On the encounter desorption of hydrogen atoms on an ice mantle

At low temperatures(10 K),hydrogen atoms can diffuse quickly on grain ice mantles and frequently encounter hydrogen molecules,which cover a notable fraction of grain surface.The desorption energy of H atoms on H2 substrates is much less than that on water ice.The H atom encounter desorption mechanism is adopted to study the enhanced desorption of H atoms on H_(2 )substrates.Using a small reaction network,we show that the steady-state surface H abundances predicted by the rate equation model that includes H atom encounter desorption agree reasonably well with the results from the more rigorous microscopic Monte Carlo method.For a full gas-grain model,H atom encounter desorption can reduce surface H abundances.Therefore,if a model adopts the encounter desorption of H atoms,it becomes more difficult for hydrogenation products such as methanol to form,but it is easier for C,O and N atoms to bond with each other on grain surfaces.     

Astrometric positions of comets Halley and Giacobini-Zinner obtained at Fabra Observatory

We present 190 astrometric positions of comet Halley and 46 positions of comet Giacobini-Zinner obtained at Fabra Observatory during the 1985/1986 campaign by the astrometric network of the International Halley Watch.     

Infrared studies at the ice laboratory of Alcoy

At present, there are few laboratory spectra of analogs of astrophysical interest in the far-infrared range (FIR). Laboratory infrared (IR) spectra of simple ices and its mixtures obtained at low temperature and pressure are found mainly up to 25 μm, and few up to 200 μm. On the other hand, there are some spectra for carbonaceous material and silicates up to 2000 μm. Our laboratory is equipped with an IR spectrometer that integrates a Michelson interferometer with a resolution better than 0.25 cm⁻¹ and that operates under vacuum conditions of 10⁻¹ mbar. There is also a silicon bolometer, a very high-sensitivity detector in comparison with the standard deuterated triglycine sulfate (DTGS) detectors. The use of the bolometer and the possibility of working under vacuum conditions inside the optics and the sample compartment of the spectrometer allow obtaining high-sensitivity spectra free from H₂O vapor and CO₂ gas bands. Those conditions are necessary to obtain high-quality spectra in the FIR where absorption bands are much less intense than those in the mid-IR region. In our laboratory there is also a high-vacuum chamber that allows different studies on ices deposited onto a cold finger. We have already carried out experiments on the study of ice density as a function of temperature, UV irradiation of ices, temperature-programmed desorption (TPD) and UV-vis reflectance. In this work, we present the design of the experimental setup we are building to carry out different experiments simultaneously on the same ice sample, including spectra measurements in the mid-IR range (MIR) and the FIR. This design integrates jointly the IR spectrometer, the high-vacuum chamber and the silicon bolometer. Lastly, we show a spectrum we have obtained of a solid of astrophysical interest such as crystalline forsterite grains by using the polyethylene pellet technique.     

The dust coma of Comet P/Giacobini-Zinner in the infrared

We present 1-20 micrometers photometry of P/Giacobini-Zinner obtained at the NASA Infrared Telescope Facility, during 1985 June-September (r = 1.57-1.03 AU). A broad, weak 10 micrometers silicate emission feature was detected on August 26.6; a similar weak emission feature could have been hidden in the broadband photometry on other dates. The total scattering and emitting cross section of dust in the inner coma was similar to that in other short-period comets, but a factor of 10 (r = 1.56 AU) to 100 (r = 1.03 AU) lower than the amount of dust in Comet Halley. The thermal emission continuum can be fit with models weighted toward either small or large absorbing grains. The dust production rate near perihelion was approximately 10(5) g/s (small-grain model) to approximately 10(6) g/s (large-grain model). The corresponding dust/gas mass ratio on August 26 was approximately 0.1-1. A silicate-rich heterogeneous grain model with an excess of large particles is compatible with the observed spectrum of Giacobini-Zinner on August 26. Thus, weak or absent silicate emission does not necessarily imply an absence of silicates in the dust, although the abundance of silicate particles < or = 1 micrometer radius must have been lower than in Comet Halley.     

Properties of energetic water-group ions in the extended pick-up region surrounding comet Giacobini-Zinner

The properties of energetic (65–95 keV) cometary water-group ions in the extended solar wind pick-up region surrounding comet Giacobini-Zinner are examined using data from the EPAS instrument on the ICE spacecraft. In the outer part of this region, extending from cometocentric distances of several hundred thousand to a few million kilometres (the limit of pick-up ion detectability), it is found that large modulations of the ion flux occur (with J_MAX/J_MIN 10²-10³) which are related to the direction of the magnetic field. It is also found that the ions stream in a direction which is intermediate between the directions of the solar wind flow and the E × B drift, and that ions are present at energies somewhat above the local pick-up energy. These properties indicate that the waves which are excited by the unstable “ring-beam” pick-up ion velocity distributions do result in significant scattering of the ions in this region, both in pitch angle and in energy, but that they have insufficient amplitude to scatter the ions into near isotropy in the solar wind frame. Closer to the comet (but still upstream from the bow shock), the ion flux modulations are considerably reduced in amplitude and the ions respond less to the E × B drift, indicating that the ions are scattered nearer to isotropy in this region. Inbound, this transition takes place relatively abruptly at a distance of 4 × 10⁵ km in association with an increase in the solar wind speed, after which the ion flux increases, and ceases to be modulated by the field direction, while the streaming direction is continuously antisolar and unmodulated by the direction of the E × B drift. Outbound, weak vestiges of the ring-beam ion anisotropy are present in the region immediately upstream from the bow shock (at −1 × 10⁵ km), but these become more marked at distances in excess of t4 × 10⁵ km, increasing gradually with increasing distance from the comet. It is shown that the evolution of the ion properties is qualitatively consistent with expectations based on quasi-linear diffusion of the ions by the magnetosonic waves observed during the encounter.     

Line formation in a magnetic field and the interpretation of magnetographic measurements

The strong temperature dependence of the line Fei 5250.2 has been studied by calculating line contours and magnetographic calibration curves for different spot models and the BCA. Line contours calculated for arbitrary depth dependence of the magnetic field vector show depolarization effects within the Zeeman components for transversal fields with variable direction and changes of the observed plane of polarization if anomalous dispersion is taken into account.The observed anomalous splitting of the -component may be interpreted best by suggesting discrete inhomogeneities of the magnetic field within sunspots.     

The interpretation of hard X-ray polarization measurements in solar flares

We review recent observations of polarization of moderately hard X-rays in solar flares and compare them with the predictions of recent detailed modeling of hard X-ray bremsstrahlung production by non-thermal electrons. We find that the recent advances in the complexity of the modeling lead to substantially lower predicted polarizations than in earlier models and more fully highlight how various parameters play a role in determining the polarization of the radiation field. The new predicted polarizations are comparable to those predicted by thermal modeling of solar flare hard X-ray production, and both are in agreement with the observations. In the light of these results, we propose new polarization observations with current generation instruments which could be used to discriminate between non-thermal and thermal models of hard X-ray production in solar flares.     

Celestial-mechanical interpretation of the two-way radio measurements of radial velocity of spacecraft for scientific applications

The article describes a model of the two-way measurements of radial velocity based on the Doppler effect. The relations are presented for the instantaneous value of the increment range at the time of measurement and the radial velocity of the mid-dimensional interval. The compensation of methodological errors of interpretation of the two-way Doppler measurements is considered.     

Theoretical aspects and interpretation of thermal measurements concerning the subsurface investigation of a cometary nucleus

Part of the lander payload for the comet rendezvous mission Rosetta is the thermal probe multi-purpose sensors for surface and subsurface science (MUPUS). In this paper, we discuss the relationship of the expected MUPUS data to structural and textural parameters of the near-surface layers of the cometary nucleus. Such properties could be crucial parameters concerning the formation and evolution of the nucleus. Thus, we calculate the thermal conductivity of a porous material in terms of microstructural parameters, using a geometrical model with a solid matrix, a surrounding pore space and a distinct contact area between different particles. We include the possibility that a significant amount of heat may be transported by pore filling vapour in addition to heat conducted via the matrix. Furthermore, we consider that the heat is transmitted through only a fraction of the grains and these are organized into a chain-like structure. These chains—and not the single grains—should be regarded as the basic unit of structure. Applying our model to measured thermal conductivities of porous water ice, we interpret the material in terms of microparameters and estimate the effective size of the contact area and the effective pore radius. The results are in good agreement with our knowledge of the prepared samples. Contrary, we can also show that popular models used in cometary research do not fit with laboratory data at all.     

Stray-light measurements at the Observatorio del Teide

A new procedure to separate the instrumental and atmospheric components of stray light is presented. It is based on the dependence of the aureole's atmospheric component on the air mass and is applied to measurements taken with the Vacuum Newton Telescope (VNT) at the Observatorio del Teide (Tenerife). The resulting instrumental part is independent of the air mass.The variation of both components with wavelength is also studied. The instrumental component shows no dependence on wavelength, in contrast to the atmospheric one which is greater in the blue than in the red.It is concluded that observations with air masses larger than two will probably be strongly affected by stray light.     

Influence of the Solar Activity Cycle on the Gasdynamic Structureof the Heliospheric Interface

The effects of the 11 year solar activity cycle on the heliospheric plasma interface in the presence of neutral H-atoms have been investigated. Our calculations show that nonstationary processes of such kind lead to1) a decrease of the mean interstellar plasma density in the interface;2) a sequence of shocks and rarefaction waves moving from the heliopause (HP)to the bow shock (BS); 3) an expansion of the region between the BS and HP;4) the TS excursion along the upwind direction is within 30%of the mean solar distance. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Water ice clouds in the Martian atmosphere: Two Martian years of SPICAM nadir UV measurements

The SPICAM instrument onboard Mars Express has successfully performed two Martian years (MY 27 and MY28) of observations. Water ice cloud optical depths spatial and temporal distribution was retrieved from nadir measurements in the wavelength range 300–320 nm. During the northern spring the cloud hazes complex distribution was monitored. The clouds in the southern hemisphere formed a zonal belt in the latitude range 30–60°S. The edge of the retreating north polar hood merged with the northern tropical clouds in the range 250–350°E. The development of the aphelion cloud belt (ACB) started with the weak hazes formation (cloud optical thickness 0.1–0.3) in the equatorial region. At the end of the northern spring, the ACB cloud optical thickness reached already values of 0.3–1. The ACB decay in the end of the northern summer was accompanied with a presence of clouds in the north mid-latitudes. The expanded north polar hood merged with the north mid-latitude clouds in the eastern hemisphere. The interannual comparison indicates a decrease in cloud activity immediately after a strong dust storm in southern summer of MY28. The strong dust storms of the MY28 may also be a reason of the observed north polar hood edge shifting northward by 5°.     

On the interpretation of Fraunhofer line Doppler shifts at supergranule boundaries

We have used the SPO tower telescope and echelle spectrograph to study differences in the profiles of three Fei lines, between magnetic network and cells. Ca K slit-jaw pictures were used to identify the network and cell areas, and mean network and cell profiles were computed from digitized spectra for the g = 0 lines 4065, 5434, and the g = 1.5 line 5233. The profile bisectors show that the wings of all three lines are red-shifted in the network by between 75–200 m s^–1 relative to the cell profiles. But the redshift decreases in the line core and becomes less than the standard error of 20 m s^–1 near the line core minimum. This disappearance of the redshift at the cores of all 3 lines formed over the height range 250–500 km above _0.5 = 1, argues against a steady downflow at supergranule boundaries. We show that such red-shifted wings and a relatively unshifted core can result if granular convection is suppressed near the network flux tubes, without implying any downflow in the vicinity of these flux tubes. Our results also indicate that searches for large-scale convective velocity patterns should measure shifts of the line core, rather than the line wings which appear to be very sensitive to inhomogeneities in granule structure.Visiting Astronomers, Sacramento Peak Observatory.     

A historical search for habitable ice at the Phoenix landing site

A time-resolved energy balance model in the latitude range targeted by Phoenix, and extending back in time over the past 10 Ma, has been developed and used to predict the time-varying temperature field in ground ice over scales ranging from minutes to millions of years. The temperature history is compared to the population doubling times of terrestrial psychrophiles as a function of temperature, and the lifetime of analog microbe spores against de-activation by galactic cosmic rays (GCR), in order to assess the habitability of ground ice and surrounding materials that may be sampled by Phoenix. Metrics are derived to quantify “habitability” and compare different model configurations, including total and maximum continuous time, per year, that ground ice temperatures exceed various thresholds, maximum and average dormancy periods, and maximum and average consecutive growing seasons. The key unknowns in assessing the position, and hence the temperature, of the ground ice table at high northern latitude is the fate of the perennial north polar cap at high obliquity. If enough H₂O ice can persist at polar latitudes to buffer at least the high-latitude atmosphere at all orbital configurations, ground ice is found to be relatively shallow over much of the past 10 Ma, and regularly achieves temperatures in excess of those required for the growth of terrestrial psychrophiles. The dry overburden expected at the landing site can easily be sampled by Phoenix, and includes the “sweet spot” that is characterized by the optimal habitability metrics over the past 10 Ma. If the atmosphere is buffered only by low-latitude ice deposits at obliquities greater than about 30°, the frequency and duration of habitable ice is considerably diminished, and the intervening dormancy periods, during which cosmic ray damage accumulates, are correspondingly longer. In all cases, the maximum dormancy period that must be survived by putative martian psychrophiles is at least an order of magnitude greater than the amount of time required to reduce terrestrial psychrophile spore viability by 10⁻⁶ (∼7×¹⁰⁴ years). Depending on the fate of high-obliquity polar ice, the maximum dormancy period can exceed 4×¹⁰⁶ years, a factor of 60 longer than terrestrial psychrophile spore lifetimes. Habitability of martian ground ice is therefore dependent on putative martian psychrophiles developing robustness against GCR deactivation at least an order of magnitude greater than their terrestrial counterparts. Simulations of ground ice throughout the 65° N-72° N latitude range accessible to Phoenix suggest that higher-latitude ground ice has better habitability metrics, although the discrepancy is less than an order of magnitude for all metrics and across the entire latitude range.     

Growth patterns of the last ice age coral terraces at Huon Peninsula

At Huon Peninsula, Papua New Guinea, prolific coral growth during the last-glacial was episodic and in response to a series of sea-level rises. The resultant step-like coral terraces are currently situated from 20 m up to 140 m above sea-level due to continuous tectonic uplift of the Peninsula. The sea-level rises were in response to periodic partial disintegration of Northern Hemisphere ice sheets associated with severe climate swings and occurred within decadal timescales. The relatively rapid 15 m to 35 m rise in sea-levels exposed new head-room for corals to colonize. The resulting terrace structures contain individual corals that do not appear to have grown sequentially in time and with elevation. Additionally, following the peak, sea level fell relatively slowly over several thousand years and corals grew and filled in the flanks of the terrace such that younger corals now occupy lower elevations. We have labeled these structures “pack-up” reefs. This is in contrast to coral terraces formed during major sea-level rises from glacial to interglacial or glacial to interstadial transitions where the rate of sea level rise is commensurate with coral growth rates and corals can keep up with sea-level rise by growing on top of each other in a time orderly sequence. Deriving sea-level information from pack-up terraces is difficult and is likely to be ambiguous. The periodic fluctuations in climate were associated with atmospheric radiocarbon swings that seem to have varied smoothly with time. The same corals that show a scatter in stratigraphic temporal ordering appear regularly distributed in time and with radiocarbon content attesting to the veracity of the age measurements and at the same time confirm the disordered distribution of corals in “pack-up” type reefs.     

Observations and interpretation of solar flares at microwave frequencies

The physical processes responsible for microwave emission in solar flares are outlined, and examples of how microwave observations have been interpreted in terms of physical parameters are described. Selected results obtained during Solar Cycle 21 with the microwave observatories dedicated to synoptic observations of the Sun are summarized. The status and future plans for these facilities at Bern and in Japan are presented. Also discussed are the instrument capabilities required at microwave frequencies to achieve the objectives of a future facility for high-energy solar physics.     

Dynamical interpretation of the very hot region appearing at the top of the loop

In order to explain the appearance of a hard X-ray source at the top of a loop, we present a model in which the dynamical effects of the dark filament mass infallng along the loop in association with the “disparition brusque” plays an important role. The crash of the infalling mass produces high temperature regions in the low corona above the two footpoints of the loop, and the up-going shocks, created in the crash and strengthened in propagating upwards along the steep density gradient in the tail of the infalling mass, produce a very high temperature (10⁸ K) region upon colliding with each other near the top of the loop. Successive occurrence of this process in successively higher loops in magnetic arcade may account for the sources of gradual hard X-ray bursts appearing at the top of the loop-like structure.     

Preliminary interpretation of the polarization measurements performed on ‘Intercosmos-4’ during three X-ray solar flares

Analysis of the X-ray polarization data at 0.8 Å for three major chromospheric flares shows that during the hard phase of the flare the X-rays are polarized in the plane, the projection of which on the solar disc is going approximately from the flare region to the center of the disc. Simultaneously performed measurements of the spectral energy distribution have proved that observed X-rays are produced by the bremsstrahlung of the accelerated electrons with the energies in the range 10–100 keV. The experimental data are in good agreement with the flare model, which deals with the radial movement of accelerated electrons towards the photosphere, together with the continuous injection of these electrons into the emitting region.Presented to International Meeting on Solar Activity, IZMIRAN, November 15–22, 1971.