Energetic properties of interplanetary plasma at the earth's orbit following the August 4, 1972 flare

Solar wind and interplanetary magnetic field data were obtained by the PROGNOZ 1 and PROGNOZ 2 satellites during the period following the August 4, 1972 (0621 UT) solar flare. A thermalized plasma was recorded one hour after the shock followed two hours later by the plasma piston with a bulk velocity higher than 1700 km s^-1. The comparison between the PROGNOZ and PIONEER 9 solar wind data shows an attenuation of the plasma properties with the deflection from the flare's meridian.     

Magnetic properties of x-ray bright points

Using high resolution KPNO magnetograms and sequences of simultaneous S-054 soft X-ray solar images we have compared the properties of X-ray bright points (XBP) and ephemeral active regions (ER). All XBP appear on the magnetograms as bipolar features, except for very newly emerged or old and decayed XBP. We find that the separation of the magnetic bipoles increases with the age of the XBP, with an average emergence growth rate of 2.2 ± 0.4 km s^–1. The total magnetic flux in a typical XBP living about 8 hr is found to be 2 x 10¹⁹ Mx. A proportionality is found between XBP lifetime and total magnetic flux, equivalent to 10²⁰ Mx per day of lifetime.Operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc. under contract with the National Science Foundation.     

Le problème desn corps et les invariants intégraux

This paper is the text of a course offered at Cortina d'Ampezzo (NATO Advanced Study Institute-Long time prediction in dynamics 1975). The integral invariants were introduced by H. Poincaré and E. Cartan. This mathematical notion is very tractable by the use of exterior algebra of different forms. Work at the University of Besançon introduces again this theory, in Celestial Mechanics. This paper has two parts: mathematical tools, then an application to then-body problem where, by the use of the 11th local integral, I found some new equations and developed them for the collinear triple collision of three bodies.     

The absorption of energetic electrons by argon gas

The processes by which energetic electrons lose energy in a weakly ionized gas of argon are analysed and calculations are carried out taking into account the discrete nature of the excitation processes. The excitation, ionization and heating efficiences are computed for energies up to 200 eV absorbed in a gas with fractional ionizations varying up to 10^?2.     

On the influence of a CW whistler on magnetospheric noise

Analysis of the modifications introduced in a turbulent whistler noise spectrum with the injection of a coherent whistler leads to a nonlinear dispersion equation for the stochastic modes. These modes are submitted to real frequency shifts and corrections to their growth rates which are in qualitative agreement with observations made in the Siple Station VLF wave injection experiment showing the creation of noise-free bands when CW whistler modes are transmitted.     

Earth and Venus: A comparative study

The observed density of Venus is about 2% smaller than would be expected if Venus were a twin planet of the Earth, possessing an identical internal composition and structure. In principle, this could be explained by a process of physical segregation of metal particles from silicate particles in the solar nebula prior to accretion, so that Venus accreted from relatively metal-depleted material. However, this model encounters severe difficulties in explaining the nature of the physical segregation process and also the detailed chemical composition of the Earth's mantle. Two alternative hypotheses are examined, both of which attempt to explain the density difference in terms of chemical fractionation processes. Both of these hypotheses assume that the relative abundances of the major elements Fe, Si, Mg, Al, and Ca are similar in both planets. According to the first hypothesis, a larger proportion of the total iron in Venus is present as iron oxide in the mantle, so that the core-to-mantle ratio is smaller than in the Earth. This model implies that Venus is more oxidized than the Earth, with its lower intrinsic density (i.e., corrected to equivalent pressures and temperatures) due to the larger amount of oxygen present. The difference between oxidation states is attributed to differing degrees of accretional heating arising from the relatively smaller mass of Venus. On the other hand, the second hypothesis maintains that Venus is more reduced than the Earth, with its mantle essentially devoid of oxidized iron. The difference intrinsic densities is attributed to the Earth accreting at a lower temperature than Venus as a result of the Earth's greater distance from the center of the nebula. As a result, large amounts of sulfur accreted on the Earth but not on Venus. The sulfur, which entered the core, is believed to have increased the mean density of the Earth because of its relatively high atomic weight. The hypothesis also implies that most of the Earth's potassium, because of its chalcophile properties, entered the core.These hypotheses are evaluated in the light of existing data. The second hypothesis leads to an intrinsic density for Venus which is only 0.4% smaller than that of the Earth. This difference is much smaller than is believed to exist. A wide range of chemical evidence is found to be unfavorable to this second hypothesis, but to be consistent with the interpretation that Venus is more oxidized than the Earth, as required by the first hypothesis.     

UBV photometry of lapetus: Results from five apparitions

Measurements of the brightness and B-V color index of the leading and trailing hemispheres of Iapetus during the past five apparitions of Saturn are presented. The dependence of brightness on solar phase angle is determined for the two faces of the satellite. After correction for solar phase angle and distance effects, the brighter trailing hemisphere of Iapetus was found to be constant in brightness and color index throughout the interval covered by the observations. The brightness of the dark leading hemisphere, however, decreased by about 0.2 mag over the same period, and its B-V color index reddened by 0.05 mag. These changes are interpreted as evidence for the existence of a bright southern pole cap on Iapetus.     

The structure of a type-II supernova remnant G 160.5+2.8 (HB-9) observed at λ=12m

A two-dimensional brightness distribution of the old supernova remnant G 160.5+2.8 (HB-9) has been measured at a frequency of 25 MHz with the T-Shaped UTR-2 radio telescope, with the resolution 29×27. The source has a distinctly pronounced, almost spherical envelope. At the same time, individual features located near the internal boundary of the source are observable.Certain considerations are put forward to validate a suggestion that the brightest feature in the decameter range (maximum at=4^h55^m.3 and =46°.37) might be of an extragalactic origin.From structure considerations, the velocity of the pulsar PSR 0459+47 projected on HB-9 is estimated. The estimate does not contradict the hypothesis of Damasheket al. (1978) concerning a possible genetic relation between HB-9 and PSR 0459+47.     

Observation of MKN 501 at gamma-ray energies

During a balloon flight in September 1979 of the MISO low-energy -ray telescope, the BL Lac-object MkN 501 was studied in the hard X-ray range above 30 keV and in the low energy -ray range up to 19 MeV. No statistically significant X- and -ray fluxes were detected. The implications of the upper limits obtained are discussed in the light of the relativistic jet theories recently proposed.     

Search for variability in hydrogen-poor stars

The evolutionary status of hydrogen-poor stars is analyzed.Photoelectric observations of six objects are reported as a first step of a long-term project devoted to search for variability of a large sample of hydrogen-poor stars.The observed stars show phenomena of microvariability with an amplitude of the order of 0^m. 1 or less.Two extreme helium stars have been examined: a period in the range of 0^d.162-0^d.164 has been found for BD+ 10⁰2179, andP=0^d.1079962 for BD+13⁰3324.The mass-losing O subdwarf (sdO) BD+37⁰ 443 presents short-term fluctuations with a time-scale of several minutes and long-term variations on a scale of months. The standard sdO BD+75⁰325 is probably non-variable, although light variations of very small amplitude (m0.03) with a time-scale of about 1 hr might be present. The high gravity sdO BD+25⁰4655, which is very close to the white dwarf stage, also presents variability on a time-scale of about 13 minutes, and might be an analog of the recently discovered pulsating sdO, or hot white dwarf, PG 1159-035.The variability of the intermediate helium star HD 37776 is finally confirmed.