Magnetic remanence in the Murchison meteorite

Abstract— The Murchison meteorite is a carbonaceous chondrite containing a small amount of chondrules, various inclusions, and matrix with occasional porphyroblasts of olivine and/or pyroxene. It also contains amino acids that may have served as the necessary components for the origin of life. Magnetic analyses of Murchison identify an ultrasoft magnetic component due to superparamagnetism as a significant part of the magnetic remanence. The rest of the remanence may be due to electric discharge in the form of lightning bolts that may have formed the amino acids. The level of magnetic remanence does not support this possibility and points to a minimum ambient field of the remanence acquisition. We support our observation by showing that normalized mineral magnetic acquisition properties establish a calibration curve suitable for rough paleofield determination. When using this approach, 1–2% of the natural remanence left in terrestrial rocks with TRM and/or CRM determines the geomagnetic field intensity irrespective of grain size or type of magnetic mineral (with the exception of hematite). The same method is applied to the Murchison meteorite where the measured meteorite remanence determines the paleofield minimum intensity of 200–2000 nT during and/or after the formation of the parent body.     

Origin of chaos in the Prometheus-Pandora system

We demonstrate that the chaotic orbits of Prometheus and Pandora are due to interactions associated with the 121:118 mean motion resonance. Differential precession splits this resonance into a quartet of components equally spaced in frequency. Libration widths of the individual components exceed the splitting, resulting in resonance overlap which causes the chaos. Mean motions of Prometheus and Pandora wander chaotically in zones of width 1.8 and 3.1 deg yr⁻¹, respectively. A model with 1.5 degrees of freedom captures the essential features of the chaotic dynamics. We use it to show that the Lyapunov exponent of 0.3 yr⁻¹ arises because the critical argument of the dominant member of the resonant quartet makes approximately two separatrix crossings every 6.2 year precessional cycle.     

Laboratory studies of the interaction of carbon monoxide with water ice

The interaction of carbon monoxide (CO) with vapour-deposited water(H₂O) ices has been studied using temperature programmed desorption (TPD) and Fourier transform reflection-absorption infrared spectroscopy (FT-RAIRS) over a range of astrophysically relevant temperatures. Such measurements have shown that CO desorption from amorphous H₂Oices is a much more complex process than current astrochemical models suggest. Re-visiting previously reported laboratory experiments (Collings et al., 2003), a rate model has been constructed to explain, in a phenomenological manner, the desorption of CO over astronomically relevant time scales. The model presented here can be widely applied to a range of astronomical environments where depletion of CO from the gas phase is relevant. The model accounts for the two competing processes of CO desorption and migration, and also enables the entrapment of some of the CO in the ice matrix and its subsequent release as the water ice crystallises and then desorbs. The astronomical implications of this model are discussed. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Resonant and Secular Families of the Kuiper Belt

We review ongoing efforts to identify occupants of mean-motion resonances(MMRs) and collisional families in the Edgeworth–Kuiper belt. Directintegrations of trajectories of Kuiper belt objects (KBOs) reveal the 1:1(Trojan), 5:4, 4:3, 3:2 (Plutino), 5:3, 7:4, 9:5, 2:1 (Twotino), and 5:2 MMRsto be inhabited. Apart from the Trojan, resonant KBOs typically have largeorbital eccentricities and inclinations. The observed pattern of resonanceoccupation is consistent with resonant capture and adiabatic excitation bya migratory Neptune; however, the dynamically cold initial conditions priorto resonance sweeping that are typically assumed by migration simulationsare probably inadequate. Given the dynamically hot residents of the 5:2 MMRand the substantial inclinations observed in all exterior MMRs, a fraction ofthe primordial belt was likely dynamically pre-heated prior to resonancesweeping. A pre-heated population may have arisen as Neptune gravitationallyscattered objects into trans-Neptunian space. The spatial distribution of Twotinosoffers a unique diagnostic of Neptune's migration history. The Neptunian Trojanpopulation may rival the Jovian Trojan population, and the former's existence isargued to rule out violent orbital histories for Neptune. Finally, lowest-order seculartheory is applied to several hundred non-resonant KBOs with well-measured orbitsto update proposals of collisional families. No convincing family is detected.     

Descriptors of impulsive signal levels commonly used in underwateracoustics

Impulsive acoustic waveforms are characterized by a different set of derived quantities than are continuous waveforms. This note presents commonly accepted definitions, units, and symbols used to describe the magnitude of impulsive underwater signals     

Observation and preliminary analysis of a recent Jovian satellite phenomenon

The occultation of Io by Ganymede as observed on 10 June 1985 is reported. The middle of the occultation minimum was found to occur at 14h 14m 5.7s UT. In the plane perpendicular to the line of sight the centres of the two satellite disks passed to within ~ 2530 km of each other, at a relative velocity, in this plane, of about 11 kms^–1. The values of these last two quantities, however, depend on what assumptions are made about the light distribution over io's disk.     

Type II bursts of different subclasses associated to transients and mass ejection in the higher corona

The list of mass ejections published in Solar Geophysical Data during the period of Jan. 1981 to Oct. 1987 contains about 1300 Surges, Sprays and Type II bursts. The relationship between the mass ejection events and the shock front events is investigated by means of correlation of time and position. The result shows that type II bursts start as frequently after the mass ejections as prior to them.     

Flows in clumpy planetary nebulae

The dynamics of clumps observed in planetary nebulae are considered. The possibility that SiO maser spots in evolved stars and the planetary nebula clumps are formed by the Parker instability behind shocks in pulsating stars' atmospheres is raised. Molecular observations of the clumps are suggested. The effects of the ablation of clumps on the global flow structure of a more tenuous plasma in which they are embedded are reviewed.