The Dergaon (H5) chondrite: Fall,classification, petrological and chemical characteristics,cosmogenic effects,and noble gas records

Abstract— A multiple fall of a stony meteorite occurred near the town of Dergaon in Assam, India, on March 2, 2001. Several fragments weighing <2 kg and a single large fragment weighing ～10 kg were recovered from the strewn field, which extended over several tens of square kilometers. Chemical, petrographic, and oxygen isotopic studies indicate it to be, in most aspects, a typical H5 chondrite, except the unusually low K content of ～340 ppm. A cosmic ray exposure of 9.7 Ma is inferred from the cosmogenic noble gas records. Activities of eleven cosmogenic radionuclides were measured. ²⁶Al and ²²Na activities as well as the ²²Na/²⁶Al activity ratio are close to the values expected on the basis of solar modulation of galactic cosmic rays. The low ⁶⁰Co activity (<1 dpm/kg) is indicative of a small preatmospheric size of the meteorite. Cosmic ray heavy nuclei track densities in olivine grains range from ～106 cm^?2 in samples from the largest fragment to approximately (4–9) × 105 cm^?2 in one of the smaller fragments. The combined track, radionuclide, and noble gas data suggest a preatmospheric radius of ～20 cm for the Dergaon meteorite.     

Change in cloud-top temperatures over Europe

Long-term measurements from Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) onboard the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration satellites were evaluated to assess variability in cloud-top temperatures over central and eastern Europe that saw radical infrastructural changes after the fall of the East Bloc in 1989 that has affected the pollution levels and hence cloud albedo. Four years in the late 1980s (1985-1988) and in the late 1990s (1997-2000) were chosen, as these are distinctively marked as episodes of very high and lower air pollution (sulphates and particulate matter). During the late 1980s, low- and medium-level clouds were colder by more than 2 K and convective clouds even by 4 K. Cloud-tops over and around polluted regions are higher, and their temperatures showed stronger variability, suggesting an indirect aerosol effect in the thermal spectral range as well.     

Dwarf nova oscillations and quasi-periodic oscillations in cataclysmic variables – IV. Observations of frequency doubling and tripling in VW Hyi

We present new observations of the rapid oscillations in the dwarf nova VW Hyi, made late in outburst. These dwarf nova oscillations (DNOs) increase in period until they reach 33 s, when a transition to a strong 1st harmonic and weak fundamental takes place. After further period increase, the 2nd harmonic appears; often all three components are present simultaneously. This 1:2:3 frequency suite is similar to what has been seen in some neutron star and black hole X-ray binaries, but has not previously been seen in a cataclysmic variable. When studied in detail, the fundamental and 2nd harmonic vary similarly in phase, but the 1st harmonic behaves independently, though keeping close to twice the frequency of the fundamental. The fundamental period of the DNOs, as directly observed or inferred from the harmonics, increases to ∼100 s before the oscillation disappears as the star reaches quiescence. Its maximum period is close to that of the 'longer-period' DNOs observed in VW Hyi. The quasi-periodic oscillations (QPOs), which have fundamental periods 400–1000 s, behave in the same way, showing 1st and 2nd harmonics at approximately the same times as the DNOs. We explore some possible models. One in which the existence of the 1st harmonic is due to the transition from viewing a single accretion region to viewing two regions, and the rate of accretion on to the primary is modulated at the frequency of the 1st harmonic, as in the 'beat frequency model', can generate the suite of DNO frequencies observed. But the behaviour of the QPOs is not yet understood.     

The tidal stripping of satellites

We present an improved analytic calculation for the tidal radius of satellites and test our results against N -body simulations.
The tidal radius in general depends upon four factors: the potential of the host galaxy, the potential of the satellite, the orbit of the satellite and the orbit of the star within the satellite . We demonstrate that this last point is critical and suggest using three tidal radii to cover the range of orbits of stars within the satellite. In this way we show explicitly that prograde star orbits will be more easily stripped than radial orbits; while radial orbits are more easily stripped than retrograde ones. This result has previously been established by several authors numerically, but can now be understood analytically. For point mass, power-law (which includes the isothermal sphere), and a restricted class of split power-law potentials our solution is fully analytic. For more general potentials, we provide an equation which may be rapidly solved numerically.
Over short times (≲1–2 Gyr ∼1 satellite orbit), we find excellent agreement between our analytic and numerical models. Over longer times, star orbits within the satellite are transformed by the tidal field of the host galaxy. In a Hubble time, this causes a convergence of the three limiting tidal radii towards the prograde stripping radius. Beyond the prograde stripping radius, the velocity dispersion will be tangentially anisotropic.     

Optical properties of solid and liquid sulfur at visible and infrared wavelengths

Knowledge of the optical constants of elemental sulfur has potential applications to Venus, Jupiter, Io, Amalthea, and the Earth. The real part, n, of the index of refraction of liquid sulfur (at 133°C) and of solid orthorhombic sulfur (at 25°C) for the wavelength range 0.4–2.0 μm were measured ellipsometrically. The imaginary part, k, of the refractive index of liquid sulfur was obtained by transmittance measurements at the same temperature and wavelength range. The reflectance of semi-infinite slabs of solid and liquid sulfur is calculated using the measured n and k values. We confirm that sulfur melts on Io would be classified as “black” by the Voyager imaging system.