Observations of the 7 March, 1970 total solar eclipse at wavelengths of 3.2 and 8.3 mm

The 7 March, 1970 total solar eclipse was observed at wavelengths of 3.2 and 8.3 mm; the object being to use the knife edge of the Moon as it passed across the Sun to improve angular resolution on the Sun. This in turn would provide a radial brightness distribution of the Sun with an angular resolution of a few seconds of arc.Excellent eclipse curves were obtained at 3 mm; however, some external interference marred the 8 mm record near totality.The 8 mm brightness distribution is subject to some uncertainty, but tends to show limb brightening. The 3 mm brightness distribution shows a well defined complex limb brightening within about 1 arc min of the optical limb. The maximum brightening is approximately 30% above the average disc temperature.     

Radio emission from the Sun at 843 MHz

The Molonglo Observatory Synthesis Telescope (MOST) has recently been modified to permit observations of the Sun. With a collecting area of 18000 m², MOST makes high-sensitivity measurements in right-hand circular polarisation over a 3 MHz bandwidth at 843 MHz. The maximum baseline of the multi-element interferometer is 1600 m, so that one-dimensional spatial resolution as fine as 32 arc sec is available. A resistor array produces simultaneously a set of 64 beams separated by 22 arc sec, which may be offset electronically to cover the entire Sun in a few seconds. Observations may be made with a beam shape corresponding to either a multiplying or an adding interferometer. By exploiting the technique of Earth-rotation synthesis the telescope may be used to make two-dimensional maps of the Sun at the time of the austral solstice with a synthesized beamwidth of 43 × 110 arc sec. This paper describes the instrument and the procedures used to make various types of solar observations, and exhibits some of the first data collected.     

A high speed photometer in the optical region for lunar occultation studies

High speed photometry during the lunar occultation of a stellar system provides an effective means of achieving high angular resolution in one dimension at the sub arc second level which is well suited for resolving close binary projected separations in the range of 10–100 milliarc seconds. An optical fast photometer designed for such a purpose is described and some results from the initial observations taken with the system including the resolution of a projected separation of 55 milli arcsecond in one binary system are detailed.     

The composite galaxy NGC 6764: Nuclear activity and circumnuclear star formation

We investigated the kinematics and ionization mechanism of the innermost arc seconds of the nucleus of NGC 6764 (SBb), using spatially-resolved optical spectra. The observed radial variations of the emission line ratios cannot be explained by one single-ionizing agent, but are consistent with circumnuclear ionizeation by hot stars in addition to a central power-law source. We conclude that NGC 6764 is a Composite Galactic Nucleus (CGN).Visiting Astronomer, German-Spanish Astronomical Center, Calar Alto, operated by the Max-Planck-Institut für Astronomie in Heidelberg jointly with the Spanish National Commission for Astronomy.     

Copper Mosaic Crystals for Laue Lenses

Large single crystals of copper with an uniform and very narrow mosaic spread between 25 seconds and 1 minute of arc are now available at I.L.L. This result is of great interest in the construction of a Laue lens for astrophysical applications for which such quality copper single crystals may be used. The X-ray diffraction properties of copper single crystals produced at I.L.L. were studied for x-ray energies ranging from 100 keV to 400 keV. Several monocrystalline plates with different thicknesses and mosaic distributions were then prepared from the as-grown crystals in order to measure their diffraction efficiency as a function of energy. As expected, the value of the peak reflectivity depends on the crystal thickness. Reflectivity measurements show the excellent properties of copper crystals for gamma-ray diffraction. A peak reflectivity of 24% was measured at 220 keV from a copper single crystal of 3.75 mm thickness having a mosaic spread of 1.5 minutes of arc. Some technical aspects on the preparation of copper single crystal plates are also discussed.     

Fiberoptically Multiplexed Medium Resolution Spectroscopy from the WIYN Telescope,Singlet D Neutral Oxygen,NH2, and H2O+

The WIYN 3.5-meter telescope and its Multi-Object Spectrograph (MOS) have been used to obtain simultaneous spectra at many points in the coma of Comet Hale-Bopp. Between 1996 October and 1997 April in excess of 7500 individual spectra were obtained, typically 96 at a time. On six nights the “Hydra” fiber positioner was used to sample a ring pattern of points about the nucleus with a minimum spacing of 40 arc seconds and a maximum radius of 22.5 arc minutes. On four nights a new “Densepak” fiber cable was used. In this configuration a 7 × 13 rectangular pattern of 91, 3 arc second fibers on 4 arc second centers was used. In most cases the bench spectrograph was used in the echelle mode with an interference filter to isolate a single order. The wavelength range from 6100 Å to 6400 Å was recorded with resolution of approximately 15,000. This spectral region contains the emission features of [OI], C₂, NH₂and H₂O⁺. From this mass of data we are beginning to extract the radial, azimuthal and temporal variations of many different spectral features. The radial profiles of [O I] λ6300 Å and NH₂ are reasonably well representable by the Haser model formalism, that of H₂O⁺ is not.     

Jets in AGN as seen with an ultimate angular resolution

Jets and cores in Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) constitute the dominant radio structural pattern in a broad range of angular scales from hundreds of arc seconds down to sub-milliarcseconds. This brief review desribes some recent results in studying the most compact `core-jet' morphologies in AGN using Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) technique. They include measurements of the cross-section brightness distribution in pc-scale radio jets and attempts to investigate the most compact cores with brightness temperatures in excess of 10¹³ K.     

The XUV structure of solar active regions

XUV spectroheliograms of 2 active regions are studied. The images are due to lines emitted at temperatures between 8 x 10⁴ K and 2 x 10⁶ K and thus are indicative of transition region and coronal structures. The hot coronal lines are formed solely in loop structures which connect regions of opposite photospheric magnetic polarity but are not observed over sunspots. Transition region lines are emitted in plages overlying regions of intense photospheric magnetic field and in loops or loop-segments connecting such regions. The hot coronal loops are supported hydrostatically while only some of the transition zone loops are. The coronal and transition zone loops are distinctly separated and are not coaxial. A comparison of direct measurements of electron densities using density sensitive line ratios with indirect measurements using emission measures and path lengths shows the existence of fine structures of less than a second of arc in transition region loops. From a similar analysis, hot coronal loops do not have any fine structure below about 2 seconds of arc.     

Lunar and terrestrial tidal effects on the Moon's rotational motion

An accurate model of the rotation of the Moon, constructed by numerical integration, has been presented in a previous paper. All direct perturbations capable of producing at least 10^–4 seconds of arc on the Moon's rotational motion have been included, and the physical librations resulting from planetary effects and Earth-Moon figure-figure interactions have been presented. The present study deals with the Moon's physical librations resulting from the non-rigidities of the Moon and the Earth. The effects of the Moon's elasticity and of a lunar phase lag are analyzed. Physical librations due to lunar tides and those due to terrestrial tides are presented and described.     

Rocket observation of the EUV images of a solar flare and active regions

Images of a flare and active regions were obtained in the extreme ultraviolet emission lines such as CIII 977 Å, Ne VIII 770 Å, and HI L, and hydrogen Lyman continua with a spatial resolution of less than ten seconds of arc together with one-dimensional scanning at 1650 Å. A microchannel plate was used as a detector, and pointing accuracy was, for about half of the observation time, around 0.5 arc sec.The relationship between the shape of the flare and the structure of the photospheric magnetic field is discussed. A map of the electron temperature distribution derived from the intensity ratio of the Lyman continua at 880 Å and 815 Å showed a lower temperature in regions of higher activity. A very small geometrical thickness of 50–500 m in the C III emitting region of the flare was found. And the layer emitting the continuum in 1650 Å is shown to be at a temperature of 5300 K in the flare and 4700 K in active regions.     

Observations of quasiperiodic variations in the solar flux at 10.7 GHz

Observations of the continuum microwave flux at 2.8 cm from quiet regions of the solar disc reveal low amplitude, quasiperiodic fluctuations at periods of 234 s and 150 s. For oscillating elements 10 arc seconds in extent, the corresponding peak to peak temperature variations are 230 K and 190 K. The energy flux in the oscillations is estimated to be 2.5x10² ergs cm² s^–1, assuming they are caused by acoustic waves. If the oscillating elements are 1 arc second in extent, the energy flux is comparable to that required for coronal heating.No evidence is found for strong oscillations at periods greater than 250 s, although other authors have claimed microwave detection of strong fluctuations at periods of 280 s and 400 s.     

Correction Method of Antenna Pointing Error Caused by the Main Reflector Deformation

The pointing accuracy of a radio telescope is usually less than one-tenth of its antenna beam width. For large-aperture antennas at the short-centimeter band or millimeter-wave band, the pointing accuracy must be as high as several arc seconds. Therefore, for large-diameter and high-frequency reflector antennas, the pointing problem has become an important focal point to realize the antenna performance. Among many structural subsystem factors that affect the antenna pointing accuracy, there has been only less study on the factor of main reflector deformation. Based on the structural characteristics of the antenna, a reflector space coordinate system is established in this paper. And based on the space coordinates of the main reflector surface points after deformation, a non-linear least squares fitting method with 3 degrees of freedom is proposed to accurately predict the antenna pointing. Finally, the space geometric relationship is used to strictly derive the precise adjustments on the elevation and azimuth in order for correcting the antenna pointing error, and the indirect relationship between the main reflector deformation and the pointing error is constructed. This has certain guiding significance for improving the pointing accuracy of large radio antennas.     

主反射面变形引起的天线指向误差修正方法

射电天线指向精度通常要求小于主波束宽度的1/10, 对于短厘米波段或毫米波段的大口径反射面天线, 指向精度要求高达几个角秒, 对于天线性能目标的实现是个巨大的挑战, 因此对于大口径高频段的反射面天线来说指向问题成为天线性能实现的重要关注焦点. 在众多影响天线指向精度的结构子系统因素中, 对主反射面变形因素的研究很少. 文章结合天线的结构特点建立了反射面空间坐标系统, 并基于变形后主面点的空间坐标值, 提出了3自由度下的非线性最小二乘吻合的方法去精准预测天线指向. 最后利用空间几何关系严格推导出了服务于天线指向误差修正的俯仰和方位的精确调整量, 从而构建了主面变形同指向误差之间的间接关系, 这对大型射电天线指向精度的提升具有一定的指导意义.     

Velocity fields in the solar atmosphere

Observations of velocity fields in the solar atmosphere made with the Mount Wilson solar magnetograph are analyzed. These observations, which were made with very high velocity sensitivity, cover nearly 250 hours and were made with apertures of several sizes and at various parts of the solar disk, and in strong and weak magnetic fields. The amplitudes of the 300-sec oscillations are about 25% weaker in regions where the magnetic field is greater than 80 gauss than where the field is less than 10 gauss. No difference in the frequencies of the oscillations could be found between strong-field and field-free regions. It is suggested that the oscillations occur only where the field is absent and the lower amplitude in a strong field represents the fraction of the magnetograph aperture occupied by a magnetic field. The element sizes for the 300-sec oscillations are probably at least 5–10 arc seconds.Observations made simultaneously with two lines formed at different depths in the solar atmosphere showed small phase differences in the 5-min oscillations. The upper level showed shorter period oscillations when the lower level oscillations underwent phase changes.A short period oscillation is found superposed on the 300-sec oscillation. These SPOs come in bursts that last for a minute or two and have average amplitudes that fall in the range 0.05–0.10 km/sec peak to peak. All attempts to explain them as instrumental or seeing effects have failed. Their periods fall in the range 1–5 seconds. The horizontal scale of these oscillations is smaller than that of the 300-sec oscillations, and the SPOs are more nearly isotropic oscillations than are these around 300 seconds. They do not represent a high-frequency tail of the latter. These observations did not have a digitizing interval short enough to analyze the SPOs for power spectra, but it is clear from the tracings that they are not a nearly monochromatic oscillation as are the longer waves. The amplitudes of the SPOs in the solar atmosphere must be very large and they contribute greatly to the non-radiative energy flux. It is suggested that they represent a large microturbulence line-broadening effect.     

A Multi-Wavelength Study of the Compact M1 Flare on October 22, 2002

In this paper we present a further study of the Ml class flare observed on October 22, 2002. We focus on the SOHO Coronal Diagnostic Spectrometer (CDS) spectral observations performed during a multi-wavelength campaign with TRACE and ground-based instruments (VTT, THEMIS). Strong blue-shifts are observed in the CDS coronal lines in flare kernels during the impulsive phase of this flare. From a careful wavelength calibration we deduce upflows of 140 km/s for the Fe XIX flare emission, with a pattern of progressively smaller flows at lower temperatures. Large line-widths were observed, especially for the Fe XIX line, which indicate the existence of turbulent velocities. The strong upflows correspond to full shifts of the line profiles. These flows are observed at the initial phase of the flare, and correspond to the “explosive evaporation”. The regions of the blueshifted kernels, a few arc seconds away from the flare onset location, could be explained by the chain reaction of successive magnetic reconnections of growing emerging field line with higher and higher overlying field. This interpretation is evidenced by the analysis of the magnetic topology of the active region using a linear force-free-field extrapolation of THEMIS magnetograms.     

Spatial relations between preflares and flares

We have conducted an initial search for discrete preflare brightenings as observed in soft X-radiation by Yohkoh. The Yohkoh images allow us to identify, to within a few arc seconds, the location of a preflare event relative to the succeeding flare. Our initial motivation in this study was to search for early coronal brightenings leading to flare effects, as had been suggested by earlier studies; thus we concentrated on Yohkoh limb events. We find no evidence for such early coronal brightenings. Between 15% and 41% of the 131 suitable events matched our criteria for preflare brightening: the same active region; brightening within one hour of the flare peak; preflare brightness less than 30% of the flare peak. In the great majority of the preflare cases, we found that physically separate nearby structures brightened initially. Often these structures appeared to share a common footpoint location with the flare brightening itself. In a few cases the preflare could have occurred in exactly the same structure as the flare.     

Effects of physical librations of the Moon on the orbital elements of a lunar satellite

Physical librations of the Moon are small cyclic perturbations with periods of one month and longer, and amplitudes of 100 arc seconds or less. These cause the selenographic axes fixed in the true Moon to have a different orientation than similar axes fixed in the mean Moon.Physical librations have two types of effects of present interest. If the orbital elements of a lunar satellite are referred to selenographic axes in the true Moon as it rotates and librates, then the librations cause changes in the orientation angles (node, inclination, and periapsis argument of the satellite) large enough that long-period perturbation theory cannot be used without compensation for such geometrical effects. As a second effect, the gravitational potential of the Moon is actually wobbled in inertial space, a condition not included in the potential expression used in perturbation theory.This paper gives data on the magnitude of the physical librations, the geometrical effects on the orbital elements and the equivalent changes in the coefficients in the potential. It is shown that geometrical effects can be accommodated either by using an inertial axes system or by compensating for the lunar librations and precession when the selenographic axes are used. Further, it is shown that physical effects are small and negligible for all but the most exacting endeavors.     

Photometric variability of stars belonging to the Trapezium-type systems

We report the variability of 21 stars belonging to 17 systems considered to be Trapezium-type systems by Allenet al. (1977a). In order to avoid serious problems due to possible light contamination by neighbouring stars, we have only considered systems with angular separations between components equal or greater than five seconds of arc. Among the new variables here reported there are five having V variations greater than 0 ^m .3. For six systems we have spectrograms of the individual components. Three of the six systems are probably optical configurations and only two of the variables in the remaining three systems may be physical companions.     

A glancing incidence solar telescope for the soft x-ray region

This paper describes the instrumentation of an Aerobee rocket (NASA 4.95 GS) which was launched from White Sands Missile Range on May 20th 1966, to observe the Sun in the soft X-ray region. The experiment package, which was pointed at the sun by a control system stabilized about all three axes, carried two Wolter type I glancing incidence telescopes to photograph the sun in wavelength regions (determined by bandpass filters) between 3 and 75 Å, and two proportional counters to obtain flux data and rough spectral shapes in the regions 2–11 Å and 8–20 Å. The spatial resolution obtained was about 20 arc seconds. Limb brightening and polar darkening are very pronounced at the longer wavelengths. A tuft of emission was observed at the North Pole in addition to an arch-like structure on the NW limb. Several of the photographs are presented, and some preliminary results are discussed.     

同步卫星短弧定轨

同步卫星受到摄动力的影响,它的实际轨道有一点漂移．卫星需要不断的调轨调姿,以保证其正常运行．为了研究卫星在几小时,甚至更短的时间内的轨迹情况,采用短弧段定轨法．用动力学方法进行短弧定轨,分别研究1小时和15分钟定轨并进行比较,目的是为了在同步轨道卫星变轨后,能尽快地为卫星提供精密的预报轨道．此外,在系列短弧定轨后,得到精密轨道系列,为研究轨道变化的力学因素及研究短弧中卫星转发器时延变化规律等提供依据．