Valleys,paleolakes and possible shorelines at the Libya Montes/Isidis boundary: Implications for the hydrologic evolution of Mars

We describe the results of our morphologic, stratigraphic and mineralogic investigations of fluvial landforms, paleolakes and possible shoreline morphologies at the Libya Montes/Isidis Planitia boundary. The landforms are indicative of aqueous activity and standing bodies of water, including lakes, seas and oceans, that are attributed to a complex hydrologic cycle that may have once existed on Mars in the Noachian (>3.7 Ga) and perhaps also in the Hesperian (>3.1 Ga). Our observations of the Libya Montes/Isidis Planitia boundary between 85°/86.5°E and 1.8°/5°N suggest, that (1) the termination of valley networks between roughly ?2500 and ?2800 m coincide with lake-size ponding in basins within the Libya Montes, (2) an alluvial fan and a possible delta, layered morphologies and associated Al-phyllosilicates identified within bright, polygonally fractured material at the front of the delta deposits are interpreted to be the results of fluvial activity and discharge into a paleolake, (3) the Arabia “shoreline” appears as a series of possible coastal cliffs at about ?3600 and ?3700 m indicating two distinct still stands and wave-cut action of a paleosea that temporarily filled the Isidis basin the Early Hesperian, and (4) the Deuteronilus “shoreline” appears at ?3800 m and is interpreted to be a result of the proposed sublimation residue of a frozen sea that might have filled the Isidis basin, similar to the Vastitas Borealis Formation (VBF) identified in the northern lowlands. We interpret the morphologic–geologic setting and associated mineral assemblages of the Libya Montes/Isidis Planitia boundary as results of fluvial activity, lake-size standing bodies of water and an environmental change over time toward decreasing water availability and a cold and dry climate.     

Interpretation of combined infrared,submillimeter, and millimeter thermal flux data obtained during the Rosetta fly-by of Asteroid (21) Lutetia

The European Space Agency’s Rosetta spacecraft is the first Solar System mission to include instrumentation capable of measuring planetary thermal fluxes at both near-IR (VIRTIS) and submillimeter–millimeter (smm–mm, MIRO) wavelengths. Its primary mission is a 1 year reconnaissance of Comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko beginning in 2014. During a 2010 close fly-by of Asteroid 21 Lutetia, the VIRTIS and MIRO instruments provided complementary data that have been analyzed to produce a consistent model of Lutetia’s surface layer thermal and electrical properties, including a physical model of self-heating. VIRTIS dayside measurements provided highly resolved 1 K accuracy surface temperatures that required a low thermal inertia, I < 30 J/(K m² s^0.5). MIRO smm and mm measurements of polar night thermal fluxes produced constraints on Lutetia’s subsurface thermal properties to depths comparable to the seasonal thermal wave, yielding a model of I < 20 J/(K m² s^0.5) in the upper few centimeters, increasing with depth in a manner very similar to that of Earth’s Moon. Subsequent MIRO-based model predictions of the dayside surface temperatures reveal negative offsets of ～5–30 K from the higher VIRTIS-measurements. By adding surface roughness in the form of 50% fractional coverage of hemispherical mini-craters to the MIRO-based thermal model, sufficient self-heating is produced to largely remove the offsets relative to the VIRTIS measurements and also reproduce the thermal limb brightening features (relative to a smooth surface model) seen by VIRTIS. The Lutetia physical property constraints provided by the VIRTIS and MIRO data sets demonstrate the unique diagnostic capabilities of combined infrared and submillimeter/millimeter thermal flux measurements.     

Environmental dependence of stellar mass,SFR, and SSFR for the Luminous Red Galaxy (LRG) sample of the SDSS DR7

Using the Luminous Red Galaxy (LRG) sample of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Data Release 7 (SDSS DR7), we investigate the environmental dependence of stellar mass, star formation rate (SFR) and specific star formation rate (SSFR) of LRGs. It is found that stellar mass of LRGs nearly is independent of local environments, and that the environmental dependence of SFR and SSFR in the LRG sample is much weaker than the one in the Main galaxy sample. One possible explanation is that galaxy color and morphology are a pair of galaxy properties most predictive of local environments, while LRGs are a group of galaxies that are likely to be luminous, red and of early types (© 2012 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Mass density of the upper atmosphere derived from Starlette’s Precise Orbit Determination with Satellite Laser Ranging

The atmospheric mass density of the upper atmosphere from the spherical Starlette satellite’s Precise Orbit Determination is first derived with Satellite Laser Ranging measurements at 815 to 1115 km during strong solar and geomagnetic activities. Starlette’s orbit is determined using the improved orbit determination techniques combining optimum parameters with a precise empirical drag application to a gravity field. MSIS-86 and NRLMSISE-00 atmospheric density models are compared with the Starlette drag-derived atmospheric density of the upper atmosphere. It is found that the variation in the Starlette’s drag coefficient above 800 km corresponds well with the level of geomagnetic activity. This represents that the satellite orbit is mainly perturbed by the Joule heating from geomagnetic activity at the upper atmosphere. This result concludes that MSIS empirical models strongly underestimate the mass density of the upper atmosphere as compared to the Starlette drag-derived atmospheric density during the geomagnetic storms. We suggest that the atmospheric density models should be analyzed with higher altitude acceleration data for a better understanding of long-term solar and geomagnetic effects.     

Relationship of ground level enhancements with solar,interplanetary and geophysical parameters

Cosmic rays registered by Neutron Monitor on the surface of the Earth are believed to originate from outer space, and sometimes also from the exotic objects of the Sun. Whilst the intensities of the cosmic rays are observed to be enhanced with sudden, sharp and short-lived increases, they are termed as ground level enhancements (GLEs). They are the occurrences in solar cosmic ray intensity variations on short-term basis, so different solar factors erupted from the Sun can be responsible for causing them. In this context, an attempt has been made to determine quantitative relationships of the GLEs having peak increase >5% with simultaneous solar, interplanetary and geophysical factors from 1997 through 2006, thereby searching the responsible factors which seem to cause the enhancements. Results suggest that GLE peaks might be caused by solar energetic particle fluxes and solar flares. The proton fluxes which seemed to cause GLE peaks were also supported by their corresponding fluences. For most of the flares, the time integrated rising portion of the flare emission refers to the strong portion of X-ray fluxes which might be the concern to GLE peak. On an average, GLE peak associated X-ray flux (0.71×10⁻⁴ w/m²) is much stronger than GLE background associated X-ray flux (0.11×10⁻⁶ w/m²). It gives a general consent that the GLE peak is presumably caused by the solar flare. Coronal mass ejection alone does not seem to cause GLE. Coronal mass ejection presumably causes geomagnetic disturbances characterized by geomagnetic indices and polarities of interplanetary magnetic fields.     

Time-dependent models for a decade of SN 1993J

A classical and a relativistic law of motion for a supernova remnant (SNR) are deduced assuming an inverse power law behavior for the density of the interstellar medium and applying the thin layer approximation. A third equation of motion is found in the framework of relativistic hydrodynamics with pressure, applying momentum conservation. These new formulas are calibrated against a decade of observations of SN 1993J. The existing knowledge of the diffusive processes of ultrarelativistic electrons is reviewed in order to explain the behavior of the ‘U’ shaped profile of intensity versus distance from the center of SN 1993J.     

Homologous Flares and Magnetic Field Topology in Active Region NOAA 10501 on 20 November 2003

We present and interpret observations of two morphologically homologous flares that occurred in active region (AR) NOAA 10501 on 20 November 2003. Both flares displayed four homologous Hα ribbons and were both accompanied by coronal mass ejections (CMEs). The central flare ribbons were located at the site of an emerging bipole in the centre of the active region. The negative polarity of this bipole fragmented in two main pieces, one rotating around the positive polarity by ≈ 110° within 32 hours. We model the coronal magnetic field and compute its topology, using as boundary condition the magnetogram closest in time to each flare. In particular, we calculate the location of quasi-separatrix layers (QSLs) in order to understand the connectivity between the flare ribbons. Though several polarities were present in AR 10501, the global magnetic field topology corresponds to a quadrupolar magnetic field distribution without magnetic null points. For both flares, the photospheric traces of QSLs are similar and match well the locations of the four Hα ribbons. This globally unchanged topology and the continuous shearing by the rotating bipole are two key factors responsible for the flare homology. However, our analyses also indicate that different magnetic connectivity domains of the quadrupolar configuration become unstable during each flare, so that magnetic reconnection proceeds differently in both events.     

Erratum to: Width of Sunspot Generating Zone and Reconstruction of Butterfly Diagram

Based on the extended Greenwich – NOAA/USAF catalogue of sunspot groups, it is demonstrated that the parameters describing the latitudinal width of the sunspot generating zone (SGZ) are closely related to the current level of solar activity, and the growth of the activity leads to the expansion of the SGZ. The ratio of the sunspot number to the width of the SGZ shows saturation at a certain level of the sunspot number, and above this level the increase of the activity takes place mostly due to the expansion of the SGZ. It is shown that the mean latitudes of sunspots can be reconstructed from the amplitudes of solar activity. Using the obtained relations and the group sunspot numbers by Hoyt and Schatten (Solar Phys. 179, 189, 1998), the latitude distribution of sunspot groups (“the Maunder butterfly diagram”) for the eighteenth and the first half of the nineteenth centuries is reconstructed and compared with historical sunspot observations.     

The Solar Ultraviolet Spectrum Estimated Using the Mg <Emphasis Type="SmallCaps">ii</Emphasis> Index and Ca <Emphasis Type="SmallCaps">ii</Emphasis> K Disk Activity

As part of a program to estimate the solar spectrum back to the early twentieth century, we have generated fits to UV spectral irradiance measurements from 1 – 410 nm. The longer wavelength spectra (150 – 410 nm) were fit as a function of two solar activity proxies, the Mg ii core-to-wing ratio, or Mg ii index, and the total Ca ii K disk activity derived from ground based observations. Irradiance spectra at shorter wavelengths (1 – 150 nm) where used to generate fits to the Mg ii core-to-wing ratio alone. Two sets of spectra were used in these fitting procedures. The fits at longer wavelengths (150 to 410 nm) were derived from the high-resolution spectra taken by the Solar Ultraviolet Spectral Irradiance Monitor (SUSIM) on the Upper Atmospheric Research Satellite (UARS). Spectra measured by the Solar EUV Experiment (SEE) instrument on the Thermosphere Ionosphere Mesosphere Energetics and Dynamics (TIMED) satellite were used for the fits at wavelengths from 1 to 150 nm. To generate fits between solar irradiance and solar proxies, this study uses the above irradiance data, the NOAA composite Mg ii index, and daily Ca ii K disk activity determined from images measured by Big Bear Solar Observatory (BBSO). In addition to the fitting coefficients between irradiance and solar proxies, other results from this study include an estimated relationship between the fraction of the disk with enhanced Ca ii K activity and the Mg ii index, an upper bound of the average solar UV spectral irradiance during periods where the solar disk contains only regions of the quiet Sun, as was believed to be present during the Maunder Minimum, as well as results indicating that slightly more than 60% of the total solar irradiance (TSI) variability occurs between 150 and 400 nm.     

Mineralogy and thermal properties of V-type Asteroid 956 Elisa: Evidence for diogenitic material from the Spitzer IRS (5-35 μm) spectrum

We present the thermal infrared (5-35 μm) spectrum of 956 Elisa as measured by the Spitzer Infrared Spectrograph (“IRS”; Houck, J.R. et al. [2004]. Astrophys. J. Suppl. 154, 18-24) together with new groundbased lightcurve data and near-IR spectra. From the visible lightcurve photometry, we determine a rotation period of 16.494 ± 0.001 h, identify the rotational phase of the Spitzer observations, and estimate the visible absolute magnitude (H_V) at that rotational phase to be 12.58 ± 0.04. From radiometric analysis of the thermal flux spectrum, we find that at the time of observation 956 Elisa had a projected radius of 5.3 ± 0.4 km with a visible albedo p_V = 0.142 ± 0.022, significantly lower than that of the prototype V-type asteroid, 4 Vesta. (This corresponds to a radius of 5.2 ± 0.4 km at lightcurve mean.) Analysis with the standard thermal model (STM) results in a sub-solar temperature of 292.3 ±  2.8 K and beaming parameter η = 1.16 ± 0.05. Thermophysical modeling places a lower limit of on the thermal inertia of the asteroid’s surface layer (if the surface is very smooth) but more likely values fall between 30 and depending on the sense of rotation.The emissivity spectrum, calculated by dividing the measured thermal flux spectrum by the modeled thermal continuum, exhibits mineralogically interpretable spectral features within the 9-12 μm reststrahlen band, the 15-16.5 μm Si-O-Si stretching region, and the 16-25 μm reststrahlen region that are consistent with pyroxene of diogenitic composition: extant diogenitic pyroxenes fall within the narrow compositional range Wo_2±1En_74±2Fs_24±1. Spectral deconvolution of the 9-12 μm reststrahlen features indicates that up to ≈20% olivine may also be present, suggesting an olivine-diogenite-like mineralogy. The mid-IR spectrum is inconsistent with non-cumulate eucrite as the major component on the surface of 956 Elisa, although cumulate eucrite material may be present at abundances lower than that of the diogenite component.Analysis of new near-IR spectra of 956 Elisa with the Modified Gaussian Model (MGM; Sunshine, J.M., Pieters, C.M., Pratt, S.F. [1990]. J. Geophys. Res. 95 (May), 6955-6966) results in two pyroxene compositions: 75% magnesian low-Ca pyroxene and 25% high-Ca pyroxene. High-Ca pyroxene is not evident in the mid-IR data, but may belong to a component that is underrepresented in the mid-IR spectrum either because of its spatial distribution on the asteroid or because of its particle size. High-Ca pyroxenes that occur as exsolution lamellae may also be more evident spectrally in the NIR than in the mid-IR. In any case, we find that the mid-IR spectrum of 956 Elisa is dominated by emission from material of diogenite-like composition, which has very rarely been observed among asteroids.