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Subject: SPACE Digest V11 #393

SPACE Digest                                     Volume 11 : Issue 393

Today's Topics:
               Re: Naming Stars
    Re: Terraforming Venus (was: Manned mission to Venus)
               Re: Naming Stars
    Re: Terraforming Venus (was: Manned mission to Venus)
    Re: Terraforming Venus (was: Manned mission to Venus)
               Re: Naming Stars
               Re: Naming Stars
    Re: Terraforming Venus (was: Manned mission to Venus)
    Re: Terraforming Venus (was: Manned mission to Venus)
        Re: A BibTeX Style for Astron.Journals: Help !
    Re: Terraforming Venus (was: Manned mission to Venus)
             Re: Manned Mission To Venus
    Re: Terraforming Venus (was: Manned mission to Venus)
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: 12 May 90 13:52:07 GMT
From: usc!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!uwm.edu!ux1.cso.uiuc.edu!aries![e-mail]  (Doug McDonald)
Subject: Re: Naming Stars

In article <419#}[e-mail]> [e-mail] (Jim Kasprzak) writes:
>In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (Jason Edward Floyd) writes:
>>
>>    I have heard that it is possible to name a star or galaxy. Is this
>>true? If so how does one go about doing it?
>>
> Discovering it is usually the best way to get to name it. Otherwise, become
>a member of the International Astronomical Union, which sets the naming
>conventions for extraterrestrial bodies.
>
Actually there is another way - you don't have to even discover the things.
Just come up with a big catalog of interesting, similar, objects,
and publish it. If people use your numbers a lot, the'll call the
objects by your name plus your numbers.

Doug McDonald

------------------------------

Date: 12 May 90 22:16:36 GMT
From: zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!uwm.edu!cs.utexas.edu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!utgpu!utzoo![e-mail]  (Henry Spencer)
Subject: Re: Terraforming Venus (was: Manned mission to Venus)

In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (John Kallen) writes:
>... I read "billions and billions" of years
>ago that the asteroid Vesta was speculated to consist largely of ice
>as it has a large albedo. Somehow this sounds wrong; does anyone know
>for sure?

*Nobody* knows the bulk composition of any asteroid for sure.  The best
information we have is some very general spectroscopic data about the
composition of the outermost millimeter or so, plus analyses of meteorites
whose history and origin are ill-documented at best.

As I recall, Vesta does seem to be an oddball, but the current theory is
that it's igneous rock, i.e. it had major internal vulcanism early on.
--
Life is too short to spend    |     Henry Spencer at U of Toronto Zoology
debugging Intel parts. -Van J.| uunet!attcan!utzoo!henry [e-mail]

------------------------------

Date: 12 May 90 06:47:41 GMT
From: usc!cs.utexas.edu!asuvax!hrc!motpe![e-mail]  (Michael P. Collins)
Subject: Re: Naming Stars

In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail]
(Jason Edward Floyd) writes:

>    I have heard that it is possible to name a star or galaxy. Is this
>true? If so how does one go about doing it?

  There is at least one organization, the International Star Registry,
which will, for a fee, provide anyone with a very authentic looking
certificate assigning your name to a designated star.  ISR is sure to
tell you that, once named, a given star will not be renamed -- by them.
If you question them carefully, or check the small print in their
agreement, you'll learn that their registry of star names is not
referenced by anyone in the world's astronomical community.  In other
words, for their price, you get a fancy piece of paper.  Nothing more.
If it's worth the money to you, go for it.  The ISR and the practice of
"selling stars" was the topic of an article in the February issue of
Sky & Telescope.  Two follow-up letters, both defending the ISR's
business while acknowledging the lack of authenticity associated with
the certificates, appear in the June issue of the same magazine.
  Personally, I've seen what I thought was a better scheme.  At the
Edmonton Space Sciences Centre, a wall just inside the entrance is
finished as an all-sky chart, showing stars to about 6th magnitude.
As a method of recognize contributors to the center, stars on the
chart are dedicated to individuals, the magnitude of the star being
proportional to the amount contributed.  It's up-front, honest, and
a classy way of acknowledging people who help keep the center running.
You might wnat to see if your local planetarium has a similar display.
  Most people are surprised to learn that astronomers rarely refer to
the objects they study by name.  In fact, only a few hundred stars have
proper names at all.  The overwhelming majority of objects within the
reach of even a small telescope have, at best, an obscure catalog number.
Within the solar system, all the planets and major satellites are named.
The names of the inner six planets are descended from antiquity.  Only
Uranus, Neptune and Pluto have been named in historic times.  Satellite
names are assigned by the discoverer, though they must be approved by
the International Astronomical Union and generally fit into the naming
convention chosen for the planet which they orbit.  Comets are named
after the first one to three independent discoverers, though they are
officially recognized by their alpha-numeric designations.  Comet Austin,
for example, is properly identified as 1989c1.
  All the major satellites have been discovered, now that Voyager 2's
primary mission has been completed.  The remaining class of objects
of which large numbers remain to be discovered and named are the
minor planets, archaically referred to as asteroids.  Minor planet
names are assigned by the IAU's Minor Planet Center after the orbit
for the object has been well established.  Recommendations for minor
planet names are frequently submitted by the discoverers.  The chosen
names generally recognize individuals who have made a significant
contribution to astronomy, space science or the exploration of space.
Recently, for example, minor planets were named for four editors of
Sky & Telescope.  Of course, the names don't always have to relate to
astronomy.  Somewhere out there, even as you read this, are minor
planets named McCartney, Starr, Harrison, and Lennon.  As with
comets, the proper identification for a minor planet is an alpha-numeric
descriptor.
  Probably more than anyone really wanted to know about this subject.

--
Michael P. Collins                  | [e-mail]
Motorola Microcomputer Division     | {noao|asuvax}!mcdphx!mikec
2900 S. Diablo Way                  | These are not Motorola's official
Tempe, AZ  85282     [phone] | views or policies.

------------------------------

Date: 12 May 90 22:12:06 GMT
From: swrinde!cs.utexas.edu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!utgpu!utzoo![e-mail]  (Henry Spencer)
Subject: Re: Terraforming Venus (was: Manned mission to Venus)

In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (Christopher Neufeld) writes:
>... Speeding the rotation noticeably
>is pretty well out of the question...

A few years ago there was a paper in JBIS which examined terraforming Venus
by slamming the half-dozen largest asteroids into it.  This kills two birds
with one stone:  spins the planet up, and blasts most of the atmosphere off
into space.  Not to mention what you could sell the TV rights for... :-)

Unfortunately, even this drastic tactic doesn't help the rotation as much
as one would like.  Unless you can bring the asteroids in at very high
velocities, well beyond Hohmann-transfer perihelion velocity, the best
you can get is something like a 6-7 day rotation period.
--
Life is too short to spend    |     Henry Spencer at U of Toronto Zoology
debugging Intel parts. -Van J.| uunet!attcan!utzoo!henry [e-mail]

------------------------------

Date: 13 May 90 01:10:48 GMT
From: swrinde!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!samsung!cs.utexas.edu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!utgpu!watserv1!maytag!watdragon!watyew![e-mail]  (Brian or James)
Subject: Re: Terraforming Venus (was: Manned mission to Venus)


 Given Venus' current 10**7 second day [Ours is less than 100 Ks],
and given a successful terraforming of the atmosphere, what kind of
noon day heat would we be talking? If the daily highs are over the
local boiling point of water, there might be a problem maintaining
habitability [Not to mention the problem of heatstroke amongst the
colonists. Even if you protect the humans, what do you do with the
'wild' life?].
 The Venusian Blinds [patent pending] would solve this, if they are
buildable.
                            JDN

------------------------------

Date: 12 May 90 06:56:04 GMT
From: swrinde!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!rpi![e-mail]  (Jim Kasprzak)
Subject: Re: Naming Stars

In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (Jason Edward Floyd) writes:
>
>    I have heard that it is possible to name a star or galaxy. Is this
>true? If so how does one go about doing it?
>
 Discovering it is usually the best way to get to name it. Otherwise, become
a member of the International Astronomical Union, which sets the naming
conventions for extraterrestrial bodies.


--
 Jim Kasprzak          [e-mail] (internet)
 RPI, Troy, NY         [e-mail]
 "A spirit with a vision is a dream with a mission."  -Rush

------------------------------

Date: 12 May 90 18:02:31 GMT
From: grumbly![e-mail]  (rb duc)
Subject: Re: Naming Stars

In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (Jason Edward Floyd) writes:
->
->    I have heard that it is possible to name a star or galaxy. Is this
->true? If so how does one go about doing it?

Sure - you can call a star anything you want. You can even call it anything
you want and give away your money at the same time. If you are a famous
astronomer, it may even catch on. :^}

rb duc



--
\\\   - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - >
 - -   Richard Ducoty                               ..uunet!grumbly!root
 _]    Capitola, Calif                                [e-mail]
 U

------------------------------

Date: 12 May 90 02:52:51 GMT
From: attcan!utgpu!watserv1!maytag!watdragon!watyew![e-mail]  (Brian or James)
Subject: Re: Terraforming Venus (was: Manned mission to Venus)


 The aesthetics vs utility problem only comes up if the
rings of Saturn are the only or best solution of the
problem of supplying water to Venus. I suspect the rings
were used more because they are a well known natural feature
composed of ice than because they are the easiest source of
H2O to ship Venusward. An object orbiting   at the distance
Mimas does from Saturn needs a delta vee of ~10km/s, assuming
I didn't screw up my math, to escape Saturn, and the rings are
closer to Saturn than Mimas. Are there no other sources that
have delta vees less than 10 km/s?
 Another consideration is the mass of the rings. Are they massive enough
to be useful in terraforming Venus? They are quite wide, but also
not terribly thick, so perhaps they would be destroyed for no useful
purpose. They also are composed of small particles. Is collecting them
at all a problem that using other H2O sources would avoid?
 Having raised these questions, I will leave the answering to others
[What, you want answers? Those are much harder than questions:) ].
                        JDN

------------------------------

Date: 12 May 90 07:05:26 GMT
From: agate!shelby!neon![e-mail]  (John Kallen)
Subject: Re: Terraforming Venus (was: Manned mission to Venus)

In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (Jonathan Leech) writes:
>In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (Paul Hager) writes:
>>Personally, I'd dismantle the rings in a New York minute if I
>>could terraform a planet in the process.
>    Why bother, when perfectly good ice moons like Enceladus are
>available (as Dyson originally proposed - nobody seems to be giving
>credit where due).
>    Jon Leech ([e-mail])    __@/

Make that Mimas: smaller surface gravity and already partially broken
up and ready for mining. Mimas is my favorite Saturnian moon: anyone
see any similiarities between the JPL pix and:

    "He's heading for that small moon..."
    "That's not a moon, that's a space station."
    [Death Star looming closer....]

Ack. Mimas is deeper in the Saturnian gravity well... Perhaps there is
a closer source of water ice? I read "billions and billions" of years
ago that the asteroid Vesta was speculated to consist largely of ice
as it has a large albedo. Somehow this sounds wrong; does anyone know
for sure?
_______________________________________________________________________________
 | |   |   |    |\ | |   /|\ | John Kallen        Computer: kom-pyu'-ter (n) a
 | |\ \|/ \|  * |/ | |/|  |  | PoBox 11215         device for generating errors
 | |\ /|\  |\ * |\ |   |  |  | Stanford CA 94309   speedily and unpredictably.
_|_|___|___|____|_\|___|__|__|[e-mail]___________________________

------------------------------

Date: 12 May 90 16:33:46 GMT
From: munnari.oz.au!csc![e-mail]
Subject: Re: A BibTeX Style for Astron.Journals: Help !

In article <[e-mail]>, [e-mail] (Sake Hogeveen) writes:
>
> A BibTeX style has been developed for the preparation of lists of
> references for astronomical journals which employ the (Author, year)
> system of citation.
>
> It is available from the Bitnet fileserver [e-mail],
> in the ASTRON FILELIST.
>
[...]

Has anybody managed to get this file ? I've never used a fileserver
before, but from what I can make out, there are two lists at saraserv,
neither of them is ASTRON, and the fileserver hasn't heard of
anything like ASTRON or ASTRON.BST.

Is it me doing something stupid (most likely :-)) or is there some other
problem ?
Any help greatly appreciated.

>
> Sake J. Hogeveen

Markus Buchhorn
Mt Stromlo and Siding Spring Observatories, Canberra, Australia
PMB Weston Ck. P.O. 2611
[e-mail]  -or-  nssdca::psi%mssso::markus

------------------------------

Date: 12 May 90 19:21:32 GMT
From: thorin!homer![e-mail]  (Jonathan Leech)
Subject: Re: Terraforming Venus (was: Manned mission to Venus)

In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (John Kallen) writes:
>Make that Mimas: smaller surface gravity and already partially broken
>up and ready for mining. Mimas is my favorite Saturnian moon: anyone
>see any similiarities between the JPL pix and:
>
>    "He's heading for that small moon..."
>    "That's not a moon, that's a space station."
>    [Death Star looming closer....]

    Jerry Pournelle mentioned the resemblance when the first pictures
came in (or so he said).

>Ack. Mimas is deeper in the Saturnian gravity well... Perhaps there is
>a closer source of water ice?

    I've seen speculation that some short-period comets may eventually
form a shell of volatile-free material via outgassing, trapping
volatiles inside.  They would look like asteroids then.  Have to go
look to find out.
--
    Jon Leech ([e-mail])    __@/
    "Why do you suppose we only feel compelled to chase the ones who run away?"
    "Immaturity."
    _Dangerous Liasons_

------------------------------

Date: 12 May 90 03:00:34 GMT
From: [e-mail]  (Edward Joseph Bennett)
Subject: Re: Manned Mission To Venus

>> [Much ranting about "challenge", "adventure", "excitement" and
>> such deleted.]

Fred McCall writes:

>I fail to understand how anyone who is 20 could still be so grossly
>misinformed about what is reasonable/possible within the realm of
>the current technology.

That is where you miss the point. I don't think anyone is planning on
starting any of these Terraforming projects,etc. tomorrow. In essence
the realm of current technology is irrelevant to the disscussion. People
discussing manned flight to the moon would have seemed "grossly
misinformed about what is reasonable/possible within the real of
existing technology" in the year 1900 AD.

Remember : The science fiction and dreams of today are the science fact
and reality of tommorrow.

Ed

------------------------------

Date: 13 May 90 01:44:07 GMT
From: [e-mail]  (Mark Bradford)
Subject: Re: Terraforming Venus (was: Manned mission to Venus)

In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (Brian or James) writes:
"
" Another consideration is the mass of the rings. Are they massive enough
"to be useful in terraforming Venus? They are quite wide, but also
"not terribly thick, so perhaps they would be destroyed for no useful
"purpose.

Just did this calculation (roughly) for my planetary science class.
Assuming pure water (density = 1g/cm^3), Saturn's rings weigh on the order
of 4 x 10^19 kg, which is around .003 of Pluto's mass (7 x 10^-6 Earth
masses).

-- Mark ([e-mail])  <>  To err is human, to moo bovine.

------------------------------

End of SPACE Digest V11 #393
*******************