High energy phenomena in eta carinae

We have investigated with BeppoSAX the long term behaviour of the harder X-ray component of the supposed supermassive binary system η Car along its 5.52 year cycle. We have found that in March 1998 during egress from the last December 1997 eclipse, this component was the same as outside eclipse, but for a large (×3.5) increase of NH _h , that can be attributed to the presence or formation of opaque matter in front of the source near periastron. Unexpectedly, at that time the iron 6.7 keV emission line was 40% stronger. BeppoSAX has for the first time found ahard X-ray tail extending to at least 50 keV, that cannot be adequately fitted with an additional hotter thermal component. The 2–100 keV spectrum of η Car is instead well fitted with an absorbed powerlaw spectrum with photon index 2.53, suggesting non-thermal emission as an alternative model for the core source.     

The standard theory of extinction and the spectrum of stars with very little reddening

This paper examines the relationship between spectra of stars of same spectral type with extremely low reddenings. According to the standard theory, the relationship between the spectrum of stars with same spectral type and small, but different reddenings should be different in the optical and in the UV. This difference is not observed: the ratio of the spectra of two stars in directions where the reddening is large enough to be detected and low enough not to give a noticeable 2200 Å bump is an exponential of 1/λ from the near-infrared to the far-UV. This result is in conformity with the ideas introduced in preceding papers: the exponential optical extinction extends to the UV, and the spectrum of stars with enough reddening is contaminated by light scattered at close angular distance from the stars. An application will be the determination of the spectrum of a non-reddened star from the spectrum of a star of same spectral type with little reddening.     

CARBON DYNAMICS OF WETLAND IN THE SANJIANG PLAIN

1INTRODUCTIONWetlandsplayanimportant roleintheprocessofcar-bonstorage.Thetotalcarbonstoredindifferentkindsofwetlandsisabout15%-35%ofthetotalcarboninthegloballandsoils(POSTetal.,1982;GORHAM,1991).Inaddition,wetlandsaresignificantnaturalsources fortheatmospheric CH4 (MOORE,1994).It isestimatedthatabout110×1012gCH4 originates fromanaerobicdecompositioninthenaturalwetlands,CH4 emission fromthenaturalwetlandsis15%-30%oftheglobalCH4 emission andtheCH4 emission from thepeat land at hi…     

The characteristics of Asian dust events in Northeast Asia during the springtime from 1993 to 2004

The characteristics of Asian dust events that occurred in Northeast Asia during the springtime from 1993 to 2004 are investigated using 3-hourly SYNOP reports (World Meteorological Organization). Occurrences of blowing sand and dust storm are low in 1997 and 1999, but have increased rapidly since 2000. The maximum occurrence was recorded in 2002. Wind velocity of 6.5 m s^− 1 as a threshold wind velocity is not so exactly consistent with the occurrence of blowing sand. However, wind velocity of 14 m s^− 1 as a strong wind causing dust storm had similar tendency to those of dust storm and Dust Storm Index.Source regions of Asian dust are divided into three regions (A: dry arid, B: semi-arid, and C: cultivated), based upon the occurrence of blowing sand and dust storm. Eight meteorological stations are selected in three regions, which have frequent occurrences of blowing sand. Source regions of Asian dust that affect the Korean peninsula are gradually extending eastward. Positive anomalies of NDVI occurred in 1994, 1995, and 1998 when temperature was high and precipitation was heavy. However, the frequent occurrence of the dust phenomena is not always consistent with lots of vegetation, high temperature, and much precipitation in this study.     

SDSS J143030.22-001115.1： A Misclassified Narrow-line Seyfert 1 Galaxy with Flat X-ray Spectrum

We used multi-component profiles to model the Hβ and [OⅢ]λλ4959,5007 lines of SDSS J143030.22-001115.1, a narrow-line Seyfert 1 galaxy (NLS1) in a sample of 150 NLS1 candidates selected from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS), Early Data Release (EDR). After subtracting the Hβ contribution from narrow line regions (NLRs), we found that its full width half maximum (FWHM) of broad Hβ line is nearly 2900km s~(-1) , significantly larger than the customarily adopted criterion of 2000 km s~(-1) . With its weak Fe Ⅱ multiples, we believe that SDSS J143030.22-001115.1 should not be classified as a genuine NLS1. When we calculate the virial black hole masses of NLS1s, we should use the Hβ linewidth after subtracting the NLR component.     

First results from the Gauribidanur Radio heliograph

Observations of the Sun at two frequencies (51 and 77 MHz) using the East-West arm of the Gauribidanur Radio heliograph are presented.     

Surface Photometry of Comet Hale-Bopp Carbon Images

A very long series of photographic observations of the comet Hale-Bopp has been made during January–April 1997 at the double astrograph (400/2000) of the Main Astronomical Observatory (Kyiv, Ukraine). Some of the cometary photos were obtained with two wide-band filter combinations. One of these combinations isolates C₂ emission, another — the nearby dust continuum. The images were digitized by means of AMDPH-XY machine and then calibrated following the standard procedure. After subtraction of the dust continuum the distribution of surface brightness in the C₂ emission coma of comet Hale-Bopp was studied. We found an asymmetric brightness distribution both pre- and post-perihelion. On 21.77 April 1997 a secondary brightness peak is found at the distance of 1.03 × 10⁵ km from the nucleus. It is possible that this peak is related to the extended source of the C₂ molecules. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

An Early Investigation Of The Striated Tail Of Comet Hale-Bopp (C/1995 O1)

The Sekanina-Farrell particle fragmentation model for the striated tails of dust comets is successfully applied to two images of comet Hale-Bopp to study the motions of 12 striae in a time span of March 12–15, 1997. There is evidence for recurring outbursts with a periodicity of 11^h21^m, consistent with results based on analysis of dust jets. The ejecta in all the striae appear to have been released from one source on the nucleus between the end of January and the second half of February 1997, some 60 to 40 days before perihelion. The parent particles were subjected to a radiation pressure acceleration of β_p ≃ 0.55 and their fragmentation lifetimes in 11 of the 12 striae were practically constant and equal to 13–15 days, when normalized to 1 AU from the Sun. Brief analysis of Watanabe et al.'s measurements of striae on their images from March 5–9, 1997 shows even shorter fragmentation lifetimes for the parent particles, mostly about 7–11 days at1 AU. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Emission-line outflows in PKS1549−79: the effects of the early stages of radio-source evolution?

We present new spectroscopic observations of the southern radio galaxy         . Despite the flat-spectrum character of the radio emission from this source, our optical spectra show no sign of the broad permitted lines and non-stellar continuum characteristic of quasar nuclei and broad-line radio galaxies. However, the high-ionization forbidden lines, including [O  iii ] λλ 5007, 4959, are unusually broad for a narrow-line radio galaxy     , and are blueshifted by 600 km s⁻¹ relative to the low-ionization lines such as [O  ii ] λλ 3726,3729. The [O  ii ] lines are also considerably narrower     than the [O  iii ] lines, and have a redshift consistent with that of the recently detected H  i 21-cm absorption-line system. Whereas the kinematics of the [O  iii ] emission lines are consistent with outflow in an inner narrow-line region, the properties of the [O  ii ] emission lines suggest that they are emitted by a more extended and quiescent gaseous component. We argue that, given the radio properties of the source, our line of sight is likely to be lying close to the direction of bulk outflow of the radio jets. In this case it is probable that the quasar nucleus is entirely obscured at optical wavelengths by the material responsible for the H  i absorption-line system. The unusually broad [O  iii ] emission lines suggest that the radio source is intrinsically compact. Overall, our data are consistent the idea that     is a radio source in an early stage of evolution.