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At least 163 records · Page 9

Photochemistry of monodentate and bidentate carbonato complexes of rhodium (3)

A scheme for the photochemical fixation of water is proposed which involves a five-step reaction sequence; the first step involves the 2 electron reduction of a metal by a coordinated carbonate ligand, with corresponding oxidation of the carbonate to CO2 and O2. Ligand field photolysis of trans- (RH(en)2 H2O CO3) ClO4, and (Rh(en)2 CO3) CLO4 have been studied in the solid state and in aqueous solution at various pH values. Both salts are photoinert in the solid phase, but are quite photoreactive in aqueous solution. In solution, the monodentate ion undergoes efficient isomerization to a mixture of cis and trans - (Rh(en)2 H2O CO3)+, presumably with water exchange. A minor pH increase upon photolysis is evidence of inefficient carbonate (CO3 =) release, with formation of (Rh(en)2 (H2O)2)3+. In contrast, aqueous solutions of the bidentate carbonato complex undergo efficient pH decrease upon ligand field photolysis. Changes in the electronic spectrum (200-500 nm) and pH changes indicate that the desired redox is occurring. The pH increase is due to the aqueous behavior of CO2.

Sheridan, P. S.↗

Orbital station-keeping for multiple spacecraft interferometry

This paper presents a three-satellite station-keeping strategy that is applicable to very long (1-100 km) baseline optical interferometry in space using the 'free-flyer' approach. The relative positions of the satellites in an arbitrarily oriented inertial coordinate system are described parametrically, and the continuous thrust vectors required to follow the paths are derived. The paths, which are constrained to be in the U-V plane of an astronomical source (a plane perpendicular to the direction of the source), are always chosen to maximize the use of gravity gradient forces and minimize the use of thrusting which can easily be provided by ion thrusters. Two different thrust programs are presented. One allows the interferometer to take data over an elliptic-shaped area of the U-V plane of arbitrary size for astronomical sources in any direction except close to the orbit plane of the system. The second thrust program reorients the U-V plane from one arbitrary source direction to another.

Decou, Anthony B.↗

Coincident observations of ionospheric troughs and the equatorial plasmapause

Electron-density observations made in the topside ionosphere by the Ariel 4 and Isis 2 satellites are examined in conjunction with results obtained by Explorer 45 when it traversed the near-equatorial plasmapause with one hour (both UT and MLT) of the Ariel and Isis traversals of the same L coordinate. Both dusk and night observations are analyzed, and an attempt is made to show that depressions in ionospheric electron density occur in the vicinity of the plasmapause field line. It is concluded that the electron distributions observed in the electron-density troughs at 550 km near dusk by Ariel and at 1400 km near midnight by Isis do not always parallel variations in the light-ion distribution inferred from the Explorer plasmapause traversals and that there appears to be no specific feature of the main ionospheric trough which can be used to identify the plasmapause field line except in a statistical sense.

Grebowsky, J. M.↗

Statistical modeling of capture, association, and exit-channel dynamics in the CH3(+)/CH3CN system

The ion-molecule CH3(+) + CH3CN reaction is presently modeled by means of a master equation treatment incorporating weak collisions. The parameter required for the Rice-Ramsberger-Kassel-Markus (RRKM) treatment is derived from an ab initio investigation of the energy surface in question, and a means of including the capture rate coefficients in the RRKM approach is developed in which only the hindered dipole rotation is coupled in the reaction coordinate at large separations. Unimolecular rate coefficients for the (CH3CNCH3+)-activated complex are calculated for all product channels in the 300-600 K temperature range.

Smith, S. C.↗

Delayed expression of hpS2 and prolonged expression of CIP1/WAF1/SDI1 in human tumour cells irradiated with X-rays, fission neutrons or 1 GeV/nucleon Fe ions

PURPOSE: Differences in gene expression underlie the phenotypic differences between irradiated and unirradiated cells. The goal was to identify late-transcribed genes following irradiations differing in quality, and to determine the RBE of 1 GeV/n Fe ions. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Clonogenic assay was used to determine the RBE of Fe ions. Differential hybridization to cDNA target clones was used to detect differences in expression of corresponding genes in mRNA samples isolated from MCF7 cells irradiated with iso-survival doses of Fe ions (0 or 2.5 Gy) or fission neutrons (0 or 1.2 Gy) 7 days earlier. Northern analysis was used to confirm differential expression of cDNA-specific mRNA and to examine expression kinetics up to 2 weeks after irradiation. RESULTS: Fe ion RBE values were between 2.2 and 2.6 in the lines examined. Two of 17 differentially expressed cDNA clones were characterized. hpS2 mRNA was elevated from 1 to 14 days after irradiation, whereas CIP1/WAF1/SDI1 remained elevated from 3 h to 14 days after irradiation. Induction of hpS2 mRNA by irradiation was independent of p53, whereas induction of CIP1/WAF1/SDI1 was observed only in wild-type p53 lines. CONCLUSIONS: A set of coordinately regulated genes, some of which are independent of p53, is associated with change in gene expression during the first 2 weeks post-irradiation.

NASA Discipline Radiation Health↗

Hydrogen Absorbing Materials for Use as Radiation Shielding During Extended Space Flight Missions

Minimizing radiation exposure from the galactic cosmic ray (GCR) environment during extended space missions is particularly crucial to crew health and safety. Here, an ideal candidate for shielding would be pure solid or liquid hydrogen, a material that effectively fragments heavy ions into ones of lower mass and energy that are more easily attenuated. Unfortunately, utilizing pure hydrogen is not presently feasible. It is, however, known that the hydrogen content of other materials (for example, metal hydrides, palladium alloys, and organic compounds) can exceed that of pure solid hydrogen and thus merit consideration as shielding candidates. This presentation will discuss an ongoing effort to develop novel shielding from such materials in concert with a coordinated testing/evaluation and modeling effort.

Grugel, Richard N.↗

Global model of longitude/UT variations in thermospheric composition and temperature based on mass spectrometer data

Measurements of N2, O, He, and Ar densities from neutral gas mass spectrometers on four satellites and inferred O2 and H densities from an ion mass spectrometer have been combined to produce a model of longitude/UT variations in thermospheric neutral composition and temperature. The longitude/UT model is an extension of the mass spectrometer-incoherent scatter thermospheric model (Hedin et al., 1977) and uses spherical harmonic terms dependent on geographic latitude, longitude, and UT. The combined longitude and UT variations reflect the influence of the geomagnetic field but indicate that the variations may not simply be represented in magnetic coordinates.

Hedin, A. E.↗

Coordinated Polar Spacecraft, Geosynchronous Spacecraft, and Ground-based Observations of Magnetopause Oscillations and Pc5 Waves in the Magnetosphere

In this paper, we present in situ observations of surface waves at the magnetopause and oscillatory magnetospheric field lines, and coordinated observations Pc5 waves at geosynchronous orbit by the GOES spacecraft, and on the ground by CANOPUS and 210 Degree Magnetic Meridian (210MMJ magnetometer arrays. On February 7,2002 during a highspeed solar wind stream, the Polar spacecraft was skimming the magnetopause in a post-noon meridian plane for approximately 3 hours. During this interval, it made two short excursions and a few partial crossings into the magnetosheath and observed quasi-periodic cold ion bursts in the region adjacent to the magnetopause current layer. The multiple magnetopause crossings as well as the velocity of the cold ion bursts indicate that the magnetopause was oscillating with about 6 minute period. Simultaneous observations of Pc5 waves at geosynchronous orbit by the GOES spacecraft and on the ground by the CANOPUS magnetometer array reveal that these magnetospheric pulsations were forced oscillations of magnetic field lines directly driven by the magnetopause oscillations. The magnetospheric pulsations occurred only in a limited longitudinal region in the post-noon dayside sector, and were not a global phenomenon as one would expect for global field line resonance. Thus, the magnetopause oscillations at the source were also limited to a localized region spanning about 4 hours in local time.

Le, G.↗

Coordinated analysis of airborne spectrophotometric measurements from the mid-day auroras

Measurements made in the midday auroras are analyzed and compared to measurements from the nighttime auroras. The auroral emission features in the UV spectrum, the N2(+)ING, the N22PG, and N2VK bands, are discussed. Spectral profiles of different bands are presented, and intensity distributions are obtained. Three mechanisms are suggested which can account for the marked differences between the intensity distributions of the N2(+)ING bands of the high altitude midday auroras and the low altitude nighttime auroras: (1) differences in vibrational, rotational, and transitional temperatures; (2) resonant scattering of solar radiation; and (3) excitation of slow ions.

Sivjee, G. G.↗

Earth's compressional foreshock boundary revisited Observations by the ISEE 1 magnetometer

A 'solar foreshock coordinate' (SFC) system is introduced in which the positions of foreshock components can be collated with a minimum of assumptions about the physical processes involved. Location behind the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) tangent surface to the bow shock and rotational symmetry around the solar wind flow (X) axis are the only presuppositions. The SFC system has been applied to over 300 observations of the boundary of the ULF compressional waves recorded by ISEE 1's magnetometer in 1978 and 1979. The boundary locations form a coherent pattern in the SFC frame. A selection of those cases for which the cone angle of the IMF was between 40 and 50 deg, corresponding to the average stream angle, yields a least square line whose mapping back to the solar ecliptic coordinates frame has slope of about 85 deg, very close to that of the tangent ULF boundary deduced earlier from more primitive methods with entirely different data sets. The line, being parallel to neither the IMF, the typical reflected beam, nor the shock, cannot be compatible with any model of wave production by beam-solar wind interaction that depends on uniform beam distribution or fixed growth rate. Rather, its tangency suggests the influence of a separate, escaping ion population.

Greenstadt, E. W.↗

Simultaneous Observations of Traveling Convection Vortices: Ionosphere-Thermosphere Coupling

We present simultaneous observations of magnetosphere-ionosphere-thermosphere coupling over Svalbard during a traveling convection vortex (TCV) event. Various spaceborne and ground-based instruments made coordinated measurements, including magnetometers, particle detectors, an all-sky camera, European Incoherent Scatter (EISCAT) Svalbard Radar, Super Dual Auroral Radar Network (SuperDARN), and SCANning Doppler Imager (SCANDI). The instruments recorded TCVs associated with a sudden change in solar wind dynamic pressure. The data display typical features of TCVs including vortical ionospheric convection patterns seen by the ground magnetometers and SuperDARN radars and auroral precipitation near the cusp observed by the all-sky camera. Simultaneously, electron and ion temperature enhancements with corresponding density increase from soft precipitation are also observed by the EISCAT Svalbard Radar. The ground magnetometers also detected electromagnetic ion cyclotron waves at the approximate time of the TCV arrival. This implies that they were generated by a temperature anisotropy resulting from a compression on the dayside magnetosphere. SCANDI data show a divergence in thermospheric winds during the TCVs, presumably due to thermospheric heating associated with the current closure linked to a field-aligned current system generated by the TCVs. We conclude that solar wind pressure impulse-related transient phenomena can affect even the upper atmospheric dynamics via current systems established by a magnetosphere-ionosphere-thermosphere coupling process.

Kim, Hyomin↗

Comparative ULF foreshocks of earth and Venus observed by ISEE 1 and PVO

The region occupied by the ULF compressional foreshock of a planetary shock depends on the IMF direction. As the cone angle of the IMF, the angle theta -XB between the solar ecliptic coordinate theta-XF X-axis and the field B, increases, the cone angle of the foreshock boundary, the angle theta-XF between the X-axis and the leading envelope of the foreshock, also increases. A statistical examination of the Venus and earth foreshocks shows that the trends of theta-XF of the two foreshocks are parallel, and quite similar under joint solar wind conditions. So are the local field-normal angles and return ion velocities at the bases of the respective foreshocks.

Greenstadt, E. W.↗

The 20 kWe NEP flight system

A low-power, near-term nuclear electric propulsion (NEP) system was proposed as a useful interim system for near-term space exploration. Although the ultimate goal of a 100 kWe class, low specific mass for planetary exploration remains, application of the technologies that are currently mature to earlier missions of interest has grown at the higher levels of NASA. In response to this interest, a study of low-power system and mission options was initiated, with the Nuclear Propulsion Office serving to coordinate system activities. A nominal 20 kWe system using Brayton power conversion was selected by the joint NASA/DOE Space Nuclear Power and Propulsion team; however, other power levels and system options will be considered. NASA's Office of Space Science and Applications has expressed interest in exploiting NEP's mission capabilities, both in the near-term and for more difficult, later missions. Technologies considered mature for this type of system are the SP-100 reactor, Brayton dynamic power conversion, and 30 cm ion thrusters, all of which have extensive ground demonstration backgrounds.

Gilland, Jim↗

Preliminary Results from a Coordinated Hisaki/Chandra/XMM-Newton Study of the Jovian Aurora and Io Plasma Torus

We present preliminary results from a coordinated Hisaki/Chandra/XMM-Newton observational campaign of the Jovian aurora and Io plasma torus. The data were taken over a three week period in April, 2014. Jupiter was observed continuously with Hisaki, six times with the Chandra/HRC instrument for roughly 12 hours per observation, and twice by XMM-Newton. The goal of this observational campaign was to understand how energy and matter are exchanged between the Jovian aurora, the IPT, and the Solar wind. X-ray observations provide key diagnostics on highly stripped ions and keV electrons in the Jovian magnetosphere. We use the temporal, spatial, and spectral capabilities of the three instruments to search for correlated variability between the Solar wind, the EUV-emitting plasma of the IPT and UV aurora, and the ions responsible for the X-ray aurora. Preliminary analysis suggests a strong 45 min periodicity in the EUV emission from the electron aurora. There is some evidence for complex variability of the X-ray auroras on scales of tens of minutes. There is also clear morphological changes in the X-ray aurora that do not appear to be correlated with either variations in the IPT or Solar wind.

Kraft, Ralph↗

Irradiation Effects in Fosterrite and the Nature of Interstellar Grains: A Coordinated Spectroscopy and Electron Microscopy Study

Crystalline and amorphous silicates condense in the outflows of low mass evolved stars and massive red supergiant stars and are injected into the interstellar medium (ISM) where they are rendered almost completely amorphous by a multitude of destructive processes (e.g. shock, grain-grain collisions, and irradiation). Irradiation effects in particular may have played an important role in the genesis and modification of primitive grains in cometary dust, but unraveling those effects requires controlled experiments under appropriate conditions and with an emphasis on materials relevant to the ISM. Here we report our infrared (IR) microspectroscopy and trans-mission electron microscope (TEM) measurements on forsterite that was amorphized through irradiation by high energy heavy ions.

Keller, Lindsay P.↗

Coordinated analysis of various auroral measurements made during NASA's 1968 and 1969 airborne auroral expeditions

Auroral optical measurements made aboard NASA's CV 990 were analyzed. The measurements analyzed form a small part of extensive spectroscopic, photometric and photographic data gathered during the 1968 and 1969 Airborne Auroral Expeditions. Simultaneous particle measurements from ESRO IA satellite were used in the analysis. Information about magnetospheric boundaries, interaction between magnetosheath particles and the terrestrial ionosphere, the polar bulge in helium abundance and excitation mechanisms of the triplet state of atmospheric N2 in auroras was obtained. Further analysis of the data is required to elucidate the relation between 3466 and 5200 A emissions of NI and the excitation of 3726-3729 A emissions from atomic oxygen ions in auroras.

Sivjee, G. G.↗

Intense Equatorial Electrojet and Counter Electrojet caused by the 15 January 2022 Tonga Volcanic Eruption: Space and Ground-based Observations

Abstract Text: We present space and ground-based multi-instrument observations demonstrating the impact of the 2022 Tonga volcanic eruption on dayside equatorial electrodynamics. A strong counter electrojet (CEJ) was observed by Swarm and ground-based magnetometers on 15 January after the Tonga eruption and during the recovery phase of a moderate geomagnetic storm. Swarm also observed an enhanced equatorial electrojet (EEJ) preceding the CEJ in the previous orbit. The observed EEJ and CEJ exhibited complex spatiotemporal variations. We combine them with the Ionospheric Connection Explorer (ICON) neutral wind measurements to disentangle the potential mechanisms. Our analysis indicates that the geomagnetic storm had minimal impact; instead, a large-scale atmospheric disturbance propagating eastward from the Tonga eruption site was the most likely driver for the observed intensification and directional reversal of the equatorial electrojet. The CEJ was associated with strong eastward zonal winds in the E-region ionosphere, as a direct response to the lower atmosphere forcing. Plain-Language Summary: The Earth's E-region ionosphere (~100-150 km altitude) consists of both ionized and neutral gasses, and the two components are coupled through ion-neutral collisions. The state of this region is closely influenced by neutral atmospheric activities from the lower atmosphere and the variability of the solar drivers. On 15 January 2022, the Tonga volcano had a massive eruption and injected an enormous amount of mass and energy into the atmosphere causing disturbances in the E-region ionosphere or even higher. There was also a moderate geomagnetic storm that started one day before the eruption and ended days after. These conditions offer a unique opportunity to understand the different roles they play in controlling the ionosphere. Coordinated observations including the atmosphere, ionosphere and magnetosphere were made from both space and on the ground during this event. We analyzed the magnetic field and neutral wind data and found that a large-scale atmospheric disturbance generated by the volcano eruption was responsible for the observed directional reversal of the dayside equatorial electric field and electric current.

Guan Le↗

Observations of the Jovian System with the Chandra X-Ray Observatory

The {\sl Chandra X-ray Observatory) observed the Jovian system on 25-26 Nov 1999 with the Advanced CCD Imaging Spectrometer (ACIS), in support of the Galileo flyby of Io, and on 18 Dec 2000 with the imaging array of the High Resolution Camera (HRC-I), in support of the Cassini flyby of Jupiter. These sensitive, very high spatial-resolution X-ray observations have revealed that Jupiter's northern x-ray aurora originates at a spot fixed in a coordinate system rotating with the planet at latitude (60--70 deg north) and longitude (160--180 deg System III). Contrary to previous expectations, this location is poleward of the main FUV auroral oval and the foot of the Io Flux Tube, and is apparently connected magnetically to a region of the outer magnetosphere beyond $\sim$30 Jupiter radii. The northern auroral x-ray emission varies with a period $\sim$45 minute and has a an average power of $\sim$1 GW. The earlier view that Jupiter's x-ray aurora resulted from the precipitation of heavy ions from the outer edge of the lo Plasma Torus is now in doubt. Jupiter's disk also emits x-rays with a power of $\sim$2 GW, perhaps resulting from reprocessing of solar x-rays in its atmosphere. These observations reveal for the first time x-ray emission from the Io Plasma Torus, with a power of $\sim$0.1 Gw. The origin of this emission is not currently understood, although bremmstrahlung from non-thermal electrons may play a significant role. Finally, we report the discovery of very faint ($\sim$1--2 MW) soft x-ray emission from the Galilean satellites Io, Europa, and probably Ganymede, most likely as a result of bombardment of their surfaces by energetic ($ greater than $10 keV) H, O, and S ions from the region of the Io Plasma Torus.

Elsner, R. F.↗