Essential features of the 11-year solar cycle

Investigation of sunspots, coronal lines intensity, flares and other solar and geophysical data have confirmed the fact that the 11-year cycle consists of two events (maxima) having different features.During the first maximum (it coincides in time with the maximum of the Wolf numbers) the solar activity increases in all heliographic latitudes but it is maximal in latitude 25° in each hemisphere. The far UV radiation and number of small spots, flares and geomagnetic disturbances with sudden commencements and without 27-day recurrences are maximum at this time.During the second maximum, which appears 2–3 years after the first one, the activity is maximal in latitudes ± 10°. At this time the biggest spots, big flares, aurora and geomagnetic disturbances with the gradual commencements and long series of 27-day recurrences appear.The variations of averaged 5303 and 6374 Å coronal line intensities may be interpreted as an increase of coronal density and temperature during the first maximum and a sharp decrease of density and temperature rise during the second one. The temperature during the second maximum is higher than that during the first one.The distribution of activity on time-latitude diagrams (so-called butterflies) is a result of superposition of two random distributions corresponding to the two maxima mentioned above.     

On the interplanetary cosmic-ray scintillations

The equation for the two-particles cosmic-ray distribution function is derived by means of the Boltzmann kinetic equation averaging. This equation is valid for arbitrary ratio of regular and random parts of the magnetic field. For small energy particles the guiding-center approximation is used. On the basis of the derived equation the dependence between power spectra of cosmic-ray intensity and random magnetic field is obtained. If power spectra are degree functions for high energy particles ( 10 GeV nucleon^–1), then the spectral exponent of magnetic field lies between and –2, where is the spectral exponent of cosmic-ray power spectra. The experimental data concerning moderate energy particles are in accordance with =, which demonstrates that the magnetic fluctuations are isotropic or cosmic-ray space gradient is small near the Earth orbit.     

Ionization states and the origin of low energy cosmic ray nuclei

The origin of the new component of cosmic ray nuclei in 1–30 MeV amu^–1 recently detected through space vehicles in interplanetary space is investigated in detail. It is assumed that these particles may originate from nearby sources, e.g., from novae type explosions, which have peculiar C, N and O compositions. These particles are further assumed to be accelerated and modulated within the heliosphere. The charged states of these ions in the interstellar space have been calculated in detail and it is shown that the same charged states are preserved in the heliosphere when they are accelerated to energies of the order of 10⁷eV amu^–1 from energies of 10⁵ ev amu^–1. Modulation of these ions are calculated and it is found that because of low charged states of the ions these have high rigidities and are modulated in such a way as to enhance the O-ion abundances as compared to C-ions. A comparison is made of the demodulated composition of C to Si-ions with available abundance data of some novae.     

The effect of orbital eccentricity and nodal regression on spin-stabilized satellites

The gyroscopic motion of a spin-stabilized satellite due to gravity gradient torques in a circular orbit has been analyzed to varying degrees in numerous publications. This paper shows that the restriction to a circular orbit is, in fact, not essential and with a slight increase in complexity, noncircular orbits may be treated. More importantly, a uniform regression of the orbital node can also be accounted for. The general results are expressed in closed form using Jacobian elliptic functions. Finally, and this is perhaps most important, certain algebraic integrals of the precession are given which can be used to place limits on the excursions of the spin axis without actually solving for the motion. This allows one to design orientations such that the maximum angle between the orbit normal and spin axis never exceeds a specific amount even though the orbit normal is in precession.     

Energetic properties of interplanetary plasma at the earth's orbit following the August 4, 1972 flare

Solar wind and interplanetary magnetic field data were obtained by the PROGNOZ 1 and PROGNOZ 2 satellites during the period following the August 4, 1972 (0621 UT) solar flare. A thermalized plasma was recorded one hour after the shock followed two hours later by the plasma piston with a bulk velocity higher than 1700 km s^-1. The comparison between the PROGNOZ and PIONEER 9 solar wind data shows an attenuation of the plasma properties with the deflection from the flare's meridian.     

Spectral analyses of solar photospheric fluctuations

Successful subtraction of instrumental background variations has permitted spectral analyses of two-dimensional measurement arrays of granulation brightness fluctuations at the center of the disk, arrays obtained from Stratoscope I, 1959B-flight, high-resolution frames B1551 and B3241.

1. RMS's, uncorrected for instrumental blurring, are 0.0850 of mean intensity for B1551 and 0.0736 for B3241, somewhat higher than other determinations. These between-frame and between-investigation differences probably result from a combination of calibration errors, frame resolution differences, and, most likely, granulation pattern differences.
2. Significant variations over each array of mean intensities and RMS's, determined for sub-arrays with dimensions in the 2500–10000 km range, indicate spatial brightness and RMS variations larger than the ‘scale’ of the granulation pattern, supporting a turbulent interpretation of photospheric convection.
3. One-dimensional power-spectra shapes provide objective and discriminating criteria for determining granulation pattern differences and, possibly, frame resolution.
4. Two-dimensional power spectra show small, essentially random deviations from axial symmetry which lie almost entirely within the 50% confidence limits.
5. Spectral densities and fluctuation power spectra, computed from the two-dimensional power spectra and corrected for instrumental blurring, noise, and blemishes, have a useable radial wavenumber range nearly double that of earlier Stratoscope I analyses.
6. Corrected RMS's obtained from the corrected fluctuation power spectra, 0.145 ± 0.046 for B1551 and 0.136 ± 0.048 for B3241, depend critically on the accuracy of the correction.
7. The spectra's wavenumber range includes the granulation-fluctuation-producing domain but not the Kolmogoroff domain of turbulence spectra.

     

Geodetic Rotation of Neptune’s Satellites

Solar System Research - The paper considers the most significant relativistic effects in the rotational dynamics of Neptune’s satellites (Triton (N1), Naiad (N3), Thalassa (N4), Despina (N5),...     

AGN Lifetimes in UV-selected Galaxies:A Clue to Supermassive Black Hole-galaxy Coevolution

The coevolution between supermassive black holes(SMBHs)and their host galaxies has been proposed for more than a decade,albeit with little direct evidence about...     

Downflow of the Antarctic shelf water at the shelf and continental slope of the Commonwealth Sea in the summer season and its effect on the bottom water formation in the Southern Ocean

In the summer seasons of 2004–2007, the intensive runoff (cascading) of the Antarctic shelf water (ASW) down the shelf and continental slope was revealed thanks to the recording of numerous thermohaline profiles across the shelf and continental slope of the Commonwealth Sea and Prydz Bay. The quickly executed profiles (4–10 h) with submesoscale resolution (near the shelf’s edge, the scale was even eddy-determinative, i.e., within 1.9–5.6 km), in combination with the fine-structure sounding and fine vertical resolution of the near-bottom boundary layer, provided a qualitatively new level of understanding the natural data. The detailed analysis of the temperature, salinity, and density patterns revealed the regularities and peculiarities of the ASW shelf and slope cascading. The intensive ASW cascading near the shelf break and lower part of the slope can be forced (appearing as discrete frontal meanders) or free (appearing as discrete plumes) and often has a wave-eddy character. The field observational data confirmed the obtained representative estimates of the elements of the ASW slope cascading. The basic area of the ASW formation is near the Amery Shelf Ice, from where the ASW spreads to the northwest, goes around the Fram Bank, and flows down the continental slope. The evaluative contribution of the ASW slope cascading to the ventilation of the deep and slope water of the Southern Ocean (near the shelf break 70 km long where the ASW cascading was observed) is Q _K = 0.04–0.24 Sv, which agrees well with the analogous estimates obtained in other regions of the Antarctic.