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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 145 records · Page 8
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NASA NTRS1994

Near-infrared imaging of Markarian 231: Evidence for a double nucleus

Near-infrared (1.2-2.4 micrometers) images are presented for the central 10 arcsec of the Seyfert 1 galaxy Markarian 231. We find a faint, but intrinsically luminous (M(sub k) approximately -20.7) secondary peak in the near-infrared light distribution approximately 3.5 arcsec (2.7 kpc) south of the primary Seyfert 1 nucleus. Since there is no optical or infrared evidence for ongoing star formation at the location of this secondary peak, and its near-infrared luminosity and color are comparable to slightly reddened spiral bulges or elliptical nuclei, we identify this peak with the stripped nucleus of the companion galaxy involved in the Mrk 231 merger event. Depending upon the exact ratio of the masses of the primary and secondary nucleus in the Mrk 231 system we estimate a merger time scale of less than or equal to 10(exp 9) yr. The morphology of the southern nucleus suggests that it may have recently survived a close passage (r less than 200 pc) with the Seyfert 1 nucleus on a highly elliptical orbit, in which case the merger time scale may be significantly shorter (approximately 10(exp 7) yr. We re-calculate the average merger time scale for the seven ultraluminous infrared galaxies with double nuclei in the Bright Galaxy Sample (the BGS) of Soifer et al. (AJ, 98, 766 (1989)) and derive a value of approximately 10(exp 8) yr. Since seven of ten of the ultraluminous infrared galaxies in the BGS are now known to be double, we estimate the ultraluminous 'phase' may be close to this value. Along with Arp 220 and Mrk 273, Mrk 231 is the third member of the class to possess a high brightness temperature non-thermal radio core and a double nucleus, suggesting the time scale for the generation or fueling of the active nucleus can be much less than the dynamical time scale for the merger of the progenitor nuclei.

Armus, L.↗
NASA NTRS1994

A comparison of dynamical and molecular gas masses in very luminous infrared galaxies

Observations of the 2.3 micron bands of CO have been used to measure the central stellar velocity dispersions in NGC 1614 and IC 694. K-band images were used to constrain models of the stellar mass distribution. With these data and a spectrum of Arp 220 from the literature, we have determined the total mass within the central regions of all three galaxies. The central molecular gas masses inferred from (12)CO J = 1-0 fluxes are larger than the total masses determined from stellar kinematics. Subtraction of the likely stellar mass from the total mass yields upper limits for the H2 mass that are 4-10 times less than the previously reported masses. This result supports other arguments that the I(sub CO)/M(sub H2) ratio is not the same in ultraluminous galaxies as it is in Milky Way giant molecular clouds.

Shier, L. M.↗
NASA NTRS1995

Combinatorics and companion galaxies: Paradox lost

Arp (1994) has presented redshift data for the Local Group of galaxies and for the next major group, whose largest galaxies are M31 and M81, respectively. He observed that the relative redshifts of all 22 of their companions were positive and claimed that the likelihood that this would occur is 1 in 4 x 10(exp 6). We show using the classical combinatoric paradigm of ordered samples (without replacement) that the correct probability for the dominant member of each cluster to possess the lowest observed redshift is approximately 8%.

Newman, William I.↗
NASA NTRS1999

The ISO-IRAS Faint Galaxy Survey

As part of the ISO-IRAS Faint Galaxy Survey ISO Satellite observations of over 600 IRAS sources have been obtained with the ISOCAM instrument. Because our survey strategy involved relatively short integrations, great care was required in developing analysis software including cosmic-ray and transient removal and calibration. These observations have now been through final pipeline processing at IPAC and ground-based follow-up is ongoing. The observations are for sources from two samples: a " Filler' sample selected to be at z greater than 0.1 and a fainter sample which selected for the highest redshift galaxies in the IRAS survey, with redshifts 0.2 less than z less than 1.0. I now have obtained ground-based follow-up spectrophotometry at Lick and Palomar observatories for 100 LFIRGs with 0.1 less than z less than 0.7. Our observations have confirmed that these systems are comparable to nearby LFIRGs such as Arp 220, with L (sub -)(fir) greater than 10(exp 11) L(sub -) sun and typically HII/Liner optical excitation. About 10% of the galaxies show true AGN (Sy2) excitation. Based on our work on a nearby complete sample of LFIRGS, we believe that the majority of these systems are luminous Starbursts, thus this project is tracing the luminous end of the galaxy star-forming luminosity function - the (infrared) star-formation history of the Universe to z approx. 1, a topic of some considerable recent interest. A by-product of these ISOCAM observations is approximately 1 square degree of deep 2 microns pointings outside the IRAS error boxes, allowing us an independent estimate of the mid-infrared log N - log S relation. Ground-based observations of this sample are continuing.

Smith, Harding E.↗
NASA NTRS1999

Simulation of a Real-Time Local Data Integration System over East-Central Florida

The Applied Meteorology Unit (AMU) simulated a real-time configuration of a Local Data Integration System (LDIS) using data from 15-28 February 1999. The objectives were to assess the utility of a simulated real-time LDIS, evaluate and extrapolate system performance to identify the hardware necessary to run a real-time LDIS, and determine the sensitivities of LDIS. The ultimate goal for running LDIS is to generate analysis products that enhance short-range (less than 6 h) weather forecasts issued in support of the 45th Weather Squadron, Spaceflight Meteorology Group, and Melbourne National Weather Service operational requirements. The simulation used the Advanced Regional Prediction System (ARPS) Data Analysis System (ADAS) software on an IBM RS/6000 workstation with a 67-MHz processor. This configuration ran in real-time, but not sufficiently fast for operational requirements. Thus, the AMU recommends a workstation with a 200-MHz processor and 512 megabytes of memory to run the AMU's configuration of LDIS in real-time. This report presents results from two case studies and several data sensitivity experiments. ADAS demonstrates utility through its ability to depict high-resolution cloud and wind features in a variety of weather situations. The sensitivity experiments illustrate the influence of disparate data on the resulting ADAS analyses.

Case, Jonathan↗
NASA NTRS2000

Coupled Model Simulation of Snowfall Events Over the Black Hills

Although many long-term simulations of snow accumulation and oblation have been made using stand-alone land surface models and surface models coupled with GCMs, less research has focused on short-term event simulations. Actually, accurate event simulations of snow-related processes are the basis for successful long-term simulation. Three advantages of event simulations of snowfall and snow melting are availability of: (1) intensive observation data from field experiments for validation; (2) more physically-realistic precipitation schemes for use in atmospheric models to simulate snowfall; and (3) a more detailed analysis of the snow melting processes. In addition to the complexities of snow related processes themselves, terrain-induced effects on snowfall/snow melting make simulations of snow events more difficult. Climatological observations indicate that terrain features such as the Black Hills of South Dakota and Wyoming can exert important effects on snow accumulation and snow oblation processes. One of the primary effects is that the orography causes forced uplift of airflow and causes atmospheric waves to form both upwind and downwind of it. Airflow often splits around the obstacle, converging on the lee side. This convergence may lead to precipitation enhancement. It also provides an elevated heat and moisture source that enhances atmospheric instability. During the period of April 5-May 5, 1999, the Upper Missouri River Basin Pilot Project (UMRBPP) made intensive observations on precipitation events occurring in the Black Hills. Two moderate snowfall events were captured during the period. The resulting high temporal and spatial resolution data provides opportunities to investigate terrain effects on snowfall amount, distribution, and melting. Successful simulation of snowfall amount, distribution, and evolution using atmospheric models is important to subsequent modeling of snow melting using snow sub-models in land surface schemes. In this paper, a coupled model system, consisting of an atmosphere model (ARPS) and a land-surface model (revised NCAR LSM), is used to simulate one of these UMRBPP cases.

Wang, Jianzhong↗
NASA NTRS2000

Technology Assessment of Doe's 55-we Stirling Technology Demonstrator Convector (TDC)

The Department of Energy (DOE), Germantown, Maryland and the NASA Glenn Research Center (GRC), Cleveland, Ohio are developing a Stirling Convertor for an advanced radioisotope power system as a potential power source for spacecraft on-board electric power for NASA deep space science missions. The Stirling Convertor is being evaluated as an alternative high efficiency power source to replace Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generators (RTGs). Stirling Technology Company (STC), Kennewick, Washington, is developing the highly efficient, long life 55-We free-piston Stirling Convertor known as the Technology Demonstrator Convertor (TDC) under contract to DOE. GRC provides Stirling technology expertise under a Space Act Agreement with the DOE. Lockheed Martin Astronautics (LMA), Valley Forge, Pennsylvania is the current power system integrator for the Advanced Radioisotope Power System (ARPS) Project for the DOE. JPL is responsible for the Outer Planets/Solar Probe Project for NASA.

Furlong, Richard↗
NASA NTRS2002

The NASA/Army Autonomous Rotorcraft Project

An overview of the NASA Ames Research Center Autonomous Rotorcraft Project (ARP) is presented. The project brings together several technologies to address NASA and US Army autonomous vehicle needs, including a reactive planner for mission planning and execution, control system design incorporating a detailed understanding of the platform dynamics, and health monitoring and diagnostics. A candidate reconnaissance and surveillance mission is described. The autonomous agent architecture and its application to the candidate mission are presented. Details of the vehicle hardware and software development are provided.

Whalley, M.↗
NASA NTRS2003

Aerosol-Cloud Interactions during Tropical Deep Convection: Evidence for the Importance of Free Tropospheric Aerosols

NASA's 2002 CRYSTAL-FACE field experiment focused on the formation and evolution of tropical cirrus cloud systems in southern Florida. Multiple aircraft extensively sampled cumulonimbus dynamical and microphysical properties, as well as characterizing ambient aerosol populations both inside and outside the full depth of the convective column. On July 18, unique measurements were taken when a powerful updraft was traversed directly by aircraft, providing a window into the primary source region of cumulonimbus anvil crystals. Observations of the updraft, entered at approximately l0 km altitude and -34 C, indicated more than 200 cloud particles per mL at vertical velocities exceeding 20 m/s and the presence of significant condensation nuclei and liquid water within the core. In this work, aerosol and cloud phase observations are integrated by simulating the updraft conditions using a large-eddy resolving model with 3 explicit multiphase microphysics, including treatment of size-resolved aerosol fields, aerosol activation and freezing, and evaporation of cloud particles back to the aerosol phase. Simulations were initialized with observed thermodynamic and aerosol size distributions profiles and convection was driven by surface fluxes assimilated from the ARPS forecast model. Model results are consistent with the conclusions that most crystals are homogeneously frozen droplets and that entrained free tropospheric aerosols may contribute a significant fraction of the crystals. Thus most anvil crystals appear to be formed aloft in updraft cores, well above cloud base. These conclusions are supported by observations of hydrometeor size distribution made while traversing the dore, as well as aerosol and cloud particle size distributions generally observed by aircraft below 4km and crystal properties generally observed by aircraft above 12km.

Ackerman, A.↗
NASA NTRS2004

Infrared Spectroscopy of Star Formation in Galactic and Extragalactic Regions

In this program we proposed to perform a series of spectroscopic studies, including data analysis and modeling, of star formation regions using an ensemble of archival space-based data from the Infrared Space Observatory's Long Wavelength Spectrometer and Short Wavelength Spectrometer, and to take advantage of other spectroscopic databases including the first results from SIRTF. Our empha- sis has been on star formation in external, bright IR galaxies, but other areas of research have in- cluded young, low or high mass pre-main sequence stars in star formation regions, and the galactic center. The OH lines in the far infrared were proposed as one key focus of this inquiry because the Principal Investigator (H. Smith) had a full set of OH IR lines from IS0 observations. It was planned that during the proposed 2-1/2 year timeframe of the proposal other data (including perhaps from SIRTF) would become available, and we intended to be responsive to these and other such spec- troscopic data sets. Three papers are included:The Infrared Lines of OH: Diagnostics of Molecular Cloud Conditions in Infrared Bright Galaxies; The Far-Infrared Spectrum of Arp 220; andThe Far-Infrared Emission Line and Continuum Spectrum of the Seyfert Galaxy NGC 1068.

Frogel, Jay↗
NASA NTRS2004

Relating Satellite-Based Contrail Detection to NWA Output

Contrail-induced cloud cover has been shown to be a significant factor in regional climate change over the United States of America. As air traffic increases, the potential for globally significant impacts also rises. To better understand and predict these potential climatic effects, it is necessary to develop models that can accurately represent contrail properties based on ambient atmospheric variables including temperature, relative humidity and winds. Several high-resolution numerical weather analyses (NWA) including the 20-km Rapid Update Cycle (RUC) and the University of Oklahoma Center for Analysis and Prediction of Storms Advanced Regional Prediction System (ARPS) can provide the temperature, humidity and wind information necessary to diagnose contrail formation. One outstanding problem that must be addressed to achieve a realistic simulation of contrails is the large uncertainties in upper tropospheric relative humidity (UTH) in numerical weather analyses. Current numerical weather analyses tend to underestimate UTH due to large dry biases in the balloon soundings used to construct the analyses. To evaluate each of the models, we match several months of contrail properties derived from satellite and surface observations to the NWA-derived humidity, vertical velocity, wind shear and atmospheric stability. The relationships between several contrail properties (including optical depth and areal contrail coverage) and the NWA-derived statistics will be analyzed to determine under which atmospheric conditions widespread contrail outbreaks are favored.

Duda, David P.↗
NASA NTRS2004

Infrared Spectroscopy of Star Formation in Galactic and Extragalactic Regions

Last year we submitted and had accepted a paper entitled "The Far-Infrared Emission Line and Continuum Spectrum of the Seyfert Galaxy NGC 1068," by Spinoglio, L., Malkan, M., Smith. HA, Gonzalez-Alfonso, E., and Fischer, J. This analysis was based on the SWAS Monte Carlo code modeling of the OH lines in galaxies observed by ISO. Since that meeting last spring considerable effort has been put into improving the Monte Carlo code. A group of European astronomers, including Prof. Eduardo Gonzalez-Alfonso, had been performing Monte Carlo modeling of other molecules seen in ISO galaxies. We used portions of this grant to bring Prof. Gonzalez-Alfonso to Cambridge for an intensive working visit. A second major paper on the ISO IR spectroscopy of galaxies, "The Far Infrared Spectrum of Arp 220," Gonzalez-Alfonso, E., Smith. H., Fischer, J., and Cernicharo, J., is in press. Spitzer science development was the major component of this past year;s research. This program supported the development of five Early Release Objects for Spitzer observations on which Dr. Smith was Principal Investigator or Co-Investigator, and another five proposals for GO time. The early release program is designed to rapidly present to the public and the scientific community some exciting results from Spitzer in the first months of its operation. The Spitzer instrument and science teams submitted proposals for ERO objects, and a competitive selection process narrowed these down to a small group with exciting science and realistic observational parameters. This grant supported Dr. Smith's participation in the ERO process, including developing science goals, identifying key objects for observation, and developing the detailed AOR (observing formulae) to be use by the instruments for mapping, integrating, etc.). During this year Dr. Smith worked on writing up and publishing these early results. The attached bibliography includes six of Dr. Smith's articles. During this past year Dr. Smith also led or helped to develop proposals for ten Spitzer GO Programs, and three others. Appendix B lists the programs involved.

Smith, Howard A.↗
NASA NTRS1996

Photometric Signatures of Starbursts in Interacting Galaxies and the Butcher-Oemler Effect

This paper presents new and synthetic narrow band photometry of ellipticals, spirals, Seyferts and interacting galaxies in an attempt to identify the cause of the unusually high fraction of blue cluster galaxies in distant clusters (the Butcher-Oemler Effect). The properties and distribution of the low redshift sample specifically points to starbursts as the origin of the blue narrow band colors in interacting Arp galaxies.

Butcher-Oemler Effect galaxies photometry- galaxie↗
NASA NTRS2007

The Impact of Atmospheric InfraRed Sounder (AIRS) Profiles on Short-term Weather Forecasts

The Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS), together with the Advanced Microwave Sounding Unit (AMSU), represents one of the most advanced spacebased atmospheric sounding systems. The combined AlRS/AMSU system provides radiance measurements used to retrieve temperature profiles with an accuracy of 1 K over 1 km layers under both clear and partly cloudy conditions, while the accuracy of the derived humidity profiles is 15% in 2 km layers. Critical to the successful use of AIRS profiles for weather and climate studies is the use of profile quality indicators and error estimates provided with each profile Aside form monitoring changes in Earth's climate, one of the objectives of AIRS is to provide sounding information of sufficient accuracy such that the assimilation of the new observations, especially in data sparse region, will lead to an improvement in weather forecasts. The purpose of this paper is to describe a procedure to optimally assimilate highresolution AIRS profile data in a regional analysis/forecast model. The paper will focus on the impact of AIRS profiles on a rapidly developing east coast storm and will also discuss preliminary results for a 30-day forecast period, simulating a quasi-operation environment. Temperature and moisture profiles were obtained from the prototype version 5.0 EOS science team retrieval algorithm which includes explicit error information for each profile. The error profile information was used to select the highest quality temperature and moisture data for every profile location and pressure level for assimilation into the ARPS Data Analysis System (ADAS). The AIRS-enhanced analyses were used as initial fields for the Weather Research and Forecast (WRF) system used by the SPORT project for regional weather forecast studies. The ADASWRF system will be run on CONUS domain with an emphasis on the east coast. The preliminary assessment of the impact of the AIRS profiles will focus on quality control issues associated with AIRS, intelligent use of the quality indicators, and forecast verification.

Chou, Shih-Hung↗
NASA NTRS2007

NASA's Advanced Radioisotope Power Conversion Technology Development Status

NASA's Advanced Radioisotope Power Systems (ARPS) project is developing the next generation of radioisotope power conversion technologies that will enable future missions that have requirements that cannot be met by either photovoltaic systems or by current radioisotope power systems (RPSs). Requirements of advanced RPSs include high efficiency and high specific power (watts/kilogram) in order to meet future mission requirements with less radioisotope fuel and lower mass so that these systems can meet requirements for a variety of future space applications, including continual operation surface missions, outer-planetary missions, and solar probe. These advances would enable a factor of 2 to 4 decrease in the amount of fuel required to generate electrical power. Advanced RPS development goals also include long-life, reliability, and scalability. This paper provides an update on the contractual efforts under the Radioisotope Power Conversion Technology (RPCT) NASA Research Announcement (NRA) for research and development of Stirling, thermoelectric, and thermophotovoltaic power conversion technologies. The paper summarizes the current RPCT NRA efforts with a brief description of the effort, a status and/or summary of the contractor's key accomplishments, a discussion of upcoming plans, and a discussion of relevant system-level benefits and implications. The paper also provides a general discussion of the benefits from the development of these advanced power conversion technologies and the eventual payoffs to future missions (discussing system benefits due to overall improvements in efficiency, specific power, etc.).

Anderson, David J.↗
NASA NTRS2008

Comparing Local Starbursts to High-Redshift Galaxies: A Search for Lyman-Break Analogs

We compare the restframe far-ultraviolet (FUV) morphologies of 8 nearby interacting and starburst galaxies (Arp 269, M 82, Mrk 08, NGC 0520, NGC 1068, NGC 3079, NGC 3310, NGC 7673) with 54 galaxies at z approx.1.5 and 46 galaxies at z approx.4 in the Great Observatories Origins Deep Survey (GOODS) images taken with the Advanced Camera for Surveys onboard the Hubble Space Telescope. We calculate the Gini coefficient (G), the second order moment of 20% of the brightest pixels (M20), and the S ersic index (n). We find that 20% (11/54) of z approx.1.5 and 37% (17/46) of z approx.4 galaxies are bulge-like, using G and M20. We also find approx.70% of the z approx.1.5 and z approx.4 galaxies have exponential disks with n > 0.8. The 2D profile combined with the nonparametric methods provides more detail, concerning the nature of disturbed systems, such as merger and post-merger types. We also provide qualitative descriptions of each galaxy system and at each redshift. We conclude that Mrk 08, NGC 3079, and NGC 7673 have similar morphologies as the starburst FUV restframe galaxies and Lyman-break galaxies at z approx.1.5 and 4, and determine that they are Lyman-break analogs.

Petty, Sara M.↗
NASA NTRS2009

Basic Diagnosis and Prediction of Persistent Contrail Occurrence using High-resolution Numerical Weather Analyses/Forecasts and Logistic Regression. Part I: Effects of Random Error

Straightforward application of the Schmidt-Appleman contrail formation criteria to diagnose persistent contrail occurrence from numerical weather prediction data is hindered by significant bias errors in the upper tropospheric humidity. Logistic models of contrail occurrence have been proposed to overcome this problem, but basic questions remain about how random measurement error may affect their accuracy. A set of 5000 synthetic contrail observations is created to study the effects of random error in these probabilistic models. The simulated observations are based on distributions of temperature, humidity, and vertical velocity derived from Advanced Regional Prediction System (ARPS) weather analyses. The logistic models created from the simulated observations were evaluated using two common statistical measures of model accuracy, the percent correct (PC) and the Hanssen-Kuipers discriminant (HKD). To convert the probabilistic results of the logistic models into a dichotomous yes/no choice suitable for the statistical measures, two critical probability thresholds are considered. The HKD scores are higher when the climatological frequency of contrail occurrence is used as the critical threshold, while the PC scores are higher when the critical probability threshold is 0.5. For both thresholds, typical random errors in temperature, relative humidity, and vertical velocity are found to be small enough to allow for accurate logistic models of contrail occurrence. The accuracy of the models developed from synthetic data is over 85 percent for both the prediction of contrail occurrence and non-occurrence, although in practice, larger errors would be anticipated.

Duda, David P.↗
NASA NTRS2010

Maintaining a Local Data Integration System in Support of Weather Forecast Operations

Since 2000, both the National Weather Service in Melbourne, FL (NWS MLB) and the Spaceflight Meteorology Group (SMG) at Johnson Space Center in Houston, TX have used a local data integration system (LDIS) as part of their forecast and warning operations. The original LDIS was developed by NASA's Applied Meteorology Unit (AMU; Bauman et ai, 2004) in 1998 (Manobianco and Case 1998) and has undergone subsequent improvements. Each has benefited from three-dimensional (3-D) analyses that are delivered to forecasters every 15 minutes across the peninsula of Florida. The intent is to generate products that enhance short-range weather forecasts issued in support of NWS MLB and SMG operational requirements within East Central Florida. The current LDIS uses the Advanced Regional Prediction System (ARPS) Data Analysis System (ADAS) package as its core, which integrates a wide variety of national, regional, and local observational data sets. It assimilates all available real-time data within its domain and is run at a finer spatial and temporal resolution than current national- or regional-scale analysis packages. As such, it provides local forecasters with a more comprehensive understanding of evolving fine-scale weather features

Watson, Leela R.↗