Observations and interpretation of the close binary system CG Cyg

Photometric observations of the short-period (RS CVn-type) eclipsing binary system CG Cyg have been presented. Two sets of results, obtained from an analysis of theB, V andR light curves, represent ‘occultation’ and ‘transit’ solutions. The occultation solution is preferred as it gives a better fit to the colour curve. This hypothesis may also offer a more promising explanation of the observed peculiarities such as period changes and the light variation outside eclipses.     

Absolute dimensions of TT Hydrae

The photometric elements of the Algol type binary TT Hydrae derived by the authors from theirUBV observations during 1973–77 have been combined with the spectroscopic elements given by Sanford (1937) and Sahade and Cesco (1946) to obtain the absolute dimensions of the system. It is found that the spectroscopic orbital elements given by Sanford represent the evolutionary status of the secondary component better than those of Sahade and Cesco. The primary appears to be an Al v main sequence star of mass and radius ∼2.3R _⊙. The secondary fills its Roche lobe; it can be represented by a K0iii star of mass and radius ∼6.0R _⊙. Better spectroscopic data are needed for confirmation of these results.     

On the convective instability of finitely conducting viscous model chromosphere

The convective stability of a simple model chromosphere, consisting of protons, electrons and hydrogen atoms in the ground state, has been studied in the presence of a vertically upward uniform magnetic field to include the effects of FLR, Hall-currents, finite conductivity and ionization. The ionization in the chromosphere is collisional and the recombination is radiative. It is found that the Schwarzchild criterion should necessarily be satisfied for the stability together with the condition thatv > 2v ₀, where is kinematic viscosity andv ₀ is gyroviscosity. Some special cases have also been investigated.     

Morphology of Lonar Crater,India: Comparisons and implications

Lonar Crater is a young meteorite impact crater emplaced in Deccan basalt. Data from 5 drillholes, a gravity network, and field mapping are used to reconstruct its original dimensions, delineate the nature of the pre-impact target rocks, and interpret the emplacement mode of the ejecta. Our estimates of the pre-erosion dimensions are: average diameter of 1710 m; average rim height of 40 m (30–35 m of rim rock uplift, 5–10 m of ejected debris); depth of 230–245 m (from rim crest to crater floor). The crater's circularity index is 0.9 and is unlikely to have been lower in the past. There are minor irregularities in the original crater floor (present sediment-breccia boundary) possibly due to incipient rebound effects. A continuous ejecta blanket extends an average of 1410 m beyond the pre-erosion rim crest.In general, fresh terrestrial craters, less than 10 km in diameter, have smaller depth/diameter and larger rim height/diameter ratios than their lunar counterparts. Both ratios are intermediate for Mercurian craters, suggesting that crater shape is gravity dependent, all else being equal. Lonar demonstrates that all else is not always equal. Its depth/diameter ratio is normal but, because of less rim rock uplift, its rim height/diameter ratio is much smaller than both fresh terrestrial and lunar impact craters. The target rock column at Lonar consists of one or more layers of weathered, soft basalt capped by fresh, dense flows. Plastic deformation and/or compaction of this lower, incompetent material probably absorbed much of the energy normally available in the cratering process for rim rock uplift.A variety of features within the ejecta blanket and the immediately underlying substrate, plus the broad extent of the blanket boundaries, suggest that a fluidized debris surge was the dominant mechanism of ejecta transportation and deposition at Lonar. In these aspects, Lonar should be a good analog for the fluidized craters of Mars.     

Low-latitude thermal structure of Jupiter in the region 0.1–5 bars

The radiative heat flux from 0.1 to 10 bars is estimated on the basis of a “two-cloud” scattering model that fits available spectral data and Pioneer photometry. Deeper than a few bars, the flux is 4.5 W m^?2, compared with the 18.8 W m^?2 used in an earlier study by Trafton and Stone. A temperature profile is computed, with the H₂ pressure-induced opacity; the temperature at 1 bar is found to be 156°K, rather than the commonly accepted 170°K. An additional optical depth of unity at the 0.67-bar level could restore the conventional value; otherwise a considerably cooler atmosphere is a serious possibility.     

The Martian paleoclimate and enhanced atmospheric carbon dioxide

Current evidence indicates that the Martian surface is abundant with water presently in the form of ice, while the atmosphere was at one time more massive with a past surface pressure of as much as 1 atm of CO₂. In an attempt to understand the Martian paleoclimate, we have modeled a past CO₂H₂O greenhouse and find global temperatures which are consistent with an earlier presence of liquid surface water, a finding which agrees with the extensive evidence for past fluvial erosion. An important aspect of the CO₂H₂O greenhouse model is the detailed inclusion of CO₂ hot bands. For a surface pressure of 1 atm of CO₂, the present greenhouse model predicts a global mean surface temperature of 294°K, but if the hot bands are excluded, a surface temperature of only 250°K is achieved.     

Solar gravitational redshift

Wavelengths of solar spectrum lines should be shifted toward the red by the Sun's gravitational field as predicted by metric theories of gravity according to the principle of equivalence. Photographic wavelengths of 738 solar Fe i lines and their corresponding laboratory wavelengths have been studied. The measured solar wavelength minus the laboratory wavelength (_observed) averaged for the strong lines agrees well with the theoretically predicted shift (_theoretical). Studies show that the departures depend on line strength. No dependence of the departures on wavelength was found within the existing data.By studying strong lines over a wide spectral range, velocity shifts caused by the complex motions in the solar atmosphere seem to affect the results in a minimal fashion.     

Solar system isotopic anomalies: Supernova neighbor or presolar carriers?

I evaluate several nuclear and chemical problems related both to the recent scenario suggesting that the known isotopic anomalies in the solar system have resulted from a supernova near the protosolar nebula and to the model of extinct presolar carriers. Major features include: (1) Large quantities of extinct ²⁴⁸Cm and ³⁶Cl are predicted from the Cameron-Truran model of a minor injection about 10⁶ yr before condensation; (2) an extinct-carrier model of ²⁶Mg is set forth in detail with a solid chemistry picture of the early solar system; (3) a major thermonuclear supernova responsible for ²⁶Al, ²⁴⁴Pu, and ⁴⁰K would have to have occurred several million years (3 m.y.) before condensation and contributed a large fraction of the major stable chemical elements; (4) carbon isotope families are to be expected if the oxygen isotope families are due to a late injection of ¹⁶O; (5) the Earth and E meteorites may have condensed primarily in a carbon-rich nebula existing before admixtures of a major late ¹⁶O-rich mixture; (6) the extinct-presolar-carrier model is the single best explanation of all anomalies.