A systematic search (Dow and Sykes 1988) for cometary dust trails in the Infrared Astronomical Satellite (IRAS) Sky Brightness Images (1988) resulted in the discovery of 466 sources (Dow et al. 1990) that are not in the IRAS Point Source Catalog (Version 2 1988) or in the IRAS Small Scale Structure Catalog (1988). Nearly all of the sources that were found are best explained as artificial satellites or pieces of Earth orbiting debris. This study addresses two questions. To what degrees have the Sky Brightness Images been contaminated by orbital debris? Second, can valuable information concerning the thermal characteristics of these sources be obtained by suitably analyzing IRAS data? Fifty-four sources, covering a range of positions and observed fluxes, were selected from the main sample to determine their angular motion, flux density and color temperature distributions. Four of these objects were correlated with known artificial satellites. (Abstract shortened with permission of author.)
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:arizona.edu/oai:arizona.openrepository.com:10150/278145 |
| Date | January 1992 |
| Creators | Dow, Kimberly Lynn, 1963- |
| Contributors | Low, Frank |
| Publisher | The University of Arizona. |
| Source Sets | University of Arizona |
| Language | en_US |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text, Thesis-Reproduction (electronic) |
| Rights | Copyright © is held by the author. Digital access to this material is made possible by the University Libraries, University of Arizona. Further transmission, reproduction or presentation (such as public display or performance) of protected items is prohibited except with permission of the author. |
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