Superluminous supernovae: no threat from eta Carinae

Recently, Supernova 2006gy was noted as the most luminous ever recorded, with a total radiated energy of approximately 10(44) Joules. It was proposed that the progenitor may have been a massive evolved star similar to eta Carinae, which resides in our own Galaxy at a distance of about 2.3 kpc. eta Carinae appears ready to detonate. Although it is too distant to pose a serious threat as a normal supernova, and given that its rotation axis is unlikely to produce a gamma-ray burst oriented toward Earth, eta Carinae is about 30,000 times nearer than 2006gy, and we re-evaluate it as a potential superluminous supernova. We have found that, given the large ratio of emission in the optical to the X-ray, atmospheric effects are negligible. Ionization of the atmosphere and concomitant ozone depletion are unlikely to be important. Any cosmic ray effects should be spread out over approximately 10(4) y and similarly unlikely to produce any serious perturbation to the biosphere. We also discuss a new possible effect of supernovae-e-ndocrine disruption induced by blue light near the peak of the optical spectrum. This is a possibility for nearby supernovae at distances too large to be considered "dangerous" for other reasons. However, due to reddening and extinction by the interstellar medium, eta Carinae is unlikely to trigger such effects to any significant degree.     

Particle measurements on an ESRO satellite (Neutral-1) in a highly eccentric Polar orbit

Conclusion A satellite such as Neutral-1 should be instrumented with magnetometers, plasma detectors, and detectors of energetic particles, and flown to an altitude of some 26 R _E in a high-inclination orbit. It can thus probe regions of the magnetosphere of particular importance but as yet unexplored. It also is in an orbit that offers the optimum variety of phenomena to be explored, with the additional advantage that the characteristics of each phenomenon can be compared one with the other and the interrelation of these phenomena deduced. Such a satellite offers unique opportunities to investigate a multitude of unknown phenomena, such as the origin and energization of the particles that cause auroras and constitute Van Allen radiation. It can also potentially yield data to help solve long-lived problems, viz.: do the particles that cause auroras come from the sun, and how does a ripple in the solar corona ultimately feed energy into the magnetosphere at an average rate of 10¹⁷-10¹⁸ ergs/sec? Someone should fly such a satellite at the earliest opportunity and certainly by sunspot maximum (1969) since the existing satellite and instrumental technology is adequate.     

The role of volcanic aerosols and relativistic electrons in modulating winter storm vorticity

Small changes in the vorticity of winter storms, responding to solar wind variations, are found in winters from 1957 to 2011, and are greater for winters with higher levels of stratospheric volcanic aerosols. Using 1993–2011 data, the response of the vorticity area index (VAI) is shown to be of larger amplitude when the days of minima in the relativistic electron flux (REF) precipitating from the radiation belts are used, instead of heliospheric current sheet (HCS) crossings, as key days in superposed epoch analyses. The HCS crossings mostly occur within a few days of the REF minima. The VAI is an objective measure of the area of high cyclonic vorticity, and for the present work is derived from ERA-40 and ERA-Interim reanalyses of global meteorological data. The VAI dependencies on the stratospheric aerosol content (SAC) and the REF are consistent with a model in which the ionosphere-earth current density (J_z) affects cloud microphysics. One of the ways in which J_z is modulated is by changes in stratospheric column resistance (S), which is increased by stratospheric aerosols. Because S is in series with the tropospheric column resistance (T), J_z modulation by REF requires that S be not negligible with respect to T. So the J_z modulation and the VAI response appear when the SAC is very high, or the REF reductions (which also increase S) are very deep, and when the product of the SAC and the reciprocal of the REF exceeds a threshold value dependent on T.     

Study of Dynamical Properties of Coronal Structures in the Polar Regions

We present the results from a study of the dynamical properties of polar jets in the Sun's polar regions using LASCO C2 coronagraph and EIT observations. In the simplest impulsive acceleration scenarios for jets, gravity is expected to be the dominant force on the jet following the initial acceleration, especially in the Sun's polar regions where the open magnetic fields should not significantly impede the jet's motion. Our analysis shows that although at low heights the kinematics of the jets could be consistent with a gravitational deceleration of the ejected plasma, at higher heights their motions may simply follow the ambient solar wind outflow. If so, the polar jets can be used as tracers of the solar wind in coronal holes. This revised version was published online in June 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Collecting Samples in Gale Crater, Mars; an Overview of the Mars Science Laboratory Sample Acquisition, Sample Processing and Handling System

The Mars Science Laboratory Mission (MSL), scheduled to land on Mars in the summer of 2012, consists of a rover and a scientific payload designed to identify and assess the habitability, geological, and environmental histories of Gale crater. Unraveling the geologic history of the region and providing an assessment of present and past habitability requires an evaluation of the physical and chemical characteristics of the landing site; this includes providing an in-depth examination of the chemical and physical properties of Martian regolith and rocks. The MSL Sample Acquisition, Processing, and Handling (SA/SPaH) subsystem will be the first in-situ system designed to acquire interior rock and soil samples from Martian surface materials. These samples are processed and separated into fine particles and distributed to two onboard analytical science instruments SAM (Sample Analysis at Mars Instrument Suite) and CheMin (Chemistry and Mineralogy) or to a sample analysis tray for visual inspection. The SA/SPaH subsystem is also responsible for the placement of the two contact instruments, Alpha Particle X-Ray Spectrometer (APXS), and the Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI), on rock and soil targets. Finally, there is a Dust Removal Tool (DRT) to remove dust particles from rock surfaces for subsequent analysis by the contact and or mast mounted instruments (e.g. Mast Cameras (MastCam) and the Chemistry and Micro-Imaging instruments (ChemCam)).     

A viable microbial community in a subglacial volcanic crater lake, Iceland

We describe a viable microbial community in a subglacial lake within the Grímsv?tn volcanic caldera, Iceland. We used a hot water drill to penetrate the 300-m ice shelf and retrieved lake water and volcanic tephra sediments. We also acquired samples of borehole water before and after penetration to the lake, overlying glacial ice and snow, and water from a nearby subaerial geothermal lake for comparative analyses. Lake water is at the freezing point and fresh (total dissolved solids = 260 mg L(-1)). Detectable numbers of cells were found in samples of the lake water column and tephra sediments: 2 x 10(4) ml(-1) and 4 x 10(7) g(-1), respectively. Plate counts document abundant cold-adapted cultivable organisms in the lake water, but not in the borehole (before penetration) or glacial ice. Denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) of 16S rRNA gene fragments amplified from genomic DNA extracted from Grímsv?tn samples indicates that the lake community is distinct from the assemblages of organisms in borehole water (before penetration) and the overlying ice and snow. Sequencing of selected DGGE bands revealed that many sequences are highly similar to known psychrophilic organisms or cloned DNA from other cold environments. Significant uptake of 14C-labeled bicarbonate occurred in dark, low-temperature incubations of lake water samples, indicating the presence of autotrophs. Acetylene reduction assays under similar incubation conditions showed no significant nitrogen fixation potential by lake water samples. This may be a consequence of the inhibition of diazotrophy by nitrogen in the lake.     

A question raised from the observation of dynamic cusp formation: When and where does particle acceleration occur?

We present observations of a C9.4 flare on 2002 June 2 in EUV (TRACE) and X-rays (RHESSI). The multiwavelength data reveal: (1) the involvement of a quadrupole magnetic configuration; (2) loop expansion and ribbon motion in the pre-impulsive phase; (3) gradual formation of a new compact loop with a long cusp at the top during the impulsive phase of the flare; (4) appearance of a large, twisted loop above the cusp expanding outward immediately after the hard X-ray peak; and (5) X-ray emission observed only from the new compact loop and the cusp. In particular, the gradual formation of an EUV cusp feature is very clear. The observations also reveal the timing of the cusp formation and particle acceleration: most of the impulsive hard X-rays (>25 keV) were emitted before the cusp was seen. This suggests that fast reconnection occurred during the restructuring of the magnetic configuration, resulting in more efficient particle acceleration, while the reconnection slowed after the cusp was completely formed and the magnetic geometry was stabilized. This observation is consistent with the observations obtained with Yohkoh/Soft X-ray Telescope (SXT) that soft X-ray cusp structures only appear after the major impulsive energy release in solar flares. These observations have important implications for the modeling of magnetic reconnection and particle acceleration.     

Nonlinear relative position control of precise formation flying using polynomial eigenstructure assignment

A nonlinear relative position control algorithm is designed for spacecraft precise formation flying. Taking into account the effect of J₂ gravitational perturbations and atmospheric drag, the relative motion dynamic equation of the formation flying is developed in a quasi-linear parameter-varying (QLPV) form without approximation. Base on this QLPV model, polynomial eigenstructure assignment (PEA) is applied to design the controller. The resulting PEA controller is a function of system state and parameters, and produces a closed-loop system with invariant performance over a wide range of conditions. Numerical simulation results show that the performance can fulfill precise formation flying requirements.