Astronomical instrumentation

Abstract:

Optical spectroscopy and near-infrared photometry of 19 optically faint galaxies which have been discovered as intense 100-micron sources by IRAS are reported. All have low-excitation emission lines with redshifts up to 0.2, and some exceed 10 to the 12th solar luminosity in their infrared luminosities. No evidence of Seyfert-like spectra is found, but instead starburst activity is suspected to power the infrared emission. Many of the galaxies are clearly disturbed or show evidence of interaction with neighbors; the highest redshift source consists of a trio of emission galaxies. By selecting IRAS galaxies with faint optical counterparts, a subset of infrared-luminous galaxies which do not show the Seyfert characteristics seen in surveys of extragalactic IRAS sources identified with optically brighter objects is isolated. The intrinsic luminosities of some of the sample are higher than those of any previously known active galaxies, and are comparable to those of many quasars.

Abstract:

We present 8- to 13-μm spectra of the main-belt asteroids 1, 2, 6, 7, 10, 16, 45, 51, 56, 65, 78, and 451. None of these exhibit pronounced emission features, and all can be fitted reasonably well using a standard thermal model. We also present wide- and narrowband photometry of 19 Fortuna, which has previously been reported to show an emission feature in this region. © 1985.

Abstract:

Spectra of the central core and surrounding coma of Comet IRAS-Araki-Alcock (1983d) were obtained at 8-13 μm on 11 May and 2-4 μm on 12 May 1983. Spatially resolved measurements at 10 μm with a 4-arcsec beam showed that the central core was more than 100 times brighter than the inner coma only 8 arcsec away; for radially outflowing dust, the brightness ratio would be a factor of 8. The observations of the central core are consistent with direct detection of a nucleus having a radius of approximately 5 km. The temperature of the sunlit hemisphere was > 300 K. Spectra of the core are featureless, while spectra of the coma suggest weak silicate emission. The spectra show no evidence for icy grains. The dust producton rate on 11.4 May was ∼ 105 g/sec, assuming that the gas flux from the dust-producing areas on the nucleus was ∼ 10-5 g/cm2/sec. © 1985.