EEEEEEEEEEE U U V V EEEEEEEEEEE E U U V V E E U U V V E EEEEEEE U U V V EEEEEEE E U U V V E E U U V V E EEEEEEEEEEE UUUUU V EEEEEEEEEEE --------------------------------------------------------------------------- ELECTRONIC NEWSLETTER OF THE EUVE OBSERVATORY --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Vol. 9, No. 3 02 October 2000 ISSN 1065-3597 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- (C) 2000, Regents of the University of California --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Notes from the Editor ===================== by Jennifer Cullison, EUVE Project Specialist Welcome to the electronic newsletter for NASA's Extreme Ultraviolet Explorer (EUVE) satellite, compiled and published quarterly by the Center for EUV Astrophysics (CEA) at the University of California, Berkeley (UCB). The contents of this issue of the EUVE electronic newsletter are as follows: 1. EUVE Satellite Mission Operations News 1.1 Operations Highlights 1.2 Observation Log 2. EUVE Science News 2.1 NASA Senior Review Terminates EUVE Mission 2.2 Science Highlights 2.3 Recent EUVE Data Releases 2.4 Recent EUVE Publications To comment on or make suggestions for the EUVE electronic newsletter, please send e-mail to ceanews@cea.berkeley.edu (Internet). 1 EUVE Satellite Mission Operations News ======================================== 1.1 Operations Highlights ------------------------- EUVE operations highlights for the first two quarters of 2000 are: September 8, 2000 o Senior Review Results Trigger EUVE End-of-Mission Activities o EUVE FOT Implements Complicated Observation of Comet LINEAR o Survey Shows High Levels of EUVE GO Satisfaction o EUVE FOT Hosts Numerous Visitors o EUVE Supports Successful Tests of TDRS-H SMA Services July 7, 2000 o EUVE Celebrated 8-Year Launch Anniversary o EUVE Well-Represented at June AAS o EUVE Team Received Award from NASA Administrator o FOT Continued Post-Battery-Failure Clean-Up Work Details (including general notes and Y2K status) are available at: http://www.cea.berkeley.edu/~pubinfo/html/EUVE_operations_high_opshigh.html 1.2 Observation Log ------------------- EUVE observed eight different targets for regular observations over the course of the third quarters of 2000 including, in rough chronological order, EUVE J0006+29.0, Comet LINEAR, lambda Sco, beta Cet, AR Lac, SS Cyg (TOO), LB 9802, and Am Her. Details and previous observation information are available at: http://www.cea.berkeley.edu/~science/data/dynamic/exposures.html or http://www.cea.berkeley.edu/~science/html/EUVE_call99_euvelog.html Upcoming observations are available on the short-term schedule at http://www.cea.berkeley.edu/~science/html/Observing_sched_shortterm.html. 2. EUVE Science News ==================== 2.1 NASA Senior Review Terminates EUVE Mission ---------------------------------------------- In an early August 2000 report, the NASA OSS Senior Review recommended the termination of EUVE at the end of NASA FY00 (i.e., 30 September 2000). Subsequently, Dr. Guenter Riegler at NASA Headquarters (HQ) promised the EUVE Project $300K in closeout funds that will stretch operations through the end of CY00 and will accommodate end-of-mission testing. Though the satellite continues to operate flawlessly and natural re-entry is current not predicted until February 2002 (mean; +/- 2-sigma in Oct 2001 and Oct 2002, respectively), and with closeout funding aside, the Senior Review panel's decision was, in fact, to cut the EUVE mission short by as many as two years. The EUVE user community and public supporters have responded by sending letters to NASA officials and congressional leaders urging them to do what they can to extend the life of the mission. In their appeals, supporters have consistently stressed the continued health of the EUVE satellite and its return of new and exciting scientific results. Within two weeks of the Senior Review panel's decision, Dr. Riegler reported having received ~50 letters, and more have flowed in since. Select letters are available at http://www.euvexplorer.com/save.html Thanks to those of you who have already taken part in this effort -- we hope more letters will continue to stream in. The letter-writing campaign has helped to generate interest from various media institutions such as NASA Watch, Universe Today and space.com. This, in turn, has helped to generate wider public support for extending the EUVE mission beyond December 2000. The most recent media story on EUVE is at http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/astronomy/ultraviolet_death_000922.html In addition, several congressional leaders have shown interest in EUVE's situation, particularly those who represent California and who serve on the House Science Subcommittee on Space and Aeronautics. For example, Representatives Mark Udall (a member of the House Science Subcommittee from Colorado) and Barbara Lee (Berkeley's congressional representative) submitted a "congressional inquiry" letter to NASA HQ in an effort to better understand how its various programs are being funded. The intention of this letter was not to direct NASA how to spend its money, but to help settle questions of deficits and shortfalls that may have played a role in the Senior Review's decision to terminate EUVE. This letter is available at http://www.euvexplorer.com/EUVE_Letter_dco.pdf When holding their last meeting on 13 September, Rep. Udall and other members of the House Science Subcommittee on Space and Aeronautics called on NASA officials to report on the status of various programs, and expressed particular interest in EUVE. A summary of the NASA report for this meeting is available at http://www.aas.org/policy/NASALifeCycle.htm On September 13 and 14, EUVE Project Manager Brett Stroozas and Observatory Director Dr. Roger Malina visited select congressional leaders' DC offices to discuss continued support for EUVE. Contacts in DC were particularly interested in how the termination of EUVE, falling so close to its end-of-life, is counter to NASA's stated goals of NASA-University collaboration. Many were supportive of the idea of getting all possible science out of EUVE after the investment the project has already received. At present, the House Subcommittee on Space and Aeronautics is awaiting delivery of NASA reports detailing appropriations of funding toward its various programs. At the same time, the University of California is working with the office of Senator Diane Feinstein to draft a funding proposal via the VA-HUD-IA bill, the goal of which would focus on the NASA-University partnership, and which could benefit UCB (EUVE), Harvard (SWAS), and other universities. The EUVE Project has made it clear to Senator Feinstein and the University of California that it is not interested in an EUVE-specific earmark as this would be counter to the decision of the NASA Senior Review. We are, however, interested in increasing the total FY01 research funding for NASA missions in general, with the hope that some of the additional funds might find their way to support EUVE. Provided the national budget is passed in a timely manner, the EUVE Project is expecting to know its ultimate fate within the next few weeks. 2.2 Science Highlights ---------------------- EUVE science highlights for the third quarter of 1999 are: September 8, 2000 o EUVE and Chandra Team Discover Charge Exchange Emission from Comet LINEAR o First with EUVE: Observation of Sharp Turn-on in Flux between Her X-1 Short High and Low States o EUVE Catches OY Car in Superoutburst o EUVE Results from XTE J1118+480 Details and previous months' highlights are available at: http://www.cea.berkeley.edu/~science/html/Resources_high.html 2.3 Recent EUVE Data Releases ----------------------------- Following is a list of EUVE data sets released over the third quarter of 2000. Where multiple datasets for the same target are released, only one listing is shown here with the last observation date and total ksecs. For full releases prior to this see http://www.cea.berkeley.edu/~science/html/Archive_pointed_newrelease.html You may search for and download data sets from http://www.cea.berkeley.edu/~science/html/Archive_pointed_order.html September 2000 Object Name Obs Date RA (J2000) Dec (J2000) ks Observer ----------- -------- ---------- ----------- --- -------- ACO 0950 Dec 27 1999 10 14 21.12 +49 41 16.80 4 C.S. BOWYER ACO 1366 Dec 27 1999 11 45 24.48 +67 17 24.00 51 C.S. BOWYER II PEG Nov 1 1999 23 55 03.75 +28 38 01.19 152 D. BUZASI TON S 180 Nov 12 1999M 00 57 19.00 -22 22 59.00 477 R. EDELSON August 2000 Object Name Obs Date RA (J2000) Dec (J2000) ks Observer ----------- -------- ---------- ----------- --- -------- 2EUVE J0443-037 Dec 19 1999 04 43 07.10 -03 46 49.00 63 J. DUPUIS II PEG Oct 21 1999 23 55 03.75 +28 38 01.19 175 D. BUZASI TON S 180 Dec 14 1999 00 57 19.00 -22 22 59.00 52 R. EDELSON July 2000 Object Name Obs Date RA (J2000) Dec (J2000) ks Observer ----------- -------- ---------- ----------- --- -------- 3C 345 Jun 24 1999 16 43 38.40 +39 52 08.40 172 C.S. BOWYER HD 223816 Sep 22 1999 23 53 04.20 -70 23 28.01 128 M. BURLEIGH 2.4 Recent EUVE Publications ---------------------------- The full EUVE bibliography (1978 to present) is available at: http://www.cea.berkeley.edu/~science/html/Resources_pubs_euvebib.html Following is citation and abstract information for all known publications released over the third quarter (July through September) of 2000. Abstracts of these papers are available at the NASA Astrophysics Data System: http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html. Late-Type Stars --------------- Extreme-Ultraviolet Flare Activity in Late-Type Stars, M. Audard, M. Guedel, J.J. Drake, V.L. Kashyap, ApJ, 541, p. 396, September 2000. High-Resolution X-Ray Spectra of Capella: Initial Results from the Chandra High-Energy Transmission Grating Spectrometer, C.R. Canizares, D.P. Huenemoerder, D.S. Davis, D. Dewey, K.A. Flanagan, J. Houck, T.H. Markert, H.L. Marshall, M.L. Schattenburg, N.S. Schulz, M. Wise, J.J. Drake, and N.S. Brickhouse, ApJ Letters, 539, p. 41, August 2000. White Dwarfs ------------ The Discovery of Photospheric Phosphorus and Iron in the Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer Spectrum of the Hot DA White Dwarf GD 394, P. Chayer, J.W. Kruk, T.B. Ake, A.K. Dupree, R.F. Malina, O.H.W. Siegmund, G. Sonneborn, and R.G. Ohl, ApJ Letters, 538, p. 91, July 2000. Adding More Mysteries to the DA White Dwarf GD 394, J. Dupuis, P. Chayer, S. Vennes, D.J. Christian, and J.W. Kruk, ApJ, 537, p. 977, July 2000. Spectroscopic Confirmation of a White Dwarf Companion to the B Star 16 Dra, M.R. Burleigh and M.A. Barstow, A&A, 359, p. 977, July 2000. Early-Type Stars ---------------- What is the Nature of the Spectroscopic Companion of the Early B Star lambda Scorpii? T.W. Berghöfer, S. Vennes, and J. Dupuis, ApJ, 538, p. 854, August 2000. Neutron Stars and LMXBs ----------------------- An EUVE observation of the Globular Cluster NGC 1851: the Second EUV Detection of a Low Mass X-ray Binary? P.J. Callanan, J.J. Drake, A. Fruscione, and D. Christian, A&A, 360, p. 559, August 2000. Extreme Ultraviolet Explorer Observations of PSR B0656+14, J. Edelstein, K. Seon, A. Golden, and K. Min, ApJ, 539, p. 902, August 2000. The X-Ray Transient XTE J1118+480: Multiwavelength Observations of a Low-State Minioutburst, R.I. Hynes, C.W. Mauche, C.A. Haswell, C.R. Shrader, W. Cui, W, and S. Chaty, ApJ Letters, 539, p. 37, August 2000. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- The EUVE Electronic Newsletter is issued by the Center for Extreme Ultraviolet Astrophysics, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA. The opinions expressed are those of the authors. EUVE Principal Investigator and Newsletter Publisher: Dr. Roger F. Malina. EUVE Newsletter Editor: Jennifer Cullison. Funded by NASA/UCB Cooperative Agreement NCC5-138. Send newsletter correspondence to ceanews@cea.berkeley.edu. The EUVE project is managed for NASA by UCB: Dr. Roger F. Malina, EUVE Observatory Director; Drs. Brian Flynn and Jean Dupuis, EUVE Observatory Deputy Directors; Mr. Brett Stroozas, EUVE Project Manager; Mr. Rob Nevitt, EUVE Operations Manager. NASA HQ: Dr. Guenter Riegler, Program Manager. EUVE Science Advisory Board: Dr. Steve Howell (Chair). END-----------EUVE------------ELECTRONIC---------------NEWS-------------END