The development of radio astronomy at Hartebeesthoek

The development of radio astronomy at the Hartebeesthoek Radio Astronomy Observatory in South Africa is described. The Hartebeesthoek site was established originally by NASA as one of three Deep Space Stations equipped with 26-m parabolic reflector antennas. It was first used for radio astronomy by South Africa in terms of the NASA host nation agreement which allowed for its use at times when the facility was not needed for its primary purpose of tracking space probes. After NASA withdrew from South Africa in 1975, the South African Council for Scientific and Industrial Research took over the site and the 26-m parabolic reflector antenna, which NASA had abandoned in position, and established it as a national observatory. The development of the facility to the stage where it could support a variety of observing programmes such as continuum observations and mapping, spectroscopy and pulsar timing is described as well as the role played by the Observatory in global programmes of very long baseline interferometry.     

Numerical simulation of the general circulation of the atmosphere of Titan

The atmospheric circulation of Titan is investigated with a general circulation model. The representation of the large-scale dynamics is based on a grid point model developed and used at Laboratoire de Météorologie Dynamique for climate studies. The code also includes an accurate representation of radiative heating and cooling by molecular gases and haze as well as a parametrization of the vertical turbulent mixing of momentum and potential temperature. Long-term simulations of the atmospheric circulation are presented. Starting from a state of rest, the model spontaneously produces a strong superrotation with prograde equatorial winds (i.e., in the same sense as the assumed rotation of the solid body) increasing from the surface to reach 100 m sec-1 near the 1-mbar pressure level. Those equatorial winds are in very good agreement with some indirect observations, especially those of the 1989 occultation of Star 28-Sgr by Titan. On the other hand, the model simulates latitudinal temperature contrasts in the stratosphere that are significantly weaker than those observed by Voyager 1 which, we suggest, may be partly due to the nonrepresentation of the spatial and temporal variations of the abundances of molecular species and haze. We present diagnostics of the simulated atmospheric circulation underlying the importance of the seasonal cycle and a tentative explanation for the creation and maintenance of the atmospheric superrotation based on a careful angular momentum budget.     

A topological approach to understand a multiple-loop solar flare

We analyze the UV and X-ray data obtained by the SMM satellite for the flare starting at 02:36 UT on November 12, 1980 in AR 2779. From a detailed revision of the Ov emission, we find that the observations are compatible with energy being released in a zone above the magnetic inversion line of the AR intermediate bipole. This energy is then transported mainly by conduction towards the two distant kernels located in the AR main bipole. One of these kernels is first identified in this paper. Accelerated particles contribute to the energy transport only during the impulsive phase.We model the observed longitudinal magnetic field by means of a discrete number of subphotospheric magnetic poles, and derive the magnetic field overall topology. As in previous studies of chromospheric flares, the Ov kernels are located along the intersection of the computed separatrices with the photosphere. Especially where the field-line linkage changes discontinuously, these kernels can be linked in pairs by lines that extend along separatrices. Our results agree with the hypothesis of magnetic energy released by magnetic reconnection occurring on separatrices.     

Analysis of 2-d flare spectra: Velocity fields derived from Hα line asymmetries

We derive a time series of two-dimensional velocity fields for a flare region on 1992 December 16, based on the asymmetries of the H line. The H spectra were obtained by an imaging spectrograph at the Solar Tower Telescope of Nanjing University. Four sites with evident chromospheric downflows are found to appear and decay consecutively in the studied region. The value of maximum velocities is 30–40 km s^–1 and the lifetime of downflows is 2–3 min at these sites. It is also shown that the asymmetries only exist at the line wing, while the line center has nearly no shifts for this flare. Finally, we make a discussion on the characteristics of the velocity distribution and its correlations with the intensity distribution, as well as with the hard X-ray emission.     

Energy release in a prominence-loaded flaring loop

Zaitsev and Stepanov (1991, 1992) proposed a mechanism for energy release in solar flares that involves the intrusion of dense prominence material into a coronal loop. The resulting non-steady state conditions are claimed to increase the resistance of the loop by 8–10 orders of magnitude. It is shown here that the dramatic increase in resistance calculated by Zaitsev and Stepanov depends on a gross overestimate of the of the magnitude of the magnetic force in the loop prior to the flare trigger. A more realistic estimate of the increase due to the mechanism suggests that it is by no more than about four orders of magnitude. As a consequence, the prominence-loading mechanism does not provide a tenable flare model.     

The point spread function of the soft X-ray telescope aboard Yohkoh

The point spread function of the SXT telescope aboardYohkoh has been measured in flight configuration in three different X-ray lines at White Sands Missile Range. We have fitted these data with an elliptical generalization of the Moffat function. Our fitting method consists of ² minimizationin Fourier space, especially designed for matching of sharply peaked functions. We find excellent fits with a reduced ² of order unity or less for single exposure point spread functions over most of the CCD. Near the edges of the CCD the fits are less accurate due to vignetting. From fitting results with summation of multiple exposures we find a systematic error in the fitting function of the order of 3% near the peak of the point spread function, which is close to the photon noise for typical SXT images in orbit. We find that the full width to half maximum and fitting parameters vary significantly with CCD location. However, we also find that point spread functions measured at the same location are consistent to one another within the limit determined by photon noise. A best analytical fit to the PSF as function of position on the CCD is derived for use in SXT image enhancement routines. As an aside result we have found that SXT can determine the location of point sources to about a quarter of a 2.54 arc sec pixel.This paper is dedicated to the memory of our friend and colleague Kermit Smith, who died in June 1993, after a valient fight with leukemia.     

Multicolor photoelectric and photographic observations of the long-period variable Y Ori

Results of observations of the long-period variable Y Ori are presented. The photoelectric observations in UBVR were made at the 60-cm telescope of the high-altitude Maydanak station of the Tashkent Astronomical Institute during the autumn of 1989. The UBVR lightcurves as well as the variations in the color indices U-B, B-V, and V-R are presented. The photographic observations were made at the 40 Schmidt telescope of the Byurakan Observatory and at the 70-cm Maksutov telescope of the Abastumani Observatory. A nebulosity was discovered around Y Ori in red light near the brightness maximum. Such a formation is observed for the first time, not only for Y Ori but also for long-period variables in general. The obtained results are discussed in this work.Translated fromAstrofizika, Vol. 38, No. 1, pp. 5–15, January–March, 1995.     

The flare star PP Ori

We give the results of photographic, photoelectric, and spectral observations of the flare star PP Ori. The 109 photographic observations used, which were obtained on the 40 Schmidt telescope of the Byurakan Observatory over a period of about 20 years, and four spectra obtained on the same telescope with a4° objective prism show no variation in brightness. Photoelectric observations in the UBVR bands using the 50cm and 60cm telescopes of the high-altitude Maidanak station of the Tashkent Astronomical Institute in 1987 and 1989 give grounds for suspecting a variation in brightness much larger than observational errors. Spectral observations of the star PP Ori made on the 2.6m telescope of the Byurakan Observatory show weak H emission. The results of all these observations show that PP Ori is an Orion variable of spectral class K7-M0 with absolute visual magnitude7 ^m 5–8 ^m 5.Translated fromAstrofizika, Vol. 38, No. 2, 1995.     

TVZHR profile for the 1991 Perseid shower

Image intensified video detection systems were used to observe the 1991 Perseid meteor shower from two locations in eastern Canada. In 29.6 hours of total observing time a total of 668 meteors were detected, of which 403 were Perseids. We derived a profile of TVZHR (television zenithal hourly rate) values for the 1991 Perseid shower over the solar longitude (epoch 2000) interval 138°51 to 141°01. The apparent limiting stellar magnitudes of the observing systems were +9.4 and +8.8 (corresponding to limiting meteor magnitudes for our geometry ranging from +8.7 to +7.0). Within the observing period, the maximum TVZHR rate was approximately 1600, and occurred at solar longitude 139.9°. This is in good agreement with the second peak observed by visual observers. The data suggest that TVZHR values should be divided by a factor of approximately 5 to compare TVZHR and ZHR values.     

The American whale oil industry: A look back to the future of the American petroleum industry?

The American whaling industry rose from humble beginnings off Long island to become an international giant. In its peak year, 1846, 735 ships and 70,000 people served the industry. As whale stocks and reserves decreased, whalers were forced to go farther and farther from their New England home ports. Voyages became longer, and risks on required return-on-investment became higher. The easy money of Atlantic and Pacific whaling was no more: the only remaining profitable ventures were to Arctic and Antarctic waters. Many ships returned empty, if at all. in 1871, most of the Arctic whaling fleet was crushed by early winter ice and lost. This calamity, in conjunction with the long-term diminishing whale stocks, the diversion of investment capital to more profitable ventures, and the discovery, development, and refinement of abundant petroleum crude oil, struck the death blow to the American whaling industry. By 1890, only 200 whaling vessels were at work, and by 1971, no American commercial whaling ship sailed the world's oceans.It is apparent that no single event caused the final, rapid decline. However, a single calamity, in an already stressed industry, that was self-insured and commercially interlinked, precipitated the end. Today's American petroleum industry, although adopting some principles of the American whaling industry, also has embraced other activities such as work process reengineering and customer alliances, which may preempt, or postpone, a similar catastrophic demise.