The formation of solar prominences by thermal instability in a current sheet

The energy balance equation for the upper chromosphere or lower corona contains a radiative loss term which is destabilizing, because a slight decrease in temperature from the equilibrium value causes more radiation and hence a cooling of the plasma; also a slight increase in temperature has the effect of heating the plasma. In spite of this tendency towards thermal instability, most of the solar atmosphere is remarkably stable, since thermal conduction is very efficient at equalizing any temperature irregularity which may arise. However, the effectiveness of thermal conduction in transporting heat is decreased considerably in a current sheet or a magnetic flux tube, since heat can be conducted quickly only along the magnetic field lines. This paper presents a simple model for the thermal equilibrium and stability of a current sheet. It is found that, when its length exceeds a certain maximum value, no equilibrium is possible and the plasma in the sheet cools. The results may be relevant for the formation of a quiescent prominence.     

SHERGOTTY METEORITE: MINERALOGY,PETROGRAPHY AND MINOR ELEMENTS

The unusual achondrite Shergotty resembles terrestrial diabases, and textural and chemical evidence indicates pre-settling and post-settling crystallization of zoned augite (En₄₈Fs₁₉Wo₃₃-En₂₅Fs₄₇Wo₂₈) and pigeonite (En₆₁Fs₂₆Wo₁₃-En₂₁Fs₆₁Wo₁₈) coupled with late crystallization of plagioclase (Ab₄₃An₅₆/Or₁-Ab₅₆An₄₁Or₃: now shocked to maskelynite), titanomagnetite-ilmenite composite grains, mesostasis (normative Qz₃₄Ab₂₁An₅Or₃₈Fs₂, assuming Fe as ferrous), whitlockite, pyrrhotite (Fe_0.94S), fayalite (Fo₁₀), baddeleyite and chlorapatite. The oxide compositions (Usp₆₂Mt₃₈, Al₂O₃ 2.4, Cr₂O₃ 0.8 wt %; Ilm₉₅Hm₅) indicate ～ 850 °C and log oxygen fugacity ? 14, while the occurrence of fayalite rims on mesostasis next to ilmenite indicates 890 °C. Bearing in mind experimental uncertainties, these data are consistent with late-stage crystallization under relatively high oxygen fugacity, as indicated by coexistence of fayalite, Ti-magnetite and a silica glass. The high alkali content of the maskelynite and mesostasis, coupled with the redox state, indicates that the Shergotty meteorite resembles terrestrial basalts more than any other meteorites. Nevertheless the absence of H₂O, as shown by the occurrence of phosphorus in whitlockite rather than in hydroxylapatite, distinguish the Shergotty achondrite from typical terrestrial diabases. Whereas the FeO/MnO ratios of pyroxenes from the Moon, Earth and several differentiated meteorites are independent of FeO, the ratio for Shergotty pyroxenes changes from 30 to 40 with increasing FeO, and the linear trend extrapolates to 0.2 MnO for zero iron. Hence caution is needed in using FeO/MnO as a planetary indicator. For pyroxenes, Na is almost independent of Fe/Mg while Ti increases and Cr decreases with increasing Fe/Mg. Maskelynite contains 0.5–0.25 wt % K₂O, 0.6 wt % FeO, 0.04 TiO₂, 0.04–0.07 MgO, ～ 0.01 BaO and 0.02–0.03 P₂O₅. A bulk analysis calculated from the mode and compositions of the minerals matches quite well with two bulk chemical analyses but not with a third.     

The structure of coronal arcades and the formation of solar prominences

The temperature and density are obtained for coronal plasma in thermal and hydrostatic equilibrium and located in a force-free magnetic arcade. The isotherms are found to be inclined to the magnetic field lines and so care should be taken in inferring the magnetic structure from observed emission.When the coronal pressure becomes too great, the equilibrium ceases to exist and the material cools to form a quiescent prominence. The same process can be initiated at low heating rates when the width or shear of the arcade exceeds a critical value.We suggest that the prominence should be modelled as a dynamic structure with plasma always draining downwards. Material is continually sucked up along field lines of the ambient arcade and into the region lacking a hot equilibrium, where it cools to form new prominence material.     

The Galactic disc distribution of planetary nebulae with warm dust emission features – I

We investigate the Galactic disc distribution of a sample of planetary nebulae characterized in terms of their mid-infrared spectral features. The total number of Galactic disc PNe with 8–13 μm spectra is brought up to 74 with the inclusion of 24 new objects, the spectra of which we present for the first time. 54 PNe have clearly identified warm dust emission features, and form a sample that we use to construct the distribution of the C/O chemical balance in Galactic disc PNe. The dust emission features complement the information on the progenitor masses brought by the gas-phase N/O ratios: PNe with unidentified infrared emission bands have the highest N/O ratios, while PNe with the silicate signature have either very high N enrichment or close to none. We find a trend for a decreasing proportion of O-rich PNe towards the third and fourth Galactic quadrants. Two independent distance scales confirm that the proportion of O-rich PNe decreases from     per cent inside the solar circle to     per cent outside. PNe with warm dust are also the youngest. PNe with no warm dust are uniformly distributed in C/O and N/O ratios, and do not appear to be confined to     They also have higher 6-cm fluxes, as expected from more evolved PNe. We show that the IRAS fluxes are a good representation of the bolometric flux for compact and IR-bright PNe, which are probably optically thick. Selection of objects with     should probe a good portion of the Galactic disc for these young, dense and compact nebulae, and the dominant selection effects are rooted in the PN catalogues.     

Expansion of the planetary disturbing function

Some methods are described for the expansion of the disturbing function in planetary theory. One method uses the classical binomial expansion theorem or a successive approximation process derived from it. Another method is a direct application of the Laplace series expansions. For both methods it is proposed to first prepare the series to be manipulated by a scaling operation. These methods can be applied either in a literal or in a numerical form, or any combination of both, but they are especially designed for use on a large scale digital computer with standard Poisson series programs. No usage is made of Newcomb operators or derivatives of Laplace coefficients.     

Whistler duct structure and formation

Whistler components received by the VLF goniometer at Halley, Antarctica, have been scaled for nose frequency and direction of arrival. The data were taken from two separate one hour periods on either side of local midnight (0023–0133 UT and 0340–0450 UT, 5 June 1975). Because of the high whistler occurrence rate at this time and the rapid processing facilitated by the Sheffield semi-automated whistler analyser, it has been possible to scale 1850 whistler components and hence obtain high resolution mapping of the whistler duct structure. The number of observable ducts increased from 4 at 0030 UT to about 15 at 0130 UT and had reached about 31 by 0400 UT. This increasing number of ducts together with an observed clustering of ducts in the second one hour period, provides evidence for duct formation. The observations have been compared with the various duct generation mechanisms which have been proposed. The duct formation process may have been associated with a negative change in Dst which occurred at the same time, and this possibility is discussed.     

Fraunhofer lines with large Zeeman splitting

A list of solar spectral lines having simple Zeeman triplet splitting with Landé g-factors equal to or greater than 2.5 is presented.Operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc., under contract with the National Science Foundation.     

Comparison of velocity-log data collected using impeller and electromagnetic flowmeters

Previous studies have used flowmeters in environments that are within the expectations of their published ranges. Electromagnetic flowmeters have a published range from 0.1 to 79.0 m/min, and impeller flowmeters have a published range from 1.2 to 61.0 m/min. Velocity-log data collected in five long-screened production wells in the Pleasant Valley area of southern California showed that (1) electromagnetic flowmeter results were comparable within +/-2% to results obtained using an impeller flowmeter for comparable depths; (2) the measured velocities from the electromagnetic flowmeter were up to 36% greater than the published maximum range; and (3) both data sets, collected without the use of centralizers or flow diverters, produced comparable and interpretable results. Although either method is acceptable for measuring wellbore velocities and the distribution of flow, the electromagnetic flowmeter enables collection of data over a now greater range of flows. In addition, changes in fluid temperature and fluid resistivity, collected as part of the electromagnetic flowmeter log, are useful in the identification of flow and hydrogeologic interpretation.