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Дата: 10 ноября 1998 (1998-11-10) От: Alexander Bondugin Тема: Cassini Update - November 6, 1998 Привет всем! Вот, свалилось из Internet... Cassini Significant Events for 10/30/98 - 11/05/98 Spacecraft Status: The most recent Spacecraft status is from the DSN tracking pass on Wednesday, 11/04, over the Goldstone tracking station. The Cassini spacecraft is in an excellent state of health and is executing the C10 sequence normally. The speed of the spacecraft can be viewed on the "Where is Cassini Now?" web page (http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/cassini/today/). Spacecraft Activity Summary: On Monday, 11/02, three activities were performed: the Delta-V Estimator Flight Software Update was sent up to the spacecraft, the Solid State Recorder (SSR) record and playback pointers were reset, and the AACS High Water marks were cleared. On Tuesday, 11/03, Part 1 of the SSR-A Power Off was performed. Powering off the SSR will enhance the overall life expectancy of the unit. Part one consisted primarily of a complete memory test prior to the power off commands. On Wednesday, 11/04, Part two of the SSR-A Power Off was performed and the VIMS Decontamination Heaters were powered up for a 24 hour period. Upcoming events: Activities scheduled for the week of 11/06-11/12 include SSR FSW Partition Maintenance on 11/06, uplink of the C11 sequence on 11/07, and AACS Attitude Estimator Memory Readout and SSR Pointer Reset on 11/09. Hа сегодня все, пока! =SANA=

Дата: 10 ноября 1998 (1998-11-10) От: Alexander Bondugin Тема: Automated Rendezvous & Docking Component Completes Successful Test Abo Привет всем! Вот, свалилось из Internet... June Malone Media Relations Office Marshall Space Flight Center Huntsville, AL 35812 (256) 544-0034 june.malone@msfc.nasa.gov http://www.msfc.nasa.gov/news For Release: Nov. 5, 1998 RELEASE: 98-229 Automated Rendezvous & Docking Component Completes Successful Test Aboard STS-95 The STS-95 Space Shuttle crew completed a series of successful tests on a new video guidance sensor component Tuesday, Nov. 3. The component -- part of the Automated Rendezvous and Capture System -- will allow spaceships to locate each other and rendezvous without human intervention. The sensor will be used by the International Space Station to simplify routine supply dockings and separations. The video guidance sensor, developed by NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., uses a combination of lasers, video and reflectors to measure the relative position and distance between spacecraft. For testing, reflectors were mounted on the SPARTAN solar observatory satellite that was carried into orbit by Discovery Oct. 29. During the STS-95 mission, the Shuttle-mounted video guidance sensor measured reflected laser light from SPARTAN to gather rendezvous data. The satellite was deployed from the Shuttle's payload bay on Sunday, Nov. 1. The STS-95 crew used the Shuttle's robot arm to position SPARTAN 33 feet, or 10 meters, in front of the video guidance sensor mounted in the payload bay. The Shuttle's robot arm moved SPARTAN as close as 13 feet, or 4 meters, to the sensor to gather detailed tracking information prior to releasing SPARTAN into space for a two-day solar science mission. On Nov. 3, after a successful SPARTAN science mission, the STS-95 crew began long-range testing of the Video Guidance Sensor during manual rendezvous and retrieval operations. The video guidance sensor was activated and made contact when the Shuttle moved to within 480 feet, or 146 meters, of the satellite. During approach, at 360 feet, or 110 meters, the crew performed attitude maneuvers -- changing the position of the Shuttle to determine the width of the sensor's field of view. "The video guidance sensor locked-on at 480 feet. That's 120 feet better than we designed the system to achieve," said Gene Beam, project manager for the video guidance sensor at Marshall Center. The crew stopped attitude maneuvers at 246 feet, or 75 meters, from SPARTAN during the brief orbital nighttime to maintain observation of the nearby satellite. The Shuttle then moved away to a distance of 600 feet, or 82 meters, to gather more information on the maximum limits of long-range tracking. Completing the maneuver, the crew moved back into robot arm range of SPARTAN and successfully captured and re-stowed it in the Shuttle payload bay for return to Earth. During long-range testing, data from the Shuttle's hand-held laser range finder was compared to information from the video guidance sensor. "The difference in readings between the hand-held laser and the sensor was well within acceptable levels," said an STS-95 crew member. "The data we collected looks comparable to the data from the earlier STS-87 mission where we first tested this sensor." The Space Shuttle Columbia carried the first test into orbit in November 1997. The operational version of the Automated Rendezvous and Capture System is expected to be accurate within one-tenth of an inch. ## Editor's Note: For more information call June Malone at the Marshall Space Flight Center Media Relations Office at (256) 544-0034 or visit the Marshall Space Flight Center News Room website at: http://www.msfc.nasa.gov/news Andrew Yee Ayee@nova.astro.utoronto.ca Hа сегодня все, пока! =SANA=

Дата: 10 ноября 1998 (1998-11-10) От: Alexander Bondugin Тема: WDC-A R&S Launch Announcement 12976: Iridiums 2 and 83-86 Привет всем! Вот, свалилось из Internet... COSPAR/ISES WORLD WARNING AGENCY FOR SATELLITES WORLD DATA CENTER-A FOR R & S, NASA/GSFC CODE 633, GREENBELT, MARYLAND, 20771. USA SPACEWARN 12976 COSPAR/WWAS USSPACECOM NUMBER SPACECRAFT INTERNATIONAL ID (CATALOG NUMBER) LAUNCH DATE,UT IRIDIUM 02 1998-066A 25527 06 NOVEMBER 1998 IRIDIUM 86 " 066B 25528 " " 85 " 066C 25529 " " 84 " 066D 25530 " " 83 " 066E 25531 " DR. JOSEPH H. KING, DIRECTOR, WDC-A-R&S. [PH: (301) 286 7355. E-MAIL: KING@NSSDCA.GSFC.NASA.GOV 06 NOVEMBER 1998 19:30 UT] Further details will be in a forthcoming SPACEWARN Bulletin Dr. Edwin V. Bell, II _/ _/ _/_/_/ _/_/_/ _/_/_/ _/_/ Mail Code 633 _/_/ _/ _/ _/ _/ _/ _/ _/ NASA Goddard Space _/ _/ _/ _/_/ _/_/ _/ _/ _/ Flight Center _/ _/_/ _/ _/ _/ _/ _/ _/ Greenbelt, MD 20771 _/ _/ _/_/_/ _/_/_/ _/_/_/ _/_/ +1-301-286-1187 ed.bell@gsfc.nasa.gov SPACEWARN home page: http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/spacewarn/ Hа сегодня все, пока! =SANA=

Дата: 10 ноября 1998 (1998-11-10) От: Alexander Bondugin Тема: 1998 Leonid Model Prediction Привет всем! Вот, свалилось из Internet... 1998 Leonid Model Prediction By Peter Brown, UWO Meteor Group. Issued November 5th, 1998. Using a total of 12 different models for the ejection of meteoroids from comet Tempel-Tuttle, a preliminary "best" guestimate for the location of the strongest peak in activity and its associated ZHR for the 1998 Leonids has been found. The 12 model approach involves using three major variations in meteoroid density (0.1, 0.8 and 4.0 g/cm^3 for bulk density of the meteoroid). For each of these three densities, four different variations in the initial ejection velocities are also employed - one follows the distributed production model of Crifo which produces broad distributions in initial ejection velocity which has a mean velocity lower than the classical Whipple/Jones ejection model. In addition to Crifos distributed production model, a Whipple/Jones ejection velocity model is used, as well as a second variant of the same with a heliocentric velocity dependance of r^-0.5 in place of the usual r^-1. The fourth model is again a variant on the Jones/Whipple model in which the ejection velocity at a given heliocentric distance is not single-valued in the monte carlo generating routine, but rather has a parabolic distribution of probable velocities about the average Jones/Whipple velocity for the chosen heliocentric distance. See Brown and Jones (1998), Icarus, v. 133, pp. 36 - 68 for more details. The results of the modelling for the Leonids, using ejections at all perhelion passages of the comet back to 1499 AD (ie 15 revolutions of the comet prior to the current epoch). A simple summation of the meteoroids which are then visible at Earth at the present time from this ensemble and which would produce visually observable meteors (mass 1 mg) was then computed from all ejecta. A meteoroid is defined as being Earth-intersecting if its nodal radius is within 0.005 AU of Earth at the longitude of its descending node. All models suggested a steep increase in activity beginning in December, 1997/early 1998 accompanying the passage of Tempel-Tuttle. The resolution of the modelling is of order 2 months and thus all models suggest that this November will show significantly increased activity relative to 1997 (when the peak ZHR reached just short of 100), and likely activity approaching meteor storm levels (ZHRs of order 1000). Using 1997 as a baseline and taking the peak ZHR to have been 96 +/- 13 at 235.22 +/- 0.02 (J2000) in 1997 we have extrapolated the relative model difference between the activity strength predicted by the model in 1997 to that observed and that predicted for 1998. Using a mean of all models, produces a predicted location for the peak in 1998 of 235.26 +/- 0.04 (J2000) with a peak ZHR of 1200 +/- 280. This solar longitude corresponds to Nov 17 at 19:20 UT with a 1-sigma uncertainty of 60 minutes. We emphasize that due to the model results sensitive dependance on density of the meteoroids, the range of possible ZHRs extends from slightly lower than the bound given above to nearly 10 000 (the higher values associated with the models using the least dense meteoroids and lowest ejection velocities). The use of relative modelling difference between 1997 and 1998 implies that the veracity of the prediction in 1998 relies entirely on the accuracy of the magniude of the ZHR reported in 1997 under full moon conditions. As well as the above, the models suggest that broad activity, persisting for of order a full day centred about this peak should be noticeably above normal Leonid background levels and should be rich in larger meteoroids in 1998 most notably after the time of the peak. The model suggests ZHRs of order 100 or greater in the 3-4 hour window prior to the peak and ZHRs of order 100-200 persisting for many hours after the peak. The mass index near the time of the peak over the visual magnitude range will be near 1.6 +/- 0.1. It is worth noting that a significant decrease in the mass index from 1.8 +- 0.1 several hours prior to the peak to this lower value and then upward again after the peak is visible in most models. ********************************************************************* Peter Brown Meteor Physics Lab Department of Physics and Astronomy University of Western Ontario London, Ontario N6A 3K7 Canada Voice:1-519-679-2111 x6458 Fax:1-519-661-2033 ********************************************************************* Hа сегодня все, пока! =SANA=

Дата: 10 ноября 1998 (1998-11-10) От: Alexander Bondugin Тема: Leonid Meteor Shower, Special Lecture At Griffith Observatory Привет всем! Вот, свалилось из Internet... Griffith Observatory Press Releases Leonid Meteor Shower There may be a significant meteor shower on the morning of Tuesday, November 17 (or, less likely, on the morning of November 18). Every November 17, when the earth passes near the orbit of Comet Tempel-Tuttle, we pass through a sparse swarm of comet debris and experience a minor meteor shower that generally goes unnoticed. Every 33 years, however, the earth passes through a dense knot of this cometary material, and there is the possibility of a dramatic meteor storm when the sky might fill with thousands of "falling stars." This year there may be such a brief meteor storm lasting no more than a few hours. Although the shower is predicted to be strongest over Asia, enough meteors may fall over California to make the night very interesting. This is a meteor shower that sky watchers should not miss. The best time to observe the shower from the United States will be the few hours before dawn on Tuesday morning, November 17. There is less likelihood of a shower on the morning of the 18th. Few meteors will fall before 1 a.m. Although it is difficult to estimate the actual rate, an observer in a dark location will likely see dozens of meteors per hour. There may be brief periods lasting several minutes when quite a few meteors fall, followed by periods of relative calm. The meteors radiate from the direction of Leo, the Lion, and for that reason they are called the Leonids. Leo is low in the east before dawn, but the meteors will appear all over the sky. Leonid meteors strike the earth's atmosphere at high speed, 44 miles per second, and often leave smoke trails. The moon is almost new and out of the way. Because of the early hour, Griffith Park will not be open for meteor observing. Observers should plan to be far from city lights. The Observatory is often asked to recommend an observing location, but the answer is -- go away from the city to where it is dark. For additional information on the Leonid meteors please visit these web sites: International Meteor Organization: http://www.imo.net Leonid 98: http://www-space.arc.nasa.gov/~leonid.html Meteor Storm Hazard: http://leroy.cc.uregina.ca/~astro/Leonids/Leo_1.html Media i Corporation (live CCD images from Japan): http://www.media-i.com/www/Milkyway/index.html Special Lecture at Griffith Observatory on Monday, November 16 On Monday, November 16, 1998, Griffith Observatory will host a special lecture by Dr. Amir Aczel on "Why There Must Be Intelligent Life in the Universe." For thousands of years visionaries and writers have argued that we cannot be alone -- that there must be intelligent life in the universe. Now, with the latest information from Mars, the latest discoveries from the Hubble telescope, and the knowledge about life at the extremes, scientists are taking up where the visionaries left off. Dr. Amir Aczel, author of Fermat's Last Theorem, pulls together everything that science has discovered and mixes in probability theory to argue the case for the existence of intelligent life beyond our planet. Dr. Aczel's new book "Why There Must Be Intelligent Life in the Universe" will be on sale following the lecture, which Dr. Aczel will autograph. The lecture will be at 7:30 p.m. on Monday, November 16, 1998. The Observatory will open, and tickets will go on sale at 7:00 p.m. Ticket prices are $4.00. Children under five are not admitted. ********************************************************************* Griffith Observatory Griffith phone: (323) 664-1181 2800 East Observatory Road Griffith fax: (323) 663-4323 Los Angeles, California 90027 USA http://www.GriffithObs.org mailto:list@GriffithObs.org ********************************************************************* Hа сегодня все, пока! =SANA=

Дата: 10 ноября 1998 (1998-11-10) От: Alexander Bondugin Тема: Sky & Telescope News Bulletin - November 6, 1998 Привет всем! Вот, свалилось из Internet... SKY & TELESCOPE'S NEWS BULLETIN NOVEMBER 6, 1998 AS THE KBO TURNS Astronomers at the European Southern Observatory (ESO) announced that they determined the rotation period of one of the most distant objects in the solar system. Olivier Hainaut and his four colleagues from La Silla, Chile, and Paris Observatory took 50 images of minor planet 1996 TO66 -- a bright member of the class of body called trans-Neptunian objects, or Kuiper Belt objects (KBO). The astronomers used ESO's 3.6-meter New Technology Telescope (NTT) to observe 1996 TO66 in August and October 1997 when it was about 45 astronomical units (6.7 billion kilometers) away from the Sun and shining feebly at 21st magnitude. The object's light curve suggests that it rotates every 6 hours 15 minutes. Discussing their finding at a conference on small bodies in the outer solar system at ESO's Garching, Germany, headquarters this past week, the astronomers explain that 1996 TO66's rotation period probably dates from the birth of the solar system. They note that minor planet 2060 Chiron, which orbits between Saturn and Uranus but likely originated much farther out, also rotates with a period near 6 hours. CLUMPS IN WINDY NEBULA A new image released from the Space Telescope Science Institute on Thursday reveals the effects of strong stellar winds. The nebula M1-67 is being shaped by the outflow from the exceptionally hot and luminous star QR Sagittae. Most of the nebula probably consists of ejecta that the star cast off during an earlier phase of its evolution. The picture shows many small, bright knots that may be the first direct images of clumps flying outward in the stellar wind of a hot star. Details are in *Astrophysical Journal Letters* for October 20, 1998. AURORA FOR THE WEEKEND? Patrick S. McIntosh (HelioSynoptics Inc.) reports that on November 5th a flare was ejected from an active area on the Sun that may provide a display of aurora (northern and southern lights). His electronic announcement to *Sky & Telescope* notes that we should expect major geomagnetic storm conditions by late November 7th, which should continue through most of the following day. COMET GIACOBINI-ZINNER IN AQUILA Viewing of Comet 21P/Giacobini-Zinner will improve this week, as the bright Moon leaves the early evening sky. The comet remains at about 9th magnitude, but may brighten a bit more by the end of the month. This week, the comet continues its trek through Aquila. It lies about 20 to 40 degrees above the southwestern to western horizon, depending on your latitude, at the end of evening twilight. For a finder chart, see page 107 of the November *Sky & Telescope.* Here are positions for Comet Giacobini-Zinner for 0 hours Universal Time (2000.0 coordinates) for the coming week: R.A. Dec. November 7 19h 23m -06.8 deg. November 9 19h 32m -07.8 deg. November 11 19h 41m -08.8 deg. WINTER STAR PARTY BLOWN AWAY Every February hundreds of skygazers head to the Florida Keys for the Winter Star Party, one of the United States's major annual astronomical conventions. However, WSP's venue, a Girl Scout camp right at the water's edge, was heavily damaged by Hurricane Georges, which blew through the Keys in late September. Tippy D'Auria, WSP founder and chairman, originally thought the damage could be repaired before the February 1999 gathering. But "in spite of heroic efforts," he says, "it appears that the camp will not be ready in time." Thus, the event has been cancelled. However, Tom Clark and Jack Newton are making arrangements to host an alternative to WSP for the week of February 14, 1999, at Chiefland, Florida. For details, visit the Calendar of Star Parties in the Resources section of *Sky & Telescope*'s Web site. INTRODUCTING THE NEW SKYPUB.COM And speaking of our Web site, it has a new look! We unveiled Sky & Telescope's new home page this week. Point your Web browser to http://www.skypub.com/ to see the improvement. All of your favorite pages from the old SKY Online Web site are here in an easier-to-use format. The site is divided into five major categories: NEWS, SIGHTS, TIPS, IMAGING, and RESOURCES. There are over 30,000 active links on this new site spread across more than 500 Web pages. You'll also be able to order from among the more than 200 quality astronomical books and products found in the 1999 Sky Publishing Catalog using our new online store. Please note that many of our pages' URLs have changed, so you may need to alter your bookmarks and Web-page links. THIS WEEK'S "SKY AT A GLANCE" Some daily events in the changing sky, from the editors of SKY & TELESCOPE. NOV. 8 -- SUNDAY * Mercury and Antares appear 2 degrees apart this evening and tomorrow evening. Look with binoculars just above the southwest horizon a half hour after sunset. Antares is the fainter one, on the lower left. * Jupiter's Great Red Spot should cross the planet's central meridian around 9:42 p.m. Eastern Standard Time. Lately the spot has been very pale tan with a dark outline and a small, reddish-brown patch in its south side. For a list of all predicted Red Spot transit times this observing season, see http://www.skypub.com/sights/moonplanets/redspot.html. * The eclipsing variable star Algol should be in one of its periodic dimmings, magnitude 3.4 instead of its usual 2.1, for a couple hours centered on 11:34 p.m. EST. Algol takes several additional hours to fade and brighten. For a list of its predicted minima through next winter, see http://www.skypub.com/sights/variables/algol.html. NOV. 9 -- MONDAY * The red long-period variable star Chi Cygni in the Northern Cross should be at maximum brightness, 5th magnitude, around this date. See the chart in the November Sky & Telescope, page 100. NOV. 10 -- TUESDAY * Last-quarter Moon (exact at 7:28 p.m. EST). * Mercury is at greatest elongation in the evening sky, 23 degrees east of the Sun. * Saturn's largest moon, 8th-magnitude Titan, appears four ring-lengths to Saturn's east tonight through Thursday night. A small telescope will show it. * Jupiter's Red Spot should transit around 11:21 p.m. EST. NOV. 11 -- WEDNESDAY * Algol should be at minimum brightness for a couple hours centered on 8:23 p.m. EST. * Jupiter's Red Spot should transit around 7:12 p.m. EST. NOV. 12 -- THURSDAY * Ceres, the largest minor planet (asteroid), is drifting near Aldebaran in the late-evening sky. You can pick it up in binoculars; it's about magnitude 7.5. Use the finder chart in the November Sky & Telescope, page 109. * Users of medium-size and large telescopes from Texas to the Great Lakes have a chance to catch the faint asteroid 145 Adeona occulting a 10.0-magnitude star just south of Capricornus this evening. The occultation could last for 7 seconds around 1:24 Universal Time November 13th (7:24 p.m. Central Standard Time on the 12th). For a finder chart and any late updates, see http://www.skypub.com/sights/occults/occults.html. * Mars appears near the thick waning crescent Moon in the east before dawn Friday morning. NOV. 13 -- FRIDAY * Jupiter's Red Spot should transit around 8:51 p.m. EST. NOV. 14 -- SATURDAY * Some doorstep astronomy: Look low in the northeast after dark for bright Capella. Later in the evening it rises higher in the sky. Well to Capella's right, in the east, is the Pleiades cluster. Orange Aldebaran twinkles down below the Pleiades. THIS WEEK'S PLANET ROUNDUP MERCURY is very low in evening twilight. Using binoculars, look for it barely above the southwest horizon about 30 minutes after sunset. Appearing near it early in the week is Antares, somewhat fainter. VENUS is hidden in the glare of the Sun. MARS, in Leo, shines in the southeast before and during dawn. JUPITER is the big, brilliant "star" high in the south during evening. You can't miss it! Jupiter moves to the southwest in late evening, and it sets after midnight. SATURN is the bright "star" far to Jupiter's lower left after dusk, directly left of Jupiter by midevening, and to Jupiter's upper left as the night grows late. The two planets appear 40 degrees apart (about 4 fist-widths at arm's length), on opposite ends of Pisces. URANUS and NEPTUNE, magnitudes 5.8 and 7.9 respectively, are in (or very near) Capricornus in the south-southwest just after dark. See the finder chart for them in the September Sky & Telescope, page 110, or at http://www.skypub.com/sights/moonplanets/urnepplu.html. PLUTO is hidden in the sunset. (All descriptions that relate to the horizon or zenith are written for the world's midnorthern latitudes. Descriptions that also depend on longitude are for North America. Eastern Standard Time, EST, equals Universal Time minus 5 hours.) More details, sky maps, and news of other celestial events appear each month in SKY & TELESCOPE,