TELESCOPES: Astronomers Overcome 'Aperture Envy'

Many users of small telescopes are disturbed by the trend of shutting down smaller instruments in order to help fund bigger and bolder ground-based telescopes. Small telescopes can thrive in the shadow of giant new observatories, they say--but only if they are adapted to specialized projects. Telescopes with apertures of 2 meters or less have unique abilities to monitor broad swaths of the sky and stare at the same objects night after night, sometimes for years; various teams are turning small telescopes into robots, creating networks that span the globe and devoting them to survey projects that big telescopes don't have a prayer of tackling.     

Very long baseline interferometric observations made with an orbiting radio telescope

An orbiting spacecraft and ground observatories have been used to obtain interferometric observations of cosmic radio sources. The Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System (TDRSS) was used as the orbiting observatory in conjunction with two 64- meter radio telescopes at ground observatories, one in Australia and one in Japan. The quasars 1730-130 (NRAO 530), 1510-089, and 1741-038 were observed at a frequency of 2.3 gigahertz, and a maximum projected baseline of 1.4 earth diameters was achieved. All quasar observations for which valid data were acquired resulted in detected fringes. Many of the techniques proposed for a dedicated very long baseline interferometry observatory in space were used successfully in this experiment.     

A cosmic double helix in the archetypical quasar 3C273

Finding direct evidence for plasma instability in extragalactic jets is crucial for understanding the nature of relativistic outflows from active galactic nuclei. Our radio interferometric observations of the quasar 3C273 made with the orbiting radio telescope, HALCA, and an array of ground telescopes have yielded an image in which the emission across the jet is resolved, revealing two threadlike patterns that form a double helix inside the jet. This double helical structure is consistent with a Kelvin-Helmholtz instability, and at least five different instability modes can be identified and modeled by a light jet with a Lorentz factor of 2 and Mach number of 3.5. The model reproduces in detail the internal structure of the jet on scales of up to 30 milli-arc seconds ( approximately 300 parsecs) and is consistent with the general morphology of the jet on scales of up to 1 kiloparsec.     

Venus winds are zonal and retrograde below the clouds

Winds in the lower atmosphere of Venus, inferred from three-dimensional radio interferometric tracking of the descents of the Pioneer day and north probes, are predominantly easterly with speeds of about 1 meter per second near the surface, 50 meters per second at the bottom of the clouds, and more than 200 meters per second within the densest, middle cloud layer. Between about 25 and 55 kilometers altitude the average flow was slanted equatorward, with superimposed wavelike motions and alternating layers of high and low shear.     

Transcontinental baselines and the rotation of the Earth measured by radio interferometry

Nine separate very-long-baseline interferometry (VLBI) experiments, carried out in 1972 and 1973 with radio telescopes 3900 kilometers apart, yielded values for the baseline length with a root-mean-square deviation about the mean of less than 20 centitneters. The corresponding fractional spread is about five parts in 10(8). Changes in universal time and in polar motion were also detertnined accurately from these data; the root-mean-square scatter of these results with respect to those based on optical methods were 2.9 milliseconds and 1.3 meters, respectively. Solid-earth tides were apparently detected, but no useful estimate of their amplituide was extracted.     

Generation of megawatt optical solitons in hollow-core photonic band-gap fibers

The measured dispersion of a low-loss, hollow-core photonic band-gap fiber is anomalous throughout most of the transmission band, and its variation with wavelength is large compared with that of a conventional step-index fiber. For an air-filled fiber, femtosecond self-frequency--shifted fundamental solitons with peak powers greater than 2megawatts can be supported. For Xe-filled fibers, nonfrequency-shifted temporal solitons with peak powers greater than 5.5 megawatts can be generated, representing an increase in the power that can be propagated in an optical fiber of two orders of magnitude. The results demonstrate a unique capability to deliver high-power pulses in a single spatial mode over distances exceeding 200 meters.     

Active optics, adaptive optics, and laser guide stars

Optical astronomy is crucial to our understanding of the universe, but the capabilities of ground-based telescopes are severely limited by the effects of telescope errors and of the atmosphere on the passage of light. Recently, it has become possible to construct inbuilt corrective devices that can compensate for both types of degradations as observations are conducted. For full use of the newly emerged class of 8-meter telescopes, such active corrective capabilities, known as active and adaptive optics, are essential. Some physical limitations in the adaptive optics field can be overcome by artificially created reference stars, called laser guide stars. These new technologies have lately been applied with success to some medium and very large telescopes.     

Morphological identification of serotonin-accumulating neurons in the living retina

Neurons that accumulate the transmitter serotonin have been identified in the living retina by being labeled with 5,7-dihydroxytryptamine (5,7-HT), an autofluorescent serotonin analog. Iontophoretic injection of Lucifer yellow into the labeled cells under microscopic control revealed that the serotonin-accumulating neurons in rabbit retina constitute two morphological types of amacrine cells, termed S1 and S2, whose distal dendrites are stratified at the inner margin of the inner plexiform layer. The dendritic overlap of the S1 type is extraordinarily large: each point on the retina is covered by the fields of 550 to 900 S1 amacrines, and 6 to 8 meters of their dendrites are packed into each square millimeter of retina. Such a pervasive neuropil may provide an effective substrate for diffuse transmitter release, as proposed for serotonergic fibers elsewhere in the central nervous system.     

Somatovisceral pathway: rapidly conducting fibers in the spinal cord

Fibers that respond to distension of hollow viscera and to mechanical stimulation of somatic structures were found primarily near the ventromedian fissure of the upper lumbar spinal cord. These fibers could be directly excited by electrical stimulation at C(1). The average conduction velocity for these fibers was 68.6 meters per second.     

Laser ranging retro-reflector: continuing measurements and expected results

After successful acquisition in August of reflected ruby laser pulses from the Apollo 11 laser ranging retro-reflector (LRRR) with the telescopes at the Lick and McDonald observatories, repeated measurements of the round-trip travel time of light have been made from the McDonald Observatory in September with an equivalent range precision of +/-2.5 meters. These acquisition period observations demonstrated the performance of the LRRR through lunar night and during sunlit conditions on the moon. Instrumentation activated at the McDonald Observatory in October has yielded a precision of +/-0.3 meter, and improvement to +/-0.15 meter is expected shortly. Continued monitoring of the changes in the earth-moon distance as measured by the round-trip travel time of light from suitably distributed earth stations is expected to contribute to our knowledge of the earth-moon system.     

Giant Muscle Fibers in a Barnacle, Balanus nubilus Darwin

Cross-striated muscle fibers of very large size have been found in the scutal-tergal adductor and depressor muscles of the large barnacle B. nubilus. Adductor muscle fibers are up to 2 mm thick. They are innervated by separate nerves, each supplying one end, but not the central region, with terminals; each fiber receives two or three excitor axons. Depressor muscle fibers are up to 1.4 mm thick and receive multiterminal innervation along their entire length; they are innervated by two excitor axons. Postsynaptic potentials are of small or large size and lead to small or large twitches; they do not show facilitation. The muscle fibers shorten to as little as one-sixth resting length.     

High-speed lightwave transmission in optical fibers

There has been considerable progress in the telecommunications technology based on the transmission of lightwaves through optical fibers. Systems experiments in the 1.55-micrometer band have now demonstrated the capability of transmitting at rates as high as 2 gigabits per second over fiber lengths exceeding 100 kilometers, without the use of repeaters to boost the signal. Elements of this progress are advances in the fabrication of low-loss single-mode fibers, in the spectral control of semiconductor junction lasers assuring single-frequency operation, and in high-speed detectors and receivers.     

Frequencies of occultations of stars by planets, satellites, and asteroids

Calculations show that several occultations of stars by the large satellites of the outer planets, Pluto, and the large asteroids could be observed each decade with existing equipment at Earth-based telescopes. A systematic program of occultation predictions and observations is urged in order to improve our knowledge about the atmospheres, sizes, shapes, topography, and positions of these poorly understood bodies, in support of forthcoming spacecraft missions to the outer solar system.     

New Instruments Shed Light On Astronomy's Future

KONA, HAWAII-The snowy 14,000-foot summit of Mauna Kea, with its bevy of powerful telescopes including the just-completed Keck, provided an appropriate backdrop for a recent ocean-side gathering of astronomers and engineers to discuss "Astronomical Telescopes and Instrumentation for the 21st Century." Last month's meeting was organized by the Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers, and included a status report on liquid mirror telescopes, discussion of a space observatory that may make optical and x-ray astronomers best friends, and a modest proposal to cover the globe with a network of small, automated telescopes.     

Astrophysics from the moon

The surface of the moon would be an excellent location for astronomical telescopes, and, if a lunar base were to be established, the construction and maintenance of instruments would become feasible. The prospects are reviewed, with particular attention given to large optical aperturesynthesis instruments analogous to the Very Large Array of the National Radio Astronomy Observatory. Typical parameters for a particular system are presented.     

Adaptive optics revisited

From the earliest days and nights of telescopic astronomy, atmospheric turbulence has been a serious detriment to optical performance. The new technology of adaptive optics can overcome this problem by compensating for the wavefront distortion that results from turbulence. The result will be large gains in resolving power and limiting magnitude, closely approaching the theoretical limit. In other words, telescopic images will be very significantly sharpened. Rapid and accelerating progress is being made today by several groups. Adaptive optics, together with the closely related technology of active optics, seems certain to be utilized in large astronomical telescopes of the future. This may entail significant changes in telescope design.     

Origins

The farthest of the galaxies that can be seen through the large ground-based telescopes of modern astronomy, such as those on La Palma in the Canary Islands, are so far away that they appear as they did close to the time of the origin of the universe, perhaps some 10 billion years ago. Much has been learned, and much has still to be learned, about the young universe from optical and radio telescopes, but these instruments cannot be used to look directly at the universe in its first few hundred thousand years. Instead, they are used to search the relatively recent past for relics of much earlier times. Together with experiments planned for the next generation of elementary particle accelerators, astronomical observations should continue to extend what is known about the universe backward in time to the Big Bang and may eventually help to reveal the origins of the physical laws that govern the universe.     

双边带相干辐射计原理及仿真试验

介绍了相干辐射计的工作原理,指出了单边带相干辐射计系统的不足,提出了双边带相干辐射计方案,证明了该方案在微波辐射相关测量中的有用性,得出其系统增益要求、灵敏度、探测距离等性能优于单边带系统的有用结论,并对双边带与单边带相干辐射计做了仿真试验对比,验证了以上结论。     

KM森林防火阻燃剂专用喷洒设备的研制

KM森林防火阻燃剂喷洒设备是专门针对KM森林防火阻燃剂在野外大面积喷洒的需求而研制的,具有效率高、节约药品和可操作性强等特点。该设备可用于草原、林边草地的阻燃剂喷洒,采用10个微喷头,喷头高度和间距均可调,喷幅宽度2m,最大载药量1t。     

A kuroko-type polymetallic sulfide deposit in a submarine silicic caldera

Manned submersible studies have delineated a large and actively growing Kuroko-type volcanogenic massive sulfide deposit 400 kilometers south of Tokyo in Myojin Knoll submarine caldera. The sulfide body is located on the caldera floor at a depth of 1210 to 1360 meters, has an area of 400 by 400 by 30 meters, and is notably rich in gold and silver. The discovery of a large Kuroko-type polymetallic sulfide deposit in this arc-front caldera raises the possibility that the numerous unexplored submarine silicic calderas elsewhere might have similar deposits.