Radio Sources and Scintillation

A review is given of the interplay between studies of compact radio sources and the scattering and scintillations that occur as the signals travel through the irregular refractive index of the interstellar and interplanetary plasmas. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Geo-effectiveness of solar wind extremes

Examples of extreme events of solar wind and their effect on geomagnetic conditions are discussed here. It is found that there are two regimes of high speed solar wind streams with a threshold of ∼ 850 km s^-1. Geomagnetic activity enhancement rate (GAER) is defined as an average increase in Ap value per unit average increase in the peak solar wind velocity (Vp) during the stream. GAER was found to be different in the two regimes of high speed streams with +ve and-ve IMF. GAER is 0.73 and 0.53 for solar wind streams with +ve and -ve IMF respectively for the extremely high speed streams (< 850 km s^-1). This indicates that streams above the threshold speed with +ve IMF are 1.4 times more effective in enhancing geomagnetic activity than those with -ve IMF. However, the high speed streams below the threshold with -ve IMF are 1.1 times more effective in enhancing geomagnetic activity than those with +ve IMF. The violent solar activity period (October–November 2003) of cycle 23 presents a very special case during which many severe and strong effects were seen in the environment of the Earth and other planets; however, the z-component of IMF (Bz) is mostly positive during this period. The most severe geomagnetic storm of this cycle occurred when Bz was positive.     

海水中234Th的超低水平液闪谱仪测定

本文提出了利用超低水平液闪谱仪测定海水中234Th的方法.海水经氢氧化铁吸附共沉淀富集后,接着用阴离子交换和TBP/煤油萃取进行Th同位素的分离与纯化.对一系列测定条件进行了详细的研究,提出了测定海水中234Th的适宜程序,即在含有234Th和产额示踪剂230Th的纯化后的5mol/dm3HNO3溶液中加入TBP/煤油进行萃取,然后用0.1mol/dm3HNO3反萃取,后者是先用契伦柯夫计数法测量234Th(通过234mPa),后加入闪烁液Hisafe 3用α/β模式测量α放射体230Th.对于α和β放射体液闪谱仪的计数效率分别为100%和55.7%±2.7%.234Th的化学回收率和总探测效率分别为70%～80%和30%～45%.该法测定海水中的234Th快速、简便和高效.     

行星际等离子区对火星探测器距离观测量的影响

根据Muhleman和Anderson在1981年给出的行星际空间等离子体密度模型,模拟计算了行星际等离子区对8GHz电波的距离延迟与太阳-地球-航天器夹角(SEP)和光路径长度(L)的关系。结果显示,在本文的模拟条件下,距离延迟随SEP和L从几毫米变化到几十米。最后,分别仿真了一条地火转移轨道和环火星轨道,计算了两种情况下行星际等离子区延迟对测站到航天器距离观测量的影响。     

Some results of night-time scintillations at low latitude

Ionospheric scintillation observations of VHF radio signals from FLEETSAT satellite (73°E longitude) at Bhopal from January 1990 to December 1990 have been used to study the characteristic variations of scintillation activity. It is found that scintillation occurrence is essentially a night-time phenomenon and day-time scintillations are very rare. Annual average nocturnal variation of percentage occurrence of scintillations shows maximum at around 2100–2200 hours LT. Seasonally, scintillations are most prominent during equinoxes and least during summer. Geomagnetic disturbances tend to decrease the occurrence of scintillations in the pre-midnight period.     

1989年3月13日武昌地区太阳耀斑事件效应的观测结果

1989年3月13日太阳耀斑事件产生了丰富的地球物理效应。耀斑激波和耀斑粒子流引起强烈地磁暴。在武昌地区,磁暴急始发生于地方时3月13日09h30min,其初相期持续10小时（3月13日09h30min-19h20min）,主相期持续13小时（3月13日19h20min-3月14日08h20min）,至3月16日05h20min始恢复平静（图1）。     

Unified Approach to Photon-Counting Microlaser Rangers, Transponders, and Altimeters

Unlike current manned systems, NASA's next generation SLR2000 Satellite Laser Ranging (SLR) station is fully autonomous, eye-safe, relatively compact and inexpensive, and, during daytime tracking, operates at signal-to-noise ratios several orders of magnitude below unity. Tiny, passivelyQ-switched microlasers generate ultra-short pulses with output energies on the order of 100 J at few kHz rates to achieve mm-levelranging precision to satellite altitudesof 20,000 km. Special ranging receivers, combined with Poisson statistical analysis of the received photon distribution, enable the system to rapidly and reliably identify and extract the single photon laser echoes from the solar background. The enhanced rate of return, combined with a uniform signal strength, can actually drive down both systematic and random range errors. The new SLR2000 technology has already spawned exciting new applications. Compact microlaser altimeters, capable of mapping the surface of a planet or other celestial body at multikilohertz rates, is one such application, and a high altitude, airborne version is currently being developed under NASA's Instrument Incubator Program. Interplanetary microlaser transponders would be capable of performing decimeter ranging or subnanosecond time transfer to spacecraft throughout the inner Solar System, resulting in improved knowledge of planetary motions and librations and enhanced General Relativity experiments.     

低本底液闪仪计算机控制系统的改进

新研制改进的低本底液闪计算机控制系统，具有数据获取和数据处理、实时能谱测量、谱显示选取工作点以及测量中断后继续测量等功能，从而使液闪仪的自动化和智能化程度得到了进一步提高。     

液体闪烁计数技术测氡在铀矿勘查中的应用研究

在火山岩、花岗岩地区和中新生代盆地铀矿勘查中进行了大量的液体闪烁测氡工作，发现该方法探测效率高、抗干扰能力强、重复性好、异常清晰，取得了较好的地质找矿效果，证实了该方法的有效性和可行性。     

Interplanetary scintillation observations of interaction regions in the solar wind

Co-rotating interaction regions (CIRs) between fast and slow streams of plasma are a prominent feature of the solar wind. Measurements of interplanetary scintillation (IPS) using the three widely separated antennas of the EISCAT facility have been used to detect the compression regions at the leading edges of interaction regions and to determine the location and velocity of the structure. Observations show that interaction regions have developed as close to the Sun as 25–30 solar radii, a result supported by theoretical modelling which shows that the conditions needed for CIRs to develop exist inside 30 solar radii.