Normal Nearby Galaxies

Following on from IRAS, ISO has provided a huge advancement in our knowledge of the phenomenology of the infrared (IR) emission of normal galaxies and the underlying physical processes. Highlights include the discovery of an extended cold dust emission component, present in all types of gas-rich galaxies and carrying the bulk of the dust luminosity; the definitive characterisation of the spectral energy distribution in the IR, revealing the channels through which stars power the IR light; the derivation of realistic geometries for stars and dust from ISO imaging; the discovery of cold dust associated with H I extending beyond the optical body of galaxies; the remarkable similarity of the near-IR (NIR)/mid-IR (MIR) SEDs for spiral galaxies, revealing the importance of the photo-dissociation regions in the energy budget for that wavelength range; the importance of the emission from the central regions in shaping up the intensity and the colour of the global MIR luminosity; the discovery of the “hot” NIR continuum emission component of interstellar dust; the predominance of the diffuse cold neutral medium as the origin for the main interstellar cooling line, [C II] 158 μm, in normal galaxies. Based on observations with ISO, an ESA project with instruments funded by ESA Member States (especially the PI countries: France, Germany, The Netherlands, and the United Kingdom), and with the participation of ISAS and NASA.     

Rock surfaces as life indicators: new ways to demonstrate life and traces of former life

Life and its former traces can only be detected from space when they are abundant and exposed to the planetary atmosphere at the moment of investigation by orbiters. Exposed rock surfaces present a multifractal labyrinth of niches for microbial life. Based upon our studies of highly stress-resistant microcolonial fungi of stone monument and desert rock surfaces, we propose that microbial biofilms that develop and become preserved on rock surfaces can be identified remotely by the following characteristics: (1) the existence of spectroscopically identifiable compounds that display unique adsorption, diffraction, and reflection patterns characteristic of biogenerated organic compounds (e.g., chlorophylls, carotenes, melanins, and possibly mycosporines), (2) demonstrably biogenic geomorphological features (e.g., biopitting, biochipping, and bioexfoliation), and (3) biominerals produced in association with biofilms that occupy rock surfaces (e.g., oxalates, forsterite, and special types of carbonates, sulfides, and silicates). Such traces or biosignatures of former life could provide macroscopically visible morphotypes and chemically identifiable products uniquely indicative of life.     

Practical method for routine analysis of the valley parameters between E- and F-region of the ionosphere

Measurement of the virtual height and the frequency of the minimum of the F-region extraordinary trace in digital and analog ionograms can provide a world-wide survey of the main parameters for the valley between E- and F-region ionization. The two added quantities establish also the starting point for the true height analysis of the F-region ionization.