Star dust

Infrared astronomy has shown that certain classes of stars are abundant producers of refractory grains, which condense in their atmospheres and are blown into interstellar space by the radiation pressure of these stars. Metallic silicates of the kind that produce terrestrial planets are injected by the oxygen-rich stars and carbon and its refractories by carbon stars. Much of the interstellar dust may be produced by this mechanism. A number of "infrared stars" are completely surrounded by their own dust, and a few of these exhibit a unique morphology that suggests the formation of a planetary system or a stage in the evolution of a planetary nebula. Certain novae also condense grains, which are blown out in their shells. In our own solar system, comets are found to contain the same silicates that are present elsewhere in the galaxy, suggesting that these constituents were present in the primeval solar nebula.     

Probing the faintest stars in a globular star cluster

NGC 6397 is the second closest globular star cluster to the Sun. Using 5 days of time on the Hubble Space Telescope, we have constructed an ultradeep color-magnitude diagram for this cluster. We see a clear truncation in each of its two major stellar sequences. Faint red main-sequence stars run out well above our observational limit and near to the theoretical prediction for the lowest mass stars capable of stable hydrogen burning in their cores. We also see a truncation in the number counts of faint blue stars, namely white dwarfs. This reflects the limit to which the bulk of the white dwarfs can cool over the lifetime of the cluster. There is also a turn toward bluer colors in the least luminous of these objects. This was predicted for the very coolest white dwarfs with hydrogen-rich atmospheres as the formation of H(2) and the resultant collision-induced absorption cause their atmospheres to become largely opaque to infrared radiation.     

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.     

Composition and dynamics of plasma in Saturn's magnetosphere

During Cassini's initial orbit, we observed a dynamic magnetosphere composed primarily of a complex mixture of water-derived atomic and molecular ions. We have identified four distinct regions characterized by differences in both bulk plasma properties and ion composition. Protons are the dominant species outside about 9 RS (where RS is the radial distance from the center of Saturn), whereas inside, the plasma consists primarily of a corotating comet-like mix of water-derived ions with approximately 3% N+. Over the A and B rings, we found an ionosphere in which O2+ and O+ are dominant, which suggests the possible existence of a layer of O2 gas similar to the atmospheres of Europa and Ganymede.     

Discovery of ancient silicate stardust in a meteorite

We have discovered nine presolar silicate grains from the carbonaceous chondrite Acfer 094. Their anomalous oxygen isotopic compositions indicate formation in the atmospheres of evolved stars. Two grains are identified as pyroxene, two as olivine, one as a glass with embedded metal and sulfides (GEMS), and one as an Al-rich silicate. One grain is enriched in 26Mg, which is attributed to the radioactive decay of 26Al and provides information about mixing processes in the parent star. This discovery opens new means for studying stellar processes and conditions in various solar system environments.     

Binary interaction dominates the evolution of massive stars

The presence of a nearby companion alters the evolution of massive stars in binary systems, leading to phenomena such as stellar mergers, x-ray binaries, and gamma-ray bursts. Unambiguous constraints on the fraction of massive stars affected by binary interaction were lacking. We simultaneously measured all relevant binary characteristics in a sample of Galactic massive O stars and quantified the frequency and nature of binary interactions. More than 70% of all massive stars will exchange mass with a companion, leading to a binary merger in one-third of the cases. These numbers greatly exceed previous estimates and imply that binary interaction dominates the evolution of massive stars, with implications for populations of massive stars and their supernovae.     

Polymorphism in presolar Al2O3 grains from asymptotic giant branch stars

We report microstructural and isotopic analyses of two presolar Al2O3 grains. Aluminum oxide is important cosmically, because its presence has been detected in the infrared spectra of the circumstellar envelopes of O-rich asymptotic giant branch stars and because it is predicted to be the first solid to condense in these stellar environments. The two grain structures, one corundum and the other amorphous, confirm that asymptotic giant branch stars produce both phases. The variation in structure and Ti content demonstrates that Al2O3 can condense in the absence of TiO2 seed clusters but that Ti may be important in determining the crystal structure.     

The einstein observatory: new perspectives in astronomy

High-sensitivity x-ray measurements with the recently launched Einstein Observatory are having a major impact on wide areas of astronomical research. The x-ray luminosity of young O, B, and A stars and late K and M stars is found to be several orders of magnitude greater than predicted by current theories of coronal heating. Detailed x-ray images and spectra of supernova remnants are providing new information on the temperature, composition, and distribution of material ejected in supernova explosions as well as of the material comprising the interstellar medium. Observations of galaxies are yielding insights on the formation and evolution of stellar systems and galaxies over a wide range of variables. X-ray time variations are being used to probe the underlying energy source in quasars and active galactic nuclei. The distribution of mass in clusters of galaxies is being traced through detailed x-ray images, and the data are being used to classify clusters and trace their formation and evolution. Substantial progress is being made in several areas of cosmological research, particularly in the study of the diffuse x-ray background.     

Namoratunga: the first archeoastronomical evidence in sub-saharan Africa

Namoratunga, a megalithic site in northwestern Kenya, has an alignment of 19 basalt pillars that are nonrandomly oriented toward certain stars and constellations. The same stars and constellations are used by modern eastern Cushitic peoples to calculate an accurate calendar. The fact that Namoratunga dates to about 300 B.C. suggests that a prehistoric calendar based on detailed astronomical knowledge was in use in eastern Africa.     

Two gamma-ray sources and ancient guest stars

On the basis of the fact that the youngest neutron stars such as the Crab pulsar and the Vela pulsar emit strong gamma-ray radiation, it is suggested that a few gamma-ray sources may be identified with young compact sources formed in the events of guest stars. Two such sources, 2CG 353+16 and 2CG 054+01, are identified with guest stars observed in the 14th century B.C. and A.D. 1230, respectively.     

A radio pulsar spinning at 716 Hz

We have discovered a 716-hertz eclipsing binary radio pulsar in the globular cluster Terzan 5 using the Green Bank Telescope. It is the fastest spinning neutron star found to date, breaking the 24-year record held by the 642-hertz pulsar B1937+21. The difficulty in detecting this pulsar, because of its very low flux density and high eclipse fraction (approximately 40% of the orbit), suggests that even faster spinning neutron stars exist. If the pulsar has a mass less than twice the mass of the Sun, then its radius must be constrained by the spin rate to be <16 kilometers. The short period of this pulsar also constrains models that suggest that gravitational radiation, through an r-mode (Rossby wave) instability, limits the maximum spin frequency of neutron stars.     

High-pressure dissociation of carbonic and boric acids in seawater

The apparent dissociation constants of carbonic and boric acids were determined for pressures up to 654 atmospheres in seawater of 34.8 per mille salinity at 22 degrees C. Our values for the ratios of the apparent dissociation constants at 654 atmospheres to the constants at 1 atmosphere are 1.84 1.48, and 1.94 for K'(1), K'(2), and K'(B), respectively. At this pressure the commonly accepted values of Buch and Gripenberg for these ratios are 2.03 and 1.30 for K'(1) and K'(2), respectively.     

The Elemental Composition of the Corona of Procyon: Evidence for the Absence of the FIP Effect

The chemical composition of the solar corona is not the same as that of the underlying photosphere. In the corona, elements with a first ionization potential (FIP) of /=10 electron volts (for example, oxygen, neon, and sulfur) by factors of 3 to 10 with respect to the photosphere. The origin of this FIP effect is unknown. The launch of the Extreme Ultraviolet Explorer Satellite (EUVE) opened up the spectroscopic capability required to determine elemental abundances in the coronae of other stars. Spectroscopic observations of the corona of the nearby F5 IV star Procyon obtained with EUVE have yielded estimates of the relative abundances of high- and low-FIP species. The results provide evidence that Procyon, unlike the sun, does not exhibit the FIP effect. Whether the sun or Procyon is more typical of the general late-type stellar population is of fundamental interest to the physics of stellar outer atmospheres and has a bearing on the origin of cosmic rays.     

Central object of the 30 doradus nebula, a supermassive star

R136 (HD 38268) is the central object of the 30 Doradus Nebula, a giant region of ionized hydrogen in the Large Magellanic Cloud. Observations of R136 at low and high spectral resolution with the International Ultraviolet Explorer reveal a peculiar hot object with a massive stellar wind. An outflow speed of 3500 kilometers per second and a temperature of approximately 60,000 K are indicated by the spectra. The bulk of the observed ultraviolet radiation must come from R136a, the brightest and bluest component of R136. Its absolute visual magnitude and observed temperature imply a luminosity about 10(8) times that of the sun. Most of the ionizations produced in 30 Doradus are provided by this peculiar object. If RI36a is a dense cluster of very hot stars, about 30 stars of classes O3 and WN3 exist in a region estimated to have a diameter of less than 0.1 parsec. This is inconsistent with the ultraviolet line spectrum and the evidence for optical variability. An alternative interpretation of the observations is that the radiation from R136a is dominated by a single superluminous object with the following approximate properties: luminosity and temperature as given above, a radius 100 times that of the sun, a mass 2500 times that of the sun, and a loss rate of 10(-3.5) solar masses per year. Model interior calculations for hydrogen-burning stars are consistent with these parameters. Such stars, however, are expected to be unstable, and this may account for the massive stellar wind.     

Group B erythrocytes enzymatically converted to group O survive normally in A, B, and O individuals

With an alpha-galactosidase, B erythrocytes can be converted to blood group O under conditions that neither impair their viability in vitro nor affect their ability to survive normally after transfusion to individuals of groups O, A, and B. Such an approach has the potential for producing enzymatically converted group O cells for use in transfusion therapy. It should also be possible to convert A cells to group O by using the appropriate alpha-N-acetylgalactosaminidase.     

The magnetic activity sunlike stars

Sunspots, flares, and the myriad time-varying "events" observable in the Sun-the only star whose surface we can examine in detail-are testimony that the Sun is a magnetically variable or active star. Its magnetic field, carried into interplanetary space by the solar wind, produces observable changes in Earth's magnetosphere and variations in the flux of galactic cosmic-ray particles incident upon Earth's upper atmosphere. Centuries of observation have enabled solar scientists to recognize that the Sun's magnetism exists and varies in a globally organized pattern that is somehow coupled to the Sun's rotation. Within the past decade O. C. Wilson demonstrated that analogs of solar activity exist and can be studied in many other dwarf stars. From the continuing study, knowledge of the precise rates of rotation of the stars under investigation is being gained for the first time. The results are expected to increase our understanding of the origin of solar activity and stellar activity in general.     

Infrared Stars: The interaction between stars and interstellar clouds produces "infrared stars" of two different kinds

Our searches for very cool stars have revealed three kinds of objects: very cool Mira stars, perhaps cooler than any of this type previously known; extremely dense interstellar clouds, more dense than any known heretofore; and, probably, cool circumstellar clouds that may be planetary systems in an early stage of formation.     

Condensation of nonequilibrium phases of refractory silicates from the vapor

Silicon monoxide solid was evaporated in a bell jar containing reducing, neutral, or oxidizing atmospheres at pressures of a few torr. The vapor invariably condensed as smoke-sized particles of silicon sesquioxide, Si(2)O(3). The condensation of a solid whose composition differs from that of the parent gas and is apparently the least stable of the three solid species illustrates the importance of specific nucleation effects in the condensation process. This result has significant implications for theories of formation of grains in space.     

Kepler-16: a transiting circumbinary planet

We report the detection of a planet whose orbit surrounds a pair of low-mass stars. Data from the Kepler spacecraft reveal transits of the planet across both stars, in addition to the mutual eclipses of the stars, giving precise constraints on the absolute dimensions of all three bodies. The planet is comparable to Saturn in mass and size and is on a nearly circular 229-day orbit around its two parent stars. The eclipsing stars are 20 and 69% as massive as the Sun and have an eccentric 41-day orbit. The motions of all three bodies are confined to within 0.5° of a single plane, suggesting that the planet formed within a circumbinary disk.