Anthony J. Weitenbeck

Ultraviolet Interstellar Polarization of Galactic Starlight.I.Observations by the Wisconsin Ultraviolet Photo Polarimeter Experiment

The Wisconsin Ultraviolet Photo Polarimeter Experiment (WUPPE) ew twice as part of NASAs Astro Spacelab missions in 1990 December and 1995 March. A systematic survey of the interstellar polarization in the ultraviolet was one of the main projects on both ights. The program was carefully crafted to 1) sample the galactic plane as uniformly as practicable, 2) explore sight lines of diverse chemical composition and morphology, and 3) measure the shape of the UV polarization through the full range of known wavelengths of peak polarization in the optical. We present here Astro-2 data for 20 previously unobserved sight lines and combine these with previously published UV data and with optical observations from the University of Wisconsins ground based facilities and elsewhere. We thus have spectropolarimetry from 1500 A to 10,000 A for 35 galactic objects in which the polarization appears to be dominated by the interstellar component. The extrapolation of the empirical Serkowski formula based only on visual data does not provide a reliable representation of the UV polarization. We nd that there are substantial diierences in the amount of UV polarization relative to that in the visual. This may indicate that the small and large aligned grain populations are somewhat independent and this may in turn provide a new diagnostic of varying conditions in the interstellar medium. Finally there are several cases in which the UV polarization is enhanced in the 2000 A to 3000 A range.

Some Low-Polarization B Stars

We present polarimetry of three B stars with very low interstellar polarization that may be useful in testing whether there is intrinsic linear polarization in B stars of moderate rotation rate in the UV.

Ultraviolet Spectropolarimetry of Classical Novae in Outburst: Evidence for Aspherical Ejecta

We used the Wisconsin Ultraviolet Photo-Polarimeter Experiment during the Astro-2 mission aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavour, to obtain ultraviolet spectropolarimetry of three classical novae that had recently gone into outburst. All three novae appear to have intrinsic polarization, with polarization changes across emission lines. This result indicates that, geometrically, the ejecta were quite aspherical.

Angular momentum conservation in double star orbits: A laboratory exercise

Kepler’s second law, which is a geometrical statement of conservation of angular momentum, is true for double star orbits. Since this can be shown using tabulated and plotted observational data and simple measuring devices it can be done as an exercise by students in introductory astronomy or physics courses.