Hubble Space Telescope observations of Comet 9P/Tempel 1 during the Deep Impact encounter

We report on the Hubble Space Telescope program to observe periodic Comet 9P/Tempel 1 in conjunction with NASA's Deep Impact Mission. Our objectives were to study the generation and evolution of the coma resulting from the impact and to obtain wide-band images of the visual outburst generated by the impact. Two observing campaigns utilizing a total of 17 HST orbits were carried out: the first occurred on 2005 June 13-14 and fortuitously recorded the appearance of a new, short-lived fan in the sunward direction on June 14. The principal campaign began two days before impact and was followed by contiguous orbits through impact plus several hours and then snapshots one, seven, and twelve days later. All of the observations were made using the Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS). For imaging, the ACS High Resolution Channel (HRC) provides a spatial resolution of 36 km (16 km pixel⁻¹) at the comet at the time of impact. Baseline images of the comet, made prior to impact, photometrically resolved the comet's nucleus. The derived diameter, 6.1 km, is in excellent agreement with the 6.0±0.2 km diameter derived from the spacecraft imagers. Following the impact, the HRC images illustrate the temporal and spatial evolution of the ejecta cloud and allow for a determination of its expansion velocity distribution. One day after impact the ejecta cloud had passed out of the field-of-view of the HRC.     

The Meteoritical Bulletin,No. 92, 2007 September

Abstract— In this edition of The Meteoritical Bulletin, 1394 recognized meteorites are reported, 27 from specific locations within Africa, 133 from Northwest Africa, 1227 from Antarctica (from ANSMET, PNRA, and PRIC expeditions), and 7 from Asia. The Meteoritical Bulletin announces the approval of four new names series by the Nomenclature Committee of the Meteoritical Society, two from Africa and one from Asia, including Al Haggounia, from Al Haggounia, Morocco, which is projected to be on the order of 3 metric tons of material related to enstatite chondrites and aubrites. Approved are two falls from Africa, Bassikounou (Mauritania) and Gashua (Nigeria). Approved from areas other than Antarctica are one lunar, two Martian, 32 other achondrites, three mesosiderites, two pallasites, one CM, two CK, one CR2, two CV3, one CR2, and four R chondrites. The Nomenclature Committee of the Meteoritical Society announces 48 newly approved relict meteorites from two new name series, Österplana and Gullhögen (both from Sweden).     

Phytoplankton index of biotic integrity for Chesapeake Bay and its tidal tributaries

A Phytoplankton Index of Biotic Integrity (P-IBI) was developed from data collected during 18 yr 91985–2002) of the Chesapeake Bay Water Quality Monitoring Program. Dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN), orthophosphate (PO₄), and Secchi depth were used to characterize phytoplankton habitat conditions. Low DIN and PO₄ concentrations and high Secchi depths characterized least-impaire conditions. Thirty-eight phytoplankton metrics were tested for their ability to discriminate between impaired and least-impaired habitat conditions. Twelve discriminatory metrics were chosen, and different combinations of these twelve metrics were scored and used to create phytoplankton community indexes for spring and summer in the four salinity regimes in Chesapeake Bay. The scoring criteria for each metric were based on the distribution of the metric’s values in least-impaired conditions relative to the distribution in impaired conditions. An independent data set and jackknife validation procedure were used to examine P-IBI performance. The P-IBI correctly classified 70.0–84.4% of the impaired and least-impaired samples, grouped by season and salinity, in the calibration data set. The P-IBI is a management tool to assess phytoplankton community status relative to estuarine nutrient and light conditions.     

The Arctic observatory CD-ROM: An interactive approach to access and demonstrate scientific data and information

This paper is an introduction to the Arctic Observatory CD-ROM that accompanies this special issue. The data and information upon which this CD-ROM is based was derived from a prototype geographical information system (GIS). A simple graphical user interface (GUI) was developed specifically for the presentation of the GIS data and information in an educational environment. However, the utility of efficient access to a large volume of browse data of multiple parameters extends beyond the educational context. This effort is an example of how researchers can place their data and information in a format that is available for examination by others in the field, non-experts, and students interested in the field of study. To demonstrate the utility of the Arctic Observatory CD-ROM for research purposes, we analyzed a specific anomaly in ice concentration values which came to our attention during our tests of the GUI.