IUE low dispersion observations were made of the T(sub c)-deficient peculiar red giant (PRG) star, HDE 332077, to test the hypothesis that T(sub c)-poor PRG's are formed as a result of mass transfer from a binary companion rather than from internal thermal pulsing while on the asymptotic red giant branch. Previous ground-based observations of this star indicated that it is a binary, but the secondary star was too massive for an expected white dwarf. A deep, short wavelength prime (SWP) exposure was needed to search for evidence of an A-type main-sequence companion. We obtained a 120 minute LWP exposure (LWP 23479), followed by a collaborative 1230 minute SWP exposure (SWP 45113). These observations were combined with our earlier IUE and optical data on this PRG star to model the spectral energy distribution of the system.
The Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer is a NASA Origins mission launched in June 1999 to obtain high-resolution spectra of astronomical sources at far-ultraviolet wavelengths. The science objectives require the satellite to provide inertial pointing at arbitrary positions on the sky with sub-arcsecond accuracy and stability. The requirements were met using a combination of ring-laser gyroscopes, three-axis magnetometers, and a fine error sensor for attitude knowledge, and reaction wheels for attitude control. Magnetic torquer bars are used for momentum management of the reaction wheels, and coarse sun sensors for safe mode pointing. The gyroscopes are packaged as two coaligned inertial reference units of three orthogonal gyroscopes each. There are four reaction wheels: three oriented along orthogonal axes, the fourth skewed at equal angles (54.7°) with respect to the others. Early in the mission the gyroscopes began showing signs of aging more rapidly than expected, and one failed after two years of operation. In addition, two of the orthogonal wheels failed in late 2001. The flight software has been modified to employ the torquer bars in conjunction with the two remaining wheels to provide fine pointing control. Additional new flight software is under development to provide attitude control if both gyroscopes fail on one or more axes. Simulations indicate that the pointing requirements will still be met, though with some decrease in observing efficiency. We will describe the new attitude control system, compare performance characteristics before and after the reaction wheel failures, and present predicted performance without gyroscopes.
Several lines of evidence point to a scenario in which Tc-poor S stars are the cooler analogs to the Ba II stars, i.e. they are binary systems where the peculiar atmospheric composition of the primary star is due to mass accreted from a secondary star long ago. Cases have been found where such S stars have WD or main-sequence companions, but an increasing number are found to be in interactive, symbiotic-like systems. Evidence of wind shocks, gas-streaming, and/or accretion disks in these systems attest to the current proximity of the components and provide striking evidence that accretion can be an important mechanism in their chemical evolution. Interactive effects are not as prominent in Ba II stars, presumably because of the lack of a strong wind from the primary star.
The FUSE satellite employs innovative techniques for autonomous target acquisitions and fine pointing control. One of two Fine Error Sensors, incorporated in the optical path of the science instrument, provide the Instrument Data System computer with images, for target identification, and field star centroids, for fine pointing information to the spacecraft attitude control system. A suite of 'toolbox' functions has been developed to locate stars, selected and track on 'unknown' guide stars from the image, identify the star field, track preselected 'known' guide stars, follow moving targets, and provide pointing optimizations to fine- tune the centering of a target. After a maneuver to a new field, initial attitude is determined by identifying stars found in a 20' X 20' image. Identification is done by matching stars with an uploaded table of up to 200 objects selected from the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) Guide Star Catalog (GSC), ranging from V equals 9 to 13.5 mag., and typically covering a one degree field around the target. During identification, tracking is performed on unidentified stars in the image to prevent the satellite from drifting. A corrective slew is then commanded to place the target at the desired position. Tracking is then resumed on preselected guide stars. If desired, further fine alignment of the science apertures is performed by a target peakup using the FUV detectors. We discuss the target acquisition process; end-to- end performance; and problems encountered due to the limitations of the small field of view of the FES, HST GSC errors, and stray light in the telescope baffles.
We have obtained or retrieved IUE spectra for over 100 middle- and late-type giant and supergiant stars whose spectra indicate the presence of a hot component earlier than type F2. The hot companions are classified accurately by temperature class from their far-UV spectra. The interstellar extinction of each system and the relative luminosities of the components are derived from analysis of the UV and optical fluxes, using a grid of UV intrinsic colors for hot dwarfs. We find that there is fair agreement in general between current UV spectral classification and ground-based hot component types, in spite of the difficulties of assigning the latter. There are a few cases in which the cool component optical classifications disagree considerably with the temperature classes inferred from our analysis of UV and optical photometry. The extinction parameter agrees moderately well with other determinations of B-V color excess. Many systems are worthy of further study especially to establish their spectroscopic orbits. Further work is planned to estimate luminosities of the cool components from the data herein; in many cases, these luminosities' accuracies should be comparable to or exceed those of the Hipparcos parallaxes.
