Contamination of the 5394 Å spectral region by telluric lines

The spectral region in the vicinity of 5394 Å contains three prominent photospheric spectral lines, which can be used as a solar plasma diagnostic tool. The occurrence of telluric lines in this region is a potential source of systematic and random errors in these solar spectral lines. The goal of our investigation was to determine the telluric line contamination of this interesting spectral region. Several series of high-resolution solar spectra within an interval of about 4 Å around the 5394 Å wavelength were observed at different zenith distances of the Sun. Comparison of these spectra has permitted identification of telluric lines in this spectral interval. The observations were carried out with the horizontal solar spectrograph of the Heliophysical Observatory in Debrecen. Telluric feature blending was identified in the blue and red wings of the Fe I 5393.2 Å line, and in the local continuum of the Mn I 5394.7 Å line. The blue wing of the Fe I 5395.2 Å line is contaminated by a weak telluric feature too. The red continuum of this line has a more prominent telluric contamination. A dozen of water vapor telluric lines that determined the observed telluric features were identified in this spectral interval. The profiles of three telluric lines that have a significant influence on both the profiles of solar spectral lines and the level of local continuum were derived, and the variation of their parameters (equivalent width and central depth) with air mass were analyzed.     

Variability of the spectrum of the galaxy kaz 701

Results from a spectrophotometric study of the galaxy Kaz 701 are presented. Spectra of this galaxy were obtained on the 2.6-m telescope at the Byurakan Observatory with the SCORPIO spectral camera. In the spectra of Kaz 701, strong Hα, [OIII] λλ5007, 4959, and Hβ emission were observed, and the [SII]λλ6731, 6717 lines were observed with moderate intensities, while the [NII]λ6584 line was scarcely noticeable in the spectra obtained in 2004, but was much more intense in the spectra of 2009. The lines observed in the spectrum of this galaxy are typical of type Sy2 galaxies. A component was observed in the red wings of both the Hα and Hβ lines in the data of 2004, but, although these lines were stronger, these components were absent in the spectra taken in 2009. The relative intensities, equivalent widths, and half widths of these lines are given. These data, obtained in different observation periods (2004 and 2009), differ greatly; that is, the emission is variable.     

Study of Danjon limit in moon crescent sighting

About 70 years ago “André Danjon” a French astrophysicist showed that as elongation of the moon decreases the arc length of crescent gets less too. By studying the recent observational data, he concluded that at 7 degree elongation, the length of arc (cusp to cusp) will reach zero degree. Today, this value is named as Danjon limit, which points to the limit at which the moon crescent is formed. Danjon believed that the effective factor for occurring this limit was the shadows of moon’s mountains. Later researchers have obtained different values for this limit. In this research based on the new data, the decreasing dependence of length of arc versus elongation was obtained. The results show that the Danjon limit is about 5 degrees. The effective factors to form the Danjon limit are then given and discussed. By considering the effects of astronomical seeing and shadows of lunar features, the values of the arc length were calculated and compared with the observational data curve. The results of this study show good agreement with the observational data. The present research shows that the above-mentioned effects can reduce the length of arc. The effect of libration and roughness of the lunar terrain of the moon in forming the moon crescent were also considered, and the possibility of observing thinner crescents by photometric model and breaking the Danjon limit were given.     

Almost-contact semidetached EP Cep in NGC 188

The photomectic observations of EP Cep, from Kaluzny and shara (1987), were analyzed by the Wilson and Devinney method. The appropriate value of the mass ratio of this system was found after extensive searches. EP Cep has a semi-detached configuration where the lower-mass component is in contact with its respective Roche surface. The higher-mass component very nearly fills its Roche lobe. It is very close to being a critical configuration. The mass ratio of the system is about 1.292 and the inclination is 66 _. ^° 942. EP Cep has the characteristic of a W-type WUMa system. The absolute dimensions for the primary and secondary of this system were calculated from its spectral types and by combining the photometric solution with inferred component radial velocities (Baliunas and Guinan, 1985).     

Two‐dimensional speckle spectroscopy of Hα features

In May 2002, the solar chromosphere was observed with a two‐dimensional spectrometer which is mounted in the German Vacuum Tower Telescope (VTT) at the Observatorio del Teide/Tenerife. The aim of this observation was to investigate the fine structure of the solar chromosphere seen in Hα. We took narrow‐band filtergrams (Δλ ≈ 72 mÅ) by scanning through this line. Broad‐band images taken strictly simultaneously with the narrow‐band filtergrams were restored by speckle methods. The instantaneous optical transfer function from this restoration procedure was used for the reconstruction of the narrow‐band images. Some results of this high spatial resolution observation are presented below.     

Spectrophotometry of five planetary nebulae

The results of a spectroscopic investigation of five planetary nebulae are given. The relative intensities of emission lines observed in them were determined. The electron density and electron temperature of the central region of the nebula KjPn 8 were determined. It was shown that the gas in this region is very highly excited. Translated from Astrofizika, Vol. 41, No. 3, pp. 367–375, July–September, 1998.     

EM Cygni: A study of its eclipse timings

EM Cygni is a Z Cam‐subtype eclipsing dwarf nova. Its orbital period variations were reported in the past but the results were in conflict to each other while other studies allowed the possibility of no period variation. In this study we report accurate new times of minima of this eclipsing binary and update itsO –C diagram.We also estimate the mass transfer rate in EM Cygni system and conclude that the mass transfer is far from the critical value. The mass transfer rate determined from the eclipse timings is in agreement with the spectroscopically determined value. (© 2008 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

The Durham/UKST Galaxy Redshift Survey — V. The catalogue

We present the radial velocities and blue, optical magnitudes for all of the galaxies within the Durham/UKST Galaxy Redshift Survey. This catalogue consists of ∼2500 galaxy redshifts to a limiting apparent magnitude of B _J⋍17 mag, covering a ∼1500-deg² area around the South Galactic Pole. The galaxies in this survey were selected from the Edinburgh/Durham Southern Galaxy Catalogue and were sampled, in order of apparent magnitude, at a rate of one galaxy in every three. The spectroscopy was performed at the 1.2-m UK Schmidt Telescope in Australia using the FLAIR multi-object spectrograph. We show that our radial velocity measurements made with this instrument have an empirical accuracy of ±150 km s⁻¹. The observational techniques and data reduction procedures used in the construction of this survey are also discussed. This survey demonstrates that the UKST can be used to make a three-dimensional map of the large-scale galaxy distribution, via a redshift survey to b _J⋍17 mag, over a wide area of the sky.     

Spectroscopic Survey of δ Sct Stars

The methods used to derive effective temperatures, projected rotational velocities and surface gravities of a sample of low and high-amplitude δ Sct stars are presented here. Effective temperatures were derived using Hα and Hβ line profiles whereas rotational velocities were calculated following the method described in Solano & Fernley (1997). Surface gravities were obtained using Hipparcos parallaxes and evolutionary models (Claret 1995). The results of this analysis will be published in a subsequent paper (Solano & Pintado 1999). This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Nuclear processes and accelerated particles in solar flares

A detailed review of nuclear processes and particle acceleration in solar flares has been completed recently (Ramaty and Murphy, 1987). Included in this review were a comprehensive discussion of the theory of gamma-ray and neutron production, as well as the results of comparisons of calculations with gamma-ray, neutron and charged-particle observations of solar flares. The implications of these comparisons on particle energy spectra, total numbers, anisotropies and electron-to-proton ratios, as well as on acceleration mechanisms and the interaction site were also discussed. In addition, elemental and isotopic abundances of the ambient gas, derived from gamma-ray observations, were compared to abundances obtained from observations of escaping accelerated particles and other sources. The present paper is a synopsis of this review

     

Multiple nitrogen isotopic components coexisting in ureilites

Abstract— Nitrogen and noble gas isotopic compositions and C abundance of ureilites were analyzed using a stepwise combustion technique. Four Antarctic ureilites, ALHA77257, Asuka 881931, Yamato 791538 and Yamato 790981 were analyzed. Multiple N isotopic components were observed in these ureilites. The δ¹⁵N values of these N components ranged from +160 to ?120%. The minimum δ¹⁵N values of typically ?120% were observed at combustion temperatures at 700–900 °C where large amounts of C were released. A heavy N component was observed in only two ureilites, ALHA77257 and Asuka 881931. Silicate-enriched fractions and C-concentrated fractions were prepared for these two ureilites. We conclude that both the light N and the heavy N are trapped in the carbonaceous vein minerals. The lack of correction between the N/C ratio and the ³⁶Ar/C ratio suggests that the primary carrier phase of the light N does not correspond to that of the planetary noble gases. We consider that the isotopically heavy N, which was observed in this study, is related to the heavy N observed among polymict ureilites. Small amounts (<0.5 ppm) of light N with the minimum δ¹⁵N value of ?120% were observed among the silicate fractions at the highest combustion temperature of 1200 °C, although the exact carrier phase of this light N is not known. We consider that the currently observed ureilites were produced by injection of several volatile-rich objects into volatile-poor ureilitic silicates.     

Preliminary results of the spectral analysis of Suzaku data of SW Ursae Majoris and BZ Ursae Majoris

Herein, we present the preliminary results of the spectral analysis of the Suzaku data of SW Ursae Majoris (SW UMa) and BZ Ursae Majoris (BZ UMa) which were obtained in their quiescent states. The aim of this study was to analyse 0.5–6.0 keV energy range X-ray photons of the Suzaku satellite and to determine their emission mechanisms and the areas where they were radiated from these two dwarf novae. No study on this energy range for BZ UMa has been reported in the literature. We analysed the Suzaku data in the (0.5–6.0) keV and in (0.5–2.5) keV energy bands of the systems separatelly to search for possible differences between the emission mechanisms in the energy ranges; however, none were found. We obtained the best-fitted spectral models, flux, luminosity, temperature and mass accretion rate values for the systems. The white dwarf radius of BZ UMa, which has not been reported in the literature, was found to be 6.88 × 10⁸ cm. From this study, we concluded that the mass accretion rate values for both systems were lower than the critical mass accretion rate value in the boundary layers of cataclysmic variables, which indicates that the boundary layers are composed of optically thin thermal X-ray emitting gas in their quiescent state; these results support those of previous studies regarding SW UMa and some studies regarding BZ UMa. Another result was that there can be a coronal structure above the boundary layer which act as soft X-ray emitter for SW UMa.     

Critical Periodic Orbits in the Restricted Three–Body Problem With Oblateness

In a recent paper in this journal series of horizontally critical symmetric periodic orbits of the six basic families of the photogravitational restricted three–body problem were computed (Perdios, 2003). In this paper, such series are determined in the framework of the restricted three–body problem when the more massive primary is an oblate spheroid. The vertical stability of the horizontally critical orbits is also computed.     

X-ray and very high energy gamma-ray emission from Mrk 421 during 2005

Results are reported from a study of the variability of the x-ray and very high energy (VHE) γ -ray emission from Mrk 421 during a 10-day period of enchanced source activity at the end of 2005. The TeV data were taken from observations with the Whipple 10-m Cerenkov telescope and the soft x-ray data, from the ASM on board the RXTE orbital observatory. Light curves for this source indicated an obvious variability in the form of flares in both energy ranges. During the flares, the flux of VHE γ -rays exceeded that from the Crab nebula and correlated positively with the observed x-ray emission. The flux of VHE γ - rays varied almost linearly with the soft x-ray flux. The statistical characteristics of the variability were independent of energy and the two emission components were detected quasi-simultaneously. The observed temporal properties of the source can be interpreted in terms of the rapid acceleration of leptons in a jet using a synchrotron self-Compton model. Our studies confirm a flare activity intrinsic to this source on the scale of a day found in earlier studies.     

Orbital solution for the MACHO*05:34:41.3–69:31:39 O3 If* +O6:V eclipsing binary system in the Large Magellanic Cloud

An orbital solution for the MACHO*05:34:41.3–69:31:39 eclipsing binary system is presented, based on the published light curve and spectral data obtained with the 2.15-m telescope at CASLEO. Based on these spectroscopic observations, the binary components of this system were classified as O3 If* and O6:V respectively. The radial velocity data along with the published light curve were analysed with the Wilson–Devinney code to derive the following masses and radii for the components of this system:             and     The solution shows that the system is in overcontact, as one would expect from the derived masses and the very short orbital period (∼1.4 d).     

Zur Struktur der interstellaren Materie bei Zeta Persei

The region around ξ Persei is qualified for an extended investigation of the interstellar matter in a limited volume because of its position in the Galaxy and the high brightness of ξ Persei. The basis for this analysis were spectra of high dispersion, 21 cm line profiles, photoelectric UBV measurements, measurements of star light polarization, and a photographic three colour photometry. The total numbers of absorbers per cm² for Ca II and Na I were evaluated by the dublet ratio method. The adaption of observations to models for the distribution of the interstellar gas yielded the abundances of Ca and Na. Ca is deficient by about a factor 150. The total number of H I atoms per cm² followed from a gaussian analysis of 21 cm lines. The results of the analysis can be best described by a model consisting of a dense H I layer with a density of 20 to 140 cm⁻³ situated 10 to 30 pc in front of ξ Persei. The interstellar reddening is not uniform in this region; the extension of this cloud in the line of sight is about 100 pc. The structure analysis of reddening provided micro-scales of 0.4 and 4.5 pc for the fluctuations in density of interstellar absorbing matter. On the assumption that the interstellar dust consists of silicate grains the density ratio between interstellar gas and dust amounts to nearly 35. The total mass of the interstellar matter in the analysed region is ≤ 1100 z.dstR;⊙. The direction and strength of the magnetic field were estimated from the star light polarization; according to that the field strength is about 8 · 10⁻⁶G. It is likely that the interstellar matter around ξ Persei is connected with the evolution of the association II Persei.     

Results of Light Curve Analysis of the Massive Binary Cyg X-1/V1357 Cyg in Primary Minimum

The results of new UBV photometric observations of V1357 Cyg in primary minimum are presented. Observations were carried out from 1996 up to now with 60 cm telescope in Crimea with the goal to study additional radiation that was detected in the mean light curve of this system near orbital phase 0.0. The properties of this additional radiation are also considered.     

An RFI investigation for setting up a VLBI station below 2.8 GHz in Malaysia

In this paper, we investigated the radio frequency interference (RFI) that future Very Long Baseline Interferometer (VLBI) observations in Malaysia may encounter. Four frequency windows below 2.8 GHz were chosen for this study and their spectra were measured at four sites. The frequency windows are 322-328 MHz, 608-614 MHz, 1660-1660.5 MHz and 1660.5-1668.4 MHz. The measured averaged RFI floor noise levels in these windows are −99.992 (±0.570) dBm, −99.907 (±0.639) dBm, −100.220 (±0.4941) dBm and −100.359 (±0.110) dBm, respectively. We found that only two bands below 2.8 GHz are permitted for the purpose of radio astronomy in Malaysia. They are 608-614 MHz and 1660-1660.5 MHz. The RFI levels in these permissible bands at the best site (Langkawi) were also measured and concluded to be relatively low. Main sources of RFI in these bands in Malaysia were identified. We also reviewed several current VLBI observations in these two bands.     

An analysis of heat waves in Serbia

In this study, heat waves at three meteorological stations in Serbia were analyzed based on the daily maximum temperature during the summer (June, July and August). The warmest summers as regards heat wave duration and severity occurred within the periods 1951–1952, 1987–1998 (especially 1994) and 2000–2007. The longest heat waves were recorded in 1952, lasting 16 days in Smederevska Palanka and 21 days in Ni?, while in 1994 in Belgrade lasting 18 days. The summer of 1994 in Belgrade and Smederevska Palanka, and 2003 in Ni? were characterized with the highest number of consecutive tropical days (21 and 29, respectively).The autoregressive-moving-average models were applied to generate long series of the daily maximum temperature, from which the relative frequencies of heat waves were estimated. The relationships between the longest heat waves, and the circulation conditions were analyzed using the subjective Hess–Brezowsky catalogue of weather types.     

Characteristics of the surface and features of the propagation of radio waves in the atmosphere of Venus from data of bistatic radiolocation experiments using Venera 9 and 10 satellites

The results of the investigation of two regions of Venus by bistatic radiolocation are presented. The experiments were carried out at wavelength λ₀ = 32 cm. Maps of the distribution of reflectivity were obtained and characteristics of the relief, dielectric permittivity, soil density, and refraction attenuation in the atmosphere were measured. The value of the dispersion of small-scale slopes in the observed regions, γ, varies between 0.4 and 2.2°. There are some features on the reflectivity maps. Some of these features may correspond to mountain slopes with values in the range 2 to 8°. Corresponding changes of relief heights are contained in the interval 0.8 to 2.6 km. The features are found within the region (in the venerocentric IAU system): ?26.5 to 25.0° latitude and 220.0?239.2° longitude. One area was revealed with large values of permittivity in the range 6.5–7.5, and soil density between 2.7 and 2.9 g/cm³. The center of this area is located at ?23.5° latitude and 230.4° longitude. The extent of this region is 80 km. The results of measurements of the refraction angle and the refraction attenuation of radio waves are in good agreement with the parameters of the atmosphere of Venus received from the Soviet landers.