ALBERT

Description: The Apollo 17 far-ultraviolet spectrometer was used during trans-earth coast to measure the brightness of two regions at moderate galactic latitudes. The signal obtained can be entirely accounted for by light from stars in the field of view, with no contribution from galactic-plane starlight scattered off interstellar dust. It is concluded that the interstellar grains are extremely poor large-angle scatterers in the far-ultraviolet.

Description: Data acquired during several multiday periods in 1982 at ground stations Siple, Halley, and Kerguelen and on satellites Dynamics Explorer 1, International Sun Earth Explorer 1, and GEOS 2 have been used to investigate thermal plasma structure and dynamics in the duskside plasmasphere bulge region of the Earth. The distribution of thermal plasma in the dusk bulge sector is difficult to describe realistically, in part because of the time integral manner in which the thermal plasma distribution depends upon on the effects of bulk cross-B flow and interchange plasma flows along B. While relatively simple MHD models can be useful for qualitatively predicting certain effects of enhanced convection on a quiet plasmasphere, such as an initial sunward entrainment of the outer regions, they are of limited value in predicting the duskside thermal plasma structures that are observed. Furthermore, use of such models can be misleading if one fails to realize that they do not address the question of the formation of the steep plasmapause profile or provide for a possible role of instabilities or other irreversible processes in plasmapause formation. Our specific findings, which are based both upon the present case studies and upon earlier work, include the following: (1) during active periods the plasmasphere appears to become divided into two entities, a main plasmasphere and a duskside bulge region. (2) in the aftermath of an increase in convection activity, the main plasmasphere tends (from a statistical point of view) to become roughly circular in equatorial cross section, with only a slight bulge at dusk; (3) the abrupt westward edge of the duskside bulge observed from whistlers represents a state in the evolution of sunward extending streamers; (4) in the aftermath of a weak magnetic storm, 10 to 30% of the plasma 'removed' from the outer plasmasphere appears to remain in the afternoon-dusk sector beyond the main plasmasphere. (5) outlying dense plasma structures may circulate in the outer duskside magetosphere for many days following an increase in convection, unless there is extremely deep quieting; (6) a day-night plasmatrough boundary may be identified in equatorial satellite data; (7) factor-of-2-to-10 density irregularities appear near the plasmatrough from the ionosphere at L = 4.6, predominantly bidirectional field aligned and equatorially trapped light ion pitch angle distributions give away to a predominantly isotropic distribution (as seen by DE 1) when the plasma density reaches a level a factor of about 3 below the satured plasmasphere level; (9) some outlying dense plasma structures are effectively detached from the main plasmasphere, while others appear to be connected to that body.

Description: Calcium K-line photometry is reported for 27 A-type stars in the Praesepe cluster, and the data obtained are compared with previous K-line observations of Hyades stars. It is found that calcium and other metals are generally overabundant in Praesepe relative to field stars and that there is a considerable scatter in metal-abundance indices. Comparison with the Hyades results indicates that the Praesepe stars are as metal-enriched as the Hyades stars. These results are taken as evidence favoring Eggen's (1960) proposal that the Hyades and Praesepe clusters should be regarded as a single group having, on the average, about a factor-of-two higher metal abundance than solar-neighborhood field stars as well as a high internal dispersion in metal-line strengths. The questions of where and how the Praesepe-Hyades stars acquired their high average metal abundances, K-line strengths, and associated dispersions are briefly considered.