Vol 32, No 6 (2016)

The effect of high-speed recurrent solar wind streams from coronal holes on the galactic cosmic rays intensity is investigated. The distribution of galactic cosmic rays for different solar cycles is considered based on the data of the world network of neutron monitors. Within the inhomogeneous model, which includes a homogeneous background and regions of high-speed streams (HSS’s), the transport equation has been solved and the effect of HSS’s on the spatial distribution of galactic cosmic rays is estimated. It is shown that theoretical calculations are agreed with the experimental results obtained for 2000–2014 under different assumptions about the mean free path of cosmic rays in the corresponding period of HSS’s.

The high-mass star-forming region IRAS 17333-3606 has been mapped in the ¹³CO (J = 2–1) and C¹⁸O (J = 2–1) lines in the submillimeter wavelength range using the APEX (Chile) radio telescope. The analysis of the low-velocity part of the molecular outflow has been carried out, and the main parameters of the outflow have been determined. We have used a novel approach for calculating parameters of the low-velocity part of bipolar molecular outflows in molecular clouds. The approach excludes the influence of the surrounding cloud on the parameters of the outflow. The mass of the low-velocity part is much greater than that of the high-velocity part of the molecular outflow, while their energies are comparable. The core of the young stellar object is significantly deformed by the impact of the bipolar outflow.

From our investigation of the behavior of changes in the visible brightness of Jupiter observed since 1850, it follows that the 22.3-year Hale magnetic cycle of solar activity produces the dominating influence on the processes taking place in the troposphere at a level of forming the upper boundary of clouds. The maximum values of the integral brightness of Jupiter fall on the solar cycle with the highest value of the Wolf number for the last 165 years (around 1957). The lowest estimates of brightness were obtained in 1855, when the Wolf number in the 12th solar-activity cycle was smallest. The analysis of the reflectance of Jupiter’s hemispheres in the visible spectral range for 1962–2015 revealed the alternating increase in the brightness of southern and northern tropical and middle regions for one rotation period of Jupiter about the Sun. Such a change in brightness and the increase in the activity of different hemispheres of the planet may indicate the periodic global alteration in the circulation system, the structure of cloud layers, and the overcloud haze. This suggests the interrelation between the observed variations in the reflectance of the considered latitudinal belts of Jupiter and the change in the axial tilts of the planet itself and its magnetic field to the orbital plane, i.e., the seasonal alteration in the atmosphere. The comparison of the temporal dependence of the activity factor A_j of the Jovian hemispheres in the visible spectral range with the change in the solar-activity index R shows that, from 1962 to 1995, these parameters almost synchronously changed, though the response of the visible cloud layer somewhat lagged behind the regime of exposure of the atmosphere to the Sun. The analysis shows that, when the planet is moving along the orbit, the reflectance of Jupiter’s hemispheres varies in response to the 21-percent change in the exposure of different hemispheres with a lag of 6 years. Such a lag coincides with the radiation- relaxation time of the hydrogen–helium atmosphere under the Jovian conditions. Desynchronization in their behavior that occurred after 1997 may be explained by the unbalanced influence of the three mentioned causes on the atmosphere of the planet.

The results of an analysis of the north–south asymmetry in solar activity and solar magnetic fields are reported. The analysis is based on solar mean magnetic field and solar polar magnetic field time series, 1975–2015 (http://wso.stanford.edu), and the Greenwich sunspot data, 1875–2015 (http://solarscience.msfc.nasa.gov/greenwch.shtml). A long-term cycle (small-scale magnetic fields, toroidal component) of ~140 years is identified in the north–south asymmetry in solar activity by analyzing the cumulative sum of the time series for the north–south asymmetry in the area of sunspots. A comparative analysis of the variations in the cumulative sums of the time series composed of the daily values of the sun’s global magnetic field and in the asymmetry of the daily sunspot data over the time interval 1975–2015 shows that the photospheric large-scale magnetic fields may also have a similar long-term cycle. The variations in the asymmetry of large-scale and small-scale solar magnetic fields (sunspot area) are in sync until 2005.5 and in antiphase since then.

Astrometric CCD observations of stars with large proper motions were carried out during 2008–2014 using telescopes of the Nikolaev Astronomical Observatory. A catalog of positions and proper motion of 1596 fast stars with proper motions exceeding 150 mas/yr has been compiled based on observation results. The catalog covers the declination zone from 0° to 65°. The standard error of derived proper motion is 1…10 mas/yr for both coordinates depending on the observational history of the star. Data from eight different star catalogs and surveys have been used to derive proper motion. The comparison results of proper motion with data from modern catalogs and results of the statistical test for the detection of possible invisible components are given.