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Subject: SPACE Digest V12 #497

SPACE Digest                                     Volume 12 : Issue 497

Today's Topics:
              Magellan Articles
             Re: Theories needed on life
                 FITS images
               Re: UFO on TV in Nevada
             Re: Theories needed on life
        NSS in Australia - call for correspondance...
           Re: "NAVY WITHHOLDING EVIDENCE"
             Re: Theories needed on life
            Re: Pioneer 11 article
       Re: You Can't Expect a Space Station to be Cheap
         Re: Mercury rotation and tidal lock
               Re: Hiten Update

Administrivia:

    Submissions to the SPACE Digest/sci.space should be mailed to
  [e-mail].  Other mail, esp. [un]subscription notices,
  should be sent to [e-mail], or, if urgent, to
             [e-mail]

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

Date: 25 Oct 90 20:54:04 GMT
From: usc!elroy.jpl.nasa.gov!jato!mars.jpl.nasa.gov![e-mail]  (Ron Baalke)
Subject: Magellan Articles

Christian Science Monitor -- 10/25/90
"Venus Revealed Is An 'Amazing Place'"
By Robert Cowen

"The radar images of Venus sent by the Magellan spacecraft in the
last few weeks are 10 times sharper than any that scientists have
seen before."

The Monitor says that these images have already revealed an entirely
"new" Venus, one which scientists are calling "an amazing place"
with features not seen in other worlds in our solar system.

The paper says that the scientific analysis of Magellan's radar
pictures of Venus must account for the planet's tremendous
atmospheric pressure and high surface temperatures.  In this
environment, the paper says, land features "relax away" in a
relatively short period of a few hundred million years.  The science
team must learn to take this into account, the Monitor concludes.

                --------------------
Associated Press -- 10/25/90
"Magellan-Venus"
By Lee Siegel

"Venus has 600-mile-wide circular bulges on its surface caused by
molten rock pressing up from inside the planet, the same kind of
forces that created Hawaii, a Magellan scientist says."

The wire service says that Ellen Stofan, a geologist who analyzes the
spacecraft's pictures of Venus at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, says
the bulges are nearly a mile high.  The report quotes Stofan as saying
"you have hot material that rises from deep within the interior of the
planet."  This material, the report says, is causing bulges which look
like sets of concentric rings.  The bulges, according to the wire
service, are called "coronas."
      ___    _____     ___
     /_ /|  /____/ \  /_ /|
     | | | |  __ \ /| | | |      Ron Baalke         | [e-mail]
  ___| | | | |__) |/  | | |___   Jet Propulsion Lab | [e-mail]
 /___| | | |  ___/    | |/__ /|  M/S 301-355        |
 |_____|/  |_|/       |_____|/   Pasadena, CA 91109 |

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

Date: 25 Oct 90 22:45:29 GMT
From: agate!sandstorm.Berkeley.EDU![e-mail]  (Lucia J. Choi)
Subject: Re: Theories needed on life

In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (paul andrew braier) writes:
>In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (Wayne Hayes) writes:
>>In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (Gord Deinstadt) writes:
>>>Actually, it surprises me
>>>that no creature on Earth ever evolved the ability to balloon around.
>>
>>We don't know that for sure.  I'd say it's unlikely, but the being would
Well, humans have...:)
>

**************************************************************************
**  Lucia Choi                      * Or, this may be someone with her  **
**  [e-mail]         *   password....                    **
**************************************************************************

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

Date: 26 Oct 90 04:06:14 GMT
From: usc!wuarchive!cec2![e-mail]  (Abed Hammoud)
Subject: FITS images


    Hello,

    I have some astronomical images in FITS format. I obtained
    a program called "fitstopgm" from the ftp site fits.cx.nrao.edu;
    this program worked for some of the images but did not for many
    other (even thougt they are all FITS files). The error messages
    I get are some thing like "I cannot read header" or "...number
    of axis does not match...", if any body have a solution to my
    problem I would appreciate any comments. I would also like
    to know if there is somewhere a program that read "all kind"
    of FITS files and converts them to other easy to manipulate
    formats.


    thanks a million


    --------------------------------------------------------------
    | Abed  M. Hammoud            [e-mail]|
    | Washington University.            office:[phone] |
    | Electronic Systems & Signals Research Laboratory.          |
    | Dept. of Electrical/Biomedical Engineering.             |
    | St.Louis Mo U.S.A                                          |
    --------------------------------------------------------------

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

Date: 25 Oct 90 10:32:03 GMT
From: swrinde!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!samsung!munnari.oz.au!bruce!monu1!monu6![e-mail]  (Steve Balogh)
Subject: Re: UFO on TV in Nevada

In article <[e-mail]> I replied to the
following two lines relating to UFOs...
>>Something should be done to force these criminals to release these glorious
>>things that belongs to the American people; NOT THE GOD DAMBED NAVY!!!!
>                            ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
>                       THIS ATTITUDE IS SICKENING!!!
>
>Audrey Lauin has her head stuck so far up her backside that it pokes out her
>mouth!!!! Same goes to Bill McGowen.
>
>Does the rest of Humanity not exist??
>
>Steve
>
>----_--_-_-_--_-__-_------_-__---_-___-_----_-____-_-_--__-_--_--___-_-_-_--__-_
>Steve Balogh (Network Manager) VK3YMY | [e-mail]
>Monash University (Caulfield Campus)  |      37 52'38.8"S  145 02'42.0"E ...ICBM
>PO Box 197, Caulfield East          |      [phone] Voice (Office)
>Melbourne, AUSTRALIA. 3145          |      [phone] Fax

Is it OK to do a followup on your own article? :-)

I re-read what I said and realised that I was implying that UFOs "belong" to
humanity. I did not mean to imply this. Obviously, they "belong" to the ETs
who flew them here. (assuming they existed in the first place!)

Steve

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

Date: 25 Oct 90 14:28:21 GMT
From: att!watmath!maytag!watdragon!watyew![e-mail]  (Brian or James)
Subject: Re: Theories needed on life

In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (Wayne Hayes) writes:
>In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (Gord Deinstadt) writes:
>>Actually, it surprises me
>>that no creature on Earth ever evolved the ability to balloon around.
>
>We don't know that for sure.  I'd say it's unlikely, but the being would
>probably be non-vertabrate (for weight reasons) and therefore be very
>unlikely to leave a fossil.

    Perhaps the problem is that ballooning in our thin atmosphere
requires a balloon of such a size that other flight methods grossly out
compete ballooning. One good peck from a bird, and our ballonist could
be real trouble [Mind you, the balloonist could use some evasive
tricks that birds would find hard to follow; hot 'updrafts' make
Lighter than Air vehicles *decend* not rise]. The other possibility
is that they exist, but at a very small scale. Are there tiny more or less
permanantly air-borne non-flapping organisms? Maybe it's like
propellers; you only find them on small organisms.
    BTW, why isn't a biology newsgroup in on this discussion?

                            James Nicoll

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

Date: 25 Oct 90 09:58:13 GMT
From: agate!bionet!ucselx!usc!sdd.hp.com!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!samsung!munnari.oz.au!metro!nuts!frey![e-mail]  (Luke Plaizier)
Subject: NSS in Australia - call for correspondance...


    The Newcastle Space Frontier Society, part of the National
Space Society of Australia (NSSA) , which is in turn a part of the
NSS in the United States, would like correspondance with any willing
chapters in the United States on an informal or formal (ie SISTER chapter)

type basis. There are presently 6 chapters in Australia, of which I am
representing the Newest chapter the NEWCASTLE SPACE FRONTIER SOCIETY.
(Contrary to the writings in the September issue of AD ASTRA - Queensland
have been around for quite a few years - a retraction is expected soon.)

    As a member of the NSFS (Publications Officer) I would like for both
a personal correspondant and a chapter correspondant. For Personal
correspondance please mail me - Luke Plaizier
                5 Fifth Street.
                Cardiff South
                NSW        2285
                Australia.

    For Chapter Correspondence PLEASE write to one of the addresses
in the issue of Ad Astra. We would all be glad to swap newsletters, tell
tales and form an alliance. (Perhaps simultaneous meetings might not be out
of the question.)

    Note - EMAIL from US NSS members is EXTREMELY WELCOME!

    Tnakyou for your time and Patience.

===========================================================================
    Luke Plaizier      [e-mail].
    Hau Long is a China man?
===========================================================================

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

Date: 26 Oct 90 01:40:09 GMT
From: prism![e-mail]  (Matthew DeLuca)
Subject: Re: "NAVY WITHHOLDING EVIDENCE"

Wow...as if once wasn't enough, we get a slightly different version of this
yet *again*!

Is it my imagination, or will people on the cdp node believe anything?


--
Matthew DeLuca
Georgia Institute of Technology      Do not meddle in the affairs of wizards,
Office of Information Technology     for they are subtle, and quick to anger.
Internet: [e-mail]

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

Date: 25 Oct 90 15:17:32 GMT
From: [e-mail]  (Robert J. Knapp)
Subject: Re: Theories needed on life

One question to the people saying "squat with massive internal
skeletons/frames," is the verdict in or out on element other than carbon
being used as the basis of chemistry in other orgs. it very S-F, but
couldn't a Silicon or Germanium based life-form be denser and therefor
able to attain heights close to human even on emmensly high G planets.
I'm not sure but it think the basis for the arguement that life can be
based on these elements is that they, like carbon have four bonding
sights (more if they expand their outer shell) even if its not
scietifically correct the idea has great potential for S-F stories.




            Rob "I'm a physics major for now" Knapp
            Freshman, CMU

quote: "You mean I actually got in to a college?"

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

Date: 25 Oct 90 15:03:05 GMT
From: usc!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!wuarchive!rex!rouge![e-mail]  (Fraering Philip)
Subject: Re: Pioneer 11 article

In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (John Webb) writes:

jw>What part of an orbit would such a planet have to be in so that it
jw>would (or would not) affect the Voyager/Pioneer trajectories noticeably ?

It could have a very inclined orbit. I think all of the probes in question
have trajectories roughly in the ecliptic.

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

Date: 25 Oct 90 15:01:25 GMT
From: mintaka!olivea!samsung!rex!rouge![e-mail]  (Fraering Philip)
Subject: Re: You Can't Expect a Space Station to be Cheap

In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] ("Allen W. Sherzer") writes:

aws>Why? If Freedom used expendables instead of insisting on using
aws>the Shuttle their costs would also drop. At $500 to $900 a pop
aws>those assembly costs add up fast. Why is that apples and oranges?

One pet peeve: could we have standard units of measurment here?
I can't find the _pop_to_metric_ button on my calculator. (I know I
should have bought an HP)

aws>[excerpted suggestion to use ssx]

aws>Now *THAT'S* risky. The above HLV's are all based on existing
aws>technology. Over 90% of the parts can be bought today. SSX
aws>on the other hand requires a lot of new stuff. It would be
aws>far more risky for LLNL to use SSX.

   You've said things to this effect before, but I remain unconvinced.

With regard to two alternatives to HL Delta:

1, Space Van, was to use the engines from the Delta and the RL-10.
Both are _very_ proven technology.

2. SSX is meant to rely very much on proven technology. Also, maybe
we should put some faith in _people_. The person who is behind SSX,
Max Hunter, is the man who built Delta (which McDonnel Douglas means
to use as the basis of its HL vehicle) twenty years ago with 1950's
and some 1960's technology. (I believe Thor was designed and built in
the late '50's). What do you think he could build today, now
that we have CAE, composites, rocket engines that have flown hundreds of
times already, etc...

Phil

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

Date: 24 Oct 90 14:24:15 GMT
From: agate!linus!philabs!briar![e-mail]  (Robert Casey)
Subject: Re: Mercury rotation and tidal lock

In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] writes:
>Mercury is tide locked with the sun.  That is one side always faces the sun.
>--------------------------------------------------------------------
Not quite.  It's been found that Mercury is tide locked, but all sides see the
sun.  The planet rotates 3 times in 2 orbits.  Mercury's orbit is elliptical,
and when the planet is in the "perigee" (near the sun, can't remember the
right word) part of its orbit, the planet rotates at about the right rate to
make the sun stand still in the planet's sky.  When the planet gets near the
"apogee" part of its orbit, the planet travels slower, but the rotation speed
stays about the same.  Tide effects are highest when your near the sun, so
that keeps Mercury on this resonant pattern of 3 rotations in 2 orbits.
=============================================================================
 __/\/\__
    o o     My job is so secret, even I don't know what I'm doing!  :-)
     -

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

Date: 24 Oct 90 15:53:28 GMT
From: mnetor!utzoo![e-mail]  (Henry Spencer)
Subject: Re: Hiten Update

In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (Andy Clews) writes:
>please post some summary information about the mission objectives for
>the Hiten craft? ...

Mission objectives are to test Japanese navigation and control facilities
for spacecraft operating beyond low Earth orbit.  Period.  It is an
engineering mission with no attempt at science return.
--
The type syntax for C is essentially   | Henry Spencer at U of Toronto Zoology
unparsable.             --Rob Pike     |  [e-mail]   utzoo!henry

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

End of SPACE Digest V12 #497
*******************