ATS-6 Energetic Particle Radiation Measurement at Synchronous Altitude

The Aerospace Corporation energetic electron-proton spectrometer operating on Applications Technology Satellite-6 (ATS-6) detects energetic electrons in four channels between 140 keV and greater than 32 MeV, and measures energetic protons in five energy channels between 2.3 and 80 MeV and energetic alpha particles in three channels between 9.4 and 94 MeV. After more than a year of operation in orbit, the experiment continues to return excellent data on the behavior of energetic magnetospheric electrons as well as information regarding the fluxes of solar protons and alpha particles.     

An Overview of Jets and Outflows in Stellar Mass Black Holes

In this article, we will briefly review the current empirical understanding of the relation between accretion state and outflows in accreting stellar mass black holes. The focus will be on the empirical connections between X-ray states and relativistic (‘radio’) jets, although we are now also able to draw accretion disc winds into the picture in a systematic way. We will furthermore consider the latest attempts to measure/order jet power, and to compare it to other (potentially) measurable quantities, most importantly black hole spin.     

The Relativistic Proton Spectrometer (RPS) for the Radiation Belt Storm Probes Mission

The Relativistic Proton Spectrometer (RPS) on the Radiation Belt Storm Probes spacecraft is a particle spectrometer designed to measure the flux, angular distribution, and energy spectrum of protons from ～60 MeV to ～2000 MeV. RPS will investigate decades-old questions about the inner Van Allen belt proton environment: a nearby region of space that is relatively unexplored because of the hazards of spacecraft operation there and the difficulties in obtaining accurate proton measurements in an intense penetrating background. RPS is designed to provide the accuracy needed to answer questions about the sources and losses of the inner belt protons and to obtain the measurements required for the next-generation models of trapped protons in the magnetosphere. In addition to detailed information for individual protons, RPS features count rates at a 1-second timescale, internal radiation dosimetry, and information about electrostatic discharge events on the RBSP spacecraft that together will provide new information about space environmental hazards in the Earth’s magnetosphere.     

The Magnetic Electron Ion Spectrometer (MagEIS) Instruments Aboard the Radiation Belt Storm Probes (RBSP) Spacecraft

This paper describes the Magnetic Electron Ion Spectrometer (MagEIS) instruments aboard the RBSP spacecraft from an instrumentation and engineering point of view. There are four magnetic spectrometers aboard each of the two spacecraft, one low-energy unit (20–240 keV), two medium-energy units (80–1200 keV), and a high-energy unit (800–4800 keV). The high unit also contains a proton telescope (55 keV–20 MeV). The magnetic spectrometers focus electrons within a selected energy pass band upon a focal plane of several silicon detectors where pulse-height analysis is used to determine if the energy of the incident electron is appropriate for the electron momentum selected by the magnet. Thus each event is a two-parameter analysis, an approach leading to a greatly reduced background. The physics of these instruments are described in detail followed by the engineering implementation. The data outputs are described, and examples of the calibration results and early flight data presented.     

Characterization and Calibration of the CheMin Mineralogical Instrument on Mars Science Laboratory

A principal goal of the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) rover Curiosity is to identify and characterize past habitable environments on Mars. Determination of the mineralogical and chemical composition of Martian rocks and soils constrains their formation and alteration pathways, providing information on climate and habitability through time. The CheMin X-ray diffraction (XRD) and X-ray fluorescence (XRF) instrument on MSL will return accurate mineralogical identifications and quantitative phase abundances for scooped soil samples and drilled rock powders collected at Gale Crater during Curiosity’s 1-Mars-year nominal mission. The instrument has a Co X-ray source and a cooled charge-coupled device (CCD) detector arranged in transmission geometry with the sample. CheMin’s angular range of 5^° to 50^° 2θ with <0.35^° 2θ resolution is sufficient to identify and quantify virtually all minerals. CheMin’s XRF requirement was descoped for technical and budgetary reasons. However, X-ray energy discrimination is still required to separate Co?Kα from Co?Kβ and Fe?Kα photons. The X-ray energy-dispersive histograms (EDH) returned along with XRD for instrument evaluation should be useful in identifying elements Z>13 that are contained in the sample. The CheMin XRD is equipped with internal chemical and mineralogical standards and 27 reusable sample cells with either Mylar^? or Kapton^? windows to accommodate acidic-to-basic environmental conditions. The CheMin flight model (FM) instrument will be calibrated utilizing analyses of common samples against a demonstration-model (DM) instrument and CheMin-like laboratory instruments. The samples include phyllosilicate and sulfate minerals that are expected at Gale crater on the basis of remote sensing observations.     

Oxygen line mapping of SN 1006 with Suzaku

SN 1006 is one of the supernova remnants (SNRs) with relatively low-temperature electrons, considering the young age of just 1000 years. We carried out SN 1006 mapping observations with the X-ray Imaging Spectrometers (XIS) and the Hard X-ray Detector (HXD) onboard Suzaku, the fifth Japanese X-ray satellite. Thanks to the excellent spectral resolution of XIS in the soft X-ray band, H-like and He-like oxygen emission lines were clearly detected, and we could make a map of the line intensity, and as well as a flux and the photon index of nonthermal component. We found that these parameters have spatial dependences from region to region in the SNR; the north region is bright in nonthermal, while dim in thermal; the east region is bright in both nonthermal and thermal; the inner region shows dim nonthermal and bright thermal emission. The photon index is the smallest in the north region.     

Maps of hydrogen isotopes at low altitudes in the inner zone from sampex observations

The PET instrument aboard the SAMPEX satellite has provided us with long-term intra-calibrated observations of geomagnetically trapped protons and deuterons in the inner zone, suitable for use in constraining the low-altitude portions of radiation belt models being developed as successors to AP-8. These observations have been summarized elsewhere (Looper et al., 1996). Here we report a detection of geomagnetically-trapped tritium at energies from 14 to 35 MeV/nuc below L = 1.2, at about 1/8 the flux of deuterium previously reported at that location and at similar energy per nucleon. We also demonstrate the utility of the SAMPEX/PET observations for measuring the east-west anisotropy in the trapped particle flux at low altitudes, which is due to displacement of particle gyrocenters from the position of observation in a region of strong flux gradients. This anisotropy is implicitly ignored in omnidirectional radiation-flux models, but it can be important to mission planners considering how to distribute shielding over the surface of oriented spacecraft in low Earth orbit.     

Solar-proton polar-cap intensity structures as a test of magnetic field models

The entry of energetic solar protons to the polar caps offers an interesting way to test models of the geomagnetic field. In this brief report, we present a comparison between SAMPEX observations of solar-particle intensity structure during a polar cap traversal with numerical trajectory calculations using the IGRF + T96 field model.     

The effect of realistic surface properties on low temperature space observatories

We highlight the effect on space-telescope temperatures of thedirectionality of the radiative properties of materials, by showing results from a Monte-Carlo simulation of telescope cooling. The need for further measurements of directional properties is stressed.