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In 1979, NASA established the Great Observatory program, which included four telescopes (Hubble, Compton, Chandra, and Spitzer) to explore the Universe. The Spitzer Space Telescope was launched in 2003 into solar orbit, gradually drifting away from the Earth. Spitzer was operated very successfully until 2020 when NASA terminated observations and placed the telescope in safe mode. In 2028, the U.S. Space Force has the opportunity to demonstrate satellite servicing by telerobotically reactivating Spitzer for astronomical observations, and in a separate experiment, carry out novel Space Weather research and operations capabilities by observing solar Coronal Mass Ejections. This will be accomplished by launching a small satellite, the Spitzer-Resurrector Mission (SRM), to rendezvous with Spitzer in 2030, positioning itself around it, and serving as a relay for recommissioning and science operations. A sample of science goals for Spitzer is briefly described, but the focus of this paper is on the unique opportunity offered by SRM to demonstrate novel Space Weather research and operations capabilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To link to full-text access for this article, visit this link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.icarus.2006.12.004 Byline: Mark A. Gurwell (a), Gary J. Melnick (a), Volker Tolls (a), Edwin A. Bergin (b), Brian M. Patten (a) Keywords: Venus; atmosphere; Abundances; atmospheres; Radio observations; Atmospheres; structure Abstract: We present the first detections of the ground-state H.sub.2.sup.16O (1.sub.10-1.sub.01) rotational transition (at 556.9 GHz) and the.sup.13CO (5-4) rotational transition from the atmosphere of Venus, measured with the Submillimeter Wave Astronomy Satellite (SWAS). The observed spectral features of these submillimeter transitions originate primarily from the 70-100 km altitude range, within the Venus mesosphere. Observations were obtained in December 2002, and January, March, and July 2004, coarsely sampling one Venus diurnal period as seen from Earth. The measured water vapor absorption line depth shows large variability among the four observing periods, with strong detections of the line in December 2002 and July 2004, and no detections in January and March 2004. Retrieval of atmospheric parameters was performed using a multi-transition inversion algorithm, combining simultaneous retrievals of temperature, carbon monoxide, and water profiles under imposed constraints. Analysis of the SWAS spectra resulted in measurements or upper limits for the globally averaged mesospheric water vapor abundance for each of the four observation periods, finding variability over at least two orders of magnitude. The results are consistent with both temporal and diurnal variability, but with short-term fluctuations clearly dominating. These results are fully consistent with the long-term study of mesospheric water vapor from millimeter and submillimeter observations of HDO [Sandor, B.J., Clancy, R.T., 2005. Icarus 177, 129-143]. The December 2002 observations detected very rapid change in the mesospheric water abundance. Over five days, a deep water absorption feature consistent with a water vapor abundance of 4.5[+ or -]1.5 parts per million suddenly gave way to a significantly shallower absorption, implying a decrease in the water vapor abundance by a factor of nearly 50 in less that 48 h. In 2004, similar changes in the water vapor abundance were measured between the March and July SWAS observing periods, but variability on time scales of less than a week was not detected. The mesospheric water vapor is expected to be in equilibrium with aerosol particles, primarily composed of concentrated sulfuric acid, in the upper haze layers of the Venus atmosphere. If true, moderate amplitude (10-15 K) variability in mesospheric temperature, previously noted in millimeter spectroscopy observations of Venus, can explain the rapid water vapor variability detected by SWAS. Author Affiliation: (a) Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, MS 42, 60 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA (b) University of Michigan, Department of Astronomy, 830 Dennison Building, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA Article History: Received 10 May 2006; Revised 30 November 2006

To link to full-text access for this article, visit this link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.icarus.2006.05.016 Byline: Frank Bensch (a)(b), Gary J. Melnick (a), David A. Neufeld (c), Martin Harwit (d)(e), Ronald L. Snell (f), Brian M. Patten (a), Volker Tolls (a) Keywords: Comet Tempel-1; Radiative transfer; Radio observations; Comets; coma Abstract: On 4 July 2005 at 5:52 UT the Deep Impact mission successfully completed its goal to hit the nucleus of 9P/Tempel 1 with an impactor, forming a crater on the nucleus and ejecting material into the coma of the comet. NASA's Submillimeter Wave Astronomy Satellite (SWAS) observed the 1.sub.10-1.sub.01 ortho-water ground-state rotational transition in Comet 9P/Tempel 1 before, during, and after the impact. No excess emission from the impact was detected by SWAS and we derive an upper limit of 1.8x10.sup.7kg on the water ice evaporated by the impact. However, the water production rate of the comet showed large natural variations of more than a factor of three during the weeks before and after the impact. Episodes of increased activity with Q.sub.H.sub.2O[approximately equal to]10.sup.28molecules.sup.-1 alternated with periods with low outgassing (Q.sub.H.sub.2O[less than or approximately equal to]5x10.sup.27molecules.sup.-1). We estimate that 9P/Tempel 1 vaporized a total of N[approximately equal to]4.5x10.sup.34 water molecules ([approximately equal to]1.3x10.sup.9kg) during June-September 2005. Our observations indicate that only a small fraction of the nucleus of Tempel 1 appears to be covered with active areas. Water vapor is expected to emanate predominantly from topographic features periodically facing the Sun as the comet rotates. We calculate that appreciable asymmetries of these features could lead to a spin-down or spin-up of the nucleus at observable rates. Author Affiliation: (a) Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, 60 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA, 02138, USA (b) Argelander-Institut fur Astronomie, Universitat Bonn, Abteilung Radioastronomie, Auf dem Hugel 71, 53121 Bonn, Germany.sup.1 1 Founded in 2006 by merging of the Sternwarte, Radioastronomisches Institut and Institut fur Astrophysik und Extraterrestrische Forschung der Universitat Bonn. (c) Department of Physics and Astronomy, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA (d) 511 H street, SW, Washington, DC 20024, USA (e) Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA (f) Department of Astronomy, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA 01003, USA Article History: Received 27 January 2006; Revised 17 May 2006

To link to full-text access for this article, visit this link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.icarus.2004.10.009 Byline: Mark A. Gurwell (a), Edwin A. Bergin (b), Gary J. Melnick (a), Volker Tolls (a) Abstract: The dramatic growth and evolution of the 2001 martian global dust storm were captured using the Submillimeter Wave Astronomy Satellite (SWAS). While the lower and middle atmosphere (pressures greater than 50 [mu]bar, up to [approximately equal to]45 km altitude) showed rapid heating of up to 40 K, the average surface brightness temperature plummeted by [approximately equal to]20 K at the peak of the storm. The storm appears to have had little impact on the global temperature structure at altitudes above [approximately equal to]10 [mu]bar ([approximately equal to]60 km). Author Affiliation: (a) Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, 60 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA (b) University of Michigan, Department of Astronomy, 830 Dennison Building, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA

We present the data reduction software and the distribution of Level 1 and Level 2 products of the Stratospheric Terahertz Observatory 2 (STO2). STO2, a balloon-borne Terahertz telescope, surveyed star-forming regions and the Galactic plane and produced approximately 300,000 spectra. The data are largely similar to spectra typically produced by single-dish radio telescopes. However, a fraction of the data contained rapidly varying fringe/baseline features and drift noise, which could not be adequately corrected using conventional data reduction software. To process the entire science data of the STO2 mission, we have adopted a new method to find proper off-source spectra to reduce large amplitude fringes and new algorithms including Asymmetric Least Square (ALS), Independent Component Analysis (ICA), and Density-based spatial clustering of applications with noise (DBSCAN). The STO2 data reduction software efficiently reduced the amplitude of fringes from a few hundred to 10 K and resulted in baselines of amplitude down to a few K. The Level 1 products typically have noise of a few K in [CII] spectra and ∼ 1 K in [NII] spectra. Using a regridding algorithm, we made spectral maps of star-forming regions and the Galactic plane survey using an algorithm employing a Bessel–Gaussian kernel. The level 1 and level 2 products are available to the astronomical community through the STO2 data server and the DataVerse. The software is also accessible to the public through Github. The detailed addresses are given in Sec. 4 of this paper on data distribution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Trends observed in galaxies, such as the Gao & Solomon relation, suggest a linear relationship between the star formation rate and the mass of dense gas available for star formation. Validation of such trends requires the establishment of reliable methods to trace the dense gas in galaxies. One frequent assumption is that the HCN (J = 1-0) transition is unambiguously associated with gas at H2 densities ≫ 104 cm-3. If so, the mass of gas at densities ≫ 104 cm-3 could be inferred from the luminosity of this emission line, LHCN (1-0). Here we use observations of the Orion A molecular cloud to show that the HCN (J = 1-0) line traces much lower densities ~ 103 cm-3 in cold sections of this molecular cloud, corresponding to visual extinctions AV ≈ 6 mag. We also find that cold and dense gas in a cloud like Orion produces too little HCN emission to explain LHCN (1-0) in star forming galaxies, suggesting that galaxies might contain a hitherto unknown source of HCN emission. In our sample of molecules observed at frequencies near 100 GHz (also including 12CO, 13CO, C18O, CN, and CCH), N2H+ is the only species clearly associated with relatively dense gas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

SAO has set up a testbed to study coronagraphic techniques, starting with Labeyrie's multi-step speckle reduction technique. This technique expands the general concept of a coronagraph by incorporating a speckle corrector (phase and/or amplitude) in combination with a second occulter for speckle light suppression. The correction function is derived applying the phase diversity method on images taken in focus and slightly out-of-focus. The occulter masks for the testbed will initially be produced lithographically. However, in a parallel program we are studying a new manufacturing method. This method utilizes focussed ion beams and will directly mill the mask shape into absorbing material deposited on a transparent substrate. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

We present a snapshot of our ongoing investigation of molecular clouds in Clump 2 located in the Galactic Bar region at a projected distance of ~400pc from the Galactic Center. We show that the analysis of the Clump 2 molecular clouds is complicated because of many fore- and background clouds in the line of sight. Of all clouds, IGGC 22 is the most interesting one, showing very high dust column densities, significant high-J CO emission, and, potentially harbors star formations as eluded to by the detection of [OIII] emission. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]