Heterodyne spectroscopy of astronomical and laboratory sources at 8.5 μm using diode laser local oscillators

The first 8.5m infrared heterodyne spectrometer has been constructed using tuneable semiconductor (PbSe) diode lasers and was used to measure absorption line profiles of N₂O in the laboratory and black body emission from the Moon and from Mars. Spectral information was recorded over a 200 MHz bandwidth using an 8-channel filter bank. The resolution was 25 MHz (6 × 10^–6 m) and the minimum detectable (black-body) power was 1 × 10^–16 W for 8 min of integration. The results demonstrate the usefulness of heterodyne spectroscopy for the study of remote and local sources in the infrared.We wish to thank Dr Jack Butler and Craig Simpson (Arthur D. Little, Inc.) for their continuing (and successful) efforts to grow better diode lasers during the course of this experiment. We thank the National Radio Astronomy Observatory for the loan of a 40-channel filter bank and associated mini-computer.We thank en masse the dozens of people who loaned equipment to us for the duration of this experiment, and the commercial firms (especially Harshaw, Inc.) which expedited orders for crucial equipment. We thank Dr Bertram Donn, Dr Norman Ness, and Dr George Pieper for administrative, scientific, and financial support; and we thank Mr James Faris for technical assistance and Dr Sol Glicker for preparation of sample gas cells. We thank Dr Thomas Clark for providing the Kohoutek ephemeris, sighting printout, and predicted molecular line positions and for advice and the loan of some equipment. Finally, we wish to acknowledge the strong support accorded us by our wives and families who scarcely saw us during this period.     

An inexpensive apparatus for growing photosynthetic microorganisms in exotic atmospheres

Given the need for a light source, cyanobacteria and other photosynthetic microorganisms can be difficult and expensive to grow in large quantities. Lighted growth chambers and incubators typically cost 50-100% more than standard microbiological incubators. Self-shading of cells in liquid cultures prevents the growth of dense suspensions. Growing liquid cultures on a shaker table or lighted shaker incubator achieves greater cell densities, but adds considerably to the cost. For experiments in which gases other than air are required, the cost for conventional incubators increases even more. We describe an apparatus for growing photosynthetic organisms in exotic atmospheres that can be built relatively inexpensively (approximately 100 dollars U.S.) using parts available from typical hardware or department stores (e.g., Wal-mart or K-mart). The apparatus uses microfiltered air (or other gases) to aerate, agitate, and mix liquid cultures, thus achieving very high cell densities (A750 > 3). Because gases are delivered to individual culture tubes, a variety of gas mixes can be used without the need for enclosed chambers. The apparatus works with liquid cultures of unicellular and filamentous species, and also works with agar slants.     

Coronal mass ejection (CME) activity of low mass M stars as an important factor for the habitability of terrestrial exoplanets. II. CME-induced ion pick up of Earth-like exoplanets in close-in habitable zones

Atmospheric erosion of CO2-rich Earth-size exoplanets due to coronal mass ejection (CME)-induced ion pick up within close-in habitable zones of active M-type dwarf stars is investigated. Since M stars are active at the X-ray and extreme ultraviolet radiation (XUV) wave-lengths over long periods of time, we have applied a thermal balance model at various XUV flux input values for simulating the thermospheric heating by photodissociation and ionization processes due to exothermic chemical reactions and cooling by the CO2 infrared radiation in the 15 microm band. Our study shows that intense XUV radiation of active M stars results in atmospheric expansion and extended exospheres. Using thermospheric neutral and ion densities calculated for various XUV fluxes, we applied a numerical test particle model for simulation of atmospheric ion pick up loss from an extended exosphere arising from its interaction with expected minimum and maximum CME plasma flows. Our results indicate that the Earth-like exoplanets that have no, or weak, magnetic moments may lose tens to hundreds of bars of atmospheric pressure, or even their whole atmospheres due to the CME-induced O ion pick up at orbital distances 相似文献   

Compatibility of Terrestrial Reference Frames used in GNSS broadcast messages during an 8 week period of 2019

The operational Terrestrial Reference Frames (TRFs) realized through the evaluation of broadcast ephemerides for GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, BeiDou-2 and BeiDou-3 have been compared to IGS14, the TRF realized by the International GNSS Service (IGS). The TRFs realized by the GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, and BeiDou-2 and BeiDou-3 broadcast ephemerides are the orbital realizations of WGS 84 (G1762′), PZ90.11, GTRF19v01, and BDCS respectively. These TRFs are compared using up to 56 days of data (21 July-14 Sept 2019) at a 5 or 15-min rate. The operational TRFs are compared to IGS14 in a 7-parameter similarity (Helmert) transformation. Numerical results show that the operational GNSS TRFs differ from IGS14 at a level no greater than 4 cm for Galileo, 6 cm for GPS and BeiDou-3, 13 cm for GLONASS, and 48 cm for a limited set of BeiDou-2 Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) vehicles.     

The Diverse Planetary Ingassing/Outgassing Paths Produced over Billions of Years of Magmatic Activity

Space Science Reviews - Accretion onto black holes is an efficient mechanism in converting the gas mass-energy into energetic outputs as radiation, wind and jet. Tidal disruption events, in which...     

Mercury Dust Monitor (MDM) Onboard the Mio Orbiter of the BepiColombo Mission

Space Science Reviews - In this chapter, we review the contribution of space missions to the determination of the elemental and isotopic composition of Earth, Moon and the terrestrial planets, with...     

Cometary Dust

This review presents our understanding of cometary dust at the end of 2017. For decades, insight about the dust ejected by nuclei of comets had stemmed from remote observations from Earth or Earth’s orbit, and from flybys, including the samples of dust returned to Earth for laboratory studies by the Stardust return capsule. The long-duration Rosetta mission has recently provided a huge and unique amount of data, obtained using numerous instruments, including innovative dust instruments, over a wide range of distances from the Sun and from the nucleus. The diverse approaches available to study dust in comets, together with the related theoretical and experimental studies, provide evidence of the composition and physical properties of dust particles, e.g., the presence of a large fraction of carbon in macromolecules, and of aggregates on a wide range of scales. The results have opened vivid discussions on the variety of dust-release processes and on the diversity of dust properties in comets, as well as on the formation of cometary dust, and on its presence in the near-Earth interplanetary medium. These discussions stress the significance of future explorations as a way to decipher the formation and evolution of our Solar System.     

Origin of Molecular Oxygen in Comets: Current Knowledge and Perspectives

The Rosetta Orbiter Spectrometer for Ion and Neutral Analysis (ROSINA) instrument onboard the Rosetta spacecraft has measured molecular oxygen (O₂) in the coma of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko (67P/C-G) in surprisingly high abundances. These measurements mark the first unequivocal detection of O₂ in a cometary environment. The large relative abundance of O₂ in 67P/C-G despite its high reactivity and low interstellar abundance poses a puzzle for its origin in comet 67P/C-G, and potentially other comets. Since its detection, there have been a number of hypotheses put forward to explain the production and origin of O₂ in the comet. These hypotheses cover a wide range of possibilities from various in situ production mechanisms to protosolar nebula and primordial origins. Here, we review the O₂ formation mechanisms from the literature, and provide a comprehensive summary of the current state of knowledge of the sources and origin of cometary O₂.