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Universe
The sum of everything that exists and of which we can be
aware; the entirety of space. There is a semantic difficulty
in talking about the universe; on the one hand, we define
it to be ‘everything’, but it may be (a) that our universe is
finite, yet unbounded; (b) that the accessible universe is
only a small part of a much larger entity, most of which
we cannot observe; or (c) that there exist other universes
of which we are not ‘aware’.
See also: astrometry, astronomy, astrophysics.
GRAVITATIONAL INSTABILITY
INFLATION
VIRIALIZATION
GAS DYNAMICS
DISSIPATIVE
RADIATIVE COOLING
FEEDBACK PROCESSES
supernovae, stellar winds
STAR FORMATION
Figure 1. The ingredients of the standard model for the formation of galaxies and cosmological structure.
Cosmological structure formation COSMOLOGICAL CONSTANT, 0 , and the identity of the dark
CDM
SCDM
CDM
OCDM
Figure 2. The formation of structure in N -body simulations of representative cosmological volumes of the universe. The intensity of
the shading indicates the density of cold dark matter. Each row shows results from different versions of the cold dark matter model.
The top row is a flat universe with 0 = 0.3 and a cosmological constant; the middle two rows are 0 = 1 universes, with different
power spectra; the bottom row is an open universe with 0 = 0.4. The images, from left to right, show the evolution of structure in
each model as a function of redshift. The present day corresponds to z = 0 while z = 3 corresponds to the epoch when the universe
was approximately 15% of its current age. (Courtesy of the VIRGO Consortium for Cosmological N -body Simulations.)
subsequent gravitational evolution are well understood. the N-body technique, which has been very successfully
Yet formulating an ab initio theory of galaxy formation applied to modeling the evolution of collisionless dark
and evolution over 10 billion years of cosmic history matter. Using various computationally efficient methods,
remains a tall order. The main stumbling block is our the computer solves the coupled equations of motion
poor understanding of the behavior of cosmic gas— of N particles, interacting only through gravity, in the
most probably a complex, dynamic, multiphase medium, expanding universe. Progress over the past two decades
of the physics of star formation, and of the feedback has been driven mainly by dramatic improvements in
between the two mediated by winds from massive stars the speed and memory of computers. By way of
and supernovae explosions. The best way to address illustration, the early simulations of the cold dark matter
these issues is through extensive computer simulation and cosmogony in 1985 employed 32 768 particles. In 1999,
modeling. the largest simulations performed on massively parallel
The basis for present-day cosmological simulations is supercomputers (using essentially the same algorithms as
Figure 3. A high-resolution simulation of the formation of a single dark matter halo in a cold dark matter universe. The brighter colors
indicate higher densities of dark matter. The sequence shows a series of snapshots of the evolution of the halo, at the redshifts
indicated in the legend. The present-day halo displays a significant amount of substructure within its virial radius. (Courtesy of Ben
Moore, Joachim Stadel, Tom Quinn and George Lake.) This figure is reproduced as Color Plate 69.
those of the 1980s) can follow the evolution of 109 particles. cold dark matter model, differing only in the values of the
cosmological parameters, and . At the present day, the
Snapshots from simulations of representative, cosmo- dark matter is arranged in a complex network of voids, fil-
logical volumes are displayed in figure 2. This figure il- aments and super-clusters (dubbed the ‘Cosmic Web’ by
lustrates the evolution of structure in four versions of the Bond, Kofman and Pogosyan). It is similar in all the sim-
Figure 5. The evolution of clustering in the dark matter and galaxies. The left-hand panel shows an N -body simulation of a flat,
low-density, cold dark matter universe with a cosmological constant, in a cube of comoving side 141h−1 Mpc, at z = 3. The right-hand
panel shows the same simulation evolved to the present day. The gray scale indicates the density of the dark matter. Dark matter
haloes in the simulation have been ‘populated’ with galaxies using a semi-analytic model of galaxy formation. The color of each spot
reflects the color of each model galaxy, which is sensitive to the star formation rate. The size of the spot increases with the absolute
luminosity of the galaxy. The inset shows the development of a cluster of galaxies. (Courtesy of Andrew Benson, Shaun Cole, CSF,
CMB and Cedric Lacey.) This figure is reproduced as Color Plates 70 and 71.
evolution punctuated by major merging events that are most of the star formation activity, and the associated
accompanied by intense bursts of star formation and production of chemical elements, over the entire lifetime
which trigger the transformation of disks into spheroids. of the universe.
Galaxy formation stutters into action around z ∼ 5. Only a A second important prediction of the cold dark matter
tiny fraction of the stars present today would have formed theory concerns the clustering properties of galaxies at
prior to that time. By z ∼ 3, the epoch when galaxies high redshift. At the heart of the hierarchical clustering
isolated by the ‘Lyman-break’ technique1 are observed, process lies the fact that galaxies tend to form first near
galaxy formation has started in earnest, even though only high peaks of the density field because these are the
10 per cent of the final population of stars has emerged. first to collapse at any given epoch. This predilection
The midway point is not reached until about a redshift for high-density regions is known as ‘biased galaxy
of 1–1.5, when the universe was approximately half of formation’ (a term introduced by M Davis in 1985),
its present age. These theoretical predictions are shown because the distribution of galaxies offers a biased view
in figure 4. Observationally, the star formation rate per of the underlying distribution of mass. An important
unit volume can be inferred from the density of ultraviolet consequence of biased galaxy formation is that bright
radiation, which is a measure of the number of high-mass, galaxies tend to be born in a highly clustered state and
short-lived stars. Estimates of the star formation density remain so for long periods of time. The process of biased
based on data taken by ground-based telescopes and by the galaxy formation is illustrated in figure 5. The left-hand
Hubble Space Telescope are shown as the points in figure 4. panel shows a snapshot of an N-body simulation of a
The major uncertainty in the interpretation of these data cold dark matter universe at z = 3, whilst the right-hand
is the obscuring effect of dust, a modest amount of which panel shows the same simulation evolved to the present.
has been allowed for in the models. But unless this effect The semi-analytic model of galaxy formation has been
turns out to be much stronger than anticipated, the theory implemented in the dark matter haloes identified in the
and data in figure 4 suggest that we have now tracked simulation at each redshift, in order to populate them with
1 galaxies. Galaxies that are bright enough to be detected
The so-called ‘Lyman-break’ galaxies are detected in passbands
at z = 3 may be seen to form at the locations where the
above the redshifted Lyman-limit at 912 Å and undetected in
passbands below this limit; the strength of the Lyman-limit break dark matter density (depicted by the gray scale) is highest.
is enhanced by absorption due to cold gas in the galaxy and in Observational confirmation of this clustering prediction
clouds along the line of sight. came with the discovery that the population of galaxies at
Bibliography
A pedagogical discussion (at an advanced level) of the
physics of structure formation in the expanding universe
Big Bang nucleosynthesis occurred rapidly and at low excess of electrons over positrons preserved the few elec-
density (around 10−2 g cm−3 ), while the rest of the elements trons per ten billion photons required to balance the charge
were cooked more slowly and at higher density (around of the protons. The electron–positron annihilations raised
102 g cm−3 or higher) in stars and stellar explosions. This the number of photons in the universe by a factor of 11/4
explains the great differences in the nuclear yields of and heated the photons slightly relative to the neutrinos;
the Big Bang and stellar nucleosynthesis. In particular, thereafter Tν = (4/11)1/3 T .
Coulomb barriers and the lack of stable nuclides of mass The radiation era ended when the universe was
5 and 8 prevented BBN from producing elements beyond around 40 000 years old and the temperature was about
7
Li. 10 000 K. At this epoch, called matter-radiation equality,
Big Bang nucleosynthesis provides the earliest test of the energy density contributed by matter (both baryons
the standard cosmology as well as a probe of conditions in and exotic dark matter, more below) and that by relativistic
the early universe. The fact that the pattern of abundances particles (photons and three neutrino species) were equal.
seen in the most primitive samples of the cosmos is Thereafter, the matter density would exceed that of
consistent with its predictions is one of the experimental relativistic particles, growing in proportion to the linear
cornerstones of the standard cosmology. Further, the exact size of the universe. (The matter density decreases as
yields of the light elements, most especially deuterium, 1/R(t)3 due to the volume dilution effect of the expansion;
depend upon the baryon mass density; from recent the energy density of the CMBR decreases as 1/R(t)4 , with
measurements of the primeval deuterium abundance in the extra factor of 1/R arising because photon energies are
high-redshift clouds of largely unprocessed hydrogen, we redshifted with the expansion.) Today, the energy density
can infer that ordinary matter (i.e. matter comprised of of matter is about a factor of 4000 times larger than that of
neutrons and protons) today contributes between about the energy density of photons and neutrinos.
4% and 6% of the critical density. (The average density of The dawning of the matter era marked the beginning
the universe determines its curvature: a critical-density of the formation of large-scale structure in the universe
universe is spatially flat; a subcritical-density universe (see also UNIVERSE: SIMULATIONS OF STRUCTURE AND GALAXY
is open or negatively curved and a supercritical-density FORMATION). The small inhomogeneities in the distribution
universe is closed or positively curved.) Because BBN of the exotic matter that existed (spatial variations in the
‘weighs’ all the ordinary matter at a simpler time, it mass density at the level of about one part in 105 ) began
provides the most accurate determination of the amount growing through the attractive force of gravity; prior to
of ordinary matter. Today, baryons exist in many forms— matter–radiation equality the universe was expanding too
bright stars, faint stars including white dwarfs and black fast for this to occur. Their tight coupling to photons
holes, clouds of cold gas and of hot gas, and dust—and prevented baryons from participating in this growth.
are more difficult to inventory. Thus far, only about one- Shortly after the radiation era ended, at a time of
third of the BBN-determined baryon abundance has been around 400 000 years and a temperature of around 3000 K,
directly accounted for. two related and very significant events involving the
Light-element production also depends upon the radiation took place. The first was the transition from
ambient conditions in the universe, and Big Bang ionized matter to neutral matter (called ‘recombination’,
nucleosynthesis can thus also be used as a probe of which is paradoxical since neutral matter had not
the particle soup that existed then. For example, the previously existed). As the temperature dropped below
existence of an additional neutrino species beyond the tau 3000 K neutral matter became thermodynamical favored,
neutrino would have led to additional 4 He production, in and all but a few ions combined with the free electrons
contradiction to the observations. This argument against to form neutral atoms (a residual ionization fraction
the existence of another neutrino species was put forth of around 10−4 persisted thereafter because ions and
in the 1980s by David SCHRAMM and his collaborators and electrons became too rare to find one another to combine
was confirmed by experiments at particle accelerators in to form atoms). When the universe became neutral, its
the 1990s. opacity dropped precipitously (free electrons efficiently
Two other important thermodynamical events took scatter light, neutral atoms do not), and matter and
place during Big Bang nucleosynthesis. At a tempera- radiation decoupled. Photons streamed freely and have
ture of around 1010 K neutrinos and antineutrinos (all three not scattered since; this important event is referred to
species) ceased interacting with electron–positron pairs as last scattering. Once baryons decoupled, they were
and decoupled from the electromagnetic plasma. There- rapidly pulled into the cosmic structures being formed by
after, they evolved independently of the rest of the uni- the gravity of the exotic dark matter.
verse, interacting only through gravity. Neutrino decou- The black-body character of the radiation, established
pling occurred because the decreasing particle energies by the hot, dense conditions in the early universe, was
and densities made neutrino interactions with other par- preserved by the expansion of the universe (the deep
ticles increasingly infrequent. When the temperature was mathematical reason involves the conformal invariance
around 109 K, essentially all of the electrons and positrons of Maxwell’s equations and the conformal nature of the
disappeared as pairs destroyed by annihilations were no expansion), albeit with a decreasing temperature, T ∝
longer replenished by thermal pair creation. The slight 1/R(t)). Today, this black-body radiation, which at last
scattering resembled the light emitted by the Sun today, in the universe, and the origin of the primeval density
has been redshifted to the microwave part of the spectrum. inhomogeneities. The second motivation is the possibility
In 1996, the far infrared absolute spectrophotometer that the early universe can be used to probe fundamental
(FIRAS) instrument on the Cosmic Background Explorer physics more deeply than particle accelerators and other
(COBE) satellite made the most precise measurement of its Earth-based experiments. At the moment, the discussion
temperature, T = 2.7277 ± 0.002 K, and showed that any of the universe at times earlier than 10−5 s is speculative,
deviations from a perfect black-body spectrum are smaller both because of uncertainties about the microphysics
than 0.005%. Because there is no other viable mechanism needed to describe these early times and the absence
for producing such perfect black-body radiation, the of cosmological tests like Big Bang nucleosynthesis. In
spectrum of the CMBR is one of the experimental pillars any case, the physics and the cosmology are of sufficient
of the hot Big Bang cosmology. interest to merit the discussion of the possibilities.
The radiation in the CMBR has not scattered since On fairly firm ground, the discussion of the thermal
the universe was 400 000 years old, and so it provides a history of the universe can be extended back to around
snapshot of the universe at a simpler time, when matter 10−11 s when the temperature was about 1015 K. This was
was still nearly uniformly distributed and stars, galaxies sufficiently hot that the thermal-energy scale exceeded
and clusters of galaxies did not exist. The variations the rest masses of all known particles. At this time the
in the intensity (or temperature) of the CMBR across thermal soup should have included all the quark and
the sky today map the two-dimensional distribution of lepton species, gluons, photons and the W± and Z0 bosons,
matter at this time because variations in the mass density all in roughly equal abundance.
produce temperature variations of the same size. Thus, The state of the universe earlier than this is much
the temperature variations of a few parts in 105 measured less certain. The prevailing belief is that a phase
by the differential microwave radiometer (DMR) on transition occurred and restored the full symmetry of the
the COBE satellite and other balloon and ground-based SU(2) ⊗ U(1) gauge theory of the electroweak interactions.
experiments imply the existence of variations in the matter (SU(2)⊗U(1) is the mathematical symmetry that underlies
density of approximately the same size. This level of the unified theory of the electromagnetic and weak
inhomogeneity is just what is needed to produce the large- interactions.) At low temperatures the symmetry between
scale structure seen today—provided that the bulk of the the weak and the electromagnetic interactions is not
matter is exotic dark matter and not baryons (more below). manifest: the electromagnetic interaction has long range,
The variations (or anisotropy) of the CMBR also encode a while the weak interaction has very short range because
wealth of information about the early universe and how the mediators of the weak force, the W± and Z0 bosons, are
large-scale structure formed. Higher precision and higher very massive. The symmetry is said to be spontaneously
angular-resolution measurements will be made by future broken, by the Higgs mechanism. When the symmetry is
experiments including NASA’s MAP satellite (scheduled restored, all of the force mediators become massless. If the
for launch in late 2000) and ESA’s PLANCK SURVEYOR satellite Higgs mechanism is correct, then there is at least one more
(scheduled for launch in 2007). spin-zero particle species, the Higgs boson, whose rest
Three cosmic seas of thermal neutrinos should mass is greater than about 100 GeV and probably less than
be with us today. Just as with the CMBR, the 300 GeV. Its discovery would be a striking confirmation
expansion of the universe maintained their thermal of spontaneous symmetry breaking, and thus the Higgs
(Fermi–Dirac) distributions with a temperature that has is at the top of the ‘most wanted’ list at all accelerator
decreased inversely with the cosmic scale factor since laboratories.
they decoupled. Because neutrinos did not share in the As successful as the electroweak theory is, it provides
energy release from the electron–positron annihilations, only a partial unification of the forces, leaving out the
the temperature of the neutrino seas is predicted to be strong color force and gravity. One possibility is there
smaller than that of the photons, Tν = 1.947 K. If they are other levels of symmetry breaking and symmetry
can be detected, these neutrinos will reveal the universe breaking phase transitions. The simplest idea, grand
as it was about 1 s after the beginning. However, unification, unifies the color force with the electroweak
because low-energy neutrinos interact extremely weakly force. Estimates for the temperature at which the grand
with ordinary matter their detection presents one of the unification phase transition might take place are even more
greatest challenges in all of science. uncertain, but are around 1029 K, corresponding to a time
of about 10−39 s.
Beyond the standard cosmology: the very early Another interesting feature of symmetry breaking is
universe the possibility that the phase transition did not occur
The earliest history of the universe (before 10−5 s) is still smoothly and that ‘defects’ are created. (Such defects are
a mystery, but is under intense study. The motivation known to be produced in phase transitions in condensed
is twofold: the hope that events which took place may matter systems: vortices and magnetic flux tubes.) These
explain some of the most pressing cosmological puzzles. so-called topological defects are concentrations of energy:
For example, the reason for the small excess of matter point-like magnetic monopoles, one-dimensional cosmic
over antimatter, the explanation for the regularity seen string and two-dimensional domain walls. The kinds of
defects that can be produced depend upon the symmetry neutrons and protons, this led to the excess of baryons over
breaking pattern. Thus far, the cosmology of topological antibaryons needed to ensure the existence of the ordinary
defects has not been promising: monopoles should matter.
have been grossly overproduced, domain walls have The weak interactions violate matter–antimatter
disastrous cosmological consequences, and cosmic string, symmetry at a small level and are also predicted to violate
once thought to be a possible seed for the formation of baryon-number conservation through subtle quantum
structure in the universe, predicts a pattern of CMBR effects. Moreover, baryon-number non-conservation is
anisotropy that is inconsistent with the measurements. a generic prediction of grand unified theories. While
A much more promising idea arising from the con- the details are not currently understood, nor is there
sideration of cosmological phase transitions is INFLATION. any experimental evidence for the non-conservation of
Inflation refers to an enormous burst of expansion which baryon number, nonetheless baryogenesis is a promising
might have taken place very early on (probably earlier than
framework for understanding how the crucial excess of
about 10−32 s). Because of its potential to explain a number
matter over antimatter arose.
of the most fundamental and most puzzling features of the
To date, superstring theory has been the most
universe, inflation has been the dominant theoretical idea
in cosmology over the past 15 years. It can account for the successful approach to the unification of gravity with
smoothness of the universe, the origin of the primeval mat- the other forces. Superstring theory makes two generic
ter inhomogeneity, the heat of the Big Bang, and the nature predictions relevant for cosmology. First, the existence
of the Big Bang itself. Originally inflation was thought of a new symmetry of nature that relates fermions and
to be driven by the latent heat (or false-vacuum energy) bosons (supersymmetry), and second, the likely existence
associated with a first-order phase transition. Most mod- of additional spatial dimensions. Because the known
els of inflation no longer involve a phase transition, but particles of nature cannot be paired off as fermion–boson
instead rely upon the potential energy of a fundamental partners, supersymmetry requires the doubling of the
scalar field. number of fundamental particles. The superpartners, as
Besides inflation, the most compelling ideas of they are called, are predicted to have rest energies of the
early-universe cosmology are particle dark matter and order of 100 GeV. If correct, this implies a doubling of the
BARYOGENESIS. It has been known for more than 50 years number of particles in the primordial soup only occurs
that most of the matter that holds galaxies and clusters of at temperatures greater than around 1015 K. The lightest
galaxies together is not in the form of visible stars but is superpartner, usually the neutralino, is stable or very long-
‘dark’ (i.e. does not emit or absorb detectable radiation lived and has a rest energy of order 100 GeV. As mentioned
of any form; see DARK MATTER: ITS NATURE). For at least a above, it is a prime candidate for particle dark matter.
decade it has also been known that the total amount of If there are extra spatial dimensions they must be
dark matter exceeds by more than a factor of three the ‘small’ enough to have escaped detection or be otherwise
amount of matter in the form of baryons as determined hidden from us. Small here refers to their being curled
from Big Bang nucleosynthesis. Further, with the level of up like the circular dimension of a straw. While many
inhomogeneity measured by COBE, the observed large- versions of superstring theory predict that the extra
scale structure can only form if there is exotic dark matter. dimensions are exceedingly tiny—10−34 cm or smaller—
These facts are strong circumstantial evidence for a new some versions suggest that they might be as large as a
form of matter in the universe. millimeter in extent! The cosmological implications of
The most promising candidates for the dark matter extra dimensions are not well understood and raise a
are elementary particles that were present in copious
host of additional cosmological questions, for example the
numbers in the thermal soup early on and which failed
explanation for the size discrepancy between the familiar
to annihilate away because of the weakness of their
three spatial dimensions and the extra spatial dimensions.
interactions. Of all the possibilities considered, the three
most attractive are neutrinos (if they have a small mass) Even if superstring theory does not prove successful
and axions or neutralinos (if they exist). (The axion and in unifying gravity with the other forces and in providing
neutralino are as yet hypothetical particles predicted to a quantum description of gravity, ‘interesting physics’
exist by theories that unify the particles and forces of should have occurred at times earlier than 10−44 s and
nature.) temperatures greater than 1032 K. This is the Planck era,
Baryogenesis is a higher-level analog of Big Bang the epoch when quantum gravitational effects should have
nucleosynthesis: BBN explains how baryons come been extremely important and the classical description
together to make nuclei and baryogenesis hopes to explain of gravity given by general relativity should have been
the origin of the excess of quarks over antiquarks that leads inapplicable. It could be that the universe achieved a
to the existence of ordinary matter. The idea is that particle limiting temperature due to the exponentially growing
interactions that violate matter–antimatter symmetry and number of particle species (also a prediction of string
the conservation of baryon number and which occurred theory), or that space-time dissolves into a foam. Even by
out of thermal equilibrium produced a slight excess of the standards of early universe cosmology, speculations
quarks over antiquarks. When the quarks formed into about the Planck era are extraordinarily speculative.
Bibliography
Bernstein J 1988 Kinetic Theory in the Expanding Universe
(Cambridge: Cambridge University Press)
Kolb E W and Turner M S 1990 The Early Universe (Reading,
MA: Addison-Wesley)
Schramm D N and Turner M S 1990 Rev. Mod. Phys. 70 303
Michael S Turner
Universität Radioastronomisches
Institut, Bonn
An institute of the University of Bonn, Germany.
Carries out research at infrared, radio and submillimeter
wavelengths. Particular research interests are the
interstellar medium and intergalactic medium, especially
galactic halos, and dwarf galaxies.
The institute was responsible for the discovery of the
x-ray halo around the Milky Way in 1991.
Although it has recently disposed of a 25 m radio
telescope in the Eiffel Mountains, the institute has a
cooperative agreement with the Institute of Physics,
Cologne, to use KOSMA, a 3 m radio telescope on
Gornergrat in Switzerland.
For further information see
http://www.astro.uni-bonn.de/.
University Observatory,
Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität
The University Observatory of Ludwig-Maximilians-
Universität was founded in 1816. Astronomers who
worked or graduated at the Munich Observatory
include: Fraunhofer, Soldner, Lamont, Seeliger and Karl
Schwarzschild. At present four professors and ten staff
astronomers work here. Funding comes from the Bavarian
Government, the German Science Foundation, and other
German and European research programs.
Facilities include the Wendelstein Observatory in the
Bavarian Alps with a 0.8 m telescope. The Observatory
is also a partner in the Hobby–Eberly Telescope Project in
Texas.
The Observatory’s mission is to teach astrophysics
at the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität in Munich, to
research astrophysics and instrument development for the
Very Large Telescope (ESO), the Hobby–Eberly Telescope
(Texas) and the Wendelstein Observatory.
Research specialties are stellar atmospheres and
winds; binary stars; structure, formation and chemical
evolution of galaxies; galaxy clusters; dark matter and
gravitational lensing; plasma astrophysics.
For further information see
http://www.usm.uni-muenchen.de.
It was the low reflectivity of Uranus at the red end of of hydrogen. This dominance of light elements is reflect-
the spectrum which led spectroscopist R Wildt to propose ed in the low densities of the gas giant planets and in the
in 1932 the presence of methane (CH4) in the atmospheres absence of distinct liquid or solid surfaces in the interiors
of each of the gas giant planets of the solar system. The of these planets. However, in contrast to Jupiter and
low densities of these giant planets had also led to the Saturn, methane, ammonia, water and the heavier core
conclusion that the primary atmospheric constituent was materials are thought to constitute a larger total mass
hydrogen (H2), but confirmation of that fact came from than the overlying hydrogen and helium. These mea-
Kiess et al. in 1960. Formal detection of helium (He) in the sured or deduced characteristics are thought to be the
atmosphere of Uranus first came from Voyager 2 in 1986. consequence of the formation process by which these
All other gaseous components of Uranus’s atmosphere planets came to be. There are a number of competing the-
(above the cloud tops) constitute a combined abundance ories about the nature of that formation process. Since
of much less than 1%. each theory, if sufficiently developed, predicts outcomes
By analogy with Jupiter, each of the other gas giant that are generally dependent on the starting conditions,
planets in the solar system was expected to have an the measured or deduced characteristics can become
intrinsic magnetic field. However, the strength and ori- both an effective discriminator between theories and a
entation of those fields and the associated radio emis- means of determining the starting conditions.
sions were not determined until Pioneer and/or Voyager All formation theories have certain characteristics in
spacecraft flew close to these planets. It was the monitor- common. For example, each assumes a decrease in tem-
ing of these radio emissions that enabled Voyager scien- perature in the presolar nebula as a function of increas-
tists to determine the rotation periods of Saturn, Uranus ing solar distance. That temperature gradient in turn
and Neptune (see also URANUS AND NEPTUNE: ATMOS- determines which compounds are solid at a given dis-
PHERES, IONOSPHERES AND MAGNETOSPHERES). tance from the Sun and which are not. With more mater-
ial from which to coalesce, it is likely that the planetary
Space exploration cores which formed from the coalescing solids were larg-
The only space vehicle ever to fly close to Uranus was er at the distances of the gas giants than for the Earth-like
Voyager 2. This hardy spacecraft was launched in August planets, enabling the gas giants to capture more massive
1977, flew by Jupiter in July 1979, Saturn in August 1981, atmospheres. Uranus and Neptune may be smaller than
Uranus in January 1986 and Neptune in August 1989. As Jupiter and Saturn as a consequence of the solar nebula
of late 1999, Voyager 2 continued to send back useful being less dense at these greater distances from the Sun.
data about the particle and magnetic field environment Perhaps the growth of Uranus and Neptune therefore
of the outer solar system. Voyager 2 provided high- lagged behind that of Jupiter and Saturn. If the Sun went
resolution images of Uranus’s atmosphere, the ring sys- through its T-Tauri stage when atmospheric accretion
tem and 16 of the 21 known satellites. In fact, 11 of the 16 was more or less complete for Jupiter and Saturn, but
moons it imaged were discovered by Voyager 2. Voyager incomplete for Uranus and Neptune, most of the remain-
2 also determined the detailed composition of the atmos- ing source material may have been swept away, and fur-
phere, confirmed the presence of a highly tilted and off- ther growth of the planets would have essentially
set magnetic field and measured the rotation period of stopped. In that scenario, the cores of Uranus and
the planet’s interior. In fact, more than 90% of all we Neptune would have occupied a much larger percentage
know about Uranus came from the measurements made of their interiors than would have been the case for
by Voyager 2 and the subsequent interpretation of those Jupiter and Saturn. Jupiter and Saturn were therefore
measurements. expected to more closely represent the mix of materials in
No other space missions to Uranus are at present the original solar nebula (and in the present-day solar
planned and funded. Nevertheless, continued improve- atmosphere).
ments in Earth-based telescopes and techniques are now Actual measurements confirm the predicted higher
providing updates to some of the Voyager data, especial- relative abundance of methane in the atmosphere of
ly in the area of atmospheric studies (as well as in the dis- Uranus than that of Jupiter, Saturn or the Sun. These
covery of the new satellites mentioned earlier). The pre- numbers imply an enrichment of carbon (relative to
sent emphasis on smaller, faster, less expensive missions hydrogen) in Uranus’s atmosphere that is about 24 times
does not bode well for missions to Uranus or Neptune, as high as the C/H ratio in the Sun. Carbon enrichment
each of which requires long flight times and concomitant was also noted for Jupiter (Galileo probe measurements)
higher space flight operations budgets. and estimated for Saturn, although to a lesser extent than
for Uranus (as predicted). As in the other gas giants, pho-
Composition and structure tochemistry of methane in the upper atmosphere pro-
Like its larger counterparts (Jupiter, Saturn and duces a suite of hydrocarbons, but only acetylene (C2H2)
Neptune), Uranus is composed primarily of the light ele- has been detected thus far. Water (H2O) has also been
ments hydrogen and helium. Even the somewhat heavier detected in the upper atmosphere (Feuchtgruber et al.
compounds, confirmed methane (CH4) and suspected 1997); its presence reveals an exogenic source of the
ammonia (NH3) and water (H2O), are composed largely water, presumably micrometeoroid ablation.
Dynamics
With little or no discernible internal heat source, Uranus
might be expected to have little atmospheric turbulence.
Figure 1 depicts the planet Uranus as seen by Voyager 2.
The left-hand view is true color; the right-hand view is a
Figure 2. Uranus as seen from the HST’s Wide Field Planetary
highly color and contrast-stretched version of the same
Camera in 1997. The image on the right was taken later and
image. It is apparent that essentially all atmospheric fea- shows the motion of satellites and atmospheric spots in the
tures are symmetric around the rotation axis whose posi- intervening time. The bright portion of the ring is the unre-
tive pole is just left of and slightly below the center of the solved epsilon (ε) ring; the dimmer portion is a composite of
disk in these images. Zonal wind velocities were measur- several of the rings. Image from HST is courtesy of NASA Jet
able for only a few latitudes on the planet, mainly because Propulsion Laboratory.
varies in width from 20 to 95 km as its particles circle the earlier in this article. Ten more (Cordelia, Ophelia,
planet. The other rings have typical widths of 1–10 km. Bianca, Cressida, Desdemona, Juliet, Portia, Rosalind,
The ‘equivalent depth’ of the ε ring (and most of the Belinda and Puck) were discovered by Voyager in 1986.
other variable-width rings) is constant; in other words, All of the moons discovered by Voyager orbit Uranus
the same number of ring particles pass through the nar- closer to the planet than the five ‘classical’ satellites. In
rower portions of each ring during each orbit as through 1997 Caliban was discovered by Brett Gladman and his
the wider portions of the same ring. Their narrow ring associates. The same year Sycorax was discovered by
widths are the result of gravitational interactions with Phil Nicholson and his associates. Caliban and Sycorax
nearby satellites, which act as ‘shepherds’ to keep the are more than 10 times as far from the planet as any of
ring material from spreading. The orbital characteristics the previously known ‘regular’ satellites. Their orbits are
of the narrow rings are given in table 2. retrograde, highly inclined and more eccentric than is
In addition to the 10 narrow rings, Uranus has a true for the regular satellites.
broad, diffuse and optically thin ring component seen in In 1999, Erich Karkoschka found a previously undis-
some of the Voyager 2 images. It is interior to the other covered moon in images shuttered by Voyager 2 in 1986.
rings, extending from a radius of about 37 000 to about 39 This moon, which has an orbit almost identical to that of
500 km from the center of the planet. During passage Belinda, was found in seven different Voyager 2 images.
through the shadow of Uranus, Voyager 2 also snapped Based on a preliminary orbit, it is estimated that Belinda
an image of the rings that is unlike any other taken at laps (passes) 1986U10 about once a month, a highly
Uranus. In this unique geometry, forward-scattered sun- unusual circumstance.
light brings out the optically thin dust bands that occupy Three more probable satellites of Uranus were sight-
much of the area between the ten narrow rings men- ed in 1999 by Gladman, J J Kavelaars and others. Orbits
tioned above. There is a lot of radial structure in these for these satellites are not yet well-determined, but they
dust rings (see figure 3), little of it understood at present. are probably all distant, irregular satellites. Their tempo-
rary designations are 1999U1, 1999U2 and 1999U3. In
Satellites 2002 the discovery of another satellite was confirmed.
Prior to 1999, Uranus had 17 known moons. The discov- Named S/2001 U 1, this brings the total number of con-
ery of the five largest (Miranda, Ariel, Umbriel, Titania firmed Uranian moons to 21. S/2001 U 1 and five others
and Oberon) was discussed in the introductory material like it have very irregular, eccentric orbits that do not
share the same orbital plane as the larger moons of
Uranus. Ranging in size from 10 to 20 km (about 6 to 12
mi), these moons are thought to be remnants of ancient
collisions that occurred at the early stage of planetary
formation.
Bibliography
The Voyager 2 Encounter with Uranus 1987 J. Geophys.
Res. 92 14 873–15 375
Bergstralh J T, Miner E D and Matthews M S (ed) 1990
Uranus (Tucson, AZ: University of Arizona Press)
Feuchtgruber et al. 1997 Nature 389 159–62
Miner E D 1998 Uranus: the Planet, Rings and Satellites 2nd
edn (Chichester: Wiley)
Ellis D Miner
Uranus
The temperatures within Uranus’s interior are probably
high, but unknown. Heat constantly leaks out of the other
gas giant planet interiors, and from the rate of heat loss a
temperature versus radius profile necessary to maintain
that loss can be calculated for those planets. Uranus’s
internal heat loss, by contrast, is too small to have been
measured, so its internal temperature is unknown.
It may be that Uranus’s interior is actually cooler than
the other gas giants’, perhaps because the collision that
tipped Uranus over also stirred it enough to let its excess
heat out. Another possibility is that the settling of denser
materials has stabilized the interior so that hot gas does not
rise and carry out heat, because even if the lower regions
are hotter they would be compositionally denser and so
not buoyant.
Neptune
Figure 2. Profiles of temperature and density versus altitude in Unlike Uranus, Neptune does have a measurable rate of
Neptune’s atmosphere. The temperature (T ) is read from the
heat loss, which is about 1.6 times as large as the rate of
top scale, the densities (labeled by chemical symbol) from the
bottom. The temperature profile is an approximation heat absorption from sunlight. From this heat loss rate, a
constructed to match the observations; its sharp bends are not temperature versus radius profile can be calculated, which
real. Important boundary altitudes are marked on the profiles is very near to an adiabat. The temperatures within the
that determine them. interior are high, reaching a maximum of probably about
6000 K at the center.
is weather) are very cold compared with Earth. Within Upper atmosphere
the troposphere the dominant heat transport mode is Above the tropopause in each planet is the stratosphere,
convection, whereby heat is carried along with the gas as it where the atmosphere is relatively stable (hence the name)
rises and falls. Because the pressure changes with altitude, because the temperature rises with altitude. Atmospheric
the gas is cooled by expansion as it rises and heated by stirring does not completely cease here, but it is greatly
compression as it sinks. Thus in the troposphere the attenuated compared with the troposphere. In the
temperature variation with altitude follows the adiabatic lower stratosphere, the temperature profile is mainly
rate of change, that is, the rate at which a column of rising controlled by the absorption and reradiation of heat
air would cool just as a result of expansion without heat absorbed from sunlight. The upper atmosphere is
exchange. heated by a high-altitude energy source of unknown
Magnetosphere
The magnetosphere is the region outside a planet’s
exobase, where the planetary magnetic field is strong
enough to deflect the solar wind. On the upwind side,
the pressure balance between field and wind creates a
roughly parabolic boundary, called the magnetopause,
with nose distance about 20RU upstream at Uranus and
25RN at Neptune. This boundary envelops its associated
planet and extends downstream in a wake many tens
of planetary radii long. Outside of this boundary is a
roughly hyperboloidal bow shock standing in the highly
supersonic solar wind.
The inner boundary of the magnetosphere is
effectively its planet’s exobase, below which collisions
with atmospheric molecules control charged-particle
motion. However, atmosphere–magnetosphere coupling Figure 3. Diagrams of Uranus’s magnetoshere. The curved lines
can extend more deeply than the exobase, as magnetic- depict the magnetic field as it is confined within the
magnetopause. The arrow labeled is Uranus’s axis of rotation,
field-aligned currents can flow into the ionosphere,
and is fixed in space. The arrow labeled D is the magnetic dipole
across to other field lines and back out into the axis and rotates with the planet. The two diagrams show the
magnetosphere. It is this coupling that drives much magnetosphere at half-rotation intervals. The axis labeled XGSM
collective magnetospheric motion. points toward the Sun. (Figure from Voigt et al 1987
The magnetosphere encompasses a wide range of J. Geophys. Res. 86 15 337.)
phenomena, described in their individual sections (see
figures 3 and 4). Because of the long-range coupling
present in the magnetosphere, its seemingly independent The low-energy (≤104 eV) plasma drifts through
phenomena mutually interact more than is the case in the these magnetospheres on paths determined mostly by
neutral atmosphere. the electric and magnetic fields. Both the rotation of
the planets and the interaction of the solar wind with the
Plasma magnetospheres create electric fields that fluctuate in time
PLASMA is a gas which contains significant numbers of as well as space. In the following, we describe what is
ions and electrons, so that it conducts electricity at least known of the behavior of the low-energy plasma.
along the magnetic field, and often perpendicular to it
as well. The plasma at both Uranus and Neptune was
composed of ions and electrons with kinetic energies Uranus. Uranus’s magnetospheric plasma is rather
covering Voyager’s entire range of measurement, from 10 tenuous and consists almost entirely of H+ . It appears
to about 107 eV (1 eV = 1.6 × 10−19 J is a particle kinetic to originate from Uranus’s atmosphere, because if it came
energy equivalent to a temperature of about 8700 K). from the icy satellites there would also be O+ , which is not
Plasmas in different energy ranges behave differently, so observed. It drifts Sunward as at Earth, but because of
we discuss them separately. the pole-on configuration simultaneously co-rotates with
The high-energy (≥105 eV) plasma at both planets is Uranus. However, the co-rotation does not interfere with
extremely sparse and forms radiation belts similar to those the plasma drift, as it does in the Earth’s plasmasphere,
at Earth. It diffuses inwards through the magnetosphere, because the rotation occurs about an axis parallel to the
so that its absorption by satellites and rings creates drift.
decreases in density that were observed by Voyager. A As the plasma drifts toward (away from) Uranus,
few faint rings and satellites were discovered in this way. it sees an increasing (decreasing) magnetic field strength
When these energetic particles strike icy satellites and ring which compresses (expands) the plasma and heats (cools)
particles, hydrogen and oxygen atoms are ejected. it drastically. Thus there is a plasma adiabat in the
Aurora
Figure 4. Diagram of Neptune’s magnetosphere, showing its Auroras are regions where the atmosphere glows
components. The curved lines with triangular arrowheads because of bombardment by high-energy charged particles
depict the solar wind flow deflected around the magnetopause. (usually electrons) which flow into the atmosphere along
Those with V-like arrowheads are magnetic field lines, except the magnetic field lines. They typically occur near, but
the one labeled ‘Triton’, which is Triton’s orbit. The line with the
not quite at, magnetic poles because the field lines there
full dots is the trajectory of the Voyager flyby. (From Schulz et al
1995 Magnetospheric configuration of Neptune Neptune and connect to the largest regions of the magnetosphere.
Triton ed D P Cruikshank (Tucson, AZ: University of Arizona
Press). Copyright © 1995 by The Arizona Board of Regents. Uranus. Uranus’s magnetic poles, and therefore its
Reprinted by permission of the University of Arizona Press.) auroras, are far from the geographic poles because of
its large magnetic dipole tilt (60◦ ) and offset (0.3RU ).
Moreover, both auroras are on magnetic field lines that
magnetosphere just as there is a gaseous adiabat in connect to the magnetospheric tail, so that the aurora-
Uranus’s interior. exciting particles (probably 104 eV electrons) streaming
The plasma consists of a number of components, down the field lines into the atmosphere are still drifting
which are distinguished by their temperatures. Because toward Uranus. Because the plasma drift paths continue
of the adiabatic drift compression, their densities and on past Uranus, on field lines where there is no aurora, it
temperatures are best compared by referral to a standard seems likely that the auroras are exhausting the available
distance from the Uranian magnetic dipole. Two low- hot electrons before they can drift completely past Uranus.
energy populations are known; a warm plasma (0.5 cm−3 The aurora is visible primarily at in the extreme
and 10 eV at 5RU ) and a hot plasma (0.3 cm−3 and ultraviolet at wavelengths between 90 and 110 nm, emitted
1000 eV at 5RU ). The warm plasma drifts by Uranus by electronic transitions between low-lying states of
without much change, but the hot electrons continually molecular hydrogen. These bands are excited by the low-
lose energy (relative to their adiabatic temperature) as they energy secondary electrons emitted when high-energy
approach Uranus. The hot ions also abruptly disappear charged particles impact the atmosphere.
inside approximately 5RU , as though their drift paths were
avoiding Uranus.
Neptune. Neptune’s magnetic poles and auroras are also
far from the geographic poles because of its large magnetic
Neptune. Neptune’s magnetospheric plasma is very dipole tilt (47◦ ) and offset (0.55RN ). The light from
tenuous and consists mostly of H+ and N+ ions. Its Neptune’s aurora, like Uranus’s, is extreme ultraviolet
source appears to be the atmosphere of Triton, because H2 molecular band emission between 90 and 110 nm,
of the presence of N+ ions. In addition, a measure of the stimulated by auroral secondary electrons. Some diffuse
plasma density, corrected for compression by the magnetic glow is also stimulated by electrons which are emitted by
field, appears to decrease as Neptune is approached. If the day-side atmosphere in response to solar ultraviolet
Neptune were the source, the plasma density measure light and which follow the magnetic field lines around to
would increase towards the planet instead. impact the dark side.
The decrease of plasma density measure towards
Neptune is due to loss of some of the plasma to collisions Radio waves
with the atmosphere as the charged particles bounce back There are a number of types of radio waves emitted
and forth along the magnetic field lines. Unlike the by Uranus and Neptune with frequencies in the range
case of the aurora, where high-energy (104 eV or more) 100–1000 kHz, both narrow and wide bandwidth and
Bibliography
Elliot J and Kerr R 1984 Rings: Discoveries from Galileo to
Voyager (Cambridge, MA: MIT Press)
Elliot J L and Nicholson P D 1984 The rings of Uranus
Planetary Rings ed R Greenberg and A Brahic (Tucson,
AZ: University of Arizona Press) pp 25–72
Esposito L W, Brahic A, Burns J A and Marouf E A
1991 Particle properties and processes in Uranus’
rings Uranus ed J T Bergstrahl, E D Miner and M S
Matthews (Tucson, AZ: University of Arizona Press)
Figure 3. Occultation profile of the ε ring. This graph shows the
normal radio opacity (optical depth) of the ring as a function of
pp 410–65
radius. Note the sharp inner and outer edges caused by orbital French R G, Nicholson P D, Porco C C and Marouf E A 1991
resonances with Cordelia and Ophelia and the detailed internal Dynamics and structure of the Uranian rings Uranus
structure. Below the dashed line, the variations are mostly due ed J T Bergstralh, E D Miner and M S Matthews
to noise, rather than structure of the ring. (After Gresh D L, (Tucson, AZ: University of Arizona Press) pp 327–409
Marouf E A, Tyler G L, Rosen P A and Simpson R A 1989
Voyager radio occultation by Uranus’ rings. I. Observational
results Icarus 78 131–68.) J L Elliot
Ursa Minor
(the Little Bear; abbrev. UMi, gen. Ursae Minoris; area
256 sq. deg.) a northern circumpolar constellation which
is surrounded on three sides by Draco and includes the
north celestial pole. Its origin is uncertain, though it was
known to the ancient Greeks, who identified it with Ida, a
Cretan nymph who helped her sister, Adrasteia, raise the
infant Zeus and whom in gratitude Zeus placed among
the stars alongside Adrasteia (who is represented by the
neighboring constellation of Ursa Major). Its brightest
stars were cataloged by Ptolemy (c. AD 100–175) in the
Almagest.
A small, rather inconspicuous constellation, Ursa
Minor’s only claim to fame is that its brightest star, α Ursae
Minoris (Polaris or Alrucaba), lies within 1◦ of the north
celestial pole. α Urase Minoris is actually a triple system
with pale yellow (F7 and F3) components, the primary of
which is a Cepheid variable (range 1.86–2.13 decreasing,
period 3.97 days) and the secondary a star of magnitude
8.2, separation 18.4 , and a third, unseen component which
revolves around the primary in 30.5 years. There are
two other stars brighter than magnitude 4.0: β Ursae
Majoris (Kochab), magnitude 2.1, and γ Ursae Majoris
(Pherkad), magnitude 3.0, which together are known as
the ‘Guardians of the Pole’. The seven brightest stars of
the constellation (β, γ , η, ζ , ε, δ and α) form an asterism
similar to the Plough and are sometimes called the Little
Dipper.
There are no bright star clusters, nebulae or galaxies
in the constellation, the brightest being NGC 6217, an
eleventh-magnitude spiral galaxy.
See also: Polaris.
or private foundations. Many observatories operate Toward the end of the 1990s there has been a leveling
with mixed sources of funding. For example, some off and even a decrease in the number of students pursuing
observatories are constructed using university funds or studies in physics and astronomy at the undergraduate
with grants from private foundations and then rely and graduate levels in American universities. Almost
on grants from the federal agencies to provide funds all graduate students in astronomy or astrophysics have
for development and construction of instruments and prepared themselves for graduate study by obtaining an
sometimes for operations. undergraduate degree in either physics or astronomy.
In the last 10 yr, NASA has launched three of Among astronomy PhD recipients from US institutions
the four so-called ‘Great Observatories’. These include in 1997, 19% were female and 27% were not US citizens
the HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE, the CHANDRA X-RAY OBSERVATORY (source: American Institute of Physics, 1997 Graduate
and the COMPTON GAMMA-RAY OBSERVATORY. The final Great Student Report).
Observatory, the SPACE INFRARED TELESCOPE FACILITY, is About six out of every ten astronomers in the United
scheduled for launch in December 2001. These satellites States are employed in academic institutions, colleges or
have radically changed our view of the universe and
universities, and slightly over half of these are in tenured
provided unprecedented discoveries unattainable from
or tenure-track positions. Most of the others are working
the ground.
in federal laboratories or research centers or for industrial
In addition to the Great Observatories series, NASA
contractors supporting these centers.
has a range of other missions from small to large. There
are several major mission programs including Discovery,
Explorer, Mars Exploration and New Millennium. Each Research publications
mission has specific goals. Discovery missions explore The bulk of the research published in the United States
objects within our solar system such as planets, moons appears in one of the four scholarly journals published
and other small bodies. The Explorer program provides by the astronomical societies. The AMERICAN ASTRONOMICAL
frequent flight opportunities at three separate funding SOCIETY (AAS) publishes The Astrophysical Journal, The
levels for missions that support one of the four major Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series and The Astronomical
themes of the Office of Space Science: university (less Journal. The ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY OF THE PACIFIC (ASP)
than $7.5 million), small (less than $71 million) and publishes The Publications of the Astronomical Society of the
medium (less than $140 million). These themes are the Pacific. In addition, there is a section of The Physical Review
Astronomical Search for Origins, Planetary Systems, The (published by the American Physical Society) devoted
Sun–Earth Connection and the Structure and Evolution of
to astrophysical research, and both Icarus (Academic
the Universe.
Press) and The Journal of Geophysical Research (American
NASAmaintains 15 research centers across the United
Geophysical Union) publish research in planetary and
States, each of which fulfills various portions of NASA’s
space physics.
overall mission. The centers most closely associated
with astronomy missions include the GODDARD SPACE Annual Reviews, Inc., publishes a review volume,
FLIGHT CENTER in Greenbelt, Maryland, the JET PROPULSION
The Annual Review of Astronomy and Astrophysics. The
LABORATORY in Pasadena, California, and MARSHALL SPACE
Astronomical Society of the Pacific and the American
FLIGHT CENTER in Huntsville, Alabama.
Institute of Physics are the principal publishers of
NASA has led the way in archiving astronomical conference proceedings.
data. It has created numerous facilities such as the Hubble As technology has developed in recent years, there
Data Archive, the Astronomical Data Center, the Planetary has been an increasing use of on-line preprint posting
Node system and the Astrophysics Data System, which services for rapid dissemination of research results. The
provide researchers access to archival data. most popular of these is part of the arXiv e-print archive
There has been a recent trend toward major projects, service hosted at the Los Alamos National Laboratory
whether on the ground or in space, being undertaken (http://xxx.lanl.gov/archive/astro-ph).
through international collaborations because of the large
costs and complexity of the projects. This trend is likely to Amateur astronomers in the US
continue into the near future.
Astronomy appeals to nearly everyone. Since the sky is
Demographics and employment patterns accessible to all, astronomy is blessed with a large and
After a decade of rapid growth in the 1980s, the number of active amateur community. The US has a number of
astronomers in the United States has grown more slowly amateur organizations that serve many diverse purposes.
but steadily in the 1990s. The median age of astronomical These range from small local clubs that meet regularly
researchers has remained approximately the same, but the to exchange advice on telescopes and host ‘star parties’
age distribution has widened somewhat with the number to large national organizations that coordinate research
of astronomers in the age range from 35 to 50 decreasing activities easily performed by amateurs. Some of the larger
from about 50% at the end of the 1980s to 40% at the end national organizations that include amateurs are listed in
of the 1990s. table 1.
Summary
Astronomy in the United States is ending a period that
has lasted a few years more than a century and has seen
the US emerge as a world leader in astronomical research.
At the beginning of the 20th century, the US was leading
observational astronomy into an era of increasingly
powerful and sophisticated telescopes. The 40 in refractor
had just been commissioned and the two powerful
telescopes on MOUNT WILSON were in the near future. When
these were put to work, our view of the universe changed
completely. Edwin HUBBLE explored the extragalactic
distance scale and we began to understand the expansion
of the universe. These discoveries, in turn, spurred the
construction of newer, more powerful telescopes such as
the 200 in Hale telescope. Following the discovery of radio
waves from cosmic sources, powerful instruments such as
the Very Large Array were commissioned (see VERY LARGE
ARRAY NATIONAL RADIO ASTRONOMY OBSERVATORY). The United
States led the way in space beginning in the 1960s and
opened new and previously unexplored regions of the
electromagnetic spectrum for astronomical observations.
A series of increasingly ambitious and complex spacecraft
were built and operated, leading finally to NASA’s Great
Observatory Series, which reaches completion in the early
years of the 21st century.
At the beginning of the 21st century, American
astronomers have access to an unprecedented suite
of instruments and techniques with which to observe
the heavens. New technology has made possible the
construction of telescopes of a size that was inconceivable
a generation ago, and the Keck Telescopes, at 10 m each,
have led the way in showing what can be achieved with
such powerful instruments. The successors to the NASA
instruments of the 1990s are being planned even while the
current generation is at its peak of performance.
US Naval Observatory
The US Naval Observatory is the oldest astronomical
observatory in the United States, and the oldest
continuously operating scientific institution in the US
government. Founded in 1830 as a Depot of Charts
and Instruments for rating chronometers and maintaining
navigational instruments, by 1844 it had become the
first national observatory of the United States, analogous
to the ROYAL OBSERVATORY IN GREENWICH, England. The
observatory’s headquarters are located in Washington,
DC, including the historic 0.66 m refractor used to discover
the two moons of Mars in 1877. The observatory’s largest
telescope, a 1.55 m astrometric reflector, is located at its
station in Flagstaff, Arizona. The observatory’s mission
has always been to aid in the improvement of navigation
as well as to conduct basic research in astronomy. Today,
it provides the national time service for the United States,
determines the precise positions and motions of celestial
bodies, measures Earth rotation parameters including
polar motion, and produces a variety of almanacs for use
by astronomers, navigators and the general public.
For further information see
http://www.usno.navy.mil/
Valles Marineris
A complex system of canyons on Mars, centered at 11.6 ◦ S,
70.7 ◦ W, stretching for a total of 4128 km in the east–west
direction just south of the equator, and reaching depths
of over 6 km. It is named after the Mariner probes which
returned the first close-up images of the planet’s surface,
and is also referred to as Mariner Valley. Individual
sections of the systems are termed chasmata. At its western
end, where the system abuts the faulted area at the east
of the Tharsis Bulge known as Noctis Labyrinthus, lie
Tithonium Chasma and, to its south, Ius Chasma. To their
east, the system expands into the three parallel canyons
named, from north to south, Ophir Chasma, Candor
Chasma and Melas Chasma. To the northwest lies the
unconnected Hebes Chasma. The main system continues
eastward with Coprates Chasma, and then opens out, via
Capri Chasma to the north and Eos Chasma to the south,
into the so-called chaotic terrain of the region known as
Margaritifer Sinus.
Valles Marineris was created largely by faulting, but
other forces have been at work. The deep branching
valleys running into the southern edge of Ius Chasma
suggest erosion by groundwater, while at the eastern end
are teardrop-shaped islands suggestive of flowing water.
Close up views of Coprates and the other central chasmata
clearly reveal the presence of layered sediments, which
could only have been deposited under water.
See also: Mars: surface.
Valongo Observatory
The Valongo Observatory, part of the Federal University of
Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), sited in downtown Rio de Janeiro,
Brazil, was founded in 1881. Its main activity is scientific
research in the field of astronomy, carried out by its staff
of twelve astronomers. The professors/researchers keep
scientific collaboration programs with other institutions at
both national and international levels. The main research
areas are: fundamental astronomy, stellar astrophysics, in-
terstellar medium, extragalactic astronomy and laboratory
astrophysics. Funding comes chiefly from the Brazilian
government agencies. The Valongo Observatory offers an
undergraduate course in astronomy, attended by approx-
imately 90 students. Its astronomical instruments include
an original turn of the century Thomas Cook & Sons 30 cm
refractor telescope, and a Zeiss reflector of 15 cm, for un-
dergraduate teaching. As extracurricular activities, there
is a visitation program offered to the general public, also
serving secondary schools, which features telescopic ob-
servations and conferences given twice a month.
For further information see
http://www.ufrj.br/ov.
increasing the discovery rate. The General Catalog of although there probably is continuity in the overall class,
Variable Stars (‘GCVS’, Kholopov 1984) is a four- including Galactic distribution, space velocity and
volume listing of coordinates, types and other composition as well as light variation. There may also be
information on 28 211 variables of all kinds, nearly 70% continuity with ‘non-variable’ red giants, which probably
being intrinsic variables. A companion catalog of New have some variation. Spectra of LPVs and especially
Suspected Variables (‘NSV’, Kholopov 1982) contains Miras show prominent emission lines that are clearly due
14 811 stars of uncertain status. to pulsation, as non-variable red giants lack emission
A reasonably complete list of variable star types with lines but otherwise have similar spectra. More
minimal descriptions would exceed available space, but specifically, pulsation amplitude correlates with emission
the GCVS devotes five pages to descriptions. It line strength. Miras vary by up to 9m in blue light (a
recognizes 88 types of intrinsic variables, including 34 factor of ≈4000), but the enormous optical variations are
pulsating, 7 rotating, 10 x-ray, 22 eruptive and 15 caused by emission being ultra temperature-sensitive,
cataclysmic types (cataclysmic and other eruptive with the optical band lying far to the short-wavelength
variables are kept distinct). A standard naming side of the spectral energy peak. Bolometric amplitudes
convention allows immediate recognition of a star as are similar to those of Cepheids. A problem for
variable, although some bright variables have only their spectroscopy, especially prior to modern efficient
Bayer names. To begin the sequence, a single capital spectrographs and large telescope apertures, was the
letter is assigned alphabetically in order of discovery faintness of Miras near minimum light. Observations
from R to Z, then double letters RR, RS, …, RZ, then must cover full cycles if much is to be learned about
double letters AA, AB, … to AZ, then BB, BC, … to BZ, pulsation, and it was only in 1926 that A Joy produced
and ultimately to ZZ, followed by the constellation name the first complete velocity curve of Mira. The classical
(e.g. T CrB; ZZ Cet). Letter J is not used. Designations of Cepheids are highly luminous F and G type pulsating
the form V335 Cygni, V336 Cygni, etc. follow the 334 giants and supergiants that vary periodically up to
names of the letter system. roughly a magnitude. Periods range from a few days to
There is great interest in variable stars among over 100 days. Rather early it was realized that the
amateur astronomers, whose observations are important relation between period and mean density
indispensible for professionals. Not only visual
brightness estimates but phototube and charge-coupled
device (CCD) measures are now made available in large
quantities through bulletins, journals and especially the applies to Cepheids and several other prominent
Internet. Variable star organizations include the categories of pulsating stars. The relation exists because a
American Association of Variable Star Observers star’s dynamical timescale depends on its size and mass,
(AAVSO), the Association Française des Observateurs with some dependence on internal structure (thus a
d’Etoiles Variables (AFOEV), the British Astronomical different constant for each category). Stars with given
Association Variable Star Section (BAAVSS), HR diagram coordinates have the same size, but not
Bundesdeutsche Arbeitsgemeinschaft für Veränderliche necessarily the same mass and structure, so pulsation
Sterne (BAV), the Center for Backyard Astrophysics periods provide a link to structure and thereby to
(CBA), the Hungarian Astronomical Association, understanding evolution. The W Virginis stars, members
International Amateur-Professional Photoelectric of a very old Galactic population, pulsate with their own
Photometry (IAPPP), the Variable Star Group of the Pρ1/2 relation and are understood to be in a later
Astronomical Society of Southern Australia, Variable evolutionary stage than classical Cepheids, having lost
Star Network (VSNET), and the Variable Star Section of much of their original envelopes. Thus pulsation is an
the Royal Astronomical Society of New Zealand. important evolutionary diagnostic that can even help
Information on all these organizations can be found via trace Galactic origins.
the Internet. Their imprints on professional astronomy In addition to the essentially periodic and roughly
date at least as far back as the 1920s—for example in periodic classes of pulsating stars, there are giants and
Joy’s use of an AAVSO Mira light curve in the 1926 supergiants of spectral classes F to M that pulsate
Astrophysical Journal. The role of such organizations is irregularly or semi-regularly. Curiously they lie mainly
rapidly expanding today. The central professional between the more regular Cepheids and LPVs in the HR
organization is Commission 27 of the International diagram. The less regular and typically redder of these
Astronomical Union. are known as RV Tauri stars, while the somewhat more
LPVs and Cepheid variables were not only regular ones are simply called yellow semi-regular
discovered early but still dominate our catalogs. LPVs variables. Periods, in so far as they can be quantified at
are pulsating red giant stars of great luminosity and are all, range from tens to thousands of days, and amplitudes
thereby rather easy to discover. The name Mira type is can be up to about four magnitudes. These stars may be
reserved for the LPVs of larger light amplitudes, interesting in terms of chaos theory, as some show
alternating cycles of larger and smaller amplitude that Entering the middle era, note that the eye can reliably
hint of the period doubling seen in the approach to chaos. judge brightness equality between two stars, a point well
appreciated and exploited by F W Herschel, J Herschel,
Brightness measurement Argelander, J Hartmann and K Schwarzschild, but eye
We have astrophysically useful records of the brightness estimates of inequality are notoriously subjective. The
variations of the supernovae of 1572 and 1604, as better visual work accordingly employed a variety of
observed by T Brahe and others and by J Kepler now obsolete ways to reduce the apparent brightness of
respectively, despite lack of light detection equipment one star by a known factor so as to equal that of another.
and even of telescopes 400 years ago. Their usefulness Techniques, sometimes applied also to photographic
illustrates two points about astronomical brightness observing, included partial aperture blocking with twin
measurement. First, although precision requirements are telescopes, extra-focal imaging, tapered neutral filters
stringent for small variations, they can be relaxed for (wedges), and crossed polarizers. Photographic
large variations. Second, in no case can we allow the magnitudes were extracted from diameters of focused
scale to be wrong, unless mere detection of variability is images or blackening of unfocused images. The modern
the only objective. One might expect eye estimates to be definition of astronomical magnitudes, relating
quantitatively useless, but Brahe’s and Kepler’s light magnitude (m) differences to light (l) ratios, m1 − m2 =
curves demonstrate otherwise. The situation has been −2.5 log (l1/l2), was suggested in 1850 by N Pogson.
saved by the ‘secret’ advantage of the photometric Simple as it may seem, Pogson’s contribution was
astronomer—the remarkable long-term constancy of crucially important, as the quantitative meaning of
normal stars. Brahe and Kepler recorded their magnitudes had previously been vague. The new
supernovas’ magnitudes relative to known stars that, as accuracy and increased time lines allowed period
far as we know, are essentially unchanged in brightness. changes to be measured, with S Newcomb’s text of 1884,
Modern photoelectric observations of the reference stars Astronomy, already mentioning period changes for Algol,
have accordingly placed the supernova estimates on an Mira and β Lyrae. The above-mentioned accuracy tricks
objective scale. Of course the old estimates are work only within small fields, so measurement of actual
subjective, but the largest overall errors are limited by the magnitudes, as opposed to ‘local’ magnitude differences,
magnitude spacings of reference stars. An estimation received a large boost with the arrival of photoelectric
method involving magnitude steps, introduced by F detectors. Invention of the photomultiplier tube in the
Argelander about 1840, further diminished maximum 1940s especially helped to surmount atmospheric
errors. attenuation problems via all-sky photometry, and also
The existence of natural constant brightness greatly improved accuracy of magnitude changes for
standards largely accounts for the accuracy of variable stars. Development of modern standard
astronomical photometry, which is typically better than magnitude systems began when photomultipliers came
that of laboratory photometry despite the disadvantage of into widespread use. Examples include the U, B, V, R, I,
observing through Earth’s irregular atmosphere. J, K, L wide-band systems and the uvby medium-band
Astronomers also have an advantage in the temperatures systems. A standard star has accurately known constant
of reference sources, as very hot laboratory standards magnitude in one or more standard systems (e.g. γ Oph
would vaporize their surroundings, while hot stars have has V = 3m.72, B = 3m.76), while a comparison star has
no surroundings to vaporize. Difficulties due to daylight (presumably) constant but not necessarily known
and weather as well as complete blockage of spectral magnitude. CCD detectors similar to those in video
regions are best dealt with by observing from space, cameras are now replacing photomultipliers because of
although many less severe problems have been their ability to measure many sources simultaneously and
minimized through a variety of clever techniques. thus provide for accurate differential photometry. New
The history of star brightness measurement can practical problems have arisen out of the enormous
roughly be divided into an early era of qualitative notes quantities of data coming from CCD photometry.
(c. 1600 to c. 1800), a middle era of quantitative but Advanced computer technology is being applied to
inaccurate estimation by eye or photography (beginning storage and distribution problems, in some cases with
c. 1800 and still somewhat active), and a recent era of data collection directly from the detecting equipment.
accurate quantitative measurement with various Automatic telescope operation is becoming ever more
electronic detectors (beginning c. 1910). Even the early widespread in many spectral regions, not only in
qualitative work was a major improvement on the discovery modes (as in extra-Galactic supernova
unplanned occasional notices of preceding times. It made searches) and quick follow-up on γ and x-ray transients,
possible the discovery of periodic variation and, coupled but also in routine observation of known variables. The
with long baselines in time, even accurate periods. Thus acronym APT, for Automatic Photometric Telescope,
Goodricke estimated Algol’s period in 1784 with an implies remotely operated, programmable instruments
uncertainty of less than a minute out of 2.87 days. that are primarily used for variable star research.
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Astrophysical importance of variable stars separable changes in surface brightness and size.
The scientific value of variable stars can be seen in two ‘Wesselink radii’ (after A Wesselink) require three kinds
issues—why they vary (theory) and what their variations of accurate observations—a radial velocity curve, a light
allow us to measure (observation). The theoretical point curve and a color index curve (briefly ‘color curve’—
connects physical makeup with behavior, while the formed by differencing light curves (in magnitudes) for
observational one concerns properties such as size, two effective wavelengths). Color curves of Cepheids
distance and internal structure that are measurable or resemble their light curves at first glance, having smaller
estimable because of variation. amplitudes and subtly different shapes. Points with given
Most astronomical distance estimates are based on color occur at paired times that are close together near a
the standard candle method, a comparison of apparent color maximum or minimum and well separated at
and intrinsic brightness. The extra-Galactic distance scale intermediate color. The basic idea is that color index is a
is an important application, and distances to multiple reliable indicator of Teff and therefore of surface
stars and clusters within our Galaxy also are found from brightness. However, a quantitative relation to predict
embedded standard candles. The method applies to any surface brightness from color is not needed—just the
stellar group that contains a standard candle and whose reasonable assumption that when the star returns to a
diameter is small compared with its distance. Good given color it also returns to the ‘original’ surface
standard candles are consistent (small luminosity range brightness. Any change in observable light, l, between
among individuals), highly luminous (for observation at those two times is due to changed surface area, so the
great distance) and reliably recognizable. Variable stars ratio of radii at the two times is
naturally satisfy the recognition requirement, while some
types satisfy the other requirements reasonably well and
in some cases quite well. Cepheids, being giants and
supergiants, can be observed in distant galaxies.
Individual Cepheids differ in luminosity by factors up to
about 100 and so might seem not to satisfy the The difference of radii follows from an integration
consistency requirement, but H Leavitt discovered (c. between the corresponding points on the radial velocity
1905) that Cepheid luminosities are closely related to curve,
their directly measurable periods of brightness variation.
After calibration, the period–luminosity (P–L) relation
allows Cepheids to be used as standard candles, although
essentially correct calibration required another half-
century and is still being refined. However, even faulty Now having both ratio and difference, we find the
early calibrations established distances to galaxies that individual radii at the two times. Repeating the procedure
were correct to an order of magnitude and thereby helped for many time pairs, we find the run of R with time. The
elucidate the nature of the ‘spiral nebulae’ and the scale fundamental assumption that surface brightness is a
of the Universe. Early applications were E Hertzsprung’s unique function of color for a given star may not be quite
distance estimate for the Small Magellanic Cloud and H true, but is close enough for useful applications. With
Shapley’s work on the extra-Galactic distance scale, actual radii in kilometers and with model stellar
following E Hubble’s discovery of Cepheids in several atmosphere predictions of surface emission per unit area,
galaxies. The distinction between Galactic and extra- a final step computes luminosities. The method is one of
Galactic objects was well established by 1925, five years the few direct means to find accurate radii of giant stars
after the famous Shapley–Curtis debates, when Hubble and to calibrate P–L relations.
found 11 Cepheids in galaxy NGC 6822 and derived a Another natural situation to exploit is the existence
distance. The Hubble Space Telescope and large ground- of variable stars in binaries and multiple star systems,
based telescopes have recently produced important where the variable star and binary star characteristics
increases in the Cepheid distance limit. Several kinds of should be compatible if our evolutionary understanding is
exploding stars have very high luminosity, but Type Ia correct. For example, the age of a variable should agree
supernovae are best for recognition and consistency, in with that of its companion(s), and its absolute dimensions
addition to being especially luminous. However, even the and distance may be derivable from observations of the
far less luminous and far less consistent ordinary novae binary or multiple system. Examples include δ Scuti (see
have been used as distance indicators. below) type members in Y Camelopardalis and AB
The large-amplitude pulsations of Cepheids and Cassiopeia, a Cepheid in V350 Sagittarii, and a β Cephei
related variables can be exploited to measure radii rather star in 16 Lacertae. It is important to discover more such
directly. Luminosities then follow from combination of systems.
the radii with effective temperature (Teff) estimates, so as There are few probes of stellar interiors so it is
to provide standard candles. Observed variation is due to important to have a wide variety of checks on global and
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Variable Stars ENCYCLOPEDIA OF ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS
surface properties, and the measures provided by much rarer, and main sequence donors greatly outnumber
pulsation and other forms of variation are welcome. For evolved donors, but a wide variety of combinations
example, Cepheid masses can be inferred from both occur. An especially abundant class is that of the
evolutionary and pulsational models, so the comparison cataclysmic variables (CVs) where the compact object is
either provides a check or sounds an alarm. Light curve a white dwarf, although the white dwarf often cannot be
and velocity curve details also can be predicted from detected directly. In most CVs the companion is a low-
pulsation models. The help comes where needed, as mass main sequence star, the orbit period is well under a
pulsational instabilities occur primarily in highly evolved day, and the entire binary is similar in size to the Sun,
stars where structure is complicated and theories are and smaller in many cases. CVs are typically old objects
uncertain. Not only stellar structure theories but also as shown by their distribution in the Galaxy, which is in a
equations of state, opacities, and energy generation rates thicker disk than ordinary Population I stars.
(‘laboratory physics’ in principle but not in practice) are A major clue into mechanisms and evolution was the
thereby subject to scrutiny. inferred presence, via radial velocities and light curves,
On a wide front, galactic evolution is largely of white dwarfs in post novae, recurrent novae and nova-
understood in terms of population types. For example the like variables in the 1950s to 1960s. Although
RR Lyrae type pulsating stars found in globular clusters thermonuclear models had been proposed earlier, ideas
and spheroidally distributed Galactic populations are not for explosions soon focused on accretion-driven surface
just short-period Cepheids, but have quite different hydrogen-burning runaways on white dwarfs. CV
Galactic distribution, motions, history and structure. component masses are difficult to estimate, but the white
Insight into RR Lyraes and Cepheids can apply to their dwarfs are typically much more massive than their non-
non-variable neighbors in the HR diagram. On the degenerate companions. Relatively massive donors
observational side of galaxies, certain variable stars can should be subject to unstable mass transfer that would
be recognized at large distances and thus serve as radically change the configuration (flow from high to low
population indicators. mass or between comparable mass stars favors
Pulsation studies have now broadened into the instability). Evolved donors (giants and subgiants) have
rapidly developing field of asteroseismology, in which the same problem—for structural reasons they tend to
new observing methods and theoretical work on stellar expand, overflow their lobes and transfer gas unstably on
oscillations extract structural information from multiple- a large scale. So the lack of evolved and of relatively
frequency small amplitude variations in light and massive donor stars is commonly explained by their self-
velocity. Applications to the Sun (helioseismology) are destructive tendencies. However, a CV needs some level
particularly successful because the Sun is spatially of slow mass transfer to fuel its eruptions. A suitable
resolved and because it has a rich spectrum of level can be maintained by orbit shrinkage due to
oscillations. The directly tapped energy of solar magnetic wind braking or gravitational radiation.
oscillations is that of convective motions in the outer Classical novae brighten by 9m or more over a few
envelope that generate sound waves. Certain other kinds days and then decline irregularly over weeks for fast
of stars, such as Ap, δ Scuti (see below) and especially novae or months for slow novae. Symbiotic novae (see
some white dwarf stars, show intricate oscillations that below) are much slower (duration ≈ decades) than the
are clues to their evolutionary states. World-wide slowest classical nova and are much wider binaries than
observing networks such as the Whole Earth Telescope the ordinary CVs. The mass donor is typically a giant.
(WET) allow the long, nearly continuous, coverage For classical novae, more or less standard spectral
needed to separate closely spaced frequencies. developments occur, with emission and absorption line
episodes and ejecta velocities of the order of 103 km s−1,
Explosion mechanisms but with a large velocity range among examples.
Nova theories of the early to mid 1900s involved rapid Interpretation is difficult, as the state of the gas is hard to
contraction to the white dwarf state or dynamical compute and the dynamical situation is intricate, with
resonances combined with nuclear reactions. Those multiple velocity systems seen at most times. Classical
theories now seem inapplicable to known kinds of stellar novae have had only one known outburst, but that
explosions. A modern schematic model that covers many circumstance is attributed to the short history of
particular categories includes a donor star to provide a observational astronomy. Thus there are also nova-like
supply of gas and an accreting star on which eruptions variables that are probably the same as classical novae
occur. The flow may be a stream from overspilling a but have not exploded in (astronomical) historical times.
critical lobe or it may be a wind, and the eruptions may Observations of post-novae find the underlying binaries
be powered by thermonuclear or gravitational energy. not markedly changed by their outbursts.
Ordinarily the donor is non-degenerate while the accretor Recurrent novae explode like classical novae but the
is some kind of compact degenerate object, and most eruptions are frequent, typically decades apart. Current
commonly a white dwarf star. Neutron star accretors are thinking favors accretors that are close to the white dwarf
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Variable Stars ENCYCLOPEDIA OF ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS
mass limit, such that only small accretion build-up is reactions leading to core pulsations (the E mechanism),
needed to start a thermonuclear runaway. Chemical but theory predicts that core pulsations will be quickly
abundances in the ejecta do suggest advanced nuclear damped, except for supermassive stars. There are no
processing, as expected for remnants of stellar cores near candidates for core pulsation among the recognized
the edge of collapse. variable stars, except perhaps the bizarre object η Carinae
A computation of simple energetics shows that (see below) which may be a supermassive pulsating star.
gravitational energy alone can power a large outburst Pulsations grow when there is net conversion of thermal
from a white dwarf for a plausible sudden accretion to mechanical energy, so the star is a heat engine. There
episode. Objects identified with that mechanism are the are zones that drive pulsation (net [thermal ⇒
dwarf novae—CVs that have cyclic outbursts with high mechanical]) and others that damp pulsation (net
repetition rates. Brightenings of up to about five [mechanical ⇒ thermal]). Elementary thermodynamics
magnitudes are separated by typical intervals of weeks to requires net heat injection in the compression stage if
months and complicated shorter-term behavior includes heat is to be converted to work so that the engine runs.
fast flickering. Ideas to account for the episodes include However, direct injection of heat around maximum
sudden release of matter from a circumstellar disk (disk compression (as in an ordinary engine) is not the only
instability) and variable supply from the donor star way. Eddington realized in the 1920s that favorable
(source instability). Examples are SS Cygni, U circumstances could occur if a star is relatively heat-tight
Geminorum, Z Camelopardalis and SU Ursae Majoris, when compressed. Rather than thermal energy being
each a prototype in a finer classification. Thermonuclear inserted, its escape is prevented. This is the famous
energy may play some role in dwarf novae. Ideas about Eddington valve mechanism—a generic means to achieve
evolutionary relationships among the several kinds of net driving that covers all specific ways to implement
CVs are under continual revision. heat-tightness upon compression. Two specific ways are
Impressive as they are, CV explosions are small the κ and γ mechanisms. The κ mechanism traps thermal
firecrackers compared with supernovae. In contrast to energy by making material in driving zones more opaque
CVs, where the basic configuration remains after an upon compression (κ is the usual symbol for opacity).
explosion, a supernova event involves the entire star. Kramers’ Law, κ = κ0ρ/T3.5, provides roughly correct
Supernova mechanisms include thermonuclear opacity for given density (ρ) and temperature (T). With ρ
incineration of a massive white dwarf star (in a binary) and T entered from accurate stellar structure models, it
and collapse of an old, dense stellar core to nuclear predicts that stellar material becomes less opaque upon
degeneracy. Other types that are probably much less compression, and indeed most stars do not pulsate.
common have been proposed. The energy release in However, actual opacity depends in a complicated way
burning a white dwarf star can be estimated by on thermodynamic variables and, although it decreases
multiplying a white dwarf mass (≈ 3 × 1033 g) by c2 and with compression in most parts of most stars, it increases
by an efficiency factor (≈10−3 for helium burning and with compression in the driving zones of Cepheids and
beyond) to arrive at an energy between 1051 and 1052 erg, some other pulsating stars. The γ mechanism operates by
about a million times that of a typical nova. The increasing the surface density of absorbing particles upon
minimum energy of a core collapse supernova is even compression. Imagine a thin pulsating shell of gas at its
much larger and follows from energy conservation in maximum and minimum radii. The number of contained
formation of a neutron star, whose gravitational binding particles is the same whether the shell is large or small
energy, Eg, is of order −1053 erg. Obviously a positive but the number per unit area is greatest when the shell is
energy that at least matches Eg must appear in the small. Therefore the shell more effectively blocks
radiative and material ejecta. The visible radiation radiation, or is more heat-tight, when compressed. The γ
amounts to only ≈1048 to 1049 erg, and thus is a tiny mechanism always contributes to driving for obvious
fraction of the energy budget. Theoretical simulations geometrical reasons, while the κ mechanism can produce
indicate that nearly all of the energy is carried by either driving or damping.
neutrinos. The detection of about two dozen neutrinos Driving will be weak if the main driving zones are
from supernova 1987a in the Large Magellanic Cloud too close to the surface (high) or too deep inside the star
was a great triumph of supernova theory, as the number (low), and net damping will arrest pulsation. In the high
observed was the number predicted for a core collapse, case, the problem is insufficient density in the driving
within the uncertainties. zones so that too little matter contributes to driving. In
the low case, the driving zones lie in the nearly adiabatic
Pulsation interior where, although there is plenty of mass, each
Pulsating stars undergo true pulsations (oscillations in gram makes only a small contribution. Because driving is
size or shape). The pulsations are of the envelope, as the associated with ionization zones of the abundant
core is static and not directly involved. One could elements H and He, net driving zones will be high in
imagine the high-temperature sensitivity of nuclear relatively hot (blue) stars and low in relatively cool (red)
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Variable Stars ENCYCLOPEDIA OF ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS
stars. Thus we have a roughly vertical instability strip in course, energy can feed from one mode to another and
the HR diagram where Cepheids are found. However, its between fundamental and overtones.
red and blue borders are not well defined and many non- No one kind of pulsation analysis serves all
pulsating stars lie within the strip. The instability strip purposes. As in other areas, success in computing
extends down to and below the main sequence and detailed behavior does not guarantee understanding. The
includes the little-evolved or mildly evolved δ Scuti and general phenomenon is highly nonlinear and one might
related variables with their typical periods of hours. It expect maximum insight to follow from all-
then continues to the region of the pulsating white dwarfs encompassing computations, but much insight has been
(ZZ Ceti stars). gained from linear analyses in which only infinitesimal
Several major distinctions characterize stellar pulsations are studied. N Baker realized that outcome by
pulsations. To begin, there are radial pulsations that restricting attention to a single mass shell—the One Zone
preserve a star’s figure (shape) but change its volume, model. However, pulsating stars are complicated
and non-radial pulsations that preserve volume but vary structures with many (thermally and mechanically)
the figure. An example of radial pulsation could be the coupled zones, so quantitative predictions of periods
expansion and contraction of a balloon under cyclically need complete models. To view the problem the opposite
changing external pressure. A small-amplitude example way, a full nonlinear computation should settle into a
of the non-radial case is provided by the tidal distortions correct period, but will not identify all possible periods
of the Earth and its oceans. A large-amplitude example found from linear theory. Although linear analysis leads
would be the oscillations of a disturbed water globule. A to insight on several fronts, it deals only with
more formal description of the contrasting behavior is in infinitesimal pulsations and therefore cannot produce
terms of a vector field. In radial pulsation, the complete models for comparison with observations.
displacement vectors of local matter elements pass back Possible pulsation modes and overtones are identified
and forth through zero length but maintain fixed through linear analysis, with detailed behavior at finite
alignments along local radii. Non-radial pulsation is more amplitude examined via nonlinear analysis, including
complicated, with the vectors cyclically changing both possible interactions of fundamental and overtones.
length and direction. Of course, real pulsations need not Similarly, growth and decay rates of small-amplitude
be purely radial or non-radial but can involve both pulsations can be investigated via linear analysis, but
volume and figure changes. However, many realistic rates for large pulsations and final saturation amplitudes
situations approximate these idealized types. are matters for nonlinear analysis. Of course, specific
Another distinction involves fundamental and light and velocity curve features can be modeled only
overtone pulsation. The situation is conceptually the with full nonlinear computations.
same as for a flexible string with one fixed and one free A wealth of observed phenomena in pulsating stars
end, where the free end is the analog of a pulsating star’s remain only partly understood or have only recently been
surface. The string can have a fundamental oscillation, understood, including light versus velocity phase lags
with a node only at the fixed end, and also overtone that are characteristic of a given class, unusual surface
oscillations with 1, 2, 3,…, n additional nodes. At a given abundances, changing velocity amplitudes and multiple
instant, adjacent inter-node regions have opposite periodicity. Magnetic fields, fast rotation and binary
motions (up versus down), and of course there is no companions are clearly present in some cases, but their
motion at the nodes. Similarly a pulsating star can have roles in pulsation are not usually obvious. Specific
fundamental and overtone pulsations, with extra nodes driving mechanisms may not be clear. An active testing
for the overtones. For a uniform string the nodes will be ground for pulsation theory is provided by the β Cephei
equally spaced, but a star has inwardly increasing stars, a class sometimes called the β Canis Majoris stars,
density, with the consequence that node spacings are not although current usage seems to have settled on the name
even approximately equal and must be computed. β Cephei. These stars have remarkably short pulsation
Fundamental and overtone pulsations can coexist and, periods of order 0.d2, with about half being doubly
accordingly, some unusual stars show beat phenomena. periodic and thereby showing beat behavior in light and
Still another distinction is among pulsation modes, velocity. Many RR Lyr and δ Sct stars also are doubly
i.e. possible ways to pulsate. The large amplitude radial periodic, but the two periods of a β Cep star can differ by
pulsations of Cepheid and RR Lyr type variables are in as little as 1%. The prototype β Cephei (not itself doubly
pressure modes (p-modes), so called because they periodic) is strongly magnetic and at least a triple system,
involve large local pressure variations. Both radial and with weak B-emission (Be) characteristics. A
non-radial p-mode pulsations can occur. Gravity modes phenomenon that must occur but is difficult to model is
(g-modes) involve global oscillations about a hydrostatic that of dynamical tides in eccentric and/or asynchronous
level surface and are necessarily non-radial. They have binaries, which can be regarded as forced non-radial
much smaller pressure variations than do p-modes. Of pulsations. Like ocean waves, such tides are largely
stochastic so that prediction is mainly limited to
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Variable Stars ENCYCLOPEDIA OF ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS
statistical behavior. Several supergiants with neutron star as it flickers by 0.m1 to 0.m2 on a time scale of minutes,
companions show the expected fluctuations in light and due to irregular inflow. Usually the hot spot itself, rather
velocity, including GP Velorum = Vela X1 and V884 than either star or the overall disk, is the brightest light
Scorpii, but quantitative matches with tidal theory remain source in the binary. X-ray binaries whose accreting
unrealized. objects are neutron stars have accretion power at least 30
times their thermonuclear power (for H burning; more
Other variation mechanisms than 100 times for He burning), so the promptly released
While eruptive and pulsating stars vary due to a variety energy is about the same whether the material burns or
of dynamical, thermal and cyclic instabilities that are not. However, large thermonuclear bursts can occur on
more or less understood, or at least largely identified, neutron stars if substantial amounts of fuel accumulate,
variations in many categories are caused by instabilities providing the sources known as x-ray bursters, where
that are not so well understood, by random events and by helium is the fuel. As a group, x-ray binaries are variable
random drifts in conditions. Some of these stars live on in all spectral regions, from radio to gamma, although
the border between intrinsic and extrinsic variables. For most individuals are detected only in restricted ranges.
example, RS CVn, BY Dra and W UMa binaries can be There are two essentially disjoint classes on greatly
heavily covered by magnetic spots, similar to sunspots. different scales, low-mass x-ray binaries (LMXBs) and
The agent understood to produce such spots is dynamo high-mass x-ray binaries (HMXBs). At first inspection,
action in a fast-rotating convective envelope, so cool LMXBs and HMXBs have little in common except that
stars that have convective envelopes are likely they contain neutron stars, and even a sketch of ideas
candidates—if they spin fast. The RS CVns, BY Dras, about their origins would exceed available space.
and W UMas naturally spin fast because they are tidally Configurations are such that HMXBs accrete mainly via
locked close binaries, but FK Com and a small number of winds from their blue supergiant companions and many
similar stars are fast spinning single giants! Their fast pulse in x-rays, while LMXBs accrete mainly via lobe
rotation currently is attributed to their being recently overflow and very few pulse. LMXBs bear a remarkable
merged ex-binary systems, with the binary orbital similarity to CVs, including absolute dimensions, with
angular momentum now existing as spin angular the notable difference being that a neutron star replaces
momentum. Spot-modulated stars are extrinsic variables the CV’s white dwarf. It has been noted that some
in that they vary on the orbital time scale because of LMXBs may form from CVs in rare cases of accretion
changing aspect of their spots. However, the spots grow, beyond the white dwarf mass limit.
decline and move, so they are intrinsic variables on Still another kind of intrinsic–extrinsic hybrid is the
longer time-scales. symbiotic star, where ultraviolet radiation from the
Accretion tends to be highly irregular and causes not environs of a small, hot accretor interacts with the wind,
only modest brightness fluctuations in active binaries, but extended atmosphere or chromosphere of a red giant
variations of up to several magnitudes in newly formed companion. Fluctuations in UV radiation and in wind
stars that accrete from their surroundings (T Tauri stars). flow lead to intrinsically variable fluorescence modulated
Much of the luminosity of T Tauris and related stars is by orbital aspect effects, sometimes including eclipses.
from the accretion process. Young objects of the FU Orbit periods are long compared with most variable
Orionis type have brightening episodes of up to five binaries, being typically hundreds of days or more.
magnitudes on a time-scale of decades to centuries. Because of observational difficulties, the defining
Outflows are associated with accretion but are not well characteristics of the class are necessarily superficial—
understood at present. Some classical T Tau stars are the accreting objects are not usually directly observed
surrounded by circumstellar disks that have been imaged and may be as diverse as neutron stars, white dwarfs and
in the infrared, with spectroscopic and imaging evidence main sequence stars. Extreme examples of symbiotics
of bipolar outflows. Accretion onto white dwarfs not only include symbiotic novae that have outbursts by brightness
leads to circumstances that eventually produce nova factors of order 100 and are believed to contain white
explosions but also directly converts gravitational energy dwarf accretors. Unlike CVs, a symbiotic nova can be in
to more tangible forms, as seen above for dwarf novae. outburst for decades. The mechanism usually assumed is
Even an occasional non-degenerate binary such as V361 a thermonuclear surface flash on the accretor followed by
Lyrae has a hot spot where high-speed gas impacts one of slow cooling. These objects are often called slow novae
the stars, having flowed in a well defined stream from the but differ radically from the CVs with the same name, so
other. Variable flows produce variable spot luminosities ‘symbiotic nova’ should consistently be applied.
and thus another kind of intrinsic–extrinsic variable. In Examples of symbiotic novae include PU Vulpeculae,
post novae and dwarf novae, the hot spot is on a disk RR Telescopii and V1329 Cygni.
surrounding the stream’s target star. Most exploding stars Variable polarization can result from scattering by
show variability between outbursts in their ‘quiescent’ circumstellar gas, but really spectacular variable
light curves. A common seat of variation is the hot spot polarization is seen in CVs that contain accreting white
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and Institute of Physics Publishing 2001
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Variable Stars ENCYCLOPEDIA OF ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS
dwarfs with extremely strong magnetic fields. These are magnetically active stars. The UV Ceti or flare stars are
the polars, or AM Her binaries, where cyclotron low-mass main sequence stars with unusually high levels
radiation in an oblique rotator produces strong circular of chromospheric activity. Flares are much hotter than
polarization over a wide range of wavelength, including red dwarf photospheres, so the brightening in magnitudes
optical light. Polars also are moderately strong x-ray is highly wavelength dependent, increasing strongly into
sources and natural laboratories for studying the ultraviolet. As with spot-modulated stars, rotation in a
hydrodynamic flows under combined gravitational and deep convective envelope generates strong dynamo
magnetic fields, with variable light and polarization as action, with UV Cet stars being especially fast rotators.
diagnostics. Intermediate polars have magnetic fields Flare activity is at least statistically a sign of youth, since
that are intense but somewhat below those of polars. red dwarf rotation decreases with age.
Examples of intermediate polars are EX Hydrae and GK Stars described as variable are traditionally those that
Persei. vary in brightness, especially over broad spectral regions.
Fluctuations in stellar winds can generate small-scale However, several kinds of spectrum variables vary most
emission line and continuum variation, particularly where notably in spectral details, with behavior that can be as
winds are strong. Most Wolf–Rayet (W–R) stars interesting as in the more obvious variables. For
accordingly vary by a few hundredths of a magnitude. A example, strong variable magnetic fields are involved in
W–R star is the highly evolved residue of a very massive spectral variations of Ap and Am stars (Ap = peculiar
star that has lost much of its envelope so as to expose hot stars of spectral type A; Am = metallic line stars of
inner regions. Often there is an evolved close companion spectral type A). Stars that lose matter via powerful and
with its own strong wind, so that wind–wind interactions unsteady winds, such as those of spectral type Of, show
cause further variation. variable emission lines with great Doppler broadening.
Intermittent veiling is a very unusual variation Stars of type Be (B emission stars) were among the first
mechanism and a major diagnostic of circumstellar to draw special attention as spectroscopically interesting
conditions and interior structure in certain (usually giant) in the 1800s, and continue to stimulate hypotheses,
stars. In veiled stars we find intrinsic and extrinsic observations, and controversy. The emission lines of Be
variation combined, as clouds come and go while stars are usually ascribed to circumstellar equatorial rings
changing aspect controls their influence on light curves. associated with centrifugal ejection of matter, but
Hydrodynamic flow in a mass transferring binary can circumstances leading to that situation are not widely
lead to concentrations of partially opaque material being agreed upon. Even the basic point of whether binary
projected onto the face of one or both stars, so that light nature is essential or irrelevant to Be behavior remains at
curves can help map circumstellar gas. An example is issue.
AX Monocerotis. Particularly spectacular examples of
veiling are the R Coronae Borealis stars—extremely Unique objects
carbon rich and hydrogen deficient (apparently single) Much of the fascination of variable star astrophysics is
supergiants that are veiled by carbon particles at irregular provided by unique objects that may result from
times, with brightness drops by factors of up to about anomalous formation, short effective lifetime or selection
1000. These pulsating stars eject clouds of gas whose effects. A few examples may give some of the flavor.
carbon condenses to soot when sufficiently far from the Most recognized causes of variation, including
hot photosphere, with clouds that happen to lie on the pulsation, gas dynamic interactions and rotation
line of sight producing the veiling. Pulsational phenomena, have been proposed for the spectacular and
characteristics, together with the strange abundances, mysterious η Carinae. Especially notable are its great
provide strong constraints on possible evolutionary luminosity and enormous swings in apparent magnitude
histories of R CrB stars. Given that only a few dozen are over centuries, including an interval in the 1840s when it
known, R CrBs must either represent a very brief stage of approached Sirius in brightness. It is usually regarded as
normal evolution or products of an unusual formation a supermassive star with mass above (and perhaps far
process such as a merger. above) 60 solar masses, and therefore a candidate for
Large evolutionary changes over the brief history of core pulsation via unstable thermonuclear burning.
observational astrophysics are extremely unusual. Speculation that it is a binary is supported by recent high
Perhaps the most spectacular example is FG Sagittae, resolution imaging of a bipolar nebula that must have
which has evolved from the small, hot exciting star of a been ejected in η Car’s great outburst of c. 1840 and by
planetary nebula into a pulsating R CrB type red giant in discovery of 5.5 year spectroscopic and photometric
only a century, with decade to decade developments. periodicities. Understanding of η Car is rapidly
Whether FG Sge is typical as a progenitor of R CrBs is developing but still rudimentary.
an open issue at present. The recurrent nova T Corona Borealis has the basic
Flares are brief local eruptions, prominent in both red star–blue star binary morphology of novae, but with a
continuum light and lines, from the chromospheres of red giant in place of the usual main sequence red star and
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and Institute of Physics Publishing 2001
Dirac House, Temple Back, Bristol, BS1 6BE, UK 9
Variable Stars ENCYCLOPEDIA OF ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS
Bibliography
Clark D H and Stephenson F R 1977 The Historical Supernovae
(Oxford: Pergamon)
Gallagher J S and Starrfield S 1978 Annu. Rev. Astron.
Astrophys. 16 171
Hoskin M 1979 J. Hist. Astron. 10 23
Lewin W H G, van Paradijs J and van den Heuvel E P J (ed)
1995 X-ray Binaries (Cambridge: Cambridge University
Press)
Kholopov P N 1982 Catalog of New Suspected Variable Stars
(Moscow: Nauka)
Kholopov P N 1984 General Catalog of Variable Stars
(Moscow: Nauka)
Kippenhahn R and Weigert A 1990 Stellar Structure and
Evolution (Berlin: Springer)
Payne-Gaposchkin C 1957 The Galactic Novae (Amsterdam:
North Holland)
Warner B 1995 Cataclysmic Variable Stars (Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press)
R E Wilson
Vatican Observatory
The Vatican Observatory is one of the oldest astronomical
institutes in the world. It began with the reformation
of the calendar in 1582. At the Roman College, Father
Angelo Secchi first classified stars according to their
spectra. With these rich traditions Leo XIII, in 1891,
formally founded the Vatican Observatory on a hillside
behind the dome of St Peter’s Basilica. In 1935 Pius
XI provided a new location for the Observatory at the
Papal Summer Residence at Castel Gandolfo. In 1981 the
Observatory founded a second research center in Tucson,
Arizona. In 1993 the Observatory, in collaboration with
STEWARD OBSERVATORY, completed the construction of the
Vatican Advanced Technology Telescope (VATT) which
has pioneered the new technology of creating large,
lightweight, stable mirrors in a rotating furnace. Research
includes cosmological models, spectral classification of
peculiar stars, photometric studies of metallicity, mass-
exchanging binary stars, material in star-forming dark
clouds, dust envelopes about young stars, planetary
dynamics. The Observatory is supported with an
annual budget from the Holy See and by contributions
to the Vatican Observatory Foundation, a tax-exempt
corporation in the State of Arizona.
For further information see
http://clavius.as.arizona.edu/vo/.
Vega
The star α Lyrae, the only bright star in the constellation.
Its name, formerly Wega, derives from the Arabic Al Waki,
‘the Swooping (or Falling) Eagle’, hence the form Alvaka
used on some seventeenth century celestial globes. In
ancient Greek and Latin writings it sometimes shared
the constellation name Lyra, and consequently appears
as ‘the Harp Star’ in some later texts. It is the dominant
component of the Summer Triangle asterism, with Altair
and Deneb. It was the Pole Star about 12 000 years ago,
and will be again 14 000 years hence.
Vega is the fifth brightest star in the heavens, with an
apparent magnitude of 0.03. It is the brightest star with
sufficiently high northern declination to appear overhead
in north temperate latitudes, and dominates their skies
on clear summer nights. It is a striking object when
viewed with binoculars or a low-power telescope, its blue-
white color (sometimes described as ‘sapphire’) belying its
relatively cool spectral type (A0Vvar). Fairly close at 25.3
light-years distance (parallax 0.129 ), Vega is in fact the
third closest of the bright stars. Its absolute magnitude
is 0.6. In 1983 it was discovered by the IRAS survey
to be surrounded by a disk of gas and dust, which may
eventually form a planetary system.
Figure 1. Mission history for VEGA 1 balloon showing (A) pressure, (B) temperature, (C) atmospheric vertical velocity, (D) ambient
light level and (E) cloud backscatter coefficient as functions of time after insertion on 11 June 1985. Venus longitudes are also shown on
the abscissa. The approximate position of the terminator is shown as a broken line in the plot (D). Gaps in the data sets indicate times
when no in situ measurements were transmitted by the balloon (Sagdeev et al 1986b).
Improved measurements of atmospheric temperature another between 45 and 58 km (unlike our planet where
were made in the full range between ∼63 km and the only one convective zone exists, between ∼10 km and the
surface. The temperature rises monotonically from up surface).
to down but an inversion was found near 61 km. The Cloud particles were studied in different ways with
lapse rate is not constant; its variations confirmed the a set of sensors that measured size distribution, number
existence of two convective zones, one below 15 km, density and chemical composition. Sulfuric acid (H2 SO4 )
Bibliography
reflectivity; the geometrical albedo is ∼0.04. So it is one Moroz V I 1989 Halley’s comet (part II): space studies
of the darkest bodies of the solar system. Dust is emitted Highlights Astron. 8 17–31
by its surface from the sunlit side. The dust flow consists Sagdeev R Z, Blamont J, Galeev A A, Moroz V I, Shapiro
mainly of narrow jets. The thermal IR radiation of the V D, Schevchenko V I and Szego K 1986a Vega
nucleus was measured by an infrared device. Its value spacecraft encounter with comet Halley Nature 321
corresponds to a temperature of about 380 K near the 259–62
subsolar point. This was unexpected because a lot of Sagdeev R Z et al 1986b Overview of VEGA balloon in situ
water ice with a temperature about 200 K should exist meteorological measurements Science 321 1411–4
in the upper layers of the nucleus to provide the H2 O
flux observed by the same instrument and also in many V Moroz
Vela
(the Sails; abbrev. Vel, gen. Velorum; area 500 sq. deg.)
a southern constellation which lies between Antlia–Pyxis
and Carina, and culminates at midnight in mid February.
It was introduced by the French astronomer Nicolas L de
Lacaille (1713–62), who charted the southern sky in 1751–
2, from stars that formed part of the ancient constellation
of Argo Navis (the Ship), which had been included by
Ptolemy (c. AD 100–175) in the Almagest.
The brightest stars in Vela are γ Velorum (Regor), a
multiple system consisting of the brightest Wolf–Rayet star
in the sky (bluish-white, WC8 + O9, range 1.81–1.87) and
a bluish-white (B2) component, magnitude 4.3, separation
41 , the former of which has an unseen companion that
revolves around it in 78.5 days, and a fourth, bluish-white
(B6) component, magnitude 7.7, separation 63 , δ Velorum,
a very close binary with a white (A1) primary, magnitude
2.0, and a fainter secondary, magnitude 5.6, separation
0.74 , λ Velorum (Suhail), magnitude 2.2, κ Velorum
(Markeb), magnitude 2.5, and µ Velorum, another binary,
with yellow (G5 and G2) components, magnitudes 2.9 and
5.9, separation 2.0 . There are nine other stars brighter
than magnitude 4.0. δ and κ Velorum together with ι and
ε Carinae make up as asterism called the False Cross, as
it is sometimes confused with the constellation Crux (the
Southern Cross).
The Milky Way passes through Vela and the
constellation contains more than 40 open clusters and
many planetary nebulae, including IC 2391, an open
cluster of more than 20 stars scattered across a 1◦ field,
the brightest of which is o Velorum, magnitude 3.6, and
NGC 3132 (the Eight-Burst Nebula), a ninth-magnitude
planetary nebula with a tenth-magnitude star at its center.
Other interesting objects include NGC 3201, a seventh-
magnitude globular cluster, and the vast Gum Nebula, an
expanding emission nebula some 36◦ across that extends
into the neighboring constellations of Antlia, Pyxis, Puppis
and Carina, and is thought to be the result of a supernova
explosion that occurred more than 1 million years ago,
inside which is the more recent Vela supernova remnant
and at its center the Vela pulsar.
See also: False Cross, Gum Nebula, Vela pulsar, Vela
supernova remnant.
Vela Pulsar
The pulsar PSR 0833–45, discovered in 1968. With a period
of only 9.3 ms, it has one of the fastest pulse-rates known,
implying that it is one of the youngest pulsars. This is
borne out by an observed deceleration in its pulse-rate
of 10.7 ns per day, which sets an upper limit to the time
elapsed since it was formed in a supernova explosion
of about 11 000 years. In 1977 its pulsations were also
recorded in visible light, making it one of the first optical
pulsars to be confirmed.
The Vela pulsar is located in the southern Milky Way,
2.8◦ south of the galactic equator and approximately at the
centre of a triangle formed by the stars ζ Puppis, γ Velorum
and λ Velorum. It is surrounded by extensive nebulosity
more than 5◦ across, also a product of the supernova, and is
associated with a moderately strong radio source, Vela X;
its distance has been estimated at between 1300 and 1600
light-years. The Vela pulsar and supernova remnant lie
within a much older and larger supernova remnant, the
Gum Nebula.
but not so good as the 0.12 km achieved by the Magellan Mechanical properties of rocks. The density of rocks was
orbiter seven years later (1990–1994). measured by the gamma-ray densitometer from V10 to
The Venus surface (see VENUS: SURFACE) is dominated by be 2.8 ± 0.1 g cm−3 , which is typical of crystalline basalts.
plains formed by vast floods of the non-viscous volcanic Determinations of the bearing strength and firmness of
lavas, probably basalts. About 15% of the mapped area rocks were made by V13 and 14 using three methods: (i)
is covered by so-called tessera, which is a specific terrain a penetrometer which impacted the ground, (ii) sampling
formed by heavy tectonic deformation of some unknown the rocks by drilling for the x-ray fluorescence analyses,
precursor terrain. The morphology of numerous ring-like and (iii) accelerometer observations during the shock of
volcanic plain features, so-called coronae, is evidence of landing. Heavy clays and compacted dust-like sand are
their formation due to tectonics and volcanism related the terrestrial analogs for V13, and volcanic tuffs and
to the uplifting plumes in the planet’s interior. Several fissured rocks are those for V14.
large fracture zones sharing many properties with the Temperature, pressure and dynamics in the lower
continental rift zones on Earth were found. Many impact atmosphere (0–60 km) were measured by all landing and
craters of 8 to 150 km diameter show the age of the mapped entry probes. T and p vary from T = 735 K and
area to be 0.5–1 billion years. The main conclusion is that p = 90 bar near the surface to 260 K and 0.2 bar at
the geology on Venus, contrary to that on Earth, is not 60 km. The temperature lapse rates (gradients) may be
driven by plate tectonics. compared with the adiabatic lapse rate for the CO2 (97%)
Panoramas of the landing sites of V9, 10 (figure 1), 13 + N2 (3%) mixture which varies from −11.2 K km−1 at
and 14 show the small-scale structure of the surface. Of 60 km to −8.0 K km−1 near the surface. The adiabatic lapse
four sites, only two are similar (V10 and 13). V9 shows rate corresponds to the static stability of the atmosphere.
a slope of the mountain ridge covered by irregular and Significant deviations from static stability were observed
sharp-edged stones having sizes up to 0.5–0.7 m. V10 and at 50–35 km and 22–7 km. Wind speed (measured using
13 landed on the rolling plain with outcrops of crystallized the Doppler shift of the radiotransmitter frequency) varies
magmatic rocks changed by deep chemical weathering. from 70 m s−1 at 50 km to 0.5 m s−1 near the surface. See
Steeply sloped uplands with layered structured rocks are also VENUS: ATMOSPHERE.
seen sloping away. V14 found a smooth region of the Abundances of noble gases and isotope ratios were
stone plain (lowland) composed of relatively fresh fine- measured by the V11–14 mass spectrometers. The total
grained rocks having a horizontal layered structure which argon abundance is 100 parts per million (ppm). The
resembles the accumulation of volcanic tuff. ratio of primary isotopes, 36Ar/38Ar, is that on Earth, while
Composition of rocks. The abundances of Mg, Al, Si, the radiogenic isotope 40Ar is depleted by a factor of 270
K, Ca, Ti, Mn, S, Cl and Na given as their oxides were relative to the Earth’s value. The abundance of Ne is
measured by the x-ray fluorescence spectrometers at the 8 ppm, and 20 Ne/22 Ne = 12.15 ± 0.1, which is between
V13, 14 and Vega 2 landing sites. Abundances of the the ratios found on the Earth’s (10.1 ± 0.4) and in the solar
natural radionuclides (K, U, Th) were measured by the wind (13.7±0.3). The abundances of Kr and Xe are 35 parts
gamma-ray spectrometers from V8, 9, 10, Vega 1 and 2. per billion (ppb) and less than 20 ppb, respectively. The
Both elemental and radionuclide abundances are typical isotope ratios for C and O are equal to the Earth’s ratios.
of various types of erupted basalts, with the exception of All these values are important for the origin and evolution
V8 which is more similar to granites. of the atmosphere.
Figure 1. Panoramas of the surface of Venus observed from V9 and V10. Each panorama is 180◦ × 40◦ .
The chemical composition of the atmosphere was studied ratio corresponding to FeCl3 . Later, on Vega 1 and 2, this
by the V12–14 gas chromatographs: N2 ≈ 3% and method was used to measure the abundances of S, Cl and P.
Ar = 100 ppm (both were also measured by the mass Gas chromatographic and mass spectrometric analyses of
spectrometers), SO2 = 130 ± 35 ppm, CO varies from 30 aerosol pyrolysis products (Vega 1 and 2) revealed sulfuric
ppm at 36 km to 17 ppm at 12 km. Detections of some acid and sulfur aerosols with the mass ratio 1:0.1. FeCl3
other gases are disputable. is probably present as very small (0.3 µm) particles and
Strong CO2 and H2 O bands observed at various constitutes 1% of the total aerosol mass. These particles
heights with the V11–14 spectrophotometers resulted in may serve as condensation centers for sulfuric acid and
an estimate of the full water abundance of 1 g cm−2 above explain the near-UV absorption. The Vega data favor P as
the surface (first done at V11). The absorption at 0.37 µm phosphoric acid H3 PO4 at locations where the lower cloud
observed with V14 below 58 km is due to SO2 , which varies boundary extends to 35 km. The observed excess of Cl may
from 50 ppm at 50 km to 10 ppm at 57 km. indicate AlCl3 .
Observations with the V15 Fourier spectrometer Lightning. Strong and frequent electromagnetic
resulted in H2 O abundances of 5–15 ppm at 60 ± 3 km. pulses at 10–100 kHz observed at V11 to 14 favor
SO2 abundances at 70 km were equal to 20–40 ppb at the lightning on Venus. The Pioneer Venus electromagnetic
low and middle latitudes, 1–10 ppb in the polar collar, and observations also support lightning. However, of three
100–1000 ppb near the north pole. sets of observations in the visible (V9, 10, and Pioneer
Structure of clouds and aerosols. Illumination. Analysis Venus orbiters, Vega 1 and 2 balloons), there was only one
of the solar radiation scattered in the atmosphere and case for suspecting a thunderstorm. Overall, the problem
measured by the photometers and spectrophotometers
is uncertain.
onboard the V8–14 landing probes established three main
Properties of clouds and the atmosphere near the upper
layers within the cloud deck structure and the lower cloud
cloud boundary (68 km) were studied by the near-UV
boundary at 48 km (near 35 km at V8 and Vega 1 and 2).
camera, visible spectrometer, photopolarimeter, near-IR
Optical depths of the layers were derived at each landing
spectrometer and IR radiometer onboard the V9 and 10
sites. The V14 near-UV (0.32–0.39 µm) photometer
orbiters, and Fourier spectrometer (FS) on V15.
established two absorption layers, above 60 km and below
58 km. 90% of the solar near-UV energy is absorbed above FS covered the range 5–40 µm with a spectral
60 km and supports strong winds in the upper cloud level. resolving power λ/δλ ≈ 200. 1500 spectra obtained mostly
A few per cent of the solar flux reaches the surface. in the northern hemisphere showed sulfuric acid as a
A nephelometer is an instrument that illuminates a main cloud species at all latitudes. The cloud deck is
volume of atmospheric medium by a narrow beam and homogeneous with a smooth decrease in particle density
measures the scattered radiation at fixed angles. Four- at latitudes < 50◦ , and is horizontally variable with a steep
angle nephelometers were used onboard V9 and 10 and vertical decrease at the polar and subpolar regions.
one-angle (backscattering) nephelometers on V11, 13 and Limb observations of haze above the clouds by the V9
14. They also established the three-layer structure of the and 10 visible spectrometers resulted in vertical profiles
main cloud deck and determined aerosol properties in of the haze particle size, their number density and eddy
those layers. diffusion at 70–100 km.
The chemical composition of clouds was measured by Pressure, temperature and dynamics in the middle atmo-
the V12 and 14 x-ray fluorescence spectrometers, which sphere were studied by three methods: (i) accelerometers
determined the presence of S, Cl and Fe, with the Fe/Cl on the entry and landing probes, (ii) dual-frequency radio
occultations from the V9, 10, 15 and 16 orbiters, and (iii) Hunten D M, Colin L, Donahue T M and Moroz V I (ed)
FS spectra of the CO2 band at 15 µm. 1983 Venus (Tucson, AZ: University of Arizona Press)
50 and 90 p–T profiles in the range 40–90 km were Keldysh M V 1977 Venus exploration with the Venera 9
observed with radio occultations from V9, 10 and 15, and Venera 10 spacecraft Icarus 30 605–25
16, respectively, to study the thermal balance, day– Krasnopolsky V A 1986 Photochemistry of the Atmospheres of
night variations and latitudinal behavior with a special Mars and Venus (Heidelberg: Springer)
emphasis on the polar and collar regions. Temperature Moroz V I 1981 The atmosphere of Venus Space Sci. Rev. 29
profiles deduced from the FS spectra are different at low 3–127
and high latitudes and depend also on local time. Wind
velocities (≈ 100 m s−1 at 70 km) estimated from the Vladimir A Krasnopolsky
temperature profiles vary with local time, showing the
half-day period typical of the atmospheric tides.
Airglow. Observations with the high-sensitive visible
spectrometers (V9 and 10 orbiters) solved the three-
centuries-old problem of the Venus ashen light (nonzero
brightness of the night side) and revealed spectra of the
nightglow. Laboratory simulations of these spectra helped
to identify four O2 band systems. Their intensities, vertical
profiles and variations with local time were obtained.
These emissions originate near h = 100 km in the reaction
O + O + CO2 → O2∗ + CO2 with subsequent quenching and
excitation trasnfer.
Dayglow emissions of H, O, He and O+ were observed
with the V9 and 10 airglow photometers and V11 and
12 spectrometers. The densities of these species and the
temperature of the upper atmosphere were obtained from
the observations.
Profiles of electron density in the ionosphere were
measured using dual-frequency radio occultations from
the V9, 10, 15 and 16 orbiters. About 100 profiles were
used to study variations of the density maximum and
its height, the scale height above the maximum, and the
ionopause height with solar zenith angle, solar activity and
other geophysical parameters. The nightside ionosphere is
especially variable and often shows a two-peak structure.
The magnetosphere and interaction with the solar wind
were studied by two plasma spectrometers and a
magnetometer onboard the V9 and 10 orbiters. The shape
and location of the bow shock indicated that the solar
wind is diverted almost completely by a magnetic barrier.
Charge exchange between the solar wind protons and
atmospheric hot oxygen atoms and their photoionization
add mass to the solar wind. This mass loading was
observed in the boundary layer of the solar wind flow
around the planet and plays a crucial role in the formation
of the magnetosphere. The planetary ion outflow on
the nightside forms the distinct plasma tail. Its polarity
is controlled by the local direction of the interplanetary
magnetic field, thus confirming the induced nature of the
Venus magnetosphere. Both plasma flow from the dayside
and electron precipitations on the nightside support the
nightside ionosphere (see also VENUS: INTERACTION WITH SOLAR
WIND).
Bibliography
Barsukov V L, Basilevsky A T, Volkov V P and Zharkov V N
(ed) 1992 Venus Geology, Geochemistry, and Geophysics
(Tucson, AZ: University of Arizona Press)
The atmosphere time) varies from 170 to 330 K. These maps indicate that,
Composition and temperature at these altitudes, the polar regions are up to 20 K warmer
Our current knowledge of the composition of the than the equator, which is very surprising.
atmosphere of Venus comes from a number of in situ At still higher altitudes, in the thermosphere, the
analyses with infrared and ultraviolet spectrometers, temperature in the day-side is around 300 K, and therefore
mass spectrometers and gas chromatographs on space much colder than on Earth (where it is 1000–2000 K).
probes that went into the atmosphere of the planet. It Heating in this part of the atmosphere is caused mainly
is also the result of spectroscopy obtained with Earth- by the absorption of ultraviolet photons from the Sun.
based telescopes, airplanes, rockets and satellites. Venus The difference in temperature with respect to the Earth
has a very dense atmosphere, with CO2 as the major is due to the greater abundance of CO2 which is very
constituent (mixing ratio: 0.965), instead of N2 as on efficient at radiating heat to space. The temperature varies
Earth. Minor components are nitrogen (N2 ), water vapor spectacularly from day to night. At night, it can be as cold
(H2 O), sulfur dioxide (SO2 ), sulfur monoxide (SO), carbon as 100 K. The long duration of the days on Venus and the
monoxide (CO), carbonyl sulfide (COS), sulfuric acid cooling effect of CO2 on the night-side probably combine
(H2 SO4 ), oxygen (O2 ), hydrogen chloride (HCl), hydrogen to produce this strong contrast in temperature.
fluoride (HF), argon (Ar), neon (Ne) and krypton (Kr) (see The homopause is the region of the atmosphere above
VENUS: ATMOSPHERE). The atmospheric surface pressure is which the gases are no longer uniformly mixed (gases of
95 bar, or 95 times that at the surface of the Earth. The different mass have different scale heights). On Venus,
temperature at the surface is very high: 740 K. this occurs at around 130–145 km altitude. What is found
One of the striking characteristics of Venus is its is a surprisingly low concentration of the dissociation
dryness. At the high surface temperature of Venus, products of CO2 —O and CO—above the homopause.
water could not currently exist in the liquid state at the These products must be quickly removed and transported
surface. However, even in the atmosphere, only very to lower altitudes where they recombine (maybe through
small amounts of H2 O vapor are found. The deuterium- a catalytic cycle that involves chlorine, which is about 1000
to-hydrogen ratio is very high (about 150 times that on times more abundant on Venus than on Earth).
Earth). In contrast, isotopic ratios of C and O are the same Still higher up, Venus has an ionosphere, which
on Venus and Earth. was first detected by the radio-occultation experiment on
Concerning the nonradiogenic noble gases 20 Ne, 36Ar Mariner 5 in 1967 and has been studied in more detail by
and Kr, 20 Ne is about 20 times more abundant on Venus an ion-mass spectrometer that went to the ionosphere and
than on Earth, 36Ar about 70 times more abundant and Kr by remote-sensing observations with other instruments on
only 3 times more abundant. Radiogenic argon (40Ar) is the Pioneer Venus orbiter. The day-side ionosphere peaks
about 4 times less abundant on Venus than on Earth. near 140 km and stops at about 500 km. It is produced
The high average surface temperature is somewhat primarily by solar extreme ultraviolet radiation. The most
surprising. Indeed, in spite of the close proximity of Venus abundant positive ions are O+2 , O+ and CO+2 . O+2 (and not
to the Sun, because of the high reflecting power of the CO+2 ) is the dominant ion up to about 190 km because
clouds, only about 25% of the solar flux penetrates into of the rapid reaction rate of CO2 + O. Higher up, O+
the atmosphere. However, the high surface temperature dominates. Quite surprisingly, the night-side ionosphere
can be explained by a very efficient greenhouse effect as can sometimes be rather significant. This happens during
the atmosphere of Venus contains gases that are strong periods of solar maximum when the day-side ionosphere
infrared absorbers (CO2 , SO2 , H2 O, OCS) and clouds is so dense and extensive that the solar wind cannot
that trap the thermal radiation emitted by the deep penetrate the planet’s environment. A large flux of O+
atmosphere. This causes an increase in the surface ions then goes to the night-side of the planet and creates
temperature of nearly 500 K (compared with the expected a significant night-side ionosphere (the long duration of
temperature without an atmosphere). the nights prevents the ions from recombining). At solar
The measurements of temperature in the atmosphere minimum, the day-side ionosphere is much less extensive,
come from infrared radiometry and radio occultations. and the flow of ions to the night-side not as strong (see
Spacecraft radio-occultation measurements indicate that VENUS: INTERACTION WITH SOLAR WIND).
the temperature decreases from 740 K at the surface
to about 240 K at the cloud tops. Temperatures Clouds
below 35–50 km approximately follow an adiabat. This Although the upper part of the cloud layers can be
indicates that the temperature structure below the observed and monitored from the Earth, the vertical
clouds is controlled essentially by atmospheric dynamics structure of the clouds can be studied only during space
(convection). Diurnal and latitudinal variations are very missions. Probes and the Vega 1 balloons have gone
small below the clouds. through the cloud layers, and the Galileo spacecraft has
Above the clouds, in the region called the mesosphere, imaged the clouds on the night-side of the planet around
temperature measurements obtained from Pioneer Venus 40–50 km altitude during its fly-by of Venus.
around 15 µm have provided maps covering the 60– Clouds cover Venus globally in generally three layers
105 km vertical range. The temperature (averaged over between 48 and 68 km. At some times and at some
on Venus, as well as measurements in comets, are needed The highlands are dominated by two continent-size
to enable the further development of these hypotheses. features: APHRODITE TERRA and ISHTAR TERRA (figure 4). The
Venus’s atmosphere currently contains about 100 000 largest one, Aphrodite Terra (about 10 000 km across),
times less water than is found in the oceans and is larger than Africa in surface area. It lies mostly in
atmosphere of the Earth. Venus could originally have had the southern hemisphere, close to the equator, at 1–
the same amount of water as the Earth. A significant loss 5 km elevation. Ishtar Terra, about 5600 km across
of water could have occurred on Venus, but not on Earth, (about the size of Australia), and located in the northern
because of a runaway greenhouse effect due to the much hemisphere, possesses the highest mountain belts on the
higher temperatures of Venus that would have vaporized planet, including Maxwell Montes which is up to about
the water. The water molecules dissociate in the upper 12 km high. Following V L Hansen and colleagues,
atmosphere, and hydrogen then escapes. After a period the highlands can be subdivided into three groups: the
of massive escape, it has been computed that fractionation volcanic rises, the crustal plateaux and Ishtar Terra. The
would start (the heavier deuterium D does not escape as volcanic rises are more than 1000 km across, they rise 1–
easily as the lighter H) after the amount of water has been 2.5 km above the surrounding plains and they have gentle
reduced to the equivalent of a layer of water a few meters slopes. They include the Atla, Beta, Bell, Dione, Imdr
thick covering the surface of Venus. The very high value of and Themis Regiones. The most prominent volcanoes
the D/H ratio measured on Venus could therefore indicate on Venus and numerous coronae (which are circular to
that much larger amounts of water were present in the past, elliptical features with tectonic annuli unique to Venus)
with, maybe, the possibility that OCEANS once existed on the are found there. The volcanic rises are mostly located in
planet. However, such calculations are not simple, as it is equatorial regions of Venus. The crustal plateaux such
hard to track the amount of water present at a given time. as Ovda and Thetis in Aphrodite Terra, or the Alpha,
Indeed, during the more recent past, significant ejections Phoebe or Tellus Regiones are 1000–3000 km across; they
of water could have been produced by a major volcanic have steep slopes and reach elevations of 2–4 km above
episode or by a massive outgassing event. Furthermore, the surrounding plains. They contain regions of very
cometary impacts continually replenish the atmosphere rough, highly deformed terrain called tesserae, and some
with relatively weakly deuterated water. volcanic features, as well as many other structures such
as ridges, fractures and grabens. Ishtar Terra has unique
Surface and interior of Venus characteristics; it is an irregular platform with a complex
Little was known about the surface until the 1970s. topographic profile that includes a high interior plateau,
After the first observations by Earth-based Goldstone and Lakshmi Planum, with mountain belts in its periphery, and
Arecibo radar mapping in the 1960s, global-scale radar surrounding high tesserae. In addition, its tesserae are
mappings of large parts of the surface were carried out by different from the ones found elsewhere. They have more
Pioneer Venus in 1978 and Venera 15 and 16 in 1983. This coherent structures.
was then followed by the US Magellan mission in 1990–4 Thousands of volcanoes have been identified on
that has provided radar images, altimetric and radiometric Venus, from kilometer-size vents to broad shields
data at a remarkable spatial resolution of 120–300 m for hundreds of km across. Volcanoes and other volcanic
98% of the surface of Venus. features are found everywhere, but they are less abundant
in the tesserae regions and more abundant in the Beta–
Main characteristics of the surface Atla–Themis region which covers about 20% of the planet.
The radar altimetric data indicate that more than 90% of So far, 167 volcanoes more than 100 km across have been
the surface has an elevation between −1 and +2.5 km, found. Examples are Maat Mons in Atla Regio (figure 5)
compared with Venus’s reference mean radius of 6051.8 and Theia Mons in Beta Regio, which have diameters
km. The surface is dominated by plains. One can in the range 100–200 km and rise to 1–9 km above the
distinguish the lowland plains (or planitiae), such as the mean planetary radius. These volcanoes are surrounded
Atalanta Planitia, that have elevations between 1 and 2 km by radar-bright (rough) ejecta with circular or elliptical
below the mean Venusian radius and that cover about shapes that sometimes form kinds of festoons. About 300
27% of the surface, and the upland or rolling plains that intermediate-size volcanoes have been found (20–100 km
constitute 65% of the surface and have elevations between in diameter), including several ‘pancake domes’ that
0 and 2 km above the mean surface radius. The rest (about are steep-sided, circular, flat-top features. The smallest
8% of the surface) is made of highlands with 2–12 km volcanoes are mostly found in groups called shield fields.
elevation. There are about 1000 impact CRATERS on Venus, which
The lowland plains are generally very smooth (dark is not much compared with what is found on Mars or
at radar wavelengths), whereas the upland or rolling the Moon. The largest crater, Mead, has a diameter of
plains are a little more rough and possess many small- 270 km, and the smallest ones have diameters of about
scale landforms such as scarps, ridges, troughs, hills, 1.5 km. The absence of small craters and the fact that
channels, . . . . The plains are interrupted by the large-scale craters on Venus seem to come in groups are probably due
landforms at higher elevations called highlands (see VENUS: to the presence of a dense atmosphere around the planet
SURFACE). that has broken the large meteroids and completely burnt
Figure 4. Topography of Venus in a Mercator projection (from Hunten D M, Colin L, Donahue T M and Moroz V I (ed) 1983 Venus
(Tucson, AZ: University of Arizona Press) p 1059).
smaller ones. Higher crater densities are usually found The plains are apparently completely covered by
in the plains. Most craters are pristine. The low number volcanic deposits. Concerning the volcanic centers, one
of craters, their distribution and their shapes suggest that can distinguish two main categories. The first category is
the surface of Venus cannot be older than 500–800 million characterized by very significant flows that generally come
years on average. from a vent region during repetitive eruptions. It includes
Information on the surface composition comes from large and intermediate-size volcanic edifices, flow fields
in situ data and from radar data. The geochemical data and calderas. To explain the formation of centers of
from the Venera 9, 10, 13 and Vega 1 and 2 landers repetitive volcanic eruption it is necessary to assume the
imply a predominantly basaltic composition, with one site presence of stable shallow magma reservoirs. The global
indicating possibly more alkalinic rocks. Venera 8 found a eruption rates corresponding to the population of large
more granitic composition for the soil. Radar backscatter volcanoes have been estimated by L S Crumpler and
is a function of both roughness and the bulk properties of colleagues to be about 1.7 × 10−2 km3 yr−1 of magma.
the target material. The radar properties of the lowland The second type concerns regions of the order of 100–
plains indicate surface dielectric constants of 3–8, which 200 km in diameter characterized by the presence of many
small edifices and by relatively limited associated volumes
corresponds to low values of the dielectric constants of
of lava flows. It includes the groups of small-size edifices
basalts on Earth. Much higher dielectric constants have
that are called shield fields. Some calculations indicate that
been found for some regions at high elevation. They
these shield fields form where magma replenishment rates
can be explained by highly conducting materials such as
are about 10−4 km3 yr−1 or less, but there is no estimate of
iron-bearing minerals (pyrite (FeS2 ) or iron oxides such as
the global rate for this category.
magnetite (Fe3 O4 )) but identification of a specific phase
Concerning Venus’s resurfacing history, it looks as if
which would exist only in a narrow band of elevation is a substantial decrease in area resurfacing rates from about
problematic. 4 km2 yr−1 during plain emplacement to about 0.5 km2 yr−1
over the past 290 million years has occurred. This
Volcanism and tectonism reduction has probably been accompanied by a change
Volcanic deposits and volcanic centers are very important in volcanic style from flood-type volcanism in the plains
characteristics of the surface of Venus. The processes of to more localized development of volcanoes, coronae and
volcanism have been largely preserved on this planet, rifts.
which is not the case for Mars and the Earth (see VOLCANISM Concerning the types of lava, some indication comes
IN THE SOLAR SYSTEM). from the existence and morphology of some of the
Figure 5. Magellan image showing a perspective view of Maat Mons, with a vertical exaggeration factor of 10. Maat Mons is a 5 km (or
8 km above the mean planetary radius) high volcano located in Atla Regio, at the eastern end of Aphrodite Terra (image P-40175 from
the NASA/JPL Magellan Radar Mapping Mission). This figure is reproduced as Color Plate 45.
volcanic perovskite
rises
decayed plumes
LEGEND
crust
mantle
residuum
CORE upper mantle
lithosphere
LOWER upper boundary
BOUNDARY
layer
plains LAYER
plumes / diapirs
Figure 6. A possible global tectonic model for Venus (from Hansen V L et al 1997 Venus II ed S W Bougher, D M Hunten and R J Phillips
(Tucson, AZ: University of Arizona Press) p 835.) This figure is reproduced as Color Plate 46.
channels observed on Venus. The longest of the various They are 1–3 km wide, and their depth seems to be
classes of channels observed on Venus are called canali. less than 50 m. Highly fluid lavas, that have erupted
They have remarkably constant width along very long during sustained, high discharges, seem best to explain
paths, exceeding 500 km and up to 6800 km (Baltis Vallis). many of the channel features, particularly the canali.
Possible candidates for this fluid are native sulfur or, and that constitutes most of the Earth’s seafloor. The
preferably, alkali–carbonatite lavas (very rare on Earth) crust, therefore, probably formed from melting of an
which would have resulted from the melting of the crust upper mantle with an Earth-like composition. Theoretical
altered by interaction with the CO2 –SO2 –halogen-rich models constrained by the observed depths of impact
atmosphere. In contrast, the pancake domes and festoon craters and the spacings of ridges and rifts imply crustal
flows correspond to high-viscosity lavas. thicknesses in many parts of Venus of 10–20 km, which is
Hundreds of coronae are distributed across the less than the average thickness of the Earth’s continental
surface, most with diameters of less than 300 km, but crust (about 40 km) but greater than the thickness of the
a few exceed 1000 km in diameter. They are not seen oceanic crust (about 6 km). Gravitational data indicate
on any other terrestrial planetary body. Many of them that the mean thickness of Venus’s crust is 20–50 km.
are associated with rift zones, forming linear chains Alternatively, arguments based on mineralogy and high
thousands of kilometers long. In other places, they occur topographic elevations suggest crustal thicknesses in some
individually or in clusters in the plains. All coronae have areas of 100 km or more. Seismic probes are needed to
some association with volcanism. Coronae may represent obtain more information on the thickness of the crust.
collapsed domes over large magma chambers. The depth of the lithosphere is even more uncertain.
There are numerous other tectonic surface features Some think that Venus’s lithosphere may be thicker than
on Venus that have been formed by compression or by Earth’s, owing to its lower water content in mantle rocks,
extension: ridges, valleys, mountain belts, . . . . In tesserae, thus making its surface geology somewhat less active.
one finds ridges and grooves that intersect and form Others speak of a lithosphere only about 100 km thick,
very chaotic patterns. They probably reflect a complex similar to or thinner than Earth’s. They argue that the
deformation history. One also finds rift zones on dome- high temperature of the surface of Venus prevents a thick
like features that are linear depressions that probably lithosphere from forming because the rocks are near their
formed where Venus’s lithosphere has ruptured owing melting points.
to horizontal extension. The most important one is Beta Based on the identification and study of the different
Regio, which presents some analogy with the terrestrial types of volcanic and tectonic features on Venus, and on
East African Rift. gravitational data, it appears that there cannot be on Venus
a global plate-tectonic activity as on Earth. There is instead
Geological evolution and the interior of Venus evidence for active mantle convection with a recycling that
Studies of impact craters on Venus indicate that about occurs mainly in the vertical direction through regions of
80% of the history of Venus is not accessible to us. The upwelling and downwelling. According to some models,
surface we see is very young. The oldest terrain on volcanic centers must be associated with regions of mantle
Venus is tesserae. They are probably due to intensive upwelling. The long-lived plumes (which are narrow
tectonic deformation. Other apparently younger tectonic regions of hot mantle upwelling) that allow sustained
features must have formed during successive episodes eruptions may be at the origin of the large volcanoes.
of compressional and tensional deformations: fractures, Short-lived plumes may explain coronae. They may
broad ridges, wrinkle ridges. A period during which be due to local upwelling currents in Venus’s mantle
several stages of extensive volcanism occurred, burying (figure 6).
areas of tesserae and forming the plains we see now, One must also take into account the fact that the
probably occurred afterwards. lithosphere may have been thin early in the history
Similarities in mean density and moment of inertia of Venus and has thickened with time. This would
factor between Earth and Venus could indicate similar bulk result in differences in the surface response above mantle
compositions and internal structures. Models suggest that upwellings. For instance, as has been suggested by some
the interior of Venus is indeed compositionally similar scientists, crustal plateaux could represent the interaction
to the Earth, except for small differences in iron, sulfur of ancient deep thermal plumes (or hotspots) with a
and oxygen content. Venus has certainly differentiated. thinner lithosphere. In contrast, volcanic rises may have
It must have a crust, a mantle and a core. Although the formed only in the relatively recent past, after Venus’s
relatively large value of the mean density of Venus strongly lithosphere had thickened enough to support them.
suggests that the planet has an iron core, Venus lacks an The gravitational data and the presence of ridge belts
intrinsic magnetic field that would be strong evidence that that indicate compressive stress suggest that the plains
at least part of its core exists in the liquid state, as is the case may correspond to regions of mantle downwelling on a
for Earth. Most models predict the radii of the core and broad scale. Regions of diffuse mantle upwelling would
mantle to be of the order of 3200 and 2800 km, respectively. result instead in extension of the lithosphere and formation
Venus probably has a lithosphere, as does the Earth, but of coronae and chasmata (the chasmata are arrangements
gravitational data indicate that it most likely does not have of troughs and scarps).
the low-viscosity astenosphere that exists on Earth below There is certainly a very complex time evolution. The
the lithosphere. regions of mantle upwellings and mantle downwellings
Most of the sites exhibit compositions similar to may change location with time, which could result for
basalt, a volcanic rock that is very common on Earth instance in formation of coronae and chasmata in plain
Bibliography
Bougher S W, Hunten D M and Phillips R J (eds) 1997 Venus
II (Tucson, AZ: University of Arizona Press)
Hunten D M, Colin L, Donahue T M and Moroz V I (eds)
1983 Venus (Tucson, AZ: University of Arizona Press)
C de Bergh
Atmospheric data
Composition See table 2
Mean molecular weight 43.44 28.98 (dry) 43.49
Mean surface temperature (K) 730 288 220
Mean surface pressure (N m−2) 92 1 0.007
Mass (kg) 4.77 × 1020 5.30 × 1018 ~1016
Figure 1. The computed transmission of Venus’ atmosphere from the surface to space, showing the spectral gaps to be plugged by
cloud opacity in order to maintain the observed ‘greenhouse’ effect (V Meadows and D Crisp).
It is not simple to prove that the observed of only about 230 K. This 500 K greenhouse
atmospheric conditions can in fact generate such a large enhancement of the surface temperature compares with
‘greenhouse’ effect. The problem is that the massive only about 30 K on Earth and 10 K on Mars.
amounts of carbon dioxide are very effective at blocking
the emission of thermal infrared radiation, but only at Composition
those wavelengths where the gas has absorption bands, The primordial atmosphere of Venus which originally
which are far from covering the entire spectrum. formed with the solid body, like those of the other
Moderate amounts of water vapor are also required, and TERRESTRIAL PLANETS, was likely to have been lost in the
even then considerable spectral gaps or ‘windows’ distant past as the young Sun went through phases of
remain (figure 1). These could be blocked by the clouds, high activity. The present atmosphere would have been
since liquid or solid absorbers present some opacity at produced much later by outgassing from the crust, a
every wavelength, the details depending on composition process which we are probably observing today as active
and particle size. The difficulty for early theorists was volcanism, and by the influx of cometary and meteoritic
that using clouds to ‘close’ the greenhouse also tended to material, which is also still going on. The relative
block the incoming sunlight, so that the calculated contributions of these distinct sources can, to some
equilibrium temperature of the surface remained well extent, be deduced from the data which are gradually
below that observed. being accrued on the composition, and in particular the
This problem began to be resolved when it was isotopic ratios, in the contemporary terrestrial planet
realized that the clouds are made of sulfuric acid atmospheres and in comets and meteorites.
droplets, at least in the higher, most easily measured COMETS are a rich source of volatile compounds such
layers. These have the property of being highly absorbing as carbon dioxide, water vapor, methane and ammonia. If
at thermal infrared wavelengths, while being nearly the last of these was the source of the nitrogen now
conservative scatterers in the visible and near-infrared. present, and we allow for processes such as the
Thus, the clouds tend to diffuse downwards those of the production of argon by the decay of radioactive
incoming solar photons that they do not reflect to space, potassium in the crust, the contemporary atmosphere
while blocking thermal emission from the lower could all be of external origin. On the other hand, the
atmosphere and surface. This explains the result, high abundance of sulfur in Venus’ clouds is strongly
surprising at the time, that the VENERA landers in the suggestive of extensive volcanic activity and volcanoes
1970s were able to photograph the surface in natural are also prolific sources of carbon dioxide, nitrogen and
light. It also means that radiative transfer models, the other gases required to explain present-day Venus.
involving weak as well as strong bands of CO2 and H2O, Apart from carbon dioxide and water vapor, Venus’
plus those of the minor constituents CO, HCl and SO2, atmosphere consists primarily of inert gases, particularly
can account for the high surface temperatures by careful nitrogen and argon (table 2). The amount of water
incorporation of the scattering and absorbing properties present as gas and bound up with sulfuric acid and other
of the clouds. compounds in the clouds is between 10 and 100 000
The total solar energy diffusing through the cloud times less than exists in the oceans and atmosphere of the
cover on Venus corresponds to about 17 W cm−2 of Earth (see EARTH’S ATMOSPHERE). Thus Venus is overall
surface insolation on the average, about 12% of the total very dry compared with the Earth while, at the same
absorbed by the planet and the atmosphere. The high time, deuterium is about 100 times more abundant on
opacity of the gaseous atmosphere and cloud at longer Venus than Earth. This suggests that Venus may have
wavelengths requires the surface to reach temperatures had much more water initially, but that most of it has
high enough to melt zinc before the upwelling flex is been lost. Loss takes place by dissociation of the water in
intense enough, and at shorter wavelengths, so that the upper atmosphere by solar ultraviolet radiation and
equilibrium is attained. An airless body with the same the subsequent escape of the hydrogen. Both deuterium
ALBEDO and at the same distance from the Sun as Venus and normal hydrogen escape from the atmosphere while
would reach equilibrium for a mean surface temperature there is free water on the surface, but the heavier isotope
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Brunel Road, Houndmills Basingstoke, Hampshire, RG21 6XS, UK Registered No. 785998
and Institute of Physics Publishing 2002
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Venus: Atmosphere ENCYCLOPEDIA OF ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS
escapes less efficiently, leading to the observed Table 2. Compositions of the terrestrial planet atmospheres.
fractionation. Venus Earth Mars
The loss rate of the water depends strongly on its Carbon dioxide 0.96 0.0003 0.95
abundance in the relatively cool middle atmosphere as Nitrogen 0.035 0.770 0.027
well as the intensity of the solar ultraviolet flux. Models Argon 0.00007 0.0093 0.016
Water vapor 0.0001(?) 0.01 0.0003
of the process suggest that Venus could have lost an
Oxygen 0.0013 0.21 0
ocean of present-day terrestrial proportions in only a few Sulfur dioxide 0.00015 0.2 ppb
hundred million years. The oxygen produced at the same Carbon monoxide 0.00004 0.12 ppm 0.0007
time is too massive to escape at any significant rate, Neon 5 ppm 18 ppm 2.5 ppm
according to Jeans’ formula, and must remain on the Hydrogen chloride 0.5 ppm 3 ppb <0.1 ppm
planet, presumably most of it bound chemically within Hydrogen fluoride 5 ppm 1 ppb
the crust, mainly as carbonate rocks. As on the Earth, this Values are given as fractional abundances except where parts per
process would remove atmospheric carbon dioxide million (ppm) or parts per billion (ppb) are stated.
efficiently as long as liquid water was available. Once the
free water was all used up, the mixing ratio of water Thermal structure
vapor in the upper atmosphere would fall sharply and the The solar radiation which penetrates the clouds warms
loss rates of both forms of hydrogen, and the take-up of the lower atmosphere, which is prevented by the opacity
oxygen into minerals, have also declined to the present of the overlying layers from cooling by radiation to
relatively low levels. space. It therefore forms a deep convective region, the
In the present-day atmosphere of Venus, chemical troposphere (figure 2). This links the high surface
reactions coupled with the transport and radiative temperature of around 730 K, produced by the
processes regulate the abundances of the most important ‘greenhouse’ effect as described above, with the level at
minor constituents. The most important are the cycles which the temperature is close to the effective bolometric
involving water vapor, sulfuric acid and their products, temperature of Venus (about 230 K), where strong
which maintain the cloud layers, and which probably also radiative cooling to space can occur. The adiabatic lapse
involve reactions between the atmosphere and the rate, which applies when the vertical gradient is
surface. However, there are currently very few hard data
controlled by convection, is −g/cp (g being the
on the abundances of reactive species near the surface,
acceleration due to gravity and cp the specific heat at
and still less on the composition and mineralogy of the
constant pressure) or about 10 K km−1 for Venus, so that
surface itself. It seems likely, however, that the surface is
the troposphere is around 50 km in vertical extent, much
a net sink for sulfur compounds, the combination of
deeper than on Earth or Mars.
sulfur dioxide with calcite being an example of likely
Above the troposphere the temperature tends to be
importance in this regard. Similar considerations must
constant with height, because the atmosphere here is
apply to interactions between halogen compounds and
optically thin and, to a first approximation, each layer
the surface, since relatively large (compared with Earth)
tends to find the same equilibrium temperature. The
amounts of hydrogen chloride and hydrogen fluoride are
temperature is determined by the balance between the
present above and below the clouds. Halogen chemistry
absorption of upwelling infrared from the surface and
may also have an important role in the formation of the
troposphere and cooling to space, with no significant
clouds themselves.
absorption of direct solar energy taking place.
Another important chemical cycle is that which gives
rise to the observed distribution of carbon monoxide. CO
is very abundant (mixing ratios of the order of a few parts
per thousand by volume) in the upper atmosphere of
Venus, as would be expected from the action of solar
ultraviolet radiation on carbon dioxide. It is strongly
depleted in the cloud layers (<1 ppm), again not too
surprisingly, since it is involved in reactions with SO2
and the other species which make up the sulfur cycle.
Below the clouds, and near the surface, however, the
carbon monoxide values recovers to around 30 ppm, and
shows a marked equator-to-pole gradient. It seems likely
that CO is transported rapidly down from the
thermosphere in the polar vortices (see below) to the Figure 2. Mean model temperature profiles for the atmospheres
troposphere where it is gradually removed by reactions in of the terrestrial planets.
the hot lower atmosphere and at the surface.
Figure 4. Time-averaged temperature fields in the middle atmosphere of Venus: (a) the zonal mean field and (b) the variations
around a latitude belt from 0º to 30º N, both plotted against pressure and approximate height. The horizontal stepped line represents
the retrieved mean cloud top height.
or changed their composition, owing to a reduction in the producing feedback which seems more likely to be
supply of SO2 and other source gases from volcanoes, or positive (accelerating the change) than negative. At
to an instability in the dynamical regime, would cause the present the radiative, dynamical and chemical processes
lower atmosphere and surface gradually to cool down (or, appear to be in balance, but the stability of the currently
conceivably, to become even hotter). Changes in observed state may be precarious.
temperature would be likely to further modify the Most of our detailed knowledge of the cloud
atmospheric circulation and the formation of clouds, properties comes from optical measurements: polarimetry
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and Institute of Physics Publishing 2002
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Venus: Atmosphere ENCYCLOPEDIA OF ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS
velocities of ≤1 m s−1. Tracking of the Pioneer and from the equator to high latitudes. The layered eddy
Venera landers during their descent showed that there is a sources and sinks which could drive the zonal super-
steady decrease with height from the 100 m s−1 or so rotation may be related to the cell interfaces.
observed in the ultraviolet markings near the cloud tops. Motions in the deeper atmosphere were observed by
Earth-based observers had earlier shown, by the near-infrared imaging carried out by the Galileo probe in
measurement of Doppler-shifted emission lines from 1990. The features observed on the night side of the
atmospheric gases, that the cloud-tracked winds do, in planet at wavelengths from 1 to 3.5 µm originate in the
fact, apply to mass motions, rather than the phase speed main cloud deck, illuminated from below by thermal
of waves as had also been suggested. emission from the hot lower atmosphere. The typical
Attempts have been made to explain these high zonal velocities inferred near the equator were about half as
wind speeds on Venus by several mechanisms, all of fast as those from UV markings, which is consistent with
which fall into one of three main categories, i.e. (i) the the vertical profiles of wind and cloud opacity measured
gravitational interaction of the Sun with the atmospheric by the Pioneer and Venera probes, since the cloud layer
tides, (ii) the overhead motion of the Sun in the sky (the providing most of the opacity in the case of the near-IR
‘moving flame’ mechanism) and (iii) the upward markings is 10–15 km deeper than for the UV markings.
transport of momentum from the surface. Currently Galileo winds feature a zonal jet of more than 100 m s−1
prevailing opinion favors a version of mechanism (iii), in at middle latitudes and equator-to-pole drifts of a few
which momentum from the solid planet is transported by m s−1.
waves whose interaction with the main flow is complex
and in which the mean meridional circulation plays an Conclusion
important role. Parameterizations have been found which Venus presents an arresting picture. What we appear to
are able to produce large zonal velocities in dynamical see is an Earth-like planet whose atmosphere failed to
models of the Venusian atmosphere, although of course
this is not the same as saying that we understand the
forcing or dissipation mechanisms responsible for the
transfer of momentum from the surface to the cloud tops.
The cloud motions which trace the zonal winds also
reveal the pattern of the meridional circulation on Venus.
As expected on the simple theoretical grounds outlined
above, Hadley cells exist in each hemisphere. These are
global-scale circulation cells characterized by rising
motion all around one constant latitude belt and
descending motion at another. Each cell extends to higher
latitudes than on Earth, in part a consequence of the
slower zonal rotation speeds. Near the poles on Venus, a
complex instability develops, resulting in dramatic long-
lived wave structures. The polar collar takes the form of
a band of very cold air, some 10 km deep and 1000 km in
radius, centered on the pole. Inside the collar,
temperatures are some 40 K cooler than outside the
feature. Poleward of the inner edge of the collar lies the
polar dipole, a wavenumber 2 feature consisting of two
well-defined warm regions circulating around the pole.
Both the dipole and the collar have so far resisted
attempts to model them as normal modes of the
atmosphere.
The cloud-tracked winds obtained from Pioneer
Venus and Mariner 10 both show equator-to-pole
velocities of around 5 m s−1 in each hemisphere. Tracking
of the Pioneer Venus probes shows winds of this
magnitude at about 50–60 km altitude, with a very
complicated vertical structure (figure 6). One possible
interpretation of the alternations in the direction, as well
as the magnitude, of the meridional wind is that these Figure 6. Profiles of the zonal (east-to-west) and meridional
(north-to-south) wind on Venus as measured by tracking the
could mark the passage of the probe through the different
descent of the Pioneer Venus probes.
components of a stack of Hadley cells, each extending
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Venus: Atmosphere ENCYCLOPEDIA OF ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS
evolve in the same way, primarily because of the early For Venus, most of the fluorescent x-rays come from
loss of water, and which now supports a thick, primitive oxygen and carbon atoms between 120 and 140 km (74
atmosphere in rapid, turbulent motion. Thick, sulfurous to 87 mi) above the planet’s surface. In contrast, the
clouds, probably originating in volcanic activity on the optical light is reflected from clouds at a height of 50 to
surface and possibly requiring present-day volcanism for 70 km (31 to 43 mi). As a result, Venus’ Sun-lit
their maintenance, blanket the planet. The resulting hemisphere appears surrounded by an almost-transparent
‘greenhouse’ effect drives the surface temperature to luminous shell in x-rays that appears brightest over the
remarkably high levels. limb.
These conditions make exploration difficult since
remote sensing is inhibited (but not prevented altogether) Bibliography
by the clouds, while landings are arduous and short lived. Two major surveys of Venus have been published in recent
Advanced techniques are under development that will years. The reader is referred to the atmospheric chapters in
allow sample return from Venus’ surface and clouds and these for a more detailed overview of current knowledge and
submarine-like ‘aerobots’ to cruise in the hot, thick problems and for a complete set of references to original work.
lower-atmospheric regions. New remote-sensing
Bougher S W, Hunten D M and Phillips R J (eds) 1997 Venus 2
techniques for the lower atmosphere will be applied from
(Tucson, AZ: University of Arizona Press)
orbit. Hunten D M, Donahue T M and Moroz V (eds) 1983 Venus
The focus of this new generation of Venus (Tucson, AZ: University of Arizona Press)
atmospheric studies will be an understanding of the
dynamical regimes present, the photochemistry of the F W Taylor
clouds, the scale of volcanism on Venus and the question
of whether or not our sister planet once had oceans, like
the Earth. Above all, however, will be the need to
understand the dynamical regimes present. Knowledge of
even the principle of the origin and maintenance of the
zonal super-rotation is lacking; the same is true of the
spectacular giant vortices in the high-latitude regions, in
particular the phenomena known as the polar collar and
the polar dipole. The deep atmosphere shows huge
weather systems whose very existence was unsuspected
until about a decade ago and for which there exists no
theoretical basis at all. How can such a simply rotating,
nearby, Earth-like planet be in such an incomprehensible
state?
400
Bow Shock
300
200 Ionopause
Ion Pickup
Solar
100 Radiation
Atmospheric Neutrals
0
-6 -5 -4 -3 -2 -1 0 Solar
Wind
Log Radiation Flux [I/Io] Tail Rays Tail
400
Photoion
Ionosphere
300
Altitude [km]
Magnetosheath
200
100
Streamlines
of Solar Wind
Plasma Flow
Tangent
Field Line
Ionosphere
Solar Wind
Magnetic
Barrier Ion Foreshock
Electron Foreshock
Downstream
Foreshock
Figure 4. The geometry of the electron and ion foreshock at
Venus. These regions mark the field lines that intersect the shock
Magnetic and along which electrons and ions can reach a spacecraft at the
Field Lines velocities to which they have been accelerated.
Figure 3. The solar wind flow and interplanetary magnetic field or leak from the hot population behind the shock and
as it interacts with Venus, leading to the formation of a mag- move upstream against the solar wind flow. The geome-
netic barrier.
try of this region is sketched in figure 4. The waves can
so that the inner edge of the shocked plasma, or mag- either be generated by the backstreaming particles (and
netosheath, becomes a magnetic barrier in which the generally be convected toward the shock) or be generat-
transverse pressure is exerted almost totally by the mag- ed at the shock and move upstream. In many respects the
netic field and not by the thermal plasma pressure. A wave and particle phenomena in front of the Venus bow
similar situation occurs in what is called the ‘depletion shock are the same as those generated in front of the bow
layer’ just outside Earth’s magnetosphere. As sketched in shocks of magnetized planets including Earth. The
figure 3 the magnetic field wraps around Venus, main- nature of the obstacle is not important here.
taining a barrier between the flowing solar wind and the Returning to the obstacle for a moment, we note
ionosphere and contributing to the formation of a mag- that the magnetic barrier has the effect of maintaining a
netic tail in the antisolar direction. The plasma in the cap on the ionosphere. This upper boundary is called
magnetosheath accelerates with distance behind Venus the ionopause. Ionospheric plasma is not detected
and the shock expands and weakens. Eventually far above the barrier because the atmospheric ions pro-
behind Venus the solar wind that interacted with Venus duced there are immediately removed by the interplan-
is indistinguishable from solar wind that did not interact, etary electric field (equal to –VswB), either swept away
as long as Venus did not add anything to the solar wind from Venus or deposited into the deeper atmosphere.
flow. Two such ions are sketched in figure 2. Nevertheless,
Even though the bow shock marks the upper extent most ions are produced within the ionosphere and
of the pressure wave that Venus launches to deflect the remain in the ionosphere proper until they recombine.
solar wind, there still are phenomena that can be seen in At comets the opposite is true. The recombination rate
advance of the bow shock. These upstream phenomena at high altitudes in a planetary ionosphere is small so
consist of charged particles and waves. The particles are that in steady state ions must flow to low altitudes to
electrons and ions that either were reflected at the shock recombine. In the subsolar region the typical motion of
Magnetic
Barrier
Ionosphere
Complications
The above description is a correct first-order model of the
Venus interaction but there are details that need to be
added to complete the picture. We look first at the varia-
tions in the ionosphere caused by varying solar wind Magnetic
pressure. We then examine the effects of planetary ion Barrier
mass added to the solar wind flow and finally examine
how the interaction varies with the solar cycle.
J
Numbers
netized plasma to the ionosphere and enhance the mag-
Sunspot Numbers
netic tail. As illustrated in figure 9 the magnetic field lines 2.4 150
etc, while the second gives very local information such essentially the north pole area covering approximately
as surface images and/or composition. These two 25% of the surface from 30◦ N to 88◦ N. The resolution
complementary techniques have greatly enhanced our of the reflectivity images ranges from 1 to 4 km and the
knowledge of the surface of Venus and of its history. topographic precision was 50 m with a sampling resolution
of about 8 km. The last global data from the surface of
The Venus coordinate system Venus were obtained by the NASA MAGELLAN Orbiter. The
The map coordinate system used for measuring longitude insertion of the probe into the mapping orbit took place
on Venus is different from that used on Earth. On Earth, on 10 August 1990 and the formal mapping of the surface
longitude (an imaginary line stretching from pole to pole) began on 1 September 1990. These operations, divided
in four observation cycles, lasted until 14 October 1994
is measured from a starting point (the prime meridian) at
when the probe was lost. The coverage of the surface was
Greenwich, England (near London), toward the east and
almost complete. The precision of the altimetric data is
toward the west with increasing values in degrees until
below 50 m at a sampling resolution of the order of 10 km.
east meets west at the 180◦ point (the dateline), which is
The resolution of the reflectivity images is of the order of
diametrically opposed to Greenwich. On Venus, longitude
75 m.
is measured from 0 to 360 degrees with the prime meridian
Infrared observations of Venus have been made from
centered within a small impact crater named Ariadne,
the ground and during the flyby of Venus by two probes.
located in Sedna Planitia. There is an arbitrary convention
The first one was GALILEO during its travel to Jupiter on
that determines the direction of increasing longitude on
10 February 1990 and the second occured very recently
planetary bodies other than Earth: longitude shall be
with the CASSINI/HUYGENS probe on 24 June 1999 during
measured in a direction opposite to that in which the planet
its travel to Saturn. These two probes have infrared
rotates. Because Venus rotates in a clockwise direction
spectrometers on board (NIMS on board Galileo and
as viewed looking down on the north pole, longitude on
VIMS on board Cassini). The surface was detected on
Venus increases in numerical value toward the east from
the nightside of Venus by its thermal emission. These
the planet’s prime meridian.
observations show that the surface temperature is in
equilibrium with the atmosphere at the same altitude (see
Large-scale observations VENUS: ATMOSPHERE).
Most of the large-scale and global observations of the
Venusian surface have been obtained by radar. There Local observations
are different kinds of radar data: (a) altimetric data, All available on-ground local observations and measure-
(b) reflectivity data and (c) emissivity data. The first ments come from the various Soviet Venera/VEGA landers.
gives the altitude of the topography, the second gives These probes have made images of the ground surround-
information about the roughness of the surface and the ing them and/or composition analysis of the surface. The
last gives information about the brightness of the surface. first of these landers was Venera 8 that landed in 1972 and
The first reflectivity data for the Venusian surface gave the first natural radioactive element composition of
were obtained from ground-based radar observatories. the surface. Then three sets of twin probes reached the
The first images were acquired in 1972 from the Goldstone surface. The first pair of landers were Venera 9 and 10 that
satellite radar tracking system located in California. made images of the surface and chemical analyses in Octo-
Observations with the Goldstone station were made until ber 1975. They were followed seven years later by Venera
1988 covering essentially the equatorial regions between 13 (1 March 1982) and Venera 14 (5 March 1982) landers
15◦ N and 15◦ S latitude and 260◦ E and 30◦ E (through 0◦ ) that made color images of the surrounding surface and also
longitude. The spatial resolution, that was of the order surface composition analyses. Finally the Vega 1 and Vega
of 5–10 km in the first images, has been improved to near 2 probes in 1984 were able to analyse the soil composition.
Figure 1. Topographic map of Venus. The highland at the equator is Aphrodite Terra and the highland at the north is Ishtar Terra.
Global topography • Terra (terrae,pl.) cover vast areas and have variable
Although Venus, like most of the TERRESTRIAL PLANETS, can be topographic relief, as continents do on Earth.
divided into two broad physiographic regions, highlands • Planum (plana, pl.). Lakshmi Planum is the only
and lowlands, its hypsometric distribution is unimodal, planum recognized on Venus. It is a 3–4 km high
unlike that of the Earth (bimodal) or Mars (trimodal) and plateau, bordered by mountainous ridges.
over 80% of the Venusian surface lies within 1 km of the
mean radius of 6051.84 km (figure 1). The mean slopes on There are four highland areas on Venus: (1) ISHTAR TERRA in
Venus are of the order of 1◦ but average kilometer-scale the north, (2) LADA TERRA in the south, (3) APHRODITE TERRA
slopes greater than 30◦ are not uncommon. in the equatorial zone east of the prime meridian and
(4) the last area is defined by BETA REGIO, Phoebe and Themis
Highlands regiones distributed along roughly the 285◦ meridian.
• Regio (regiones, pl.) are topographically high regions, Ishtar Terra comprises the high Lakshmi Planum
often hosting large shield volcanoes. plateau to the west and the extremely elevated region
(39◦ E, 18◦ N), Bell Regio (49◦ E, 33◦ N) and Tellus Regio
(82◦ E, 39◦ N).
Volcanic features
Several types of volcanic flows and edifices are recognized.
The presence of volcanic features on Venus suggest local
magma sources at depth. The distribution of these features
may provide clues about the crustal properties and thermal
history of Venus. They can be divided into three groups
according to their mean size. Brief characteristics are given
for each below:
Tectonic features
Many features recognized from Magellan images are
reminiscent of TECTONIC structures on Earth. Some of these
features cover regions of thousands of square kilometers,
whereas other features are narrow linear structures that
appear to be related to fractures, grabens and perhaps
dykes. A classification and nomenclature of Venusian
physiographic features and how they may be related to
tectonism has been made. Some of these features are
described below.
Figure 3. This region, roughly 100 km on a side, shows a
(i) Large tectonic forms (100 to 1 000 km) are:
gigantic structure known as a corona. Coronae are circular to
• Tessera (tesserae, pl.): a terrain network consisting elliptical features marked by a ring of concentric ridges. Such
of two or more directions of anastomosing linear features are thought to be the result of hot rising bodies of
ridges and troughs. They are tectonically complex magma that reach the crust. As hot material rises, it weakens the
upper layers of the crust, causing the surface to dome upwards.
terrains, thought to be largely compressional in
Then as the region cools, the dome begins to subside. As the
origin and may represent the oldest part of the upper layers rise and fall, they are subjected to stresses that
crust. crack the surface, creating both circular and radial fractures.
• Chasma (chasmate, pl.): a broad trench or Magellan acquired this view of Venus during its first mapping
cycle around the planet in 1990 and 1991.
linear zone consisting of a parallel arrangement
of troughs or valleys bounded by fault scarps.
These zones are interpreted to reflect extensional
tectonics.
• Arachnoid(s) (mean diameter = 115 km) are
circular to elliptical structures that consist of a
• Mons (montes, pl.): large highland provinces central dome or depression surrounded by an
are termed montes (e.g. Maxwell Montes, Danu extensive network of radial and concentric linear
Montes, Akna Montes and Freyja Montes), descrip- features. These locally developed structures
tive of their mountain range-like appearance (fig- may represent the surface expression of faulting
ure 2). and dyke emplacement associated with magma
(ii) Others features likely to be associated with volcanic injection at shallow depths. About 259 have been
and/or intrusive activity are: found on Venus.
• Corona (coronae, pl.): (mean diameter = 250 km) • Nova (novae, pl.) (mean diameter = 190 km)
are large circular structures whose circumference are similar to arachnoids, but are dominated by
is defined by an elevated ring-like zone consisting radial structures. Novae are generally centered on
of compressional ridges and extensional troughs. a domal uplift and may possibly represent the early
The interior part often shows evidence of volcanic stages of corona formation. Over 50 have been
activity and early fracturing. Radial graben-like identified.
structures may extend beyond the outer diameter.
Topographically, the interior may be raised or
depressed relative to the surrounding terrain. Impact craters
Corona structures likely represent the surface There are 935 recognized impact CRATERS on Venus. About
expression of mantle upwelling. They range from half the craters have been formally assigned names, the
75 to over 2000 km across and occur in groups, in others remain unnamed. All have been named after
chains or as isolated structures. More than 360 have famous women in history, but craters with diameters
been recognized, of which about half have been less than 20 km have been given female common names.
formally assigned names (figure 3). Venusian craters range in size from 1.4 km in diameter to
Table 1. Uranium, thorium and potassium content in the Venusian surface rocks given by gamma ray spectrometry.
Figure 4. Venera 14 lander images of the surface of Venus at 1◦ S, 310◦ E on 5 March 1982. The lander survived for 60 min. Both images
show part of the lander at the bottom. This area is composed of flat basalt-like rocks, but little soil or fine-grained material, as was seen
at other Venera lander sites. Near the center of the top image is a lens cover, and the bottom image shows a test arm.
uranium, thorium and potassium (table 1). The second geological history of Venus can be proposed, defining units
one gives the contents of the major elements of the surface of common ages, their formation and evolution through
rocks (table 2). time as described by Basilevsky and Head (1998) (see
Most of these analyses show a trace element and/or figure 5).
bulk chemistry typical of tholeitic basalts. Moreover, The oldest unit, the Fortuna Group, is mainly
all the dominant type of terrain within the Venera/Vega composed of tessera terrains that cover about 8% of
landing sites is plains so that their measurements can the Venusian surface. The morphology of this unit is
be considered representative samples of the Venusian dominated by intersecting systems of ridges and grooves
plains. Finally morphological observations of long and of tectonic origin. This deformation does not extend into
vast lava flows together with the results of the geochemical the surrounding plains that clearly embay the tessera.
measurements show that the plains of the landing sites as It is not clear if this group was formed in a very short
well as the Venusian plains as a whole are predominantly time or if it is composed of various subunits of different
the result of large basaltic volcanism. Two exceptions come ages. However, it is clear that all other units overlie or
from the data of Venera 8 and Venera 13. The gamma embay this group, making it the oldest recognized unit
spectroscopic analysis at the Venera 8 landing site shows of Venus like the Precambrian basement of continents on
that the surface material contains relatively high amounts Earth. Although this group may have formed at different
of K, U and Th (table 1). X-ray fluorescence analysis at ages, its heavy deformation seems to have spanned a
the Venera 13 site shows that the bulk chemistry of the relatively short period of time as suggested by the density
surface rocks is analogous to that of alkaline basalt. Its of superposed impact craters that is approximately the
potassium content is indeed very similar to that of the same.
Venera 8 site. For these two sites, where non-tholeitic The next unit in chronological appearance is called
composition of the surface material was identified, steep- the Guinevere Supergroup. It represents an assemblage of
sided domes have been found which are not present at plains-forming units and consists of four groups separated
the other sites. These particular morphological features, from one another and from the underlying Fortuna Group
together with the fact that the Venera 8 and possibly by episodes of tectonic deformation.
Venera 13 material compositions are the combination of The first unit consisting of material of densely
evolved igneous rocks and more mafic and primitive rocks, fractured plains is called the Sigrun Group and covers
suggest that these rocks are the geochemical signature of 3% of the surface of Venus. It appears as uncovered
the presence and involvement of material of continental terrains by the younger plains and is deformed by densely
crustal origin in their magma genesis. This raises the spaced swarms of faults usually subparallel to each other.
question about the presence or absence of continental-like The material composing this unit appears to be primarily
crust on Venus, which remains an enigma. plains that were emplaced as floods of lavas.
The second group, called the Lavinia Group, is
Stratigraphic history represented by the materials of fractured and ridged plains
From the study of all these features and of their and covers about 3% of the surface. The ridges are
morphological and chronological relationships, a tentative sometimes clustered forming ridge belts. They appear
generally as elongated islands among the younger plains the upper boundary of the Atlian time (that is, the lower
but embay the tessera and the Sigrun Group. The Lavinia boundary of the Aurelian period) was estimated from the
Group material, as the Sigrun Group, was also primarily proportion of craters with radar-dark parabolas to be about
emplaced as lava floods (figure 5(a)). 0.1T prior to the present (figure 5(a)).
The third group consists of materials of shield plains
and plains with wrinkle ridges. Together this group, Geological history of Venus
called the Rusalka Group, occupies 70–75% of the surface The history of Venus as recorded on its surface represents
of Venus. The wrinkle ridges plains dominate among only the last 10–20% of the total history of the planet
this group and represent 60–65% of the total surface. A because the morphological signatures of the terrains
characteristic of these plains is the presence of wrinkle before those of the Fortuna Group were not preserved.
ridges, typically 1 km wide, that often form a network with The beginning of this part of the history of Venus is
a dominant trend. Usually subunits can be recognized characterized by intensive tectonic deformation on a
in this group because they are deformed by a single global scale which formed the tessera terrains. Early
ridge network, thus separating them all from the younger stages of this deformation were clearly compressional
stratigraphic units. The youngest of these subunits form and later changed into extensional. Termination of the
extended flow-like features. This observation and the compression stage is estimated to have occurred at about
in situ geochemical measurements made by the Venera time 1.4T , while the extensional stage lasted for another
9, 10 and Vega 1, 2 landers suggest that these plains formed 0.1–0.2T . Numerous internal dynamical processes
by extended floods of mafic lavas. The shield plains is the have been proposed to account for the tessera-forming
second component of the Rusalka group. It is represented
deformation sequence; from chemical instabilities causing
by materials of plains formed by clustered and coalescing
mantle overturn, an oscillatory convective behavior of
sloping shields of volcanic origin. These plains occupy
the mantle or catastrophic avalanche within the mantle
10% of the surface of Venus and are usually embayed by the
due to the presence of high-pressure phase transitions.
wrinkle ridge plains that appear consequently younger.
These hypotheses raise the question of whether the large
The volcanic shields, on the basis of their gentle slopes,
currently preserved tessera blocks might represent relicts
are made by lavas composed of alkaline basalts or even
of downwelling or upwelling. Anyway, this intensive
more differentiated material such as andesite as shown by
tectonism was accompanied by volcanic activity so that
the Venera 8 analyses.
the emplacement of tessera-forming material and its
The last group of the Guinevere Supergroup is
deformation into tessera terrain are the major geological
mostly made of the materials of lobate and smooth plains
events of Fortunian time (figure 5(a)).
undeformed by wrinkle ridges. This unit covers 10–15%
After tessera formation, several stages of extensive
of Venus and is called the Alta Group. It overlies
volcanism occurred that buried vast areas of the tessera
and embays all the already described units. Most of
the Alta Group materials are associated with rift zones and formed the regional plains of Sigrunian, Lavinian
occurring in the form of large, gently sloping volcanic and Rusalkian ages. The combined duration of the
edifices. Some materials of this group are associated with emplacement of these plains is estimated to be 0.2–
coronae, forming lava flows aprons around them. Their 0.3T . Plain forming of all these groups is separated
morphology as well as their geochemical composition by episodes of tectonic activity that occurred generally
given by Venera 14 suggest that they also are mafic lavas. synchronously in different areas of Venus. These episodes
The last and youngest group, the Aurelia Group, are characterized by the dominance of compression, then
is represented by the materials of radar-dark parabolas tension, then again compression, and finally tension.
associated with the youngest impact craters as well with The last globally distributed tectonic episode, extensive
the eolian patches and streaks. wrinkle ridging, happened at about time T and marked
the transition to the present stage of the history of Venus,
Absolute age estimates which is dominated by regional rifting and its local
The duration of the morphologically distinguishable part associated volcanism in the form of large shield volcanoes.
of the geological history of Venus is estimated on the basis The majority of this stage is represented by the Atlian
of impact crater densities. The average age of the surface period, which appears to have lasted until 0.1T from the
of Venus is estimated to vary between 300 and 500 million present. This period is thus the longest in duration among
years, for the lower bound, up to 800 million years for the all the other units, although its resulting tectonic and
upper bound. In terms of this average age T , the age of volcanic features and deposits represent only 10–20% of
the oldest group represented by the tessera is estimated the surface of Venus. The last period of the history of Venus
to be about 1.4T . Then, the average age T of the surface is the Aurelian period and is characterized by a certain
of Venus is apparently a good estimate of the age of the level of reworking of the surface by eolian processes. From
Rusalkian Group. This means that the total duration of the the point of view of volcanic and tectonic processes, it
Sigrunian, Lavinian and Rusalkian group is of the order represents simply the continuation of the Atlian period
of 0.2–0.3T that is, approximately a few tens of millions so that Venus may be today already endogenically active
of years to about one hundred million years. Finally, at a low level (figure 5(b)).
Bibliography
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dominated by the succession of compression–tension cycles and
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age of the surface of Venus, is of the order of 300–500 million
years or possibly up to about 800 million years.
Basic concepts
Very-high-energy Gamma-ray Sources We measure motions close to the speed of light in terms of
Gamma-ray photons at TeV energies have been observed the Lorentz factor γ , where
in recent years from a special class of active galactic
1
nuclei, the so-called BLAZARS. The maximum photon energy Lorentz factor γ = . (1)
observed is now approaching energies beyond 10 TeV, 1 − β2
opening up new windows into the high-energy universe. The relative speed is β = v/c, where v is the velocity of the
The basic concept in our present day understanding particle or material such as gas in a jet under consideration,
of ACTIVE GALACTIC NUCLEI is the existence of a central BLACK and c is the speed of light.
HOLE (our Galaxy is now well established to harbor one We call the motion of matter relativistic, when γ is
of ∼2.5 × 106 solar masses (Genzel et al 1997)) with a much larger than unity. Since the total energy E of a
surrounding ACCRETION DISK. Perpendicular to the inner moving particle is given by E = γ mc2 , where m is the
accretion disk is a stream of high-velocity gas, commonly rest mass of the particle, the total energy can be very
referred to as a jet; one expects jets on both sides. The large. The largest particle energies directly observed are
material in this jet is usually moving at very near the speed 3 × 1020 eV, which corresponds for protons to a Lorentz
of light. In addition, this basic picture appears to hold factor of 3 × 1011 . The motions of jets in active galactic
quite well for solar mass black hole systems such as some nuclei can often be characterized by a bulk Lorentz factor
compact binary stars in our Galaxy, as well as for the most of order 10. From the electromagnetic emission from
these jets, we can infer Lorentz factors of electrons moving
powerful quasars we know, with black hole masses of the
around inside the jet in its frame of reference of order 106
order of 1010 solar masses.
and lower.
From Hubble Space Telescope observations we have We observe the electromagnetic emission from highly
also learned that these massive black holes always sit in relativistic electrons, and possibly protons, from these jets
the dynamical center of their host galaxies. The spheroidal at all wavelengths, and interpret the radiation at TeV
distribution of older stars within these galaxies has a mass energies also as emission from a relativistic jet. The
which appears to be approximately proportional to the principal source of this emission can be synchrotron
mass of the central black hole, with a factor of order emission, due to the gyrating motion of highly relativistic
300. This can be readily understood in an accretion disk electrons in a magnetic field. It can also be inverse
scenario by modelling the entire galaxy as a system of Compton emission, from collisions between relativistic
accreting gas, out of which stars are formed and which electrons and photons. Obviously, at high photon
feeds the budding black hole at its very center. Mergers of energies approaching or exceeding 109 (1 GeV), it can
galaxies then turn these disks of stars into a more spherical also for instance derive from π 0 decay following hadronic
distribution (Faber et al 1997, Wang and Biermann 1998). interactions.
Hadronic interactions are interactions between nuclei
The radio emission from the environment of these
or between other particles where pions (or at extreme
black holes and their associated jets is usually dominated energies nuclei) are created. Since pions have a large
by non-thermal emission from the jet, most often rest mass, and in turn decay into photons or muons and
synchrotron emission from the gyrating motion of highly neutrinos, hadronic interactions are usually heralded by
energetic electrons/positrons in a magnetic field. This the emission of neutrinos.
emission process is accompanied by absorption, and so
often synchrotron self-absorption becomes important. In Observational techniques
the overall radio emission from the various segments of the At TeV energies photons are observed on Earth with
jet this leads to an approximately flat spectrum, where the Cerenkov telescopes. These telescopes use the Cerenkov
flux density (energy per bandwidth per second received light emitted from the products of the shower maximum
in a unit telescope area) is approximately constant with produced by interactions of the incoming primary par-
frequency. A survey of the data shows that such flat ticle, to determine its energy and direction. Since the
spectrum radio sources are almost always variable, and overwhelming number of all primaries are directional ran-
show signs of bulk relativistic motion along the jet. domly distributed charged nuclei, the intrinsic properties
of photon and hadron initiated air showers (see COSMIC RAYS:
The power from active galactic nuclei ranges from EXTENSIVE AIR SHOWERS) may be also used for a separation
under 1038 erg s−1 to over 1047 erg s−1 (1 erg = 10−7 J). between photons and hadrons (see Gaisser (1990) and re-
The source sizes, best measured by intercontinental radio views by Weekes (1996), Cawley and Weekes (1996) and
interferometry, can extend from smaller than the solar Weekes et al (1997)).
system to many millions of light years. Their emission Looking into the air shower one sees an image,
in the electromagnetic spectrum has been observed from which is rather different for hadronic showers and purely
around 10 MHz in the radio to a photon energy beyond electromagnetic showers. Hadronic showers produce
order of 10 TeV (1 TeV = 1012 eV = 1.6 erg = 1.6 × 10−7 J). an image which is very irregular in its appearance,
Observations
These observations started in 1992 with the first successful
detection of Mrk421 by the Whipple observatory (Punch
Figure 1. The spectrum of MKn501 as measured by HEGRA
et al 1992). (Aharonian et al 1999b).
There are now several blazars, which have been
observed at such energies, with the most observations
being taken of the objects Markarian 421 and Markarian based on COBE observations (Fixsen et al 1996). Early
501, originally discovered by the Armenian astronomer galaxy star formation extended the background radiation
B E Markarian. TeV energies means a factor of 1000 higher from dust emission around young stars to the far-
than the photon energy (1 GeV = 109 eV) at which a much infrared. Encounters of TeV photons with this microwave
larger class of blazars have been observed with the EGRET and far-infrared background produces electron–positron
instrument onboard the COMPTON GAMMA RAY OBSERVATORY pairs, which translates to an effective absorption.
satellite (Mattox et al 1997). But all these blazars, whether
Therefore observing a source at multiples of TeV
seen only at GeV energies or at TeV energies, have common
energy gives us information about the far-infrared
properties: all of them have a flat radio spectrum in
background at wavelengths otherwise nearly inaccessible.
the GHz range, are variable at almost all frequencies
Interestingly, early models for galaxy formation in the
observed, and their radiation is interpreted as emission
universe exceeded the level required by the gamma-ray
from a relativistic jet. In the case of the TeV blazars, their
observations by a large margin. The gamma-ray data
emission appears to be the greatest at these energies, far
are still pushing the envelope lower for the possible level
greater than at any other wavelength observed (Aharonian
of far-infrared background radiation. Therefore these
et al 1997, Bradbury et al 1997, Funk et al 1998, Hayashida
gamma-ray observations provide one of the most stringent
et al 1998, Krennrich et al 1997, Zweerink et al 1997).
limits known for the violent early phases of the universe
The observations now show that the spectral shape
(Malkan and Stecker 1998, Mannheim 1998, Stanev and
is variable, and occasionally extends to the edge of
Franchescini 1998).
what is observable, suggesting that perhaps the emission
continues to many 10 TeV. Some of the time the spectrum There are two main interpretations proposed for the
is flat, which means that the energy output per logarithmic physical process of the TeV gamma-ray emission itself, a
photon energy interval is constant with energy. The leptonic and a hadronic process (Mannheim 1996).
variability time scale is as short as can be detected with The leptonic process proposed is a collision between
the photon counting statistics, at a few hours or less. a very energetic (and highly relativistic) electron and a
Figure 1 shows the spectrum of Mkn501 measured photon from its surroundings either outside the jet, or
by HEGRA. The work of Aharonian et al (1999a) shows inside the jet. In such a model electrons are presumed
that the spectrum continues without an obvious break to to be accelerated, all the while undergoing losses; this
24 TeV. implies one stringent limit to their maximum energy,
which leads to a maximum energy of any photon with
Physics which the electrons interact. This encounter, called the
These observations are interesting in their own right: the inverse Compton process, boosts the energy of the photon
Big Bang produced a bath of microwave background to much higher energies. In such a picture the maximum
radiation as a remnant of its early hot phase, which photon energy is then limited by the maximum energy
can be characterized by a temperature of 2.73 K, the electron could have, and by the kinematics of the
Whipple Mt Hopkins USA −110.5◦ 31.4◦ N 2300 1 74 151 0.25 0.1 3.5 250 10−11
CAT Themis France −2.0◦ 42.5◦ N 1650 1 17.5 548 + 52 0.10 0.1 4.8 250 10−11
HEGRA La Palma Spain −17.8◦ 28.8◦ N 2200 4 4 × 8.4 4 × 271 0.25 0.1 500 4 × 10−12
HEGRA CT1† La Palma Spain −17.8◦ 28.8◦ N 2200 1 5.0 127 0.25 0.1 4.6 1500 3 × 10−12
TA Dugway USA −113.0◦ 40.3◦ N 1600 3 3 × 6.0 3 × 256 0.25 0.1 4.5 500
TACTIC Mt Abu India +72.7◦ 24.6◦ N 1300 4 4 × 9.5 4 × 81 0.31 2.8 700
CANGAROO Woomera Australia +136.8◦ 31.1◦ S 160 1 11.3 256 0.12 0.18 3.0 1000 4 × 10−12
Durham Mk 6 Narrabri Australia +149.8◦ 30.5◦ S 200 1 (3 dishes) 3 × 42.0 109 + 19 + 19 0.25 0.1 3.4 250 5 × 10−11
CrAO GT-48 Crimea Ukraine +34◦ 45◦ N 600 2 × 6 dishes 2 × 13 6 × 37 0.40 0.2 2.7 900 5 × 10−12
Nooitgedacht Potchefstroom South Africa +27.2◦ 26.9◦ S 1440 4 7 4 1.7 1.7 700
Patchmari Patchmari India +78.4◦ 22.5◦ N 1075 25 4 1 3.0
SHALON Tien-Shan Russia +75.0◦ 42.0◦ N 3300 1 10 144 0.4 7.2 1000
collision. In standard models this leads to a limitation of to milliseconds. The time-integrated spectrum can be
the maximum photon energy to about 10 TeV. approximated by two power laws which break around
A hadronic process can easily produce photons 150 keV, suggesting a non-thermal process just as in active
of much higher energy, by starting with energetic galactic nuclei jets. These GRBs are now known to be
protons, which can clearly produce very energetic photons at cosmological distances (Metzger et al 1997), and thus
through proton–photon or proton–proton encounters and require enormous powers to be released; it is still unknown
subsequent decay of a pion produced in the interaction. what physical picture can explain all these features.
We observe high-energy particles directly from outside One immediate and clear consequence of the hadronic
the Galaxy with energies up to several 1020 eV; since the picture is the emergence of a cosmological neutrino
gyration motion of such particles—if they are protons— background at high neutrino energies. This neutrino
is larger than the size of the Galaxy, they must come background would be much stronger at high energies
from outside, as argued early by Cocconi (1956). Also, than both the atmospheric neutrinos (which have now
the interaction of these high-energy particles with the been used to present impressive evidence for neutrino
microwave background ought to limit their energy upon oscillations by the Super-Kamiokande experiment), and
arrival at Earth to less than 5 × 1019 eV, if they are also higher than the Galactic neutrino background, from
protons; this expected cut-off is called the Greisen– p–p interactions of cosmic rays in the Galaxy (which in
Zatsepin–Kuzmin cut-off. It is not observed. We are still turn can be estimated from the observed GeV gamma-ray
spectrum). There is currently an experiment at the South
trying to identify the sources for particles at these extreme
Pole, AMANDA, which hopes to detect this expected
energies. If these active galactic nuclei could be shown to
cosmological neutrino background.
require protons at extreme energies, then we would have
Similarly a gamma-ray background is expected,
a very good candidate class. The experiments AGASA
which leads to another implicit use of those TeV gamma-
in Japan, HIRES in the US, and in the future AUGER in
ray data: what fraction of the diffuse gamma-ray
Argentina, are looking for more events at these extreme
background is due to active galactic nuclei such as blazars,
energies, to beyond 1021 eV (Biermann 1997).
and what fraction, if any, is left to be derived from different
We also expect TeV photon emission from the interac- physics? Standard BIG BANG THEORY predicts ubiquituous
tion of the known COSMIC RAY population (Berezinsky et al relics, among them topological defects, which can decay
1990, Wiebel-Sooth and Biermann 1999) in the Galaxy with into particles of the order of 1024 eV in most versions of
the interstellar medium (Hunter et al 1997); since the cos- the theory, which in turn decay via a cascade into protons,
mic ray spectrum of probable Galactic sources extends to neutrinos and gamma rays, thus producing a truely diffuse
3×1018 eV, very high photon energies are expected from the gamma-ray background (Sigl et al 1995). If we could find
decay of pions resulting from nucleus–proton encounters. an upper limit to the GeV and TeV contribution from
Since the cosmic ray population is likely to be stronger in the decay of topological defects, it would give a major
the galactic center region, we expect the as yet unobserved constraint to particle physics near the energy scale of GRAND
TeV emission to peak at the galactic center. UNIFIED THEORIES for particles (GUTs).
There is another class of sources for which TeV Once we have thus identified a class of sources re-
photons are expected to be detected at some point in the sponsible for very-high-energy protons, possibly observ-
future: the now famous gamma-ray bursts (GRBs; see able in high energy photons following interactions, and
also GAMMA-RAY ASTRONOMY). GRBs are characterized by a also other high-energy particles, then these accelerators in
sudden outburst of gamma-ray photons at typical energies the cosmos and their environment provide us with tools—
of tens of keV to MeV, occasionally to GeV. The time scale albeit very distant tools—to do very-high-energy physics
of the emission is a few seconds, with substructure down at energies far beyond any physicist’s dream.
Acknowledgments
I wish to thank Torsten Ensslin, Heino Falcke, Galen
Gisler, Todd Haines, Norbert Magnussen, Karl Mannheim,
Sera Markoff, Hinrich Meyer, Rene Ong, Rainer Plaga,
Ray Protheroe, Wolfgang Rhode, Günther Sigl, Todor
Stanev, Heinz Völk and Yiping Wang for contributions,
discussions, perusing the manuscript and/or suggesting
corrections.
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Relative reflectance
Vesta
1.0
Vesta, with a mean diameter of 529 km, is the third Feldspar
largest main-belt ASTEROID and was the fourth asteroid
to be discovered. It was found in 1807 by the German 0.8
Astronomer HEINRICH OLBERS and named after the goddess Pyroxene
Olivine
of fire and the hearth in the Roman mythology. Vesta is Pyroxene
the sole ‘intact’ asteroid that may have undergone heating 0.6
at temperatures able to produce a complete planetary-
type DIFFERENTIATION (when the heaviest element sank to 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5
the core of the asteroid while lighter minerals remained
Wavelength ( µ m)
near the surface). Telescopic observations at high angular
resolution, either from space or from the ground, can
Figure 1. Mean reflectance spectrum of Vesta’s surface at visible
now provide images of Vesta’s surface that help to better
and near-infrared wavelengths. The deflections from the
understand its formation and collisional history. Such continuum are attributed to pyroxene and feldspar minerals.
images show that Vesta has undergone a large impact Olivine is also present on Vesta but locally only, and its
event, 4.5 billion years ago. This discovery supports the absorption band is not visible in this rotationally averaged
idea that Vesta is the parent body of a group of small Vesta- spectrum. Pyroxene, feldspar and olivine are characteristic of
like asteroids and possibly the source of a particular type magmatic material. Their presence on Vesta is the signature of
of METEORITES (the basaltic achondrite meteorites) collected the high temperature it has undergone. Therefore, complete—or
partial—melting occurred on Vesta, which is the only large
on Earth. Although space agencies have not yet selected differentiated asteroid that has escaped catastrophic and fully
a large main-belt asteroid as primary target for a robotic destructive collisions with other bodies of the asteroids’ main
mission, Vesta is considered an excellent candidate for belt. Spectrum from Gaffey (1997).
future in situ exploration of the ASTEROID BELT.
most direct and expensive solution consists in obtaining material to the surface through cracks in the mantle. The
in situ measurements of Vesta’s surface from a spacecraft. images recorded at various visible wavelengths by HST
At the present time, only three main-belt asteroids have confirmed the existence of a large crater near the south
been visited by a spacecraft: GALILEO flew over GASPRA pole. This feature is apparently the result of a large, but
and IDA (and discovered Ida’s satellite named Dactyl) not entirely destructive, impact which had occurred on
while en route to Jupiter, and the NEAR spacecraft visited Vesta soon after its crust cooled down. Recent ground-
Mathilde during its journey to a rendezvous with the near- based and HST results show an increase in the band
Earth asteroid EROS. Ground-based optical observations depth of pyroxene at high southern latitude that could be
were, until recently, limited in spatial resolution because explained by a local removal of the crust by the impactor
of the deformations undergone by the wavefront of to expose fresher material from the mantle. The family of
the light while traveling through atmospheric layers of small Vesta-like asteroids and HED meteorites could have
different optical indices. For this reason astronomers originated from the EJECTA produced during this violent
used the Hubble Space Telescope to obtain the first impact. The topology of the asteroid derived from the
resolved images of Vesta. However, new ground-based HST images agrees with this picture and the estimated
observational techniques, such as adaptive optics, can mass excavated from Vesta during this impact could easily
now measure the wavefront deformation and correct accommodate the formation of Vesta-like asteroids and
it in real time. Adaptive optics allows the large HED meteorites. Complete mapping of Vesta at similar
telescopes to image at angular resolution equivalent to and even higher spatial resolution in the near-infrared
their theoretical diffraction limit, providing performances (at a wavelength that provides a better diagnostic of
at least comparable with HST. Other techniques such the nature of the minerals) is currently under progress
as speckle interferometry can provide diffraction-limited using HST and ground-based telescopes equipped with
images but are still strongly limited to the observation adaptive optics systems. These observations will bring
of the brightest objects. Recent improvements in the some important insights to understanding the processes
sensitivity of radar detectors will allow radar observations of planetary differentiation that occurred on Vesta and
of asteroids to be extended to the largest bodies in the main investigating the existing scenarios that link Vesta to the
belt and their topography to be derived from Doppler- HED meteorites.
delay measurements.
The surface of Vesta is mostly a pyroxene–plagioclase Bibliography
assemblage with few regions where the excavated Binzel R P and Xu S 1993 Chips off of asteroid 4 Vesta:
crust displays the feldspar-poor inner mantle material evidence for the parent body of basaltic achondrite
(diogenite). At a few locations, impacts occurred at meteorites Science 260 186–91
energy sufficient to expose the deeper olivine-rich layer Binzel R P, Gaffey M J, Thomas P C, Zellner B J, Storrs A D
of the mantle. The core of Vesta is presumably made and Wells E N 1997 Geological mapping of Vesta from
of metallic-rich material or even pure metal. In order the 1994 Hubble Space Telescope images Icarus 128
to understand how Vesta differentiated, we need to 95–103
measure the distribution of the diverse geological units Gaffey M J 1997 Surface lithologic heterogeneity of asteroid
over its surface. Depending on how Vesta melted, the 4 Vesta Icarus 127 130–57
distribution of diogenites would be different. In case Gaffey M J, Bell J F and Cruikshank D P 1989 Reflectance
of total melting of the asteroid, the diogenite-like layer spectroscopy and asteroid surface mineralogy Aster-
would be confined underneath the eucritic crust while oids II ed R P Binzel, T Gherels and M S Matthews
a partial melting would implicate a crust composition (Tucson, AZ: University of Arizona Press) pp 98–127
made of a mixture of feldspar-rich (plagioclase) and Thomas P C, Binzel R P, Gaffey M J, Storrs A, Wells E
feldspar-poor (diogenites) units. Prior to the HST and and Zellner B H 1997 Impact excavation on asteroid
adaptive optics observations, the first successful attempt 4 Vesta: Hubble Space Telescope results Science 277
to map the surface of Vesta from the ground was realized 1492–5
in 1981 by Gaffey using rotational spectroscopy. This
technique consists in measuring the variation in depth Christophe Dumas
and position of the bands with the rotational phase of
the asteroid to derive the location and nature of the main
geological units. Such measurement is better constrained
in longitude than in latitude but a compositional map
of Vesta could be derived and several geological units
identified across Vesta. Thanks to the particular inclination
of Vesta’s rotation axis at the time it was observed, it was
possible to locate several diogenite units near Vesta’s south
pole as well as one olivine-rich region near the equator.
These units correspond certainly to a partial removal of
the outer crust, or lava flows that transported diogenitic
engineering data such as variations in motor currents from several weeks of surface observations, a landing site was
the sampler arm during digging operations (see also MARS: selected and the landing sequence was initiated. The
SURFACE). lander separated from the orbiter and oriented itself for a
The communication system (along with a tracking 4 km s−1 entry into the Martian atmosphere at about 300 km
system) on the orbiters and landers was also used above the surface. An ablatable aeroshell protected the
for science. The orbiter radios mapped the planet’s lander from the heat of entry. At 6 km above the surface,
gravity field, measured its surface relief and determined a parachute was deployed, the aeroshell was jettisoned
local atmospheric temperature profiles during occultation and the three lander legs were extended. At 1.5 km, retro-
events. Lander radios were used to determine lander rockets were fired to slow the lander to several m s−1 and
locations, the spin rate of the planet and the orientation eliminate horizontal drift. VL-1 touched down on 20 July
of the spin axis. 1976 in Chryse Planitia (22◦ N, 48◦ W) at about 4 p.m. local
time; VL-2 landed on 3 September 1976 in Utopia (44◦ N,
Mission profile 226◦ W) at about 10 a.m. local time. Both landings were
Viking 1 and 2 were launched respectively on 20 August successful.
and 9 September 1975 and were inserted into elliptical After landing, there were several months of intense
orbits around Mars on 19 June and 7 August 1976. After activity. The cameras systematically returned images
Investigation Instrumentation
Orbiter investigations
Orbiter imaging Two vidicon cameras
Water vapor mapping Near-infrared grating spectrometer
Thermal mapping Solar and infrared radiometers
Entry science Retarding potential analyzer, mass spectrometer,
pressure, temperature and acceleration sensors
Lander investigations
Lander imaging Two facsimile cameras
Biology Carbon Assimilation, Labeled Release, and
Gas Exchange Experiments
Molecular analysis Gas chromatograph–mass spectrometer (GCMS)
Inorganic analysis X-ray fluorescence spectrometer
Meteorology Pressure, temperature, wind velocity sensors
Seismology Three-axis short-period seismometer
Magnetic properties Permanent magnets on sampler arm
Physical properties Various engineering sensors
Orbiter and lander investigations
Radio science Orbiter and lander communication systems
of the entire panorama around the lander. They also in CO2 and O2 after the soil was humidified. The CO2
photographed the sky, the Sun, small permanent magnets, can be explained by the displacement of adsorbed CO2
trenches dug by the sampler arm and rocks that were molecules by water vapor, but the O2 requires some other
intentionally displaced. The meteorology boom was explanation. The observed 200-fold increase in O2 is
deployed and began returning weather data. Seismic best explained by the decomposition of peroxides in the
experiments were initiated, although the seismometer at Martian soil. Such peroxides are theoretically expected
VL-1 failed to uncage (the VL-2 seismometer operated from photochemical processes in the Martian atmosphere.
nominally). Numerous soil samples were acquired and Also, a highly reactive oxidant in the Martian soil could
subjected to chemical and biological analysis. readily explain the absence of organic material.
The primary mission was to last 90 days for each The Labeled Release Experiment showed a surge in
lander. However, the mission was repeatedly extended radioactive CO2 after wetting the soil with its mixture of
as long as the spacecraft remained healthy and returned nutrients. Taken by itself, this result satisfied the criteria
useful data. The first hardware problem occurred in for a biological interpretation. However, when viewed in
September of 1977 when VL-2 was no longer able to context with the other biology experiments and the GCMS,
communicate directly with Earth, but it was not shut down this too was believed to be a chemical rather than biological
until 12 April 1980. Leaking attitude control propellant result. Peroxides present in the soil would have oxidized
left the VO-2 spacecraft unable to align itself with the Sun one of the compounds in the nutrient solution (formic acid)
and it ceased operations on 25 July 1978. VO-1 was also and produced CO2 gas. Also, if microorganisms were
running out of fuel and was commanded off on 7 August involved, a second injection of the nutrient solution should
1980. The mission finally ended on 13 November 1982 have produced a further increase in CO2 levels, yet none
when contact was lost with VL-1. was observed.
The results of the Carbon Assimilation Experiments
Scientific results were more complicated, but they too favor a chemical
Biology explanation. The amount of fixed carbon produced in
The most significant result was the lack of detection of these experiments was generally higher than the expected
organic compounds at either landing site by the GCMS background levels, particularly the first experiment at
experiment. The GCMS was extremely sensitive to organic VL-1. This experiment also showed a temperature
compounds and could detect them at the parts per billion sensitivity to the amount of fixed carbon produced. It
level for large molecules, a level some 100 times less than is now believed that an iron-catalyzed reaction was the
those found in deserts on Earth. Yet the results were source of the signals seen in the Carbon Assimilation
unambiguously negative. The absence of organic matter, Experiment.
regardless of the results of the biology experiments, argued
strongly against the possibility for life in Martian soil. Meteorology
While the three biology experiments produced results Lander meteorological measurements showed that the av-
which in some ways simulated life, in detail they were erage surface pressure on Mars is about 7 mbar. However,
more consistent with the presence of soil oxidants. The it varies semiannually owing to the condensation and sub-
Gas Exchange Experiment showed a significant increase limation of CO2 in the polar regions. The amplitude of the
fluctuation is about 2.3 mbar, or about one-third of the was observed over the north polar cap during summer.
annual mean. Thus, the seasonal polar caps on Mars are Very little water vapor was observed over the south polar
made of dry ice (frozen carbon dioxide). cap during its summer. This difference in behavior is due
The pressure data also revealed eastward-traveling to the different compositions of the summer residual caps:
weather systems and westward-propagating thermal the north summer cap is made of water ice, while that in
tides. The temperature at the Viking sites ranged from the south is made of CO2 ice.
180 K to 240 K depending on time of day and season
and was more repeatable during summer than winter.
Winds were found to be strongest during winter with gusts Atmospheric structure
up to 30 m s−1 . During summer winds were calm by During their descent to the surface, the Viking landers
comparison. recorded the spacecraft deceleration history. These data
During autumn of the first year, the sky opacity at were used to construct a temperature profile from near the
the Viking sites increased dramatically on two occasions. surface to about 200 km. The profiles at the two landing
These increases were associated with the development of sites were found to be very similar even though they were
global scale dust storms. No such storms were observed collected at different locations and times. Temperatures
during the second and third (Mars) years of operations. decreased from 230 K near the surface to about 150 K aloft,
and they showed considerable structure possibly due to
Seismology thermal tides and/or gravity waves.
No major seismic events were detected. A magnitude 2.8
event (on the Richter scale) was detected 110 km from the
Viking Lander 2 site. The signal was significantly damped Thermal mapping
within minutes, indicating the likely presence of water Surface temperatures were mapped by the IRTM instru-
and gas within the crust. From shear wave reflections, ment. Highest temperatures (300 K) occur in early af-
the crust was estimated to be about 15 km thick in this ternoon in southern subtropical latitudes during summer.
region. The natural background level of seismic activity Lowest temperatures (130 K) occur in polar regions dur-
was found to be very low. Winds were a major source of ing winter. The daily variation in surface temperature
the seismic background because of the poor coupling of was used to map the thermal inertia of the soil. Ther-
the seismometer to the ground. mal inertias range from about 50 to 500 SI units and in-
dicate fine sandy material and well-consolidated bedrock,
Atmospheric composition respectively. Atmospheric temperatures near 25 km were
The composition of the Martian atmosphere was measured also mapped and showed great sensitivity to dust.
by the Viking landers during entry and descent and
while on the surface. The principal components are CO2
(95.32%), N2 (2.7%), Ar (1.6%) and O2 (0.13%). The mean Orbiter imaging
molecular weight is 43.34. These gases were found to be Over 50 000 images were returned by the Viking orbiters.
well mixed up to 120 km altitude. Above 120 km they begin The images covered the entire planet at a resolution of
to diffusively separate. In the ionosphere O+ was found 200 m and large areas at resolutions as high as 7.5 m. Much
to be the dominant species with CO+ about an order of of the planet has been photographed in color and stereo,
magnitude less abundant. although at lower resolution. Orbiter cameras also imaged
Isotopic ratios of various elements were also the moons of Mars (PHOBOS AND DEIMOS), and photographed
measured. The stable ISOTOPES of carbon and oxygen were the shadow of Phobos as it crossed the VL-1 site.
found to be similar to Earth’s, but 15 N/14 N was enriched For almost two Mars years, the orbiter cameras
by 60%. The enrichment is due to the selective escape of monitored weather patterns, the advance and retreat of
the lighter isotope with respect to the heavier one, and the polar caps, dust storm activity and the continual
it implies that Mars may have had a denser atmosphere redistribution of fine-grained material on the surface.
in its distant past. 40Ar/36Ar and 129 Xe/132 Xe were also
They returned pictures of enormous volcanoes, a vast
found to be enriched with respect to terrestrial values. In
equatorial canyon system, numerous impact craters,
this case, however, the enrichment is thought to be due to
polar layered deposits and fluvial features suggesting
removal of a substantial fraction of Mars’ early atmosphere
catastrophic flooding and possible climate change.
by impacts events followed by the accumulation of the
radiogenic isotopes 40Ar and 129 Xe. The northern hemisphere was found to be geologi-
cally young and covered with volcanic fields. The giant
Atmospheric water detection shield volcanoes in the Tharsis region have relatively few
Water vapor in the Martian atmosphere was found to vary craters indicating that volcanism lasted for an extended
seasonally and spatially. On average, a column of Martian period of time. In contrast, the southern hemisphere is
air contains the equivalent of a layer of liquid water about old and heavily cratered. Parts of its surface may have
10 µm deep. EARTH’S ATMOSPHERE, by comparison, contains formed at the end of the heavy bombardment period 3.8
2–4 cm of water. Approximately 100 µm of water vapor billion years ago.
Soil properties
The fine-grained material at the two Viking sites has
similar elemental abundances. Silicon is the most
abundant element (21%), followed by Fe (13%), Mg (5%),
Ca (4%), Al (3%) and S (3%). The surprisingly uniform soil
composition suggests planetary-scale homogenization of
the soil by winds. The soil is weakly cohesive and has
a bulk density of about 1.2 g cm−3 . Magnets on top of
the landers attracted soil-derived airborne dust. About
2% of the soil contains magnetic material with maghemite
(γ -Fe2 O3 ) being the most likely candidate. A plausible
model for the soil material is that it is a basaltic weathering
product.
Bibliography
Soffen and Young 1972 Icarus 16 1–16
The state of the art in our thinking about Mars has been
summarized in the book
Robert M Haberle
Virgo
(the Virgin; abbrev. Vir, gen. Virginis; area 1294 sq. deg.)
an equatorial zodiacal constellation which lies between
Leo and Libra, and culminates at midnight in mid-April.
Its origin dates back to Babylonian times and it has been
associated with numerous female deities, including Ishtar
(Babylonia), Isis (ancient Egypt), Demeter (ancient Greece)
and Astraea (ancient Rome). Its brightest stars were
catalogued by Ptolemy (c. AD 100–175) in the Almagest.
Virgo is the second-largest of the 88 constellations but
is not particularly prominent, save for its brightest star,
α Virginis (Spica or Azimech), magnitude 1.0. Other bright
stars include γ Virginis (Porrima), a fine binary with pale
yellow (F0) components, both magnitude 3.6 (combined
magnitude 2.7), separation 2.7 , period 168.7 years (closest
2005), ε Virginis (Vindemiatrix or Almuredin), magnitude
2.9, ζ Virginis, magnitude 3.4, and δ Virginis, also
magnitude 3.4. There are five other stars of magnitude
4.0 or brighter.
There are no bright open star clusters or nebulae
in Virgo, but the constellation contains a large number
of galaxies, many of which are members of the Virgo
Cluster, which extends into neighboring Coma Berenices.
The brightest members of the Virgo Cluster are the giant
elliptical galaxies M49 (NGC 4472), 8th magnitude, and
M87 (NGC 4486, Virgo A), 9th magnitude, which is a strong
x-ray and radio source and from which emanates a jet of
material thought to have been expelled from a black hole at
its center. An interesting non-cluster galaxy is M104 (NGC
4594, the Sombrero Galaxy), an 8th-magnitude spiral with
a dark lane of obscuring dust presented almost edge-on.
The constellation also contains the first quasar to have
been detected (in 1963), 3C 273, magnitude 12.9.
See also: Sombrero Galaxy, Spica, Virgo A, Virgo Cluster.
Virgo A
The brightest radio source in the constellation of Virgo.
Virgo A, otherwise known by the catalog number 3C 274,
coincides with M87 a giant elliptical galaxy, and active
galaxy, located at a distance of some 50 million light-years
in the Virgo cluster of galaxies. Although part of the radio
emission comes from two elongated lobes, one on either
side of the center of the galaxy, the lobes, which span an
overall diameter of about 16 000 light-years, are contained
within the optical galaxy (rather than, as with most radio
galaxies, extending beyond its visible perimeter). The
majority of the radio output comes from a jet that emerges
from the core of the galaxy and stretches out some 8000
light-years into one of the two lobes.
The jet radiates at all wavelengths from x-ray to radio.
Like the lobes, it emits synchrotron radiation (radiation
that is generated by electrons moving at very high speeds
in magnetic fields). The motion of bright knots in the jet
indicate that they are traveling outwards at about half the
speed of light and implies that the electrons themselves
must be traveling within the jet at speeds at least as high,
if not higher, than this.
With a mass of at least 1012 solar masses, M87 is an
exceptionally massive galaxy. Observations of the rates at
which stars and gas clouds revolve within its central core,
and of the way that stars appear to be concentrated at its
center, imply that M87 contains a compact massive object,
most probably a black hole, of about 3 billion solar masses.
See also: active galaxy, astrophysical jets, radio galaxy,
synchrotron radiation, M87, Virgo cluster.
Virgo
DEC
RA
Figure 1. The distribution of nearby galaxies (apparent recession velocities less than 3000 km s−1 ) in the direction of Virgo. Each circle
represents a galaxy; the size of the circle represents its apparent brightness. Galaxies with apparent velocities less than 500 km s−1 are
shown in red, those above 2100 km s−1 in green, and those between 500 and 1300 km s−1 and between 1300 and 2100 km s−1 in blue
and magenta, respectively. This figure is reproduced as Color Plate 63.
the sky area covered by the Las Campanas survey that From the distribution of symbol sizes in figure 4 one can
were judged to be members of the Virgo cluster. The obtain a feeling of the exponentially growing luminosity
membership criteria were based on (1) the morphological function of galaxies. Of the 1300 known members, 850
appearance of the galaxies, e.g. dwarf ellipticals have a alone are of the dwarf elliptical (dE) type. The basic
characteristically low surface brightness, and/or (2) the characteristic of dEs is a relation between luminosity and
measured radial velocities, which for members have to be surface brightness: fainter dwarfs have also lower surface
smaller than ca 2700 km s−1 (heliocentric). Velocities are at brightness. As the detection limit for extended objects such
present available only for the brightest 400 members (but as galaxies is set by the surface brightness rather than total
this number, too, will steadily grow in the future). magnitude, it is clear that many hundreds, if not thousands
The magnitude limit of completeness of the Las more, of extremely faint and diffuse dE members of the
Campanas survey is around apparent blue magnitude Virgo cluster have yet to be discovered by future deep
B = 18 or, if we assume a mean distance of 16 Mpc, surveys. These will be the analogs of the dwarf spheroidal
absolute magnitude MB = −13.0. However, fainter companions of our Galaxy, which are as faint as MB = −8
members (up to B = 20) were included as well. For (corresponding to B ≈ 23 at Virgo distance).
comparison, the brightest cluster members, M49 and M87, Among the remaining 450 member galaxies, there
have B 9.0 and B 9.5, respectively. Thus the known are roughly 80 elliptical (E) and S0 galaxies, 130 spirals,
cluster population spans a range of ≈10 000 in luminosity. 90 irregulars and 90 dwarf galaxies of intermediate type
Figure 2. The distribution of galaxies in redshift space in the direction of the Virgo cluster. We are at the apex of the wedge. The main
body of the cluster is the picturesquely named ‘Finger of God’ at the center of the wedge. This is not a real feature. Its extension along
the line of sight in this plot is a measure of the internal velocity dispersion (and thus the mass) of the galaxy cluster so that a galaxy
with a given radial velocity is placed in front of or behind its true position. The large and diffuse structure seen to the right (10.5h –11h
and 1100 km s−1 ) of Virgo is the Leo group.
Figure 3. Histogram of apparent velocities for galaxies within a 6◦ radius of the center of the Virgo cluster. The breadth of the
distribution from 0 to 300 km s−1 accounts for the ‘Finger of God’ structure in figure 2.
(Irr–dE). The distribution of these morphological types are strongly confined to the regions of highest galaxy
within the cluster varies considerably—in accord with density, defining the ‘skeleton’ of the cluster (dwarf Es only
Dressler’s GALAXY ‘MORPHOLOGY–DENSITY RELATION’: Es and S0s to a slightly lesser degree), while spirals and irregulars
gives
vc 1200 km s−1 .
Subcluster dynamics
The primary structural characteristic of the Virgo cluster
(cf figure 4) is certainly its high degree of irregularity
and subclustering. Several subclumps (gravitationally
bound subclusters) of galaxies suggest themselves: a main
northern subclump around M87, M86 and M84, a southern
clump around M49 and possible subgroups around M60
and M100. The global structure of Virgo seems defined
by two main axes: one N–S, i.e. M100–M86/M87–M49,
and one E–NW, i.e. M60–M87–M86/M84. Remarkably, the
former axis is nearly perfectly aligned with the position
angle of the outer isophotes of M87, while the latter is
perfectly aligned with the jet axis of M87. This shows once
more that M87 is the heart of the Virgo cluster.
The reality of the main N–S double structure cannot
be doubted, because the northern and southern subclumps
are sufficiently well separated. Both have a very similar
mean radial velocity, which would suggest that they are
at the same distance, i.e. lying in the plane of the sky
(however, see below). The southern M49 clump is rather
spiral rich and has a surprisingly small velocity dispersion
of σv ≈ 500 km s−1 .
The core region with M87, M86 and M84 is much
harder to disentangle. The key observation here is
that the velocity distribution of galaxies in this northern
Figure 4. Map of the Virgo cluster as it appears in the sky. All
clump (especially for dEs) is strongly skewed towards
cluster members are plotted with luminosity-weighted symbols.
The symbol size (area) is proportional to the luminosity of the low velocities. In the low-velocity tail we find the most
galaxy. The most prominent Messier galaxies are indicated. The blueshifted galaxies known in the sky (the record holder,
broken lines indicate the boundary of the Las Campanas survey. VCC846, has v = −730 km s−1 ). These objects tend to be
clustered around M86, which itself has a negative velocity
(v = −227 km s−1 ). On the other hand, the velocity
(S+Irr) are very weakly clustered, lying preferentially in distribution is peaked around v = 1300 km s−1 —nearly
the cluster outskirts. coinciding with the velocity of M87 (v = 1258 km s−1 ).
This morphological segregation is also reflected in the A clear asymmetry in the velocity distribution of a
velocity distributions. An analysis of the radial velocity cluster of galaxies is almost certainly an indication of
data so far available gives a velocity dispersion (1σ ) of ongoing subcluster merging. In the Virgo cluster we seem
≈600 km s−1 for early-type galaxies (E, S0, dE), but one of to witness the merging between a subclump around M87
≈750 km s−1 for late types (S+Irr), i.e. late types are more and another clump around M86 (or rather, the infall of the
dispersed in space and velocity. Moreover, the velocity M86 subcluster into the more massive M87 subcluster, see
distribution for S + Irr is distinctly non-Gaussian with below). Both giant galaxies must be the centers of huge
a low-velocity and a high-velocity wing. These wings swarms of dwarf galaxies. M86 is apparently falling into,
are probably caused by infalling and expanding shells of or through, the M87 subclump from the back, hence with a
galaxies around the cluster core. Most Virgo spirals and high relative (negative) velocity, dragging along its dwarf
Irrs may have fallen only recently, or are still in the stage of companions. (The giant galaxy M84, very close to M86 in
falling, into the cluster from the surroundings, explaining the sky, but with v = 1000 km s−1 , has to be a member of
their lack of dynamical relaxation (virialization). Those the M87 subcluster.)
spirals observed to be H I deficient have apparently This whole picture is fully confirmed by an analysis
already fallen through the cluster core. of the x-ray structure of the Virgo cluster. Figure 5
The all-cluster mean heliocentric velocity is
vhelio shows, as a gray-scale image, the distribution of the x-ray
1050 km s−1 (there is no difference with respect to type). intensity in the Virgo cluster as measured by the ROSAT x-
Note that this is not the cosmic (Hubble flow) recession ray satellite. The x-rays originate from the hot intracluster
velocity of the Virgo cluster,
vc , which can be derived gas via thermal bremsstrahlung. The gas feels the same
by (1) correcting for the solar motion with respect to the gravitational potential of the cluster as the galaxies. The
centroid of the Local Group by subtracting ≈100 km s−1 global appearances of the cluster in the x-rays and in the
and (2) correcting for the Virgocentric infall (deceleration) optical (figure 5 versus figure 4) are therefore very similar.
of the Local Group by adding ≈250 km s−1 . This finally However, the main subclusters around M87, M86 and M49
Bibliography
Binggeli B 1999 The Virgo cluster—home of M87 The
Radiogalaxy M87 ed H-J Röser and K Meisenheimer
(Berlin: Springer) p 9
Binggeli B, Tammann G A and Sandage A 1987 Studies of
the Virgo cluster. VI. Morphology and kinematics of
the Virgo cluster Astron. J. 94 251
Virgo Gravitational-wave
Interferometer (VIRGO)
VIRGO is a collaboration between Italian and French re-
search teams to construct an interferometric gravitational
wave detector at Cascina, near Pisa, Italy. It relies on a
technique called laser interferometry to measure with im-
mense accuracy the minute changes in distance induced
by gravitational waves from astronomical sources.
The VIRGO project plans to set up a laser interferom-
eter made of two, 3 km long, orthogonal arms. Light from
a laser is split into two beams which travel down the arms
and are then reflected back by mirrors. In effect, multiple
reflections will increase the optical length of each arm to
120 km. Variations in the pattern of interference between
the returning beams will enable gravitational waves to be
detected and their sources to be identified.
VIRGO will be sensitive to gravitational waves at
frequencies from 10 to 6000 Hz. It should be able to detect
radiation produced by supernovae and by the coalescence
of binary systems in the Milky Way and other galaxies, for
instance from the Virgo cluster.
It will use high-power ultrastable lasers and high-
reflectivity mirrors, as well as seismic isolation and control
of position and alignment. Each optical component is
isolated by a 10 m high elaborate system of compound
pendulums, called a ‘superattenuator’. The 6 km long,
1.2 m diameter evacuated tube through which the light
beam passes will be one of the largest vacuum vessels in
the world. The signals will be detected, registered and
elaborated by computer.
For further information see
http://www.virgo.infn.it/.
The four star images produced from a double star are for stars of nearly identical composition the equilibrium
brought into a well-measurable configuration by rotating conditions governing interior stability make the luminosi-
and shifting the prism. ties and radii dependent only on the mass: L increases
with the kth power of M. The exponent k varies along the
Photography main sequence, and it also depends on the colours within
During much of the 20th century, photography was the which the luminosities are defined; for visual magnitudes,
best direct-imaging method in astronomy, but its resolving k = 3.8 for the middle main sequence, but k decreases to
power was limited by adjacency effects from the chemical about 2.6 for both high- and low-mass (B and M) types.
processing and by blurring during the fairly long exposure The apparent orbit of a visual binary as seen in the sky
times needed. Extensive double-star data were obtained (at right angles to the line of sight) is a parallel projection of
for wider pairs, typically over 2 arcsec. The long-term the true orbit ellipse. Seven constants, the so-called orbital
photographic monitoring of stars has helped in other elements, are needed to describe the motion. Three of them
ways: with PARALLAX results for nearby binaries, their mass are angles specifying the projection: the inclination is the
ratios from the orbital shifts of blended images against angle between orbit and projection planes, the node is the
their centre of mass and sometimes the detection of unseen celestial direction in which the planes intersect and the
components from periodic shifts in the motions of stars. longitude of periastron (the point of closest approach of
Such work could now be done with digitizing cameras the components, and of fastest orbital motion), counted
(CCDs) which have replaced photographic emulsions in from the node, gives the orientation of the ellipse. The
direct imaging. other elements fix the motion within the orbit: the period
(P ) in years, the eccentricity, the time of passage through
Interferometry
periastron, and the semimajor axis (a) in arcsec. The
Owing to high instrumental demands, the original form
position in the orbit at any time is then given by formulae
of interference was little used. A successful variant is the
which represent Kepler’s first and second laws (see KEPLER’S
eyepiece interferometer as was constructed and widely
LAWS). There are several computer routines on how to
used by W S Finsen.
solve for the seven elements as best fitting a given set of
In the last 25 yr a combined high resolution in both
observations.
angular separation and recording time, now also for
Visual binaries with known orbits (some very precise,
modest-size telescopes, has been achieved by ‘speckle’
others tentative and subject to future revision) now
interferometry (see SPECKLE IMAGING OF BINARY STARS). It
number about 1000. The orbit sizes (a) are mostly under
results in superior precision by correlating numerous,
very short-exposure images (speckles, tavelures). Most 1 arcsec; the periods range from a few years to some
currently used devices consist of microscope optics as centuries (in cases with well-observed periastron passages
objective and collimator, a CCD camera with image up to about 1000 yr), and almost all objects are within
intensifier as detector and computers for very fast 150 pc from Earth. Contrary to the planetary system and
recording, centering, autocorrelation and processing; to close binaries, orbits of medium or high eccentricities
colour filters and usually a pair of prisms, to remove dominate among visual pairs.
atmospheric dispersion in both amount and direction, To determine the total mass (M1 + M2 ), Kepler’s third
are added. The full theoretical resolving power at law is used in the form a 3 = P 2 (M1 + M2 ) only if a is
large reflectors, around 0.03 arcsec, can be reached. An determined in astronomical units:
important development toward yet higher resolution is
the application of long-baseline interferometry (long used a (length in AU ) = a (angular size in arcsec)
in radio astronomy) now at optical wavelengths, as × d (distance in pc).
evidenced by results from devices such as the Mark III
interferometer. Inaccuracies of distances d cause often the largest
uncertainty in the masses. This can be remedied in other
Space instruments ways.
The Hipparcos satellite measured around 1991 numerous
double stars and added some 3000 new pairs, mostly those (a) By spectroscopic observations of the orbital motion.
of larger brightness differences whose detection from the Doppler-shift amplitudes alone yield only the
ground was impeded. one-dimensional radial motion, leaving the orbit
inclination and hence the true orbit size and the mass
Orbits undetermined, but the combination with the visual
Apart from their significance for the understanding of elements supplies the missing link. The speckle
stellar origin and of evolutionary patterns, binary stars technique in particular has resolved many short-
supply direct determinations of the masses of stars as period pairs discovered by spectroscopists.
fundamental quantities. This requires knowledge of their (b) When the components can be assumed to be
orbits. main-sequence stars, a mass–luminosity relation
Main-sequence stars have a relation between mass can be invoked, along with the known apparent
M and luminosity L, as expected from theory, because magnitudes, to connect the masses and the distance.
Cases where this assumption does not hold are the system, is a unique case of a red-dwarf eclipsing binary
revealed by a disagreement between spectral type (type dM) with a period of 19.5 h.
and the computed mass. Many stars spectrally still Capella (α Aurigae, 05167 + 4600), a long-known
classified as main sequence are found to be already spectroscopic binary with P = 104 days, and at a
evolved in luminosity to above ‘zero age’ level. distance of 13 pc, was resolved and well observed by
interferometers and speckle cameras. It consists of two G
Multiple systems type giants of nearly equal masses (2.5 solar masses each)
About a third of binary stars contain at least one additional and luminosities, evolving synchronously. Also part of the
component. However, the separations are almost always system is a later-discovered, distant red-dwarf pair which
quite different: the ratio of wider versus closer pair is at may have a period around 400 yr.
least 6:1 and often much more. Long-term stability of The closest pair resolved by a large interferometer is
multiple systems with stellar (not very unequal) masses Spica (α Virginis, 13252 − 1110) at a separation of only
demands this ‘hierarchical’ order. So the periods are very 0 .0015, with a period of 4 days.
different, and there are few visual systems in which both ε Hydrae (08468 + 0625), at a distance of 36 pc, is
orbits are reliably known. of interest because of the diversity of its five known
More common are close spectroscopic subsystems components: a G type and a fainter F type subgiant in
within visual pairs, and there are also cases of definite, a 15 yr orbit, an F type main-sequence star (period about
periodic deviations from the elliptical motion indicating 1100 yr around the primary pair) which is a spectroscopic
the presence of an unresolved component. These objects binary with a low-mass companion (P = 10 days), and
require elaborate analysis since two orbits (14 elements a still more distant, subluminous dK dwarf star whose
instead of seven) have to be computed simultaneously. period may be around 10 000 yr.
Slow changes in the orbits owing to perturbations between Finally, GC 20393/4 (15102 − 1623) is a faint, wide
components are known in two of them: ξ Ursae Majoris pair of very old subdwarf stars, separated by 5 arcmin,
(11182 + 3132) and ζ Cancri (08122 + 1739). and 30 pc distant. They race through the solar vicinity at
a record speed of nearly 600 km s−1 relative to the Sun,
Some noteworthy objects or practically at escape velocity within the Milky Way,
suggesting an origin in the outer galactic halo. It should
Within 3 parsec from the Sun, four apparently single dwarf
be noted that, although separated by at least 10 000 AU,
stars and the following three interesting binaries are found.
they have kept together on the long trip for twice the age
α Centauri (14396 − 6050), the nearest system,
of the solar system.
consists of two solar-type stars (masses 1.1 and 0.9) in
an orbit of period 79.9 yr, now slowly closing in after W D Heintz
maximum separation was reached in 1980, and a red-
dwarf companion, a full 13 000 AU distant from the
primary pair, but even closer to Earth, hence called
Proxima Centauri.
Sirius (06451 − 1643) has a companion with a period
of 50.1 yr, which was predicted from periodic changes in
the proper motion of the bright star. Resolved in 1862, the
companion was found to be almost 10 magnitudes fainter,
and the identical white color indicated an enormous
disparity of the radii of the stars. It was the first
identification of a white dwarf star. (40Eridani B =
04153 − 0739 had been observed long before but its 252 yr
orbit with a faint red-dwarf companion and its white-
dwarf nature were not known until later.)
LDS 838 (01390 − 1757), a 12th magnitude object with
a period of 26.5 yr is one of the lowest-luminosity pairs of
red dwarfs. Each component has only 0.12 solar masses;
one of them is the very active flare star UV Ceti.
A few other remarkable binaries and multiples may
be added.
Castor (α Geminorum, 07346 + 3153) is a sixtuple at a
distance of 14 pc. The bright pair has been observed for
almost three centuries, and the latest orbit gives it a period
of 467 yr. Both components are close spectroscopic binaries
with low-mass companions (periods of 9 and 3 days), and
the distant 9th magnitude star YY Gem, which belongs to
some time in advance, includes the time and duration of by accretion disks (the hot gas in these accretion disks,
observation the source to be observed, and the frequency observed at ultraviolet and x-ray wavelengths, is in the
band. process of spiralling down into the black hole at the
There are some practical considerations that arise center). The exact process is still unclear, but seems to
when making VLBI observations. The masers at involve magnetic fields in the accretion disks, twisted
the individual telescopes will have slightly different by differential rotation in the disks, ultimately releasing
frequencies, and therefore the time base on each magnetic enormous amounts of energy by accelerating electrons to
tape will have systematic errors, showing up as time relativistic energies and confining the particles to a narrow
differences and differences in fringe rotation. The VLBA jet. Shortly after VLBI was developed, it became clear
correlator, therefore, performs the cross-correlation for that rapid changes were developing in the structure of
a number of different time delays and fringe rotation the jets, and it is now well-established that the jets exhibit
rates, in order to correct for these differences. In the apparent motions that significantly exceed the speed of
case of a ‘hard-wired’ interferometer such as the VLA, light, sometimes by an order of magnitude. Although
timing variations occur, and these are usually corrected the structure of fundamental physics might be questioned,
by observing a nearby calibration source and deriving such a dramatic revision as superluminal velocity does not
the necessary corrections. For VLBI observations, this is
seem to be needed. The effect is almost certainly caused
sometimes possible, but in many cases it is not feasible to
by the aberration effects observed when a relativistic beam
do so. For an array of several telescopes, however, there
is directed at the observer. The effect requires a beam of
are closure relations that allow extra information to be
particles having bulk motion close to the speed of light,
derived. If three telescopes are observing the same source,
directed within a few degrees of the observer.
there is a sum condition on the three fringe phases that
gives useful phase information, and there is a condition A relativistic effect that must be considered in
on the fringe amplitudes, when observing with four conjunction with these compact, relativistic sources of
telescopes, that gives useful constraints on the individual SYNCHROTRON RADIATION is the self-Comptonization of the
amplitudes. When an array of ten telescopes is used, as in radiation. As the sources increase in energy density, there
the case of the VLBA, there is enough redundancy in the can be so many radio photons generated that they are
various combinations to constrain the uncertainties in the Compton-scattered by the electrons and become x-ray
Fourier transform, giving maps of remarkable fidelity. photons, which can be observed by X-RAY TELESCOPES. This
has the effect of limiting the possible surface brightness
Science applications of VLBI at radio wavelengths; expressed in terms of ‘brightness
There is a surprising variety of scientific problems that temperature’ (the temperature a source would need to
can be addressed by the methods of VLBI. Quasars have at the observing band to give the observed specific
and the nuclei of active galaxies (BL Lac sources, radio intensity, not a physical temperature necessarily). As a
galaxies and Seyfert galaxies) all have structures in the consequence, it is not possible for a synchrotron source
milliarcsecond range or smaller. Pulsars and gamma-ray to exhibit a brightness temperature in excess of 1012 K.
burst sources are even smaller, requiring baseline lengths Unfortunately, it is not possible to verify this prediction
far longer than anything currently feasible, Molecular by interferometer baselines on Earth. The flux of a
maser sources are also of milliarcsecond size, and these RADIO SOURCE is proportional to the product of its average
occur in association with star-forming regions and cool, surface brightness and its angular size, and the wavelength
evolved stars such as the Mira variables. Three general dependences cancel out. At any wavelength, therefore, an
classes of observation can be identified: the mapping interferometer with a baseline length of an Earth diameter,
of milliarcsecond structures, the measurement of relative observing even the strongest radio source, can only set a
source positions to achieve higher astrometric accuracy, limit of 1012 K on the surface brightness of the compact
and the use of known sources as references to study
structures.
geophysical phenomena such as continental drift and
This limitation to our knowledge can be overcome by
polar wandering.
using interferometer baselines that exceed the diameter of
Active galactic nuclei the Earth. By placing a VLBI telescope in space, there is in
The detailed study of ACTIVE GALACTIC NUCLEI (AGNs) principle no limit on the angular resolution that might be
has shown that the jet-like structures seen on large achieved. It has turned out that the technical difficulties
scales persist at the smallest angular scales that have can be overcome; a successful demonstration was carried
been studied. Paradoxically, the (relatively) long radio out, using the TDRSS (a data relay satellite system), that
wavelengths are closely related to phenomena at x-ray showed the practical feasibility of such measurements.
wavelengths. The radio phenomena observed by VLBI This was followed up by HALCA, a dedicated VLBI satellite
are in large measure relativistic, since the radio waves launched by the Japanese Space Institute ISAS in February
are generated by synchrotron radiation from relativistic 1997. The results are clear: a large fraction of quasars
electrons circulating in magnetic fields. A large fraction and AGNs have radio nuclei that exceed the self-Compton
of the sources involve massive black holes, surrounded limit.
Maser sources
The extragalactic maser sources have been another major
object of VLBI research. The lambda-doublet lines of
the hydroxyl radical at 1612, 1665, 1667 and 1720 MHz
all exhibit high surface brightness (1010 K or more)
that can only be a consequence of gas clouds being
pumped by radiation or by collisions to invert the level
populations, resulting in a one-pass maser that can amplify
the background radiation. The same phenomenon occurs
in the rotational lines of water, silicon oxide and methanol
that are accessible in the radio spectrum. Star-forming
regions frequently have many such maser sources, as do a
wide variety of evolved stars. In such cases, the difficulty
in determining the fringe phase can be overcome by self-
referencing: a particular compact line feature can serve as
a reference within the maser complex, and the positions
of other line sources, often separated in Doppler shift
by several km s−1 , can be measured with respect to the
reference maser.
Megamasers
Extragalactic maser sources have also been discovered.
These are referred to as ‘megamasers’ since the necessary
energies are so high. One of the best studied of these, the
megamaser in the active galaxy NGC 4258, appears to be
emitting 300 solar luminosities in the 22 GHz water line.
The line structure turned out to be extraordinary: there
was a complex of strong central lines, having very little
velocity relative to that of the galaxy, but in addition there
were satellite maser lines with relative Doppler velocities
±900 km s−1 to either side of the central complex. A
detailed analysis of the VLBI-derived map showed that
the velocities could be accurately explained by a simple
model. A ring of gas surrounds the (presumed) black hole
at the center, and we see the ring nearly edge-on. The
central line complex changes linearly in Doppler velocity
across the source, and is amplifying the radiation from the
central source; this allows the acceleration of the molecular
gas to be measured. The high-velocity lines come from
masers at the terminus of the edge-on ring, and these allow
the Keplerian velocity to be determined. The result is firm
evidence of a central black hole having a mass of 70 million
solar masses (see Miyoshi et al 1975, Herrnstein et al 1999).
Bibliography
Burke and Graham-Smith 1997 An Introduction to Radio
Astronomy (Cambridge: Cambridge University
Press)
Herrnstein et al 1999 A geometric distance to the galaxy
NGC 4258 from orbital motions in a nuclear gas disk
Nature 400 539
Miyoshi et al 1975 Evidence for a black hole from high
rotation velocities in a sub-parsec region of NGC 4258
Nature 373 127
Bernard F Burke
Volans
(the Flying Fish; abbrev. Vol, gen. Volantis; area 141 sq.
deg.) a southern constellation which lies between Mensa
and Carina, and culminates at midnight in mid January.
It was first shown on Petrus Plancius’ celestial globe of
c. 1598 as Piscis Volans, though it is usually attributed to
the Dutch navigators Pieter Dirkszoon Keyser (also known
as Petrus Theodorus) and Frederick de Houtman, who
charted that part of the southern sky in 1595–7.
A small, inconspicuous constellation, the brightest
stars in Volans are β Volantis, magnitude 3.8, γ Volantis, a
binary with yellow (G8) and pale yellow (F2) components,
magnitudes 3.8 and 5.7, separation 14.11 , ζ Volantis,
magnitude 3.9, and δ Volantis and α Volantis, both
magnitude 4.0. Another interesting star is ε Volantis,
a double with bluish-white (B6 and B9.5) components,
magnitudes 4.4 and 7.5, separation 6.0 , that have the
same proper motion, the former of which has an unseen
companion that revolves around it in 14.17 days.
There are no bright star clusters, nebulae or galaxies
in the constellation, the brightest being NGC 2442, an
eleventh magnitude barred spiral galaxy.
introduce oceanic water deep into the mantle. This water ‘pancakes’. Some strange volcanic features without
lowers the melting point and produces a small proportion equivalents on Earth or other planets exist on Venus.
of molten material. Upward-flowing mantle reaches a There are complex overlaps of bulges, faults, cinder
level where the drop in pressure allows a small cones and lava flows, and they are called ‘coronae’,
proportion to melt. If enough is formed, the formed ‘arachnoids’, ‘novae’…. The majority of these volcanic
magma rises away from the denser residue of solid features are consistent with basaltic composition, a
infusible rocks, owing to buoyancy forces. On Earth the hypothesis confirmed by the findings of Soviet landers
convective cells are more than 1000 km wide; the upper whose soil analyses are chemically similar to those of
parts of these cells are the tectonic plates with only basalt (SiO2 50%). The steep-sided domes may represent
horizontal motion. Volcanism occurs at the plates’ more silicic magma (SiO2 60%), while lava channels may
boundary where upwards or downwards motions exist represent ultramafic lava flows (SiO2 45%). Only a little
and induce a partial melting of the mantle. Some other evidence was found for extensive pyroclastic deposits.
circulatory motions exist inside the mantle, with The volcanic features show a broad global
localized upward flows of solid mantle. These localized distribution, in contrast to the distribution of volcanoes
upward flows which induce localized drops in the along plate boundaries on Earth. Some highlands show
pressure, partial melting and volcanoes, and are far from an excess of volcanic features, while some lowlands
the plates’ boundaries, are called ‘hot spots’. show only lava floods.
In 2001, a NASA mission to study Alaska’s unique There is no direct evidence in the Magellan data for
terrain provided scientists with their first detailed look at current volcanic activity. Some atmospheric analyses
the changing topography of one of Earth’s most active have shown sulfur dioxide variations, which may be due
volcanic regions. Researchers at the Alaska Synthetic to volcanic activity. However, the dynamics of the
Aperture Radar Facility, Fairbanks, created a high- atmosphere may also explain these observed variations.
resolution digital elevation model of Umnak Island, Crater counts would indicate that the whole Venusian
home to the Okmok volcano. This model can be used to surface is younger than 0.8–0.5 Gyr. An equilibrium
produce new, accurate geologic maps. The most recent resurfacing model for explaining the impact craters’
topographic map of the region was made in 1957 from density implies a current volcanic lava flux of
aerial photographs. Okmok has erupted four times since 0.5 km3 yr−1, a value comparable with the terrestrial
then, dramatically changing the landscape. The Alaska intraplate volcanism. Thus there is hardly any doubt that,
scientists used data gathered in October 2000 by the as is the Earth, Venus is a geologically active planet
NASA/JPL Airsar instrument, a side-looking imaging despite the lack of active eruptive processes identified
radar system carried aboard a NASA DC-8. It collected during the Magellan mission.
the Alaska data as part of its PacRim 2000 Mission,
which took the instrument to French Polynesia, American
and Western Samoa, Fiji, New Zealand, Australia, New
Guinea, Indonesia, Malaysia, Cambodia, Philippines,
Taiwan, South Korea, Japan, Northern Marianas, Guam,
Palau, Hawaii and Alaska. Researchers there combined
numerous Airsar strips of data into a mosaic, fused it to
Landsat imagery, checked its accuracy and generated a
number of data products, including the mosaic of Umnak
Island.
The density of Venus indicates that the Venusian convection was active, and looked like hot-spot-like
interior is theoretically more or less similar to the Earth’s convection rather than plate tectonics convection.
interior. On Venus, mantle convection produced and still
produces superficial motions and tectonic features, which Dead worlds
are different from plate tectonics. The volcanism The Moon (diameter 3476 km figure 2). On the MOON,
distribution confirms that the global dynamics of Venus’s 84% of the surface which was called ‘terrae’ by GALILEO
interior is quite different from that of the Earth. The in the 17th century consists of old anorthositic cratered
localized ‘hot-spot-like’ convection strongly dominates crust. However, about 16% of the surface consists of
the plate-tectonics-like convection. The origin of this younger flat basaltic plains and flows which fill the old
difference is poorly understood. low-lying basins and form black patches on the Moon’s
face. These plains were called ‘maria’ by Galileo. The
Recently active worlds lava flows inside the plains are very long (up to 1000 km)
Mars (diameter 6794 km). Volcanoes are unquestionably with very low slopes (less than 1º), a factor that indicates
on Mars (see MARS: SURFACE). Four enormous shield a very low viscosity for the lava, with very low gas
volcanoes and many smaller ones rise 15–25 km above content. Many of these flows present sinuous rilles,
the surface. These volcanoes are mainly located on a which may be interpreted as collapsed lava tubes or
8000 km wide broad topographic bulge which stands erosional features caused by very hot lava flows. The
about 10 km high. OLYMPUS MONS, the largest volcano in thickness of lava may reach 10 km under Mare Imbrium.
the known solar system, rises 26 km above the A very few cinder cones, shield volcanoes and volcanic
surrounding plateau. These volcanoes possess nested domes rise up from the lava flows. The majority of maria
summit calderas and have numerous lobate lava flows on are located on the near side.
their flanks. Other smaller shield volcanoes exist in other This volcanism became evident during the waning
places. Low-relief shields with irregular summit craters stage of heavy bombardment which occurred before
and numerous radial flows on their flanks are called −3.9 Gyr. The volcanism was important from −3.9 to
‘paterae’. Some domes (called ‘Tholus’) and cinder −3.5 Gyr, then decreased and virtually stopped 3 Gyr
cones have also been identified across Mars. Volcanic ago. The larger maria fill very old impact basins, but the
plains with multiple overlapping flow lobes are found superficial flows are some hundreds of millions of years
around the periphery of the shield volcanoes. The younger than the impact itself. The maria are more
complex flows can extend for >1000 km beyond the abundant on the nearside than on the farside. Apollo
shields. Large plains covering wide areas in the northern samples indicate that lunar lava chemical composition is
hemisphere (but rare in the southern hemisphere) have relatively similar to that of terrestrial basalts.
controversial origin. The preferred origin is a volcanic
one, based primarily on morphological similarity to lunar
maria. No or only little evidence was found for extensive
pyroclastic deposits.
In 1976 and 1997, respectively, the two VIKING
landers and MARS PATHFINDER made in situ chemical
analyses of soil and rocks. These analyses are consistent
with volcanic rocks (mainly basalts, and one andesite-
like analysis). Some meteorites (the SNC METEORITES) are
supposed to have a Martian origin. These meteorites are
mainly volcanic rocks (basalts and pyroxenites).
Volcanism existed on Mars from the earliest epoch,
the lower Noachian, to the latest one, the upper
Amazonian. The maximum of visible volcanic materials
was produced during the Hesperian (from 3.5 to −2 Gyr).
The younger volcanoes, Olympus and Arsia Mons, are
estimated to be near 0.5±0.25 Gyr.
The Martian interior is theoretically more or less Figure 2. A lava plain on a rocky body: Mare Serenitatis (left)
similar to the Earth’s interior. On Mars, mantle on the Moon. White mountains (on the right) are ‘terrae’. No
convection produced superficial motions and tectonic visible volcanic structures are seen inside this part of Mare
features which are different from plate tectonics. The Serenitatis, which only consists of very flat lava flows.
lack of active volcanoes since 500 million years ago Numerous small impact craters are visible on the mare, because
indicates that the mantle convection now is either very the lava flows are 3.5 Gyr old (NASA–Apollo).
low or has completely stopped. In the past, the mantle
On the Moon, volcanoes ceased 3 Gyr ago. The production by massive bodies is supposed to be the same
dynamics of the lunar mantle during these very old for all the silicated bodies and identical to the chondritic
epochs is poorly known. It is only known that this heat production value (about 10−11 W kg−1). This heat
volcanism was not accompanied by significant tectonic production inside the planets’ interior balances the heat
motions, contrary to the Earth, Venus and Mars. lost to space. This balance fixes the interior temperature.
Volcanism is more abundant on the nearside than on the If the loss is efficient with regard to the production, the
farside, because the crust thickness is more significant on temperature is low; if the loss is not efficient, the
the farside, and the buoyancy forces seldom allowed the temperature is high. The heat is produced inside the
magma to reach the surface. There is a geographical planet and is related to its volume; the heat is lost by the
relation between volcanism and large impact on the surface. This balance is thus regulated by the
Moon, but genetic relationships are not clear because of volume/surface ratio, which is proportional to the
the large chronological interval between large impacts planetary radius: a small planetary body with a low
and maria flooding. volume/surface ratio has efficient heat loss and a low
internal temperature ; this is the case now for the Moon,
Mercury (diameter 4878 km). On MERCURY, maria-like Mercury and the asteroids. A large planetary body with a
plains called ‘smooth plains’ are probably volcanic in high volume/surface ratio has inefficient heat lost and a
origin. Unfortunately, the modest resolution of MARINER high internal temperature ; this is now the case for Venus
10 images makes it difficult to clearly identify volcanic and Earth. An intermediate planetary body has an
features. These smooth plains are mainly inside and intermediate volume/surface ratio and has an
around CALORIS BASIN, the major impact basin of intermediate internal temperature; this is the case for
Mercury. These smooth plains cover large areas of Mars today.
relatively ancient ‘intercrater plains’ which are possibly At the beginning of their history, all the planetary
volcanic plains flooded during the heavy bombardment. bodies were hot because of the accretional heating and the
Crater chronology would indicate that the maximum short-lived radioactivity. After the end of this primeval
of smooth plain flooding is geologically heat production, the heat production was mainly due to
contemporaneous with the Caloris impact. The end of long-lived radioactive elements (K, U, Th). When
volcanism probably occurred 3.5 Gyr ago. considering the solution to the spherically symmetric heat
The dynamics of the Mercurian mantle during these equation, the accumulation of heat from long-lived
very old epochs is poorly known. As on the Moon, it is radionuclides produces a maximum in temperature after
only known that these periods of volcanism were not several hundred million years in large bodies. This has
accompanied by significant tectonic motions, in contrast been confirmed by the extensive magmatic phase on the
to the Earth, Venus and Mars. There is a geographical Moon which started 500 million years after its formation.
and a chronological relation between volcanism and large After this maximum in temperature, because of the natural
impacts on Mercury, suggesting genetic relationships decay of radioactivity, there has been a secular cooling for
such as a pressure fall in the mantle under the Caloris all the planetary bodies. This cooling has induced a
cavity. gradual stoppage of volcanism, with end times related to
size and volume/surface ratio of the planets: this stoppage
The meteorites’ parent bodies and the asteroid belt. occurred very early for the small bodies (the meteorites’
About 8% of the catalogued METEORITES are volcanic parent bodies), 1–1.5 Gyr after the accretion of Mercury
rocks, mainly basalt or pyroxenite. There are five main and the Moon, 4 Gyr after the accretion of Mars and has
kinds of these volcanic meteorites and they are called not yet occurred for Venus and the Earth.
eucrite, howardite, aubrite, diogenite and urellite. The
meteorites are suposed to be Earth-crossing fragments of Volcanism in the outer solar system
asteroids. Thus, some ASTEROIDS with past volcanic In the outer solar system, where the temperature is 100
activity exist in the asteroid belt. Some asteroids have a K, one planet (Pluto) and almost all large satellites have a
spectral signature of volcanic rocks. VESTA is supposed to low density (≤2 g cm−3) and water ice spectral
be the diogenite and eucrite parent body, and Nysa is reflectance. This indicates that water ice is a major
supposed to be the aubrite parent body. component of these bodies, with a proportion larger than
Radiochronological dating of volcanic meteorites indicates 50%. Other volatile compounds (N2, NH3…) may be
that the volcanism in the asteroid belt occurred only 10– mixed with water ice. These bodies are called icy bodies.
100 million years after the formation of the solar system. Only two satellites of Jupiter, Io and Europa, have a
density >3 g cm−3 and are mainly rocky bodies.
The relationship between the duration of volcanism
and planetary size Io, Europa and tidal heating
After the end of ACCRETION, the heat inside a planet is Io (diameter 3630 km, figure 3) is one of the four
mainly produced by radioactive decay. This heat Galilean satellites of Jupiter. Its density of 3.55 g cm−3
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Volcanism in the Solar System ENCYCLOPEDIA OF ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS
indicates a global composition of silicates and iron. Io’s particularly pronounced because of the phenomenon of
surface displays a wide variety of colors and spectra orbital resonance with Europa and Ganymede. The result
which are dominated by sulfur compounds. Io’s surface of this forced eccentricity is that Io’s tidal bulges are
geology is dominated by volcanic vents, craters, fissures, continually flexed and moved with respect to Io’s
flows and other morphological forms attributed to interior. The tidal bulge is about 7 km in height, and its
volcanic processes (see also IO: VOLCANISM AND periodic flexion is ±100 m. This is a significant source of
GEOPHYSICS). Active plumes of volcanic material friction and of tidally generated heat. In the case of Io,
reaching heights of 300 km were seen by Voyager and heat generated by tidal dissipation (about 1014 W,
GALILEO MISSION spacecraft in 1979 and 1997. These corresponding to 10−9 W kg−1) is probably 100 times the
plumes are thought to be driven up by SO2 or sulfur rate of radiogenic heating. This is enough to melt at least
vapors. Sulfur compounds are certainly present on the some parts of Io’s interior.
surface, but, because of the low viscosity of solid sulfur, EUROPA (diameter 3138 km) is a satellite of Jupiter,
the heights of mountains, 9000 m, indicate a dominantly 3.04 g cm−3 in density. This density indicates a silicated
silicated composition for high mountains. Temperatures composition. It may be briefly described in this section
>1500 ºC measured by Galileo above active volcanoes even though its visible surface is completely covered by
prove the existence of molten silicates. It is not known water ice. Density calculation and modelling indicate a
whether low topography lava flows are composed of pure silicated sphere of radius 1400–1500 km, surrounded by
sulfur or sulfur rich silicates. a 100–150 km thick H2O layer. Voyager and Galileo
New large volcanic deposits and flows were seen by images revealed geologically active or recent resurfacing
the Galileo spacecraft 18 yr after the Voyager fly-bys. No processes bringing liquid water or ice-crystal mush to the
impact craters can be seen on Io’s pictures, an surface. The 100–150 km thick H2O layer is probably not
observation which indicates that the volcanism is a very completely frozen, and a liquid water ocean is probably
active resurfacing process. The global average height of overlain by an ice field. The flooding of liquid water on
Io’s resurfacing is about 100 m (106 yr)−1. the surface does not correspond to volcanism sensu
Io’s volcanism supplies a very thin atmosphere stricto, but rather to polar-like phenomena. The H2O
(10−2–10−7 Pa). Around Jupiter, a plasma torus is a result layer is probably warmed at the H2O–silicate boundary
of material escaping from Io (see also IO: PLASMA by volcanism, similar in origin to Io’s volcanism, but
TORUS). with a lower intensity.
Io is a small planetary body, with theoretically not
enough radiogenic heating to be active now. However, The icy bodies
Voyager revealed that Io is the most active solid world in The surfaces of 13 of these icy bodies larger than 450 km
the solar system. Another heat source other than in diameter have been well imaged by Voyager and
radiogenic heating must be present for Io. The orbit Galileo spacecraft. On these kinds of bodies, volcanism
of Io has a measurable forced eccentricity, which is may bring to the surface the molten compound of the
interior: liquid water. The morphology created by this
water volcanism is very different from that of their
silicated counterparts. Fractures, vents and dykes may
exist, but volcanic morphologies similar to the popular
notion of volcanoes do not exist. On many satellites
(Ganymede, Enceladus, Miranda, Triton), the surface of
resurfaced ice is affected by sets of parallel or
crosscutting ridges and grooves, poorly understood in
origin, despite their frequency in the solar system.
Recently active worlds: Ganymede (Jupiter’s satellite), Figure 4. (a) Global view of the south pole of Ganymede. Flat
Dione, Tethys (Saturn’s satellites), Ariel, Miranda and terrains probably consist of large frozen water flows. Ridged
Titania (Uranus’s satellites). These are worlds where and grooved terrains are deformed ice flows. Numerous impact
there are evidences of both tectonic proceses on a global craters indicate that this flooding stopped 3.5 Gyr ago (NASA–
scale and vast volcanic outpourings which occurred after Voyager). (b) Detailed view of Ganymedean surface. Flat and
the end of late heavy bombardment. ridged terrains are crosscut by an elongated caldera-like feature.
Ganymede (diameter 5262 km, figure 4) represents Viscous flow (probably ice–liquid mush) is visible inside the
the best known of these bodies. Ganymede is divided into caldera (NASA–Galileo).
dark heavily cratered terrains that occur as polygonal
regions and poorly cratered bright terrains in the form of Large-scale resurfacing and flooding without
bands that separate the heavily cratered polygons. The tectonics is visible on DIONE (diameter 1120 km) and on
bright terrains are usually strongly grooved and ridged one area of TETHYS (diameter 1060 km), while evidence
and provide unequivocal evidence of widespread-to- of water volcanism and resurfacing related to tectonism
global volcanism and tectonism. In some place, bright exists on other parts of Tethys, and on TITANIA (diameter
terrains are smooth, notably where they overlay the dark 1580 km) and ARIEL (diameter 1158 km). On Ariel,
terrains. This suggest that the bright terrains were canyons called ‘Chasma’ have clearly been flooded by
emplaced during extensional tectonic events, such as an some kind of volcanic flow processes which somewhere
extruded low-viscosity fluid, probably liquid water or a produced sinuous rilles with scales and morphology
mush of water-ice crystals. The age of the end of this comparable with their lunar maria counterparts.
flooding is strongly dependent on cratering models in the MIRANDA (diameter 472 km) is one of the most
outer solar system, and may be estimated to be 3– remarkable and complex worlds in the solar system
3.5 Gyr. despite its small diameter. Half of Miranda is a uniform
densely cratered plain, while the other half is occupied by
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Volcanism in the Solar System ENCYCLOPEDIA OF ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS
regions of younger grooved terrains, the detailed mixture. Even low internal heating could increase
appearance of which has never been found elsewhere in the temperature sufficiently to reach the melting
the solar system. These regions are called ‘corona’ and temperature and to produce water or water–
exhibit belts of parallel or crosscutting ridges. These ammoniac volcanism.
ridges are commonly interpreted as fracture-controlled
extrusions of warm ice or mush. The pattern of ridges is The case of Triton is more complex. Volcanism-
not understood at all. Somewhere, the ridges seem induced resurfacing which occurred everywhere is
submerged by lava-flow-like structures. probably due to radiogenic and tidal heating, as for
Ganymede or other large icy satellites. Such mechanisms
Dead worlds: Callisto (Jupiter’s satellite), Iapetus, could explain the active plumes. However, these active
Mimas, Rhea (Saturn’s satellites), Oberon, Umbriel plumes are only located on the southern polar cap, and an
(Uranus’s satellites). The Voyager and Galileo fly-bys exogenous origin is possible. The polar cap is made of
revealed six satellites as intensely cratered worlds. If transparent nitrogen ice covering a darker substrate. This
some kind of volcanic resurfacing processes had existed, was Tritonian ‘springtime’ when Voyager 2 imaged the
they ceased before the end of late heavy bombardment. south pole of Triton in 1989, and the temperature was
Possible volcanic morphologies have now almost increasing. Nitrogen ice is transparent and allows most of
completely disappeared, with the possible exception of the sunlight to heat the underlying darker layer. A rise of
Callisto and Rhea. only 10 ºC of this dark layer above the surface
On CALLISTO (diameter 4800 km), some flat plains temperature of −236 ºC would cause the vaporization of
are associated with fractures surrounding a large impact the base of the nitrogen ice layer and its eruption as a
(Valhalla) and may be due to some water resurfacing. nitrogen gas plume, through the icy superficial crust.
On RHEA (diameter 1530 km), one-third of the
known surface is less cratered than the other two-thirds. Pierre Thomas
Possible clues that there was endogenic activity on Rhea
are given by features such as linear troughs and ridges,
which may be interpreted as subdued volcanic vents.
(1) With the exception of the unimaged Pluto, all the icy
bodies are satellites of large planets, and permanent
or transitional orbital resonances with other satellites
may produce permanent or transitional orbital
eccentricity and tidally generated heat. That would
explain the difference between Ganymede and
Callisto: Ganymede is closer to Jupiter than Callisto;
tidal heating may have been greater for Ganymede
and sufficient to produce volcanism during the first
billion years. Tidal heating was never sufficient for
Callisto. The heat sources of Enceladus and other
bodies smaller than 1000 km in diameter are more
uncertain and may be searched for in temporary
orbital resonances with other satellites. The nature
and shape of convective motions inside icy mantles
are unknown at present.
(2) If a temperature of 1100 ºC is necessary to melt
silicates, a temperature of about 0 ºC is sufficient to
melt pure water ice, and a temperature of −100 ºC
induces the melting of a water–ammoniac ice
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and Institute of Physics Publishing 2002
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Voyager Mission E NCYCLOPEDIA OF A STRONOMY AND A STROPHYSICS
moon, TITAN, NASA gave approval for the Voyager Following a week of no command receipt by Voyager 2,
Project to target Voyager 2’s Saturn encounter for a con- a computer-stored failure algorithm automatically
tinuation on to Uranus. The transition between the pri- switched to the spacecraft’s backup receiver. It was soon
mary mission and the Voyager Uranus/Interstellar discovered that the backup receiver was ‘tone deaf’. In
Mission (VUIM) occurred on 1 October 1981. Similar other words, if the S-band signal arriving at the space-
approvals were given for subsequent portions of the craft differed by more than 96 Hz from the receiver’s
extended Voyager Missions. The Voyager frequency, it would not be detected. Factors such as the
Neptune/Interstellar Mission (VNIM) started 1 April velocity of the spacecraft and the rotation and revolution
1986; the Voyager Interstellar Mission (VIM) began 1 of the Earth would cause changes (due to Doppler shift-
October 1989. Because of Voyager 1’s close approach to ing of the transmitted radio signal) that easily exceeded
Titan, the spacecraft’s trajectory passed well south of 96 Hz. While adjustments in the transmitted S-band
Saturn. The massive gravity of Saturn pulled Voyager 1’s frequency could be made for the factors mentioned, inde-
path northward of the ecliptic and hence northward of terminate shifts in the central receiver frequency would
the orbits of Uranus, Neptune and PLUTO. However, the occur each time power usage (and hence temperature)
measurements Voyager 1 makes of interplanetary would change by more than a couple of watts. Power
charged particles and magnetic fields continue to be of changes were therefore minimized; when power usage
great interest to solar system scientists. Voyager 2 changes were necessary, a command moratorium of from
encountered Uranus on 24 January 1986, and Neptune on 24 to 72 h was honored, providing enough time to deter-
25 August 1989; like Voyager 1, its mission is now direct- mine the new receiver frequency. Voyager engineers
ed at interplanetary and interstellar measurements. became very proficient at dealing with this shortcoming
The intensive data collection periods surrounding of Voyager 2, and it never substantially limited the space-
each of the planetary encounters generally included craft’s capabilities.
about 3 months prior to closest approach and one month Another Voyager 2 hardware problem occurred dur-
thereafter. The first approximately two months of the ing the Saturn flyby. Voyagers 1 and 2 are three-axis sta-
encounter period constituted an ‘Observatory’ phase. bilized spacecraft. Except for brief periods of time, the 3.7
‘Far Encounter’ spanned the period from the end of the m wide high-gain communications antenna is kept
Observatory phase to about 1 day before closest pointed at Earth, and the star tracker is locked on a
approach. ‘Near Encounter’ generally lasted about 2 selected bright star. The cameras and spectrometers were
days, more or less centered on the closest approach to the then pointed at their targets by means of a steerable two-
relevant planet. A ‘Post Encounter’ of about 1 month con- degree-of-freedom scan platform. One of the two axes of
cluded each planetary encounter period. Each of these that scan platform seized about half an hour after
phases included two or three sequence computer ‘loads’, Voyager 2’s closest approach to Saturn. The problem was
which updated the central computer and sequencer traced to the migration of lubricant out of the gear train
(CCS) contents. The CCS would then control spacecraft during periods of heavy usage. Motion was restored a
activity, including recording to and playback of the digi- few days later. Careful study of the characteristics of the
tal tape recorder storage device. A full tape recorder failure, both from spacecraft engineering data and from
would hold the equivalent of about 100 full-resolution life tests on similar gear trains at JPL, enabled engineers
(i.e. uncompressed) images. to devise a usage plan that would avoid another seizure.
Because Voyager was designed to operate at great The scan platform operated flawlessly during the Uranus
distances from the Sun where solar panels were ineffec- and Neptune encounters.
tive, power was (and is) provided for each of the Voyager There are several examples of engineering ‘tricks’
spacecraft by means of radioisotope thermoelectric gen- that improved the Voyager science return. Normal limit
erators (RTGs). These ‘batteries’ generate electricity by cycle motion of the spacecraft was controlled within
transforming heat radiated by the natural decay of plu- 0.05° in each of the three spacecraft axes. Attitude
tonium dioxide. These batteries, which utilize non-fis- knowledge was provided by monitoring the Sun Sensor
sionable plutonium-238, are highly reliable and long and Star Tracker. Attitude control was accomplished by
lived, a perfect combination for a mission like Voyager. 200 ms bursts of hydrazine fuel through appropriate
The RTGs carried by each Voyager generated about 500 thruster jets. Using that scheme, the motion of the cam-
W of power at launch and are decreasing in output by era field of view across the sky was slower than the
about 5 W yr–1. This will permit them to continue to motion of an hour hand on a clock. Nevertheless, long
power the two spacecraft with usable amounts of exposures and low light levels demanded even slower
wattage until about the year 2020. rates. The Attitude and Articulation Control System
Communication with the spacecraft occurred via (AACS) aboard Voyager 2 was programmed to shorten
digitally modulated radio signals. Commands transmit- the thruster pulses, slowing the resultant rates across
ted from the ground occurred at S-band, near a frequen- the 0.05° deadband to less than 10% of the normal qui-
cy of 2113 MHz. Data were transmitted to the ground at escent rate, almost eliminating image smear in more
X-band, near a frequency of 8415 MHz. Early in its mis- than 90% of the images obtained at Uranus and
sion, the Voyager 2 primary radio receiver failed. Neptune.
Another scheme to reduce image smear involved Neptune (see below) offer additional clues. Excess heat
rotating the cameras at a rate that matched the apparent in the form of infrared energy escaping from each of the
motion of a nearby satellite (moon) during flyby of that four planets is also important in constraining models of
satellite. This scheme involved using onboard gyro- the interior.
scopes for attitude reference (instead of the Sun Sensor
and Star Tracker). The AACS was fooled by doctored Rings
data in the spacecraft computer into thinking the gyro- The Voyager spacecraft revealed the enormous amount
scopes were drifting. As the AACS compensated (as it of detail in the rings of Saturn, discovered the rings of
was designed to do) for this false ‘gyro drift’, it caused Jupiter and provided the first detailed images of the
the spacecraft to turn in a way that kept the cameras rings of Uranus and Neptune. Ring data from Voyager
pointed at the nearby moon without having to use the have raised even more questions on the nature of ring
(somewhat jerky) movement of the scan platform. This systems than they have answered. The answers to those
technique was first used to obtain unsmeared images of questions may be important to studies of the asteroid
Saturn’s moon Rhea and was particularly successful in belt, the Oort cloud of comets, galactic structure and
image sequences of Uranus’s moon MIRANDA, and clusters of galaxies within the universe.
Neptune’s moon TRITON.
The scientific findings of the Voyager Mission have Satellites
been the most notable of its contributions. The individual Voyager imaged Earth’s MOON. Three new satellites of
scientific articles based on Voyager data now number in Jupiter (Metis, Adrastea, and Thebe) were discovered in
the thousands, and Voyager data continue to be the Voyager data, and Voyager images were obtained of
source of detailed comparative studies of the giant plan- eight of Jupiter’s 16 known moons. Only the outer eight
ets and their rings, satellites and magnetospheres (the moons, all thought to be tiny captured asteroids, were
magnetic fields surrounding each of the giant planets missed. Voyager revealed active volcanoes on IO, an obvi-
and the electrically charged particle population trapped ously fractured and geologically young icy surface on
within or traversing those magnetic fields). EUROPA (first evidence of a global subsurface ocean), a
variegated array of surface structures on GANYMEDE and
Atmospheres and interiors an ancient cratered icy surface on CALLISTO. The sizes,
Voyagers 1 and 2 obtained the first detailed composition, masses, densities and reflectivities of the four Galilean
temperature and pressure profiles of the atmospheres of satellites were also measured, showing Ganymede to be
Saturn, Uranus and Neptune and improved our under- the solar system’s largest satellite, Europa to be the
standing of those characteristics of the atmosphere of brightest Galilean satellite and a decrease in bulk densi-
Jupiter, previously visited by Pioneers 10 and 11. The ty with increasing distance from the planet (presumably
GALILEO MISSION has dropped an instrumented probe into due to water depletion from the closer satellites due to
Jupiter’s atmosphere and completed its orbital mission heat from Jupiter).
around the solar system’s largest planet, improving on At Saturn, four new satellites (Pan, Atlas,
many of the measurements made by Voyagers 1 and 2. Prometheus and Pandora) were discovered in Voyager
Ulysses also completed a high-latitude flyby of Jupiter on data. These data also showed that Janus and Epimetheus,
its way to study the polar regions of the Sun (see SOLAR previously thought to be a single satellite, were actually
WIND: ULYSSES). The CASSINI/HUYGENS MISSION is designed two satellites with remarkably similar orbits. Three satel-
to make enormous improvements in our understanding lites (Telesto, Calypso and Helene) were discovered from
of Saturn’s atmosphere and interior as it circles the plan- Earth as a result of the increased interest in Saturn gen-
et for 4 yr starting 1 July 2004. However, for Uranus and erated by the approaching Voyager. Voyager revealed
Neptune, the Voyager in situ results and the high-resolu- that Titan was the solar system’s second largest satellite,
tion and high-phase-angle remote-sensing observations and the only one with a substantial atmosphere. Titan is
will probably remain unique for the foreseeable future. covered by a high atmospheric haze, which hides the sur-
Our understanding of the interiors of the giant plan- face from visible imaging. However, infrared and
ets is based largely on theoretical considerations. radiowave measurements penetrated to the surface of
However, there are many bits and pieces of information, this strange moon, which may be the only body in the
mostly from Voyager results, that serve to constrain the solar system (other than Earth) with both liquid and
range of viable models. Careful measurements of the solid material at its surface. Voyager obtained images of
paths of the Voyager spacecraft helped determine accu- all 18 known satellites of Saturn. These images revealed
rate measurements of the masses of the giant planets and a geologically young surface on ENCELADUS, erratic rota-
of their entire systems. Voyager determined the rotation tion for HYPERION and a remarkably sharp boundary
rates of the interiors of Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. between dark material on Iapetus’ leading face and
(Jupiter’s interior rotation rate was determined by bright material on its trailing face. Phoebe, apparently a
radiowave measurements made from Earth.) The orien- captured asteroid, was revealed to have the darkest sur-
tations of the strange magnetic fields of Uranus and face among Saturn’s satellites.
Magnetospheres
Little was known about the magnetospheres of the giant
planets before the Voyager flybys. Pioneers 10 and 11, as
Voyager ‘pathfinders’, had made preliminary measure-
ments of Jupiter’s magnetosphere, and Pioneer 11
probed Saturn’s magnetosphere. Voyager made signifi-
cant improvements in those measurements and provided
the first measurements of the magnetospheres of Uranus
and Neptune. The magnetic fields of the latter two plan-
ets were found to be highly inclined to the planetary
rotation axes, something previously expected only for
certain stars.
The final frontier for Voyager is a search for the outer
edge of the heliosphere (the Sun’s magnetosphere).
Theoretical calculations show that the boundary should
be at a distance of between 80 and 120 astronomical units
(AU) (1 AU is the mean distance between Sun and Earth).
Voyager 1 crossed 80 AU in 2001; Voyager 2 reaches that
distance in 2006. Once Voyager 1 is beyond the helios-
phere, humanity will be able for the first time to sample
the magnetic fields and charged particles in the space
between the stars.
The two Voyager spacecraft are still sending back
data, 25 years after their launch. Voyager 1 is now the
most distant human-made object; in August 2002 it was
about 85 times as far from the Sun as the Earth and
Voyager 2 was about 68 times the Sun–Earth distance.
They are both continuing outwards at about 3 AU per
year (slightly more for Voyager 1 and slightly less for
Voyager 2). The Voyager team at JPL still receives infor-
mation almost daily from the Voyagers which are exam-
ining the far reaches of the solar wind.
Bibliography
A detailed pre-launch description of the Voyager mis-
sion, the spacecraft and the scientific investigations is
given in Space Science Reviews 21 pages 75–376 (1977).
Voyager scientific results have been chronicled in
multiple dedicated issues of Science, Nature, Icarus and
the Journal of Geophysical Research. They have also result-
ed in at least six separate many-hundred-page scientific
texts on planetary science published by The University of
Arizona Press.
Ellis D Miner
Vulcan
The name given to a hypothetical planet believed by
Urbain Le Verrier to exist within the orbit of Mercury.
At the request of François Arago, Le Verrier first studied
the orbit of Mercury in the early 1840s. He managed
to explain the greater part of the discrepancy between
its calculated and observed positions (the advance of its
perihelion) as being caused by gravitational perturbations
by the other planets. The residual discrepancy eluded
him, and he abandoned the problem as intractable. He
returned to it in 1859, having in the meantime successfully
predicted the existence of Neptune. Now he invoked
an intramercurial planet or asteroid belt as the cause of
Mercury’s irregularities. Shortly after, he heard that a
physician and amateur astronomer, Edmond Lescarbault,
had observed a small body in transit across the Sun’s disk.
Le Verrier examined Lescarbault’s observations closely
and, convinced they were genuine, announce the existence
of a new planet which he named Vulcan. Subsequent
sightings were reported but never confirmed. Vulcan is
now known not to exist.
See also: perihelion.
Vulpecula
(the Fox; abbrev. Vul, gen. Vulpeculae; area 268 sq. deg.)
a northern constellation which lies between Cygnus and
Sagitta–Delphinus, and culminates at midnight in late July.
It was introduced as Vulpecula cum Ansere (the Fox and
Goose) by the astronomer Johannes Hevelius (1611–87) of
Danzig (Gdansk), who included it in his atlas Firmamentum
Sobiescianum sive Uranographia of 1687.
A small, inconspicuous constellation, the brightest
star in Vulpecula is α Vulpeculae, magnitude 4.4. The
Milky Way passes through Vulpecula and the constellation
contains a number of open star clusters and planetary
nebulae, including Cr 399 (Brocchi’s Cluster, the Coat-
hanger), which consists of about a dozen stars of
magnitudes 6–8, elongated east–west, NGC 6940, another
open cluster with about 100 stars fainter than ninth
magnitude, and M27 (NGC 6853), the Dumbbell Nebula,
an eighth-magnitude planetary nebula.
W M Keck Observatory
The W M Keck Observatory, located on the island of
Hawaii, operates the world’s two largest optical/infrared
telescopes, each with a primary mirror 10 m in diameter,
near the 4200 m summit of Mauna Kea. Made possible
through grants totaling more than $140 million from the
W M Keck Foundation, the observatory is operated by
the California Institute of Technology, the University of
California and the National Aeronautics and Space
Administration (NASA), which joined the partnership in
October 1996. The Keck I telescope began science
observations in May 1993; Keck II in October 1996.
A staff of 80 scientists, engineers, technicians and
support personnel operate the observatory whose
administrative facility is located in Waimea, Hawaii, and
whose mission is to provide a world-class research
facility for astronomers from Caltech, University of
California, NASA and the University of Hawaii. Over
400 astronomers per year are involved with observations
from the Keck telescopes, which are carried out from
Waimea via a fiber-optic link to the summit of Mauna
Kea.
The Keck telescopes employ a unique segmented
design for their primary mirrors: 36 1.8 m diameter
hexagonal segments are fitted together like a floor-tile
mosaic to form each primary, the segments being aligned
with respect to each to a tolerance of one-millionth of an
inch under computer control. This expandable technology
is that most likely to be adopted for the giant telescopes
being planned for the 21st century.
A $55 million project funded by NASA is aimed at
joining the two Kecks, along with four 1.8 m ‘outrigger’
telescopes, as an infrared interferometric array to achieve
unprecedented angular resolution, by the year 2003.
The first test observation obtained by linking the two
Keck 10 m telescopes was made on 12 March 2001.
Light from HD61294, a faint star in the constellation
Lynx, was captured by both Keck telescopes. The
collected light waves were combined and processed with
a beam combiner and camera. To phase the two
telescopes properly, adaptive optics on both telescopes
removed the distortion caused by the Earth’s atmosphere.
In addition, the optical system in the tunnel adjusted the
light path to within a millionth of an inch.
Major discoveries from this young observatory
include: the discovery of several planetary systems
around other stars; the identification of gamma-ray
bursters as being at cosmological distances; the discovery
of the most distant objects in the universe; the
measurement via supernova observations of the apparent
acceleration of the universe.
For further information see
http://www2.keck.hawaii.edu:3636/.
10,000
1,000
0.001 ICE
TEMPERATURE (°C)
Figure 1. Planetary positions on the phase diagram of water. Adapted from National Research Council (1991). Reproduced by
permission of National Academy of Sciences.
diffusion, gain by icy comets) and the Earth’s mantle (loss residence time is short for rivers (about 18 days) and
by subduction, gain by volcanic activity), where there is much longer for lakes (up to 1000 yr).
a much slower tectonic water cycle. This huge amount of • Biomass contains only 0.0001% of total water, but the
water (about 1386 million km3 , of which only 2.5% is fresh high water content (>70%) of most plants and living
water) is stored in several main interconnected reservoirs organisms is renewed within a few hours or days.
differing by the volume and quality (salt, fresh) of the
water they contain. The fluxes they permanently exchange The atmosphere stores 0.001% of total water, mostly as
within the water cycle control their renewal rates, which vapor. Liquid and solid phases are also present in clouds,
differ largely according to their size and the water phase which cover more than 60% of Earth’s surface on average.
they store. Current estimates of global storages and mean Atmospheric water corresponds to an equivalent height
annual fluxes are still affected by rather large uncertainties of only 26 mm but is frequently and rapidly renewed in
especially for groundwater (compare for instance values 9 days, ensuring an intense recycling of water.
in table 1, table 2 and figure 2). The global water cycle presents two main intercon-
The largest reservoir is by far the world ocean, which nected loops of different intensity (figure 2).
covers 71% of the 510 million km2 of Earth’s surface with a • Ocean and atmosphere exchange large fluxes: the ocean
mean depth of 3700 m. It contains 96.5% of all the water, as loses much water by evaporation (434 000 km3 yr−1 ;
salt water, and has a long mean residence time of 2500 yr. 1202 mm yr−1 ), a flux only limited by the energy
Continents store the remaining 3.5% of water in available. Most of this flux returns directly to the ocean
several main reservoirs with a very large range of sizes by precipitation (398 000 km3 yr−1 ; 1102 mm yr−1 ).
and renewal rates.
• Continent and atmosphere exchange fluxes that are
• Ice caps, glaciers and permanent snow cover store 1.74% smaller because less water is available: precipitation
on continents (107 000 km3 yr−1 ; 719 mm yr−1 )
of total water over 3% of Earth’s surface (essentially in
is in great part compensated by evapotranspiration
the Antarctic). This solid phase represents 69% of all
(71 000 km3 yr−1 ; 477 mm yr−1 )—that is, water
fresh water, with a very long residence time in ice caps
evaporated from the land surface and transpirated by
(104 yr).
vegetation.
• Groundwaters within the upper 2 km of the Earth’s
• The water balances of both loops are equilibrated by
crust contain about 1.7% of total water (45% only as
the fluxes they exchange: vapor flux in excess from the
fresh water), with very variable residence time (1–
ocean (36 000 km3 yr−1 ; 100 mm yr−1 ) is transported
103 yr) according to their depth and the porous media
by atmospheric circulation over continents, while an
properties. Soil moisture accounts for 0.001% only. equivalent flux of precipitation excess on the continent
• Surface water (lakes,rivers, swamps) represents only (36 000 km3 yr−1 ; 242 mm yr−1 ) returns to the ocean by
0.01% of all water, most as fresh water. The mean gravity as surface and subsurface runoff.
National Research
Council (1991) Shiklomanov (1998)
Globally precipitation and evaporation fluxes are and the environmental factors controlling them (see SPACE-
equal and amount to 505 000 km3 yr−1 (990 mm yr−1 ). BASED OBSERVATIONS OF THE EARTH).
In the intertropical zone, where solar energy is
Space and time variations maximal, the redistribution of water and energy within
Mean global values of storage and annual fluxes in fact the atmosphere is ensured by the rather stable vertical
mask very large variations at different scales in both time circulation within the Hadley cells generated by large
and space. Variations in evaporation (E), precipitation vertical contrasts in temperature, in the absence of a strong
(P ) and the resulting continental runoff are mainly due Coriolis effect. In the equatorial zone, the convergence of
to seasonal and latitudinal variations in solar energy trade wind systems generates the uplift (low pressure) of
modulated by seasonal thermal contrasts between ocean warm air moistened by high evaporation from the ocean:
and continent (figures 3 and 4). An observation network this results in heavy convective precipitation exceeding
and remote sensing mainly from satellites help to assess the local evaporation, which is reduced by frequent cloud
and monitor the variability of water storages and fluxes cover (P > 2000 mm yr−1 , E < 1600 mm yr−1 ). Inversely,
Precipitation Evaporation
BIOMASS
ICE & SNOW 2 398 434
43,400
SURFACE WATER
360
Runoff
(River, etc...) OCEAN MIXED LAYER 50,000
UNDERGROUND WATER 1,400,000
15,300 36
THERMOCLINE 450,000
ABYSSAL 890,000
LAND OCEAN
Reservoirs, volumes in 103 km3 Total Reservoir Volume = 1.46 x 109 km3
Figure 2. The water cycle at a global scale. Adapted from National Research Council (1991). Reproduced by permission of National
Academy of Sciences.
subsidence of warm and dry air (high pressure) in the While rapid surface currents are mainly induced by the
subtropical zones favors evaporation, which exceeds local prevailing surface winds, slow deep currents are mainly
precipitation (P < 1200 mm yr−1 , E > 1800 mm yr−1 ). due to differences in water density (depending on water
In the mid-latitude zones (between 30◦ and 60◦ ), the temperature and salinity). This thermohaline circulation
redistribution of water and energy from tropics to poles generates the oceanic ‘heat conveyor belt’: in its main
is rather organized horizontally, through successions of branch, cold dense water sinks in the Norwegian Sea, flows
unstable eddies moving from west to east and generated as deep water through the Atlantic ocean to the Indian and
by horizontal contrasts in temperature and by the Coriolis Pacific oceans where it warms and wells up and returns to
effect: cyclonic depressions provide precipitation, while the North Atlantic as dilute surface water in about 1000 yr.
dry anticyclonic conditions favor evaporation. At high On continents, where evapotranspiration is limited by
latitudes, because of minimal solar energy and subsidence water rather than energy, the climate pattern exhibits still
of cold and dry air (high pressure) precipitation and more contrast, with warm deserts belts (P < 300 mm yr−1 )
evaporation are very low (only a few mm yr−1 at the in the dry subtropical zones. This pattern is disturbed by
poles). In the extratropical zones, precipitation generally other factors depending on the position, size and shape of
exceeds evaporation, but, while evaporation decreases each continent, whose cumulative effects result in a very
rather regularly toward the poles, precipitation presents large range of mean continental precipitation (from almost
in the mid-latitude zone a maximum (P > 1200 mm yr−1 ) 0 to 12 000 mm yr−1 ).
associated with the depression systems.
This latitudinal climate zonation is most clearly • Ocean–continent interactions: in the tropical zone, the
observed on the ocean, where evaporation is only limited western coasts of continents receive less precipitation
by the energy available. Differences in water (P − E) and than the eastern coasts, which are supplied by easterly
energy balances associated with each climatic zone also trade winds carrying much moisture evaporated from
generate a salinity pattern at the ocean surface (increasing the tropical ocean—for instance in the Amazonian basin.
by sea-water evaporation and freezing, decreasing by • Continentality effect, especially in the middle latitude
precipitation and sea-ice melting). Redistribution of zones: precipitation on continents decreases from west
water, heat and solutes within the world ocean is to east, because of a progressive drying of air mass.
ensured by large-scale circulations and eddies (see OCEANS). Precipitation is more than 600 mm yr−1 in temperate
90° N
60°N
over sea
mm.yr-1
2000
30°N 1600
1200
800
400
0°
over land
mm.yr-1
30°S 1000
800
600
400
60°S 200
90°S
180°W 120°W 60°W 0° 60°E 120°E 180°E
Figure 3. Global distribution of mean annual evaporation. Adapted from Robinson and Henderson-Sellers (1999). Reproduced by
permission of Pearson Education.
90° N
60°N
30°N
mm.yr-1
3000
0° 2000
1000
500
250
30°S
60°S
90°S
180°W 120°W 60°W 0° 60°E 120°E 180°E
Figure 4. Global distribution of mean annual precipitation. Adapted from Robinson and Henderson-Sellers (1999). Reproduced by
permission of Pearson Education.
Western Europe, less than 100 mm yr−1 in continental of relatively short floods separated by longer recession
Kazakhstan. periods—with the extreme case of ephemeral streams.
• Orographic effect: mountain ranges on continents, Runoff variations are controlled by the time and space
islands in oceans, act as barriers to dominant humid variabilities of precipitation and evaporation, which are
air mass. The windward side receives much more very different. Precipitations are usually episodic and
orographic precipitation than the leeward side—as is intermittent, more or less concentrated during rainy
the case for the Western Cordillera in North America or seasons and irregularly distributed in space, while the
the Hawaiian Islands. energy available for evapotranspiration is much more
regularly and continuously distributed but more affected
These mean annual spatial patterns are modulated by diurnal and seasonal cycles. Evaporation intensity,
by diurnal and seasonal variations in insolation or longer- which is limited by the insolation, varies within a
term fluctuations. much smaller range (0–10 mm day−1 ) than precipitation
intensity, whose maximal recorded local values are greater
• At high altitudes as at high latitudes, a great part of than 40 mm in 1 min, 400 mm in 1 h, 1900 mm in 1
winter precipitation falls as snow, forming a seasonal or day, 26 000 mm in 1 yr. Precipitation is often buffered
even permanent snow cover affecting both water and seasonally in snow cover and glacier at high latitudes or
energy cycles. altitudes, while evapotranspiration depletes soil moisture
• Slight seasonal fluctuations of the Hadley cells around and is often reduced by summer water stress. The
the equator explain the alternation of rain and dry interannual variability is much larger for precipitation
seasons in the tropical zone. than for evapotranspiration. There is a large variety
of river runoff regimes as a result of combinations of
• Seasonal variations in thermal contrasts between ocean precipitation and evaporation regimes on their basins.
and continent also explain the monsoon, providing
huge amounts of summer precipitation to the Indian Water cycle on the basin scale
subcontinent. As the oceanic and atmospheric branches of the water
• Multiannual fluctuations can also occur in the ocean– cycle are presented elsewhere (see OCEANS and EARTH’S
atmosphere system—as for instance the ‘El Niño ATMOSPHERE), only its continental branch is detailed here,
Southern Oscillation’ (ENSO) affecting the Pacific but especially on the basin scale. A basin (or catchment)
having dramatic effects on the water balance of the is defined as the total drainage area of a river at some
whole tropical zone. specified outlet. Catchments, which can be defined at any
scale and in any environment, are functional units very
In the much longer term (10–104 yr), cyclic variations useful for both the study and the management of water
in solar activity and Earth’s orbital variations modify resources.
the insolation and the seasonal contrasts between both The water balance of a catchment expresses the
hemispheres, and therefore the climate and water principle of water conservation: the incident precipitation
cycle patterns. Ice caps and oceanic sediments is redistributed between runoff, evapotranspiration and
provide paleoclimatic archives allowing us to date such water storage within the catchment, through a competition
fluctuations and characterize their hydrological impact, between three main sources of energy and driving
especially during the past glaciation–deglaciation cycles. forces: (1) gravity, which controls most flows of liquid
Precipitation generally exceeds evaporation on con- and solid water and depends mainly on topography
tinents, but both are lower than on oceans at the same and morphometry; (2) the evaporative demand of the
latitude, because less energy (higher albedo) and water atmosphere, which controls vapor fluxes and depends
(unsaturated soils) are available on continents. Water in on energy input (radiative, advective) and climatic
excess within continental basins is collected by aquifer and conditions; (3) capillarity, which controls soil water
river networks and returns in great part to the ocean as retention and depends on the pore size distribution. At
river runoff, with inputs spatially concentrated at the river any point and any time, the dominant form of energy and
mouths. The relative contribution to total river runoff to thus the dominant component in the water balance depend
oceans is 16% for the Amazon alone, 27% for the five major on soil moisture conditions.
river systems (draining 10% of continental areas) and 50% There is a large variety of surface and subsurface
for the 50 major rivers, while 40% of river runoff is con- processes and pathways governing the hydrological
centrated in the equatorial region (flowing mainly into the response of a catchment to water and energy inputs from
Atlantic). Endorheic basins, that are not connected to the the atmosphere. They result in a strong vertical and
ocean, represent 22% of continental areas (mainly in dry lateral redistribution and recycling of precipitated water
regions): runoff disappears by infiltration or accumulates within a catchment. The main fluxes (evapotranspiration,
in closed lakes and seas, where water evaporates—as in groundwater recharge, streamflow) are usually generated
Lake Chad or the Aral Sea. simultaneously or successively by several processes,
River runoff varies during the year with usually a whose combinations are very variable in time and space.
strong seasonality of high and low flows, and successions They are indeed controlled by local characteristics and
variations of atmospheric inputs, by the water storage (liquid or solid water to vapor), which consumes much
and transfer properties of the various compartments and energy (radiative or thermal), and a turbulent vapor
their geometry. Because of many functional thresholds, transfer within the air, which increases with air saturation
catchment response is usually highly non-linear, much deficit and wind speed. Transpiration of the vegetation
depending on initial water conditions. is the vaporization within leaf stomata of the sap flow
After some interception by vegetation, precipitation extracted from soil by roots. Evapotranspiration is limited
reaches the soil surface: snow remains stored on the by the water and energy availability: evaporation of
surface until it melts, while rain infiltrates into the soil and free water (wet vegetation, surface water, groundwater)
recharges its water storage. When soil moisture exceeds depends on the available energy only, while capillary
some threshold depending on both soil texture and retention makes water in unsaturated soil less and less
structure, water percolates further vertically to recharge available when soil dries out. During dry periods
groundwater. Biological activity, soil cracks and bedrock transpiration, which exploits water within the whole
fissures, chemical dissolution (karstic cave systems,) root zone, lasts much longer than evaporation, which
often create networks of non-capillary macropores, which affects the soil top layer only. Stomatal regulation limits
provide preferential pathways for free water, bypassing transpiration in dry soil conditions, to avoid vegetation
the less permeable bedrock or soil matrix. If the wilting.
percolating flux exceeds the hydraulic conductivity of Any catchment presents a functional, spatial and
some subsurface layer, water in excess forms a perched temporal organization, because of the non-uniform and
groundwater or flows laterally as hypodermic interflow. non-random distributions of the hydrological processes,
Groundwater flows are essentially lateral and controlled factors and inputs: (1) at each point, process activation
by the conductivity of the porous media and the slope of or deactivation results from a balance between water
the piezometric surface (which is the water table slope supply from above and local water storage or transfer
for unconfined aquifers). If the water table is shallow, capacities; (2) spatio-temporal variations of factors lead
precipitation can create locally rapid groundwater ridging to some recurrence of conditions favorable or unfavorable
by saturating its capillary fringe. to each process in some areas of variable extent and
If precipitation intensity exceeds the infiltrability some periods of variable duration; (3) these variable
(depending on surface conditions), the soil surface is active areas and periods are also contributing areas to
saturated from above: water in excess accumulates in main outfluxes only if they are hydraulically connected
small depressions, then flows as diffuse surface runoff. to the catchment boundaries. Because of many possible
If subsurface lateral flows exceed locally a threshold interactions and processes, zones of interface between
depending on soil slope, depth and conductivity, soil atmosphere, vegetation and soil, or between surface water
surface is saturated from below: the excess flux exfiltrates and groundwater are very sensitive to any change.
as return surface flow. Precipitation on already saturated
areas also tends to flow as surface runoff. Whatever Coupled water, energy and matter cycles
its generating process (infiltration–excess, exfiltration, Water and energy cycles are intimately coupled in the
saturation–excess), surface runoff tends to concentrate in atmospheric and oceanic general circulations, controlling
small rills to reach the stream channel but can also infiltrate the radiation and energy balances at both global and local
downslope, depending on local surface topography, scales, and carrying energy from equator to poles and
roughness and infiltrability. water from ocean to continent.
Surface and subsurface processes contribute to • Atmospheric water vapor maintains a rather high
streamflow, provided that the generated fluxes are temperature at Earth’s surface by a ‘greenhouse effect’,
connected to a stream channel. While the slow drainage while the net solar radiation on surfaces is reduced by
of groundwater and soil water supplies stream baseflow an ‘albedo effect’ depending on water phase and content
between successive rainy events, floods are generated and generating local thermal contrasts: reflection is very
by rapid surface and subsurface flows and by direct high for low clouds and ice or snow cover, low for
precipitation on the river. Streamflow is routed downward water bodies and higher for dry bare soils than for moist
as a turbulent flux controlled by the bed slope and vegetated soils.
roughness. Within the channel network, it increases
at each confluence, decreases at each diffluence and • At evaporation sites, cooling occurs by vaporization
accumulates in lakes and artificial reservoirs. Along the consuming much energy (solar radiation, sensible heat),
channel, streamwater and groundwater exchange fluxes which is stored as latent heat in the water vapor;
whose direction and intensity depend on their water both are transported within the atmosphere by vertical
levels and the bed’s conductivity. Flooding occurs when convection and lateral advection to the precipitation
streamflow exceeds some threshold fixed by the bed sites where warming occurs by condensation releasing
geometry. the latent heat as sensible heat in the atmosphere.
Both surface and shallow subsurface waters are • Huge amounts of energy are stored as sensible heat in
subject to evapotranspiration, returning water vapor to ocean water and transported from warm to cold regions
the atmosphere. Evaporation combines a phase change by ocean currents (for instance the great ‘heat conveyor
belt’): the ocean acts as a thermal regulator, tempering Humans and water
also seasonal climatic contrasts in many continental Water is an essential part of humanity’s environment: it
regions. is one of the most important natural resources for human
life and activities; it is also a risk factor because of human
Water and matter cycles are also strongly coupled. vulnerability to water-related hazards such as floods
On continents, water is a powerful agent of transforma- and droughts, avalanches and landslides, waterborne
tion and vector of material, depending on climate, topog- diseases and toxicities. Humankind has therefore always
raphy, bedrock and soil types and vegetation cover. Wa- attempted to regulate the availability of water resources
ter in porous media (rocks, soils) increases their weath- and to protect itself against such risks. Human activities
ering by low-temperature biogeochemical alteration and have also many other major impacts on the water cycle
mechanical fragmentation and reduces their mechanical and the coupled fluxes, directly by modifying continental
resistance. Surface flows of water, snow and ice gener- surfaces and altering water quality and indirectly through
ate soil and river bed erosion and carry downward the the climate changes they could provoke. While the water
eroded material, while subsurface flows transport solutes resources available tend to decrease, there is a rapid
washed out of the soil matrix and favor mass movements increase in water demand by several uses competing for
on slopes (landslides, solifluxion). At river outlets, the limited resources. The struggle for water is becoming a
ocean receives large amounts of fresh water and its so- major source of regional conflicts, which could be avoided
lute and particulate load, which modify locally its salinity only by a strong international collaboration in order to
and induce mixing processes. These point inputs of matter increase the necessary solidarities between upstream and
from continents contribute to compensate for the chemical downstream regions.
precipitation and mechanical sedimentation occurring in Very fast population growth and economic develop-
the ocean and to maintain constant its mean salinity. Trans- ment have dramatically increased in recent decades the
port of material by water is still much more discontinu- demand for high-quality fresh water, which is at present
ous and irregular than water flow, with many possible cy- estimated to be about 3750 km3 yr−1 : about 2/3 for ir-
cles of erosion–sedimentation, dissolution–precipitation, rigated agriculture (providing 50% of food production),
concentration–dilution. Evaporation and freezing tend to 1/4 for industrial production and 1/10 for domestic use.
concentrate water solutions, while precipitation and melt- Because of their easy accessibility, rivers, lakes and su-
ing tend to dilute them, even though precipitated water perficial aquifers are the main sources of renewable fresh
can reach high concentrations in some elements through water resources. Evaluated by the difference between con-
tinental precipitation and evapotranspiration rates, cur-
the washing out of the atmosphere. As a result, water
rent mean global estimations of renewable fresh water re-
quality varies all along the different branches of the water
sources vary between 36 000 and 45 000 km3 yr−1 , about
cycle. In the long term, water activity modifies the land-
95% as river runoff and 5% as groundwater. This global
scape, with some possible feedback on water pathways
amount is much larger than the present demand, and
and flows.
should also largely meet the expected increase of about
Since life originated in the ocean about 3.4 billion 10% each 10 yr. Technological development should help
years ago, water is essential in the biosphere also, where reducing water demand.
its cycle is strongly coupled with other biogeochemical Unfortunately, these resources are very unevenly
cycles. Water is the main component of biomass distributed throughout the year and present large
and is involved in major metabolic reactions such as variations from year to year, as shown by the intense
photosynthesis and respiration. In terrestrial ecosystems, Sahelian drought during the 1970s. They are also
the redistribution within plants of nutrients extracted by very unevenly distributed over continents, with patterns
roots is ensured by the sap flow induced by transpiration, that do not match the spatial distribution of population
and the development of vegetation modifies the surface and economic activities. Significant fresh water deficit
water and energy properties. Vegetation maps reflect already occurs in many regions, affecting their social and
well at all scales the patterns of climate and water economic development: 35% of the world’s population
balance—as can be clearly seen in Africa, with the has very low or catastrophically low water supplies (for
latitudinal succession of equatorial rain forest, tropical instance in North Africa) and 75% lives in regions where
savanna, semi-arid steppe and subtropical desert. In water use exceeds 20% of available renewable water
aquatic ecosystems, which have some ability for self- resources, leading to a mining-type exploitation of deeper
purification, fresh, brackish or salt water bodies are groundwaters, which rapidly become depleted because
biotopes for many living organisms linked in complex of their much lower renewal rates. Disparity in water
trophic chains, structured according to the vertical resources, population growth and economic development
and horizontal patterns of water’s physicochemical already generates a very large inequality in fresh water
parameters. Continental wetlands, estuaries and coastal availability per person: more than 500 l day−1 in developed
regions are aquatic interface ecosystems very sensitive to countries, less than 50 l day−1 in some arid regions. Water
any change in water quality and supply. supply is already one of the key issues for humankind.
Human activity also has a rapidly increasing P H Gleick (Oxford: Oxford University Press) pp 13–
impact on the natural behavior of most hydrosystems. 24
River and aquifer regimes are often severely modified Shiklomanov I A 1998 World Water Resources: a New
by water intake for irrigation, artificial reservoirs Appraisal and Assessment for the 21st Century (Paris:
regulating discharge, or massive water exchanges between UNESCO)
basins. Large-scale changes in land use (reafforestation– Shiklomanov I A (ed) World Water Resources at the
deforestation, urbanization, wetland drainage, field Beginning of the 21st Century (IHP Monograph) (Paris:
management) have deeply affected the precipitation UNESCO) in preparation
redistribution between evapotranspiration, surface runoff Zebidi H (ed) 1998 Water: a Looming Crisis? Proc. Int.
and groundwater recharge. Irrigation with poor-quality Conf. on World Water Resources at the Beginning of the
water has generated soil salinization in many arid regions. 21st Century (Paris, 3–6 June 1998) (IHP-V Technical
The discharge in river courses of untreated domestic and Documents in Hydrology No 18) (Paris: UNESCO)
industrial wastewater as well as groundwater recharge
by polluted irrigation-excess waters have also drastically
Bruno Ambroise and Michel Vauclin
depleted water quality, further reducing the availability of
good-quality fresh water. In the longer term, the possible
global warming due to the anthropogenic increase in
atmospheric carbon dioxide is likely to alter precipitation
volume and seasonality, especially in arid regions, and
to raise the sea level because of ocean thermal dilatation
and ice cap melting: this would submerge many coastal
lowland regions, which are among the most densely
populated.
Conclusions
The water cycle is very complex at all scales, because of the
numerous physical, chemical and biological processes in-
volved and the high spatial and temporal heterogeneities
of the controlling factors. Despite much progress recently
achieved thanks to large interdisciplinary scientific collab-
orations and international effort to develop measurement
and observation networks, there is still much to be done
to understand and model all feedbacks and interactions
with coupled energy and matter cycles. Impacts of in-
creasing anthropic change and possible climate change on
water cycle and resources are therefore still difficult to an-
alyze and predict with some confidence. Nevertheless, the
growing awareness of the numerous interactions control-
ling the water cycle and the scarcity and fragility of fresh
water resources should contribute to improve the protec-
tion and management of both surface and subsurface wa-
ter resources and the control of long-term effects of human
activities on the Earth’s water cycle. It is crucial for the fu-
ture of both humankind and the ‘blue planet’.
Bibliography
Dingman S L 1994 Physical Hydrology (Englewood Cliffs,
NJ: Prentice-Hall)
Gleick P H (ed) 1993 Water in Crisis—a Guide to the World’s
Fresh Water Resources (Oxford: Oxford University
Press)
National Research Council 1991 Opportunities in the Hy-
drologic Sciences (Washington, DC: National Academy
Press)
Robinson P J and Henderson-Sellers A 1999 Contemporary
Climatology 2nd edn (London: Longman)
Shiklomanov I A 1993 World fresh water resources Water in
Crisis—a Guide to the World’s Fresh Water Resources ed
Wave–Particle Duality
The concept that electromagnetic radiation and subatomic
particles behave in some respects like waves and in others
like particles.
Various phenomena, such as interference and
diffraction, clearly demonstrate the wave-like nature of
light (and other forms of electromagnetic radiation).
For example, if light of some particular wavelength,
originating from a single source, passes through two
adjacent narrow slits, each slit then acts as a source of
light. Where the light waves spreading out from each
slit meet, they interfere with each other, their amplitudes
(‘heights’) adding together where they are in phase (e.g.
where two wavecrests coincide) and canceling where they
are completely out of phase (e.g. where a crest meets
a trough). On the other hand, the particle behavior
of light is demonstrated by the photoelectric effect, a
phenomenon whereby certain substances emit electrons
when illuminated by a beam of light, but do so only if
the wavelength of the light is shorter than a particular
minimum value. This behavior is consistent with light
being a stream of particles (called photons) each of which
carries a discrete quantity of energy that is inversely
proportional to the wavelength of that light. If the energy
of a photon exceeds the minimum energy that is needed
to expel an electron, an electron will be ejected, but if the
photon energy is less than this minimum, no electrons will
be ejected.
Streams of subatomic particles exhibit wave-like
behavior through phenomena such as interference and
diffraction. For example, if a beam of electrons passes
through two narrow slits before falling on a phosphor
screen, which registers the arrival of each electron as a spot
of light, the distribution of light spots takes the form of an
interference pattern consistent with the pattern that would
be produced by waves of a certain particular wavelength.
As Prince Louis Victor de Broglie (1892–1987)
proposed in 1924, the wavelength (λ) associated with a
particle of momentum, p, is given by λ = h/p, where h is
the Planck constant (=6.63 × 10−34 J s). Since p = mv
(momentum = the mass of a particle multiplied by its
velocity), λ = h/mv. The wavelength associated with
a particle is known as the de Broglie wavelength. For
example, the de Broglie wavelength for an electron of mass
9.11×10−31 kg traveling at a speed of 3×106 m s−1 (1 percent
of the speed of light) is: 6.63 × 10−34 /(9.11 × 10−31 × 3 ×
106 ) ≈ 2.4 × 10−10 m = 0.24 nm. For light of wavelength λ,
the energy, E, of the photon is given by E = hc/λ, where c
denotes the speed of light, and the momentum associated
with a photon is E/c = h/λ
See also: electromagnetic radiation, electron, light, pho-
ton, quantum theory, subatomic particles, wavelength.
Wavelength
The distance between two successive crests of a wave
motion. Usually, in transverse waves (waves with
points oscillating at right angles to the direction of their
advance), wavelength is measured from crest to crest. In
longitudinal waves (waves with points vibrating in the
same direction as their advance), it is measured from
compression to compression. The term is applied to
electromagnetic radiation which is regarded as a wave
motion. For example, blue light has a wavelength of
about 440 nanometers and red light about 700 nanometers.
X-rays have wavelengths of the order of 10−10 meters and
radio waves of the order of meters. Wavelength is usually
denoted by the Greek letter lambda (λ); it is equal to the
speed (ν) of a wave train in a medium divided by its
frequency (f ): λ = ν/f .
See also: frequency.
Weight
The force experienced by a body resting on, for example,
the surface of a planet. A person standing on the Earth’s
surface experiences weight because the surface on which
he is standing resists the effect of the force of gravity which
otherwise would accelerate that person towards the center
of the Earth. In other words, there is a reaction up through
his feet equal and opposite to the gravitational attraction
exerted upon him on Earth. The weight of a body depends
upon the gravitational force to which it is subjected. On the
surface of a planet it is equal to the mass of the body times
the surface gravity. For example, a body that weighed
100 kg on the surface of the Earth would have the following
weights on the surfaces of the bodies listed below:
the Moon 16 kg
Mars 38 kg
Jupiter 264 kg
the Sun 2790 kg
a white dwarf 30 000 000 kg
Whirlpool Galaxy
A face-on, spiral galaxy, M51, which derives its name from
its bold and clear-cut spiral pattern. Located at a distance
of some 20 million light-years in the constellation of Canes
Venatici, M51 (also known as NGC 5194), which has two
well-defined arms that spiral out from its relatively small
central bulge, is a classic example of a ‘grand design’ spiral.
It is classified as an Sc galaxy in the Hubble classification
scheme. Although, with a diameter of 65 000 light-years
and a mass of about 5 × 1010 solar masses, it is somewhat
smaller than the Milky Way Galaxy, it is several times more
luminous, its spiral arms being laden with bright young
clusters and HII regions.
M51 has a smaller, fainter companion (NGC 5195),
which lies at the end of one of the larger galaxy’s spiral
arms. Although NGC has traditionally been classified as
an irregular galaxy, it contains an elongated bar structure
and hints of incipient spiral arms. NGC 5194 appears to
be orbiting around M51 in a period of about 500 million
years. Tidal interaction between the two, during their last
close encounter, which took place some 70 million years
ago, probably played a large part in establishing the bold
spiral pattern in M51 and stimulating a vigorous bout of
star formation within it.
M51 was the first galaxy to be recognized as having a
spiral shape. This discovery was made in 1845 by William
Parsons (1800–67), third Earl of Rosse, with the aid of the
1.8 m (72 inch) telescope that he had set up at Birr, in
Ireland, and which, at that time, was the largest telescope
in the world.
See also: barred spiral galaxy, Hubble classification,
interacting galaxies, irregular galaxy, Messier Catalog,
spiral galaxy.
exists an intimate relationship between dense-matter cooling sequence, should be considered in order to account
physics and the structure and evolution of white dwarfs. completely for the rich variety of spectral types.
For instance, a detailed knowledge of the opacity and White dwarf stars are not only unusual in that
thermodynamics of strongly coupled plasmas is necessary the abundance of their main atmospheric constituent
to compute the cooling rate of a white dwarf. Indeed, this (hydrogen or helium) may change in a complex way as
rate basically depends on how much thermal energy is a function of time, but they also show an amazing variety
stored in the interior of a star and how rapidly this energy of heavier trace elements in their atmospheres, arguably
is transferred from the hot core to the cold interstellar making them the most fascinating of all chemically
medium through the thin, opaque outer layers. Hence, a peculiar stars. This is because the cooling phase of
reliable description of the constitutive properties of dense white dwarfs, a relatively uneventful phase from an
plasmas is required to build a theory of evolving white evolutionary point of view as discussed above, is, in
dwarfs. By the same token, the observed properties of contrast, a most active phase for the evolution of the
cooling white dwarfs can be used, in principle, to test chemical composition of the envelope. Indeed, it is now
theories of strongly coupled plasma physics. well established that the often puzzling variety of surface
abundances observed in white dwarf stars can be traced
Spectral evolution to the simultaneous operation, in the outer layers of
There is strong observational evidence that spectral these stars, of a variety of physical processes which will
evolution takes place among white dwarfs, that is, also erase the abundances present in the photosphere at
some of the hydrogen-atmosphere stars become helium-
the onset of cooling. As discussed above, downward
atmosphere objects, and vice versa, during various
element diffusion in the intense gravitational field of a
evolutionary phases. Indeed, the ratio of DA to non-
degenerate star is perhaps the mechanism which is the
DA white dwarfs changes as a function of effective
most closely identified with white dwarf stars. However,
temperature along the cooling sequence. In particular,
in its presence, the observed abundances of various
the cases for the existence of a so-called DB gap—
atmospheric impurities, while small, are much too large
an interval of effective temperature from 45 000 K to
to be accounted for.
about 30 000 K in which no helium-atmosphere object has
Mechanisms which compete with the downward
been found—and of a cooler and narrower non-DA gap
settling must thus be called on to explain the presence
between ∼6000 K and ∼5000 K are well documented.
Completely convincing explanations for these phenomena of these impurities in the atmospheres. At high effective
(especially in the case of the cooler gap) have not been temperatures, say Teff > 20 000 K, the dominant competing
worked out yet, but the very existence of ‘holes’ in the mechanism is thought to be the selective radiative support
distribution of helium-atmosphere objects as a function of elements in the atmosphere. This mechanism, which
of effective temperature is a strong empirical proof that, involves the transfer of momentum from the intense
at least, some of the white dwarf stars must change their radiation field to ions of heavy elements such as carbon,
superficial chemical composition from helium-dominated nitrogen, silicon, iron and helium, is able to counteract
to hydrogen dominated and back to helium rich again as the downward gravitational force exerted on these ions
cooling proceeds. It is suspected that a complex interplay and allows a small, but measurable, amount of impurities
between mechanisms such as hydrogen and helium to remain in the atmosphere. Unfortunately, detailed
separation (through diffusion) and convective dilution calculations of this radiative support still do not reproduce
and mixing is responsible for the fact that a white dwarf the observed abundances, and it is currently thought that
may show two different ‘faces’ along its cooling track. For a small mass loss rate (of the order of ∼10−13 M yr−1 ),
example, in DA stars below 15 000 K, convective mixing is when coupled to radiative levitation, might be able to
thought to be effective in bringing deep-lying helium to the account for the observed abundance patterns. For cooler
surface and drastically changing the surface composition. stars, it is believed that ACCRETION from the interstellar
Unfortunately, at these effective temperatures, the helium medium plays a role in accounting for the traces of heavy
brought to the surface is spectroscopically invisible, and its elements occasionally seen. Individual accretion events,
presence must be inferred through rather indirect analyses. probably related to encounters between a white dwarf and
The case for spectral evolution is further strengthened by a small patch of neutral gas in the interstellar medium,
another observational datum of importance: as pointed might be able to account for the small fraction of DA and
out above, there is no significant difference between the non-DA stars which display impurities in their spectra.
mass distribution of DB white dwarfs and that of the In the DQ stars, it is thought that the convection in the
DA white dwarfs, excluding those objects that have been helium envelope is deep enough to dredge up traces of
formed through binary evolution. This is what one would carbon from the deeper carbon-rich layers. Much energy
expect for stars changing only surface compositions. This has been expended, in the last two decades, to untangle
being said, while spectral evolution appears unavoidable, the relative importance of these competing mechanisms
it cannot currently explain all the peculiarities of the and to decipher the complex patterns of photospheric
abundance patterns observed in white dwarfs. Alternative abundances observed in white dwarfs. Nevertheless,
schemes, for example different channels feeding the much work remains to be done.
Bibliography
D’Antona F and Mazzitelli I 1990 Ann. Rev. Astron.
Astrophys. 28 139
Liebert J 1980 Ann. Rev. Astron. Astrophys. 18 363
Rudermann M 1971 Sci. Am. 224 (2) 24
Van Horn H M 1979 Phys. Today 32 23
Wesemael F, Greenstein J L, Liebert J, Lamontagne R,
Fontaine G, Bergeron P and Glaspey J W 1993 Publ.
Astron. Soc. Pac. 105 761
Figure 4. This 8K×12K pixel CCD mosaic camera built by the The future
University of Hawaii for the 3.6 m Canada–France–Hawaii Widefield CCD imagers are at present being constructed
Telescope is the largest close-packed mosaic in operation at the by many observatories. Several current projects are
time of this writing (larger mosaic focal planes are under designed to span fields in excess of 1◦ × 1◦ using CCD
construction). The mosaic consists of 12 thinned, high-QE mosaics measuring 18K×18K pixels. If widefield imaging
2K×4K three-edge buttable CCDs with 15 µm pixels. The
devices were made by MIT Lincoln Laboratory. The imaging
telescopes with 3◦ × 3◦ fields are constructed, they will
area, corresponding to the black rectangular region in the center require CCD mosaics having 36K×36K pixels or more.
of the photograph, measures 185 mm×122 mm. When used at Work is also progressing on the designs for the individual
the prime focus of the CFHT, the mosaic spans a field of view of building blocks that make up the mosaic elements. Three-
45 × 30 at a scale of 0 .21/pixel. The gaps separating CCDs are edge buttable devices with 3K×6K 10 µm pixels are now
less than 0.5 mm or less than 10 on the sky. under development, and wafer-scale devices that can fill
a 150 mm wafer are being considered as yields improve.
Figure 5. This drawing shows one design for a package that can be used in close-packed mosaics having more than two rows. A
ceramic piece with metallized traces that wrap around one edge is mounted at right-angles to the device. Wire bonds are made to the
traces on the short edge of the ceramic and the traces connect the signals to a surface mount connector that emerges from the backside
of the package. Mounting holes and alignment holes are shown for locating the package in focal plane mosaic.
Channel stop
4 2
Figure 6. This diagram illustrates the gate layout and charge clocking directions for a multi-directional OTCCD. The symmetry of the
gate structure allows clocking of the charge in eight directions: horizontally and vertically (as shown), or diagonally. Subpixel
stepping is also possible. In this image, the triangular structures are polysilicon gates that can be biased to form the potential wells in
the silicon below. This type of structure requires four gates per pixel, whereas the typical CCD has only three gates. In the illustration
at the left, the dark triangular gate is biased low to serve as a barrier phase while the other three phases are modulated to transfer the
charge in the vertical direction. At the right, a different gate serves as the barrier phase, and, by modulating the voltage on three
different gates, the charge can be transferred in the horizontal direction.
Bright stars and antiblooming less than the barrier potential of the neighboring vertical
Bright stars present a serious problem for widefield phases. When the charge in a pixel exceeds the potential
CCD imaging. Even at high GALACTIC LATITUDE, there are level of the drain, but before the charge can spill over to
numerous bright (m < 15) and several very bright (m < 10) the neighboring pixel, it is intercepted by the drain. Such
stars in any 0◦ .5 × 0◦ .5 field. Larger fields only make structures can be made so that they do not obscure any
the problem worse. Light from these stars can reflect of the imaging regions (e.g. the drain can be run down
off optical surfaces, including the surface of the CCD the center of the channel stop). Implementation of such
itself, and create out-of-focus halos and other scattered structures will be very valuable in future devices designed
light artifacts. Large diffraction spikes can extend well for widefield imaging.
away from the bright stars and break up into faint pieces,
Gerard A Luppino
resembling faint galaxies, especially in very good seeing.
Bright stars will also produce saturated, bloomed charge
trails; the result of filling the pixel potential well capacity
(typically 150 000–300 000 e− ) and having the excess charge
spill up and down the columns into the neighboring
pixels. For some brighter stars, the bloomed trails can
extend the full length of the device, destroying any
information about objects in the path of the bloomed
trail. Device manufacturers can address the blooming
problem by implementing antiblooming drains in their
CCD structures. An antiblooming drain is an implant on
the CCD with a potential level near full well, but slightly
Widmanstätten Pattern
A characteristic, roughly hexagonal pattern of intersecting
lines that appears on the surface of an octahedrite, a type of
iron meteorite, when it is sectioned, polished and etched
with acid. The Austrian mineralogist Aloys Joseph von
Widmanstätten discovered the pattern in 1804. It is formed
by the intergrowth of two nickel–iron alloys under the
conditions of slow cooling that pertained in the solidifying
core of an asteroidal parent body that had undergone
differentiation, and is found only in meteorites. The two
alloys are kamacite, with a low nickel content, and taenite,
which is richer in nickel.
today there would therefore be very few WIMPs left, but is the LSP so most investigations of WIMP dark matter
at some point the WIMP density dropped low enough have concentrated on the neutralino. However, there are
that the probability of one WIMP finding another to anni- many possible supersymmetric models and many free
hilate became small. Note, we must assume that an indi- parameters in the models, so precise predictions of
vidual WIMP is stable if it is to become the dark matter. supersymmetric relic abundance and supersymmetric
The WIMP number density stopped dropping at this particle detectability are not possible. Typically experi-
point and we are left with a substantial number of ments attempt to probe a range of model parameters. So
WIMPs today. Detailed evolution of the Boltzmann equa- far no concrete evidence of any supersymmetric partner
tion that describes this process can be done for an accu- exists. If even one supersymmetric partner is found, the
rate prediction, but roughly the predicted relic density theory predicts that they all must exist.
today of WIMPs is inversely proportional to their inter- Note that the parameters that determine the relic
action strength. The remarkable fact is that, for a relic abundances also determine all the particle production
density equal to the known dark matter density, the and rare decay cross sections, as well as the rate in vari-
interaction strength must be that expected for particles ous detectors. Thus once these parameters are specified
with electroweak-scale interactions: thus the ‘W’ for or measured, one can compare the model predictions
‘weakly’ in ‘WIMP’. There are several theoretical prob- with experimental results.
lems with the standard model of particle physics that are
solved by new electroweak-scale physics such as SUPER- Search for WIMPs
SYMMETRY. Thus these theoretical problems may be clues Accelerator searches
that the dark matter does indeed consist of WIMPs. Said Extensive unsuccessful searches for the particles
another way, any stable particle that annihilates with an involved in supersymmetric models have been per-
electroweak-scale cross section is bound to contribute to formed at particle accelerators throughout the world.
the dark matter of the universe. It is interesting that the- Thus substantial regions of prime neutralino dark matter
ories such as supersymmetry, invented for entirely dif- parameter space have already been eliminated. This does
ferent reasons, typically predict just such a particle. not yet mean that low-energy supersymmetry is unlikely
The fact that thermally created dark matter has to exist, since only a small portion of the allowed mass
weak-scale interactions also means that it may be within range under 1 TeV has been explored. Since supersym-
reach of accelerator experiments such as LEP and LHC at metry predicts a Higgs boson with mass under about 120
CERN, and the proton collider experiments at Fermilab. GeV, such a discovery would be very important, espe-
Thus many accelerator searches for exotic particles are cially if the Higgs boson showed non-standard proper-
also searches for the dark matter of the universe. Also, ties indicative of supersymmetry. It is correct to think of
because of the weak-scale interactions, WIMP–nuclear the particle physics search for supersymmetry as a pow-
interaction rates are within reach of many direct and erful search for the dark matter.
indirect detection methods, as discussed below.
Direct detection of WIMPs
Supersymmetry and dark matter A satisfying solution to the dark matter problem would
Supersymmetry is a new hypothetical symmetry of be the detection of WIMPs from our Galactic halo as they
nature that relates bosons and fermions. If supersymme- move past and through the Earth. This would also allow
try exists in nature then every known particle should measurement of the local density of dark matter and
have a supersymmetric partner. Bosonic ordinary parti- establish beyond doubt that the dark matter is non-bary-
cles have fermonic superpartners with the same name onic cold dark matter. There are several ways to do this,
except with the suffix ‘ino’ added, while fermonic ordi- and currently two methods are being aggressively pur-
nary particles have bosonic (scalar) superpartner names sued.
with the prefix ‘s’ added. Examples of proposed super- The most exciting result would be direct detection of
symmetric particles include photinos, higgsinos, Z-inos, the WIMP particles in the laboratory. Since we roughly
squarks and selectrons. Some supersymmetric particles know the speed (~220 km s–1) and the density (ρ~0.3 pro-
have the same quantum numbers as each other and ton masses cm–3), we can say that for a WIMP of mass of
therefore can mix together producing particles that are order 10–100 GeV, roughly 100 000 dark matter particles
not exact partners of any standard model particle. For per second pass through every square centimeter of the
example, the photino, Higgsino and Z-ino can mix into Earth. However, if WIMPs exist, they are very weakly
arbitrary combinations called the neutralinos. interacting particles, so it is quite rare that one of them
In most models, the lightest supersymmetric particle will interact at all; most of them pass right through the
(LSP) is stable, and since supersymmetric particles have Earth unimpeded. In addition, if a WIMP does elastic-
electroweak-strength interactions, the LSP makes an ally scatter off a nucleus, the deposited energy is usually
excellent dark matter candidate. Typically the neutralino in the keV to 100 keV range, too small to be noticed
detector. The new generation of detectors should have imperfect alignment two images result and a large mag-
areas in this range and should be able to start to probe nification can occur.
realistic supersymmetry models, but again viable super- Since the MACHO, Earth and source star are all in
symmetric models exist which predict rates too small for relative motion, the star appears to brighten, reaches a
these detectors to measure, and a definitive test of the peak brightness, and then fades back to its usual magni-
WIMP hypothesis does not seem possible in the near tude. Thus the signature for a microlensing event is a
future. time-symmetric brightening of a star occurring as a
MACHO passes close to the line of sight. When a
MACHOs and microlensing microlensing event is detected, one fits the lightcurve
An exciting development in the dark matter story is the and extracts the peak magnification Amax, the time of the
detection of MACHOs by three separate groups, peak, t0, and event duration ^t. The primary physical
MACHO, EROS and OGLE. All three groups monitored information comes from ^t, which depends on the
millions of stars in the LARGE MAGELLANIC CLOUD (LMC), MACHO velocity, the MACHO mass, the source dis-
in the SMALL MAGELLANIC CLOUD (SMC) or in the GALACTIC tance, and the lens distance. The source distance can be
BULGE, for signs of gravitational microlensing, and all determined since it is visible, but unfortunately, one can-
three groups have found it. It has now become clear that not determine the other three physical parameters from ^t.
these objects constitute some new component of the However, statistically, one can use information about the
Milky Way, but whether they constitute a substantial part halo density and velocity distribution, along with the
of the dark matter or new stellar components of the distribution of measured event durations to gain infor-
Galaxy or LMC is not clear. mation about the MACHO masses. Using a standard
MICROLENSING is a powerful new tool for discovering model of the dark halo, MACHOs of Jupiter mass
and characterizing populations of dark objects in our (10–3Mo.) typically cause events lasting 3 days, while
Galaxy, and the current experiments may have the capa- brown dwarf mass MACHOs (0.1Mo.) cause events last-
bility to give a definitive answer to the question of ing about a month.
whether the dark matter in our Galaxy is baryonic. The Assuming a halo made entirely of MACHOs, the
reason is that the microlensing searches are probably sen- probability of any MACHO crossing in front of a star is
sitive to any objects in the range 10–8Mo.<m<103Mo., just about 5×10–7. Thus many millions of stars must be mon-
the range in which such objects are theoretically allowed itored in order to see a handful of microlensing events. In
to exist. Objects made purely of H and He with masses addition, if one wants to see microlensing from objects in
less than ~(10–9–10–7Mo.) are expected to evaporate owing the dark halo, the monitored stars must be far enough
to the microwave background in less than present age of away so that there is a lot of halo material between us
the universe, while dark matter objects with masses and the stars. Therefore, the best stars to monitor are
greater than ~103Mo. would have disrupted known GLOB- those in the LMC and SMC at distances of 50 kpc and 60
ULAR CLUSTERS. So unlike the searches for WIMP dark kpc respectively, stars in the galactic bulge at 8 kpc and
matter, which if they detect nothing will remain incon- stars in nearby galaxies such as M31 at 750 kpc.
clusive, if the MACHO searches find nothing, we would
at least know what the dark matter is not. However, the Microlensing experiments
MACHO searches have found something, as we describe There are several experimental groups that have under-
below. taken the search for microlensing and have returned
Microlensing is also described in the article on GRAV- results. All together about a dozen events have been
ITATIONAL LENSING. The idea of microlensing rests on detected towards the LMC, a couple towards the SMC,
Einstein’s observation that, if a massive object lies direct- and more than 400 towards the galactic bulge. For detec-
ly on the line of sight to a much more distant star, the tion of dark matter MACHOs, it is primarily the LMC
light from the star will be lensed and form a ring around events that are relevant. All survey collaborations oper-
the lens. The ring is called the ‘Einstein ring’ and it sets ate a medium-size telescope and monitor millions of
the scale for all the microlensing searches. In the lens stars nightly. Since the fields are crowded, each CCD
plane, the radius of the ring is given by frame contains hundreds of thousands of stellar images,
the brightness of each which must be determined by
computerized photometry. These stellar brightnesses are
arranged sequentially in a lightcurve, each of which is
finally searched for microlensing-like bumps. All togeth-
where Ro. and Mo. are the solar radius and mass, m is the er many terabytes of data have been analyzed by the sur-
MACHO mass, L is the distance to the star being moni- vey experiments.
tored and x is the distance to the MACHO divided by L. Most of the monitored stars are constant brightness
The formation of a ring is very unlikely, but even with as one expects, but about one-half of 1% are variable.
These are mostly identified as variable stars of known (VLT). This result is a strong confirmation that gravita-
types. Several signatures of microlensing, including the tional microlensing is the cause of the events detected by
unique shape of a microlensing lightcurve are used to teams searching for MACHO dark matter.
pick out microlensing events from this background of In addition, Christopher Kochanek of the
variable stars. For example, the MACHO collaboration Harvard–Smithsonian Centre for Astrophysics in
analyzed about 9.5 million lightcurves from its 2 yr LMC Cambridge, Massachusetts and Neal Dalal of the
data set and found six to eight microlensing events. University of California, San Diego have used radio tele-
scopes and gravitational lensing to search for cold dark
Experimental results matter. They have studied seven galaxies, each magni-
In order to interpret microlensing events, the efficiency fied by four nearer ones. Because each lensing galaxy is
with which an experiment can detect microlensing is in a slightly different position, the researchers got four
needed. Bad weather, bad seeing, crowded stars, etc different images of each of the seven distant galaxies. The
cause microlensing events to be missed by the experi- four images should have been identical. But each is actu-
ment. The MACHO collaboration finds an efficiency of ally slightly different. The difference was enough to have
around 30% for microlensing events that last 50 days. For been caused by the kind of clumps of dark matter around
events lasting less than a few days and events lasting lensing galaxies that mathematical models predict.
longer than 6 months the efficiency is very low.
Using the efficiency and a model of the dark halo, Interpretation of results: dark matter or not?
the number of microlensing events one expects to see if The naive interpretation of the microlensing results is
the halo consisted entirely of MACHOs is found to be that between 20% and 80% of the dark matter in the
about a dozen for the MACHO collaboration 2 yr data Milky Way has been identified. However, the result
set. This quantity is related to the lensing ‘optical depth’, that the mass of the objects is above the brown dwarf
the roughly 5×10–7 probability that at any time a source limit of 0.1Mo. is surprising. Main sequence stars with
star is lensed (if the halo is made entirely of MACHOs). masses above 0.1Mo. would have been seen and there-
Using the eight observed MACHO collaboration fore cannot be the dark matter. Several interpretations
LMC events, the observed optical depth is ~(2.5±1×10–7), are possible.
roughly half the value if the halo consisted entirely of First, perhaps the MACHOs are white dwarf stars or
MACHOs. A careful likelihood analysis of these events neutron stars. These are dark remnants of an earlier gen-
gives, for a standard dark halo model, a most likely eration of stars, but it is problematic to have enough of
MACHO halo fraction of 0.5±0.3 and a most likely mass these around to be the dark matter and not have detect-
of the MACHOs of around 0.5Mo.. This result depends on ed the other byproducts of such an early stellar popula-
the assumption that the events are due to lenses in the tion. Second, perhaps the model of the Galactic halo used
Galactic halo and on the model of the galactic halo used. is incorrect, and the masses of the MACHOs are actually
Another analysis based on noticing that none of the safely below the brown dwarf limit. However, most rea-
eight detected events had durations of less than 20 days sonable halo models investigated do not have this prop-
can rule out low-mass MACHOs. This is because ^t : m1/2, erty. Next, perhaps MACHOs are primordial black holes,
and no short-duration events have been observed or other exotic objects not currently known. This is pos-
toward the LMC. This analysis gives the strongest con- sible, but quite surprising. Most importantly, perhaps the
straints to date on the baryonic content of the dark halo. microlensing events are not due to halo lenses, and there-
The EROS and MACHO collaboration limits show that fore are not telling us about the dark matter. In a typical
objects in the mass range from 10–7Mo. to 10–3Mo. cannot microlensing event, the distance of the MACHO is not
make up the entire dark halo. Objects in the range from determined, so it is not known where the lens population
3.5–10–7Mo. to 4.5–10–5Mo. make up less than 10% of the is located. The estimate of the amount of MACHO dark
dark halo. Thus we now know that the dark matter is not matter relies on an assumed distribution of lens material,
mostly objects of Earth mass, or Jupiter mass, or any and therefore on the model of the Galaxy and LMC.
combination thereof. The only compact baryonic dark It has been suggested that the lenses could be faint
matter candidates left are objects in the brown dwarf and stars in the LMC itself, or in some small undiscovered
higher mass range. This result is independent of any dwarf galaxy between the Sun and the LMC. These pos-
assumptions about the observed microlensing events, sibilities are being vigorously pursued, but strong argu-
but does depend on the model of the dark halo. ments have been given against both possibilities. Thus
In 2002, an international team of astronomers the outcome is very unclear at the moment.
observed a dark matter object directly for the first time. If one could measure the distance to the MACHO,
Images and spectra of a MACHO microlens were taken that would be enough to distinguish between the above
by the NASA/ESA HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE (HST) and the possibilities. Thus a ‘microlensing parallax’ satellite has
European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope been proposed to measure these distances. Other ways to
Bibliography
Dalal N and Kochanek C S (in press) 2002 Direct detec-
tion of CDM substructure Astrophys. J.
An older very nice review of WIMP dark matter is
Primack J R, Seckel D and Sadoulet B 1988 Annu. Rev.
Nucl. Part. S. B 38 751–807
and a newer review of supersymmetric dark matter is
Jungman G, Kamionkowski M and Griest K 1996 Phys.
Rep. 267 195
A survey of experimental results in particle dark matter
detection can be found in the book
Bottino A, di Credico A and Monacelli P 1997 TAUP 97:
Proceedings 5th Workshop on Topics in
Astroparticles and Underground Physics, Nucl.
Phys. B (Suppl.) 70
Recent reviews of microlensing include
Gould A 1996 Publ. Astron. Soc. Pac. 108 465–576
Paczynski B 1996 Annu. Rev. Astron. Astrophys. 34 419–59
The analysis of the MACHO collaboration data can be
found in
Alcock C et al 1998 Astrophys. J. Lett. 499 L9
Alcock C et al 1997 Astrophys. J. 486 697
Kim Griest
Wind
NASA satellite, part of NASA’s Global Geospace Science
programme and the International Solar Terrestrial Physics
programme. Launched November 1994. For the first nine
months it followed a double-lunar swingby orbit with
apogee of 80–250 Earth radii and perigee 5–10 Earth radii.
In this orbit, lunar gravity assists maintained apogee over
Earth’s day hemisphere for magnetospheric observations.
Later inserted into a ‘halo’ orbit at the sunward Sun–Earth
gravitational equilibrium point (L1) to measure the solar
wind, magnetic fields and particles, and provide a one-
hour warning to other ISTP spacecraft of changes in the
solar wind. Since October 1998, placed in ‘petal’ orbits
that take it out of the ecliptic plane.
Wise Observatory
Wise Observatory, in Mitzpe Ramon, Israel, is owned
and operated by Tel Aviv University, and has a well-
equipped 1 m telescope. Since construction in 1971,
the large percentage of clear nights at its desert site
and its unique longitude have made the observatory
particularly useful for long-term monitoring projects (e.g.
reverberation mapping of quasars and active galaxies),
and as a part of global monitoring networks (e.g. the
first detection, via gravitational microlensing, of a planet
orbiting a binary star system).
For further information see
http://wise-obs.tau.ac.il.
WIYN Observatory
Located at Kitt Peak in Arizona. The WIYN Observatory
is owned and operated by the WIYN Consortium, which
consists of the University of Wisconsin, Indiana University,
Yale University and the National Optical Astronomy
Observatories (NOAO). Most of the capital costs of the
observatory were provided by these universities, while
NOAO, which operates the other telescopes of the KITT
PEAK NATIONAL OBSERVATORY, provides most of the operating
services.
The 3.5 m WIYN Telescope, which was completed in
1994, is the second largest telescope on Kitt Peak. The size
of the telescope enclosure is kept to a minimum by the
short focal length of the primary mirror, which results in
a shorter telescope, while the alt-azimuth mount requires
less space. The moving weight of the telescope is a mere
46 tons.
Other innovative design features are active primary
mirror supports, primary mirror thermal controls and
active ventilation of the telescope mount. The support
system for the primary mirror includes 66 actuators, which
adjust the back face of the mirror to maintain the best
optical figure. The primary mirror thermal control system
keeps the temperature of the mirror’s surface to within
0.2 ◦ C of the ambient air temperature, eliminating local
turbulence. These innovations enable the WIYN Telescope
to produce much sharper images than any of the other
telescopes on Kitt Peak.
WIYN is equipped with the latest instruments for
astronomical spectroscopy and imaging. A multiple-
object spectrograph employing optical fibers allows the
simultaneous observation of the spectra of 100 objects.
The imaging cameras employ highly sensitive arrays of
electronic detectors.
For further information see
http://www.noao.edu/wiyn/.
Wolf–Rayet Nebula
Nebulosity surrounding a Wolf–Rayet star. Wolf–Rayet
stars are of around 10 solar masses and have very high
surface temperatures, up to about 40 000 K. This gives
them powerful stellar winds, up to 2000 km s−1 , and an
enormous rate of mass loss. Material is usually ejected
in the form of a spherical shell or ring (the term Wolf–
Rayet bubble is sometimes used), and the accumulating
envelope from successive ejection episodes comprises
the nebula. Examples of Wolf–Rayet nebulae are NGC
2359, surrounding the star HD 56925, and NGC 6888,
surrounding the star MR 102.
See also: Wolf–Rayet stars.
subclasses on the basis of line ratios, yielding a distinguish them from population I W–R stars. They are
classification by ionization. The WN stars which exhibit of type [WC] and have lower masses (less than 1M ) and
spectra showing emission from high-ionization species lower luminosities (generally <3 × 104 L ). The spectra of
(e.g. He II, N V, O VI)1 are designated WN2. Those showing planetary nebula W–R stars are often dominated by strong
emission from low-ionization species (e.g. He I, N III) are narrow nebula emission lines. In some cases they can
classified as WN9, although recently the W–R spectral be difficult to distinguish spectroscopically from normal
classification has been extended to WN11. Similarly, population I W–R stars although in some [WC] stars N and
WC stars showing emission from high-ionization species H emission is seen. Because of their distinct evolutionary
(e.g. He II, C IV, O VI) are designated WC4 while those histories, they will not be further discussed in this article.
exhibiting the lowest ionization (e.g. He I, C II) are
designated WC9. In the literature there is also a tendency Basic model
to refer to WN stars of classes 2–5 as early type (WNE) The basic model for W–R stars is that of a hot star which
and classes 6–9 as late type (WNL). Similarly, WC4–6 stars is suffering extreme mass loss. The mass loss occurs via
are designated as WCE, while WC7–9 stars are designated a continuous stellar wind which is accelerated from low
as WCL. Although there are important exceptions, WNE velocities near the surface of the star to velocities that
stars generally show no evidence for H emission while H exceed the surface escape speed. The observed spectrum
emission is present in WNL stars. originates over a range of radii with the optical continuum
forming close to the stellar core, while the emission lines
The distribution of population I W–R stars, which are
originate from a volume that can extend beyond 10 stellar
discussed in this article, is similar to that of O stars; they are
radii.
primarily located in the spiral arms of our galaxy and near
The observed mass-loss rates (i.e. the amount of
H II regions. W–R masses range from an uncertain lower
material lost per year) are extreme, typically in excess of
limit of about 5M to in excess of 60M , while surface
10−5 M yr−1 . These mass-loss rates are sufficient to affect
temperatures range from a lower limit of 25 000 K to greater
the evolution of the star (see STELLAR EVOLUTION) and must
than 100 000 K. Because of their spatial association with O
be incorporated into stellar evolutionary calculations.
stars, and their peculiar surface abundances, W–R stars are
The (average) maximum velocity of material in W–R
generally believed to be descended from O stars.
winds (called the terminal velocity, V∞ ) ranges from
Approximately 220 W–R stars are known in our
800 km s−1 to in excess of 3000 km s−1 , and typically
Galaxy but this number is certainly incomplete. Most are
exceeds the escape velocity from the surface of the star. It
hidden from our view by dust, which absorbs and scatters
is generally believed, although it has yet to be rigorously
light (a process termed interstellar extinction) within our
demonstrated, that the mass loss is driven by radiation
Galaxy. Estimates of the total number of W–R stars in
pressure acting through numerous bound–bound atomic
our Galaxy range from 1000 to 2000. The rarity of W–R
transitions of Fe and other atomic species in the extreme
1 He II is a spectroscopic designation used to indicate the ion for UV (λ < 900 Å).
a transition between bound levels in singly ionized helium (i.e. The bulk of the material in the wind is believed to
He+ ). be cool—that is, it has a temperature substantially lower
Figure 1. UV and optical spectra of the WN5 star HD 50896 and the WC5 star HD 165763. The major emission line features are
identified, although it should be noted that many lines, particularly in the WC star, are blends. Notice the very distinct differences
between the WN5 and WC5 spectra. The optical spectral region, which can be observed from the ground, has typically been used to
classify W–R stars. Since the advent of space astronomy, the UV spectral region has provided additional invaluable diagnostics on the
properties of W–R stars.
than the effective temperature of the star. Energy input from the stellar wind dominates the spectral appearance of
into the wind primarily occurs through photoionization by the star. Third, the abundances are non-solar and must be
the intense UV radiation field emanating from the central determined observationally. Indeed it is the abundances
source. Thus photoionization is the ultimate source of that determine to which class (WN, WC or WO) a W–R star
the line emission that originates in the wind, although belongs (see also STELLAR ATMOSPHERES: EARLY-TYPE STARS).
individual emission lines form through a variety of In addition to the abundances (primarily of H, He, N,
different processes—recombination, collisional excitation C and O) it has been found from numerical experiments
and continuum fluorescence. that the spectra of W–R stars are determined primarily by
two parameters: Teff and a wind density parameter, Wρ .
Determination of stellar parameters The latter, which plays a similar role to geff , can be defined
The spectra of most stars are determined by three basic by
parameters: the effective temperature (Teff ), the effective Wρ = (Ṁ/V∞ )Rc−3/2
surface gravity (geff ) and the chemical abundances. For
an assumed metallicity, large grids of models can be where Rc is the radius of the hydrostatic core. Two
constructed simply by varying Teff and geff . stars will have very similar spectra if they have similar
The effective temperature is defined by the relation abundances, and if Teff and Wρ are similar. The dependence
of the spectra on Wρ arises because most of the radiative
L = 4πR∗2 σ Teff
4 processes in an extended atmosphere depend on the
square of the density. As a consequence of the scaling,
where L is the luminosity and σ is the Stefan–Boltzmann it is impossible to deduce the distance of a W–R star from
constant. The effective temperature is the surface the Sun using its spectrum2 . In principle, Ṁ and V∞ should
temperature that a star of radius R would have if it depend on the other stellar parameters—composition, M,
radiated as a blackbody (a perfect thermal emitter and L and R , but as yet our theoretical understanding of mass
absorber). loss from W–R stars is not sufficiently advanced to deduce
The effective surface gravity is defined by the relationship.
Because of the low wind densities (108 –1014 electrons
GM cm−3 )3 the simplifying assumption of local thermo-
geff = (1 −
) dynamic equilibrium (LTE) cannot be made when
R2
modeling W–R spectra. When LTE holds, it can be
where M is the star’s mass, G is Newton’s gravitational assumed that the ionization state of the gas and the
constant, and
is a correction for the influence of radiation populations of the atomic levels can be found via
pressure. In conjunction with the equation of hydrostatic application of the principles of statistical mechanics and
equilibrium thus are (simple) functions of the local temperature and
2
dP R density only. For LTE to prevail, collisional processes,
= −ρgeff which couple the atomic populations with the electrons
dr r
(and hence to the local electron temperature), need to occur
where P is the pressure and ρ is the density, this sets faster than radiative processes.
the scale height of the atmosphere, h . For an isothermal In contrast, in W–R atmospheres radiative processes
atmosphere, h is given by tend to dominate over collisional processes, and hence it is
necessary to solve the equations of statistical equilibrium
kT
h = at each depth. For each atomic level of each species we
µmH geff assume that all the processes (radiative and collisional)
populating the level are in equilibrium with all processes
where µ is the mean particle mass in atomic mass units
depopulating the same level. The major difficulty arises
(amu) and mH is the atomic mass of hydrogen. For most
because the rates are a function of the radiation field, which
normal stars h R , curvature effects can be ignored
in turn is a function of the unknown populations. Thus the
and the atmosphere can be treated as a plane-parallel slab.
radiation field and atomic populations must be solved for
As a consequence of the small scale height, the Sun has a
simultaneously, and in general an iterative procedure is
definite radius at optical wavelengths.
necessary to obtain consistency.
For W–R stars the situation is quite different. First,
the atmosphere is extended, and consequently radiation 2 Stellar evolution introduces a correlation between spectral
escapes from the star over a range of radii. Further, type and luminosity which may statistically allow distances
the radius of the star at an optical depth (τ ) of 2/3 to be derived for stars of a given spectral type. However,
depends on the adopted mass-loss rate and is a function for an individual star the derived distance may be grossly in
of wavelength (figure 2). The difficulty of uniquely error, particularly if the spectral type can originate via different
evolutionary sequences. This is exemplified in the difficulty of
defining R has led to difficulties in comparing Teff determining whether some W–R stars belong to population I or
derived from evolutionary models with that obtained from are the central stars of planetary nebula.
spectroscopic analyses. Second, geff does not have a direct 3 For comparison, the density of water on Earth is of order 1022
Figure 2. Illustration of how the ‘radius’ of the star varies with wavelength for the WC5 star HD 165763. The solid curve shows the
‘radius’ at which the ‘continuum’ optical depth, τ , is 1/3, which occurs in the wind at all wavelengths. The broken curve is identical
except that the electron scattering opacity was not included in the computation of τ . The bulk of the observed flux in this model is
emitted between 300 and 2000 Å. Rc is the radius of the hydrostatic core—that is, the approximate radius the star would have in the
absence of a stellar wind. For the illustrated model it was 1.8R .
Initial modeling of W–R spectra concentrated on the the nebula are ionized by the star’s radiation field. For
H and He spectra only. The second generation included ring nebula around WNE stars these analyses have usually
CNO elements, while the most recent generation of models shown reasonable consistency. However, for some WNL
include iron and other species. The inclusion of iron (and and WC stars the observed nebular spectrum was of lower
similar species) in non-LTE calculations has been a major excitation than would be predicted using the stellar UV
stumbling block for atmospheric calculations for O and radiation field derived from the modeling. The recent
W–R stars for many years. The iron-group ions have both inclusion of line blanketing in the stellar atmospheric
a wealth of atomic levels and an enormous number of models has removed this discrepancy for at least one ring
bound–bound transitions. The advent of faster computers nebula around a WN8 star.
with large memories, new numerical techniques and the
availability of atomic data have now made it feasible to
include iron and other species in non-LTE calculations. Abundances
The severe non-LTE conditions in W–R stars initially
Determination of Teff made it difficult to understand their peculiar emission
The effective temperatures of W–R stars are determined line spectra. Do W–R stars possess peculiar (i.e. non-
primarily using ionization arguments. Consider a solar) abundances? Is the difference between the WN
sequence of models with prescribed mass loss and velocity and WC stars due to an abundance difference, or is
law, but with different effective temperatures. Such a it an excitation effect? Detailed recombination and
sequence of models will exhibit a smooth variation in line spectroscopic analyses have now firmly established that
ratios for lines from two successive stages of ionization. W–R stars are characterized by non-solar abundances.
In early WN modeling it was customary to compare He II
In WN stars H, C and O are depleted, while N and
5411 with He I 5876 since both lines are easily observed and
He are enhanced. For WN stars, N (H)/N(He) ratios (by
are relatively blend free. In more recent modeling N lines
number) range from approximately 4 to <0.1 (the solar
can also be used to constrain the effective temperature,
value is 10). The observed abundances are consistent
while in WC stars C and O lines can be used. The
analyses generally give consistent results. Discrepant with the idea that material processed by the CNO nuclear
results do occur, and probably result from a poor treatment burning bi-cycle has been revealed (or mixed) at the
of line blanketing (the generic name given to the influence surface (see ‘Evolution’).
of thousands of bound–bound atomic transitions on an In WC stars, He, C, O and Ne are all enhanced.
atmosphere) and/or density inhomogeneities in the stellar N (C)/N (He) = 0.1–0.5 while the less certain N(O)/N(He)
wind. ratios are typically 0.1. H and N are not expected in WC
Analyses of the spectra of ring nebula around stars and are not detected. The variation of N (C)/N (He)
W–R stars offers a method of checking on the energy and N(O)/N(He) with WC subtype is still the subject of
distributions predicted by atmospheric modeling, since much debate.
Determination of mass-loss rates photons, and hence all the momentum in the radiation
Mass-loss rates can be determined in several ways. First, field, were absorbed. For O stars, η is typically less than
free–free radiation in the dense stellar wind gives rise to a unity. For W–R stars values as high as 100 have been
detectable flux at radio wavelengths. From measurements obtained, although by allowing for inhomogeneities and
of the radio flux, Sν , the mass-loss rate, Ṁ, can be line blanketing it has been possible to reduce the values to
determined from the simple formula less than 10. Values of η in excess of unity do not rule out
4/3 2/3 a radiation-driven wind—they simply indicate that each
Ṁz γ gν photon has to scatter many times within the wind so that
Sν = 23.2 it delivers η times its momentum to the wind. It has been
V∞ µ d3
difficult to produce radiation-driven winds for W–R stars
where d is the distance to the W–R star in kpc, Ṁ is the since current models do not have the necessary number of
mass-loss rate in M yr−1 , V∞ is the terminal velocity of bound–bound atomic transitions to perform the required
the wind in km s−1 , z is the mean ionic charge, µ is the number of scatterings.
mean ionic mass (in amu), γ is the number of electrons
Binaries
per ion, ν is the frequency in Hz and g is the free–free
Approximately 50% of W–R stars occur in binaries—a
Gaunt factor (which is the quantum correction factor to the
number comparable with O stars. In the past there has
semiclassical formula for free–free radiation) at frequency
been considerable discussion on the importance of binarity
ν. Sν is measured in janskys (1 jansky = 10−23 erg cm−2 s−1
for the W–R phenomenon. For example, it was once
Hz−1 ). The greatest uncertainties in the derived Ṁ arise
thought that W–R stars could only originate in a binary
from uncertainties in stellar distance and in the ionization
system. Mass loss from the W–R progenitor would then
state of the gas in the radio-emitting region.
occur by Roche-lobe overflow. The major uncertainty
Second, the IR flux can be used in a similar manner,
in evolutionary calculations of binary systems is how
although in this case it cannot be assumed that the wind
much material is lost from the system during Roche-lobe
has reached its terminal speed. Third, optical and UV
overflow (rather than being accreted by the companion).
emission lines can be used. Typically, recombination lines
More recently the binary channel for the production of
are used since they are less sensitive to the precise details W–R stars has virtually been ignored. There is little doubt,
of their formation. Mass-loss estimates obtained from however, that the binary channel is important, and it must
different methods generally agree to within a factor of 2. be considered when linking W–R types with evolutionary
It has generally been assumed that the winds of W–R calculations (although many researchers would disagree
stars are spherical and homogeneous. Thus at any location with this statement).
in the wind the density can simply be found from the At least three (broad) distinct classes of W–R binary
principle of mass conservation, giving systems can be envisioned: W–R + OB star, W–R + W–R,
W–R + compact companion (neutron star or black hole).
Ṁ
ρ= All (confirmed) W–R binaries belong to the first class;
4πr 2 v(r) W–R + W–R systems are expected to be rare, although
where v(r) is the velocity as a function of distance and WR98 (where WR98 denotes the 98th W–R star in the
is assumed to monotonically increase with r. However, sixth catalogue of W–R stars) may be an example of such
emission line variability studies and analyses of emission a system. The third class is expected on evolutionary
line profiles suggest that the wind is clumped (i.e. non- grounds. Although the existence of such systems has
homogeneous) on small scales. If this is true, mass-loss been difficult to verify, several good candidate systems are
estimates are too large—possibly by factors of 3 or more. known. Cyg X-3 can be considered a possible example.
This has very important implications for stellar evolution W–R binary systems are extremely useful. First,
calculations. A change in Ṁ by only a factor of 2 (over and foremost, they allow a direct determination of stellar
a star’s life) has a profound influence on the evolution masses, independent of evolutionary models. The use
of massive stars. This is seen in theoretical evolutionary of these masses in constraining single-star evolutionary
calculations and can also be indirectly inferred from the models presupposes that W–R stars in binaries have
different WN/WC ratios in the galaxy and our nearest properties similar to single W–R stars—a proposition that
extragalactic neighbor, the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC). cannot be reliably tested because of poor statistics and
In the LMC the mass-loss rates are expected to be lower uncertainties in the properties of W–R stars.
because of the lower metallicity. Second, the O star can be used to probe the structure
The extreme mass-loss properties of W–R stars can of the W–R stellar wind. Indeed it was this technique,
be characterized by the ‘wind performance parameter’, η, applied to the W–R + O binary V444 Cygni, which gave
defined by the first direct evidence that W–R stars are hot (i.e. surface
ṀV∞ temperature in excess of 60 000 K). More recently it has
η= . become evident that polarization studies of binary systems
L/c
may allow determinations of mass-loss rates which are
ṀV∞ is the (scalar) momentum of the wind, while L/c insensitive to the presence of inhomogeneities within the
is the momentum that could be transferred if all the stellar wind.
X-ray emission
Most W–R stars are thermal x-ray sources. They can be
classified into two categories—single W–R stars and binary
W–R stars. In single W–R stars the observed ratio of x-ray
to bolometric luminosity is approximately 10−7 , although
there is a scatter of at least a factor of 3 about this value.
The x-rays are believed to originate within the stellar
wind through radiation-driven wind instabilities which
lead to high-velocity shocks (Vshock = 100–600 km s−1 )
and clumping of the wind. These shocks generate x-ray
emitting gas characterized by temperatures between 106
and 107 K. The shocks probably permeate most of the wind;
however, because of the high wind densities most of the
x-rays are absorbed in the wind.
A few W–R stars are stronger and/or variable x-ray
emitters. In these binary systems the x-rays can be
generated from the high-temperature gas (of order 107 K)
created via shocks generated in a wind–wind collision.
The two best examples are the WN + O system V444 Cygni Figure 3. A gray scale image at 2.27 µm showing the
and the WC + O system HD193793 (WR140). Both exhibit distribution of dust in WR104, as found by interferometric
a periodic x-ray variability broadly consistent with that observations with the KECK telescope. The dust moves away
expected from a wind–wind collision in a binary system. from the system radially—the apparent spiral motion is an
Alternatively the x-rays could be generated via accretion illusion. It results from the rotation of the dust formation zone
as a consequence of the orbital motion of the binary system. The
of wind material onto a compact companion.
ring of dust, as illustrated, has an angular diameter of
approximately 160 AU (or 0.1 arcsec). (Picture courtesy of
Dust formation W Danchi, J Monnier and P Tuthill, Berkeley.)
This topic, by all rights, should not belong in a discussion
on W–R stars since dust is destroyed by intense UV
radiation and requires low temperatures (<3000 K) for its (BSGs), red supergiants (RSGs), LUMINOUS BLUE VARIABLES
formation. Yet dust is seen around some WC stars, and (LBVs) and WN/Of stars. One of the goals of massive star
moreover dust is seen to be created in the vicinity of some evolution is to understand the links between the various
WC stars. Two distinct dusty WC classes may exist: binary classes of objects and the distribution of massive stars
systems and single stars. between the different classes. Below we briefly discuss
In many WC9 stars, presumed to be single, conditions some of the salient features of each class.
within the C-rich stellar wind appear to allow dust
Of stars are O supergiants exhibiting emission lines in
formation. The dust nucleation routes and how the
the optical. They are O stars that have evolved off the main
dust (and the necessary prerequisite molecules) forms
sequence. WN/Of stars exhibit spectral characteristics
despite the presence of an intense UV radiation field are
of both Of and WNL stars. It was this intermediate
unclear. If the stars are single, inhomogeneities generated
characteristic that suggested an evolutionary link between
by radiation instabilities probably play an important role
the Of stars, and bona-fide WN stars.
in allowing dust to form.
The second class are the binary systems, with eccen- LBVs, as their name suggests, are luminous blue stars
tric orbits, with HD193793 (WR140) being an excellent ex- which show irregular variability on a time scale of hours
ample. In these systems dust does not normally form; to centuries. Some LBVs have exhibited giant outbursts in
however, binary interaction near periastron (i.e. minimal which their visual brightness and bolometric magnitude
orbital separation) can facilitate dust formation. Appar- increased by several magnitudes. During such outbursts
ently the high densities generated in the wind–wind inter- several solar masses of material may be ejected. Other
action have the right conditions for dust formation. As in LBVs, such as AG Car, show moderate outbursts on a
the single WC stars, the dust formation is not understood. timescale of a decade. During these outbursts the effective
Recent interferometric observations of WR104 with temperature changes but the bolometric luminosity and
the KECK telescope have revealed directly the dust mass-loss rate are almost constant. The most famous LBVs
outflowing from the interaction region of the binary are P Cygni, which suffered a giant outburst in the 1600s,
(figure 3). and η Car which underwent a major outburst in the 1840s.
The outburst suffered by η Car ejected a bipolar nebula,
Related stars referred to as the Homunculus, which has a major axis
In the upper part of the Hertzsprung–Russell (H–R) diameter of 17 (approximately 4000 AU). Images of the
diagram, many different classes of massive luminous stars Homunculus are amongst the most spectacular obtained
exist (see HIGH-LUMINOSITY STARS): Of stars, blue supergiants by the Hubble Space Telescope.
A major breakthrough in our understanding of still be core hydrogen burning. If the latter is true, it
massive stars was achieved when one LMC Of/WN star means that the spectroscopic and theoretical definitions
(now classified as WN11), R 127, was observed to undergo of W–R stars are inconsistent. This creates difficulties
an LBV-like outburst, suggesting an evolutionary link in comparing observed W–R/O number ratios with
between LBVs and Of/WN stars. theoretical predictions. The W–R/O ratio is an important
LBVs are now regarded as a key phase of massive observational constraint since it provides a method (at
star evolution. It is believed that during the LBV phase least in principle) of determining the minimum stellar
a massive star ejects most of its hydrogen-rich outer mass which will evolve into a W–R star. For a solar
envelope, allowing it to become a W–R star. A key metallicity this is generally believed to be approximately
observation that has led to this scenario is the absence 25M , but higher values cannot be ruled out.
of RSGs with luminosities comparable with the most In massive stars, H burning occurs via the CNO
luminous O stars. Evolutionary calculations show that, bi-cycle through a sequence of reactions, with the CNO
during the LBV phase, extensive mass loss can prevent species acting as catalysts. In the CN cycle the following
the star from evolving into an RSG. The mechanism of reactions occur:
mass loss during the LBV phase is not yet understood,
although it may be related to the star evolving towards the
12
6C + 11 H → 137 N + γ
modified Eddington limit. The classical Eddington limit 13
7N → 136 C + e+ + ν
provides a lower limit on the mass of a star, of a given 13
+ 11 H → 147 N + γ
6C
luminosity, based on the assumption that the radiative
force arising from the electron scattering opacity cannot
14
7N + 11 H → 158 O + γ
exceed gravity. The modified Eddington limit takes into
15
8O → 157 N + e+ + ν
account that other radiative processes also contribute to 15
7N + 11 H → 126 C + 42 He.
the opacity, and further that stellar rotation can effectively
lower the surface gravity. The maximum luminosity The fourth reaction is the slowest, and as a consequence
exhibited by supergiants in the H–R diagram is termed much of the original C (and O from the other reactions
the Humphreys–Davidson limit. in the CNO bi-cycle) is converted to N. The total number
of CNO nuclei remains unchanged. When equilibrium is
Evolution obtained, the ratio of 14 N to 13 C nuclei is approximately 50,
W–R stars are believed to be descended from O stars. The very different from the solar ratio of 0.27.
basic evolutionary sequence, first proposed by Conti in In normal stars the nuclear processed material
1976, is remains within the stellar core and cannot be observed.
O → Of → W–R However, in O stars and their descendants, extensive mass
Since that time observational and theoretical work has led loss peels off the outer hydrogen-rich layers. Nuclear
to refinements in this basic sequence. From the theoretical processed material, once inside the convective core of the
work of Maeder and collaborators, one such sequence for star, is eventually revealed at the surface. In addition to
stars with initial masses greater than 50M is mass loss, it is now believed that mixing, possibly induced
by stellar rotation, can help reveal nuclear processed
O → OIf → BSG → LBV → WN → WC → supernova material at the stellar surface.
In WC stars the mass loss has been so extensive that
while stars between 35M and 50M have the alternative the products of He burning are revealed at the stellar
sequence surface. The predominant reactions for helium burning
are
O → BSG → YSG → RSG → YSG → WN
2 He + 2 He 4 Be
4 4 8
→ WC → supernova.
4 Be + 2 He → 6 C + γ
8 4 12
Figure 4. A diagram showing the evolution in surface abundances as a function of mass for a star with an initial mass of 40M . The
WN phase occurs when the star’s mass is between (approximately) 15M and 30M , while the WC phase occurs when M < 15M .
For most of its 4.8 × 106 yr life the star has a mass close to its initial value (e.g. after 4.2 × 106 yr, its mass is still ≈36M ). The lifetimes
of various stages are very dependent on the adopted assumptions (e.g. overshooting and mixing) and the adopted mass-loss rates.
Overshooting refers to the phenomenon of convective motions extending into a convectively stable region because the convective
velocities are non-zero at the interface between the convectively stable and unstable regions. Mixing refers to the process of mixing
two chemically distinct regions of the star—for example rotation might induce nuclear processed material to be transported to the
surface layers. The calculations were undertaken by the Geneva group (Maeder, Meynet, Schaller and Schaerer) for solar metallicity,
with overshooting and ‘normal’ mass-loss rates.
the continuum only. W–R stars will be relatively bright the most massive O stars that formed in the burst have had
in the emission line passband. Alternatively, they can be sufficient time to evolve into W–R stars. They also provide
found using low-dispersion prism spectroscopic surveys. an upper limit of about 7 million years since after this time
Both the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) and the Small all massive stars that pass through a W–R stage will have
Magellanic Cloud (SMC) have been extensively surveyed done so. Both age limits are metallicity dependent.
for W–R stars. In the LMC 134 W–R stars are known,
while in the SMC only nine are known. The difference Outstanding problems
in the number of W–R stars is believed to be due to a There are many outstanding problems related to W–R
combination of the star formation rates and the lower research. Several of the most important problems related
metallicity of the SMC (which inhibits W–R production). specifically to W–R stars are discussed below.
Interestingly, the ratio of WN to WC stars in the LMC is
(1) What initiates and drives mass loss from W–R
4.5, substantially larger than the observed ratio of 1 in
stars? Is radiation pressure, as currently believed,
the solar neighborhood. This is generally interpreted as
responsible for mass loss from W–R stars? Why are
a metallicity effect.
mass-loss rates for W–R stars an order of magnitude
W–R stars have also been found in many Local Group
higher than those of their O star progenitors?
galaxies, e.g. M31, M33, IC1613 and NGC6822. The
(2) What is the role of rotation in W–R stars (and their
study of individual W–R stars in these galaxies is in its
progenitors) in modifying the spectral appearance
infancy. To date, efforts have been directed primarily into
of the star? What is the role of rotation in massive
determinations of the WN/WC, O/W–R and RSG/W–R
stars in enhancing mixing processes and in enhancing
number ratios which allow global issues, such as the
mass-loss rates, and hence in modifying stellar
effect of metallicity and the star formation rate on W–R
evolution?
production, to be addressed.
It is essential for evolutionary calculations,
W–R stars have also been found in many galaxies
whatever the mass-loss mechanism, that we are able
exhibiting extensive star formation (often called STARBURST
to derive mass-loss rates from first principles. Ideally
GALAXIES). Indeed some galaxies are termed W–R galaxies
if they exhibit strong W–R features in their integrated Ṁ = Ṁ[Minit , t, x, y, z, ((t)]
spectra. The presence of W–R stars in these galaxies
immediately provides an age determinant. The starburst where Minit is the initial stellar mass, t is the current
has to be older than approximately 2 million years so that age of the star and x, y and z are the chemical
abundances (hydrogen mass fraction, helium mass van der Hucht K A, Koenigsberger G and Eenens P R J
fraction and metal mass fraction), and where the (ed) 1999 Wolf–Rayet Phenomena in Massive Stars and
rotation rate ((t) is itself determined via the initial Starburst Galaxies (IAU Symp. 193) (Astronomical
rotation rate and the subsequent mass loss. Society of the Pacific) (review and research articles
A related question is the role of magnetic fields on different aspects of W–R research)
in massive star evolution. While the magnetic fields Vreux J M, Detal A, Fraipont-Caro D, Gosset E and Rauw G
may be too weak to affect mass-loss rates they could (ed) 1996 Wolf–Rayet Stars in the Framework of Stellar
be important in determining angular momentum Evolution: Proc. 33rd Liege Int. Astrophysical Colloq.
losses, and hence play an indirect role in mass loss (Université de Liége) (contains many review articles
through the dependence of ((t) on magnetic field on different aspects of W–R research)
strengths.
(3) What is the detailed structure of W–R winds (shape D John Hillier
and homogeneity)? How does the presence of
inhomogeneities affect the determination of the
fundamental stellar parameters? How coupled is the
mass loss to the details of the wind structure?
(4) What is the role of binaries in massive star evolution?
Are there classes of W–R stars (and LBVs) that only
come from a binary evolutionary scenario? How
much is our understanding of single-star evolution
being confused by the evolution of OB stars in
interacting binary systems?
(5) Because of uncertainties in the treatment of convec-
tion, mass-loss processes and rotation, there are still
many issues in single-star evolution which must be
addressed. Also of concern is whether W–R stars give
rise to black holes (as presumed), and to what class a
W–R supernova belongs.
Acknowledgments
This contribution is a brief synopsis of our current
understanding of W–R stars. This understanding is the
cumulative result of 130 years of W–R research by many
astrophysicists whose individual contributions cannot be
acknowledged.
Bibliography
Abbott D C and Conti P S 1987 Wolf–Rayet stars Ann. Rev.
Astron. Astrophys. 25 113 (an excellent review article
which discusses W–R stars in greater depth)
Bappu M K V and Sahade J (ed) 1973 Wolf–Rayet and High
Temperature Stars (IAU Symp. 49) (while some of the
articles are somewhat dated, the discussion between
the symposium participants is rewarding and is sadly
missing in most recent symposia)
Maeder A and Conti P S 1994 Massive star populations
in nearby galaxies Ann. Rev. Astron. Astrophys. 32 227
(an excellent review article which discusses massive
star populations and evolution, with an extensive
discussion of W–R stars)
Tylenda R 1996 Wolf–Rayet Central Stars of Planetary Nebulae
(ASP Conf. Ser. 96) ed C S Jeffery and U Heber (review:
several other papers on W–R central stars are also
contained within the same volume) p 101
van der Hucht K A, Conti P S, Lundström I and Stenholm B
1981 The sixth catalogue of galactic Wolf–Rayet stars,
their past and present Space Sci. Rev. 28 (3)
Wormhole
A hypothetical shortcut, or ‘tunnel’, that, in principle, may
link the interior of a black hole to another universe or
to another location in our universe. During the 1930s,
Albert Einstein (1879–1955) and Nathan Rosen (1909–95)
showed that the sharply curved spacetime of the interior
of a black hole may open out again into another spacetime
(another universe). The hypothetical connection between
these two regions of spacetime came to be known as an
Einstein–Rosen bridge. An alternative interpretation is
that the bridge, or tunnel, links two different regions in
the spacetime of our own universe. More recently, the
term ‘wormhole’ has been used to describe a spacetime
tunnel of this kind. Although it has been speculated
that wormholes could be used to facilitate virtually
instantaneous interstellar travel, in practice it seems likely
that, even if wormholes do exist, they will be too small
and too short-lived (and too physically hazardous) to be
utilized in this way.
See also: general theory of relativity, spacetime.
Wrinkle Ridge
A long ridge on the surface of a planetary body. Wrinkle
ridges were first identified on the Moon, where they are
often associated with rilles. As the lunar maria solidified,
tensile forces in the outer regions opened up the faults
that produced rilles, while compressive forces nearer the
center pushed up the surface to form wrinkle ridges.
Some wrinkle ridges may result from small-scale extrusion
of lava along fissures; others extend from the maria
into surrounding upland terrain. Lunar wrinkle ridges
are typically several hundred meters high and several
hundred kilometers long. On Venus wrinkle ridges are
common features on the plains, where they extend for 10 to
50 km. The alignment of many of them suggests that they
are associated with the compressive forces that uplifted
the northern upland region of Aphrodite Terra.
Table 1. X-ray astronomy satellites 1969–2000. Adapted from Charles and Seward (1995) updated January 2000.
and so far only LMXB showing both persistent pulsations of astrophysics. In the following a few highlights are
and bursts. BeppoSAX is an Italian–Dutch satellite with presented.
instruments covering a wide energy band (0.1–200 keV). ROSAT took the first x-ray picture ever of the MOON
By discovering the x-ray afterglows of gamma-ray bursts (figure 2(a)). The Sun-lit side of the Moon contains
it pointed the way to the solution of an old puzzle, the a uniform brightness distribution as in optical light.
physical nature of gamma-ray bursts. This is due to solar coronal x-rays undergoing Thomson
scattering in a very thin layer of the lunar surface. The
Highlights from ROSAT and ASCA PSPC spectrum shows a broad spectral bump at 0.6 keV
ROSAT and ASCA have complementary properties. which is due to fluorescent resonance scattering by oxygen
ROSAT carries a large x-ray telescope with a position- of the minerals of the lunar surface layers. The effective
sensitive proportional counter (PSPC) providing moderate reflectivity of the Moon in the ROSAT band is only ∼0.01%;
spectral resolution (∼40%) in the 0.1–2.4 keV band. this means that the Moon behaves as a black body at x-ray
With its High Resolution Imager (HRI), a microchannel energies. At the same time it casts a shadow on the ‘diffuse’
plate detector ‘black-and-white’ images with 5 arcsec x-ray background (see later section). The small flux of x-
resolution can be taken. The telescopes of ASCA cover rays apparently coming from the dark side of the Moon
the energy band 0.5–10 keV with CCD detectors and is probably produced in the Earth’s upper atmosphere
imaging gas scintillation proportional counters having by charge-exchange processes of solar wind ions. This
superior energy resolution (∼20%), but worse angular is the same mechanism which is responsible for the x-ray
resolution (∼3 arcmin), compared with ROSAT. Both emission from cometary comas (see below).
satellites have been used by many astrophysicists to study COMETS are cold objects that have been described as
a wide variety of problems. The numbers of scientific dirty snowballs. Therefore the discovery with ROSAT
publications resulting from ROSAT and ASCArun to about of x-rays from COMET HYAKUTAKE on 27 March 1996 was
4000 and 1600, respectively, covering almost all fields surprising to many scientists (figure 2(b)). Later, another
(a) (b)
Figure 2. Solar system objects in x-rays: (a) the Moon reflecting solar coronal x-rays and casting a shadow on the x-ray sky; (b) x-ray
emission from comet Hyakutake superimposed on an optical amateur photograph.
four comets were found in the ROSAT All Sky Survey to those of nuclear burning stars of low mass. This
archive, including comet Levy. In total about a dozen may suggest that young brown dwarfs have hot coronae
comets have been detected by now in x-rays, mostly with responsible for the x-ray emission just like nuclear burning
ROSAT. Various physical processes have been proposed to stars of low mass.
explain the observed extended x-ray emission, including Early in the ROSAT mission a number of objects
scattering of solar x-rays by cometary dust, x-rays were discovered emitting extremely soft x-rays. They are
produced by collisions of cometary and interplanetary very luminous and show temperatures of a few hundred
dust particles and bremsstrahlung x-rays from electrons thousand kelvins. It turned out that these sources are a
accelerated at the shock between the solar wind and the species which had been predicted to exist but which had
coma. However, all these mechanisms fail to explain the not been found before. They are WHITE DWARFS in binary
observed characteristics. The most successful and widely systems accreting matter from their companions at a rate
accepted model suggests that charge exchange between just sufficient to sustain steady nuclear burning on the
highly charged ions (such as C5+ , C6+ , O6+ and O7+ ) in surface of the white dwarf. Thus, they represent a unique
the solar wind and neutral particles (such as water) in the situation in which steady nuclear burning is observed at
cometary coma is the dominant source of the observed x- the surface of a compact star.
ray emission. Massive stars explode giving rise to a supernova
ROSAT has given many exciting results about stars when the nuclear fuel in their cores is exhausted. The
of all types. The study of a complete sample of stars core collapses to a neutron star or a black hole while
of solar type has revealed the existence of a sharp lower the shell of the star is expelled in a giant explosion. A
bound to the x-ray flux, measured at the surface of the star. large fraction of the kinetic energy is converted by shocks
Interestingly, this minimum stellar x-ray flux is identical into high-temperature x-ray emitting plasmas. Supernova
to the flux observed in the coronal holes of the Sun. This 1987A was ROSAT’s first-light target on 16 June 1990, but
result suggests that the stars of minimal x-ray flux are it turned out to be too faint to be seen at that time. Its
completely surrounded by stellar analogs of solar coronal remnant was first discovered in soft x-rays with ROSAT
holes. in 1992 and has steadily become brighter since then. A
With ground-based optical follow-up observations large increase is expected to occur in the near future
of unidentified ROSAT All-Sky Survey sources, several when the shock reaches the high-density regions of the
hundred new T TAURI STARS have been identified based red giant wind. In total, some 200 supernova remnants
on Hα emission of hydrogen and lithium absorption. have been found with ROSAT. Three of them are clustered
Surprisingly, many new T Tauri stars have been found far in the Vela region (figure 3). One is the VELA SUPERNOVA
outside regions of ongoing star formation. Such ‘off-cloud’ REMNANT, which, at a distance of 1500 ly, is one of the
T Tauri stars must have been either ejected from their closest supernova remnants. Its diameter is about 200 ly, its
birthplaces in the clouds with high velocities or formed in age about 20 000 yr. Protrusions discovered with ROSAT
small cloudlets which have largely dispersed since then. at the periphery of the shell are probably produced by
Recently, deep ROSAT observations have led to the fragments of the exploding star; x-ray spectroscopy with
discovery of young (<106 yr) brown dwarfs showing x- ASCA has revealed that they show different chemical
ray emission. The x-ray properties of these brown dwarfs, compositions (figure 3(a)). The Puppis A remnant at
in particular their x-ray to optical light ratio, are similar the north-western rim of the Vela supernova remnant
The future
During the years to come enormous progress is expected
in x-ray astronomy owing to two new very powerful and
complementary x-ray telescope missions: CHANDRA and
XMM-NEWTON. Both satellites carry x-ray CCD detectors and
dispersive spectrometers for high-resolution spectroscopy.
The special strength of Chandra, launched in summer
1999, is its high angular resolution (∼0.5 arcsec) which
allows us to resolve fine structures such as jets and to
go at least a factor of 1000 deeper than the ROSAT deep
surveys did. On the other hand XMM-Newton, launched
in December 1999, provides a very high collecting power
(∼4–10 times that of Chandra, depending on energy) at
moderate angular resolution (∼10 arcsec). It will be very
powerful for spectroscopic and time variability studies.
The first results of these two powerful missions are very
tantalizing.
Plans for the future thereafter are already quite
concrete. NASA is discussing a fleet of four x-ray
telescope satellites called ‘Constellation’ to be launched
Figure 4. X-ray image of the coma cluster showing the merging
with a smaller cluster of galaxies. in ∼2007. They can observe the same object with different
instruments simultaneously or point to different regions
of the sky. ESA’s XEUS (x-ray mission for spectroscopy in
contain much more gravitating mass than accounted by an evolving universe), to be launched after 2010, foresees a
the total visible mass of all member galaxies. Actually, the giant x-ray telescope with a huge mirror system and focal
amount of ‘DARK MATTER’ had to be of the order of 95% of instruments sitting on two separate satellites, which means
the total cluster mass. that pointing requires orbital maneuvers. The collecting
area of the telescope (∼30 m2 ) is a thousand times that
One early surprise of x-ray astronomy was the
of ROSAT and about a hundred times that of XMM or
detection by Uhuru of large quantities of hot plasma in
RXTE. It should be able to penetrate into the ‘dark ages’
clusters of galaxies shining in x-rays. Later Einstein and
of our universe at redshifts of 5–10, where galaxies and
ROSAT observations showed that the mass of the hot
supermassive black holes have been formed.
plasma is typically a factor of 4 or 5 larger than that of
the galaxies and represents some 20% of the cluster mass. Bibliography
In other words, a large fraction of the ‘dark matter’ turned Bradt H V, Ohashi T and Pounds K A 1992 X-ray astronomy
out to be hot, visible only in x-rays and not in optical missions Ann. Rev. Astron. Astrophys. 30 391–427
light. ASCA spectroscopy has allowed us to measure Charles P and Seward F 1995 Exploring the X-Ray Universe
the heavy element (iron) abundance of the hot matter in (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press)
clusters, which is typically only one-third of the so-called
universal abundance. This can be explained by the infall
of primordial matter onto the clusters. Joachim Trümper
Many clusters show double structures, indicating the
merging of two clusters; others exhibit complicated inner
structures which must be due to earlier merging processes
(figure 4). Thus, the x-ray images reveal how these large
objects evolve with cosmic time.
In total, several thousand clusters have been found
with ROSAT. About 1500 of them have been optically
identified and have known redshifts, and thus known
distances. From this information one can derive the
evolution of the cluster population with time. A
comparison with simulations shows that the observed
time dependence of the cluster population is significantly
smaller than expected in a universe having the critical
density. Actually the matter density inferred from cluster
Figure 2. Uhuru observations of the Doppler delays in the 4.8 s x-ray pulsations from Cen X-3 as a function of the 2.1 d orbital period.
The x-ray light curve (below) shows the eclipse and hence geometry of the binary.
Figure 3. Approximately five-year history of the variations in the spin rate of the Cen X-3 pulsar as monitored by BATSE on CGRO.
The general trend shows that on average it is spinning up, but there are significant fluctuations about this trend indicating that it can
spin down as well as up.
to the observed x-ray luminosity (since this is directly with x-ray luminosity if the mass transfer rate were to
related to the accretion rate). decline, but how does it manage to reverse sign? This
Figure 3 shows the variation of spin period in Cen X-3 requires that material is being accreted whose torque is
as observed by CGRO over almost five years. While the reversed with respect to the ‘normal’ expectation, and
general trend is a spin-up, it is clear that the actual process implies that the disk rotation itself has reversed. Details
involves periods of (almost equal) spin-up and spin-down. of this process are unclear, but could be due to non-
It might be expected that the spin-up rate would decline uniformities in the stellar wind.
Figure 4. Optical spectrum of Sco X-1 which is dominated by continuum from the disk and x-ray driven high-ionization emission lines.
Note also that spin-up will only continue until magnetic white dwarfs in the infrared, whereas cyclotron
the neutron star is rotating so fast that material at absorption features (most in the ∼12–40 keV range) have
the magnetospheric radius would have to exceed the been detected in a dozen x-ray pulsars, implying magnetic
Keplerian speed at this radius in order to enter the fields of ∼2–3 × 1012 G.
magnetosphere (and hence would be ejected). Thus a
magnetospheric ‘barrier’ then exists to counter any further Be star transients
accretion until either the neutron star has spun down or Many of the x-ray pulsars have long orbital periods with
the mass transfer rate significantly increases. B-type companions which exhibit emission lines. These
represent a sub-class of HMXBs and are associated with
Cyclotron lines the rapidly rotating Be stars, so-called because of their
The magnetic fields of neutron stars that are x-ray pulsars strong and variable emission lines (usually hydrogen)
are inferred to be ∼1012 G. Such fields control the accretion superposed on otherwise normal B star spectra. A number
of material onto the neutron star’s surface, leading to well- of transient x-ray sources (most of them x-ray pulsators)
defined hot spots. x-rays are emitted either from the hot have been identified with Be stars, establishing that both
spot or from a shock immediately above the surface (within single and binary Be systems exist. The Be transients
∼102−3 m), producing either pencil-beam or fan-beam have rare outbursts (∼ hundreds of days) and long orbital
emitting patterns. The very strong field will then lead periods (many weeks). Some (e.g. A0535+26, GX304-1)
to quantization of the energy levels within the accretion have poorly determined orbital periods >100 d, even with
column, which produces resonant scattering cross sections the accurately determined x-ray pulsation.
and hence cyclotron emission and absorption features. The Be phenomenon is interpreted as being due to
In fact, cyclotron emission lines have only been seen in the presence of an equatorial ring around the B star as
Orbital
Source period (h) X-ray type V MV Notes
X1820-303 0.19 Burster >19 globular cluster (NGC 6624), degenerate companion
4U 1850–087 0.34 Burster 21 5.6 globular cluster (NGC 6712), degenerate companion
X1626-673 0.7 Burster, pulsar 18.5 7.7s pulsar, degenerate companion
X1832-330 0.73 Burster 19.4 globular cluster (NGC 6652), degenerate companion
X1916-053 0.83 Burster, dipper 21 5.3 x-ray and optical periods different, degenerate companion
J1808.4-3658 2.0 Burster, pulsar, transient 16.5–20 millisecond (2.5 ms) pulsar, ∼0.1M companion
X1323-619 2.9 Burster, dipper
X1636-536 3.8 Burster 17 1.3
X0748-676 3.8 Burster, dipper, transient 17 1.4 no decline
X1254-690 3.9 Burster, dipper 19
X1728-169 4.2 17
X1755-338 4.4 Dipper 19
X1735-444 4.6 Burster 17.5 2.2
X2129+470 5.2 ADC 16.5 now ‘off’; triple?
X1822-371 5.6 ADC 15.5
X1658-298 7.2 Burster, dipper 18.3
A1742-289 8.4 Burster, transient eclipsing
X1957+115 9.3 18.7
X2127+119 17.1 Burster, ADC 15.5 1.0 eclipsing, globular cluster (M15)
Aql X-1 19 Burster, transient 21.6 2.9 frequent outbursts, kHz QPO
Sco X-1 19.2 Prototype LMXB 12–14 0.0 Z source
X1624-490 21 Dipper
2S0921-630 216 ADC 15.3
Cyg X-2 235 Burster 14.7 −2.0 Z source
J1744-28 283 Burster, pulsar, transient 0.47s pulsar, type II bursts
Figure 7. Comparison of the x-ray light curves of the prototype ADC source X1822-371 (top) with the eclipsing ‘dipper’ X0748-676.
The orbital periods are very similar, but the orbital inclinations are only slightly different, with that of X0748-676 being just low enough
to allow a direct view of the neutron star whilst still allowing the companion star to eclipse it (see also figure 5).
One particular source, EXO 0748-676, displays not transient that turned on in 1985, and has remained ‘on’)
only x-ray dips but also an (almost) total eclipse, albeit must be in the very narrow range (73◦ –83◦ ) that allows
very brief (see figure 7). The inclination in this LMXB (a both dips and a short total eclipse by the secondary star.
Accretion disk coronae of x-ray binaries, both LMXB and HMXB, of yet another
However, a closer examination of figure 7 will show that modulation, this time quasi-periodic and on a timescale
the eclipse in EXO 0748-676 is not in fact completely total. of tens to hundreds of days. The first discovered was the
There is a small but significant residual x-ray flux which 35 d on–off cycle in HERCULES X-1, and which is attributed
is about 3% of the normal, out-of-eclipse level. This to a tilted, precessing disk. A similar ∼30 d modulation
residual flux is due to x-rays which are scattered into our has been seen in LMC X-4, but a substantial change in this
line of sight from material (possibly a disk ‘wind’) above timescale over a year or so is difficult to account for. Sub-
and below the disk. Hence for sources at even higher sequent long-term modulations (from 70 to 200 d) have
inclinations, we would not expect to see total eclipses, been found in a variety of sources, including both LMXBs
but instead partial eclipses of this extended ‘accretion disk and HMXBs. These are currently attributed to the effects
corona’ (or ADC). Figure 7 also shows the x-ray light curve of a warped accretion disk driven by the central x-ray lu-
of X1822-371, the classical ADC source which combines a minosity.
long smooth modulation of the x-ray flux by the accretion
disk rim structure with a partial eclipse by the secondary Bibliography
star. This is essentially what would be expected if the Bildsten L et al 1997 Astrophys. J. Suppl. 113 367
dipper light curve were to be smoothed out. ADC sources Charles P A and Seward F D 1995 Exploring the X-ray
and x-ray dippers are important objects for the information Universe (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press)
that they provide on the azimuthal structure of accretion ch 7–9
disks in interacting binaries. Lewin W H G, Van Paradijs J and McClintock J E (eds) 1995
X-Ray Binaries (Cambridge: Cambridge University
X-ray pulsations Press)
The much larger accretion discs in LMXBs compared to
HMXBs should lead to substantial transfer of angular Philip A Charles
momentum onto the compact object and hence very fast
spin periods (comparable to millisecond radio PULSARS).
However, QUASIPERIODIC OSCILLATIONS IN X-RAY BINARIES were
seen with large area x-ray detectors, an effect attributed
to an interaction between the inner accretion disk and
the neutron star magnetosphere. Very recently, the first
millisecond x-ray pulsar was discovered (SAX J1808.4-
3658) with a coherent pulsation at 401 Hz. It also displays
x-ray bursts that indicate a weak (<1010 G) magnetic
field, and has a 2 h orbital period with a very low mass
companion. This object is considered to be a direct link
between LMXBs and the ‘black widow’ millisecond radio
pulsars.
There is a further group, the ‘anomalous x-ray
pulsars’ (AXPs), the nature of which remains very unclear.
Only half a dozen are known, the best studied of which is
1E2259+587. They all exhibit coherent x-ray pulsations
with periods in the range 5–12 s, have x-ray luminosities
far too high to be explained by their observed spin-down
rates and yet show no evidence for binary motion in these
pulsations, nor has any been optically identified. It has
been suggested that they may be linked to the ‘soft gamma-
ray repeaters’ (a sub-class of gamma-ray bursters, see
GAMMA-RAYASTRONOMY) which also display similar pulsation
periods during their bursts, an effect which led to the
proposal that they had much larger magnetic fields than
hitherto suspected (the so-called ‘magnetars’).
T
transient GRO J1744 − 28, which first became known in
1995 as the Bursting Pulsar. This transient has reappeared
37 once, so that it is recurrent, although irregularly. Bursts
typically came about 30 min apart when it was active.
An increase in the rate at which matter falls on the
0 5
time (hr) neutron star can explain these bursts. Several possible
mechanisms have been identified to store up the matter
Figure 2. Persistent and burst luminosities. The average burst coming in, at some distance from the neutron star, and to
luminosity is the fluence in a burst per the recurrence time T . release it suddenly to complete its journey to the neutron
star.
The matter in accretion disks works its way to smaller
There are a number of nuclear reaction sequences by radii as viscous interaction with neighboring cells of the
which accreted material with the abundances of the outer accretion disk removes its angular momentum. As matter
layer of the companion star can convert into the iron and is continuously fed into the disk by the companion star,
higher atomic number elements of the neutron star crust. the viscous properties change and a sudden transition
The amount of energy released per nucleon is 2–8 MeV, so can occur from a state of low viscosity to high viscosity.
that the potential for energy release from burning, in the The higher torques allow matter to start moving rapidly
mass accumulated, is through the disk. The emission that we see as the burst can
come both from the disk itself and from the neutron star
E = (15–76) × 1038 where the matter falls on it. This instability can operate on
a range of recurrence time-scales, from years to minutes, accretion rates, the hydrogen and helium burn together,
so that it could give rise to bursts as well as to dwarf and with complex reactions, building to iron and heavier
x-ray NOVAE. elements. These reactions give the burst a longer rise time
A different possible cause of the intermittent flow and can leave unburned fuel, so that the thermonuclear
onto the neutron star is the interaction of the neutron luminosities, and therefore the values of α, are lower.
star’s magnetic field with the matter approaching the star. Type I bursts from different sources are observed to
The magnetic field of the neutron star, if strong enough, be similar, but not identical. Bursts rise times range from
interacts with the inner accretion disk. In the case of strong 0.3 to 10 s and decay times range from 5 to 100 s. The
field PULSARS at some radius the field channels the disk decay times (τ ) and the values of α vary with the persistent
material out of the plane and along the magnetic field lines luminosity. The EXOSAT Observatory caught several sources
to the magnetic poles. For the case of weaker fields, the in different states. Comparison of the behavior of the
disk may interact with the field over an extended region. parameters with the predictions of models has led to
It has been suggested that material could accumulate investigations of other degrees of freedom, for example,
outside the magnetosphere until some threshold condition dependence of the internal temperature on the history of
occurred that would allow the material to suddenly feed the burning and the extent of the burning area on the
onto the neutron star. neutron star.
For the Bursting Pulsar, pulsations with a period of For many of the x-ray bursters the persistent
0.5 s continued throughout the bursts. Considerations luminosities vary, sometimes consistently, but not exactly
of how low the accretion rate can go before pulsations periodically. Some are transient persistent sources in
cannot occur have allowed the surface magnetic field to which accretion may hardly occur in between episodes
be estimated at 5 × 1011 G. The Rapid Burster is likely to years apart. Then they rise to maximum in hours and
have a field weaker by several orders of magnitude and decay over several weeks to a year. The sources 4U
possibly the two sources represent two different instability 1608−52 and Aquila X-1 are regularly recurrent transients.
mechanisms. As the persistent flux may vary by factors of a thousand
and the supply of mass to the neutron star envelope is
Thermonuclear flashes believed to vary accordingly, the integrated effect must be
Hydrogen and helium burning
considered.
As the accreted material collects on the neutron star, it will
spread out over the surface if the magnetic field is too weak
Radius expansion during bursts
to confine the plasma (below 1011 G). If the companion is
As the temperature during bursts rises and falls, the
still on the main sequence, the material is, by weight, 70%
projected area of the hot emitter can be tracked. For
hydrogen, 30% helium, with no more than a few per cent in
many burst measurements the size of the emitter has
heavier elements (C, N, O). However, in at least one case,
4U 1820−30, the companion is known to be a helium WHITE been consistent with it remaining approximately constant
DWARF. When there is a layer of ≈10 g on the surface of the
21 throughout the burst. For a subset of bursts the apparent
neutron star, the density at the bottom of the accreting layer size increases near the beginning of the burst to values as
reaches ≈105 g cm−3 . Nuclear reactions begin to convert much as 10 times sizes theoretically estimated for neutron
hydrogen into helium and helium to oxygen. These stars. The apparent size then drops back and levels off at an
reactions release heat. At very low and very high rates the asymptotic value consistent with that of a neutron star (as
heat can be radiated as fast as the energy is released and in figure 1). In these cases the bolometric luminosity stays
the hydrogen burning is stable, but under many conditions approximately constant during the expansion episode.
the burning is unstable, and the temperature increases The temperature goes down during the expansion. The
rapidly until the fuel is completely burned. Helium burns peak luminosity appears to be the Eddington limit for
by the triple-alpha reaction 3α →12 C and by 12 C(α, γ )16 O, helium for most ‘radius-expansion’ bursts.
usually unstably. Detailed calculations have examined the Theoretically, helium flashes can generate enough
kind of succession of bursts that should occur, for a range energy to cause photospheric expansion of the neutron
of accretion rates, central neutron star temperatures and star. When the surface luminosity reaches the Eddington
neutron star masses and radii. limit, it drives a wind from the neutron star. There is
evidence within bursts from a single source that some
Observed and modeled burst properties reach a plateau of luminosity ≈1.7 times lower than the
For the intermediate accretion rates at which instabilities radius-expansion plateau luminosity of others. This has
occur, three regimes have been distinguished. Helium been interpreted as the Eddington limit for hydrogen-rich
burns unstably but, depending on the accretion rate, gas, a factor 1.7 below that of helium. These characteristics
hydrogen, if present, may burn stably or unstably. In the can be identified from the spectra, without knowing the
middle of these three regimes the hydrogen burns stably distance of the source, and are used as the basis for
(unless the interior temperature is very hot) and produces estimates of the distances to some burst sources. In the
helium which flashes with α ≥ 100, recurrence times cases in which a distance is known on other grounds, they
≥10 h, and burst rise times ≤1 s. At either higher or lower are in approximate agreement.
and in articles in
and in
Jean Swank
Normalized Reflectance
0.1 0.1
0.01 0.01
0.1 1 10 0.1 1 10
Reflectance of Nickel
1
Normalized Reflectance
0.1
0.01
0.1 1 10
Common materials used as reflecting coatings are iridium, where d is the layer spacing and θ is the incident angle.
gold and nickel. A plot of x-ray reflectance as a function of In practice the coating reflects a bandwidth λ that is a
incident energy and grazing angle is shown in figure 1. function of various fabrication parameters including layer
Note the local minima in reflectance at the location of thickness uniformity, density, and layer materials but is
x-ray absorption edges. The product of reflectance and typically only a few ångströms wide. Typical layer ma-
geometric collecting area (the entrance aperture) is called terial pairs include (but are not limited to) nickel/carbon,
the effective area. Reflectance decreases as a function tungsten/silicon, rhodium/beryllium, rhodium/carbon,
of increasing graze angle and starts to decrease rapidly molybdenum/carbon and platinum/carbon. A typical
near the so-called critical angle. The critical angle may be coating may contain between 40 and 500 layer pairs, with
expresses as cos−1 (nr ) ≈ (2δ)1/2 for δ 1 (see equation the larger number of layers yielding higher reflectance. Re-
(3)). flectance of 10–80% has been achieved, depending on the
incident wavelength (higher reflectance at longer wave-
Reflection from multilayer coatings lengths) and material choices.
Multilayer coatings contain alternating layers of high-Z Several soft x-ray–EUV, normal incidence, multilayer
(atomic number) and low-Z materials. Reflection occurs at telescopes have been launched on board sounding
each interface, and the layer optical thicknesses are chosen rockets and small satellites, including the recently
so as to produce constructive interference between each launched Transition Region and Corona Explorer (TRACE).
layer. Reflection occurs only for those wavelengths which To overcome the spectral bandwidth limitations of
satisfy the Bragg equation, multilayer coatings, experimenters have resorted to
integrating several smaller telescopes into a single
mλ = d sin θ (4) payload, each telescope with a different multilayer. In
Types of telescopes
Two approaches are used to achieve imaging: grazing
incidence (GI) and normal incidence (NI). Grazing
incidence telescopes utilize large angles of incidence (near
90◦ ) so that the x-rays graze or glance off the surface and
are reflected. Normal incidence x-ray telescopes use more
conventional shaped optics with multilayer coatings.
Particulate
Contamination and deposition process. Thin-film stresses may be
2a estimated from Stoney’s equation:
2a
Es ts2
σf = C (9)
6(1 − νs )tf
is about 1.4 arcsec in diameter. For the large Chandra incident flux and broaden the point spread function. For
aperture diffraction is negligible. conceptual purposes mirror errors may be loosely grouped
Grazing angle, focal length and radius are related by into three categories. Low spatial error frequencies (long
the relation error periods) produce small-angle scatter which has only
1 r0
α = tan−1 (11) a small effect on the image ‘core’. Mid-spatial-frequency
4 Z0 errors produce intermediate-angle scattering and can have
where α is the graze angle at the intersection of the a significant effect on the image core, limiting resolution—
paraboloid and hyperboloid surfaces, and r0 is the radius the ability to discern two closely placed sources. High
of the virtual joint (Z0 is not the focal length but it spatial error frequencies (typically microroughness) pro-
is fairly close). The choice of graze angle affects the duce large-angle scatter (this might be on the order of 10–
short-wavelength limit of the telescope because of the 100 arcsec and greater) which degrades image ‘contrast’—
precipitous loss of reflection efficiency near the critical the ability to find a dim source in the presence of a bright
angle. Therefore spectral bandwidth coupled with focal source. The definition of what error frequencies corre-
length can drive the maximum allowable optic size. spond to the various bandwidths is dependent on the sys-
From these few parameters one can derive the optical tem requirements and grazing angle. On Chandra, errors
prescription of the paraboloid and hyperboloid using that scatter x-rays by 0.5 arcsec would be considered mid-
the method of Van Speybroeck and Chase (1972). If frequency. On XMM, mid-frequency errors might be con-
we constrain the graze angle of the hyperboloid at the sidered as those that scatter by 5 arcsec.
virtual joint to be 3 times that of the paraboloid, then the A zeroth-order estimate of encircled energy can be
prescription of the optics can be determined as made using the total integrated scatter, or TIS. This term
represents the fraction of incident energy that is scattered
P = Zo tan(4α) tan α (12) by a surface (or equivalent surface) with a given rms
surface figure error. The fractional encircled energy (or
d=P (13) EE) is approximately 1 − TIS. The EE is both incident
wavelength and included angle dependent, so the choice
and
of rms figure error must take this into account. This is done
e = cos(4α)[1 + tan(4α) tan(3α)] (14)
by using a bandlimited rms amplitude and making the
where the optical surfaces are represented as assumption that this amplitude includes all surface error
frequencies that will scatter the light outside the desired
rp2 = P 2 + 2P Z + 4e2 P d/(e2 − 1) paraboloid (15) region of interest. The encircled energy is expressed
(approximately) as
and
rh2 = e2 (d + Z)2 − Z 2 hyperboloid (16) EE ≈ exp[−(2kσ sin α)2 ] (18)
and Z represents the coordinate along the optical axis and where k is equal to 2π/λ, σ is the bandwidth-limited
is zero at the system focus and e is the eccentricity. The effective rms surface error (in the plane of incidence)
effective focal length of the system, f L, is expressed as and α is the average graze angle. Using encircled
energy goals we can estimate an acceptable value for
2e2 d σ , or, alternatively, σ can be used to estimate EE. (Of
fL = . (17)
e2 − 1 course, we want to leave some additional margin as we
recognize that pointing stability–jitter, alignment, etc will
(The ratio of f L/Zo is a function of α and is approximately
all degrade performance.) To determine the bandwidth for
2
equal to 1 + 0.0025αdeg .)
which σ applies we use the grazing incidence equivalent
Typically, performance of GI systems is expressed in
of the grating equation (making use of the small-angle
terms of the encircled energy (usually as a fraction or as a
approximation)—
per cent). This is the integral of the point spread function
λf = θs sin α (19)
within a given angular diameter. One can think of the
encircled energy as the fraction of incident flux that falls where λ is the incident wavelength, f is the spatial
on a detector pixel or some other suitable area (e.g. a slit frequency of the surface error and θs is the angle through
for some spectroscopy applications). It is a measure of which the radiation is scattered. All errors of higher
how compact or spread out the light from a point source spatial frequency will scatter through larger angles and fall
is imaged. The encircled energy may be normalized or outside the region of interest. In doing this analysis we are
scaled two different ways. In the first, normalization is mostly concerned with errors in the axial direction. This
with respect to the flux that leaves the last focusing optic is because the deviation of specular rays out of the plane
(reflection losses are ignored). In the second approach of incidence by azimuthal errors is reduced by a factor of
the normalized encircled energy is scaled by the entrance sin α. Similarly, the scattering distribution is elongated
aperture area and has units of area. in the plane of incidence by a factor of 1/ sin α (the
Image quality is affected by mirror surface imperfec- grazing incidence foreshortens the spatial error periods
tions (figure error and microroughness) which scatter the in the plane of incidence, making the errors appear as a
higher-frequency and increasing the scattering angle (see Typical glasses used for x-ray telescopes are
equation (19))). ZerodurTM , a glass ceramic produced by Schott with an ex-
A more exact method of computing telescope tremely low CTE, and ULETM (which stands for ultralow
requirements and estimating performance is obtained expansion) produced by the Corning Glass Co, another
using the scalar scattering theory of Beckmann and very low-CTE glass. Fused quartz was used for the Ein-
Spizzichino. (Vector scattering theory may also be used stein Observatory mirrors. Potential new materials in-
for modeling performance. Some references by E Church clude silicon carbide which has an extremely high strength
are listed in the bibliography.) The output intensity to weight ratio offering the promise of very light weight
distribution is given as non-replicated optics.
Fabrication of grazing incidence optics by replication Nickel replicas An aluminum mandrel is coated with
When extremely good imaging (less than a few arcsec ∼200 µm of electro-less nickel (Kanigen). The electro-
diameter) is not required, or when extremely large less nickel surface is loose abrasive ground and computer-
collecting area is required, replicated optics can be a controlled polished or diamond turned to the nominal
superior alternative to individually fabricated glass optics. figure (after diamond turning additional figuring may be
In this approach a set of replication mandrels that are required). The surface is smoothed (polished) to about 5 Å,
the inverse of the desired final figure are fabricated first. rms, roughness, to complete the mandrel. The replica is
Multiple replicas, each the inverse of a mandrel and produced by first depositing 100–200 nm of gold on the
therefore possessing the desired mirror figure, are then electro-less nickel surface and then electroplating the gold
formed. with nickel to the desired thickness (∼1 mm). The replica
The advantages of replication are several. First, when is separated from the mandrel by cooling the mandrel (the
multiple copies of the same mirror are required, replication coefficient of thermal expansion for aluminum is about
is cheaper and less time consuming than individually twice that of nickel). The gold coating separates with
fabricating each mirror. Second, many more shells can the nickel replica because its adhesion to the electroplated
be nested within one another (without unduly growing nickel is much greater than to the Kanigen. Multiple
the size of the outermost elements) because the replicas replicas may be made from a single mandrel before the
are typically much thinner than glass elements. This mandrel needs to be refurbished. Replicas of this type have
results in higher telescope ‘throughput’. Third, because been used for the BEPPOSAX, JET-X and XMM. Replica sizes
of their relative ‘thinness’ replicated optics may weigh range from 300 mm long, 68 mm diameter on BeppoSAX to
substantially less than corresponding glass elements, 600 mm long, 700 mm diameter on XMM. The half-energy
reducing payload weight. (As an example, the largest X- width of the point spread function at 1.5 keV is 13 arcsec
ray Multi-mirror Mission (XMM) replicated nickel optics for XMM.
are less than 1/4 the weight per unit axial length of As previously mentioned, internal stresses in the
the corresponding size ZerodurTM Chandra counterparts.) electroplated nickel will deform the replica when it is
These advantages mean that either the instrument can removed from the mandrel. Potential solutions to the lack
carry multiple copies of the telescope optics and detector of structural rigidity of these replicas include the use of
(such as XMM) or multiple identical satellites can be placed stiffening structures fixed to the replica during the nickel
in orbit (such as planned for Constellation-X). Replication plating process and the use of ceramics or silicon carbide
is a way to achieve much larger collecting area and higher (SiC) in place of the nickel replica substrate. In the latter
telescope throughput with lower weight per unit area at approach the SiC substrate is formed to near final shape
less cost than with non-replicated elements. by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) to a second mandrel
The disadvantage of replication (to date) is the slightly larger (102 µm) than the first. The first mandrel is
level of figure quality which may be achieved, limiting
coated with 100 nm of gold, and then the SiC substrate
imaging performance to ∼14 arcsec, half power diameter
is positioned around it. The gap is filled with epoxy,
(or 50% encircled energy). The mandrels themselves
and, after curing, the gold-coated epoxy/SiC replica is
may be fabricated with the same accuracy as large glass
separated from the Kanigen-coated aluminum mandrel
elements. The difficulty arises in attempting to remove
by cooling. The CVD SiC has little residual internal
the lightweight replica from the mandrel, maintain its
stress and has a Young’s modulus approximately 3 times
figure against internal stresses created while producing the
larger than that of nickel. The SiC replica can be made
replica and then support it for flight, without introducing
substantially thinner than the nickel replica. A similar
low spatial frequency distortions in the figure.
process using a beryllium substrate instead of SiC has been
The strengths of replicated optics and individually
used on the Exosat program. An alternative approach
figured optics telescopes such as XMM and CXO
in which aluminum oxide is plasma sprayed directly on
are complementary. Replicated telescopes, with their
the gold-coated Kanigen/aluminum mandrel is also under
large collecting area and good imaging capabilities, are
generally more useful for imaging spectroscopy. For investigation at the time this article is being written.
bright objects, however, telescope throughput is not a
limiting factor and the full imaging capabilities of glass Epoxy replicas In epoxy replication an aluminum foil
optics can be brought to bear. Replicated optics are more serves as the replica substrate. A glass (PyrexTM or
suitable for some observations of very faint objects or ZerodurTM ) mandrel is coated with ∼100 nm of gold.
deep sky surveys where the photon noise limit obviates A thin (∼100 µm) aluminum foil is pre-formed to the
finer resolution, but the limiting angular resolution may approximate shape of the coated mandrel but slightly
also result in an inability to resolve discrete sources. oversized. Both the gold-coated mandrel and the (inner)
Alternatively, glass optic telescopes may be limited in surface of the foil are sprayed with epoxy and the two
the number of deep surveys possible owing to the are then mated. The epoxy film, several tens of microns
extended observing time needed to collect enough photons thick, is cured in an oven before the foil is removed.
necessary to make full use of their imaging. The foil maintains the smoothness of the polished glass
Several methods of replication are briefly described mandrel. Epoxy replicas have not at this time achieved
below. the imaging capabilities of nickel replicas, but the replicas
Effective Energy
area Resolution bandwidtha
Mission Type (cm2 ) (HPD, arcsec) (keV) Comments
Skylab GI 42 (collecting ∼2 arcsec 0.2–2 First x-ray telescope;
(1975) area) resolution solar observations
Einstein GI ∼200 at 1 ∼15 0.2–4.5 First telescope observatory;
Observatory keV discovered 7000+ sources
(1978–81)
RXRSb NI ∼50 ∼2 arcsec 17.3, 25.6 First NI solar telescope(s);
(1987) (collecting resolution nm 6.3 cm diameter primary mirror
area)
ROSAT GI 400 at 1 keV ∼5 0.1–2.4 4 Au coated Zerodur shells;
(1990–9) discovered 150 000+
sources
ASCA GI 1300 at 1 keV, 174 0.5–10 Conical foil Al mirrors,
(1993) 600 at 7 keV Au coat over lacquer,
4 separate telescopes
BeppoSAX GI 330 at 1 keV 60 0.1–10 Nickel-replicated conical
(1996) optics,
30 nested shells
TRACE NI ∼20 1 17, 20, 28 30 cm diameter primary,
(1998) nm 2 m focal length solar telescope
Chandra GI 800 at 1 keV 0.5 0.1–10 Highest resolution, 4 shells,
(1999) largest mirror 1.2 m diameter
transmission gratings
XMM GI 4650 at 1 keV, 14 0.1–12 Nickel replicas,
(1999) 1800 at 8 keV 3 telescopes, 58 shells each,
reflection gratings
Constellation-X GI 15 000 at 15 (<10 keV) 0.25–10, Replicated optics (type to be
(200?) 1 keV 60 (>25 keV) 6–40 determined), ∼80+ shells,
1500 at largest 1.2 m diameter
>6 keV grating
a For NI telescopes the tabulated values represent the approximate centers of the reflection bandpass(es).
b Stanford University/NASA Marshall Space Flight Center Rocket X-Ray Spectroheliograph.
are substantially lighter owing to their much thinner this limitation is a result of the approximation to a Wolter I
wall and less dense substrate material. To date limiting system, but, more importantly, it appears that the lacquer
performance is ∼1 arcmin. is ineffective at smoothing errors with spatial periods
greater than a few microns. These errors significantly
affect the ability to image at better than the 1 arcmin level.
Segmented foil replicas Segmented foil mirrors have been
used on the Broad Band X-Ray Telescope (BBXRT), ASCA Fabrication of normal incidence multi-layer telescopes
and the Sodart telescope on board SPECTRUM-X-GAMMA. Normal incidence x-ray multilayer telescopes are essen-
Here the mirrors do not form the complete surface of tially manufactured using the same processes as conven-
revolution, but instead form (typically) only a single tional precision optics with two major exceptions: optic
quadrant. Aluminum foils less than a millimeter thick and smoothness (or microroughness), which affects both scat-
optically smooth are rolled into a 90◦ section of the desired ter and multilayer reflectivity, and the deposition of the
conical shape (note that the mirrors, being true cones, x-ray multilayer coating.
are only approximations to Wolter I telescopes). Plastic As discussed above in the section ‘Reflection from
deformation (rather than elastic bending) is employed to multilayer coatings‘ reflectance is a function of high spatial
produce a final shape that more closely approaches the frequency roughness (f > 103 mm−1 ). Super-smoothing
nominal and does not introduce stresses into the support of the surface roughness in this very high spatial frequency
structure. After rolling, the foils are dip-coated with regime to levels of 2–4 Å, rms, is necessary for good
an acrylic lacquer to improve (reduce) scattering due to reflectance.
surface roughness. Care is taken to avoid introducing Along with substrate roughness, the multilayer
variations in lacquer thickness that would change the coating is the most critical element of the optics. To achieve
optical shape of the mirror, degrading imaging. Mirrors the desired reflectance over the correct spectral bandwidth
of this type are very inexpensive to produce but have not requires uniformity of coating thickness both across the
achieved better than a few arcminutes resolution. In part face of the optic as well as from layer to layer. Coating
density must also be uniform throughout the multilayer. incidence telescopes future development will probably
In addition, interlayer diffusion must be minimized as focus on achieving diffraction limited performance with
must thin-film stresses. increased focal lengths to more fully utilize the improved
optics.
Telescope systems
Other parts of a telescope system are the detector, optical Bibliography
bench and mirror mount or support structure. CHARGE There are a multitude of excellent articles in the literature
COUPLED DEVICES (CCDs) have supplanted position-sensitive discussing the technology of x-ray telescopes. For design
proportional counters. CCDs may be either front or issues of GI telescopes one is referred to
back illuminated. Front-illuminated CCDs have the x-
rays impinge upon the semiconductor gate side. Back- Van Speybroeck and Chase 1972 Design parameters
illuminated CCDs have additional wafer processing to of paraboloid–hyperboloid telescopes for x-ray
thin the backside of the chip (the side away from the astronomy Appl. Opt. 11 440
gates) and are then set so that the x-rays impinge upon the An excellent review is found in
backside. Front-illuminated CCDs provide better energy
resolution and slightly higher quantum efficiency at high Aschenbach B 1985 X-ray telescopes Rep. Prog. Phys. 48 579
energy than back-illuminated CCDS. Back-illuminated
CCDs provide substantially higher low-energy x-ray Discussions of alternative Wolter-I-like designs with
quantum efficiency. A wide range of pixel sizes are improved off-axis performance can be found in
available: the Chandra CCDs have 24 µm pixels; the Solar Nariai K 1987 Geometrical aberration of a generalized
X-ray Imager (SXI) on GOES N and O will have ∼15 µm Wolter type I telescope Appl. Opt. 26 4428
sized pixels. The long focal length (∼10 m) of Chandra Werner W 1977 Imaging properties of Wolter I type x-ray
coupled with 24 µm pixels yields ∼0.5 arcsec angular telescopes Appl. Opt. 16 764
resolution. CCDs provide excellent energy resolution,
about 120 eV for the Chandra detectors. Several CCDs may Atomic scattering factors for computing reflectance are
be arrayed to cover the full field of view of the telescope, found in
and the detectors may also be arrayed so as to be aligned
to the curved focal surface, thereby eliminating focus error Henke, Gullickson and Davis 1993 At. Data Nucl. Data
that occurs with a flat detector and a curved focal surface Tables 54 (2)
(see equation (6)). Higher imaging resolution is achieved
This information is also available on the Wide World Web
with less energy resolution using detectors such as the
at URL
Einstein, ROSAT and Chandra High Resolution Imager.
This is a pair of stacked multichannel plates with an http://xray.uu.se/hypertext/henke.html.
electronic readout. Future developments include the use A second site,
of microcalorimeters, which will be used for the first time
http://www-cxro.lbl.gov:80/optical constants
on Astro-E. This device has an energy resolution of ∼12 eV
contains the same data along with a reflectance ‘calcula-
at 6 keV but has a relatively large pixel size and so limits
tor’. A general review of multilayer coatings can be found
spatial resolution. Spectroscopy with x-ray telescopes is
in
also accomplished by the use of transmission gratings that
may be moved in and out of the focused beam, such as Barbee 1990 Advances in multilayer x-ray/EUV optics:
on Chandra, or reflection gratings fixed in the beam as on synthesis, performance, and instrumentation Opt.
XMM. Eng. 29 711
X-ray telescope missions Discussions of vector and scalar scattering theory are
Some significant x-ray telescopes and performance details reviewed by
are listed in table 1.
Church E 1979 Role of surface topography in x-ray
Future trends scattering SPIE Proc. 184 196
In grazing incidence telescopes future trends will continue Church E 1986 The interpretation of glancing incidence
the development of increased collecting area, improving scattering measurements SPIE Proc. 640 126
resolution and increasing reflectance. The use of
For more detailed discussions of developments the reader
ceramics and SiC, including the use of monolithic support
is best referred to the Society of Photo-Optical Instrumen-
structures, will improve the limiting performance of
tation Engineers (SPIE) annual proceedings for grazing
what used to be nickel mandrels, while also allowing
incidence and multilayer x-ray optics. Some recent vol-
denser nesting of mirror shells. Researchers have
umes are SPIE Proceedings volumes 3444 (published in
been experimenting with the application of broadband
1998), 3113 (1997), 2808 and 2805 (1996) and 2515 (1995).
multilayer coatings to grazing incidence optics, increasing
reflectance at higher energies. With respect to normal Paul B Reid
X-rays
Energetic electromagnetic radiation with wavelengths
in the range 10 nm (10−8 m) down to 0.01 nm
(10−11 m). Although the boundaries are somewhat
arbitrary, wavelengths shorter than 0.01 nm are called
gamma-rays and those longer than 10 nm extreme
ultraviolet (EUV). Cosmic x-rays are usually described
in terms of photon energies, a wavelength of 10 nm
corresponding to an energy of 80 electron volts (eV) and a
wavelength of 0.01 nm to 8 × 105 eV (80 keV).
X-rays from cosmic sources are absorbed high in the
Earth’s atmosphere. Even the most energetic (shortest-
wavelength) x-ray photons fail to penetrate much closer
to the ground than an altitude of about 40 km.
X-rays were discovered in 1895 by the German
physicist Wilhelm Konrad Röntgen (1846–1923).
See also: electromagnetic radiation, electromagnetic spec-
trum, electronvolt, x-ray astronomy.
Yarkovsky Effect
The Yarkovsky effect changes the rotation and the orbit
of a body orbiting in the Solar System by the asymmetri-
cal re-radiation of thermal energy from the Sun. The
effect constitutes a non-gravitational force which causes
the orbits of smaller, kilometer-sized asteroids to change
over time.
Year
The period of the Earth’s revolution around the Sun, or
of the apparent motion of the Sun on the ecliptic. It may
be defined in a number of ways, each of which leads to a
slightly different value:
Sidereal year. The time interval during which the Sun
apparently completes one revolution of the celestial sphere
relative to the stars (which, for this purpose, are regarded
as being fixed in space). This is equal to the revolution
period of the Earth around the Sun as measured relative
to the stars, and is equivalent to 365.2564 mean solar days.
Tropical year. The time interval between two
successive passages of the Sun through the vernal equinox.
Its length is 365.2422 mean solar days, about 20 minutes
shorter than the sidereal year. The difference arises
because of the effects of precession. As this definition of
the year is related to the recurrence of the seasons, the term
‘year’, if unqualified, is generally taken to mean ‘tropical
year’.
Anomalistic year. The interval between two
successive passages of the Earth through the perihelion
of its orbit which, because of a slow change in the position
of perihelion, is not quite the same as the sidereal year. Its
length is 365.2596 mean solar days.
Gregorian calendar year. This is the value of the year
adopted for calendar purposes, and is equal to 365.2425
mean solar days. For practical purposes it can be taken as
equal to the tropical year (the difference amounts to 0.0003
mean solar days).
See also: calendar.
Yerkes Observatory
Yerkes Observatory lies 334 m above sea level in Williams
Bay, Wisconsin. It is a research branch of the Department of
Astronomy and Astrophysics of the University of Chicago.
The observatory was completed in 1897. It
was financed by Charles Tyson Yerkes, a Chicago
transportation tycoon, but the inspiration behind its
construction was George Ellery Hale. The showpiece of
the observatory was the 1 m refractor, the world’s largest
telescope in 1897, and still the largest refracting telescope
ever built.
Until the mid-1960s, Yerkes Observatory housed
all of the university department’s activities (including
managing the operations for MCDONALD OBSERVATORY in
Texas from 1932–62). Today, the 77 acre site provides
laboratory space and access to telescopes for research
and instruction. A substantial fraction of the university’s
library holdings in astronomy are housed at Yerkes.
The principal telescopes are the 1 m refractor, a 1 m
Ritchey–Chrétien reflector which is used for adaptive
optics studies, a 0.6 m reflector and an 18 cm Schmidt
camera for wide-field photography.
Recent research at Yerkes includes measuring the
velocities and distances of the furthest star clusters
within the Milky Way to better determine the mass
of our Galaxy; spectroscopic measurements of lithium
abundances; spectra of the dust disk around Beta
Pictoris; and studies of the properties of distant galaxies.
Yerkes astronomers are currently developing a camera
for the airborne Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared
Astronomy (SOFIA).
For further information see
http://www.astro.uchicago.edu/yerkes/.
Bibliography
For details on the instrumentation on board Yohkoh, the
interested reader is referred to volume 136 of Solar Physics
(1991).
Figure 1. X-ray image of the Sun taken with Yohkoh. Saku Tsuneta
106 K and deuterium-burning nuclear reactions are ignited stellar object is surrounded by an infalling protostellar en-
providing the protostar with another source of luminosity. velope which renders it invisible. Once the envelope is ei-
ACCRETION of new material and a fully convective core ther mostly accreted onto the protostellar core or removed
enable the protostar to continue burning deuterium as it by some agent, the protostar becomes a visible PRE-MAIN
grows. If placed on the HR diagram the protostellar core SEQUENCE STAR. Its initial luminosity and surface tempera-
would follow a trajectory parallel to and somewhat above ture place it near the birthline which, for low mass stars,
the deuterium-burning main sequence which itself lies is itself basically coincident with the deuterium-burning
significantly above and roughly parallel to the (hydrogen- main sequence on the HR diagram. Because the abun-
burning) main sequence. A protostellar core can continue dance of deuterium in the young star is relatively low, it
to gain mass by accretion until its central temperature is burned up very rapidly. Without accretion to replen-
reaches 107 K and hydrogen fusion is ignited, at which ish the burned deuterium, nuclear reactions cease and the
point the embryonic core reaches the main sequence. This star slowly contracts to the main sequence. The timescale
occurs when the cores attain masses around 7–8 solar for this quasistatic contraction to the main sequence is the
masses. Presumably, the protostar can still continue to Kelvin–Helmholtz time.
grow and increase its mass. However, for reasons not
yet fully understood, most protostars cease growing long Observational characteristics of the low mass
before this point. In any event, stars which end up with young stellar objects
masses in excess of 7–8 solar masses have a very different The evolutionary status of a normal star is usually
post-protostellar evolution than stars which end up less determined by its placement on the HR diagram. This
massive. in turn requires measurements of two quantities: stellar
The physical reason for this becomes apparent if one luminosity and effective temperature. A star can be
compares the timescale for pre-main sequence evolution meaningfully placed on the HR diagram provided it emits
with that of protostellar collapse. The timescale for the a black-body-like spectrum that can be characterized by a
gravitational collapse of a cloud core, the free-fall time, is single effective temperature. For YSOs this is not always
determined largely by ρ, the density of the cloud: possible. This is because throughout their formation and
early evolution stars are intimately associated to varying
3π degrees with natal gas and dust. This circumstellar gas and
τff = . dust can absorb and reprocess substantial amounts of the
32Gρ
radiation emitted by a young stellar object, significantly
altering its spectral appearance. The circumstellar gas
For the typical mean density (n ≈ 104 cm−3 ) of a cloud
and dust associated with a young stellar object has a
core (of either low or high mass) the free–fall time is
spatial extent considerably greater than that of its stellar
about 4 × 105 yr. The timescale for pre-hydrogen-burning
photosphere. Consequently, emitting circumstellar dust,
evolution is the Kelvin–Helmholtz time:
which is in radiative equilibrium with the stellar radiation
GM∗2 field of the buried star, will exhibit a wide range of
τKH ≈ (effective) temperature and the emission that emerges will
R∗ L∗
have a spectral distribution much wider than that of a
which is very rapid for a high mass star (i.e. ≈104 yr for single temperature black body. In addition, at the optical
M∗ = 50 M ) and relatively slow for a low mass star wavelengths the youngest objects are rendered completely
(i.e. ≈3 × 107 yr for M∗ = 1 M ). More importantly invisible by the obscuration of opaque circumstellar dust
for high mass stars τKH < τff and these stars begin and a significant fraction, if not all, of their luminous
burning hydrogen and reach the main sequence before the energy is radiated in the infrared portion of the spectrum.
termination of the infall or collapse phase of protostellar To determine the evolutionary status of a young
evolution. On the other hand, for low mass stars τKH > τff stellar object requires knowledge of its overall broadband
and low mass stars have an observable pre-main sequence energy distribution, particularly at infrared wavelengths.
stage of stellar evolution. The shape of the broadband energy distribution of a YSO
The initial conditions for pre-main sequence evolu- will depend on both the nature and distribution of the
tion are those which describe the mass, radius and lumi- surrounding material. Consequently, the shape of the
nosity of an embryonic protostellar core at the the point spectrum will be a function of the state of evolution of
in time that infall and accretion cease. For this reason the a YSO. The earliest (protostellar) stages, during which
locus of points on the HR diagram which traces the initial an embryonic star is surrounded by large amounts of
starting points of PMS evolution for all stars is called the infalling material, have a very different infrared signature
birthline. The position of a given star on the birthline is a than the more advanced (pre-main sequence and main
function of the mass it has acquired by the end of its proto- sequence) stages, where most of the original star-forming
stellar accretion phase. Presumably, the protostellar evolu- material has already been incorporated into the young
tion of a given star is identical to that of all other stars until star itself. This is clearly apparent for low mass (0.1–
the time that the star stops accreting and reaches the birth- 2.0 M ) YSOs where the majority of known sources can
line. Prior to its appearance near the birthline, a young be meaningfully classified by the shapes of their observed
Kinematic
Kinematic Signature
Signature of
of Protostellar
Protostellar Infall
Infall
Temperature (K)
HOT
Figure 2. The expected kinematic signature of infall from gas surrounding a protostellar source. Oval curves represent lines of
constant infall velocity. The thick dashed line represents blue-shifted gas, the thick solid line red-shifted gas. Along a single
line-of-sight the radio telescope beam intercepts the τ = 1 surface in the outer, colder regions of the cloud at redshifted velocities and
the inner, hotter regions of the cloud at blueshifted velocities producing an asymmetric emission- line profile. The observed spectrum
of carbon monoxide emission from the protostellar source NGC 1333 IRAS2 in Perseus is also shown. (CO spectrum adapted from
Ward-Thompson et al 1996 Mon. Not. R. Astron. Soc. 314 625.)
configuration the bulk of the material they ultimately asymmetry in the line profile in which the redshifted
will contain as main sequence stars. Evidence for a portion of an optically thick emission line is depressed
protostellar nature of the embedded sources is derived relative to the corresponding blueshifted portion. Surveys
from the following considerations. of embedded sources have revealed the infall symmetry
First, theoretical models of collapsing, rotating cloud towards a substantial number (∼ 13 ) of class 0 sources. Such
cores predict the density and temperature structure of kinematic signatures provide the most direct evidence
protostellar objects and these models produce SEDs which for infall and for a protostellar nature for these heavily
closely match those of known class I sources. embedded sources.
Second, the only viable source for the enormous
energies of the bipolar outflows generated by class 0 Revealed sources: pre-main sequence stars
and I sources is gravity. Specifically, it is the release of Class II SEDs peak at visible or near-infrared wavelengths.
gravitational potential energy by material falling deep Like class I sources the class II SEDs are broader than a
into the potential well of a protostellar system. That is, single black-body function. However, longward of two
material falling all the way down to the surface of the microns class II SEDs fall with increasing wavelength
embryonic stellar core. Exactly how this energy from usually in a power-law-like fashion. This results in an
infall and accretion is tapped to drive a protostellar wind infrared excess which, though significant, is much smaller
is unclear. However, observational relations between than that exhibited by class I sources. The infrared excess
accretion and outflow diagnostics suggest that the mass- indicates the presence of circumstellar material associated
loss rate characterizing the outflows is related to the mass with the star.
accretion rate as Ṁwind = f Ṁaccretion , with 0.01 ≤ f ≤ 0.1. Theoretical calculations predicted more than two
Third, the observed veiling of class I spectra in the decades ago that T TAURI STARS would display such energy
infrared requires the existence of dust very close (i.e. distributions if they were surrounded by luminous
1 AU) to the protostellar surface. Theoretical models accretion disks. Consider an optically thick and spatially
predict that dynamically infalling protostellar envelopes thin disk that surrounds a young star and radiates
contain enough such material close to the protostellar everywhere like a black body. Imagine the disk to be
surface to account for the degree of observed veiling. composed of concentric annuli with radial dimension R
Fourth (and most significant), kinematic evidence for and area 2πRR (see figure 3). Each annulus radiates as a
collapse has been observed toward a number of mostly blackbody of temperature T (R). The emergent spectrum
class 0 sources. Under favorable conditions sub-millimeter of the disk will then be the superposition of a series of
and millimeter-wave spectral lines from collapsing clouds black-body curves of varying T (R). Now if T (R) ∼ R −n ,
will display a kinematic signature of infall motion (see the Wien law tells us that the frequency of maximum
figure 2). This signature takes the form of an infall emission scales as ν ∼ T (R) ∼ R −n . The luminosity
Therefore, if the temperature gradient in the disk is Figure 4. Resolved HST image of a circumstellar disk observed
characterized by a radial power law, the emergent in silhoutte aganist the Orion Nebula. (Courtesy of the Space
spectrum will also be characterized by a power-law slope Telescope Science Institute.)
in frequency or wavelength. In an SED, νLν ∼ ν 4−(2/n) or
α = (2/n) − 4 where α is the slope of the SED when plotted
as a function of log λ. continuum millimeter-wave emission range between 0.01–
Thus the power-law shape of the infrared portion of 0.1 solar masses. Compelling evidence confirming the
class II SEDs strongly suggests that the infrared excess disk interpretation of class II SEDs has been provided by
arises in an optically thick circumstellar disk. The slope resolved images of YSO disks obtained by interferometric
of the SED is directly related to the temperature gradient observations at millimeter wavelengths and dramatic
in the disk. The slopes of class II SEDs longward of optical images by the Hubble Space Telescope (see
2 µm wavelength are observed to have values in the figure 4).
range between −0.7 and −1.3, corresponding to a range Class II sources can be observed at optical as well
in n, the index of the disk temperature gradient, of 0.6– as infrared wavelengths. Therefore, considerably more
0.75. A viscous accretion disk is predicted to produce a is known about the nature of these objects than is known
temperature gradient characterized by n = 0.75 which about class I or class 0 sources. When observed optically
corresponds to α = −1.33. This also turns out to be the class II sources typically exhibit the characteristics of
same temperature gradient and spectral slope predicted classical T TAURI STARS (CTTS). Conversely, most all CTTS
for a flat purely passive disk which derives its luminosity stars possess class II SEDs. Classical T Tauri stars
from the reprocessing and re-radiation of light it has are low-mass, pre-main sequence, emission-line variable
absorbed from the central star. The majority of class II stars. In addition to excess infrared continuum emission,
sources have shallower slopes (typically α ≈ −0.7) which these stars also exhibit excess emission at ultraviolet
suggests that they are surrounded by flared (passive) wavelengths. The optical spectra of CTTS contain
disks. hydrogen emission lines and frequently various forbidden
The excellent agreement between the predictions of emission lines as well. The forbidden lines are believed to
disk models and observations suggests that the most likely arise in stellar winds originating near the surface of the
interpretation of the nature of class II sources is that they star. Typically these lines are observed to be blueshifted
represent young stars surrounded by circumstellar disks. and the absence of redshifted emission is interpreted
They differ from class I objects in that they lack large, as strong supporting evidence for the presence of an
massive (infalling) envelopes of gas and dust (see DUSTY occulting disk close to the stellar surface. The origin of
CIRCUMSTELLAR DISKS). However, it is interesting to note that the Balmer emission lines is more mysterious. Analysis of
the infrared to millimeter excess emission from class II these lines provides evidence for both mass loss and mass
sources is sufficiently large that, if the emitting material loss in these objects. However, both the mass loss and
were spherically distributed and not confined to a highly ultraviolet excess are believed to be consequences of disk
flattened structure, such as a disk, the star would suffer accretion onto the stars. The accretion rates are typically
significantly more extinction than is observed. Indeed, ∼10−8 M yr−1 and, though significant, are relatively
disk masses derived from detection of optically thin low compared to the typical infall rates encountered in
protostellar evolution. >5 × 106 yr, and are likely candidates for post T Tauri
Because they are visible, CTTS can be placed on stars (PTTS), a significant number have ages which overlap
the HR diagram, and they are found to lie between with those of classical T Tauri Stars (CTTS). This indicates
the birthline and the main sequence, consistent with that many stars may evolve through the CTTS or class
theoretical expectations for pre-main sequence stars. II phase of evolution very rapidly (<106 yr). Class III
The existence of CTTS near the birthline indicates that sources are relatively strong (but variable) x-ray sources
circumstellar disks form in the protostellar phase of and can be identified in x-ray surveys. In the Taurus region
evolution as part of the collapse and infall process prior such observations suggest that the population of class III
to PMS evolution. When their positions are compared to sources is at least comparable in size to that of class II
theoretical PMS calculations (which predict trajectories or sources. Older class III objects are also found to extend
tracks of early stellar evolution on the HR diagram) one well beyond the boundaries of star formation regions in x-
derives ages for CTTS usually between 106 and 4 × 106 ray surveys. Class III sources typically produce little or no
years, although such comparisons are hampered by the Hα line emission. All class III sources are therefore weak-
fact that most existing calculations assume diskless stars lined T Tauri stars (WTTS). (Optical astronomers classify
and the process of accretion of disk material can have PMS stars with Hα equivalent widths less than 10 Å as
an effect on the evolution of a star’s luminosity and WTTS and PMS stars with Hα equivalent widths greater
temperature. Class II sources are relatively common in star than 10 Å as CTTS.)
formation regions where they typically outnumber class I
sources by more than 10 to 1. Bipolar jets, outflows and protostellar evolution
Knowledge of the duration of the class II or CTTS Although the SED classes discussed above correspond
phase of evolution has interesting implications for the to distinct physical classes of YSOs, the variation in the
formation of planetary systems. Analogy with the shapes of the energy distributions from class 0 to III
solar system suggests that planets are likely formed in is quasi-continuous. It corresponds to a sequence of
circumstellar disks. The duration of the class II phase of the gradual dissipation of circumstellar gas and dust
evolution therefore sets limits on the duration of planet around newly formed stars and represents a continuous
building around a young star. The typical lifetime of a class sequence of evolution from protostar to main sequence
II source deduced from observations of young clusters star. To evolve from class 0 to I to II requires the removal
is about 3–4 million years. The initial stages of planet of the circumstellar material contained in a protostellar
formation must occur during this interval. However, it envelope. In principle, the clearing of circumstellar
is important to note here that the duration of the class II gas and dust could be accomplished by accreting all
phase may vary significantly between stars of differing the surrounding material onto the star itself. However,
mass and even stars of similar mass formed in different this possiblility conflicts with the observation that star
environments or with different initial conditions. For formation is an inefficient process. The cores which form
example, in the Trapezium cluster in Orion, ionizing stars contain considerably more mass than the stars which
radiation from a massive O star appears to be evaporating they produce. Thus, the removal of circumstellar gas and
the circumstellar disks of other nearby cluster stars. This dust would appear to require some active physical agent.
results in abbreviated disk lifetimes (≤106 yr) for those This agent is most likely the energetic bipolar outflow that
stars and may present difficulties for planet formation in is ignited early in the protostellar phase of evolution (see
their short-lived disks. figure 5).
Class III SEDs typically peak at visible and infrared An unanticipated phenomenon of fundamental
wavelengths for low mass stars and decrease longward importance for star formation, bipolar molecular outflows
of two microns more steeply than class II sources. were only discovered by millimeter wave observations in
Since their shapes are more or less similar to single- the late 1970s and early 1980s. Bipolar outflows are very
temperature black bodies, the energy distributions of class energetic flows of cold molecular gas generally consisting
III sources are readily interpreted as arising from extincted of two spatially separate lobes moving diametrically away
or unextincted photospheres of young stars. By definition from an embedded YSO at hypersonic velocities. These
these stars display no infrared excess. However, their light outflows are very massive, often containing considerably
still could be substantially extinguished by foreground more mass than the central YSO which drives them.
dust. This indicates that the molecular outflows primarily
Class III sources can be readily placed on the HR consist of swept-up material and not ejecta from the
diagram. Class III sources are found to lie above the embedded driving star itself. Bipolar outflows are the
main sequence and can be thought of as ‘classical’ pre- manifestation of an underlying primary wind generated
main sequence stars in the sense that their positions by the embryonic protostellar core.
on the HR diagram can be unambigously compared to Other manifestations of this primary driving wind
predictions of theoretical PMS tracks (for diskless stars). include Herbig–Haro objects, circumstellar jets and water
Comparison with such theoretical tracks shows that the masers. Herbig–Haro objects are clumps of shock-
ages of class III sources range from roughly 106 yr to more excited gas created by the collision of the primary
than 107 yr. Although most class III sources have ages wind with dense ambient cloud material. Herbig–Haro
Figure 5. HST image of a bipolar outflow at optical wavelengths. The two blobs of emission are the Herbig–Haro objects 1 and 2. The
visible emission originates in shock-excited gas interacting with a hidden high-velocity bipolar wind generated by an invisible class I
protostar located in the dark cloud core between the two lobes. (Courtesy of the Space Telescope Science Institute.)
Bipolar outflows are almost always associated with quickly evaporates and disrupts its circumstellar disk and
embedded class 0 and I sources and very rarely with class infalling envelope and perhaps even those of neighboring
II or III stars. There is some evidence to indicate that stars as well. The lifetime of such massive protostars is
outflows decline in energy as a source evolves from a class likley very short (<104 –105 yr). Yet, high-mass protostars
0 to class I stage. Without massive infalling envelopes, also manage to produce bipolar outflows and masers.
accretion rates in class II sources are not robust enough Little more is known about the protostellar evolution of
to continue to drive energetic outflows. To evolve from a massive stars. Their brief protostellar lifetimes, coupled
class II to III stage likely results from the accretion of the with the fact that massive stars are intrinsically rare, makes
remaining circumstellar disk material onto the star. it extremely difficult to find and investigate examples
Disk accretion in the class II (or even class 0 and I) of such protostars. Such objects can be expected to be
stages may not be steady. There is a subset of YSOs, located at very large distances from the Earth making their
called FU Ori stars, which appear to be characterized detailed study difficult. Moreover, massive protostars are
by non-steady accretion histories. These stars display so energetic that they significantly alter the conditions in
either episodic brightness variations of large amplitude the surrounding natal material making the processes of
or spectral signatures associated with unusually high disk protostellar and early post-protostellar evolution difficult
accretion rates. The prototype of this class, FU Orionis, to distinguish.
experienced an intense outburst in which its luminosity
increased by a factor of 100 in less than one year. Prior to Bibliography
this outbust, FU Ori appeared to be a typical CTTS. The Bachiller R 1996 Bipolar molecular outflows from young
accretion rate necessary to power its outburst luminosity stars and protostars Ann. Rev. Astron. Astrophys. 34
is ∼10−4 M yr−1 which is significantly in excess of the 111–54
accretion rates characteristic of protostellar objects (2– Beckwith S V W and Sargent A I 1996 Circumstellar disks
6 × 10−6 M yr−1 ) and class II sources (∼10−8 M yr−1 ). and the search for neighbouring planetary systems
FU Ori outbursts are believed to be short lived (∼100 yr) Nature 383 139–44
and for most sources not as energetic as that experienced Lada C J and Kylafis N D (eds) 1991 The Physics of Star
by FU Ori itself. However, such bursts of accretion may Formation and Early Evolution (Dodrecht: Kluwer)
occur frequently during the early evolution of a YSO and Lada C J and Kylafis N D (eds) 1999 The Physics of Star
a star could accrete a significant portion of its final mass Formation and Early Stellar Evolution II (Dodrecht:
in such episodes. Kluwer) (in press)
Levy E H and Lunine J (eds) 1993 Protostars and Planets III
Young stellar objects of high mass (Tucson, AZ: University of Arizona Press)
Despite their somewhat different history of formation Shu F H, Adams F C and Lizano S 1987 Star formation in
and early development, high mass (M∗ > 2 M ) stars molecular clouds: observations and theory Ann. Rev.
can sometimes display characteristics similar to low mass Astron. Astrophys. 25 23–81
YSOs. This is particularly true for intermediate mass stars
(2 ≤ M∗ ≤ 10 M) whose formation and early evolution
Charles J Lada
is most similar to that of low-mass YSOs. Intermediate
mass pre-main sequence stars are known as Herbig
AeBe (HAEBE) stars. More massive analogs of CTTS,
the HAEBE stars are emission-line stars which typically
display class II SEDs and therefore possess circumstellar
disks. They range in age between 0.5–5 × 106 yr, similar
to CTTS. Luminous (L > 102 L) class I sources are the
likely precursors to HAEBE stars.
For more massive stars (i.e. M∗ > 8 M ) there is
no pre-main sequence phase. When a protostar grows
to a mass in excess of about 10 M , it begins to emit
copious amounts of ultraviolet radiation. This results in
the dissociation and ionization of all the hydrogen in the
immediate circumstellar vicinity of the protostellar core.
A small, dense region of hot (104 K) ionized gas, known
as an ultra-compact H II REGION, is then produced. Because
the pressure in the ionized gas can be as much as three
orders of magnitude higher than that in the surrounding
material, the H II region expands rapidly, at the speed of
sound (10 km s−1 ) characterizing the ionized gas. It quickly
evolves into a compact H II region and then ultimately
a fullblown H II region. In the process the protostar
20
Z Andromedae (Z And)
Visual Magnitude
maximum light, the optical spectrum resembles an A- 10
type or F-type supergiant. Bright H I lines with strong 11
absorption cores are prominent, and He I emission lines 34000 35000 36000 37000 38000
may also have weak absorption features. These absorption
and emission lines fade as the system declines from visual 8
maximum. The TiO bands and high ionization emission 9
lines reappear as the system fades and re-establish their 10
pre-outburst levels once the optical continuum returns to 11
normal. 39000 40000 41000 42000 43000
The history of outburst observations at other
8
wavelengths is shorter than at optical wavelengths.
9
The infrared brightness of the giant remains constant,
10
indicating that the giant does not participate in the
11
eruption. In the ultraviolet, the continuum longwards
of ∼1400 Å appears to rise in step with the visual 44000 45000 46000 47000 48000
brightness. The continuum at shorter wavelengths has 8
not always followed the optical variations, but the data 9
are sparse. The low-ionization emission lines track the
10
optical variations; higher-ionization emission lines track
11
the short-wavelength ultraviolet continuum. At longer
49000 50000 51000 52000 53000
wavelengths, the radio continuum flux declined as the
Julian Date (2,400,000 +)
optical brightness increased in the most recent eruptions.
The light curve for these last two eruptions, however, does
not resemble the prolonged outbursts in the 1930s, 1940s Figure 2. Optical light curve for Z And using the 10 day means
and 1950s. Observations of future outbursts will be needed of observations from the AAVSO International Database.
to see whether or not this behavior is ‘typical’.
A new feature of Z And’s quiescent behavior is
high-quality optical spectropolarimetric observations,
the discovery of a persistent 28 min oscillation in the
Schmid and colleagues confirmed this hypothesis and
optical continuum. The oscillation has an amplitude of
derived an orbital inclination of roughly 45◦ from the
0.002–0.005 mag and is visible during quiescence and
variation of polarization position angle with orbital phase.
the most recent small outburst. The short period of the
coherent oscillation suggests an association with the hot They followed up these measurements with a similar
component. Although this variation could be due to analysis of the symbiotic AG Draconis. The optical Raman
pulsations in the hot star, a rotational period is the most lines at 6830 Å and 7088 Å are strong on the optical
likely explanation. If true, the period demonstrates that spectra of many symbiotic stars, which should allow
the hot component must be a WHITE DWARF instead of a main the measurement of accurate orbital elements for many
sequence star. systems.
Finally, two of the strongest optical emission lines in
Z And occur at 6830 Å and 7088 Å. These lines remained Interpretation
unidentified with any known atomic or molecular Figure 3 shows our current picture of the Z And binary
transition until Hans Schmid proposed an association with system. The two stellar components are a red giant with a
Raman scattering of the O VI 1032 Å and 1038 Å lines off bolometric luminosity of roughly 3000L and a low-mass
neutral hydrogen atoms surrounding the binary. With white dwarf with a luminosity of roughly 1000L for an
Zeeman Effect
The splitting of a spectral line into two, three or more
components, that occurs when the source of that line
lies within a magnetic field. This phenomenon is named
after the Dutch physicist, Pieter Zeeman (1865–1943), who
discovered the effect in the laboratory, in 1896. The
separation of the components of a line is proportional
to the strength of the magnetic field and the number of
components, and the polarization of the light in each
component depends on the orientation of the field to the
observer’s line of sight. The Zeeman effect enables the
strength and orientation of magnetic fields (for example,
the magnetic fields in sunspots) to be measured. Where
the components are too close together to be resolved into
separate lines, the line appears broader than would be the
case in the absence of a magnetic field (this phenomenon
is called Zeeman broadening).
The Zeeman effect occurs because each of an atom’s
orbiting electrons has a small magnetic field (or magnetic
moment). When the atom is placed in a magnetic field, the
electrons can align themselves at certain discrete angles to
the magnetic field (the orientations are quantized), each
of which corresponds to a marginally different energy
level. Consequently, each energy level of the atom is
split into two or more closely spaced sub-levels, and more
transitions (movements of an electron from one level to
another) are then possible, each transition corresponding
to a spectral line (or a component of a line).
See also: absorption spectrum, atom, emission spectrum,
polarization, quantum mechanics, quantum theory,
spectrum, sunspots.
Zenith
The point on the celestial sphere that is vertically above an
observer on the Earth’s surface. It is 90◦ distant from any
point on the horizon. The point 180◦ opposite the zenith,
directly underfoot, is the nadir.
See also: nadir.
Zenith Distance
The angular distance, measured along a great circle on the
celestial sphere, between the zenith and a celestial object.
The zenith distance of a celestial object is equal to 90◦
minus the object’s altitude.
See also: altitude, celestial sphere, great circle, zenith.
ZHR = (N/t) × R × L × C
Zero Gravity
A term sometimes used to describe the state of
weightlessness or free fall. Weightlessness is the sensation
experienced by a body falling freely under the influence
of gravity, in other words, experiencing no resistance to its
acceleration. An astronaut in a spacecraft which is coasting
in a gravitational field experiences no sensation of weight
as both he and his surroundings are ‘falling’ at the same
rate. Zero gravity does not imply that there is no gravity
acting. A person in a freely falling lift will be accelerating
at the same rate as the lift itself; therefore, there will be
no relative acceleration (and therefore no force) between
the floor of the lift and his feet. He feels no sensation of
weight, but both he and the lift are falling in the Earth’s
gravitational field.
See also: weight.
Zodiacal Light
A faint cone-shaped glow in the night sky stretching
along the ecliptic, alternatively known as the counterglow
or gegenschein. Given a dark sky and the absence of
moonlight, it is visible at all times from the tropics. From
temperate latitudes it is best seen about an hour and a half
before sunrise in the fall or the same time after sunset in
the spring, for at these times the ecliptic makes its greatest
angle with the horizon. The zodiacal light is caused by
sunlight scattered by interplanetary dust particles in the
plane of the ecliptic.
See also: interplanetary dust.
Zodiacal Stars
Stars located within 8◦ of the ecliptic, i.e. within the zodiac.
There are 3539 stars listed in the Zodiacal Catalog (ZC), of
apparent magnitude 8.5 and brighter. They are the only
stars that can be occulted by the Moon: observations of
lunar occultations are valuable as a check on the Moon’s
position.
Zond
Series of eight Soviet deep space missions. Launched
1964–1970. Zond 1 was a failed Venus flyby. Zond 2
was a failed Mars mission. Zond 3 (launched July 1965)
conducted a lunar flyby. Zonds 4–8 were part of the test
programme for a Soviet manned lunar mission. Zond
5 (launched September 1968) was the first spacecraft to
successfully circumnavigate the Moon and return to Earth.
Zond means ‘probe’.
radiated by the stars as they cool across the instability of the stars, producing temperature fluctuations which
strip from blue to red. At the red edge, most of the translate into flux variations detectable by very sensitive
energy is transported by convection and there is as yet instruments like photomultiplier photometers and, more
no satisfactory description of the interaction between the recently, CCD photometers. They also propagate inside
pulsations and the convective motions. Both the blue the stars, but they can do that only in those regions of
and red edges depend on the total mass of the stars, the star where their frequency is lower than the Brunt-
the instability strip being wider for more massive white Väisälä frequency (N ) and the Lamb frequency. N is
dwarfs. The observationally determined instability strip the characteristic frequency with which a particle of gas
is about 1200 K wide for the average ZZ Ceti population, taken away from its equilibrium position in the radiative
whose mean mass is the same as the mean mass of white part of the star returns to its original location through
dwarfs: 0.6 M . It extends from about 12 400 K on the oscillations. The Lamb frequency characterizes the local
blue edge to about 11 200 K on the red edge. Because the sound frequency corresponding to the degree of the non-
instability occurs at the effective temperature for which the radial mode . This criterion defines cavities inside the
hydrogen Balmer lines have their maximum equivalent star in which the waves can propagate.
widths, the method for determining Te based on fitting Because of the spherical symmetry of the star, and
these lines is unfortunately not very sensitive. The method assuming that the rotation is small enough to preserve that
based on fitting the satellites of the strong Lα absoption symmetry, the non-radial oscillations follow a geometry
observed in the UV spectra of ZZ Ceti stars at λ = 1400 Å defined by spherical harmonics in the horizontal direction.
and λ = 1600 Å is more sensitive but requires UV spectra This horizontal structure is characterized by the degree of
with a high signal/noise ratio, i.e. from the Hubble Space the spherical harmonics, which may be understood as the
Telescope (HST). number of lines of nodes of the gas motions on a spherical
Within the uncertainty in the determination of the surface, and by the azimuthal number m, which is the
atmospheric parameters, and the detection limit of the number of those particular lines of nodes passing through
pulsations, there are no stable stars in the ZZ Ceti the poles defined by the pulsation axis of symmetry. In
instability strip. All DA white dwarfs crossing the the vertical direction, a given mode has a structure which
ZZ Ceti instability strip should become pulsators. As is the solution of the eigenvalue problem obeying the
a consequence, the properties derived for ZZ Ceti from boundary conditions at the surface and in the center of the
asteroseismology are presumably applicable to all DA star. The order k (or n depending on conventions adopted
white dwarfs. by various authors) is the number of nodes of the radial
The pulsations observed in ZZ Ceti stars are non- component of the eigenfunction. In white dwarfs, because
radial oscillations excited by the κ–γ mechanism and the core is degenerate, the g-modes do not propagate deep
by the response of the surface convection zone, both in the interior as N tends to 0 in degenerate matter. A g-
resulting from the recombination of ionized hydrogen mode of frequency f is consequently reflected at the depth
in the stellar envelope. Theoretical models show this where f equals the local value of N. So, contrary to the
to happen at the Te corresponding to the blue edge. case of normal stars, like the Sun and other low-mass main
Additional complications occur at cooler temperatures as sequence stars, where the expected detection of g-modes
the radiative flux and the convective flux, both perturbed would allow study of their deep internal structure, in white
by the oscillations, start interacting nonlinearly, making dwarfs the observed g-modes allow study of the structure
the theoretical modeling much more complex. Most of our of the outer regions lying above the degenerate core.
present understanding of pulsating white dwarfs comes An interesting property of the g-modes is that, for a
from linear pulsation theory, in which only information given degree , and for high order k, modes of successive
derived from the frequency of the oscillations is used. order become regularly spaced in period: this is called the
Non-radial oscillations in stars manifest themselves asymptotic regime and the difference in period between
in the form of waves of two types: (a) pressure modes (or successive orders is the period spacing. Departures from
p-modes) for which pressure is the restoring force; they regular spacing are induced by quasi-discontinuities in
are acoustic waves; and (b) gravity modes (or g-modes), the chemical composition found in white dwarfs at the
for which buoyancy is the restoring force. In ZZ Ceti stars, interface between the outer H and He layers, and deeper
p-modes would have periods of the order of 1 second or between the He and the C–O core: this is referred to as
less, and the corresponding motions of the gas, mainly in mode trapping.
the vertical direction, would have to fight the high gravity Modes of same degree and order, but with different
of the star, resulting in a very small amplitude. These value of m (where − ≤ m ≤ ) have the same frequency
modes, while predicted to be unstable, have never been in a non-rotating, non-magnetic star (mode degeneracy).
detected. The g-modes have periods two to three orders Rotation breaks the degeneracy, and in the limit of slow
of magnitude longer, from about 100 s to about 1200 s. rotation (rotation period long compared to the pulsation
The motion of the gas induced by the pulsations becomes periods) a mode of degree is split into 2 +1 modes equally
dominantly horizontal close to the surface and the high spaced in frequency. From the frequency separation
gravity is no longer an obstacle to the propagation of between the components of such multiplets, it is possible
the waves. g-modes propagate as waves at the surface to derive the rotational period of the star. Detecting triplet
or quintuplets also allows an independent check of their RADIAL STELLAR PULSATIONS allows one in principle to derive
identification as = 1 or = 2 modes. Similarly, the many basic parameters about the structure of the STELLAR
magnetic field breaks the degeneracy, each mode of degree INTERIOR and the evolution of ZZ Ceti stars. A necessary
being split into + 1 components, the frequency shift requirement, however, is to be able to unambiguously
being proportional to B 2 . identify the pulsation modes. In the case of multiperiodic
While theoretical calculations predict a large number stars this is not a trivial task. The aliases introduced in
of non-radial modes to be unstable in ZZ Ceti stars, only the frequency spectrum by gaps in the data, unavoidable
a small number are generally observed. The first reason a fortiori in single-site observations, have encouraged
is trivial: because we see the star as a point source, the development of international ground-based networks.
only large-scale perturbations of the stellar surface can be The Whole Earth Telescope (WET), operating since 1988,
detected, i.e. small values ( ≤ 3) because of geometrical has been quite successful in the asteroseismology of
averaging. Another reason is that most of the ZZ Ceti show PG1159 stars and the DBV. For ZZ Ceti stars, which have
amplitude variations. Some modes are not found when much fewer modes, the safe identification of the pulsation
their amplitude is below the detection limit. In most cases, modes requires additional constraints. Such constraints
many observational campaigns are necessary to recover a may be provided by time-resolved spectroscopy, using
more complete frequency spectrum. But even then, the the capability of the HST to get UV spectra, or of
most complete frequency spectrum is far from the expected the Very Large Telescope. The wavelength-dependent
large number of non-radial modes that can be produced variations of the ZZ Ceti spectrum induced by the
by the combination of various , k and m. A very efficient temperature changes during the pulsation cycle have
selection mechanism must be invoked. The first selection different observational signatures according to the degree
mechanism that has been invoked is mode trapping: in of the mode, because of the different limb darkening
compositionally stratified white dwarfs, it has been shown effects on the stellar surface averaging. The simultaneous
that those particular modes which have a node of their combination of ground-based fast photometry and time-
eigenfunction close to the composition interfaces have resolved spectroscopy seems a promising avenue for the
minimum pulsation kinetic energy. As a consequence they future of the asteroseimology of ZZ Ceti stars.
have smaller growth rates. Their amplitudes grow linearly From the period spacing, one can in principle deduce
until they saturate the energy available to the pulsations. the total mass. But this requires that enough modes can
This simple explanation is rather unsatisfactory since, as be identified, which is not the case for most ZZ Ceti.
the amplitudes of the modes grow, nonlinear effects couple
Additional constraints from spectroscopy are necessary to
modes and the energy stored in the trapped modes can go
get Te and log g. When PARALLAXES are available, the radius
back and forth in other modes, stable or unstable. But
and the mass may be derived and comparison of calculated
this could still act as an efficient selection mechanism.
g-modes in white dwarf models may solve the ambiguity
Another selection mechanism implies coupling between
in the identification of the degree of the observed modes.
the pulsations and convection. Pioneering works show
The departure from regular period spacing predicted
that convection may damp very efficiently the pulsations
by mode trapping could also be used in principle to derive
in large frequency domains. But the predicted instability
the mass of the outer hydrogen layer. But for the same
strip in this case does not fit with the observational one.
reason that it precludes unambiguous identification, the
With the increasing number of known ZZ Ceti stars, it
small number of observed modes makes mode trapping
becomes possible to determine some global properties. A
very difficult, and often impossible, to detect. The mass of
clear relation between pulsation periods and Te emerges:
pulsation periods increase as Te decreases across the hydrogen is then derived from best fits with stellar models,
instability strip. This is a consequence of the fact that the but the solution is generally not unique. Determining the
unstable g-modes should have periods comparable to or mass of the hydrogen layer left on top of the degenerate C–
longer than the thermal time scale at the bottom of the O core is one of the main issues in white dwarf astrophysics
convection zone. As the ZZ Ceti cool from the blue to today because it is the main uncertainty in the white dwarf
the red edge of the instability strip, the outer convection models used in other calculations: i.e. cooling time scale
zone induced by hydrogen recombination becomes deeper and calibration of the white dwarf luminosity function,
and the thermal time scale at the bottom increases. There effect of crystallization etc.
is also a clear tendency for ZZ Ceti of longer periods to Rotational splitting has been measured in some
have larger amplitude, except close to the red edge where ZZ Ceti. The resulting rotation periods, found in the range
amplitudes fall abruptly to small values. This shows that of a few hours to more than one day, are an indication
the pulsation excitation mechanism stops being efficient at that most, but not all, of the angular momentum is lost
a given Te (for a given total mass) and this defines the red during stellar evolution. The exact physical mechanisms
edge. are not completely understood, but from asteroseismology
of ZZ Ceti and other white dwarfs we know the final state.
Asteroseismology of ZZ Ceti stars: internal Only upper limits to the magnetic fields in pulsating
structure and evolution ZZ Ceti have been derived. No ZZ Ceti is known with a
The comparison of the observed frequencies with magnetic field greater than a few kG. None of the known
theoretical calculations based on the linear theory of NON- strongly magnetic white dwarfs has been found to pulsate.
In spite of the fact that the ZZ Ceti have typical cooling The more recent European Workshops on White
times of the order of 109 years, the great stability of their Dwarfs contain many contributions concerning ZZ Ceti
pulsation frequencies should allow us to measure the effect stars; these are published in:
of evolution on the pulsation modes. The cooling time
scale depends mainly on the total mass of the degenerate Koester D and Werner K 1994 White Dwarfs, Springer
quasi-isothermal core and its chemical composition. As Lecture Notes in Physics (Berlin: Springer)
the star cools, the internal structure changes, and the Isern J, Hernanz M and Garcia-Berro E 1997 White Dwarfs
spectrum of the eigenmodes changes accordingly. A (Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic)
few ZZ Ceti stars are regularly observed in a follow-up Solheim J-E and Meistas E G 1999 11th European Workshop
program to ultimately measure the rate of period changes on White Dwarfs (ASP Conf. Ser. 169) (San Francisco:
induced by their evolution (Ṗ ). Measuring Ṗ would be a Astron. Soc. Pacific)
unique check that the theory of stellar evolution correctly
The original description of the Whole Earth Telescope
predicts the composition of the white dwarf core. The best
concept may be found in:
case to date is G117-B15A, for which one has only an upper
limit for Ṗ = 2.8 ± 1.7 × 10−15 s s−1 . This is consistent with Nather R E, Winget D E, Clemens J C, Hansen C J and
the core being a C–O mixture. Hine B P 1990 Astrophys. J. 361 309
In addition to the poorly determined hydrogen
envelope mass in ZZ Ceti, the other major uncertainty Recent results on ZZ Ceti asteroseismology may be found
in the calculation of the cooling sequence is the role in the proceedings of the WET workshops; the latest
of the crystallization phase. The release of the latent published one is:
heat of crystallization slows the cooling. This is an
important effect when determining the age of the oldest Meistas E G and Moskalik P (ed) 1998 The Fourth WET
and coolest white dwarfs in the solar neighborhood, which Workshop Baltic Astronomy 7 nos 1/2
in turn may be used to determine the age of the galactic
disk. The predicted effect of crystallization has never Gérard Vauclair
been confronted to observational tests. Massive DA
white dwarfs should be in the crystallization phase while
crossing the ZZ Ceti instability strip. Most DA have the
same mass of 0.6 M and are predicted to crystallize at
a Te lower than the red edge of the ZZ Ceti instability
strip. The only exception is BPM37093, which has a mass
of 1.1 M and is currently the only massive ZZ Ceti on
which testing the efficiency of the crystallization may be
undertaken. Unfortunately, the effect of crystallization on
the oscillation frequency spectrum is small and the present
uncertainty on the hydrogen mass layer hides its signature.
Progress on both the theoretical side of non-radial
pulsations and the observations of ZZ Ceti stars should
allow us in the near future to use the calibrated
cooling sequence of white dwarfs to get an independent
determination of the age of the galactic disk, of globular
clusters etc, and to better understand the evolution of the
stars whose lives end as white dwarfs.
Bibliography
The essential reference book for understanding the theory
of non-radial pulsations in stars is: