===================================================================== ==> in this proposal, more time is being requested for tbania.tmb_2 ===================================================================== large-scale surveys of the galactic plane indicate that most of the molecular gas in the galaxy is translucent. chemical models of translucent clouds indicate that they are the transition objects between clouds with most of their carbon in atomic form and most of their carbon in co: translucent clouds are the simplest clouds in which molecules exist in abundance and where photoprocesses dominate their chemistry. only at high galactic latitudes are translucent clouds easily detected. we have begun a program to study the photochemistry of carbon and the major tracers of its chemical phases co, ci, and cii, as well as dust, in a sample of translucent high latitude clouds. according to chemical models, the c+ column density in homogeneous translucent clouds should be similar to that of ci. although we are using the antarctic submillimeter telescope and remote observatory (ast/ro) to add ci observations of high latitude gas to the existing co database, c+ observations are entirely missing. we propose to conduct a detailed study of the translucent high latitude cloud g294.4-14.3 with iso. we wish to map the fine structure line of cii on a grid of points which extends from the mostly molecular central regions of the cloud to its photodissociated edges, where the volume filling factor of c+ is expected to be the highest. in addition, we wish to make sensitive measurements of the dust continuum at 120, 160, and 200 microns in order to infer the opacity of the dust, which heats the gas and shields it from uv radiation. combined with existing and planned observations of ci and co in the cloud, these measurements will for the first time make it possible to observationally constrain the carbon photochemistry of translucent molecular gas.
Instrument
LWS02 , PHT22
Temporal Coverage
1997-10-31T22:32:53Z/1997-12-10T16:44:52Z
Version
1.0
Mission Description
The Infrared Space Observatory (ISO) was the worlds first true orbiting infrared observatory. Equipped with four highly-sophisticated and versatile scientific instruments, it was launched by Ariane in November 1995 and provided astronomers world-wide with a facility of unprecedented sensitivity and capabilities for a detailed exploration of the Universe at infrared wavelengths.
European Space Agency, BANIA et al., 1999, 'SOUTHERN HEMISPHERE HIGH LATITUDE CLOUDS: CONSTRAINING THE CHEMISTRY OF TRANSLUCENT GAS', 1.0, European Space Agency, https://doi.org/10.5270/esa-0xjkt8p
