Cosmic ray atmospheric neutron measurements at high elevations over a sunspot cycle
Atmospheric neutron production by cosmic radiation over sunspot cycle, measuring energy spectrum with airplanes and balloon-borne instruments
Korff, S. A.↗
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Balloon observations of galactic and extragalactic objects at 100 microns.
Recent far-infrared balloon-borne instruments have yielded observations of a number of bright sources at 100 microns. Many of these coincide with HII regions where molecular line emision has been detected. There is some indication of 100 micron emission which does not coincide with radio measurements.
Hoffmann, W. F.↗
The carbon/oxygen ratio in high-energy cosmic rays
The abundance distribution of cosmic ray nuclei at 0.6 GeV/nucleon, 1.6 GeV/nucleon and between 20 and 100 GeV/nucleon has been measured by balloon-borne instrumentation. We find that the abundance ratio of carbon to oxygen decreases from 1.1 around 1 GeV/nucleon to a value of about 0.8 at energies above about 30 GeV/nucleon. Some implications of this result are discussed.
Juliusson, E.↗
Cosmic ray composition measurements and high energy ionization spectrometers
Element abundances of cosmic rays Li through Si with energy above 0.8 GeV/amu were measured on a balloon borne instrument containing a total absorption ionization spectrometer. Statistical techniques were used to analyze the five measurements of each particle to determine its charge and energy. The technique allows a determination of systematic errors to be made. Corrections for Landau fluctuations, spark chamber inefficiency, and background particles were included. Comparison with other published results is made. Differences in the shape of the spectrum determined from measurements of different workers indicate that the absolute intensity is still known to only plus or minus 15% between 2 and 10 GV/c rigidity.
Arens, J. F.↗
Energy dependence of the Si/Fe ratio in the galactic cosmic rays
New measurements are reported of the Si/Fe ratio and the differential energy spectra of galactic cosmic-ray Si and Fe, taking into account the energy range from 35 MeV to 4 GeV per nucleon. The measured data were obtained with the aid of satellite and balloon-borne instrumentation. It is found that for the region below 1 GeV per nucleon the local interstellar spectra computed are consistent with previous galactic cosmic-ray propagation models obtained by Shapiro and Silberberg (1970) and Mason (1972).
Garcia-Munoz, M.↗
Cosmic-ray composition measurements with high-energy ionization spectrometers
Element abundances of cosmic rays for elements Li through Si with energy above 0.8 GeV/amu were measured on a balloon-borne instrument containing a total absorption ionization spectrometer. Statistical techniques were used to analyze the five measurements of each particle to determine its charge and energy. The technique allows a determination of systematic errors to be made. Corrections for Landau fluctuations, spark-chamber inefficiency, and background particles were included. Comparison with other published results is made. There are differences in the shapes of the differential spectra determined from measurements using different techniques, and our intensities still lie somewhat below those of other workers.
Arens, J. F.↗
An evaluation of in situ ozone sensor performance during a cold frontal passage
The capabilities of the electrochemical concentration cell ozonesonde for measuring the vertical profile of atmospheric ozone were studied during a three day experiment at Wallops Island, Virginia, and Norfolk, Virginia. Using ancillary measurements at the surface and the spectrophotometer, it was concluded that the ozonesonde measures the total ozone overburden to within 10% of the real value. By releasing the balloon-borne instruments at a rate of four per day at each of the two sites, an indication was obtained of the temporal and spatial scales of atmospheric ozone variability. No significant effects of a weak cold front passage or of the loss of insolation at night were seen. An isolated incident of anomalously high ozone concentration at the peak of the profile was attributed to sporadic instrument performance effects. The data base currently available is not adequate for determining an exact cause of the anomaly.
Parsons, C. L.↗
The mean mass of the abundant cosmic-ray nuclei from boron to silicon at 1.2 GeV per atomic mass unit
Results are presented for an investigation of cosmic-ray isotopic composition in which a balloon-borne instrument was used to perform an isotopic analysis of the abundant elements from B through Si in the energy range from 1.0 to 1.6 GeV/amu. The technique employed, which depends on the effect of earth's magnetic field on incoming cosmic rays, and reduction of the observational data are described in detail. Mean masses of the elements B, C, N, O, Ne, Mg, and Si are extracted from normalized Cerenkov spectra and evaluated in terms of the 'leaky box' model of galactic propagation and confinement. The implications of the results for cosmic-ray sources are shown to be consistent with the nucleosynthesis of certain isotopes in the cosmic rays in explosive carbon burning under the conditions of peak temperature, density, and neutronization expected in an explosion of a massive highly evolved star. The possibility of alternate interpretations is noted.
Dwyer, R.↗
A balloon measurement of the isotopic composition of galactic cosmic ray boron, carbon and nitrogen
The isotopic compositions of galactic cosmic ray boron, carbon, and nitrogen were measured at energies near 300 MeV amu, using a balloon-borne instrument at an atmospheric depth of approximately 5 g/sq cm. The calibrations of the detectors comprising the instrument are described. The saturation properties of the cesium iodide scintillators used for measurement of particle energy are studied in the context of analyzing the data for mass. The achieved rms mass resolution varies from approximately 0.3 amu at boron to approximately 0.5 amu at nitrogen, consistent with a theoretical analysis of the contributing factors. Corrected for detector interactions and the effects of the residual atmosphere the results are B-10/B=0.33 (+0.17, -0.11), C-13/C=0.06 (+0.13, -0.11), and N-15/N=0.42 (+0.19, -0.17). A model of galactic propagation and solar modulation is described. Assuming a cosmic ray source composition of solar-like isotopic abundances, the model predicts abundances near Earth consistent with the measurements.
Zumberge, J. F.↗
High temperature electronics applications in space exploration
The extension of the range of operating temperatures of electronic components and systems for planetary exploration is examined. In particular, missions which utilize balloon-borne instruments to study the Venusian and Jovian atmospheres are discussed. Semiconductor development and devices including power sources, ultrastable oscillators, transmitters, antennas, electromechanical devices, and deployment systems are addressed.
Jurgens, R. F.↗
Variations of the Solar Constant
The variations in data received from rocket-borne and balloon-borne instruments are discussed. Indirect techniques to measure and monitor the solar constant are presented. Emphasis is placed on the correlation of data from the Solar Maximum Mission and the Nimbus 7 satellites.
Sofia, S.↗
A measurement of the cosmic-ray antiproton flux and a search for antihelium
Balloon-borne instrument measurements are presented of the cosmic-ray antiproton flux between 130 and 320 MeV, as well as the results of a search for antihelium between 130 and 370 MeV per nuclear. The antiprotons are found to have a spectral shape similar to the protons, down to about 100 MeV. Calculations of the expected flux of these particles under the assumption that they were created by collisions of high-energy cosmic rays with the interstellar gas, using the standard leaky box model for propagation in the Galaxy, predict a flux two orders of magnitude smaller than that observed. The discrepancy between calculation and experiment may be evidence that cosmic-ray protons have passed through more than 5.0 g/sq cm of material during their lifetime. The search for cosmic-ray antihelium sets a 95% confidence level upper limit on the antihelium/helium ratio of 0.000022.
Buffington, A.↗
Cosmic ray detector for high energy iron nuclei
An experiment to directly measure the differential energy spectra of nuclei with charge between 15-28 inclusive with a balloon borne instrument is presented. A High Energy Gas Cerenkov Spectrometer (HEGCS) is described, and consists of a 3 m diam drum 4.5 m tall containing three light diffusion chambers. A hodoscopic array of scintillators emit light into the top and bottom light chambers which serve for track recordings of the trajectory and charge of incident cosmic rays. A center chamber pressure vessel, the HEGCS, has a 4.0 m sr and a threshold of 50 GeV/amu. The hexagonal array scintillators have 24 elements/array feeding photomultiplier tubes at the vertices between the scintillators, with other PMTs located around the top and bottom chambers to capture escaped scintillator light. The HEGCS is filled with freon-12, with reflective paint on the inner surface to convert UV Cerenkov photons into visible photons near 425 nm.
Streitmatter, R. E.↗
A measurement of the antiproton flux in the cosmic rays
A balloon-borne instrument has been used to detect cosmic-ray antiprotons. These are identified topologically by the appearance of annihilation prongs in a thick lead-plate spark chamber. The initial recording of the data is enriched in potential antimatter events by a selective trigger. After a small subtraction for background, 14 identified antiprotons yield a flux of 1.7 plus or minus 0.00005 antiproton/(sq m ster sec MeV) between 130 and 320 MeV at the top of the atmosphere. When combined with higher energy antiproton flux measurements, this result indicates that the antiprotons have a spectrum whose shape is the same as that of the protons, but with a magnitude reduced by a factor of 1/3000.
Buffington, A.↗
Solar flare energetics
A review is presented regarding the current knowledge of the energetics of solar flares. Recent observations by the Solar Maximum Mission and by balloon-borne instrumentation indicate that the flare hard X-ray emission arises from nonthermal bremsstrahlung - the collisions of fast electrons into a cold ambient medium (Ee much greater than kT). Under this interpretation, most of the energy released for many flares is initially contained in the energetic electrons. These electrons can produce most of the observed flare phenomena via interactions with the solar atmosphere. In large flares a shock wave may result from explosive heating of the solar atmosphere by these electrons. This shock wave can accelerate nuclei to relativistic energies. It is argued that recent SMM observations of fast gamma-ray bursts are consistent with this picture of shock acceleration of nuclei.
Lin, R. P.↗
High resolution X- and gamma-ray spectroscopy of cosmic X-ray sources
A high resolution X-ray spectrometer and large area phoswich detector were designed and co-aligned in a common elevation mounting in order to measure solar and cosmic X-ray and gamma ray emission in the 13 to 600 KeV energy range from a balloon. The instrument is described and results obtained for the Crab Nebula, the supernova remnant Cas A, and the Sun are discussed and analyzed.
Lin, R. P.↗
Stratospheric species measurements with tunable diode laser absorption spectroscopy
A balloon-borne instrument for stratospheric research has been developed with the capability to simultaneously measure several chemically related species in situ, for a full diurnal cycle. The instrument utilizes tunable infrared diode lasers (TDLs) to provide the radiation in selected wavelength regions for sensitive absorption spectroscopy over a one-km round-trip path. The TDL radiation is directed to a remote retroreflector which is lowered 500 m below the instrument gondola. A HeNe laser and co-aligned TV camera with CID imaging are used for retroreflector tracking. Currently the instrument operates with two TDLs, and the capability exists to measure four stratospheric species: NO, NO2, O3, and H2O. The number of operating TDLs can be expanded to four, resulting in the possibility of measuring several additional trace species.
Menzies, R. T.↗
Solar hard X-ray microflares
Using balloon-borne instrumentation of very high sensitivity, approximately 25 hard X-ray bursts with peak fluxes of above 7 x 10 to the -3rd/(sq cm s keV) at 20 keV have been detected, in 141 minutes of observation of the sun on June 27, 1980. These hard X-ray microflares last from a few seconds to several tens of seconds and have power-law energy spectra. They are generally accompanied by small soft X-ray bursts, but H-alpha flares and solar radio bursts are reported for only a few of these hard X-ray bursts. The integral number of events varies approximately as the inverse of the peak flux, down to the limits of the measurements. These observations suggest that even very small transient releases of energy by the sun may be primarily nonthermal in character. It is speculated that the energy released in accelerated electrons for these microflares, averaged over time, may contribute significantly to the heating of the active corona.
Lin, R. P.↗