文档介绍：Nuclear Physics B (Proc. Suppl.) 14B (1990) 3-22
North-Holland
ASTROMAG: CURRENT CAPABILITIES AND STATUS
Louis M. BARBIER, Eric R. CHRISTIAN#, and Jonathan F. ORMES
NASA/ Goddard Space Flight Center, Code 661, Greenbelt, MD 20771 USA
e F. SMOOT III
Unviersity of California, Berkeley, CA 94720 USA
NASA and ASI are planning to place a large superconducting ,
Astromag, on the Space Station Freedom in the late 1990's. Astromag has
been designed as primarily acosmic ray astrophysics facility , but it could
also be used for any investigation which can make use of a large volume,
high intensity ic field in a microgravity enviroment. This paper
describes the facility and the first set of astrophysical problems to be
investigated .
1 . INTRODUCTION great observatories (HUBBLE, GRO, AXAF, and
We are now living in an era of SIRTF) will soon produce a greatly magnified
unparalled discovery in astronomy and image of our universe in photon light. Many
astrophysics . Prior to the twentieth of these studies of extraterrestrial
century, the science of astronomy was based ic radiations originate from
solely on observations of visible light. interactions of the most energetic of all
Charged particle astronomy was born in the quanta striking the atmosphere of earth,
1920's and 30's and later gave birth to high namely the ionized particles known as
energy particle physics. In the decades since cosmic rays . The cosmic rays are intimately
World War II, the boundaries of the explored connected with photon astronomy - cosmic
spectrum have been expanded to all those rays produce radiations at opposite ends of
radiations unobservable by eye. With the the ic spectrum, namely
opening of these new windows on the synchrotron radio waves and gamma rays.
universe, our views and understanding have The cosmic rays heat interstellar gas and
expanded greatly . We have been fortunate are an important dynamical constituent of
enough to see sophisticated instrume