Optimal trajectory planning of free-floating space manipulator using differential evolution algorithm

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Mingming; Luo, Jianjun; Fang, Jing; Yuan, Jianping

2018-03-01

The existence of the path dependent dynamic singularities limits the volume of available workspace of free-floating space robot and induces enormous joint velocities when such singularities are met. In order to overcome this demerit, this paper presents an optimal joint trajectory planning method using forward kinematics equations of free-floating space robot, while joint motion laws are delineated with application of the concept of reaction null-space. Bézier curve, in conjunction with the null-space column vectors, are applied to describe the joint trajectories. Considering the forward kinematics equations of the free-floating space robot, the trajectory planning issue is consequently transferred to an optimization issue while the control points to construct the Bézier curve are the design variables. A constrained differential evolution (DE) scheme with premature handling strategy is implemented to find the optimal solution of the design variables while specific objectives and imposed constraints are satisfied. Differ from traditional methods, we synthesize null-space and specialized curve to provide a novel viewpoint for trajectory planning of free-floating space robot. Simulation results are presented for trajectory planning of 7 degree-of-freedom (DOF) kinematically redundant manipulator mounted on a free-floating spacecraft and demonstrate the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed method.

The BANYAN-Sigma Bayesian classifier and the search for isolated planetary-mass objects

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gagné, Jonathan

2018-01-01

I will present new developments in the construction of a Bayesian classification tool to identify members of 22 young associations within 150 pc from partially complete kinematic data sets such as Gaia-DR1 and DR2. The new BANYAN-Sigma tool makes it possible to quickly analyze massive data sets and yields a better classification performance than all its predecessors. It will open the door to large-scale surveys to complete the stellar and substellar populations of nearby associations, which will provide deep insights in the low-mass end of the initial mass function and valuable age-calibrated targets for exoplanet surveys.I will also presents preliminary results of a search for T-type isolated planetary-mass objects in these young associations, based on BANYAN-Sigma and a cross-match between the AllWISE and 2MASS-Reject catalogs.

Vertical pump with free floating check valve

DOEpatents

Lindsay, Malcolm

1980-01-01

A vertical pump with a bottom discharge having a free floating check valve isposed in the outlet plenum thereof. The free floating check valve comprises a spherical member with a hemispherical cage-like member attached thereto which is capable of allowing forward or reverse flow under appropriate conditions while preventing reverse flow under inappropriate conditions.

Trajectory planning of free-floating space robot using Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Mingming; Luo, Jianjun; Walter, Ulrich

2015-07-01

This paper investigates the application of Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) strategy to trajectory planning of the kinematically redundant space robot in free-floating mode. Due to the path dependent dynamic singularities, the volume of available workspace of the space robot is limited and enormous joint velocities are required when such singularities are met. In order to overcome this effect, the direct kinematics equations in conjunction with PSO are employed for trajectory planning of free-floating space robot. The joint trajectories are parametrized with the Bézier curve to simplify the calculation. Constrained PSO scheme with adaptive inertia weight is implemented to find the optimal solution of joint trajectories while specific objectives and imposed constraints are satisfied. The proposed method is not sensitive to the singularity issue due to the application of forward kinematic equations. Simulation results are presented for trajectory planning of 7 degree-of-freedom (DOF) redundant manipulator mounted on a free-floating spacecraft and demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method.

Passage of a ''Nemesis''-like object through the planetary system

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hills, J.G.

1985-09-01

The probability that passing stars could have perturbed the hypothetical stellar companion, Nemesis, into an orbit that penetrates the planetary system is about 15%. The planetary orbits crossed by Nemesis would become highly eccentric, and some would even become hyperbolic. If Nemesis ejects Jupiter from the solar system, the semimajor axis of the orbit of Nemesis would shrink down to a few hundred AU. The probability of any object in the inner edge of the Oort cloud at a semimajor axis of 2 x 10/sup 4/ AU having passed inside the orbit of Saturn is about 80%. The apparent lackmore » of damage to the planetary orbits implies a low probability of there being any objects more massive than 0.02 M/sub sun/ in the inner edge of the Oort comet cloud. However, several objects less massive than 0.01 M/sub sun/ or 10 Jupiter masses could pass through the planetary system from the Oort cloud without causing any significant damage to the planetary orbits. The lack of damage to the planetary system also requires that no black dwarf more massive than 0.05 M/sub sun/ has entered the planetary system from interstellar space.« less

The First Brown Dwarf/Planetary-mass Object in the 32 Orionis Group

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Burgasser, Adam J.; Lopez, Mike A.; Mamajek, Eric E.; Gagné, Jonathan; Faherty, Jacqueline K.; Tallis, Melisa; Choban, Caleb; Tamiya, Tomoki; Escala, Ivanna; Aganze, Christian

2016-03-01

The 32 Orionis group is a co-moving group of roughly 20 young (24 Myr) M3-B5 stars 100 pc from the Sun. Here we report the discovery of its first substellar member, WISE J052857.69+090104.2. This source was previously reported to be an M giant star based on its unusual near-infrared spectrum and lack of measureable proper motion. We re-analyze previous data and new moderate-resolution spectroscopy from Magellan/Folded-port InfraRed Echellette to demonstrate that this source is a young near-infrared L1 brown dwarf with very low surface gravity features. Spectral model fits indicate Teff = 1880{}-70+150 K and {log}g = 3.8{}-0.2+0.2, consistent with a 15-22 Myr object with a mass near the deuterium-burning limit. Its sky position, estimated distance, kinematics (both proper motion and radial velocity), and spectral characteristics are all consistent with membership in 32 Orionis, and its temperature and age imply a mass (M = {14}-3+4 MJ) that straddles the brown dwarf/planetary-mass object boundary. The source has a somewhat red J-W2 color compared to other L1 dwarfs, but this is likely a low-gravity-related temperature offset; we find no evidence of significant excess reddening from a disk or cool companion in the 3-5 μm waveband. This paper includes data gathered with the 6.5 m Magellan Telescopes located at Las Campanas Observatory, Chile.

Constraints on the spin evolution of young planetary-mass companions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bryan, Marta L.; Benneke, Björn; Knutson, Heather A.; Batygin, Konstantin; Bowler, Brendan P.

2018-02-01

Surveys of young star-forming regions have discovered a growing population of planetary-mass (<13 MJup) companions around young stars1. There is an ongoing debate as to whether these companions formed like planets (that is, from the circumstellar disk)2, or if they represent the low-mass tail of the star-formation process3. In this study, we utilize high-resolution spectroscopy to measure rotation rates of three young (2-300 Myr) planetary-mass companions and combine these measurements with published rotation rates for two additional companions4,5 to provide a picture of the spin distribution of these objects. We compare this distribution to complementary rotation-rate measurements for six brown dwarfs with masses <20 MJup, and show that these distributions are indistinguishable. This suggests that either these two populations formed via the same mechanism, or that processes regulating rotation rates are independent of formation mechanism. We find that rotation rates for both populations are well below their break-up velocities and do not evolve significantly during the first few hundred million years after the end of accretion. This suggests that rotation rates are set during the late stages of accretion, possibly by interactions with a circumplanetary disk. This result has important implications for our understanding of the processes regulating the angular momentum evolution of young planetary-mass objects, and of the physics of gas accretion and disk coupling in the planetary-mass regime.

a Theoretical Calculation of Microlensing Signatures Caused by Free-Floating Planets Towards the Galactic Bulge

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hamolli, L.; Hafizi, M.; Nucita, A. A.

2013-08-01

Free-floating planets (FFPs) are recently drawing a special interest of the scientific community. Gravitational microlensing is up to now the exclusive method for the investigation of FFPs, including their spatial distribution function and mass function. In this paper, we examine the possibility that the future Euclid space-based observatory may allow to discover a substantial number of microlensing events caused by FFPs. Based on latest results about the free-floating planet (FFP) mass function in the mass range [10-5, 10-2]M⊙, we calculate the optical depth towards the Galactic bulge as well as the expected microlensing rate and find that Euclid may be able to detect hundreds to thousands of these events per month. Making use of a synthetic population, we also investigate the possibility of detecting parallax effect in simulated microlensing events due to FFPs and find a significant efficiency for the parallax detection that turns out to be around 30%.

Planetary mass function and planetary systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dominik, M.

2011-02-01

With planets orbiting stars, a planetary mass function should not be seen as a low-mass extension of the stellar mass function, but a proper formalism needs to take care of the fact that the statistical properties of planet populations are linked to the properties of their respective host stars. This can be accounted for by describing planet populations by means of a differential planetary mass-radius-orbit function, which together with the fraction of stars with given properties that are orbited by planets and the stellar mass function allows the derivation of all statistics for any considered sample. These fundamental functions provide a framework for comparing statistics that result from different observing techniques and campaigns which all have their very specific selection procedures and detection efficiencies. Moreover, recent results both from gravitational microlensing campaigns and radial-velocity surveys of stars indicate that planets tend to cluster in systems rather than being the lonely child of their respective parent star. While planetary multiplicity in an observed system becomes obvious with the detection of several planets, its quantitative assessment however comes with the challenge to exclude the presence of further planets. Current exoplanet samples begin to give us first hints at the population statistics, whereas pictures of planet parameter space in its full complexity call for samples that are 2-4 orders of magnitude larger. In order to derive meaningful statistics, however, planet detection campaigns need to be designed in such a way that well-defined fully deterministic target selection, monitoring and detection criteria are applied. The probabilistic nature of gravitational microlensing makes this technique an illustrative example of all the encountered challenges and uncertainties.

Probing Cloud-Driven Variability on Two of the Youngest, Lowest-Mass Brown Dwarfs in the Solar Neighborhood

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schneider, Adam; Cushing, Michael; Kirkpatrick, J. Davy

2016-08-01

Young, late-type brown dwarfs share many properties with directly imaged giant extrasolar planets. They therefore provide unique testbeds for investigating the physical conditions present in this critical temperature and mass regime. WISEA 1147-2040 and 2MASS 1119-1137, two recently discovered late-type (~L7) brown dwarfs, have both been determined to be members of the ~10 Myr old TW Hya Association (Kellogg et al. 2016, Schneider et al. 2016). Each has an estimated mass of 5-6 MJup, making them two of the youngest and lowest-mass free floating objects yet found in the solar neighborhood. As such, these two planetary mass objects provide unparalleled laboratories for investigating giant planet-like atmospheres far from the contaminating starlight of a host sun. Condensate clouds play a critical role in shaping the emergent spectra of both brown dwarfs and gas giant planets, and can cause photometric variability via their non-uniform spatial distribution. We propose to photometrically monitor WISEA 1147-2040 and 2MASS 1119-1137 in order to search for the presence of cloud-driven variability to 1) investigate the potential trend of low surface gravity with high-amplitude variability in a previously unexplored mass regime and 2) explore the angular momentum evolution of isolated planetary mass objects.

ARE LARGE, COMETARY-SHAPED PROPLYDS REALLY (FREE-FLOATING) EVAPORATING GAS GLOBULES?

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Sahai, R.; Guesten, R.; Morris, M. R., E-mail: raghvendra.sahai@jpl.nasa.gov

2012-12-20

We report the detection of strong and compact molecular line emission (in the CO J = 3-2, 4-3, 6-5, 7-6, {sup 13}CO J = 3-2, HCN, and HCO{sup +} J = 4-3 transitions) from a cometary-shaped object (Carina-frEGG1) in the Carina star-forming region (SFR) previously classified as a photoevaporating protoplanetary disk (proplyd). We derive a molecular mass of 0.35 M{sub Sun} for Carina-frEGG1, which shows that it is not a proplyd, but belongs to a class of free-floating evaporating gas globules (frEGGs) recently found in the Cygnus SFR by Sahai et al. Archival adaptive optics near-IR (Ks) images show amore » central hourglass-shaped nebula. The derived source luminosity (about 8-18 L{sub Sun }), the hourglass morphology, and the presence of collimated jets seen in Hubble Space Telescope images imply the presence of a jet-driving, young, low-mass star deeply embedded in the dust inside Carina-frEGG1. Our results suggest that the true nature of many or most such cometary-shaped objects seen in massive SFRs and previously labeled as proplyds has been misunderstood, and that these are really frEGGs.« less

The BDNYC database of low-mass stars, brown dwarfs, and planetary mass companions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cruz, Kelle; Rodriguez, David; Filippazzo, Joseph; Gonzales, Eileen; Faherty, Jacqueline K.; Rice, Emily; BDNYC

2018-01-01

We present a web-interface to a database of low-mass stars, brown dwarfs, and planetary mass companions. Users can send SELECT SQL queries to the database, perform searches by coordinates or name, check the database inventory on specified objects, and even plot spectra interactively. The initial version of this database contains information for 198 objects and version 2 will contain over 1000 objects. The database currently includes photometric data from 2MASS, WISE, and Spitzer and version 2 will include a significant portion of the publicly available optical and NIR spectra for brown dwarfs. The database is maintained and curated by the BDNYC research group and we welcome contributions from other researchers via GitHub.

The Influence of Planetary Mass on the Dynamical Lifetime of Planetary Systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lissauer, J. J.; Duncan, M. J.; Young, Richard E. (Technical Monitor)

1997-01-01

Recent numerical and analytic studies of planetary orbits have demonstrated the importance of resonances and chaos in destabilizing planetary systems. Newton's "clockwork" description of regular, predictable planetary orbits has been replaced by a view in which many systems can have long but finite lifetimes. This new knowledge has altered our perceptions of the later stages of planetary growth and of the stability of planetary systems. Stability criteria are inexact and time dependent. Most previous studies have focused on the effects in initial planetary orbits on the stability of the system. We are conducting an investigation which focuses on the dependence of stability criteria on planetary mass. Synthetic systems are created by increasing the masses of the planets in our Solar System or of the moons of a particular planet; these systems are then integrated until orbit crossing occurs. We have found that over some ranges, the time until orbit crossing varies to a good approximation as a power clothe factor by which the masses of the secondaries arc increased; some scatter occurs as a consequence of vie chaotic nature of orbital evolution. The slope of this power law varies substantially from system to system, and for moons it is mildly dependent on the inclusion of the planet's quadrupole moment in the gravitational potential.

Detecting sub-lunar mass compact objects toward the Local Group galaxies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Inoue, Kaiki Taro

2018-01-01

By monitoring a large number of stars in the Local Group galaxies, we can detect nanolensing events by sub-lunar mass compact objects (SULCOs) such as primordial black holes (PBHs) and rogue (free-floating) dwarf planets in the Milky Way halo. In contarst to microlensing by stellar-mass objects, the finite-source size effect becomes important and the lensing time duration becomes shorter (∼10 1 - 4s). Using stars with V < 26 in M33 as sources, for one-night observation, we would be able to detect 10 3 - 4 nanolensing events caused by SULCOs in the Milky Way halo with a mass of 10-9M⊙ to 10-7M⊙ for sources with S/N > 5 if SULCOs constitute all the dark matter components. Moreover, we expect 10 1 - 2 events in which bright blue stars with S/N > 100 are weakly amplified due to lensing by SULCOs with a mass range of 10-11M⊙ to 10-9M⊙ . Thus the method would open a new window on SULCOs in the Milky Way halo that would otherwise not be observable.

2MASS J13243553+6358281 Is an Early T-type Planetary-mass Object in the AB Doradus Moving Group

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gagné, Jonathan; Allers, Katelyn N.; Theissen, Christopher A.; Faherty, Jacqueline K.; Bardalez Gagliuffi, Daniella; Artigau, Étienne

2018-02-01

We present new radial velocity and trigonometric distance measurements indicating that the unusually red and photometrically variable T2 dwarf 2MASS J13243553+6358281 is a member of the young (∼150 Myr) AB Doradus moving group (ABDMG) based on its space velocity. We estimate its model-dependent mass in the range 11–12 M Jup at the age of the ABDMG, and its trigonometric distance of 12.7 ± 1.5 pc makes it one of the nearest known isolated planetary-mass objects. The unusually red continuum of 2MASS J13243553+6358281 in the near-infrared was previously suspected to be caused by an unresolved L + T brown dwarf binary, although it was never observed with high spatial resolution imaging. This new evidence of youth suggests that a low surface gravity may be sufficient to explain this peculiar feature. Using the new parallax we find that its absolute J-band magnitude is ∼0.4 mag fainter than equivalent-type field brown dwarfs, suggesting that the binary hypothesis is unlikely. The fundamental properties of 2MASS J13243553+6358281 follow the spectral type sequence of other known high-likelihood members of the ABDMG. The effective temperature of 2MASS J13243553+6358281 provides the first precise constraint on the L/T transition at a known young age and indicates that it happens at a temperature of ∼1150 K at ∼150 Myr, compared to ∼1250 K for field brown dwarfs.

Integrated dual-tomography for refractive index analysis of free-floating single living cell with isotropic superresolution.

PubMed

B, Vinoth; Lai, Xin-Ji; Lin, Yu-Chih; Tu, Han-Yen; Cheng, Chau-Jern

2018-04-13

Digital holographic microtomography is a promising technique for three-dimensional (3D) measurement of the refractive index (RI) profiles of biological specimens. Measurement of the RI distribution of a free-floating single living cell with an isotropic superresolution had not previously been accomplished. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study focusing on the development of an integrated dual-tomographic (IDT) imaging system for RI measurement of an unlabelled free-floating single living cell with an isotropic superresolution by combining the spatial frequencies of full-angle specimen rotation with those of beam rotation. A novel 'UFO' (unidentified flying object) like shaped coherent transfer function is obtained. The IDT imaging system does not require any complex image-processing algorithm for 3D reconstruction. The working principle was successfully demonstrated and a 3D RI profile of a single living cell, Candida rugosa, was obtained with an isotropic superresolution. This technology is expected to set a benchmark for free-floating single live sample measurements without labeling or any special sample preparations for the experiments.

Free-floating magnetic microstructures by mask photolithography

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Huong Au, Thi; Thien Trinh, Duc; Bich Do, Danh; Phu Nguyen, Dang; Cong Tong, Quang; Diep Lai, Ngoc

2018-03-01

This work explores the fabrication of free-floating magnetic structures on a photocurable nanocomposite consisting of superparamagnetic magnetite nanoparticles (Fe3O4) and a commercial SU-8 negative tone photoresist. The nanocomposite was synthesized by mixing magnetic nanoparticles with different kinds of SU-8 resin. We demonstrated that the dispersion of Fe3O4 nanoparticles in nanocomposite solution strongly depended on the particles concentration, the viscosity of SU-8 polymer, and the mixing time. The influence of these factors was demonstrated by examining the structures fabricated by mask photolithography technique. We obtained the best quality of structures at a low concentration, below 5 wt%, of Fe3O4 nanoparticles in SU-8 2005 photoresist for a mixing time of about 20 days. The manipulation of free-floating magnetic microstructures by an external magnetic field was also demonstrated showing promising applications of this magnetic nanocomposite.

The History of Planetary Exploration Using Mass Spectrometers

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mahaffy, Paul R.

2012-01-01

At the Planetary Probe Workshop Dr. Paul Mahaffy will give a tutorial on the history of planetary exploration using mass spectrometers. He will give an introduction to the problems and solutions that arise in making in situ measurements at planetary targets using this instrument class.

Forecasted masses for 7000 Kepler Objects of Interest

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Jingjing; Kipping, David M.

2018-01-01

Recent transit surveys have discovered thousands of planetary candidates with directly measured radii, but only a small fraction have measured masses. Planetary mass is crucial in assessing the feasibility of numerous observational signatures, such as radial velocities (RVs), atmospheres, moons and rings. In the absence of a direct measurement, a data-driven, probabilistic forecast enables observational planning, and so here we compute posterior distributions for the forecasted mass of ∼7000 Kepler Objects of Interest (KOIs). Our forecasts reveal that the predicted RV amplitudes of Neptunian planets are relatively consistent, as a result of transit survey detection bias, hovering around a few m s-1 level. We find that mass forecasts are unlikely to improve through more precise planetary radii, with the error budget presently dominated by the intrinsic model uncertainty. Our forecasts identify a couple of dozen KOIs near the Terran-Neptunian divide with particularly large RV semi-amplitudes, which could be promising targets to follow up, particularly in the near-infrared. With several more transit surveys planned in the near-future, the need to quickly forecast observational signatures is likely to grow, and the work here provides a template example of such calculations.

Star-Formation in Free-Floating Evaporating Gaseous Globules

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sahai, Raghvendra

2017-08-01

We propose to study the stellar embryos in select members of a newly recognized class of Free-floating Evaporating Gaseous Globules (frEGGS) embedded in HII regions and having head-tail shapes. We discovered two of these in the Cygnus massive star-forming region (MSFR) with HST, including one of the most prominent members of this class (IRAS20324). Subsequent archival searches of Spitzer imaging of MSFRs has allowed us to build a statistical sample of frEGGs. Our molecular-line observations show the presence of dense molecular cores with total gas masses of (0.5-few) Msun in these objects, and our radio continuum images and Halpha images (from the IPHAS survey) reveal bright photo-ionized peripheries around these objects. We hypothesize that frEGGs are density concentrations originating in giant molecular clouds, that, when subject to the sculpting and compression by strong winds and UV radiation from massive stars, become active star-forming cores. For the 4 frEGGs with HST or near-IR AO images showing young stars and bipolar cavities produced by their jets or collimated outflows, the symmetry axis points roughly toward the external ionizing star or star cluster - exciting new evidence for our overpressure-induced star formation hypothesis. We propose to test this hypothesis by imaging 24 frEGGs in two nearby MSFRs that represent different radiation-dominated environments. Using ACS imaging with filters F606W, F814W, & F658N (Ha+[NII]), we will search for jets and outflow-excavated cavities, investigate the stellar nurseries inside frEGGs, and determine whether the globules are generally forming multiple star systems or small clusters, as in IRAS20324.

On the nature of control algorithms for free-floating space manipulators

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Papadopoulos, Evangelos; Dubowsky, Steven

1991-01-01

It is suggested that nearly any control algorithm that can be used for fixed-based manipulators also can be employed in the control of free-floating space manipulator systems, with the additional conditions of estimating or measuring a spacecraft's orientation and of avoiding dynamic singularities. This result is based on the structural similarities between the kinematic and dynamic equations for the same manipulator but with a fixed base. Barycenters are used to formulate the kinematic and dynamic equations of free-floating space manipulators. A control algorithm for a space manipulator system is designed to demonstrate the value of the analysis.

High signal-to-noise spectral characterization of the planetary-mass object HD 106906 b

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Daemgen, Sebastian; Todorov, Kamen; Quanz, Sascha P.; Meyer, Michael R.; Mordasini, Christoph; Marleau, Gabriel-Dominique; Fortney, Jonathan J.

2017-12-01

Context. Directly imaged planets are ideal candidates for spectroscopic characterization of their atmospheres. The angular separations that are typically close to their host stars, however, reduce the achievable contrast and thus signal-to-noise ratios (S/N). Aims: We spectroscopically characterize the atmosphere of HD 106906 b, which is a young low-mass companion near the deuterium burning limit. The wide separation from its host star of 7.1'' makes it an ideal candidate for high S/N and high-resolution spectroscopy. We aim to derive new constraints on the spectral type, effective temperature, and luminosity of HD 106906 b and also to provide a high S/N template spectrum for future characterization of extrasolar planets. Methods: We obtained 1.1-2.5 μm integral field spectroscopy with the VLT/SINFONI instrument with a spectral resolution of R ≈ 2000-4000. New estimates of the parameters of HD 106906 b are derived by analyzing spectral features, comparing the extracted spectra to spectral catalogs of other low-mass objects, and fitting with theoretical isochrones. Results: We identify several spectral absorption lines that are consistent with a low mass for HD 106906 b. We derive a new spectral type of L1.5 ± 1.0, which is one subclass earlier than previous estimates. Through comparison with other young low-mass objects, this translates to a luminosity of log(L/L⊙) = -3.65 ± 0.08 and an effective temperature of Teff = 1820 ± 240 K. Our new mass estimates range between M = 11.9-0.8+1.7 MJup (hot start) and M = 14.0-0.5+0.2 MJup (cold start). These limits take into account a possibly finite formation time, i.e., HD 106906 b is allowed to be 0-3 Myr younger than its host star. We exclude accretion onto HD 106906 b at rates Ṁ > 4.8 × 10-10 MJup yr-1 based on the fact that we observe no hydrogen (Paschen-β, Brackett-γ) emission. This is indicative of little or no circumplanetary gas. With our new observations, HD 106906 b is the planetary-mass object with

[The Mechanism of Free-Floating Discussion in a Psychiatric/Mental Health Nursing Supervisory Group].

PubMed

Chiang, Hsien-Hsien

2015-06-01

Although the free-floating discussion format is widely used in group therapy, the application of this format in the context of supervisory groups has yet to be clarified. The purpose of this study was to explore the mechanisms involved in facilitating and learning the free-floating discussion format in a supervisory group. A phenomenological approach was used to investigate the group content and personal feedback of a psychiatric-nurse supervisory group. The group held on 12 sessions. Each session was conducted once weekly and lasting 150 minutes. The findings identified the functions of free-floating discussions in the context of supervisory groups as: embodied interaction and initiation by handling. Embodied interaction included: reflection on the experience of the other, sense of body, and present action. Initiation by handling included: facilitating the self-narrative, following the lead of the group, and reflecting in accordance with the group. The role of the facilitator is to parallel process rather than to lead in order to produce practical wisdom. Free-floating discussion and self-evidence from initiation by handling has the potential to promote spontaneity, creativity, and self-confidence in clinical practice and to promote deep learning.

Star-Formation in Free-Floating Evaporating Gaseous Globules

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sahai, Raghvendra

How the evolutionary details of the star formation process (e.g., IMF, binary fraction, star formation efficiency, total extent and mass of star clusters) depend on the local environment is a major question in astrophysics. Massive stars have a strong feedback effect on their environment, via their winds, UV radiation, and ultimately, supernova blast waves, all of which can alter the likelihood for the formation of stars in nearby clouds and limit the accretion process of nearby protostars. But the complex structural make-up (revealed in exquisite detail by many modern studies using HST, Spitzer, WISE, & Herschel) of star-forming clouds in massive star-forming regions (MSFRs) has made it difficult, in spite of decades of study, to reach definitive, quantitative conclusions about the various physical processes at play in producing ``triggered" star formation. All of these issues can now be addressed using a newly recognized class of stellar nurseries embedded within giant HII regions: free-floating Evaporating Gaseous Globules having cometary shapes (frEGGs). We serendipitously discovered two frEGGs in the Cygnus massive star-forming region with HST. Our preliminary exmaination of the Spitzer archive has revealed a potentially much larger number. We used molecular-line observations showing the presence of dense clouds with total masses of cold molecular gas exceeding 0.5 to a few Msun associated with these objects, thereby disproving the initial hypothesis based on their morphology that these were similar to the proplyds (cometary-shaped photoevaporating protoplanetary disks) found in Orion (Sahai et al. 2012a,b). By virtue of their distinct, isolated morphologies, frEGGS offer us an exciting, new "clean-cut" probe of the star formation process in the vicinity of massive star clusters. And finally, frEGGs offer us an opportunity to study the earliest analogs of the physical environment where our Sun was born, since, like frEGGs, the protosolar nebula is believed to

General purpose free floating platform for KC-135 flight experimentation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Borchers, Bruce A.; Yendler, Boris S.; Kliss, Mark H.; Gonzales, Andrew A.; Edwards, Mark T.

1994-01-01

The Controlled Ecological Life Support Systems (CELSS) program is evaluating higher plants as a means of providing life support functions aboard space craft. These plant systems will be capable of regenerating air and water while meeting some of the food requirements of the crew. In order to grow plants in space, a series of systems are required to provide the necessary plant support functions. Some of the systems required for CELSS experiments are such that is is likely that existing technologies will require refinement, or novel technologies will need to be developed. To evaluate and test these technologies, a series of KC-135 precursor flights are being proposed. A general purpose free floating experiment platform is being developed to allow the KC-135 flights to be used to their fullest. This paper will outline the basic design for the CELSS Free Floating Test Bed (FFTB), and the requirements for the individual subsystems. Several preliminary experiments suitable for the free floater will also be discussed.

Sub-glacier ocean properties and mass balance estimates of Petermann Gletscher's floating tongue in Northwestern Greenland

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Steffen, K.; Huff, R. D.; Cullen, N.; Rignot, E.; Bauder, A.

2004-12-01

Petermann Gletscher is the largest and most influential outlet glacier in central northern Greenland. Located at 81 N, 60 W, it drains an area of 71,580 km2, with a discharge of 12 cubic km of ice per year into the Arctic Ocean. We finished a third field season in spring 2004 collecting in situ data on local climate, ice velocity, ice thickness profiles and bottom melt rates of the floating ice tongue. In addition, water properties (salinity and temperature profiles) in large, channel-like bottom cavities beneath the floating ice tongue were measured. The melt rates in these "channels" are in excess of 10 m/y and probably responsible for most of the mass loss of the Petermann Gletscher. The ocean measurements will be discussed in comparison with other ocean-profile soundings in the region. The bottom topography of the floating ice tongue has been mapped for some regions using surface-based ground penetrating radar at 25 MHz frequency and NASA aircraft radar profiles. A new map showing these under-ice features will be presented. GPS tidal motion has been measured over one lunar cycle at the flex zone and on the free floating ice tongue. These results will be compared to historic measurements made at the beginning of last century. A "worm-like" sheer feature of 80 m in height and several km in length has been studied using differential GPS readings. The mean velocity of the floating tongue ice is 1.08 km/y in that region, whereas the ice along the margin has a 30%-reduced flow speed, resulting in this strange looking sheer feature. Finally, the mass balance of the floating ice tongue will be discussed based on in situ measurements, aircraft profiles, satellite data, and model approximations.

On the dynamic singularities in the control of free-floating space manipulators

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Papadopoulos, E.; Dubowsky, S.

1989-01-01

It is shown that free-floating space manipulator systems have configurations which are dynamically singular. At a dynamically singular position, the manipulator is unable to move its end effector in some direction. This problem appears in any free-floating space manipulator system that permits the vehicle to move in response to manipulator motion without correction from the vehicle's attitude control system. Dynamic singularities are functions of the dynamic properties of the system; their existence and locations cannot be predicted solely from the kinematic structure of the manipulator, unlike the singularities for fixed base manipulators. It is also shown that the location of these dynamic singularities in the workplace is dependent upon the path taken by the manipulator in reaching them. Dynamic singularities must be considered in the control, planning and design of free-floating space manipulator systems. A method for calculating these dynamic singularities is presented, and it is shown that the system parameters can be selected to reduce the effect of dynamic singularities on a system's performance.

Real object-based 360-degree integral-floating display using multiple depth camera

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Erdenebat, Munkh-Uchral; Dashdavaa, Erkhembaatar; Kwon, Ki-Chul; Wu, Hui-Ying; Yoo, Kwan-Hee; Kim, Young-Seok; Kim, Nam

2015-03-01

A novel 360-degree integral-floating display based on the real object is proposed. The general procedure of the display system is similar with conventional 360-degree integral-floating displays. Unlike previously presented 360-degree displays, the proposed system displays the 3D image generated from the real object in 360-degree viewing zone. In order to display real object in 360-degree viewing zone, multiple depth camera have been utilized to acquire the depth information around the object. Then, the 3D point cloud representations of the real object are reconstructed according to the acquired depth information. By using a special point cloud registration method, the multiple virtual 3D point cloud representations captured by each depth camera are combined as single synthetic 3D point cloud model, and the elemental image arrays are generated for the newly synthesized 3D point cloud model from the given anamorphic optic system's angular step. The theory has been verified experimentally, and it shows that the proposed 360-degree integral-floating display can be an excellent way to display real object in the 360-degree viewing zone.

Implications for Planetary System Formation from Interstellar Object 1I/2017 U1 (‘Oumuamua)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Trilling, David E.; Robinson, Tyler; Roegge, Alissa; Chandler, Colin Orion; Smith, Nathan; Loeffler, Mark; Trujillo, Chad; Navarro-Meza, Samuel; Glaspie, Lori M.

2017-12-01

The recently discovered minor body 1I/2017 U1 (‘Oumuamua) is the first known object in our solar system that is not bound by the Sun’s gravity. Its hyperbolic orbit (eccentricity greater than unity) strongly suggests that it originated outside our solar system; its red color is consistent with substantial space weathering experienced over a long interstellar journey. We carry out a simple calculation of the probability of detecting such an object. We find that the observed detection rate of 1I-like objects can be satisfied if the average mass of ejected material from nearby stars during the process of planetary formation is ˜20 Earth masses, similar to the expected value for our solar system. The current detection rate of such interstellar interlopers is estimated to be 0.2 yr-1, and the expected number of detections over the past few years is almost exactly one. When the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope begins its wide, fast, deep all-sky survey, the detection rate will increase to 1 yr-1. Those expected detections will provide further constraints on nearby planetary system formation through a better estimate of the number and properties of interstellar objects.

SIMP J013656.5+093347 Is Likely a Planetary-mass Object in the Carina-Near Moving Group

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gagné, Jonathan; Faherty, Jacqueline K.; Burgasser, Adam J.; Artigau, Étienne; Bouchard, Sandie; Albert, Loïc; Lafrenière, David; Doyon, René; Bardalez Gagliuffi, Daniella C.

2017-05-01

We report on the discovery that the nearby (˜6 pc) photometrically variable T2.5 dwarf SIMP J013656.5+093347 is a likely member of the ˜200 Myr old Carina-Near moving group with a probability of >99.9% based on its full kinematics. Our v\\sin I measurement of 50.9 ± 0.8 km s-1 combined with the known rotation period inferred from variability measurements provide a lower limit of 1.01 ± 0.02 {R}{Jup} on the radius of SIMP 0136+0933, an independent verification that it must be younger than ˜950 Myr, according to evolution models. We estimate a field interloper probability of 0.2% based on the density of field T0-T5 dwarfs. At the age of Carina-Near, SIMP 0136+0933 has an estimated mass of 12.7 ± 1.0 {M}{Jup} and is predicted to have burned roughly half of its original deuterium. SIMP 0136+0933 is the closest known young moving group member to the Sun and is one of only a few known young T dwarfs, making it an important benchmark for understanding the atmospheres of young planetary-mass objects.

Stellar, Remnant, Planetary, and Dark-Object Masses from Astrometric Microlensing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gould, Andrew P.; Bennett, David P.; Boden, Andrew; Depoy, Darren L.; Gaudi, Scott B.; Griest, Kim; Han, Cheongho; Paczynski, Bohdan; Reid, I. Neill

2004-01-01

The primary goal of our project is to make a complete census of the stellar population of the Galaxy. We are broadening the term stellar here to include both ordinary stars and dark stars. Ordinary stars, burning their nuclear fuel and shining, can perhaps best be studied with traditional astronomical techniques, but dark stars, by which we include old brown dwarfs, black holes, old white dwarfs, neutron stars, and perhaps exotic objects such as mirror matter stars or primordial black holes, can only be studied by their gravitational effects. Traditionally, these objects have been probed in binaries, and thus selected in a way that may or may not be representative of their respective field populations. The only way to examine the field population of these stars is through microlensing, the deflection of light from a visible star in the background by an object (dark or not) in the foreground. When lensed, there are two images of the background star. Although these images cannot be resolved when the lens has a stellar mass, the lensing effect can be detected in two ways: photometrically, i.e. by measuring the magnification of the source by the lens, and astrometrically, i.e. by measuring the shift in the centroid of the two images. Photometric microlensing experiments have detected hundreds of microlensing events over the past decade. Despite its successes, photometric microlensing has so far been somewhat frustrating because these events are difficult to interpret. Almost nothing is known about the masses of individual lenses and very little is known about the statistical properties of the lenses treated as a whole, such as their average mass. Although probably over 100 of the lenses are in fact dark objects, we can't determine which they are, let alone investigate finer details such as what their masses are, and where they are in the Galaxy. With SIM, we will break the microlensing degeneracy, and allow detailed interpretation of individual microlensing events. We

FUNDAMENTAL PARAMETERS AND SPECTRAL ENERGY DISTRIBUTIONS OF YOUNG AND FIELD AGE OBJECTS WITH MASSES SPANNING THE STELLAR TO PLANETARY REGIME

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Filippazzo, Joseph C.; Rice, Emily L.; Faherty, Jacqueline

We combine optical, near-infrared, and mid-infrared spectra and photometry to construct expanded spectral energy distributions for 145 field age (>500 Myr) and 53 young (lower age estimate <500 Myr) ultracool dwarfs (M6-T9). This range of spectral types includes very low mass stars, brown dwarfs, and planetary mass objects, providing fundamental parameters across both the hydrogen and deuterium burning minimum masses for the largest sample assembled to date. A subsample of 29 objects have well constrained ages as probable members of a nearby young moving group. We use 182 parallaxes and 16 kinematic distances to determine precise bolometric luminosities (L{sub bol})more » and radius estimates from evolutionary models give semi-empirical effective temperatures (T{sub eff}) for the full range of young and field age late-M, L, and T dwarfs. We construct age-sensitive relationships of luminosity, temperature, and absolute magnitude as functions of spectral type and absolute magnitude to disentangle the effects of degenerate physical parameters such as T{sub eff}, surface gravity, and clouds on spectral morphology. We report bolometric corrections in J for both field age and young objects and find differences of up to a magnitude for late-L dwarfs. Our correction in Ks shows a larger dispersion but not necessarily a different relationship for young and field age sequences. We also characterize the NIR–MIR reddening of low gravity L dwarfs and identify a systematically cooler T{sub eff} of up to 300 K from field age objects of the same spectral type and 400 K cooler from field age objects of the same M{sub H} magnitude.« less

Evidence for a planetary mass third body orbiting the binary star KIC 5095269

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Getley, A. K.; Carter, B.; King, R.; O'Toole, S.

2017-07-01

In this paper, we report the evidence for a planetary mass body orbiting the close binary star KIC 5095269. This detection arose from a search for eclipse timing variations amongst the more than 2000 eclipsing binaries observed by Kepler. Light curve and periodic eclipse time variations have been analysed using systemic and a custom Binary Eclipse Timings code based on the Transit Analysis Package which indicates a 7.70 ± 0.08MJup object orbiting every 237.7 ± 0.1 d around a 1.2 M⊙ primary and a 0.51 M⊙ secondary in an 18.6 d orbit. A dynamical integration over 107 yr suggests a stable orbital configuration. Radial velocity observations are recommended to confirm the properties of the binary star components and the planetary mass of the companion.

Fate of methane in aquatic systems dominated by free-floating plants.

PubMed

Kosten, Sarian; Piñeiro, Marcia; de Goede, Eefje; de Klein, Jeroen; Lamers, Leon P M; Ettwig, Katharina

2016-11-01

Worldwide the area of free-floating plants is increasing, which can be expected to alter methane (CH 4 ) emissions from aquatic systems in several ways. A large proportion of the CH 4 produced may become oxidized below the plants due to the accumulation of CH 4 as a result of a decrease in the diffusive water-atmosphere flux and the entrapment of part of the ebullitive CH 4 , in combination with suitable conditions for methane oxidizing (MOX) bacteria in the aerobic rhizosphere. We used a set of essays to test this hypothesis and to explore the effect of different densities for three widespread free-floating species: Azolla filiculoides, Salvinia natans, and Eichhornia crassipes. The gas exchange velocity, proportion of CH 4 bubbles trapped by the plants, occurrence of radial oxygen loss from roots, and MOX rates on the roots were assessed. We subsequently used the outcome of these experiments to parameterize a simple model. With this model we estimated the proportion of the produced CH 4 that is oxidized, for different plant species and different densities. We found that in a shallow (1 m) system up to 70% of the CH 4 produced may become oxidized as a result of a strong decrease in gas exchange combined with high MOX activity of the rhizosphere microbiome. As floating plants also are likely to increase CH 4 production by organic matter production, especially when their presence induces anaerobic conditions, the overall effect on CH 4 emission will strongly depend on local conditions. This explains the contrasting effects of floating plants on CH 4 emissions in literature as reviewed here. As the effect of floating plants on CH 4 emissions, including the high MOX rates we show here, can be substantial, there is an urgent need to consider this impact when assessing greenhouse gas budgets. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Proceedings of the First Greek-Austrian Workshop on Extrasolar Planetary Systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Maindl, T. I.; Varvoglis, H.; Dvorak, R.

2017-03-01

Along the subject line of this workshop, the common topic of the submissions is the field of extrasolar planetary systems with its multitude of facets ? from orbital dynamics to mutually destructive collisions, from binary star systems to Trojan planets to exocomets, from captured free-floating objects to artificial satellites. Despite the comparatively small number of participants ? ranging from graduate student to senior professor level ? we are proud of the submitted papers covering this wide range of aspects. In order to work towards a consistent quality-level, each of the manuscripts went through an independent review process before being accepted as a paper contribution to this volume. We would like to cordially thank the referees for their timely response-cycles, which helped tremendously in keeping our ambitious schedule.

Electrowetting in a water droplet with a movable floating substrate

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shahzad, Amir; Masud, A. R.; Song, Jang-Kun

2016-05-01

Electrowetting (EW) enables facile manipulation of a liquid droplet on a hydrophobic surface. In this study, manipulation of an electrolyte droplet having a small floating object on it was investigated on a solid hydrophobic substrate under the EW process. Herein, the floating object exhibited a vertical motion under an applied electric field owing to the spreading and contraction of the droplet on its connecting substrates. The field-induced height variation of the floating object was significantly influenced by the thicknesses of the dielectric and hydrophobic materials. A small mass was also placed on the top floating object and its effect on the spreading of the droplet was observed. In this system, the height of the top floating object is precisely controllable under the application of an electric voltage. The proposed system is expected to be highly useful in the design of nano- and micro-oscillatory systems for microengineering.

Electrowetting in a water droplet with a movable floating substrate.

PubMed

Shahzad, Amir; Masud, A R; Song, Jang-Kun

2016-05-01

Electrowetting (EW) enables facile manipulation of a liquid droplet on a hydrophobic surface. In this study, manipulation of an electrolyte droplet having a small floating object on it was investigated on a solid hydrophobic substrate under the EW process. Herein, the floating object exhibited a vertical motion under an applied electric field owing to the spreading and contraction of the droplet on its connecting substrates. The field-induced height variation of the floating object was significantly influenced by the thicknesses of the dielectric and hydrophobic materials. A small mass was also placed on the top floating object and its effect on the spreading of the droplet was observed. In this system, the height of the top floating object is precisely controllable under the application of an electric voltage. The proposed system is expected to be highly useful in the design of nano- and micro-oscillatory systems for microengineering.

Huge Free-Floating Thrombus in the Internal Carotid Artery.

PubMed

Tanriverdi, Uygur; Kizilkilic, Osman; Ince, Birsen

2017-12-01

Free-floating thrombus in the carotid artery is extremely rare. A 70-year-old male patient with pre-existing Crohn's disease admitted to our clinic with recurrent transient ischemic attacks. Angiography showed a huge thrombus in internal carotid artery. He responded to anticoagulation treatment and delayed endovascular intervention. Copyright © 2017 National Stroke Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

New Clues to the Mysterious Origin of Wide-Separation Planetary-Mass Companions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bryan, Marta

2018-01-01

Over the past decade, direct imaging searches for young gas giant planets have revealed a new population of young planetary-mass companions with extremely wide orbital separations (>50 AU) and masses near or at the deuterium-burning limit. These companions pose significant challenges to standard formation models, including core accretion, disk instability, and turbulent fragmentation. In my talk I will discuss new results from high-contrast imaging and high-resolution infrared spectroscopy of a sample of directly imaged wide-separation companions that can be used to directly test these three competing formation mechanisms. First, I use high-contrast imaging to strongly discount scattering as a hypothesis for the origin of wide-separation companions. Second, I measure rotation rates of a subset of these companions using their near-IR spectra, and place the first constraints on the angular momentum evolution of young planetary-mass objects. Finally, I explore the ability of high-resolution spectroscopy to constrain the atmospheric C/O ratios of these companions, providing a complementary test of competing formation scenarios.

BANYAN. IX. The Initial Mass Function and Planetary-mass Object Space Density of the TW HYA Association

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gagné, Jonathan; Faherty, Jacqueline K.; Mamajek, Eric E.; Malo, Lison; Doyon, René; Filippazzo, Joseph C.; Weinberger, Alycia J.; Donaldson, Jessica K.; Lépine, Sébastien; Lafrenière, David; Artigau, Étienne; Burgasser, Adam J.; Looper, Dagny; Boucher, Anne; Beletsky, Yuri; Camnasio, Sara; Brunette, Charles; Arboit, Geneviève

2017-02-01

A determination of the initial mass function (IMF) of the current, incomplete census of the 10 Myr-old TW Hya association (TWA) is presented. This census is built from a literature compilation supplemented with new spectra and 17 new radial velocities from ongoing membership surveys, as well as a reanalysis of Hipparcos data that confirmed HR 4334 (A2 Vn) as a member. Although the dominant uncertainty in the IMF remains census incompleteness, a detailed statistical treatment is carried out to make the IMF determination independent of binning while accounting for small number statistics. The currently known high-likelihood members are fitted by a log-normal distribution with a central mass of {0.21}-0.06+0.11 M ⊙ and a characteristic width of {0.8}-0.1+0.2 dex in the 12 M Jup-2 M ⊙ range, whereas a Salpeter power law with α ={2.2}-0.5+1.1 best describes the IMF slope in the 0.1-2 M ⊙ range. This characteristic width is higher than other young associations, which may be due to incompleteness in the current census of low-mass TWA stars. A tentative overpopulation of isolated planetary-mass members similar to 2MASS J11472421-2040204 and 2MASS J11193254-1137466 is identified: this indicates that there might be as many as {10}-5+13 similar members of TWA with hot-start model-dependent masses estimated at ˜5-7 M Jup, most of which would be too faint to be detected in 2MASS. Our new radial velocity measurements corroborate the membership of 2MASS J11472421-2040204, and secure TWA 28 (M8.5 γ), TWA 29 (M9.5 γ), and TWA 33 (M4.5 e) as members. The discovery of 2MASS J09553336-0208403, a young L7-type interloper unrelated to TWA, is also presented.

Objectives and models of the planetary quarantine program

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Werber, M.

1975-01-01

The objectives of the planetary quarantine program are presented and the history of early contamination prevention efforts is outlined. Contamination models which were previously established are given and include: determination of parameters; symbol nomenclature; and calculations of contamination and hazard probabilities. Planetary quarantine is discussed as an issue of national and international concern. Information on international treaty and meetings on spacecraft sterilization, quarantine standards, and policies is provided. The specific contamination probabilities of the U.S.S.R. Venus 3 flyby are included.

A novel free floating accelerometer force balance system for shock tunnel applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Joarder, R.; Mahaptra, D. R.; Jagadeesh, G.

In order to overcome the interference of the model mounting system with the external aerodynamics of the body during shock tunnel testing, a new free floating internally mountable balance system that ensures unrestrained model motion during testing has been designed, fabricated and tested. Minimal friction ball bearings are used for ensuring the free floating condition of the model during tunnel testing. The drag force acting on a blunt leading edge flat plate at hypersonic Mach number has been measured using the new balance system. Finite element model (FEM) and CFD are exhaustively used in the design as well as for calibrating the new balance system. The experimentally measured drag force on the blunt leading edge flat plate at stagnation enthalpy of 0.7 and 1.2 MJ/kg and nominal Mach number of 5.75 matches well with FEM results. The concept can also be extended for measuring all the three fundamental aerodynamic forces in short duration test facilities like free piston driven shock tunnels.

A Study of Planetary Nebulae using the Faint Object Infrared Camera for the SOFIA Telescope

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Davis, Jessica

2012-01-01

A planetary nebula is formed following an intermediate-mass (1-8 solar M) star's evolution off of the main sequence; it undergoes a phase of mass loss whereby the stellar envelope is ejected and the core is converted into a white dwarf. Planetary nebulae often display complex morphologies such as waists or torii, rings, collimated jet-like outflows, and bipolar symmetry, but exactly how these features form is unclear. To study how the distribution of dust in the interstellar medium affects their morphology, we utilize the Faint Object InfraRed CAmera for the SOFIA Telescope (FORCAST) to obtain well-resolved images of four planetary nebulae--NGC 7027, NGC 6543, M2-9, and the Frosty Leo Nebula--at wavelengths where they radiate most of their energy. We retrieve mid infrared images at wavelengths ranging from 6.3 to 37.1 micron for each of our targets. IDL (Interactive Data Language) is used to perform basic analysis. We select M2-9 to investigate further; analyzing cross sections of the southern lobe reveals a slight limb brightening effect. Modeling the dust distribution within the lobes reveals that the thickness of the lobe walls is higher than anticipated, or rather than surrounding a vacuum surrounds a low density region of tenuous dust. Further analysis of this and other planetary nebulae is needed before drawing more specific conclusions.

The inducement of planetary boundary layer mass convergence associated with varying vorticity beneath tropospheric wind maximum

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Johnson, D. R.

1984-01-01

The effects of the vorticity distribution are applied to study planetary boundary layer mass convergence beneath free tropospheric wind maximum. For given forcing by viscous and pressure gradient forces beneath a wind maximum, boundary layer cross stream mass transport is increased by anticyclonic vorticity on the right flank and decreased by cyclonic vorticity on the left flank. Such frictionally forced mass transport induces boundary layer mass convergence beneath the relative wind maximum. This result is related to the empirical rule that the most intense convection and severe weather frequently develop beneath the 500 mb zero relative vorticity isopleth.

Search for Wide Planetary-Mass Companions in Young Star-Forming Regions with UKIDSS and Pan-STARRS

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aller, Kimberly M.; Kraus, A. L.; Liu, M. C.; Bowler, B. P.

2013-01-01

Over the past decade, planetary-mass (<15 MJup) companions have been discovered in very wide orbits (>100 AU) around young stars. It is unclear whether these objects formed like planets or like stars. If these are planets, then modifications to core accretion or disk instability models are needed to allow formation at such wide orbits, or planet scattering must be an important mechanism. On the other hand, if these objects formed like stars, we need to understand the frequency of these extremely low mass ratio binary companions which challenge brown dwarf formation models. Regardless of their origins, these wide companions are easier to observe than close-in planets and can be used as benchmarks to understand the properties of young planets. We have combined optical and NIR photometry from UKIDSS and Pan-STARRS-1 to search the young star-forming region of Upper Scorpius and Taurus for new planetary-mass objects, going ≈3 mag deeper than previous work with 2MASS. We identified several candidates with very wide separations (≈400-4000 AU) from known members using a combination of color selection and spectral energy distribution (SED) fitting to templates of known low-mass stars and brown dwarfs. Furthermore, we have obtained followup NIR spectra of several Upper Scorpius candidates to spectroscopically identify three new wide very low-mass companions (≈15-25 MJup spectral type of M8-L0).

Response diversity of free-floating plants to nutrient stoichiometry and temperature: growth and resting body formation.

PubMed

McCann, Michael J

2016-01-01

Free-floating plants, like most groups of aquatic primary producers, can become nuisance vegetation under certain conditions. On the other hand, there is substantial optimism for the applied uses of free-floating plants, such as wastewater treatment, biofuel production, and aquaculture. Therefore, understanding the species-specific responses of floating plants to abiotic conditions will inform both management decisions and the beneficial applications of these plants. I measured the responses of three floating plant species common in the northeast United States (Lemna minor, Spirodela polyrhiza, and Wolffia brasiliensis) to nutrient stoichiometry (nitrogen and phosphorus) and temperature in the laboratory. I also used survey data to determine the pattern of species richness of floating plants in the field and its relationship with the dominance of this group. Floating plant species exhibited unique responses to nutrient stoichiometry and temperature in the laboratory, especially under low temperatures (18 °C) and low nutrient conditions (0.5 mg N L(-1), 0.083 mg P L(-1)). The three species displayed an apparent tradeoff with different strategies of growth or dormancy. In the field, water bodies with three or more species of floating plants were not more frequently dominated by this group. The response diversity observed in the lab may not be associated with the dominance of this group in the field because it is masked by environmental variability, has a weak effect, or is only important during transient circumstances. Future research to develop applied uses of floating plants should examine response diversity across a greater range of species or clones and environmental conditions.

Response diversity of free-floating plants to nutrient stoichiometry and temperature: growth and resting body formation

PubMed Central

2016-01-01

Free-floating plants, like most groups of aquatic primary producers, can become nuisance vegetation under certain conditions. On the other hand, there is substantial optimism for the applied uses of free-floating plants, such as wastewater treatment, biofuel production, and aquaculture. Therefore, understanding the species-specific responses of floating plants to abiotic conditions will inform both management decisions and the beneficial applications of these plants. I measured the responses of three floating plant species common in the northeast United States (Lemna minor, Spirodela polyrhiza, and Wolffia brasiliensis) to nutrient stoichiometry (nitrogen and phosphorus) and temperature in the laboratory. I also used survey data to determine the pattern of species richness of floating plants in the field and its relationship with the dominance of this group. Floating plant species exhibited unique responses to nutrient stoichiometry and temperature in the laboratory, especially under low temperatures (18 °C) and low nutrient conditions (0.5 mg N L−1, 0.083 mg P L−1). The three species displayed an apparent tradeoff with different strategies of growth or dormancy. In the field, water bodies with three or more species of floating plants were not more frequently dominated by this group. The response diversity observed in the lab may not be associated with the dominance of this group in the field because it is masked by environmental variability, has a weak effect, or is only important during transient circumstances. Future research to develop applied uses of floating plants should examine response diversity across a greater range of species or clones and environmental conditions. PMID:26989619

The effects of mass and metallicity upon planetary nebula formation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Papp, K. A.; Purton, C. R.; Kwok, S.

1983-05-01

A parameterized function is constructed which describes the possible dependence of planetary nebula formation upon metal abundance and stellar mass. Data on galaxies in the Local Group compared with predictions made from the parameterized function indicate that heavy element abundance is the principal agent influencing the formation of planetary nebulae; stars which are rich in heavy elements are the progenitors of planetary nebulae. This analysis, when compared with the observations, argues for a modest degree of pre-enrichment in a few of the sample galaxies. The heavy element dependence of planetary nebula formation also accounts for the deficit of planetary nebulae in the nuclei of NGC 221 and NGC 224, and in the bulge of our Galaxy.

Mesoscale variability of water masses in the Arabian Sea as revealed by ARGO floats

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Carton, X.; L'Hegaret, P.; Baraille, R.

2012-03-01

By analysing ARGO float data over the last four years, a few aspects of the mesoscale variability of water masses in the Arabian Sea are described. The Red Sea Outflow Water (RSOW) is concentrated in the Southwestern Gulf of Aden, in particular when a cyclonic gyre predominates in this region. Salinities of 36.5 and temperatures of 16 °C are found in this area at depths between 600 and 1000 m. RSOW is more dilute in the eastern part of the Gulf, where intense and relatively barotropic gyres mix it with Indian ocean Central Water. RSOW is also detected along the northeastern coast of Socotra, and fragments of RSOW are found between one and three degrees of latitude north of this island. In the whole Gulf of Aden, the correlation between the deep motions of the floats and the sea-level anomaly measured by altimetry is strong, at regional scale. The finer scale details of the float trajectories are not sampled by altimetry and are often related to the anomalous water masses that the floats encounter. The Persian Gulf Water (PGW) is found in the float profiles near Ras ash Sharbatat (near 57° E, 18° N), again with 36.5 in salinity and about 18-19 °C in temperature. These observations were achieved in winter when the southwestward monsoon currents can advect PGW along the South Arabian coast. Fragments of PGW were also observed in the Arabian Sea between 18 and 20° N and 63 and 65° E in summer, showing that this water mass can escape the Gulf of Oman southeastward, during that season. Kinetic energy distributions of floats with respect to distance or angle share common features between the two regions (Gulf of Aden and Arabian Sea), in particular peaks at 30, 50 and 150 km scales and along the axis of monsoon currents. Hydrological measurements by floats are also influenced by the seasonal variations of PGW and RSOW in these regions.

On the concept of sloped motion for free-floating wave energy converters.

PubMed

Payne, Grégory S; Pascal, Rémy; Vaillant, Guillaume

2015-10-08

A free-floating wave energy converter (WEC) concept whose power take-off (PTO) system reacts against water inertia is investigated herein. The main focus is the impact of inclining the PTO direction on the system performance. The study is based on a numerical model whose formulation is first derived in detail. Hydrodynamics coefficients are obtained using the linear boundary element method package WAMIT. Verification of the model is provided prior to its use for a PTO parametric study and a multi-objective optimization based on a multi-linear regression method. It is found that inclining the direction of the PTO at around 50° to the vertical is highly beneficial for the WEC performance in that it provides a high capture width ratio over a broad region of the wave period range.

On the concept of sloped motion for free-floating wave energy converters

PubMed Central

Payne, Grégory S.; Pascal, Rémy; Vaillant, Guillaume

2015-01-01

A free-floating wave energy converter (WEC) concept whose power take-off (PTO) system reacts against water inertia is investigated herein. The main focus is the impact of inclining the PTO direction on the system performance. The study is based on a numerical model whose formulation is first derived in detail. Hydrodynamics coefficients are obtained using the linear boundary element method package WAMIT. Verification of the model is provided prior to its use for a PTO parametric study and a multi-objective optimization based on a multi-linear regression method. It is found that inclining the direction of the PTO at around 50° to the vertical is highly beneficial for the WEC performance in that it provides a high capture width ratio over a broad region of the wave period range. PMID:26543397

Compositional mapping of planetary moons by mass spectrometry of dust ejecta

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Postberg, Frank; Grün, Eberhard; Horanyi, Mihaly; Kempf, Sascha; Krüger, Harald; Schmidt, Jürgen; Spahn, Frank; Srama, Ralf; Sternovsky, Zoltan; Trieloff, Mario

2011-11-01

Classical methods to analyze the surface composition of atmosphereless planetary objects from an orbiter are IR and gamma ray spectroscopy and neutron backscatter measurements. The idea to analyze surface properties with an in-situ instrument has been proposed by Johnson et al. (1998). There, it was suggested to analyze Europa's thin atmosphere with an ion and neutral gas spectrometer. Since the atmospheric components are released by sputtering of the moon's surface, they provide a link to surface composition. Here we present an improved, complementary method to analyze rocky or icy dust particles as samples of planetary objects from which they were ejected. Such particles, generated by the ambient meteoroid bombardment that erodes the surface, are naturally present on all atmosphereless moons and planets. The planetary bodies are enshrouded in clouds of ballistic dust particles, which are characteristic samples of their surfaces. In situ mass spectroscopic analysis of these dust particles impacting onto a detector of an orbiting spacecraft reveals their composition. Recent instrumental developments and tests allow the chemical characterization of ice and dust particles encountered at speeds as low as 1 km/s and an accurate reconstruction of their trajectories. Depending on the sampling altitude, a dust trajectory sensor can trace back the origin of each analyzed grain with about 10 km accuracy at the surface. Since the detection rates are of the order of thousand per orbit, a spatially resolved mapping of the surface composition can be achieved. Certain bodies (e.g., Europa) with particularly dense dust clouds, could provide impact statistics that allow for compositional mapping even on single flybys. Dust impact velocities are in general sufficiently high at orbiters about planetary objects with a radius >1000 km and with only a thin or no atmosphere. In this work we focus on the scientific benefit of a dust spectrometer on a spacecraft orbiting Earth's Moon as

Lipid tethering of breast tumor cells enables real-time imaging of free-floating cell dynamics and drug response

PubMed Central

Whipple, Rebecca A.; Zhang, Peipei; Sooklal, Elisabeth L.; Martin, Stuart S.; Jewell, Christopher M.

2016-01-01

Free-floating tumor cells located in the blood of cancer patients, known as circulating tumor cells (CTCs), have become key targets for studying metastasis. However, effective strategies to study the free-floating behavior of tumor cells in vitro have been a major barrier limiting the understanding of the functional properties of CTCs. Upon extracellular-matrix (ECM) detachment, breast tumor cells form tubulin-based protrusions known as microtentacles (McTNs) that play a role in the aggregation and re-attachment of tumor cells to increase their metastatic efficiency. In this study, we have designed a strategy to spatially immobilize ECM-detached tumor cells while maintaining their free-floating character. We use polyelectrolyte multilayers deposited on microfluidic substrates to prevent tumor cell adhesion and the addition of lipid moieties to tether tumor cells to these surfaces through interactions with the cell membranes. This coating remains optically clear, allowing capture of high-resolution images and videos of McTNs on viable free-floating cells. In addition, we show that tethering allows for the real-time analysis of McTN dynamics on individual tumor cells and in response to tubulin-targeting drugs. The ability to image detached tumor cells can vastly enhance our understanding of CTCs under conditions that better recapitulate the microenvironments they encounter during metastasis. PMID:26871289

Compositional Mapping of Planetary moons by Mass Spectrometry of Dust Ejecta

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Postberg, F.; Gruen, E.; Horanyi, M.; Kempf, S.; Krüger, H.; Schmidt, J.; Spahn, F.; Srama, R.; Sternovsky, Z.; Trieloff, M.

2011-12-01

Classical methods to analyze the surface composition of planetary objects from a space craft are IR and gamma ray spectroscopy and neutron backscatter measurements. We present a complementary method to analyze rocky or icy dust particles as samples of planetary objects from where they were ejected. Such particles, generated by the ambient meteoroid bombardment that erodes the surface, are naturally present on all atmosphereless moons and planets - they are enshrouded in clouds of ballistic dust particles. In situ mass spectroscopic analysis of these grains impacting on to a detector on a spacecraft reveals their composition as characteristic samples of planetary surfaces at flybys or from an orbiter. The well established approach of dust detection by impact ionization has recently shown its capabilities by analyzing ice particles expelled by subsurface salt water on Saturn's moon Enceladus. Applying the method on micro-meteoroid ejecta of less active moons would allow for the qualitative and quantitative analysis of a huge number of samples from various surface areas, thus combining the advantages of remote sensing and a lander. Utilizing the heritage of the dust detectors onboard Ghiotto, Ulysses, Galileo, and Cassini a variety of improved, low-mass lab-models have been build and tested. They allow the chemical characterization of ice and dust particles encountered at speeds as low as 1 km/s and an accurate reconstruction of their trajectories. Depending on the sampling altitude, a dust trajectory sensor can trace back the origin of each analyzed grain with about 10 km accuracy at the surface. Since achievable detection rates are on the order of thousand per orbit, an orbiter can create a compositional map of samples taken from a greater part of the surface. Flybies allow an investigation of certain surface areas of interest. Dust impact velocities are in general sufficiently high for impact ionization at orbiters about planetary objects with a radius of at least

Mesoscale variability of water masses in the Arabian Sea as revealed by ARGO floats

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Carton, X.; L'Hegaret, P.

2011-06-01

By analysing ARGO float data over the last four years, some aspects of the mesoscale variability of water masses in the Arabian Sea are described. The Red Sea Water outflow is strong in the Southwestern Gulf of Aden, in particular when a cyclonic gyre predominates in this region. Salinities of 36.5 and temperatures of 16 °C are found there between 600 and 1000 m depths. The Red Sea Water is more dilute in the eastern part of the Gulf, and fragments of this water mass can be advected offshore across the gulf or towards its northern coast by the regional gyres. The Red Sea Water outflow is also detected along the northeastern coast of Socotra, and fragments of RSW are found between one and three degrees of latitude north of this island. In the whole Gulf of Aden, the correlation between the deep motions of the floats and the SSH measured by altimetry is strong, at regional scale. The finer scale details of the float trajectories are more often related to the anomalous water masses that they encounter. The Persian Gulf Water (PGW) is found in the float profiles near Ras ash Sharbatat (near 57° E, 18° N), again with 36.5 in salinity and about 18-19 °C in temperature. These observations were achieved in winter when the southwestward monsoon currents can advect PGW along the South Arabian coast. Fragments of PGW are found in the Arabian Sea between 18 and 20° N and 63 and 65° E, showing that this water mass can escape the Gulf of Oman southeastward, in particular during summer.

Selecting and implementing scientific objectives. [for Voyager 1 and 2 planetary encounters

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Miner, E. D.; Stembridge, C. H.; Doms, P. E.

1985-01-01

The procedures used to select and implement scientific objectives for the Voyager 1 and 2 planetary encounters are described. Attention is given to the scientific tradeoffs and engineering considerations must be addressed at various stages in the mission planning process, including: the limitations of ground and spacecraft communications systems, ageing of instruments in flight, and instrument calibration over long distances. The contribution of planetary science workshops to the definition of scientific objectives for deep space missions is emphasized.

Numerical Simulation of Floating Bodies in Extreme Free Surface Waves

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hu, Zheng Zheng; Causon, Derek; Mingham, Clive; Qiang, Ling

2010-05-01

A task of the EPSRC funded research project 'Extreme Wave loading on Offshore Wave Energy Devices: a Hierarchical Team Approach' is to investigate the survivability of two wave energy converter (WEC) devices Pelamis and the Manchester Bobber using different CFD approaches. Both devices float on the water surface, generating the electricity from the motion of the waves. In this paper, we describe developments of the AMAZON-SC 3D numerical wave tank (NWT) to study extreme wave loading of a fixed or floating (in Heave motion) structure. The extreme wave formulation as an inlet condition is due to Dalzell (1999) and Ning et. al. (2009) in which a first or second-order Stokes focused wave can be prescribed. The AMAZON-SC 3D code (see e.g. Hu et al. (2009)) uses a cell centred finite volume method of the Godunov-type for the space discretization of the Euler and Navier Stokes equations. The computational domain includes both air and water regions with the air/water boundary captured as a discontinuity in the density field thereby admitting the break up and recombination of the free surface. Temporal discretisation uses the artificial compressibility method and a dual time stepping strategy to maintain a divergence free velocity field. Cartesian cut cells are used to provide a fully boundary-fitted gridding capability on an regular background Cartesian grid. Solid objects are cut out of the background mesh leaving a set of irregularly shaped cells fitted to the boundary. The advantages of the cut cell approach have been outlined previously by Causon et al. (2000, 2001) including its flexibility for dealing with complex geometries whether stationary or in relative motion. The field grid does not need to be recomputed globally or even locally for moving body cases; all that is necessary is to update the local cut cell data at the body contour for as long as the motion continues. The handing of numerical wave paddles and device motion in a NWT is therefore straightforward

In situ free-floating craniectomy: an unusual cause of chronic post-traumatic cephalalgia

PubMed Central

Kaliaperumal, Chandrasekaran; Raveendran, Savitha

2012-01-01

We describe a case of post-traumatic cephalalgia in a 54-year-old man with chronic right parieto-occipital headache 3 years posthead injury. At the initial presentation, his Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) was 13/15 and CT brain revealed an acute subdural haematoma with fronto-temporal contusions. After 24 h his GCS dropped to 8/15 and subsequently he underwent a right-sided craniotomy and evacuation of the subdural haematoma and contusionectomy and intracranial pressure monitoring. To manage the cerebral oedema, the cranial bone flap was left in situ free-floating and was managed in an intensive care setting. He made good clinical recovery and 3 months postoperatively he complained of right-sided headache not relieved with medication and occipital nerve block. Three years later he underwent an exploration of the previous craniotomy scalp wound and the free-floating bone flap under the scalp was immobilised. The headache completely resolved following the procedure and is currently asymptomatic. PMID:22891026

Search for Low-mass Objects in the Globular Cluster M4. I. Detection of Variable Stars

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Safonova, M.; Mkrtichian, D.; Hasan, P.; Sutaria, F.; Brosch, N.; Gorbikov, E.; Joseph, P.

2016-02-01

With every new discovery of an extrasolar planet, the absence of planets in globular clusters (GCs) becomes more and more conspicuous. Null detection of transiting hot Jupiters in GCs 47 Tuc, ω Cen, and NGC 6397 presents an important puzzle, raising questions about the role played by cluster metallicity and environment on formation and survival of planetary systems in densely populated stellar clusters. GCs were postulated to have many free-floating planets, for which microlensing (ML) is an established tool for detection. Dense environments, well-constrained distances and kinematics of lenses and sources, and photometry of thousands of stars simultaneously make GCs the ideal targets to search for ML. We present first results of a multisite, 69-night-long campaign to search for ML signatures of low-mass objects in the GC M4, which was chosen because of its proximity, location, and the actual existence of a planet. M4 was observed in R and I bands by two telescopes, 1 m T40 and 18-inch C18, of the Wise Observatory, Tel Aviv, Israel, from 2011 April to July. Observations on the 1 m telescope were carried out in service mode, gathering 12 to 48 20 s exposures per night for a total of 69 nights. C18 observations were done for about 4 hr a night for six nights in 2011 May. We employ a semiautomated pipeline to calibrate and reduce the images to the light curves that our group is developing for this purpose, which includes the differential photometry package DIAPL, written by Wozniak and modified by W. Pych. Several different diagnostics are employed for search of variability/transients. While no high-significance ML event was found in this observational run, we have detected more than 20 new variables and variable candidates in the M4 field, which we present here.

Laser-based mass spectrometry for in situ chemical composition analysis of planetary surfaces

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Frey, Samira; Neuland, Maike B.; Grimaudo, Valentine; Moreno-García, Pavel; Riedo, Andreas; Tulej, Marek; Broekmann, Peter; Wurz, Peter

2016-04-01

Mass spectrometry is an important analytical technique in space research. The chemical composition of planetary surface material is a key scientific question on every space mission to a planet, moon or asteroid. Chemical composition measurements of rocky material on the surface are of great importance to understand the origin and evolution of the planetary body.[1] A miniature laser ablation/ionisation reflectron- type time-of-flight mass spectrometer (instrument name LMS) was designed and built at the University of Bern for planetary research.[2] Despite its small size and light weight, the LMS instrument still maintains the same capabilities as large laboratory systems, which makes it suitable for its application on planetary space missions.[3-5] The high dynamic range of about eight orders of magnitude, high lateral (μm-level) and vertical (sub-nm level) resolution and high detection sensitivity for almost all elements (10 ppb, atomic fraction) make LMS a versatile instrument for various applications. LMS is a suitable instrument for in situ measurements of elemental and isotope composition with high precision and accuracy. Measurements of Pb- isotope abundances can be used for dating of planetary material. Measurements of bio-relevant elements allow searching for past or present life on a planetary surface. The high spatial resolution, both in lateral and vertical direction, is of considerable interest, e.g. for analysis of inhomogeneous, extraterrestrial samples as well as weathering processes of planetary material. References [1] P. Wurz, D. Abplanalp, M. Tulej, M. Iakovleva, V.A. Fernandes, A. Chumikov, and G. Managadze, "Mass Spectrometric Analysis in Planetary Science: Investigation of the Surface and the Atmosphere", Sol. Sys. Res., 2012, 46, 408. [2] U. Rohner, J.A. Whitby, P. Wurz, "A miniature laser ablation time of flight mass spectrometer for in situ planetary exploration" Meas. Sci. Tch., 2003, 14, 2159. [3] M. Tulej, A. Riedo, M.B. Neuland, S

Free and Open Source Software for Geospatial in the field of planetary science

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Frigeri, A.

2012-12-01

Information technology applied to geospatial analyses has spread quickly in the last ten years. The availability of OpenData and data from collaborative mapping projects increased the interest on tools, procedures and methods to handle spatially-related information. Free Open Source Software projects devoted to geospatial data handling are gaining a good success as the use of interoperable formats and protocols allow the user to choose what pipeline of tools and libraries is needed to solve a particular task, adapting the software scene to his specific problem. In particular, the Free Open Source model of development mimics the scientific method very well, and researchers should be naturally encouraged to take part to the development process of these software projects, as this represent a very agile way to interact among several institutions. When it comes to planetary sciences, geospatial Free Open Source Software is gaining a key role in projects that commonly involve different subjects in an international scenario. Very popular software suites for processing scientific mission data (for example, ISIS) and for navigation/planning (SPICE) are being distributed along with the source code and the interaction between user and developer is often very strict, creating a continuum between these two figures. A very widely spread library for handling geospatial data (GDAL) has started to support planetary data from the Planetary Data System, and recent contributions enabled the support to other popular data formats used in planetary science, as the Vicar one. The use of Geographic Information System in planetary science is now diffused, and Free Open Source GIS, open GIS formats and network protocols allow to extend existing tools and methods developed to solve Earth based problems, also to the case of the study of solar system bodies. A day in the working life of a researcher using Free Open Source Software for geospatial will be presented, as well as benefits and

Mass Wasting in Planetary Environments: Implications for Seismicity

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Weber, Renee; Nahm, Amanda; Schmerr, Nick

2015-01-01

On Earth, mass wasting events such as rock falls and landslides are well known consequences of seismic activity. Here we investigate the regional effects of seismicity in planetary environments with the goal of determining whether such surface features on the Moon, Mars, and Mercury could be triggered by fault motion.

Antibody incubation at 37°C improves fluorescent immunolabeling in free-floating thick tissue sections.

PubMed

Xiao, Xia; Feng, Ya-Ping; Du, Bin; Sun, Han-Ru; Ding, You-Quan; Qi, Jian-Guo

2017-03-01

Fluorescent immunolabeling and imaging in free-floating thick (50-60 μm) tissue sections is relatively simple in practice and enables design-based non-biased stereology, or 3-D reconstruction and analysis. This method is widely used for 3-D in situ quantitative biology in many areas of biological research. However, the labeling quality and efficiency of standard protocols for fluorescent immunolabeling of these tissue sections are not always satisfactory. Here, we systematically evaluate the effects of raising the conventional antibody incubation temperatures (4°C or 21°C) to mammalian body temperature (37°C) in these protocols. Our modification significantly enhances the quality (labeling sensitivity, specificity, and homogeneity) and efficiency (antibody concentration and antibody incubation duration) of fluorescent immunolabeling of free-floating thick tissue sections.

PSYM-WIDE: A Survey for Large-separation Planetary-mass Companions to Late Spectral Type Members of Young Moving Groups

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Naud, Marie-Eve; Artigau, Étienne; Doyon, René; Malo, Lison; Gagné, Jonathan; Lafrenière, David; Wolf, Christian; Magnier, Eugene A.

2017-09-01

We present the results of a direct imaging survey for very large separation (>100 au), low-mass companions around 95 nearby young K5-L5 stars and brown dwarfs. They are high-likelihood candidates or confirmed members of the young (≲150 Myr) β Pictoris and AB Doradus moving groups (ABDMG) and the TW Hya, Tucana-Horologium, Columba, Carina, and Argus associations. Images in I\\prime and z\\prime filters were obtained with the Gemini Multi-Object Spectrograph (GMOS) on Gemini South to search for companions down to an apparent magnitude of z\\prime ˜ 22-24 at separations ≳20″ from the targets and in the remainder of the wide 5.‧5 × 5.‧5 GMOS field of view. This allowed us to probe the most distant region where planetary-mass companions could be gravitationally bound to the targets. This region was left largely unstudied by past high-contrast imaging surveys, which probed much closer-in separations. This survey led to the discovery of a planetary-mass (9-13 {M}{Jup}) companion at 2000 au from the M3V star GU Psc, a highly probable member of ABDMG. No other substellar companions were identified. These results allowed us to constrain the frequency of distant planetary-mass companions (5-13 {M}{Jup}) to {0.84}-0.66+6.73% (95% confidence) at semimajor axes between 500 and 5000 au around young K5-L5 stars and brown dwarfs. This is consistent with other studies suggesting that gravitationally bound planetary-mass companions at wide separations from low-mass stars are relatively rare.

Propagation characteristics of dust-acoustic waves in presence of a floating cylindrical object in the DC discharge plasma

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Choudhary, Mangilal; Mukherjee, S.; Bandyopadhyay, P.

2016-08-01

The experimental observation of the self-excited dust acoustic waves (DAWs) and its propagation characteristics in the absence and presence of a floating cylindrical object is investigated. The experiments are carried out in a direct current (DC) glow discharge dusty plasma in a background of argon gas. Dust particles are found levitated at the interface of plasma and cathode sheath region. The DAWs are spontaneously excited in the dust medium and found to propagate in the direction of ion drift (along the gravity) above a threshold discharge current at low pressure. Excitation of such a low frequency wave is a result of the ion-dust streaming instability in the dust cloud. Characteristics of the propagating dust acoustic wave get modified in the presence of a floating cylindrical object of radius larger than that of the dust Debye length. Instead of propagation in the vertical direction, the DAWs are found to propagate obliquely in the presence of the floating object (kept either vertically or horizontally). In addition, a horizontally aligned floating object forms a wave structure in the cone shaped dust cloud in the sheath region. Such changes in the propagation characteristics of DAWs are explained on the basis of modified potential (or electric field) distribution, which is a consequence of coupling of sheaths formed around the cylindrical object and the cathode.

An Evaluation of Pixel-Based Methods for the Detection of Floating Objects on the Sea Surface

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Borghgraef, Alexander; Barnich, Olivier; Lapierre, Fabian; Van Droogenbroeck, Marc; Philips, Wilfried; Acheroy, Marc

2010-12-01

Ship-based automatic detection of small floating objects on an agitated sea surface remains a hard problem. Our main concern is the detection of floating mines, which proved a real threat to shipping in confined waterways during the first Gulf War, but applications include salvaging, search-and-rescue operation, perimeter, or harbour defense. Detection in infrared (IR) is challenging because a rough sea is seen as a dynamic background of moving objects with size order, shape, and temperature similar to those of the floating mine. In this paper we have applied a selection of background subtraction algorithms to the problem, and we show that the recent algorithms such as ViBe and behaviour subtraction, which take into account spatial and temporal correlations within the dynamic scene, significantly outperform the more conventional parametric techniques, with only little prior assumptions about the physical properties of the scene.

Automatic detection of Floating Ice at Antarctic Continental Margin from Remotely Sensed Image with Object-oriented Matching

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhao, Z.

2011-12-01

Changes in ice sheet and floating ices around that have great significance for global change research. In the context of global warming, rapidly changing of Antarctic continental margin, caving of ice shelves, movement of iceberg are all closely related to climate change and ocean circulation. Using automatic change detection technology to rapid positioning the melting Region of Polar ice sheet and the location of ice drift would not only strong support for Global Change Research but also lay the foundation for establishing early warning mechanism for melting of the polar ice and Ice displacement. This paper proposed an automatic change detection method using object-based segmentation technology. The process includes three parts: ice extraction using image segmentation, object-baed ice tracking, change detection based on similarity matching. An approach based on similarity matching of eigenvector is proposed in this paper, which used area, perimeter, Hausdorff distance, contour, shape and other information of each ice-object. Different time of LANDSAT ETM+ data, Chinese environment disaster satellite HJ1B date, MODIS 1B date are used to detect changes of Floating ice at Antarctic continental margin respectively. We select different time of ETM+ data(January 7, 2003 and January 16, 2003) with the area around Antarctic continental margin near the Lazarev Bay, which is from 70.27454853 degrees south latitude, longitude 12.38573410 degrees to 71.44474167 degrees south latitude, longitude 10.39252222 degrees,included 11628 sq km of Antarctic continental margin area, as a sample. Then we can obtain the area of floating ices reduced 371km2, and the number of them reduced 402 during the time. In addition, the changes of all the floating ices around the margin region of Antarctic within 1200 km are detected using MODIS 1B data. During the time from January 1, 2008 to January 7, 2008, the floating ice area decreased by 21644732 km2, and the number of them reduced by 83080

Planetary and Primitive Object Strength Measurement and Sampling Apparatus

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ahrens, Thomas J.

1995-01-01

Support is requested for continuation of a program of dynamic impact (harpoon) coring of planetary, comet, or asteroid surface materials. We have previously demonstrated that good quality cores are obtainable for planetary materials with compressive strengths less than 200 MPa. Since the dynamics of penetration are observable on a Discovery class spacecraft, which images the sampling operation, these data can be used with a model developed under this project, to measure in-situ strength and frictional strength of the crust of the object. During the last year we have developed a detailed analytic model of penetrator mechanics. Progress is reported for the solid penetrators experiments, the CIT penetrator model, and the impact spall sampling apparatus.

Highly anomalous accumulation rates of C and N recorded by a relic, free-floating peatland in Central Italy

PubMed Central

Zaccone, Claudio; Lobianco, Daniela; Shotyk, William; Ciavatta, Claudio; Appleby, Peter G.; Brugiapaglia, Elisabetta; Casella, Laura; Miano, Teodoro M.; D’Orazio, Valeria

2017-01-01

Floating islands mysteriously moving around on lakes were described by several Latin authors almost two millennia ago. These fascinating ecosystems, known as free-floating mires, have been extensively investigated from ecological, hydrological and management points of view, but there have been no detailed studies of their rates of accumulation of organic matter (OM), organic carbon (OC) and total nitrogen (TN). We have collected a peat core 4 m long from the free-floating island of Posta Fibreno, a relic mire in Central Italy. This is the thickest accumulation of peat ever found in a free-floating mire, yet it has formed during the past seven centuries and represents the greatest accumulation rates, at both decadal and centennial timescale, of OM (0.63 vs. 0.37 kg/m2/yr), OC (0.28 vs. 0.18 kg/m2/yr) and TN (3.7 vs. 6.1 g/m2/yr) ever reported for coeval peatlands. The anomalously high accretion rates, obtained using 14C age dating, were confirmed using 210Pb and 137Cs: these show that the top 2 m of Sphagnum-peat has accumulated in only ~100 years. As an environmental archive, Posta Fibreno offers a temporal resolution which is 10x greater than any terrestrial peat bog, and promises to provide new insight into environmental changes occurring during the Anthropocene. PMID:28230066

Using optical flow for the detection of floating mines in IR image sequences

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Borghgraef, Alexander; Acheroy, Marc

2006-09-01

In the first Gulf War, unmoored floating mines proved to be a real hazard for shipping traffic. An automated system capable of detecting these and other free-floating small objects, using readily available sensors such as infra-red cameras, would prove to be a valuable mine-warfare asset, and could double as a collision avoidance mechanism, and a search-and-rescue aid. The noisy background provided by the sea surface, and occlusion by waves make it difficult to detect small floating objects using only algorithms based upon the intensity, size or shape of the target. This leads us to look at the sequence of images for temporal detection characteristics. The target's apparent motion is such a determinant, given the contrast between the bobbing motion of the floating object and the strong horizontal component present in the propagation of the wavefronts. We have applied the Proesmans optical flow algorithm to IR video footage of practice mines, in order to extract the motion characteristic and a threshold on the vertical motion characteristic is then imposed to detect the floating targets.

Variety in planetary systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wetherill, George W.

1993-01-01

Observation of circumstellar disks, regular satellite systems of outer planets, and planet-size objects orbiting pulsars support the supposition that formation of planetary systems is a robust, rather than a fragile, byproduct of the formation and evolution of stars. The extent to which these systems may be expected to resemble one another and our Solar System, either in overall structure or in detail remains uncertain. When the full range of possible stellar masses, disk masses, and initial specific angular momenta are considered, the possible variety of planetary configurations is very large. Numerical modeling indicates a difference between the formation of small, inner, terrestrial planets and the outer planets.

Calcium signals in planetary embryos

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Morbidelli, Alessandro

2018-03-01

The calcium-isotope composition of planetary bodies in the inner Solar System correlates with the masses of such objects. This finding could have implications for our understanding of how the Solar System formed.

Free-floating carsharing systems: innovations in membership prediction, mode share, and vehicle allocation optimization methodologies.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2012-08-01

"Free-floating carsharing systems are among the newest types of carsharing programs. They allow one-way rentals and have no set homes or docks for the carsharing vehicles; instead, users are permitted to drive the vehicles anywhere within the o...

Shocked and Scorched - Free-Floating Evaporating Gas Globules and Star Formation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sahai, Raghvendra; Morris, Mark R.; Claussen, Mark J.

2014-07-01

Massive stars have a strong feedback effect on their environment, via their winds, UV radiation, and ultimately, supernova blast waves, all of which can alter the likelihood for the formation of stars in nearby clouds and limit the accretion process of nearby protostars. Free-floating Evaporating Gaseous Globules, or frEGGs, are a newly recognized class of stellar nurseries embedded within the giant HII regions found in massive star-formation region (MSFRs). We recently discovered the prototype frEGG in the Cygnus MSFR with HST. Further investigation using the Spitzer and Herschel archives have revealed a much larger number (>50) in Cygnus and other MSFRs. Our molecular-line observations of these show the presence of dense clouds with total masses of cool molecular gas exceeding 0.5 to a few Msun associated with these objects, thereby disproving the initial hypothesis based on their morphology that these have an origin similar to the proplyds (cometary-shaped photoevaporating protoplanetary disks) found in Orion. We report the results of our molecular-line studies and detailed high-resolution optical (with HST) or near-IR (with AO at the Keck Observatory) imaging of a few frEGGs in Cygnus, Carina and the W5 MSFRs. The images show the presence of young stars with associated outflow cavities and/or jets in the heads of the tadpole-shaped frEGGs. These results support our hypothesis that frEGGs are density concentrations originating in giant molecular clouds, that, when subject to the compression by the strong winds and ionization from massive stars in these MSFRs, become active star-forming cores. In summary, by virtue of their distinct, isolated morphologies, frEGGs offer us a clean probe of triggered star formation on small scales in the vicinity of massive stars.

General polytropic self-gravitating cylinder free-fall and accreting mass string with a chain of collapsed objects

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lou, Yu-Qing; Hu, Xu-Yao

2016-06-01

We present a theoretical model framework for general polytropic (GP) hydrodynamic cylinder under self-gravity of infinite length with axial uniformity and axisymmetry. For self-similar dynamic solutions, we derive valuable integrals, analytic asymptotic solutions, sonic critical curves, shock conditions, and global numerical solutions with or without expansion shocks. Among others, we investigate various dynamic solutions featured with central free-fall asymptotic behaviours, corresponding to a collapsed mass string with a sustained dynamic accretion from a surrounding mass reservoir. Depending on the allowed ranges of a scaling index a < -1, such cylindrical dynamic mass accretion rate could be steady, increasing with time and decreasing with time. Physically, such a collapsed mass string or filament would break up into a sequence of sub-clumps and segments as induced by gravitational Jeans instabilities. Depending on the scales involved, such sub-clumps would evolve into collapsed objects or gravitationally bound systems. In diverse astrophysical and cosmological contexts, such a scenario can be adapted on various temporal, spatial and mass scales to form a chain of collapsed clumps and/or compact objects. Examples include the formation of chains of proto-stars, brown dwarfs and gaseous planets along molecular filaments; the formation of luminous massive stars along magnetized spiral arms and circum-nuclear starburst rings in barred spiral galaxies; the formation of chains of compact stellar objects such as white dwarfs, neutron stars, and black holes along a highly condensed mass string. On cosmological scales, one can perceive the formation of chains of galaxies, chains of galaxy clusters or even chains of supermassive and hypermassive black holes in the Universe including the early Universe. All these chains referred to above include possible binaries.

In Situ Chemical Composition Measurements of Planetary Surfaces with a Laser Ablation Mass Spectrometer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brigitte Neuland, Maike; Riedo, Andreas; Meyer, Stefan; Mezger, Klaus; Tulej, Marek; Wurz, Peter

2013-04-01

The knowledge of the chemical composition of moons, comets, asteroids or other planetary bodies is of particular importance for the investigation of the origin and evolution of the Solar System. For cosmochemistry, the elemental and isotopic composition of the surface material is essential information to investigate origin, differentiation and evolution processes of the body and therefore the history of our Solar System [1]. We show that the use of laser-based mass spectrometers is essential in such research because of their high sensitivity in the ppm range and their capability for quantitative elemental and isotopic analysis. A miniaturised Laser Ablation Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometer (LMS) was developed in our group to study the elemental composition of solid samples [2]. The instrument's small size and light weight make it suitable for an application on a space mission to determine the elemental composition of a planetary surface for example [3]. Meteorites offer the excellent possibility to study extraterrestrial material in the laboratory. To demonstrate the sensitivity and functionality of the LMS instrument, a sample of the Allende meteorite has been investigated with a high spatial resolution. The LMS measurements allowed investigations of the elemental abundances in the Allende meteorite and detailed studies of the mineralogy and volatility [4]. These approaches can be of considerable interest for in situ investigation of grains and inhomogeneous materials with high sensitivity on a planetary surface. [1] Wurz, P., Whitby, J., Managadze, G., 2009, Laser Mass Spectrometry in Planetary Science, AIP Conf. Proc. CP1144, 70-75. [2] Tulej, M., Riedo, A., Iakovleva, M., Wurz, P., 2012, Int. J. Spec., On Applicability of a Miniaturized Laser Ablation Time of Flight Mass Spectrometer for Trace Element Measurements, article ID 234949. [3] Riedo, A., Bieler, A., Neuland, M., Tulej, M., Wurz, P., 2012, Performance evaluation of a miniature laser ablation time

Development of a Linear Ion Trap Mass Spectrometer (LITMS) Investigation for Future Planetary Surface Missions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Brinckerhoff, W.; Danell, R.; Van Ameron, F.; Pinnick, V.; Li, X.; Arevalo, R.; Glavin, D.; Getty, S.; Mahaffy, P.; Chu, P.;

Optimal Asteroid Mass Determination from Planetary Range Observations: A Study of a Simplified Test Model

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kuchynka, P.; Laskar, J.; Fienga, A.

2011-01-01

Mars ranging observations are available over the past 10 years with an accuracy of a few meters. Such precise measurements of the Earth-Mars distance provide valuable constraints on the masses of the asteroids perturbing both planets. Today more than 30 asteroid masses have thus been estimated from planetary ranging data (see [1] and [2]). Obtaining unbiased mass estimations is nevertheless difficult. Various systematic errors can be introduced by imperfect reduction of spacecraft tracking observations to planetary ranging data. The large number of asteroids and the limited a priori knowledge of their masses is also an obstacle for parameter selection. Fitting in a model a mass of a negligible perturber, or on the contrary omitting a significant perturber, will induce important bias in determined asteroid masses. In this communication, we investigate a simplified version of the mass determination problem. Instead of planetary ranging observations from spacecraft or radar data, we consider synthetic ranging observations generated with the INPOP [2] ephemeris for a test model containing 25000 asteroids. We then suggest a method for optimal parameter selection and estimation in this simplified framework.

Experimental Verification of the Rudder-Free Stability Theory for an Airplane Model Equipped with Rudders Having Negative Floating Tendency and Negligible Friction

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

McKinney, Marion O.; Maggin, Bernard

1944-01-01

An investigation has been made in the Langley free-flight tunnel to obtain an experimental verification of the theoretical rudder-free stability characteristics of an airplane model equipped with conventional rudders having negative floating tendencies and negligible friction. The model used in the tests was equipped with a conventional single vertical tail having rudder area 40 percent of the vertical tail area. The model was tested both in free flight and mounted on a strut that allowed freedom only in yaw. Tests were made with three different amounts of rudder aerodynamic balance and with various values of mass, moment of inertia, and center-of-gravity location of the rudder. Most of the stability derivatives required for the theoretical calculations were determined from forced and free-oscillation tests of the particular model tested. The theoretical analysis showed that the rudder-free motions of an airplane consist largely of two oscillatory modes - a long-period oscillation somewhat similar to the normal rudder-fixed oscillation and a short-period oscillation introduced only when the rudder is set free. It was found possible in the tests to create lateral instability of the rudder-free short-period mode by large values of rudder mass parameters even though the rudder-fixed condition was highly stable. The results of the tests and calculation indicated that for most present-day airplanes having rudders of negative floating tendency, the rudder-free stability characteristics may be examined by simply considering the dynamic lateral stability using the value of the directional-stability parameter Cn(sub p) for the rudder-free condition in the conventional controls-fixed lateral-stability equations. For very large airplanes having relatively high values of the rudder mass parameters with respect to the rudder aerodynamic parameters, however, analysis of the rudder-free stability should be made with the complete equations of motion. Good agreement between

Floating Offshore WTG Integrated Load Analysis & Optimization Employing a Tuned Mass Damper

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Rodriguez Tsouroukdissian, Arturo; Lackner, Matt; Cross-Whiter, John

2015-09-25

Floating offshore wind turbines (FOWTs) present complex design challenges due to the coupled dynamics of the platform motion, mooring system, and turbine control systems, in response to wind and wave loading. This can lead to higher extreme and fatigue loads than a comparable fixed bottom or onshore system. Previous research[1] has shown the potential to reduced extreme and fatigue loads on FOWT using tuned mass dampers (TMD) for structural control. This project aims to reduce maximum loads using passive TMDs located at the tower top during extreme storm events, when grid supplied power for other controls systems may not bemore » available. The Alstom Haliade 6MW wind turbine is modelled on the Glosten Pelastar tension-leg platform (TLP). The primary objectives of this project are to provide a preliminary assessment of the load reduction potential of passive TMDs on real wind turbine and TLP designs.« less

Free float and stochastic volatility: the experience of a small open economy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Selçuk, Faruk

2004-11-01

Following a dramatic collapse of a fixed exchange rate based inflation stabilization program, Turkey moved into a free floating exchange rate system in February 2001. In this paper, an asymmetric stochastic volatility model of the foreign exchange rate in Turkey is estimated for the floating period. It is shown that there is a positive relation between the exchange return and its volatility. Particularly, an increase in the return at time t results in an increase in volatility at time t+1. However, the effect is asymmetric: a decrease in the exchange rate return at time t causes a relatively less decrease in volatility at time t+1. The results imply that a central bank with a volatility smoothing policy would be biased in viewing the shocks to the exchange rate in favor of appreciation. The bias would increase if the bank is also following an inflation targeting policy.

Interstellar and Planetary Analogs in the Laboratory

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Salama, Farid

2013-01-01

We present and discuss the unique capabilities of the laboratory facility, COSmIC, that was developed at NASA Ames to investigate the interaction of ionizing radiation (UV, charged particles) with molecular species (neutral molecules, radicals and ions) and carbonaceous grains in the Solar System and in the Interstellar Medium (ISM). COSmIC stands for Cosmic Simulation Chamber, a laboratory chamber where interstellar and planetary analogs are generated, processed and analyzed. It is composed of a pulsed discharge nozzle (PDN) expansion that generates a free jet supersonic expansion in a plasma cavity coupled to two ultrahigh-sensitivity, complementary in situ diagnostics: a cavity ring down spectroscopy (CRDS) system for photonic detection and a Reflectron time-of-flight mass spectrometer (ReTOF-MS) for mass detection. This setup allows the study of molecules, ions and solids under the low temperature and high vacuum conditions that are required to simulate some interstellar, circumstellar and planetary physical environments providing new fundamental insights on the molecular level into the processes that are critical to the chemistry in the ISM, circumstellar and planet forming regions, and on icy objects in the Solar System. Recent laboratory results that were obtained using COSmIC will be discussed, in particular the progress that have been achieved in monitoring in the laboratory the formation of solid particles from their gas-phase molecular precursors in environments as varied as circumstellar outflow and planetary atmospheres.

Gravitational mass attraction measurement for drag-free references

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Swank, Aaron J.

Exciting new experiments in gravitational physics are among the proposed future space science missions around the world. Such future space science experiments include gravitational wave observatories, which require extraordinarily precise instruments for gravitational wave detection. In fact, future space-based gravitational wave observatories require the use of a drag free reference sensor, which is several orders of magnitude more precise than any drag free satellite launched to date. With the analysis methods and measurement techniques described in this work, there is one less challenge associated with achieving the high-precision drag-free satellite performance levels required by gravitational wave observatories. One disturbance critical to the drag-free performance is an acceleration from the mass attraction between the spacecraft and drag-free reference mass. A direct measurement of the gravitational mass attraction force is not easily performed. Historically for drag-free satellite design, the gravitational attraction properties were estimated by using idealized equations between a point mass and objects of regular geometric shape with homogeneous density. Stringent requirements are then placed on the density distribution and fabrication tolerances for the drag-free reference mass and satellite components in order to ensure that the allocated gravitational mass attraction disturbance budget is not exceeded due to the associated uncertainty in geometry and mass properties. Yet, the uncertainty associated with mass properties and geometry generate an unacceptable uncertainty in the mass attraction calculation, which make it difficult to meet the demanding drag-free performance requirements of future gravitational wave observatories. The density homogeneity and geometrical tolerances required to meet the overall drag-free performance can easily force the use of special materials or manufacturing processes, which are impractical or not feasible. The focus of

Spectroscopic Confirmation of Young Planetary-mass Companions on Wide Orbits

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bowler, Brendan P.; Liu, Michael C.; Kraus, Adam L.; Mann, Andrew W.

2014-03-01

We present moderate-resolution (R ~ 4000-5000) near-infrared integral field spectroscopy of the young (1-5 Myr) 6-14 M Jup companions ROXs 42B b and FW Tau b obtained with Keck/OSIRIS and Gemini-North/NIFS. The spectrum of ROXs 42B b exhibits clear signs of low surface gravity common to young L dwarfs, confirming its extreme youth, cool temperature, and low mass. Overall, it closely resembles the free-floating 4-7 M Jup L-type Taurus member 2MASS J04373705+2331080. The companion to FW Tau AB is more enigmatic. Our optical and near-infrared spectra show strong evidence of outflow activity and disk accretion in the form of line emission from [S II], [O I], Hα, Ca II, [Fe II], Paβ, and H2. The molecular hydrogen emission is spatially resolved as a single lobe that stretches ≈0.''1 (15 AU). Although the extended emission is not kinematically resolved in our data, its morphology resembles shock-excited H2 jets primarily seen in young Class 0 and Class I sources. The near-infrared continuum of FW Tau b is mostly flat and lacks the deep absorption features expected for a cool, late-type object. This may be a result of accretion-induced veiling, especially in light of its strong and sustained Hα emission (EW(Hα) >~ 290 Å). Alternatively, FW Tau b may be a slightly warmer (M5-M8) accreting low-mass star or brown dwarf (0.03-0.15 M ⊙) with an edge-on disk. Regardless, its young evolutionary stage is in stark contrast to its Class III host FW Tau AB, indicating a more rapid disk clearing timescale for the host binary system than for its wide companion. Finally, we present near-infrared spectra of the young (~2-10 Myr) low-mass (12-15 M Jup) companions GSC 6214-210 B and SR 12 C and find they best resemble low-gravity M9.5 and M9 substellar templates. Some of the data presented herein were obtained at the W. M. Keck Observatory, which is operated as a scientific partnership among the California Institute of Technology, the University of California and the National

Exploring the Largest Mass Fraction of the Solar System: the Case for Planetary Interiors

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Danielson, L. R.; Draper, D.; Righter, K.; McCubbin, F.; Boyce, J.

2017-01-01

Why explore planetary interiors: The typical image that comes to mind for planetary science is that of a planet surface. And while surface data drive our exploration of evolved geologic processes, it is the interiors of planets that hold the key to planetary origins via accretionary and early differentiation processes. It is that initial setting of the bulk planet composition that sets the stage for all geologic processes that follow. But nearly all of the mass of planets is inaccessible to direct examination, making experimentation an absolute necessity for full planetary exploration.

The Young L Dwarf 2MASS J11193254-1137466 Is a Planetary-mass Binary

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Best, William M. J.; Liu, Michael C.; Dupuy, Trent J.; Magnier, Eugene A.

2017-07-01

We have discovered that the extremely red, low-gravity L7 dwarf 2MASS J11193254-1137466 is a 0.″14 (3.6 au) binary using Keck laser guide star adaptive optics imaging. 2MASS J11193254-1137466 has previously been identified as a likely member of the TW Hydrae Association (TWA). Using our updated photometric distance and proper motion, a kinematic analysis based on the BANYAN II model gives an 82% probability of TWA membership. At TWA’s 10 ± 3 Myr age and using hot-start evolutionary models, 2MASS J11193254-1137466AB is a pair of {3.7}-0.9+1.2 {M}{Jup} brown dwarfs, making it the lowest-mass binary discovered to date. We estimate an orbital period of {90}-50+80 years. One component is marginally brighter in K band but fainter in J band, making this a probable flux-reversal binary, the first discovered with such a young age. We also imaged the spectrally similar TWA L7 dwarf WISEA J114724.10-204021.3 with Keck and found no sign of binarity. Our evolutionary model-derived {T}{eff} estimate for WISEA J114724.10-204021.3 is ≈230 K higher than for 2MASS J11193254-1137466AB, at odds with the spectral similarity of the two objects. This discrepancy suggests that WISEA J114724.10-204021.3 may actually be a tight binary with masses and temperatures very similar to 2MASS J11193254-1137466AB, or further supporting the idea that near-infrared spectra of young ultracool dwarfs are shaped by factors other than temperature and gravity. 2MASS J11193254-1137466AB will be an essential benchmark for testing evolutionary and atmospheric models in the young planetary-mass regime.

HD 106906 b: A PLANETARY-MASS COMPANION OUTSIDE A MASSIVE DEBRIS DISK

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Bailey, Vanessa; Reiter, Megan; Morzinski, Katie

2014-01-01

We report the discovery of a planetary-mass companion, HD 106906 b, with the new Magellan Adaptive Optics (MagAO) + Clio2 system. The companion is detected with Clio2 in three bands: J, K{sub S} , and L', and lies at a projected separation of 7.''1 (650 AU). It is confirmed to be comoving with its 13 ± 2 Myr F5 host using Hubble Space Telescope Advanced Camera for Surveys astrometry over a time baseline of 8.3 yr. DUSTY and COND evolutionary models predict that the companion's luminosity corresponds to a mass of 11 ± 2 M {sub Jup}, making it one ofmore » the most widely separated planetary-mass companions known. We classify its Magellan/Folded-Port InfraRed Echellette J/H/K spectrum as L2.5 ± 1; the triangular H-band morphology suggests an intermediate surface gravity. HD 106906 A, a pre-main-sequence Lower Centaurus Crux member, was initially targeted because it hosts a massive debris disk detected via infrared excess emission in unresolved Spitzer imaging and spectroscopy. The disk emission is best fit by a single component at 95 K, corresponding to an inner edge of 15-20 AU and an outer edge of up to 120 AU. If the companion is on an eccentric (e > 0.65) orbit, it could be interacting with the outer edge of the disk. Close-in, planet-like formation followed by scattering to the current location would likely disrupt the disk and is disfavored. Furthermore, we find no additional companions, though we could detect similar-mass objects at projected separations >35 AU. In situ formation in a binary-star-like process is more probable, although the companion-to-primary mass ratio, at <1%, is unusually small.« less

Smart Novel Semi-Active Tuned Mass Damper for Fixed-Bottom and Floating Offshore Wind (Presentation)

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Rodriguez Tsouroukdissian, Arturo

2016-05-02

The intention of this paper is to present the results of a novel smart semi-active tuned mass damper (SA-TMD), which mitigates unwanted loads for both fixed-bottom and floating offshore wind systems. (Presentation Format).

Precise masses for the transiting planetary system HD 106315 with HARPS

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Barros, S. C. C.; Gosselin, H.; Lillo-Box, J.; Bayliss, D.; Delgado Mena, E.; Brugger, B.; Santerne, A.; Armstrong, D. J.; Adibekyan, V.; Armstrong, J. D.; Barrado, D.; Bento, J.; Boisse, I.; Bonomo, A. S.; Bouchy, F.; Brown, D. J. A.; Cochran, W. D.; Collier Cameron, A.; Deleuil, M.; Demangeon, O.; Díaz, R. F.; Doyle, A.; Dumusque, X.; Ehrenreich, D.; Espinoza, N.; Faedi, F.; Faria, J. P.; Figueira, P.; Foxell, E.; Hébrard, G.; Hojjatpanah, S.; Jackman, J.; Lendl, M.; Ligi, R.; Lovis, C.; Melo, C.; Mousis, O.; Neal, J. J.; Osborn, H. P.; Pollacco, D.; Santos, N. C.; Sefako, R.; Shporer, A.; Sousa, S. G.; Triaud, A. H. M. J.; Udry, S.; Vigan, A.; Wyttenbach, A.

2017-12-01

Context. The multi-planetary system HD 106315 was recently found in K2 data. The planets have periods of Pb 9.55 and Pc 21.06 days, and radii of rb = 2.44 ± 0.17 R⊕ and rc = 4.35 ± 0.23 R⊕ . The brightness of the host star (V = 9.0 mag) makes it an excellent target for transmission spectroscopy. However, to interpret transmission spectra it is crucial to measure the planetary masses. Aims: We obtained high precision radial velocities for HD 106315 to determine the mass of the two transiting planets discovered with Kepler K2. Our successful observation strategy was carefully tailored to mitigate the effect of stellar variability. Methods: We modelled the new radial velocity data together with the K2 transit photometry and a new ground-based partial transit of HD 106315c to derive system parameters. Results: We estimate the mass of HD 106315b to be 12.6 ± 3.2 M⊕ and the density to be 4.7 ± 1.7 g cm-3, while for HD 106315c we estimate a mass of 15.2 ± 3.7 M⊕ and a density of 1.01 ± 0.29 g cm-3. Hence, despite planet c having a radius almost twice as large as planet b, their masses are consistent with one another. Conclusions: We conclude that HD 106315c has a thick hydrogen-helium gaseous envelope. A detailed investigation of HD 106315b using a planetary interior model constrains the core mass fraction to be 5-29%, and the water mass fraction to be 10-50%. An alternative, not considered by our model, is that HD 106315b is composed of a large rocky core with a thick H-He envelope. Transmission spectroscopy of these planets will give insight into their atmospheric compositions and also help constrain their core compositions. Based on observations collected at the European Organisation for Astronomical Research in the Southern Hemisphere under ESO programme 198.C-0168.

Reducing float coal dust

PubMed Central

Patts, J.R.; Colinet, J.F.; Janisko, S.J.; Barone, T.L.; Patts, L.D.

2016-01-01

Controlling float coal dust in underground coal mines before dispersal into the general airstream can reduce the risk of mine explosions while potentially achieving a more effective and efficient use of rock dust. A prototype flooded-bed scrubber was evaluated for float coal dust control in the return of a continuous miner section. The scrubber was installed inline between the face ventilation tubing and an exhausting auxiliary fan. Airborne and deposited dust mass measurements were collected over three days at set distances from the fan exhaust to assess changes in float coal dust levels in the return due to operation of the scrubber. Mass-based measurements were collected on a per-cut basis and normalized on the basis of per ton mined by the continuous miner. The results show that average float coal dust levels measured under baseline conditions were reduced by more than 90 percent when operating the scrubber. PMID:28018004

Unstable low-mass planetary systems as drivers of white dwarf pollution

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mustill, Alexander J.; Villaver, Eva; Veras, Dimitri; Gänsicke, Boris T.; Bonsor, Amy

2018-05-01

At least 25 {per cent} of white dwarfs show atmospheric pollution by metals, sometimes accompanied by detectable circumstellar dust/gas discs or (in the case of WD 1145+017) transiting disintegrating asteroids. Delivery of planetesimals to the white dwarf by orbiting planets is a leading candidate to explain these phenomena. Here, we study systems of planets and planetesimals undergoing planet-planet scattering triggered by the star's post-main-sequence mass loss, and test whether this can maintain high rates of delivery over the several Gyr that they are observed. We find that low-mass planets (Earth to Neptune mass) are efficient deliverers of material and can maintain the delivery for Gyr. Unstable low-mass planetary systems reproduce the observed delayed onset of significant accretion, as well as the slow decay in accretion rates at late times. Higher-mass planets are less efficient, and the delivery only lasts a relatively brief time before the planetesimal populations are cleared. The orbital inclinations of bodies as they cross the white dwarf's Roche limit are roughly isotropic, implying that significant collisional interactions of asteroids, debris streams and discs can be expected. If planet-planet scattering is indeed responsible for the pollution of white dwarfs, many such objects, and their main-sequence progenitors, can be expected to host (currently undetectable) super-Earth planets on orbits of several au and beyond.

Ultraviolet observations of close-binary and pulsating nuclei of planetary nebulae; Winds and shells around low-mass supergiants; The close-binary nucleus of the planetary nebula HFG-1; A search for binary nuclei of planetary nebulae; UV monitoring of irregularly variable planetary nuclei; and The pulsating nucleus of the planetary nebula Lo 4

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bond, Howard E.

1992-01-01

A brief summary of the research highlights is presented. The topics covered include the following: binary nuclei of planetary nebulae; other variable planetary nuclei; low-mass supergiants; and other IUE-related research.

Extrasolar planetary systems.

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Huang, S.-S.

1973-01-01

The terms 'planet' and 'planet-like objects' are defined. The observational search for extrasolar planetary systems is described, as performable by earthbound optical telescopes, by space probes, by long baseline radio interferometry, and finally by inference from the reception of signals sent by intelligent beings in other worlds. It is shown that any planetary system must be preceded by a rotating disk of gas and dust around a central mass. A brief review of the theories of the formation of the solar system is given, along with a proposed scheme for classification of these theories. The evidence for magnetic activity in the early stages of stellar evolution is presented. The magnetic braking theories of solar and stellar rotation are discussed, and an estimate is made for the frequency of occurrence of planetary systems in the universe.

Implications of the interstellar object 1I/'Oumuamua for planetary dynamics and planetesimal formation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Raymond, Sean N.; Armitage, Philip J.; Veras, Dimitri; Quintana, Elisa V.; Barclay, Thomas

2018-05-01

'Oumuamua, the first bona fide interstellar planetesimal, was discovered passing through our Solar system on a hyperbolic orbit. This object was likely dynamically ejected from an extrasolar planetary system after a series of close encounters with gas giant planets. To account for 'Oumuamua's detection, simple arguments suggest that ˜1 M⊕ of planetesimals are ejected per solar mass of Galactic stars. However, that value assumes mono-sized planetesimals. If the planetesimal mass distribution is instead top-heavy, the inferred mass in interstellar planetesimals increases to an implausibly high value. The tension between theoretical expectations for the planetesimal mass function and the observation of 'Oumuamua can be relieved if a small fraction ({˜ } 0.1-1 {per cent}) of planetesimals are tidally disrupted on the pathway to ejection into 'Oumuamua-sized fragments. Using a large suite of simulations of giant planet dynamics including planetesimals, we confirm that 0.1-1 per cent of planetesimals pass within the tidal disruption radius of a gas giant on their pathway to ejection. 'Oumuamua may thus represent a surviving fragment of a disrupted planetesimal. Finally, we argue that an asteroidal composition is dynamically disfavoured for 'Oumuamua, as asteroidal planetesimals are both less abundant and ejected at a lower efficiency than cometary planetesimals.

Use of Anti-phospho-girdin Antibodies to Visualize Intestinal Tuft Cells in Free-Floating Mouse Jejunum Cryosections

PubMed Central

Mizutani, Yuka; Kuga, Daisuke; Iida, Machiko; Ushida, Kaori; Takagi, Tsuyoshi; Tokita, Yoshihito; Takahashi, Masahide; Asai, Masato

2018-01-01

The actin binding protein girdin is a cytosolic protein that is required for actin remodeling to trigger cell migration in various tissues. Girdin is phosphorylated by both receptor and non-receptor tyrosine kinases at tyrosine 1798. Omori et al. developed site- and phosphorylation status-specific antibodies against human girdin at tyrosine-1798 (pY1798), which specifically bind to phosphorylated tyrosine-1798, but not to unphosphorylated tyrosine-1798. pY1798 antibodies have been used to specifically label tuft cells (TCs) that are present in mammalian gastrointestinal tissues, but the function of these cells is unclear. This protocol allows the robust visualization of TCs in the jejunum using pY1798 antibodies and immunofluorescence. To ensure successful and simple TC visualization, this protocol includes two histological techniques: production of free-floating cryosections from gelatin-filled jejunum tissue, and low-temperature antigen retrieval at 50 °C for 3 h. Filling the jejunum with gelatin maintains the shape of free-floating sections throughout the staining procedure, whereas low-temperature antigen retrieval ensures robust signals from TCs. Successful use of this protocol results in pY1798 staining of TCs distributed from villus tip to crypt. Stained TCs have a spool-shaped soma and fluorescent signals condense at the lumenal tip, which corresponds to the protruding 'tuft.' Phalloidin staining colocalized with pY1798-positive TCs at the thickened brush border, and corresponds to a rootlet mass extending from the TC tuft. This protocol could be used to examine TCs in human biopsy samples collected with gastrointestinal endoscopes. Furthermore, TCs were recently reported to accumulate following parasite infection in mice, suggesting that this protocol could have applications for diagnosis of parasite infections in the human gut. PMID:29630055

Use of Anti-phospho-girdin Antibodies to Visualize Intestinal Tuft Cells in Free-Floating Mouse Jejunum Cryosections.

PubMed

Mizutani, Yuka; Kuga, Daisuke; Iida, Machiko; Ushida, Kaori; Takagi, Tsuyoshi; Tokita, Yoshihito; Takahashi, Masahide; Asai, Masato

2018-03-21

The actin binding protein girdin is a cytosolic protein that is required for actin remodeling to trigger cell migration in various tissues. Girdin is phosphorylated by both receptor and non-receptor tyrosine kinases at tyrosine 1798. Omori et al. developed site- and phosphorylation status-specific antibodies against human girdin at tyrosine-1798 (pY1798), which specifically bind to phosphorylated tyrosine-1798, but not to unphosphorylated tyrosine-1798. pY1798 antibodies have been used to specifically label tuft cells (TCs) that are present in mammalian gastrointestinal tissues, but the function of these cells is unclear. This protocol allows the robust visualization of TCs in the jejunum using pY1798 antibodies and immunofluorescence. To ensure successful and simple TC visualization, this protocol includes two histological techniques: production of free-floating cryosections from gelatin-filled jejunum tissue, and low-temperature antigen retrieval at 50 °C for 3 h. Filling the jejunum with gelatin maintains the shape of free-floating sections throughout the staining procedure, whereas low-temperature antigen retrieval ensures robust signals from TCs. Successful use of this protocol results in pY1798 staining of TCs distributed from villus tip to crypt. Stained TCs have a spool-shaped soma and fluorescent signals condense at the lumenal tip, which corresponds to the protruding 'tuft.' Phalloidin staining colocalized with pY1798-positive TCs at the thickened brush border, and corresponds to a rootlet mass extending from the TC tuft. This protocol could be used to examine TCs in human biopsy samples collected with gastrointestinal endoscopes. Furthermore, TCs were recently reported to accumulate following parasite infection in mice, suggesting that this protocol could have applications for diagnosis of parasite infections in the human gut.

Pickup Ion Mass Spectrometry for Surface Bounded Exospheres and Composition Mapping of Lunar and Planetary Surfaces

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Keller, J. W.; Zurbuchen, T. H.; Baragiola, R. A.; Cassidy, T. A.; Chornay, D. J.; Collier, M. R.; Hartle, R. E.; Johnson, R. E.; Killen, R. M.; Koehn, P.

2005-01-01

Many of the small to medium sized objects in the solar system can be characterized as having surface bounded exospheres, or atmospheres so tenuous that scale lengths for inter-particle collisions are much larger than the dimensions of the objects. The atmospheres of these objects are the product of their surfaces, both the surface composition and the interactions that occur on them and also their interiors when gases escape from there. Thus by studying surface bounded exospheres it is possible to develop insight into the composition and processes that are taking place on the surface and interiors of these objects. The Moon and Mercury are two examples of planetary bodies with surface bounded exospheres that have been studied through spectroscopic observations of sodium, potassium, and, on the moon, mass spectrometric measurements of lunar gases such as argon and helium.

Extraluminal venous interruption for free-floating thrombus in the deep veins of lower limbs.

PubMed

Casian, D; Gutsu, E; Culiuc, V

2010-01-01

The free-floating thrombus (FFT) represents a particular form of deep vein thrombosis with extremely high potential of fatal pulmonary embolism. The purpose of the study was to evaluate the early results of aggressive surgical approach to FFT. During the period 2005-2008 years FFT was diagnosed in 13 patients. Demographic characteristics of patients: medium age--54.7 years, male--76.9%, significant comorbidity--5 (38.5%) cases. Localization of FFT: superficial femoral vein (SFV)--5 (38.5%), common femoral vein (CFV)--4 (30.7%), external iliac vein (EIV)--2 (15.4%), inferior cava vein (ICV)--2 (15.4%). Manifestations of previous pulmonary embolism were documented preoperatively in 3 (23.1%) cases. The following emergency surgical procedures were performed: ligation--3 (23.1%) or plication--2 (15.4%) of SFV; plication of CFV--5 (38.5%) patients, combined in 4 cases with partial thrombectomy (free-floating part of thrombus); plication of common iliac vein--1 (7.6%); plication of ICV--2 (15.4%) cases. Primary or recurrent cases of clinically significant pulmonary embolism were not detected in the postoperative period. The accumulated experience of surgical management of patients with FFT reveals the important role of deep vein ligation/plication in prevention of fatal pulmonary embolism.

Active structural control of a floating wind turbine with a stroke-limited hybrid mass damper

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hu, Yaqi; He, Erming

2017-12-01

Floating wind turbines are subjected to more severe structural loads than fixed-bottom wind turbines due to additional degrees of freedom (DOFs) of their floating foundations. It's a promising way of using active structural control method to improve the structural responses of floating wind turbines. This paper investigates an active vibration control strategy for a barge-type floating wind turbine by setting a stroke-limited hybrid mass damper (HMD) in the turbine's nacelle. Firstly, a contact nonlinear modeling method for the floating wind turbine with clearance between the HMD and the stroke limiters is presented based on Euler-Lagrange's equations and an active control model of the whole system is established. The structural parameters are validated for the active control model and an equivalent load coefficient method is presented for identifying the wind and wave disturbances. Then, a state-feedback linear quadratic regulator (LQR) controller is designed to reduce vibration and loads of the wind turbine, and two optimization methods are combined to optimize the weighting coefficients when considering the stroke of the HMD and the active control power consumption as constraints. Finally, the designed controllers are implemented in high fidelity simulations under five typical wind and wave conditions. The results show that active HMD control strategy is shown to be achievable and the designed controllers could further reduce more vibration and loads of the wind turbine under the constraints of stroke limitation and power consumption. "V"-shaped distribution of the TMD suppression effect is inconsistent with the Weibull distribution in practical offshore floating wind farms, and the active HMD control could overcome this shortcoming of the passive TMD.

Thermodynamic constrains for life based on non-aqueous polar solvents on free-floating planets.

PubMed

Badescu, Viorel

2011-02-01

Free-floating planets (FFPs) might originate either around a star or in solitary fashion. These bodies can retain molecular gases atmospheres which, upon cooling, have basal pressures of tens of bars or more. Pressure-induced opacity of these gases prevents such a body from eliminating its internal radioactive heat and its surface temperature can exceed for a long term the melting temperature of a life-supporting solvent. In this paper two non-aqueous but still polar solvents are considered: hydrogen sulfide and ammonia. Thermodynamic requirements to be fulfilled by a hypothetic gas constituent of a life-supporting FFP's atmosphere are studied. The three gases analyzed here (nitrogen, methane and ethane) are candidates. We show that bodies with ammonia oceans are possible in interstellar space. This may happen on FFPs of (significantly) smaller or larger mass than the Earth. Generally, in case of FFP smaller in size than the Earth, the atmosphere exhibits a convective layer near the surface and a radiative layer at higher altitudes while the atmosphere of FFPs larger in size than Earth does not exhibit a convective layer. The atmosphere mass of a life-hosting FFP of Earth size is two or three orders of magnitude larger than the mass of Earth atmosphere. For FFPs larger than the Earth and specific values of surface pressure and temperature, there are conditions for condensation (in the ethane atmosphere). Some arguments induce the conclusion than the associated surface pressures and temperatures should be treated with caution as appropriate life conditions.

A Survey for Planetary-mass Brown Dwarfs in the Chamaeleon I Star-forming Region

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Esplin, T. L.; Luhman, K. L.; Faherty, J. K.; Mamajek, E. E.; Bochanski, J. J.

2017-08-01

We have performed a search for planetary-mass brown dwarfs in the Chamaeleon I star-forming region using proper motions and photometry measured from optical and infrared images from the Spitzer Space Telescope, the Hubble Space Telescope, and ground-based facilities. Through near-IR spectroscopy at Gemini Observatory, we have confirmed six of the candidates as new late-type members of Chamaeleon I (≥M8). One of these objects, Cha J11110675-7636030, has the faintest extinction-corrected M K among known members, which corresponds to a mass of 3-6 {M}{Jup} according to evolutionary models. That object and two other new members have redder mid-IR colors than young photospheres at ≤M9.5, which may indicate the presence of disks. However, since those objects may be later than M9.5 and the mid-IR colors of young photospheres are ill-defined at those types, we cannot determine conclusively whether color excesses from disks are present. If Cha J11110675-7636030 does have a disk, it would be a contender for the least-massive known brown dwarf with a disk. Since the new brown dwarfs that we have found extend below our completeness limit of 6-10 M {}{Jup}, deeper observations are needed to measure the minimum mass of the initial mass function in Chamaeleon I. Based on observations made with the Spitzer Space Telescope, the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, Gemini Observatory, the ESO Telescopes at Paranal Observatory, Magellan Observatory, the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory, and the ESA Gaia mission.

Current-Sensitive Path Planning for an Underactuated Free-Floating Ocean Sensorweb

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dahl, Kristen P.; Thompson, David R.; McLaren, David; Chao, Yi; Chien, Steve

2011-01-01

This work investigates multi-agent path planning in strong, dynamic currents using thousands of highly under-actuated vehicles. We address the specific task of path planning for a global network of ocean-observing floats. These submersibles are typified by the Argo global network consisting of over 3000 sensor platforms. They can control their buoyancy to float at depth for data collection or rise to the surface for satellite communications. Currently, floats drift at a constant depth regardless of the local currents. However, accurate current forecasts have become available which present the possibility of intentionally controlling floats' motion by dynamically commanding them to linger at different depths. This project explores the use of these current predictions to direct float networks to some desired final formation or position. It presents multiple algorithms for such path optimization and demonstrates their advantage over the standard approach of constant-depth drifting.

Geothermal Energy in Planetary Icy Large Objects via Cosmic Rays Muon–Catalyzed Fusion

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

de Morais, A.

2018-05-01

We propose the possibility that muon-catalyzed fusion, produced by cosmic rays, might add energy to the interior of planetary icy large objects of the solar system, and other solar systems, interesting for astrobiological considerations.

Toward a distributed free-floating wireless implantable neural recording system.

PubMed

Pyungwoo Yeon; Xingyuan Tong; Byunghun Lee; Mirbozorgi, Abdollah; Ash, Bruce; Eckhardt, Helmut; Ghovanloo, Maysam

2016-08-01

To understand the complex correlations between neural networks across different regions in the brain and their functions at high spatiotemporal resolution, a tool is needed for obtaining long-term single unit activity (SUA) across the entire brain area. The concept and preliminary design of a distributed free-floating wireless implantable neural recording (FF-WINeR) system are presented, which can enabling SUA acquisition by dispersedly implanting tens to hundreds of untethered 1 mm3 neural recording probes, floating with the brain and operating wirelessly across the cortical surface. For powering FF-WINeR probes, a 3-coil link with an intermediate high-Q resonator provides a minimum S21 of -22.22 dB (in the body medium) and -21.23 dB (in air) at 2.8 cm coil separation, which translates to 0.76%/759 μW and 0.6%/604 μW of power transfer efficiency (PTE) / power delivered to a 9 kΩ load (PDL), in body and air, respectively. A mock-up FF-WINeR is implemented to explore microassembly method of the 1×1 mm2 micromachined silicon die with a bonding wire-wound coil and a tungsten micro-wire electrode. Circuit design methods to fit the active circuitry in only 0.96 mm2 of die area in a 130 nm standard CMOS process, and satisfy the strict power and performance requirements (in simulations) are discussed.

Planetary Interiors: Parametric Modeling of Global Geophysical Properties

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Montgomery, W.; Jeanloz, R.

2004-12-01

Taking into account a realistic form of equation of state, we parameterize the degree to which bulk geophysical properties of planets are sensitive to gravitational self-compression. For example, the normalized moment of mass of a uniform-composition planet is C/Ma2 = 0.40 only in the limit of zero planetary size or incompressible material, and decreases toward 0.32 for finite compressibility as the planetary radius increases toward a = 104 km (M is planetary mass). Central density correspondingly increases from ρ 0, the surface density, toward 10 * ρ 0. Our calculations, based on the Eulerian finite-strain equation of state, make it possible to distinguish the effects of self-compression from the effects of non-uniformity (due either to changes in bulk composition or in phase with depth) as these influence planetary mass and moment of inertia relative to size. As observations of extra-solar planets can provide estimates of their mass and diameter (hence mean density), our formulation can account for the effects of compression in modeling the internal constitution and evolution of these objects. The effects of compression are especially important for giant and super-giant planets, such as the majority that have been observed to date.

Surface materials on unusual planetary object Chiron

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hartmann, W. K.; Cruikshank, D. P.; Degewij, J.; Capps, R. W.

1981-01-01

JHK near-infrared colorimetry of the surface of the planetary object 2060 Chiron has yielded colors consistent with those of outer solar system asteroids, which have: (1) albedos of only a few percent, (2) C-, RD-, or DM-type spectra, and (3) no known H2O ice absorption features. The colors are also in keeping with theoretical colors for certain size distributions of dirty ice grains. Along with VJHK colorimetric data, results suggest that the spectrally dominant surface is probably dark, carbonaceous-like silicate dust with a possible, microscale admixture of ice grains. It is concluded that, if Chiron has the low albedo common to such materials on known interplanetary bodies, its diameter may lie in the 310-400 km range and therefore place it among the eight largest asteroids.

Flow produced by a free-moving floating magnet driven electromagnetically

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Piedra, Saúl; Román, Joel; Figueroa, Aldo; Cuevas, Sergio

2018-04-01

The flow generated by a free-moving magnet floating in a thin electrolyte layer is studied experimentally and numerically. The magnet is dragged by a traveling vortex dipole produced by a Lorentz force created when a uniform dc current injected in the electrolyte interacts with the magnetic field of the same magnet. The problem represents a typical case of fluid-solid interaction but with a localized electromagnetic force promoting the motion. Classical wake flow structures are observed when the applied current varies in the range of 0.2 to 10 A. Velocity fields at the surface of the electrolyte are obtained for different flow conditions through particle image velocimetry. Quasi-two-dimensional numerical simulations, based on the immersed boundary technique that incorporates the fluid-solid interaction, reproduce satisfactorily the dynamics observed in the experiments.

High mass resolution, high angular acceptance time-of-flight mass spectroscopy for planetary missions under the Planetary Instrument Definition and Development Program (PIDDP)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Young, David T.

1991-01-01

This final report covers three years and several phases of work in which instrumentation for the Planetary Instrument Definition and Development Program (PIDDP) were successfully developed. There were two main thrusts to this research: (1) to develop and test methods for electrostatically scanning detector field-of-views, and (2) to improve the mass resolution of plasma mass spectrometers to M/delta M approximately 25, their field-of-view (FOV) to 360 degrees, and their E-range to cover approximately 1 eV to 50 keV. Prototypes of two different approaches to electrostatic scanning were built and tested. The Isochronous time-of-flight (TOF) and the linear electric field 3D TOF devices were examined.

Planetary geodesy. [measurements of sizes, shapes, masses and gravity fields

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Anderson, J. D.

1975-01-01

Work related to planetary geodesy conducted during the period from 1971 to 1975 is reviewed, taking into account the traditional subjects of geometrical and physical geodesy. Particular attention is given to the size and shape of the planets and to their masses and gravity fields. Improvements in the principal geodetic parameters of Mercury, Venus, and Mars are considered. Studies of the planets Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune are also discussed.

Near-infrared photometry of WISE J085510.74-071442.5

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zapatero Osorio, M. R.; Lodieu, N.; Béjar, V. J. S.; Martín, E. L.; Ivanov, V. D.; Bayo, A.; Boffin, H. M. J.; Mužić, K.; Minniti, D.; Beamín, J. C.

2016-08-01

Aims: We aim at obtaining near-infrared photometry and deriving the mass, age, temperature, and surface gravity of WISE J085510.74-071442.5 (J0855-0714), which is the coolest object beyond the solar system currently known. Methods: We used publicly available data from the archives of the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) and the Very Large Telescope (VLT) to determine the emission of this source at 1.153 μm (F110W) and 1.575 μm (CH4-off). J0855-0714 was detected at both wavelengths with a signal-to-noise ratio of ≈10 (F110W) and ≈4 (CH4-off) at the peak of the corresponding point-spread-functions. Results: This is the first detection of J0855-0714 in the H-band wavelengths. We measured 26.31 ± 0.10 and 23.22 ± 0.35 mag in F110W and CH4-off (Vega system). J0855-0714 remains unresolved in the HST images that have a spatial resolution of 0.22''. Companions at separations of 0.5 AU (similar mass and brightness) and at ~1 AU (≈1 mag fainter in the F110W filter) are discarded. By combining the new data with published photometry, including non-detections, we build the spectral energy distribution of J0855-0714 from 0.89 through 22.09 μm, and contrast it against current solar-metallicity models of planetary atmospheres. We determine that the best spectral fit yields a temperature of 225-250 K, a bolometric luminosity of log L/L⊙ = -8.57, and a high surface gravity of log g = 5.0 (cm s-2), which suggests an old age although a gravity this high is not fully compatible with evolutionary models. After comparing our data with the cooling theory for brown dwarfs and planets, we infer a mass in the interval 2-10 MJup for ages of 1-12 Gyr and high atmospheric gravities of log g ⪆ 3.5 (cm s-2). If it had the age of the Sun, J0855-0714 would be a ≈5-MJup free-floating planetary-mass object. Conclusions: J0855-0714 meets the mass values previously determined for free-floating planetary-mass objects discovered in star-forming regions and young stellar clusters. Based on

The lowest mass ratio planetary microlens: OGLE 2016-BLG-1195Lb

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bond, I. A.; Bennett, D. P.; Sumi, T.; Udalski, A.; Suzuki, D.; Rattenbury, N. J.; Bozza, V.; Koshimoto, N.; Abe, F.; Asakura, Y.; Barry, R. K.; Bhattacharya, A.; Donachie, M.; Evans, P.; Fukui, A.; Hirao, Y.; Itow, Y.; Li, M. C. A.; Ling, C. H.; Masuda, K.; Matsubara, Y.; Muraki, Y.; Nagakane, M.; Ohnishi, K.; Ranc, C.; Saito, To.; Sharan, A.; Sullivan, D. J.; Tristram, P. J.; Yamada, T.; Yamada, T.; Yonehara, A.; Skowron, J.; Szymański, M. K.; Poleski, R.; Mróz, P.; Soszyński, I.; Pietrukowicz, P.; Kozłowski, S.; Ulaczyk, K.; Pawlak, M.

2017-08-01

We report discovery of the lowest mass ratio exoplanet to be found by the microlensing method in the light curve of the event OGLE 2016-BLG-1195. This planet revealed itself as a small deviation from a microlensing single lens profile from an examination of the survey data. The duration of the planetary signal is ˜2.5 h. The measured ratio of the planet mass to its host star is q = 4.2 ± 0.7 × 10-5. We further estimate that the lens system is likely to comprise a cold ˜3 Earth mass planet in an ˜2 au wide orbit around a 0.2 Solar mass star at an overall distance of 7.1 kpc.

Lunar and Planetary Science XXXV: Origin of Planetary Systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2004-01-01

The session titled Origin of Planetary Systems" included the following reports:Convective Cooling of Protoplanetary Disks and Rapid Giant Planet Formation; When Push Comes to Shove: Gap-opening, Disk Clearing and the In Situ Formation of Giant Planets; Late Injection of Radionuclides into Solar Nebula Analogs in Orion; Growth of Dust Particles and Accumulation of Centimeter-sized Objects in the Vicinity of a Pressure enhanced Region of a Solar Nebula; Fast, Repeatable Clumping of Solid Particles in Microgravity ; Chondrule Formation by Current Sheets in Protoplanetary Disks; Radial Migration of Phyllosilicates in the Solar Nebula; Accretion of the Outer Planets: Oligarchy or Monarchy?; Resonant Capture of Irregular Satellites by a Protoplanet ; On the Final Mass of Giant Planets ; Predicting the Atmospheric Composition of Extrasolar Giant Planets; Overturn of Unstably Stratified Fluids: Implications for the Early Evolution of Planetary Mantles; and The Evolution of an Impact-generated Partially-vaporized Circumplanetary Disk.

Floating growth of large-scale freestanding TiO2 nanorod films at the gas-liquid interface for additive-free Li-ion battery applications.

PubMed

Xia, Hua-Rong; Li, Jia; Peng, Chen; Sun, Wen-Tao; Li, Long-Wei; Peng, Lian-Mao

2014-10-22

The floating growth process of large-scale freestanding TiO2 nanorod films at the gas-liquid interface was investigated. On the basis of the experiments, a self-templated growth scenario was developed to account for the self-assembly process. In the scenario, titanium complexes function not only as the Ti source for the growth of TiO2 but also as a soft template provider for the floating growth. According to the scenario, several new recipes of preparing freestanding TiO2 nanorod films at the gas-liquid interface were developed. The freestanding film was applied to a lithium ion battery as a binder-free and conducting agent-free anode, and good cyclability was obtained. This work may pave a new way to floating and freestanding TiO2 and other semiconductor materials, which has great potential not only in basic science but also in the applications such as materials engineering, Li-ion battery, photocatalyst, dye-sensitized solar cell, and flexible electronics.

The Optical Gravitational Lensing Experiment. Additional Planetary and Low-Luminosity Object Transits from the OGLE 2001 and 2002 Observational Campaigns

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Udalski, A.; Pietrzynski, G.; Szymanski, M.; Kubiak, M.; Zebrun, K.; Soszynski, I.; Szewczyk, O.; Wyrzykowski, L.

2003-06-01

The photometric data collected by OGLE-III during the 2001 and 2002 observational campaigns aiming at detection of planetary or low-luminosity object transits were corrected for small scale systematic effects using the data pipeline by Kruszewski and Semeniuk and searched again for low amplitude transits. Sixteen new objects with small transiting companions, additional to previously found samples, were discovered. Most of them are small amplitude cases which remained undetected in the original data. Several new objects seem to be very promising candidates for systems containing substellar objects: extrasolar planets or brown dwarfs. Those include OGLE-TR-122, OGLE-TR-125, OGLE-TR-130, OGLE-TR-131 and a few others. Those objects are particularly worth spectroscopic follow-up observations for radial velocity measurements and mass determination. With well known photometric orbit only a few RV measurements should allow to confirm their actual status. All photometric data of presented objects are available to the astronomical community from the OGLE Internet archive.

A direct evidence of floating-off mechanism of Ag surfactant in Cu/Co multilayers probed by secondary ion mass spectrometry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Amir, S. M.; Gupta, Mukul; Gupta, Ajay

2012-06-01

In this work we have investigated the floating-off mechanism of Ag surfactant added during the growth of Cu/Co multilayers. It was found that Ag surfactant added at the bottom of the multilayer floats towards the surface making Co-on-Cu and Cu-on-Co interfaces smooth and symmetric which are otherwise rough and asymmetric. The addition of Ag surfactant in Cu/Co multilayer balances the difference of the surface free energies of Cu and Co as a result smooth interfaces are obtained.

Homogeneous spectroscopic parameters for bright planet host stars from the northern hemisphere . The impact on stellar and planetary mass

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sousa, S. G.; Santos, N. C.; Mortier, A.; Tsantaki, M.; Adibekyan, V.; Delgado Mena, E.; Israelian, G.; Rojas-Ayala, B.; Neves, V.

2015-04-01

Aims: In this work we derive new precise and homogeneous parameters for 37 stars with planets. For this purpose, we analyze high resolution spectra obtained by the NARVAL spectrograph for a sample composed of bright planet host stars in the northern hemisphere. The new parameters are included in the SWEET-Cat online catalogue. Methods: To ensure that the catalogue is homogeneous, we use our standard spectroscopic analysis procedure, ARES+MOOG, to derive effective temperatures, surface gravities, and metallicities. These spectroscopic stellar parameters are then used as input to compute the stellar mass and radius, which are fundamental for the derivation of the planetary mass and radius. Results: We show that the spectroscopic parameters, masses, and radii are generally in good agreement with the values available in online databases of exoplanets. There are some exceptions, especially for the evolved stars. These are analyzed in detail focusing on the effect of the stellar mass on the derived planetary mass. Conclusions: We conclude that the stellar mass estimations for giant stars should be managed with extreme caution when using them to compute the planetary masses. We report examples within this sample where the differences in planetary mass can be as high as 100% in the most extreme cases. Based on observations obtained at the Telescope Bernard Lyot (USR5026) operated by the Observatoire Midi-Pyrénées and the Institut National des Science de l'Univers of the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique of France (Run ID L131N11 - OPTICON_2013A_027).

Fault-tolerant wait-free shared objects

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jayanti, Prasad; Chandra, Tushar D.; Toueg, Sam

1992-01-01

A concurrent system consists of processes communicating via shared objects, such as shared variables, queues, etc. The concept of wait-freedom was introduced to cope with process failures: each process that accesses a wait-free object is guaranteed to get a response even if all the other processes crash. However, if a wait-free object 'crashes,' all the processes that access that object are prevented from making progress. In this paper, we introduce the concept of fault-tolerant wait-free objects, and study the problem of implementing them. We give a universal method to construct fault-tolerant wait-free objects, for all types of 'responsive' failures (including one in which faulty objects may 'lie'). In sharp contrast, we prove that many common and interesting types (such as queues, sets, and test&set) have no fault-tolerant wait-free implementations even under the most benign of the 'non-responsive' types of failure. We also introduce several concepts and techniques that are central to the design of fault-tolerant concurrent systems: the concepts of self-implementation and graceful degradation, and techniques to automatically increase the fault-tolerance of implementations. We prove matching lower bounds on the resource complexity of most of our algorithms.

Planetary Taxonomy: Label Round Bodies "Worlds"

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Margot, Jean-Luc; Levison, H. F.

2009-05-01

The classification of planetary bodies is as important to Astronomy as taxonomy is to other sciences. The etymological, historical, and IAU definitions of planet rely on a dynamical criterion, but some authors prefer a geophysical criterion based on "roundness". Although the former criterion is superior when it comes to classifying newly discovered objects, the conflict need not exist if we agree to identify the subset of "round" planetary objects as "worlds". This addition to the taxonomy would conveniently recognize that "round" objects such as Earth, Europa, Titan, Triton, and Pluto share some common planetary-type processes regardless of their distance from the host star. Some of these worlds are planets, others are not. Defining how round is round and handling the inevitable transition objects are non-trivial tasks. Because images at sufficient resolution are not available for the overwhelming majority of newly discovered objects, the degree of roundness is not a directly observable property and is inherently problematic as a basis for classification. We can tolerate some uncertainty in establishing the "world" status of a newly discovered object, and still establish its planet or satellite status with existing dynamical criteria. Because orbital parameters are directly observable, and because mass can often be measured either from orbital perturbations or from the presence of companions, the dynamics provide a robust and practical planet classification scheme. It may also be possible to determine which bodies are dynamically dominant from observations of the population magnitude/size distribution.

Microbial Characterization of Free Floating Condensate Aboard the Mir Space Station

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ott, C. M.; Bruce, R. J.; Pierson, D. L.

2004-01-01

Three samples of humidity condensate that had accumulated behind panels aboard the Russian space station Mir were collected and returned to earth for analysis. As these floating masses of liquid come into contact with the astronauts and the engineering systems, they have the potential to affect both crew health and systems performance. Using a combination of culturing techniques, a wide variety of organisms were isolated included Escherichia coli, Serratia marcescens, and a presumed Legionella species. In addition, microscopic analysis indicated the presence of protozoa, dust mites, and spirochetes. These findings suggest the need for more comprehensive microbial analysis of the environment through the use of new methodologies to allow a more thorough risk assessment of spacecraft. Copyright 2004 Springer-Verlag.

A Pan-STARRS1 Proper-Motion Survey for Young Brown Dwarfs in the Nearest Star-Forming Regions and a Reddening-Free Classification Method for Ultracool Dwarfs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Zhoujian; Liu, Michael C.; Best, William M. J.; Magnier, Eugene; Aller, Kimberly

2018-01-01

Young brown dwarfs are of prime importance to investigate the universality of the initial mass function (IMF). Based on photometry and proper motions from the Pan-STARRS1 (PS1) 3π survey, we are conducting the widest and deepest brown dwarf survey in the nearby star-forming regions, Taurus–Auriga (Taurus) and Upper Scorpius (USco). Our work is the first to measure proper motions, a robust proxy of membership, for brown dwarf candidates in Taurus and USco over such a large area and long time baseline (≈ 15 year) with such high precision (≈ 4 mas yr-1). Since extinction complicates spectral classification, we have developed a new approach to quantitatively determine reddening-free spectral types, extinctions, and gravity classifications for mid-M to late-L ultracool dwarfs (≈ 100–5 MJup), using low-resolution near-infrared spectra. So far, our IRTF/SpeX spectroscopic follow-up has increased the substellar and planetary-mass census of Taurus by ≈ 50% and almost doubled the substellar census of USco, constituting the largest single increases of brown dwarfs and free-floating planets found in both regions to date. Most notably, our new discoveries reveal an older (> 10 Myr) low-mass population in Taurus, in accord with recent studies of the higher-mass stellar members. In addition, the mass function appears to differ between the younger and older Taurus populations, possibly due to incompleteness of the older stellar members or different star formation processes. Upon completion, our survey will establish the most complete substellar and planetary-mass census in both Taurus and USco associations, make a significant addition to the low-mass IMF in both regions, and deliver more comprehensive pictures of star formation histories.

Smart Novel Semi-Active Tuned Mass Damper for Fixed-Bottom and Floating Offshore Wind (Paper)

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Rodriguez Tsouroukdissian, Arturo; Lackner, Mathew; Cross-Whiter, John

The intention of this paper is to present the results of a novel smart semi-active tuned mass damper (SA-TMD), which mitigates unwanted loads for both fixed-bottom and floating offshore wind systems. The paper will focus on the most challenging water depths for both fixed-bottom and floating systems. A close to 38m Monopile and 55m Tension Leg Platform (TLP) will be considered. A technical development and trade-off analysis will be presented comparing the new system with existing passive non-linear TMD (N-TMD) technology and semi-active. TheSATMD works passively and activates itself with low power source under unwanted dynamic loading in less thanmore » 60msec. It is composed of both variable stiffness and damping elements coupled to a central pendulum mass. The analysis has been done numerically in both FAST(NREL) and Orcaflex (Orcina), and integrated in the Wind Turbine system employing CAD/CAE. The results of this work will pave the way for experimental testing to complete the technology qualification process. The load reductions under extreme and fatigue cases reach up significant levels at tower base, consequently reducing LCOE for fixed-bottom to floating wind solutions. The nacelle acceleration is reduced substantially under severe random wind and sea states, reducing the risks of failure of electromechanical components and blades at the rotor nacelle assembly. The SA-TMD system isa new technology that has not been applied previously in wind solutions. Structural damping devices aim to increase offshore wind turbine system robustness and reliability, which eases multiple substructures installations and global stability.« less

Toward Objective Monitoring of Ingestive Behavior in Free-living Population

PubMed Central

Sazonov, Edward S.; Schuckers, Stephanie A.C.; Lopez-Meyer, Paulo; Makeyev, Oleksandr; Melanson, Edward L.; Neuman, Michael R.; Hill, James O.

2010-01-01

Understanding of eating behaviors associated with obesity requires objective and accurate monitoring of food intake patterns. Accurate methods are available for measuring total energy expenditure and its components in free-living populations, but methods for measuring food intake in free-living people are far less accurate and involve self-reporting or subjective monitoring. We suggest that chews and swallows can be used for objective monitoring of ingestive behavior. This hypothesis was verified in a human study involving 20 subjects. Chews and swallows were captured during periods of quiet resting, talking, and meals of varying size. The counts of chews and swallows along with other derived metrics were used to build prediction models for detection of food intake, differentiation between liquids and solids, and for estimation of the mass of ingested food. The proposed prediction models were able to detect periods of food intake with >95% accuracy and a fine time resolution of 30 s, differentiate solid foods from liquids with >91% accuracy, and predict mass of ingested food with >91% accuracy for solids and >83% accuracy for liquids. In earlier publications, we have shown that chews and swallows can be captured by noninvasive sensors that could be developed into a wearable device. Thus, the proposed methodology could lead to the development of an innovative new way of assessing human eating behavior in free-living conditions. PMID:19444225

Toward objective monitoring of ingestive behavior in free-living population.

PubMed

Sazonov, Edward S; Schuckers, Stephanie A C; Lopez-Meyer, Paulo; Makeyev, Oleksandr; Melanson, Edward L; Neuman, Michael R; Hill, James O

2009-10-01

Understanding of eating behaviors associated with obesity requires objective and accurate monitoring of food intake patterns. Accurate methods are available for measuring total energy expenditure and its components in free-living populations, but methods for measuring food intake in free-living people are far less accurate and involve self-reporting or subjective monitoring. We suggest that chews and swallows can be used for objective monitoring of ingestive behavior. This hypothesis was verified in a human study involving 20 subjects. Chews and swallows were captured during periods of quiet resting, talking, and meals of varying size. The counts of chews and swallows along with other derived metrics were used to build prediction models for detection of food intake, differentiation between liquids and solids, and for estimation of the mass of ingested food. The proposed prediction models were able to detect periods of food intake with >95% accuracy and a fine time resolution of 30 s, differentiate solid foods from liquids with >91% accuracy, and predict mass of ingested food with >91% accuracy for solids and >83% accuracy for liquids. In earlier publications, we have shown that chews and swallows can be captured by noninvasive sensors that could be developed into a wearable device. Thus, the proposed methodology could lead to the development of an innovative new way of assessing human eating behavior in free-living conditions.

Does It Sink or Float?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McDonald, Judith Richards

2012-01-01

This activity is designed to teach prekindergarten to second grade students about the concept of sink or float through an inquiry activity. Students will use familiar objects to predict and test the properties of sink and float. Background information is offered to teachers to assist them with this activity. This lesson begins with an engaging…

Psycho-biological correlates of free-floating anxiety symptoms in male patients with sexual dysfunctions.

PubMed

Corona, Giovanni; Mannucci, Edoardo; Petrone, Luisa; Ricca, Valdo; Balercia, Giancarlo; Giommi, Roberta; Forti, Gianni; Maggi, Mario

2006-01-01

Anxiety has a relevant impact on everyday life, including sexual life, and therefore is considered the final common pathway by which social, psychological, and biological stressors negatively affect sexual functioning. The aim of this study is to define the psycho-biological correlates of free-floating anxiety in a large sample of patients complaining of erectile dysfunction (ED)-based sexual problems. We studied a consecutive series of 882 ED patients using SIEDY, a 13-item structured interview, composed of 3 scales that identify and quantify organic, relational, and intrapsychic domains. MHQ-A scoring from Middlesex Hospital Questionnaire (MHQ) was used as a putative marker of free-floating anxiety symptoms (AS). Metabolic and hormonal parameters, nocturnal penile tumescence (NPT) test, and penile Doppler ultrasound (PDU) examination were also performed. MHQ-A score was significantly higher in patients complaining of difficulties in maintaining erection and in those reporting premature ejaculation (6.5 +/- 3.3 vs 5.8 +/- 3.3 and 6.6 +/- 3.3 vs 6.1 +/- 3.3, respectively; both P < .05). Moreover, ASs were significantly correlated to life stressors quantified by SIEDY scale 2 (relational component) and scale 3 (intrapsychic component) scores, as dissatisfaction at work or within the family or couple relationships. Among physical, biochemical, or instrumental parameters tested, only end-diastolic velocity at PDU was significantly (P < .05) related to ASs. In conclusion, in patients with ED-based sexual problems, ASs are correlated to many relational and life stressors. Conversely, organic problems are not necessarily associated with MHQ-A score.

Resident perceptions of the educational value of night float rotations.

PubMed

Luks, Andrew M; Smith, C Scott; Robins, Lynne; Wipf, Joyce E

2010-07-01

Night float rotations are being increasingly used in the era of resident physician work-hour regulations, but their impact on resident education is not clear. Our objective was to clarify resident perceptions of the educational aspects of night float rotations. An anonymous survey of internal medicine residents at a university-based residency program was completed. Responses were received from 116 of 163 surveyed residents (71%). Residents attended less residents' report (0.10 +/- .43 vs. 2.70 + 0.93 sessions/week, p< .001) and fewer grand rounds sessions (0.14 +/- 0.25 vs. 0.43 +/- 0.28 sessions/week, p< .001) and spent less time reading, (2.63 +/- 2.0 vs. 3.33 +/- 1.6 hr/week, p< .001) interacting with attending physicians (0.57 +/- 1.1 vs. 2.97 +/- 1.5 hr/week, p< .001) and sleeping at home (6.3 +/- 1.2 vs. 7.10 +/- 0.9 hr/day, p< .001) on night float rotations than on non-night float rotations. Residents had strongly negative opinions about the educational value of night float, sleep cycle adjustment issues, and impact on their personal lives, which correlated with resident evaluations from the regular program evaluation process. In free responses, residents commented that they liked the autonomy and opportunity to improve triage skills on these rotations and confirmed their negative opinions about the sleep-wake cycle and interference with personal lives. Internal medicine residents at a university-based program have negative opinions regarding the educational value of night float rotations. Further work is necessary to determine whether problems exist across programs and specialties.

Mass Wasting In Planetary Environments: Implications For Seismicity

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Weber, R. C.; Nahm, A. L.; Schmerr, N.

2015-01-01

On Earth, mass wasting events such as rock falls and landslides are well known conse-quences of seismic activity. Through a variety of re-mote sensing techniques, tectonic faults have been pos-itively identified on all four of the inner planets, Earth's Moon, several outer planet satellites, and aster-oids. High-resolution imaging has furthermore ena-bled positive identification of mass wasting events on many of these bodies. On Mars, it has been suggested that fallen boulders may be indicative of pale-omarsquakes. On the Moon, meteor impacts and moonquakes have likewise been suggested as potential triggering mechanisms for mass wasting. Indeed, we know from the Apollo era that the Moon experienc-es a wide variety of seismicity. Seismicity estimates play an important role in creat-ing regional geological characterizations, which are useful not only for understanding a planet's formation and evolution, but also of key importance to site selec-tion for landed missions. Here we investigate the re-gional effects of seismicity in planetary environments with the goal of determining whether surface features such as landslides and boulder trails on the Moon, Mars, and Mercury could be triggered by fault motion. We attempt to quantify the amount of near-source ground shaking necessary to mobilize the mate-rial observed in various instances of mass wasting.

Masses of the Planetary Nebula Central Stars in the Galactic Globular Cluster System from HST Imaging and Spectroscopy

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Jacoby, George H.; Marco, Orsola De; Davies, James

The globular cluster (GC) system of our Galaxy contains four planetary nebulae (PNe): K 648 (or Ps 1) in M15, IRAS 18333-2357 in M22, JaFu 1 in Pal 6, and JaFu 2 in NGC 6441. Because single-star evolution at the low stellar mass of present-epoch GCs was considered incapable of producing visible PNe, their origin presented a puzzle. We imaged the PN JaFu 1 with the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) to obtain photometry of its central star (CS) and high-resolution morphological information. We imaged IRAS 18333-2357 with better depth and resolution, and we analyzed its archival HST spectra to constrainmore » its CS temperature and luminosity. All PNe in Galactic GCs now have quality HST data, allowing us to improve CS mass estimates. We find reasonably consistent masses between 0.53 and 0.58 M {sub ⊙} for all four objects, though estimates vary when adopting different stellar evolutionary calculations. The CS mass of IRAS 18333-2357, though, depends strongly on its temperature, which remains elusive due to reddening uncertainties. For all four objects, we consider their CS and nebula masses, their morphologies, and other incongruities to assess the likelihood that these objects formed from binary stars. Although generally limited by uncertainties (∼0.02 M {sub ⊙}) in post-AGB tracks and core mass versus luminosity relations, the high-mass CS in K 648 indicates a binary origin. The CS of JaFu 1 exhibits compact, bright [O iii] and H α emission, like EGB 6, suggesting a binary companion or disk. Evidence is weaker for a binary origin of JaFu 2.« less

Deploying Object Oriented Data Technology to the Planetary Data System

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kelly, S.; Crichton, D.; Hughes, J. S.

2003-01-01

How do you provide more than 350 scientists and researchers access to data from every instrument in Odyssey when the data is curated across half a dozen institutions and in different formats and is too big to mail on a CD-ROM anymore? The Planetary Data System (PDS) faced this exact question. The solution was to use a metadata-based middleware framework developed by the Object Oriented Data Technology task at NASA s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Using OODT, PDS provided - for the first time ever - data from all mission instruments through a single system immediately upon data delivery.

Orbitrap mass analyser for in situ characterisation of planetary environments: Performance evaluation of a laboratory prototype

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Briois, Christelle; Thissen, Roland; Thirkell, Laurent; Aradj, Kenzi; Bouabdellah, Abdel; Boukrara, Amirouche; Carrasco, Nathalie; Chalumeau, Gilles; Chapelon, Olivier; Colin, Fabrice; Coll, Patrice; Cottin, Hervé; Engrand, Cécile; Grand, Noel; Lebreton, Jean-Pierre; Orthous-Daunay, François-Régis; Pennanech, Cyril; Szopa, Cyril; Vuitton, Véronique; Zapf, Pascal; Makarov, Alexander

2016-10-01

For decades of space exploration, mass spectrometry has proven to be a reliable instrumentation for the characterisation of the nature and energy of ionic and neutral, atomic and molecular species in the interplanetary medium and upper planetary atmospheres. It has been used as well to analyse the chemical composition of planetary and small bodies environments. The chemical complexity of these environments calls for the need to develop a new generation of mass spectrometers with significantly increased mass resolving power. The recently developed OrbitrapTM mass analyser at ultra-high resolution shows promising adaptability to space instrumentation, offering improved performances for in situ measurements. In this article, we report on our project named ;Cosmorbitrap; aiming at demonstrating the adaptability of the Orbitrap technology for in situ space exploration. We present the prototype that was developed in the laboratory for demonstration of both technical feasibility and analytical capabilities. A set of samples containing elements with masses ranging from 9 to 208 u has been used to evaluate the performance of the analyser, in terms of mass resolving power (reaching 474,000 at m/z 9) and ability to discriminate between isobaric interferences, accuracy of mass measurement (below 15 ppm) and determination of relative isotopic abundances (below 5%) of various samples. We observe a good agreement between the results obtained with the prototype and those of a commercial instrument. As the background pressure is a key parameter for in situ exploration of atmosphere planetary bodies, we study the effect of background gas on the performance of the Cosmorbitrap prototype, showing an upper limit for N2 in our set-up at 10-8 mbar. The results demonstrate the strong potential to adapt this technology to space exploration.

Flow-induced oscillations of a floating moored cylinder

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Carlson, Daniel; Modarres-Sadeghi, Yahya

2016-11-01

An experimental study of flow-induced oscillations of a floating model spar buoy was conducted. The model spar consisted of a floating uniform cylinder moored in a water tunnel test section, and free to oscillate about its mooring attachment point near the center of mass. For the bare cylinder, counter-clockwise (CCW) figure-eight trajectories approaching A* =1 in amplitude were observed at the lower part of the spar for a reduced velocity range of U* =4-11, while its upper part experienced clockwise (CW) orbits. It was hypothesized that the portion of the spar undergoing CCW figure eights is the portion within which the flow excites the structure. By adding helical strakes to the portion of the cylinder with CCW figure eights, the response amplitude was significantly reduced, while adding strakes to portions with clockwise orbital motion had a minimal influence on the amplitude of response. This work is partially supported by the NSF-sponsored IGERT: Offshore Wind Energy Engineering, Environmental Science, and Policy (Grant Number 1068864).

Floating plant dominance as a stable state

PubMed Central

Scheffer, Marten; Szabó, Sándor; Gragnani, Alessandra; van Nes, Egbert H.; Rinaldi, Sergio; Kautsky, Nils; Norberg, Jon; Roijackers, Rudi M. M.; Franken, Rob J. M.

2003-01-01

Invasion by mats of free-floating plants is among the most important threats to the functioning and biodiversity of freshwater ecosystems ranging from temperate ponds and ditches to tropical lakes. Dark, anoxic conditions under thick floating-plant cover leave little opportunity for animal or plant life, and they can have large negative impacts on fisheries and navigation in tropical lakes. Here, we demonstrate that floating-plant dominance can be a self-stabilizing ecosystem state, which may explain its notorious persistence in many situations. Our results, based on experiments, field data, and models, represent evidence for alternative domains of attraction in ecosystems. An implication of our findings is that nutrient enrichment reduces the resilience of freshwater systems against a shift to floating-plant dominance. On the other hand, our results also suggest that a single drastic harvest of floating plants can induce a permanent shift to an alternative state dominated by rooted, submerged growth forms. PMID:12634429

Dusty Globules and Globulettes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Grenman, Tiia

2018-05-01

indicated that the 133 found globulettes are all either expanding or disrupting. When the ram and the radiation pressure were included, we found that about half of our objects are gravitationally bound or unstable to contraction and could collapse to form brown dwarfs or free floating planets. We also estimated the amount of globulettes and the number of free floating planetary mass objects, originating from globulettes, during the history of the Milky Way. We found that a conservative value of the number of globulettes formed is 5.7×10^10. A less conservative estimate gave 2 × 10^11 globulettes and if 10% of these forms free floating planets then the globulettes have contributed about 0.2 free floating planets per star. In the Crab Nebula, which is a supernova remnant from the explosion of a massive old star, one can find dusty globules appearing as dark spots against the background nebulosity. These globules are very similar to the globulettes we have found in H II regions. The total mass of dust in globules was estimated to be 4.5×10^-4 M, which corresponds to .2% of the total dust content of the nebula. These globules move outward from the center with transversal velocities of 60-1600 km s-1. Using the extinction law for globules, we found that the dust grains are similar to the interstellar dust grains. This means that they contribute to the ISM dust population. We concluded that the majority of the globules are not located in bright filaments and we proposed that these globules may be products of cell-like blobs or granules in the atmosphere of the progenitor star. Theses blobs collapse and form globules during the passage of the blast wave during the explosion.

A survey for PAH emission in H II regions, planetary and proto-planetary nebulae

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Demuizon, M.; Cox, P.; Lequeux, J.

1989-01-01

The results of a systematic investigation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) emission in H II regions, planetary nebulae (PN), and proto-planetary nebulae (PNN), are reported. Data is obtained from the low resolution spectra (LRS) of IRAS. The results show that: PAHs are formed in carbon rich objects; and PAH emission is ubiquitous in general interstellar medium and requires the presence of ultraviolet photons, in planetary and proto-planetary nebulae, PAH emission is seen only where an ionizing flux is present and in carbon rich objects.

Planets around Low-mass Stars (PALMS). VI. Discovery of a Remarkably Red Planetary-mass Companion to the AB Dor Moving Group Candidate 2MASS J22362452+4751425*

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bowler, Brendan P.; Liu, Michael C.; Mawet, Dimitri; Ngo, Henry; Malo, Lison; Mace, Gregory N.; McLane, Jacob N.; Lu, Jessica R.; Tristan, Isaiah I.; Hinkley, Sasha; Hillenbrand, Lynne A.; Shkolnik, Evgenya L.; Benneke, Björn; Best, William M. J.

2017-01-01

We report the discovery of an extremely red planetary-mass companion to 2MASS J22362452+4751425, a ≈0.6 M⊙ late-K dwarf likely belonging to the ˜120 Myr AB Doradus moving group. 2M2236+4751 b was identified in multi-epoch NIRC2 adaptive optics imaging at Keck Observatory at a separation of 3\\buildrel{\\prime\\prime}\\over{.} 7, or 230 ± 20 AU in projection at the kinematic distance of 63 ± 5 pc to its host star. Assuming membership in the AB Dor group, as suggested from its kinematics, the inferred mass of 2M2236+4751 b is 11-14 MJup. Follow-up Keck/OSIRIS K-band spectroscopy of the companion reveals strong CO absorption similar to other faint red L dwarfs and lacks signs of methane absorption, despite having an effective temperature of ≈900-1200 K. With a (J-K)MKO color of 2.69 ± 0.12 mag, the near-infrared slope of 2M2236+4751 b is redder than all of the HR 8799 planets and instead resembles the ≈23 Myr isolated planetary-mass object PSO J318.5-22, implying that similarly thick photospheric clouds can persist in the atmospheres of giant planets at ages beyond 100 Myr. In near-infrared color-magnitude diagrams, 2M2236+4751 b is located at the tip of the red L dwarf sequence and appears to define the “elbow” of the AB Dor substellar isochrone separating low-gravity L dwarfs from the cooler young T dwarf track. 2M2236+4751 b is the reddest substellar companion to a star and will be a valuable benchmark to study the shared atmospheric properties of young low-mass brown dwarfs and extrasolar giant planets. Some of the data presented herein were obtained at the W.M. Keck Observatory, which is operated as a scientific partnership among the California Institute of Technology, the University of California and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. The Observatory was made possible by the generous financial support of the W.M. Keck Foundation.

Planetary Radar

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Neish, Catherine D.; Carter, Lynn M.

2015-01-01

This chapter describes the principles of planetary radar, and the primary scientific discoveries that have been made using this technique. The chapter starts by describing the different types of radar systems and how they are used to acquire images and accurate topography of planetary surfaces and probe their subsurface structure. It then explains how these products can be used to understand the properties of the target being investigated. Several examples of discoveries made with planetary radar are then summarized, covering solar system objects from Mercury to Saturn. Finally, opportunities for future discoveries in planetary radar are outlined and discussed.

A Search for Photometric Variability in the Young T3.5 Planetary-mass Companion GU Psc b

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Naud, Marie-Eve; Artigau, Étienne; Rowe, Jason F.; Doyon, René; Malo, Lison; Albert, Loïc; Gagné, Jonathan; Bouchard, Sandie

2017-10-01

We present a photometric J-band variability study of GU Psc b, a T3.5 co-moving planetary-mass companion (9-13 {M}{Jup}) to a young (˜150 Myr) M3 member of the AB Doradus Moving Group. The large separation between GU Psc b and its host star (42″) provides a rare opportunity to study the photometric variability of a planetary-mass companion. The study presented here is based on observations obtained from 2013 to 2014 over three nights with durations of 5-6 hr each with the WIRCam imager at Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope. Photometric variability with a peak-to-peak amplitude of 4 ± 1% at a timescale of ˜6 hr was marginally detected on 2014 October 11. No high-significance variability was detected on 2013 December 22 and 2014 October 10. The amplitude and timescale of the variability seen here, as well as its evolving nature, is comparable to what was observed for a variety of field T dwarfs and suggests that mechanisms invoked to explain brown dwarf variability may be applicable to low-gravity objects such as GU Psc b. Rotation-induced photometric variability due to the formation and dissipation of atmospheric features such as clouds is a plausible hypothesis for the tentative variation detected here. Additional photometric measurements, particularly on longer timescales, will be required to confirm and characterize the variability of GU Psc b, determine its periodicity and to potentially measure its rotation period.

MAVEN Observations of Escaping Planetary Ions from the Martian Atmosphere: Mass, Velocity, and Spatial Distributions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dong, Yaxue; Fang, Xiaohua; Brain, D. A.; McFadden, James P.; Halekas, Jasper; Connerney, Jack

2015-04-01

The Mars-solar wind interaction accelerates and transports planetary ions away from the Martian atmosphere through a number of processes, including ‘pick-up’ by electromagnetic fields. The MAVEN spacecraft has made routine observations of escaping planetary ions since its arrival at Mars in September 2014. The SupraThermal And Thermal Ion Composition (STATIC) instrument measures the ion energy, mass, and angular spectra. It has detected energetic planetary ions during most of the spacecraft orbits, which are attributed to the pick-up process. We found significant variations in the escaping ion mass and velocity distributions from the STATIC data, which can be explained by factors such as varying solar wind conditions, contributions of particles from different source locations and different phases during the pick-up process. We also study the spatial distributions of different planetary ion species, which can provide insight into the physics of ion escaping process and enhance our understanding of atmospheric erosion by the solar wind. Our results will be further interpreted within the context of the upstream solar wind conditions measured by the MAVEN Solar Wind Ion Analyzer (SWIA) instrument and the magnetic field environment measured by the Magnetometer (MAG) instrument. Our study shows that the ion spatial distribution in the Mars-Sun-Electric-Field (MSE) coordinate system and the velocity space distribution with respect to the local magnetic field line can be used to distinguish the ions escaping through the polar plume and those through the tail region. The contribution of the polar plume ion escape to the total escape rate will also be discussed.

Mass and motion of globulettes in the Rosette Nebula

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gahm, G. F.; Persson, C. M.; Mäkelä, M. M.; Haikala, L. K.

2013-07-01

associated with globulettes. Internal gas motions are weak, but some larger objects show velocity-shifted components associated with tails. However, most globulettes show no signs of tails or pronounced bright rims in contradiction to current numerical simulations of clumps exposed to intense stellar radiation. Because of the high density encountered already at the surface, the rims become thin, as evidenced by our Pβ images, which also show extended emission that most likely comes from the backside of the globulettes. We conclude that the entire complex of shells, elephant trunks, and globulettes in the northern part of the nebula is expanding with nearly the same velocity of ~22 km s-1, and with a very small spread in velocity among the globulettes. We note that the velocities observed for background shells do not fit into a spherically expanding nebular complex. Conclusions: Some globulettes are in the process of detaching from elephant trunks and shells, while other more isolated objects must have detached long ago and are lagging behind in the general expansion of the molecular shell. Several globulettes are presently subject to heavy erosion from the intense radiation field from the central stars and eject gas streams (tails), while other quite isolated objects lack such signatures. We envision that after detachment, the objects erode to isolated and dense clumps. The suggestion that some globulettes might collapse to form planetary-mass objects or brown dwarfs is strengthened by our finding of dense cores in several objects. Such free-floating low-mass objects would move at high speed from the start and escape from the region. Based on observations collected at Onsala Space Observatory, Sweden, European Southern Observatory, Chile (084.C-0299(A) and 088.C-0630(A)) and Nordic Optical Telescope, La Palma, Spain, and with the Atacama Pathfinder Experiment (APEX), Llano Chajnantor, Chile (O-088.F-9318A).Table 2 and Appendix A are available in electronic form at http://www.aanda.org

Gastroretentive extended-release floating granules prepared using a novel fluidized hot melt granulation (FHMG) technique.

PubMed

Zhai, H; Jones, D S; McCoy, C P; Madi, A M; Tian, Y; Andrews, G P

2014-10-06

The objective of this work was to investigate the feasibility of using a novel granulation technique, namely, fluidized hot melt granulation (FHMG), to prepare gastroretentive extended-release floating granules. In this study we have utilized FHMG, a solvent free process in which granulation is achieved with the aid of low melting point materials, using Compritol 888 ATO and Gelucire 50/13 as meltable binders, in place of conventional liquid binders. The physicochemical properties, morphology, floating properties, and drug release of the manufactured granules were investigated. Granules prepared by this method were spherical in shape and showed good flowability. The floating granules exhibited sustained release exceeding 10 h. Granule buoyancy (floating time and strength) and drug release properties were significantly influenced by formulation variables such as excipient type and concentration, and the physical characteristics (particle size, hydrophilicity) of the excipients. Drug release rate was increased by increasing the concentration of hydroxypropyl cellulose (HPC) and Gelucire 50/13, or by decreasing the particle size of HPC. Floating strength was improved through the incorporation of sodium bicarbonate and citric acid. Furthermore, floating strength was influenced by the concentration of HPC within the formulation. Granules prepared in this way show good physical characteristics, floating ability, and drug release properties when placed in simulated gastric fluid. Moreover, the drug release and floating properties can be controlled by modification of the ratio or physical characteristics of the excipients used in the formulation.

How Does the Gibbs Inequality Condition Affect the Stability and Detachment of Floating Spheres from the Free Surface of Water?

PubMed

Feng, Dong-xia; Nguyen, Anh V

2016-03-01

Floating objects on the air-water interfaces are central to a number of everyday activities, from walking on water by insects to flotation separation of valuable minerals using air bubbles. The available theories show that a fine sphere can float if the force of surface tension and buoyancies can support the sphere at the interface with an apical angle subtended by the circle of contact being larger than the contact angle. Here we show that the pinning of the contact line at the sharp edge, known as the Gibbs inequality condition, also plays a significant role in controlling the stability and detachment of floating spheres. Specifically, we truncated the spheres with different angles and used a force sensor device to measure the force of pushing the truncated spheres from the interface into water. We also developed a theoretical modeling to calculate the pushing force that in combination with experimental results shows different effects of the Gibbs inequality condition on the stability and detachment of the spheres from the water surface. For small angles of truncation, the Gibbs inequality condition does not affect the sphere detachment, and hence the classical theories on the floatability of spheres are valid. For large truncated angles, the Gibbs inequality condition determines the tenacity of the particle-meniscus contact and the stability and detachment of floating spheres. In this case, the classical theories on the floatability of spheres are no longer valid. A critical truncated angle for the transition from the classical to the Gibbs inequality regimes of detachment was also established. The outcomes of this research advance our understanding of the behavior of floating objects, in particular, the flotation separation of valuable minerals, which often contain various sharp edges of their crystal faces.

Reducing software mass through behavior control. [of planetary roving robots

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Miller, David P.

1992-01-01

Attention is given to the tradeoff between communication and computation as regards a planetary rover (both these subsystems are very power-intensive, and both can be the major driver of the rover's power subsystem, and therefore the minimum mass and size of the rover). Software techniques that can be used to reduce the requirements on both communciation and computation, allowing the overall robot mass to be greatly reduced, are discussed. Novel approaches to autonomous control, called behavior control, employ an entirely different approach, and for many tasks will yield a similar or superior level of autonomy to traditional control techniques, while greatly reducing the computational demand. Traditional systems have several expensive processes that operate serially, while behavior techniques employ robot capabilities that run in parallel. Traditional systems make extensive world models, while behavior control systems use minimal world models or none at all.

Free-Mass and Interface Configurations of Hammering Mechanisms

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bao, Xiaoqi; Sherrit, Stewart; Badescu, Mircea; Bar-Cohen, Yoseph; Atkins, Steve; Ostlund, Patrick N.

2012-01-01

A series of free-mass designs for the ultrasonic/ sonic driller/corer (USDC) has been developed to maximize the transfer of energy from the piezoelectric transducer through the horn to the bit, as well as to minimize potential jamming. A systematic development was made producing novel designs of free-mass configurations where the impact force is spread across a minimal area maximizing the impact on the bit. The designed free masses were made to operate at high temperatures (500 C) as on Venus, and they can be made to operate at extremely low temperature, too. In normal operation, the free mass bounces between the horn and the bit, impacting both repeatedly. The impact stress profile, maximum stress, contact time duration, and the required yielding stress for the materials of the free mass, bit, and horn are all affected by the contact area. A larger contact area results in lower stress in the contact region, and avoids yielding of the materials. However, before the excitation voltage is applied to the transducer, the horn, free mass, and the bit are pressed together. Larger contact area results in a stronger coupling of the bit to the horn transducer, which greatly changes the vibration characteristics of the transducer, and makes the USDC difficult to start. To obtain optimum performance, a catalog of free-mass designs is required, allowing maximum flexibility during trade-off for these conflicting contact area requirements. For this purpose, seven different designs were conceived: point contacts, circular contacts, point/circular contacts, line contacts, ring contacts, line/ring contacts, and dashed line contacts. Besides point/circular and line/ring contacts, the free mass can be designed as any of the above shapes. Depending on the ratio of the diameter to the height, and the free-mass retention method used (the cup or rod), the free mass can be configured with one or more sliding surfaces on the outside or inside diameter surface or both. Matching horn tips

Phytoremediation of Hg and Cd from industrial effluents using an aquatic free floating macrophyte Azolla pinnata.

PubMed

Rai, Prabhat Kumar

2008-01-01

The level of heavy metal pollution in Singrauli, an industrial region in India, was assessed and the phytoremediation capacity of a small water fern, Azolla pinnata R.BR (Azollaceae), was observed to purify waters polluted by two heavy metals, i.e., mercury (Hg) and cadmium (Cd) under a microcosm condition. Azolla pinnata is endemic to India and is an abundant and easy-growing free-floating water fern usually found in the rice fields, polluted ponds, and reservoirs of India. The fern was grown in 24 40-L aquariums containing Hg2+ and Cd2+ ions each in concentrations of 0.5, 1.0, and 3.0 mgL(-1) during the course of this study. The study revealed an inhibition of Azolla pinnata growth by 27.0-33.9% with the highest in the presence of Hg (II) ions at 0.5 mgL(-1) in comparison to the control After 13 days of the experiment, metal contents in the solution were decreased up to 70-94%. In the tissues of Azolla pinnata, the concentration of selected heavy metals during investigation was recorded between 310 and 740 mgKg(-1) dry mass, with the highest levelfoundfor Cd (II) treatment at 3.0 mgL(-1) containing a metal solution.

Planets around pulsars - Implications for planetary formation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bodenheimer, Peter

1993-01-01

Data on planets around pulsars are summarized, and different models intended to explain the formation mechanism are described. Both theoretical and observational evidence suggest that very special circumstances are required for the formation of planetary systems around pulsars, namely, the prior presence of a millisecond pulsar with a close binary companion, probably a low mass main-sequence star. It is concluded that the discovery of two planets around PSR 1257+12 is important for better understanding the problems of dynamics and stellar evolution. The process of planetary formation should be learned through intensive studies of the properties of disks near young objects and application of techniques for detection of planets around main-sequence solar-type stars.

The Search for Young Planetary Systems And the Evolution of Young Stars

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Beichman, Charles A.; Boden, Andrew; Ghez, Andrea; Hartman, Lee W.; Hillenbrand, Lynn; Lunine, Jonathan I.; Simon, Michael J.; Stauffer, John R.; Velusamy, Thangasamy

2004-01-01

and migrate from their place of birth, and about their survival rate. With these data in hand, we will provide data, for the first time, on such important questions as: What processes affect the formation and dynamical evolution of planets? When and where do planets form? What is initial mass distribution of planetary systems around young stars? How might planets be destroyed? What is the origin of the eccentricity of planetary orbits? What is the origin of the apparent dearth of companion objects between planets and brown dwarfs seen in mature stars? The observational strategy is a compromise between the desire to extend the planetary mass function as low as possible and the essential need to build up sufficient statistics on planetary occurrence. About half of the sample will be used to address the "where" and "when" of planet formation. We will study classical T Tauri stars (cTTs) which have massive accretion disks and post- accretion, weak-lined T Tauri stars (wTTs). Preliminary estimates suggest the sample will consist of approx. 30% cTTs and approx. 70% wTTs, driven in part by the difficulty of making accurate astrometric measurements toward objects with strong variability or prominent disks.

Planetary populations in the mass-period diagram: A statistical treatment of exoplanet formation and the role of planet traps

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hasegawa, Yasuhiro; Pudritz, Ralph E., E-mail: yasu@asiaa.sinica.edu.tw, E-mail: pudritz@physics.mcmaster.ca

2013-11-20

The rapid growth of observed exoplanets has revealed the existence of several distinct planetary populations in the mass-period diagram. Two of the most surprising are (1) the concentration of gas giants around 1 AU and (2) the accumulation of a large number of low-mass planets with tight orbits, also known as super-Earths and hot Neptunes. We have recently shown that protoplanetary disks have multiple planet traps that are characterized by orbital radii in the disks and halt rapid type I planetary migration. By coupling planet traps with the standard core accretion scenario, we showed that one can account for themore » positions of planets in the mass-period diagram. In this paper, we demonstrate quantitatively that most gas giants formed at planet traps tend to end up around 1 AU, with most of these being contributed by dead zones and ice lines. We also show that a large fraction of super-Earths and hot Neptunes are formed as 'failed' cores of gas giants—this population being constituted by comparable contributions from dead zone and heat transition traps. Our results are based on the evolution of forming planets in an ensemble of disks where we vary only the lifetimes of disks and their mass accretion rates onto the host star. We show that a statistical treatment of the evolution of a large population of planetary cores caught in planet traps accounts for the existence of three distinct exoplanetary populations—the hot Jupiters, the more massive planets around r = 1 AU, and the short-period super-Earths and hot Neptunes. There are very few populations that feed into the large orbital radii characteristic of the imaged Jovian planet, which agrees with recent surveys. Finally, we find that low-mass planets in tight orbits become the dominant planetary population for low-mass stars (M {sub *} ≤ 0.7 M {sub ☉}).« less

Looking for the Coldest Atmospheres: a Search for Planetary Mass Companions around T and Y Brown Dwarfs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fontanive, Clemence

2017-08-01

We propose to obtain WFC3/IR imaging of the very coolest brown dwarfs (T < 800 K) to search for substellar and planetary-mass companions to these objects. Companions discovered by this program would likely be analogues of the 250 K brown dwarf WISE 0855 and would provide vital benchmark objects for theoretical models, closing the gap in mass and temperature between brown dwarfs and planets. Finding such an object as a member of a binary system would be even more valuable as it would allow for the measurement of dynamical masses. We recently placed the first constraints to date on the binary frequency for brown dwarfs with spectral types >T8. This program will triple our current sample size, a requirement in order to confirm our current results and compare substellar binary properties for various spectral type and age populations. The WFC3/IR plate will allow us to probe near equal-mass binaries down to separations of 0.2 (2-3 AU for the typical distances of our targets). True cool companions should show strong absorption around 1.4 um as a result of the deep water absorption band observed at that wavelength in substellar spectra. We therefore propose observations in the WFC3 F127M and F139M filters which will allow us to robustly identify bona fide candidates and distinguish them from background stars based on this spectral feature. Most of our targets lack suitable NGS AO guide stars or LGS AO tip-tilt stars to be observed with ground-based telescopes, and the 1.4 um water band is often unobservable from the ground due to telluric water absorption. WFC3 on HST is thus the only instrument suitable for these observations.

From Planetary Mapping to Map Production: Planetary Cartography as integral discipline in Planetary Sciences

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nass, Andrea; van Gasselt, Stephan; Hargitai, Hendrik; Hare, Trent; Manaud, Nicolas; Karachevtseva, Irina; Kersten, Elke; Roatsch, Thomas; Wählisch, Marita; Kereszturi, Akos

2016-04-01

Cartography is one of the most important communication channels between users of spatial information and laymen as well as the open public alike. This applies to all known real-world objects located either here on Earth or on any other object in our Solar System. In planetary sciences, however, the main use of cartography resides in a concept called planetary mapping with all its various attached meanings: it can be (1) systematic spacecraft observation from orbit, i.e. the retrieval of physical information, (2) the interpretation of discrete planetary surface units and their abstraction, or it can be (3) planetary cartography sensu strictu, i.e., the technical and artistic creation of map products. As the concept of planetary mapping covers a wide range of different information and knowledge levels, aims associated with the concept of mapping consequently range from a technical and engineering focus to a scientific distillation process. Among others, scientific centers focusing on planetary cartography are the United State Geological Survey (USGS, Flagstaff), the Moscow State University of Geodesy and Cartography (MIIGAiK, Moscow), Eötvös Loránd University (ELTE, Hungary), and the German Aerospace Center (DLR, Berlin). The International Astronomical Union (IAU), the Commission Planetary Cartography within International Cartographic Association (ICA), the Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC), the WG IV/8 Planetary Mapping and Spatial Databases within International Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (ISPRS) and a range of other institutions contribute on definition frameworks in planetary cartography. Classical cartography is nowadays often (mis-)understood as a tool mainly rather than a scientific discipline and an art of communication. Consequently, concepts of information systems, mapping tools and cartographic frameworks are used interchangeably, and cartographic workflows and visualization of spatial information in thematic maps have often been

[Conversion methods of freshwater snail tissue dry mass and ash free dry mass].

PubMed

Zhao, Wei-Hua; Wang, Hai-Jun; Wang, Hong-Zhu; Liu, Xue-Qin

2009-06-01

Mollusk biomass is usually expressed as wet mass with shell, but this expression fails to represent real biomass due to the high calcium carbonate content in shells. Tissue dry mass and ash free dry mass are relatively close to real biomass. However, the determination process of these two parameters is very complicated, and thus, it is necessary to establish simple and practical conversion methods for these two parameters. A total of six taxa of freshwater snails (Bellamya sp., Alocinma longicornis, Parafossarulus striatulus, Parafossarulus eximius, Semisulcospira cancellata, and Radix sp.) common in the Yangtze Basin were selected to explore the relations of their five shell dimension parameters, dry and wet mass with shells with their tissue dry mass and ash free dry mass. The regressions of the tissue dry mass and ash free dry mass with the five shell dimension parameters were all exponential (y = ax(b)). Among them, shell width and shell length were more precise (the average percentage error between observed and predicted value being 22.0% and 22.5%, respectively) than the other three parameters in the conversion of dry mass. Wet mass with shell could be directly converted to tissue dry mass and ash free dry mass, with an average percentage error of 21.7%. According to the essence of definition and the errors of conversion, ash free dry mass would be the optimum parameter to express snail biomass.

The Optical Gravitational Lensing Experiment. Planetary and Low-Luminosity Object Transits in the Carina Fields of the Galactic Disk

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Udalski, A.; Szewczyk, O.; Zebrun, K.; Pietrzynski, G.; Szymanski, M.; Kubiak, M.; Soszynski, I.; Wyrzykowski, L.

2002-12-01

We present results of the second "planetary and low-luminosity object transit" campaign conducted by the OGLE-III survey. Three fields (35' X 35' each) located in the Carina regions of the Galactic disk (l ≈ 290°) were monitored continuously in February-May 2002. About 1150 epochs were collected for each field. The search for low depth transits was conducted on about 103 000 stars with photometry better than 15 mmag. In total, we discovered 62 objects with shallow depth (≤ 0.08 mag) flat-bottomed transits. For each of these objects several individual transits were detected and photometric elements were determined. Also lower limits on radii of the primary and companion were calculated. The 2002 OGLE sample of stars with transiting companions contains considerably more objects that may be Jupiter-sized (R < 1.6 R_Jup) compared to our 2001 sample. There is a group of planetary candidates with the orbital periods close to or shorter than one day. If confirmed as planets, they would be the shortest period extrasolar planetary systems. In general, the transiting objects may be extrasolar planets, brown dwarfs, or M-type dwarfs. One should be, however, aware that in some cases unresolved blends of regular eclipsing stars can mimic transits. Future spectral analysis and eventual determination of the amplitude of radial velocity should allow final classification. High resolution spectroscopic follow-up observations are, therefore, strongly encouraged. All photometric data are available to the astronomical community from the OGLE INTERNET archive.

Robust Wireless Power Transmission to mm-Sized Free-Floating Distributed Implants.

PubMed

Mirbozorgi, S Abdollah; Yeon, Pyungwoo; Ghovanloo, Maysam

2017-06-01

This paper presents an inductive link for wireless power transmission (WPT) to mm-sized free-floating implants (FFIs) distributed in a large three-dimensional space in the neural tissue that is insensitive to the exact location of the receiver (Rx). The proposed structure utilizes a high-Q resonator on the target wirelessly powered plane that encompasses randomly positioned multiple FFIs, all powered by a large external transmitter (Tx). Based on resonant WPT fundamentals, we have devised a detailed method for optimization of the FFIs and explored design strategies and safety concerns, such as coil segmentation and specific absorption rate limits using realistic finite element simulation models in HFSS including head tissue layers, respectively. We have built several FFI prototypes to conduct accurate measurements and to characterize the performance of the proposed WPT method. Measurement results on 1-mm receivers operating at 60 MHz show power transfer efficiency and power delivered to the load at 2.4% and 1.3 mW, respectively, within 14-18 mm of Tx-Rx separation and 7 cm 2 of brain surface.

The Extended Region Around the Planetary Nebula NGC 3242

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2009-01-01

This ultraviolet image from NASA's Galaxy Evolution Explorer shows NGC 3242, a planetary nebula frequently referred to as 'Jupiter's Ghost.'

The unfortunate name of 'planetary nebula' for this class of celestial object is a historical legacy credited to William Herschel during the 18th century a time when telescopes where small and objects like these, at least the central region, looked very similar to gas-giant planets such as Saturn and Jupiter. In fact, NGC 3242 has no relation to Jupiter or any other planet.

Telescopes and their detectors have dramatically improved over the past few centuries. Our understanding of what planetary nebulae truly are has improved accordingly.

When stars with a mass similar to our sun approach the end of their lives by exhausting supplies of hydrogen and helium fuel in their cores, they swell up into cool red-giant stars. In a last gasp before death, they expel the layers of gas in their outer atmosphere. This exposes the core of the dying star, a dense hot ball of carbon and oxygen called a white dwarf. The white dwarf is so hot that it shines very brightly in the ultraviolet. The ultraviolet light from the white dwarf, in turn, ionizes the gaseous material expelled by the star causing it to glow. A planetary nebula is really the death of a low-mass star.

Although low-mass stars like our sun live for billions of years, planetary nebulae only last for about ten thousand years. As the central white dwarf quickly cools and the ultraviolet light dwindles, the surrounding gas also cools and fades.

In this image of NGC 3242 from the Galaxy Evolution Explorer, the extended region around the planetary nebula is shown in dramatic detail. The small circular white and blue area at the center of the image is the well-known portion of the famous planetary nebula. The precise origin and composition of the extended wispy white features is not known for certain. It is most likely material ejected during the star's red

Speeding up low-mass planetary microlensing simulations and modeling: The caustic region of influence

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Penny, Matthew T., E-mail: penny@astronomy.ohio-state.edu

2014-08-01

Extensive simulations of planetary microlensing are necessary both before and after a survey is conducted: before to design and optimize the survey and after to understand its detection efficiency. The major bottleneck in such computations is the computation of light curves. However, for low-mass planets, most of these computations are wasteful, as most light curves do not contain detectable planetary signatures. In this paper, I develop a parameterization of the binary microlens that is conducive to avoiding light curve computations. I empirically find analytic expressions describing the limits of the parameter space that contain the vast majority of low-mass planetmore » detections. Through a large-scale simulation, I measure the (in)completeness of the parameterization and the speed-up it is possible to achieve. For Earth-mass planets in a wide range of orbits, it is possible to speed up simulations by a factor of ∼30-125 (depending on the survey's annual duty-cycle) at the cost of missing ∼1% of detections (which is actually a smaller loss than for the arbitrary parameter limits typically applied in microlensing simulations). The benefits of the parameterization probably outweigh the costs for planets below 100 M{sub ⊕}. For planets at the sensitivity limit of AFTA-WFIRST, simulation speed-ups of a factor ∼1000 or more are possible.« less

Discovery of a wide planetary-mass companion to the young M3 star GU PSC

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Naud, Marie-Eve; Artigau, Étienne; Malo, Lison

2014-05-20

We present the discovery of a comoving planetary-mass companion ∼42'' (∼2000 AU) from a young M3 star, GU Psc, a likely member of the young AB Doradus Moving Group (ABDMG). The companion was first identified via its distinctively red i – z color (>3.5) through a survey made with Gemini-S/GMOS. Follow-up Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope/WIRCam near-infrared (NIR) imaging, Gemini-N/GNIRS NIR spectroscopy and Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer photometry indicate a spectral type of T3.5 ± 1 and reveal signs of low gravity which we attribute to youth. Keck/Adaptive Optics NIR observations did not resolve the companion as a binary. A comparison with atmospheremore » models indicates T {sub eff} = 1000-1100 K and log g = 4.5-5.0. Based on evolution models, this temperature corresponds to a mass of 9-13 M {sub Jup} for the age of ABDMG (70-130 Myr). The relatively well-constrained age of this companion and its very large angular separation to its host star will allow its thorough characterization and will make it a valuable comparison for planetary-mass companions that will be uncovered by forthcoming planet-finder instruments such as Gemini Planet Imager and SPHERE 9.« less

Intuitive Physics of Free Fall: An Information Integration Approach to the Mass-Speed Belief

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Vicovaro, Michele

2014-01-01

In this study, the intuitive physics of free fall was explored using Information Integration Theory and Functional Measurement. The participants had to rate the speed of objects differing in mass and height of release at the end of an imagined free fall. According to physics, falling speed increases with height of release but it is substantially…

Impact on floating membranes.

PubMed

Vandenberghe, Nicolas; Duchemin, Laurent

2016-05-01

When impacted by a rigid body, a thin elastic membrane with negligible bending rigidity floating on a liquid pool deforms. Two axisymmetric waves radiating from the impact point propagate. First, a longitudinal wave front, associated with in-plane deformation of the membrane and traveling at constant speed, separates an outward stress-free domain from a stretched domain. Then, in the stretched domain a dispersive transverse wave travels at a speed that depends on the local stretching rate. The dynamics is found to be self-similar in time. Using this property, we show that the wave dynamics is similar to the capillary waves that propagate at a liquid-gas interface but with a surface tension coefficient that depends on impact speed. During wave propagation, we observe the development of a buckling instability that gives rise to radial wrinkles. We address the dynamics of this fluid-body system, including the rapid deceleration of an impactor of finite mass, an issue that may have applications in the domain of absorption of impact energy.

The Making of a Pre-Planetary Nebula

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kohler, Susanna

2017-07-01

The gas expelled by dying stars gets twisted into intricate shapes and patterns as nebulae form. Now a team of researchers might have some answers about how this happens.Whats a Pre-Planetary Nebula?This H-R diagram for the globular cluster M5 shows where AGB stars lie: they are represented by blue markers here. The AGB is one of the final stages in a low- to intermediate-mass stars lifetime. [Lithopsian]When a low- to intermediate-mass star approaches the end of its lifetime, it moves onto the Asymptotic Giant Branch (AGB) in the Herzsprung-Russell diagram. As the star exhausts its fuel here, it shrugs off its outer layers. These layers of gas then encase the stars core, which is not yet hot enough to ionize the gas and cause it to glow.Instead, during this time the gas is relatively cool and dark, faintly reflecting light from the star and emitting only very dim infrared emission of its own. At this stage, the gas represents a pre-planetary nebula. Only later when the stellar core contracts enough to heat up and emit ionizing radiation does the nebula begin to properly glow, at which point it qualifies as a full planetary nebula.Images of OH231 in optical light (top) and 12CO (bottom) taken from the literature. [See Balick et al. 2017 for full credit]Unexpected ShapesPre-planetary nebulae are a very short-lived evolutionary stage, so weve observed only a few hundred of them which has left many unanswered questions about these objects.One particular mystery is that of their shapes: if these nebulae are formed by stars expelling their outer layers, we would naively expect them to be simple spherical shells and yet we observe pre-planetary nebulae to have intricate shapes and patterns. How does the star create these asymmetric shapes? A team of scientists led by Bruce Balick (University of Washington, Seattle) has now used simulations to address this question.Injecting MassBalick and collaborators use 3D hydrodynamic simulations to model one particular pre-planetary

The Allegheny Observatory search for planetary systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gatewood, George D.

1989-01-01

The accomplishments of the observatory's search for planetary systems are summarized. Among these were the construction, implementation, and regular use of the Multichannel Astrometric Photometer (MAP), and the design, fabrication and use of the second largest refractor objective built since 1950. The MAP parallax and planetary observing programs are described. Various developments concerning alternate solid state photodetectors and telescope instrumentation are summarized. The extreme accuracy of the system is described in relation to a study of the position and velocity of the members of the open cluster Upgren 1. The binary star system stringently tests the theory of stellar evolution since it is composed of an evolved giant F5 III and a subgiant F5 IV star. A study that attempts to measure the luminosities, surface temperatures, and masses of these stars is discussed.

Spatially Resolved Far-Infrared Spectroscopic Analysis of Planetary Nebulae

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rattray, Rebecca; Ueta, Toshiya

2015-01-01

Planetary Nebulae (PNs) are late-life intermediate-mass (1-8 solar mass) stars that have shed their outer layers. A wide variety of morphologies and physical conditions is seen in PNs, but a complete understanding of what causes these various conditions is still needed. Spatially resolved far-infrared spectroscopic analysis has been performed on 11 targets using both PACS and SPIRE instruments on the Herschel Space Observatory as part of the Herschel Planetary Nebula Survey (HerPlaNS). Far-IR lines probe the ionized parts of the nebulae and suffer less extinction than optical lines, so observations in the far-IR are critical to our complete understanding of PNs. Because PNs are extended objects, the spectral mapping capabilities of both PACS and SPIRE allow us to better understand the spatial variations of the objects by tracking line strengths as a function of location within the nebula. The far-IR lines detected in this study can be used as tracers of electron density and electron temperature which are critical parameters in radiative transfer modeling of PNs. Information on atomic, ionic, and molecular lines identified in these 11 targets will be presented.

Massive pulmonary embolism caused by internal iliac vein thrombosis with free-floating thrombus formation in the inferior vena cava.

PubMed

Brodmann, Marianne; Gary, Thomas; Hafner, Franz; Tiesenhausen, Kurt; Deutschmann, Hannes; Pilger, Enrst

2012-04-01

Nowadays, compression ultrasonography (CUS) is the gold standard for the routine diagnosis of deep venous thrombosis (DVT). The drawback of CUS is the low sensitivity concerning the diagnosis of isolated pelvic vein thrombosis, especially referring to isolated internal iliac vein and ovarian vein thromboses. Therefore, magnetic resonance (MR) venography has become a valuable alternative. We present the case of a 45-year-old female patient with a massive pulmonary embolism with the indication for thrombolytic therapy due to severe right ventricular overload. We were not able to detect a DVT in the lower limbs of this patient with CUS. However, further DVT workup by MR venography showed a free-floating thrombus formation originating from the right internal iliac veins into the inferior vena cava. Owing to the fact that this thrombus was free floating, surgical removal of the thrombus was scheduled and performed successfully. In some patients it might be important to look for so-called rare causes of pulmonary embolism, even when CUS of the lower limbs does not reveal any DVTs. The diagnostic procedure of choice for these patients seems to be MR phlebography, as iliac and pelvic veins can be evaluated without radiation exposure with this procedure. Copyright © 2012 Annals of Vascular Surgery Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

MOMA and other next-generation ion trap mass spectrometers for planetary exploration

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Arevalo, R. D., Jr.; Brinckerhoff, W. B.; Getty, S.; Mahaffy, P. R.; van Amerom, F. H. W.; Danell, R.; Pinnick, V. T.; Li, X.; Grubisic, A.; Southard, A. E.; Hovmand, L.; Cottin, H.; Makarov, A.

2016-12-01

Since the 1970's, quadrupole mass spectrometer (QMS) systems have served as low-risk, cost-efficient means to explore the inner and outer reaches of the solar system. These legacy instruments have interrogated the compositions of the lunar exosphere (LADEE), surface materials on Mars (MSL), and the atmospheres of Venus (Pioneer Venus), Mars (MAVEN) and outer planets (Galileo and Cassini-Huygens). However, the in situ detection of organic compounds on Mars and Titan, coupled with ground-based measurements of amino acids in meteorites and a variety of organics in comets, has underlined the importance of molecular disambiguation in the characterization of high-priority planetary environments. The Mars Organic Molecule Analyzer (MOMA) flight instrument, centered on a linear ion trap, enables the in situ detection of volatile and non-volatile organics, but also the characterization of molecular structures through SWIFT ion isolation/excitation and tandem mass spectrometry (MSn). Like the SAM instrument on MSL, the MOMA investigation also includes a gas chromatograph (GC), thereby enabling the chemical separation of potential isobaric interferences based on retention times. The Linear Ion Trap Mass Spectrometer (LITMS; PI: William Brinckerhoff), developed to TRL 6 via the ROSES MatISSE Program, augments the core MOMA design and adds: expanded mass range (from 20 - 2000 Da); high-temperature evolved gas analysis (up to 1300°C); and, dual polarity detector assemblies (supporting the measurement of negative ions). The LITMS instrument will be tested in the field in 2017 through the Atacama Rover Astrobiology Drilling Studies (ARADS; PI: Brian Glass) ROSES PSTAR award. Following on these advancements, the Advanced Resolution Organic Molecule Analyzer (AROMA; PI: Ricardo Arevalo Jr.), supported through the ROSES PICASSO Program, combines a highly capable MOMA/LITMS-like linear ion trap and the ultrahigh resolution CosmOrbitrap mass analyzer developed by a consortium of five

Tracing the Mass of Early-type Galaxies using Planetary Nebulae

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sluis, A. P. N.; William, T. B.

2002-12-01

We report on observations of two ellipticals (NGC 3379 and NGC 1549) and two S0s (NGC 3384 and NGC 4636) performed with the Rutgers Fabry-Perot (RFP). The observations are part of a larger project to study the distribution of mass in the outer regions of early-type galaxies. Efforts to determine this distribution are generally hampered by the scarcity of useful tracers of the potential at large radii. Ellipticals and S0s have steep surface brightness profiles that make absorption line spectroscopy of the stellar population practically impossible beyond a few kpc from the center. Also, their gas content is low and does not extend far beyond the nucleus. Planetary Nebulae (PNe) offer a way around these problems: as remants of intermediate mass stars we expect them to follow the stellar light distribution and be numerous enough to be an effective tracer. PNe radiate hundreds of solar luminosities in a few emission lines (mostly [OIII] 5007 Å), making it possible to detect them over extragalactic distances and at the same time measure their line of sight velocities using the RFP. We present the photometry and the kinematics of the PN systems as well as some simple dynamical mass models for the four galaxies mentioned above.

Hydrodynamic and Aerodynamic Tests of Models of Floats for Single-float Seaplanes NACA Models 41-D, 41-E, 61-A, 73, and 73-A

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Parkinson, J B; HOUSE R O

1938-01-01

Tests were made in the NACA tank and in the NACA 7 by 10 foot wind tunnel on two models of transverse step floats and three models of pointed step floats considered to be suitable for use with single float seaplanes. The object of the program was the reduction of water resistance and spray of single float seaplanes without reducing the angle of dead rise believed to be necessary for the satisfactory absorption of the shock loads. The results indicated that all the models have less resistance and spray than the model of the Mark V float and that the pointed step floats are somewhat superior to the transverse step floats in these respects. Models 41-D, 61-A, and 73 were tested by the general method over a wide range of loads and speeds. The results are presented in the form of curves and charts for use in design calculations.

An ischemic stroke patient with free floating thrombus in carotid artery, successfully treated by open carotid thrombectomy: a first case report in Nepal.

PubMed

Shrestha, Prabin; Adhikari, Rupendra; Tamrakar, Samantha; Pant, Basanta; Koirala, Bhagwan; Yamaguchi, Satoshi; Kurisu, Kaoru

2012-12-01

Free floating thrombus in the carotid artery is a well-known phenomenon, though relatively rare. We present a case in which we performed open surgery and achieved successful retrieval of the thrombus. A 40 year-old male patient presented with ischemic stroke and mild left hemiparesis. Computerized tomography and magnetic resonance imaging showed infarction in the right parieto-occipital area. Carotid Doppler study showed carotid stenosis on the right side. Further investigation with CT angiography of the neck vessels confirmed significant carotid artery occlusion with a free-floating thrombus in the internal carotid artery. Carotid endarterectomy was planned under EEG monitoring. The right carotid artery was exposed with a vertical incision along the medial margin of the sternocleido-mastoid muscle. The carotid artery was opened and, as expected, showed a soft, mobile thrombus. Thus thrombectomy was planned. A 2 Fr fogarty catheter was introduced distal to the thrombus, the balloon was inflated and pulled back gently, which removed the thrombus completely. There was no postoperative complication and the patient is fine at 1 year follow-up.

Modelling the Diversity of Outer Planetary Systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lissauer, Jack J.; Levison, H. F.; Duncan, M. J.; DeVincenzi, Donald L. (Technical Monitor)

1998-01-01

The process of planetary growth is extremely complicated, involving a myriad of physical and chemical processes, many of which are poorly understood. The ultimate configuration that a planetary system attains depends upon the properties of the disk out of which it grew, of the star at the center of the disk and, at least in some cases, of the interstellar environment. In an effort to numerically survey the possible diversity of planetary systems, we have constructed synthetic systems of giant planets and integrated their orbits to determine the dynamical lifetimes and thus the viability of these systems. Our construction algorithm begins with 110 -- 180 planetesimals located between 4 and 40 AU from a one solar mass star; most initial planetesimals have masses several tenths that of Earth. We integrate the orbits of these bodies subject to mutual gravitational perturbations and -as drag for 10(exp 6) - 10(exp 7) years, merging any pair of planetesimals which pass within one-tenth of a Hill Sphere of one another and adding "gas" to embryos larger than 10 Earth masses. Use of such large planetesimal radii provided sufficient damping to prevent the system from excessive dynamical heating. Subsequently, systems were evolved without gas drag, either with the enlarged radii or with more realistic radii. Systems took from a few million years to greater than ten billion years to become stable (10(exp 9) years without mergers of ejections). Some of the systems produced with the enlarged radii closely resemble our outer Solar System. Many systems contained only Uranus-mass objects. Encounters in simulations using realistic radii resulted in ejections, typically leaving only a few planets per system, most of which were on very eccentric orbits. Some of the systems that we constructed were stable for at least a billion years despite undergoing macroscopic orbital changes on much shorter timescales.

Atmospheric Excitation of Planetary Normal Modes

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Tanimoto, Toshiro

2001-01-01

The objectives of this study were to: (1) understand the phenomenon of continuous free oscillations of the Earth and (2) examine the idea of using this phenomenon for planetary seismology. We first describe the results on (1) and present our evaluations of the idea (2) in the final section. In 1997, after almost forty years since the initial attempt by Benioff et al, continuous free oscillations of the Earth were discovered. Spheroidal fundamental modes between 2 and 7 millihertz are excited continuously with acceleration amplitudes of about 0.3-0.5 nanogals. The signal is now commonly found in virtually all data recorded by STS-1 type broadband seismometers at quiet sites. Seasonal variation in amplitude and the existence of two coupled modes between the atmosphere and the solid Earth support that these oscillations are excited by the atmosphere. Stochastic excitation due to atmospheric turbulence is a favored mechanism, providing a good match between theory and data. The atmosphere has ample energy to support this theory because excitation of these modes require only 500-10000 W whereas the atmosphere contains about 117 W of kinetic energy. An application of this phenomenon includes planetary seismology, because other planets may be oscillating due to atmospheric excitation. The interior structure of planets could be learned by determining the eigenfrequencies in the continuous free oscillations. It is especially attractive to pursue this idea for tectonically quiet planets, since quakes may be too infrequent to be recorded by seismic instruments.

Fat-free mass depletion and inflammation in patients with bronchiectasis.

PubMed

Olveira, Gabriel; Olveira, Casilda; Gaspar, Inmaculada; Porras, Nuria; Martín-Núñez, Gracia; Rubio, Elehazara; Colomo, Natalia; Rojo-Martínez, Gemma; Soriguer, Federico

2012-12-01

Fat-free mass depletion has been related to increased inflammatory activity and to increased morbidity and mortality in chronic respiratory diseases. The aims of our study were to determine the nutritional status and serum levels of adipocytokines and inflammatory cytokines in patients with bronchiectasis of any etiology and their relation with respiratory parameters. A cross-sectional study was designed that included patients aged >14 years with diagnostic criteria for bronchiectasis. Anthropometric parameters; a diet questionnaire; hand grip dynamometry; levels of leptin, adiponectin, interleukin-6 (IL-6), tumor necrosis factor-α, and ultrasensitive C-reactive protein; as well as respiratory parameters (ie, clinical, radiologic, and spirometric values) were assessed. Ninety-three clinically stable patients were recruited, 43 with cystic fibrosis, 31 with noncystic fibrosis bronchiectasis, and 19 with cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator-related bronchiectasis. Fat-free mass depletion was present in 31% of patients, with no differences according to the etiology of the bronchiectasis. Correlations were found between inflammatory cytokines (ie, IL-6) and exacerbations, bronchorrea, forced expiratory volume in 1 second, and Bhalla score. Patients with worse respiratory disease severity, malnutrition, and diabetes had significantly higher levels of IL-6. Adiponectin correlated significantly and positively with fat mass and fat mass index and negatively with fat-free mass, fat-free mass index, and hand dynamometry. Leptin correlated positively with body mass index, fat mass and fat mass index, and negatively with fat-free mass, fat-free mass index, and dynamometry. Patients with bronchiectasis present a high percentage of fat-free mass depletion, independent of the etiology of the disease. The levels of inflammatory cytokines (especially IL-6) may be useful markers of disease severity. Adiponectin levels were higher in patients with fat-free mass

Association of physical activity with muscular strength and fat-free mass in adolescents: the HELENA study.

PubMed

Moliner-Urdiales, Diego; Ortega, Francisco B; Vicente-Rodriguez, Germán; Rey-Lopez, Juan P; Gracia-Marco, Luis; Widhalm, Kurt; Sjöström, Michael; Moreno, Luis A; Castillo, Manuel J; Ruiz, Jonatan R

2010-08-01

The objective of this study is to analyse the association of objectively assessed physical activity (PA) with muscular strength and fat-free mass in adolescents, and to determine whether meeting the current PA recommendations is associated with higher levels of muscular strength and fat-free mass. The present cross-sectional study comprised 363 Spanish adolescents (180 females) aged 12.5-17.5 years. PA was assessed by accelerometry and expressed as average PA (counts/min), and min/day of inactive, light, moderate, vigorous and moderate to vigorous PA (MVPA). MVPA was dichotomized into < 60 min/day and > or = 60. Upper body muscular strength was measured with the handgrip strength test, and lower body muscular strength was measured with the standing broad jump, squat jump, counter movement jump and Abalakov tests. Fat-free mass was measured by DXA. We observed positive associations between vigorous PA and all the lower body muscular strength tests except for the counter movement jump in males. PA was not associated with fat-free mass in both males and females. Male adolescents engaged in at least 60 min/day MVPA performed better in the standing broad jump test. In conclusion, the findings of the present study suggest that only vigorous PA is associated with muscular strength, particularly lower-body muscular strength in male adolescents.

freeQuant: A Mass Spectrometry Label-Free Quantification Software Tool for Complex Proteome Analysis.

PubMed

Deng, Ning; Li, Zhenye; Pan, Chao; Duan, Huilong

2015-01-01

Study of complex proteome brings forward higher request for the quantification method using mass spectrometry technology. In this paper, we present a mass spectrometry label-free quantification tool for complex proteomes, called freeQuant, which integrated quantification with functional analysis effectively. freeQuant consists of two well-integrated modules: label-free quantification and functional analysis with biomedical knowledge. freeQuant supports label-free quantitative analysis which makes full use of tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) spectral count, protein sequence length, shared peptides, and ion intensity. It adopts spectral count for quantitative analysis and builds a new method for shared peptides to accurately evaluate abundance of isoforms. For proteins with low abundance, MS/MS total ion count coupled with spectral count is included to ensure accurate protein quantification. Furthermore, freeQuant supports the large-scale functional annotations for complex proteomes. Mitochondrial proteomes from the mouse heart, the mouse liver, and the human heart were used to evaluate the usability and performance of freeQuant. The evaluation showed that the quantitative algorithms implemented in freeQuant can improve accuracy of quantification with better dynamic range.

Two-step Laser Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometry to Elucidate Organic Diversity in Planetary Surface Materials.

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Getty, Stephanie A.; Brinckerhoff, William B.; Cornish, Timothy; Li, Xiang; Floyd, Melissa; Arevalo, Ricardo Jr.; Cook, Jamie Elsila; Callahan, Michael P.

2013-01-01

Laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (LD-TOF-MS) holds promise to be a low-mass, compact in situ analytical capability for future landed missions to planetary surfaces. The ability to analyze a solid sample for both mineralogical and preserved organic content with laser ionization could be compelling as part of a scientific mission pay-load that must be prepared for unanticipated discoveries. Targeted missions for this instrument capability include Mars, Europa, Enceladus, and small icy bodies, such as asteroids and comets.

Floating aerial LED signage based on aerial imaging by retro-reflection (AIRR).

PubMed

Yamamoto, Hirotsugu; Tomiyama, Yuka; Suyama, Shiro

2014-11-03

We propose a floating aerial LED signage technique by utilizing retro-reflection. The proposed display is composed of LEDs, a half mirror, and retro-reflective sheeting. Directivity of the aerial image formation and size of the aerial image have been investigated. Furthermore, a floating aerial LED sign has been successfully formed in free space.

Probing the Molecular Outflows of the Coldest Known Object in the Universe: The Boomerang Nebula

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sahai, Raghvendra; Vlemmings, W.; Nyman, L. A.; Huggins, P.

2012-05-01

The Boomerang Nebula is the coldest known object in the Universe, and an extreme member of the class of Pre-Planetary Nebulae, objects which represent a short-lived transitional phase between the AGB and Planetary Nebula evolutionary stages. The Boomerang's estimated prodigious mass-loss rate (0.001 solar masses/year) and low-luminosity (300 Lsun) lack an explanation in terms of current paradigms for dusty mass-loss and standard evolutionary theory of intermediate-mass stars. Single-dish CO J=1-0 observations (with a 45 arcsec beam) show that the high-speed outflow in this object has cooled to a temperature significantly below the temperature of the cosmic background radiation. We report on our high-resolution ALMA mapping of the CO lines in this ultra-cold nebula to determine the origin of these extreme conditions and robustly confirm current estimates of the fundamental physical properties of its ultra-cold outflow.

Comparison of potentially pathogenic free-living amoeba hosts by Legionella spp. in substrate-associated biofilms and floating biofilms from spring environments.

PubMed

Hsu, Bing-Mu; Huang, Chin-Chun; Chen, Jung-Sheng; Chen, Nai-Hsiung; Huang, Jen-Te

2011-10-15

This study compares five genera of free-living amoebae (FLA) hosts by Legionella spp. in the fixed and floating biofilm samples from spring environments. Detection rate of Legionella spp. was 26.9% for the floating biofilms and 3.1% for the fixed biofilms. Acanthamoeba spp., Hartmanella vermiformis, and Naegleria spp. were more frequently detected in floating biofilm than in fixed biofilm samples. The percentage of pathogenic Acanthamoeba spp. among all the genus Acanthamoeba detected positive samples was 19.6%. The potential pathogenic Naegleria spp. (for example, Naegleria australiensis, Naegleria philippinensis, and Naegleria italica) was 54.2% to all the Naegleria detected positive samples. In the study, 12 serotypes of possible pneumonia causing Legionella spp. were detected, and their percentage in all the Legionella containing samples was 42.4%. The FLA parasitized by Legionella included unnamed Acanthamoeba genotype, Acanthamoeba griffini, Acanthamoeba jacobsi, H. vermiformis, and N. australiensis. Significant differences were also observed between the presence/absence of H. vermiformis and Legionella parasitism in FLA. Comparisons between the culture-confirmed method and the PCR-based detection method for detecting FLA and Legionella in biofilms showed great variation. Therefore, using these analysis methods together to detect FLA and Legionella is recommended. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Formation of Giant Planets and Brown Dwarves

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lissauer, Jack J.

2003-01-01

According to the prevailing core instability model, giant planets begin their growth by the accumulation of small solid bodies, as do terrestrial planets. However, unlike terrestrial planets, the growing giant planet cores become massive enough that they are able to accumulate substantial amounts of gas before the protoplanetary disk dissipates. Models predict that rocky planets should form in orbit about most stars. It is uncertain whether or not gas giant planet formation is common, because most protoplanetary disks may dissipate before solid planetary cores can grow large enough to gravitationally trap substantial quantities of gas. Ongoing theoretical modeling of accretion of giant planet atmospheres, as well as observations of protoplanetary disks, will help decide this issue. Observations of extrasolar planets around main sequence stars can only provide a lower limit on giant planet formation frequency . This is because after giant planets form, gravitational interactions with material within the protoplanetary disk may cause them to migrat inwards and be lost to the central star. The core instability model can only produce planets greater than a few jovian masses within protoplanetary disks that are more viscous than most such disks are believed to be. Thus, few brown dwarves (objects massive enough to undergo substantial deuterium fusion, estimated to occur above approximately 13 jovian masses) are likely to be formed in this manner. Most brown dwarves, as well as an unknown number of free-floating objects of planetary mass, are probably formed as are stars, by the collapse of extended gas/dust clouds into more compact objects.

Autonomous Trans-Antartic expeditions: an initiative for advancing planetary mobility system technology while addressing Earth science objectives in Antartica

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Carsey, F.; Schenker, P.; Blamont, J.

2001-01-01

A workshop on Antartic Autonomous Scientific Vehicles and Traverses met at the National Geographic Society in February to discuss scientific objectives and benefits of the use of rovers such as are being developed for use in planetary exploration.

Occurrence of organic arsenic species in a 4-m deep free-floating mire

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lobianco, Daniela; Zaccone, Claudio; Raber, Georg; D'Orazio, Valeria; Miano, Teodoro; Francesconi, Kevin

2017-04-01

Wetlands play a key role in the fate of major and trace elements, affecting their environmental mobility and ecotoxicity. Arsenic (As) is a chalcophile element that is recognized as a serious health risk worldwide. Inorganic forms of this metalloid are dominant in soils, whereas the organic forms generally occur only in trace amounts. Nevertheless, methylation processes are responsible for the mobilization of As in several ecosystems, especially in anoxic conditions. Peat cores from ombrotrophic bogs have been used to determine atmospheric depositional fluxes of total As over centuries, although the contribution of organic vs inorganic As species has been rarely considered. Here, 47 peat samples collected throughout a 400-cm deep, free-floating mire have been analysed for total As and for its organic species, including dimethylarsinic acid (DMA), methylarsonic acid (MA), trimethylarsine oxide (TMAO) and arsenobetaine (AB) by HPLC-ICP-MS. Total As concentration throughout the profile ranged between 0.20 and 9.79 mg/kg (1.41±1.36 mg/kg; mean ± st. dev.), showing values that are quite low compared to other mire ecosystems. Organic As species (DMA+MA+TMAO+AB) account, on average, for 28±10% of total As (range 6-47%; median 28%), and for 41±14% of the extracted As (range 7-73%; median 42%). The relative abundance of organoarsenicals generally followed the order DMA>TMAO˜MA>>AB, and was not correlated with main physical and chemical properties of peat, including its degree of decomposition. There was, however, a highly significant (p <0.001) statistical correlation among all organic As compounds. This result provides new insights into the occurrence of organic As species in floating mires, suggesting a possible common biological pathway for their formation.

Association between fat mass index and fat-free mass index values and cardiovascular risk in adolescents

PubMed Central

de Oliveira, Patrícia Morais; da Silva, Fabiana Almeida; Oliveira, Renata Maria Souza; Mendes, Larissa Loures; Pereira, Michele; Cândido, Ana Paula Carlos

2016-01-01

Abstract Objective: To describe the association between fat mass index and fat-free mass index values and factors associated with cardiovascular risk in adolescents in the city of Juiz de Fora, Minas Gerais. Methods: Cross-sectional study was with 403 adolescents aged 10–14 years, from public and private schools. Anthropometric, clinical, and biochemical measurements were obtained, as well as self-reported time spent performing physical exercises, sedentary activities and sexual maturation stage. Results: Regarding the nutritional status, 66.5% of the adolescents had normal weight, 19.9% were overweight and 10.2% were obese. For both genders, the fat mass index was higher in adolescents who had high serum triglycerides, body mass index and waist circumference. Conclusions: Adolescents who had anthropometric, clinical and biochemical characteristics considered to be at risk for the development of cardiovascular disease had higher values of fat mass index. Different methodologies for the assessment of body composition make health promotion and disease prevention more effective. PMID:26542380

Planetary Geomorphology.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Baker, Victor R.

1984-01-01

Discusses various topics related to planetary geomorphology, including: research techniques; such geomorphic processes as impact, volcanic, degradational, eolian, and hillslope/mass movement processes; and channels and valleys. Indicates that the subject should be taught as a series of scientific questions rather than scientific results of…

SEARCHING FOR SCATTERERS: HIGH-CONTRAST IMAGING OF YOUNG STARS HOSTING WIDE-SEPARATION PLANETARY-MASS COMPANIONS

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Bryan, Marta L.; Mawet, Dimitri; Bowler, Brendan P.

2016-08-20

We have conducted an angular differential imaging survey with NIRC2 at Keck in search of close-in substellar companions to a sample of seven systems with confirmed planetary-mass companions (PMCs) on wide orbits (>50 au). These wide-separation PMCs pose significant challenges to all three possible formation mechanisms: core accretion plus scattering, disk instability, and turbulent fragmentation. We explore the possibility that these companions formed closer in and were scattered out to their present-day locations by searching for other massive bodies at smaller separations. The typical sensitivity for this survey is Δ K ∼ 12.5 at 1″. We identify eight candidate companions,more » whose masses would reach as low as one Jupiter mass if gravitationally bound. From our multi-epoch astrometry we determine that seven of these are conclusively background objects, while the eighth near DH Tau is ambiguous and requires additional monitoring. We rule out the presence of >7 M {sub Jup} bodies in these systems down to 15–50 au that could be responsible for scattering. This result combined with the totality of evidence suggests that dynamical scattering is unlikely to have produced this population of PMCs. We detect orbital motion from the companions ROXs 42B b and ROXs 12 b, and from this determine 95% upper limits on the companions’ eccentricities of 0.58 and 0.83 respectively. Finally, we find that the 95% upper limit on the occurrence rate of additional planets with masses between 5 and 15 M {sub Jup} outside of 40 au in systems with PMCs is 54%.« less

Exploration Consequences of Particle Radiation Environments at Airless Planetary Surfaces: Lessons Learned at the Moon by LRO/CRaTER and Scaling to Other Solar System Objects

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Spence, H. E.

2017-12-01

We examine and compare the energetic particle ionizing radiation environments at airless planetary surfaces throughout the solar system. Energetic charged particles fill interplanetary space and bathe the environments of planetary objects with a ceaseless source of sometimes powerful yet ever-present ionizing radiation. In turn, these charged particles interact with planetary bodies in various ways, depending upon the properties of the body as well as upon the nature of the charged particles themselves. The Cosmic Ray Telescope for the Effects of Radiation (CRaTER) on the Lunar Reconnaisance Orbiter (LRO), launched in 2009, continues to provide new insights into the ways by which the lunar surface is influenced by these energetic particles. In this presentation, we briefly review some of these mechanisms and how they operate at the Moon, and then compare and contrast the radiation environments at other atmospherereless planetary objects within our solar system that are potential future human exploration targets. In particular, we explore two primary sources of ionizing radiation, galactic cosmic rays (GCR) and solar energetic particles (SEP), in the environments of planetary objects that have weak or absent atmospheres and intrinsic magnetic fields. We motivate the use of simplified scaling relationships with heliocentric distance to estimate their intensity, which then serves as a basis for estimating the relative importance of various energetic particle and planetary surface physical interactions, in the context of humankind's expanding explorations beyond low-Earth orbit.

Rise of planetary bodies.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Czechowski, Z.; Leliwa-Kopystyński, J.; Teisseyre, R.

Contents: 1. On the probability of the formation of planetary systems. 2. Condensation triggered by supernova explosion and tidal capture theory. 3. Foundations of accretion theory. 4. The structure and evolution of the protoplanetary disk. 5. Coagulation of orbiting bodies. 6. Collision phenomena related to planetology: accretion, fragmentation, cratering. 7. Dynamics of planetesimals: Introduction, Safronov's approach, elements of the kinetic theory of gases, Nakagawa's approach, approaches considering inelastic collisions and gravitational encounters of planetesimals, Hämeen-Anttila approach, planetesimals with different masses. 8. Growth of the planetary embryo: Basic equations, model of growth of planetary embryos. 9. Origin of the Moon and the satellites.

A Combined HIPPARCOS and Multichannel Astrometric Photometer Study of the Proposed Planetary System of Rho Coronae Borealis

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gatewood, George; Han, Inwoo; Black, David C.

2001-01-01

Hipparcos and Multichannel Astrometric Photometer (MAP) observations of rho Coronae Borealis independently display astrometric motion at the period of the proposed extrasolar planetary companion to the star. Individual least-squares fits to each astrometric data set yield independent estimates of the semimajor axis, inclination, and node angle that are in excellent agreement. A combined solution of the Hipparcos and MAP data yields an inclination of 0.5 deg, a node at 30.5 +/- 12.4, and a semimajor axis of 1.66 +/- 0.35 mas, indicating a companion mass of 0.14 +/- 0.05 solar masses over two orders of magnitude greater than the minimum mass for the companion as determined by radial velocity studies. This mass is approximately that of an M dwarf star, the companion cannot be a planetary object.

Laser Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometry for Future In Situ Planetary Missions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Getty, S. A.; Brinckerhoff, W. B.; Cornish, T.; Ecelberger, S. A.; Li, X.; Floyd, M. A. Merrill; Chanover, N.; Uckert, K.; Voelz, D.; Xiao, X.;

Competition between Free-Floating Plants Is Strongly Driven by Previously Experienced Phosphorus Concentrations in the Water Column.

PubMed

Peeters, Edwin T H M; Neefjes, Rozemarijn E M; Zuidam, Bastiaan G van

2016-01-01

Nutrients can determine the outcome of the competition between different floating plant species. The response of floating plants to current phosphorus levels may be affected by previously experienced phosphorus concentrations because some species have the ability to store excess phosphorus for later use. This might have an impact on their competition. Here, we investigate the effect of previous and actual phosphorus concentrations on the growth rate of free-floating plant species (Azolla filiculoides, Lemna minor/gibba and Ricciocarpus natans)and the effect of phosphorus history on the competition between L. minor/gibba and A. filiculoides and between L. minor/gibba and R. natans. As expected, plant growth was lower when previously kept at low instead of high phosphorus concentrations. Growth of L. minor/gibba and A. filiculoides with a phosphorus rich history was comparable for low and high actual phosphorus concentrations, however, internal phosphorus concentrations were significantly lower with low actual phosphorus concentration. This indicates that both species perform luxury phosphorus uptake. Furthermore, internal P concentration in Azolla and Lemna increased within two weeks after a period of P deficit without a strong increase in growth. A. filiculoides in a mixture with L. minor/gibba grew faster than its monoculture. Morphological differences may explain why A. filiculoides outcompeted L. minor/gibba and these differences may be induced by phosphorus concentrations in the past. Growth of L. minor/gibba was only reduced by the presence of A. filiculoides with a high phosphorus history. Growth of L. minor/gibba and R. natans in mixtures was positively affected only when they had a high phosphorus history themselves and their competitor a low phosphorus history. These observations clearly indicate that phosphorus history of competing plants is important for understanding the outcome of the competition. Therefore, actual and previously experienced phosphorus

Potential productivity benefits of float-zone versus Czochralski crystal growth

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Abe, T.

1985-01-01

Efficient mass production of single-crystal silicon is necessary for the efficient silicon solar arrays needed in the coming decade. However, it is anticipated that there will be difficulty growing such volumes of crystals using conventional Czochralski (Cz) methods. While the productivity of single crystals might increase with a crystal diameter increase, there are two obstacles to the mass production of large diameter Czochralski crystals, the long production cycle due to slow growth rate and the high heat requirements of the furnaces. Also counterproductive would be the large resistivity gradient along the growth direction of the crystals due to impurity concentration. Comparison between Float zone (FZ) and Cz crystal growth on the basis of a crystal 150 mm in diameter is on an order of two to four times in favor of the FZ method. This advantage results from high growth rates and steady-state growth while maintaining a dislocation-free condition and impurity segregation.

Planetary Geology: Goals, Future Directions, and Recommendations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1988-01-01

Planetary exploration has provided a torrent of discoveries and a recognition that planets are not inert objects. This expanded view has led to the notion of comparative planetology, in which the differences and similarities among planetary objects are assessed. Solar system exploration is undergoing a change from an era of reconnaissance to one of intensive exploration and focused study. Analyses of planetary surfaces are playing a key role in this transition, especially as attention is focused on such exploration goals as returned samples from Mars. To assess how the science of planetary geology can best contribute to the goals of solar system exploration, a workshop was held at Arizona State University in January 1987. The participants discussed previous accomplishments of the planetary geology program, assessed the current studies in planetary geology, and considered the requirements to meet near-term and long-term exploration goals.

A Survey For Planetary-mass Brown Dwarfs in the Taurus and Perseus Star-forming Regions

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Esplin, T. L.; Luhman, K. L., E-mail: taran.esplin@psu.edu

We present the initial results from a survey for planetary-mass brown dwarfs in the Taurus star-forming region. We have identified brown dwarf candidates in Taurus using proper motions and photometry from several ground- and space-based facilities. Through spectroscopy of some of the more promising candidates, we have found 18 new members of Taurus. They have spectral types ranging from mid-M to early-L, and they include the four faintest known members in extinction-corrected K{sub s}, which should have masses as low as ∼4–5 M {sub Jup} according to evolutionary models. Two of the coolest new members (M9.25, M9.5) have mid-IR excessesmore » that indicate the presence of disks. Two fainter objects with types of M9–L2 and M9–L3 also have red mid-IR colors relative to photospheres at ≤L0, but since the photospheric colors are poorly defined at >L0, it is unclear whether they have excesses from disks. We also have obtained spectra of candidate members of the IC 348 and NGC 1333 clusters in Perseus that were identified by Luhman et al. Eight candidates are found to be probable members, three of which are among the faintest and least-massive known members of the clusters (∼5 M{sub Jup}).« less

Modeling, Modal Properties, and Mesh Stiffness Variation Instabilities of Planetary Gears

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Parker, Robert G.; Lin, Jian; Krantz, Timothy L. (Technical Monitor)

2001-01-01

Planetary gear noise and vibration are primary concerns in their applications in helicopters, automobiles, aircraft engines, heavy machinery and marine vehicles. Dynamic analysis is essential to the noise and vibration reduction. This work analytically investigates some critical issues and advances the understanding of planetary gear dynamics. A lumped-parameter model is built for the dynamic analysis of general planetary gears. The unique properties of the natural frequency spectra and vibration modes are rigorously characterized. These special structures apply for general planetary gears with cyclic symmetry and, in practically important case, systems with diametrically opposed planets. The special vibration properties are useful for subsequent research. Taking advantage of the derived modal properties, the natural frequency and vibration mode sensitivities to design parameters are investigated. The key parameters include mesh stiffnesses, support/bearing stiffnesses, component masses, moments of inertia, and operating speed. The eigen-sensitivities are expressed in simple, closed-form formulae associated with modal strain and kinetic energies. As disorders (e.g., mesh stiffness variation. manufacturing and assembling errors) disturb the cyclic symmetry of planetary gears, their effects on the free vibration properties are quantitatively examined. Well-defined veering rules are derived to identify dramatic changes of natural frequencies and vibration modes under parameter variations. The knowledge of free vibration properties, eigen-sensitivities, and veering rules provide important information to effectively tune the natural frequencies and optimize structural design to minimize noise and vibration. Parametric instabilities excited by mesh stiffness variations are analytically studied for multi-mesh gear systems. The discrepancies of previous studies on parametric instability of two-stage gear chains are clarified using perturbation and numerical methods. The

Collective Behavior of Camphor Floats Migrating on the Water Surface

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nishimori, Hiraku; Suematsu, Nobuhiko J.; Nakata, Satoshi

2017-10-01

As simple and easily controllable objects among various self-propelled particles, camphor floats on the water surface have been widely recognized. In this paper, we introduce characteristic behaviors and discuss the background mechanism of camphor floats on water, both in isolated and non-isolated conditions. In particular, we focus on: (i) the transition of dynamical characters through bifurcations exhibited by systems with small number of camphor floats and (ii) the emergence of a rich variety of complex dynamics observed in systems with large number camphor floats, and attempt to elucidate these phenomena through mathematical modeling as well as experimental analysis. Finally, we discuss the connection of the dynamics of camphor floats to that of a wider class of complex and sophisticated dynamics exhibited by various types of self-propelled particles.

Influence of different types of low substituted hydroxypropyl cellulose on tableting, disintegration, and floating behaviour of floating drug delivery systems

PubMed Central

Diós, Péter; Pernecker, Tivadar; Nagy, Sándor; Pál, Szilárd; Dévay, Attila

2014-01-01

The object of the present study is to evaluate the effect of application of low-substituted hydroxypropyl cellulose (L-HPC) 11 and B1 as excipients promoting floating in gastroretentive tablets. Directly compressed tablets were formed based on experimental design. Face-centred central composite design was applied with two factors and 3 levels, where amount of sodium alginate (X1) and L-HPC (X2) were the numerical factors. Applied types of L-HPCs and their 1:1 mixture were included in a categorical factor (X3). Studied parameters were floating lag time, floating time, floating force, swelling behaviour of tablets and dissolution of paracetamol, which was used as a model active substance. Due to their physical character, L-HPCs had different water uptake and flowability. Lower flowability and lower water uptake was observed after 60 min at L-HPC 11 compared to L-HPC B1. Shorter floating times were detected at L-HPC 11 and L-HPC mixtures with 0.5% content of sodium alginate, whereas alginate was the only significant factor. Evaluating results of drug release and swelling studies on floating tablets revealed correlation, which can serve to help to understand the mechanism of action of L-HPCs in the field development of gastroretentive dosage forms. PMID:26702261

An Analysis and Classification of Dying AGB Stars Transitioning to Pre-Planetary Nebulae

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Blake, Adam C.

2011-01-01

The principal objective of the project is to understand part of the life and death process of a star. During the end of a star's life, it expels its mass at a very rapid rate. We want to understand how these Asymptotic Giant Branch (AGB) stars begin forming asymmetric structures as they start evolving towards the planetary nebula phase and why planetary nebulae show a very large variety of non-round geometrical shapes. To do this, we analyzed images of just-forming pre-planetary nebula from Hubble surveys. These images were run through various image correction processes like saturation correction and cosmic ray removal using in-house software to bring out the circumstellar structure. We classified the visible structure based on qualitative data such as lobe, waist, halo, and other structures. Radial and azimuthal intensity cuts were extracted from the images to quantitatively examine the circumstellar structure and measure departures from the smooth spherical outflow expected during most of the AGB mass-loss phase. By understanding the asymmetrical structure, we hope to understand the mechanisms that drive this stellar evolution.

Characterization of cement float buoyancy in the stalked barnacle Dosima fascicularis (Crustacea, Cirripedia).

PubMed

Zheden, Vanessa; Kovalev, Alexander; Gorb, Stanislav N; Klepal, Waltraud

2015-02-06

Dosima fascicularis is the only barnacle which can drift autonomously at the water surface with a foam-like cement float. The cement secreted by the animal contains numerous gas-filled cells of different size. When several individuals share one float, their size and not their number is crucial for the production of both volume and mass of the float. The gas content within the cells of the foam gives positive static buoyancy to the whole float. The volume of the float, the gas volume and the positive static buoyancy are positively correlated. The density of the cement float without gas is greater than that of seawater. This study shows that the secreted cement consists of more than 90% water and the gas volume is on average 18.5%. Our experiments demonstrate that the intact foam-like cement float is sealed to the surrounding water.

Characterization of cement float buoyancy in the stalked barnacle Dosima fascicularis (Crustacea, Cirripedia)

PubMed Central

Zheden, Vanessa; Kovalev, Alexander; Gorb, Stanislav N.; Klepal, Waltraud

2015-01-01

Dosima fascicularis is the only barnacle which can drift autonomously at the water surface with a foam-like cement float. The cement secreted by the animal contains numerous gas-filled cells of different size. When several individuals share one float, their size and not their number is crucial for the production of both volume and mass of the float. The gas content within the cells of the foam gives positive static buoyancy to the whole float. The volume of the float, the gas volume and the positive static buoyancy are positively correlated. The density of the cement float without gas is greater than that of seawater. This study shows that the secreted cement consists of more than 90% water and the gas volume is on average 18.5%. Our experiments demonstrate that the intact foam-like cement float is sealed to the surrounding water. PMID:25657839

The `DODO' survey - I. Limits on ultra-cool substellar and planetary-mass companions to van Maanen's star (vMa2)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Burleigh, M. R.; Clarke, F. J.; Hogan, E.; Brinkworth, C. S.; Bergeron, P.; Dufour, P.; Dobbie, P. D.; Levan, A. J.; Hodgkin, S. T.; Hoard, D. W.; Wachter, S.

2008-05-01

We report limits in the planetary-mass regime for companions around the nearest single white dwarf to the Sun, van Maanen's star (vMa2), from deep J-band imaging with Gemini North and Spitzer Infrared Array Camera (IRAC) mid-IR photometry. We find no resolved common proper motion companions to vMa2 at separations from 3 to 45 arcsec, at a limiting magnitude of J ~ 23. Assuming a total age for the system of 4.1 +/- 1Gyr, and utilizing the latest evolutionary models for substellar objects, this limit is equivalent to companion masses >7 +/- 1MJup(Teff ~ 300K). Taking into account the likely orbital evolution of very low mass companions in the post-main-sequence phase, these J-band observations effectively survey orbits around the white dwarf progenitor from 3 to 50au. There is no flux excess detected in any of the complimentary Spitzer IRAC mid-IR filters. We fit a white dwarf model atmosphere to the optical BVRI, JHK and IRAC photometry. The best solution gives Teff = 6030 +/- 240K, logg = 8.10 +/- 0.04 and, hence, M = 0.633 +/- 0.022Msolar. We then place a 3σ upper limit of 10 +/- 2MJup on the mass of any unresolved companion in the 4.5μm band.

Floating electrode dielectrophoresis.

PubMed

Golan, Saar; Elata, David; Orenstein, Meir; Dinnar, Uri

2006-12-01

In practice, dielectrophoresis (DEP) devices are based on micropatterned electrodes. When subjected to applied voltages, the electrodes generate nonuniform electric fields that are necessary for the DEP manipulation of particles. In this study, electrically floating electrodes are used in DEP devices. It is demonstrated that effective DEP forces can be achieved by using floating electrodes. Additionally, DEP forces generated by floating electrodes are different from DEP forces generated by excited electrodes. The floating electrodes' capabilities are explained theoretically by calculating the electric field gradients and demonstrated experimentally by using test-devices. The test-devices show that floating electrodes can be used to collect erythrocytes (red blood cells). DEP devices which contain many floating electrodes ought to have fewer connections to external signal sources. Therefore, the use of floating electrodes may considerably facilitate the fabrication and operation of DEP devices. It can also reduce device dimensions. However, the key point is that DEP devices can integrate excited electrodes fabricated by microtechnology processes and floating electrodes fabricated by nanotechnology processes. Such integration is expected to promote the use of DEP devices in the manipulation of nanoparticles.

A Low Mass Translation Mechanism for Planetary FTIR Spectrometry using an Ultrasonic Piezo Linear Motor

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Heverly, Matthew; Dougherty, Sean; Toon, Geoffrey; Soto, Alejandro; Blavier, Jean-Francois

2004-01-01

One of the key components of a Fourier Transform Infrared Spectrometer (FTIR) is the linear translation stage used to vary the optical path length between the two arms of the interferometer. This translation mechanism must produce extremely constant velocity motion across its entire range of travel to allow the instrument to attain high signal-to-noise ratio and spectral resolving power. A new spectrometer is being developed at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory under NASA s Planetary Instrument Definition and Development Program (PIDDP). The goal of this project is to build upon existing spaceborne FTIR spectrometer technology to produce a new instrument prototype that has drastically superior spectral resolution and substantially lower mass, making it feasible for planetary exploration. In order to achieve these goals, Alliance Spacesystems, Inc. (ASI) has developed a linear translation mechanism using a novel ultrasonic piezo linear motor in conjunction with a fully kinematic, fault tolerant linear rail system. The piezo motor provides extremely smooth motion, is inherently redundant, and is capable of producing unlimited travel. The kinematic rail uses spherical Vespel(R). rollers and bushings, which eliminates the need for wet lubrication, while providing a fault tolerant platform for smooth linear motion that will not bind under misalignment or structural deformation. This system can produce velocities from 10 - 100 mm/s with less than 1% velocity error over the entire 100-mm length of travel for a total mechanism mass of less than 850 grams. This system has performed over half a million strokes under vacuum without excessive wear or degradation in performance. This paper covers the design, development, and testing of this linear translation mechanism as part of the Planetary Atmosphere Occultation Spectrometer (PAOS) instrument prototype development program.

Planetary quarantine

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1976-01-01

The overall objective is to identify those areas of future missions which will be impacted by planetary quarantine (PQ) constraints. The objective of the phase being described was to develop an approach for using decision theory in performing a PQ analysis for a Mariner Jupiter Uranus Mission and to compare it with the traditional approach used for other missions.

Reports of planetary geology program, 1976 - 1977. [abstracts

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Arvidson, R. (Compiler); Wahmann, R. (Compiler); Howard, J. H., III

1977-01-01

One hundred seventeen investigations undertaken in the NASA Planetary Geology Program in 1976-1977 are reported in abstract form. Topics discussed include solar system formation; planetary interiors; planetary evolution; asteroids, comets and moons; cratering; volcanic, eolian, fluvial and mass wasting processes; volatiles and the Martian regolith; mapping; and instrument development and techniques. An author index is provided.

Observing the seasonal cycle of the upper ocean in the Ross Sea, Antarctica, with autonomous profiling floats

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Porter, D. F.; Springer, S. R.; Padman, L.; Fricker, H. A.; Bell, R. E.

2017-12-01

The upper layers of the Southern Ocean where it meets the Antarctic ice sheet undergoes a large seasonal cycle controlled by surface radiation and by freshwater fluxes, both of which are strongly influenced by sea ice. In regions where seasonal sea ice and icebergs limit use of ice-tethered profilers and conventional moorings, autonomous profiling floats can sample the upper ocean. The deployment of seven Apex floats (by sea) and six ALAMO floats (by air) provides unique upper ocean hydrographic data in the Ross Sea close to the Ross Ice Shelf front. A novel choice of mission parameters - setting parking depth deeper than the seabed - limits their drift, allowing us to deploy the floats close to the ice shelf front, while sea ice avoidance algorithms allow the floats to to sample through winter under sea ice. Hydrographic profiles show the detailed development of the seasonal mixed layer close to the Ross front, and interannual variability of the seasonal mixed layer and deeper water masses on the central Ross Sea continental shelf. After the sea ice breakup in spring, a warm and fresh surface mixed layer develops, further warming and deepening throughout the summer. The mixed layer deepens, with maximum temperatures exceeding 0ºC in mid-February. By March, the surface energy budget becomes negative and sea ice begins to form, creating a cold, saline and dense surface layer. Once these processes overcome the stable summer stratification, convection erodes the surface mixed layer, mixing some heat downwards to deeper layers. There is considerable interannual variability in the evolution and strength of the surface mixed layer: summers with shorter ice-free periods result in a cooler and shallower surface mixed layer, which accumulates less heat than the summers with longer ice-free periods. Early ice breakup occurred in all floats in 2016/17 summer, enhancing the absorbed solar flux leading to a warmer surface mixed layer. Together, these unique measurements from

Long-range pollution transport during the MILAGRO-2006 campaign: a case study of a major Mexico City outflow event using free-floating altitude-controlled balloons

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Voss, P. B.; Zaveri, R. A.; Flocke, F. M.; Mao, H.; Hartley, T. P.; Deamicis, P.; Deonandan, I.; Contreras-Jiménez, G.; Martínez-Antonio, O.; Figueroa Estrada, M.; Greenberg, D.; Campos, T. L.; Weinheimer, A. J.; Knapp, D. J.; Montzka, D. D.; Crounse, J. D.; Wennberg, P. O.; Apel, E.; Madronich, S.; de Foy, B.

2010-02-01

One of the major objectives of the Megacities Initiative: Local And Global Research Observations (MILAGRO-2006) campaign was to investigate the long-range transport of polluted Mexico City Metropolitan Area (MCMA) outflow and determine its downwind impacts on air quality and climate. Six research aircraft, including the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) C-130, made extensive chemical, aerosol, and radiation measurements above MCMA and more than 1000 km downwind in order to characterize the evolution of the outflow as it aged and dispersed over the Mesa Alta and Gulf of Mexico. As part of this effort, free-floating Controlled-Meteorological (CMET) balloons, commanded to change altitude via satellite, made repeated profile measurements of winds and state variables within the advecting outflow. In this paper, we present an analysis based on the data from two CMET balloons that were launched near Mexico City on the afternoon of 18 March 2006 and floated downwind with the MCMA pollution for nearly 30 h. The repeating profile measurements show the evolving structure of the outflow in considerable detail: its stability and stratification, interaction with other air masses, mixing episodes, and dispersion into the regional background. Air parcel trajectories, computed directly from the balloon wind profiles, show three different transport pathways on 18-19 March: (a) high-altitude advection of the top of the MCMA mixed layer, (b) mid-level outflow over the Sierra Madre Oriental followed by decoupling and isolated transport over the Gulf, and (c) low-altitude outflow with entrainment into a cleaner westerly jet below the plateau. The C-130 aircraft intercepted the balloon-based trajectories three times on 19 March, once along each of these pathways. In all three cases, distinct peaks in the urban tracer signatures and LIDAR backscatter imagery were consistent with MCMA pollution. The coherence of the high-altitude outflow was well preserved after one day

Radial velocity confirmation of Kepler-91 b. Additional evidence of its planetary nature using the Calar Alto/CAFE instrument

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lillo-Box, J.; Barrado, D.; Henning, Th.; Mancini, L.; Ciceri, S.; Figueira, P.; Santos, N. C.; Aceituno, J.; Sánchez, S. F.

2014-08-01

The object transiting the star Kepler-91 was recently assessed as being of planetary nature. The confirmation was achieved by analysing the light-curve modulations observed in the Kepler data. However, quasi-simultaneous studies claimed a self-luminous nature for this object, thus rejecting it as a planet. In this work, we apply anindependent approach to confirm the planetary mass of Kepler-91b by using multi-epoch high-resolution spectroscopy obtained with the Calar Alto Fiber-fed Echelle spectrograph (CAFE). We obtain the physical and orbital parameters with the radial velocity technique. In particular, we derive a value of 1.09 ± 0.20 MJup for the mass of Kepler-91b, in excellent agreement with our previous estimate that was based on the orbital brightness modulation.

Fundamental Parameters Of The Lowest Mass Stars To The Highest Mass Planets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Filippazzo, Joseph C.

2016-09-01

The physical and atmospheric properties of ultracool dwarfs are deeply entangled due to the degenerate effects of mass, age, metallicity, clouds and dust, activity, rotation, and possibly even formation mechanism on observed spectra. Accurate determination of funda- mental parameters for a wide diversity of objects at the low end of the initial mass function (IMF) is thus crucial to testing stellar and planetary formation theories. To determine these quantities, we constructed and flux calibrated nearly-complete spectral energy distributions (SEDs) for 234 M, L, T, and Y dwarfs using published parallaxes and (0.3-40 \\mu m) spectra and photometry. From these homogeneous SEDs, we calculated bolometric luminosity ((L_\\text{bol})), effective temperature ((T_\\text{off})), mass, surface gravity, radius, spectral indexes, synthetic photometry, and bolometric corrections (BCs) for each object. We used these results to derive (L_\\text{bol}), (T_\\text{eff}), and BC polynomial relations across the entire very-low-mass star/brown dwarf/planetary mass regime. We use a subsample of objects with age constraints based on nearby young moving group membership, companionship with a young star, or spectral signatures of low surface gravity to define new age-sensitive diagnostics and characterize the reddening of young substellar atmospheres as a redistribution of flux from the near-infrared (NIR) into the mid-infrared (MIR). Consequently we find the SED flux pivots at K-band, making BCK as a function of spectral type a reliable, age-independent relationship. We find that young L dwarfs are systematically 300 K cooler than field age objects of the same spectral type and up to 600 K cooler than field age objects of the same absolute H magnitude. These findings are used to create prescriptions for the reliable and efficient characterization of new ultracool dwarfs using heterogeneous and limited spectral data.

Analytical model of the contact interaction between the components of a special percussive mechanism for planetary exploration

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vila, Luis J.; Malla, Ramesh B.

2016-01-01

Special percussive mechanisms, e.g. Auto Gopher and UltraSonic/Sonic Driller/Corer (USDC) have been developed by NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory and Honeybee Robotics Spacecraft Mechanisms, Corp. to address some of the limitations of current drilling techniques for planetary exploration. The percussive mechanism consists of an ultrasonic horn, a free mass (hammer) and the drill rod. This paper presents the analysis of the interaction between these three components. The impact between the components (i.e. ultrasonic horn and free mass, and free mass and drill rod) is analyzed using solid body collision analysis applying the principle of conservation of momentum. The drill rod is modeled for both undamped and damped cases with equivalent generalized single degree of freedom system. Various values are used for the coefficient of restitution to account for energy loss during impact. The energy transferred to the drill rod by the free mass is obtained determining the change in kinetic energy due to impact. It is observed that the free mass converts the high frequency of oscillation of the ultrasonic horn into lower frequency impacts on the drill rod. A decrease in the coefficient of restitution results in a decrease in the number of impacts, impulse imparted to the drill rod and energy transferred to the drill rod by the impact of the free mass.

Apparatus for removing oil and other floating contaminants from a moving body of water

DOEpatents

Strohecker, J.W.

1973-12-18

The patent describes a process in which floating contaminants such as oil and solid debris are removed from a moving body of water by employing a skimming system which uses the natural gravitational flow of the water. A boom diagonally positioned across the body of water diverts the floating contaminants over a floating weir and into a retention pond where an underflow weir is used to return contaminant-free water to the moving body of water. The floating weir is ballasted to maintain the contaminant-receiving opening therein slightly below the surface of the water during fluctuations in the water level for skimming the contaminants with minimal water removal.

Episodic Mass Loss from the Hydrogen-deficient Central Star of the Planetary Nebula Longmore 4

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bond, Howard E.

2014-09-01

A spectacular transient mass-loss episode from the extremely hot, hydrogen-deficient central star of the planetary nebula (PN) Longmore 4 (Lo 4) was discovered in 1992 by Werner et al. During that event, the star temporarily changed from its normal PG 1159 spectrum to that of an emission-line low-luminosity early-type Wolf-Rayet [WCE] star. After a few days, Lo 4 reverted to its normal, predominantly absorption-line PG 1159 type. To determine whether such events recur, and if so how often, I monitored the optical spectrum of Lo 4 from early 2003 to early 2012. Out of 81 spectra taken at random dates, 4 of them revealed mass-loss outbursts similar to that seen in 1992. This indicates that the episodes recur approximately every 100 days (if the recurrence rate has been approximately constant and the duration of a typical episode is ~5 days), and that the star is in a high-mass-loss state about 5% of the time. Since the enhanced stellar wind is hydrogen-deficient, it arises from the photosphere and is unlikely to be related to phenomena such as a binary or planetary companion or infalling dust. I speculate on plausible mechanisms for these unique outbursts, including the possibility that they are related to the non-radial GW Vir-type pulsations exhibited by Lo 4. The central star of the PN NGC 246 has stellar parameters similar to those of Lo 4, and it is also a GW Vir-type pulsator with similar pulsation periods. I obtained 167 spectra of NGC 246 between 2003 and 2011, but no mass ejections were found. Based on observations with the 1.5 m telescope operated by the SMARTS Consortium at Cerro Tololo Interamerican Observatory.

Fat-free mass index: changes and race/ethnic differences in adulthood

PubMed Central

Hull, HR; Thornton, J; Wang, J; Pierson, RN; Kaleem, Z; Pi-Sunyer, X; Heymsfield, S; Albu, J; Fernandez, JR; VanItallie, TB; Gallagher, D

2012-01-01

Objective Nutritional status is assessed by measuring BMI or percent body fat (%fat). BMI can misclassify persons who carry more weight as fat-free mass and %fat can be misleading in cases of malnutrition or in disease states characterized by wasting of lean tissue. The fat-free mass index (FFMI) is proposed to assess body composition in individuals who have a similar body composition but differ in height allowing identification of those suffering from malnutrition, wasting or those that possess a relatively high muscle mass. The purpose was to determine whether the FFMI differs in a group of racially/ethnically diverse adults. Design Cross-sectional. Subjects Subjects were a multi-ethnic sample (Caucasian, CA; African American, AA; Hispanic, HIS and Asian, AS) of 1339 healthy males (n = 480) and females (n = 859) ranging in age from 18–110 years. Total body fat, total fat-free mass and bone mineral density were estimated using dual energy X-ray absorptiometry. Results FFMI differed among the four ethnic groups (P ≤ 0.05) for both genders. A curvilinear relationship was found between age and FFMI for both genders although the coefficients in the quadratic model differed between genders (P ≤ 0.001) indicating the rate of change in FFMI differed between genders. The estimated turning point where FFMI started to decline was in the mid 20s for male and mid 40s for female participants. An age × gender interaction was found such that the rate of decline was greater in male than female participants (P ≤ 0.001). For both genders, FFMI was greatest in AA and the least in AS (P ≤ 0.001). There was no significant interaction between race and age or age2 (P = 0.06). However, male participants consistently had a greater FFMI than female participants (P ≤ 0.001). Conclusions These findings have clinical implications for identifying individuals who may not be recognized as being malnourished based on their BMI or %fat but whose fat-free mass corrected for height is

Dragging a floating horizontal cylinder

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, Duck-Gyu; Kim, Ho-Young

2010-11-01

A cylinder immersed in a fluid stream experiences a drag, and it is well known that the drag coefficient is a function of the Reynolds number only. Here we study the force exerted on a long horizontal cylinder that is dragged perpendicular to its axis while floating on an air-water interface with a high Reynolds number. In addition to the flow-induced drag, the floating body is subjected to capillary forces along the contact line where the three phases of liquid/solid/gas meet. We first theoretically predict the meniscus profile around the horizontally moving cylinder assuming the potential flow, and show that the profile is in good agreement with that obtained experimentally. Then we compare our theoretical predictions and experimental measurement results for the drag coefficient of a floating horizontal cylinder that is given by a function of the Weber number and the Bond number. This study can help us to understand the horizontal motion of partially submerged objects at air-liquid interface, such as semi-aquatic insects and marine plants.

A proposed search on the solar neighborhood for substellar objects

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Reynolds, R. T.; Walker, R. G.; Tarter, J. C.

1980-01-01

The Infrared Astronomical Satellite (IRAS) program will produce an extremely sensitive all-sky survey over the wavelength region 8 to 120 microns when the mission is flown in 1982. These data will provide a novel opportunity to detect planetary-sized objects having masses smaller than 0.08 solar masses in or near the solar system. The improved detection limit of the IRAS will greatly increase the volume of space searched for such objects, as compared with previous optical and infrared studies.

The Optical Gravitational Lensing Experiment. Planetary and Low-Luminosity Object Transits in the Fields of Galactic Disk. Results of the 2003 OGLE Observing Campaigns

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Udalski, A.; Szymanski, M. K.; Kubiak, M.; Pietrzynski, G.; Soszynski, I.; Zebrun, K.; Szewczyk, O.; Wyrzykowski, L.

2004-12-01

We present results of two observing campaigns conducted by the OGLE-III survey in the 2003 observing season aiming at the detection of new objects with planetary transiting companions. Six fields of 35'x35' each located in the Galactic disk were monitored with high frequency for several weeks in February-July 2003. Additional observations of three of these fields were also collected in the 2004 season. Altogether about 800 and 1500 epochs were collected for the fields of both campaigns, respectively. The search for low depth transits was conducted on about 230 000 stars with photometry better than 15 mmag. It was focused on detection of planetary companions, thus clear non-planetary cases were not included in the final list of selected objects. Altogether we discovered 40 stars with shallow (<=0.05 mag) flat-bottomed transits. In each case several individual transits were observed allowing determination of photometric elements. Additionally, the lower limits on radii of the primary and companion were calculated. From the photometric point of view the new OGLE sample contains many very good candidates for extrasolar transiting planets. However, only the future spectroscopic follow-up observations of the OGLE sample - determination of the amplitude of radial velocity and exclusion of blending possibilities - may allow to confirm their planetary status. In general, the transiting objects may be extrasolar planets, brown dwarfs, M-type dwarfs or fake transits caused by blending. All photometric data of objects with transiting companions discovered during the 2003 campaigns are available to the astronomical community from the OGLE Internet archive.

UKIRT's Wide Field Camera and the Detection of 10 MJupiter Objects

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

WFCAM Team; UKIDSS Team

2004-06-01

In mid-2004 a near-infrared wide field camera will be commissioned on UKIRT. About 40% of all UKIRT time will go into sky surveys and one of these, the Large Area Survey using YJHK filters, will extend the field brown dwarf population to temperatures and masses significantly lower than those of the T dwarf population discovered by the Sloan and 2MASS surveys. The LAS should find objects as cool as 450 K and as low mass as 10 MJupiter at 10 pc. These planetary-mass objects will possibly require a new spectral type designation.

The optical + infrared L dwarf spectral sequence of young planetary-mass objects in the Upper Scorpius association

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lodieu, N.; Zapatero Osorio, M. R.; Béjar, V. J. S.; Peña Ramírez, K.

2018-01-01

We present the results of photometric and spectroscopic follow-ups of the lowest mass member candidates in the nearest OB association, Upper Scorpius (∼5-10 Myr; 145 ± 17 pc), with the Gran Telescopio de Canarias (GTC) and European Southern Observatory (ESO) Very Large Telescope (VLT). We confirm the membership of the large majority (>80 per cent) of candidates originally selected photometrically and astrometrically based on their spectroscopic features, weak equivalent widths of gravity-sensitive doublets and radial velocities. Confirmed members follow a sequence over a wide magnitude range (J = 17.0-19.3 mag) in several colour-magnitude diagrams with optical, near- and mid-infrared photometry and have near-infrared spectral types in the L1-L7 interval with likely masses below 15 Jupiter masses. We find that optical spectral types tend to be earlier than near-infrared spectral types by a few subclasses for spectral types later than M9. We investigate the behaviour of spectral indices, defined in the literature as a function of spectral type and gravity, by comparison with values reported in the literature for young and old dwarfs. We also derive effective temperatures in the 1900-1600 K range from fits of synthetic model-atmosphere spectra to the observed photometry, but we caution that the procedure carries large uncertainties. We determine bolometric corrections for young L dwarfs with ages of ∼5-10 Myr (Upper Sco association) and find them to be similar in the J band but larger by 0.1-0.4 mag in the K band with respect to field L dwarfs. Finally, we discover two faint young L dwarfs, Visible and Infrared Survey Telescope for Astronomy (VISTA) J1607-2146 (L4.5) and VISTA J1611-2215 (L5), that have Hα emission and possible flux excesses at 4.5 μm, pointing to the presence of accretion from a disc on to the central objects of mass below ∼15MJup at an age of 5-10 Myr.

Directed energy missions for planetary defense

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lubin, Philip; Hughes, Gary B.; Eskenazi, Mike; Kosmo, Kelly; Johansson, Isabella E.; Griswold, Janelle; Pryor, Mark; O'Neill, Hugh; Meinhold, Peter; Suen, Jonathan; Riley, Jordan; Zhang, Qicheng; Walsh, Kevin; Melis, Carl; Kangas, Miikka; Motta, Caio; Brashears, Travis

2016-09-01

Directed energy for planetary defense is now a viable option and is superior in many ways to other proposed technologies, being able to defend the Earth against all known threats. This paper presents basic ideas behind a directed energy planetary defense system that utilizes laser ablation of an asteroid to impart a deflecting force on the target. A conceptual philosophy called DE-STAR, which stands for Directed Energy System for Targeting of Asteroids and exploration, is an orbiting stand-off system, which has been described in other papers. This paper describes a smaller, stand-on system known as DE-STARLITE as a reduced-scale version of DE-STAR. Both share the same basic heritage of a directed energy array that heats the surface of the target to the point of high surface vapor pressure that causes significant mass ejection thus forming an ejection plume of material from the target that acts as a rocket to deflect the object. This is generally classified as laser ablation. DE-STARLITE uses conventional propellant for launch to LEO and then ion engines to propel the spacecraft from LEO to the near-Earth asteroid (NEA). During laser ablation, the asteroid itself provides the propellant source material; thus a very modest spacecraft can deflect an asteroid much larger than would be possible with a system of similar mission mass using ion beam deflection (IBD) or a gravity tractor. DE-STARLITE is capable of deflecting an Apophis-class (325 m diameter) asteroid with a 1- to 15-year targeting time (laser on time) depending on the system design. The mission fits within the rough mission parameters of the Asteroid Redirect Mission (ARM) program in terms of mass and size. DE-STARLITE also has much greater capability for planetary defense than current proposals and is readily scalable to match the threat. It can deflect all known threats with sufficient warning.

Free-Mass and Interface Configurations of Hammering Mechanisms

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bao, Xiaoqi (Inventor); Sherrit, Stewart (Inventor); Badescu, Mircea (Inventor); Bar-Cohen, Yoseph (Inventor); Askins, Steve (Inventor); Ostlund, Patrick (Inventor)

2015-01-01

The design of the free-mass in an ultrasonic driller/corer (USDC) has been refined in order to improve the performance and operational reliability of the system. In one embodiment, the improvements in performance and operational reliability include decreasing the impact surface area of the free-mass to increase the transfer of impact energy from the piezoelectric transducer and reductions in the likelihood that the system will jam.

The minimum mass of detectable planets in protoplanetary discs and the derivation of planetary masses from high-resolution observations.

PubMed

Rosotti, Giovanni P; Juhasz, Attila; Booth, Richard A; Clarke, Cathie J

2016-07-01

We investigate the minimum planet mass that produces observable signatures in infrared scattered light and submillimetre (submm) continuum images and demonstrate how these images can be used to measure planet masses to within a factor of about 2. To this end, we perform multi-fluid gas and dust simulations of discs containing low-mass planets, generating simulated observations at 1.65, 10 and 850 μm. We show that the minimum planet mass that produces a detectable signature is ∼15 M ⊕ : this value is strongly dependent on disc temperature and changes slightly with wavelength (favouring the submm). We also confirm previous results that there is a minimum planet mass of ∼20 M ⊕ that produces a pressure maximum in the disc: only planets above this threshold mass generate a dust trap that can eventually create a hole in the submm dust. Below this mass, planets produce annular enhancements in dust outwards of the planet and a reduction in the vicinity of the planet. These features are in steady state and can be understood in terms of variations in the dust radial velocity, imposed by the perturbed gas pressure radial profile, analogous to a traffic jam. We also show how planet masses can be derived from structure in scattered light and submm images. We emphasize that simulations with dust need to be run over thousands of planetary orbits so as to allow the gas profile to achieve a steady state and caution against the estimation of planet masses using gas-only simulations.

The chemical composition and mineralogy of meteorites measured with very high spatial resolution by a laser mass spectrometer for in situ planetary research

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brigitte Neuland, Maike; Mezger, Klaus; Tulej, Marek; Frey, Samira; Riedo, Andreas; Wurz, Peter; Wiesendanger, Reto

2017-04-01

The knowledge of the chemical composition of moons, comets, asteroids or other planetary bodies is of particular importance for the investigation of the origin and evolution of the Solar System. High resolution in situ studies on planetary surfaces can yield important information on surface heterogeneity, basic grain mineralogy and chemical composition of surface and subsurface. In turn, these data are the basis for our understanding of the physical and chemical processes which led to the formation and alteration of planetary material [1]. We investigated samples of Allende and Sayh al Uhaymir with a highly miniaturised laser mass spectrometer (LMS), which has been designed and built for in situ space research [2,3]. Both meteorite samples were investigated with a spatial resolution of about 10μm in lateral direction. The high sensitivity and high dynamic range of the LMS allow for quantitative measurements of the abundances of the rock-forming and minor and trace elements with high accuracy [4]. From the data, the modal mineralogy of micrometre-sized chondrules can be inferred [5], conclusions about the condensation sequence of the material are possible and the sensitivity for radiogenic elements allows for dating analyses of the investigated material. We measured the composition of various chondrules in Allende, offering valuable clues about the condensation sequence of the different components of the meteorite. We explicitly investigated the chemical composition and heterogeneity of the Allende matrix with an accuracy that cannot be reached by the mechanical analysis methods that were and are widely used in meteoritic research. We demonstrate the capabilities for dating analyses with the LMS. By applying the U-Th-dating method, the age of the SaU169 sample could be determined. Our analyses show that the LMS would be a suitable instrument for high-quality quantitative chemical composition measurements on the surface of a celestial body like a planet, moon or

Radioisotope Reduction Using Solar Power for Outer Planetary Missions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fincannon, James

2008-01-01

Radioisotope power systems have historically been (and still are) the power system of choice from a mass and size perspective for outer planetary missions. High demand for and limited availability of radioisotope fuel has made it necessary to investigate alternatives to this option. Low mass, high efficiency solar power systems have the potential for use at low outer planetary temperatures and illumination levels. This paper documents the impacts of using solar power systems instead of radioisotope power for all or part of the power needs of outer planetary spacecraft and illustrates the potential fuel savings of such an approach.

40 CFR 65.45 - External floating roof converted into an internal floating roof.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... External floating roof converted into an internal floating roof. The owner or operator who elects to... 40 Protection of Environment 15 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false External floating roof converted into an internal floating roof. 65.45 Section 65.45 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION...

Habitable Zones Around Main-Sequence Stars: Dependence on Planetary Mass

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kopparapu, Ravi Kumar; Ramirez, Ramses M.; Kotte, James Schottel; Kasting, James F.; Domagal-Goldman, Shawn; Eymet, Vincent

2014-01-01

The ongoing discoveries of extra-solar planets are unveiling a wide range of terrestrial mass (size) planets around their host stars. In this Letter, we present estimates of habitable zones (HZs) around stars with stellar effective temperatures in the range 2600 K-7200 K, for planetary masses between 0.1M and 5M. Assuming H2O-(inner HZ) and CO2-(outer HZ) dominated atmospheres, and scaling the background N2 atmospheric pressure with the radius of the planet, our results indicate that larger planets have wider HZs than do smaller ones. Specifically, with the assumption that smaller planets will have less dense atmospheres, the inner edge of the HZ (runaway greenhouse limit) moves outward (approx.10% lower than Earth flux) for low mass planets due to larger greenhouse effect arising from the increased H2O column depth. For larger planets, the H2O column depth is smaller, and higher temperatures are needed before water vapor completely dominates the outgoing long-wave radiation. Hence the inner edge moves inward (approx.7% higher than Earth's flux). The outer HZ changes little due to the competing effects of the greenhouse effect and an increase in albedo. New, three-dimensional climate model results from other groups are also summarized, and we argue that further, independent studies are needed to verify their predictions. Combined with our previous work, the results presented here provide refined estimates of HZs around main-sequence stars and provide a step toward a more comprehensive analysis of HZs.

Simulations and Measurements of Human Middle Ear Vibrations Using Multi-Body Systems and Laser-Doppler Vibrometry with the Floating Mass Transducer.

PubMed

Böhnke, Frank; Bretan, Theodor; Lehner, Stefan; Strenger, Tobias

2013-10-22

The transfer characteristic of the human middle ear with an applied middle ear implant (floating mass transducer) is examined computationally with a Multi-body System approach and compared with experimental results. For this purpose, the geometry of the middle ear was reconstructed from μ-computer tomography slice data and prepared for a Multi-body System simulation. The transfer function of the floating mass transducer, which is the ratio of the input voltage and the generated force, is derived based on a physical context. The numerical results obtained with the Multi-body System approach are compared with experimental results by Laser Doppler measurements of the stapes footplate velocities of five different specimens. Although slightly differing anatomical structures were used for the calculation and the measurement, a high correspondence with respect to the course of stapes footplate displacement along the frequency was found. Notably, a notch at frequencies just below 1 kHz occurred. Additionally, phase courses of stapes footplate displacements were determined computationally if possible and compared with experimental results. The examinations were undertaken to quantify stapes footplate displacements in the clinical practice of middle ear implants and, also, to develop fitting strategies on a physical basis for hearing impaired patients aided with middle ear implants.

Competition between Free-Floating Plants Is Strongly Driven by Previously Experienced Phosphorus Concentrations in the Water Column

PubMed Central

Peeters, Edwin T. H. M.; Neefjes, Rozemarijn E. M.; van Zuidam, Bastiaan G.

2016-01-01

Nutrients can determine the outcome of the competition between different floating plant species. The response of floating plants to current phosphorus levels may be affected by previously experienced phosphorus concentrations because some species have the ability to store excess phosphorus for later use. This might have an impact on their competition. Here, we investigate the effect of previous and actual phosphorus concentrations on the growth rate of free-floating plant species (Azolla filiculoides, Lemna minor/gibba and Ricciocarpus natans)and the effect of phosphorus history on the competition between L. minor/gibba and A. filiculoides and between L. minor/gibba and R. natans. As expected, plant growth was lower when previously kept at low instead of high phosphorus concentrations. Growth of L. minor/gibba and A. filiculoides with a phosphorus rich history was comparable for low and high actual phosphorus concentrations, however, internal phosphorus concentrations were significantly lower with low actual phosphorus concentration. This indicates that both species perform luxury phosphorus uptake. Furthermore, internal P concentration in Azolla and Lemna increased within two weeks after a period of P deficit without a strong increase in growth. A. filiculoides in a mixture with L. minor/gibba grew faster than its monoculture. Morphological differences may explain why A. filiculoides outcompeted L. minor/gibba and these differences may be induced by phosphorus concentrations in the past. Growth of L. minor/gibba was only reduced by the presence of A. filiculoides with a high phosphorus history. Growth of L. minor/gibba and R. natans in mixtures was positively affected only when they had a high phosphorus history themselves and their competitor a low phosphorus history. These observations clearly indicate that phosphorus history of competing plants is important for understanding the outcome of the competition. Therefore, actual and previously experienced phosphorus

Stability and self-organization of planetary systems.

PubMed

Pakter, Renato; Levin, Yan

2018-04-01

We show that stability of planetary systems is intimately connected with their internal order. An arbitrary initial distribution of planets is susceptible to catastrophic events in which planets either collide or are ejected from the planetary system. These instabilities are a fundamental consequence of chaotic dynamics and of Arnold diffusion characteristic of many body gravitational interactions. To ensure stability over astronomical time scale of a realistic planetary system-in which planets have masses comparable to those of planets in the solar system-the motion must be quasiperiodic. A dynamical mechanism is proposed which naturally evolves a planetary system to a quasiperiodic state from an arbitrary initial condition. A planetary self-organization predicted by the theory is similar to the one found in our solar system.

Stability and self-organization of planetary systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pakter, Renato; Levin, Yan

2018-04-01

We show that stability of planetary systems is intimately connected with their internal order. An arbitrary initial distribution of planets is susceptible to catastrophic events in which planets either collide or are ejected from the planetary system. These instabilities are a fundamental consequence of chaotic dynamics and of Arnold diffusion characteristic of many body gravitational interactions. To ensure stability over astronomical time scale of a realistic planetary system—in which planets have masses comparable to those of planets in the solar system—the motion must be quasiperiodic. A dynamical mechanism is proposed which naturally evolves a planetary system to a quasiperiodic state from an arbitrary initial condition. A planetary self-organization predicted by the theory is similar to the one found in our solar system.

Automatic quality assessment of planetary images

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sidiropoulos, P.; Muller, J.-P.

2015-10-01

A significant fraction of planetary images are corrupted beyond the point that much scientific meaning can be extracted. For example, transmission errors result in missing data which is unrecoverable. The available planetary image datasets include many such "bad data", which both occupy valuable scientific storage resources and create false impressions about planetary image availability for specific planetary objects or target areas. In this work, we demonstrate a pipeline that we have developed to automatically assess the quality of planetary images. Additionally, this method discriminates between different types of image degradation, such as low-quality originating from camera flaws or low-quality triggered by atmospheric conditions, etc. Examples of quality assessment results for Viking Orbiter imagery will be also presented.

Search and characterization of T-type planetary mass candidates in the σ Orionis cluster

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Peña Ramírez, K.; Zapatero Osorio, M. R.; Béjar, V. J. S.; Rebolo, R.; Bihain, G.

2011-08-01

Context. The proper characterization of the least massive population of the young σ Orionis star cluster is required to understand the form of the cluster mass function and its impact on our comprehension of the substellar formation processes. S Ori 70 (T5.5 ± 1) and 73, two T-type cluster member candidates, are likely to have masses between 3 and 7 MJup if their age is 3 Myr. It awaits confirmation whether S Ori 73 has a methane atmosphere. Aims: We aim to: i) confirm the presence of methane absorption in S Ori 73 by performing methane imaging; ii) study S Ori 70 and 73 cluster membership via photometric colors and accurate proper motion analysis; and iii) perform a new search to identify additional T-type σ Orionis member candidates. Methods: We obtained HAWK-I (VLT) J, H, and CH4off photometry of an area of 119.15 arcmin2 in σ Orionis down to Jcomp = 21.7 and Hcomp = 21 mag. S Ori 70 and 73 are contained in the explored area. Near-infrared data were complemented with optical photometry using images acquired with OSIRIS (GTC) and VISTA as part of the VISTA Orion survey. Color-magnitude and color-color diagrams were constructed to characterize S Ori 70 and 73 photometrically, and to identify new objects with methane absorption and masses below 7 MJup. We derived proper motions by comparing of the new HAWK-I and VISTA images with published near-infrared data taken 3.4 - 7.9 yr ago. Results.S Ori 73 has a red H - CH4off color indicating methane absorption in the H-band and a spectral type of T4 ± 1. S Ori 70 displays a redder methane color than S Ori 73 in agreement with its latter spectral classification. Our proper motion measurements (μα cos δ = 26.7 ± 6.1, μδ = 21.3 ± 6.1 mas yr-1 for S Ori 70, and μα cos δ = 46.7 ± 4.9, μδ = -6.3 ± 4.7 mas yr-1 for S Ori 73) are larger than the motion of σ Orionis, rendering S Ori 70 and 73 cluster membership uncertain. From our survey, we identified one new photometric candidate with J = 21.69 ± 0.12 mag

Planet engulfment and the planetary nebula morphology mystery

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Boyle, Laura A.

2018-04-01

This thesis presents an investigation into the galactic population of planetary nebulae (PNe) whose progenitors have evolved through the engulfment of massive planets during the asymptotic giant branch (AGB) phase of their evolution. The objective of this research was to investigate the hypothesis that planet engulfment can aid in explaining the observed non-spherical planetary nebula (PN) population, as a complementary shaping mechanism to the binary hypothesis. This was performed by the design and development of a new research tool, simsplash (SIMulationS for the PLAnet Shaping Hypothesis), which was developed for the specific purpose of conducting, for the first time, a population synthesis of planet engulfment in planetary nebula progenitors. The first step in this investigation involved modelling the tidal evolution of planets orbiting PN progenitor stars to determine the importance of the adopted initial conditions and input physics in the stellar models and their effects on the orbital evolution of star-planet systems. The next step was to determine the probabilities of stars having and engulfing massive planets as a function of stellar mass and metallicity. This was achieved by combining the tidal evolution treatment with both the known exoplanet populations, as well as theoretical planet populations, and the occurrence rates of massive planets. Finally, taking into consideration the results from the analyses described above, a PN population synthesis was performed using the star formation history and metallicity evolution of the galaxy as well as varying forms of the initial mass function and planetary nebula formation constraints. The population of visible PNe in the present-day galaxy was calculated to consist of a total of 16,500±2,200 PNe, of which 240±20 PNe (≃ 1.5%) have evolved from the engulfment of a massive planet on the AGB and 3,300±200 PNe are the result of binary interactions (≃ 20%), translating to an expected non-spherical population

Differences in evaporation between a floating pan and class a pan on land

USGS Publications Warehouse

Masoner, J.R.; Stannard, D.I.; Christenson, S.C.

2008-01-01

Research was conducted to develop a method for obtaining floating pan evaporation rates in a small (less than 10,000 m2) wetland, lagoon, or pond. Floating pan and land pan evaporation data were collected from March 1 to August 31, 2005, at a small natural wetland located in the alluvium of the Canadian River near Norman, Oklahoma, at the U.S. Geological Survey Norman Landfill Toxic Substances Hydrology Research Site. Floating pan evaporation rates were compared with evaporation rates from a nearby standard Class A evaporation pan on land. Floating pan evaporation rates were significantly less than land pan evaporation rates for the entire period and on a monthly basis. Results indicated that the use of a floating evaporation pan in a small free-water surface better simulates actual physical conditions on the water surface that control evaporation. Floating pan to land pan ratios were 0.82 for March, 0.87 for April, 0.85 for May, 0.85 for June, 0.79 for July, and 0.69 for August. ?? 2008 American Water Resources Association.

The rotation of very low mass objects

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Scholz, Alexander

2004-10-01

This dissertation contains an investigation of the rotation of very low mass objects, i.e. Brown Dwarfs and stars with masses <0.4 MS. Today, it is well-established that there are large populations of such VLM objects in open clusters and in the field, but our knowledge about their physical properties and evolution is still very limited. Contrary to their solar-mass siblings, VLM objects are fully convective throughout their evolution. Thus, they are not able to form a large-scale magnetic field like for example the sun. The magnetic field, in turn, is crucial for the regulation of rotation: Magnetic interaction between star and circumstellar disk ("disk-locking") and angular momentum losses through stellar winds have dominant influence on the rotational evolution. Thus, we can expect major differences in the rotational behaviour of VLM objects and solar-mass stars. The best method to investigate stellar rotation is to measure rotation periods. If a star exhibits surface features which are asymmetrically distributed, its brightness may be modulated with the rotation period. Thus, this dissertation is based on the analysis of photometric time series. Open clusters are an ideal environment for such a project, since they enable one to follow many objects at the same time. Additionally, they allow one to investigate the age and mass dependence of rotation, because distance and age of the clusters are known in good approximation. For this thesis, five open clusters were observed, which span an age range from 3 to 750 Myr. In three of them (SigmaOri, EpsilonOri, IC4665), VLM objects were identified by means of colour magnitude diagrams. The candidate lists for these three regions comprise at least 100 objects, for which photometry in at least three wavelength bands is available. About a fifth to a third of these candidates could be contaminating field stars in the fore- or background of the clusters. For the remaining two clusters (Pleiades and Praesepe), objects from

Towards a population synthesis model of self-gravitating disc fragmentation and tidal downsizing II: the effect of fragment-fragment interactions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Forgan, D. H.; Hall, C.; Meru, F.; Rice, W. K. M.

2018-03-01

It is likely that most protostellar systems undergo a brief phase where the protostellar disc is self-gravitating. If these discs are prone to fragmentation, then they are able to rapidly form objects that are initially of several Jupiter masses and larger. The fate of these disc fragments (and the fate of planetary bodies formed afterwards via core accretion) depends sensitively not only on the fragment's interaction with the disc, but also with its neighbouring fragments. We return to and revise our population synthesis model of self-gravitating disc fragmentation and tidal downsizing. Amongst other improvements, the model now directly incorporates fragment-fragment interactions while the disc is still present. We find that fragment-fragment scattering dominates the orbital evolution, even when we enforce rapid migration and inefficient gap formation. Compared to our previous model, we see a small increase in the number of terrestrial-type objects being formed, although their survival under tidal evolution is at best unclear. We also see evidence for disrupted fragments with evolved grain populations - this is circumstantial evidence for the formation of planetesimal belts, a phenomenon not seen in runs where fragment-fragment interactions are ignored. In spite of intense dynamical evolution, our population is dominated by massive giant planets and brown dwarfs at large semimajor axis, which direct imaging surveys should, but only rarely, detect. Finally, disc fragmentation is shown to be an efficient manufacturer of free-floating planetary mass objects, and the typical multiplicity of systems formed via gravitational instability will be low.

Extrasolar Planetary Systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ksanfomaliti, L. V.

2000-11-01

The discovery of planetary systems around alien stars is an outstanding achievement of recent years. The idea that the Solar System may be representative of planetary systems in the Galaxy in general develops upon the knowledge, current until the last decade of the 20th century, that it is the only object of its kind. Studies of the known planets gave rise to a certain stereotype in theoretical research. Therefore, the discovery of exoplanets, which are so different from objects of the Solar System, alters our basic notions concerning the physics and very criteria of normal planets. A substantial factor in the history of the Solar System was the formation of Jupiter. Two waves of meteorite bombardment played an important role in that history. Ultimately there arose a stable low-entropy state of the Solar System, in which Jupiter and the other giants in stable orbits protect the inner planets from impacts by dangerous celestial objects, reducing this danger by many orders of magnitude. There are even variants of the anthropic principle maintaining that life on Earth owes its genesis and development to Jupiter. Some 20 companions more or less similar to Jupiter in mass and a few ``infrared dwarfs,'' have been found among the 500 solar-type stars belonging to the main sequence. Approximately half of the exoplanets discovered are of the ``hot-Jupiter'' type. These are giants, sometimes of a mass several times that of Jupiter, in very low orbits and with periods of 3-14 days. All of their parent stars are enriched with heavy elements, [Fe/H] = 0.1-0.2. This may indicate that the process of exoplanet formation depends on the chemical composition of the protoplanetary disk. The very existence of exoplanets of the hot-Jupiter type considered in the context of new theoretical work comes up against the problem of the formation of Jupiter in its real orbit. All the exoplanets in orbits with a semimajor axis of more than 0.15-0.20 astronomical units (AU) have orbital

Compact Two-step Laser Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometer for in Situ Analyses of Aromatic Organics on Planetary Missions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Getty, Stephanie; Brickerhoff, William; Cornish, Timothy; Ecelberger, Scott; Floyd, Melissa

2012-01-01

RATIONALE A miniature time-of-flight mass spectrometer has been adapted to demonstrate two-step laser desorption-ionization (LOI) in a compact instrument package for enhanced organics detection. Two-step LDI decouples the desorption and ionization processes, relative to traditional laser ionization-desorption, in order to produce low-fragmentation conditions for complex organic analytes. Tuning UV ionization laser energy allowed control ofthe degree of fragmentation, which may enable better identification of constituent species. METHODS A reflectron time-of-flight mass spectrometer prototype measuring 20 cm in length was adapted to a two-laser configuration, with IR (1064 nm) desorption followed by UV (266 nm) postionization. A relatively low ion extraction voltage of 5 kV was applied at the sample inlet. Instrument capabilities and performance were demonstrated with analysis of a model polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon, representing a class of compounds important to the fields of Earth and planetary science. RESULTS L2MS analysis of a model PAH standard, pyrene, has been demonstrated, including parent mass identification and the onset o(tunable fragmentation as a function of ionizing laser energy. Mass resolution m/llm = 380 at full width at half-maximum was achieved which is notable for gas-phase ionization of desorbed neutrals in a highly-compact mass analyzer. CONCLUSIONS Achieving two-step laser mass spectrometry (L2MS) in a highly-miniature instrument enables a powerful approach to the detection and characterization of aromatic organics in remote terrestrial and planetary applications. Tunable detection of parent and fragment ions with high mass resolution, diagnostic of molecular structure, is possible on such a compact L2MS instrument. Selectivity of L2MS against low-mass inorganic salt interferences is a key advantage when working with unprocessed, natural samples, and a mechanism for the observed selectivity is presented.

Integration of planetary protection activities

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Race, Margaret S.

1995-01-01

For decades, NASA has been concerned about the protection of planets and other solar system bodies from biological contamination. Its policies regarding biological contamination control for outbound and inbound planetary spacecraft have evolved to focus on three important areas: (1) the preservation of celestial objects and the space environment; (2) protection of Earth from extraterrestrial hazards; and (3) ensuring the integrity of its scientific investigations. Over the years as new information has been obtained from planetary exploration and research, planetary protection parameters and policies have been modified accordingly. The overall focus of research under this cooperative agreement has been to provide information about non-scientific and societal factors related to planetary protection and use it in the planning and implementation phases of future Mars sample return missions.

Dynamics of early planetary gear trains

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

August, R.; Kasuba, R.; Frater, J. L.; Pintz, A.

1984-01-01

A method to analyze the static and dynamic loads in a planetary gear train was developed. A variable-variable mesh stiffness (VVMS) model was used to simulate the external and internal spur gear mesh behavior, and an equivalent conventional gear train concept was adapted for the dynamic studies. The analysis can be applied either involute or noninvolute spur gearing. By utilizing the equivalent gear train concept, the developed method may be extended for use for all types of epicyclic gearing. The method is incorporated into a computer program so that the static and dynamic behavior of individual components can be examined. Items considered in the analysis are: (1) static and dynamic load sharing among the planets; (2) floating or fixed Sun gear; (3) actual tooth geometry, including errors and modifications; (4) positioning errors of the planet gears; (5) torque variations due to noninvolute gear action. A mathematical model comprised of power source, load, and planetary transmission is used to determine the instantaneous loads to which the components are subjected. It considers fluctuating output torque, elastic behavior in the system, and loss of contact between gear teeth. The dynamic model has nine degrees of freedom resulting in a set of simultaneous second order differential equations with time varying coefficients, which are solved numerically. The computer program was used to determine the effect of manufacturing errors, damping and component stiffness, and transmitted load on dynamic behavior. It is indicated that this methodology offers the designer/analyst a comprehensive tool with which planetary drives may be quickly and effectively evaluated.

Discovery of Rotational Modulations in the Planetary-mass Companion 2M1207b: Intermediate Rotation Period and Heterogeneous Clouds in a Low Gravity Atmosphere

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhou, Yifan; Apai, Dániel; Schneider, Glenn H.; Marley, Mark S.; Showman, Adam P.

2016-02-01

Rotational modulations of brown dwarfs have recently provided powerful constraints on the properties of ultra-cool atmospheres, including longitudinal and vertical cloud structures and cloud evolution. Furthermore, periodic light curves directly probe the rotational periods of ultra-cool objects. We present here, for the first time, time-resolved high-precision photometric measurements of a planetary-mass companion, 2M1207b. We observed the binary system with Hubble Space Telescope/Wide Field Camera 3 in two bands and with two spacecraft roll angles. Using point-spread function-based photometry, we reach a nearly photon-noise limited accuracy for both the primary and the secondary. While the primary is consistent with a flat light curve, the secondary shows modulations that are clearly detected in the combined light curve as well as in different subsets of the data. The amplitudes are 1.36% in the F125W and 0.78% in the F160W filters, respectively. By fitting sine waves to the light curves, we find a consistent period of {10.7}-0.6+1.2 hr and similar phases in both bands. The J- and H-band amplitude ratio of 2M1207b is very similar to a field brown dwarf that has identical spectral type but different J-H color. Importantly, our study also measures, for the first time, the rotation period for a directly imaged extra-solar planetary-mass companion.

A Parametric Study for the Design of an Optimized Ultrasonic Percussive Planetary Drill Tool.

PubMed

Li, Xuan; Harkness, Patrick; Worrall, Kevin; Timoney, Ryan; Lucas, Margaret

2017-03-01

Traditional rotary drilling for planetary rock sampling, in situ analysis, and sample return are challenging because the axial force and holding torque requirements are not necessarily compatible with lightweight spacecraft architectures in low-gravity environments. This paper seeks to optimize an ultrasonic percussive drill tool to achieve rock penetration with lower reacted force requirements, with a strategic view toward building an ultrasonic planetary core drill (UPCD) device. The UPCD is a descendant of the ultrasonic/sonic driller/corer technique. In these concepts, a transducer and horn (typically resonant at around 20 kHz) are used to excite a toroidal free mass that oscillates chaotically between the horn tip and drill base at lower frequencies (generally between 10 Hz and 1 kHz). This creates a series of stress pulses that is transferred through the drill bit to the rock surface, and while the stress at the drill-bit tip/rock interface exceeds the compressive strength of the rock, it causes fractures that result in fragmentation of the rock. This facilitates augering and downward progress. In order to ensure that the drill-bit tip delivers the greatest effective impulse (the time integral of the drill-bit tip/rock pressure curve exceeding the strength of the rock), parameters such as the spring rates and the mass of the free mass, the drill bit and transducer have been varied and compared in both computer simulation and practical experiment. The most interesting findings and those of particular relevance to deep drilling indicate that increasing the mass of the drill bit has a limited (or even positive) influence on the rate of effective impulse delivered.

Free-standing supramolecular hydrogel objects by reaction-diffusion

PubMed Central

Lovrak, Matija; Hendriksen, Wouter E. J.; Maity, Chandan; Mytnyk, Serhii; van Steijn, Volkert; Eelkema, Rienk; van Esch, Jan H.

2017-01-01

Self-assembly provides access to a variety of molecular materials, yet spatial control over structure formation remains difficult to achieve. Here we show how reaction–diffusion (RD) can be coupled to a molecular self-assembly process to generate macroscopic free-standing objects with control over shape, size, and functionality. In RD, two or more reactants diffuse from different positions to give rise to spatially defined structures on reaction. We demonstrate that RD can be used to locally control formation and self-assembly of hydrazone molecular gelators from their non-assembling precursors, leading to soft, free-standing hydrogel objects with sizes ranging from several hundred micrometres up to centimeters. Different chemical functionalities and gradients can easily be integrated in the hydrogel objects by using different reactants. Our methodology, together with the vast range of organic reactions and self-assembling building blocks, provides a general approach towards the programmed fabrication of soft microscale objects with controlled functionality and shape. PMID:28580948

HABITABLE ZONES AROUND MAIN-SEQUENCE STARS: DEPENDENCE ON PLANETARY MASS

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kopparapu, Ravi Kumar; Ramirez, Ramses M.; Kasting, James F.

2014-06-01

The ongoing discoveries of extra-solar planets are unveiling a wide range of terrestrial mass (size) planets around their host stars. In this Letter, we present estimates of habitable zones (HZs) around stars with stellar effective temperatures in the range 2600 K-7200 K, for planetary masses between 0.1 M {sub ⊕} and 5 M {sub ⊕}. Assuming H{sub 2}O-(inner HZ) and CO{sub 2}-(outer HZ) dominated atmospheres, and scaling the background N{sub 2} atmospheric pressure with the radius of the planet, our results indicate that larger planets have wider HZs than do smaller ones. Specifically, with the assumption that smaller planets will havemore » less dense atmospheres, the inner edge of the HZ (runaway greenhouse limit) moves outward (∼10% lower than Earth flux) for low mass planets due to larger greenhouse effect arising from the increased H{sub 2}O column depth. For larger planets, the H{sub 2}O column depth is smaller, and higher temperatures are needed before water vapor completely dominates the outgoing longwave radiation. Hence the inner edge moves inward (∼7% higher than Earth's flux). The outer HZ changes little due to the competing effects of the greenhouse effect and an increase in albedo. New, three-dimensional climate model results from other groups are also summarized, and we argue that further, independent studies are needed to verify their predictions. Combined with our previous work, the results presented here provide refined estimates of HZs around main-sequence stars and provide a step toward a more comprehensive analysis of HZs.« less

Abundances of sulfur in the Milky Way Disk from Peimbert Type II planetary nebulae

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Milingo, Jacquelynne Brenda

2000-08-01

Sulfur abundance gradients and heavy element ratios for the Milky Way Disk are constructed based upon newly acquired spectrophotometry of Type II planetary nebulae (PN). These spectra extend from 3600-9600 angstroms allowing us to use the [SIII] 9069 and 9532 angstrom lines to improve upon earlier sulfur abundance estimates. Considering a significant portion of sulfur in PN exists in the S(+2) ionization stage (and higher) this method should allow us to extrapolate more reliable total element abundance from ionic abundances. Given the progenitor mass and location of Type II PN (close to the Galactic disk), this sample of objects is free of nucleosynthetic self-contamination and thus their S abundances in particular are expected to reflect levels of these elements in the interstellar medium at the time of PN progenitor formation. These sulfur abundances provide constraints for studying various aspects of GCE such as massive star yields and the distribution of S across the Milky Way disk.

Giant floating thrombus localized in the ascending aorta.

PubMed

Akyildiz, Mahmut; Zorman, Yilmaz; Aksoy, Tamer; Yilmazer, Mustafa S; Erturk, Esra; Onar, Cagatay L; Midi, Ahmet

2010-06-01

We report the case of a 32-year-old male patient with symptoms of cerebrovascular accident manifesting with dysarthria. A transesophageal echocardiogram showed a floating mass localized in the ascending aorta, and a multislice computed tomography evaluation confirmed the diagnosis. With a comprehensive assessment of the mass, we decided on surgical intervention. A pedunculated and fragile mass was seen just near the right coronary ostium. The measured dimensions were 7.7 x 1.0 x 1.5 cm. The removed mass has been analyzed histopathologically and found to be the cause of the neurologic findings with an uncertain underlying etiology.

Stellar Populations in the Local Group: Contribution from Planetary Nebulae

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Maciel, W. J.; Costa, R. D. D.; Idiart, T. E. P.; Escudero, A. V.

2007-05-01

The role of planetary nebulae (PN) as a key indicator of stellar populations both in the Milky Way and in galaxies of the Local Group has been emphasized in some recent publications (see for example Maciel et al. 2006, Planetary nebulae beyond the Milky Way, ed. L. Stanghellini, J.R. Walsh, N. G. Douglas, Springer, p.209; Richer and McCall 2006, ibid, p. 220; Buzzoni et al. 2006, MNRAS (in press); Ciardullo, R. 2006, IAU Symposium 234, ed. M.J. Barlow, R.H. Mendez, ASP, in press). As the offspring of stars within a reasonably large mass bracket (0.8 to about 8 solar masses), PN encompass an equally large age spread, as well as different spatial and kinematic distributions. For example, in spiral galaxies PN have different properties depending on their location in the disk, bulge or halo populations. They usually present bright emission lines and can be easily distinguished from other emission line objects, so that their chemical composition and spatiokinematical properties are relatively well determined. Therefore, they are particularly suitable for stellar population studies. In this work, we take into account the available data samples of PN in Local Group galaxies and compare the derived information from different objects, particularly regarding the luminosity-specific PN number density, the chemical composition, space distribution and kinematics. Data by our own group on the Milky Way and Magellanic Clouds are combined with recent surveys and theoretical analyses of other galaxies in the Local Group. Special emphasis is given to the disk and bulge populations of PN in the Milky Way and M31, including an analysis of the metallicity distribution, presence of abundance gradients and a determination of the luminosity function from planetary nebulae.

The Chemical Composition of an Extrasolar Kuiper-Belt-Object

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xu, S.; Zuckerman, B.; Dufour, P.; Young, E. D.; Klein, B.; Jura, M.

2017-02-01

The Kuiper Belt of our solar system is a source of short-period comets that may have delivered water and other volatiles to Earth and the other terrestrial planets. However, the distribution of water and other volatiles in extrasolar planetary systems is largely unknown. We report the discovery of an accretion of a Kuiper-Belt-Object analog onto the atmosphere of the white dwarf WD 1425+540. The heavy elements C, N, O, Mg, Si, S, Ca, Fe, and Ni are detected, with nitrogen observed for the first time in extrasolar planetary debris. The nitrogen mass fraction is ∼2%, comparable to that in comet Halley and higher than in any other known solar system object. The lower limit to the accreted mass is ∼1022 g, which is about one hundred thousand times the typical mass of a short-period comet. In addition, WD 1425+540 has a wide binary companion, which could facilitate perturbing a Kuiper-Belt-Object analog into the white dwarf’s tidal radius. This finding shows that analogs to objects in our Kuiper Belt exist around other stars and could be responsible for the delivery of volatiles to terrestrial planets beyond the solar system. Part of the data presented herein were obtained at the W.M. Keck Observatory, which is operated as a scientific partnership among Caltech, the University of California and NASA. The Observatory was made possible by the generous financial support of the W.M. Keck Foundation.

The mysterious age invariance of the planetary nebula luminosity function bright cut-off

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gesicki, K.; Zijlstra, A. A.; Miller Bertolami, M. M.

2018-05-01

Planetary nebulae mark the end of the active life of 90% of all stars. They trace the transition from a red giant to a degenerate white dwarf. Stellar models1,2 predicted that only stars above approximately twice the solar mass could form a bright nebula. But the ubiquitous presence of bright planetary nebulae in old stellar populations, such as elliptical galaxies, contradicts this: such high-mass stars are not present in old systems. The planetary nebula luminosity function, and especially its bright cut-off, is almost invariant between young spiral galaxies, with high-mass stars, and old elliptical galaxies, with only low-mass stars. Here, we show that new evolutionary tracks of low-mass stars are capable of explaining in a simple manner this decades-old mystery. The agreement between the observed luminosity function and computed stellar evolution validates the latest theoretical modelling. With these models, the planetary nebula luminosity function provides a powerful diagnostic to derive star formation histories of intermediate-age stars. The new models predict that the Sun at the end of its life will also form a planetary nebula, but it will be faint.

Control of free-flying space robot manipulator systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cannon, Robert H., Jr.

1989-01-01

Control techniques for self-contained, autonomous free-flying space robots are being tested and developed. Free-flying space robots are envisioned as a key element of any successful long term presence in space. These robots must be capable of performing the assembly, maintenance, and inspection, and repair tasks that currently require astronaut extra-vehicular activity (EVA). Use of robots will provide economic savings as well as improved astronaut safety by reducing and in many cases, eliminating the need for human EVA. The focus of the work is to develop and carry out a set of research projects using laboratory models of satellite robots. These devices use air-cushion-vehicle (ACV) technology to simulate in two dimensions the drag-free, zero-g conditions of space. Current work is divided into six major projects or research areas. Fixed-base cooperative manipulation work represents our initial entry into multiple arm cooperation and high-level control with a sophisticated user interface. The floating-base cooperative manipulation project strives to transfer some of the technologies developed in the fixed-base work onto a floating base. The global control and navigation experiment seeks to demonstrate simultaneous control of the robot manipulators and the robot base position so that tasks can be accomplished while the base is undergoing a controlled motion. The multiple-vehicle cooperation project's goal is to demonstrate multiple free-floating robots working in teams to carry out tasks too difficult or complex for a single robot to perform. The Location Enhancement Arm Push-off (LEAP) activity's goal is to provide a viable alternative to expendable gas thrusters for vehicle propulsion wherein the robot uses its manipulators to throw itself from place to place. Because the successful execution of the LEAP technique requires an accurate model of the robot and payload mass properties, it was deemed an attractive testbed for adaptive control technology.

Planetary Rings

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tiscareno, Matthew S.

Planetary rings are the only nearby astrophysical disks and the only disks that have been investigated by spacecraft (especially the Cassini spacecraft orbiting Saturn). Although there are significant differences between rings and other disks, chiefly the large planet/ring mass ratio that greatly enhances the flatness of rings (aspect ratios as small as 10- 7), understanding of disks in general can be enhanced by understanding the dynamical processes observed at close range and in real time in planetary rings.We review the known ring systems of the four giant planets, as well as the prospects for ring systems yet to be discovered. We then review planetary rings by type. The A, B, and C rings of Saturn, plus the Cassini Division, comprise our solar system's only dense broad disk and host many phenomena of general application to disks including spiral waves, gap formation, self-gravity wakes, viscous overstability and normal modes, impact clouds, and orbital evolution of embedded moons. Dense narrow rings are found both at Uranus (where they comprise the main rings entirely) and at Saturn (where they are embedded in the broad disk) and are the primary natural laboratory for understanding shepherding and self-stability. Narrow dusty rings, likely generated by embedded source bodies, are surprisingly found to sport azimuthally confined arcs at Neptune, Saturn, and Jupiter. Finally, every known ring system includes a substantial component of diffuse dusty rings.Planetary rings have shown themselves to be useful as detectors of planetary processes around them, including the planetary magnetic field and interplanetary impactors as well as the gravity of nearby perturbing moons. Experimental rings science has made great progress in recent decades, especially numerical simulations of self-gravity wakes and other processes but also laboratory investigations of coefficient of restitution and spectroscopic ground truth. The age of self-sustained ring systems is a matter of

Design And Testing of The Floating Potential Probe For ISS

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hillard, G. Barry; Ferguson, Dale C.

2001-01-01

Flight 4A was an especially critical mission for the International Space Station (ISS). For the first time, the high voltage solar arrays generated significant amounts of power and long predicted environmental interactions (high negative floating potential and concomitant dielectric charging) became serious concerns. Furthermore, the same flight saw the Plasma Contacting Unit (PCU) deployed and put into operation to mitigate and control these effects. The ISS program office has recognized the critical need to verify, by direct measurement, that ISS does not charge to unacceptable levels. A Floating Potential Probe (FPP) was therefore deployed on ISS to measure ISS floating potential relative to the surrounding plasma and to measure relevant plasma parameters. The primary objective of FPP is to verify that ISS floating potential does not exceed the specified level of 40 volts with respect to the ambient. Since it is expected that in normal operations the PCU will maintain ISS within this specification, it is equivalent to say that the objective of FPP is to monitor the functionality of the PCU. In this paper, we report on the design and testing of the ISS FPP. In a separate paper, the operations and results obtained so far by the FPP will be presented.

Long-range pollution transport during the MILAGRO-2006 campaign: a case study of a major Mexico City outflow event using free-floating altitude-controlled balloons

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Voss, P. B.; Zaveri, R. A.; Flocke, F. M.; Mao, H.; Hartley, T. P.; Deamicis, P.; Deonandan, I.; Contreras-Jiménez, G.; Martínez-Antonio, O.; Figueroa Estrada, M.; Greenberg, D.; Campos, T. L.; Weinheimer, A. J.; Knapp, D. J.; Montzka, D. D.; Crounse, J. D.; Wennberg, P. O.; Apel, E.; Madronich, S.; de Foy, B.

2010-08-01

One of the major objectives of the Megacities Initiative: Local And Global Research Observations (MILAGRO-2006) campaign was to investigate the long-range transport of polluted Mexico City Metropolitan Area (MCMA) outflow and determine its downwind impacts on air quality and climate. Six research aircraft, including the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) C-130, made extensive chemical, aerosol, and radiation measurements above MCMA and more than 1000 km downwind in order to characterize the evolution of the outflow as it aged and dispersed over the Mesa Alta, Sierra Madre Oriental, Coastal Plain, and Gulf of Mexico. As part of this effort, free-floating Controlled-Meteorological (CMET) balloons, commanded to change altitude via satellite, made repeated profile measurements of winds and state variables within the advecting outflow. In this paper, we present an analysis of the data from two CMET balloons that were launched near Mexico City on the afternoon of 18 March 2006 and floated downwind with the MCMA pollution for nearly 30 h. The repeating profile measurements show the evolving structure of the outflow in considerable detail: its stability and stratification, interaction with other air masses, mixing episodes, and dispersion into the regional background. Air parcel trajectories, computed directly from the balloon wind profiles, show three transport pathways on 18-19 March: (a) high-altitude advection of the top of the MCMA mixed layer, (b) mid-level outflow over the Sierra Madre Oriental followed by decoupling and isolated transport over the Gulf of Mexico, and (c) low-level outflow with entrainment into a cleaner northwesterly jet above the Coastal Plain. The C-130 aircraft intercepted the balloon-based trajectories three times on 19 March, once along each of these pathways; in all three cases, peaks in urban tracer concentrations and LIDAR backscatter are consistent with MCMA pollution. In comparison with the transport models used in the

Planetary system formation: Effects of planet-disk tidal interaction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bryden, Geoffrey

The standard theory of planet formation begins with the coagulation of solid planetesimals (Safronov 1969, Wetherill & Stewart 1989) followed by the accretion of disk gas once the solid core reaches a critical mass >~10M⊕ (Perri & Cameron 1974, Mizuno 1980, Bodenheimer & Pollack 1986). The classic picture of planet formation, in which each planet's position in the nebula remain fixed, is challenged by the observed distribution of extra-solar planets (e.g. Mayor & Queloz 1995, Butler et al. 1999). The majority of these planets are on short-period orbits ( P<~10 days) very close to their central stars ( ap<~0.1 AU), suggesting that orbital migration plays an important role in the formation of planetary systems. The intent of this thesis is to explore the inclusion of protoplanetary tidal forces into the classical theory of planetary system formation. Protoplanetary interaction with the surrounding gaseous nebulae directly determines giant planets' semi-major axes, masses, gas/solid ratio, and relative spacing. In essence, the process of gap formation determines the primary observational characteristics of both individual planets and their composite systems. Detailed simulations of gap formation produce a range of planetary masses consistent with the observed distribution. Fully self-interacting models of planetary system formation can be used to create a wide variety of planetary systems, ranging from the solar system to Upsilon Andromeda (Butler et al. 1999).

The Demographics and Properties of Wide-Orbit, Planetary-Mass Companions from PSF Fitting of Spitzer/IRAC Images

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Martinez, Raquel; Kraus, Adam L.

2017-06-01

Over the past decade, a growing population of planetary-mass companions (< 20 MJup PMCs) orbiting young stars have been discovered. These objects are at wide separations (> 100 AU) from their host stars, challenging existing models of both star and planet formation. It is unclear whether these systems represent the low-mass extreme of stellar binary formation or the high-mass and wide-orbit extreme of planet formation theories, as various proposed formation pathways inadequately explain the physical and orbital aspects of these systems. Even so, determining which scenario best reproduces the observed characteristics of the PMCs will come once a statistically robust sample of directly-imaged PMCs are found and studied.We are developing an automated pipeline to search for wide-orbit PMCs to young stars in Spitzer/IRAC images. A Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) algorithm is the backbone of our novel point spread function (PSF) subtraction routine that efficiently creates and subtracts χ2-minimizing instrumental PSFs, simultaneously measuring astrometry and infrared photometry of these systems across the four IRAC channels (3.6 μm, 4.5 μm, 5.8 μm, and 8 μm). In this work, we present the results of a Spitzer/IRAC archival imaging study of 11 young, low-mass (0.044-0.88 M⊙ K3.5-M7.5) stars known to have faint, low-mass companions in 3 nearby star-forming regions (Chameleon, Taurus, and Upper Scorpius). We characterize the systems found to have low-mass companions with non-zero [I1] - [I4] colors, potentially signifying the presence of a circum(sub?)stellar disk. Plans for future pipeline improvements and paths forward will also be discussed. Once this computational foundation is optimized, the stage is set to quickly scour the nearby star-forming regions already imaged by Spitzer, identify potential candidates for further characterization with ground- or space-based telescopes, and increase the number of widely-separated PMCs known.

Wave excited motion of a body floating on water confined between two semi-infinite ice sheets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ren, K.; Wu, G. X.; Thomas, G. A.

2016-12-01

The wave excited motion of a body floating on water confined between two semi-infinite ice sheets is investigated. The ice sheet is treated as an elastic thin plate and water is treated as an ideal and incompressible fluid. The linearized velocity potential theory is adopted in the frequency domain and problems are solved by the method of matched eigenfunctions expansion. The fluid domain is divided into sub-regions and in each sub-region the velocity potential is expanded into a series of eigenfunctions satisfying the governing equation and the boundary conditions on horizontal planes including the free surface and ice sheets. Matching is conducted at the interfaces of two neighbouring regions to ensure the continuity of the pressure and velocity, and the unknown coefficients in the expressions are obtained as a result. The behaviour of the added mass and damping coefficients of the floating body with the effect of the ice sheets and the excitation force are analysed. They are found to vary oscillatorily with the wave number, which is different from that for a floating body in the open sea. The motion of the body confined between ice sheets is investigated, in particular its resonant behaviour with extremely large motion found to be possible under certain conditions. Standing waves within the polynya are also observed.

Spectroscopic planetary detection

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Deming, D.; Espenak, F.; Hillman, J. J.; Kostiuk, T.; Mumma, M. J.; Jennings, D. E.

1986-01-01

The Sun-as-a-star was monitored using the McMath Fourier transform spectometer (FTS) on Kitt Peak in 1983. In 1985 the first measurement was made using the laser heterodyne technique. The FTS measurements now extend for three years, with errors of order 3 meters/sec at a given epoch. Over this 3 year period, a 33 meter/sec change was measured in the apparent velocity of integrated sunlight. The sense of the effect is that a greater blueshift is seen near solar minimum, which is consistent with expectations based on considering the changing morphology of solar granular convection. Presuming this effect is solar-cycle-related, it will mimic the Doppler reflex produced by a planetary companion of approximately two Jupiter masses, with an 11 year orbital period. Thus, Jupiter itself is below the threshold for detection by spectroscopic means, without an additional technique for discrimination. However, for planetary companions in shorter period orbits (P approx. 3 years) the threshold for unambiguous detection is well below one Jupiter mass.

Signatures Of A Putative Planetary Mass Solar Companion On The Orbital Distribution Of Tno's And Centaurs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gomes, Rodney S.; Soares, J. S.

2012-05-01

Gomes et al. 2006 (Icarus 184, 589) show that a planetary mass solar companion (PMSC) can produce orbits in an inner Oort cloud that can account for Sedna's orbit. On the other hand, one should expect that this faraway planet would also produce some peculiar orbital distribution for distant TNO's and Centaurs. A pair of interesting orbits in this respect are those of 2006 SQ372 and 2000 OO67. These objects have very large semimajor axes and perihelion between Uranus and Neptune orbits. It has been claimed that a likely source for 2006 SQ372 is the Oort cloud. Yet a PMSC has an important effect on objects at inner Oort cloud distances, say between 300 AU and 2000 AU, to make their perihelion distances to continually oscillate with a large enough amplitude to account for objects both inside and outside Neptune's orbit. This naturally produces an extra amount of TNO's with semimajor axes between 300 and 2000 AU and perihelion inside Neptune's orbit, like 2006 SQ372 and 2000 OO67. This signature should be found in present observations. To deal with this problem we construct a numerical simulator and apply it to populations of distant TNO's produced by numerical integration of planetesimals and planets according to the Nice model, either including or not a PMSC. With the results from the numerical simulator we compare the model with and without the PMSC with observations. We conclude that a PMSC is compatible with the existence of 2006 SQ372 and 2000 OO67 and, in fact, although not conclusively, we can also claim that the observations of 2006 SQ372 and 2000 OO67, compared to all other scattered objects, would be lucky events if no PMSC exists.

Superhydrophobic floatability of a hydrophilic object driven by edge effect

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chang, Feng-Ming; Sheng, Yu-Jane; Tsao, Heng-Kwong

2009-11-01

It is generally believed that a water-repellent surface is necessary for small insects to stand on water. Through a combined experimental and theoretical study, we demonstrate that an object with hydrophilic surface can float with apparent contact angle greater than 90° due to edge effect. The apparent contact angle rises with increasing loading even to a value typically displayed only by superhydrophobic surfaces. On the basis of free energy minimization, two regimes are identified. When buoyancy controls, the meniscus meets the object with the intrinsic contact angle. As surface tension dominates, however, contact angle is regulated by total force balance.

Planetary Magnetic Fields: Planetary Interiors and Habitability

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lazio, T. Joseph W.; Shkolnik, Evgenya; Hallinan, Gregg; Planetary Habitability Study Team

2016-06-01

The W. M. Keck Institute for Space Studies (KISS) sponsored the Planetary Magnetic Fields: Planetary Interiors and Habitability Study to review the state of knowledge of extrasolar planetary magnetic fields and the prospects for their detection. There were multiple motivations for this Study. Planetary-scale magnetic fields are a window to a planet's interior and provide shielding of the planet's atmosphere. The Earth, Mercury, Ganymede, and the giant planets of the solar system all contain internal dynamo currents that generate planetary-scale magnetic fields. In turn, these internal dynamo currents arise from differential rotation, convection, compositional dynamics, or a combination of these in objects' interiors. If coupled to an energy source, such as the incident kinetic or magnetic energy from the solar wind or an orbiting satellite, a planet's magnetic field can produce intense electron cyclotron masers in its magnetic polar regions. The most well known example of this process in the solar system is the Jovian decametric emission, but all of the giant planets and the Earth contain similar electron cyclotron masers within their magnetospheres. Extrapolated to extrasolar planets, the remote detection of the magnetic field of an extrasolar planet would provide a means of obtaining constraints on the thermal state, composition, and dynamics of its interior--all of which will be difficult to determine by other means--as well as improved understanding of the basic planetary dynamo process. This report presents the findings from the Study, including potential mission concepts that emerged and future work in both modeling and observations. There was also an identification of that radio wavelength observations would likely be key to making significant progress in this field. The entire Study program would not have been possible without the generous support of the W. M. Keck Foundation. We thank Michele Judd, Tom Prince, and the staff of the W. M. Keck Institute for

Modelling of the MEA float zone using accelerometer data

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Alexander, J. Iwan D.

1993-01-01

During a floating zone experiment involving the growth of indium on a recent orbiter mission, (STS 32) oscillation of the zone shapes were observed to occur in response to the background acceleration. An understanding of the nature of the response of the zone shape to forced (g-jitter) oscillations and predictions of its impact on future experiments is of great interest not only to the PI's but to other commercial and academic investigators who plan to fly similar experiments in the orbiter and on space station. Motivated by this, a 15 month study was undertaken to analyze the nature of the g-sensitivity of the STS 32 floating zone crystal growth experiment. Numerical models were used to describe the time-dependent free surface motion of the zone as it responds to the spacecraft residual acceleration. Relevant experimental data concerning the acceleration environment was obtained from the Honeywell in Space Accelerometer (HISA) investigators through MSFC's ACAP program and processed and analyzed. For the indium floating zone experiment, a series of calculations were made using time-dependent axial accelerations g(t). The form of g(t) included simple sinusoidal disturbances as well as actual data (subject to appropriate filtering) measured on the STS 32 mission. Focus was on the calculation of the response of the free surface of the zone as well as the internal flows and internal heat transfer. The influence of solidification on the response of the zone shape was also examined but found to be negligible.

Contemporary Planetary Science.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Belton, Michael J. S.; Levy, Eugene H.

1982-01-01

Presents an overview of planetary science and the United States program for exploration of the planets, examining the program's scientific objectives, its current activities, and the diversity of its methods. Also discusses the program's lack of continuity, especially in personnel. (Author/JN)

Planetary programs

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mills, R. A.; Bourke, R. D.

1985-01-01

The goals of the NASA planetary exploration program are to understand the origin and evolution of the solar system and the earth, and the extent and nature of near-earth space resources. To accomplish this, a number of missions have been flown to the planets, and more are in active preparation or in the planning stage. This paper describes the current and planned planetary exploration program starting with the spacecraft now in flight (Pioneers and Voyagers), those in preparation for launch this decade (Galileo, Magellan, and Mars Observer), and those recommended by the Solar System Exploration Committee for the future. The latter include a series of modest objective Observer missions, a more ambitious set of Mariner Mark IIs, and the very challenging but scientifically rewarding sample returns.

Application of a movable active vibration control system on a floating raft

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Zhen; Mak, Cheuk Ming

2018-02-01

This paper presents a theoretical study of an inertial actuator connected to an accelerometer by a local feedback loop for active vibration control on a floating raft. On the criterion of the minimum power transmission from the vibratory machines to the flexible foundation in the floating raft, the best mounting positions for the inertial actuator on the intermediate mass of the floating raft are investigated. Simulation results indicate that the best mounting positions for the inertial actuator vary with frequency. To control time-varying excitations of vibratory machines on a floating raft effectively, an automatic control system based on real-time measurement of a cost function and automatically searching the best mounting position of the inertial actuator is proposed. To the best of our knowledge, it is the first time that an automatic control system is proposed to move an actuator automatically for controlling a time-varying excitation.

Lunar and Planetary Science XXXV: Origin of Planetary Systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2004-01-01

The session "Origin of Planetary Systems" included the following reports: (12753) Povenmire - Standard Comparison Small Main Belt Asteroid?; Gravitational Frequencies of Extra-Solar Planets; 'Jumping Jupiters' in Binary Star Systems; Hermes, Asteroid 2002 SY50 and the Northern Cetids - No Link Found!; What Kind of Accretion Model is Required for the Solar System; and Use of an Orbital Phase Curve of Extrasolar Planet for Specification of its Mass.

Simulation of Planetary Formation using Python

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bufkin, James; Bixler, David

2015-03-01

A program to simulate planetary formation was developed in the Python programming language. The program consists of randomly placed and massed bodies surrounding a central massive object in order to approximate a protoplanetary disk. The orbits of these bodies are time-stepped, with accelerations, velocities and new positions calculated in each step. Bodies are allowed to merge if their disks intersect. Numerous parameters (orbital distance, masses, number of particles, etc.) were varied in order to optimize the program. The program uses an iterative difference equation approach to solve the equations of motion using a kinematic model. Conservation of energy and angular momentum are not specifically forced, but conservation of momentum is forced during the merging of bodies. The initial program was created in Visual Python (VPython) but the current intention is to allow for higher particle count and faster processing by utilizing PyOpenCl and PyOpenGl. Current results and progress will be reported.

Matched filter based detection of floating mines in IR spacetime

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Borghgraef, Alexander; Lapierre, Fabian; Philips, Wilfried; Acheroy, Marc

2009-09-01

Ship-based automatic detection of small floating objects on an agitated sea surface remains a hard problem. Our main concern is the detection of floating mines, which proved a real threat to shipping in confined waterways during the first Gulf War, but applications include salvaging,search-and-rescue and perimeter or harbour defense. IR video was chosen for its day-and-night imaging capability, and its availability on military vessels. Detection is difficult because a rough sea is seen as a dynamic background of moving objects with size order, shape and temperature similar to those of the floating mine. We do find a determinant characteristic in the target's periodic motion, which differs from that of the propagating surface waves composing the background. The classical detection and tracking approaches give bad results when applied to this problem. While background detection algorithms assume a quasi-static background, the sea surface is actually very dynamic, causing this category of algorithms to fail. Kalman or particle filter algorithms on the other hand, which stress temporal coherence, suffer from tracking loss due to occlusions and the great noise level of the image. We propose an innovative approach. This approach uses the periodicity of the objects movement and thus its temporal coherence. The principle is to consider the video data as a spacetime volume similar to a hyperspectral data cube by replacing the spectral axis with a temporal axis. We can then apply algorithms developed for hyperspectral detection problems to the detection of small floating objects. We treat the detection problem using multilinear algebra, designing a number of finite impulse response filters (FIR) maximizing the target response. The algorithm was applied to test footage of practice mines in the infrared.

Mission Implementation Constraints on Planetary Muon Radiography

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jones, Cathleen E.; Kedar, Sharon; Naudet, Charles; Webb, Frank

2011-01-01

Cost: Use heritage hardware, especially use a tested landing system to reduce cost (Phoenix or MSL EDL stage). The sky crane technology delivers higher mass to the surface and enables reaching targets at higher elevation, but at a higher mission cost. Rover vs. Stationary Lander: Rover-mounted instrument enables tomography, but the increased weight of the rover reduces the allowable payload weight. Mass is the critical design constraint for an instrument for a planetary mission. Many factors that are minor factors or do not enter into design considerations for terrestrial operation are important for a planetary application. (Landing site, diurnal temperature variation, instrument portability, shock/vibration)

Fluid Surface Deformation by Objects in the Cheerios Effect

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nguyen, Khoi; Miller, Michael; Mandre, Shreyas; Mandre Lab Team

2012-11-01

Small objects floating on a fluid/air interface deform of the surface depending on material surface properties, density, and geometry. These objects attract each other through capillary interactions, a phenomenon dubbed the ``cheerios effect.'' The attractive force and torque exerted on these objects by the interface can be estimated if the meniscus deformation is known. In addition, the floating objects can also rotate due to such an interaction. We present a series of experiments focused on visualizing the the motions of the floating objects and the deformation of the interface. The experiments involve thin laser-cut acrylic pieces attracting each other on water in a large glass petri dish and a camera set-up to capture the process. Furthermore, optical distortion of a grid pattern is used to visualize the water surface deformation near the edge of the objects. This study of the deformation of the water surface around a floating object, of the attractive/repulsive forces, and of post-contact rotational dynamics are potentially instrumental in the study of colloidal self-assembly.

Numerical simulation of an experimental analogue of a planetary magnetosphere

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liao, Andy Sha; Li, Shule; Hartigan, Patrick; Graham, Peter; Fiksel, Gennady; Frank, Adam; Foster, John; Kuranz, Carolyn

2015-12-01

Recent improvements to the Omega Laser Facility's magneto-inertial fusion electrical discharge system (MIFEDS) have made it possible to generate strong enough magnetic fields in the laboratory to begin to address the physics of magnetized astrophysical flows. Here, we adapt the MHD code AstroBEAR to create 2D numerical models of an experimental analogue of a planetary magnetosphere. We track the secular evolution of the magnetosphere analogue and we show that the magnetospheric components such as the magnetopause, magnetosheath, and bow shock, should all be observable in experimental optical band thermal bremsstrahlung emissivity maps, assuming equilibrium charge state distributions of the plasma. When the magnetosphere analogue nears the steady state, the mid-plane altitude of the magnetopause from the wire surface scales as the one-half power of the ratio of the magnetic pressure at the surface of the free wire to the ram pressure of an unobstructed wind; the mid-plane thickness of the magnetosheath is directly related to the radius of the magnetopause. This behavior conforms to Chapman and Ferraro's theory of planetary magnetospheres. Although the radial dependence of the magnetic field strength differs between the case of a current-carrying wire and a typical planetary object, the major morphological features that develop when a supersonic flow passes either system are identical. Hence, this experimental concept is an attractive one for studying the dynamics of planetary magnetospheres in a controlled environment.

Quantification of free convection effects on 1 kg mass standards

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schreiber, M.; Emran, M. S.; Fröhlich, T.; Schumacher, J.; Thess, A.

2015-12-01

We determine the free-convection effects and the resulting mass differences in a high-precision mass comparator for cylindrical and spherical 1 kg mass standards at different air pressures. The temperature differences are chosen in the millikelvin range and lead to microgram updrafts. Our studies reveal a good agreement between the measurements and direct numerical simulations of the Boussinesq equations of free thermal convection. A higher sensitivity to the free convection effects is found for the spherical case compared to the cylindrical one. We also translate our results on the free convection effects into a form which is used in fluid mechanics: a dimensionless updraft coefficient as a function of the dimensionless Grashof number Gr that quantifies the thermal driving due to temperature differences. This relation displays a unique scaling behavior over nearly four decades in Gr and levels off into geometry-specific constants for the very small Grashof numbers. The obtained results provide a rational framework for estimating systematic errors in mass metrology due to the effects of free convection.

Planetary CubeSats Come of Age

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sherwood, Brent; Spangelo, Sara; Frick, Andreas; Castillo-Rogez, Julie; Klesh, Andrew; Wyatt, E. Jay; Reh, Kim; Baker, John

2015-01-01

Jet Propulsion Laboratory initiatives in developing and formulating planetary CubeSats are described. Six flight systems already complete or underway now at JPL for missions to interplanetary space, the Moon, a near-Earth asteroid, and Mars are described at the subsystem level. Key differences between interplanetary nanospacecraft and LEO CubeSats are explained, as well as JPL's adaptation of vendor components and development of system solutions to meet planetary-mission needs. Feasible technology-demonstration and science measurement objectives are described for multiple modes of planetary mission implementation. Seven planetary-science demonstration mission concepts, already proposed to NASA by Discovery-2014 PIs partnered with JPL, are described for investigations at Sun-Earth L5, Venus, NEA 1999 FG3, comet Tempel 2, Phobos, main-belt asteroid 24 Themis, and metal asteroid 16 Psyche. The JPL staff and facilities resources available to PIs for analysis, design, and development of planetary nanospacecraft are catalogued.

Population assessment of tropical tuna based on their associative behavior around floating objects.

PubMed

Capello, M; Deneubourg, J L; Robert, M; Holland, K N; Schaefer, K M; Dagorn, L

2016-11-03

Estimating the abundance of pelagic fish species is a challenging task, due to their vast and remote habitat. Despite the development of satellite, archival and acoustic tagging techniques that allow the tracking of marine animals in their natural environments, these technologies have so far been underutilized in developing abundance estimations. We developed a new method for estimating the abundance of tropical tuna that employs these technologies and exploits the aggregative behavior of tuna around floating objects (FADs). We provided estimates of abundance indices based on a simulated set of tagged fish and studied the sensitivity of our method to different association dynamics, FAD numbers, population sizes and heterogeneities of the FAD-array. Taking the case study of yellowfin tuna (Thunnus albacares) acoustically-tagged in Hawaii, we implemented our approach on field data and derived for the first time the ratio between the associated and the total population. With more extensive and long-term monitoring of FAD-associated tunas and good estimates of the numbers of fish at FADs, our method could provide fisheries-independent estimates of populations of tropical tuna. The same approach can be applied to obtain population assessments for any marine and terrestrial species that display associative behavior and from which behavioral data have been acquired using acoustic, archival or satellite tags.

A Three-Line Stereo Camera Concept for Planetary Exploration

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sandau, Rainer; Hilbert, Stefan; Venus, Holger; Walter, Ingo; Fang, Wai-Chi; Alkalai, Leon

1997-01-01

This paper presents a low-weight stereo camera concept for planetary exploration. The camera uses three CCD lines within the image plane of one single objective. Some of the main features of the camera include: focal length-90 mm, FOV-18.5 deg, IFOV-78 (mu)rad, convergence angles-(+/-)10 deg, radiometric dynamics-14 bit, weight-2 kg, and power consumption-12.5 Watts. From an orbit altitude of 250 km the ground pixel size is 20m x 20m and the swath width is 82 km. The CCD line data is buffered in the camera internal mass memory of 1 Gbit. After performing radiometric correction and application-dependent preprocessing the data is compressed and ready for downlink. Due to the aggressive application of advanced technologies in the area of microelectronics and innovative optics, the low mass and power budgets of 2 kg and 12.5 Watts is achieved, while still maintaining high performance. The design of the proposed light-weight camera is also general purpose enough to be applicable to other planetary missions such as the exploration of Mars, Mercury, and the Moon. Moreover, it is an example of excellent international collaboration on advanced technology concepts developed at DLR, Germany, and NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, USA.

Free-floating adult human brain-derived slice cultures as a model to study the neuronal impact of Alzheimer's disease-associated Aβ oligomers.

PubMed

Mendes, Niele D; Fernandes, Artur; Almeida, Glaucia M; Santos, Luis E; Selles, Maria Clara; Lyra-Silva, Natalia; Machado, Carla M; Horta-Júnior, José A C; Louzada, Paulo R; De Felice, Fernanda G; Alvez-Leon, Soniza; Marcondes, Jorge; Assirati, João Alberto; Matias, Caio M; Klein, William L; Garcia-Cairasco, Norberto; Ferreira, Sergio T; Neder, Luciano; Sebollela, Adriano

2018-05-31

Slice cultures have been prepared from several organs. With respect to the brain, advantages of slice cultures over dissociated cell cultures include maintenance of the cytoarchitecture and neuronal connectivity. Slice cultures from adult human brain have been reported and constitute a promising method to study neurological diseases. Despite this potential, few studies have characterized in detail cell survival and function along time in short-term, free-floating cultures. We used tissue from adult human brain cortex from patients undergoing temporal lobectomy to prepare 200 μm-thick slices. Along the period in culture, we evaluated neuronal survival, histological modifications, and neurotransmitter release. The toxicity of Alzheimer's-associated Aβ oligomers (AβOs) to cultured slices was also analyzed. Neurons in human brain slices remain viable and neurochemically active for at least four days in vitro, which allowed detection of binding of AβOs. We further found that slices exposed to AβOs presented elevated levels of hyperphosphorylated Tau, a hallmark of Alzheimer's disease. Although slice cultures from adult human brain have been previously prepared, this is the first report to analyze cell viability and neuronal activity in short-term free-floating cultures as a function of days in vitro. Once surgical tissue is available, the current protocol is easy to perform and produces functional slices from adult human brain. These slice cultures may represent a preferred model for translational studies of neurodegenerative disorders when long term culturing in not required, as in investigations on AβO neurotoxicity. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Progress towards a Drag-free SmallSat

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Saraf, Shailendhar

The net force acting on a drag-free satellite is purely gravitational as all other forces, mainly atmospheric drag and solar radiation pressure, are canceled out. In order to achieve this, a free floating reference (test mass) inside the satellite is shielded against all forces but gravity and a system of thrusters is commanded by a control algorithm such that the relative displacement between the reference and the satellite stays constant. The main input to that control algorithm is the output of a sensor which measures the relative displacement between the satellite and the test mass. Internal disturbance forces such as electrostatic or magnetic forces cannot be canceled out his way and have to be minimized by a careful design of the satellite. A drag-free technology package is under development at Stanford since 2004. It includes an optical displacement sensor to measure the relative position of the test mass inside the satellite, a caging mechanism to lock the test mass during launch, a UV LED based charge management system to minimize the effect of electrostatic forces, a thermal enclosure, and the drag-free control algorithms. Possible applications of drag-free satellites in fundamental physics (Gravity Probe B, LISA), geodesy (GOCE), and navigation (TRIAD I). In this presentation we will highlight the progress of the technology development towards a drag-free mission. The planned mission on a SaudiSat bus will demonstrate drag-free technology on a small spacecraft at a fraction of the cost of previous drag-free missions. The target acceleration noise is 10-12 m/sec2. With multiple such satellites a GRACE-like mission with improved sensitivity and potentially improved spatial and temporal resolution can be achieved.

Synergistic approach of asteroid exploitation and planetary protection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sanchez, J. P.; McInnes, C. R.

2012-02-01

The asteroid and cometary impact hazard has long been recognised as an important issue requiring risk assessment and contingency planning. At the same time asteroids have also been acknowledged as possible sources of raw materials for future large-scale space engineering ventures. This paper explores possible synergies between these two apparently opposed views; planetary protection and space resource exploitation. In particular, the paper assumes a 5 tonne low-thrust spacecraft as a baseline for asteroid deflection and capture (or resource transport) missions. The system is assumed to land on the asteroid and provide a continuous thrust able to modify the orbit of the asteroid according to the mission objective. The paper analyses the capability of such a near-term system to provide both planetary protection and asteroid resources to Earth. Results show that a 5 tonne spacecraft could provide a high level of protection for modest impact hazards: airburst and local damage events (caused by 15-170 m diameter objects). At the same time, the same spacecraft could also be used to transport to bound Earth orbits significant quantities of material through judicious use of orbital dynamics and passively safe aero-capture manoeuvres or low energy ballistic capture. As will be shown, a 5 tonne low-thrust spacecraft could potentially transport between 12 and 350 times its own mass of asteroid resources by means of ballistic capture or aero-capture trajectories that pose very low dynamical pressures on the object.

Controlled release floating multiparticulates of metoprolol succinate by hot melt extrusion.

PubMed

Malode, Vilas N; Paradkar, Anant; Devarajan, Padma V

2015-08-01

We present hot melt extrusion (HME) for the design of floating multiparticulates. Metoprolol succinate was selected as the model drug. Our foremost objective was to optimize the components Eudragit(®) RS PO, polyethylene oxide (PEO) and hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC) to balance both buoyancy and controlled release. Gas generated by sodium bicarbonate in acidic medium was trapped in the polymer matrix to enable floating. Eudragit(®) RS PO and PEO with sodium bicarbonate resulted in multiparticulates which exhibited rapid flotation within 3 min but inadequate total floating time (TFT) of 3h. Addition of HPMC to the matrix did not affect floating lag time (FLT), moreover TFT increased to more than 12h with controlled release of metoprolol succinate. Floating multiparticulates exhibited t50% of 5.24h and t90% of 10.12h. XRD and DSC analysis revealed crystalline state of drug while FTIR suggested nonexistence of chemical interaction between the drug and the other excipients. The assay, FLT, TFT and the drug release of the multiparticulates were unchanged when stored at 40°C/75%RH for 3 months confirming stability. We present floating multiparticulates by HME which could be extrapolated to a range of other drugs. Our approach hence presents platform technology for floating multiparticulates. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Mars Technology Program Planetary Protection Technology Development

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lin, Ying

2006-01-01

The objectives of the NASA Planetary Protection program are to preserve biological and organic conditions of solar-system bodies for future scientific exploration and to protect the Earth from potential hazardous extraterrestrial contamination. As the exploration of solar system continues, NASA remains committed to the implementation of planetary protection policy and regulations. To fulfill this commitment, the Mars Technology Program (MTP) has invested in a portfolio of tasks for developing necessary technologies to meet planetary protection requirements for the next decade missions.

Free-floating epithelial micro-tissue arrays: a low cost and versatile technique.

PubMed

Flood, P; Alvarez, L; Reynaud, E G

2016-10-11

Three-dimensional (3D) tissue models are invaluable tools that can closely reflect the in vivo physiological environment. However, they are usually difficult to develop, have a low throughput and are often costly; limiting their utility to most laboratories. The recent availability of inexpensive additive manufacturing printers and open source 3D design software offers us the possibility to easily create affordable 3D cell culture platforms. To demonstrate this, we established a simple, inexpensive and robust method for producing arrays of free-floating epithelial micro-tissues. Using a combination of 3D computer aided design and 3D printing, hydrogel micro-moulding and collagen cell encapsulation we engineered microenvironments that consistently direct the growth of micro-tissue arrays. We described the adaptability of this technique by testing several immortalised epithelial cell lines (MDCK, A549, Caco-2) and by generating branching morphology and micron to millimetre scaled micro-tissues. We established by fluorescence and electron microscopy that micro-tissues are polarised, have cell type specific differentiated phenotypes and regain native in vivo tissue qualities. Finally, using Salmonella typhimurium we show micro-tissues display a more physiologically relevant infection response compared to epithelial monolayers grown on permeable filter supports. In summary, we have developed a robust and adaptable technique for producing arrays of epithelial micro-tissues. This in vitro model has the potential to be a valuable tool for studying epithelial cell and tissue function/architecture in a physiologically relevant context.

The Volatility of Far-Ultraviolet Radiation from Low-Mass Stars and Planetary Implications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Loyd, R. O. Parke

A low-mass star emits only 0.001-0.01% of its electromagnetic energy in the ultraviolet (100 - 1700 A), yet the implications for planets are profound. Radiation at the short-wavelength end of this range, the extreme ultraviolet (100 - 912 A), powers planetary atmospheric escape that can be observed through transit spectroscopy in the far ultraviolet (FUV; 912 - 1700 A). In addition, FUV light that penetrates further into a planet's atmosphere photolyzes molecules, driving nonthermal chemistry capable of producing O2 and O3 abiotically. I present results from extensive Hubble Space Telescope (HST) observations of the FUV emission from low-mass stars, focusing on its variability in time. Using all available archival data, I determined an astrophysical noise floor on detectable absorption in the C II, Si III, and Si IV FUV lines due to a transiting evaporating planet. I analyzed such a transit of the evaporating hot-Neptune GJ 436b, finding no detectable absorption in C II or Si III despite a large (>50%) transit in Lyalpha, but placing upper limits that agree with a photochemical-hydrodynamical model of the planetary outflow. These observations of GJ 436 were part of the MUSCLES Treasury Survey, a much larger dataset covering 7 M and 4 K dwarf stars. A time series analysis of all of these data constrained FUV flares on the surveyed M dwarfs, which I augmented with archival data on well-studied flare stars. The analysis confirmed that M dwarf flares are ubiquitous. In relative units, the FUV flares of the "inactive" MUSCLES M dwarfs are equally as energetic and frequent as those of the M dwarf flare stars. Both flare 3 orders of magnitude more frequently than the sun. Indeed, flares possibly (if not probably) dominate the energy budget of FUV emission from M dwarf stars. Highly energetic flares occurring roughly yearly could annihilate most of the ozone from an Earth-like atmosphere. However, the effect is short-lived, unless additional reactions not accounted for or

Control of free-flying space robot manipulator systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cannon, Robert H., Jr.

1988-01-01

The focus of the work is to develop and perform a set of research projects using laboratory models of satellite robots. These devices use air cushion technology to simulate in two dimensions the drag-free, zero-g conditions of space. Five research areas are examined: cooperative manipulation on a fixed base; cooperative manipulation on a free-floating base; global navigation and control of a free-floating robot; an alternative transport mode call Locomotion Enhancement via Arm Push-Off (LEAP), and adaptive control of LEAP.

Autonomous Microstructure EM-APEX Floats

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-01-01

Autonomous Microstructure_EM-APEX_Float 4/8/16 at 3:21 PM 1 Title: Autonomous Microstructure EM-APEX Floats Authors: Ren-Chieh Lien1,2...Street Seattle, WA 98105 rcl@uw.edu Abstract: Fast responding FP-07 thermistors have been incorporated on profiling EM-APEX floats to measure...storage board. The raw and processed temperature observations are stored on a microSD card. Results from eight microstructure EM-APEX floats

Magnetic dynamos in accreting planetary bodies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Golabek, G.; Labrosse, S.; Gerya, T.; Morishima, R.; Tackley, P. J.

2012-12-01

Laboratory measurements revealed ancient remanent magnetization in meteorites [1] indicating the activity of magnetic dynamos in the corresponding meteorite parent body. To study under which circumstances dynamo activity is possible, we use a new methodology to simulate the internal evolution of a planetary body during accretion and differentiation. Using the N-body code PKDGRAV [2] we simulate the accretion of planetary embryos from an initial annulus of several thousand planetesimals. The growth history of the largest resulting planetary embryo is used as an input for the thermomechanical 2D code I2ELVIS [3]. The thermomechanical model takes recent parametrizations of impact processes [4] and of the magnetic dynamo [5] into account. It was pointed out that impacts can not only deposit heat deep into the target body, which is later buried by ejecta of further impacts [6], but also that impacts expose in the crater region originally deep-seated layers, thus cooling the interior [7]. This combination of impact effects becomes even more important when we consider that planetesimals of all masses contribute to planetary accretion. This leads occasionally to collisions between bodies with large ratios between impactor and target mass. Thus, all these processes can be expected to have a profound effect on the thermal evolution during the epoch of planetary accretion and may have implications for the magnetic dynamo activity. Results show that late-formed planetesimals do not experience silicate melting and avoid thermal alteration, whereas in early-formed bodies accretion and iron core growth occur almost simultaneously and a highly variable magnetic dynamo can operate in the interior of these bodies.

SOCCOM Biogeochemical Profiling Floats: Representativeness and Deployment Strategies Utilizing GO-SHIP/Argo Observations and SOSE/Hycom Model Output

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Talley, L. D.; Riser, S.; Johnson, K. S.; Wang, J.; Kamenkovich, I. V.; Rosso, I.; Mazloff, M. R.; Ogle, S.; Sarmiento, J. L.

2016-12-01

Biogeochemical profiling floats are being deployed in the Southern Ocean south of 30°S, including within the seasonal sea ice zone, as part of the SOCCOM project. The floats carry oxygen, nitrate, pH, fluorescence and backscatter sensors, in addition to standard T/S measurements that contribute to the Argo program. The total array size over the expected 6 years of deployment will be 180 to 200 floats. At the conclusion of Year 2 (2015-2016), 58 floats had been deployed and 50 were still active (see figure from http://soccom.princeton.edu). In order to calibrate the biogeochemical sensors using shipboard measurements, deployment takes place from research ships. As the ship tracks are dictated by other programs, care is taken prior to deployment to maximize the probability that the floats sample varied oceanographic regimes, and that all important regimes present along a deployment track are seeded with at least one float. Prior GO-SHIP hydrographic sections are used to locate water mass regimes that are targeted for deployments, yielding a background description of the oceanography along each of these sections. Simulations of Argo floats in the Southern Ocean State Estimate (SOSE) and data-assimilating HYCOM model and previous Argo trajectories are used to predict ensemble float trajectories. Trajectories and water mass regimes from floats after deployment have generally agreed well with those projected prior to deployment. The exercise of examining this suite of information prior to the deployment cruises provides valuable regional information for interpreting the actual SOCCOM float profiles and trajectories. Particularly useful are demarcation of the major frontal regimes and their relation to sea ice and topography, regions of upwelling from the deep ocean to the surface, and upper ocean mode water regions associated with both the Subantarctic and Polar Fronts.

Planetary Regolith Delivery Systems for ISRU

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mantovani, James G.; Townsend, Ivan I., III

2012-01-01

The challenges associated with collecting regolith on a planetary surface and delivering it to an in-situ resource utilization system differ significantly from similar activities conducted on Earth. Since system maintenance on a planetary body can be difficult or impossible to do, high reliability and service life are expected of a regolith delivery system. Mission costs impose upper limits on power and mass. The regolith delivery system must provide a leak-tight interface between the near-vacuum planetary surface and the pressurized ISRU system. Regolith delivery in amounts ranging from a few grams to tens of kilograms may be required. Finally, the spent regolith must be removed from the ISRU chamber and returned to the planetary environment via dust tolerant valves capable of operating and sealing over a large temperature range. This paper will describe pneumatic and auger regolith transfer systems that have already been field tested for ISRU, and discuss other systems that await future field testing.

The Discovery and Mass Measurement of a New Ultra-short-period Planet: K2-131b

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dai, Fei; Winn, Joshua N.; Gandolfi, Davide; Wang, Sharon X.; Teske, Johanna K.; Burt, Jennifer; Albrecht, Simon; Barragán, Oscar; Cochran, William D.; Endl, Michael; Fridlund, Malcolm; Hatzes, Artie P.; Hirano, Teruyuki; Hirsch, Lea A.; Johnson, Marshall C.; Justesen, Anders Bo; Livingston, John; Persson, Carina M.; Prieto-Arranz, Jorge; Vanderburg, Andrew; Alonso, Roi; Antoniciello, Giuliano; Arriagada, Pamela; Butler, R. P.; Cabrera, Juan; Crane, Jeffrey D.; Cusano, Felice; Csizmadia, Szilárd; Deeg, Hans; Dieterich, Sergio B.; Eigmüller, Philipp; Erikson, Anders; Everett, Mark E.; Fukui, Akihiko; Grziwa, Sascha; Guenther, Eike W.; Henry, Gregory W.; Howell, Steve B.; Johnson, John Asher; Korth, Judith; Kuzuhara, Masayuki; Narita, Norio; Nespral, David; Nowak, Grzegorz; Palle, Enric; Pätzold, Martin; Rauer, Heike; Montañés Rodríguez, Pilar; Shectman, Stephen A.; Smith, Alexis M. S.; Thompson, Ian B.; Van Eylen, Vincent; Williamson, Michael W.; Wittenmyer, Robert A.

2017-12-01

We report the discovery of a new ultra-short-period planet and summarize the properties of all such planets for which the mass and radius have been measured. The new planet, K2-131b, was discovered in K2 Campaign 10. It has a radius of {1.81}-0.12+0.16 {R}\\oplus and orbits a G dwarf with a period of 8.9 hr. Radial velocities obtained with Magellan/PFS and TNG/HARPS-N show evidence for stellar activity along with orbital motion. We determined the planetary mass using two different methods: (1) the “floating chunk offset” method, based only on changes in velocity observed on the same night; and (2) a Gaussian process regression based on both the radial velocity and photometric time series. The results are consistent and lead to a mass measurement of 6.5+/- 1.6 {M}\\oplus and a mean density of {6.0}-2.7+3.0 g cm-3.

Impact of anti-tacking agents on properties of gas-entrapped membrane and effervescent floating tablets.

PubMed

Kriangkrai, Worawut; Puttipipatkhachorn, Satit; Sriamornsak, Pornsak; Pongjanyakul, Thaned; Sungthongjeen, Srisagul

2014-12-01

Tackiness caused by the gas-entrapped membrane (Eudragit(®)RL 30D) was usually observed during storage of the effervescent floating tablets, leading to failure in floatation and sustained release. In this work, common anti-tacking agents (glyceryl monostearate (GMS) and talc) were used to solve this tackiness problem. The impact of anti-tacking agent on the properties of free films and corresponding floating tablets was investigated. GMS was more effective than talc in reducing tackiness of the film. Addition and increasing amount of anti-tacking agents lowered the film mechanical strength, but the coating films were still strong and flexible enough to resist the generated gas pressure inside the floating tablet. Wettability and water vapor permeability of the film decreased with increasing level of anti-tacking agents as a result of their hydrophobicity. No interaction between anti-tacking agents and polymer was observed as confirmed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, powder X-ray diffractometry, and differential scanning calorimetry studies. Increasing amount of anti-tacking agents decreased time to float and tended to retard drug release of the floating tablets. Floating properties and drug release were also influenced by type of anti-tacking agents. The obtained floating tablets still possessed good floating properties and controlled drug release even though anti-tacking agent had some effects. The results demonstrated that the tackiness problem of the floating tablets could be solved by incorporating anti-tacking agent into the gas-entrapped membrane.

Vibrant Soundbridge Implantation: Floating Mass Transducer Coupled with the Stapes Head and Embedded in Fat.

PubMed

Liu, Qingsong; Feng, Guodong; Shang, Yingying; Wang, Suju; Gao, Zhiqiang

2018-04-26

Subtotal petrosectomy may be performed for refractory chronic middle ear diseases, such as massive cholesteatoma or recurrent otitis media. It involves permanent obliteration of the operative cavity, thus precluding the chance to restore conductive hearing via traditional inertial ossicular prostheses. The Vibrant Soundbridge (VSB) is an alternative option for hearing rehabilitation. Vibrant energy is delivered into the inner ear via a floating mass transducer (FMT), which can be coupled with any part of the middle ear acoustic transmission structure. To restore the hearing of a young woman with cholesteatoma, we combined subtotal petrosectomy with obliteration of the cavity and VSB implantation with an FMT coupled to the stapes head. Two years of follow-up demonstrated excellent auditory rehabilitation, improved sound source localization ability, and a lower speech recognition threshold. This study showed that the FMT works well in an obliterated cavity, and the experience acquired through this successful exploration is worth disseminating. © 2018 S. Karger AG, Basel.

Anatomy of a flaring proto-planetary disk around a young intermediate-mass star.

PubMed

Lagage, Pierre-Olivier; Doucet, Coralie; Pantin, Eric; Habart, Emilie; Duchêne, Gaspard; Ménard, François; Pinte, Christophe; Charnoz, Sébastien; Pel, Jan-Willem

2006-10-27

Although planets are being discovered around stars more massive than the Sun, information about the proto-planetary disks where such planets have built up is sparse. We have imaged mid-infrared emission from polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons at the surface of the disk surrounding the young intermediate-mass star HD 97048 and characterized the disk. The disk is in an early stage of evolution, as indicated by its large content of dust and its hydrostatic flared geometry, indicative of the presence of a large amount of gas that is well mixed with dust and gravitationally stable. The disk is a precursor of debris disks found around more-evolved A stars such as beta-Pictoris and provides the rare opportunity to witness the conditions prevailing before (or during) planet formation.

Experimental and Numerical Investigations of Floating Breakwater Performance.

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Floating breakwaters are commonly used to protect small marinas and for shoreline erosion control in coastal areas. They are efficient wave attenuation structures for relatively short waves and shallow water depths. The main objective of the current study is to investigate the hydrodynamic interacti...

Blue Marble Matches: Using Earth for Planetary Comparisons

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Graff, Paige Valderrama

2009-01-01

Goal: This activity is designed to introduce students to geologic processes on Earth and model how scientists use Earth to gain a better understanding of other planetary bodies in the solar system. Objectives: Students will: 1. Identify common descriptor characteristics used by scientists to describe geologic features in images. 2. Identify geologic features and how they form on Earth. 3. Create a list of defining/distinguishing characteristics of geologic features 4. Identify geologic features in images of other planetary bodies. 5. List observations and interpretations about planetary body comparisons. 6. Create summary statements about planetary body comparisons.

Effects of Second-Order Hydrodynamics on a Semisubmersible Floating Offshore Wind Turbine: Preprint

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Bayati, I.; Jonkman, J.; Robertson, A.

2014-07-01

The objective of this paper is to assess the second-order hydrodynamic effects on a semisubmersible floating offshore wind turbine. Second-order hydrodynamics induce loads and motions at the sum- and difference-frequencies of the incident waves. These effects have often been ignored in offshore wind analysis, under the assumption that they are significantly smaller than first-order effects. The sum- and difference-frequency loads can, however, excite eigenfrequencies of the system, leading to large oscillations that strain the mooring system or vibrations that cause fatigue damage to the structure. Observations of supposed second-order responses in wave-tank tests performed by the DeepCwind consortium at themore » MARIN offshore basin suggest that these effects might be more important than originally expected. These observations inspired interest in investigating how second-order excitation affects floating offshore wind turbines and whether second-order hydrodynamics should be included in offshore wind simulation tools like FAST in the future. In this work, the effects of second-order hydrodynamics on a floating semisubmersible offshore wind turbine are investigated. Because FAST is currently unable to account for second-order effects, a method to assess these effects was applied in which linearized properties of the floating wind system derived from FAST (including the 6x6 mass and stiffness matrices) are used by WAMIT to solve the first- and second-order hydrodynamics problems in the frequency domain. The method has been applied to the OC4-DeepCwind semisubmersible platform, supporting the NREL 5-MW baseline wind turbine. The loads and response of the system due to the second-order hydrodynamics are analysed and compared to first-order hydrodynamic loads and induced motions in the frequency domain. Further, the second-order loads and induced response data are compared to the loads and motions induced by aerodynamic loading as solved by FAST.« less

3He Abundances in Planetary Nebulae

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Guzman-Ramirez, Lizette

2017-10-01

Determination of the 3He isotope is important to many fields of astrophysics, including stellar evolution, chemical evolution, and cosmology. The isotope is produced in stars which evolve through the planetary nebula phase. Planetary nebulae are the final evolutionary phase of low- and intermediate-mass stars, where the extensive mass lost by the star on the asymptotic giant branch is ionised by the emerging white dwarf. This ejecta quickly disperses and merges with the surrounding ISM. 3He abundances in planetary nebulae have been derived from the hyperfine transition of the ionised 3He, 3He+, at the radio rest frequency 8.665 GHz. 3He abundances in PNe can help test models of the chemical evolution of the Galaxy. Many hours have been put into trying to detect this line, using telescopes like the Effelsberg 100m dish of the Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy, the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO) 140-foot telescope, the NRAO Very Large Array, the Arecibo antenna, the Green Bank Telescope, and only just recently, the Deep Space Station 63 antenna from the Madrid Deep Space Communications Complex.

The OpenPlanetary initiative

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Manaud, Nicolas; Rossi, Angelo Pio; Hare, Trent; Aye, Michael; Galluzzi, Valentina; van Gasselt, Stephan; Martinez, Santa; McAuliffe, Jonathan; Million, Chase; Nass, Andrea; Zinzi, Angelo

2016-10-01

"Open" has become attached to several concepts: science, data, and software are some of the most obvious. It is already common practice within the planetary science community to share spacecraft missions data freely and openly [1]. However, this is not historically the case for software tools, source code, and derived data sets, which are often reproduced independently by multiple individuals and groups. Sharing data, tools and overall knowledge would increase scientific return and benefits [e.g. 2], and recent projects and initiatives are helping toward this goal [e.g. 3,4,5,6].OpenPlanetary is a bottom-up initiative to address the need of the planetary science community for sharing ideas and collaborating on common planetary research and data analysis problems, new challenges, and opportunities. It started from an initial participants effort to stay connected and share information related to and beyond the ESA's first Planetary GIS Workshop [7]. It then continued during the 2nd (US) Planetary Data Workshop [8], and aggregated more people.Our objective is to build an online distributed framework enabling open collaborations within the planetary science community. We aim to co-create, curate and publish resource materials and data sets; to organise online events, to support community-based projects development; and to offer a real-time communication channel at and between conferences and workshops.We will present our current framework and resources, developing projects and ideas, and solicit for feedback and participation. OpenPlanetary is intended for research and education professionals: scientists, engineers, designers, teachers and students, as well as the general public that includes enthusiasts and citizen scientists. All are welcome to join and contribute at openplanetary.co[1] International Planetary Data Alliance, planetarydata.org. [2] Nosek et al (2015), dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.aab2374. [3] Erard S. et al. (2016), EGU2016-17527. [4] Proposal for a PDS

Mass center estimation of a drag-free satellite

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sanz Fernandez De Cordova, S.; Debra, D. B.

1975-01-01

The mass center location of a spinning drag-free satellite can be estimated because there is control required to accelerate the mass center along the axis of spin as long as there is some nutation in the spinning motion. Linear and nonlinear models are compared and observability discussed. Online estimation fails when nutation is damped so an offline mechanization is proposed. A new sensor has been designed to permit greater relative motion than was possible on the drag-free satellite flown in 1972 (JH-1). Experimental laboratory results using a spinning vehicle with the new sensor mounted 30 cm from a spherical air bearing support are presented which confirm earlier simulation results.

Continued Development of a Planetary Imaging Fourier Transform Spectrometer (PIFTS)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sromovsky, L. A.

2002-01-01

This report describes continued efforts to evaluate a breadboard of a Planetary Imaging Fourier Transform Spectrometer (PIFTS). The PIFTS breadboard was developed under prior PIDDP funding. That effort is described in the final report for NASA Grant NAG5-6248 and in two conference papers (Sromovsky et al. 2000; Revercomb et al. 2000). The PIFTS breadboard was designed for near-IR (1-5.2 micrometer imaging of planetary targets with spectral resolving powers of several hundred to several thousand, using an InSb detector array providing at least 64x64 pixels imaging detail. The major focus of the development effort was to combine existing technologies to produce a small and low power design compatible with a very low mass flyable instrument. The objective of this grant (NAG5-10729) was further characterization of the breadboard performance, including intercomparisons with the highly accurate non-imaging Advanced Emitted Radiance Interferometer (AERI) (Revercomb et al. 1994; Best et al. 1997).

Compact Micromachined Infrared Bandpass Filters for Planetary Spectroscopy

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Merrell, Willie C., II; Aslam, Shahid; Brown, Ari D.; Chervenak, James A.; Huang, Wei-Chung; Quijada, Manuel; Wollack, Edward

2011-01-01

The future needs of space based observational planetary and astronomy missions include low mass and small volume radiometric instruments that can operate in high radiation and low temperature environments. Here we focus on a central spectroscopic component, the bandpass filter. We model the bandpass response of the filters to target the wavelength of the resonance peaks at 20, 40, and 60 micrometers and report good agreement between the modeled and measured response. We present a technique of using common micromachining processes for semiconductor fabrication to make compact, free standing resonant metal mesh filter arrays with silicon support frames. The process can accommodate multiple detector array architectures and the silicon frame provides lightweight mechanical support with low form factor. We also present a conceptual hybridization of the filters with a detector array.

Tethered float liquid level sensor

DOEpatents

Daily, III, William Dean

2016-09-06

An apparatus for sensing the level of a liquid includes a float, a tether attached to the float, a pulley attached to the tether, a rotation sensor connected to the pulley that senses vertical movement of said float and senses the level of the liquid.

"JCE" Classroom Activity #108. Using Archimedes' Principle to Explain Floating and Sinking Cans

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sanger, Michael J.

2011-01-01

In this activity, students (working alone or in groups) measure the mass of several soda cans (diet and regular soda) along with the mass of water that each can displaces. The students are then asked to compare these two mass values for the sinking cans and for the floating cans. The purpose of this activity is for students to determine that the…

Floating liquid phase in sedimenting colloid-polymer mixtures.

PubMed

Schmidt, Matthias; Dijkstra, Marjolein; Hansen, Jean-Pierre

2004-08-20

Density functional theory and computer simulation are used to investigate sedimentation equilibria of colloid-polymer mixtures within the Asakura-Oosawa-Vrij model of hard sphere colloids and ideal polymers. When the ratio of buoyant masses of the two species is comparable to the ratio of differences in density of the coexisting bulk (colloid) gas and liquid phases, a stable "floating liquid" phase is found, i.e., a thin layer of liquid sandwiched between upper and lower gas phases. The full phase diagram of the mixture under gravity shows coexistence of this floating liquid phase with a single gas phase or a phase involving liquid-gas equilibrium; the phase coexistence lines meet at a triple point. This scenario remains valid for general asymmetric binary mixtures undergoing bulk phase separation.

Near-infrared Spectroscopy of 2M0441+2301 AabBab: A Quadruple System Spanning the Stellar to Planetary Mass Regimes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bowler, Brendan P.; Hillenbrand, Lynne A.

2015-10-01

We present Keck/NIRC2 and OSIRIS near-infrared imaging and spectroscopy of 2M0441+2301 AabBab, a young (1-3 Myr) hierarchical quadruple system comprising a low-mass star, two brown dwarfs, and a planetary-mass companion in Taurus. All four components show spectroscopic signs of low surface gravity, and both 2M0441+2301 Aa and Ab possess Paβ emission indicating they each harbor accretion subdisks. Astrometry spanning 2008-2014 reveals orbital motion in both the Aab (0.″23 separation) and Bab (0.″095 separation) pairs, although the implied orbital periods of >300 years mean dynamical masses will not be possible in the near future. The faintest component (2M0441+2301 Bb) has an angular H-band shape, strong molecular absorption (VO, CO, H2O, and FeH), and shallow alkali lines, confirming its young age, late spectral type (L1 ± 1), and low temperature (≈1800 K). With individual masses of {200}-50+100 MJup, 35 ± 5 MJup, 19 ± 3 MJup, and 9.8 ± 1.8 MJup, 2M0441+2301 AabBab is the lowest-mass quadruple system known. Its hierarchical orbital architecture and mass ratios imply that it formed from the collapse and fragmentation of a molecular cloud core, demonstrating that planetary-mass companions can originate from a stellar-like pathway analogous to higher-mass quadruple star systems as first speculated by Todorov et al. More generally, cloud fragmentation may be an important formation pathway for the massive exoplanets that are now regularly being imaged on wide orbits. The data presented herein were obtained at the W. M. Keck Observatory, which is operated as a scientific partnership among the California Institute of Technology, the University of California and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. The Observatory was made possible by the generous financial support of the W. M. Keck Foundation.

Cometary and meteorite swarm impact on planetary surfaces

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Okeefe, J. D.; Ahrens, T. J.

1982-01-01

The impact-induced deformation from hypothetical cometary objects having initial densities in the 0.01 to 1 g/cu cm range and heats of vaporization in the approximately 2 kJ/g (corresponding to water) to approximately 10 to the 7th J/g range is examined for impacts in the 5 to 45 km/s range. Even though the direct effect of an atmosphere is neglected, the atmosphere may in fact cause a cometary object to break up into a shower or equivalent very porous impactor. Besides examining the partitioning of impact energy into internal energy of the impacted planet and impacting cometary material, calculations are made of the relative efficiency of shock-induced melting and vaporization by comets on planetary surface materials and the mass loss from a given planet for various escape velocities.

Factors that Alter Body Fat, Body Mass, and Fat-Free Mass in Pediatric Obesity.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

LeMura, Linda M.; Maziekas, Michael T.

2002-01-01

Investigated the effects of exercise programs on changes in body mass, fat-free mass, and body fat in obese children and adolescents. Research review indicated that exercise effectively helped reduce children's and adolescents' body composition variables. The most favorable body alterations occurred with low- intensity, long-duration exercise;…

Architectures of planetary systems and implications for their formation.

PubMed

Ford, Eric B

2014-09-02

Doppler planet searches revealed that many giant planets orbit close to their host star or in highly eccentric orbits. These and subsequent observations inspired new theories of planet formation that invoke gravitation interactions in multiple planet systems to explain the excitation of orbital eccentricities and even short-period giant planets. Recently, NASA's Kepler mission has identified over 300 systems with multiple transiting planet candidates, including many potentially rocky planets. Most of these systems include multiple planets with closely spaced orbits and sizes between that of Earth and Neptune. These systems represent yet another new and unexpected class of planetary systems and provide an opportunity to test the theories developed to explain the properties of giant exoplanets. Presently, we have limited knowledge about such planetary systems, mostly about their sizes and orbital periods. With the advent of long-term, nearly continuous monitoring by Kepler, the method of transit timing variations (TTVs) has blossomed as a new technique for characterizing the gravitational effects of mutual planetary perturbations for hundreds of planets. TTVs can provide precise, but complex, constraints on planetary masses, densities, and orbits, even for planetary systems with faint host stars. In the coming years, astronomers will translate TTV observations into increasingly powerful constraints on the formation and orbital evolution of planetary systems with low-mass planets. Between TTVs, improved Doppler surveys, high-contrast imaging campaigns, and microlensing surveys, astronomers can look forward to a much better understanding of planet formation in the coming decade.

Architectures of planetary systems and implications for their formation

PubMed Central

Ford, Eric B.

2014-01-01

Doppler planet searches revealed that many giant planets orbit close to their host star or in highly eccentric orbits. These and subsequent observations inspired new theories of planet formation that invoke gravitation interactions in multiple planet systems to explain the excitation of orbital eccentricities and even short-period giant planets. Recently, NASA’s Kepler mission has identified over 300 systems with multiple transiting planet candidates, including many potentially rocky planets. Most of these systems include multiple planets with closely spaced orbits and sizes between that of Earth and Neptune. These systems represent yet another new and unexpected class of planetary systems and provide an opportunity to test the theories developed to explain the properties of giant exoplanets. Presently, we have limited knowledge about such planetary systems, mostly about their sizes and orbital periods. With the advent of long-term, nearly continuous monitoring by Kepler, the method of transit timing variations (TTVs) has blossomed as a new technique for characterizing the gravitational effects of mutual planetary perturbations for hundreds of planets. TTVs can provide precise, but complex, constraints on planetary masses, densities, and orbits, even for planetary systems with faint host stars. In the coming years, astronomers will translate TTV observations into increasingly powerful constraints on the formation and orbital evolution of planetary systems with low-mass planets. Between TTVs, improved Doppler surveys, high-contrast imaging campaigns, and microlensing surveys, astronomers can look forward to a much better understanding of planet formation in the coming decade. PMID:24778212

Optimization of breast mass classification using sequential forward floating selection (SFFS) and a support vector machine (SVM) model

PubMed Central

Tan, Maxine; Pu, Jiantao; Zheng, Bin

2014-01-01

Purpose: Improving radiologists’ performance in classification between malignant and benign breast lesions is important to increase cancer detection sensitivity and reduce false-positive recalls. For this purpose, developing computer-aided diagnosis (CAD) schemes has been attracting research interest in recent years. In this study, we investigated a new feature selection method for the task of breast mass classification. Methods: We initially computed 181 image features based on mass shape, spiculation, contrast, presence of fat or calcifications, texture, isodensity, and other morphological features. From this large image feature pool, we used a sequential forward floating selection (SFFS)-based feature selection method to select relevant features, and analyzed their performance using a support vector machine (SVM) model trained for the classification task. On a database of 600 benign and 600 malignant mass regions of interest (ROIs), we performed the study using a ten-fold cross-validation method. Feature selection and optimization of the SVM parameters were conducted on the training subsets only. Results: The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) = 0.805±0.012 was obtained for the classification task. The results also showed that the most frequently-selected features by the SFFS-based algorithm in 10-fold iterations were those related to mass shape, isodensity and presence of fat, which are consistent with the image features frequently used by radiologists in the clinical environment for mass classification. The study also indicated that accurately computing mass spiculation features from the projection mammograms was difficult, and failed to perform well for the mass classification task due to tissue overlap within the benign mass regions. Conclusions: In conclusion, this comprehensive feature analysis study provided new and valuable information for optimizing computerized mass classification schemes that may have potential to be

Observations of the planetary nebula RWT 152 with OSIRIS/GTC

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aller, A.; Miranda, L. F.; Olguín, L.; Solano, E.; Ulla, A.

2016-11-01

RWT 152 is one of the few known planetary nebulae with an sdO central star. We present subarcsecond red tunable filter Hα imaging and intermediate-resolution, long-slit spectroscopy of RWT 152 obtained with OSIRIS/GTC (Optical System for Imaging and low-Intermediate-Resolution Integrated Spectroscopy/Gran Telescopio Canarias) with the goal of analysing its properties. The Hα image reveals a bipolar nebula with a bright equatorial region and multiple bubbles in the main lobes. A faint circular halo surrounds the main nebula. The nebular spectra reveal a very low excitation nebula with weak emission lines from H+, He+ and double-ionized metals, and absence of emission lines from neutral and single-ionized metals, except for an extremely faint [N II] λ6584 emission line. These spectra may be explained if RWT 152 is a density-bounded planetary nebula. Low nebular chemical abundances of S, O, Ar, N and Ne are obtained in RWT 152, which, together with the derived high peculiar velocity (˜ 92-131 km s-1), indicate that this object is a halo planetary nebula. The available data are consistent with RWT 152 evolving from a low-mass progenitor (˜1 M⊙) formed in a metal-poor environment.

A versatile system for biological and soil chemical tests on a planetary landing craft. I - Scientific objectives

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Radmer, R. J.; Kok, B.; Martin, J. P.

1976-01-01

We describe an approach for the remote detection and characterization of life in planetary soil samples. A mass spectrometer is used as the central sensor to monitor changes in the gas phase in eleven test cells filled with soil. Many biological assays, ranging from general 'in situ' assays to specific metabolic processes (such as photosynthesis, respiration, denitrification, etc.) can be performed by appropriate additions to the test cell via attached preloaded injector capsules. The system is also compatible with a number of chemical assays such as the analysis of atmospheric composition (both chemical and isotopic), the status of soil water, and the determination of compounds of carbon, nitrogen and sulfur in the soil.

Galactic planetary science.

PubMed

Tinetti, Giovanna

2014-04-28

Planetary science beyond the boundaries of our Solar System is today in its infancy. Until a couple of decades ago, the detailed investigation of the planetary properties was restricted to objects orbiting inside the Kuiper Belt. Today, we cannot ignore that the number of known planets has increased by two orders of magnitude nor that these planets resemble anything but the objects present in our own Solar System. Whether this fact is the result of a selection bias induced by the kind of techniques used to discover new planets--mainly radial velocity and transit--or simply the proof that the Solar System is a rarity in the Milky Way, we do not know yet. What is clear, though, is that the Solar System has failed to be the paradigm not only in our Galaxy but even 'just' in the solar neighbourhood. This finding, although unsettling, forces us to reconsider our knowledge of planets under a different light and perhaps question a few of the theoretical pillars on which we base our current 'understanding'. The next decade will be critical to advance in what we should perhaps call Galactic planetary science. In this paper, I review highlights and pitfalls of our current knowledge of this topic and elaborate on how this knowledge might arguably evolve in the next decade. More critically, I identify what should be the mandatory scientific and technical steps to be taken in this fascinating journey of remote exploration of planets in our Galaxy.

Augmenting WFIRST Microlensing with a Ground-Based Telescope Network

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhu, Wei; Gould, Andrew

2016-06-01

Augmenting the Wide Field Infrared Survey Telescope (WFIRST) microlensing campaigns with intensive observations from a ground-based network of wide-field survey telescopes would have several major advantages. First, it would enable full two-dimensional (2-D) vector microlens parallax measurements for a substantial fraction of low-mass lenses as well as planetary and binary events that show caustic crossing features. For a significant fraction of the free-floating planet (FFP) events and all caustic-crossing planetary/binary events, these 2-D parallax measurements directly lead to complete solutions (mass, distance, transverse velocity) of the lens object (or lens system). For even more events, the complementary ground-based observations will yield 1-D parallax measurements. Together with the 1-D parallaxes from WFIRST alone, they can probe the entire mass range M > M_Earth. For luminous lenses, such 1-D parallax measurements can be promoted to complete solutions (mass, distance, transverse velocity) by high-resolution imaging. This would provide crucial information not only about the hosts of planets and other lenses, but also enable a much more precise Galactic model. Other benefits of such a survey include improved understanding of binaries (particularly with low mass primaries), and sensitivity to distant ice-giant and gas-giant companions of WFIRST lenses that cannot be detected by WFIRST itself due to its restricted observing windows. Existing ground-based microlensing surveys can be employed if WFIRST is pointed at lower-extinction fields than is currently envisaged. This would come at some cost to the event rate. Therefore the benefits of improved characterization of lenses must be weighed against these costs.

Development of a mass spectrometer for planetary exosphere exploration: from simulations to a flight like design

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Meyer, Stefan; Tulej, Marek; Wurz, Peter

2017-04-01

The exploration of habitable environments around the gas giants in the Solar System is of major interest in upcoming planetary missions. Exactly this theme is addressed by the Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (JUICE) mission of ESA, which will characterise Ganymede, Europa and Callisto as planetary objects and potential habitats [1], [2]. We developed a prototype of the Neutral gas and Ion Mass spectrometer (NIM) of the Particle Environment Package (PEP) for the JUICE mission intended for composition measurements of neutral gas and thermal plasma [3]. NIM/PEP will be used to measure the chemical composition of the exospheres of the icy Jovian moons. Besides direct ion measurement, the NIM instrument is able to measure the inflowing neutral gas in two different modes: in neutral mode the gas enters directly the ion source (open source) and in thermal mode, the gas gets thermally accommodated to wall temperature by several collisions inside an equilibrium sphere before entering the ion source (closed source). We started the development of NIM with detailed ion-optical simulations and optimisations using SIMION software. Based on the ion-optical design we developed a prototype of NIM with several iterations. We tested the prototype NIM under realistic mission conditions and thereby successfully verified its required functionality. We will present the development process from ion-optical simulation up to NIM prototype test results and the concluded flight like design. Furthermore, we will provide an insight into the working principle of NIM and its performance, based on measurement data. References: 1) ESA, "JUICE assessment study report (Yellow Book)", ESA/SRE(2011)18, 2012. 2) O. Grasset, M.K. Dougherty, A. Coustenis, E.J. Bunce, C. Erd, D. Titov, M. Blanc, A. Coates, P. Drossart, L.N. Fletcher, H. Hussmann, R. Jaumann, N. Krupp, J.-P. Lebreton, O. Prieto-Ballesteros, P. Tortora, F. Tosi, T. Van Hoolst, "JUpiter Icy moons Explorer (JUICE): An ESA mission to orbit Ganymede

A new free-floating planet in the Upper Scorpius association

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Peña Ramírez, K.; Béjar, V. J. S.; Zapatero Osorio, M. R.

2016-02-01

We report on a deep photometric survey covering an area of 1.17 deg2 in the young Upper Scorpius stellar association using VIMOS Iz and UKIDSS ZJHK data that was taken with several years in between. The search for the least massive population of Upper Scorpius (~5-10 Myr, 145 pc) is performed on the basis of various optical and infrared color-color and color-magnitude diagrams, including WISE photometry, in the magnitude interval J = 14.5-19 mag (completeness), which corresponds to substellar masses from 0.028 through 0.004 M⊙ at the age and distance of Upper Scorpius. We also present the proper motion analysis of the photometric candidates, finding that two objects successfully pass all photometric and astrometric criteria for membership in the young stellar association. One of them, USco J155150.2-213457, is a new discovery. We obtained low resolution, near-infrared spectroscopy (R ~ 450, 0.85-2.35 μm) of this new finding using the FIRE instrument. We confirmed its low-gravity atmosphere expected for an Upper Scorpius member (weak alkaline lines, strong VO absorption, peaked H-band pseudocontinuum). By comparison with spectroscopic standards, we derive a spectral type of L6 ± 1, and estimate a mass of ≈0.008-0.010 M⊙ for USco J155150.2-213457. The colors and spectral slope of this object resemble those of other young, cool members of Upper Scorpius and σ Orionis (~3 Myr) and field, high gravity dwarfs of related classification in contrast with the very red indices of field, low gravity, L-type dwarfs of intermediate age. USco J155150.2-213457, which does not show infrared flux excesses up to 4.5 μm, becomes one of the least massive and latest type objects known in the entire Upper Scorpius stellar association.

The Influence of Static and Rotating Magnetic Fields on Heat and Mass Transfer in Silicon Floating Zones

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Croell, Arne; Dold, P.; Kaiser, Th.; Szofran, Frank; Benz, K. W.

1999-01-01

Hear and mass transfer in float-zone processing are strongly influenced by convective flows in the zone. They are caused by buoyancy convection, thermocapillary (Marangoni) convection, or artificial sources such as rotation and radio frequency heating. Flows in conducting melts can be controlled by the use of magnetic fields, either by damping fluid motion with static fields or by generating a def@ned flow with rotating fields. The possibilities of using static and rotating magnetic fields in silicon floating-zone growth have been investigated by experiments in axial static fields up to ST and in transverse rotating magnetic fields up to 7.S mT. Static fields of a few 100 MT already suppress most striations but are detrimental to the radial segregation by introducing a coring effect. A complete suppression of dopant striations caused by time-dependent thermocapillary convection and a reduction of the coring to insignificant values, combined with a shift of the axial segregation profile towards a more diffusion-limited case, is possible with static fields ? 1T. However, under certain conditions the use of high axial magnetic fields can lead to the appearance of a new type of pronounced dopant striations, caused by thermoelec:romagnetic convection. The use of a transverse rotating magnetic field influences the microscopic segregation at quite low inductions, of the order of a few mT. The field shifts time-dependent flows and the resulting striation patterns from a broad range of low frequencies at high amplitudes to a few high frequencies at low amplitudes

The Influence of Static and Rotating Magnetic Fields on Heat and Mass Transfer in Silicon Floating Zones

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Croll, A.; Dold, P.; Kaiser, Th.; Szofran, F. R.; Benz, K. W.

1999-01-01

Heat and mass transfer in float-zone processing are strongly influenced by convective flows in the zone. They are caused by buoyancy convection, thermocapillary (Marangoni) convection, or artificial sources such as rotation and radio-frequency heating. Flows in conducting melts can be controlled by the use of magnetic fields, either by damping fluid motion with static fields or by generating a defined flow with rotating fields. The possibilities of using static and rotating magnetic fields in silicon floating-zone growth have been investigated by experiments in axial static fields up to 5 T and in transverse rotating magnetic fields up to 7.5 mT. Static fields of a few 100 mT already suppress most striations but are detrimental to the radial segregation by introducing a coring effect. A complete suppression of dopant striations caused by time-dependent thermocapillary convection and a reduction of the coring to insignificant values, combined with a shift of the axial segregation profile toward a more diffusion-limited case, is possible with static fields greater than or equal to 1 T. However, under certain conditions the use of high axial magnetic fields can lead to the appearance of a new type of pronounced dopant striations, caused by thermoelectromagnetic convection. The use of a transverse rotating magnetic field influences the microscopic segregation at quite low inductions, of the order of a few millitesla. The field shifts time- dependent flows and the resulting striation patterns from a broad range of low frequencies at high amplitudes to a few high frequencies at low amplitudes.

Characterization of exoplanets from their formation. III. The statistics of planetary luminosities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mordasini, C.; Marleau, G.-D.; Mollière, P.

2017-12-01

Context. This paper continues a series in which we predict the main observable characteristics of exoplanets based on their formation. In Paper I we described our global planet formation and evolution model that is based on the core accretion paradigm. In Paper II we studied the planetary mass-radius relationship with population syntheses. Aims: In this paper we present an extensive study of the statistics of planetary luminosities during both formation and evolution. Our results can be compared with individual directly imaged extrasolar (proto)planets and with statistical results from surveys. Methods: We calculated three populations of synthetic planets assuming different efficiencies of the accretional heating by gas and planetesimals during formation. We describe the temporal evolution of the planetary mass-luminosity relation. We investigate the relative importance of the shock and internal luminosity during formation, and predict a statistical version of the post-formation mass vs. entropy "tuning fork" diagram. Because the calculations now include deuterium burning we also update the planetary mass-radius relationship in time. Results: We find significant overlap between the high post-formation luminosities of planets forming with hot and cold gas accretion because of the core-mass effect. Variations in the individual formation histories of planets can still lead to a factor 5 to 20 spread in the post-formation luminosity at a given mass. However, if the gas accretional heating and planetesimal accretion rate during the runaway phase is unknown, the post-formation luminosity may exhibit a spread of as much as 2-3 orders of magnitude at a fixed mass. As a key result we predict a flat log-luminosity distribution for giant planets, and a steep increase towards lower luminosities due to the higher occurrence rate of low-mass (M ≲ 10-40 M⊕) planets. Future surveys may detect this upturn. Conclusions: Our results indicate that during formation an estimation of

Long-range pollution transport during the MILAGRO-2006 campaign: a case study of a major Mexico City outflow event using free-floating altitude-controlled balloons

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Voss, Paul B.; Zaveri, Rahul A.; Flocke, Frank M.

2010-08-04

One of the major objectives of the Megacities Initiative: Local And Global Research 3 Observations (MILAGRO 2006) campaign was to investigate the long-range transport of 4 Mexico City Metropolitan Area (MCMA) pollution outflow and its downwind impacts on air 5 quality and climate. Four aircraft (DOE G-1, NSF/NCAR C-130, NASA-J31, and NASA 6 DC-8) made extensive chemical, aerosol, and radiation measurements above MCMA and over 7 1000 km downwind in order to characterize the evolution of MCMA pollution as it aged and 8 dispersed over the central Mexican plateau and the Gulf of Mexico. As part of this effort, 9more » free-floating Controlled-Meteorological (CMET) balloons, capable of changing altitude on 10 command via satellite, characterized the MCMA outflow by performing repeated soundings 11 during the transit. In this paper, we present an analysis based on the data from two CMET 12 balloons that were launched near Mexico City on the afternoon of 18 March 2006 and floated 13 downwind with the outflow for nearly 30 hours. Continuous profile measurements made by 14 the balloons show the evolving structure of the MCMA outflow in considerable detail: its 15 stability and stratification, interaction with other air masses, mixing episodes, and dispersion 16 into the regional background. Air parcel trajectories, computed directly from the balloon 17 wind profiles, show three different transport pathways for Mexico City outflow on 18-19 18 March: (a) high-altitude advection of the top of the MCMA mixed layer, (b) low-altitude flow 19 over the Sierra Madre Oriental followed by decoupling and isolated transport over the Gulf, 20 and (c) the same decoupling scenario with entrainment into a cleaner westerly jet below the 21 plateau. The C-130 intercepted the balloon-based trajectories three times on 19 March, once 22 along each transport pathway. In all three cases, distinct peaks in the urban tracer signature 23 and LIDAR backscatter imagery provided evidence for Mexico

A Space-Based Near-Earth Object Survey Telescope in Support of Human Exploration, Solar System Science, and Planetary Defense

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Abell, Paul A.

2011-01-01

Human exploration of near-Earth objects (NEOs) beginning in 2025 is one of the stated objectives of U.S. National Space Policy. Piloted missions to these bodies would further development of deep space mission systems and technologies, obtain better understanding of the origin and evolution of our Solar System, and support research for asteroid deflection and hazard mitigation strategies. As such, mission concepts have received much interest from the exploration, science, and planetary defense communities. One particular system that has been suggested by all three of these communities is a space-based NEO survey telescope. Such an asset is crucial for enabling affordable human missions to NEOs circa 2025 and learning about the primordial population of objects that could present a hazard to the Earth in the future.

14 CFR 27.753 - Main float design.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 1 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Main float design. 27.753 Section 27.753... STANDARDS: NORMAL CATEGORY ROTORCRAFT Design and Construction Floats and Hulls § 27.753 Main float design. (a) Bag floats. Each bag float must be designed to withstand— (1) The maximum pressure differential...

14 CFR 29.753 - Main float design.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 1 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Main float design. 29.753 Section 29.753... STANDARDS: TRANSPORT CATEGORY ROTORCRAFT Design and Construction Floats and Hulls § 29.753 Main float design. (a) Bag floats. Each bag float must be designed to withstand— (1) The maximum pressure differential...

Hopkins Ultraviolet Telescope observations of H2 toward the planetary nebula NGC 1535

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bowers, Charles W.; Blair, William P.; Long, Knox S.; Davidsen, Arthur F.

1995-01-01

We have observed the far-ultraviolet spectrum (912-1860 A) of the bright high-excitation planetary nebula NGC 1535 with approximately 3 A resolution using the Hopkins Ultraviolet Telescope (HUT) aboard the Astro-1 space shuttle pmission in 1990 December. We see strong continuum emission down to the Lyman limit and strong P Cygni profiles from high-excitation lines such as C IV wavelength 1549, N V wavelength 1240, O V wavelength 1371, and O VI wavelength 1035. Below 1150 A strong absorption bands of H2 are seen, which were unanticipated by us because of the low reddening and high galactic latitude of the object and the absence of detected H2 emission in the infrared. We construct model H2 spectra and convolve them to the HUT resolution for comparison with the NGC 1535 data. We find good agreement with a population distribution characterized by a single temperature (T = 300 K) or a two-temperature model (T = 144/500 K), and determine limits on the H2 column density. While both inter-stellar and circumstellar origins for the observed H2 absorption are plausible, we ascribe the material to the planetary nebula in order to estimate the conditions of excitation and place upper limits on the mass of both H2 and H1 in this system. Because the UV transitions are ground-state connected, we determine a stringent upper limit of 0.03 d(sup 2)(sub 1.6) solar mass on the mass of H2, where d(sub 1.6) is the distance relative to an assumed distance of 1.6 kpc. This value is less model-dependent than IR estimates. Along with the central star and nebular masses, these estimates allow us to limit the main-sequence mass of the progenitor star to less than 1.8 solar mass. This upper limit is consistent with a relatively low-mass extended thick disk or Population II progenitor, as expected for an object approximately 1 kpc off the galactic plane.

The role of small missions in planetary and lunar exploration

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1995-01-01

The Space Studies Board of the National Research Council charged its Committee on Planetary and Lunar Exploration (COMPLEX) to (1) examine the degree to which small missions, such as those fitting within the constraints of the Discovery program, can achieve priority objectives in the lunar and planetary sciences; (2) determine those characteristics, such as level of risk, flight rate, target mix, university involvement, technology development, management structure and procedures, and so on, that could allow a successful program; (3) assess issues, such as instrument selection, mission operations, data analysis, and data archiving, to ensure the greatest scientific return from a particular mission, given a rapid deployment schedule and a tightly constrained budget; and (4) review past programmatic attempts to establish small planetary science mission lines, including the Planetary Observers and Planetary Explorers, and consider the impact management practices have had on such programs. A series of small missions presents the planetary science community with the opportunity to expand the scope of its activities and to develop the potential and inventiveness of its members in ways not possible within the confines of large, traditional programs. COMPLEX also realized that a program of small planetary missions was, in and of itself, incapable of meeting all of the prime objectives contained in its report 'An Integrated Strategy for the Planetary Sciences: 1995-2010.' Recommendations are provided for the small planetary missions to fulfill their promise.

The Hong Kong/AAO/Strasbourg Hα (HASH) Planetary Nebula Database

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bojičić, Ivan S.; Parker, Quentin A.; Frew, David J.

2017-10-01

The Hong Kong/AAO/Strasbourg Hα (HASH) planetary nebula database is an online research platform providing free and easy access to the largest and most comprehensive catalogue of known Galactic PNe and a repository of observational data (imaging and spectroscopy) for these and related astronomical objects. The main motivation for creating this system is resolving some of long standing problems in the field e.g. problems with mimics and dubious and/or misidentifications, errors in observational data and consolidation of the widely scattered data-sets. This facility allows researchers quick and easy access to the archived and new observational data and creating and sharing of non-redundant PN samples and catalogues.

Planetary Engulfment as a Trigger for White Dwarf Pollution

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Petrovich, Cristobal; Muñoz, Diego J.

2017-01-01

The presence of a planetary system can shield a planetesimal disk from the secular gravitational perturbations due to distant outer massive objects (planets or stellar companions). As the host star evolves off the main sequence to become a white dwarf, these planets can be engulfed during the giant phase, triggering secular instabilities and leading to the tidal disruptions of small rocky bodies. These disrupted bodies can feed the white dwarfs with rocky material and possibly explain the high-metallicity material in their atmospheres. We illustrate how this mechanism can operate when the gravitational perturbations are due to the KL mechanism from a stellar binary companion, a process that is activated only after the planet has been removed/engulfed. We show that this mechanism can explain the observed accretion rates if: (1) the planetary engulfment happens rapidly compared to the secular timescale, which is generally the case for wide binaries (> 100 au) and planetary engulfment during the asymptotic giant branch; (2) the planetesimal disk has a total mass of ˜ {10}-4-{10}-2{M}\\oplus . We show that this new mechanism can provide a steady supply of material throughout the entire life of the white dwarfs for all cooling ages and can account for a large fraction (up to nearly half) of the observed polluted white dwarfs.

Associations of Fat Mass and Fat-Free Mass with Physical Fitness in 4-Year-Old Children: Results from the MINISTOP Trial

PubMed Central

Henriksson, Pontus; Cadenas-Sanchez, Cristina; Leppänen, Marja H.; Delisle Nyström, Christine; Ortega, Francisco B.; Pomeroy, Jeremy; Ruiz, Jonatan R.; Löf, Marie

2016-01-01

Physical fitness is a powerful marker of health in youth. Studies in adolescents and adults suggest that higher fat mass is related to worse physical fitness. However, there is limited knowledge whether fat mass and fat-free mass are associated with physical fitness already in preschoolers. Baseline data from the MINISTOP (Mobile-based INtervention Intended to STop Obesity in Preschoolers) trial was utilized for this cross-sectional analysis. Body composition was assessed using air-displacement plethysmography. Fat mass index [fat mass (kg)/height2 (m)] and fat-free mass index [fat-free mass (kg)/height2 (m)] were used to provide height-adjusted measures of body composition. Physical fitness was measured using the PREFIT (FITness testing in PREschool children) battery, which assesses cardiorespiratory fitness, upper-body and lower-body muscular strength as well as motor fitness. In total, this study included 303 children (168 boys and 135 girls), who were on average 4.48 ± 0.15 years old. Higher fat mass index was associated with worse cardiorespiratory fitness (standardized β = −0.17, p = 0.002), lower-body muscular strength (β = −0.17, p = 0.003) and motor fitness (β = −0.21, p < 0.001) in regression analyses adjusted for age, sex and mutually adjusted for fat-mass index and fat-free mass index. Conversely, higher fat-free mass index was associated with better cardiorespiratory fitness (β = 0.18, p = 0.002), upper-body muscular strength (β = 0.39, p < 0.001), lower-body muscular strength (β = 0.22, p < 0.001) and motor fitness (β = 0.17, p = 0.004). Thus, fat mass and fat-free mass in preschoolers appear to have joint but opposite associations with physical fitness, an important marker for current and future health. PMID:27483320

Associations of Fat Mass and Fat-Free Mass with Physical Fitness in 4-Year-Old Children: Results from the MINISTOP Trial.

PubMed

Henriksson, Pontus; Cadenas-Sanchez, Cristina; Leppänen, Marja H; Delisle Nyström, Christine; Ortega, Francisco B; Pomeroy, Jeremy; Ruiz, Jonatan R; Löf, Marie

2016-07-30

Physical fitness is a powerful marker of health in youth. Studies in adolescents and adults suggest that higher fat mass is related to worse physical fitness. However, there is limited knowledge whether fat mass and fat-free mass are associated with physical fitness already in preschoolers. Baseline data from the MINISTOP (Mobile-based INtervention Intended to STop Obesity in Preschoolers) trial was utilized for this cross-sectional analysis. Body composition was assessed using air-displacement plethysmography. Fat mass index [fat mass (kg)/height² (m)] and fat-free mass index [fat-free mass (kg)/height² (m)] were used to provide height-adjusted measures of body composition. Physical fitness was measured using the PREFIT (FITness testing in PREschool children) battery, which assesses cardiorespiratory fitness, upper-body and lower-body muscular strength as well as motor fitness. In total, this study included 303 children (168 boys and 135 girls), who were on average 4.48 ± 0.15 years old. Higher fat mass index was associated with worse cardiorespiratory fitness (standardized β = -0.17, p = 0.002), lower-body muscular strength (β = -0.17, p = 0.003) and motor fitness (β = -0.21, p < 0.001) in regression analyses adjusted for age, sex and mutually adjusted for fat-mass index and fat-free mass index. Conversely, higher fat-free mass index was associated with better cardiorespiratory fitness (β = 0.18, p = 0.002), upper-body muscular strength (β = 0.39, p < 0.001), lower-body muscular strength (β = 0.22, p < 0.001) and motor fitness (β = 0.17, p = 0.004). Thus, fat mass and fat-free mass in preschoolers appear to have joint but opposite associations with physical fitness, an important marker for current and future health.

Floating Marine Debris in waters of the Mexican Central Pacific.

PubMed

Díaz-Torres, Evelyn R; Ortega-Ortiz, Christian D; Silva-Iñiguez, Lidia; Nene-Preciado, Alejandro; Orozco, Ernesto Torres

2017-02-15

The presence of marine debris has been reported recently in several oceans basins; there is very little information available for Mexican Pacific coasts, however. This research examined the composition, possible sources, distribution, and density of Floating Marine Debris (FMD) during nine research surveys conducted during 2010-2012 in the Mexican Central Pacific (MCP). Of 1820 floating objects recorded, 80% were plastic items. Sources of FMD were determined using key objects, which indicated that the most were related to the presence of the industrial harbor and of a growing fishing industry in the study area. Densities were relatively high, ranging from 40 to 2440objects/km 2 ; the highest densities were recorded in autumn. FMD were distributed near coastal regions, mainly in Jalisco, influenced by river outflow and surface currents. Our results seem to follow worldwide trends and highlight the need for further studies on potential ecological impacts within coastal waters of the MCP. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Computation of Nonlinear Hydrodynamic Loads on Floating Wind Turbines Using Fluid-Impulse Theory: Preprint

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kok Yan Chan, G.; Sclavounos, P. D.; Jonkman, J.

2015-04-02

A hydrodynamics computer module was developed for the evaluation of the linear and nonlinear loads on floating wind turbines using a new fluid-impulse formulation for coupling with the FAST program. The recently developed formulation allows the computation of linear and nonlinear loads on floating bodies in the time domain and avoids the computationally intensive evaluation of temporal and nonlinear free-surface problems and efficient methods are derived for its computation. The body instantaneous wetted surface is approximated by a panel mesh and the discretization of the free surface is circumvented by using the Green function. The evaluation of the nonlinear loadsmore » is based on explicit expressions derived by the fluid-impulse theory, which can be computed efficiently. Computations are presented of the linear and nonlinear loads on the MIT/NREL tension-leg platform. Comparisons were carried out with frequency-domain linear and second-order methods. Emphasis was placed on modeling accuracy of the magnitude of nonlinear low- and high-frequency wave loads in a sea state. Although fluid-impulse theory is applied to floating wind turbines in this paper, the theory is applicable to other offshore platforms as well.« less

Planetary population synthesis coupled with atmospheric escape: a statistical view of evaporation

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Jin, Sheng; Ji, Jianghui; Mordasini, Christoph

2014-11-01

We apply hydrodynamic evaporation models to different synthetic planet populations that were obtained from a planet formation code based on the core-accretion paradigm. We investigated the evolution of the planet populations using several evaporation models, which are distinguished by the driving force of the escape flow (X-ray or EUV), the heating efficiency in energy-limited evaporation regimes, or both. Although the mass distribution of the planet populations is barely affected by evaporation, the radius distribution clearly shows a break at approximately 2 R {sub ⊕}. We find that evaporation can lead to a bimodal distribution of planetary sizes and to anmore » 'evaporation valley' running diagonally downward in the orbital distance—planetary radius plane, separating bare cores from low-mass planets that have kept some primordial H/He. Furthermore, this bimodal distribution is related to the initial characteristics of the planetary populations because low-mass planetary cores can only accrete small primordial H/He envelopes and their envelope masses are proportional to their core masses. We also find that the population-wide effect of evaporation is not sensitive to the heating efficiency of energy-limited description. However, in two extreme cases, namely without evaporation or with a 100% heating efficiency in an evaporation model, the final size distributions show significant differences; these two scenarios can be ruled out from the size distribution of Kepler candidates.« less

Float Zone Workshop

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Naumann, R. J.

1980-01-01

A summary of the Analytical Float Zone Experiment System (AFZES) concept is presented. The types of experiments considered for such a facility are discussed. Reports from various industrial producers and users of float zone material are presented. Special emphasis is placed on state-of-the-art developments in low gravity manufacturing and their applications to space processing.

Comparison of skeletal muscle mass to fat-free mass ratios among different ethnic groups.

PubMed

Abe, T; Bemben, M G; Kondo, M; Kawakami, Y; Fukunaga, T

2012-01-01

Asians seem to have less skeletal muscle mass (SMM) than other ethnic groups, but it is not clear whether relative SMM, i.e., SMM / height square or SMM to fat-free mass (FFM) ratio, differs among different ethnic groups at the same level of body mass index (BMI). To compare the SMM to fat-free mass (FFM) ratio as well as anthropometric variables and body composition among 3 ethnic groups. Three hundred thirty-nine Japanese, 343 Brazilian, and 183 German men and women were recruited for this cross-sectional study. Muscle thickness (MTH) and subcutaneous fat thickness (FTH) were measured by ultrasound at nine sites on the anterior and posterior aspects of the body. FTH was used to estimate the body density, from which fat mass and fat-free mass (FFM) was calculated by using Brozek equation. Total SMM was estimated from ultrasound-derived prediction equations. Percentage body fat was similar among the ethnic groups in men, while Brazilians were higher than Japanese in women. In German men and women, absolute SMM and FFM were higher than in their Japanese and Brazilians counterparts. SMM index and SMM:FFM ratios were similar among the ethnic groups in women, excluding SMM:FFM ratio in Brazilian. In men, however, these relative values (SMM index and SMM:FFM ratio) were still higher in Germans. After adjusting for age and BMI, the SMM index and SMM:FFM ratios were lower in Brazilian men and women compared with the other two ethnic groups, while the SMM index and SMM:FFM ratios were similar in Japanese and German men and women, excluding SMM:FFM ratio in women. Our results suggest that relative SMM is not lower in Asian populations compared with European populations after adjusted by age and BMI.

Unsteady aerodynamic analysis for offshore floating wind turbines under different wind conditions

PubMed Central

Xu, B. F.; Wang, T. G.; Yuan, Y.; Cao, J. F.

2015-01-01

A free-vortex wake (FVW) model is developed in this paper to analyse the unsteady aerodynamic performance of offshore floating wind turbines. A time-marching algorithm of third-order accuracy is applied in the FVW model. Owing to the complex floating platform motions, the blade inflow conditions and the positions of initial points of vortex filaments, which are different from the fixed wind turbine, are modified in the implemented model. A three-dimensional rotational effect model and a dynamic stall model are coupled into the FVW model to improve the aerodynamic performance prediction in the unsteady conditions. The effects of floating platform motions in the simulation model are validated by comparison between calculation and experiment for a small-scale rigid test wind turbine coupled with a floating tension leg platform (TLP). The dynamic inflow effect carried by the FVW method itself is confirmed and the results agree well with the experimental data of a pitching transient on another test turbine. Also, the flapping moment at the blade root in yaw on the same test turbine is calculated and compares well with the experimental data. Then, the aerodynamic performance is simulated in a yawed condition of steady wind and in an unyawed condition of turbulent wind, respectively, for a large-scale wind turbine coupled with the floating TLP motions, demonstrating obvious differences in rotor performance and blade loading from the fixed wind turbine. The non-dimensional magnitudes of loading changes due to the floating platform motions decrease from the blade root to the blade tip. PMID:25583859

Stratospheric Balloons for Planetary Science and the Balloon Observation Platform for Planetary Science (BOPPS) Mission Summary

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kremic, Tibor; Cheng, Andrew F.; Hibbitts, Karl; Young, Eliot F.; Ansari, Rafat R.; Dolloff, Matthew D.; Landis, Rob R.

2015-01-01

NASA and the planetary science community have been exploring the potential contributions approximately 200 questions raised in the Decadal Survey have identified about 45 topics that are potentially suitable for addressing by stratospheric balloon platforms. A stratospheric balloon mission was flown in the fall of 2014 called BOPPS, Balloon Observation Platform for Planetary Science. This mission observed a number of planetary targets including two Oort cloud comets. The optical system and instrumentation payload was able to provide unique measurements of the intended targets and increase our understanding of these primitive bodies and their implications for us here on Earth. This paper will discuss the mission, instrumentation and initial results and how these may contribute to the broader planetary science objectives of NASA and the scientific community. This paper will also identify how the instrument platform on BOPPS may be able to contribute to future balloon-based science. Finally the paper will address potential future enhancements and the expected science impacts should those enhancements be implemented.

The 1984 Mauna Loa eruption and planetary geolgoy

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Moore, Henry J.

1987-01-01

In planetary geology, lava flows on the Moon and Mars are commonly treated as relatively simple systems. Some of the complexities of actual lava flows are illustrated using the main flow system of the 1984 Mauna Loa eruption. The outline, brief narrative, and results given are based on a number of sources. The implications of the results to planetary geology are clear. Volume flow rates during an eruption depend, in part, on the volatile content of the lava. These differ from the volume flow rates calculated from post eruption flow dimensions and the duration of the eruption and from those using models that assume a constant density. Mass flow rates might be more appropriate because the masses of volatiles in lavas are usually small, but variable and sometimes unknown densities impose severe restrictions on mass estimates.

The floating mass transducer at the round window: direct transmission or bone conduction?

PubMed

Arnold, Andreas; Kompis, Martin; Candreia, Claudia; Pfiffner, Flurin; Häusler, Rudolf; Stieger, Christof

2010-05-01

The round window placement of a floating mass transducer (FMT) is a new approach for coupling an implantable hearing system to the cochlea. We evaluated the vibration transfer to the cochlear fluids of an FMT placed at the round window (rwFMT) with special attention to the role of bone conduction. A posterior tympanotomy was performed on eleven ears of seven human whole head specimens. Several rwFMT setups were examined using laser Doppler vibrometry measurements at the stapes and the promontory. In three ears, the vibrations of a bone anchored hearing aid (BAHA) and an FMT fixed to the promontory (pFMT) were compared to explore the role of bone conduction. Vibration transmission to the measuring point at the stapes was best when the rwFMT was perpendicularly placed in the round window and underlayed with connective tissue. Fixation of the rwFMT to the round window exhibited significantly lower vibration transmission. Although measurable, bone conduction from the pFMT was much lower than that of the BAHA. Our results suggest that the rwFMT does not act as a small bone anchored hearing aid, but instead, acts as a direct vibratory stimulator of the round window membrane. Copyright (c) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The Coldest Object in the Universe: Probing the Mass Distribution of the Ultra-Cold Outflow and Dusty Disk in the Boomerang Nebula

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sahai, R.; Vlemmings, W.; Nyman, L. A.

2014-01-01

Our Cycle 0 ALMA observations confirmed that the Boomerang Nebula is the coldest known object in the universe, with a massive high-speed outflow that has cooled significantly below the temperature of the cosmic background (CMB). The Boomerang's prodigious mass-loss rate (0.001 solar mass M yr (exp -1) and low-luminosity (300L ) make it a key object for understanding the remarkable transition of the circumstellar envelopes of AGB stars into bipolar planetary nebulae. We have obtained new ACA CO 1-0 data that recover much of the flux lost in the Cycle O data, and reveal heretofore unseen distant regions of the ultra-cold outflow reheated to temperatures above the CMB. Our CO J=3-2 data reveal the precise, highly collimated shape of an inner bipolar structure and its dense central waist, with unprecedented angular resolution (0.4 in). The waist shows a core-halo structure in the thermal dust emission at 0.88 millimeter, and its derived flux at this wavelength, compared with the 3.3, 2.6, and 1.3 millimeter fluxes support the presence of about 5 x 10 (exp -4) solar mass of very large (approximately millimeter-sized), cold (approximately 30K) grains. We also find the unexpected presence of weak SO emission, possibly resulting from the release of S from grains due to high-speed shocks.

Image Processing for Planetary Limb/Terminator Extraction

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Udomkesmalee, S.; Zhu, D. Q.; Chu, C. -C.

1995-01-01

A novel image segmentation technique for extracting limb and terminator of planetary bodies is proposed. Conventional edge- based histogramming approaches are used to trace object boundaries. The limb and terminator bifurcation is achieved by locating the harmonized segment in the two equations representing the 2-D parameterized boundary curve. Real planetary images from Voyager 1 and 2 served as representative test cases to verify the proposed methodology.

MOA-2011-BLG-262Lb: A sub-Earth-mass moon orbiting a gas giant primary or a high velocity planetary system in the galactic Bulge

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Bennett, D. P.; Batista, V.; Bond, I. A.

2014-04-20

We present the first microlensing candidate for a free-floating exoplanet-exomoon system, MOA-2011-BLG-262, with a primary lens mass of M {sub host} ∼ 4 Jupiter masses hosting a sub-Earth mass moon. The argument for an exomoon hinges on the system being relatively close to the Sun. The data constrain the product M{sub L} π{sub rel} where M{sub L} is the lens system mass and π{sub rel} is the lens-source relative parallax. If the lens system is nearby (large π{sub rel}), then M{sub L} is small (a few Jupiter masses) and the companion is a sub-Earth-mass exomoon. The best-fit solution has amore » large lens-source relative proper motion, μ{sub rel} = 19.6 ± 1.6 mas yr{sup –1}, which would rule out a distant lens system unless the source star has an unusually high proper motion. However, data from the OGLE collaboration nearly rule out a high source proper motion, so the exoplanet+exomoon model is the favored interpretation for the best fit model. However, there is an alternate solution that has a lower proper motion and fits the data almost as well. This solution is compatible with a distant (so stellar) host. A Bayesian analysis does not favor the exoplanet+exomoon interpretation, so Occam's razor favors a lens system in the bulge with host and companion masses of M{sub host}=0.12{sub −0.06}{sup +0.19} M{sub ⊙} and m{sub comp}=18{sub −10}{sup +28} M{sub ⊕}, at a projected separation of a{sub ⊥}=0.84{sub −0.14}{sup +0.25} AU. The existence of this degeneracy is an unlucky accident, so current microlensing experiments are in principle sensitive to exomoons. In some circumstances, it will be possible to definitively establish the mass of such lens systems through the microlensing parallax effect. Future experiments will be sensitive to less extreme exomoons.« less

Measuring and interpreting X-ray fluorescence from planetary surfaces.

PubMed

Owens, Alan; Beckhoff, Burkhard; Fraser, George; Kolbe, Michael; Krumrey, Michael; Mantero, Alfonso; Mantler, Michael; Peacock, Anthony; Pia, Maria-Grazia; Pullan, Derek; Schneider, Uwe G; Ulm, Gerhard

2008-11-15

As part of a comprehensive study of X-ray emission from planetary surfaces and in particular the planet Mercury, we have measured fluorescent radiation from a number of planetary analog rock samples using monochromatized synchrotron radiation provided by the BESSY II electron storage ring. The experiments were carried out using a purpose built X-ray fluorescence (XRF) spectrometer chamber developed by the Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt, Germany's national metrology institute. The XRF instrumentation is absolutely calibrated and allows for reference-free quantitation of rock sample composition, taking into account secondary photon- and electron-induced enhancement effects. The fluorescence data, in turn, have been used to validate a planetary fluorescence simulation tool based on the GEANT4 transport code. This simulation can be used as a mission analysis tool to predict the time-dependent orbital XRF spectral distributions from planetary surfaces throughout the mapping phase.

A Survey for Circumstellar Disks around Young Substellar Objects

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Michael C.; Najita, Joan; Tokunaga, Alan T.

2003-03-01

We have completed the first systematic survey for disks around spectroscopically identified young brown dwarfs and very low mass stars. For a sample of 38 very cool objects in IC 348 and Taurus, we have obtained L'-band (3.8 μm) imaging with sufficient sensitivity to detect objects with and without disks. The sample should be free of selection biases for our purposes. Our targets span spectral types from M6 to M9.5, corresponding to masses of ~15-100 MJup and ages of <~5 Myr, based on current models. None appear to be binaries at 0.4" resolution (55-120 AU). Using the objects' measured spectral types and extinctions, we find that most of our sample (77%+/-15%) possess intrinsic IR excesses, indicative of circum(sub)stellar disks. Because the excesses are modest, conventional analyses using only IR colors would have missed most of the sources with excesses. Such analyses inevitably underestimate the disk fraction and will be less reliable for young brown dwarfs than for T Tauri stars. The observed IR excesses are correlated with Hα emission, consistent with a common accretion disk origin. In the same star-forming regions, we find that disks around brown dwarfs and T Tauri stars are contemporaneous; assuming coevality, this demonstrates that the inner regions of substellar disks are at least as long-lived as stellar disks and evolve slowly for the first ~3 Myr. The disk frequency appears to be independent of mass. However, some objects in our sample, including the very coolest (lowest mass) ones, lack IR excesses and may be diskless. The observed excesses can be explained by disk reprocessing of starlight alone; the implied accretion rates are at least an order of magnitude below typical values for classical T Tauri stars. The observed distribution of IR excesses suggests inner disk holes with radii of >~2R*, consistent with the idea that such holes arise from disk-magnetosphere interactions. Altogether, the frequency and properties of young circumstellar disks

Gravitational Instabilities in a Young Protoplanetary Disk with Embedded Objects

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Desai, Karna M.

Gravitational Instabilities (GIs), a mechanism for angular momentum transport, are prominent during the early phases of protoplanetary disk evolution when the disk is relatively massive. In this dissertation, I analyze GIs by inserting different objects in a disk by employing 3D hydrodynamics simulations. GIs in a circumbinary disks are studied to determine how the presence of the companion affects the nature and strength of GIs in the disk. The circumbinary disk achieves a state of sustained marginal instability similar to an identical disk without the companion. A realistic evolution of the binary is detected. Planet and disk interactions play an important role in the evolution of planetary systems. To study this interaction during the early phases of planet formation, a migration study of Jovian planets in a GI-active disk is conducted. I find the migration timescales to be longer in a GI-active disk, when compared to laminar disks. The 3 MJupiter planet controls its own orbital evolution, while the migration of a 0.3 MJupiter planet is stochastic in nature. I define a 'critical mass' as the mass of an arm of the dominant two-armed spiral density wave within the planet's Hill diameter. Planets above this mass control their own destiny, and planets below this mass are scattered by the disk. This critical mass could provide a recipe for predicting the migration behavior of planets in GI-active disks. To understand the stochastic migration of low-mass planets, I perform a simulation of 240 zero-mass planet-tracers by inserting these at a range of locations in the disk. A Diffusion Coefficient is calculated to characterize the stochastic migration of low-mass objects. The eccentricity dispersion for the sample is also studied. I find that the diffusion of planets can be a slow process, resulting in the survival of small planetary cores.

Planetary submillimeter spectroscopy

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Klein, M. J.

1988-01-01

The aim is to develop a comprehensive observational and analytical program to study solar system physics and meterology by measuring molecular lines in the millimeter and submillimeter spectra of planets and comets. A primary objective is to conduct observations with new JPL and Caltech submillimeter receivers at the Caltech Submillimeter Observatory (CSO) on Mauna Kea, Hawaii. A secondary objective is to continue to monitor the time variable planetary phenomena (e.g., Jupiter and Uranus) at centimeter wavelength using the NASA antennas of the Deep Space Network (DSN).

Aerocapture Inflatable Decelerator for Planetary Entry

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Reza, Sajjad; Hund, Richard; Kustas, Frank; Willcockson, William; Songer, Jarvis; Brown, Glen

2007-01-01

Forward Attached Inflatable Decelerators, more commonly known as inflatable aeroshells, provide an effective, cost efficient means of decelerating spacecrafts by using atmospheric drag for aerocapture or planetary entry instead of conventional liquid propulsion deceleration systems. Entry into planetary atmospheres results in significant heating and aerodynamic pressures which stress aeroshell systems to their useful limits. Incorporation of lightweight inflatable decelerator surfaces with increased surface-area footprints provides the opportunity to reduce heat flux and induced temperatures, while increasing the payload mass fraction. Furthermore, inflatable aeroshell decelerators provide the needed deceleration at considerably higher altitudes and Mach numbers when compared with conventional rigid aeroshell entry systems. Inflatable aeroshells also provide for stowage in a compact space, with subsequent deployment of a large-area, lightweight heatshield to survive entry heating. Use of a deployable heatshield decelerator enables an increase in the spacecraft payload mass fraction and may eliminate the need for a spacecraft backshell.

Design, development and evaluation of clopidogrel bisulfate floating tablets.

PubMed

Rao, K Rama Koteswara; Lakshmi, K Rajya

2014-01-01

The objective of the present work was to formulate and to characterize a floating drug delivery system for clopidogrel bisulphate to improve bioavailability and to minimize the side effects of the drug such as gastric bleeding and drug resistance development. Clopidogrel floating tablets were prepared by direct compression technique by the use of three polymers xanthan gum, hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC) K15M and HPMC K4M in different concentrations (20%, 25% and 30% w/w). Sodium bicarbonate (15% w/w) and microcrystalline cellulose (30% w/w) were used as gas generating agent and diluent respectively. Studies were carried out on floating behavior and influence of type of polymer on drug release rate. All the formulations were subjected to various quality control and in-vitro dissolution studies in 0.1 N hydrochloric acid (1.2 pH) and corresponding dissolution data were fitted to popular release kinetic equations in order to evaluate release mechanisms and kinetics. All the clopidogrel floating formulations followed first order kinetics, Higuchi drug release kinetics with diffusion as the dominant mechanism of drug release. As per Korsmeyer-Peppas equation, the release exponent "n" ranged 0.452-0.654 indicating that drug release from all the formulations was by non-Fickian diffusion mechanism. The drug release rate of clopidogrel was found to be affected by the type and concentration of the polymer used in the formulation (P < 0.05). As the concentration of the polymer was increased, the drug release was found to be retarded. Based on the results, clopidogrel floating tablets prepared by employing xanthan gum at concentration 25% w/w (formulation F2) was the best formulation with desired in-vitro floating time and drug dissolution.

The application of simple mass spectrometers to planetary sub-surface sampling using penetrators

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sheridan, Simon; Morse, Andrew; Bardwell, Max; Barber, Simeon; Wright, Ian

2010-05-01

Ptolemy is an ion trap based gas-chromatograph isotope ratio mass spectrometer which is on-board the Rosetta Lander [Wright et al., 2006; Todd et al., 2007]. The instrument uses the principles of MODULUS (Methods of Determining and Understanding Light Elements From Unequivocal Stable Isotope Compositions [Pillinger and Wright, 1993], to enable results obtained in space to be interpreted directly in the context of terrestrial analyses of meteorites and returned samples. MODULUS typically involves use of a complex sample processing system to purify and separate individual species from a complex starting sample, allowing analysis by a relatively simple, low resolution, but stable and precise mass spectrometer instrumentation. A number of exciting future mission opportunities are arising where it is unlikely that it will be feasible to incorporate the full MODULUS-style sample processing system. Of particular interest are missions that offer the opportunity to gain access to surface and sub-surface material through the deployment of mass spectrometers from either high-speed penetrator platforms [Smith et al., 2009] or from sub-surface penetrating mole devices deployed by soft landers [Richter et al., 2003]. We will present work aimed at overcoming the resolution restrictions of ion trap mass spectrometers. It is anticipated that this will enable MODULUS style science return from relatively simple instrumentation which is compatible with the future miniaturised sampling platforms currently under consideration for Mars, asteroids, comets and planetary moons. References: Wright I. P., Barber S. J., Morgan G. H., Morse A. D., Sheridan S., Andrews D. J., Maynard J., Yau D., Evans S. T., Leese M. R., Zarnecki J. C., Kent B. J., Waltham N. R., Whalley M. S., Heys S., Drummond D. L., Edeson R. L., Sawyer E. C., Turner R. F., and Pillinger C. T. (2006). Ptolemy - an instrument to measure stable isotopic ratios of key volatiles on a cometary nucleus. Space Science Reviews, 128

Galactic planetary science

PubMed Central

Tinetti, Giovanna

2014-01-01

Planetary science beyond the boundaries of our Solar System is today in its infancy. Until a couple of decades ago, the detailed investigation of the planetary properties was restricted to objects orbiting inside the Kuiper Belt. Today, we cannot ignore that the number of known planets has increased by two orders of magnitude nor that these planets resemble anything but the objects present in our own Solar System. Whether this fact is the result of a selection bias induced by the kind of techniques used to discover new planets—mainly radial velocity and transit—or simply the proof that the Solar System is a rarity in the Milky Way, we do not know yet. What is clear, though, is that the Solar System has failed to be the paradigm not only in our Galaxy but even ‘just’ in the solar neighbourhood. This finding, although unsettling, forces us to reconsider our knowledge of planets under a different light and perhaps question a few of the theoretical pillars on which we base our current ‘understanding’. The next decade will be critical to advance in what we should perhaps call Galactic planetary science. In this paper, I review highlights and pitfalls of our current knowledge of this topic and elaborate on how this knowledge might arguably evolve in the next decade. More critically, I identify what should be the mandatory scientific and technical steps to be taken in this fascinating journey of remote exploration of planets in our Galaxy. PMID:24664916

CO-SPATIAL LONG-SLIT UV/OPTICAL SPECTRA OF TEN GALACTIC PLANETARY NEBULAE WITH HST/STIS. II. NEBULAR MODELS, CENTRAL STAR PROPERTIES, AND He+CNO SYNTHESIS

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Henry, R. B. C.; Miller, T. R.; Balick, B.

The goal of the present study is twofold. First, we employ new HST/STIS spectra and photoionization modeling techniques to determine the progenitor masses of eight planetary nebulae (IC 2165, IC 3568, NGC 2440, NGC 3242, NGC 5315, NGC 5882, NGC 7662, and PB 6). Second, for the first time we are able to compare each object’s observed nebular abundances of helium, carbon, and nitrogen with abundance predictions of these same elements by a stellar model that is consistent with each object’s progenitor mass. Important results include the following: (1) the mass range of our objects’ central stars matches well withmore » the mass distribution of other central stars of planetary nebulae and white dwarfs; (2) He/H is above solar in all of our objects, in most cases likely due to the predicted effects of first dredge-up; (3) most of our objects show negligible C enrichment, probably because their low masses preclude third dredge-up; (4) C/O versus O/H for our objects appears to be inversely correlated, which is perhaps consistent with the conclusion of theorists that the extent of atmospheric carbon enrichment from first dredge-up is sensitive to a parameter whose value increases as metallicity declines; (5) stellar model predictions of nebular C and N enrichment are consistent with observed abundances for progenitor star masses ≤1.5 M{sub ⊙}. Finally, we present the first published photoionization models of NGC 5315 and NGC 5882.« less

Planetary Science with Balloon-Borne Telescopes

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kremic, Tibor; Cheng, Andy; Hibbitts, Karl; Young, Eliot

2015-01-01

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the planetary science community have recently been exploring the potential contributions of stratospheric balloons to the planetary science field. A study that was recently concluded explored the roughly 200 or so science questions raised in the Planetary Decadal Survey report and found that about 45 of those questions are suited to stratospheric balloon based observations. In September of 2014, a stratospheric balloon mission called BOPPS (which stands for Balloon Observation Platform for Planetary Science) was flown out of Fort Sumner, New Mexico. The mission had two main objectives, first, to observe a number of planetary targets including one or more Oort cloud comets and second, to demonstrate the applicability and performance of the platform, instruments, and subsystems for making scientific measurements in support planetary science objectives. BOPPS carried two science instruments, BIRC and UVVis. BIRC is a cryogenic infrared multispectral imager which can image in the.6-5 m range using an HgCdTe detector. Narrow band filters were used to allow detection of water and CO2 emission features of the observed targets. The UVVis is an imager with the science range of 300 to 600 nm. A main feature of the UVVis instrument is the incorporation of a guide camera and a Fine Steering Mirror (FSM) system to reduce image jitter to less than 100 milliarcseconds. The BIRC instrument was used to image targets including Oort cloud comets Siding Spring and Jacques, and the dwarf planet 1 Ceres. BOPPS achieved the first ever earth based CO2 observation of a comet and the first images of water and CO2 of an Oort cloud comet (Jacques). It also made the first ever measurement of 1Ceres at 2.73 m to refine the shape of the infrared water absorption feature on that body. The UVVis instrument, mounted on its own optics bench, demonstrated the capability for image correction both from atmospheric disturbances as well as some

Numerical simulations of inductive-heated float-zone growth

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chan, Y. T.; Choi, S. K.

1992-01-01

The present work provides an improved fluid flow and heat-transfer modeling of float-zone growth by introducing a RF heating model so that an ad hoc heating temperature profile is not necessary. Numerical simulations were carried out to study the high-temperature float-zone growth of titanium carbide single crystal. The numerical results showed that the thermocapillary convection occurring inside the molten zone tends to increase the convexity of the melt-crystal interface and decrease the maximum temperature of the molten zone, while the natural convection tends to reduce the stability of the molten zone by increasing its height. It was found that the increase of induced heating due to the increase of applied RF voltage is reduced by the decrease of zone diameter. Surface tension plays an important role in controlling the amount of induced heating. Finally, a comparison of the computed shape of the free surface with a digital image obtained during a growth run showed adequate agreement.

Finding the Density of Objects without Measuring Mass and Volume

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mumba, Frackson; Tsige, Mesfin

2007-01-01

A simple method based on the moment of forces and Archimedes' principle is described for finding density without measuring the mass and volume of an object. The method involves balancing two unknown objects of masses M[subscript 1] and M[subscript 2] on each side of a pivot on a metre rule and measuring their corresponding moment arms. The object…

Planetary quarantine

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1977-01-01

Those areas of future missions which will be impacted by planetary quarantine (PQ) constraints were identified. The specific objectives for this reporting period were (1) to perform an analysis of the effects of PQ on an outer planet atmospheric probe, and (2) to prepare a quantitative illustration of spacecraft microbial reduction resulting from exposure to space environments. The Jupiter Orbiter Probe mission was used as a model for both of these efforts.

A new statistical distance scale for planetary nebulae

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ali, Alaa; Ismail, H. A.; Alsolami, Z.

2015-05-01

In the first part of the present article we discuss the consistency among different individual distance methods of Galactic planetary nebulae, while in the second part we develop a new statistical distance scale based on a calibrating sample of well determined distances. A set composed of 315 planetary nebulae with individual distances are extracted from the literature. Inspecting the data set indicates that the accuracy of distances is varying among different individual methods and also among different sources where the same individual method was applied. Therefore, we derive a reliable weighted mean distance for each object by considering the influence of the distance error and the weight of each individual method. The results reveal that the discussed individual methods are consistent with each other, except the gravity method that produces higher distances compared to other individual methods. From the initial data set, we construct a standard calibrating sample consists of 82 objects. This sample is restricted only to the objects with distances determined from at least two different individual methods, except few objects with trusted distances determined from the trigonometric, spectroscopic, and cluster membership methods. In addition to the well determined distances for this sample, it shows a lot of advantages over that used in the prior distance scales. This sample is used to recalibrate the mass-radius and radio surface brightness temperature-radius relationships. An average error of ˜30 % is estimated for the new distance scale. The newly distance scale is compared with the most widely used statistical scales in literature, where the results show that it is roughly similar to the majority of them within ˜±20 % difference. Furthermore, the new scale yields a weighted mean distance to the Galactic center of 7.6±1.35 kpc, which in good agreement with the very recent measure of Malkin 2013.

Computation of the inviscid supersonic flow about cones at large angles of attack by a floating discontinuity approach

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Daywitt, J.; Kutler, P.; Anderson, D.

1977-01-01

The technique of floating shock fitting is adapted to the computation of the inviscid flowfield about circular cones in a supersonic free stream at angles of attack that exceed the cone half-angle. The resulting equations are applicable over the complete range of free-stream Mach numbers, angles of attack and cone half-angles for which the bow shock is attached. A finite difference algorithm is used to obtain the solution by an unsteady relaxation approach. The bow shock, embedded cross-flow shock, and vortical singularity in the leeward symmetry plane are treated as floating discontinuities in a fixed computational mesh. Where possible, the flowfield is partitioned into windward, shoulder, and leeward regions with each region computed separately to achieve maximum computational efficiency. An alternative shock fitting technique which treats the bow shock as a computational boundary is developed and compared with the floating-fitting approach. Several surface boundary condition schemes are also analyzed.

Planetary System Physics

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Peale, S. J.

2002-01-01

Contents include a summary of publications followed by their abstracts titeled: 1. On microlensing rates and optical depth toward the Galactic center. 2. Newly discovered brown dwarfs not seen in microlensing timescale frequency distribution? 3. Origin and evolution of the natural satellites. 4. Probing the structure of the galaxy with microlensing. 5. Tides, Encyclopedia of Astronomy and Astrophysics. 6. The Puzzle of the Titan-Hyperion 4:3 Orbital Resonance. 7. On the Validity of the Coagulation Equation and the Nature of Runaway Growth. 8. Making Hyperion. 9. The MESSENGER mission to Mercury: Scientific objectives and implementation. 10. A Survey of Numerical Solutions to the Coagulation. 11. Probability of detecting a planetary companion during a microlensing event. 12. Dynamics and origin of the 2:l orbital resonances of the GJ876 planets. 13. Planetary Interior Structure Revealed by Spin Dynamics. 14. A primordial origin of the Laplace relation among the Galilean Satellites. 15. A procedure for determining the nature of Mercury's core. 16. Secular evolution of hierarchical planetary systems. 17. Tidally induced volcanism. 18. Extrasolar planets and mean motion resonances. 19. Comparison of a ground-based microlensing search for planets with a search from space.

LBT observations of the HR8799 planetary system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mesa, D.; Arcidiacono, C.; Claudi, R. U.; Desidera, S.; Esposito, S.; Gratton, R.; Masciadri, E.

2013-09-01

We present here observations of the HR8799 planetary system performed in H and Ks band exploiting the AO system at the Large Binocular Telescope and the PISCES camera. Thanks to the excellent performence of the instrument we were able to detect for the first time the inner known planet of the system (HR8799) in the H band. Precise photometric and astrometric measures have been taken for all the four planets. Further, exploiting ours and previous astrometric results, we were able to put some limits on the planetary orbits of the four planets. The analysis of the dinamical stability of the system seems to show lower planetary masses than the ones adopted until now.

Detecting free-mass common-mode motion induced by incident gravitational waves

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tobar, Michael Edmund; Suzuki, Toshikazu; Kuroda, Kazuaki

1999-05-01

In this paper we show that information on both the differential and common mode free-mass response to a gravitational wave can provide important information on discriminating the direction of the gravitational wave source and between different theories of gravitation. The conventional Michelson interferometer scheme only measures the differential free-mass response. By changing the orientation of the beam splitter, it is possible to configure the detector so it is sensitive to the common-mode of the free-mass motion. The proposed interferometer is an adaptation of the Fox-Smith interferometer. A major limitation to the new scheme is its enhanced sensitivity to laser frequency fluctuations over the conventional, and we propose a method of cancelling these fluctuations. The configuration could be used in parallel to the conventional differential detection scheme with a significant sensitivity and bandwidth.

Electrically floating, near vertical incidence, skywave antenna

DOEpatents

Anderson, Allen A.; Kaser, Timothy G.; Tremblay, Paul A.; Mays, Belva L.

2014-07-08

An Electrically Floating, Near Vertical Incidence, Skywave (NVIS) Antenna comprising an antenna element, a floating ground element, and a grounding element. At least part of said floating ground element is positioned between said antenna element and said grounding element. The antenna is separated from the floating ground element and the grounding element by one or more electrical insulators. The floating ground element is separated from said antenna and said grounding element by one or more electrical insulators.

Unsteady aerodynamic analysis for offshore floating wind turbines under different wind conditions.

PubMed

Xu, B F; Wang, T G; Yuan, Y; Cao, J F

2015-02-28

A free-vortex wake (FVW) model is developed in this paper to analyse the unsteady aerodynamic performance of offshore floating wind turbines. A time-marching algorithm of third-order accuracy is applied in the FVW model. Owing to the complex floating platform motions, the blade inflow conditions and the positions of initial points of vortex filaments, which are different from the fixed wind turbine, are modified in the implemented model. A three-dimensional rotational effect model and a dynamic stall model are coupled into the FVW model to improve the aerodynamic performance prediction in the unsteady conditions. The effects of floating platform motions in the simulation model are validated by comparison between calculation and experiment for a small-scale rigid test wind turbine coupled with a floating tension leg platform (TLP). The dynamic inflow effect carried by the FVW method itself is confirmed and the results agree well with the experimental data of a pitching transient on another test turbine. Also, the flapping moment at the blade root in yaw on the same test turbine is calculated and compares well with the experimental data. Then, the aerodynamic performance is simulated in a yawed condition of steady wind and in an unyawed condition of turbulent wind, respectively, for a large-scale wind turbine coupled with the floating TLP motions, demonstrating obvious differences in rotor performance and blade loading from the fixed wind turbine. The non-dimensional magnitudes of loading changes due to the floating platform motions decrease from the blade root to the blade tip. © 2015 The Author(s) Published by the Royal Society. All rights reserved.

Effects of Long-term Physical Training on the Bearers of a Float during the Nagasaki Kunchi Festival.

PubMed

Shibata, Shigemori; Kawano, Hiroaki; Maemura, Koji

Objective The Nagasaki Kunchi Festival is one of the most famous festivals in Nagasaki. The bearers the floats that are used in this festival undergo long-term training for the performance. However, there have not been any studies on the effects of this training on the health of the float bearers. Methods Thirty-four men ranging in age from 20 to 49 years (mean age: 35.77.6 years) were included in the study. We examined the following parameters before and after the training: body weight (BW), body mass index (BMI), body fat percentage, muscle volume, systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), pulse rate (PR), pulse pressure (PP), bearing power, arterial pressure volume index (API), and arterial velocity pulse index (AVI). Results For all participants, the BW, BMI, body fat percentage, and PR were significantly decreased, and the muscle volume and bearing power were significantly increased after the training; however, there were no significant changes in the SBP, DBP, PP, API, or AVI. In the participants with hypertension, in addition to decreases in BW, BMI, body fat percentage, PR, and PP, the SBP, DBP, and API were significantly decreased after the training. Conclusion Training for bearing a float during Nagasaki Kunchi effectively improved the body structure of all participants and reduced the BP and API in participants with hypertension.

Effects of Long-term Physical Training on the Bearers of a Float during the Nagasaki Kunchi Festival

PubMed Central

Shibata, Shigemori; Kawano, Hiroaki; Maemura, Koji

2017-01-01

Objective The Nagasaki Kunchi Festival is one of the most famous festivals in Nagasaki. The bearers the floats that are used in this festival undergo long-term training for the performance. However, there have not been any studies on the effects of this training on the health of the float bearers. Methods Thirty-four men ranging in age from 20 to 49 years (mean age: 35.7±7.6 years) were included in the study. We examined the following parameters before and after the training: body weight (BW), body mass index (BMI), body fat percentage, muscle volume, systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), pulse rate (PR), pulse pressure (PP), bearing power, arterial pressure volume index (API), and arterial velocity pulse index (AVI). Results For all participants, the BW, BMI, body fat percentage, and PR were significantly decreased, and the muscle volume and bearing power were significantly increased after the training; however, there were no significant changes in the SBP, DBP, PP, API, or AVI. In the participants with hypertension, in addition to decreases in BW, BMI, body fat percentage, PR, and PP, the SBP, DBP, and API were significantly decreased after the training. Conclusion Training for bearing a float during Nagasaki Kunchi effectively improved the body structure of all participants and reduced the BP and API in participants with hypertension. PMID:28049988

NULL Convention Floating Point Multiplier

PubMed Central

Ramachandran, Seshasayanan

2015-01-01

Floating point multiplication is a critical part in high dynamic range and computational intensive digital signal processing applications which require high precision and low power. This paper presents the design of an IEEE 754 single precision floating point multiplier using asynchronous NULL convention logic paradigm. Rounding has not been implemented to suit high precision applications. The novelty of the research is that it is the first ever NULL convention logic multiplier, designed to perform floating point multiplication. The proposed multiplier offers substantial decrease in power consumption when compared with its synchronous version. Performance attributes of the NULL convention logic floating point multiplier, obtained from Xilinx simulation and Cadence, are compared with its equivalent synchronous implementation. PMID:25879069

NULL convention floating point multiplier.

PubMed

Albert, Anitha Juliette; Ramachandran, Seshasayanan

2015-01-01

Floating point multiplication is a critical part in high dynamic range and computational intensive digital signal processing applications which require high precision and low power. This paper presents the design of an IEEE 754 single precision floating point multiplier using asynchronous NULL convention logic paradigm. Rounding has not been implemented to suit high precision applications. The novelty of the research is that it is the first ever NULL convention logic multiplier, designed to perform floating point multiplication. The proposed multiplier offers substantial decrease in power consumption when compared with its synchronous version. Performance attributes of the NULL convention logic floating point multiplier, obtained from Xilinx simulation and Cadence, are compared with its equivalent synchronous implementation.

Stabilized floating platforms

DOEpatents

Thomas, David G.

1976-01-01

The subject invention is directed to a floating platform for supporting nuclear reactors and the like at selected offshore sites. The platform is provided with a stabilizer mechanism which significantly reduces the effects of wave action upon the platform and which comprises a pair of relatively small floats attached by rigid booms to the platform at locations spaced therefrom for reducing wave pitch, acceleration, and the resonance period of the wave.

Community structure of free-floating filamentous cyanobacterial mats from the Wonder Lake geothermal springs in the Philippines.

PubMed

Lacap, Donnabella C; Smith, Gavin J D; Warren-Rhodes, Kimberley; Pointing, Stephen B

2005-07-01

Cyanobacterial mats were characterized from pools of 45-60 degrees C in near-neutral pH, low-sulphide geothermal springs in the Philippines. Mat structure did not vary with temperature. All mats possessed highly ordered layers of airspaces at both the macroscopic and microscopic level, and these appear to be an adaptation to a free-floating growth habit. Upper mat layers supported biomass with elevated carotenoid:chlorophyll a ratios and an as yet uncharacterized waxy layer on the dorsal surface. Microscopic examination revealed mats comprised a single Fischerella morphotype, with abundant heterocysts throughout mats at all temperatures. Molecular analysis of mat community structure only partly matched morphological identification. All samples supported greater 16S rDNA-defined diversity than morphology suggested, with a progressive loss in the number of genotypes with increasing temperature. Fischerella-like sequences were recovered from mats occurring at all temperatures, but some mats also yielded Oscillatoria-like sequences, although corresponding phenotypes were not observed. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that Fischerella-like sequences were most closely affiliated with Fischerella major and the Oscillatoria-like sequences with Oscillatoria amphigranulata.

33 CFR 144.01-1 - Life floats.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... 33 Navigation and Navigable Waters 2 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Life floats. 144.01-1 Section 144... CONTINENTAL SHELF ACTIVITIES LIFESAVING APPLIANCES Manned Platforms § 144.01-1 Life floats. Each manned platform shall be provided with at least two approved life floats. The life floats shall have sufficient...

33 CFR 144.01-1 - Life floats.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... 33 Navigation and Navigable Waters 2 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false Life floats. 144.01-1 Section 144... CONTINENTAL SHELF ACTIVITIES LIFESAVING APPLIANCES Manned Platforms § 144.01-1 Life floats. Each manned platform shall be provided with at least two approved life floats. The life floats shall have sufficient...

33 CFR 144.01-1 - Life floats.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... 33 Navigation and Navigable Waters 2 2014-07-01 2014-07-01 false Life floats. 144.01-1 Section 144... CONTINENTAL SHELF ACTIVITIES LIFESAVING APPLIANCES Manned Platforms § 144.01-1 Life floats. Each manned platform shall be provided with at least two approved life floats. The life floats shall have sufficient...

33 CFR 144.01-1 - Life floats.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... 33 Navigation and Navigable Waters 2 2012-07-01 2012-07-01 false Life floats. 144.01-1 Section 144... CONTINENTAL SHELF ACTIVITIES LIFESAVING APPLIANCES Manned Platforms § 144.01-1 Life floats. Each manned platform shall be provided with at least two approved life floats. The life floats shall have sufficient...

33 CFR 144.01-1 - Life floats.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... 33 Navigation and Navigable Waters 2 2013-07-01 2013-07-01 false Life floats. 144.01-1 Section 144... CONTINENTAL SHELF ACTIVITIES LIFESAVING APPLIANCES Manned Platforms § 144.01-1 Life floats. Each manned platform shall be provided with at least two approved life floats. The life floats shall have sufficient...

14 CFR 23.753 - Main float design.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 1 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Main float design. 23.753 Section 23.753... STANDARDS: NORMAL, UTILITY, ACROBATIC, AND COMMUTER CATEGORY AIRPLANES Design and Construction Floats and Hulls § 23.753 Main float design. Each seaplane main float must meet the requirements of § 23.521. [Doc...

An Ion-Propelled Cubesat for Planetary Defense and Planetary Science

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Russell, Christopher T.; Wirz, Richard; Lai, Hairong; Li, Jian-Yang; Connors, Martin

2017-04-01

Small satellites can reduce the cost of launch by riding along with other payloads on a large rocket or being launched on a small rocket, but are perceived as having limited capabilities. This perception can be at least partially overcome by innovative design, including ample in-flight propulsion. This allows achieving multiple targets and adaptive exploration. Ion propulsion has been pioneered on Deep Space 1 and honed on the long-duration, multiple-planetary body mission Dawn. Most importantly, the operation of such a mission is now well- understood, including navigation, communication, and science operations for remote sensing. We examined different mission concepts that can be used for both planetary defense and planetary science near 1 AU. Such a spacecraft would travel in the region between Venus and Mars, allowing a complete inventory of material above, including objects down to about 10m diameter to be inventoried. The ion engines could be used to approach these bodies slowly and carefully and allow the spacecraft to map debris and follow its collisional evolution throughout its orbit around the Sun, if so desired. The heritage of Dawn operations experience enables the mission to be operated inexpensively, and the engineering heritage will allow it to be operated for many trips around the Sun.

Administration of rocuronium based on real body weight versus fat-free mass in patients with lymphedema.

PubMed

Jing, Zhang; Muheremu, Aikeremujiang; Liu, Pengfei; Hu, Xiaoyun; Binjiang, Zhao

2017-12-01

Objective To compare the clinical pharmacokinetics of rocuronium when applied according to fat-free mass versus real body weight during anesthetic induction of patients with lymphedema. Methods Sixty patients with lymphedema (age, 18-60 years; American Society of Anesthesiologists physical status, I-II) undergoing elective surgery with general anesthesia were randomly divided into two groups. Rocuronium was administered based on the fat-free mass in 30 patients and real body weight in 30 patients. General anesthesia was induced with propofol and remifentanil by target-controlled infusion. Intubation was attempted when the onset time (T1) (time from end of bolus injection to 100% twitch depression) reached maximal inhibition, and respiratory support with mechanical ventilation was then applied. The T1, clinical duration (time from end of bolus injection to recovery of twitch tension to 25% of control), recovery index (time from 25% to 75% of recovery of T1), and dosage were recorded. Results Complete data were recorded for 59 patients, and there were no significant differences in the general condition, intubation condition, or median duration of action of rocuronium between the two groups. However, the median T1, recovery index, and dosage of rocuronium were significantly different. Conclusion Good intubation conditions and a shortened clinical duration can be obtained for patients with lymphedema when induction with rocuronium is based on the fat-free mass.

Sink or Float. Modified Primary. Revised. Anchorage School District Elementary Science Program.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Defendorf, Jean, Ed.

This publication provides information and activities for teaching about water, whether certain objects will sink or float, and process skills including observing, classifying, inferring, measuring, predicting, and collecting and interpreting data. There are 14 lessons in the unit. The first four lessons deal with the classification of objects and…

Nutrient cycling, connectivity, and free-floating plant abundance in backwater lakes of the Upper Mississippi River

USGS Publications Warehouse

Houser, Jeff N.; Giblin, Shawn M.; James, William F.; Langrehr, H.A.; Rogala, James T.; Sullivan, John F.; Gray, Brian R.

2013-01-01

River eutrophication may cause the formation of dense surface mats of free floating plants (FFP; e.g., duckweeds and filamentous algae) which may adversely affect the ecosystem. We investigated associations among hydraulic connectivity to the channel, nutrient cycling, FFP, submersed aquatic vegetation (SAV), and dissolved oxygen concentration (DO) in ten backwater lakes of the Upper Mississippi River (UMR) that varied in connectivity to the channel. Greater connectivity was associated with higher water column nitrate (NO3-N) concentration, higher rates of sediment phosphorus (P) release, and higher rates of NO3-N flux to the sediments. Rates of sediment P and N (as NH4-N) release were similar to those of eutrophic lakes. Water column nutrient concentrations were high, and FFP tissue was nutrient rich suggesting that the eutrophic condition of the UMR often facilitated abundant FFP. However, tissue nutrient concentrations, and the associations between FFP biomass and water column nutrient concentrations, suggested that nutrients constrained FFP abundance at some sites. FFP abundance was positively associated with SAV abundance and negatively associated with dissolved oxygen concentration. These results illustrate important connections among hydraulic connectivity, nutrient cycling, FFP, SAV, and DO in the backwaters of a large, floodplain river.

Spitzer Light Curves of the Young, Planetary-mass TW Hya Members 2MASS J11193254–1137466AB and WISEA J114724.10–204021.3

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schneider, Adam C.; Hardegree-Ullman, Kevin K.; Cushing, Michael C.; Kirkpatrick, J. Davy; Shkolnik, Evgenya L.

2018-06-01

We present Spitzer Space Telescope time-series photometry at 3.6 and 4.5 μm of 2MASS J11193254‑1137466AB and WISEA J114724.10‑204021.3, two planetary-mass, late-type (∼L7) brown dwarf members of the ∼10 Myr old TW Hya Association. These observations were taken in order to investigate whether or not a tentative trend of increasing variability amplitude with decreasing surface gravity seen for L3–L5.5 dwarfs extends to later-L spectral types and to explore the angular momentum evolution of low-mass objects. We examine each light curve for variability and find a rotation period of 19.39+0.33 ‑0.28 hr and semi-amplitudes of 0.798+0.081 ‑0.083% at 3.6 μm and 1.108+0.093 ‑0.094% at 4.5 μm for WISEA J114724.10‑204021.3. For 2MASS J11193254‑1137466AB, we find a single period of 3.02+0.04 ‑0.03 hr with semi-amplitudes of 0.230+0.036 ‑0.035% at 3.6 μm and 0.453 ± 0.037% at 4.5 μm, which we find is possibly due to the rotation of one component of the binary. Combining our results with 12 other late-type L dwarfs observed with Spitzer from the literature, we find no significant differences between the 3.6 μm amplitudes of low surface gravity and field gravity late-type L brown dwarfs at Spitzer wavelengths, and find tentative evidence (75% confidence) of higher amplitude variability at 4.5 μm for young, late-type Ls. We also find a median rotation period of young brown dwarfs (10–300 Myr) of ∼10 hr, more than twice the value of the median rotation period of field-age brown dwarfs (∼4 hr), a clear signature of brown dwarf rotational evolution.

The diversity of planetary system architectures: contrasting theory with observations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Miguel, Y.; Guilera, O. M.; Brunini, A.

2011-10-01

In order to explain the observed diversity of planetary system architectures and relate this primordial diversity to the initial properties of the discs where they were born, we develop a semi-analytical model for computing planetary system formation. The model is based on the core instability model for the gas accretion of the embryos and the oligarchic growth regime for the accretion of the solid cores. Two regimes of planetary migration are also included. With this model, we consider different initial conditions based on recent results of protoplanetary disc observations to generate a variety of planetary systems. These systems are analysed statistically, exploring the importance of several factors that define the planetary system birth environment. We explore the relevance of the mass and size of the disc, metallicity, mass of the central star and time-scale of gaseous disc dissipation in defining the architecture of the planetary system. We also test different values of some key parameters of our model to find out which factors best reproduce the diverse sample of observed planetary systems. We assume different migration rates and initial disc profiles, in the context of a surface density profile motivated by similarity solutions. According to this, and based on recent protoplanetary disc observational data, we predict which systems are the most common in the solar neighbourhood. We intend to unveil whether our Solar system is a rarity or whether more planetary systems like our own are expected to be found in the near future. We also analyse which is the more favourable environment for the formation of habitable planets. Our results show that planetary systems with only terrestrial planets are the most common, being the only planetary systems formed when considering low-metallicity discs, which also represent the best environment for the development of rocky, potentially habitable planets. We also found that planetary systems like our own are not rare in the

An Introduction to Planetary Nebulae

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nishiyama, Jason J.

2018-05-01

In this book we will look at what planetary nebulae are, where they come from and where they go. We will discuss what mechanisms cause these beautiful markers of stellar demise as well as what causes them to form their variety of shapes. How we measure various aspects of planetary nebulae such as what they are made of will also be explored. Though we will give some aspects of planetary nebulae mathematical treatment, the main points should be accessible to people with only a limited background in mathematics. A short glossary of some of the more arcane astronomical terms is at the end of the book to help in understanding. Included at the end of each chapter is an extensive bibliography to the peer reviewed research on these objects and I would encourage the reader interested in an even deeper understanding to read these articles.

Origin and evolution of planetary atmospheres

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pollack, J. B.; Yung, Y. L.

1980-01-01

The current understanding of the origin and evolution of the atmospheres of solar system objects is reviewed. Physical processes that control this evolution are described in an attempt to develop a set of general principles that can help guide studies of specific objects. Particular emphasis is placed on the planetary and satellite atmospheres of the inner solar system objects; current hypotheses on the origin and evolution of these objects are critically considered.

Floating aerial 3D display based on the freeform-mirror and the improved integral imaging system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yu, Xunbo; Sang, Xinzhu; Gao, Xin; Yang, Shenwu; Liu, Boyang; Chen, Duo; Yan, Binbin; Yu, Chongxiu

2018-09-01

A floating aerial three-dimensional (3D) display based on the freeform-mirror and the improved integral imaging system is demonstrated. In the traditional integral imaging (II), the distortion originating from lens aberration warps elemental images and degrades the visual effect severely. To correct the distortion of the observed pixels and to improve the image quality, a directional diffuser screen (DDS) is introduced. However, the improved integral imaging system can hardly present realistic images with the large off-screen depth, which limits floating aerial visual experience. To display the 3D image in the free space, the off-axis reflection system with the freeform-mirror is designed. By combining the improved II and the designed freeform optical element, the floating aerial 3D image is presented.

Stellar Ablation of Planetary Atmospheres

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Moore, Thomas E.; Horwitz, J. L.

2007-01-01

We review observations and theories of the solar ablation of planetary atmospheres, focusing on the terrestrial case where a large magnetosphere holds off the solar wind, so that there is little direct atmospheric impact, but also couples the solar wind electromagnetically to the auroral zones. We consider the photothermal escape flows known as the polar wind or refilling flows, the enhanced mass flux escape flows that result from localized solar wind energy dissipation in the auroral zones, and the resultant enhanced neutral atom escape flows. We term these latter two escape flows the "auroral wind." We review observations and theories of the heating and acceleration of auroral winds, including energy inputs from precipitating particles, electromagnetic energy flux at magnetohydrodynamic and plasma wave frequencies, and acceleration by parallel electric fields and by convection pickup processes also known as "centrifugal acceleration." We consider also the global circulation of ionospheric plasmas within the magnetosphere, their participation in magnetospheric disturbances as absorbers of momentum and energy, and their ultimate loss from the magnetosphere into the downstream solar wind, loading reconnection processes that occur at high altitudes near the magnetospheric boundaries. We consider the role of planetary magnetization and the accumulating evidence of stellar ablation of extrasolar planetary atmospheres. Finally, we suggest and discuss future needs for both the theory and observation of the planetary ionospheres and their role in solar wind interactions, to achieve the generality required for a predictive science of the coupling of stellar and planetary atmospheres over the full range of possible conditions.

High Temperature Planetary Nebulae in the Magellanic Clouds

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Maran, Stephen P.

Following up on our recent discovery that a very hot planetary in the Small Magellanic Cloud has an extraordinary underabundance of carbon, we propose to observe two similar hot planetaries in the Clouds with IUE as part of an optical/UV investigation. The objectives are (1) to test the suggestion that high nebular electron temperatures can result from a strong deficiency of carbon that deprives the nebula of an important cooling channel; and (2) to determine accurate chemical abundances to constrain limits on the efficiency of "hot bottom burning" in massive progenitors of planetary nebulae. The targets are SMC 25 (Te = 34,000 K) and LMC 88 (= 25,500 K). These UV observations of targets not previously observed with IUE will be combined, for analysis, with visible wavelength spectra of both targets from the Anglo-Australian Telescope and the 2-3-m Siding Spring reflector. The objects will also be compared in the analysis stage with previous IUE observations (and consequent modeling) of type I planetaries in the Clouds. Model nebulae will be calculated, and physical parameters of the central stars will be inferred.

Planetary magnetospheres

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Stern, D. P.; Ness, N. F.

1981-01-01

A concise overview is presented of our understanding of planetary magnetospheres (and in particular, of that of the Earth), as of the end of 1981. Emphasis is placed on processes of astrophysical interest, e.g., on particle acceleration, collision-free shocks, particle motion, parallel electric fields, magnetic merging, substorms, and large scale plasma flows. The general morphology and topology of the Earth's magnetosphere are discussed, and important results are given about the magnetospheres of Jupiter, Saturn and Mercury, including those derived from the Voyager 1 and 2 missions and those related to Jupiter's satellite Io. About 160 references are cited, including many reviews from which additional details can be obtained.

Have Floating Rates Been a Success?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Higham, David

1983-01-01

Floating exchange rates have not lived up to all expectations, but neither have they performed as badly as some critics have suggested. Examined are the impact of floating rates on balance of payments adjustment, domestic economic policy, and inflation and the claim that floating rates have displayed excessive fluctuations. (Author/RM)

Method for detecting a mass density image of an object

DOEpatents

Wernick, Miles N [Chicago, IL; Yang, Yongyi [Westmont, IL

2008-12-23

A method for detecting a mass density image of an object. An x-ray beam is transmitted through the object and a transmitted beam is emitted from the object. The transmitted beam is directed at an angle of incidence upon a crystal analyzer. A diffracted beam is emitted from the crystal analyzer onto a detector and digitized. A first image of the object is detected from the diffracted beam emitted from the crystal analyzer when positioned at a first angular position. A second image of the object is detected from the diffracted beam emitted from the crystal analyzer when positioned at a second angular position. A refraction image is obtained and a regularized mathematical inversion algorithm is applied to the refraction image to obtain a mass density image.

On the production of He, C, and N by low- and intermediate-mass stars: a comparison of observed and model-predicted planetary nebula abundances

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Henry, R. B. C.; Stephenson, B. G.; Miller Bertolami, M. M.; Kwitter, K. B.; Balick, B.

2018-01-01

The primary goal of this paper is to make a direct comparison between the measured and model-predicted abundances of He, C, and N in a sample of 35 well-observed Galactic planetary nebulae (PNe). All observations, data reductions, and abundance determinations were performed in house to ensure maximum homogeneity. Progenitor star masses (M ≤ 4 M⊙) were inferred using two published sets of post-asymptotic giant branch model tracks and L and Teff values. We conclude the following: (1) the mean values of N/O across the progenitor mass range exceeds the solar value, indicating significant N enrichment in the majority of our objects; (2) the onset of hot bottom burning appears to begin around 2 M⊙, i.e. lower than ∼5 M⊙ implied by theory; (3) most of our objects show a clear He enrichment, as expected from dredge-up episodes; (4) the average sample C/O value is 1.23, consistent with the effects of third dredge up; and (5) model grids used to compare to observations successfully span the distribution over metallicity space of all C/O and many He/H data points but mostly fail to do so in the case of N/O. The evident enrichment of N in PN and the general discrepancy between the observed and model-predicted N/O abundance ratios signal the need for extra mixing as an effect of rotation and/or thermohaline mixing in the models. The unexpectedly high N enrichment that is implied here for low-mass stars, if confirmed, will likely impact our conclusions about the source of N in the Universe.

Acute Left Arm Ischemia Associated with Floating Thrombus in the Proximal Descending Aorta: Combined Endovascular and Surgical Therapy

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Fanelli, F., E-mail: fabrizio.fanelli@uniroma1.it; Gazzetti, M.; Boatta, E.

Free floating thrombus in the proximal descending aorta is an uncommon and dangerous condition that can be associated with acute peripheral embolization. The few cases described were solved with surgical and/or medical therapy. We report the case of a patient with acute left arm ischemia secondary to the presence of floating thrombus in the proximal descending aorta extending into the left subclavian artery, solved with combined endovascular and surgical therapy. Treatment was successfully performed with thrombembolectomy combined with temporary deployment, into the descending aorta, of a Wallstent in a 'basket-fashion' to avoid distal embolization secondary to thrombus fragmentation. At 1more » year follow-up the patient remained symptom-free.« less

On floats and float tests

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Seewald, Friedrich

1931-01-01

The principal source of information on float resistance is the model test. In view of the insuperable difficulties opposing any attempt at theoretical treatment of the resistance problem, particularly at attitudes which tend toward satisfactory take-off, such as the transitory stage to planing, the towing test is and will remain the primary method for some time.

The dynamics of post-main sequence planetary systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mustill, Alexander James

2017-06-01

The study of planetary systems after their host stars have left the main sequence is of fundamental importance for exoplanet science, as the most direct determination of the compositions of extra-Solar planets, asteroids and comets is in fact made by an analysis of the elemental abundances of the remnants of these bodies accreted into the atmospheres of white dwarfs.To understand how the accreted bodies relate to the source populations in the planetary system, and to model their dynamical delivery to the white dwarf, it is necessary to understand the effects of stellar evolution on bodies' orbits. On the red giant branch (RGB) and asymptotic giant branch (AGB) prior to becoming a white dwarf, stars expand to a large size (>1 au) and are easily deformed by orbiting planets, leading to tidal energy dissipation and orbital decay. They also lose half or more of their mass, causing the expansion of bodies' orbits. This mass loss increases the planet:star mass ratio, so planetary systems orbiting white dwarfs can be much less stable than those orbiting their main-sequence progenitors. Finally, small bodies in the system experience strong non-gravitational forces during the RGB and AGB: aerodynamic drag from the mass shed by the star, and strong radiation forces as the stellar luminosity reaches several thousand Solar luminosities.I will review these effects, focusing on planet--star tidal interactions and planet--asteroid interactions, and I will discuss some of the numerical challenges in modelling systems over their entire lifetimes of multiple Gyr.

Planetary Magnetic Fields: Planetary Interiors and Habitability W. M. Keck Institute for Space Studies Report

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lazio, T. Joseph; Shkolnik, Evgenya; Hallinan, Gregg

2017-05-01

The W. M. Keck Institute for Space Studies (KISS) sponsored the "Planetary Magnetic Fields: Planetary Interiors and Habitability" study to review the state of knowledge of extrasolar planetary magnetic fields and the prospects for their detection.There were multiple motivations for this Study. Planetary-scale magnetic fields are a window to a planet's interior and provide shielding of the planet's atmosphere. The Earth, Mercury, Ganymede, and the giant planets of the solar system all contain internal dynamo currents that generate planetary-scale magnetic fields. In turn, these internal dynamo currents arise from differential rotation, convection, compositional dynamics, or a combination of these in objects' interiors. If coupled to an energy source, such as the incident kinetic or magnetic energy from the solar wind or an orbiting satellite, a planet's magnetic field can produce intense electron cyclotron masers in its magnetic polar regions. The most well known example of this process in the solar system is the Jovian decametric emission, but all of the giant planets and the Earth contain similar electron cyclotron masers within their magnetospheres. Extrapolated to extrasolar planets, the remote detection of the magnetic field of an extrasolar planet would provide a means of obtaining constraints on the thermal state, composition, and dynamics of its interior--all of which will be difficult to determine by other means--as well as improved understanding of the basic planetary dynamo process.We review the findings from the Study, including potential mission concepts that emerged and recent developments toward one of the mission concepts, a space-based radio wavelength array. There was an identification of that radio wavelength observations would likely be key to making significant progress in this field.We acknowledge ideas and advice from the participants in the "Planetary Magnetic Fields: Planetary Interiors and Habitability" study organized by the W. M. Keck

46 CFR 117.137 - Stowage of life floats and buoyant apparatus.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... used to attach the float-free link to the vessel must: (1) Have a breaking strength of at least the breaking strength of the painter; (2) If synthetic, be of a dark color or of a type certified to be... painter must be provided by a wire or line which: (1) Encircles the body of the device; (2) Will not slip...

46 CFR 117.137 - Stowage of life floats and buoyant apparatus.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... used to attach the float-free link to the vessel must: (1) Have a breaking strength of at least the breaking strength of the painter; (2) If synthetic, be of a dark color or of a type certified to be... painter must be provided by a wire or line which: (1) Encircles the body of the device; (2) Will not slip...

Object-Based Image Classification of Floating Ice Used as Habitat for Harbor Seals in a Tidewater Glacier Fjord in Alaska

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McNabb, R. W.; Womble, J. N.; Prakash, A.; Gens, R.; Ver Hoef, J.

2014-12-01

Tidewater glaciers play an important role in many landscape and ecosystem processes in fjords, terminating in the sea and calving icebergs and discharging meltwater directly into the ocean. Tidewater glaciers provide floating ice for use as habitat for harbor seals (Phoca vitulina richardii) for resting, pupping, nursing, molting, and avoiding predators. Tidewater glaciers are found in high concentrations in Southeast and Southcentral Alaska; currently, many of these glaciers are retreating or have stabilized in a retracted state, raising questions about the future availability of ice in these fjords as habitat for seals. Our primary objective is to investigate the relationship between harbor seal distribution and ice availability at an advancing tidewater glacier in Johns Hopkins Inlet, Glacier Bay National Park, Alaska. To this end, we use a combination of visible and infrared aerial photographs, object-based image analysis (OBIA), and statistical modeling techniques. We have developed a workflow to automate the processing of the imagery and the classification of the fjordscape (e.g., individual icebergs, brash ice, and open water), providing quantitative information on ice coverage as well as properties not typically found in traditional pixel-based classification techniques, such as block angularity and seal density across the fjord. Reflectance variation in the red channel of the optical images has proven to be the most important first-level criterion to separate open water from floating ice. This first-level criterion works well in areas without dense brash ice, but tends to misclassify dense brash ice as single icebergs. Isolating these large misclassified regions and applying a higher reflectance threshold as a second-level criterion helps to isolate individual ice blocks surrounded by dense brash ice. We present classification results from surveys taken during June and August, 2007-2013, as well as preliminary results from statistical modeling of the

Thermal evolution and differentiation of planetesimals and planetary embryos

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Šrámek, Ondřej; Milelli, Laura; Ricard, Yanick; Labrosse, Stéphane

2012-01-01

In early Solar System during the runaway growth stage of planetary formation, the distribution of planetary bodies progressively evolved from a large number of planetesimals to a smaller number of objects with a few dominant embryos. Here, we study the possible thermal and compositional evolution of these planetesimals and planetary embryos in a series of models with increasing complexities. We show that the heating stages of planetesimals by the radioactive decay of now extinct isotopes (in particular 26Al) and by impact heating can occur in two stages or simultaneously. Depending on the accretion rate, melting occurs from the center outward, in a shallow outer shell progressing inward, or in the two locations. We discuss the regime domains of these situations and show that the exponent β that controls the planetary growth rate R˙∝Rβ of planetesimals plays a crucial role. For a given terminal radius and accretion duration, the increase of β maintains the planetesimals very small until the end of accretion, and therefore allows radioactive heating to be radiated away before a large mass can be accreted. To melt the center of ˜500 km planetesimal during its runaway growth stage, with the value β = 2 predicted by astrophysicists, it needs to be formed within a couple of million years after condensation of the first solids. We then develop a multiphase model where the phase changes and phase separations by compaction are taken into account in 1-D spherical geometry. Our model handles simultaneously metal and silicates in both solid and liquid states. The segregation of the protocore decreases the efficiency of radiogenic heating by confining the 26Al in the outer silicate shell. Various types of planetesimals partly differentiated and sometimes differentiated in multiple metal-silicate layers can be obtained.

Microclimate and architectural tectonic: vernacular floating house resilience in Seberang Ulu 1, Palembang

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Puspitasari, P.; Kadri, T.; Indartoyo, I.; Kusumawati, L.

2018-01-01

This paper aims to describe the results of preliminary research on floating houses on the Musi River, Seberang Ulu 1, Palembang, focused on studying the influence of microclimates to the tectonics of Rumah Rakit (Floating House). The increase of water surface due to global warming will increase the need of using floating house typology in the future. The description of the inhabitants’ experiences on applying technics to create vernacular floating houses is considered as significant knowledge to develop advance technology on the basis of local characteristic. Vernacular floating houses resilience consists of natural experiences of inhabitants in adapting their daily activities to the characteristic of local climate. By using qualitative approach, the Rumah Rakit inhabitants’ verbal information in this article becomes the main aspect in exploring local knowledge. At the end, the conceptual model of vernacular Rumah Rakit in Seberang Ulu 1, Palembang is formulated, in terms of building architectural tectonic that is closely related to the local climate characteristic. The knowledge can be utilized in the context of rehabilitation or preservation of such architectural objects that are their existences tend to be extinct at this time.

Chemistry in the final stages of stellar evolution: Millimeter and submillimeter observations of supergiants and planetary nebulae

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Edwards, Jessica Louise

High mass loss rates in evolved stars make them the major contributors to recycling processed material back into the interstellar medium. This mass loss creates large circumstellar shells, rich in molecular material. This dissertation presents millimeter and submillimeter studies of the end stages of low mass and high mass stars in order to probe their molecular content in more detail. In low mass stars, the molecular material is carried on into the planetary nebula (PN) stage. Observations of CS, HCO+, and CO in planetary nebulae (PNe) of various post-asymptotic giant branch ages have shown that molecular abundances in these objects do not significantly vary with age, as previously thought. More detailed observations of the slightly oxygen-rich PN NGC 6537 resulted in the detection of CN, HCN, HNC, CCH, CS, SO, H 2CO, HCO+ and N2H+, as well as numerous 13C isotopologues. Observations of the middle-aged PN M2-48 showed the presence of CN, HCN, HNC, CS, SO, SO2, SiO, HCO+, N2H+, and several 13C isotopologues. These observations represent the first detections of CS, SO, SO2, and SiO in any planetary nebula. The implications of these observations are discussed. A 1 mm spectral survey of the supergiant star NML Cygni has been carried out with the Arizona Radio Observatory Submillimeter Telescope resulting in the observation of 102 emission features arising from 17 different molecules and 4 unidentified features. The line profiles observed in this circumstellar shell are asymmetric and vary between different molecules, akin to what has been seen in another supergiant, VY Canis Majoris. The non-LTE radiative transfer code ESCAPADE has been used to model molecular abundances in the various asymmetric outflows of VY Canis Majoris, showing just how chemically and kinematically complex these supergiant circumstellar envelopes really are.

An Aeroelastic Perspective of Floating Offshore Wind Turbine Wake Formation and Instability

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rodriguez, Steven N.; Jaworski, Justin W.

2015-11-01

The wake formation and wake stability of floating offshore wind turbines are investigated from an aeroelastic perspective. The aeroelastic model is composed of the Sebastian-Lackner free-vortex wake aerodynamic model coupled to the nonlinear Hodges-Dowell beam equations, which are extended to include the effects of blade profile asymmetry, higher-order torsional effects, and kinetic energy components associated with periodic rigid-body motions of floating platforms. Rigid-body platform motions are also assigned to the aerodynamic model as varying inflow conditions to emulate operational rotor-wake interactions. Careful attention is given to the wake formation within operational states where the ratio of inflow velocity to induced velocity is over 50%. These states are most susceptible to aerodynamic instabilities, and provide a range of states about which a wake stability analysis can be performed. In addition, the stability analysis used for the numerical framework is implemented into a standalone free-vortex wake aerodynamic model. Both aeroelastic and standalone aerodynamic results are compared to evaluate the level of impact that flexible blades have on the wake formation and wake stability.

Optimization and characterization of gastroretentive floating drug delivery system using Box-Behnken design.

PubMed

Rapolu, Kishore; Sanka, Krishna; Vemula, Praveen Kumar; Aatipamula, Vinaydas; Mohd, Abdul Bari; Diwan, Prakash V

2013-12-01

One among many strategies to prolong gastric residence time and improve local effect of the metronidazole in stomach to eradicate Helicobacter pylori in the treatment of peptic ulcer was floating drug delivery system particularly effervescent gastroretentive tablets. The objective of this study was to prepare and evaluate, effervescent floating drug delivery system of a model drug, metronidazole. Effervescent floating drug delivery tablets were prepared by wet granulation method. A three-factor, three levels Box-Behnken design was adopted for the optimization. The selected independent variables were amount of hydroxypropyl methylcellulose K 15M (X1), sodium carboxy methylcellulose (X2) and NaHCO3 (X3). The dependent variables were floating lag time (YFLT), cumulative percentage of metronidazole released at 6th h (Y6) and cumulative percentage of metronidazole released at 12th h (Y12). Physical properties, drug content, in vitro floating lag time, total floating time and drug release behavior were assessed. YFLT range was found to be from 1.02 to 12.07 min. The ranges of other responses, Y6 and Y12 were 25.72 ± 2.85 to 77.14 ± 3.42 % and 65.47 ± 1.25 to 99.65 ± 2.28 %, respectively. Stability studies revealed that no significant change in in vitro floating lag time, total floating time and drug release behavior before and after storage. It can be concluded that a combination of hydroxypropyl methylcellulose K 15M, sodium carboxy methylcellulose and NaHCO3 can be used to increase the gastric residence time of the dosage form to improve local effect of metronidazole.

Planted floating bed performance in treatment of eutrophic river water.

PubMed

Bu, Faping; Xu, Xiaoyi

2013-11-01

The objective of the study was to treat eutrophic river water using floating beds and to identify ideal plant species for design of floating beds. Four parallel pilot-scale units were established and vegetated with Canna indica (U1), Accords calamus (U2), Cyperus alternifolius (U3), and Vetiveria zizanioides (U4), respectively, to treat eutrophic river water. The floating bed was made of polyethylene foam, and plants were vegetated on it. Results suggest that the floating bed is a viable alternative for treating eutrophic river water, especially for inhibiting algae growth. When the influent chemical oxygen demand (COD) varied from 6.53 to 18.45 mg/L, total nitrogen (TN) from 6.82 to 12.25 mg/L, total phosphorus (TP) from 0.65 to 1.64 mg/L, and Chla from 6.22 to 66.46 g/m(3), the removal of COD, TN, TP, and Chla was 15.3%-38.4%, 25.4%-48.4%, 16.1%-42.1%, and 29.9 %-88.1%, respectively. Ranked by removal performance, U1 was best, followed by U2, U3, and U4. In the floating bed, more than 60% TN and TP were removed by sedimentation; plant uptake was quantitatively of low importance with an average removal of 20.2% of TN and 29.4% of TP removed. The loss of TN (TP) was of the least importance. Compared with the other three, U1 exhibited better dissolved oxygen (DO) gradient distributions, higher DO levels, higher hydraulic efficiency, and a higher percentage of nutrient removal attributable to plant uptake; in addition, plant development and the volume of nutrient storage in the C. indica tissues outperformed the other three species. C. indica thus could be selected when designing floating beds for the Three Gorges Reservoir region of P. R. China.

Analysis of Sel-Gravitating Planetary Satellites in the Solar System

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yasenev, S. O.

As of today there have been more than 180 planetary satellites discovered in the Solar system, and the number of outer moons found continues to grow. Most of those natural satellites have insufficient mass and are able to retain their shape only due to the strength of the electromagnetic force. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the moons' physical properties. The analysis of planetary satellites as self-gravitating bodies, i.e. celestial bodies which rely on the weight of their own mass and resulting gravitational force to maintain their shape and tend to bring it closer to the hydrostatic equilibrium, was performed.

Assessment of the Body Composition and the Loss of Fat-Free Mass through Bioelectric Impedance Analysis in Patients Who Underwent Open Gastric Bypass

PubMed Central

de Freitas Junior, Wilson Rodrigues; Ilias, Elias Jirjoss; Kassab, Paulo; Cordts, Roberto; Porto, Paulo Gustavo; Martins Rodrigues, Francisco Cesar; Ali Taha, Mohamed Ibrahim; Carrara, Paulo; de Carvalho Aguiar, Isabella; de Oliveira, Luis Vicente Franco; Malheiros, Carlos Alberto

2014-01-01

Background. Bariatric surgery is considered an effective option for the management of morbid obesity. The incidence of obesity has been gradually increasing all over the world reaching epidemic proportions in some regions of the world. Obesity can cause a reduction of up to 22% in the life expectancy of morbidly obese patients. Objective. The objective of this paper is to assess the weight loss associated with the first 6 months after bariatric surgery using bioelectric impedance analysis (BIA) for the evaluation of fat mass and fat-free mass. Method. A total of 36 morbidly obese patients were subjected to open gastric bypass surgery. The patients weight was monitored before and after the procedure using the bioelectric impedance analysis. Results. Bariatric surgery resulted in an average percentage of weight loss of 28.6% (40 kg) as determined 6 months after the procedure was performed. Analysis of the different components of body weight indicated an undesirable loss of fat-free mass along with the reduction of total body weight. Conclusion. Open gastric bypass induced a significant loss of total weight and loss of fat-free mass in patients six months after the surgery. The use of bioelectric impedance analysis resulted in an appropriate estimation of the total weight components in individuals subjected to bariatric surgery allowing a more real analysis of the variation of weight after the surgery. PMID:24523649

Computer simulations of planetary accretion dynamics: Sensitivity to initial conditions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Isaacman, R.; Sagan, C.

1976-01-01

The implications and limitations of program ACRETE were tested. The program is a scheme based on Newtonian physics and accretion with unit sticking efficiency, devised to simulate the origin of the planets. The dependence of the results on a variety of radial and vertical density distribution laws, the ratio of gas to dust in the solar nebula, the total nebular mass, and the orbital eccentricity of the accreting grains was explored. Only for a small subset of conceivable cases are planetary systems closely like our own generated. Many models have tendencies towards one of two preferred configurations: multiple star systems, or planetary systems in which Jovian planets either have substantially smaller masses than in our system or are absent altogether. But for a wide range of cases recognizable planetary systems are generated - ranging from multiple star systems with accompanying planets, to systems with Jovian planets at several hundred AU, to single stars surrounded only by asteroids.

Differential effects of spaced vs. massed training in long-term object-identity and object-location recognition memory.

PubMed

Bello-Medina, Paola C; Sánchez-Carrasco, Livia; González-Ornelas, Nadia R; Jeffery, Kathryn J; Ramírez-Amaya, Víctor

2013-08-01

Here we tested whether the well-known superiority of spaced training over massed training is equally evident in both object identity and object location recognition memory. We trained animals with objects placed in a variable or in a fixed location to produce a location-independent object identity memory or a location-dependent object representation. The training consisted of 5 trials that occurred either on one day (Massed) or over the course of 5 consecutive days (Spaced). The memory test was done in independent groups of animals either 24h or 7 days after the last training trial. In each test the animals were exposed to either a novel object, when trained with the objects in variable locations, or to a familiar object in a novel location, when trained with objects in fixed locations. The difference in time spent exploring the changed versus the familiar objects was used as a measure of recognition memory. For the object-identity-trained animals, spaced training produced clear evidence of recognition memory after both 24h and 7 days, but massed-training animals showed it only after 24h. In contrast, for the object-location-trained animals, recognition memory was evident after both retention intervals and with both training procedures. When objects were placed in variable locations for the two types of training and the test was done with a brand-new location, only the spaced-training animals showed recognition at 24h, but surprisingly, after 7 days, animals trained using both procedures were able to recognize the change, suggesting a post-training consolidation process. We suggest that the two training procedures trigger different neural mechanisms that may differ in the two segregated streams that process object information and that may consolidate differently. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Free-Surface Fluid-Object Interaction for the Large-Scale Computation of Ship Hydrodynamics Phenomena

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-05-21

simulating air-water free -surface flow, fluid-object interaction (FOI), and fluid-structure interaction (FSI) phenomena for complex geometries, and...with no limitations on the motion of the free surface, and with particular emphasis on ship hydrodynamics. The following specific research objectives...were identified for this project: 1) Development of a theoretical framework for free -surface flow, FOI and FSI that is a suitable starting point

Planetary cartography in the next decade: Digital cartography and emerging opportunities

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1989-01-01

Planetary maps being produced today will represent views of the solar system for many decades to come. The primary objective of the planetary cartography program is to produce the most complete and accurate maps from hundreds of thousands of planetary images in support of scientific studies and future missions. Here, the utilization of digital techniques and digital bases in response to recent advances in computer technology are emphasized.

On the formation age of the first planetary system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hara, T.; Kunitomo, S.; Shigeyasu, M.; Kajiura, D.

2008-05-01

Recently, it has been observed the extreme metal-poor stars in the Galactic halo, which must be formed just after Pop III objects. On the other hand, the first gas clouds of mass 106 M are supposed to be formed at z 10, 20, and 30 for the 1σ, 2σ and 3σ, where the density perturbations are assumed of the standard ΛCDM cosmology. Usually it is approximated that the distribution of the density perturbation amplitudes is gaussian where σ means the standard deviation. If we could apply this gaussian distribution to the extreme small probability, the gas clouds would be formed at z 40, 60, and 80 for the 4σ, 6σ, and 8σ where the probabilities are approximately 3 × 10-5, 10-9, and 10-15. Within our universe, there are almost 1016 ( 1022M/106M) clouds of mass 106M. Then the first gas clouds must be formed around z 80, where the time is 20 Myr ( 13.7/(1 + z)3/2 Gyr). Even within our galaxy, there are 105 ( 1011M/106M) clouds, then the first gas clouds within our galaxy must be formed around z 40, where the time is 54 Myr ( 13.7/(1+z)3/2Gyr). The evolution time for massive star ( 102 M) is 3 Myr and the explosion of the massive supernova distributes the metal within a cloud. The damping time of the supernova shock wave in the adiabatic and isothermal era is several Myr and stars of the second generation (Pop II) are formed within a free fall time 20 Myr. Even if the gas cloud is metal poor, there is a lot of possibility to form the planets around such stars. The first planetary systems could be formed within 6 × 107 years after the Big Bang in the universe. Even in our galaxies, the first planetary systems could be formed within 1.7 × 108 years. If the abundance of heavy elements such as Fe is small compared to the elements of C, N, O, the planets must be the one where the rock fraction is small. It is interesting to wait the observations of planets around metal-poor stars. For the panspermia theory, the origin of life could be expected in such systems.

Catalogues of planetary nebulae.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Acker, A.

Firstly, the general requirements concerning catalogues are studied for planetary nebulae, in particular concerning the objects to be included in a catalogue of PN, their denominations, followed by reflexions about the afterlife and comuterized versions of a catalogue. Then, the basic elements constituting a catalogue of PN are analyzed, and the available data are looked at each time.

Direct measurement of the ballistic motion of a freely floating colloid in Newtonian and viscoelastic fluids.

PubMed

Hammond, Andrew P; Corwin, Eric I

2017-10-01

A thermal colloid suspended in a liquid will transition from a short-time ballistic motion to a long-time diffusive motion. However, the transition between ballistic and diffusive motion is highly dependent on the properties and structure of the particular liquid. We directly observe a free floating tracer particle's ballistic motion and its transition to the long-time regime in both a Newtonian fluid and a viscoelastic Maxwell fluid. We examine the motion of the free particle in a Newtonian fluid and demonstrate a high degree of agreement with the accepted Clercx-Schram model for motion in a dense fluid. Measurements of the functional form of the ballistic-to-diffusive transition provide direct measurements of the temperature, viscosity, and tracer radius. We likewise measure the motion in a viscoelastic Maxwell fluid and find a significant disagreement between the theoretical asymptotic behavior and our measured values of the microscopic properties of the fluid. We observe a greatly increased effective mass for a freely moving particle and a decreased plateau modulus.

A bibliography of planetary geology principal investigators and their associates, 1982 - 1983

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Plescia, J. B.

1984-01-01

This bibliography cites recent publications by principal investigators and their associates, supported through NASA's Office of Space Science and Applications, Earth and Planetary Exploration Division, Planetary Geology Program. It serves as a companion piece to NASA TM-85127, ""Reports of Planetary Programs, 1982". Entries are listed under the following subject areas: solar system, comets, asteroids, meteorites and small bodies; geologic mapping, geomorphology, and stratigraphy; structure, tectonics, and planetary and satellite evolutions; impact craters; volcanism; fluvial, mass wasting, glacial and preglacial studies; Eolian and Arid climate studies; regolith, volatiles, atmosphere, and climate, radar; remote sensing and photometric studies; and cartography, photogrammetry, geodesy, and altimetry. An author index is provided.

Planetary Cartography - Activities and Current Challenges

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nass, Andrea; Di, Kaichang; Elgner, Stephan; van Gasselt, Stephan; Hare, Trent; Hargitai, Henrik; Karachevtseva, Irina; Kereszturi, Akos; Kersten, Elke; Kokhanov, Alexander; Manaud, Nicolas; Roatsch, Thomas; Rossi, Angelo Pio; Skinner, James, Jr.; Wählisch, Marita

2018-05-01

Maps are one of the most important tools for communicating geospatial information between producers and receivers. Geospatial data, tools, contributions in geospatial sciences, and the communication of information and transmission of knowledge are matter of ongoing cartographic research. This applies to all topics and objects located on Earth or on any other body in our Solar System. In planetary science, cartography and mapping have a history dating back to the roots of telescopic space exploration and are now facing new technological and organizational challenges with the rise of new missions, new global initiatives, organizations and opening research markets. The focus of this contribution is to introduce the community to the field of planetary cartography and its historic foundation, to highlight some of the organizations involved and to emphasize challenges that Planetary Cartography has to face today and in the near future.

International Planetary Data Alliance (IPDA) Information Model

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hughes, John Steven; Beebe, R.; Guinness, E.; Heather, D.; Huang, M.; Kasaba, Y.; Osuna, P.; Rye, E.; Savorskiy, V.

2007-01-01

This document is the third deliverable of the International Planetary Data Alliance (IPDA) Archive Data Standards Requirements Identification project. The goal of the project is to identify a subset of the standards currently in use by NASAs Planetary Data System (PDS) that are appropriate for internationalization. As shown in the highlighted sections of Figure 1, the focus of this project is the Information Model component of the Data Architecture Standards, namely the object models, a data dictionary, and a set of data formats.

Verification of floating-point software

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hoover, Doug N.

1990-01-01

Floating point computation presents a number of problems for formal verification. Should one treat the actual details of floating point operations, or accept them as imprecisely defined, or should one ignore round-off error altogether and behave as if floating point operations are perfectly accurate. There is the further problem that a numerical algorithm usually only approximately computes some mathematical function, and we often do not know just how good the approximation is, even in the absence of round-off error. ORA has developed a theory of asymptotic correctness which allows one to verify floating point software with a minimum entanglement in these problems. This theory and its implementation in the Ariel C verification system are described. The theory is illustrated using a simple program which finds a zero of a given function by bisection. This paper is presented in viewgraph form.

Bread board float zone experiment system for high purity silicon

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kern, E. L.; Gill, G. L., Jr.

1982-01-01

A breadboard float zone experimental system has been established at Westech Systems for use by NASA in the float zone experimental area. A used zoner of suitable size and flexibility was acquired and installed with the necessary utilities. Repairs, alignments and modifications were made to provide for dislocation free zoning of silicon. The zoner is capable of studying process parameters used in growing silicon in gravity and is flexible to allow trying of new features that will test concepts of zoning in microgravity. Characterizing the state of the art molten zones of a growing silicon crystal will establish the data base against which improvements of zoning in gravity or growing in microgravity can be compared. 25 mm diameter was chosen as the reference size, since growth in microgravity will be at that diameter or smaller for about the next 6 years. Dislocation free crystals were growtn in the 100 and 111 orientations, using a wide set of growth conditions. The zone shape at one set of conditions was measured, by simultaneously aluminum doping and freezing the zone, lengthwise slabbing and delineating by etching. The whole set of crystals, grown under various conditions, were slabbed, polished and striation etched, revealing the growth interface shape and the periodic and aperiodic natures of the striations.

Magnetostrophic balance in planetary dynamos - Predictions for Neptune's magnetosphere

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Curtis, S. A.; Ness, N. F.

1986-01-01

With the purpose of estimating Neptune's magnetic field and its implications for nonthermal Neptune radio emissions, a new scaling law for planetary magnetic fields was developed in terms of externally observable parameters (the planet's mean density, radius, mass, rotation rate, and internal heat source luminosity). From a comparison of theory and observations by Voyager it was concluded that planetary dynamos are two-state systems with either zero intrinsic magnetic field (for planets with low internal heat source) or (for planets with the internal heat source sufficiently strong to drive convection) a magnetic field near the upper bound determined from magnetostrophic balance. It is noted that mass loading of the Neptune magnetosphere by Triton may play an important role in the generation of nonthermal radio emissions.

Engaging Audiences in Planetary Science Through Visualizations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shupla, C. B.; Mason, T.; Peticolas, L. M.; Hauck, K.

2017-12-01

One way to share compelling stories is through visuals. The Lunar and Planetary Institute (LPI), in collaboration with Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics (LASP) and Space Science Laboratory at the University of California, Berkeley, has been working with planetary scientists to reach and engage audiences in their research through the use of visualizations. We will share how images and animations have been used in multiple mediums, including the planetarium, Science on a Sphere, the hyperwall, and within apps. Our objectives are to provide a tool that planetary scientists can use to tell their stories, as well as to increase audience awareness of and interest in planetary science. While scientists are involved in the selection of topics and the development of the visuals, LPI and partners seek to increase the planetary science community's awareness of these resources and their ability to incorporate them into their own public engagement efforts. This presentation will share our own resources and efforts, as well as the input received from scientists on how education and public engagement teams can best assist them in developing and using these resources, and disseminating them to both scientists and to informal science education venues.

Control of Precision Grip Force in Lifting and Holding of Low-Mass Objects

PubMed Central

Kimura, Daisuke; Kadota, Koji; Ito, Taro

2015-01-01

Few studies have investigated the control of grip force when manipulating an object with an extremely small mass using a precision grip, although some related information has been provided by studies conducted in an unusual microgravity environment. Grip-load force coordination was examined while healthy adults (N = 17) held a moveable instrumented apparatus with its mass changed between 6 g and 200 g in 14 steps, with its grip surface set as either sandpaper or rayon. Additional measurements of grip-force-dependent finger-surface contact area and finger skin indentation, as well as a test of weight discrimination, were also performed. For each surface condition, the static grip force was modulated in parallel with load force while holding the object of a mass above 30 g. For objects with mass smaller than 30 g, on the other hand, the parallel relationship was changed, resulting in a progressive increase in grip-to-load force (GF/LF) ratio. The rayon had a higher GF/LF force ratio across all mass levels. The proportion of safety margin in the static grip force and normalized moment-to-moment variability of the static grip force were also elevated towards the lower end of the object mass for both surfaces. These findings indicate that the strategy of grip force control for holding objects with an extremely small mass differs from that with a mass above 30 g. The data for the contact area, skin indentation, and weight discrimination suggest that a decreased level of cutaneous feedback signals from the finger pads could have played some role in a cost function in efficient grip force control with low-mass objects. The elevated grip force variability associated with signal-dependent and internal noises, and anticipated inertial force on the held object due to acceleration of the arm and hand, could also have contributed to the cost function. PMID:26376484

Utilization of two invasive free-floating aquatic plants (Pistia stratiotes and Eichhornia crassipes) as sorbents for oil removal.

PubMed

Yang, Xunan; Chen, Shanshan; Zhang, Renduo

2014-01-01

Free-floating aquatic plants Pistia stratiotes and Eichhornia crassipes are well-known invasive species in the tropics and subtropics. The aim of this study was to utilize the plants as cost-effective and environmentally friendly oil sorbents. Multilevel wrinkle structure of P. stratiotes leaf (PL), rough surface of E. crassipes leaf (EL), and box structure of E. crassipes stalk (ES) were observed using the scanning electron microscope. The natural hydrophobic structures and capillary rise tests supported the idea to use P. stratiotes and E. crassipes as oil sorbents. Experiments indicated that the oil sorption by the plants was a fast process. The maximum sorption capacities for different oils reached 5.1-7.6, 3.1-4.8, and 10.6-11.7 g of oil per gram of sorbent for PL, EL, and ES, respectively. In the range of 5-35 °C, the sorption capacities of the plants were not significantly different. These results suggest that the plants can be used as efficient oil sorbents.

DIFMOS - A floating-gate electrically erasable nonvolatile semiconductor memory technology. [Dual Injector Floating-gate MOS

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gosney, W. M.

1977-01-01

Electrically alterable read-only memories (EAROM's) or reprogrammable read-only memories (RPROM's) can be fabricated using a single-level metal-gate p-channel MOS technology with all conventional processing steps. Given the acronym DIFMOS for dual-injector floating-gate MOS, this technology utilizes the floating-gate technique for nonvolatile storage of data. Avalanche injection of hot electrons through gate oxide from a special injector diode in each bit is used to charge the floating gates. A second injector structure included in each bit permits discharge of the floating gate by avalanche injection of holes through gate oxide. The overall design of the DIFMOS bit is dictated by the physical considerations required for each of the avalanche injector types. The end result is a circuit technology which can provide fully decoded bit-erasable EAROM-type circuits using conventional manufacturing techniques.

Multi-Objective Hybrid Optimal Control for Multiple-Flyby Interplanetary Mission Design Using Chemical Propulsion