source at a known radius in the wind, seen from orbitally modulated directions. From the nature of the collision between the winds, a massive companion also provides unique additional information about wind momentum fluxes. Since massive stars are strong ultraviolet (UV) sources, and UV resonance line opacity in the wind is strong, UV instruments with a high resolution spectroscopic capability are essential for extracting this dynamical information. Polarimetric capability also helps to further resolve ambiguities in aspects of the wind geometry that are not axisymmetric about the line of sight, because of its unique access to scattering direction information. We review how the proposed MIDEX-scale mission Polstar can use UV spectropolarimetric observations to critically constrain the physics of colliding winds, and hence radiatively-driven winds in general. We propose a sample of 20 binary targets, capitalizing on this unique combination of illumination by companion starlight, and collision with a companion wind, to probe wind attributes over a range in wind strengths. Of particular interest is the hypothesis that the radial distribution of the wind acceleration is altered significantly, when the radiative transfer within the winds becomes optically thick to resonance scattering in multiple overlapping UV lines.

Ultraviolet Astronomy↗