ALBERT

Description: The thinning and intensification of the cross tail current sheet during the substorm growth phase are analyzed during the CDAW 6 substorm (22 Mar. 1979) using two complementary methods. The magnetic field and current sheet development are determined using data from two spacecraft and a global magnetic field model with several free parameters. These results are compared with the local calculation of the current sheet location and structure previously done by McPherron et al. Both methods lead to the conclusion that an extremely thin current sheet existed prior to the substorm onset, and the thicknesses estimated by the two methods at substorm onset agree relatively well. The plasma data from the ISEE 1 spacecraft at 13 R(sub E) show an anisotropy in the low energy electrons during the growth phase which disappears just before the substorm onset. The global magnetic model results suggest that the field is sufficiently stretched to scatter such low energy electrons. The strong stretching may improve the conditions for the growth of the ion tearing instability in the near Earth tail at substorm onset.

Description: An approach to the study of the solar wind-magnetosphere interaction by signal type, that is, by examining the effect in the magnetosphere of well defined interplanetary structures, is presented. Focus is on the response of the magnetosphere to interplanetary magnetic clouds. Among their properties are: the slow and smooth variation of the magnetic field vector, with fluctuation level well below common interplanetary values; the similarly well behaved bulk flow; the wide range of field and flow parameters; and the longevity of passage (1 to 2 days). If the magnetic cloud is oriented such that a long period of uninterruptedly northward pointing field is followed by a long interval of continuously southward pointing field, then the transition of the magnetosphere from a quiescent state (the 'ground state') to a very active state can be studied, the latter being sustained by continued forcing from the magnetic cloud. A synopsis of the main findings of a recent study in such an interaction is given, concentrating on the substorm activity attending the second part of cloud passage.

Description: The stability of the geomagnetic tail is investigated on the basis of three dimensional resistive magnetohydrodynamic simulations, using different dynamic constraints and different initial equilibria. Different forms of the energy equation for isotropic pressure are found to have no significant effect on the dynamic growth of a resistive tearing instability, which is responsible for near Earth reconnection, plasmoid formation and ejection, and the generation of fast plasma flows. The constraints of a modified double adiabatic approach, however, can quench the tearing instability through the development of large, mirror type, anisotropies in the boundary regions of the plasma sheet, unless isotropization occurs on fast, nearly Alfvenic, time scales. The presence of a net cross tail magnetic field component B(sub yN) can reduce the growth of the instability without complete stabilization. An increase of B(sub z) from midnight toward the tail flanks, however, by more than a factor of about 3, apparently completely stabilizes the tearing mode. Stabilization and destabilization thus may depend on properties and constraints (and their release) in regions other than the neutral sheet where reconnection is initiated.

Description: Issues concerning the 'driven' versus 'unloading' nature of substorms are presented. The original concepts attendant to this debate are presented and substorms are concluded to inextricably combine aspects that are driven with aspects that represent a loading-unloading system. For isolated substorms, the magnetosphere-ionosphere system is shown to exhibit a bimodal response to solar wind changes. A 20 min response characteristic is associated with the driven aspect of substorms, while a 1 hr response time is associated with unloading. It is found that for strong solar wind input conditions, the magnetospheric response becomes more nearly unimodal. This is interpreted in terms of a nonlinear dynamical evolution of the system. Simple analog models are described which capture the essence of the nonlinear magnetospheric behavior. These models exhibit chaotic transitions for strong driving conditions: this may explain the observed behavior of the magnetosphere during strong geomagnetic activity.

Description: A pseudobreakup is a phenomenon similar to the substorm expansive phase onset, including an activation of an auroral arc, a burst of Pi2 micropulsations, and enhancement of the westward electrojet. However, these effects are weak and a pseudobreak is generally assumed to be very localized. The pseudobreakups are discussed based on simultaneous observations made in space and on the ground during the substorm growth phase. In the events studied the main features listed above are found, but the significance of the localization is unclear. The optical pseudobreakup, with associated magnetic perturbations, is highly localized, but simultaneously a wide local time sector of the auroral oval may be activated. The major differences between pseudobreakups and substorm expansive phase onsets are concluded to be the intensity and the development that follows. Careful study of pseudobreakups may help to determine phase initiation, and the role of the ionosphere-magnetosphere coupling in the substorm process.

Description: Small hydrocarbon grains in the vicinity of a supernova could be annealed by the absorption of several far-ultraviolet photons to produce the tiny diamonds found in meteorites. These freshly-synthesized diamond grains would be bombarded by the heavy ions and neutrals in the supernovae outflow and would thereby acquire the distinctive noble-gas isotopic signature by which they were first isolated. Only diamonds formed relatively close to supernovae would acquire such a signature, since grains formed farther out would be subjected to a much diluted and less energetic plasma environment.

Description: IUE observations taken during the 1988 January normal outburst of Z Cha are presented and a detailed comparison with the 1987 April superoutburst is made. The most important difference from the superoutburst is that the normal outburst continuum flux shows less than 10 percent orbital variation away from the eclipse, implying that there is no 'cool' bulge on the disk to occult the brighter inner disk periodically. The implications for the outburst mechanism in the types of outburst are discussed. The evolution of the continuum flux distribution and emission-line fluxes, the modulation of the continuum and line fluxes with orbital phase, and the behavior of the mideclipse spectral during normal outburst are investigated.

Description: The Energetic Gamma-Ray Experiment Telescope (EGRET) on the Compton Gamma-Ray Observatory observed the Cygnus region of the Galaxy during the periods 1991 May 30-June 8 and 1991 August 8-15. We report on a periodicity analysis of the gamma rays originating from the direction of Cygnus X-3. This analysis showed no evidence of periodic modulation during these observations of the gamma-ray emission at the approximately 4.8 hr period observed at X-ray wavelengths.

Description: On an hourly time-scale the different roles of the solar wind and interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) parameters on ground micropulsation activity can be better investigated than at longer time-scales. A long-term comparison between ground measurements made at L'Aquila and IMP 8 observations confirms the solar wind speed as the key parameter for the onset of pulsations even at low latitudes, although additional control of the energy transfer from the interplanetary medium to the earth's magnetosphere is clearly exerted by the cone angle. Above about 20 mHz the frequency of pulsations is confirmed to be closely related to the IMF magnitude while, in agreement with model predictions, the IMF magnitude is related to the amplitude of the local fundamental resonant mode. We provide an interesting example in which high resolution measurements simultaneously obtained in the foreshock region and on the ground show that external transversal fluctuations do not penetrate deep into the low latitude magnetosphere.

Description: This paper discusses in situ measurements of O3, aerosol number density, and aerosol size obtained during NASA Arctic Boundary Layer Expedition aircraft flights over the Alaskan Arctic region. The major source of summer O3 for the troposphere in the intrusion of stratospheric air and subsequent transport to lower altitudes. Photochemistry of mixed layer emissions and O3 transported from high northern latitude urban/industrialized areas do not appear to play major roles as sources of O3 for the Alaska region. O3 gradients reflect the loss at the surface and supply from the stratosphere. Free tropospheric O3 averaged 74 ppbv compared to 32 ppbv for the mixed layer. O3 loss mechanisms are a combination of the destruction via photochemistry, chemical reaction with surface emissions, and direct loss through deposition to the surface. The boreal forest in the most efficient of the O3 sinks and has the largest increase in aerosol number density relative to the free troposphere.

Description: The hard X-ray spectrum of AGNs is nonthermal, probably arising from an electron-positron pair cascade, with some emission reflected off relatively cold matter. There has been interest in models on which protons are accelerated and create relativistic electrons on interaction with a local radiation field. It is shown here that a sufficient column density of protons can lead to runaway pair production: photons generated by the relativistic pairs are the targets for the protons to produce more pairs. This can produce X-ray fluxes with the characteristics observed in AGN. The model predicts the maximum ratio of luminosity to source size as well as their spectrum in the early phases. The same mechanism may also be able to create the knots of synchrotron-radiating pair plasma seen in sources such as 3C273.

Description: In the aftermath of the eruption of Mt. Pinatubo, multiwavelength stratospheric aerosol extinction measurements by the satellite-borne Stratospheric Aerosol and Gas Experiment (SAGE II) revealed the presence of a previously unobserved mode of aerosol that exhibited high extinction but a small inferred particle size. This mode may represent a transitional phase between the very small aerosol created by gas-to-particle conversion and a quasi-steady state, post-volcanic aerosol that exhibits both large extinction and large particle size. The presence of a transitional small aerosol mode may have a significant impact on chemical and radiative processes in the stratosphere.

Description: The contribution of scattered light to the total nebular emission is determined on the basis of linear polarization measurements at 1.25, 1.65, and 2.2 microns of the visual reflection nebulae NGC 7023 and NGC 2023. The percentage polarization of NGC 7023 slowly increases from 0.3 to 1 micron, with peak polarizations of up to 26 percent at 1.25 micron, then rapidly decreases, with values of 4-7 percent at 2.2 microns. This is interpreted as implying that scattered starlight contributes most to the SW emission, while unpolarized emission from small grains or large molecules dominates at longer wavelengths. IR polarization and surface brightness measurements are combined to derive the intensity of scattered light, which is then compared with scattering models. While the near-IR emission of both NGC 2023 and NGC 7023 is dominated by small-grain or large-molecule emission, IR scattered light plays a larger role in NGC 2023 than in NGC 7023.

Description: The existence of the periodic component seen in NGC 6814 with Exosat at 12,000 +/- 100 s is confirmed by a power spectrum and folded light curve analysis of unevenly sampled Ginga data. A comparison of the power spectra produced from simulated light curves with that observed enables the intrinsic shape of the power spectrum of the source to be determined despite the distortions introduced by the window function. The best estimate for the period is 12,132 +/- 3 s, where the error is that derived from simulations. An upper limit to the rate of change of period of about 10 exp -9 is inferred if the light curves are truly phase-coherent, but as this is not required by the data, the conservative upper limit is not greater than 5 x 10 exp -7. The large amount of power in the periodic component and its stability both suggest occultation of the source as its origin.

Description: The collapse of cold, initially spherical systems with varying degrees of central condensation is investigated. The way in which the final shape of a collapsing system depends on the initial density law is examined. For an initial stellar number density rho varies as r exp -n, where n is in the range 0-2.5, the final, nearly prolate shape is given by a/c is approximately equal to 1.28(1 + 0.16 n), where a/c is the ratio of long to short axes of the inertia ellipsoid computed from the moment of inertia tensor of the most tightly bound 80 percent of the mass. The properties associated with the final states in the present computations are also studied. The collapsing systems develop an anisotropic halo dominated by radial orbits surrounding an isotropic core as predicted by Burkert (1990).

Description: CO2 exchange rates were measured at selected tundra sites near Bethel, Alaska using portable, climate-controlled, instrumented enclosures. The empirically modeled exchange rate for a representative area of vegetated tundra was 1.2 +/- 1.2 g/sq m/d, compared to a tower-measured exchange over the same time period of 1.1 +.0- 1.2 g/sq m/d. Net exchange in response to varying light levels was compared to wet meadow and dry upland tundra, and to the net exchange measured by the micrometeoroidal tower technique. The multispectral reflectance properties of the sites were measured and related to exchange rates in order to provide a quantitative foundation for the use of satellite remote sensing to monitor biosphere/atmosphere CO2 exchange in the tundra biome.

Description: Enhanced concentrations of CH4 in the unpolluted atmospheric mixed layer over both Arctic and subarctic tundra landscapes are documented here using data from the NASA Arctic Boundary Layer Expedition (ABLE 3A). The CH4 concentration gradients were determined mainly by interactions of biogenic emission from wet tundra and turbulent mixing proceses. The gradient were most frequently associated with intrusion of upper tropospheric or stratospheric air into the midtroposphere, emissions from forest and tundra fires, and long-range transport of enhanced concentration of these gases from unidentified sources. Summertime haze layers exhibited midtropospheric enhancements of CH4 similar to those measured in winter Arctic events. The observations confirm the importance of Arctic and Subarctic wetland environments as a regional source of global atmospheric CH4.

Description: The oxidation of the earth's crust and the increase in atmospheric oxygen early in earth history have been linked to the accumulation of reduced carbon in sedimentary rocks. Trends in the carbon isotope composition of sedimentary organic carbon and carbonate show that during the Proterozoic aeon (2.5-0.54 Gyr ago) the organic carbon reservoir grew in size, relative to the carbonate reservoir. This increase, and the concomitant release of oxidizing power in the environment, occurred mostly during episodes of global rifting and orogeny.

Description: Gamma radiation above 100 MeV in energy has been detected from the radio pulsar PSR1706-44. The gamma emission forms a single broad peak within the pulsar period of 102 ms, in contrast to the two narrow peaks seen in the other three known high-energy gamma-ray pulsars. The emission mechanism in all cases is probably the same, the differences arising from the geometry of the magnetic and rotation axes and the line of sight. Gamma-ray emission accounts for as much as 1 percent of the total neutron star spindown energy in these pulsars, much more than emerges at optical or radio frequencies. Thus, study of this emission is important in understanding pulsar emission and evolution.

Description: The properties and evolution of the major outburst experienced by Comet Halley at 14 AU during February-March 1991 are studied. It is found that the observed halo is a segment of a conical surface populated by solid particles ejected from a localized, temporarily activated region on the sunlit hemisphere of the spinning nucleus. The total mass of the ejecta was at least 10 exp 12 g and CO was probably the prime driver, accelerating the smallest grains to a terminal velocity of about 45 m/s. The mass loading of the gas flow by particulate matter is enormous, with the mass production rate exceeding the expected production rate of CO by a factor of several tens.

Description: A detailed abundance analysis of Cr, Fe, Mn, Ca, and Ti in the Ap star 53 Cam from IUE high-resolution spectra has been performed. It is found that UV lines give significantly lower abundance than visible lines for Cr and Fe. Theoretical spectra of Cr II line calculated with the stratified chromium abundance distributions predicted a priori by the diffusion-mass loss model match well both visible and UV lines. The spectral shape of the Ca II K line and its variation are well accounted for by the diffusion model with mass loss. A spectrum synthesis with a stratified abundance well reproduces the observations. These findings provide convincing evidence for stratification in the photosphere of 53 Cam.

Description: A model for the IR emission and extinction properties of small dust particles is used here to compute the IR emissions in the IRAS photometric bands for a set of isolated, spherical, and nonhomogeneous clouds heated by the local interstellar radiation field. It is predicted that the IR limb brightening (LB) in the IRAS photometric bands caused by selective absorption of UV photons of different energies in the cloud generally happens for central extinctions over 4 mag at 12 microns and greater than 10 mag at 100 microns and intermediate extinctions for the other IRAS bands. The surface brightness in the four IRAS bands is limited to about 0.4, 0.6, 3, and 10 MJy/sr at 12, 25, 60, and 100 microns respectively when no strong density discontinuity is present at the cloud edge.

Description: Recently available spectral O3 line parameters are summarized and progress in remote sensing based on these parameters is discussed. Particular attention is given to covering line positions, line intensities and linewidths for both the main isotopic species (O-16)3 and the isotopic variants (O-16)(O-18)(O-16) and (O-16)(O-16)(O-18).

Description: The paper presents Alouette 2/ISIS 1 data which furnish evidence for the stimulation of high-order D(n) resonances (n greater than 4) by topside sounders, confirming the prediction of Osherovich (1990) based on an analogy with naturally occurring narrowband magnetospheric emissions. The results indicate that observations of stimulated ionospheric emissions and naturally occurring magnetospheric emissions can be used as complementary data sets to address such fundamental questions as the nature of the excitation mechanism for these emissions and the nature of the waves (i.e., whether the waves predominantly electrostatic or with a significant magnetic component present), and the question of the dominance among the Dn, Dn(+), and Dn(-) resonances and the conditions required for all three to be present at the same time.

Description: Ground magnetic field perturbations recorded by the CANOPUS magnetometer network in the 7 to 13 MLT sector are used to examine how reconfigurations of the dayside polar ionospheric flow take place in response to north-south changes of the IMF. During the 6-h interval in question, IMF Bz oscillates between +/- 7 nT with about a 1-h period. Corresponding variations in the ground magnetic disturbance are observed which we infer are due to changes in ionospheric flow. Cross correlation of the data obtained from two ground stations at 73.5 deg magnetic latitude, but separated by about 2 hours in MLT, shows that changes in the flow are initiated in the prenoon sector (about 10 MLT) and then spread outward toward dawn and dusk with a phase speed of about 5 km/s over the longitude range about 8 to 12 MLT, slowing to about 2 km/s outside this range. Cross correlating the data from these ground stations with IMP 8 IMF Bz records produces a MLT variation in the ground response delay relative to the IMF which is compatible with these deduced phase speeds.

Description: The particle scattering and current sheet stability features in the geomagnetic tail during the phase of substorm growth were investigated using Tsyganenko's (1989) magnetic field model. In a study of four substorm events which were observed both in the high-altitude nightside tail and in the auroral ionosphere, the model magnetic field was adjusted to each case so as to represent the global field development during the growth phase of the substorms. The model results suggest that the auroral brightenings are connected with processes taking place in the near-earth region inside about 15 earth radii. The results also suggest that there is a connection between the chaotization of the electrons and the auroral brightenings at substorm onset.

Description: Alternative geometries for the present-day configuration of plate boundaries in northeast Asia and Japan are tested using NUVEL-1 and 256 horizontal earthquake slip vectors from the Japan and northern Kuril trenches. Statistical analysis of the slip vectors is used to determine whether the North American, Eurasian, or Okhotsk plate overlies the trench. Along the northern Kuril trench, slip vectors are well-fit by the NUVEL-1 Pacific-North America Euler pole, but are poorly fit by the Pacific-Eurasia Euler pole. Results for the Japan trench are less conclusive, but suggest that much of Honshu and Hokkaido are also part of the North American plate. The simplest geometry consistent with the trench slip vectors is a geometry in which the North American plate extends south to 41 deg N, and possibly includes northern Honshu and southern Hokkaido. Although these results imply that the diffuse seismicity that connects the Lena River delta to Sakhalin Island and the eastern Sea of Japan records motion between Eurasia and North America, onshore geologic and seismic data define an additional belt of seismicity in Siberia that cannot be explained with this geometry. Assuming that these two seismic belts constitute evidence for an Okhotsk block, two published kinematic models for motion of the Okhotsk block are tested. The first model, which predicts motion of up to 15 mm/yr relative to North America, is rejected because Kuril and Japan trench slip vectors are fit more poorly than for the simpler geometry described above. The second model gives a good fit to the trench slip vectors, but only if Okhotsk-North America motion is slower than 5 mm/yr.

Description: I discuss the most recent model of inflation. In first-order inflation the inflationary epoch is associated with a first-order phase transition, with the most likely candidate being GUT symmetry breaking. The transition from the false-vacuum inflationary phase to the true-vacuum radiation-dominated phase proceeds through the nucleation and percolation of true-vacuum bubbles. The first successful and simplest model of first-order inflation, extended inflation, is discussed in some detail: evolution of the cosmic-scale factor, reheating, density perturbations, and the production of gravitational waves both from quantum fluctuations and bubble collisions. Particular attention is paid to the most critical issue in any model of first-order inflation: the requirements on the nucleation rate to ensure a graceful transition from the inflationary phase to the radiation-dominated phase.

Description: Using the metric in the local inertial frame of the Earth, we calculate relativistic effects on the lunar orbit with the synodic month period. It is shown that such perturbations arise entirely from the gravitomagnetic components of the local metric which exist because of the relative motion of the sun with respect to the Earth. In the case of general relativity, the net perturbation has an amplitude of 3 cm for the lunar range.

Description: Two approaches to accelerating the method of complete linearization for calculating NLTE model stellar atmospheres are suggested. The first one, the so-called Kantorovich variant of the Newton-Raphson method, consists of keeping the Jacobi matrix of the system fixed, which allows us to calculate the costly matrix inversions only a few times and then keep them fixed during the subsequent computations. The second method is an application of the Ng acceleration. Both methods are extremely easy to implement with any model atmosphere code based on complete linearization. It is demonstrated that both methods, and especially their combination, yield a rapidly and globally convergent algorithm, which takes 2 to 5 times less computer time, depending on the model at hand and the required accuracy, than the ordinary complete linearization. Generally, the time gain is more significant for more complicated models. The methods were tested for a broad range of atmospheric parameters, and in all cases they exhibited similar behavior. Ng acceleration applied on the Kantorovich variant thus offers a significant improvement of the standard complete-linearization method, and may now be used for calculating relatively involved NLTE model stellar atmospheres.

Description: We have constructed high resolution IRAS maps of the B209 star forming region in the Taurus complex. By combining survey scans with pointed observations using advanced techniques specially developed to handle IRAS data in crowded fields, we have constructed images that reveal two new premain-sequence (PMS) objects. One of these, IRAS 04114+2757G, has FIR colors close to those of typical T Tauri stars and is probably associated with a faint stellar object visible on the POSS prints. The other new PMS source, IRAS 04111+2800G, is a deeply embedded object not detected at 12 microns and not optically visible. The object is projected close to the center of an ammonia core. Our detection of compact blue and red shifted (C-12)O emission peaks around the position of IRAS 04111+2800G confirms the PMS nature and youth of this object. We have examined the reasons for the exclusion of IRAS 04111+2800G and IRAS 04114+2757G from the IRAS Point Source Catalog and estimated the incompleteness of the currently known sample of embedded PMS stars in Taurus. The implications for the determination of evolutionary time scales in low mass star formation are discussed.

Description: The Giotto spacecraft carried two different instruments - the JPA and the IMS - for the observation of hot ions in the coma of P/Halley. Although there are many similarities in the time and distance profiles of the plasma flow parameters (bulk velocity, number density, and temperature) computed from the two data sets, there are also some significant differences, especially at cometocentric distances less than 500,000 km. The principal discrepancies between the JPA results presented by Formisano et al. (1990) and the IMS observations are: (1) the IMS did not detect the levelling off of the speed and temperature profiles that Formisano et al. interpreted as flow stabilization; (2) the IMS detected differential north-south flow between the solar wind and cometary ions for only a brief interval when the magnetic field was oriented nearly southward, whereas Formisano et al. reported more extensive differential north-south flow that was independent of the direction of the field; (3) the JPA ion densities were factors of 2 to 4 higher than the IMS ion densities which, in turn, were an order of magnitude greater than theoretical values.

Description: We present new theoretical calculations for the red wing of the Lyman-alpha profile. Close collisions with neutral and ionized hydrogen lead to the formation of the pseudomolecules H-H and H-H(+) with the appearance of satellite features near 1600 and 1400 A. The calculations include multiperturber effects, which are responsible for the formation of H3 and H3 with features near 1950 and 2600 A. The theoretical absorption profiles are included in stellar atmosphere codes and used to predict synthetic spectra for DA white dwarfs of intermediate temperatures (20,000 to 8000 K). These new calculations offer a unique opportunity to determine accurate effective temperatures and surface gravities for the variable ZZ Ceti stars.

Description: We present new observations of the H-alpha line profile for five main-sequence A-type stars, where very high SNRs were achieved. A search for weak asymmetries was carried out to detect a stellar wind, but the many telluric absorption lines in this range prevent us from taking the full benefit of the high SNRs. This situation was improved by modeling the telluric absorptions to remove them from the observed spectra, but the H-alpha profiles were nevertheless found to be quite symmetric. We calculated the profile of the H-alpha line for a grid of model atmospheres of an A-type star including a weak wind, in order to assess an upper limit on the mass loss rate. The asymmetry is found to be sensitive to the velocity law and to the turbulent velocity of the wind, but its first moment depends much less on them. The upper limits deduced on the mass loss rate are between 1 and 2 x 10 exp -10 solar mass/yr. An improvement up to a factor 10 could be anticipated if new observations could be secured from a much drier location, achieving similar SNRs.

Description: The LBV characteristics of the new LBV candidate WRA 751 suggested by Hu et al. (1990) are studied in greater detail. A comparison is made with observational characteristics of the well-known LBVs Ag Car and HR Car using photometric and spectroscopic data of Hu et al. supplemented with an IUE spectrum and direct CCD images in H-alpha, blue, and red. It is found that the spectra of WRA 751 and HR Car discussed in this paper are similar to the minimum-phase spectrum of AG Car and therefore resemble the Of/WN 9 spectral type. The characteristics of the optical, near- and far-UV (IUE) spectra of the Fe II spectrum in these wavelength regions is due to continuum fluorescence. The H, He I, Fe II and forbidden Fe II emission lines are formed in different parts of the stars' envelopes, corresponding to their expanding velocities. It is concluded that WRA 751 has properties which fit well the LBV properties at minimum-brightness phase, and possesses circumstellar material with observational properties similar to those of the known LBVs AG Car and HR Car.

Description: The first results of the STARDUST project, aimed at producing and analyzing cosmic-dust analog materials in microgravity conditions, are summarized. The discussion covers the purpose of the investigation, cosmic-dust formation and properties, previous simulations of cosmic-dust formation, the current approach, the microgravity experimental apparatus, and potential advantages of studying dust formation under microgravity conditions.

Description: Three molecular clouds of Sgr B2 have been mapped in the 1(10) - 1(01) orthotransition of C3H2 at 18.3 GHz. The distribution of C3H2 and the C3H2 optical depth of the three clouds, centered near 50, 65, and 80 km/s, are reported.

Description: The BATSE on-board burst system has been triggered by over 400 terrestrial electron precipitation events. These are the single largest cause of false triggers. Bremsstrahlung is generated as the precipitating electrons interact in the Earth's atmosphere, or in the spacecraft, and this radiation is detected by the Large Area Detectors, often triggering the instrument into burst mode. Several examples of such events are presented here, and the different classes of events are described. A possible correlation of events to strong magnetospheric activity is presented, and the association of a sub-set of events to a powerful VLF transmitter on the western coast of Australia is described.

Description: The synchrotron self-Compton (SSC) emission model for gamma-ray bursts is capable of producing narrow line features for a variety of modelled field strengths, primary electron injection distributions and burst luminosities. Multiple resonant scattering with synchrotron continuum photons efficiently traps and cools pairs in the ground state to an average energy where the Compton energy loss rate is zero. Annihilation between pairs in these cooled distributions can be very efficient. For isotropic injection of primary electrons, there is an anti-correlation of the intensity of the angular-binned emission between the portions of the continuum spectrum below the cyclotron peak and above the annihilation line feature. Small-angle emission dominates the continuum above the annihilation line feature and is smooth through the line up to the pair production cut-off, which can be above several MeV for small enough angles. The angle-averaged annihilation line is made of components which can have peak emission centered at energies away from 511 keV, due to Doppler shifting. For beamed injection,the annihilation line breaks up into relatively narrow components in the angular emission, which sum into a broad feature in the angle-averaged emission.

Description: With improved data from BATSE and other instruments, it is important to develop a range of diagnostic tools to link gamma-ray burst observations with theory. I will review some of the physical processes which may take place to form the spectrum of gamma-ray burst sources, assuming that the bursts originate on strongly magnetized neutron stars. The important diagnostics that these processes provide to probe the emission region and how they might be used to interpret observed spectra will also be discussed.

Description: Data on the velocity distributions of pickup ions in the vicinity of Comet Halley that were obtained by the Giotto spacecraft are presented. Combination of data from two different instruments allows a comparative study of the pitch-angle scattering rates and velocity diffusion rates of protons and water-group ions.

Description: The Tsyganenko models contain 'modules' for two external current systems, the tail and ring currents; the former is the more detailed. No specific modules, however, cover the magnetopause and the Birkeland current system. The effects of these currents are represented by an all-purpose 'polynomial', and the resulting formulas involve about 30 parameters that specify the model. The dependence on magnetospheric indices is also simplified.

Description: It has been suggested that the presence of red giants in the vicinity of an active nucleus can contribute significantly to the line emission by the reprocessing of the continuum radiation onto the red giant's surface or in the stellar wind that usually accompanies these stars. We present herein the line profiles and the corresponding transfer functions for this model for the line emission, using a realistic phase space distribution function for the stars in the vicinity of the active nucleus.

Description: We review recent hard X-ray and gamma-ray observations of Cen A, NGC 4151, 3C273, and 3C279. The new data showed remarkable variability of these objects in the high-energy gamma-ray regime. Recent observations by GRANAT show an unexpected sharp break at about 50 keV in the 1990 spectrum of NGC 4151. Recent observations by the Compton Observatory show intense GeV emission from 3C279 in June 1991. We present composite energy spectra of these objects from the radio to gamma-ray energies.

Description: The general properties of the high energy AGN continuum are reviewed with particular emphasis on the connection between radio loud and radio quiet AGN in the broad context of the dynamics of accretion onto a black hole. Arguments are provided indicating the possibility that the emission from radio loud AGN originates at distances much larger than a few Schwarzschild radii from the black hole and hence the role of pairs in defining the observed spectrum is limited. A connection is made between the radio and high energy continuum of AGN.

Description: Contributions of amateur astronomers to research on dwarf novae, which are based on carefully monitoring the outburst behavior of these objects, are reviewed. These contributions range from scheduling of observations to the observational basis for research on the dwarf nova outburst mechanism. It is suggested, that, with better equipment, observations of orbital light variations in dwarf novae might be performed by amateur astronomers.

Description: Remote sensing of aerosol optical thickness from space is difficult over continental surfaces. There are two retrieval algorithms, one based on the use of dark targets and a second based on contrast reduction between selected pixels. Improvements in the contrast reduction method are reported. A procedure is developed for using the satellite image to evaluate whether conditions for applying the structure method are met. The theoretical background is discussed, and the usefulness of the structure functions is demonstrated. The method is applied to NOAA Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) imagery where simultaneous ground measurements are used for validation.

Description: A tentative detection of the J = 1 - 0 emission line of (C-13)O has been obtained with SEST from a 24.4 hour integration. The velocity resolution used was 0.23 km/s and the FWHP beamwidth was 45 arcsec. If the (C-13)O line data are conservatively interpreted as an upper limit, the (C-12)O/(C-13)O ratio is not less than 60. Our result supports the previous determination of a large value of the isotope ratio in this cloud, made using radio emission lines with a 1.6-arcmin beam, and extends the ratio based on emission lines to a smaller region. When interpreted as a lower limit, our data is consistent with the ratio obtained from UV absorption line data for (C-12)O and (C-13)O.

Description: We present measurements of the integrated radio continuum flux density of M33 at frequencies between 22 and 610 MHz and discuss the radio continuum spectrum of M33 between 22 MHz and 10 GHz. This spectrum has a turnover between 500 and 900 MHz, depending on the steepness of the high frequency radio spectrum of M33. Below 500 MHz the spectrum is relatively flat. We discuss possible mechanisms to explain this spectral shape and consider efficient free-free absorption of nonthermal emission by a cool (not greater than 1000 K) ionized gas to be a very likely possibility. The surface filling factor of both the nonthermal and the thermal material appears to be small (of order 0.001), which could be explained by magnetic field/density fluctuations in the M 33 interstellar medium. We briefly speculate on the possible presence of a nuclear radio source with a steep spectrum.

Description: We present aperture synthesis observations of H I (21 cm) line radiation and continuum emission at 408 and 1420 MHz towards a field centered on the molecular cloud B5. The H I emission shows an extended atomic halo around the molecular cloud. The opacity of the halo is derived using H I absorption toward several background sources and a simple source model is presented. The model indicates that the halo is not gravitationally bound to the molecular cloud and that it is in fact expanding away from it. Approximately 350 solar masses are contained in the H I halo. Flux densities and spectral indices for the sources detected in both of the continuum bands are given.

Description: The long-period variable Mira Omicron Ceti has been observed at 800 nm wavelength with the Mk III Optical Interferometer at photometric phases 0 = 0.96, 0.05, and 0.14 in 1990; some additional data were taken in 1989. The star is not spherically symmetric, and temporal variations of the size and the position angle of the asymmetry are detected. The visibility data can be represented by two uniform elliptical disks, which could correspond to different layers in Mira's atmosphere. If the size variations are interpreted in terms of physical motion of the emitting material, an infall velocity of about 15 km/s around phi = 0 is derived.

Description: The 1(10)-1(11) transition of ortho-H2D(+) at 372 GHz has been sought in several dark clouds. The transition was not detected; the best upper limits obtained are about 0.3 K (3 sigma). We derive upper limits for the ortho-H2D(+) column density and briefly discuss their meaning in comparison with a simple chemical model we have developed (Pagani et al., 1992).

Description: We present additional photometric observations (Stromgren y filter) of the Herbig Ae Star HR 5999. This new set of data, composed of 282 data points covering April 1983 to August 1989, was used in conjunction with the 362 data points compiled by Baade and Stahl (1989). Our aim was to detect single or multiple periods in the integrated set of data spanning nearly 20 yr. Through the use of series analysis techniques, and by removing any linear component present in the raw data, we were able to detect weak peaks in the power spectra (in the order of intensity the strongest peaks are at 301 and 113 d) which were not self-evident in the phase diagrams. The overall picture of the data shows a small linear component, which is more noticeable in the new set of data, indicating that the recent maxima appear brighter. By a detailed analysis of the full light curve we were able to detect the presence of well-defined 'pulses' or bursts. Further Gaussian fits of these bursts indicated that the pulses are relatively rapid, of the order of 10 d, with some of them being closely spaced. No periodicity was found for the pulses. A possible explanation of these aperiodic outbursts is that they detect a flow of matter accompanied by magnetic field disturbances originated from the interior of the star, unlike those originating externally such as binary perturbations, which tend to be periodic.

Description: On May 3, 1991, the Energetic Gamma Ray Experiment Telescope on the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory detected a gamma-ray burst both in the energy measurement subsystem and independently in the spark chamber assembly. Six individual photons were detected in the spark chamber, allowing a determination of the burst arrival direction which was l(II) = 171.9 deg +/- 1.3 deg, b(II) = 5.3 deg +/- 1.1 deg. Three energy spectra were measured from 1 to 200 MeV; they were measured during the first second after the Burst and Transient Sources Experiment trigger, the next two seconds, and the subsequent four seconds. The first two spectra exhibit a similar differential spectra index of about -2.2 with no apparent high-energy cut-off. By the time of the third spectrum, an additional soft component is evident.

Description: Accounts are given of the development status and prospective efficacy of the Geoscience Environmental Data Display, the Space Environment Laboratory Data Acquisition and Display System, and the Geospace Environment Modeling program, which are all concerned with the 3D definition of the earth's magnetosphere. Attention is given to current and prospective improvements in the integration of all these data-gathering systems.

Description: The joint hypocentral determination method is used to relocate deep seismicity reported in the International Seismological Center catalog for earthquakes deeper than 400 km in the Honshu, Bonin, Mariannas, Java, Banda, and South America subduction zones. Each deep seismic zone is found to display planar features of seismicity parallel to the Harvard centroid-moment tensor nodal planes, which are identified as planes of shear failure. The sense of displacement on these planes is one of resistance to deeper penetration.

Description: Stratospheric aerosol collections by wire impactors, taken mainly over the western U.S. from early 1984 to late 1986, show the diminishing effects of El Chichon's 1982 eruption, and provide a set of data for judging subsequent volcanic effects. Decrease in sulfate burden during the study time is due to preferential gravitational settling-out of large (above 0.5-micron diameter) sulfate aerosol droplets. As a result of settling from higher levels, lower altitude (12.2-15.2 km) air early in 1984 tends to contain more sulfate than higher level (19.8-21.3 km) air. As of late 1986, however, high- and low-altitude sulfate contents have decreased and are similar, suggesting large-particle settling has been completed. The later sulfate collection size distributions resemble unimodal background spectra, whereas earlier ones are bimodal. Average sulfate load for all altitudes decreases during the period of study from 0.4 to 0.08 microgram/cu m. The latter value is somewhat higher than a volcanically unenriched pre-El Chichon level, suggesting that even as of 1987, stratospheric background had not been obtained.

Description: The results of limitation studies performed with the UARS MLS are presented. A consistent set of algorithms allows the extraction of the spectral coefficients in time and longitude from asynoptically sampled satellite data and the subsequent reconstruction of synoptic maps from that spectral information. In addition to providing synoptic maps, the asynoptic technique allows the use of standard spectral analysis tools such as autocorrelation and cross correlation.

Description: Airglow and chemical processes in the terrestrial mesosphere and lower thermosphere are reviewed, and initial parameterizations of the processes applicable to multidimensional models are presented. The basic processes by which absorbed solar energy participates in middle atmosphere energetics for absorption events in which photolysis occurs are illustrated. An approach that permits the heating processes to be incorporated in numerical models is presented.

Description: Attention is given to a program to compare stratospheric models and measurements to calculate the atmospheric effects of emissions of a projected fleet of High Speed Civil Transports on the stratosphere is presented. The goals of the effort is to establish a standard set of atmospheric measurements that can be used to test the reliability of atmospheric chemistry models, develop a method for evaluating model/data comparisons, and direct the first major international stratospheric model/data comparison.

Description: Multispectra aerosol extinction data for the fall and spring of 1987 measured by the SAGE II sensor are employed to determine the physical characteristics of aerosols within the springtime Antarctic polar vortex. Attention is given to the physical processes that give rise to the apparent springtime 'cleansing' of the Antarctic stratosphere. The inferred vertical and radial structure compare favorably with in situ measurements but yield a previously unavailable 2D structure to the distribution of aerosols within the polar vortex. The springtime 'cleansing' of the Antarctic stratosphere is found to be a result of both large-scale subsidence and the preferential removal of large particles by the nucleation and subsequent sedimentation of polar stratospheric clouds.

Description: The NASA Langley 3D GCM chemical transport model is used to investigate the distribution of atmospheric N2O up to 60 km altitude. The transport characteristics of the model is evaluated without the complications of a detailed chemical formulation for all of the relevant stratospheric minor constituents. Interpretation of the yearly average zonal mean N2O distribution in terms of transport by the yearly averaged meridional circulation and stratospheric photochemical loss indicates large regions in the Northern Hemisphere stratosphere where dynamical mixing apparently plays a large role in maintaining the N2O distribution. In these regions, slopes of the N2O mixing ratio isopleths are maintained by competition between advection by the meridional circulation acting to steepen and dynamical mixing acting to flatten the slopes.

Description: The paper discusses the atmospheric distribution of natural and man-made nonmethane hydrocarbons (NMHCs), the major species of airborne NMHCs, and their sources and sinks. Particular attention is given to the techniques for measuring atmospheric NMHCs; diurnal and seasonal variations of atmospheric NMHCs and differences between rural, urban, and marine environments; latitudinal and vertical distributions; and available stratospheric NMHC measurements. A formula defining the atmospheric lifetime of a NMHC from its reaction rates with OH and O3 is presented.

Description: AGN spectrum and spectral features, polarization, inclination, and X-ray line and continuum reflection features are discussed in a critical way in order to determine the ones that are the least model-dependent. The sign and strength of absorption and emission edges are found to be model-dependent, and relativistic broadening and shifting makes them hard to detect. The presence or absence of the predicted Lyman edge polarization feature may be used as a decisive test for thin, bare AGN disks. Other good model-independent tests are several inclination-related line and continuum correlations in big AGN samples. It is shown that electron temperature near the surface of the disk can greatly exceed the disk equilibrium temperature, which causes deviations from LTE. This effect must be incorporated into realistic disk models.

Description: Active galaxies are believed to consist of a compact nucleus, the standard model for which is a massive black hole or a cluster of black holes. A different paradigm is considered here, deriving from quark confinement theory in QCD. It is an 'astrophysical bag', modelled after the 'hadron bags' of particle physics which have already been studied in astrophysics as quark stars. Another interpretation of the cosmological constant in general relativity, and possibly a new quasar redshift formula, are introduced. As a highly-energetic object, this model may resolve the baryonic matter problem for fuelling AGN accretion processes which black hole paradigms cannot account for. Here, baryons, cosmic rays, and neutrinos are free.

Description: Although there are some flaws in each of the methods to constrain the black hole mass, which are described in the above paper, all of them unambiguously indicate that the mass of a putative black hole at the Galactic center is much smaller than a widely quoted value, about 10 exp 6 M(solar). Possibly, the mass of the black hole, if any, does not exceed 100 M(solar) or so. Further work is needed in order to distinguish between such a modest-mass black hole and its potential rival such as a very massive star of about the same mass. Anyway, the Galactic nucleus seems to be a tracer of a past star burst rather than a remnant of a Seyfert galaxy activity.

Description: An improved model of the Earth's gravitational field is developed from a combination of conventional satellite tracking, satellite altimeter measurements, and surface gravimetric data (GEM-T3). This model gives improved performance for the computation of satellite orbital effects as well as a superior representation of the geoid from that achieved in any previous Goddard Earth Model. The GEM-T3 model uses altimeter data directly to define the orbits, geoid, and dynamic height fields. Altimeter data acquired during the GEOS-3 (1975-1976), SEASAT (1978), and GEOSAT (1986-1987) missions were used to compute GEM-T3. In order to accommodate the non-gravitational signal mapped by these altimeters, spherical harmonic models of the dynamic height of the ocean surface were recovered for each mission simultaneously with the gravitational field. The tracking data utilized in the solution includes more than 1300 arcs of data encompassing 31 different satellites. The observational data base is highly dependent on SLR, but also includes TRANET Doppler, optical, S-Band average range-rate and satellite-to-satellite tracking acquired between ATS-6 and GEOS-3. The GEM-T3 model has undergone extensive error calibration.

Description: The interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) behaves in a reasonably well-understood manner between the Sun and the heliospheric termination shock. At the shock, the azimuthal field is amplified by a factor of four (for a strong shock) and undergoes secular amplification in the heliosheath until the flow is fully turned into the downstream direction and has reached its asymptotic state in the distant heliotail. This amplification may lead to important MHD effects that can cause the shock to be closer to the Sun than otherwise expected. Here we further examine whether there are important MHD effects in the heliosheath. We do this by calculating the kinematic compression of the magnetic field in the heliosheath using an analytic incompressible flow model of the dynamics downstream of the shock. We conclude that it is likely that MHD effects are important in the heliosheath in a narrow cone about the upstream direction.

Description: We analyze the dynamics of a rotating cloudy gaseous medium relative to 2D perturbations having wavelengths shorter than the disk thickness. The viscosity due to cloud-cloud collisions is confronted with the derived critical viscosity, below which a collective mode of perturbations in the disk is able to grow until going into the saturation regime where fully developed turbulence is established. It is shown that for the assumed parameters of AGN accretion disks consistent with the observational data, the viscosity due to collective modes usually dominates over that due to cloud-cloud collisions.

Description: Archival EXOSAT and HEAO1-A2 data from Cyg X-1 show the 'high energy excess' above 10 keV seen in X-ray observations of AGN. Using a likelihood ratio test, we are for the first time able to distinguish conclusively in favor of Compton reflection rather than partial covering as the origin of the high energy excess. This supports the idea of an X-ray illuminated accretion disk in Cyg X-1, but the line equivalent width is smaller by a factor of 2-3 than that expected from such a disk. While the larger optical depth required for reflection as opposed to line emission admit the possibility of seeing line without reflection, the converse is not possible. To see a reflection spectrum, including the strong iron absorption edge, implies that strong iron emission must be observed as the line and edge are causally linked.

Description: A review is given of methods to constrain the mass of a putative black hole at the center of the Milky Way galaxy. These approaches are based on: (1) tidal disruption of stars by a massive black hole; (2) displacement between Sgr A* and either of the IRS 16 components; (3) electron-positron pair production by a black hole, and (4) mass outflow centered on IRS 16/Sgr A* complex.

Description: The origin of the cosmic X-ray and gamma-ray backgrounds is explained via the mechanism of AGN spectral-luminosity evolution. The spectral evolution of precursor active galaxies into AGN, and Newton-Raphson input and output parameters are discussed.

Description: We present results of monitoring a sample of five OVV qausars in an effort to determine if these types of AGNs exhibit microvariability similar to that detected for BL Lacertae objects. Three of the five quasars investigated clearly exhibited microvariability. The timescales for the variations for both BL Lacertae objects and OVV quasars are similar which suggests that the radiation is generated in similar spatial volumes. These variations are consistent with the results of models which explain the observed microvariability as the result of excess emission produced by flares or hot spots randomly appearing and disappearing on the accretion disks around supermassive black holes.

Description: Color-color diagrams are used to study the set of accretion disk plus power-law models and to determine whether they can adequately fit the optical/UV continua of a sample of 34 quasars, and the soft X-ray excesses measured for seven of the sample objects by Masnou et al. (1991). The loci of pure disk models for cos theta is greater than 0 are virtually superimposed on each other regardless of cos theta, demonstrating that a given observed spectrum cannot be described by a unique combination of S and cos theta. The distributions of model and data colors are found to overlap, showing that the disk plus power-law models do fit the distribution of data colors. For six of the seven objects, the soft X-ray excesses may be fit with an accretion disk plus power-law model without requiring the assumption of super-Eddington accretion; this shows the utility of employing Kerr disks.

Description: We present the first broadband, moderate-resolution X-ray spectral observations of the Seyfert galaxies NGC 4151 and NGC 1068. The Seyfert 1 galaxy NGC 4151 is shown to have a complex X-ray spectrum with multiple components and a strong, intrinsically narrow Fe K emission line. The characteristics of the scattering medium of the Seyfert 2 galaxy NGC 1068 are determined using the very strong Fe line emission and the lack of features due to oxygen in the X-ray spectrum. The soft X-ray flux from Mrk 3 and Mrk 348 are consistent with that expected from electron scattered X-rays from an obscured Seyfert 1 nucleus. A survey of the X-ray properties of Seyfert 2 galaxies indicates that a substantial fraction may have column densities of about 10 exp 23, suggesting that NGC 1068 has an unusually thick obscuring torus.

Description: The power spectra of the X-ray variable AGN are typically scale invariant with no characteristic timescale. The one strong exception to this is NGC 6814, where the EXOSAT data showed evidence for a periodic component at 12200 +/- 100 seconds. The power spectra of a GINGA lightcurve from this source, found using simulation techniques to account for the uneven sampling, also cannot be well fit by a single power law. A folded light curve analysis of GINGA data shows strong evidence for this periodic component. A second GINGA observation of this source taken one year later is consistent with the phenomena being completely periodic and phase coherent for 7 periods in the range of 12,110-12,145 seconds. Including the (optimistic) limits from the folding selects a period of 12130.39 +/- 0.05 seconds. Phase coherence is not maintained between this and the EXOSAT observations, as the structure of the folded light curves is very different. Thus the periodicity is long lived and stable, but phase coherence is only maintained on timescales of about 1 year.

Description: We have modeled the gas phase chemistry of warm molecular material around protostars that is seeded with evaporating grain mantles. We show that the release of simple molecules into the gas drives ion-molecule and neutral chemistries which can account for many of the complex O-bearing and N-bearing molecules observed in hot cores. Initial grain mantle components and secondary product molecules are identified, and the observational consequences are discussed.

Description: A complete sample of low-mass X-ray binaries in uncrowded fields obtained from Vela 5B is studied here for periodic and aperiodic time variability on time scales of more than one day. The strong 176-day periodicity in X1820 - 303 is confirmed, and evidence is found for a significant 77-day period in Cyg X-2 and for variability on time scales of less than about 200 days in Cyg X-3. Limits are set on the possible amplitude of candidate periodicities in the literature for Ser X-1 and X0614 + 091. The evidence reported here suggests that while long-term cyclic variability is common among high-mass binaries, it is a rare occurrence in low-mass systems.

Description: Measurements of total ozone at Macquarie Island (55 deg S, 159 deg E) reveal statistically significant reductions of approximately twelve percent during July to September when comparing the mean levels for 1987-90 with those in the seventies. A back-correction of 1963-79 Macquarie Island monthly mean ozone data is described which enabled this comparison.

Description: The satellite observation of a large, about 40-mV/m, transient electric field disturbance over Hurricane Debbie in September 1982 is reported. The electric field event is viewed as a spheric disturbance from a lightning discharge in the active weather system located beneath the satellite. To elucidate this observation of upward moving electrons in the ionosphere associated with a lightning event, several mechanisms for electron acceleration by electric field with components, E(parallel), along the magnetic field are compared. 'Runaway' electrons were accelerated in about 1 ms by a downward directed E(parallel) pulse of about 1 V/m magnitude. Such fields can result from rapidly exposed, negative space charges near the tops of clouds during positive cloud-to-ground discharges. HF frequency Fourier components of the E(parallel) pulse must propagate through the low-conducting nighttime atmosphere to the ionosphere with little dissipation.

Description: The seasonal behavior of low latitude mesospheric ozone, as observed by the SMM satellite solar occultation experiment, is detailed for the 1985-1989 period. Annual as well as semi-annual waves are observed in the 50-70 km altitude region. In the latitude range of +/- 30 deg the ozone phase and amplitude are functions of temperature and seasonal changes in solar flux. Temperature is the controlling factor for the equatorial region and seasonal changes in solar flux become more dominant at latitudes outside the equatorial zone (greater than +/- 15 deg). There is a hemispheric asymmetry in the ozone annual wave in the 20-30 deg region, with Northern Hemispheric ozone having a larger amplitude than Southern Hemispheric ozone.

Description: The present study compares small-scale (less than 100 km) features in ER-2 measurements of ClO, O3, H2O, N2O, and NO(y) outside the lower stratospheric Arctic vortex of 1988-1989 with features on potential vorticity maps from ECMWF. The potential vorticity maps are obtained from T106 analyses and forecasts. Some of the plots were truncated to lower resolution (T63 or T42) which smooths out the finer-scale structure. Comparison of these lower resolution plots shows how much detail is lost by excessive smoothing. It is also evident that the forecast plots lose fine-scale structure due to dissipation in the model resulting mainly from horizontal diffusion. It is concluded that blobs of air on the maps at latitudes between the vortex edge and 25 deg N having potential vorticities characteristic of the vortex did indeed originate from the vortex, but that the real atmosphere is more sharply differentiated than the meteorological analyses, implying that the potential vorticity maps underestimate the amount of peeled-off material.

Description: Surface velocities and metal abundances for 19 red giant stars in the spectral range G5 to M3 are derived on the basis of AAT echelle spectroscopy data. Attention is given to the question of whether the stars reported to emit radio bursts had different physical properties (rotation rate, macroturbulence, microturbulence, and metal abundance) from those without the radio bursts, which might explain why they were radio emitters. The various velocities had values consistent with those previously found for other similar stars. There was an observed increase in both macroturbulent and, less definitely, microturbulent velocities with lateness of spectral type at K3 and later. A weak correlation between surface velocities and 8.4-GHz radio surface fluxes was found. No connection between iron abundances and radio surface fluxes was detected. It is concluded that few, if any, of the cool giants are radio emitters.

Description: Results are presented of a spectrophotometric study of a young stellar object, GL 2591, at wavelengths covering 2.10 to 2.27 microns, employing the KPNO long-slit cryogenic spectrometer. H2 emission was discovered in this source. A map of the v = 1-0 S(1) emission line shows a bipolar structure extending over 0.9 d (d/2 kpc) pc in an east-west direction roughly centered around GL 2591 IRS, with four bright knotty peaks. Br-gamma emission was detected in this source. A map of the Br-gamma emission line delineates a monopolar jetlike structure emanating over 0.2 d (d/2 kpc)pc from NIRS 1 to the southwest. The map of 2-micron continuum emission shows a multilooplike structure extending predominantly to the west. The dust distribution derived from this continuum map reveals a monopolar shell structure composed of several clumps. The spatial distribution of the H2, Br-gamma and 2-micron continuum emission is consistently explained by an outflow and dust disk model around GL 2591, if this emission is interpreted as shocked gas, ionized, gas, and swept-up dust, respectively, associated with the outflow from GL 2591.

Description: The empirical models related to solar-terrestrial sciences are listed and described which are available in the form of computer programs. Also included are programs that use one or more of these models for application specific purposes. The entries are grouped according to the region of their solar-terrestrial environment to which they belong and according to the parameter which they describe. Regions considered include the ionosphere, atmosphere, magnetosphere, planets, interplanetary space, and heliosphere. Also provided is the information on the accessibility for solar-terrestrial models to specify the magnetic and solar activity conditions.

Description: Results of ozone and Aitken condensation nuclei measurements made over the rain forest in equatorial Africa during February 12-25, 1988 are presented. The results indicate the presence of a layer between 1 and 4 km altitude where these species are strongly enriched. Based on information derived from simultaneous measurements of other chemical and meteorological parameters, satellite imagery, and trajectory calculations, this enrichment is attributed to emissions from biomass burning in sub-Saharan Africa, from which ozone is formed by photochemical reactions.

Description: The properties of cyclotron emission from accretion shocks in AM Herculis binaries are studied which result from nonuniform accretion onto linearly extended regions on the surface of the magnetic white dwarf. The resulting ridge-shaped postshock structures yield cyclotron spectra with prominent harmonic features over a wide range of viewing aspects, even for high total accretion rates, in contrast to what has been found previously for axisymmetric accretion shocks.

Description: On April 9-11, 1983, the ISEE 3 spacecraft was continuously located within the earth's magnetotail for more than 36 hours at downstream distances of X = -76 to -80 R(e). During this span of time, 12 major intervals of substorm activity were observed in the AL index with good ISEE 3 telemetry coverage for 11 of them. In addition, there were two small substorms outside of these intervals, both with complete observations in the distant tail. This unusual ISEE 3 data set provides a unique opportunity to test the predictions of the near-earth neutral line model. In particular, the hypothesis that energy stored in the tail lobes during the growth phase is later dissipated, in part, through the release of one or more plasmoids following expansion phase onset is examined. Clear growth phase enhancements in the lobe magnetic field intensity preceded the onsets of nine of the substorms. Plasmoids, or their lobe signatures, traveling compression regions (TCRs), were observed at ISEE 3 in association with all 11 of the major substorm intervals for which there were ISEE observations, as well as for the two small substorms. No plasmoids or TCRs were observed in the absence of substorm activity. If these ISEE 3 observations are representative, then the release of plasmoids down the tail may be a feature common to all substorms.

Description: Daily determinations of the earth's pole position from GPS observations obtained during the first GPS IERS and Geodynamics (GIG) experiment are interpreted in terms of atmospheric wind and pressure fluctuations. Evidence is reported for atmospheric excitation of the rapid polar motions observed during the 23-day period from 22 January to 13 February, 1991. It is demonstrated that atmospheric wind and pressure fluctuations are mostly responsible for exciting the rapid polar motions observed during GIG '91.

Description: Using 21 days of GPS data from 21 globally distributed receivers operating during early 1991, a 7-parameter transformation between a GPS free-network solution and coordinates of 12 stations listed in the International Terrestrial Reference Frame (ITRF) is solved. Standard errors of GPS coordinates are derived by applying an orthogonal projection operator to the free-network covariance. The weighted rms difference between 33 transformed GPS and ITRF coordinates is 12 mm in the Northern Hemisphere. Best results are obtained by mapping ITRF coordinates to the epoch of this experiment assuming no vertical site motions. Fixing selected sites in the GPS solution to ITRF '90 does not improve the agreement. It is concluded that the use of fiducial constraints is unnecessary for global networks.

Description: Daily estimates of the earth's pole position have been obtained with measurements from a worldwide network of GPS receivers, obtained during the three week GIG '91 experiment in January-February 1991. For this short-term study, the GPS based polar motion series agrees with the other space based geodetic techniques (Very Long Baseline Interferometry and Satellite Laser Ranging) to about 0.4 mas rms, after the removal of mean biases of order 1-3 mas. The small error in day-to-day variability is not sensitive to the fiducial strategy used, nor are fiducial sites even necessary for monitoring high frequency pole position variability. The small biases indicate that the applied reference frames of the three geodetic techniques are nearly aligned, that the GPS fiducial errors are small, and that systematic errors in GPS are also small (of order 5 ppb). A well determined reference frame is necessary for monitoring the long-term stability of polar motion and for separating it from other long-term signals such as tectonic motion and internal systematic errors.

Description: The low-pressure reactions of formaldehyde (H2CO) with D(+), D2(+), D3(+), and He(+) are studied by the ion-cyclotron resonance technique. These reactions are potential loss processes for formaldehyde in cores of dark interstellar clouds. The deuterated reactants represent direct analogs for protons. Rate coefficients and branching ratios of product channels have been measured. Charge transfer is observed to be the dominant reaction of H2CO with D(+), D2(+), and He(+) ions. Only the D3(+) reaction exhibits a proton-transfer channel. All reactions proceed at rate coefficients near the collision limit. Proton-deuteron exchange reactions are found to be inefficient processes in the formaldehyde system.

Description: The use of SO and SO2 as probes of the dense interstellar medium in the nearby starburst galaxies NGC 253 and M82 is described. Emission in the 99.3 GHz 3(2) - 2(1) rotational transition of SO was detected in NGC 253 and possibly in M82, and upper limits are reported for emission in the 219.9 GHz 6(5) - 5(4) transition of SO and two lines of SO2. The column density of SO relative to carbon sulfide, CS, is more than 0.08 in NGC 253, a value not much lower than Galactic ratios and consistent with models of dense interstellar clouds with a fractional abundance of atomic oxgyen greater than about 10 exp -7. The 218.8 GHz 3(21) - 2(20) transition of para-formaldehyde, with an excitation temperature of 68 K, was also detected in NGC 253.

Description: A detailed spectroscopic analysis of a Ginga observation of the Seyfert galaxy NGC 6814 is reported. It is shown that the X-ray data are consistent with a scenario in which the continuum radiation is reprocessed in a highly ionized medium, which can either be an accretion disk or a shell of absorbing material. Both of these can produce the strong observed iron K-alpha line, which must originate within 200 lt-sec of the continuum source. Significant iron K-beta and nickel K-alpha are predicted, based on the iron K-alpha line strength, and these lines partially conceal the iron edge in this source. The spectral variability below about 4 keV, where the apparent absorption increases as the continuum flux decreases, is probably caused by a warm absorber covering the reprocessing system.

Description: Previous phase-resolved spectropolarimetric observations of the AM Herculis systems V834 Centauri (E1405-451) and EF Eridani have shown broad, Zeeman-shifted absorption features during the bright phases. These features are thought to be nonphotospheric in origin, and to arise from a cool 'halo' of unshocked gas surrounding the accretion shock on the surface of the white dwarf primary. Preliminary models for the accretion halo region are presented and these models are used to perform a more detailed analysis of the relevant data for these two systems than has previously been done. To explain the observed halo Zeeman features, geometries which are consistent with the presence of linearly extended cyclotron emission regions are required. Such regions have previously been deduced from different considerations by other investigators. The estimated masses for the accretion halo are comparable to the mass of the cyclotron emission region.

Description: Multiaperture infrared spectra of the circumnuclear region of the Seyfert galaxy NGC 4151 taken over a 10 year period show that the N = 7-4 B-gamma hydrogen recombination line is variable. The H2 quadrupole line emission shows no sign of variability. It is shown that there is a substantial contribution to the nuclear B-gamma flux from the active nucleus, making it impossible to determine star formation rates from infrared hydrogen recombination lines in active galaxies. The lack of variability in the H2 line fluxes indicates that ionizing photons from the active nucleus is not important in exciting the molecular line emission.

Description: X-ray emission from a sample of five nearby (6-20 pc), strongly magnetic (10-200 MG), relatively cool (6000-14,000 K), single white dwarfs, two of which may possess coronae was explored. One star (GR 290) at better than 99-percent confidence is detected and upper limits from Einstein Observatory IPC data for four others are given. The detected luminosities and limits are in the range 1.4-12.5 x 10 exp 27 ergs/s.

Description: Recent findings, based on both ground-based and satellite measurements, have established that there has been an apparent downward trend in the total column amount of ozone over mid-latitude areas of the Northern Hemisphere in all seasons. Measurements of the altitude profile of the change in the ozone concentration have established that decreases are taking place in the lower stratosphere in the region of highest ozone concentration. Analysis of updated ozone records, through March of 1991, including 29 stations in the former Soviet Union, and analysis of independently calibrated satellite data records from the Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer and Stratospheric Aerosol and Gas Experiment instruments confirm many of the findings originally derived from the Dobson record concerning northern midlatitude changes in ozone. The data from many instruments now provide a fairly consistent picture of the change that has occurred in stratospheric ozone levels.

Description: An obvious candidate for the phenomenon underlying the periodicity in the X-ray emission from the Seyfert galaxy NGC6814 is the orbital motion of a star or low-mass compact object around the central black hole. It is shown here that the presence of an orbiting star could be easily verified by looking for the effects of Lense-Thirring precession of the orbital plane caused by the dragging of inertial frames around a rotating black hole. Precession-induced variations in the waveform and in the phase of the observed periodicity should have a period of between a month and a year. Such variations could account for the different waveforms present in the Ginga and Exosat data set from observations of NGC6814 and may be detectable in existing Ginga and future Rosat, OSSE/BRO, and Astro-D data.

Description: It is shown here that, by using galaxy catalog correlation data as input, measurements of microwave background radiation (MBR) anisotropies should soon be able to test two of the inflationary scenario's most basic predictions: (1) that the primordial density fluctuations produced were scale-invariant and (2) that the universe is flat. They should also be able to detect anisotropies of large-scale structure formed by gravitational evolution of density fluctuations present at the last scattering epoch. Computations of MBR anisotropies corresponding to the minimum of the large-scale variance of the MBR anisotropy are presented which favor an open universe with P(k) significantly different from the Harrison-Zeldovich spectrum predicted by most inflationary models.