Analytic result for the properties of gravitational waves emitted by a large class of model sources

Expressions for the mass quadrupole moment tensor in the model for a wide variety of astrophysical objects are shown to be identical in form. This makes it possible to obtain analytical expressions for the gravitational radiation emitted by the sources, as well as the angular distribution, polarization dependence, and the wave forms of the radiation.     

Regolith Surface Reflectance: A New Attempt to Model

The reflectance coefficient of the regolith layer of celestial bodies has been studied in relation to the physical properties of regolith particles (size, refractive index, and packing density) on the basis of an accurate numerical radiative-transfer algorithm for a semi-infinite flat layer. Using the geometric-optics approximation, we have found that a shape mixture of randomly oriented spheroids can successfully model the single-scattering phase function of independent soil grains. In order to take into account the effect of packing density in a regolith layer, the concept of the so-called static structure factor was used. The main effect of increasing packing density is to suppress the forward-scattering peak of the phase function and to increase the albedo of the reflecting surface. We also investigated the influence of fine dust on the reflected light. An addition of small particles not only increases the surface albedo, but also changes the brightness profile and enhances the backscattering. Although the problem of unique solution, which is inherent in the retrieval of the properties of a medium from the measurements of the intensity of light scattered by this media, cannot be removed in the proposed model, the procedure used here, in contrast to widely used approximations, allows us to fit observational data with a set of real characteristics of the regolith. Semiempirical approaches are able to fit the measurements well with a small number of free parameters, but they do not explicitly contain crucial physical characteristics of the regolith such as grain sizes or the refractive index. We compared the numerical solution of the radiative-transfer equation with the Hapke approximation, which is most often used by investigators. The errors introduced by the Hapke model are small only for near-isotropic scattering by isolated particles. However, independent regolith grains are known to scatter light mainly in the forward direction.     

Baryte and calcite cements in the 'breccias' of Ogmore-by-Sea, South Wales

Each year many hundreds, if not thousands, of Earth-science students visit the coastline at Ogmore-by-Sea, mid-Glamorgan. They study the excellent exposures of Lower Carboniferous Limestone, with their well-preserved coral and other shelly faunas, together with the presumed late Triassic 'breccias'* that rest unconformably on top. A study of the cements within the breccias may give an insight into syndepositional mineralization and the formation of sedimentary basins linked to the opening of the Atlantic in early Mesozoic times.     

Integral field spectroscopy with the GEMINI multiobject spectrographs

We describe the integral field unit (IFU) which converts the Gemini Multiobject Spectrograph (GMOS) installed on the Gemini-North telescope to an integral field spectrograph,which produces spectra over a contiguous field of view of 7 × 5 arcsec with spatial sampling of 0.2 arcsecover the wavelength range 0.4-1.0 μm.GMOS is converted to this mode by the remote insertion of the IFU into thebeam in place of the masks used for the multiobject mode. A separate fieldof half the area of the main field, but otherwise identical, is alsoprovided to improve background subtraction. The IFU contains 1500lenslet-coupled fibres and was the first facility of any type for integralfield spectroscopy employed on an 8/10 m telescope.We describe the design, construction and testing of the GMOS IFU and present measurements of the throughput both in the laboratory and at the telescope. We compare these with a theoretical prediction made before construction started. All are in good agreement with each other, with the on-telescope throughput exceeding 60% (averaged over wavelength). Finallywe show an example of data obtained during commissioning to illustrate the power of the device.     

Ultra-Deep Optical Spectroscopy with PMAS. Using the Nod-and-Shuffle Technique

PMAS, the Potsdam Multi-Aperture Spectrophotometer, is a new integral field spectrograph in the optical, which is optimized for good transmission and high image quality from 350 nm to 1 μm. We present our plan to implement a CCD charge-shuffle mode to allow for beam switching with a very high degree of sky subtraction accuracy for faint object 3-D spectroscopy. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

The determination and analysis of the orbit of NIMBUS 1 ROCKET, 1964-52B: Part 1: The orbits

Orbital parameters of the satellite NIMBUS 1 ROCKET (1964-52B) have been determined at 285 epochs using about 14,500 optical and radar observations during the last 2233 days of its life. 1964-52B was in an orbit inclined at about 98.7° to the Equator and it decayed on 13 August 1974. The orbital elements were found using the RAE orbit refinement program PROP 6 giving average orbital accuracies in perigee height and inclination at 110 m and 0.002° respectively.     

THE EUROPEAN MACROSEISMIC SCALE (MSK-92)

A new updated version of the MSK macroseismic intensity scale has been prepared by a Working Group of the European Seismological Commission and has been published in April 1993 (European Macroseismic Scale 1992: updated MSK scale, 1993, ed. by G. Grünthal, Cahiers du Centre Européen de Geodynamique et de Séismologie, no. 7).     

The middle pleistocene deposits of Waverley Wood Pit,Warwickshire, England

A complex of channels underlying the Baginton-Lillington Gravel (Baginton Formation) at Waverley Wood Quarry, Warwickshire is described. Fossil pollen and plant macrofossils, Coleoptera, Ostracoda, Mollusca and Mammalia are described from the channel-fill deposits. Consideration of all the evidence allows the identification of four separate stages of channel fill which largely occurred under a cool temperate climate. At the top of Channel 2 evidence for a cold, continental climatic episode can be recognised, suggesting that the whole complex was deposited under a fluctuating climate at the end of a temperate stage. At two levels in the channels human artefacts were recovered confirming the presence of Palaeolithic people in Warwickshire during the deposition of the sediments. Amino-acid geochronology suggests an age within the ‘Cromerian Complex’ Stage for the channels. The small vertebrate and molluscan faunas indicate that the deposits are no older than the latter part of the ‘Cromerian Complex’ Stage of East Anglia. The regional stratigraphic significance of the Waverley Wood succession is outlined.     

The origin of the correlation between the spin parameter and the baryon fraction of galactic disks

The puzzling correlation between the spin parameter λ of galactic disks and the disk-to-halo mass fraction f _disk is investigated. It is shown that such a correlation arises naturally from large uncertainties in determining the virial masses of dark matter halos. This result indicates that halo properties derived from fits to observed rotation curves are still very uncertain. An analysis of λ versus f _disk as function of the adopted halo virial mass shows that for reasonable halo concentrations f _disk ≈ 0.01 - 0.07 which is significantly smaller than the universal baryon fraction. Most of the available gas either never settled into the galactic disks or was ejected subsequently. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.