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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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All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1974

The radial dependence of the zodiacal light

The asteroid/meteoroid detector (Sisyphus) has, in addition to its primary role of detecting and analyzing individual meteoroids, been used for measuring the brightness of the night sky from its platform on board the Pioneer 10 spacecraft. This spacecraft has traversed the asteroid belt and will fly by Jupiter in December 1973. It was quickly found that the brightness of the night sky in the antisolar hemisphere decreased rapidly with increasing distance from the sun. This decrease is due solely to the decrease in the brightness of the zodiacal light. The heliocentric dependence of the zodiacal light has been deduced from several months of data. Some data are shown to illustrate the sensitivity of the instrument to features in the night sky and the technique used for subtracting out the integrated brightness due to starlight is described. Preliminary results showing the decrease of the zodiacal light with solar distance is not inconsistent with an inverse square dependence.

Zook, H. A.↗
NASA NTRS2014

Aquarius Whole Range Calibration: Celestial Sky, Ocean, and Land Targets

Aquarius is a spaceborne instrument that uses L-band radiometers to monitor sea surface salinity globally. Other applications of its data over land and the cryosphere are being developed. Combining its measurements with existing and upcoming L-band sensors will allow for long term studies. For that purpose, the radiometers calibration is critical. Aquarius measurements are currently calibrated over the oceans. They have been found too cold at the low end (celestial sky) of the brightness temperature scale, and too warm at the warm end (land and ice). We assess the impact of the antenna pattern model on the biases and propose a correction. We re-calibrate Aquarius measurements using the corrected antenna pattern and measurements over the Sky and oceans. The performances of the new calibration are evaluated using measurements over well instrument land sites.

L-band↗
NASA NTRS1977

Properties of aerosols in the Martian atmosphere, as inferred from Viking Lander imaging data

Three types of aerosol were detected from observations of the Martian sky, Phobos, and the sun with the Viking imaging cameras. Atmospheric optical depths were derived from observations of the objects' brightness. Data on the absorption coefficient, mean size, and shape of aerosols were obtained from studies of the sky brightness, using a multiple-scattering computer code. The aerosol types were water ice ground fog, a higher-level ice cloud (polar hood), and soil particles suspended at heights up to 30 km. The properties of each type of aerosol are discussed. The data are subjected to thorough analysis, and the results are summarized.

Pollack, J. B.↗
NASA NTRS1992

Cosmic gamma-ray bursts from BATSE - Another great debate

The BATSE detectors aboard Compton Observatory record about one cosmic gamma-ray burst (GRB) per day. Preliminary data analysis shows a highly isotropic sky map and a nonuniform brightness distribution. Anisotropies expected from a Galactic neutron star population, the most frequently considered source model, did not emerge from the data. Taken at face value, the data seem to suggest a heliocentric solution of the GRB puzzle. The observed isotropy can be achieved if sources are either very near or extragalactic. Pop I neutron stars in the disk do not simultaneously fit sky and brightness distributions. A possibility are sources in an extended Galactic halo with scale length large enough to avoid strong anisotropies due to the solar offset from the Galactic center. If GRBs are located in an extended halo we ask whether the neutron star paradigm can survive. We show that the recently discovered high velocity radio pulsars may provide a natural source population for GRBs. If these pulsars formed in the halo, as suggested by the radio data, the possibility arises that GRBs and high velocity pulsars are two related phenomena that provide observational evidence of the dark Galactic corona. We also discuss cosmological redshift constraints that follow from the observed brightness distribution.

Hartmann, Dieter H.↗
NASA NTRS1973

Infrared photography of OH airglow structures.

Results of high-angular-resolution photography of the complex airglow structures present in the infrared sky. The photographs obtained all show bright cloud-like structures which moved on the sky and varied in brightness. It is concluded that these structures are due to varying airglow emission and not to any type of modulation of a uniform background by atmospheric clouds, dust, or haze. It is also concluded that observations of a bright spot from two widely separated sites will yield parallax determinations of the height of the OH emitting layer, so that it is no longer necessary to rely on infrequent rocket measurements at a few places.

Peterson, A. W.↗
NASA NTRS1994

Discovery of a new white dwarf in a binary system (EUVE 0720-317) in the Extreme Ultraviolet Explorer survey and implications for the late stages of stellar evolution

A new precataclysmic binary is identified in the Extreme Ultraviolet Explorer (EUVE) all-sky survey. The bright source EUVE 0720-317 shows a hot hydrogen-rich white dwarf optical continuum with overlying narrow Balmer-line emission. Using high signal-to-noise ratio spectroscopy in the 4100-6700 A range, we identify a late-type companion and find a 1.3d periodic modulation in the emission-line velocities and strengths. This is the signature of Feige 24-type close binary systems. We determine the components' spectral types (DAO and dM0-2), orbital velocities (K(sub DAO) = 104 +/- 12 km/s, K(sub dM) = 96 +/- 7 km/s), and systemic velocity (gamma = 15 +/- 12 km/s). A first estimate of the white dwarf gravitational redshift, gamma(sub g) = 45 +/- 20 km/s, and theoretical mass-radius relationships imply R(sub DAO) = 0.010-0.016 solar radius and M(sub DAO) = 0.55-0.90 solar mass. The orbital inclination is therefore i greater than or equal to 52 deg, consistent with the large amplitude variations found in H-alpha equivalent widths that imply i greater than or equal to 42 deg. We show that the discovery of new close WD + MS binary systems in extreme ultraviolet (EUV) sky surveys has important implications for theory of common-envelope evolution, in particular for the predicted close binary birthrate and orbital and stellar parameters.

Vennes, Stephane↗
NASA NTRS1980

System calibration of the 1.4 GHz and 5 GHz radiometers for soil moisture remote sensing

Two microwave radiometers at the frequencies of 1.4 GHz and 5 GHz were mounted on a mobile tower and used for a remote sensing of soil moisture experiment at a Beltsville Agriculture Research Center test site. The experiment was performed in October 1979 over both bare field and fields covered with grass, soybean, and corn. The calibration procedure for the radiometer systems which forms the basis of obtaining the final radiometric data product is described. It is estimated from the calibration results that the accuracy of the 1.4 GHz radiometric measurements is about + or - 3 K. The measured 5 GHz brightness temperatures over bare fields with moisture content greater than 10 percent by dry weight are about 8 K lower than those taken simultaneously at 1.4 GHz. This could be due to either (1) a 5 GHz antenna side lobe seeing the cold brightness of the sky, or (2) the thermal microwave emission from a soil being less sensitive to surface roughness at 5 GHz than at 1.4 GHz.

Wang, J.↗
NASA NTRS1988

The submillimeter spectrum of the cosmic background radiation

The diffuse brightness of the sky has been measured in six submillimeter passbands, using a rocket-borne, liquid helium-cooled, absolute radiometer. The flux measured at 1160 microns is in good agreement with the average of longer wavelength measurements of the temperature of the cosmic background radiation. The fluxes measured at 709 microns and 481 microns show a rapid decrease toward shorter wavelength, but correspond to significantly higher temperatures. No local source of this excess flux has been identified. The spectrum of the excess significantly constrains cosmological models. Data at 262, 137, and 102 microns are consistent with emission from interstellar dust.

Matsumoto, T.↗
NASA NTRS1990

Telescopic limiting magnitudes

The prediction of the magnitude of the faintest star visible through a telescope by a visual observer is a difficult problem in physiology. Many prediction formulas have been advanced over the years, but most do not even consider the magnification used. Here, the prediction algorithm problem is attacked with two complimentary approaches: (1) First, a theoretical algorithm was developed based on physiological data for the sensitivity of the eye. This algorithm also accounts for the transmission of the atmosphere and the telescope, the brightness of the sky, the color of the star, the age of the observer, the aperture, and the magnification. (2) Second, 314 observed values for the limiting magnitude were collected as a test of the formula. It is found that the formula does accurately predict the average observed limiting magnitudes under all conditions.

Schaefer, Bradley E.↗
NASA NTRS1993

MMIC Receiver For Water-Vapor Radiometer

MMIC receiver puts out signal, frequency of which proportioned to brightness temperature of sky at input frequency of 31 GHz. Miniaturization enhances thermal stability and stability of calibration of water-vapor radiometer. Potential for mass production at relatively low cost. Facilitating widespread use of MMIC water vapor radiometers in meteorology and aviation, deployed at several global sites to improve capability of general circulation models and at airports to monitor icing conditions by measuring supercooled liquid water in clouds.

Sukamto, Lin M.↗
NASA NTRS1992

Oxygen-rich semiregular and irregular variables

All the known oxygen-rich semiregulars and irregulars of spectral classes K and M with the absolute value of B not greater than 30 deg, Delta(m) not less than 0.5 mag, and, for the semiregulars, periods in the range of 50 to 400 d are compiled. On the basis of their distributions on the sky and their brightnesses in the K band at 2.2 microns, it is argued that the semiregulars with a period of 300-400 d appear to belong to the same population as the 'thin disk' Miras in the same period range and have an exponential scale height from the Galactic plane of about 250 pc. The semiregulars with a period range of 200 to 300 d belong to the population of the 'thick disk' Miras with an exponential scale height from the Galactic plane of about 500 pc. On the basis of the similarities of their space distributions and the presence of Tc in their atmospheres, and using the pulsational mode calculations by Ostlie and Cox (1986), it is suggested that the semiregulars with a period range of 100-150 d are first and second overtone pulsations of the same population of AGB stars as the Miras in their fundamental pulsational mode with periods longer than 300 d.

Jura, M.↗
NASA NTRS1992

Lunar occultation visibility

The question of lunar occultation visibility of stars is examined from both a theoretical and an observational viewpoint. The background light caused by the lunar surface, the brightness caused by the lunar glare, the brightness of the sky for dark, twilight, and daytime conditions, and the effects of the telescopic optics are taken into consideration. The results are compared to give the limit on stellar visibility at the time of a lunar occultation, and the model results are graphically demonstrated as a function of various input parameters. Comparisons with observations show good agreement, with an uncertainty of about one-third of a magnitude.

Schaefer, Bradley E.↗
NASA NTRS2007

The Development of Microshutters for the Near Infrared Spectrograph on the James Webb Space Telescope

One of the James Webb Space Telescope's (JWST) primary science goals is to characterize the epoch of galaxy formation in the universe and observe the first galaxies and clusters of galaxies. This goal requires multi-band imaging and spectroscopic data in the near infrared portion of the spectrum for large numbers of very faint galaxies. Because such objects are sparse on the sky at the JWST resolution, a multi-object spectrograph is necessary to efficiently carry out the required observations. We have developed a fully programmable microshutter array that will be used as the field selector for the Near Infrared Spectrograph (NIRSpec) on JWST. This device allows slits to be opened at the locations of selected galaxies in the field of view while blocking other unwanted light from the sky background and bright sources. In practice, greater than 100 objects within the field of view will be observed simultaneously. In this paper, we describe the microshutter arrays, their development, fabrication, testing, and progress toward delivery of flight qualified devices to the NIRSpec instrument team in 2008.

Silverberg, Robert F.↗
NASA NTRS2007

A Microshutter-Based Field Selector for JWST's Near Infared Spectrograph

One of the James Webb Space Telescope's (JWST) primary science goals is to characterize the epoch of galaxy formation in the universe and observe the first galaxies and clusters of galaxies. This goal requires multi-band imaging and spectroscopic data in the near infrared portion of the spectrum for large numbers of very faint galaxies. Because such objects are sparse on the sky at the JWST resolution, a multi-object spectrograph is necessary to efficiently carry out the required observations. We have developed a fully programmable microshutter array that will be used as the field selector for the Near Infrared Spectrograph (NIRSpec) on JWST. This device allows slits to be opened at the locations of selected galaxies in the field of view while blocking other unwanted light from the sky background and bright sources. In practice, greater than 100 objects within the field of view will be observed simultaneously. In this paper, we describe the microshutter arrays, their development, fabrication, testing, and progress toward delivery of flight qualified devices to the NIRSpec instrument team in 2008.

Silvergerg, Rorbert F.↗
NASA NTRS2019

Co-orbital Asteroids as the Source of Venus's Zodiacal Dust Ring

Photometry from the Helios and STEREO spacecraft revealed regions of enhanced sky surface-brightness suggesting a narrow circumsolar ring of dust associated with Venus's orbit. We model this phenomenon by integrating the orbits of 10,000,000+ dust particles subject to gravitational and non-gravitational forces, considering several different kinds of plausible dust sources. We find that only particles from a hypothetical population of Venus co-orbital asteroids can produce enough signal in a narrow ring to match the observations. Previous works had suggested such objects would be dynamically unstable. However, we re-examined the stability of asteroids in 1:1 resonance with Venus and found that ~8% should survive for the age of the solar system, enough to supply the observed ring.

Pokorný, Petr↗
NASA NTRS1994

A rocket-borne observation of the far-infrared sky at high Galactic latitude

We have measured the surface brightness of the far-infrared sky at lambda = 134, 154, and 186 micrometers at high Galactic latitude using a liquid-He-cooled, rocket-borne telescope. The telescope scanned over a 5 deg x 20 deg region which includes infrared cirrus, high-latitude molecular clouds, the starburst galaxy M82, and the H I Hole in Ursa Major, a region with uniquely low H I column density. The measured brightness at 134, 154, and 186 micrometers is well correlated with the 100 micrometers brightness measured by IRAS and, in regions excluding molecular clouds, with H I column density. The spectrum of the component correlated with H I is well fitted by a gray-body spectrum with a temperature of 16.4 (+2.3/-1.8) K, assuming an emissivity proportional to lambda(exp -2). Assuming a constant far-infrared dust emissivity per hydrogen nucleus, the ratio of the H2 column density to the velocity-integrated CO intensity in the high-latitude molecular cloud is NH2/W(sub co) = (1.6 +/- 0.3) x 10(exp 20)/sq cm/(K km/s). The residual brightness after subtracting the emission correlated with H I column density is lambda I(sub lambda)(154 micrometers) = (1.4 +/- 0.6) x 10(exp -12) W/sq cm/sr, yielding an upper limit to the far-infrared extragalactic background radiation of lambda I(sub lambda)(154 micrometers) is less than 2.6 x 10(exp -12) W/sq cm/sr.

Kawada, M.↗