Deep surveys at mid-infared through submillimeter wavelengths indicate that a substantial fraction of the total luminosity output from galaxies at high redshift (z > 1) emerges at wavelengths 30 - 300 μm. In addition, much of the star formation and AGN activity associated with galaxy building at these epochs appears to reside in a class of luminous infrared galaxies (LIGs), often so heavily enshrouded in dust that they appear as 'blank-fields' in deep optical/UV surveys. Here we present an update on the state of our current knowledge of the cosmic evolution of LIGs from z = 0 to z ~ 4 based on the most recent data obtained from ongoing ground-based redshift surveys of sources detected in ISO and SCUBA deep fields. A scenario for the origin and evolution of LIGs in the local Universe (z < 0.3), based on results from multiwavelength observations of several large complete samples of luminous IRAS galaxies, is then discussed.

New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT), in collaboration with the University of Hawaii (UH), is upgrading Big Bear Solar Observatory (BBSO) by replacing its principal, 65 cm aperture telescope with a modern, off-axis 1.6 m clear aperture instrument from a 1.7 m blank. The new telescope offers a significant incremental improvement in ground-based infrared and high angular resolution capabilities, and enhances our continuing program to understand photospheric magneto-convection and chromospheric dynamics. These are the drivers for what is broadly called space weather - an important problem, which impacts human technologies and life on earth. This New Solar Telescope (NST) will use the existing BBSO pedestal, pier and observatory building, which will be modified to accept the larger open telescope structure. It will be operated together with our 10 inch (for larger field-of-view vector magnetograms, Ca II K and Ha observations) and Singer-Link (full disk Hα, Ca II K and white light) synoptic telescopes. The NST optical and software control design will be similar to the existing SOLARC (UH) and the planned Advanced Technology Solar Telescope (ATST) facility led by the National Solar Observatory (NSO) - all three are off-axis designs. The NST will be available to guest observers and will continue BBSO's open data policy. The polishing of the primary will be done in partnership with the University of Arizona Mirror Lab, where their proof-of-concept for figuring 8 m pieces of 20 m nighttime telescopes will be the NST's primary mirror. We plan for the NST's first light in late 2005. This new telescope will be the largest aperture solar telescope, and the largest aperture off-axis telescope, located in one of the best observing sites. It will enable new, cutting edge science. The scientific results will be extremely important to space weather and global climate change research.

There are terrestrial signatures of the solar activity cycle in ice core data (Ram & Stoltz 1999), but the variations in the sun's irradiance over the cycle seem too small to account for the signature (Lean 1997; Goode & Dziembowski 2003). Thus, one would expect that the signature must arise from an indirect effect(s) of solar activity. Such an indirect effect would be expected to manifest itself in the earth's reflectance. Further, the earth's climate depends directly on the albedo. Continuous observations of the earthshine have been carried out from Big Bear Solar Observatory since December 1998, with some more sporadic measurements made during the years 1994 and 1995. We have determined the annual albedos both from our observations and from simulations utilizing the Earth Radiation Budget Experiment (ERBE) scene model and various datasets for the cloud cover, as well as snow and ice cover. With these, we look for inter-annual and longer-term changes in the earth's total reflectance, or Bond albedo. We find that both our observations and simulations indicate that the albedo was significantly higher during 1994-1995 (activity minimum) than for the more recent period covering 1999-2001 (activity maximum). However, the sizes of the changes seem somewhat discrepant. Possible indirect solar influences on the earth's Bond albedo are discussed to emphasize that our earthshine data are already sufficiently precise to detect, if they occur, any meaningful changes in the earth's reflectance. Still greater precision will occur as we expand our single site observations to a global network.

Changes in the earth's climate depend on changes in the net sunlight reaching us. The net depends on the sun's output and earth's reflectance, or albedo. Here we develop the limits on the changes in the sun's output in historical times based on the physics of the origin of solar cycle changes. Many have suggested that the sun's output could have been 0.5% less during the Maunder minimum, whereas the variation over the solar cycle is only about 0.1%. The frequencies of solar oscillations (f- and p-modes) evolve through the solar cycle, and provide the most exact measure of the cycle-dependent changes in the sun. But precisely what are they probing? The changes in the sun's output, structure and oscillation frequencies are driven by some combination of changes in the magnetic field, thermal structure and velocity field. It has been unclear what is the precise combination of the three. One way or another, this thorny issue rests on an understanding of the response of the solar structure to increased magnetic field, but this is complicated. Thus, we do not understand the origin of the sun's irradiance increase with increasing magnetic activity. Until recently, it seemed that an unphysically large magnetic field change was required to account for the frequency evolution during the cycle. However, the problem seems to have been solved (Dziembowski, Goode & Schou 2001) using f-mode data on size variations of the sun. From this and the work of Dziembowski & Goode (2003), we suggest that in historical times the sun couldn't be much dimmer than it is at activity minimum.

The phenomenon of electrical explosion of conductors is considered in the context of the changes in the energy and structural states of the metal at the stages of energy delivery and relaxation of the primary products of EEC. It is shown that these changes are related to the forced interaction of an intense energy flux with matter and to the subsequent spontaneous relaxation processes. The characteristics of nano-sized metal powders are also discussed.

In the present study, we have investigated morphology and evolution of small-scale Ha dynamic features on the quiet sun by analyzing video magnetograms and high resolution Ha images simultaneously taken for 5 hours at Big Bear Solar Observatory on April 18, 1997. From comparisons between time sequential longitudinal magnetograms and Hα images covering 150" × 150", several small-scale Hα dynamic features have been observed at a site of magnetic flux cancellation. A close relationship between such features and cancelling magnetic fluxes has been revealed temporarily and spatially. Our results support that material injection by chromospheric magnetic reconnect ion may be essential in supporting numerous small-scale Hα dynamical absorption features, being in line with recent observational studies showing that material injection by chromospheric magnetic reconnect ion is essential for the formation of solar filaments.

CCD observations in V, I and Hα for NGC 3389 are used to present photometry of 61 HII regions. Their positions, diameters and absolute luminosities have been determined. The luminosity and size distribution functions of the HII regions in NGC 3389 are discussed.

The feasibility of obtaining highly dispersed aluminum oxide powders by the electrical explosion of aluminum conductors in an inert gas atmosphere and the subsequent oxidation of aluminum particles by water prior to their contact with air is demonstrated. For a specific surface area of the initial aluminum powder of 6.5/g, the corresponding specific surface area of the resultant aluminum oxide nanopowder was as large as 300/g.

Phase contents and elemental composition of ultradispersed powders obtained by the electrical explosion of tin-leadalloy powders are investigated. It is demonstrated that during the explosion and subsequent cooling, surface layers of powder particles are enriched in lead compared to the initial alloy. The thermal stability of powders oxidizing in air is also investigated.