Date: Sun, 8 Nov 92 05:03:24 From: Space Digest maintainer Reply-To: Space-request@isu.isunet.edu Subject: Space Digest V15 #395 To: Space Digest Readers Precedence: bulk Space Digest Sun, 8 Nov 92 Volume 15 : Issue 395 Today's Topics: HOW TO GET DATA AND IMAGES Hubble's mirror Moon can hold its air (was Re: Mars over the Moon???) Ten embarrassed questions about the moon (very long) the Happyface on Mars Viking Photos Shows Evidence of Marsquakes Welcome to the Space Digest!! Please send your messages to "space@isu.isunet.edu", and (un)subscription requests of the form "Subscribe Space " to one of these addresses: listserv@uga (BITNET), rice::boyle (SPAN/NSInet), utadnx::utspan::rice::boyle (THENET), or space-REQUEST@isu.isunet.edu (Internet). ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Sat, 07 Nov 92 19:08:17 GMT From: Craig Fifer Subject: HOW TO GET DATA AND IMAGES Newsgroups: sci.space INTRODUCTION A wide variety of images, data, catalogs, information releases, and other material dealing with space and astronomy may be found on the net. A few sites offer direct dialup access or remote login access, while the remainder support some form of file transfer. Many sites are listed as providing 'anonymous FTP'. This refers to the File Transfer Protocol on the Internet. Sites not connected to the Internet cannot use FTP directly, but there are a few automated FTP servers which operates via email. Send mail containing only the word HELP to ftpmail@decwrl.dec.com or bitftp@pucc.princeton.edu, and the servers will send you instructions on how to make requests. The sources with the broadest selection of material are the NASA Ames SPACE archive and the National Space Science Data Center. Don't even ask for images to be posted to the net. The data volume is huge and nobody wants to spend the time on it. VIEWING IMAGES The possible combinations of image formats and machines is forebodingly large, and I won't attempt to cover common formats (GIF, etc.) here. To read PDS and VICAR (and many other) formats on Unix systems running X, use XV 2.11, available by anonymous FTP from export.lcs.mit.edu (18.24.0.12) in contrib/xv-2.11.tar.Z and the other standard X11 FTP sites. The FAQ for the Usenet group alt.binaries.pictures discusses image formats and how to get image viewing software. A copy of this document is available by anonymous FTP from the Usenet FAQ archives at pit-manager.mit.edu (18.72.1.58), in directory pub/usenet/alt.binaries.pictures. ONLINE ARCHIVES NASA AMES Extensive archives are maintained at NASA Ames and are available via anonymous FTP or an email server. These archives include many images and a wide variety of documents including this FAQ list, NASA press releases, shuttle launch advisories, and mission status reports. Please note that these are NOT maintained on an official basis. FTP users should connect to ames.arc.nasa.gov (128.102.18.3) and look in pub/SPACE. pub/SPACE/Index contains a listing of files available in the archive (the index is about 200K by itself). To access the archives by email, send a letter to archive-server@ames.arc.nasa.gov (or ames!archive-server). In the subject of your letter (or in the body), use commands like: send SPACE Index send SPACE SHUTTLE/ss01.23.91. The capitalization of the subdirectory names is important. All are in caps. Only text files are handled by the email server at present; use one of the FTP email servers described in the introduction to this section for images or programs. The Magellan Venus and Voyager Jupiter, Saturn, and Uranus CD-ROM image disks have been put online in the CDROM and CDROM2 directories. The disks will be rotated on a weekly basis. Thousands of images are available in these collections. The GIF directory contains images in GIF format. The VICAR directory contains Magellan images in VICAR format (these are also available in the GIF directory). A PC program capable of displaying these files is found in the IMDISP directory (see the item "VIEWING IMAGES" below). The NASA media guide describes the various NASA centers and how to contact their public affairs officers; this may be useful when pursuing specific information. It's in MISC/media.guide. Any problems with the archive server should be reported to Peter Yee (yee@ames.arc.nasa.gov). NASA SPACELINK SpaceLink is an online service located at Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. The system is specifically designed for teachers. The data base is arranged to provide easy access to current and historical information on NASA aeronautics, space research, and technology transfer information. Also included are suggested classroom activities that incorporate information on NASA projects to teach a number of scientific principles. Unlike bulletin board systems, NASA Spacelink does not provide for interaction between callers. However it does allow teachers and other callers to leave questions and comments for NASA which may be answered by regular mail. Messages are answered electronically, even to acknowledge requests which will be fulfilled by mail. Messages are generally handled the next working day except during missions when turnaround times increase. The mail system is closed- loop between the user and NASA. SpaceLink also offers downloadable shareware and public domain programs useful for science educators as well as space graphics and GIF images from NASA's planetary probes and the Hubble Telescope. You can dial in at (205)-895-0028 (300/1200/2400/9600(V.32) baud, 8 bits, no parity, 1 stop bit), or telnet to spacelink.msfc.nasa.gov (128.158.13.250, also known as xsl.msfc.nasa.gov) if you're on the Internet. Anonymous FTP capability will be offered in the future. Most of this information is also available from the Ames server in directory SPACELINK. NATIONAL SPACE SCIENCE DATA CENTER (NSSDC) The National Space Science Data Center is the official clearinghouse for NASA data. The data catalog (*not* the data itself) is available online. Internet users can telnet to nssdca.gsfc.nasa.gov (128.183.36.23) and log in as 'NODIS' (no password). You can also get the catalog by sending email to 'request@nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov'. You can also dial in at (301)-286-9000 (300, 1200, or 2400 baud, 8 bits, no parity, one stop). At the "Enter Number:" prompt, enter MD and carriage return. When the system responds "Call Complete," enter a few more carriage returns to get the "Username:" and log in as 'NODIS' (no password). The system is menu-driven; topics available as of 4/10/92 are: 1 - Master Directory - NASA & Global Change 2 - Personnel Information Management System 3 - Nimbus-7 GRID TOMS Data 4 - Interplanetary Medium Data (OMNI) 5 - Request data and/or information from NSSDC 6 - Geophysical Models 7 - CANOPUS Newsletter 8 - International Ultraviolet Explorer Data Request 9 - CZCS Browse and Order Utility 10 - Astronomical Data Center (ADC) 11 - STEP Bulletin Board Service 12 - Standards and Technology Information System Data can be ordered from the NSSDC on CD-ROM and other formats. Among the many types of data available are Voyager, Magellan, and other planetary images, Earth observation data, and star catalogs. Viewers for Macintosh and IBM systems are also available. As an example of the cost, an 8 CD set of Voyager images is $75. Data may ordered online, by email, or by physical mail. The postal address is: National Space Science Data Center Request Coordination Office Goddard Space Flight Center Code 633 Greenbelt, MD 20771 Telephone: (301) 286-6695 Email address: request@nssdca.gsfc.nasa.gov NSSDCA is also an anonymous FTP site, but no comprehensive list of what's there is available at present. SPACE AND PLANETARY IMAGE FACILITY Available 24 hours a day via anonymous FTP from pioneer.unm.edu. Has approximately 150 CD-ROM's full of imagery, raw, and tabular data. To start, get the file: pioneer.unm.edu:pub/info/beginner-info This will hopefully give you all of the information you need to get data from their machine. beginner-info has been translated to other languages, you should look inside pub/info for the particular language that meets your needs. Contact help@pioneer.unm.edu. SPACE TELESCOPE SCIENCE INSTITUTE ELECTRONIC INFORMATION SERVICE stsci.edu (130.167.1.2) has a large amount of information about the Hubble Space Telescope available by anonymous FTP, such as status reports and newsletters, in addition to material oriented towards HST observers and proposers. Get the top level README file to begin with. Contact Pete Reppert (reppert@stsci.edu) or Chris O'Dea (odea@stsci.edu). ASTRONOMICAL DATABASES The full SAO stellar database is *NOT* available online, probably due to the 40 MB size. It may be ordered on magnetic tape from the NSSDC. A subset containing position and magnitude only is available by FTP (see "Astronomy Programs" below). nic.funet.fi (128.214.6.100) has a large collection of astronomical programs for many types of computers, databases of stars and deep sky objects, and general astronomy information in directory /pub/astro. This site is mainly for European users, but overseas connections are possible. mandarin.mit.edu (18.82.0.21) has the following data available via anonymous FTP in directory /astro: StarChart v3.2, orbital elements for bright comets and asteroids, the Yale Bright Star catalog, Saguaro Astronomy Club Deepsky and Double Star databases, some PC astronomy programs, and possibly more. Get astro/README. Contact ccount@athena.mit.edu with questions. The Ames archives contain a database of 8,436 galaxies including name, RA, declination, magnitude, and radial velocity in MISC/galaxy.dat. Supplied by Wayne Hayes (wayne@csri.utoronto.ca). iris1.ucis.dal.ca (129.173.18.107) has a number of GIFs from Voyager, Hubble, and other sources available by anonymous FTP in pub/gif (most of this data is also in SPACE/GIF on the Ames server). Please restrict access to 5pm - 8am Atlantic time. pomona.claremont.edu has the Yale Bright Star catalog for anonymous FTP in directory [.YALE_BSC]. Contact James Dishaw (jdishaw@hmcvax.claremont.edu). The Hubble Guide Star catalog is available on CD-ROM for the Mac and PC for $49.95 US (catalog # ST101). Astronomical Society of the Pacific 390 Ashton Ave. San Francisco, CA 94112 Phone: (415) 337-2624 9 AM - 3 PM Pacific Time FAX: (415) 337-5205 For German (and possibly other European) readers, Jost Jahn has a service to distribute astronomical data to interested amateurs at cost. About 30-40 catalogs are available for DM 6..8/disk. Several floppy disk formats are available. Because of the expense of receiving email on his system, he asks that you contact him by physical mail: Jost Jahn Neustaedter Strasse 11 W-3123 Bodenteich GERMANY Phone: FRG-5824-3197 ASTRONOMY PROGRAMS Various astronomy-related programs and databases posted to the net in the past are archived for anonymous FTP at multiple sites, including ftp.uu.net (137.39.1.9). Also see the ASTRO-FTP list posted to sci.astro monthly, which is more complete than this list. Astonomical/Space-related sources of interest in comp.sources.unix: Volume 8: phoon moon phase and date routines Volume 12,13: starchart starchart program & Yale Star data Volume 15: moontool shows moon phase picture on Suns Volume 16: sao reduced SAO catalog Astonomical/Space-related sources of interest in comp.sources.misc: Volume 8: moon another moon phase program Volume 11: starchart starchart program, version 3.2 Volume 11: n3emo-orbit orbit: track earth satellites Volume 12: starchart2 starchart program, update to version 3.2.1 Volume 13: jupmoons plotter for Jupiter's major moons [in perl] Volume 13: lunisolar lunisolar (not sure what this does) Volume 14: ephem-4.21 astronomical ephemeris, v4.21 Volume 14: n3emo-orbit patch to orbit 3.7 Volume 18: planet planet generation simulator Elwood Downey (e_downey@tasha.cca.cr.rockwell.com), the author of "ephem", has offered to mail copies to people who can't find it on one of the archives. XSAT, an X Window System based satellite tracking program, is available by anonymous FTP from export.lcs.mit.edu (18.24.0.12) in contrib/xsat1.0.tar.Z. Contact Dave Curry (davy@ecn.purdue.edu) for more information. The "Variable Stars Analysis Software Archive" is available via anonymous FTP from kauri.vuw.ac.nz (130.195.11.3) in directory pub/astrophys. This is intended for specialists in this field, and they would appreciate people from outside New Zealand confining their FTP access to the astrophys directory, as they pay a significant amount for Internet access. Contents are relatively sparse at present due to the youth of the archive - contributions are encouraged. Contact the archive administrator, Timothy Banks (bankst@kauri.vuw.ac.nz) for more information. The "IDL Astronomy Users Library" is available by anonymous FTP from idlastro.gsfc.nasa.gov (128.183.57.82). This is a central repository for general purpose astronomy procedures written in IDL, a commercial image processing, plotting, and programming language. Contact Wayne Landsman (landsman@stars.gsfc.nasa.gov) for more information. ORBITAL ELEMENT SETS The most recent orbital elements from the NASA Prediction Bulletins are carried on the Celestial BBS, (513)-427-0674. Documentation and tracking software are also available on this system. The Celestial BBS may be accessed 24 hours/day at 300, 1200, or 2400 baud using 8 data bits, 1 stop bit, no parity. Orbital element sets are available via anonymous FTP from the following sites: archive.afit.af.mil (129.92.1.66) NASA,TVRO,Shuttle directory: /pub/space ftp.funet.fi (128.214.6.100) NASA,TVRO,Molczan,CelBBS, directory: /pub/astro/pc/satel Shuttle (*) kilroy.jpl.nasa.gov (128.149.1.165) NASA,Molczan directory: /pub/space/ nachos.ssesco.com (192.55.187.18) NASA,Molczan directory: /sat_elements SPACE DIGEST ARCHIVES Copies of back issues of Space Digest are archived on LISTSERV@UGA.BITNET. Send mail containing the message "INDEX SPACE" to get an index of files; send it the message "GET filename filetype" to get a particular file. LANDSAT AND NASA PHOTOS You can get black-and-white 1:1M prints, negatives, or positives for $10, $18, $12 respectively for any Landsat data more than 2 years old from EDC, (Eros (Earth Resources Orbiting Satellite) Data Center). Call them at (605)-594-6511. You get 80 meter resolution from the MSS scanner, 135x180 kilometers on a picture 135x180 mm in size. I think you have to select one band from (green, red, near IR, second near IR), but I'm not sure. Digitial data is also available at higher prices. Transparencies of all NASA photos available to the public can be borrowed from the NASA photo archive; you can have copies or prints made. NASA Audio-Visual Facility 918 North Rengstorff Ave Mountain View, CA 94043 (415)-604-6270 PLANETARY MAPS The USGS address for maps of the planets is: U.S. Geological Survey, Distribution Branch, Box 25286, Federal Center, Bldg. 41 Denver, CO 80225 Maps cost $2.40 to $3.10 per sheet (a few come in sets of 2 or 3 sheets). The best global maps of Mars based on Viking images are 1:15,000,000 scale in 3 sheets. These maps are: I-1535 (2 sheets only) - relief, albedo, names I-1535 I-1618 (3 sheets) - relief, names I-2030 (3 sheets) - relief, topographic contours I-1802-A,B,C (3 sheets) - geology There are many other maps as well: 30 sheets at 1:5,000,000 scale in relief, albedo, geology, photomosaic forms (not all 30 sheets available in all formats); 140 sheets at 1:2,000,000 scale as photomosaics of the whole planet, about 100 sheets of interesting sites at 1:500,000 scale in photomosaic format, and lots of special sheets. Then there are maps of Mercury, Venus, the Moon, the four Galilean Satellites, six moons of Saturn and five of Uranus. [Phil Stooke (stooke@vaxr.sscl.uwo.ca), the author of this item, has offered to respond to email requests for information on any topic relating to lunar and planetary maps.] COMETARY ORBIT DATA The Central Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams and the Minor Planet Center announce the sixth edition of the Catalogue of Cometary Orbits in IAU Circular 4935. The catalogue contains 1292 entries which represent all known comets through November 1989 and is 96 pages long. Non-subscribers to the Circulars may purchase the catalogue for $15.00 while the cost to subscribers is $7.50. The basic catalogue in ASCII along with a program to extract specific orbits and calculate ephemerides is available on MS-DOS 5.25-inch 2S2D diskette at a cost of $75.00 (the program requires an 8087 math coprocessor). The catalogue alone is also available by e-mail for $37.50 or on magnetic tape for $300.00. Except for the printed version of the catalogue, the various magnetic media or e-mail forms of the catalogue do not specifically meantion non-subscribers. It is possible that these forms of the catalogue may not be available to non-subscribers or that their prices may be more expensive than those given. Mail requests for specific information and orders to: Central Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory Cambridge, MA 02138, USA NEXT: FAQ #4/15 - Performing calculations and interpreting data formats -- _____________________________________________________________________________ | Never play leapfrog with | Craig Fifer | | a unicorn! -Murphy | 3736 Heritage Road, S.W. | | | Roanoke, Virginia 24015-4518 | ------------------------------ Date: 7 Nov 92 20:03:21 GMT From: Claudio Egalon Subject: Hubble's mirror Newsgroups: sci.astro,sci.space Henry Spencer is right. Although it was sometime ago that I read an article in Physics Today- which explained very nicely the real messed up-, I still recall that there was three diferent instruments that were used to measure the curvature of the primary mirror. Two of them used refraction principle and one of them used the reflection principle (don't remember the details so I may commit some mistakes. If so, I apologize). The results of the other two instruments that used the refraction principle to measure the mirror curvature matched up but... the measurements produced by the one that used reflection, reflective null corrector, was different and, since it was thought to be superior to the other two, no one bottered about finding out why the discrepancy between the measurements... of course untill they found out that there was something wrong with Hubble. *However* as I recall (and I may be wrong) the error in the RNC came along because the WRONG surface in the instrument was providing the reflection and not that because the instrument was built improperly. Aparently there was an scratch in a surface that was suposed to be black, for absorbing incoming radiation, and it was this scratch that worked as the WRONG reflecting surface. So, that how the wrong prescription came about. Another reference for the investigation on the problem of the mirror was the report put out by Lew Allen's review board (I guess I have a copy of it at home and I am confindent that you people can get one from NASA but I do not know whether they will charge you or not). Maybe, not oddly enough, there were other complaints about the handling of the project like people did not like to be bothered with criticism (read peer review)... So aparently, the problem was both technical and arrogance. Claudio O. Egalon ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 7 Nov 1992 16:32:57 GMT From: David Knapp Subject: Moon can hold its air (was Re: Mars over the Moon???) Newsgroups: sci.space In article <1992Nov6.094520.1@fnalc.fnal.gov> higgins@fnalc.fnal.gov (Bill Higgins-- Beam Jockey) writes: >In article <1ddrqjINNns7@uranium.sto.pdb.sni.de>, sav@nanette.sni.de (Dr.Savory) writes: >> Any body to be terraformed should have sufficient gravity to retain >> an atmosphere (obvious?), so exclude the moon, OK ;) > >This is unfair to the Moon. If it were magically given an atmosphere, >the Moon would retain it for a long time, at least thousands of years. This depends *entirely* on what kind of atmosphere you *put* there. Sure, an atmosphere of pure Xenon would last a 'long time' but an atmosphere of H or He would get blown away in a matter of a 'short time'. >As somebody already mentioned, the Moon is not a good candidate for >terraforming because it has no large native source of volatiles. >However, claiming that it can't hang on to an atmosphere is not valid >for short timescales. Yes, and according the Heisenberg, we can do *anything* if we make sure we do it often enough ;-) > >It seems to me that anybody who had the technology to give the Moon an >atmosphere would find it easy to freshen it up every millenium or so >with new gases... > >(Should I mention this? Oh, what the heck, go ahead, Bill. In the >absolutely clunker TV series *Space 1999* there is an episode where >precisely this happens: a mysterious alien cylinder suddenly gives the >Moon a breathable atmosphere. The happy human crew of Moonbase Alpha, >who have spend their whole TV career huddled underground or working in >spacesuits, run outside and begin playing volleyball. We see a shot >from outside a window of Barbara Bain and Martin Landau watching this >magic moment. Then one of them touches a control AND THE MOONBASE >ALPHA WINDOW SLIDES OPEN ELECTRICALLY. > >(Back in grade school we used to say, "That makes about as much sense >as a screen door on a submarine.") > >Bill Higgins, Beam Jockey | >Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory | "Get the dinosaurs in, Martha, >Bitnet: HIGGINS@FNAL.BITNET | they're predicting comets." >Internet: HIGGINS@FNAL.FNAL.GOV | --Dr. Barry D. Gehm >SPAN/Hepnet: 43011::HIGGINS | -- David Knapp University of Colorado, Boulder Perpetual Student knapp@spot.colorado.edu ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 7 Nov 92 15:40:19 EST From: John Roberts Subject: Ten embarrassed questions about the moon (very long) -From: snarfy@cruzio.santa-cruz.ca.us -Subject: NASA Coverup -Keywords: Ten Embarrassing Questions about the Moon -Date: 6 Nov 92 23:37:31 GMT - As promised ,here come the ... - TEN EMBARRASSING QUESTIONS ABOUT THE MOON I expect you'll get a tremendous number of replies - I'll try to answer some of the easier questions. It's pretty evident that you've never read the scientific analyses of the Apollo data. If you really care as much about the moon as you appear to, it would definitely be worth your while to study some of them - they'd answer most of your questions. I've been studying "Lunar Science: A Post-Apollo View" (Stuart Ross Taylor, Pergamon Press, 1975 - QB592.T38, ISBN 0-08-18274-7). There's also a "Lunar Sourcebook" which is alleged to be better, but I've never been able to locate a copy. The frequently-asked- questions list includes many references. You should also try to watch space shows on TV, like the current series "Space Age". Best of all would be to get NASA Select (by satellite dish if necessary), and watch the regular replays of footage from the Apollo program. - 1.) Where did the moon come from , and how did it attain it's present - orbit? - Scientists have generally offered three major theories to account for - the moon in orbit around our planet. All three are in serious trouble. - Amazingly, the least likely theory prior to the Apollo missions emerges - as the "favorite" theory. Evidence gathered by the Apollo program - indicate that the moon and the earth differ greatly in composition, - thereby degrading the two theories that prevailed prior to these flights. - The first and most popular idea among these scientists was that the moon - had been born alongside the earth out of the same cloud of gas and dust - about 4.6 billion years ago. Another theory was that the moon was the - earth's "child", ripped out of the Pacific basin ,possibly. - However,evidence gathered by the Apollo missions indicates that the - moon and earth differ greatly in composition. Scientists now tend to - lean toward the third theory - that the moon was "captured" by the - Earth's gravitational field and locked into orbit ages ago. Your information is out of date. A theory that became widely known only a few years ago has gained greatly in popularity, and was described on "Space Age" as the "current most popular theory". According to this model, a roving body about the size of Mars struck the Earth in a glancing impact. The heat and kinetic energy of the impact caused the body and much of the outer part of the Earth to be melted/vaporized and blown out into space. Most of this material fell back to Earth, much of it was lost into interplanetary space, but some of it coalesced to form the moon. This accounts for the general similarity of composition of the Earth and the moon, the fact that the moon has a very low concentration of volatiles (which would have boiled off in the intense heating following the impact), the fact that the moon apparently has no large dense core like the Earth has, and a number of other observed phenomena. - 3. Why are moon rocks so much older than earth rocks? - 99 percent of moon rocks brought back turned out upon analysis to be - older than 90 percent of the oldest rocks that can be found on earth . If - we assume that the moon came from a different area of the solar system, - where the component material might have been different ,this assumption - would still not account for the disparity in the average age of the - matter composing the two bodies. The Earth is geologically active, and its surface is continually being eroded and replenished. Most of the rocks that were on the surface several billion years ago no longer exist. The moon has been a "dead world" for several billion years, and apparently never had a tektonic plate structure. The only "recent" changes you're likely to encounter are lava flows and disruption by meteor impacts. It's not the least bit surprising that most surface moon rocks are older than most surface Earth rocks. - 4. Why are the "maria" or "lunar seas" located almost entirely on one side - of the moon? - The dark areas on the moon are known as "maria" ,some of which form the - familiar "man in the moon". Maria are significantly absent on the far - side of the moon. The ones on the near side area consist mainly of lunar - soil and smaller rocks. Astronauts found it extremely difficult to drill - into the surface of these dark, plain - like areas. Soil samples weer - loaded with rare metals and elements like titanium, zirconium, yttruim, - and berylium. How the moon could have been formed by some random process - with such high concentrations of rare elements has never been - satisfactorily explained. For chemical analysis, you're going to have to read some actual scientific papers (it won't show up in Time Magazine). Remember that there are many processes active on the Earth that are not present on the moon. A geologist investigating the composition of stream beds in California might comment on the unexpectedly low abundance of gold nuggets, not realizing that they had been removed by humans. :-) The maria are lava flows that filled impact craters - there's no reason to be surprised that flow lava is chemically different from the surrounding regolith. As for the uneven distribution of the maria, "the apparent anisotropy of the moon is caused by the lack of mare basalt flooding on the far side, not by a different cratering history" [above reference]. - 5. Was rustproof iron found on the moon ? - Samples brought back to earth by both Soviet and American Space Probes - contain particles of pure iron. The Soviets announced that pure iron - particles brought back by the remote controlled lunar probe Zond 20 have - not oxidized even after several years on earth. Pure iron particles that - do not rust are unheard of in the strange world of science, although - there is a solid pillar of iron of unknown age near New Delhi ,India, - that has never rusted ,and no one knows why . Carbon (which makes iron into steel) is one of the volatiles rare on the moon. Some forms of iron rust much more slowly than common structural steel. There are iron bridges in England (and perhaps France) that are 100-200 years old and still in regular use. (Gary could probably add more on this.) - 6 . Is the core of the moon hot or cold ? - When the Apollo 15 astronauts used thermal equipment to measure - temperatures below the surface , they got unusually high readings, which - indicated high subsurface temperatures near the Apennine mountains. It - was speculated that , since the presumed density of the moon would - preclude the possibility of lava flows, magma and the like (volcanism has - never been observed on the moon) that the high readings could be - explained by highly radioactive elements just under the surface. - Actually, the amount of radioactive materials on the SURFACE of the moon - is "embarrassingly high" . Where did all of this hot ,radioactive - material ( uranium and thorium ) come from ? And if it came from the - interior of the moon (very unlikely) ,how did it get to the moon's - surface? The total lunar abundance of uranium is thought to be about 60 ppb, and thorium about 230 ppb. The only figure I could find for the Earth was 2.7 ppb in the crust. One might explain the difference by greater gravitational differentiation in the Earth, since it has greater gravity, and spent a much longer period of time molten. In other words, the Earth might have the same overall concentration, it's just more concentrated in the interior. (Anyone have an estimate for the overall concentration of uranium in the Earth, including the interior?) The temperature at the center of the moon is thought to be between 1000 C and 1600 C. - 7. Were immense clouds of water vapor ever observed on the moon? - The few lunar excursions indicate that the moon is a very dry world. - One Lunar expert said that the moon was "a million times as dry as the - Gobi Desert" . The early Apollo missions did not even find the slightest - trace of water. But after Apollo 15, NASA experts were stunned when a - cloud of water vapor more than 100 square miles in size was detected on - the moon's surface. NASA officials suggested that two tiny tanks, - abandoned on the moon by U.S. Astronauts, had somehow ruptured. But the - contents of these tanks could not have produced a cloud of such - magnitude. The water vapor appears to have come from the moon's interior. - Mists, clouds and surface changes have been allegedly seen over the years - by astronomers . For instance , six astronomers in the last century - claimed to have seen a mist which obscured the details on the floor of - the crater Plato. Clouds of any kind would be an extremely odd phenomena - on the moon, because of the supposed low gravity, which presumably could - not hold an atmosphere. Water trapped beneath the surface, then venting - by some unknown process , is one possible explanation - but then what (or - WHO) is "letting off steam"? There have been a number of reported observations of lunar transient phenomena. Some possible explanations are outgassing, electrostatic levitation of lunar dust, and impact of meteors or small comets. If small comets can hit the Earth, why couldn't they also hit the moon? - 8. What caused the "Glaze" on the lunar surface? - Lunar explorations have revealed that much of the lunar surface is - covered with a glassy glaze , which indicates that the moon's surface has - been scorched by an unknown source of intense heat . Expert's analysis - shows that this did not result from massive meteorite impactings . One - explanation forwarded was that an intense solar flare, of awesome - proportions , scorched the moon some 30,000 years ago. Scientists have - remarked that the glaze is similar to the glaze created by atomic weapons - on earth soil. There is a considerable amount of glass on the moon. Most of it is in the form of tiny spheroids, mixed in with the lunar soil, but some of it is in the form of thin layers splashed over rocks. Close analysis shows that it is *not* the result of heating by a large solar flare or other external source of electromagnetic radiation, and the results are very consistent with melting caused by meteorite impacts. A very small amount of lunar glass is thought to be associated with lava flows, like the obsidian on Earth. - 9. What are "mascons" and how did they get there? - In 1968 ,tracking data of lunar orbiters first indicated that massive - concentrations (mascons) existed under the surface of the circular lunar - maria. NASA even reported that the gravitational pull caused by themwas - so pronounced that the spacecraft overhead dipped slightly and - accellerated when flitting by the lunar plain , thus revealing the - existence of these hidden structures, whatever they are. Calculations - show that they are enormous concentrations of dense heavy matter centered - like a bull's eye under the lunar maria. NASA has never offered an - explanation of their existence. There have been extensive explanations, though you may never have seen them in Time Magazine. Lunar mascons are basically a surface phenomenon. Unfilled lunar craters cause a slight lowering in the local gravity, forming negative mascons. Craters (and the maria) filled with lava have slightly greater density than the surrounding ares, and thus form positive mascons. (Generally these must be greater than about 200 km in diameter.) Large mountain ridges such as the Apennines have small positive anomalies. You don't see these phenomena on the Earth, because over the long run it behaves pretty much like a flexible crust floating on a liquid interior, so any local area of high density tends to sink down, and any region of low density tends to bob up, so out at the distance of Earth orbit, the anomalous effects tend to cancel out - in other words, the Earth is in isostatic equilibrium. (There are tremendous variations in the density of the crust - the crust under the continents "goes down" much further than the crust under the oceans. Actually, the balance of the Earth is not perfect - northern Europe is still rising following the melting of the ice after the last ice age, and I believe the center of Greenland is actually below sea level.) The lunar highlands are in isostatic equilibrium, implying that they formed while the interior of the moon was still mostly molten. - 10. Is there anything "funny" about the moon? - People who seem to be overly "obsessed" about the moon will often tell - you that the moon is indeed endowed with "strange" powers that have an - effect on thier lives. These people are sometimes called "lunatics." Henry will probably sneer at the following, but I have long thought that the moon influences living things on the Earth, and the observations stated in the above reference are certainly remarkable coincidences, if they are just coincidence. However, I wouldn't make any claim of strange "psychic connections" - tidal and lighting cycles should be considered the main causes of any possible influence. Here's a quote from the above-mentioned book - I haven't made any effort to find the original references: ............... - lunar synodical month = lunation = the time between successive new moons = 29 days, 12 hours, 44 minutes - sidereal month = average period of revolution of the moon, using a fixed star as a reference point = 27 days, 7 hours, 43 minutes xiv:"Among many curious correlations of lunar phases with biological rhythms, it may be noted that the average duration of human pregnancy is 266 days, close to the length of nine lunar synodical months (265.8 days) and that the average duration of the human menstrual cycle is 29.5 days, compared with the average lunar synodical month of 29.53 days. Menaker, W., and Menaker, A. (1959) Lunar periodicity in human reproduction, Amer. Jour. Obstetrics Gynecology. 77:905, and Osley, M., et al. (1973) Ibid., 117:413. " More sinister correlations, indicating a connection between lunar cycles and psychiatric disturbances (recalling the ancient association of the moon and lunacy) are described by Lieber, A.L., and Sherin, C.R. (1972) Amer. Jour. Psychiatry. 129:69." ............... As I mentioned before, if you're honestly interested in this subject (and you did at least make the effort to write a program to work out your calculations, which shows some level of dedication), then you should make the effort to find serious sources, and not just rely on the popular media. Popular sources can be helpful if the topic is current and there is considerable interest in it - for instance, the Washington Post has had some excellent articles on the HST mirror defect and Galileo's high gain antenna. But even at their best, they don't have people who have made a living studying the subject and really understand it, and they don't have mechanisms to prevent occasional errors and typos. You also run the risk of getting superficial coverage, with important details left out. (For instance, coverage of the CFC-ozone debate was really poor for the first decade or so - only in the last year or two have the details needed to understand the issue started to get widespread coverage.) Also, you really should use your own name. Anonymous posts may be okay in the conspiracy newsgroup, but in sci.space, people are expected to stand behind what they say, and to accept the embarrassment if what they post turns out to be wrong. An anonymous post (especially on a controversial topic) gives more the impression of an obscene phone call than of a serious effort to discuss a scientific topic. I've been working (occasionally) on a long summary of the findings of the Apollo program. If you'll be patient, I'll try to have it done within a month or two. John Roberts roberts@cmr.ncsl.nist.gov ------------------------------ Date: 7 Nov 92 20:36:08 GMT From: Claudio Egalon Subject: the Happyface on Mars Newsgroups: sci.space The face on Mars makes remind about a suposedly bridge that was photographed on the Moon before the Moon landing. Of course, the darned bridge was some kind of optical ilusion. Hope Mars Observer can put the Face on Mars issue at rest. ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 7 Nov 1992 19:42:04 GMT From: gawne@stsci.edu Subject: Viking Photos Shows Evidence of Marsquakes Newsgroups: sci.space,sci.astro,sci.geo.geology In article <1992Nov7.041202.16050@organpipe.uug.arizona.edu>, corleyj@helium.gas.uug.arizona.edu (Jason D Corley ) writes: > I thought that the Viking landers had picked up only > minimal Marsquake activities. Has something changed? > > I remember reading that only two, and those very slight, > earthquakes were recorded over the umpteen year run > of the Viking probes. > > Could someone please explain the new data to me (an > ignorant physics/math undergrad?) > > Jason > Ono-Sendai R&D The article refered to images taken with the Viking orbiter which suggest fault boundaries and other evidence of past Marsquakes. This is separate and distinct from Marsquake data provided by the Viking landers. -Bill Gawne, Space Telescope Science Institute ------------------------------ End of Space Digest Volume 15 : Issue 395 ------------------------------