A New Ionosphere Monitoring Technology Based on GPS

Although global positioning system (GPS) was originally planned as a satellite-based radio-navigation system for military purposes, civilian users have significantly increased their access to the system for both, commercial and scientific applications. Almost 400 permanent GPS tracking stations have been stablished around the globe with the main purpose of supporting scientific research. In addition, several GPS receivers on board of low Earth orbit satellites fitted with special antennas that focus on Earth's horizon, are tracking the radio signals broadcasted by the high-orbiting GPS satellites, as they rise and set on Earth horizon. The data of these ground and space-born GPS receivers, readily accessible through Internet in a ‘virtual observatory’ managed by the International GPS Service, are extensively used for many researches and might possibly ignite a revolution in Earth remote sensing. By measuring the changes in the time it takes for the GPS signals to arrive at the receiver as they travel through Earth's atmosphere, scientists can derive a surprising amount of information about the Earth's ionosphere, a turbulent shroud of charged particles that, when stimulated by solar flares, can disrupt communications around the world. This contribution presents a methodology to obtain high temporal resolution images of the ionospheric electron content that lead to two-dimensional vertical total electron content maps and three-dimensional electron density distribution. Some exemplifying results are shown at the end of the paper.     

ISO SWS Spectroscopy of WR 146 (WC6+O)

We have obtained ISO SWS spectroscopy of WR 146 (WC6+O) covering the wavelength range 2.6-20 μm. WC6 wind emission is observed in numerous lines of He II and C IV, as well as in the [Ne III] 15.5 μm line, but not in [Ne II] 12.81 or [Ne V] 14.32 μm. An analysis of these spectra (and complementary radio and optical data) yields for the WC6 star: v∞ = 2700 km s-1; M=2.6×10-5M⊙yr-1; C/He = 0.15; and a neon abundance bound of 3.4×10-3≤Ne/He≤6.8×10-3. The neon abundance is close to that predicted in stellar evolution models of WC stars. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

THE GALATIA,KANSAS, CHONDRITE

The Galatia meteorite was found in August, 1971, approximately 7 km ENE of Galatia, Barton County, Kansas (98° 53′W., 38° 39.5′N). The single stone weighed 23.9 kg and is partially weathered. Olivine (Fa_24.9) and pyroxene (Fs_20.9) compositions indicate L-group classification, and textural observations indicate that the stone is of petrologic type 6. Galatia is similar in many respects to the Otis L6 chondrite (found 20 km to the west), but it does not have the brecciated structure of Otis and, thus, it is not part of the same fall.     

On the equivalence of thomson-haskell matrices and knopoff's method for love waves

Summary The relation between Thomson-Haskell matrices and Knopoff's method for Love waves is studied. In comparing boths methods one draws on the physical formulation of the problem, used in Thomson-Haskell method.     

Triaxiality of satellites and small bodies in the Solar System

The triaxial figures are very common shape of most of planetary satellites as well as of smaell bodies as asteroids. There are 21 satellites in the Solar System triaxial figures of which were detected in situ evidently (Davies et al., 1995). However, the total number of triaxiaxial satellites in the Solar System should be in fact larger. In this paper the general theory of triaxiality due to tidal forces is discussed in regard to the very recent numerical data. Since they orbit synchronously, as a rule: their orbital periods are equal to the rotational periods, the tidal forces may be responsible for their triaxial figures. On the other hand the origin of triaxiality of asteroids due to another process and the of their figures cannot be axplained by the tidal effects.     

Observations of a post-flare radio burst in X-rays

More than six hours after the two-ribbon flare of 21 May 1980, the hard X-ray spectrometer aboard the SMM imaged an extensive arch above the flare region which proved to be the lowest part of a stationary post-flare noise storm recorded at the same time at Culgoora. The X-ray arch extended over 3 or more arc minutes to a projected distance of 95 000 km, and its real altitude was most probably between 110 000 and 180 000 km. The mean electron density in the cloud was close to 10⁹ cm^–3 and its temperature stayed for many hours at a fairly constant value of about 6.5 × 10⁶ K. The bent crystal spectrometer aboard the SMM confirms that the arch emission was basically thermal. Variations in brightness and energy spectrum at one of the supposed footpoints of the arch seem to correlate in time with radio brightness suggesting that suprathermal particles from the radio noise regions dumped in variable quantities into the low corona and transition layer; these particles may have contributed to the population of the arch, after being trapped and thermalized. The arch extended along the H = 0 line thus apparently hindering any upward movement of the upper loops reconnected in the flare process. There is evidence from Culgoora that this obstacle may have been present above the flare since 15–30 min after its onset.