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NASA NTRS1993

Multiple-camera/motion stereoscopy for range estimation in helicopter flight

Aiding the pilot to improve safety and reduce pilot workload by detecting obstacles and planning obstacle-free flight paths during low-altitude helicopter flight is desirable. Computer vision techniques provide an attractive method of obstacle detection and range estimation for objects within a large field of view ahead of the helicopter. Previous research has had considerable success by using an image sequence from a single moving camera to solving this problem. The major limitations of single camera approaches are that no range information can be obtained near the instantaneous direction of motion or in the absence of motion. These limitations can be overcome through the use of multiple cameras. This paper presents a hybrid motion/stereo algorithm which allows range refinement through recursive range estimation while avoiding loss of range information in the direction of travel. A feature-based approach is used to track objects between image frames. An extended Kalman filter combines knowledge of the camera motion and measurements of a feature's image location to recursively estimate the feature's range and to predict its location in future images. Performance of the algorithm will be illustrated using an image sequence, motion information, and independent range measurements from a low-altitude helicopter flight experiment.

Smith, Phillip N.↗

NASA NTRS1992

Astro-1 ultraviolet imaging of the 30 Doradus and SN 1987A fields with the Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope

A preliminary analysis of Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope (UIT) images in the 30 Doradus region is reported. Photometry was obtained for the 30 Doradus cluster and its UV-bright core, R136, in various UIT bandpasses. It is found that about 14 percent of the total FUV light and about 16 percent of the total near-UV light of the 3-arcmin diameter 30 Doradus cluster originates from the region within 5 arcsec of R136. The UV magnitudes and colors of R136 and other known O and Wolf-Rayet WN stars in the same field were measured. The UIT data, combined with published observations at longer wavelengths, indicate that R136a1, the brightest component of R136, is not a supermassive stars. A qualitative comparison between the UIT images, Einstein X-ray data, IRAS HiRes images, and ground-based CCD images in forbidden O III 5007 A, H-alpha, B, R, U, and Stromgren u is performed. The extended diffuse UV feature detected in the UIT images is correlated with the IR structure seen in the IRAS 60-micron HiRes image, which suggests the existence of large amounts of widely distributed dust in this region.

Cheng, Kwang-Ping↗

NASA NTRS1979

HCMM: Soil moisture in relation to geologic structure and lithology, northern California

The author has identified the following significant results. First-look qualitative geologic evaluation of day- and night-IR images discloses several en echelon linear features extending throughout the central part of the northern coast range in California, across the Mendocino triple junction and into southern Oregon. Preliminary examination of these features with respect to topographic expression, vegetation, sun angle and azimuth, and atmospheric conditions suggests that they may be related to the intracontinental plate boundary (Lake Mountain Fault zone of Herd) of the Humbolt Plate. The linear features, which cut across several climatic zones and differently vegetated regions are not confined to topographic valleys, but cross the ridges and valleys at varying angles. Lithology within the Great Valley Sequence can be detected on a few of the images; however, preliminary evaluation suggests that the thermal banding observed may be a function of sun azimuth or late-day sun angle. Soil moisture, related to lithologic composition cannot be ruled out at this time.

Rich, E. I.↗

NASA NTRS1996

Near-Infrared Spectroscopy and Spectral Mapping of Jupiter and the Galilean Satellites: Results from Galileo's Initial Orbit

The Near Infrared Mapping Spectrometer performed spectral studies of Jupiter and the Galilean satellites during the June 1996 perijove pass of the Galileo spacecraft. Spectra fora5-micrometer hotspot on Jupiter are consistent with the absence of a significant watercloud above 8 bars and with a depletion of water compared to that predicted for solar composition, corroborating results from the Galileo probe. Great Red Spot (GRS) spectral images show that parts of this feature extend upward to 240 millibars, although considerable altitude-dependent structure is found within it. A ring of dense clouds surrounds the GRS and is lower than it by 3 to 7 kilometers. Spectra of Callisto and Ganymede reveal a feature at 4.25 micrometers, attributed to the presence of hydrated minerals or possibly carbon dioxide on their surfaces. Spectra of Europa's high latitudes imply that fine-grained water frost overlies larger grains. Several active volcanic regions were found on lo, with temperatures of 420 to 620 kelvin and projected areas of 5 to 70 square kilometers.

Carlson, R.↗

NASA NTRS1990

A preliminary analysis of LANDSAT and UK C130 data from Mission 197-A, on 16 July 1987

The co-ordinated LANDSAT-aircraft mission flown on 16 July to the west of San Nicolas Island shows a number of interesting features. There is considerable structure in the Band 4 (0.76 to 0.90 microns) reflectance on km to 10 km scales in otherwise complete cloud cover. In extremely light winds, the C130 performed a series of runs throughout the boundary layer and above for a period of approximately 90 mins on either side of the LANDSAT overpass time. Because of the light winds, the same features can be recognized on the various aircraft penetrations and composited. Furthermore, the accurate renavigation of the aircraft positions enables these to be unambiguously related to the features seen on the LANDSAT image. Early indications suggest that the reflectance features are related to local thickenings on the cloud layer, associated with slightly deeper convection rising into the overlying stratiform deck. If this is true, then LANDSAT images could possibly be used to remotely infer aspects of the convective regime within the boundary layer. In addition, the LANDSAT images also display a quasi-linear feature extending for some 50 km, although only a km or so wide. This feature was, in fact, photographed from the C130 flying just above cloud top and termed a 'cloud-cliff'. It is clearly a rapid and sizeable local change in cloud top height and is therefore presumably a propagating feature. An explanation is still outstanding, but it appears to resemble an undular bore. Further descriptions of this unexpected feature, and its possible origin will be discussed.

Nicholls, S.↗

NASA NTRS1995

The unusual morphology of molecular hydrogen emission in the planetary nebula J900

We report new high-resolution near-infrared imaging observations of the planetary nebula J900, in broadband J, H, and K, and narrowband 2.122 micrometers (for H2 1-0 S(1)), Brackett-gamma, and continuum filters. The H2 images reveal a remarkable set of outward-extending features not detected in any previous observations of theis object. In the northwest lobe of the inner bipolar region, the H2 emission, Brackett-gamma emission, and underlying continuum are spatially resolved. The relative positions of the peaks of the line emission suggest an ionization front seen edge-on. The continuum emission, apparently located nearer to the central star, is likely due to transiently heated small dust grains. The extended H2 emission features are probably excited either by oblique shocks caused by material ejected from the nebula, or by radiation leaking from holes in the opacity surrounding the ionized shell.

Shupe, D. L.↗

NASA NTRS1992

Vision-based recursive estimation of rotorcraft obstacle locations

The authors address vision-based passive ranging during nap-of-the-earth (NOE) rotorcraft flight. They consider the problem of estimating the relative location of identifiable features on nearby obstacles, assuming a sequence of noisy camera images and imperfect measurements of the camera's translation and rotation. An iterated extended Kalman filter is used to provide recursive range estimation. The correspondence problem is simplified by predicting and tracking each feature's image within the Kalman filter framework. Simulation results are presented which show convergent estimates and generally successful feature point tracking. Estimation performance degrades for features near the optical axis and for accelerating motions. Image tracking is also sensitive to angular rate.

Leblanc, D. J.↗

NASA NTRS1990

Kalman filter based range estimation for autonomous navigation using imaging sensors

Rotorcraft operating in high-threat environments fly close to the surface of the earth to utilize surrounding terrain, vegetation, or man-made objects to minimize the risk of being detected by the enemy. Two basic requirements for obstacle avoidance are detection and range estimation of the object from the current rotorcraft position. There are many approaches to the estimation of range using a sequence of images. The approach used in this analysis differes from previous methods in two significant ways: an attempt is not made to estimate the rotorcraft's motion from the images; and the interest lies in recursive algorithms. The rotorcraft parameters are assumed to be computed using an onboard inertial navigation system. Given a sequence of images, using image-object differential equations, a Kalman filter (Sridhar and Phatak, 1988) can be used to estimate both the relative coordinates and the earth coordinates of the objects on the ground. The Kalman filter can also be used in a predictive mode to track features in the images, leading to a significant reduction of search effort in the feature extraction step of the algorithm. The purpose is to summarize early results obtained in extending the Kalman filter for use with actual image sequences. The experience gained from the application of this algorithm to real images is very valuable and is a necessary step before proceeding to the estimation of range during low-altitude curvilinear flight. A simple recursive method is presented to estimate range to objects using a sequence of images. The method produces good range estimates using real images in a laboratory set up and needs to be evaluated further using several different image sequences to test its robustness. The feature generation part of the algorithm requires further refinement on the strategies to limit the number of features (Sridhar and Phatak, 1989). The extension of the work reported here to curvilinear flight may require the use of the extended Kalman filter.

Sridhar, Banavar↗

NASA NTRS1995

Wavelet transform analysis of the small-scale X-ray structure of the cluster Abell 1367

We have developed a new technique based on a wavelet transform analysis to quantify the small-scale (less than a few arcminutes) X-ray structure of clusters of galaxies. We apply this technique to the ROSAT position sensitive proportional counter (PSPC) and Einstein high-resolution imager (HRI) images of the central region of the cluster Abell 1367 to detect sources embedded within the diffuse intracluster medium. In addition to detecting sources and determining their fluxes and positions, we show that the wavelet analysis allows a characterization of the sources extents. In particular, the wavelet scale at which a given source achieves a maximum signal-to-noise ratio in the wavelet images provides an estimate of the angular extent of the source. To account for the widely varying point response of the ROSAT PSPC as a function of off-axis angle requires a quantitative measurement of the source size and a comparison to a calibration derived from the analysis of a Deep Survey image. Therefore, we assume that each source could be described as an isotropic two-dimensional Gaussian and used the wavelet amplitudes, at different scales, to determine the equivalent Gaussian Full Width Half-Maximum (FWHM) (and its uncertainty) appropriate for each source. In our analysis of the ROSAT PSPC image, we detect 31 X-ray sources above the diffuse cluster emission (within a radius of 24 min), 16 of which are apparently associated with cluster galaxies and two with serendipitous, background quasars. We find that the angular extents of 11 sources exceed the nominal width of the PSPC point-spread function. Four of these extended sources were previously detected by Bechtold et al. (1983) as 1 sec scale features using the Einstein HRI. The same wavelet analysis technique was applied to the Einstein HRI image. We detect 28 sources in the HRI image, of which nine are extended. Eight of the extended sources correspond to sources previously detected by Bechtold et al. Overall, using both the PSPC and the HRI observations, we detect 16 extended features, of which nine have galaxies coincided with the X-ray-measured positions (within the positional error circles). These extended sources have luminosities lying in the range (3 - 30) x 10(exp 40) ergs/s and gas masses of approximately (1 - 30) x 10(exp 9) solar mass, if the X-rays are of thermal origin. We confirm the presence of extended features in A1367 first reported by Bechtold et al. (1983). The nature of these systems remains uncertain. The luminosities are large if the emission is attributed to single galaxies, and several of the extended features have no associated galaxy counterparts. The extended features may be associated with galaxy groups, as suggested by Canizares, Fabbiano, & Trinchieri (1987), although the number required is large.

Grebeney, S. A.↗

NASA NTRS2005

Origin and Evolution of Deep Plasmaspheric Notches

Deep plasmaspheric notches can extend over more than 2 R(sub E) in radial distance and 3 hours MLT in the magnetic equatorial plane, as observed by the extreme ultraviolet (EUV) imager on the IMAGE mission. They are among the largest evacuated features in the exterior plasmaspheric boundary. They can last for days and exhibit a variety of shapes. It appears that weak convection and limited erosion precedes notch formation at the westward, near-Earth edge of the convection plume. Eighteen clear notch events were found and analyzed in 2000. Among these events, notches were found to drift as slowly as 44% of corotation. In only one case was a notch found to drift at the corotation rate within measurement error. On average, these notches drift at about 21.5 h d(sup -1) or 90% of the corotational rate. Notches sometimes exhibit an interior structure that appears as an extended prominence of dense plasma, which forms a W- or M-like feature in IMAGE/EUV images, depending on viewing perspective. Initial modeling suggests that notches and notch prominences may be caused in part by intense small-scale potential structures that result from the localized injection of ring current plasma. Plasma filling rates during recovery are examined in three L shell ranges from L = 2 to L = 3.5 with rates ranging from 5 to 140 cm(sup -3) d(sup -1). Plasma loss during a minor substorm is found to extend to surprisingly low L shell with rates ranging from 100 to 130 cm(sup -3) d(sup -1) across the L shells examined.

Gallagher, D. L.↗

NASA NTRS1973

Remote sensing of ocean current boundary layer

The author has identified the following significant results. A time series of the Loop Current in the Gulf of Mexico, covering an annual cycle of growth, spreading, and decay, has been obtained in synchronization with ERTS-1. Computer enhanced images, which are necessary to extract useful oceanic information, show that the current can be observed either by color or sea state effects associated with the cyclonic boundary. The color effect relates to the spectral variations in the optical properties of the water and its suspended particles, and is studied by radiative transfer theory. Significant oceanic parameters identified are: the probability of forward scattering, and the ratio of scattering to total attenuation. Several spectra of upwelling diffuse light are computed as a function of the concentration of particles and yellow substance. These calculations compare favorably with experimental measurements and show that the ratio of channels method gives ambiguous interpretative results. These results are used to discuss features in images where surface measurements were obtained and are extended to tentative explanation in others.

Maul, G. A.↗

NASA NTRS1974

Remote sensing of ocean currents

Maul, G. A.↗

NASA NTRS1981

Cylindrical Crystal Imaging Spectrometer (CCIS) for cosmic X-ray spectroscopy

A "stigmatic" focusing, Bragg crystal spectrometer was developed and used for high spectral resolution X-ray emission line diagnostics on hot laboratory plasmas. The concept be applied at the focal plane of an orbiting X-ray telescope where it offers several advantages over conventional spectrometers, i.e., mechanical simplicity, high resolving power and sensitivity, simultaneous measurement of an extended segment of spectrum, and good imaging properties. The instrument features a simple, unambiguous, non-scanning spectrum readout that is not adversely affected by either spacecraft pointing error or source extent. The performance of the instrument is estimated in the context of the Advanced X-Ray Astrophysical Facility mission.

Schnopper, H. W.↗

NASA NTRS2016

Digital Beamforming Interferometry

Airborne or spaceborne Syntheic Aperture Radar (SAR) can be used in a variety of ways, and is often used to generate two dimensional images of a surface. SAR involves the use of radio waves to determine presence, properties, and features of extended areas. Specifically, radio waves are 10 transmitted in the presence of a ground surface. A portion of the radio wave's energy is reflected back to the radar system, which allows the radar system to detect and image the surface. Such radar systems may be used in science applications, military contexts, and other commercial applications.

Rincon, Rafael F.↗

NASA NTRS1991

An infrared jet in Centaurus A - A link to the extranuclear activity in distant radio galaxies?

High-resolution NIR images of the visually obscured central region of Centaurus A (NGC 5128) were obtained with the University of Texas array camera on the AAT in June 1988, in order to investigate the effect of the active nucleus on the surrounding galaxy. The J (1.25 micron), H (1.65 micron), and K (2.2 micron) images of the central 40 arcsec of the galaxy revealed an emission feature extending about 10 arcsec northeast of the nucleus at the same position angle as the X-ray and radio jets. This jet is most prominent at the 1.25 micron wavelength, where its brightness was comparable to that of the nucleus. The observed properties of the 'infrared jet' were found to be similar to those seen in distant radio sources.

Joy, Marshall↗

NASA NTRS2001

Global Monthly and Daily Precipitation Analysis for the Global Precipitation Climatology Project (GPCP): Global and Regional Variations and Trends

The 22 year, monthly, globally complete precipitation analysis of the World Climate Research Program's (WCRP/GEWEX) Global Precipitation Climatology Project (GPCP) and the four year (1997-present) daily GPCP analysis are described in terms of the data sets and analysis techniques used in their preparation. These analyses are then used to study global and regional variations and trends during the 22 years and the shorter-time scale events that constitute those variations. The GPCP monthly data set shows no significant trend in global precipitation over the twenty years, unlike the positive trend in global surface temperatures over the past century. The global trend analysis must be interpreted carefully, however, because the inhomogeneity of the data set makes detecting a small signal very difficult, especially over this relatively short period. The relation of global (and tropical) total precipitation and ENSO (El Nino and Southern Oscillation) events is quantified with no significant signal when land and ocean are combined. In terms of regional trends 1979 to 2000 the tropics have a distribution of regional rainfall trends that has an ENSO-like pattern with features of both the El Nino and La Nina. This feature is related to a possible trend in the frequency of ENSO events (either El Nino or La Nina) over the past 20 years. Monthly anomalies of precipitation are related to ENSO variations with clear signals extending into middle and high latitudes of both hemispheres. The El Nino and La Nina mean anomalies are near mirror images of each other and when combined produce an ENSO signal with significant spatial continuity over large distances. A number of the features are shown to extend into high latitudes. Positive anomalies extend in the Southern Hemisphere from the Pacific southeastward across Chile and Argentina into the south Atlantic Ocean. In the Northern Hemisphere the counterpart feature extends across the southern U.S. and Atlantic Ocean into Europe. In the Southern Hemisphere an anomaly feature is shown to spiral into the Antarctica land mass. The extremes of ENSO-related anomalies are also examined and indicate that globally, during both El Nino and La Nina, more extremes of precipitation (both wet and dry) occur than during the "neutral" regime, with the El Nino regime showing larger magnitudes. The distribution is different for the globe as a whole and when the area is restricted to just land. The recent (1998-present) Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) observations are also compared with the GPCP analyses and are evaluated with regard to improving the long-term GPCP data set.

Adler, Robert F.↗

NASA NTRS2001

Variations and Trends in Global and Regional Precipitation Based on the 22-Year GPCP (Global Precipitation Climatology Project) and Three-Year TRMM (Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission) Data Sets

This paper gives an overview of the analysis of global precipitation over the last few decades and the impact of the new TRMM precipitation observations. The 20+ year, monthly, globally complete precipitation analysis of the World Climate Research Program's (WCRP/GEWEX) Global Precipitation Climatology Project (GPCP) is used to study global and regional variations and trends and is compared to the much shorter TRMM(Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission) tropical data set. The GPCP data set shows no significant trend in global precipitation over the twenty years, unlike the positive trend in global surface temperatures over the past century. The global trend analysis must be interpreted carefully, however, because the inhomogeneity of the data set makes detecting a small signal very difficult, especially over this relatively short period. The relation of global (and tropical) total precipitation and ENSO events is quantified with no significant signal when land and ocean are combined. Identifying regional trends in precipitation may be more practical. From 1979 to 2000 the tropics have pattern of regional rainfall trends that has an ENSO-like pattern with features of both the El Nino and La Nina. This feature is related to a possible trend in the frequency of ENSO events (either El Nino or La Nina) over the past 20 years. Monthly anomalies of precipitation are related to ENSO variations with clear signals extending into middle and high latitudes of both hemispheres. The El Nino and La Nina mean anomalies are near mirror images of each other and when combined produce an ENSO signal with significant spatial continuity over large distances. A number of the features are shown to extend into high latitudes. Positive anomalies extend in the Southern Hemisphere (S.H.) from the Pacific southeastward across Chile and Argentina into the south Atlantic Ocean. In the Northern Hemisphere (N.H.) the counterpart feature extends across the southern U.S. and Atlantic Ocean into Europe. Further to the west a negative anomaly extends southeastward again from the Maritime Continent across the South Pacific and through the Drake Passage. In the Southern Hemisphere an anomaly feature is shown to spiral into the Antarctica land mass. The extremes of ENSO-related anomalies are also examined and indicate that globally, during both El Nino and La Nina, more extremes of precipitation (both wet and dry) occur than during the "neutral" regime, with the El Nino regime showing larger magnitudes. The distribution is different for the globe as a whole and when the area is restricted to just land. The recent (1998-present) TRMM observations are compared with the similar period of GPCP analyses with very good agreement in terms of pattern and generally good agreement with regard to magnitude. However, there still are differences among the individual TRMM products using passive and active microwave techniques and these need to be resolved before longer-term products such as the GPCP analyses can be validated.

Adler, Robert F.↗

NASA NTRS2002

Satellite Observations of Extremes in Precipitation

The 22 year, monthly, globally complete precipitation analysis of the World Climate Research Program's (WCRP/GEWEX) Global Precipitation Climatology Project (GPCP), the four year (1997-present) daily GPCP analysis and 3-hr semi-global analyses using Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) data are used to study global and regional variations and trends during the 22 years and the shorter-time scale events that constitute those variations. The GPCP monthly data set shows no significant trend in global precipitation over the twenty years, unlike the positive trend in global surface temperatures over the past century. In terms of regional trends 1979 to 2000 the tropics have a distribution of regional rainfall trends that has an ENSO-like pattern with features of both the El Nino and La Nina. This feature is related to a possible trend in the frequency of ENSO events (either El Nino or La Nina) over the past 20 years. Monthly anomalies of precipitation are related to ENSO variations with clear signals extending into middle and high latitudes of both hemispheres. The El Nino and La Nina mean anomalies are near mirror images of each other and when combined produce an ENSO signal with significant spatial continuity over large distances. A number of the features are shown to extend into high latitudes Positive anomalies extend in the Southern Hemisphere (S.H.) from the Pacific southeastward across Chile and Argentina into the south Atlantic Ocean. In the Northern Hemisphere (N.H.) the counterpart feature extends across the southern U.S. and Atlantic Ocean into Europe. In the Southern Hemisphere an anomaly feature is shown to spiral into the Antarctica land mass. The extremes of ENSO-related anomalies are also examined and indicate that globally, during both El Nino and La Nina, more extremes of precipitation (both wet and dry) occur than during the "neutral" regime, with the El Nino regime showing larger magnitudes. The distribution is different for the globe as a whole and when the area is restricted to just land.

Adler, Robert F.↗