Gome Solar UV/VIS Irradiance Measurements between 1995 and 1997 – First Results on Proxy Solar Activity Studies

The Global Ozone Monitoring Experiment (GOME) is the first of a series of European satellite instruments monitoring global ozone and other relevant trace constituents in the UV/visible spectral range. On 20 April 1995, the European Space Agency (ESA) launched the GOME from Kourou, French Guyana, aboard the second European Remote Sensing satellite (ERS-2). In order to obtain the geometric albedo from the backscattered terrestrial radiance measurements, a solar irradiance measurement sequence in the spectral range between 240 nm and 790 nm is carried out once every day. The GOME solar irradiance is recorded at a moderate spectral resolution (0.2–0.4 nm), thus providing an excellent opportunity to contribute to the long-term investigation of solar flux variation associated with the 11-year solar activity cycle from space, which started in 1978 with SBUV (Solar Backscatter UV Experiment) observations on Nimbus-7 and covers solar cycles 21 and 22. This paper briefly describes the GOME spectrometer and measurement mode which are relevant to the solar viewing. Preliminary results from the solar irradiance measurements between 1995 and 1997 and comparisons to SSBUV-8 (Shuttle SBUV) in January 1996 are presented. Solar activity indices used as proxies for solar flux variation are often used to find a correlation with observed variation in atmospheric quantities, for instance, total ozone. Initial results from the GOME Mgii (280 nm) and Caii K (393 nm) solar activity index calculation are presented and discussed. The coupling of solar irradiance variability to global change is a current source of scientific and public concern. This study shows that GOME/ERS-2 (1995–2001) and the next generation of European remote sensing instruments, SCIAMACHY and GOME/METOP, have the potential to provide continuity in the measurements of solar irradiance from space well into the next century.     

On the existence of prevalent westward shifts in the solar atmosphere

A statistical analysis of the deviations of the sideral angular rotation velocities () of single sunspot groups from the averaged rotation curve , shows that positive deviations tend to be greater than negative ones: we can therefore deduce the existence of prevalent westward shifts in the solar atmosphere. This effect is only partially due to the sunspot group proper motions at the beginning of their evolution, and it could indicate the prevalence of westward currents in the solar photosphere.     

Joint NANCAY RADIOHELIOGRAPH AND LASCO OBSERVATIONS OF CORONAL MASS EJECTIONS – II. The 9 July 1996 Event

The development of a coronal mass ejection on 9 July 1996 has been analyzed by comparing the observations of the LASCO/SOHO coronagraphs with those of the Nancay radioheliograph. The spatial and temporal evolution of the associated radioburst is complex and involves a long-duration continuum. The analysis of the time sequence of the radio continuum reveals the existence of distinct phases associated with distinct reconnection processes and magnetic restructuring of the corona. Electrons are accelerated in association with these reconnection processes. An excellent spatial association is found between the position and extension of the radio source and the CME seen by LASCO. Furthermore, it is shown that the topology and evolution of the source of the radio continuum involve successive interactions between two systems of loops. These successive interactions lead to magnetic reconnection, then to a large scale coronal restructuring. Thus electrons of coronal origin may have access to the interplanetary medium in a large range of heliographic latitudes as revealed by the Ulysses observations.     

The Varying Multipolar Structure of the Sun's Magnetic Field and the Evolution of the Solar Magnetosphere Through the Solar Cycle

The Sun's magnetic field extends far from the photosphere, into the corona, defining a magnetically dominated region before being drawn out radially by the solar wind flow. This region, where the internal sources of the solar field dominate the plasma structures and the energetic particle movement, can be properly considered the solar magnetosphere. The magnetic field in this region can be approximately described by models that extrapolate photospheric magnetic field observations under some simplifying assumptions. In this paper we use a potential field model which describes the solar field up to a source surface at 3.25 R_s, where the field is constrained to become radial. We present the variation of the magnitude and inclination of the various multipolar components throughout the solar magnetic cycle that characterise the changes in the structure of the solar magnetosphere over a period of 22 years. We also present some 3-D images of the coronal magnetic structure to show the global evolution of the solar magnetosphere throughout the solar cycle and discuss the importance of taking this structure into account in order to relate interplanetary and solar features.     

Coronal line-width variations

Line-width measurements of the coronal ion Siviii confirm earlier observations which show an increase in the non-thermal velocity above the solar limb. The present data, taken at the equatorial limb, show an increase from 24 km s^-1 at the limb to 28 km s^-1 some 25000 km above the limb. The electron density as measured from the Siviii line pair shows a decrease from 3.5 × 10⁸ cm^-3 to 1.8 × 10⁸ cm^-3 over the same distance. These data imply that the non-thermal velocity is inversely proportional to the quadratic root of the electron density, in excellent agreement with that predicted for undamped radially propagating Alfvén waves.     

A red giant with a strange star as its core. Principal similarities to and differences from Thorne-Zytkow objects

A model red giant with a mass of 5 M_⊙ a luminosity of 41,740 L_⊙, and a radius of 960 R_⊙ and with a strange quark star as its core is constructed, and it is compared with a Thorne-Zytkow object having similar integrated parameters. The difference in internal structure is manifested right at the dense core: matter above the core is held off only by γ rays from the strange star, and convection is maintained down to the strange star. The lifetime of a red giant containing a strange star turns out to be almost 500 times shorter than that of a Thorne-Zytkow object — on the order of 10⁵ years. Translated from Astrofizika, Vol. 41. No. 4, pp. 533–544, October–December, 1998.     

A complete infrared Einstein ring in the gravitational lens system B1938 + 666

We report the discovery, using NICMOS on the Hubble Space Telescope , of an arcsec-diameter Einstein ring in the gravitational lens system B1938+666. The lensing galaxy is also detected, and is most likely an early-type galaxy. Modelling of the ring is presented and compared with the radio structure from MERLIN maps. We show that the Einstein ring is consistent with the gravitational lensing of an extended infrared component, centred between the two radio components.     

Diffuse interstellar bands in low E (B – V) objects

We analyse spectra of slightly reddened, early-type stars in which the major diffuse interstellar bands at 5870 and 5797 Å are either strong or weak in relation to E(B – V) . It is demonstrated that among the low E(B – V) objects one can find stars obscured by 'sigma' as well as 'zeta' type clouds. The profiles of the diffuse bands seem not to be dependent on the total opacities of the interstellar clouds. We also discuss the physical conditions leading to the formation of the diffuse band carriers in low-opacity interstellar clouds; the carriers are apparently formed in media in which one can observe complex velocity fields.     

New limits on the orbital parameters of 1E 1048.1–5937 and 1E 2259+586 from RXTE observations

We report on two Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer ( RXTE ) observations of the anomalous X-ray pulsars 1E 1048.1–5937 and 1E 2259+586. Both sources have continued their almost constant spin-down during 1995/96. We carried out a search for orbital Doppler shifts, in their observed spin frequencies, deriving stringent limits on the projected semi-axis. Unless these systems have unlikely small inclinations, main-sequence companions can be excluded. If 1E 1048.1–5937 and 1E 2259+586 are indeed binary systems, their companion stars must be either white dwarfs, or helium-burning stars with M ≲ 0.8 M⊙, possibly underfilling their Roche lobe.