The dynamical structure of dwarf elliptical galaxies

Deep imaging and long-slit spectroscopy was obtained for a sample of dwarf ellipticals in the Fornax cluster, NGC 5044 and NGC 5898 groups using the ESO VLT. The observational data extend out to typically 1.5–2 effective radii and indicate a kinematic dichotomy in the family of ellipticals. The observed stellar kinematics indicate a luminosity–velocity dispersion relation largely supporting Supernova-driven stellar mass loss scenarios for the formation of dwarf ellipticals. Stellar dynamical models favour dark matter halos with typical mass-to-light ratios in the range of 3 to 9 solar units. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Extended dust shells around carbon stars resolved by “HIRAS”

We have examined forty-two carbon stars which show excess emission at 60 and/or 100µm by applying maximum-entropy image reconstruction techniques to the IRAS 60µm survey data. Thirteen stars are found to be extended in the reconstructed images. Four of them show a detached ring centered on the stellar position. In particular, U Ant may have a double detached dust shell. The implications of our results are discussed concerning the variation of mass loss on the AGB evolution.     

The GEM project: An international collaboration to survey galactic radiation emission

The GEM (Galactic Emission Mapping) project is an international collaboration established with the aim of surveying the full sky at long wavelengths with a multi-frequency radio telescope. A total of 745 hours of observation at 408 MHz were completed from an Equatorial site in Colombia. The observations cover the celestial band 0 ^h <<24 ^h , and –24° 22<<+35° 37. Preliminary results of this partial survey will be discussed. A review of the instrumental setup and a 10° resolution sky map at 408 MHz is presented.Presented by S. Torres at the UN/ESA Workshop on Basic Space Sciences: From Small Telescopes to Space Missions, Colombo, Sri Lanka 11–14 January 1996     

A quantitative analysis of the prototype [WCL] star CPD-56° 8032

We present a detailed, quantitative study of the standard [WC10] Wolf-Rayet central star CPD-56^o 8032 based on new high resolution AAT UCLES observations and the Hillier (1990) WR standard model. Our analysis of CPD-56^o 8032 gives the wind properties (T _*=34500K, lg (L/L )=3.8, lg (M/M a^–1)=–5.4,v =225 km s^–1) and chemistry (C/He=0.5, O/He=0.1, by number), the latter suggesting an intimate relationship with the Ovi PN central stars and the PG 1159-035 objects. A comparison between the wind properties of CPD-56^o 8032 and Sk-66^o 40 (WN 10) indicates that low excitation, low wind velocity WR winds are common to both low mass PN central stars (WC sequence) and high mass post-LBV's (WN sequence).     

Protoplanetary core formation by rain-out of minerals

Models of giant gaseous protoplanets calculated by DeCampli and Cameron (1979) indicate that iron and probably other minerals in the interior of a planet would be in the liquid state during part of the protoplanet evolution. Liquid drops in a protoplanet would grow by coalescence much as cloud drops in the Earth's atmosphere grow to rain drops. We have modeled this process by using the stochastic collection equation (Slattery, 1978) for various initial conditions. In all of the cases considered, the growth time (to centimeter-sized droplets) is much shorter than the time, as estimated by detailed evolutionary calculations, that the drops are in the liquid state. Brownian collection is effective in quickly coalescing tiny liquid droplets to an average radius of about 0.005 cm with very few drops remaining with radii less than 0.001 cm. For radii larger than 0.005 cm gravitational collection is dominant. Since the particles are rapidly swept from interstellar grain sizes to much larger sizes, the opacity in the cloud layer is expected to drop sharply following melting of the grains.     

Continental drift and rotation of the Earth

It is shown, based on certain simplifying assumptions, that an island the size of Greenland, drifting across the North Atlantic at 10 m/century produces a change in secular rotation T=0.01 s.Presented at the Symposium Star Catalogues, Positional Astronomy and Celestial Mechanics, held in honor of Paul Herget at the U.S. Naval Observatory, Washington, November 30, 1978.     

Constraints on the176Lu cosmochronometer

In an endeavour to resolve reported discrepancies in the value of the branching ratio of¹⁷⁶Lu at astrophysical energies, a new determineation of the¹⁷⁵Lu (nγ)^176mLu capture cross section has been measured as 958 ± 58 mb. This gives a value of the branching ratio of 0.21 ±0.05. This result indicates that some reequilibration of the ground and isomeric states of¹⁷⁶Lu occurs in stellar environments undergoing s-process nucleosynthesis, and confirms that¹⁷⁶Lu is not a reliable cosmochronometer. However the very existence of¹⁷⁶Lu in the solar system implies that the ground state of¹⁷⁶Lu was not completely depopulated, and provides the possibility of using this nuclide as a sensitive thermometer for stellar processes.     

Star formation in the starburst cluster in NGC 3603

We have used new, deep, visible and near infrared observations of the compact starburst cluster in the giant HII region NGC 3603 and its surroundings with the WFC3 on HST and HAWK-I on the VLT to study in detail the physical properties of its intermediate mass (∼1–3 M_⊙) stellar population. We show that after correction for differential extinction and actively accreting stars, and the study of field star contamination, strong evidence remains for a continuous spread in the ages of pre-main sequence stars in the range ∼2 to ∼30 Myr within the temporal resolution available. Existing differences among presently available theoretical models account for the largest possible variation in shape of the measured age histograms within these limits. We also find that this isochronal age spread in the near infrared and visible Colour-Magnitude Diagrams cannot be reproduced by any other presently known source of astrophysical or instrumental scatter that could mimic the luminosity spread seen in our observations except, possibly, episodic accretion. The measured age spread and the stellar spatial distribution in the cluster are consistent with the hypothesis that star formation started at least 20–30 Myrs ago progressing slowly but continuously up to at least a few million years ago. All the stars in the considered mass range are distributed in a flattened oblate spheroidal pattern with the major axis oriented in an approximate South-East–North-West direction, and with the length of the equatorial axis decreasing with increasing age. This asymmetry is most likely due to the fact that star formation occurred along a filament of gas and dust in the natal molecular cloud oriented locally in this direction.     

The High-Resolution Coronal Imager (Hi-C)

The High-Resolution Coronal Imager (Hi-C) was flown on a NASA sounding rocket on 11 July 2012. The goal of the Hi-C mission was to obtain high-resolution (≈?0.3?–?0.4′′), high-cadence (≈?5 seconds) images of a solar active region to investigate the dynamics of solar coronal structures at small spatial scales. The instrument consists of a normal-incidence telescope with the optics coated with multilayers to reflect a narrow wavelength range around 19.3 nm (including the Fe xii 19.5-nm spectral line) and a 4096×4096 camera with a plate scale of 0.1′′?pixel^?1. The target of the Hi-C rocket flight was Active Region 11520. Hi-C obtained 37 full-frame images and 86 partial-frame images during the rocket flight. Analysis of the Hi-C data indicates the corona is structured on scales smaller than currently resolved by existing satellite missions.     

Stereoscopic Analysis of the 19 May 2007 Erupting Filament

A filament eruption, accompanied by a B9.5 flare, coronal dimming, and an EUV wave, was observed by the Solar TERrestrial Relations Observatory (STEREO) on 19 May 2007, beginning at about 13:00 UT. Here, we use observations from the SECCHI/EUVI telescopes and other solar observations to analyze the behavior and geometry of the filament before and during the eruption. At this time, STEREO A and B were separated by about 8.5°, sufficient to determine the three-dimensional structure of the filament using stereoscopy. The filament could be followed in SECCHI/EUVI 304 Å stereoscopic data from about 12 hours before to about 2 hours after the eruption, allowing us to determine the 3D trajectory of the erupting filament. From the 3D reconstructions of the filament and the chromospheric ribbons in the early stage of the eruption, simultaneous heating of both the rising filamentary material and the chromosphere directly below is observed, consistent with an eruption resulting from magnetic reconnection below the filament. Comparisons of the filament during eruption in 304 Å and Hα? show that when it becomes emissive in He II, it tends to disappear in Hα?, indicating that the disappearance probably results from heating or motion, not loss, of filamentary material.