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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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At least 127 records · Page 7
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NASA NTRS1976

Far infrared observations with a 1-m balloon-borne telescope

Properties of a balloon-borne inertially guided telescope designed to perform high-resolution mapping of far-IR sources are reviewed. Scientific results obtained to date are presented in terms of the sensitivity and angular resolution achieved. The objects observed and mapped include Orion A, W3, M43, OMC-2, NGC 7538, the infrared star IRC+10216, Uranus, and M82. Several modifications of the telescope are described which have markedly increased its IR sensitivity and its efficiency in acquiring sources.

Fazio, G. G.↗
NASA NTRS1979

Exposure time for space-borne IR spatial interferometer

A mathematical analysis is performed to determine the relationship between the signal-to-noise ratio and the exposure time for an orbiting IR heterodyne spatial interferometer. The analysis includes consideration of the transformation of the interferogram to obtain the source angular intensity distribution so that the signal-to-noise ratio pertains to the angular distribution rather than to the interferogram. The analysis is applied to a number of known IR sources. The results presented show that an interferometer with a 30-m baseline using half-meter telescopes should be able to image a source such as IRC + 30219 with a signal-to-noise ratio of 10 in a total exposure time of less than an hour.

Wolfe, R. H., Jr.↗
NASA NTRS1979

CO observations of mass outflow from the infrared star CIT 6

Results are presented for observations of CO emission from the molecular envelope surrounding the carbon star CIT 6 (IRC + 30219) made at five epochs spanning 17 months. There is no evidence for any variation in the CO line intensity on this time scale, but the intensity is much lower than that reported by previous authors. In addition, an earlier report of (C-13)O line emission cannot be confirmed, and the carbon isotope ratio C-12/C-13 is measured to be greater than 20. The shape of the CO emission line observed at all epochs can be fitted by a uniformly expanding cloud model in which the CO is optically thin except through the longest lines of sight.

Knapp, G. R.↗
NASA NTRS1980

Cataloged infrared sources in NIPSS data. I - The RSO 1 catalog

A small number of selected near-infrared and visual photographic pairs from the Steward Observatory Near Infrared Photographic Sky Survey have been examined for content of stars more red than (V-I) of about 2.5 magnitudes. A simple manual extraction of these objects was carried out as a part of a preliminary evaluation of survey data and techniques for reducing it; the resulting list has been compiled as the first installment of a Catalog of Red Stellar Objects (Craine et al. 1979). Results of a cross correlation of this catalog with the IRC, AFGL, and EIC infrared catalogs are here presented. The results indicate that these photographs may be particularly useful for purposes of optical identification of short-wavelength infrared sources to limits much fainter than represented by presently existing infrared catalogs.

Horner, V. M.↗
NASA NTRS1980

Infrared observations of circumstellar ammonia in OH/IR supergiants

Ammonia has been detected in the circumstellar envelopes of VY Canis Majoris, VX Sagittarii, and IRC +10420 by means of several absorption lines in the nu-2 vibration-rotation band near 950 kaysers. The line profiles are well resolved (0.2 km/sec resolution) and show the gas being accelerated to terminal expansion velocities near 30 km/sec. The observations reveal a method for determining the position of the central star on VLBI maps of OH maser emission to an accuracy of approximately 0.2 arcsec. A firm lower limit of 2 x 10 to the 15th/sq cm is obtained for the NH3 column density in VY Canis Majoris.

Mclaren, R. A.↗
NASA NTRS1980

A radio search for interstellar phosphorus compounds

The J = 1-0 and 3-2 transitions of phosphorus nitride, PN, with resolvable hyperfine components at 46.99 GHz and blended components at 140.97 GHz, and transitions of phosphine, PH3, at 47.39 and 46.94 GHz, arising from a small induced dipole moment, have been searched for but not found in interstellar molecular clouds. The J = 3/2-1/2, F - 3/2-3/2 transition of nitric oxide, NO, and the J(K-K+) = 16(4, 12) -15(5, 11) transition of sulfur dioxide, SO2, have been detected in Orion and Sagittarius B2. An unidentified emission line, U140921.8 MHz, has been observed in IRC + 10216.

Hollis, J. M.↗
NASA NTRS1980

Radio-frequency observations of interstellar CH4 and HC5N

New (C-12)H4 transitions were detected at 21,303 and 94,089 MHz in emission from Orion A, and temporal variations of intensity were observed among several velocity components at 76,700 MHz. An HC5N transition at 21,301 MHz was also detected in emission from IRC +10216.

Fox, K.↗
NASA NTRS1981

A far-infrared emission feature in carbon-rich stars and planetary nebulae

The 16-30 micron spectra of several carbon stars and the planetary nebulae IC 418 and NGC 6572 have been obtained using the NASA C-141 Kuiper Airborne Observatory. A newly observed emission feature appears in the spectrum of IRC +10216 and several other carbon stars at wavelengths greater than 24 microns. The feature is interpreted as resulting from a solid-state resonance in the dust grains which have condensed around these stars. A similar feature appears in the spectra of IC 418 and NGC 6572, implying that the same type of dust is present. Since the dust probably condensed from a carbon-rich gas, this indicates an evolutionary link between carbon stars and these planetary nebulae. No identification for the grain material has been found, but some clues are apparent which could aid in the identification.

Forrest, W. J.↗
NASA NTRS1982

Facilities for US radioastronomy

An overview of the radio-astronomy field is given, and prospects ready for construction at NASA are presented. A very-long-baseline array consisting of ten 25 m antennas, with a limiting wavelength of 7 mm and an angular resolution at that wavelength of 2 x 10 to the 4th arcsec is discussed. Eighty percent of the phase information will be obtained by closure around the 36 independent triangles, and high quality aperture-synthesis maps will be produced at all wavelengths. The 25 m telescope will be capable of several applications including the discovery of new molecules in our galaxy (in particular, the envelope of the evolved carbon star IRC + 10216), the detection of CO to distances of perhaps 100 million light years, and the understanding of the events which occur as stars are formed from molecular clouds, and as energy is fed back into the molecular gas by new stars. The submillimeter-wave telescope contains the last atmospheric radio windows where astronomical observations can be made from the earth's surface. The need for funding is stressed.

Thaddeus, P.↗
NASA NTRS1983

Molecular self-shielding in the outflows from late-type stars

It is proposed that molecules, especially CO and H2, in the circumstellar outflows from late-type stars can be self-shielded from ambient interstellar UV radiation. The theory of self-shielding in spherical, expanding envelopes is developed for the case in which the photodestruction is dominated by absorption in the Doppler cores of the relevant UV lines, and it is shown that this theory can account for the observations of IRC plus 10216. Also considered is the case in which photodestruction takes place in the damping wings of the UV lines as is appropriate for H2. It is found that most of the hydrogen remains molecular, although the amount of atomic hydrogen is not completely negligible.

Morris, M.↗
NASA NTRS1983

Intensity and extinction irregularities in the H2 emission from Orion

Fourteen lines of the v = 1-0 and v = 2-1 2 micron H2 quadrupole spectrum were measured in a series of ground-based spectroscopic observations of four locations within the Orion molecular cloud-H2 emission complex. Beam sizes of 7 and 10 arcsec were used, with a resolution of 1.8/cm. The results indicate that there are differences in the extinction between regions of as much as 20 mag. In particular there appears to be a ridge of material near the object IRS 2 (= IRc 9), a previously suggested source of activity. The 2-1 S (3) line intensity is substantially stronger at Peak 2 than the present models predict, and this observation is the first indication that there may be a non-Boltzmann distribution within the vibrational levels of shock-excited H2. A detection of the 1-0 Q (6) line is also reported, a feature which was previously absent in spectra of the Orion cloud.

Smith, H. A.↗
NASA NTRS1983

Atomic and molecular hydrogen in the circumstellar envelopes of late-type stars

The distribution of atomic and molecular hydrogen in the expanding circumstellar envelopes of cool evolved stars is discussed. The main concern is to evaluate the effects of photodestruction of H2 by galactic UV radiation, including shielding of the radiation by H2 itself and by dust in the envelope. One of the most important parameters is the H/H2 ratio which is frozen out in the upper atmosphere of the star. For stars with photospheric temperatures greater than about 2500 K, atmospheric models suggest that the outflowing hydrogen is mainly atomic, whereas cooler stars should be substantially molecular. In the latter case, photodissociation of H2 and heavy molecules contribute to the atomic hydrogen content of the outer envelope. The presented estimates indicate that atomic hydrogen is almost at the limit of detection in the C-rich star IRC + 10216, and may be detectable in warmer stars. Failure to detect it would have important implications for the general understanding of circumstellar envelopes.

Glassgold, A. E.↗
NASA NTRS1983

Mass loss from evolved stars. II - Radio continuum emission and evolution to planetary nebulae

The radio continuum properties of cool evolved stars are investigated from the viewpoint of mass loss mechanisms and evolution through the planetary nebula stage. The VLA was used to search 32 high mass loss rate objects for 6-cm continuum emission, leading to the detection of NGC 7027, CRL 618, R Aqr, IRC + 10216, and Omicron Ceti. The evolution of such objects to the planetary nebula stage was studied by calculating the propagation of an ionization front into the remnant neutral envelope that is produced by continuous mass loss in the red giant stage. It is found that none of the stars has a hot, compact companion, except for the known cases of R Aqr and Mira, and that envelope fractional ionization is in most cases as small as less than about 0.001.

Spergel, D. N.↗
NASA NTRS1983

Laboratory detection of the C3N an C4H free radicals

The millimeter-wave spectra of the linear carbon chain free radicals C3N and C4H, first identified in IRC + 10216 and hitherto observed only in a few astronomical sources, have been detected with a Zeeman-modulated spectrometer in laboratory glow discharges through low pressure flowing mixtures of N2 + HC3N and He + HCCH, respectively. Four successive rotational transitions between 168 and 198 GHz have been measured for C3N, and five rotational transitions between 143 and 200 GHz for C4H; each is a well-resolved spin doublet owing to the unpaired electron present in both species. Precise values for the rotational, centrifugal distortion, and spin doubling constants have been obtained, which, with hyperfine constants derived from observations of the lower rotational transitions in the astronomical source TMC 1, allow all the rotational transitions of C3N and C4H at frequencies less than 300 GHz to be calculated to an absolute accuracy exceeding 1 ppm.

Gottlieb, C. A.↗
NASA NTRS1984

The distribution and abundance of interstellar C2H

C2H(N = 1-0) emission has been extensively observed in a variety of molecular clouds, including: 12 hot, dense, cloud cores, 3 bright-rimmed clouds (in NGC 1977, IC 1396, and IC 1848), and across the extended OMC - 1 cloud. It has also been observed in the circumstellar envelopes IRC + 10216 and AFGL 2688. Abundance analyses of the molecular clouds yield C2H/(C-13)O abundance ratios of about 0.01, with little variation (less than about a factor of 4) either between clouds or across individual clouds. In the Orion plateau source, the C2H abundance is enhanced by less than a factor of 4, relative to the extended cloud. The generally high levels of C2H found in the molecular clouds are not readily accounted for by simple, steady-state chemical models, and suggest, as do earlier observations of atomic carbon, that the carbon chemistry in dense clouds is more active than is commonly assumed.

Huggins, P. J.↗
NASA NTRS1984

The chemical composition of interstellar molecular clouds

Quantitative molecular abundances are becoming available for dense interstellar clouds and circumstellar envelopes, revealing both similarities across a wide range of source conditions and significant differences in the chemistries involved. As understanding concerning the processes that lead to particular compositions increases, it may become possible to relate these findings to the evolution of molecular clouds and hence to the chemistry of regions in which stellar and planetary formation is in progress. Attention is given to the results of a recently completed spectral scan of the Orion molecular cloud, as well as the envelope around the evolved star IRC + 10216, published by Johansson et al. (1983).

Irvine, W. M.↗
NASA NTRS1985

The detection of acetaldehyde in cold dust clouds

Observations of the 1(01)-0(00) rotational transitions of A and E state acetaldehyde are reported. The transitions were detected, for the first time in interstellar space, in the cold dust clouds TMC-1 and L134N, and in Sgr B2. This is also the first time acetaldehyde has been found in a dust cloud and is the most complex oxygen-bearing molecule yet known in this environment. A column density of 6 x 10 to the 12th/sq cm in TMC-1, comparable to many other species detected there, and an approximately equal column density in L134N are formed. In the direction of Sgr B2, the CH3CHO profile appears to consist of broad emission features from the hot molecular cloud core, together with absorption features resulting from intervening colder material. The possible detection of HC9N toward IRC + 10 deg 216 through its J = 33-32 transition is also reported. Implications for cold dust cloud chemistry and excitation are discussed.

Matthews, H. E.↗
NASA NTRS1985

Detection of interstellar CCD

The first detection of interstellar CCD has been obtained in the N = 3-2, J = 7/2-5/2 line at 216.3732 GHz towards the Kleinman-Low nebula. An abundance ratio CCD/CCH of 0.045 is found, indicating in this molecule a deuterium enhancement similar to that found for HNC, but an order of magnitude higher than for HCN. Negative results towards DR 21(OH), NGC 2264, L 134N, TM Cl, Rho OphB2, and IRC 10216 rule out a stronger D enhancement for CCD than for other deuterated molecules in these sources. Predictions of currently developed ion-molecule reaction schemes are consistent with the CCD line detected and the negative results.

Combes, F.↗