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The difference between the infrared absorption of the iris and infrared reflectivity of the eyeball controls the operation of a device consisting of an infrared source and amplifier, a cadmium selenide infrared sensor, and an infrared filter.
The Far Infrared Supplement: Catalog of Infrared Observations summarizes all infrared astronomical observations at far infrared wavelengths (5 to 1000 microns) published in the scientific literature from 1965 through 1986. The Supplement list contain 25 percent of the observations in the full Catalog of Infrared Observations (CIO), and essentially eliminates most visible stars from the listings. The Supplement is thus more compact than the main catalog, and is intended for easy reference during astronomical observations. The Far Infrared Supplement (2nd Edition) includes the Index of Infrared Source Positions and the Bibliography of Infrared Astronomy for the subset of far infrared observations listed.
We report the identification of the infrared counterpart of the pulsating X-ray source HO253 + 193. It is a highly reddened star varying in K light with a period near 3 hr, but an apparent even-odd effect in the light curve implies that the true period is 6.06 hr. Together with the recent report of X-ray eclipses at the latter period, this establishes the close binary nature of the source. Infrared minimum occurs at X-ray minimum, certifying that the infrared variability arises from the tidal distortion of the lobe-filling secondary. The absence of a point source at radio wavelengths, plus the distance derived from the infrared data, suggests that the binary system is accidentally located behind the dense core of the molecular cloud Lynds 1457. The eclipses and pulsations in the X-ray light curve, coupled with the hard X-ray spectrum and low luminosity, demonstrate that HO253 + 193 contains an accreting magnetic white dwarf, and hence belongs to the 'DQ Herculis' class of cataclysmic variables.
A 2 x 3 arcmin region surrounding the W3 cluster of near-infrared sources and compact H II regions has been mapped at 30, 50, and 100 microns with an angular resolution of about 30 arcsec. The data have been used to produce maps of the distribution of luminosity, color temperature, and opacity in the far-infrared which are used to analyze the properties and evolutionary states of the individual compact sources in the cluster and of the molecular cloud in which they are embedded. The total luminosity of the near-infrared source W3-IRS 5 is estimated on the basis of these observations to be 200,000 solar luminosities, and it is identified as a forming O star.
A near-infrared camera was used to search for jets around low-luminosity embedded infrared sources in nearby molecular clouds. The near-infrared offers the advantage that the extinction is very low compared with the optical. A jet is detected in molecular hydrogen at 2.12 microns toward a source in L1448. Given the sample size this indicates a detection rate of no more than a couple percent. The average visual extinction in L1448 is roughly 5 mag. The properties of the molecular hydrogen emission are similar to those measured for known Herbig-Haro objects, suggesting the jet is a buried Herbig-Haro object/jet that would be visible in the optical if the extinction were lower. The L1448 jet coincides with the unusual CO outflow that is highly collimated and contains high-velocity CO 'bullets'. The properties of the L1448 source suggest it defines a transition case between molecular outflows and Herbig-Haro jets, combining the characteristics of both.
We report the detection of emission from methanol in a compact source coincident with the position of the L1157 infrared source, which we attribute to molecules in the disk surrounding this young, Class O protostellar object. In addition, we identify a spectral feature in the outflow corresponding to an ethanol transition. Using the Caltech Owens Valley Millimeter Array with a synthesized beam size of 2", we detect spatially unresolved methanol in the 2(sub k) - 1(sub k) transitions at 3mm, which is coincident in position with the peak of the continuum emission. The gas phase methanol could be located in the central region (< 100 AU radius) of a flat disk, or in an extended heated surface layer (approx. 200 AU radius) of a flared disk. The fractional abundance of methanol X(CH3OH) is approx. 2 x l0(exp -8) in the flat disk model, and 3 x l0(exp -7) for the flared disk. The fractional abundance is small in the disk as a whole, but considerably larger in the warm portions. This difference indicates that substantial chemical processing probably takes place in the disk via depletion and desorption. The methanol desorbed from the grains in the warm surface layers returns to the icy grain mantles in the cooler interior of the disk, where it is available to become part of the composition of solar system-like bodies, such as comets, formed in the outer circumstellar region. This first millimeter-wavelength detection of a complex organic molecule in a young protostellar disk has implications for disk structure and chemical evolution and for potential use as a temperature probe. The research of TV and WL was conducted at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology with support from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
We compare the results of a small region from our 3.6 - 8.0 micron Spitzer/IRAC imaging survey of 2 x 1.5 deg around the Galactic Center with x-ray and radio emission due to high energy processes. The region we studied covers 100 x 100 parsecs, and was chosen to include a rich collection of sources, including Sgr A* and the bright Sgr AWest infrared/radio source complex, the non-thermal radio filaments and the thermal: radio arches. In a 40 x 40 parsec subset of that region we also make a preliminary analysis of the correlation between approx.2300 x-ray sources identified by Muno et al. (2003) and 20,000 infrared sources from our survey. We also investigate the correlation between infrared and radio emission in the large-scale structures including the thermal radio arches and non-thermal radio filaments. We set constrictions on the synchrotron spectrum observed at radio and millimeter wavelengths extrapolated to 8 micons, and set limits on the midinfrared variability of Sgr A* during and after the coordinated multi-wavelength observing campaign in September 2004.
We report the detection of emission from methanol in a compact source coincident with the position of the L1157 infrared source, which we attribute to molecules in the disk surrounding this young, class 0 protostellar object.
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.
Celestial sources far IR radiation detection using balloon-borne telescope
Nine bright, point-like 60 micron sources have been selected from the sample of 8709 sources in the IRAS minisurvey. These sources have no counterparts in a variety of catalogs of nonstellar objects. Four objects have no visible counterparts, while five have faint stellar objects visible in the error ellipse. These sources do not resemble objects previously known to be bright infrared sources.
Far-infrared, radio continuum and (C-12)O and (C-13)O line observations are presented of 42 far-infrared sources. The sources range in luminosity from 4000 to 3,000,000 solar luminosities. Most of them are associated with (C-12)O peaks. More than half the sources have associated H2O maser emission, and half possess associated radio continuum emission at a limit of 100 mJy. Eight have radio emission at weaker levels. In many cases, the far-infrared source is smaller than its associated radio source. The difference can be explained in the context of the 'blister' picture of H II regions. One group of sources emits many fewer Lyman continuum photons than expected, considering the far-infrared luminosities. A number of possible reasons for this are examined; the explanation holding that clusters of early type stars rather than single stars excite the far-infrared sources is considered the most reasonable.
Optical imaging and spectroscopy measurements were obtained for six of the high galactic latitude infrared sources reported by Houck, et al. (1984) from the IRAS survey to have no obvious optical counterparts on the POSS prints. All are identified with visually faint galaxies that have total luminosities in the range 5 x 10 to the 11th power stellar luminosity to 5 x 10 to the 12th power stellar luminosity. This luminosity emerges virtually entirely in the infrared. The origin of the luminosity, which is one to two orders of magnitude greater than that of normal galaxies, is not known at this time.
Optical imaging and spectroscopy measurements were obtained for six of the high galactic latitude infrared sources reported by Houck, et al. (1984) from the IRAS survey to have no obvious optical counterparts on the POSS prints. All are identified with visually faint galaxies that have total luminosities in the range 5 x 10 to the 11th power stellar luminosity to 5 x 10 to the 12th power stellar luminosity. This luminosity emerges virtually entirely in the infrared. The origin of the luminosity, which is one to two orders of magnitude greater than that of normal galaxies, is not known at this time.
Analyzer operates with broadband light from blackbody infrared source. Light is passed sequentially through two gas-filled chambers to suitable infrared detector while pressures in gas-filled chambers are modulated in sinusoidal manner. Because pressure of infrared-absorbing gases in chambers is modulated, amount of light absorbed by gases is also modulated.
The optical absorptivity of grains of solid material in infrared sources is investigated by the comparison of calculated and observed temperatures and distances of the grains from the source of illumination. It is found that for the few sources for which appropriate measurements have been made, the calculated distances of blackbody particles agree well with the measured values - a result which could lead to misleading conclusions about grain properties. The ratio of optical absorptivity to infrared emissivity is calculated for several sources taking into account expected effects of real grain materials. The measured angular size of dust shells surrounding stars can lead to information about the optical properties of grains under astrophysical conditions.
The 2.12-micron line of molecular hydrogen was searched for in emission from a variety of southern hemisphere objects, including infrared sources associated with molecular clouds and H II regions, the galactic center, and three external galaxies. Negative results are reported for all sources.
The gamma-ray burst of January 28, 1976, one of 18 events thus far detected in interplanetary space with Helios 2, was also observed with the Vela 5A and 6A and the Ariel 5 satellites. A small source field is obtained from the intersection of the region derived from the observed time delays between Helios 2 and Vela 5A and 6A, with the source region independently found with the Ariel 5 X-ray detector. This area contains neither any steady X-ray source as scanned by HEAO 1 nor any previously cataloged X-ray, radio, or infrared sources, X-ray transients, quasars, Seyferts, globular clusters, flare stars, pulsars, white dwarfs, or high enery gamma-ray sources. The region is, however, within the source field of a gamma-ray transient observed in 1974 by Jacobson et al. (1978) which exhibited nuclear gamma-ray line structure.