Optical observations of line profile variability in the WN5 star HD 50896

The WN5 star HD 50896 is a well known variable star but the cause of the variations is uncertain. As part of an extensive observing campaign on HD 50896, 68 spectra were obtained with the AAT and UCL echelle spectrograph over three nights in January 1991. The variations seen in the emission line profiles of He II 4686, He II 4860, N V 4945 and N V 4603, 4620, sampling different regions of the wind, are described. Gross night-to-night changes are seen in the tops of all the emission lines, with the pattern of variability being different for each line, as a consequence of the different line formation regions. The edges of the emission line profiles are seen to shift but not in a systematic way, as expected for binary motion. In terms of hourly variations which monitor the propagation of instabilities in the wind, distinct blobs are seen moving outwards through the emission line profiles of the He II lines but are absent in NV 4945. This appears to indicate that, at least for the epoch of these observations, the instabilities develop farther out in the wind than the N V formation region and may well rule out photospheric-induced wind instabilities.     

Unilateral ARMA processes on a square net by the herringbone method

Because multidimensional ARMA processes have great potential for the simulation of geological parameters such as aquifer permeability, it was important to resolve which of two proposed alternative methods should be used for determining the two-dimensional weighting parameter, , for a unilateral ARMA (1, 0) process on a square net. Practical simulations demonstrates that the correct formulation is: =₁₀/(1+ ₁₀ ² where _r,s is the correlation between lattice points at lagsr and s. When the simulations are performed with correlations of 0.8 or more a residual bias was detected which was found to be caused by a difference in the variance between the one- and two-dimensional models. This can be rectified by modifying the two- dimensional model as follows: z_ij=(z_{i–1, j} + z_{i, j–1}) + a_ij where ²=1/(1 + ₁₀ ² ).     

Syngenetic inclusions of yimengite in diamond from Sese kimberlite (Zimbabwe) — evidence for metasomatic conditions of growth

Syngenetic inclusions of yimengite K (Cr, Ti, Mg, Fe, Al)₁₂O₁₉, a potassium member of the magnetoplumbite mineral group, have been recorded in an octahedral macrodiamond from the Sese kimberlite (50 km south of Masvingo, Zimbabwe). One yimengite inclusion carries lamellae of chromite suggesting peridotitic diamond paragenesis. The diamond and inclusions were studied in situ in a plate polished parallel to (011). Cathodoluminescence (CL) imaging has shown blue colour and octahedral zonation of the diamond, lack of cracks and the location of five yimengites in different growth zones. Nitrogen (N) contents (at. ppm) in the diamond determined by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) steadily decrease from 576 (core) to 146 (rim). N aggregation (%1aB) is correspondingly 40% in the core and 30% in the rim. Hydrogen (H) content is high in the core, moderate in the intermediate and very high in the rim zones. Four yimengites were dated using the laser ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar method. Three inclusions yielded total gas ages that agree with, or are younger than, or within error of, the Sese kimberlite eruption age (538±11 Ma) but may be compromised by gas loss. One inclusion, with the highest tapped interface gas yield, gave a total gas age of 892±21 Ma that is a likely minimum yimengite age. Time–T °C constraints from N aggregation systematics give a range of possible ages from kimberlite eruption date back to Archean and do not resolve the variable results of the ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar dating. Compared with the published chemistry of yimengite from kimberlites, inclusions from the Sese diamond contain higher Al, Mg, and Sr and have lower concentration of Fe³⁺. The chondrite-normalised REE pattern of the yimengite shows enrichment in LREE and depletion in HREE, but LREE/HREE fractionations are lower than for lindsleyite–mathiasite series mantle titanates and rather similar to the REE concentrations in kimberlite and lamproite rocks. It is suggested that Sese yimengite formed in the lithospheric mantle from metasomatism of chrome spinel by a fluid rich in Ti, K, Ba and LREE.     

The upper Jovian atmosphere aerosol content determined from a satellite eclipse observation

The Galilean satellite eclipse technique for measuring the aerosol distribution in the upper Jovian atmosphere is described and applied using 30 color observations of the 13 May 1972 eclipse of Ganymede obtained with the 5-m Hale telescope. This event probes the South Temperate Zone. The observed aerosol lies above the visible cloud tops, is very tenuous and varies with altitude, increasing rapidly with downward passage through the tropopause. The aerosol extinction coefficient, κ_a (λ1.05 μm), is ～1.1 × 10^?9 cm^?1 in the lower stratosphere and ～1.1 × 10^?8 cm^?1 at the tropopause. The 1σ uncertainty in these values does not exceed 50% The observations require some aerosol above the tropopause but do not clearly determine its structure. The present analysis emphasizes an extended haze distribution, but the alternate possibility is not excluded that the stratospheric aerosol resides in a thin layer. The aerosol extinction increases with decreasing wavelength and indicates the particle radius to be ?0.2 μm. Larger radii are impossible. These overall results confirm Axel's (1972) suggestion of a small quantity of dust above the Jovian cloud tops and the optical depths are consistent with those required to explain the low uv albedo.     

Analysis of X-ray observations of the 15 June 1973 flare in active region NOAA 131

Observations and analyses of the 1B/M3 flare of 15 June, 1973 in active region NOAA 131 (McMath 12379) are presented. The X-ray observations, consisting of broadband photographs and proportional counter data from the Skylab/ATM NASA-MSFC/Aerospace S-056 experiment, are used to infer temperatures, emission measures, and densities for the flaring plasma. The peak temperature from the spatially resolved photographs is 25 × 10⁶ K, while the temperature from the full-disk proportional counter data is 15 × 10⁶ K. The density is 3 × 10¹⁰cm^–3. The X-ray flare emission appears to come primarily from two low-lying curvilinear features lying perpendicular to and centered on the line where the photospheric longitudinal magnetic field is zero. Similarities in the preflare and postflare X-ray emission patterns indicate that no large-scale relaxation of the coronal magnetic configuration was observed. Also discussed are H and magnetic field observations of the flare and the active region. Finally, results of numerical calculations, including thermal conduction, radiative loss and chromospheric evaporation, are in qualitative agreement with the decay phase observations.Presently at NASA/Marshall Space Flight Center.     

Diameters of the Galilean satellites from pioneer data

Pioneers 10 and 11 have transmitted seven images of the Galilean satellites with surface resolutions on the order of several hundred kilometers. Because the point-spread function is well determined, it has been possible to measure the radius of each of the four satellites to a precision of typically ±30 km. The method used fits a semicircle to the illuminated limb by varying the center coordinates and radius until the best-fit criteria are satisfied. Careful attention is given to locating the true edge position within the blurred image. The radius determinations and corresponding densities for the satellites are: Io (1840 ± 30, 3.41 ± 0.19), Europa (1552 ± 20, 3.06 ± 0.15), Ganymede (2650 ± 25, 1.90 ± 0.06), and Callisto (2420 ± 20, 1.81 ± 0.05), where the units are in kilometers and grams per cubic centimeters, respectively. Since three images of Callisto were received, it has been possible to substantially decrease the uncertainties of the radius and density.     

Taxonomy of asteroids

A taxonomic system was introduced by C. R. Chapman, D. Morrison, and B. Zellner [Icarus25, 104–130 (1975)], in which minor planets are classified according to a few readily observable optical properties, independent of specific mineralogical interpretations. That taxonomy is here augmented to five classes, now precisely defined in terms of seven parameters obtained from polarimetry, spectrophotometry, radiometry, and UBV photometry of 523 objects. We classify 190 asteroids as type C, 141 as type S, 13 as type M, 3 as type E, and 3 as type R; 55 objects are shown to fall outside these five classes and are designated U (unclassifiable). For the remaining 118, the data exclude two or more types but are insufficient for unambiguous classification. Reliable diameters, from radiometry or polarimetry or else from albedos adopted as typical of the types, are listed for 396 objects. We also compare our taxonomy with other ones and discuss how classification efforts are related to the interpretation of asteroid mineralogies.