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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQS);faqs.512



    You might also want the companion volume, by Snyder and Philip Voxland,
    "An Album of Map Projections", USGS Professional Paper 1453. This
    contains less detail on about 130 projections and variants. Formulas are
    in the back, example plots in the front. $14, 250 pages.

    You can order these 2 ways. The cheap, slow way is direct from USGS:
    Earth Science Information Center, US Geological Survey, 507 National
    Center, Reston, VA 22092. (800)-USA-MAPS. They can quote you a price and
    tell you where to send your money. Expect a 6-8 week turnaround time.

    A much faster way (about 1 week) is through Timely Discount Topos,
    (303)-469-5022, 9769 W. 119th Drive, Suite 9, Broomfield, CO 80021. Call
    them and tell them what you want. They'll quote a price, you send a
    check, and then they go to USGS Customer Service Counter and pick it up
    for you. Add about a $3-4 service charge, plus shipping.

    A (perhaps more accessible) mapping article is:

    R. Miller and F. Reddy, "Mapping the World in Pascal",
    Byte V12 #14, December 1987

    Contains Turbo Pascal procedures for five common map projections. A
    demo program, CARTOG.PAS, and a small (6,000 point) coastline data
    is available on CompuServe, GEnie, and many BBSs.

    Some references for spherical trignometry are:

    _Spherical Astronomy_, W.M. Smart, Cambridge U. Press, 1931.

    _A Compendium of Spherical Astronomy_, S. Newcomb, Dover, 1960.

    _Spherical Astronomy_, R.M. Green, Cambridge U. Press., 1985 (update
    of Smart).

    _Spherical Astronomy_, E Woolard and G.Clemence, Academic
    Press, 1966.


    PERFORMING N-BODY SIMULATIONS EFFICIENTLY

    "Computer Simulation Using Particles"
    R. W. Hockney and J. W. Eastwood
    (Adam Hilger; Bristol and Philadelphia; 1988)

    "The rapid evaluation of potential fields in particle systems",
    L. Greengard
    MIT Press, 1988.

        A breakthrough O(N) simulation method. Has been parallelized.

    L. Greengard and V. Rokhlin, "A fast algorithm for particle
    simulations," Journal of Computational Physics, 73:325-348, 1987.

    "An O(N) Algorithm for Three-dimensional N-body Simulations", MSEE
    thesis, Feng Zhao, MIT AILab Technical Report 995, 1987

    "Galactic Dynamics"
    J. Binney & S. Tremaine
    (Princeton U. Press; Princeton; 1987)

        Includes an O(N^2) FORTRAN code written by Aarseth, a pioneer in
        the field.

    Hierarchical (N log N) tree methods are described in these papers:

    A. W. Appel, "An Efficient Program for Many-body Simulation", SIAM
    Journal of Scientific and Statistical Computing, Vol. 6, p. 85,
    1985.

    Barnes & Hut, "A Hierarchical O(N log N) Force-Calculation
    Algorithm", Nature, V324 # 6096, 4-10 Dec 1986.

    L. Hernquist, "Hierarchical N-body Methods", Computer Physics
    Communications, Vol. 48, p. 107, 1988.


    INTERPRETING THE FITS IMAGE FORMAT

    If you just need to examine FITS images, use the ppm package (see the
    comp.graphics FAQ) to convert them to your preferred format. Failing
    that, the basic reference for FITS may be found in the following 3
    papers:

    Wells, D. C., Greisen, E. W., and Harten, R. H., "FITS: a
    flexible image transport system," Astronomy and Astrophysics
    Supplement Series, 44, 363-370, 1981.

    Grosbol, P., Harten, R. H., Greisen, E. W., and Wells, D. C.,
    "Generalized extensions and blocking factors for FITS,"
    Astronomy and Astrophysics Supplement Series, 73, 359-364, 1988

    Harten, R. H., Grosbol. P., Greisen, E. W., and Wells, D. C.,
    "The FITS tables extension, Astronomy and Astrophysics
    Supplement Series, 73, 365-372, 1988.

    A DRAFT document describing FITS and the Floating Point Agreement
    defining FP storage formats is available by anonymous FTP from
    nssdca.gsfc.nasa.gov (128.183.36.23). Get ANON_DIR:[FITS]README.;1 to
    begin with. There are known to be errors and ambiguities in this
    document, so it should not be used as a fundamental reference. Questions
    should be sent by email to the FITS support office
    ([e-mail]) or telephone at (301)-513-1634

    A FORTRAN library for reading and writing FITS files is available by
    anonymous FTP from tetra.gsfc.nasa.gov (128.183.8.77) in directory
    pub/fitsio3. Contact the author, William Pence
    ([e-mail]) for more details.


    SKY (UNIX EPHEMERIS PROGRAM)

    The 6th Edition of the Unix operating system came with several software
    systems not distributed because of older media capacity limitations.
    Included were an ephmeris, a satellite track, and speech synthesis
    software. The ephmeris, sky(6), is available within AT&T and to sites
    possessing a Unix source code license. The program is regarded as Unix
    source code. Sky is <0.5MB. Send proof of source code license to

    E. Miya
    MS 258-5
    NASA Ames Research Center
    Moffett Field, CA 94035-1000
    [e-mail]


    THREE-DIMENSIONAL STAR/GALAXY COORDINATES

    To generate 3D coordinates of astronomical objects, first obtain an
    astronomical database which specifies right ascension, declination, and
    parallax for the objects. Convert parallax into distance using the
    formula in part 6 of the FAQ, convert RA and declination to coordinates
    on a unit sphere (see some of the references on planetary positions and
    spherical trignometry earlier in this section for details on this), and
    scale this by the distance.

    Two databases useful for this purpose are the Yale Bright Star catalog
    (sources listed in FAQ section 3) or "The Catalogue of Stars within 25
    parsecs of the Sun" (in pub/SPACE/FAQ/stars.data and stars.doc on
    ames.arc.nasa.gov).


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From: [e-mail] (Jon Leech)
Newsgroups: sci.astro,sci.space,news.answers
Subject: Space FAQ 07/15 - Astronomical Mnemonics
Keywords: Frequently Asked Questions
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Archive-name: space/mnemonics
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ASTRONOMICAL MNEMONICS (This is the last FAQ section posted to sci.astro)

    Gathered from various flurries of mnemonic postings on sci.astro.

    Spectral classification sequence: O B A F G K M R N S

    Oh Be A Fine Girl Kiss Me Right Now, Sweetheart. (a classic)

    O'Dell's Big Astronomical Fiasco Gonna Kill Me Right Now Surely
    Obese Balding Astronomy Found Guilty; Killed Many Reluctant
        Nonscience Students.
    Octopus Brains, A Favorite Gastronomical Kitchen Menu,
        Requires No Sauce
    Odd Ball Astronomers Find Generally Kooky Mnemonics
        Really Nifty Stuff
    Oh Big And Ferocious Gorilla, Kill My Roomate Next Saturday
    Oh Boy, A Flash! Godzilla Kills Mothra! Really Not Surprising!
    Oh Boy, An F Grade Kills Me
    On Bad Afternoons Fermented Grapes Keep Mrs. Richard Nixon Smiling
    On, Backward Astronomer, Forget Geocentricity; Kepler's Motions
        Reveal Nature's Simplicity
    Our Bad Astronomy Faculty Gets Killed Monday
    Oven Baked Ants, Fried Gently, Kept Moist, Retain Natural Succulence
    Overseas Broadcast: A Flash!  Godzilla kills Mothra!
        (Rodan Named Successor)
    Overweight Boys and Fat Girls Keep Munching
    Only Bored Astronomers Find Gratification Knowing Mnemonics
    Oh Bloody Astronomy!  F Grades Kill Me

    Order of the planets:

    Sun
    Mercury
    Venus
    Earth (Terra)
    Mars
    (Asteroids)
    Jupiter
    Saturn
    Uranus
    Neptune
    Pluto

    My Very Earnest Mother Just Served Us Nine Pizzas
    Mother Very Thoughtfully Made A Jelly Sandwich Under No Protest
    My Very Erotic Mate Joyfully Satisfies Unusual Needs Passionately
    Men Very Easily Make Jugs Serve Useful Nocturnal Purposes
    Man Very Early Made A Jug Serve Useful Noble Purposes
    My Very Educated Mother Just Showed Us Nine Planets
    My Very Eager Mother Just Showed Us Nine Planets
    My Very Exhausted Mother hAs Just Swept Up a Planetary Nebula
    Most Voters Earn Money Just Showing Up Near Polls
    My Very Educated Mother Just Served Us Nine Pizza-pies
    Many Viscious Elephants Made John, Suzy and Uncle Need Protection
    Solar Mass Very Easily Makes All Jupiter's Satellites Undergo
        Numerous Perturbations.

    Mein Vater erklaert mir jeden Sonntag unsere niedlichen Planeten
        (My Father explains to me every Sunday our nine planets)
    Man verachte einen Menschen in seinem Unglueck nie -- Punkt
        (Never scorn/despise a person in his misfortune/bad luck/misery
        -- period!)

    Colors of the spectrum: Red Orange Yellow Green Blue Indigo Violet
    ROY G. BIV  (pronounce as a man's name)
    Richard Of York Gave Battle In Vain
    Read Out Your Good Book In Verse

    Galilean Satellite of Jupiter: Io Europa Ganymede Callisto
    I Expect God Cries
    I Eat Green Cheese
    I Embarrass Good Christians

    Ich erschrecke all guten Christen
        (I scare all good Christians)

    Saturnian Satellites
    MET DR THIP
    Miriam's Enchiladas Taste Divine Recently. Tell Her I'm Proud.
    (Mimas, Enceladus, Tethys, Dione, Rhea, Titan, Hyperion,
        Iapetus, Phoebe)

    Uranian Satellites:
    MAUTO
    Mispronunciations Afflict Uranus Too Often
    My Angel Uriel Takes Opium
    (Miranda, Ariel, Umbriel, Titania, Oberon)

NOTE: the remaining FAQ sections do not appear in sci.astro, as they cover
    material of relevance only to sci.space.

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From: [e-mail] (Jon Leech)
Newsgroups: sci.astro,sci.space,news.answers
Subject: Space FAQ 02/15 - Network Resources
Keywords: Frequently Asked Questions
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Archive-name: space/net
Last-modified: $Date: 92/12/02 12:34:45 $

NETWORK RESOURCES

OVERVIEW

    You may be reading this document on any one of an amazing variety of
    computers, so much of the material below may not apply to you. In
    general, however, systems connected to 'the net' fall in one of three
    categories: Internet, Usenet, or BITNET. Electronic mail may be sent
    between these networks, and other resources available on one of these
    networks are sometimes accessible from other networks by email sent to
    special 'servers'.

    The space and astronomy discussion groups actually are composed of
    several mechanisms with (mostly) transparent connections between them.

    One mechanism is the mailing list, in which mail is sent to a central
    distribution point which relays it to all recipients of the list. In
    addition to the general lists for space (called SPACE Digest for
    Internet users, and SPACE on BITNET), there are a number of more
    specialized mailing lists described below.

    A second mechanism is Usenet 'netnews'. This is somewhat like a bulletin
    board operating on each system which is a part of the net. Netnews
    separates contributions into hundreds of different categories based on a
    'group name'. The groups dealing most closely with space topics are
    called 'sci.space.news', 'sci.space', 'sci.space.shuttle', 'sci.astro',
    and 'talk.politics.space'. Contributors 'post' submissions (called
    'articles' in netnews terminology) on their local machine, which sends
    it to other nearby machines. Similarly, articles sent from nearby
    machines are stored locally and may be forwarded to other systems, so
    that an article is posted locally and eventually reaches all the Usenet
    sites interested in receiving the news group to which the article was
    posted.

    Gateway machines redirect the Usenet sci.space group into Internet and
    BITNET mailing lists and vice versa; the other Usenet groups are not
    accessible as mailing lists. If you can receive netnews, its more
    flexible interface and access to a wider range of material usually make
    it the preferred option.

MAILING LISTS

    SPACE Digest is the main Internet list, and is now being run by the
    International Space University (in only its second change of management
    in over a decade). Email [e-mail] (message body
    should be in the format 'subscribe space John Public') to join. Note
    that the moderated SPACE Magazine list is defunct at present for lack of
    a moderator. Old copies of SPACE Digest since its inception in 1981 are
    available by anonymous FTP. Retrieve
    julius.cs.qub.ac.uk:pub/SpaceDigestArchive/README
    for further details.

    Elements is a moderated list for fast distribution of Space Shuttle
    Keplerian Elements before and during Shuttle flights. NASA two line
    elements are sent out on the list from Dr. Kelso, JSC, and other sources
    as they are released. Email to [e-mail] to join.

    Space-investors is a list for information relevant to investing in
    space-related companies. Email Vincent Cate ([e-mail]) to join.

    Space-tech is a list for more technical discussion of space topics;
    discussion has included esoteric propulsion technologies, asteroid
    capture, starflight, orbital debris removal, etc. Email to
    [e-mail] to join. Archives of old digests and
    selected excerpts are available by anonymous FTP from
    gs80.sp.cs.cmu.edu (128.2.205.90) in /usr/anon/public/space-tech,
    or by email to space-tech-request if you don't have FTP access.

    SEDS-L is a BITNET list for members of Students for the Exploration and
    Development of Space and other interested parties. Email
    [e-mail] with a message saying "SUBSCRIBE SEDS-L your
    name". Email saying "INDEX SEDS-L" to list the archive contents.

    SEDSNEWS is a BITNET list for news items, press releases, shuttle status
    reports, and the like. This duplicates material which is also found in
    Space Digest, sci.space, sci.space.shuttle, and sci.astro. Email
    [e-mail] saying "SUBSCRIBE SEDSNEWS your name" to join.
    Email saying "INDEX SEDSNEWS" to list the archive contents.

    Ron Baalke ([e-mail]) runs a mailing list which
    carries the contents of the sci.space.news Usenet group. Email him
    to join the list.

    As a general note, please mail to the *request* address to get off a
    mailing list. SPACE Digest, for example, relays many inappropriate
    'please remove me from this list' messages which are sent to the list
    address rather than the request address.

PERIODICALLY UPDATED INFORMATION

    In addition to this FAQ list, a broad variety of topical information is
    posted to the net (unless otherwise noted, in the new group
    sci.space.news created for this purpose). Please remember that the
    individuals posting this information are performing a service for all
    net readers, and don't take up their time with frivolous requests.

    ACRONYMS
    Garrett Wollman ([e-mail]) posts an acronym list around the
    first of each month.

    ASTRO-FTP LIST
    Veikko Makela ([e-mail]) posts a monthly list of
    anonymous FTP servers containing astronomy and space related
    material to sci.space and sci.astro.

    AVIATION WEEK
    Henry Spencer ([e-mail]) posts summaries of
    space-related stories in the weekly _Aviation Week and Space
    Technology_.

    BUYING TELESCOPES
    Ronnie Kon ([e-mail]) posts a guide to buying telescopes to
    sci.astro.

    ELECTRONIC JOURNAL OF THE ASA
    Don Barry ([e-mail]) posts the monthly Electronic Journal
    of the Astronomical Society of the Atlantic to sci.astro.

    FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL
    Swaraj Jeyasingh ([e-mail]) posts summaries of
    space-related news from _Flight International_. This focuses more on
    non-US space activities than Aviation Week.

    LARGE ASTRONOMICAL PROJECTS
    Robert Bunge ([e-mail]) posts a list describing many
    "Large Telescope Projects Either Being Considered or in the Works"
    to sci.astro.

    NASA HEADLINE NEWS & SHUTTLE REPORTS
    Peter Yee ([e-mail]) posts a variety of NASA material,
    including NASA Headline News (with the schedule for NASA SELECT),
    shuttle payload briefings and flight manifests, and KSC shuttle
    status reports. For Usenet users, much of this material appears in
    the group sci.space.shuttle.

    NASA UPDATES
    Ron Baalke ([e-mail]) posts frequent updates from
    JPL, Ames, and other centers on the Ulysses, Gailileo, Pioneer,
    Magellan, Landsat, and other missions.

    ORBITAL ELEMENT SETS
    TS Kelso ([e-mail]) posts orbital elements from
    NASA Prediction Bulletins.

    Mike Rose ([e-mail]) posts orbital elements for the Hubble
    Space Telescope to sci.astro.

    Jost Jahn ([e-mail]) posts ephemerides for asteroids,
    comets, conjunctions, and encounters to sci.astro.

    SATELLITE LAUNCHES
    Richard Langley ([e-mail]) posts SPACEWARN Bulletin, which
    describes recent launch/orbital decay information and satellites
    which are useful for scientific activities. Recent bulletins are
    available by anonymous FTP from nssdca.gsfc.nasa.gov in
    ANON_DIR:[000000.ACTIVE.SPX].

    SHUTTLE MANIFEST
    Ken Hollis ([e-mail]) posts a compressed version
    of the Space Shuttle launch manifest to sci.space.shuttle. This
    includes dates, times, payloads, and information on how to see
    launches and landings.

    SOLAR ACTIVITY
    Cary Oler ([e-mail]) posts Solar Terrestrial reports
    (describing solar activity and its effect on the Earth) to
    sci.space. The report is issued in part from data released by the
    Space Enviroment Services Center, Boulder Colorado. The intro
    document needed to understand these reports is available by
    anonymous FTP from solar.stanford.edu (36.10.0.4) in
    pub/understanding_solar_terrestrial_reports. nic.funet.fi
    (128.214.6.100) also has this document in
    /pub/misc/rec.radio.shortwave/solarreports and is an archive site
    for the reports (please note this site is in Europe, and the
    connection to the US is only 56KB). A new primary archive site,
    xi.uleth.ca (142.66.3.29), has recently been established and will be
    actively supported.

    SOVIET SPACE ACTIVITIES
    Glenn Chapman ([e-mail]) posts summaries of Soviet space
    activities.

    SPACE ACTIVIST NEWSLETTER
    Allen Sherzer ([e-mail]) posts a newsletter, "One Small Step for
    a Space Activist," to talk.politics.space. It describes current
    legislative activity affecting NASA and commercial space activities.

    SPACE EVENTS CALENDAR
    Ron Baalke ([e-mail]) posts a calendar including
    anniversaries, conferences, launch dates, meteor showers and
    eclipses, and other space-related events.

    SPACE NEWS
    John Magliacane ([e-mail]) posts "SpaceNews" (covering
    AMSATs, NOAA and other weather satellites, and other ham
    information) to rec.radio.amateur.misc and sci.space.

    SPACE REPORT
    Jonathan McDowell ([e-mail]) posts "Jonathan's Space
    Report" covering launches, landings, reentries, status reports,
    satellite activities, etc.

    TOWARD 2001
    Bev Freed ([e-mail]) posts "Toward 2001", a weekly
    global news summary reprinted from _Space Calendar_ magazine.


WARNING ABOUT NON-PUBLIC NETWORKS

    (Included at the suggestion of Eugene Miya, who wrote the item)

    NASA has an internal system of unclassified electronic mail and bulletin
    boards. This system is not open for public use. Specifically, NASA
    personnel and procurement operations are regarded with some sensitivity.
    Contractors must renegotiate their contracts. The Fair and Open
    Procurement Act does not look kindly to those having inside information.
    Contractors and outsiders caught using this type of information can
    expect severe penalities. Unauthorized access attempts may subject you
    to a fine and/or imprisonment in accordance with Title 18, USC, Section
    1030. If in fact you should should learn of unauthorized access, contact
    NASA personnel.


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From: [e-mail] (Jon Leech)
Newsgroups: sci.space,news.answers
Subject: Space FAQ 11/15 - Upcoming Planetary Probes
Keywords: Frequently Asked Questions
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UPCOMING PLANETARY PROBES - MISSIONS AND SCHEDULES

    Information on upcoming or currently active missions not mentioned below
    would be welcome. Sources: NASA fact sheets, Cassini Mission Design
    team, ISAS/NASDA launch schedules, press kits.


    CASSINI - Saturn orbiter and Titan atmosphere probe. Cassini is a joint
    NASA/ESA project designed to accomplish an exploration of the Saturnian
    system with its Cassini Saturn Orbiter and Huygens Titan Probe. Cassini
    is scheduled for launch aboard a Titan IV/Centaur in October of 1997.
    After gravity assists of Venus, Earth and Jupiter in a VVEJGA
    trajectory, the spacecraft will arrive at Saturn in June of 2004. Upon
    arrival, the Cassini spacecraft performs several maneuvers to achieve an
    orbit around Saturn. Near the end of this initial orbit, the Huygens
    Probe separates from the Orbiter and descends through the atmosphere of
    Titan. The Orbiter relays the Probe data to Earth for about 3 hours
    while the Probe enters and traverses the cloudy atmosphere to the
    surface. After the completion of the Probe mission, the Orbiter
    continues touring the Saturnian system for three and a half years. Titan
    synchronous orbit trajectories will allow about 35 flybys of Titan and
    targeted flybys of Iapetus, Dione and Enceladus. The objectives of the
    mission are threefold: conduct detailed studies of Saturn's atmosphere,
    rings and magnetosphere; conduct close-up studies of Saturn's
    satellites, and characterize Titan's atmosphere and surface.

    One of the most intriguing aspects of Titan is the possibility that its
    surface may be covered in part with lakes of liquid hydrocarbons that
    result from photochemical processes in its upper atmosphere. These
    hydrocarbons condense to form a global smog layer and eventually rain
    down onto the surface. The Cassini orbiter will use onboard radar to
    peer through Titan's clouds and determine if there is liquid on the
    surface. Experiments aboard both the orbiter and the entry probe will
    investigate the chemical processes that produce this unique atmosphere.

    The Cassini mission is named for Jean Dominique Cassini (1625-1712), the
    first director of the Paris Observatory, who discovered several of
    Saturn's satellites and the major division in its rings. The Titan
    atmospheric entry probe is named for the Dutch physicist Christiaan
    Huygens (1629-1695), who discovered Titan and first described the true
    nature of Saturn's rings.

     Key Scheduled Dates for the Cassini Mission (VVEJGA Trajectory)
     -------------------------------------------------------------
       10/06/97 - Titan IV/Centaur Launch
       04/21/98 - Venus 1 Gravity Assist
       06/20/99 - Venus 2 Gravity Assist
       08/16/99 - Earth Gravity Assist
       12/30/00 - Jupiter Gravity Assist
       06/25/04 - Saturn Arrival
       01/09/05 - Titan Probe Release
       01/30/05 - Titan Probe Entry
       06/25/08 - End of Primary Mission
        (Schedule last updated 7/22/92)


    GALILEO - Jupiter orbiter and atmosphere probe, in transit. Has returned
    the first resolved images of an asteroid, Gaspra, while in transit to
    Jupiter. Efforts to unfurl the stuck High-Gain Antenna (HGA) are
    continuing, though eventual success appears less likely. If the HGA
    cannot be unfurled, JPL has developed a backup plan using data
    compression (JPEG-like for images, lossless compression for data from
    the other instruments) which should allow the mission to achieve
    approximately 70% of its objectives.

       Galileo Schedule
       ----------------
       10/18/89 - Launch from Space Shuttle
       02/09/90 - Venus Flyby
       10/**/90 - Venus Data Playback
       12/08/90 - 1st Earth Flyby
       05/01/91 - High Gain Antenna Unfurled
       07/91 - 06/92 - 1st Asteroid Belt Passage
       10/29/91 - Asteroid Gaspra Flyby
       12/08/92 - 2nd Earth Flyby
       05/93 - 11/93 - 2nd Asteroid Belt Passage
       08/28/93 - Asteroid Ida Flyby
       07/02/95 - Probe Separation
       07/09/95 - Orbiter Deflection Maneuver
       12/95 - 10/97 - Orbital Tour of Jovian Moons
       12/07/95 - Jupiter/Io Encounter
       07/18/96 - Ganymede
       09/28/96 - Ganymede
       12/12/96 - Callisto
       01/23/97 - Europa
       02/28/97 - Ganymede
       04/22/97 - Europa
       05/31/97 - Europa
       10/05/97 - Jupiter Magnetotail Exploration


    HITEN - Japanese (ISAS) lunar probe launched 1/24/90. Has made
    multiple lunar flybys. Released Hagoromo, a smaller satellite,
    into lunar orbit. This mission made Japan the third nation to
    orbit a satellite around the Moon.


    MAGELLAN - Venus radar mapping mission. Has mapped almost the entire
    surface at high resolution. Currently (11/92) in mapping cycle 4,
    collecting a global gravity map.


    MARS OBSERVER - Mars orbiter including 1.5 m/pixel resolution camera.
    Currently (11/92) in transit to Mars arrival in 8/93. Operations start
    11/93 for one martian year (687 days).


    TOPEX/Poseidon - Joint US/French Earth observing satellite, launched in
    August 1992 on an Ariane 4 booster. The primary objective of the
    TOPEX/POSEIDON project is to make precise and accurate global
    observations of the sea level for several years, substantially
    increasing understanding of global ocean dynamics. The satellite also
    will increase understanding of how heat is transported in the ocean.


    ULYSSES- European Space Agency probe to study the Sun from an orbit over
    its poles. Launched in late 1990, it carries particles-and-fields
    experiments (such as magnetometer, ion and electron collectors for
    various energy ranges, plasma wave radio receivers, etc.) but no camera.

    Since no human-built rocket is hefty enough to send Ulysses far out of
    the ecliptic plane, it went to Jupiter instead, and stole energy from
    that planet by sliding over Jupiter's north pole in a gravity-assist
    manuver in February 1992. This bent its path into a solar orbit tilted
    about 85 degrees to the ecliptic. It will pass over the Sun's south pole
    in the summer of 1993. Its aphelion is 5.2 AU, and, surprisingly, its
    perihelion is about 1.5 AU-- that's right, a solar-studies spacecraft
    that's always further from the Sun than the Earth is!

    While in Jupiter's neigborhood, Ulysses studied the magnetic and
    radiation environment. For a short summary of these results, see
    *Science*, V. 257, p. 1487-1489 (11 September 1992). For gory technical
    detail, see the many articles in the same issue.


    OTHER SPACE SCIENCE MISSIONS (note: this is based on a posting by Ron
    Baalke in 11/89, with ISAS/NASDA information contributed by Yoshiro
    Yamada ([e-mail]). I'm attempting to track changes based
    on updated shuttle manifests; corrections and updates are welcome.