Characters of the Pco2 and CO2 Flux in the East China Sea in Autumn

Pco2 of air and seawater samples from the East China Sea(ECS) were measured in situ in autumn, 1994,Ocean currents,terrestrial fluviation,biological activities,etc.,Pco2 char-acters in air and seawater were investigated,CO2 flux and its character in the East China Sea are discussed on the basis of the Pco2 profiles of air and seawater,It was clear that the nearshore was the source of CO2;and tht the oulter sea area was the sink of CO2; and that the shelf area of the EXS is a net sink for atmospheric CO2 in autumn.     

STUDY ON THE INTERACTION BETWEEN NDVI PROFILE AND THE GROWING STATUS OF CROPS

Daily and ten-day Normalized Difference Vegetation Index(NDVI) of crops were retrieved from meteorological statellite NOAA AVHRR images ,The temporal variations of the NDVI were analyzed during the whole growing season,and thus the principle of the interaction between NDIV profile and the growing status of crops was discussed,As a case in point,the relationship between integral NDVI and winter wheat yield of Henan Province in 1999 had been analyzed.By putting integral NDVI values of 60 sample counties into the winter wheat yield-integral NDVI coordination,scattering map was plotted. It demonstrated that integral NDVI had a close relation with winter wheat yield.These relation could be described with linear,cubic polynomial ,and exponential regression,and the cubic polynomial regression was the best way,In general ,NDVI reflects growing status of green vegetation ,so crop monitoring and crop yield estimation could be realized by using remote sensing technique on the basis of time serial NDVI data together with agriculture calendars.     

The plane of the Edgeworth-Kuiper belt

We examine possible locations for the primordial disk of the Edgeworth-Kuiper Belt (EKB), using several subsets of the known objects as markers of the total mass distribution. Using a secular perturbation theory, we find that the primordial plane of the EKB could have remained thin enough to escape detection only if it is clustered very closely about the invariable plane of the Solar System.     

Photometry of pluto in the last decade and before: evidence for volatile transport?

Photometric observations of Pluto in the BVR filter system were obtained in 1999 and in 1990-1993, and observations in the 0.89-μm methane absorption band were obtained in 2000. Our 1999 observations yield lightcurve amplitudes of 0.30 ± 0.01, 0.26 ± 0.01, and 0.21 ± 0.02 and geometric albedos of 0.44 ± 0.04, 0.52 ± 0.03, and 0.58 ± 0.02 in the B, V, and R filters, respectively. The low-albedo hemisphere of Pluto is slightly redder than the higher albedo hemisphere. A comparison of our results and those from previous epochs shows that the lightcurve of Pluto changes substantially through time. We developed a model that fully accounts for changes in the lightcurve caused by changes in the viewing geometry between the Earth, Pluto, and the Sun. We find that the observed changes in the amplitude of Pluto’s lightcurve can be explained by viewing geometry rather than by volatile transport. We also discovered a measurable decrease since 1992 of ∼0.03 magnitudes in the amplitude of Pluto’s lightcurve, as the model predicts. Pluto’s geometric albedo does not appear to be currently increasing, as our model predicts, although given the uncertainties in both the model and the measurements of geometric albedo, this result is not firm evidence for volatile transport. The maximum of methane-absorption lightcurve occurs near the minimum of the BVR lightcurves. This result suggests that methane is more abundant in the brightest regions of Pluto. Pluto’s phase coefficient exhibits a color dependence, ranging from 0.037 ± 0.01 in the B filter to 0.032 ± 0.01 in the R filter. Pluto’s phase curve is most like those of the bright, recently resurfaced satellites Triton and Europa. Although Pluto shows no strong evidence for volatile transport now (unlike Triton), it is important to continue to observe Pluto as it moves away from perihelion.     

Large-scale structure in the NIR-selected MUNICS survey

The Munich Near-IR Cluster Survey (MUNICS) is a wide-area, medium-deep, photometric survey selected in the K' band. The project's main scientific aims are the identification of galaxy clusters up to redshifts of unity and the selection of a large sample of field early-type galaxies up to z < 1.5 for evolutionary studies. We created a Large Scale Structure catalog, using a new structure finding technique specialized for photometric datasets, that we developed on the basis of a friends-of-friends algorithm. We tested the plausibility of the resulting galaxy group and cluster catalog with the help of Color-Magnitude Diagrams (CMD), as well as a likelihood- and Voronoi-approach. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Contribution to the search for binaries among Am stars – V. Orbital elements of eight short-period spectroscopic binaries

We present the results of a radial-velocity study of eight Am stars (HD 341, 55822, 61250, 67317, 93991, 162950, 224890 and 225137) observed at Observatoire de Haute-Provence with the CORAVEL instrument. We find that these systems are single-line spectroscopic binaries whose orbital elements are determined for the first time.     

Comet Hale-Bopp (C/1995 O1): UVSTAR-FUV Spectroscopy from the Space Shuttle

We report here on unique post-perihelion (2.3 AU) measurements of Comet Hale-Bopp in the FUV-range (950–1250 Å) by means of the UVSTAR spectrometer from the space shuttle with the main purpose of searching for argon and other FUV emitters. New methods for separating the strong airglow emission at shuttle altitudes are here discussed in detail. Due to our low resolution (15 Å) and S/N ratio the possible rocket-borne detection of argon near perihelion (0.9 AU) could not be confirmed. New species as N₂ are suspected but difficult to separate from the strong airglow emission at shuttle altitudes. From the Lyα brightness (1.30± 0.08 kRy) a water production rate Q = 5.9 ± 0.4 × 10²⁹ molecules s^?1 could be derived and compared with other post-perihelion observations.     

High-resolution H i and radio continuum observations of the SNR G290.1−0.8

We have observed the supernova remnant (SNR) G290.1−0.8 in the 21-cm H  i line and the 20-cm radio continuum using the Australia Telescope Compact Array (ATCA). The H  i data were combined with data from the Southern Galactic Plane Survey to recover the shortest spatial frequencies. In contrast, H  i absorption was analysed by filtering extended H  i emission, with spatial frequencies shorter than 1.1 kλ. The low-resolution ATCA radio continuum image of the remnant shows considerable internal structure, resembling a network of filaments across its 13-arcmin diameter. A high-resolution ATCA radio continuum image was also constructed to study the small-scale structure in the SNR. It shows that there are no structures smaller than ∼17 arcsec, except perhaps for a bright knot to the south, which is probably an unrelated object. The H  i absorption study shows that the gas distribution and kinematics in front of SNR G290.1−0.8 are complex. We estimate that the SNR probably lies in the Carina arm, at a distance 7 (±1) kpc. In addition, we have studied nearby sources in the observed field using archival multiwavelength data to determine their characteristics.