The composition of the cosmic radiation and the atomic properties of the elements

The composition of the primordial cosmic radiation has been compared with the solar system composition and that of interstellar matter. It is found that the overabundance of an element in the radiation is approximately proportional to the cross-section for the ionization of neutral atoms of that element through fast charged particle impacts. The results strongly support the assumption that the selection of cosmic ray particles is governed by the atomic properties of the elements.     

On the early history of the asteroids

Among the major features of the asteroids as a group is the fact that they are small and numerous rather than being a single planet, and that they have unusually high eccentricities and inclinations. Regarding the first, this paper presents two lines of argument concerning the concept that the asteroids formed with a mass-distribution similar to what we observe today. Considerations of planet accretion are used to clarify the role of Jupiter in preventing coalescence of asteroids into a single planet. Regarding the eccentricities and inclinations, it is proposed that they were excited by secular resonances associated with the presence of Jupiter within a dissipating solar nebula.     

The relationship between the strength of the IMF and the frequency of magnetic pulsations on the ground and in the solar wind

It has been established for some time that there is a correlation between the frequency of Pc 3–4 geomagnetic pulsations observed on the ground and the strength of the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF). The recent discovery of an apparently similar relationship between pulsations in the same frequency band in the solar wind and the strength of the IMF led to the suggestion that some magnetospheric Pc 3–4 pulsations have an exogenic source.In this paper we offer a statistical reappraisal of some of the earlier results, and an analysis of newly available ground and solar wind pulsation data sets, which suggest that on the basis of a frequency-field strength relationship alone, the case for an exogenic source is still unproven.We do, however, find support for the frequency-field strength relationship (for ground pulsations), which was the original basis for the Borok B index for prediction of the strength of the IMF. We also confirm that pulsation frequency is, at best, an imprecise predictor and show that any derived relationship is strongly dependent on the data sets used.     

On the planetary acceleration and the rotation of the Earth

We have developed a cosmological model for the Earth rotation and planetary acceleration that gives a good account (data) of the Earth astronomical parameters. These data can be compared with the ones obtained using space-base telescopes. The expansion of the universe has shown to have an impact on the rotation of planets, and in particular, the Earth. The expansion of the universe causes an acceleration that is exhibited by all planets.     

On the stability of the solutions of the general problem of three bodies

The following question is investigated: By how much may the initial conditions of a given three-body system be varied before the subsequent evolution of the new system completely differs from that of the original? Stated somewhat differently, how big is the ‘island’ in the phase space of initial conditions throughout which the parameters describing the evolution of the systems are continuous functions of the initial conditions? The extent of one such island is determined numerically and found to be surprisingly large. It is conjectured, however, that this result is due to the fact that the corresponding systems have very short disintegration times, so that the total motion is not very complex.     

Survival of the Earth and the future evolution of the Sun

The question of the survival of the planet Earth as the Sun becomes a red giant and possibly a planetary nebula depends on the maximum extent of the Sun's envelope. This study shows that if the Earth is reached by this envelope, it will be destroyed; but if it is not, it will survive. Present stellar evolution calculations imply that the Earth will be destroyed.     

On the origin of the lunar smooth-plains

Before the Apollo 16 mission, the material of the Cayley Formation (a lunar smooth plains) was theorized to be of volcanic origin. Because Apollo 16 did not verify such interpretations, various theories have been published that consider the material to be ejecta of distant multiringed basins. Results presented in this paper indicate that the material cannot be solely basin ejecta. If smoothplains are a result of formation of these basins or other distant large craters, then the plains materials are mainly ejecta of secondary craters of these basins or craters with only minor contributions of primary-crater or basin ejecta. This hypothesis is based on synthesis of knowledge of the mechanics of ejection of material from impact craters, photogeologic evidence, remote measurements of surface chemistry, and petrology of lunar samples. Observations, simulations, and calculations presented in this paper show that ejecta thrown beyond the continuous deposits of large lunar craters produce secondary-impact craters that excavate and deposit masses of local material equal to multiples of that of the primary crater ejecta deposited at the same place. Therefore, the main influence of a large cratering event on terrain at great distances from such a crater is one of deposition of more material by secondary craters, rather than deposition of ejecta from the large crater. Examples of numerous secondary craters observed in and around the Cayley Formation and other smooth plains are presented. Evidence is given for significant lateral transport of highland debris by ejection from secondary craters and by landslides triggered by secondary impact. Primary-crater ejecta can be a significant fraction of a deposit emplaced by an impact crater only if the primary crater is nearby. Other proposed mechanisms for emplacement of smooth-plains formations are discussed, and implications regarding the origin of material in the continuous aprons surrounding large lunar craters is considered. It is emphasized that the importance of secondary-impact cratering in the highlands has in general been underestimated and that this process must have been important in the evolution of the lunar surface.     

On the model of the accumulation of the moon compatible with the data on the composition and the age of lunar rocks

It is suggested that the overall early melting of the lunar surface is not necessary for the explanation of facts and that the structure of highlands is more complicated than a solidified anorthositic ‘plot’. The early heating of the interior of the Moon up to 1000K is really needed for the subsequent thermal history with the maximum melting 3.5 × 10⁹ yr ago, to give the observed ages for mare basalts. This may be considered as an indication that the Moon during the accumulation retained a portion of its gravitational energy converted into heat, which may occur only at rapid processes. A rapid (t < 10³ yr) accretion of the Moon from the circumterrestrial swarm of small particles would give necessary temperature, but it is not compatible with the characteristic time 10⁸ yr of the replenishment of this swarm which is the same as the time-scale of the accumulation of the Earth. It is shown that there were conditions in the circumterrestial swarm for the formation at a first stage of a few large protomoons. Their number and position is evaluated from the simple formal laws of the growth of satellites in the vicinity of a planet. Such ‘systems’ of protomoons are compared with the observed multiple systems, and the conclusion is reached that there could have been not more than 2–3 large protomoons with the Earth. The tidal evolution of protomoon orbits was short not only for the present value of the tidal phase-lag but also for a considerably smaller value. The coalescence of protomoons into a single Moon had to occur before the formation of the observed relief on the Moon. If we accept the age 3.9 × 10⁹ yr for the excavation of the Imbrium basin and ascribe the latter to the impact of an Earth satellite, this collision had to be roughly at 30R, whereR is the radius of the Earth, because the Moon at that time had to be somewhere at this distance. Therefore, the protomoons had to be orbiting inside 20–25R, and their coalescence had to occur more than 4.0x10⁹ yr ago. The energy release at coalescence is equivalent to several hundred degrees and even 1000 K. The process is very rapid (of the order of one hour). Therefore, the model is valid for the initial conditions of the Moon.     

Modeling the effects of shear on the evolution of the holes in the condensational clouds of Venus

Near-infrared brightness temperature contrasts observed on the night side of Venus indicate variations in the size and distribution of particles in the lower and middle cloud decks. McGouldrick and Toon [McGouldrick, K., Toon, O.B., 2007. Icarus 191, 1-24] have shown that these changes can be explained by large-scale dynamics; in particular, that downdrafts may produce optical depth “holes” in the clouds. The lifetimes of these holes are observed to be moderately short, on the order of ten days. Here, we explore a simple model to better understand this lifetime. We have coupled a microphysical model of the Venus clouds with a simple, two-dimensional (zonal, vertical) kinematical transport model to study the effects of the zonal flow on the lifetime of the holes in the clouds. We find that although wind shear may be negligible within the cloud itself, the shear that is present near the top and the bottom of the statically unstable cloud region can lead to changes in the radiative-dynamical feedback which ultimately lead to the dissipation of the holes.     

On the influence of nonlinearities on the eigenfrequencies of five-minute oscillations of the Sun

Fitting the results of linear normal-mode analysis of the solar five-minute oscillations to the observed k - ω diagram selects a class of models of the Sun's envelope. It is a property of all the models in this class that their convection zones are too deep to permit substantial transmission of internal g modes of degree 20 or more. This is in apparent conflict with Hill and Caudell's (1979) claim to have detected such modes in the photosphere. A proposal to resolve the conflict was made by Rosenwald and Hill (1980). They pointed out that despite the impressive agreement between linearized theory and observation, nonlinear phenomena in the solar atmosphere might influence the eigenfrequencies considerably. In particular, they suggested that a correct nonlinear analysis could predict a shallow convection zone. This paper is an enquiry into whether their hypothesis is plausible. We construct k - ω diagrams assuming that the modes suffer local nonlinear distortions in the atmosphere that are insensitive to the amplitude of oscillation over the range of amplitudes that are observed. The effect of the nonlinearities on the eigenfrequencies is parameterized in a simple way. Taking a class of simple analytical models of the Sun's envelope, we compute the linear eigenfrequencies of one model and show that no other model can be found whose nonlinear eigenfrequencies agree with them. We show also that the nonlinear eigenfrequencies of a particular solar model with a shallow convective zone, computed with more realistic physics, cannot be made to agree with observation. We conclude, therefore, that the hypothesis of Rosenwald and Hill is unlikely to be correct.     

Numerical simulations of the Hyades dynamics and the nature of the moving Hyades cluster

We present our numerical simulations of the dynamical evolution of the Hyades open cluster. The simulations were performed usinga modified NBODY6 algorithm that included tidal forces and a realistic orbit of the cluster in a gravitational field described by the Miyamoto-Nagai potential. Our goal was to study the nature of movingclu sters. We show that the stars that were earlier cluster members could be later identified within a sphere of 50 pc in diameter around the Sun. The number of such stars for the chosen initial mass and virial radius of the cluster does not exceed ten. The maximum space velocity of these stars relative to the core of the current cluster does not exceed 3 km s^?1. Our numerical simulations confirm the assumption that some of the moving clusters near the Sun could consist of stars that have escaped from open clusters in the course of their dynamical evolution.     

On the origin of the Kirkwood Gaps

It is proposed that the Kirkwood Gaps are primordial, representing regions where asteroids failed to form by accretion. A brief scenario is presented to indicate the main features of a model for the early history of the asteroids. An analytical treatment is given for the effects of a solar nebula upon the eccentricity-pumping of asteroids, due to secular perturbations and to commensurability-type resonances associated with Jupiter. It is shown that nebular effects promote growth of main-belt asteroids; but in commensurability regions, growth is inhibited. A discussion is given of two related problems: the origin of asteroidal eccentricities and inclinations, and the likelihood that Jupiter suffered major changes in its semimajor axis during its formation. It is suggested that in view of these problems, the present theory should not be taken as necessarily correct, but should be regarded as illustrative of viewpoints which in time may yield a correct theory.     

On the extinction law in the Carina nebula

Using the results of observations of the Carina nebula made with the space telescope Glazar, it is shown that the extinction law for the nebula is abnormal and that there is a single OB star complex within the nebula at a distance of about 2200 pc. It is suggested that the observed distribution of OB stars in the nebula and also the appearance of the nebula itself is due to a specific structure of the absorbing clouds within the nebula, and that the absorbing clouds may have such structure as a result of an explosion in the center of the nebula.     

On the orbits and masses of the satellites of the Pluto-Charon system

Two small satellites of Pluto, S/2005 P1 (hereafter P1) and S/2005 P2 (hereafter P2), have recently been discovered outside the orbit of Charon, and their orbits are nearly circular and nearly coplanar with that of Charon. Because the mass ratio of Charon-Pluto is ∼0.1, the orbits of P2 and P1 are significantly non-Keplerian even if P2 and P1 have negligible masses. We present an analytic theory, with P2 and P1 treated as test particles, which shows that the motion can be represented by the superposition of the circular motion of a guiding center, the forced oscillations due to the non-axisymmetric components of the potential rotating at the mean motion of Pluto-Charon, the epicyclic motion, and the vertical motion. The analytic theory shows that the azimuthal periods of P2 and P1 are shorter than the Keplerian orbital periods, and this deviation from Kepler's third law is already detected in the unperturbed Keplerian fit of Buie and coworkers. In this analytic theory, the periapse and ascending node of each of the small satellites precess at nearly equal rates in opposite directions. From direct numerical orbit integrations, we show the increasing influence of the proximity of P2 and P1 to the 3:2 mean-motion commensurability on their orbital motion as their masses increase within the ranges allowed by the albedo uncertainties. If the geometric albedos of P2 and P1 are high and of order of that of Charon, the masses of P2 and P1 are sufficiently low that their orbits are well described by the analytic theory. The variation in the orbital radius of P2 due to the forced oscillations is comparable in magnitude to that due to the best-fit Keplerian eccentricity, and there is at present no evidence that P2 has any significant epicyclic eccentricity. However, the orbit of P1 has a significant epicyclic eccentricity, and the prograde precession of its longitude of periapse with a period of 5300 days should be easily detectable. If the albedos of P2 and P1 are as low as that of comets, the large inferred masses induce significant short-term variations in the epicyclic eccentricities and/or periapse longitudes on the 400-500-day timescales due to the proximity to the 3:2 commensurability. In fact, for the maximum inferred masses, P2 and P1 may be in the 3:2 mean-motion resonance, with the resonance variable involving the periapse longitude of P1 librating. Observations that sample the orbits of P2 and P1 well on the 400-500-day timescales should provide strong constraints on the masses of P2 and P1 in the near future.     

On the Origin of the Tektites

The conclusion that tektite falls were restricted in time to an earlier era in Earth history is supported by all known facts, in particular, by the results of critical examinations of various reported falls, including 2 australite falls described not long ago by the late Dr. E. S. Simpson. On the contrary, if the tektites originate as “lunar impactites,” as Dr. H. H. Nininger has recently suggested, it seems evident that they would have continued to fall onto the Earth right up to the present time. Furthermore, the probability that the distribution of “lunar impactite” falls over the Earth's surface would exhibit the alinement along 3 great circles, which is characteristic of all known tektite deposits, is vanishingly small.     

On the perturbations of the five outer planets by the four inner ones

The expressions given by Clemence were checked by the comparison of numerical values of their second differentials with the numerical values of the perturbing forces. Agreement was good in most cases, save that the use of the second differentials unduly magnified some terms rightly neglected by Clemence. In the appendix the work of Clemence is compared with that of Carpenter and the differences are found to be all smaller than the contributions from the secular variation of the eccentricity, which are so small that they were neglected by Clemence. The differences can be removed by considering the secular variation of the eccentricity and by making a small adjustment in the integration constants.     

On the lack of any statistically significant effect of Mercury on the solar wind velocity near the orbit of the Earth

The notion that Mercury modulates considerably the solar wind velocity at the orbit of the Earth (Nikulin, 2014) is erroneous. It is not grounded in experimental data. Quantitative estimates also suggest that this effect should be negligible at such large distances from a planet that small. The assertion that this effect may be used in practice to improve the accuracy of prediction of the solar wind velocity (Nikulin, 2014) is unfounded as well: no credible observational and theoretical evidence in favor of it has been offered.     

Considerations on the magnitude distributions of the Kuiper belt and of the Jupiter Trojans

By examining the absolute magnitude (H) distributions (hereafter HD) of the cold and hot populations in the Kuiper belt and of the Trojans of Jupiter, we find evidence that the Trojans have been captured from the outer part of the primordial trans-neptunian planetesimal disk. We develop a sketch model of the HDs in the inner and outer parts of the disk that is consistent with the observed distributions and with the dynamical evolution scenario known as the ‘Nice model’. This leads us to predict that the HD of the hot population should have the same slope of the HD of the cold population for 6.5<H<9, both as steep as the slope of the Trojans' HD. Current data partially support this prediction, but future observations are needed to clarify this issue. Because the HD of the Trojans rolls over at H∼9 to a collisional equilibrium slope that should have been acquired when the Trojans were still embedded in the primordial trans-neptunian disk, our model implies that the same roll-over should characterize the HDs of the Kuiper belt populations, in agreement with the results of Bernstein et al. [Bernstein, G.M., and 5 colleagues, 2004. Astron. J. 128, 1364-1390] and Fuentes and Holman [Fuentes, C.I., Holman, M.J., 2008. Astron. J. 136, 83-97]. Finally, we show that the constraint on the total mass of the primordial trans-neptunian disk imposed by the Nice model implies that it is unlikely that the cold population formed beyond 35 AU.     

Basin tectonics and the structure of the Martian lithosphere: Results from analysis of the Harp map

An analysis of the planetwide tectonic system of Mars provided by Harp (1976) reveals that the Hellas and Isidis impact basins have general tectonic systems similar to that of the Argyre impact basin. This implies that Mars does indeed have a lithospheric thickness which would have to be considered thinner than that of the Moon or Mercury but thicker than that of the Galilean satellite Callisto.     

On the evolution of the lunar orbit

It is generally accepted that the Earth-Moon separation is at present increasing due to tidal dissipation. Values for the corresponding lunar deceleration and the related slowing of the Earth's rotation are obtained from astronomical observations and by studies of ancient eclipses. Extrapolation of these values leads to a close approach of the Earth and Moon 1–3 b.y. BP. However, justification for such an extrapolation is required. It has been hypothesized that periodicities in the Precambrian stromatolites can be used to determine the number of solar days in a lunar month prior to 500 m.y. BP. These data combined with dynamic constraints on the number of solar days in a lunar month indicate a close approach of the Earth and Moon at 2.85 ± 0.25 b.y. BP. It is suggested that the mare volcanism on the Moon and high-temperature Archean volcanism on the Earth prior to this date were caused by tidal heating. It is also suggested that the strong tidal heating during a close approach could have contributed to the formation of the first living organisms.