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PubMed2005

A novel silicon nanotips antireflection surface for the micro Sun sensor.

We have developed a new technique to fabricate an antireflection surface using silicon nanotips for use on a micro Sun sensor for Mars rovers. We have achieved randomly distributed nanotips of radii spanning from 20 to 100 nm and aspect ratio of approximately 200 using a two-step dry etching process. The 30 degrees specular reflectance at the target wavelength of 1 microm is only about 0.09%, nearly 3 orders of magnitude lower than that of bare silicon, and the hemispherical reflectance is approximately 8%. When the density and aspect ratio of these nanotips are changed, a change in reflectance is demonstrated. When surfaces are covered with these nanotips, the critical problem of ghost images that are caused by multiple internal reflections in a micro Sun sensor was solved.

Crystallization↗
PubMed1997

The HNC/HCN ratio in comets.

The abundance ratio of the isomers HCN and HNC has been investigated in comet Hale-Bopp (C/1995 O1) through observations of the J = 4-3 rotational transitions of both species for heliocentric distances 0.93 < r < 3 AU, both pre- and post-perihelion. After correcting for the optical depth of the stronger HCN line, we find that the column density ratio of HNC/HCN in our telescope beam increases significantly as the comet approaches the Sun. We compare this behavior to that predicted from an ion-molecule chemical model and conclude that the HNC is produced in significant measure by chemical processes in the coma; i.e., for comet Hale-Bopp, HNC is not a parent molecule sublimating from the nucleus.

Astronomical Phenomena↗
PubMed1998

A search for extraterrestrial eukaryotes: physical and paleontological aspects.

Physical and biochemical aspects of a proposed search for extraterrestrial eukaryotes (SETE) are considered. Such a program should approach the distinction between a primitive eukaryote and an archaebacteria. The emphasis on gene silencing suggests a possible assay suitable for a robotic investigation of eukaryoticity, so as to be able to decide whether the first steps towards eukaryogenesis have been taken in an extraterrestrial planet, or satellite. The experiment would consist of searching for cellular division and the systematic related delay in replication of heterochromatic chromosome segments. It should be noticed that the direct search for a membrane-bounded set of chromosomes does not necessarily determine eukaryotic identity, as there are prokaryotes that have membrane-bounded nucleoids. A closer look at the protein fraction of chromatin (mainly histones) does not help either, as there are some eukaryotes that may lack histones; there are also some bacteria as well as archaebacteria with histone-like proteins in their nucleoids. Comments on the recent suggestion of possible environments for a SETE program are discussed: the deep crust of Mars, and the Jovian satellite Europa, provided the existence of an ocean under its ice-covered surface is confirmed by the current Galileo mission.

Biological Evolution↗
PubMed1999

Habitability of planets around red dwarf stars.

Recent models indicate that relatively moderate climates could exist on Earth-sized planets in synchronous rotation around red dwarf stars. Investigation of the global water cycle, availability of photosynthetically active radiation in red dwarf sunlight, and the biological implications of stellar flares, which can be frequent for red dwarfs, suggests that higher plant habitability of red dwarf planets may be possible.

Astronomical Phenomena↗
PubMed1999

A case-control study of melanomas of the soles and palms (Australia and Scotland).

OBJECTIVES: Because the factors that influence risk of acral melanomas on the soles and palms in White populations are unknown, we investigated these in a multi-center case-control study. METHODS: Cases of melanoma of the feet and hands diagnosed from 1987-93 in persons aged over 18 years were ascertained in eastern Australia and western Scotland. There were 275 cases of melanoma on the soles and palms matched to 496 controls (selected from the electoral roll) in Australia, and 36 cases matched to 72 controls (nominated by general practitioners) in Scotland. RESULTS: Acral melanoma was strongly associated with high total body nevus counts (adjusted relative risk [RR] = 6.3, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 2.5-15.6), and with nevi on the soles (RR = 7.5, CI = 3.0-18.6). There were also significant positive associations with a penetrative injury of the feet or hands (RR = 5.0, CI = 3.0-8.6) and with heavy exposure to agricultural chemicals (RR = 3.6, CI = 1.5-8.3). Sun-sensitive complexions, cumulative sun exposure and a past history of nonmelanoma skin cancer were also associated with increased risk of acral melanoma. Current cigarette smoking was inversely related to acral melanoma (RR = 0.6, CI = 0.4-0.9). CONCLUSIONS: Melanomas of the soles and palms resemble other cutaneous melanomas in their association with sun exposure, but are distinguished from them by their strong positive associations with nevi on the soles, previous penetrative injury, and exposure to agricultural chemicals, and by their inverse association with smoking.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Contributions of icy planetesimals to the Earth's early atmosphere.

Laboratory experiments on the trapping of gases by ice forming at low temperatures implicate comets as major carriers of the heavy noble gases to the inner planets. These icy planetesimals may also have brought the nitrogen compounds that ultimately produced atmospheric N2. However, if the sample of three comets analyzed so far is typical, the Earth's oceans cannot have been produced by comets alone, they require an additional source of water with low D/H. The highly fractionated neon in the Earth's atmosphere may also indicate the importance of non-icy carriers of volatiles. The most important additional carrier is probably the rocky material comprising the bulk of the mass of these planets. Venus may require a contribution from icy planetesimals formed at the low temperatures characteristic of the Kuiper Belt.

Earth, Planet↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Exo/Astrobiology in Europe.

The question of the chemical origins of life is engraved in the European scientific patrimony as it can be traced back to the pioneer ideas of Charles Darwin, Louis Pasteur, and more recently to Alexander Oparin. During the last decades, the European community of origin of life scientists has organized seven out of the twelve International Conferences on the Origins of Life held since 1957. This community contributed also to enlarge the field of research to the study of life in extreme environments and to the search for extraterrestrial life, i.e. exobiology in its classical definition or astrobiology if one uses a more NASA-inspired terminology. The present paper aims to describe the European science background in exo/astrobiology as well as the project of a European Network of Exo/Astrobiology.

Astronomy↗
PubMed2003

The large millimeter telescope/el Gran Telescopio Milimétrico: a new instrument for astrobiology.

The Instituto Nacional de Astrofísica, Optica y Electrónica in Mexico and the University of Massachusetts in the U.S.A. are collaborating to build the world's largest radio telescope that operates at short millimeter wavelengths. This facility, known as the Large Millimeter Telescope (LMT) or el Gran Telescopio Milimétrico (GTM), is being sited at an altitude of 4600 m on Volcan Sierra Negra in the Mexican state of Puebla. The telescope will be a fully steerable dish with a diameter of 50 m and a surface consisting of 180 panels that are actively adjusted under computer control to correct for deformations due to gravity and temperature gradients. Instruments will include focal plane arrays to image both continuum and spectral line emission from celestial sources. The LMT/GTM will be an extremely powerful facility for studies encompassing almost all areas of astronomy, including astrobiology. In particular, the high sensitivity, angular resolution, and mapping speed will enable detailed investigations of the organic chemistry of interstellar molecular clouds, protoplanetary disks, and comets.

Chemistry, Organic↗
PubMed2000

The faint young Sun paradox: an observational test of an alternative solar model.

We report the results of deep observations at radio (3.6 cm) wavelengths of the nearby solar-type star pi 01 Ursa Majoris with the Very Large Array (VLA) intended to test an alternative theory of solar luminosity evolution. The standard model predicts a solar luminosity only 75% of the present value and surface temperatures below freezing on Earth and Mars at 4 Ga, seemingly in conflict with geologic evidence for liquid water on these planets. An alternative model invokes a compensatory mass loss through a declining solar wind that results in a more consistent early luminosity. The free-free emission from an enhanced wind around nearby young Sun-like stars should be detectable at microwave frequencies. Our observations of pi 01 UMa, a 300 million year-old solar-mass star, place an upper limit on the mass loss rate of 4-5 x 10(-11) M(solar) yr-1. Total mass loss from such a star over 4 Gyr would be less than 6%. If this star is indeed an analog of the early Sun, it casts doubt on the alternative model as a solution to the faint young Sun paradox, particularly for Mars.

Astronomy↗
PubMed1991

Composition of solar flare noble gases preserved in meteorite parent body regolith.

The isotopic composition (long-term average) of solar flare (SF) Ne has been determined by three isotope correlation techniques applied to data measured on chemically etched pyroxene separates prepared from the Kapoeta meteorite, which is known to contain implanted solar gases. The SF 20Ne/22Ne ratio obtained is 11.6 +/- 0.2 and confirms previous determinations of this SF ratio in lunar and meteoritic samples. The same SF Ne composition is also obtained by applying an ordinate intercept technique to the same data set. The ordinate intercept technique was also applied to the Ar and He data, on which the three-isotope correlation technique cannot be applied. The isotopic composition of SF Ar and SF He so obtained are SF 36Ar/38Ar = 4.9 +/- 0.1 and SF 4He/3He = 3800 +/- 200, which are significantly different from the solar wind (SW) Ar and SW He values of approximately 5.35 and approximately 2500, respectively. Correlation between 20Ne/22Ne and 36Ar/38Ar for the same data set also gives a similar SF 36Ar/38Ar ratio of 4.8 +/- 0.2. The determined SF He, Ne and Ar isotopic ratios differ from those in SW by 52%, 17% and 9%, respectively, but the elemental compositions of 4He/36Ar and 20Ne/36Ar do not show obvious differences between SF and SW. The concentration of the SF component in Kapoeta pyroxenes is approximately 20% that of the SW component, which is orders of magnitude higher than expected from SW and SF proton flux measurements. Variations in elemental and isotopic composition of He, Ne and Ar in SF relative to SW are found to correlate well with a (Z/A)2 dependence, indicating a rigidity-dependent particle spectrum in solar flares.

Argon↗
PubMed1991

Infrared measurements of HF and HCl total column abundances above Kitt Peak, 1977-1990: seasonal cycles, long-term increases, and comparisons with model calculations.

Series of high-resolution (approximately 0.01 cm-1) solar absorption spectra recorded with the McMath Fourier transform spectrometer on Kitt Peak (altitude 2.09 km, 31.9 degrees N, 111.6 degrees W) have been analyzed to deduce total column amounts of HF on 93 different days and HCl on 35 different days between May 1977 and June 1990. The results are based on the analysis of the HF and H35Cl (1-0) vibration-rotation band R(1) lines which are located at 4038.9625 and 2925.8970 cm-1, respectively. All of the data were analyzed using a multilayer, nonlinear least squares spectral fitting procedure and a consistent set of spectroscopic line parameters. The results indicate a rapid increase in total HF and a more gradual increase in total HCl with both trends superimposed on short-term variability. In addition, the total columns of both gases undergo a seasonal cycle with an early spring maximum and an early fall minimum, with peak-to-peak amplitudes equal to 25% for HF and 13% for HCl. In the case of HF, the changes over the 13 years of measurement are sufficiently large to determine that a better fit is obtained assuming a linear rather than an exponential increase with time. For HCl, linear and exponential models fit the data equally well. Referenced to calendar year 1981.0 and assuming a sinusoidal seasonal cycle superimposed on a linear total column increase with time, HF and HCl increase rates of (10.9 +/- 1.1)% yr-1 and (5.1 +/- 0.7)% yr-1 and total columns of (3.17 +/- 0.11) x 10(14) and (1.92 +/- 0.06) x 10(15) molecules cm-2 (2 sigma) are derived, respectively; the corresponding best fit mean exponential increase rates are equal to (7.6 +/- 0.6)% yr-1 and (4.2 +/- 0.5)% yr-1 (2 sigma). Over the 13-year observing period, the HF and HCl total columns increased by factors of 3.2 and 1.8, respectively. Based on HF and HCl total columns deduced from measurements on the same day, the HF/HCl total columns ratio increased from 0.14 in May 1977 to 0.23 in June 1990. Short-term temporal variations in the HF and HCl total columns are highly correlated; these fluctuations are believed to be caused by dynamical variability in the lower stratosphere. The results of this investigation are compared with previously reported measurements and with time-dependent, two-dimensional model calculations of HF and HCl total columns based on emission histories and photo-oxidation rates for the source molecules.

Astronomical Phenomena↗
PubMed1995

A slightly more massive young Sun as an explanation for warm temperatures on early Mars.

The valley network channels on the heavily cratered ancient surface of Mars suggest the presence of liquid water approximately 3.8 Gyr ago. However, the implied warm climate is difficult to explain in the context of the standard solar model, even allowing for the maximum CO2 greenhouse heating. In this paper we investigate the astronomical and planetary implications of a nonstandard solar model in which the zero-age, main-sequence Sun had a mass of 1.05 +/- 0.02 M solar. The excess mass was subsequently lost in a solar wind during the first 1.2(-0.2, +0.4) Gyr of the Sun's main sequence phase. The implied mass-loss rate of 4(+3, -2) x 10(-11) M solar yr-1, or about 10(3)x that of the current Sun, may be detectable in several nearby young solar type stars.

Astronomy↗
PubMed1997

Titan under a red giant sun: a new kind of "habitable" moon.

We explore the response of Titan's surface and massive atmosphere to the change in solar spectrum and intensity as the sun evolves into a red giant. Titan's surface temperature is insensitive to insolation increases as the haze-laden atmosphere "puffs up" and blocks more sunlight. However, we find a window of several hundred Myr exists, roughly 6 Gyr from now, when liquid water-ammonia can form oceans on the surface and react with the abundant organic compounds there. The window opens due to a drop in haze production as the ultraviolet flux from the reddening sun plummets. The duration of such a window exceeds the time necessary for life to have begun on Earth. Similar environments, with approximately 200K water-ammonia oceans warmed by methane greenhouses under red stars, are an alternative to the approximately 30OK water-CO2 environments considered the classic "habitable" planet.

Ammonia↗
PubMed1989

Satellite observation of atmospheric nuclear gamma radiation.

We present a satellite observation of the spectrum of gamma radiation from the Earth's atmosphere in the energy interval from 300 keV to 8.5 MeV. The data were accumulated by the gamma ray spectrometer on the Solar Maximum Mission over 3 1/2 years, from 1980 to 1983. The excellent statistical accuracy of the data allows 20 atmospheric line features to be identified. The features are superimposed on a continuum background which is modeled using a power law with index -1.16. Many of these features contain a blend of more than one nuclear line. All of these lines (with the exception of the 511-keV annihilation line) are Doppler broadened. Line energies and intensities are consistent with production by secondary neutrons interacting with atmospheric 14N and 16O. Although we find no evidence for other production mechanisms, we cannot rule out significant contributions from direct excitation or spallation by primary cosmic ray protons. The relative intensities of the observed line features are in fair agreement with theoretical models; however, existing models are limited by the availability of neutron cross sections, especially at high energies. The intensity and spectrum of photons at energies below the 511-keV line, in excess of a power law continuum, can be explained by Compton scattering of the annihilation line photons in traversing an average of approximately 21 g cm-2 of atmosphere.

Astronomy↗
PubMed2002

Repair of cyclobutyl pyrimidine dimers in human skin: variability among normal humans in nucleotide excision and in photorepair.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Photoreactivation (PR) of cyclobutyl pyrimidine dimers (CPD) in human skin remains controversial. Recently Whitmore et al. (1) reported negative results of experiments using two photorepair light (PRL) sources on UV-irradiated skin of volunteers. However, their PRL sources induced substantial levels of dimers in skin, suggesting that the additional dimers formed could have obscured PR. We met a similar problem of dimer induction by a PRL source. We designed and validated a PRL source of sufficient intensity to catalyse PR, but that did not induce CPD, and used it to measure photorepair in human skin. METHODS AND RESULTS: Using a solar simulator filtered with three types of UV-filters, we found significant dimer formation in skin, quantified by number average length analysis using electrophoretic gels of isolated skin DNA. To prevent scattered UV from reaching the skin, we interposed shields between the filters and skin, and showed that the UV-filtered/shielded solar simulator system did not induce damage in isolated DNA or in human skin. We exposed skin of seven healthy human volunteers to 302 nm radiation, then to the improved PRL source (control skin areas were kept in the dark for measurement of excision repair). CONCLUSIONS: Using a high intensity PRL source that did not induce dimers in skin, we found that three of seven subjects carried out rapid photorepair of dimers; two carried out moderate or slow dimer photorepair, and three did not show detectable photorepair. Excision repair was similarly variable in these volunteers. Subjects with slower excision repair showed rapid photorepair, whereas those with rapid excision generally showed little or no photoreactivation.

DNA Repair↗
PubMed1985

Recent progress and future plans on the search for extraterrestrial intelligence.

The possibility of life in other parts of the Universe has long occupied the human mind, but actual searches only began in 1960 with Project OZMA conducted by Frank Drake. In the past 25 years, we have made impressive progress, and this new field has gained broad scientific recognition including the support of the US and the Soviet National Academies, and the endorsement of the International Astronomical Union.

Astronomy↗