| T.R | Title | User | Personal
Name | Date | Lines |
|---|
| 613.1 | ROSAT Press Kit | 4347::GRIFFIN | Dave Griffin | Mon May 14 1990 21:11 | 8 |
| A formatted press kit for the ROSAT mission is available at:
PRAGMA::DNS$USER:[Griffin]ROSAT.PS
It is 6 pages long.
- dave
|
| 613.2 | Payload Status (May 24, 1990) - ROSAT, CCRES, Ulysses, GRO | 4347::GRIFFIN | Dave Griffin | Thu May 24 1990 20:16 | 72 |
|
Payload Status Report
Kennedy Space Center
Thursday, May 24, 1990
George H. Diller
407/867-2468
FTS 823-2468
DELTA/ROSAT
The spacecraft was erected atop the Delta rocket as
scheduled on May 17. Yesterday it was encapsulated in the new
10-foot tri-section fairing. Final checks of ROSAT instruments
have been performed and a pre-launch communications verification
test with the central telemetry station at Hangar AE and the
project control center in Germany is underway today.
AC-69/CRRES
The Simulated Flight test, a plus count to check the flight
events of the Atlas Centaur vehicle which began yesterday, is
concluding today. In this exercise, onboard systems were
activated and their performance verified in the same manner in
which they will operate in flight. A countdown dress rehearsal
is scheduled for on or about June. 30. All countdown events up
to main engine ignition will be performed, which includes fully
loading the vehicle with liquid hydrogen, liquid oxygen, and RP-1
kerosene propellants.
In the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility, the CRRES
spacecraft was fueled with a total of 265 pounds of hydrazine on-
orbit control propellant today. Encapsulation in the payload
fairing is scheduled for June 11.
ULYSSES
On Tuesday, June 22, the Ulysses spacecraft was removed from
its shipping container in the clean room of Hangar AO. Receiving
inspections are underway. Final assembly and testing operations
will begin next week.
The Inertial Upper Stage is scheduled to be moved from Cape
Canaveral Air Force Station to the Vertical Processing Facility
at KSC on June 5. It has been undergoing final assembly and
checkout by the U.S. Air Force 6555th Aerospace Test Group and
Boeing in the Solid Motor Assembly Building on CCAFS.
GAMMA RAY OBSERVATORY
GRO is inactive this week due to the hazardous fueling
preparations and loading underway in the same facility.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Path: shlump.nac.dec.com!decuac!haven!aplcen!uakari.primate.wisc.edu!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!ncar!ames!trident.arc.nasa.gov!yee
From: [email protected] (Peter E. Yee)
Newsgroups: sci.space
Subject: Payload Summary for 05/24/90 (Forwarded)
Message-ID: <[email protected]>
Date: 24 May 90 20:59:48 GMT
Sender: [email protected]
Reply-To: [email protected] (Peter E. Yee)
Organization: NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA
Lines: 58
|
| 613.3 | Meanwhile, back at the ranch ... ROSAT Launch Advisory | 4347::GRIFFIN | Dave Griffin | Wed May 30 1990 20:28 | 45 |
| -----------------------------------------------------------------
Wednesday, May 30, 1990 Audio Service: 202/755-1788
-----------------------------------------------------------------
This is NASA Headline News for Wednesday, May 30.......
Meanwhile, the launch of the Roentgen Satellite aboard a Delta II
booster is scheduled for June 1 at 5:35 P.M. EDT. A prelaunch
news conference will be held tomorrow at 1:00 P.M. at the Kennedy
Space Center. The ROSAT all-sky survey will take 6 months to
complete using the imaging telescopes to measure positions of X-
ray and extreme ultraviolet sources in the universe.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Jim Cast May 30, 1990
Headquarters, Washington, D.C.
(Phone: 202/453-8536)
Michael Braukus
Headquarters, Washington, D.C.
(Phone: 202/453-1548)
George H. Diller
Kennedy Space Center, Fla.
(Phone: 407/867-2468)
ROSAT LAUNCH ADVISORY
NASA will proceed with the scheduled June 1 launch of the
Roentgen Satellite (ROSAT) aboard a Delta II launch vehicle from
Complex 17, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla. The launch
window for Delta/ROSAT opens at 5:35 p.m. EDT and extends for 1
hour.
The prelaunch news conference will be held as planned on
Thursday, May 31 at 1 p.m. EDT at the KSC News Center.
From: [email protected] (Peter E. Yee)
Subject: Launch Advisory for 05/30/90 (Forwarded)
Message-ID: <[email protected]>
Date: 30 May 90 17:49:33 GMT
Organization: NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA
|
| 613.4 | CRRES - Atlas-Centaur rocket damaged | 4347::GRIFFIN | Dave Griffin | Thu May 31 1990 10:42 | 36 |
| CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (UPI) -- An Atlas-Centaur rocket was damaged on
the launch pad Wednesday when a high-pressure helium line failed during
a routine fueling test, indefinitely delaying launch of a NASA-Air Force
science satellite.
A spokesman for rocket-builder General Dynamics Corp. of San Diego
said the planned June 23 launch of the Combined Release and Radiation
Effects satellite -- CRRES -- would be delayed until engineers determine
what it will take to fix the damage.
The accident involved the first of 60 new Atlas-Centaur rockets
being built by General Dynamics as a commercial venture in a major move
to capture a share of the private-sector launch market.
A brief statement said only that the interstage adaptor, a
barrel-shaped segment connecting the Atlas first stage with the Centaur
second stage suffered ``minor damage during a routine tanking test'' at
launch complex 36B at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.
``Early indications are that a high-pressure helium line failed
during the pressurization of the helium system,'' NASA said in a
statement. ``It appears the line failure caused two small holes in the
interstage adapator.''
Jack Isabel, a spokesman for General Dynamics, said by telephone
from San Diego that the larger hole measured 2 inches by 1 inch while
the second was even smaller.
But he did not know how the line failure might have affected other
systems in the interstage area or whether the Centaur upper stage would
have to be removed from the Atlas to make repairs.
``General Dynamics is forming an investigation team to determine
the cause of the incident, assess damage to the launch vehicle and
determine if there is an impact on the scheduled ... launch,'' the
statement said.
From: [email protected]
Newsgroups: clari.tw.space,clari.news.aviation,clari.news.military,clari.news.urgent
Keywords: space, science, air transport, transportation, air force,
Message-ID: <[email protected]>
Date: 30 May 90 22:52:30 GMT
|
| 613.5 | ROSAT launched | 4347::GRIFFIN | Dave Griffin | Mon Jun 04 1990 14:00 | 107 |
| CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (UPI) -- An Air Force Delta 2 rocket boosted a
$273 million German astronomy satellite into space Friday on a flight to
study X-ray emissions from the most violent stars and galaxies in the
universe.
The 128-foot-tall Delta 2, equipped with nine strap-on solid-fuel
boosters for extra power, flashed to life at 5:48 p.m. EDT -- 13 minutes
late because of a private aircraft in the launch zone -- and quickly
climbed away from launch pad 17 at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.
About 43 minutes after liftoff, as the Delta 2 second stage sailed
over the Indian Ocean, data indicated the ``ROSAT'' satellite had been
ejected into orbit. But engineers were unable to immediately confirm the
success of the maneuver.
The 5,333-pound solar-powered ``ROSAT'' satellite is equipped with
a high-tech telescope to study X-rays from high-energy astronomical
targets ranging from super-hot stars and galaxies to exploding suns and
suspected black holes.
The flight plan called for the satellite to be ejected into a
360-mile-high orbit carrying it 53 degrees to either side of the
equator, within sight of the main control station at Oberpfaffenhofen,
West Germany.
The early moments of the flight were normal. Jack Barker, a
spokesman for the Federal Aviation Administration, identified the
aircraft blamed for the launch delay as a private Beech Kingair, saying,
``The whole incident is under investigation.''
Once in operation, ROSAT's high-tech telescope will map the sky in
an unprecedented search for X-ray sources, focusing on more than 1,400
targets of interest.
ROSAT is a joint venture between West Germany, Britain and the
United States, which supplied an $18 million instrument and the $63
million Delta 2 rocket. The West German contribution was $170 million
while Britain chipped in $35 million for one of three instruments on
board.
The total cost of the project through launch was $336 million, with
the United States committed to spending $5 million a year on data
analysis.
While visible light from deep space can be studied from Earth's
surface, high-energy ultraviolet radiation, X-rays and gamma rays are
blocked by the planet's atmosphere.
But stars, galaxies and other objects shine in a variety of
wavelengths depending on what chemical and nuclear processes are going
on. The higher the energy, the shorter the wavelength of the resulting
light. X-rays fall between ultraviolet radiation and gamma rays on the
energy spectrum.
By studying X-ray ``light'' from deep space, astronomers can gain
crucial insights into the processes that operate in the hearts of
violent stars and galaxies in a bid to understand more about the
structure and evolution of the universe.
ROSAT originally was scheduled for launch aboard a space shuttle,
but in the wake of the 1986 Challenger disaster, West German space
officials asked NASA to change plans and launch it aboard an unmanned
rocket.
The ROSAT mission represents the most ambitious X-ray astronomy
effort ever mounted, and scientists say the results should revolutionize
knowledge about the high-energy region of the electromagnetic spectrum.
``ROSAT's power is as an imaging telescope,'' NASA program
scientist Alan Bunner said. ``It has the capability to produce beautiful
images with unprecedented resolution. It will be ... the fodder
scientists will use for years to come to identify targets for detailed
study.''
A major goal of the ROSAT program is to identify X-ray targets that
will be studied in even greater detail later this decade by NASA's
Advanced X-ray Astrophysics Facility, one of four ``great
observatories'' scheduled for launch over the next 10 years.
The first was the $1.5 billion Hubble Space Telescope, launched
April 25 from the shuttle Discovery.
The results from ROSAT will complement the visible light studies of
Hubble and the investigations that will be carried out when the delayed
shuttle Columbia finally blasts off carrying a $150 million set of four
telescopes, including an X-ray spectrograph.
But unlike the X-ray instrument aboard Columbia, designed to
measure the energy distribution of radiation from deep space, ROSAT will
provide visual images of X-ray targets.
From: [email protected] (WILLIAM HARWOOD, UPI Science Writer)
Newsgroups: clari.tw.space,clari.news.aviation,clari.news.military,clari.news.urgent
Subject: Astronomy satellite launched
Date: 1 Jun 90 23:02:31 GMT
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: [email protected] (Jonathan McDowell)
Subject: ROSAT IN ORBIT!!!!
Date: 1 Jun 90 23:01:26 GMT
Organization: Harvard/Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics
The ROSAT x-ray astronomy satellite was launched from LC17B at Cape
Canaveral at 2148UT today (Jun 1). Launch was delayed several minutes
when an airliner strayed into the launch area. Orbit insertion occurred
at 2159UT and the orbit was circularized at 2226UT. The spacecraft was
due to separate from the Delta second stage at 2230, but loss of data at
the Indian Ocean ground station prevented confirmation of the event at
the time I am writing this (2250UT). The Harvard-Smithsonian ROSAT team
rented a satellite dish to watch NASA Select, and celebrated with beer
and pretzels...
ROSAT observations will begin in a few weeks with the X-ray all sky
survey. Next year, observatory-type pointed observations will be made.
.----------------------------------------------------------------.
| Jonathan McDowell | phone : (617)495-7144 |
| Center for Astrophysics | uucp: husc6!harvard!cfa200!mcdowell |
| 60 Garden Street | bitnet : [email protected] |
| Cambridge MA 02138 | inter : [email protected] |
| USA | span : cfa::mcdowell (6699::) |
| | telex : 92148 SATELLITE CAM |
| | FAX : (617)495-7356 |
'----------------------------------------------------------------'
|
| 613.6 | CRRES Press Kit | 4347::GRIFFIN | Dave Griffin | Fri Jul 06 1990 21:04 | 9 |
| The CRRES Press Kit from NASA has been formatted and is available from:
Pragma::Public:[NASA]CRRES.PS
Previous press kits announced in this conference are also available at
that location. A small directory is provided for your convenience.
- dave
|
| 613.7 | CRRES launch delayed one to two weeks | 4347::GRIFFIN | Dave Griffin | Mon Jul 16 1990 19:19 | 60 |
| From: [email protected] (Peter E. Yee)
Newsgroups: sci.space
Date: 16 Jul 90 01:53:33 GMT
Organization: NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA
Brian Dunbar
Headquarters, Washington, D.C. July 12, 1990
(Phone: 202/453-1547)
George Diller
Kennedy Space Center, Fla.
(Phone: 407/867-2468)
Jim Sahli
Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala.
(Phone: 205/544-6528)
RELEASE: 90-98
CRRES LAUNCH DELAYED ONE TO TWO WEEKS
A computer problem with the spacecraft's command and data
processing system will delay the launch of the Combined Release
and Radiation Effects Satellite (CRRES) 1 to 2 weeks.
During a spacecraft countdown practice at Cape Canaveral Air
Force Station, Fla., Launch Pad 36B, on Wednesday, July 11, an
intermittent failure occurred when commands were not properly
received and executed by the command and data processing system.
Additional testing indicated that the malfunction probably
is within the primary command decoder unit (CDU), which receives
and decodes commands from the ground, then formats and
distributes the commands through the spacecraft. Tests to
pinpoint the location of the failure should be completed by late
Thursday.
The spacecraft's backup CDU functioned properly. However,
under NASA launch-commit criteria, both CDUs must be fully
operational for a launch to take place.
If the problem lies in the CDU, which was tested
successfully twice at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC), the box
containing both units will be removed from the spacecraft and
returned to the manufacturer, Gulton Data Systems Division, to
determine the cause of failure and to effect repairs.
A new launch date will not be set until the CDU has been
repaired and returned to KSC. The mission was originally
scheduled for launch July 17.
CRRES is a joint NASA/U.S. Air Force Mission to study the
effects of chemical releases on the Earth's ionosphere and
magnetosphere and to monitor the effects of the space radiation
environment on sophisticated electronics. The spacecraft will be
launched aboard an Atlas I (Atlas-Centaur 69) vehicle, with
launch services provided by General Dynamics Space Systems
Division.
|
| 613.8 | CRRES placed in Earth orbit | 26523::KLAES | All the Universe, or nothing! | Fri Jul 27 1990 10:49 | 58 |
| Date: 26 Jul 90 19:18:47 GMT
From: [email protected] (Peter E. Yee)
Subject: NASA Headline News for 07/26/90 (Forwarded)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Thursday, July 26, 1990 Audio Service: 202/755-1788
-----------------------------------------------------------------
This is NASA Headline News for Thursday, July 26:
The first commercial Atlas rocket was successfully launched at
approximately 3:21 P.M. EDT yesterday from Cape Canaveral, Fla.
carrying the Combined Release and Radiation Effects Satellite
(CRRES). Separation of the CRRES spacecraft from the Centaur
upper stage occurred at 28 minutes after liftoff. From a
geoshycnronous transfer orbit, the spacecraft will study the
interaction of the ionosphere and magnetosphere, as well as the
effects of space radiation on microelectronic components.
NASA Deputy Administrator James R. Thompson said yesterday's
launch of the CRRES aboard a General Dynamics Atlas-1 was an
"important step forward in the 'new way' in which NASA is doing
business with the private sector for expendable launch vehicle
services."
---------------------------------------------------------------
Here's the broadcast schedule for Public Affairs events on NASA
Select TV. All times are Eastern Daylight.
Thursday, July 26:
11:00 A.M. U.S. and Soviet crew members of
the Apollo-Soyuz Space Mission--
15-year reunion news briefing at
the Kennedy Space Center.
12:30 P.M. NASA Update will be transmitted.
2:00 P.M. Magellan Status Press Conference.
A summary on the Venus encounter
scheduled August 10.
6:00 P.M. NASA Video Productions.
Friday, July 27:
1:00 P.M. Exobiology briefing at Ames
Research Center tape replay from
Wednesday, July 25.
--------------------------------------------------------------
All events and times may change without notice. This report is
filed daily, Monday through Friday at 12:00 P.M., EDT. This is
a service of the Internal Communications Branch, NASA HQ.
Contact: JSTANHOPE or CREDMOND on NASAmail or at 202/453-8425.
--------------------------------------------------------------
NASA Select TV: Satcom F2R, Transponder 13, C-Band, 72 Degrees
West Longitude, Audio 6.8, Frequency 3960 MHz. JSNEWS7-26
---------------------------------------------------------------
|
| 613.9 | CRESS NASA ELEMENT SET | 4024::BIRO | | Fri Jul 27 1990 13:48 | 13 |
| I believe this is the CRRES NASA element set
1990-65A (Launch 90-65- A) Set: 1, Obj: 20712
Epoch Year: 1990 Day: 206.946102320 Orbit # 1
Inclination = 18.11920000 R.A.A.N = 47.31540000
Eccentricity = 0.71259934 Arg of Per = 199.53870000
Mean Anomaly = 105.43200000 Mean Motion = 2.43366064
Drag = 0.65000E-06 Frequency = 0.000
S.M.A. = 23346.7137 Anom Period = 591.7012
Apogee Ht = 33605.4064 Perigee Ht = 331.7010
|
| 613.10 | NASA to test gas ionization theory over South Pacific | 4347::GRIFFIN | Dave Griffin | Thu Sep 06 1990 21:51 | 80 |
| From: [email protected] (Peter E. Yee)
Organization: NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA
Brian Dunbar
Headquarters, Washington, D.C. August 31, 1990
(Phone: 202/453-1547)
Jim Sahli
Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala.
(Phone: 205/544-6528)
RELEASE: 90-120
NASA TO TEST GAS IONIZATION THEORY OVER SOUTH PACIFIC
A NASA/U.S. Air Force satellite will initiate two chemical
release experiments Sept. 10 and 12 to aid scientists studying
the processes by which fast-moving neutral gases become
ionized. The two chemical releases, part of the Combined Release
and Radiation Effects Satellite (CRRES) program, will occur at
dusk local time over the South Pacific and above the atmosphere
at altitudes between 300 and 360 miles.
CRRES is a joint NASA/U.S. Air Force mission to study the
Earth's ionosphere and magnetosphere and to monitor the effects
of the space radiation environment on sophisticated
electronics.
On each day, two canisters will be ejected from opposite
sides of the CRRES spacecraft. After 25 minutes, when the
canisters are about 2 miles from the satellite, vaporized
chemicals will be released from each canister and expand,
initially at a rate of approximately 0.6 miles per second. One
pair of canisters will release approximately 12 pounds of barium
from one canister and 12 pounds of strontium from the other. The
second pair will release 12 pounds of barium and 4 pounds of
calcium.
Since the releases will be made below the Sun-Earth
terminator (the line that divides the Earth between day and
night), the released chemical cloud will not be visible
initially. If the vapor cloud becomes ionized by interaction
with the background plasma, the newly formed ions will expand
upward along lines of the Earth's magnetic field.
Approximately 42 miles above the release point, the ions
will emerge into sunlight, where they will become visible as they
scatter sunlight. This ion cloud will appear as a faint purplish
streak, elongated along the geomagnetic field, with a brightness
similar to a weak aurora's. However, since the releases will be
made at dusk, it will be difficult for an observer to see the
releases with the naked eye.
The observation of such an ion cloud will confirm the
critical velocity ionization hypothesis, which states that if the
relative velocity of an electrically neutral gas and a magnetized
plasma (ionized, or electrically charged, gas) is large enough,
the neutral gas will ionize even though less energy is available
than is normally required for ionization.
The Sept. 10 releases will occur at 2:11 a.m. EDT (7:11 p.m.
on Sept. 9 local time) approximately halfway between American
Samoa and Tahiti, at latitude 17.5 degrees south and longitude
161 degrees west. The Sept. 12 releases will occur at 3:29 a.m.
(8:29 p.m. Sept. 11 local time) just east of Fiji, at latitude 18
degrees south and 180 degrees west.
The chemical releases will be observed by scientists aboard
two aircraft, a U.S. Air Force KC-135 and a leased Lear-35.
Also, scientists on American Samoa will observe the releases with
low-light video cameras and telescopes. Instruments aboard the
satellite itself also will observe the releases.
CRRES was launched from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station,
Fla., on July 25 aboard an Atlas-Centaur vehicle. NASA's portion
of the mission is managed by the Marshall Space Flight Center,
Huntsville, Ala., for the agency's Office of Space Science and
Applications.
|
| 613.11 | NASA ROSAT imager returns successful first light pictures | 4347::GRIFFIN | Dave Griffin | Tue Oct 02 1990 10:09 | 88 |
| From: [email protected] (Peter E. Yee)
Organization: NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CALines: 85
Michael Braukus
Headquarters, Washington, D.C. October 1, 1990
(Phone: 202/453-1549)
John J. Loughlin II
Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.
(Phone: 301/286-5565)
RELEASE 90-133
NASA ROSAT IMAGER RETURNS SUCCESSFUL FIRST LIGHT PICTURES
The NASA High Resolution Imager (HRI) instrument aboard the
German Roentgen Satellite (ROSAT) has demonstrated its successful
operation by sending back to Earth impressive first light
pictures, according to NASA officials.
ROSAT, a cooperative program between the United States, West
Germany and Great Britain, was launched June 1, 1990 to study
cosmic X-ray emissions. X-rays are the signature of high energy
processes (greater than about one million degrees). Scientists
are interested in X-ray images because they specifically
highlight regions in celestial systems where high energy
phenomena exist.
The joint international team responsible for ROSAT are
excited about the images received at a ground station near
Munich, Germany during the satellite's orbital calibration and
verification phase which occurred last June and July. The team
reports that the spacecraft is functioning well, the scientific
instruments are functioning better than expected and the image
quality from the X-ray mirror is as good or better than
previously indicated by ground testing. This adds up to what
scientists expect will be very promising scientific results and
discoveries.
The HRI images are representative of those to be obtained
during the pointing phase of the mission. The images represent
X-rays in the energy range of 0.4 to 2.5 kilo electron volts.
One photograph is of Cygnus X-2, believed to be a neutron
star orbiting a normal stellar companion, about 3,000 light years
from Earth.
A second photograph shows the supernova remnant Cas A, in
the constellation Cassiopea. The remnant is the result of a
supernova explosion which occurred in the Milky Way galaxy about
320 years ago. The X-ray images represent emissions from a hot
plasma cloud of several million degrees produced by the
interaction of the blast wave from the supernova with the
surrounding interstellar material. The remnant is located about
9,000-10,000 light years from Earth.
The third photograph shows a cluster of galaxies known as
Abell 2256. Galaxy clusters are traditionally strong X-ray
emitters. The emission originates in the hot gas which is swept
out of colliding galaxies and accumulates between the galaxies.
These gasses are typically tens of million degrees in
temperature.
The spacecraft is currently in a circular orbit at an
altitude of about 358 miles, at an inclination of 53 degrees. It
was launched from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla.,
aboard a Delta expendable launch vehicle.
Within NASA, the ROSAT program is managed by the Goddard
Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.
- end -
Photographs to illustrate this story are available free to
media representatives by calling 202/453-8383.
Color: B&W:
90-HC-573 90-H-637
90-HC-574 90-H-638
90-HC 575 90-H-639
NASA news releases and other information are available
electronically on CompuServe and GEnie, the General Electric
Network for Information Exchange. For information on CompuServe,
call 1-800/848-8199 and ask for representative 176. For
information on GEnie, call 1-800/638-9636.
|
| 613.12 | Satellite releases planned in study of auroral displays | PRAGMA::GRIFFIN | Dave Griffin | Fri Jan 04 1991 13:16 | 114 |
| From: [email protected] (Peter E. Yee)
Date: 3 Jan 91 21:40:25 GMT
Organization: NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA
Brian Dunbar
Headquarters, Washington, D.C. January 3, 1991
(Phone: 202/453-1547) 4 p.m. EST
Jerry Berg
Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala.
(Phone: 205/544-0034)
RELEASE: 91-2
SATELLITE RELEASES PLANNED IN STUDY OF AURORAL DISPLAYS
In January 1991, NASA will conduct experiments from an
orbiting satellite to test the possibility of creating an
artificial aurora. The Combined Release and Radiation Effects
Satellite (CRRES) will release clouds of barium and lithium vapor
in the Earth's magnetosphere, the region above the atmosphere.
The CRRES program is a joint NASA-U.S. Air Force effort to
study the Earth's ionosphere and magnetosphere and to monitor the
effects of the space radiation environment on sophisticated
electronics. Through the CRRES program's artificial cloud-
release experiments, scientists seek to understand the processes
which cause auroras by using artificial charged-particle clouds
to induce them.
The releases, which have no adverse environmental effects,
will result in clouds of artificially injected charged particles,
temporarily and locally changing the structure of the charged
particles and the magnetic fields where they occur. Illuminated
by the sun, these clouds will show up as bright patches in the
night sky. Project officials estimate the patches will be about
the size of a full moon and nearly as bright.
The releases should be visible from the entire continental
United States, most of Canada, Central America, the Caribbean,
and much of South America. During some of the release
opportunities, the clouds may be visible low in the western skies
from western Africa and Europe, several hours before dawn. Two
previous releases from the CRRES satellite have been made. They
occurred in September over the South Pacific Ocean.
The magnetosphere is the region where the Earth's magnetic
field forms a "bubble" in the solar wind, trapping energetic
electrons and ions. These charged particles are locked into
spiral orbits around the lines of magnetic force, spinning like a
rock whirled around on a string. These particles also bounce
back and forth along the field lines from one end to the other,
coming close to the Earth at each end but turning around or
"reflecting" just above the atmosphere.
"Sometimes, though, these charged particles act like they're
jumping the tracks," said Dr. David L. Reasoner, CRRES Project
Scientist at the Marshall center. "They leave their stable paths
and go racing up into the high, thin atmosphere. There they
smash into the atoms and molecules of air, causing them to glow,
almost like a big TV screen.
"We call this glow the aurora," Reasoner continued. "At
times the particles leak out of the magnetic field trap in a slow
drizzle and make only weak, barely visible auroras. At other
times they pour out like a heavy downpour, making very bright
auroras or an auroral storm." Scientists are not sure why these
particles behave in strange, unpredictable ways.
"The ever-changing nature of the aurora stands as brilliant
evidence of these uncontrolled processes," said Reasoner.
"They're not only responsible for visible effects -- that is, the
aurora. They also cause disruptions in high-frequency
communications, occasionally produce damaging currents in
terrestrial power systems and create magnetic storms which affect
sensitive instruments on Earth and in space," he added.
A total of seven releases are planned, three in which
lithium will produce a red glow and four of barium, which will
glow green and purple. The opportunities for the releases occur
on the nights of Jan. 10, 12, 14, 15, 17, 19, 21, 23, 24 and
25. Exact times for the releases will be announced - after being
determined by scientists monitoring the state of the
magnetosphere by means of instruments on the CRRES satellite.
"In essence, we are attempting to duplicate nature on a
small scale by artificially triggering a natural process in a
controlled experiment," said Reasoner. The effects will be
studied with an extensive network of cameras and other
instruments both on the ground and in specially instrumented
aircraft scattered throughout the United States, the Caribbean
and South America and staffed by scientists from universities,
both U.S. and foreign, government laboratories and industry. The
actual releases will be over South America at altitudes between
3,000 and 21,000 miles.
For viewers in the United States and Canada, the releases
will be in the southern sky at elevations between 10 and 50
degrees above the horizon. Since the moon will be down or near
new phase for the releases (a requirement for the highly
sensitive scientific cameras), observers in locations with clear
skies and away from city lights should have excellent viewing
conditions. The lithium releases are expected to be visible for
about 5 minutes, and the barium releases for about 15 minutes.
The satellite originally was launched from Cape Canaveral
Air Force Station, Fla., last July 25 aboard an Atlas-Centaur
rocket. CRRES is a joint program of NASA, through its Marshall
Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., and the Department of
Defense's Space Test Program. CRRES is operated and controlled
from the Consolidated Space Test Center located in Sunnyvale,
Calif.
|
| 613.13 | ROSAT Update - December 26 | ADVAX::KLAES | All the Universe, or nothing! | Mon Jan 07 1991 15:33 | 25 |
| From: [email protected] (Ron Baalke)
Newsgroups: sci.space,sci.astro
Subject: Rosat Update - 12/26/90
Date: 7 Jan 91 17:09:56 GMT
Sender: [email protected]
Organization: Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA.
Rosat Status Report
December 26, 1990
The Rosat project requested 14 additional DSN (Deep Space
Network) passes on December 22 for "telemetry verification" during
attitude recovery activities. They reported the spacecraft's health
is OK, but that "attitude control not satisfactory". Due to prior
support commitments, the DSN could comply with only seven of the
requested passes. Twelve additional Rosat passes have been scheduled
per project request from December 27 through December 29.
___ _____ ___
/_ /| /____/ \ /_ /|
| | | | __ \ /| | | | Ron Baalke | [email protected]
___| | | | |__) |/ | | |___ Jet Propulsion Lab | [email protected]
/___| | | | ___/ | |/__ /| M/S 301-355 |
|_____|/ |_|/ |_____|/ Pasadena, CA 91109 |
|
| 613.14 | Satellite release/radiation science briefing | PRAGMA::GRIFFIN | Dave Griffin | Tue Jan 08 1991 17:55 | 40 |
| From: [email protected] (Peter E. Yee)
Date: 7 Jan 91 22:48:34 GMT
Organization: NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA
Brian Dunbar
Headquarters, Washington, D.C. January 7, 1991
(Phone: 202/453-1548)
N91-1
EDITORS NOTE: SATELLITE RELEASE/RADIATION SCIENCE BRIEFING
NASA scientists working with the Combined Release and
Radiation Effects Satellite (CRRES) will discuss, at a press
briefing, upcoming experiments to test the possibility of
creating an artificial aurora by releasing clouds of barium and
lithium vapor in the Earth's magnetosphere. The first of 7
releases is planned for the night of Jan. 10, 1991. The
opportunities for the remaining releases occur on the nights of
Jan. 12, 14, 15, 17, 19, 21, 23, 24 and 25.
The releases, when illuminated by the sun at very high
altitudes, will show up as bright patches in the night sky.
Project officials estimate the patches will be about the size of
the full moon and nearly as bright.
The releases should be visible from the entire continental
United States, most of Canada, Central America, the Caribbean and
much of South America. During some of the release opportunities,
the clouds may be visible low in the western skies from western
Africa and Europe, several hours before dawn.
The media briefing will originate from the NASA Headquarters
6th floor auditorium, 400 Maryland Ave., S.W., Washington, D.C.,
at 1 p.m. EST, Wednesday, Jan. 9 and will be carried live on NASA
Select TV, Satcom F2R, 72 degrees West Longitude, Transponder 13,
frequency 3960.0 MHz, audio 6.8 MHz, with two-way question and
answer from participating NASA field centers.
|
| 613.15 | CRRES prediction for 11-FEB-91 | 3625::BIRO | | Thu Jan 10 1991 09:08 | 14 |
| NPR radio this morning state that the release would be
tonight, so I ran a quick calculation of CRRES orbit
for the Boston Mass/NE area.
at about 00:50 UTC it will rise at 235 deg apx for the SW
by 01:00 UTC it will be at 218 deg and 28 deg elevation
by 01:06 UTC it will be at 204 deg and 40 deg elevation
by 01:10 UTC it will be at 195 deg and 45 deg elevation
by 01:50 UTC it will be at 150 deg and 53 deg elevation
by 05:30 UTC it will be at 168 deg and 50 deg elevation
john
|
| 613.16 | 2 liner for CRRES etc | CSS::BIRO | | Thu Jan 10 1991 10:23 | 23 |
| Here is the latest NASA two loner for CRRES that I have, in
case someone outside the NE area would like to calculate when
CRRES would be in their visual window.
john
CRRES
1 20712U 91 1.18045573 .00000791 00000-0 77598-3 0 836
2 20712 18.2613 341.9621 7125628 321.1119 4.7208 2.43677978 3906
or in a more verbal format
CRRES Set: 83, Obj: 20712
Epoch Year: 1991 Day: 1.180455730 Orbit # 390
Inclination = 18.26130000 R.A.A.N = 341.96210000
Eccentricity = 0.71256280 Arg of Per = 321.11190000
Mean Anomaly = 4.72080000 Mean Motion = 2.43677978
Drag = 0.79100E-05 Frequency = 0.000
S.M.A. = 23326.7865 Anom Period = 590.9438
Apogee Ht = 33570.4268 Perigee Ht = 326.8262
|
| 613.17 | First artificial aurora tonight | ADVAX::KLAES | All the Universe, or nothing! | Thu Jan 10 1991 11:35 | 169 |
| From: [email protected] (Cary Oler)
Newsgroups: sci.space
Subject: ARTIFICIAL AURORA ALERT - SPECIAL SOLAR TERRESTRIAL BULLETIN
Date: 10 Jan 91 07:29:57 GMT
Sender: [email protected]
Organization: The Internet
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
SPECIAL SOLAR TERRESTRIAL BULLETIN
Artificial Aurora Alert
09 January, 1991
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
At approximately 01:45 UT on 11 January (Thursday evening for the
U.S. and Canada), an artificially created aurora will become visible
over many Canadian and U.S. areas. Over most middle latitude
locations, the auroral display will occur near the zenith (straight
up). Southern Canada will see the aurora to the south of the zenith.
Lower latitudes will see the aurora to the north of the zenith.
Seeding will occur near 01:45 UT (5:45 pm PST, 6:45 pm MST, 7:45 pm
CST, and 8:45 pm EST). There will be seven seedings take place, but
the exact times of the other six seedings is not presently known.
This will be an excellent opportunity for people to observe an
aurora. Much of the continental U.S. should be able to witness this
aurora. Each seeding will produce a very intense aurora for
approximately 5 to 10 minutes. To witness the aurora, get outside and
away from city lights. Be at your observing site (ie. the
countryside) by at least 01:15 UT to 01:30 UT. To observe the
greatest auroral detail, give your eyes at least 15 to 30 minutes to
become accustomed to the darkness. The auroral activity will be
bright enough to capture on film, or to record with your Camcorder.
Take hot drinks and warm clothing. The seedings may be spread out
over several hours.
Radio propagation conditions during these periods of auroral
activity will become notably disturbed over paths affected by the
aurora. It may also be possible to accomplish auroral backscatter
communications over VHF frequencies. Higher HF frequencies may also
yield some interesting results. However, be aware that the auroral
activity will be short-lived, hence any unusual radio communications
achieved will likewise be short-lived.
PLEASE SEND A NOTE OF VISUAL CONFIRMATION OF THE AURORAL ACTIVITY
IF YOU ARE ABLE TO SPOT THE AURORA. Send confirmations to (DECWRL::)
"[email protected]". Please include your observation location and a
brief description of the activity you witnessed.
PLEASE ALSO SEND ANY NOTES OF DEGRADED RADIO COMMUNICATIONS TO THE
SAME ADDRESS GIVEN ABOVE. Again, please state your transmitter or
receiver location and a description of the radio anomalies experienced
(strong fading, intense flutter, distortion or noise, etc.). Also
please state the frequencies affected during your observations.
To all who send confirmation reports, thanks very much!
** End of Bulletin **
From: [email protected] (WILLIAM HARWOOD, UPI Science Writer)
Newsgroups: clari.news.top,clari.tw.space
Subject: Satellite to create colorful space clouds
Date: 9 Jan 91 22:07:46 GMT
Starting Thursday night, a satellite will create softly
glowing clouds of chemicals in space that will be clearly visible
across the United States in an experiment to learn more about Earth's
magnetic field and the forces that power spectacular auroras.
Visible in the south-southeast quadrant of the Moonless sky at
an altitude of 20 degrees to 50 degrees above the horizon, the clouds
will blossom from a starlike point to cover an area of space the size
of the full Moon as they swell, dim and then fade from view.
The first such release, tentatively planned for 8:43 p.m. EST
Thursday, will involve bluish barium vapor, producing a glowing cloud
about one-tenth the brightness and one-third the size of the full
Moon. Scientists said the cloud should be easily visible, weather
permitting, for about 15 minutes.
``I think it will generate a lot of public excitement,''
project scientist David Reasoner said at a news conference Wednesday.
``As far as visibility over a wide area, we're certainly getting ready
to set the record here.''
The clouds, which may be produced for as many as 15 days in a
row beginning Thursday, should be visible, weather permitting, from
the entire continental United States, most of Canada, Central America,
the Caribbean and much of South America, officials said.
The nighttime chemical releases will probably trigger a rash
of UFO sightings, but officials stressed the experiment is
environmentally harmless, providing little more than a light show for
observers on the ground.
``You can see it from the very instant of ignition,'' Reasoner
said. ``A burst is a good analogy. It's similar to a starburst. It's
sort of a uniform shell.''
The $250 million Combined Release and Radiation Effects
Satellite -- CRRES -- was launched atop an Atlas-Centaur rocket from
the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida on July 25, 1990.
The joint NASA-Air Force satellite will release clouds of
barium and lithium vapor into the space above Earth's atmosphere 15
days in a row this month starting Thursday night. Two previous
chemical release campaigns occurred in September over the South
Pacific Ocean.
The goal of the study is to improve understanding of the
processes that cause auroras by injecting electrically charged
particles into Earth's ``magnetosphere,'' an invisible doughnut-like
bubble formed by the planet's magnetic field.
Charged particles blasted away from the sun become trapped in
the magnetosphere, spriraling along magnetic field lines and bouncing
back and forth between the ends as they are ``reflected'' by the
atmosphere over the poles where the field lines plunge down, into the
atmosphere.
``Sometimes, though, these charged particles act like they're
jumping the tracks,'' Reasoner said in an earlier statement. ``They
leave their stable paths and go racing up into the high, thin
atmosphere. There they smash into the atoms and molecules of air,
causing them to glow.
``We call this glow the aurora. In essence, we are attempting
to duplicate nature on a small scale by artificially triggering a
natural process in a controlled experiment.''
The CRRES satellite was equipped with 24 canisters of lithium
and barium that can be released on computer command and detonated,
releasing a vapor into space that is quickly ``ionized'' by sunlight,
leaving it electrically charged. The lithium clouds appear red while
the barium releases appear greenish blue.
``It definitely will not be shining in white light like the
full Moon,'' Reasoner said of the lithium releases. ``It's sort of
like a dimly lit Moon or a Moon seen through high clouds. Perhaps the
Moon as you see it just coming up over the horizon or as it's setting
and it's very red due to atmospheric scattering.
While the lithium clouds will span the width of the full Moon,
``the barium cloud will be one-third the size of the Moon after 30
seconds or so and one-tenth the brightness.''
``The lithium releases ... will be sort of dim red,'' said
program manager Richard Howard. ``Certainly it will be the brightest
feature in the sky since the Moon will be down, brighter than any star
or planet, especially in the very beginning.
``It's highly visible and very clear to see if you know where
to look. If you are looking at the opposite part of the sky and don't
catch the release in the first minute or so, you may have a hard time
picking it up.''
Learning more about the aurora and the forces that trigger the
effect could help scientists minimize the effects of the phenomenon on
terrestrial and space systems.
``They're not only responsible for visible effects ... they
also cause disruptions in high frequency communications, occasionally
produce damaging currents in terrestrial power systems and create
magnetic storms which affect sensitive instruments on Earth and in
space,'' Reasoner said.
|
| 613.18 | CRRES 13 Jan 1991 (UT) second of two releases. | PRAGMA::GRIFFIN | Dave Griffin | Fri Jan 11 1991 13:01 | 108 |
| From: [email protected] (Ray Sterner)
Subject: CRRES barium/lithium releases
Summary: Altazimuths for various cities
Date: 11 Jan 91 16:33:42 GMT
Organization: Johns Hopkins University
CRRES 13 Jan 1991 (UT) second of two releases.
This is to be a large barium or lithium cloud. Tables for two alternate
times are given below.
---------------------- Primary release time -----------------------
Combined Release and Radiation Effects Satellite (CRRES)
Marshall Space Flight Center hotline: 205-544-5356.
Values are for a spherical earth with no atmospheric refraction.
Distances in km, angles in degrees. Universal time is given.
large barium or lithium release at 06:56:09 13 Jan 1991 GMT.
Satellite altitude = 33530.
Sub-satellite lat, long (deg) = 8.50 85.70
*****************************************************
* An alternate time is 08:44:09 13 Jan 1991 GMT. *
* Table below does NOT apply to the alternate time! *
*****************************************************
Range to
City Satellite sub-sat
City Lat Long Azi Alt Dist point
Anchorage 61.2 149.8 109.1 10.7 38228 7821
Atlanta 33.8 84.4 183.1 60.2 34249 2814
Baghdad 33.2 -44.4 302.0 -34.4 43164 13006
Bermuda 32.3 65.8 222.2 54.5 34542 3357
Chicago 41.8 87.6 176.5 50.8 34758 3713
Dallas 32.8 96.8 154.6 58.9 34308 2931
Denver 39.7 105.0 145.9 48.2 34924 3970
Edmonton 53.5 113.5 143.2 31.9 36168 5598
El Paso 31.8 106.4 135.9 54.4 34546 3364
Honolulu 21.3 157.8 88.3 10.6 38236 7829
London 51.5 0.0 272.0 0.1 39381 8981
Los Angeles 34.0 118.3 122.9 44.1 35205 4375
Miami 25.8 80.2 197.9 68.6 33900 2007
Montreal 45.5 73.6 199.5 45.1 35137 4279
New York 40.7 74.0 201.2 50.3 34790 3764
Paris 48.8 2.3 270.7 1.6 39222 8822
Puerto Rico 18.5 66.2 244.8 64.6 34050 2385
Salt Lake City 40.8 111.9 137.0 43.6 35240 4424
San Francisco 37.8 122.3 122.0 38.7 35607 4911
Seattle 47.6 122.3 129.5 32.4 36129 5552
St. Louis 38.7 90.3 171.1 54.2 34559 3386
Sydney -33.9 -151.3 102.1 -39.1 43622 13577
Tokyo 35.7 -139.7 53.3 -36.0 43319 13196
Washington, DC 38.8 77.0 196.7 53.2 34618 3486
Winnipeg 50.6 96.3 164.5 39.9 35514 4791
-------------------- Aternate release time ------------------------
Combined Release and Radiation Effects Satellite (CRRES)
Marshall Space Flight Center hotline: 205-544-5356.
Values are for a spherical earth with no atmospheric refraction.
Distances in km, angles in degrees. Universal time is given.
large barium or lithium release at 08:44:09 13 Jan 1991 GMT.
Satellite altitude = 28738.
Sub-satellite lat, long (deg) = 3.30 96.30
*****************************************************
* An alternate time is 06:56:09 13 Jan 1991 GMT. *
* Table below does NOT apply to the alternate time! *
*****************************************************
Range to
City Satellite sub-sat
City Lat Long Azi Alt Dist point
Anchorage 61.2 149.8 121.5 9.3 33512 7829
Atlanta 33.8 84.4 202.6 51.0 29927 3608
Baghdad 33.2 -44.4 306.7 -45.3 39357 14238
Bermuda 32.3 65.8 231.0 41.4 30571 4539
Chicago 41.8 87.6 193.8 43.1 30449 4374
Dallas 32.8 96.8 179.0 54.5 29728 3278
Denver 39.7 105.0 165.6 45.4 30287 4148
Edmonton 53.5 113.5 158.1 28.6 31610 5809
El Paso 31.8 106.4 159.4 53.8 29766 3343
Honolulu 21.3 157.8 97.7 17.7 32647 6938
London 51.5 0.0 277.0 -11.6 35835 10166
Los Angeles 34.0 118.3 141.6 45.8 30257 4105
Miami 25.8 80.2 217.2 57.1 29591 3035
Montreal 45.5 73.6 212.0 34.8 31085 5192
New York 40.7 74.0 214.2 39.5 30712 4724
Paris 48.8 2.3 275.2 -10.4 35703 10032
Puerto Rico 18.5 66.2 246.4 50.2 29980 3691
Salt Lake City 40.8 111.9 155.4 42.3 30506 4451
San Francisco 37.8 122.3 139.0 40.1 30665 4663
Seattle 47.6 122.3 144.9 31.4 31365 5527
St. Louis 38.7 90.3 190.4 47.1 30172 3982
Sydney -33.9 -151.3 100.1 -29.5 37810 12284
Tokyo 35.7 -139.7 65.8 -33.5 38234 12782
Washington, DC 38.8 77.0 211.1 42.7 30477 4412
Winnipeg 50.6 96.3 180.0 34.0 31148 5268
Ray Sterner sterner%[email protected]
Johns Hopkins University North latitude 39.16 degrees.
Applied Physics Laboratory West longitude 76.90 degrees.
Laurel, MD 20723-6099
|
| 613.19 | CRRES Altazimuth Program: Anyone care to translate this to C (or something)? | PRAGMA::GRIFFIN | Dave Griffin | Fri Jan 11 1991 13:04 | 103 |
| From: [email protected] (Ray Sterner)
Subject: Barium release altazimuth program
Date: 11 Jan 91 16:42:21 GMT
Organization: Johns Hopkins University
I have had numerous requests for the program to compute
the altitudes and azimuths for the CRRES barium/lithium
releases. This program was written yesterday (10 Jan)
in the language IDL. I have tried to make it easy to
port to other languages since IDL is not available
everywhere (yet). Also for portability some of the
methods used are not as elegant as they could be.
;-----------------------------------------------------------------------
; BARIUM.PRO = Compute altitude and azimuth of satellite barium release
; Ray. Sterner, Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Lab, 10 Jan, 1991
;----------------------------------------------------------------------
; Notes: This program is written in the language IDL. As used
; here IDL is very similar to FORTRAN or BASIC and may easily
; be translated to some other language (or just use the equations).
; In the code below: !radeg = 180/pi (about 57.295779).
; Any text following a semi-colon (;) is a comment. Numeric
; constants containing d0 are double precision.
; To make this easier to translate to other languages I avoided
; many of the powerful features of IDL.
; The variables LAT1 and LONG1 are the latitude and longitude
; of the observer, and LAT2 and LONG2 are the latitude and
; longitude of the sub-satellite point on the earth.
; The earth is assumed spherical and atmospheric refraction is
; ignored.
; The following is based on spherical trig equations from the
; book "Textbook on Spherical Astronomy" by W. M. Smart.
; I don't normaly like to use spherical trig for this type of
; problem because there are usually too many ambiguities.
; For example, the azimuth angle is really the small angle from
; north, so to get true azimuth a correction must be made based
; on the longitude difference. Also the azimuth equation seemed
; a bit picky, sometimes giving values slightly out of the valid
; function range due to round off so, the value of t was forced
; >= 0, and sa2 was forced <= than 1. There are special cases
; when you are at the north or south pole or directly under the
; satellite. I much prefer vector methods which don't have
; these problems but they involve polar/rectangular coordinate
; transformations which are less easily ported.
; This seems to work for some test cases I tried.
;----------------------------------------------------------------------
pro barium
print,' '
print,' ---==< Barium release altitude and azimuth >==---'
print,' '
read,' Enter observation point lat. and long. (deg): ',lat1,long1
read,' Enter sub-satellite point lat. and long. (deg): ',lat2,long2
read,' Enter barium release altitude (km): ',h
colat1 = (90.d0-lat1)/!radeg ; Co-latitudes in radians.
colat2 = (90.d0-lat2)/!radeg
dlong = long2-long1
if dlong gt 180 then dlong = dlong - 360.
if dlong lt (-180) then dlong = dlong + 360.
dlong = dlong/!radeg ; Longitude difference in radians.
;------- Range to sub-satellite point -------
cosr = cos(colat1)*cos(colat2) + sin(colat1)*sin(colat2)*cos(dlong)
range = acos(cosr)
;------- Satellite azimuth ------
s = (colat1 + colat2 + range)/2.d0
if (colat1 eq 0.) or (range eq 0.) then begin
t = 0.
endif else begin
t = ((sin(s-colat1)*sin(s-range))/(sin(colat1)*sin(range)))
if t lt 0.0 then t = 0.0
endelse
sa2 = sqrt(t)
if sa2 gt 1.0 then sa2 = 1.0
azi = 2.*asin(sa2)
azi = azi*!radeg
if dlong gt 0 then azi = 360.- azi
;------- Satellite altitude ----------
re = 6378. ; Radius of earth in km.
x = re - (re+h)*cos(range)
y = (re+h)*sin(range)
if x eq 0. then alt = 0. ; Here a To_polar routine would
if x gt 0. then alt = atan(y/x)*!radeg - 90. ; clean up this
if x lt 0. then alt = atan(y/x)*!radeg + 90. ; mess.
;------ Satellite distance -----------
c2 = re^2 + (re+h)^2 - 2.*re*(re+h)*cos(range)
if c2 lt 0.0 then c2 = 0.0
dist = sqrt(c2)
print,' '
print,' Azimuth of satellite (deg) = ',azi
print,' Altitude of satellite (deg) = ',alt
print,' Distance of satellite (km) = ',dist
print,' Distance of sub-satellite point (km) = ',range*re
return
end
|
| 613.20 | 13 Jan Info | CSS::BIRO | | Fri Jan 11 1991 16:31 | 59 |
| from the telephone number listed in .18 notes I got the following info
The small Barium release for the 11 of Jan was scrubbed,
bad weather and not enough require viewing sites was
the reason given.
the next release will be
Small Barium at 02:18z on 13 Jan 91
or at 02:58z
Large Lithium at 07:05z on 13 Jan 91
Below are my prediction for Boston Mass
Last Apogee Time Longitude Next Apogee Time
2053:41.9 ********* 0644:35.8
U.T.C. AZ EL DOPPLER RANGE HEIGHT LAT LONG PHASE AZ-Loc2-EL
HHMM:SS deg deg hz km km N+S- W+E- <256> deg deg
1/13/91 SUN -----DAY # 13----ORBIT # 419----
0210:00 250 1.1 0 7790 3785 13.8 119.2 9
0212:00 247 6.8 0 7825 4283 14.7 115.4 10
0214:00 244 12 0 7923 4785 15.4 111.9 11
0216:00 242 17 0 8078 5289 16.0 108.8 12
sb 0218:00 239 22 0 8281 5792 16.5 105.9 12
0220:00 236 26 0 8527 6293 16.9 103.3 13
0222:00 234 29 0 8807 6791 17.2 100.9 14
0224:00 231 33 0 9116 7284 17.5 98.7 15
0226:00 229 36 0 9448 7773 17.7 96.7 16
or 0228:00 226 38 0 9798 8256 17.8 94.8 17
sb 0300:00 196 55 0 15988 15138 17.9 78.3 31
0330:00 184 57 0 21074 20249 16.7 73.3 44
0400:00 181 56 0 25186 24316 15.4 72.0 57
0430:00 183 55 0 28449 27520 14.2 72.8 70
0500:00 186 54 0 30976 29978 13.0 74.6 83
0530:00 191 53 0 32849 31764 11.8 77.1 96
0600:00 196 51 0 34119 32929 10.7 80.1 109
0630:00 201 49 0 34821 33501 9.5 83.2 122
0644:36A 203 48 0 34962 33569 8.9 84.8A 128
ll 0700:00 205 47 0 34969 33493 8.3 86.5 135
0730:00 210 44 0 34564 32906 7.0 89.7 148
0800:00 213 41 0 33591 31726 5.6 92.7 161
0830:00 216 38 0 32018 29922 4.1 95.4 174
0900:00 217 35 0 29793 27446 2.3 97.6 187
0930:00 217 31 0 26836 24221 0.2 98.7 200
1000:00 215 27 0 23032 20130 -2.4 98.1 213
1030:00 209 21 0 18230 14988 -6.2 93.9 226
1100:00 191 9.9 0 12429 8546 -12.0 80.4 239
1102:00 189 8.6 0 12028 8067 -12.5 78.7 240
1104:00 187 7.2 0 11631 7582 -13.1 76.9 240
1106:00 184 5.6 0 11241 7091 -13.6 74.9 241
1108:00 182 3.9 0 10859 6596 -14.2 72.8 242
1110:00 179 2.0 0 10488 6097 -14.7 70.3 243
1112:00 176 -0.1 0 10134 5595 -15.3 67.7 244
|
| 613.21 | release info | CSS::BIRO | | Mon Jan 14 1991 09:36 | 10 |
| Skies in the Massachusetts area were bad, so I could not see anything,
however according to he telephone message there was a Small Barium
release on the 13 at 02:17:03 Z, since these release went ok there
was no release at 02:58 Z. A Large Lithium was also released
at 07:05z I was not up for this one.
The next Smaall Barium release will be on the 15th of Jan at 04:12z
john
|
| 613.22 | Boston release coverage fails the grade | 2377::diewald | I thought ESPN was the Telepathy Channel | Mon Jan 14 1991 10:16 | 7 |
| Amusingly enough, the Boston Channel 5 weatherman Dickie Albert was all
excited about the release. He's usually pretty well informed about these
kinds of things. Anyway, Channel 5 viewers got video pictures of the
"release".
Later, he had to apologize because they had just shot pictures of some
random light in the sky. (It looked like a plane to me.)
|
| 613.23 | next release date/time | CSS::BIRO | | Mon Jan 14 1991 10:32 | 13 |
| next possible release from the hotline 205-544-5356
Small Barium
15 Jan at 04:11 UTC
or 05:32 UTC
Lithium Release or Large Barium release
15 Jan window opens at 07:35 UTC
closes at 09:48 UTC
john
|
| 613.24 | CHEMICAL RELEASE SUMMARY - NEXT SCHEDULED RELEASE | PRAGMA::GRIFFIN | Dave Griffin | Mon Jan 14 1991 19:26 | 50 |
| From: [email protected] (Cary Oler)
Date: 14 Jan 91 03:26:33 GMT
Organization: The Internet
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
SPECIAL SOLAR TERRESTRIAL BULLETIN
Artificial Aurora Alert
14 January, 1991
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
Successful chemical releases were accomplished on 13 January. The first
release was a Barium payload that was released at 02:17 UT. The second
release occurred later that evening at 07:05 UT. This second release was a
large Lithium payload.
The first release was widely viewed throughout the continental U.S., Mexico,
Central America, South America, Carribean, and Canada. The color was greenish,
became moderately bright and attained a size near the size of the full moon.
It then began to fade somewhat and formed a small curtain-type auroral
pattern. It remained visible for between 5 and 10 minutes.
The second release was not as easily seen as the first apparition. Lithium
produces a red colored aurora that does not remain visible as long as the
Barium. Although this event was visible at the same locations as the Barium
release, the intrinsic color, different location and shorter duration of the
Lithium release prevented many people from viewing this latter event. For
those who missed the Lithium release and would like another chance to view one,
there will be two more releases of Lithium over the next 10 days or so.
Bulletins will be posted when the times of the releases are known.
The next chemical release will occur on 15 January at 04:12 UT. This release
will be a Barium release. It may be useful to note that these releases become
visible at the times stated. You need a dark observing site to see them best
(particularly the Lithium releases). Be careful when converting these times to
local time. This next event occurring at 04:12 UT on 15 January does NOT occur
on Tuesday evening. It occurs on the evening of 14 January over North and
South America since the end of one UT day and the start of another occurs in
the late afternoon/early evening hours. So, to be clear, this Barium release
will occur at 12:12 am (12 minutes after midnight) AST, 11:12 pm EST,
10:12 pm CST, 9:12 pm MST, and 8:12 pm PST.
Again, for direct information regarding the status of these releases, call
the number: (205) 544-5356.
** End of Bulletin **
|
| 613.25 | Barium/Lithium altazimuths | PRAGMA::GRIFFIN | Dave Griffin | Mon Jan 14 1991 19:28 | 109 |
| From: [email protected] (Ray Sterner)
Summary: CRRES release events altazimuths for various cities
Date: 14 Jan 91 18:42:17 GMT
Organization: Johns Hopkins University
CRRES 15 Jan 1991 (UT) first of two releases.
This is to be a large barium cloud or lithium. Tables for two alternate
times are given below. From hotline information as of 1:08 pm EST.
Note: the alternate release times below are actually the start and end
times of a time window. That may mean that the release could occur
anytime within the window. Call the hotline to get the latest release
time.
------------------------- Primary release time ----------------------
Combined Release and Radiation Effects Satellite (CRRES)
Marshall Space Flight Center hotline: 205-544-5356.
Values are for a spherical earth with no atmospheric refraction.
Distances in km, angles in degrees. Universal time is given.
Large barium or lithium release at 07:35:00 15 Jan 1991 UT.
Satellite altitude = 33433.
Sub-satellite lat, long (deg) = 9.30 101.70
*****************************************************
* An alternate time is 09:47:59 15 Jan 1991 UT. *
* Table below does NOT apply to the alternate time! *
*****************************************************
City Satellite
City Lat Long Azi Alt Dist
Anchorage 61.2 149.8 124.2 18.6 37315
Atlanta 33.8 84.4 217.1 55.6 34383
Bermuda 32.3 65.8 243.4 42.8 35197
Chicago 41.8 87.6 204.9 49.2 34765
Columbus 40.0 83.0 213.6 49.1 34773
Dallas 32.8 96.8 192.0 61.8 34077
Denver 39.7 105.0 173.6 54.0 34472
Edmonton 53.5 113.5 163.5 37.4 35610
El Paso 31.8 106.4 167.9 62.9 34026
Honolulu 21.3 157.8 93.4 26.6 36545
London 51.5 0.0 284.9 -9.0 40306
Los Angeles 34.0 118.3 144.6 55.8 34372
Miami 25.8 80.2 235.0 59.1 34205
Montreal 45.5 73.6 222.5 39.4 35457
New York 40.7 74.0 225.8 43.5 35151
Paris 48.8 2.3 283.1 -8.2 40218
Phoenix 33.5 112.0 156.3 59.3 34192
Puerto Rico 18.5 66.2 260.0 48.3 34825
Salt Lake City 40.8 111.9 161.2 51.6 34616
San Francisco 37.8 122.3 141.5 50.1 34706
Seattle 47.6 122.3 148.8 41.0 35337
St. Louis 38.7 90.3 202.3 53.4 34507
Washington, DC 38.8 77.0 223.4 46.8 34920
Winnipeg 50.6 96.3 188.0 41.5 35293
--------------------- Alternate release time --------------------
Combined Release and Radiation Effects Satellite (CRRES)
Marshall Space Flight Center hotline: 205-544-5356.
Values are for a spherical earth with no atmospheric refraction.
Distances in km, angles in degrees. Universal time is given.
Large barium or lithium release at 09:48:00 15 Jan 1991 UT.
Satellite altitude = 29437.
Sub-satellite lat, long (deg) = 3.30 115.20
*****************************************************
* An alternate time is 07:35:00 15 Jan 1991 UT. *
* Table below does NOT apply to the alternate time! *
*****************************************************
City Satellite
City Lat Long Azi Alt Dist
Anchorage 61.2 149.8 140.7 16.7 33458
Atlanta 33.8 84.4 230.0 40.3 31354
Bermuda 32.3 65.8 248.5 26.2 32538
Chicago 41.8 87.6 220.2 36.0 31695
Columbus 40.0 83.0 226.8 34.8 31793
Dallas 32.8 96.8 214.2 49.2 30743
Denver 39.7 105.0 196.9 45.2 31006
Edmonton 53.5 113.5 182.2 30.9 32115
El Paso 31.8 106.4 197.9 54.4 30435
Honolulu 21.3 157.8 107.5 36.6 31641
London 51.5 0.0 292.2 -22.2 37731
Los Angeles 34.0 118.3 174.1 53.0 30513
Miami 25.8 80.2 242.1 42.0 31233
Montreal 45.5 73.6 233.4 25.1 32644
New York 40.7 74.0 235.9 28.4 32343
Paris 48.8 2.3 289.7 -21.8 37685
Phoenix 33.5 112.0 186.3 53.6 30481
Puerto Rico 18.5 66.2 258.5 30.9 32116
Salt Lake City 40.8 111.9 185.5 45.2 31004
San Francisco 37.8 122.3 167.5 48.1 30813
Seattle 47.6 122.3 169.9 37.1 31603
St. Louis 38.7 90.3 219.0 40.2 31368
Washington, DC 38.8 77.0 234.1 31.6 32057
Winnipeg 50.6 96.3 205.0 31.3 32082
Ray Sterner sterner%[email protected]
Johns Hopkins University North latitude 39.16 degrees.
Applied Physics Laboratory West longitude 76.90 degrees.
Laurel, MD 20723-6099
|
| 613.26 | 16 JAN sked | CSS::BIRO | | Tue Jan 15 1991 08:10 | 12 |
| a Small Barium cloud was release on the 15 of Jan at 04:11 UTC
I did not see it in Boston, The Large Lithium release was
scrub as conditons were not good.
the next release will be a Large Lithium and will come
on the 16 of Jan at 0400, 0430, 0500, 0530 UTC. Sorry
no indication if these are 4 different release on just
one at 4 different possible release time. I
think it was 1 release with 4 possible times.
john
|
| 613.27 | Update on CRRES releases | PRAGMA::GRIFFIN | Dave Griffin | Thu Jan 17 1991 09:34 | 182 |
| From: [email protected] (Pat Reiff (713)527-8750-2650)
Date: 17 Jan 91 05:25:14 GMT
In response to queries on the net, here's the results from the last
successful CRRES release (and the time of the next window, at 11:05 CST
on 1/17). Following the first message, will be a repeat of the science
objectives and a complete list of the release windows. Note that many
of the windows remaining on the list will not be used because of the
success of the releases so far. I'll try to find out the subset which
is really remaining and post it. Does anyone have a copy of MACSAT to
get altitudes and azimuths from satellite elements? If so, I can post
the elements as well......Pat
CRRES BOMBS THE PLASMAPAUSE!!!!!
The G-4 release was performed January 16, 1991 at 06:25:00. The
location of the release was right on the plasmapause boundary, as
determined by simultaneous measurements with the Iowa plasma wave
instrument. Howard Singer reported an initial compression of 10 gammas,
followed by a diamagnetic reduction from an ambient value of 250 gammas
down to 110 gammas. This reduction lasted for about 40 seconds.
The CRRES on-board photometer saw the sun glint from the canister and in
comparison with the particle data, the direction of the canister
relative to the spacecraft was determined to be perpendicular to the
magnetic field direction.
The optical data were all excellent. Optical data was recorded at White
Sands, Los Alamos, Millstone Hill, Long Key, St. Croix, Arecibo, Cerro
Tololo, and El Leoncito. The northern and southern tips of the
field-aligned ion streak were tracked for 45 minutes following the
release.
The next opportunity will be a high altitude lithium release on January
18 with windows beginning at 0500 UTC.
David L. Reasoner
January 16, 1991
CRRES JANUARY HI-ALT RELEASE CAMPAIGN
The CRRES Program is on schedule for a series of high-altitude chemical
releases in January, 1991. The scientific objectives of these releases may
be grossly characterised as 1. Formation of Diamagnetic Cavities; 2.
Cold-Plasma Seeding experiments to induce artificial precipitation; 3.
Magnetospheric Injection and Ion Tracing; and 4. Plasmoid Formation. The
releases will be observed with an extensive network of ground and aircraft
sites. Ground sites will be located at Los Alamos, White Sands, Millstone
Hill (radar and optical), Rosemary Hill, FL; and Long Key, FL in the
United States. Carribean sites are St. Croix, USVI; Arecibo, P.R.; and
Bonaire, Netherlands Antilles. South American sites will be located at
Recife, Brazil; El Leoncito, Argentina; Cerro Tololo, Chile; and Baltra
Island, Galapagos Islands, Ecuador. Three research aircraft carrying
optical instruments will be used. Two USAF KC-135s will operate from K.I.
Sawyer AFB near Marquette, Michigan and will fly tracks in Canada to look
for artificially-induced precipitation. The Argentine/CNIE B-707 will
operate from Recife, Brazil and will view the releases directly, tracing
the ion motions.
We expect considerable public interest as the releases will be very
visible. The lithium releases will, 30 seconds following ignition, be 0.5
degree is visual diameter with an intensity at 6708 Angstroms of 1
megaRayleigh, i.e. a large and as bright as the full moon (Rev 6-12). We
think someone might notice.
A "Hot-Line" information number has been established at 205-544-5356. The
latest release information will be available in the form of a recorded
message.
Attached is a table of the release windows and types.
CRRES RELEASE WINDOWS FOR JANUARY, 1991
REVISED 01/05/91 BASED ON ORBIT PREDICTS EPOCH 01/04/91
ALL POSSIBLE WINDOWS ARE SHOWN. TOTAL RELEASES = 7.
3 SMALL BARIUM, 1 LARGE BARIUM, 3 LITHIUM.
EACH WINDOW IS EITHER A SINGLE POINT IN TIME (SINGLE LINE)
OR A SPAN (PAIRED LINES).
FOR EACH WINDOW THE SATELLITE POSITIONS AT THE OPENING AND CLOSING
ARE LISTED.
ALL LATITUDES NORTH U.O.S. ALL LONGITUDES ARE WEST
RELEASE TYPES: 1 = SMALL BARIUM 1.5 KG, 2 = LARGE BARIUM 10.8 KG,
3 = LITHIUM .74 KG
ALL TIMES ARE UTC (A.K.A. GREENWICH MEAN TIME). PST = UTC-8,
MST=UTC-7, CST=UTC-6, EST=UTC-5.
DATE TIME LAT. LONG. ALT. REL. TYPE SUCCESS NOTES
(KM)
JAN 11 0143 18.1 58.5 14899 1 POSTPONED
JAN 13 0218 16.8 103.5 6149 1 SUCCESSFUL! G-2 (Sm Barium)
JAN 13 0258 18.0 78.1 15000 (Not done because prior was done)
JAN 13 0649 8.7 85.0 33559 2,3 Done at 0705 (below)
JAN 13 0844 3.2 96.2 28677
JAN 13 0705 8.0 86.7 33410 ### SUCCESSFUL! G-7 (Lg Li)
JAN 15 0332 17.0 123.6 6091 1 not done
JAN 15 0412 17.9 97.9 14992
JAN 15 0537 14.2 91.9 26972 1 not done
JAN 15 0710 10.4 99.1 32879 ##### not done
JAN 15 0806 8.1 105.1 33547 2,3 * not done
JAN 15 0958 2.7 116.0 28687
JAN 16 0348 7.8 41.0 33547 2,3 * G-4 successful @
JAN 16 0539 2.5 51.8 28740 0625 UT
JAN 18 0028 17.3 78.7 6137 1 won't be done
JAN 18 0228 13.9 47.3 26511
JAN 18 0503 7.4 61.0 33565 2,3 * NEXT CANDIDATES
JAN 18 0654 2.0 71.8 28680
DATE TIME LAT. LONG. ALTITUDE REL. TYPE
(WEST) (KM)
JAN 20 0142 17.4 98.7 6127 1
JAN 20 0221 17.6 73.5 14828
JAN 20 0345 13.4 67.4 26788 1
JAN 20 0454 10.4 72.1 31897 2,3 *
JAN 20 0807 1.5 91.6 28724
JAN 20 0850 1.2 S 94.0 24538 1
JAN 22 0459 13.1 87.1 26790 1
JAN 22 0608 9.9 91.9 31905 2,3 *
JAN 22 0922 1.0 111.4 28699
JAN 23 0552 2.5 S 47.9 23740 1
JAN 24 0915 7.1 117.1 33462 2,3 *
JAN 24 1034 0.5 131.1 28748
JAN 25 0813 10.6 S 61.2 12757 1
JAN 25 0843 16.6 S 38.9 5799
* NOTES (APPLIES TO G5, G6, G7, G10 WINDOWS):
1. WINDOWS ON 1/13, 1/15, 1/16, AND 1/18 OPENED AT 1 H 25 M AFTER
END OF ECLIPSE AND CLOSED WHEN GEOCENTRIC ALT. < 5.5 Re.
2. WINDOW ON 1/20 OPENED BY ALT > 6 Re AND CLOSED BY ALT < 5.5 Re.
3. WINDOWS ON 1/22 AND 1/24 OPENED BY MOONSET AT CHURCHILL AND
CLOSED BY ALT < 5.5 Re.
4. ##### DENOTES PRIME G-7 (TYPE 3) RELEASE POINT.
***********************************************
* RELEASE INFORMATION HOT LINE 205-544-5356 *
***********************************************
------
From the First Space Science Department in the World:
: _^ ^_ ____
Patricia H. Reiff : / O O \ |GO \
Department of Space Physics and Astronomy : \ V / |OWLS\
Rice University, Houston, TX 77251-1892 : / ""R"" \__/
internet: [email protected] (128.42.10.3) \ ""U"" /
SPAN: RICE::REIFF : _/|\ /|\_
GTEtelemail: [preiff/kosmos] tm44/usa :
"Why does man want to go to the Moon? ... Why does Rice play Texas?"
....JFK, Rice Stadium, 1962
|
| 613.28 | ROSAT has detected 50,000 X-ray sources so far | ADVAX::KLAES | All the Universe, or nothing! | Thu Jan 17 1991 13:03 | 111 |
| From: [email protected] (WILLIAM HARWOOD, UPI Science Writer)
Newsgroups: clari.tw.space,clari.news.aviation,clari.news.military
Subject: X-ray satellite thrills astronomers
Date: 15 Jan 91 20:47:22 GMT
A $273 million German astronomy satellite has detected some
50,000 X-ray sources in the most detailed look at the high-energy
universe ever conducted, including a spinning neutron star that
mysteriously speeds up and slows down, scientists reported Tuesday.
``We have been getting brilliant X-ray pictures,'' said
Joachim E. Truemper, a researcher at the Max Planck Institute in
Munich. ``We are very happy with it.''
The 5,333-pound ROSAT satellite was launched last summer by a
U.S. Delta rocket. The spacecraft is equipped with a high-tech
telescope to study X-rays from high-energy astronomical targets
ranging from superhot stars and galaxies to exploding suns and
suspected black holes.
So far, the satellite has worked flawlessly, giving
astronomers an unprecedented look at high-energy X-ray sources
throughout Earth's Milky Way galaxy and beyond. The initial results
from the satellite were unveiled Tuesday at a meeting of the American
Astronomical Society in Philadelphia.
``This is the first sky survey with an imaging X-ray
telescope,'' Truemper said. ``It goes a factor of 100 deeper (into
space) than previous surveys. So we see the whole sky for the first
time in considerable detail.''
Along with observing a variety of previously unknown supernova
remnants and the glow from hot gas throughout the Milky Way, ROSAT has
been used to study several black hole candidates. Black holes are
thought to be the collapsed remnants of massive stars with gravity so
intense not even light can escape.
While such bizarre objects are invisible by definition, they
should be detectable indirectly by looking for the radiation that
would be released when dust and gas is heated up as it is accelerated
by a black hole's gravity. But ROSAT has not yet confirmed the
existence of such bodies.
``We have seen black hole candidates,'' Truemper said. ``We
have investigated several of them but we don't have any new supporting
evidence. We don't have the fingerprint yet.''
But the satellite has generated a flood of data on other
astronomical objects, including enigmatic quasars, objects the size of
a solar system that outshine entire galaxies.
Astronomers believe quasars are galaxies with super-massive
black holes at their cores. They are among the most distant objects in
the universe.
``We see fainter quasars and we see more quasars out there,''
Truemper said of the ROSAT data. ``We believe there's evidence for
some clustering of those quasars at (great distance).''
He said ROSAT had detected ``about 50,000 sources in the sky
surveys. We haven't been able to analyze all of them. But we have many
serendipitous results.''
One such finding involved a flashing pulsar in the Large
Magellanic Cloud, a companion galaxy to the Milky Way. A pulsar, one
stage above black hole status, is the remnant of a massive star that
exploded in the distant past.
The cores of such stars can collapse under the pull of gravity
to the point that atoms are crushed together with enough force to
overcome the repulsion that normally exists between positively charged
protons and negatively charged electrons. Under such force, protons
and electrons can combine to form a sphere of uncharged neutrons.
Spinning neutron stars are called pulsars, so named because
they emit bursts of radiation as they whirl about. In the Large
Magellanic Cloud, Rosat detected a pulsar with a variable rotation rate.
``It speeds up for a few days and then comes back to normal,''
Truemper said. ``The current thinking is these are internal
restructuring forces. One can learn by observing such glitches
something about the interior of neutron stars.
``But the current theories do not predict such large glitches.
So that's a very surprising thing. So far, we have been very lucky and
we are very happy indeed.''
ROSAT is a joint venture between West Germany, Britain and the
United States, which supplied an $18 million instrument and the $63
million Delta 2 rocket. The West German contribution was $170 million
while Britain chipped in $35 million for one of three instruments on board.
The total cost of the project through launch was $336 million,
with the United States committed to spending $5 million a year on data
analysis.
While visible light from deep space can be studied from
Earth's surface, high-energy ultraviolet radiation, X-rays and gamma
rays are blocked by the planet's atmosphere.
But stars, galaxies and other objects shine in a variety of
wavelengths depending on what chemical and nuclear processes are going
on. The higher the energy, the shorter the wavelength of the resulting
light. X-rays fall between ultraviolet radiation and gamma rays on the
energy spectrum.
By studying X-ray ``light'' from deep space, astronomers can
gain crucial insights into the processes that operate in the hearts of
violent stars and galaxies in a bid to understand more about the
structure and evolution of the universe.
|
| 613.29 | MSFC Status Report - CRRES - 1/15/91 | PRAGMA::GRIFFIN | Dave Griffin | Thu Jan 17 1991 19:32 | 27 |
| Another successful experiment in the Combined Release and
Radiation Effects Satellite project was completed Monday night,
with release from the satellite of a small barium canister at
10:11 p.m. CST.
"Excellent optical data were obtained from many sites," said
CRRES Project Scientist Dr. David Reasoner at the Marshall
Center. "One particular site tracked the barium ions for two
hours. Significant structuring was seen and we believe we have
accomplished a significant experiment."
Later, in the early morning hours today (Jan. 15), an
opportunity for a lithium release was scrubbed due to lack of
proper particle conditions in the Earth's magnetosphere. Other
opportunities are available for attempting this experiment again.
The barium release completed the "G-3" experiment in the
CRRES program of experiments. The G-1 through G-4 releases are a
series involving injection of barium ions at different levels of
the Earth's magnetosphere. CRRES researchers are using these
injections of barium ions to simulate natural plasma injections,
but under carefully controlled conditions. The aim is to gain an
understanding of how different regions of the magnetosphere react
to the artificial cloud plasmas.
The next release opportunity in the current series of CRRES
experiments is planned for Thursday night, when there will be an
opportunity for a G-4 barium release at approximately 8:28 p.m.
(CST). Later that night, between approximately 11:00 p.m. and
1:00 a.m. (CST), there will be an opportunity for a lithium
release at high altitude.
|
| 613.30 | NASA Press Release: CRRES Experiments Continue After Four Successes | PRAGMA::GRIFFIN | Dave Griffin | Thu Jan 17 1991 19:34 | 77 |
| RELEASE: 91-9
1/17/91:
The Combined Release and Radiation Effects Satellite (CRRES) is scheduled
to resume experiments early Friday morning following four successful chemical
releases in the last week. The next release opportunities will be for either a
lithium or large barium release early Friday morning, with possible times of
12:20 a.m., 12:50 a.m., 1:20 a.m., 1:40 a.m. and 1:55 a.m. EST. Weather
permitting, the release will be visible in the south- southeastern sky,
slightly more than halfway between the horizon and the zenith.
The CRRES releases aid scientists studying the way that charged particles
interact with the Earth's magnetic and electric fields by creating artificial
auroras. Natural auroras occur when high-energy particles from the sun strike
the Earth's upper atmosphere. Understanding the Earth's magnetic field is
important because disturbances in the field, such as those that create natural
auroras, can disrupt high-frequency communications, produce damaging currents
in terrestrial power systems and create magnetic storms that affect sensitive
instruments on Earth and in space.
Last weekend, one release each of barium and lithium were performed, and
two more barium experiments were completed Monday night and early Wednesday
morning.
"The chemical release operations went off without a hitch during these
opportunities," said Dr. David Reasoner, CRRES project scientist at the
Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala. "The satellite and the U.S. Air
Force satellite control facility have performed flawlessly. The optical
instruments at the observing sites were pointed precisely at the release."
The current CRRES chemical release "campaign" involves seven planned
releases, with four opportunities to make the remaining three releases through
Jan. 24. Late Saturday night and early Sunday morning, two releases were
completed as scheduled. Cloudy weather over much of the United States did not
permit the glowing barium and lithium gas clouds to be seen from the ground,
but a more than sufficient number of observation stations in North America and
the Caribbean were able to provide good observation support for the
experiments.
The 3.3-lb. barium release at 9:17 p.m. EST Saturday resulted in a cloud
that glowed bright green initially and then changed to a dimmer purplish-blue
as the barium atoms ionized upon exposure to sunlight.
At 2:05 a.m. Sunday morning, the 1.6-lb. lithium release produced a red
glow in the night sky, with observers estimating its size as approximately the
diameter of the full moon and remaining visible for a few seconds. Its
apparent brightness was relatively dim because of the human eye's low response
in the red region of the spectrum, Reasoner said. Nevertheless, the cloud was
reported, for its brief duration, to be the brightest object in the sky, he
added. The lithium release was timed to coincide with certain positions of
CRRES and NASA's Dynamics Explorer-1 satellite as well as the Japanese AKEBONO
satellite. All three satellites have instruments for detecting the
artificially injected lithium ions.
The Monday night barium release occurred at 11:11 p.m. EST. Afterward,
Reasoner hailed the operation, saying, "We believe we have accomplished a
significant experiment. Excellent optical data were obtained from many sites,
with one particular site tracking the barium ions for two hours."
The fourth barium release took place at 1:25 a.m. EST Wednesday morning.
Given clear weather, remaining releases should be visible from the entire
continental United States, most of Canada, Central America, the Caribbean and
much of South America. During some of the release opportunities, the clouds may
be visible low in the western skies from western Africa and Europe, several
hours before dawn.
For current information about upcoming release opportunities, the CRRES
Coordination Center "hotline" message may be heard by calling 205/544-5356.
This is not a toll-free number.
CRRES is a joint program of NASA, through its Marshall Space Flight Center
and the Department of Defense's Space Test Program. CRRES is operated and
controlled from the Air Force's Consolidated Space Test Center, Sunnyvale,
Calif.
- end -
|
| 613.31 | ROSAT Update - January 28 | ADVAX::KLAES | All the Universe, or nothing! | Mon Jan 28 1991 15:03 | 34 |
| From: [email protected] (Ron Baalke)
Newsgroups: sci.space,sci.astro
Subject: ROSAT Update - 01/28/91
Date: 28 Jan 91 16:12:18 GMT
Sender: [email protected]
Organization: Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA.
ROSAT STATUS REPORT
January 28, 1991
The German Space Operations Center (GSOC) declared a spacecraft
emergency for the Rosat spacecraft on January 26, 6:19 AM UTC. A 26
meter antennas was scheduled in real time to support the emergency.
The spacecraft disconnected is on-board systems due to a loss of
power. On January 26, 15:00 UTC, GSOC cancelled the emergency and
the spacecraft was in standby mode.
GSOC requested that 26 meter antenna in Madrid be used to support
a boost manuever on the Eutlesat II-F2 satellite, since the Weilheim
was pulled off for the Rosat emergency. The Madrid antenna was used
to support the maneuver on January 26 from 8:30 AM through 9:28 AM
(UTC), and the burn was successful.
GSOC also reports that downlink was reestablished with the ROSAT
spacecraft on January 27, 4:51 AM, using the Weilheim station. All
spacecraft systems are operating nominally.
___ _____ ___
/_ /| /____/ \ /_ /| Ron Baalke | [email protected]
| | | | __ \ /| | | | Jet Propulsion Lab |
___| | | | |__) |/ | | |___ M/S 301-355 | It's 10PM, do you know
/___| | | | ___/ | |/__ /| Pasadena, CA 91109 | where your spacecraft is?
|_____|/ |_|/ |_____|/ | We do!
|
| 613.32 | ROSAT was almost lost! | PRAGMA::GRIFFIN | Dave Griffin | Fri Feb 01 1991 18:10 | 19 |
| From: [email protected] (Daniel Fischer)
Date: 1 Feb 91 13:08:19 GMT
Organization: Max-Planck-Institut fuer Radioastronomie, Bonn
The 'Spacecraft Emergency' mentioned in Ron's ROSAT report of 28 January was
*far* more severe than the story might have indicated: the spacecraft had
suddenly lost its orientation, the attitude control was down completely,
and - the safing failed! Result: Solar cells away from sun -> batteries
drained almost to the point of no return, plus severe damage to some instru=
ments when ROSAT pointed towards the sun (one PSPC in the focal plane destr=
oyed, one filter of the WFC burned away). Now ROSAT is in safe mode, and the
industry contractors try to figure out what had happened, without any
warning. The sky survey was almost complete (only 8 degrees missing) and the
pointed observations were to start Feb. 7th - now, of course, everything is
on hold. In principle ROSAT is ready to resume operations, but of course they
don't dare at the moment - two major malfunctions at the same time...
This information brought to you by SKYWEEK, the weekly astronomy magazine -
based upon an interview with spacecraft control at GSOC Oberpfaffenhofen.
|
| 613.33 | February barium and lithium releases from CRRES | ADVAX::KLAES | All the Universe, or nothing! | Fri Feb 08 1991 17:55 | 40 |
| From: [email protected] (Ray Sterner)
Newsgroups: sci.space
Subject: CRRES hotline info
Date: 7 Feb 91 22:23:25 GMT
Sender: [email protected] (USENET News System)
Organization: Johns Hopkins University
The CRRES hot-line (205-544-5356) at 4:50 pm EST Thu 7 Feb, 1991
gave the following information.
There will be two releases in February, a high altitude barium
release and a high altitude lithium release. All times below
are Central Standard Time (as given on the hot-line). The
possible release times are:
9 Feb 8:00 pm to 12:00 am at 30 min intervals.
11 Feb 9:15 pm to 1:15 am at 30 min intervals.
13 Feb 10:30 pm to 2:30 am at 30 min intervals.
16 Feb 9:00 pm to 11:30 am at 30 min intervals.
18 Feb 11:20 pm, 11:50 pm, 12:20 am, 12:40 am.
The hot-line stated that moonlight was considered in selecting
the intervals late in the month.
Unfortunately there are too many possible release times (37) to
allow posting of the release altazimuths as I did for early
releases. All I can suggest is that you call the hot-line closer
to the release time to get the latest times. Also make sure you
convert the times from Central Standard Time to your time zone.
I would like to thank Mike McCants for sending me a CRRES orbital
calculation for the earlier releases, perhaps if Mike or somebody
else posts the sub-satellite latitude and longitude and satellite
altitude for the possible release times those of you that have the
program I posted in January can compute altazimuths for your location.
Ray Sterner sterner%[email protected]
Johns Hopkins University North latitude 39.16 degrees.
Applied Physics Laboratory West longitude 76.90 degrees.
Laurel, MD 20723-6099
|
| 613.34 | German satellite to begin U.S. science mission | PRAGMA::GRIFFIN | Dave Griffin | Tue Feb 12 1991 18:48 | 69 |
| From: [email protected] (Peter E. Yee)
Date: 12 Feb 91 21:48:25 GMT
Organization: NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA
Michael J. Braukus
Headquarters, Washington, D.C. February 11, 1991
(Phone: 202/453-1549)
John J. Loughlin II
Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.
(Phone: 301/286-5565)
RELEASE: 91-23
GERMAN SATELLITE TO BEGIN U.S. SCIENCE MISSION
The German Roentgen Satellite (ROSAT) entered a new phase of
science operation on Feb. 8, 1991 as it began the pointed observations
of what NASA project officials have called particularly interesting
sources of X-ray emissions.
Scientists are interested in X-ray images because they
specifically highlight regions in all celestial systems where high
energy phenomena occur. Particularly rich sources of X-ray emissions
are supernova remnants, galaxy clusters, quasars binary star systems
containing neutron stars or black holes.
The start of the pointed observations phase signals the beginning
of the U.S. ROSAT guest observer program. The U.S. ROSAT Science Data
Center (USRSDC) will support guest investigators through the
processing and distribution of the ROSAT pointed data and by providing
facilities for the scientific analysis of the data.
NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md., is the site of
the USRSDC, a collaborative project between the Goddard Laboratory
for High Energy Astrophysics, the Smithsonian Astrophysical
Observatory High Energy Astrophysics Division and the Goddard Space
Data and Computing Division.
During the satellite's first 6 months of full time operation, an
all-sky survey of the cosmos was conducted by German scientists using
ROSAT's German Position-Sensitive Gas Proportional Counter (PSPC).
This survey resulted in the most sensitive, complete map of the X-ray
sky to date and gave scientists more than 50,000 sources from which
to choose as targets for the pointed phase.
The joint international team responsible for ROSAT -- scientists
from the United States, the Federal Republic of Germany and the United
Kingdom -- will divide observation time using the PSPC and the NASA-
supplied High Resolution Imager (HRI) at the focal plane of the German-
made ROSAT telescope.
The team reports that ROSAT's scientific instruments are
operating better than expected, and the image quality from the X-ray
mirror is as good or better than previously indicated by ground testing.
There have been problems with the spacecraft which have affected
some of its built-in redundant capabilities. While these problems are
still being analyzed, they are not expected to impact the science
mission.
The spacecraft is currently in a circular orbit at an altitude of
about 358 miles, at an inclination of 53 degrees. It was launched on
June 1, 1990 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla., on a Delta
expendable launch vehicle.
Within NASA, the ROSAT program is managed by the Goddard
Space Flight Center for the Office of Space Science and Applications.
|
| 613.35 | CRRES Experiment Results to be presented... | PRAGMA::GRIFFIN | Dave Griffin | Fri May 24 1991 17:49 | 65 |
| 5/24/91: ARTIFICIAL AURORA EXPERIMENT RESULTS TO BE PRESENTED
RELEASE: 91-77
Scientists, whose experiments produced brightly colored
clouds in night skies over the Americas and triggered artificial
Earth auroras thousands of miles away, will discuss their findings
at a May 28 session of the American Geophysical Union's spring
meeting in Baltimore, Md.
Dr. David Reasoner, CRRES project scientist at NASA's
Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala., will chair the
session at which 12 scientific papers will be presented.
The experiments were conducted during January and February
of this year with the Combined Release and Radiation Effects
Satellite (CRRES). This joint NASA-Air Force effort studied the
Earth's magnetic fields and the effects of space radiation on
spacecraft components.
NASA, Air Force and participating scientists successfully
completed eight experiments involving releases of small amounts of
barium and lithium from the satellite. The releases allowed
scientists to study the response of the space environment to the
injection of artificial clouds of charged particles.
The barium releases were done at varying altitudes to test
the response at low altitudes, where the Earth's magnetic field
has strong control, and at high altitudes, where the magnetic
field is weak.
The lithium releases used lithium ions as "tracers" which
could be tracked by detectors on CRRES and other satellites, to
reveal information about the complex processes which transport
charged particles.
Releases of barium and lithium were done at points over the
equator that were connected by magnetic field lines to the regions
of aurora borealis activity over northern Canada.
"Two of the barium releases produced noticeable enhancements
in auroral activity and significant changes in the high energy
charged particles around the satellite," Reasoner said. "So,
these injections of artificial plasma clouds, involving about 25
pounds of barium, produced measurable effects over the very large
dimensions -- tens of thousands of miles -- of the Earth's
magnetic field regions."
The auroral effects were detected with high-sensitivity
cameras carried aboard two specially modified U.S. Air Force KC-
135 aircraft. In addition, observations of the CRRES experiments
were made with optical instruments in the United States, the
Caribbean and South America.
The public was able to observe the releases as well. NASA
received many reports of visual sightings of the colored clouds,
as well as photographs made by amateur photographers.
The next campaign in the program will be a series of
releases over the Caribbean in July and August. Releases of
barium from both the satellite and from sounding rockets will be
used in a series of experiments designed to investigate the
effects of artificial ion clouds on the electrically conducting
ionosphere layers and to trace the geometry of electric and
ma
|
| 613.36 | Chemical releases from satellite planned in July | PRAGMA::GRIFFIN | Dave Griffin | Mon Jul 08 1991 21:21 | 48 |
| RELEASE: 91-107 (7/8/91)
NASA will resume a series of active space physics
experiments this summer by conducting several chemical releases in
July and August with the Combined Release and Radiation Effects
Satellite (CRRES). The satellite was developed and launched as a
joint NASA-U.S. Air Force effort to study the Earth's magnetic
fields and the effects of space radiation on spacecraft
components.
The series of experiments will involve releasing clouds of
barium vapor in space over the Caribbean sea, allowing scientists
to investigate the effects of artificial ion clouds on the
electrically conducting ionosphere layers and to trace the
geometry of electric and magnetic fields.
Release opportunities for the summer experiments will occur
every third night beginning July 10 and continue through July 25.
Additional opportunities have been identified between Aug. 9 and
Aug. 21, again on every third night.
These releases, which have no adverse environmental effects,
may be visible from most areas of the Caribbean. Under favorable
atmospheric conditions, sightings also could be possible from
southern Florida. For observers with favorable viewing
conditions, a release will appear as a glowing green area, roughly
circular in shape.
This summer's CRRES experiments follow a number of
successful investigations conducted since the satellite was
launched in July 1990. A series of high-altitude experiments in
January and February of this year studied the response of the
space environment to injection of artificial clouds of charged
particles. The experiments focused specifically on the whether it
is possible to artificially stimulate auroral phenomena.
A September 1990 experiment proved a theory known as
critical velocity ionization. The finding has shed new light on
the effects space gasses and particles may have on future space
activities.
The NASA portion of the CRRES program is managed for the
Office of Space Science and Applications by the Marshall Space
Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala. The Department of Defense's Air
Force Space Test and Transportation Program provides overall
program management. The satellite is operated by the Air Force at
Onizuka Air Force Base, Sunnyvale, Calif.
|
| 613.37 | CRRES in trouble | MTWAIN::KLAES | All the Universe, or nothing! | Thu Oct 17 1991 17:19 | 31 |
| Article: 36576
From: [email protected] (Ron Baalke)
Newsgroups: sci.space
Subject: Re: CRRES
Date: 17 Oct 91 20:39:19 GMT
Sender: [email protected] (Usenet)
Organization: Jet Propulsion Laboratory
From: [email protected] (michael andrew duvernois)
>Hello, does anyone who works with NASA, JPL, or the appropriate Air Force
>office have any information on the crisis with CRRES? All that I've
>heard is that communications with CRRES have been lost, but there are
>a number of attempts under way to regain communications. Is there any
>further or more current information (mine dates back to Monday) which
>can be made available. Please respond by e-mail as most people don't
The Deep Space Network was called in yesterday to provide emergency
support for CRRES. The 34 meter Goldstone antenna was unable to lock
onto a downlink signal from the spacecraft, but the 70 meter antenna
at Goldstone did manage to lock on, but on a frequency different from
the expected value. The 70 meter station will also be used to provide
additional support today.
___ _____ ___
/_ /| /____/ \ /_ /| Ron Baalke | [email protected]
| | | | __ \ /| | | | Jet Propulsion Lab |
___| | | | |__) |/ | | |__ M/S 301-355 Telos | Everything should be as
/___| | | | ___/ | |/__ /| Pasadena, CA 91109 | simple as possible, but no
|_____|/ |_|/ |_____|/ | simpler. --Albert Einstein
|
| 613.38 | Project El Coqui, last part of CRRES | VERGA::KLAES | All the Universe, or nothing! | Wed May 13 1992 18:50 | 173 |
| Article: 958
Newsgroups: sci.space.news
From: [email protected] (Peter E. Yee)
Subject: El Coqui sounding rocket campaign set for Puerto Rico (Forwarded)
Sender: [email protected]
Organization: NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA
Date: Fri, 8 May 1992 21:25:04 GMT
Brian Dunbar
NASA Headquarters, Washington, D.C. May 7, 1992
(Phone: 202/453-1547)
Keith Koehler
Wallops Flight Facility, Wallops Island, Va.
(Phone: 804/824-1579)
RELEASE: 92-60
EL COQUI SOUNDING ROCKET CAMPAIGN SET FOR PUERTO RICO
Project El Coqui, a NASA sounding rocket campaign to study the
ionosphere, will be conducted in Puerto Rico, May 17 through July 13,
1992. Project El Coqui includes the final elements of NASA's portion
of the Combined Release and Radiation Effects Satellite (CRRES)
program, a joint NASA/U.S. Air Force mission studying the Earth's
magnetic field and the effects of naturally occurring space radiation
on advance electronics.
NASA will launch eight suborbital rockets during this period
carrying payloads to study the electrically conducting ionosphere
layers that extend from 30 to 620 miles altitude and to trace the
geometry of electric and magnetic fields.
During the project, scientists from universities, NASA and
other government agencies will create artificial disturbances in the
ionosphere to learn more about how it reacts to natural disturbances.
Cornell University Professor Mike Kelley, El Coqui Campaign
Scientist, said, "We're excited about the science we're going to do"
in Puerto Rico. He noted the campaign is the most intensive use of
sounding rockets to conduct active experiments in space on the
ionosphere. NASA is using sounding rockets, ground observation sites
in Puerto Rico and other locations in the Caribbean, and optical
observation aircraft staging out of Antigua to conduct the active
experiments.
The ionosphere interests scientists because it acts like a
mirror, reflecting high frequency radio waves, carrying currents that
affect power systems on the ground and disturbing satellite signals
that must pass through it.
The NASA Goddard Space Flight Center's Wallops Flight
Facility, Wallops Island, Va., established a launch range for Project
El Coqui on an abandoned airfield adjacent to the Camp Tortuguero
Recreation Area, on the northern coast of Puerto Rico between San Juan
and Arecibo. Wallops is supplying launch rails, telemetry systems,
tracking radars and other support equipment.
The availability of the range and radars are unique to Puerto
Rico. Arecibo, which is operated by Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y.,
under a cooperative agreement with the National Science Foundation,
Washington, D.C., houses the largest and most sensitive radio
telescope and radar in the world. The Arecibo Incoherent Scatter
Radar and High Frequency Ionospheric Heating Facility are critical for
conducting the experiments.
The eight sounding rockets will be launched between 7:30 p.m.
and 5:10 a.m. EDT. The majority of the launches will be conducted
between dusk and dawn during "Moon down" periods. These are times
when there is an absence of moonlight in the sky.
Six of the sounding rocket payloads will release tracer
chemicals to form artificial clouds in the sky, five will be visible
to the naked eye. The chemical releases will light up the magnetic
field lines in space, making visible ordinarily invisible features.
The rocket launches should be visible from most of Puerto
Rico, especially along the northern coast and San Juan. Wallops' Jay
Brown, Project El Coqui Campaign Manager, said "The public beaches on
the northern Puerto Rico coast offer the best vantage point for those
wishing to see the launches." He added that the Camp Tortuguero
Recreation Area will be closed to the public during the launches.
The artificial clouds should be visible throughout all of the
Caribbean and will provide a "marvelous opportunity for photography or
just plain observation," Kelley said. The artificial clouds should
take approximately 4 to 5 minutes to form. Pre-dawn releases may be
visible for up to 20 minutes while the dusk releases may be seen for
30 to 40 minutes, according to Kelley.
NASA will use three types of suborbital sounding rocket
vehicles, according to Brown. The vehicles include one single-stage
Black Brant VC, one two-stage Nike-Tomahawk, and six two-stage Black
Brant IX sounding rockets.
These sounding rockets are all solid-fueled vehicles and range
in overall length from 26 to 43 feet. They will fly to altitudes
ranging from 78 to 264 miles. None of the payloads will be recovered.
As part of Project El Cqui, NASA is conducting a variety of
educational programs for teachers and students in Puerto Rico
including tours of the launch operations. The public may view a
project exhibit at the Tortuguero Recreation Area adjacent to the
launch range during daytime hours.
Two University of Puerto Rico at Mayaguez students also are
participating in the project through Goddard Space Flight Center,
Greenbelt, Md., and the Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville,
Ala., fellowships. Jose Rosado Roman will work with a radar located
on St. Croix during the project and Nestor Aponte will work at the
Arecibo radar.
In addition, Nayda Santiago, a teacher at Mayaguez, received
her Master's degree from Cornell University after completing her final
design project through the CRRES program.
Project El Coqui is managed at Wallops for NASA's Office of
Space Science and Applications. The program consists of approximately
30 sounding rockets launched each year from various worldwide locations.
Editors Note:
Photos of sounding rocket payloads for Project El Coqui
assembly and testing are available through the Wallops Public Affairs
Office at (804) 824-1579.
A video on the CRRES program, including segments on Project
El Coqui and a previous sounding rocket campaign that was a part of
CRRES, and clips of payloads prepared at Wallops for Project El Coqui
is available through the Wallops Public Affairs Office.
A media center will open May 10 through 24 at the Camp
Tortuguero Recreation Area on Rt. 687 in Puerto Rico adjacent to the
launch range. The telephone number for the media center is available
from the Wallops Public Affairs Office.
A press briefing will be held at the launch range media center
at 10 a.m. Atlantic Standard Time, Thursday, May 14. A tour of the
launch range for photo opportunities will be conducted following the
briefing.
The launch windows for each sounding rocket in local time --
Atlantic Standard:
Vehicle Dates Time Visible Artificial Cloud
Nike-Tomahawk 5/17-29 1930-2030 yes
Principal Investigator: Dr. Lewis Duncan, Clemson University
Black Brant IX 5/26-6/6 2330-0400 no
36.065 DE
Principal Investigator: Dr. Paul Bernhardt, Naval Research Laboratory
Black Brant IX 6/1-13 0410-0510 yes
Principal Investigator: Dr. Ed Szuszczewicz, Science Applications
International Corp.
Black Brant IX 6/7-28 2300-0300 no
Principal Investigator: Dr. Michael Kelley, Cornell University
Black Brant VC 6/15-28 2000-2400 no
21.105 GE
Principal Investigator: Dr. Robert Pfaff, Goddard Space Flight Center
Black Brant IX 6/30-7/6 0410-0510 yes
Principal Investigator: Dr. Edward J. Weber, Air Force Geophysics Lab.
Black Brant IX 6/30-7/13 0410-0510 yes
Principal Investigator: Dr. Frank Djuth, Geospace Research, Inc.
Black Brant IX 7/6-13 0410-0510 yes
Principal Investigator: Dr. Edward J. Weber, Air Force Geophysics Lab.
|
| 613.39 | ROSAT helps complete first EUV sky survey | VERGA::KLAES | Slaves to the Metal Hordes | Fri Jul 24 1992 19:14 | 33 |
| Article: 1492
Newsgroups: sci.space.news
From: [email protected] (Peter E. Yee)
Subject: NASA Daily News for 07/17/92 (Forwarded)
Sender: [email protected]
Organization: NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA
Date: Mon, 20 Jul 1992 17:43:12 GMT
Daily News
Friday, July 17, 1992 24-hour audio service at 202/755-1788
% Royal Astronomy Society reports RoSat all-sky EUV survey is completed;
The Royal Astronomical Society, London, reports that a team of British
astronomers led by Ken Pounds, Leicester University, has completed the
first ever extreme ultraviolet sky survey using the United Kingdom's
Wide Field Camera aboard the U.S.-British-German Roentgen Satellite.
The UK Extreme Ultraviolet Bright Source Catalogue lists 384 cosmic
sources and discovered a marked disparity in the density and spacing
of the sources P they are deficient near the center of the Milky Way.
The U.K. team hypothesizes that this hole is the result of obscuring
dust and gas lying between the RoSat spacecraft and the galactic center.
This survey will be used by the science team associated with the
recently launched Extreme Ultraviolet Explorer.
This report is filed daily at noon, Monday through Friday. It is a
service of NASA's Office of Public Affairs. The editor is Charles
Redmond, 202/453-8425 or CREDMOND on NASAmail. NASA Select TV is
carried on GE Satcom F2R, transponder 13, C-Band, 72 degrees West
Longitude, transponder frequency is 3960 MegaHertz, audio subcarrier is
6.8 MHz, polarization is vertical.
|
| 613.40 | ROSAT images evidence of galactic storms | VERGA::KLAES | I, Robot | Wed Jan 06 1993 15:04 | 73 |
| Article: 3855
From: [email protected] (UPI)
Newsgroups: clari.tw.space,clari.tw.science,clari.news.top
Subject: Astronomers find evidence of giant galactic storms
Date: Mon, 4 Jan 93 21:16:35 PST
PHOENIX (UPI) -- Astronomers said Tuesday they had found the first
direct evidence for the existence of giant galactic storms.
The violent storms appear to occur in the ``galactic halo,'' a
diffuse cloud of gas molecules and interstellar matter that surrounds
the disk of a galaxy like a bun around a hamburger, said Joel Bregman of
the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.
The storms appear to be triggered when huge bubbles of superheated
gas burst open, shooting gaseous plumes 20,000 light-years from the
galaxy's disk, he said. As the gas cools, it loses buoyancy and crashes
back onto the galaxy itself at speeds exceeding 100,000 mph, he said.
Bregman and his colleagues detected evidence for galactic storms in
X-ray images of a galaxy known as NGC 891, which is located 30 million
light-years from Earth in the direction of the contellation Andromeda.
``Astronomers believed hot gas was being expelled from the disks of
many galaxies, including the Milky Way, but this is the first direct
evidence confirming the 'galactic fountain theory,'' he said.
The X-ray images, described at a meeting of the American Astronomical
Society, were obtained using ROSAT, an orbiting observatory developed by
Germany, Britain and the United States.
``NGC is special, because we view its galactic disk edge-on, which
lets us see gaseous material ejected from the disk,'' said Rachel Pildis
of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, one of Bregman's
colleagues. ``The hot gas emits X-rays, which are detected by ROSAT.''
Bubbles of superheated gas that trigger galactic storms are only
produced in galaxies with a high concentration of exploding stars or
supernovae, Bregman said.
``It probably requires about 40 supernovae exploding within 10
million years in one small area of a galaxy to start the process,'' he
said.
The force of shock waves from these stellar explosions creates hot
bubbles of gas, he said. The larger the bubble, the greater the chances
that it will reach the edge of the galaxy's disk and burst open,
triggering a storm cycle, he said.
The researchers released optical images taken with the 94-inch
Hiltner telescope at the Michigan-Dartmouth-MIT Observatory on Kitt Peak
near Tuscon, Ariz. The images show cooler skin surrounding hot bubbles
detected by ROSAT.
``These images show several bubbles, 1,000 to 5,000 light-years
across, which are about to or have already broken out, expelling hot gas
far above the disk,'' Pildis said.
``We've seen bubbles of hot gas in the Milky Way galaxy, but here we
see evidence for bubbles and bubble breakout in other galaxies,'' she said.
The storms may serve as a ``pressure relief valve'' that limits the
degree of new star formation and play a fundamental role in the
evolution of a galaxy, Bregman said.
``Stars form when very cold gas, dust and other material get denser
and denser until it finally collapses to produce a star,'' Bregman said.
``Massive stars live briefly, but generate a great deal of heat and
pressure. These galactic storms may relieve built-up pressure and heat
by re-distributing mass and energy throughout the galaxy and limiting
the level of star formation in any other area,'' he said.
|
| 613.41 | Mystery of "fastest flickering" galaxy solved | PRAGMA::GRIFFIN | Dave Griffin | Thu Oct 21 1993 10:01 | 73 |
| Paula Cleggett-Haleim
Headquarters, Washington, D.C. October 20, 1993
Michael Finneran
Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.
RELEASE: 93-192
Since its discovery in the mid 1980s, Galaxy NGC 6814, located about 47
million light years from Earth, has held special interest with astronomers.
Of the billions of galaxies that make up the universe, a few galaxies
"flicker," and this one "flickered" faster than any other.
Furthermore, it was the only one with a predictable flicker. Every 3.4 hours
it became brighter. Then, 3.4 hours later, it became dimmer.
The reason for the flickering finally has become clear. However, the
reason is not related to the galaxy.
Astronomers using data from the orbiting ROSAT x-ray observatory have
discovered two stars which orbit each other near the line of sight between
Earth and the galaxy. When the two stars -- called a binary system -- become
aligned with each other in relation to Earth, the galaxey image appears much
brighter. When the binary stars move out of alignment, the galaxey becomes
dimmer.
"Given the limited spatial resolution of the previous x-ray
observatories, it simply was not possible to disentangle the two sources --
namely NGC 6814 and this binary star system," said Dr. Greg M. Madejski of the
Universities Space Research Assocation at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center
(GSFC), Greenbelt, Md. "It required the precise imaging capability of the ROSAT
observatory, coupled with its large field of view. In fact, these two stars
have absolutely nothing whatever to do with NGC 6814."
A report on the discovery has just been published in the science
journal "Nature" by Madejski and other observer team members.
The galaxy is a member of a group known as the Seyfert galaxies. They
are distant celestial objects with very bright and highly active central
regions or nuclei. In visible light, the nuclei can outshine the rest of the
galaxy and produce ample ultraviolet and x-ray radiation.
According to Madejski and his colleagues, one of the binary stars
probably is a small, dense star called a white dwarf which is pulling material
from its companion. In turn, the impact of this material on the white dwarf is
producing the x-rays previously thought to be associated with NGC 6814.
This galaxy was thought to be unique because the variations of its
brightness not only were very fast for a Seyfert galaxy, but extremely regular.
The galaxy is about 100,000 times farther from Earth than the stars that caused
the "optical illusion." They are in the Milky Way.
What appeared to be the unique characteristics of NGC 6814 were
detected first by the European X-ray Satellite (EXOSAT) and confirmed by the
Japanese orbiting observatory GINGA.
Following these observations, a leading theory emerged that the
periodicity was caused by a captured star orbiting a super- massive black hole
at the galaxy's center. A black hole is believed to be a collapsed star with a
gravitational field so strong that not even light can escape it.
Madejski said that despite ROSAT's findings about NGC 6814, other lines
of evidence still favor a presence of massive black holes at the center of
Seyfert galaxies.
Collaborating with Madejski on the "Nature" paper were T. Jane Turner
of the Universities Space Research Association at GSFC; Richard F. Mushotzky
and Peter Serlemitsos of GSFC; Chris Done of GSFC and the Leicester University
in Great Britain; Fabrizio Fiore of the Center for Astrophysics in Cambridge,
Mass.; Marek Sikora of the Copernicus Astronomical Center in Warsaw, Poland and
JILA/University of Colorado in Boulder; and Mitchell C. Begelman of
JILA/University of Colorado.
|
| 613.42 | Status Report 94 - May 19 | MTWAIN::KLAES | Keep Looking Up | Sun May 22 1994 17:10 | 153 |
| Article: 30
Newsgroups: sci.astro.research
From: [email protected]
Subject: ROSAT Status Report #94
Sender: [email protected]
Organization: MSFC X-Ray Astronomy's InterNetNews site
Date: 20 May 1994 16:53:52 -0500
ROSAT/HEASARC Status Report No 94
May 19th 1994
Important Changes to Data Set Naming Conventions
------------------------------------------------
Data processed before Jan 1993 was processed with the initial release
of SASS, which is known as Rev 0 processing. After Jan 1993, a new
release of SASS was used to process data; this is known as Rev 1
processing. Some improvements to SASS and the implementation of the
Rationalized Data Format (RDF) for the output data heralded the start
of Rev 2 processing in April 1994. One significant difference between
the initial (Rev 0) processing and the later processings is the
handling of follow-on observations. This change has necessitated an
expansion of the file naming convention from the relatively simple
scheme used during Rev 0 processing.
The observation naming scheme used during Rev 0 processing used a 2
letter code + 6 digit ROSAT Observation Request (ROR) number to
identification a given observation sequence. For example a typical
sequence id would be RP123456 (for a US-processed PSPC observation) or
WF123456 (for an MPE-processed filtered PSPC observation). As
additional data for this observation were obtained, they were combined
with previously obtained data and sent to the user (and the archives)
under the original 2 letter + 6 digit observation ID.
Starting with Rev 1 processing and continuing through Rev 2 processing,
there are different naming conventions for a given observation, based
on whether it's 1) an initial pointing, 2) an add-on or follow-up
observation, or 3) a mis-pointing. Archive users should understand
something about the change in naming convention in order to retrieve
data from the archive.
The Rev 1 file naming convention is as follows:
1) initial pointing or mis-pointing:
00 added to the 6 digit ROR number
Eg: RP12345600
2) add-on or follow-up observation:
01...99 added to the 6 digit ROR number
(depending on the number of add-ons)
Eg: RP12345601
The Rev 2 file naming convention is as follows:
1) initial ("normal") pointing:
NOO added to the 6 digit ROR number
Eg: RP123456N00
2) add-on or follow-up observation:
A01...A99 added to the 6 digit ROR number
(depending on the number of add-ons)
Eg: RP123456A01
3) mis-pointing:
M01...M99 added to the 6 digit ROR number
(depending on the number of mis-points)
Eg: RP123456M01
The Rev 2 convention shown above, which is the most clear, was not put
into effect for Rev 1 datasets. Because of the potential confusion
between normal observations and mis-points caused by the Rev 1 naming
convention, it was decided that BOTH REV 1 AND REV 2 DATA WILL BE
ARCHIVED USING THE REV 2 NAMING CONVENTION. For example, a data set
which was processed by Rev 1 SASS and distributed to the PI with the
dataset ID RP12345601 will enter the archive as RP123456A01.
How will this effect archive users?
1) Unlike the Rev 0 data sets in which the entire observation was
"packaged" under one observation id (RP123456, say), each individual
"pointing" is packaged under an individual name for Rev 1 and Rev 2
processed data. For example, suppose there is an observation of the
galactic center having an ROR of 123456, which is made in 2 pointings
(initial pointing + 1 add-on). This data will enter the archive as 2
discrete data sets, RP123456N00 and RP123456A01. To get the entire
observation, the archive user will need to retrieve both datasets
(RP123456N00 and RP123456A01).
2) Because the Rev 1 and Rev 2 data sets have different output file
formats (the Rev 2 uses the RDF format, while the Rev1 did not), a
given observation ID may be archived as a Rev 1 processed data (in the
old-style, non-RDF format) at one time and then later (after
reprocessing) the data set will be replaced by an RDF version.
We regret the inconvenience caused by the change in naming scheme, but
point out that as data are re-processed, all REV 0 processed-data
will be replaced by REV 2 versions. This means that eventually all
data in the ROSAT archive will follow the REV 2 naming convention.
Questions about data in the US Public Archive should be sent to
Dr. M. Corcoran at the address below.
Special Note About MPE-Processed Hri Archival Data
--------------------------------------------------
HRI FITS-formatted datasets produced by MPE have filenames ending in
".mt" (rather than ".tfits" or ".ifits" which is used for the PSPC data
produced by MPE). Users should rest assured that these data are in the
standard MPE EXSAS FITS format similar to that used for the PSPC, only
the extension name has been changed (to protect the innocent?).
Previous versions of the user guide "archive_intro.txt" (available from
the legacy.gsfc.nasa.gov anonymous ftp account) were written before we
received any HRI datasets from MPE and were under the (mis)conception
that the ".ifits" and ".tfits" file extensions were to be used for both
PSPC and HRI data. This was not the case, so the recent version
of the archive user's guide (available in rosat/doc/archive on
legacy.gsfc.nasa.gov) has been corrected to reflect this reality.
ROSAT CD Rom Volume II
----------------------
A sneak preview of volume II of the ROSAT Images CD ROM can be found
on the WWW under
http://heasarc.gsfc.nasa.gov/0/docs/rosat/cdroms/rosatcdroms.html
This CD ROM, produced by the HEASARC and US ROSAT Data Center, will be
distributed at the Minneapolis AAS meeting. Copies of Volume I and II can be
obtained by sending your mail address to [email protected]
ROSAT Catalog
-------------
The US ROSAT Data Center in collaboration with the HEASARC is
currently working on rationalizing the various ROSAT database tables
into a single observation catalog. The current situation of multiple
tables with inconsistent information is confusing and results from the
fact that we receive the information from different sources (MPE,
University of Leicester, and the US processing team). By combining all
these tables into a single database we hope to provide a much cleaner
interface to gather information on the status of a particular
observation and the resulting data. This is a major effort, that will
take several months. We hope to have it complete in the July/August
1994 timeframe. Until then, please be patient and tell us of any
inconsistancies you find in the current tables. Comments, questions
or complaints should be sent to:
Dr. Mike Corcoran
US ROSAT PROJECT/HEASARC
Goddard Space Flight Center
Greenbelt, MD 20771
[email protected]
HEASRC::CORCORAN
|
| 613.43 | Status Report 96 - June 27 | MTWAIN::KLAES | Keep Looking Up | Tue Jun 28 1994 14:24 | 296 |
| Article: 129
From: [email protected]
Newsgroups: sci.astro.research
Subject: Rosat Status Report #96
Date: 28 Jun 1994 09:22:31 -0500
Organization: MSFC X-Ray Astronomy's InterNetNews site
Sender: [email protected]
ROSAT Status Report #96
June 27 1994
[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]
[ ]
[ HINTS & POINTERS for PROS Users ]
[ 24 JUNE 1994 #11 ]
[ ]
[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]
--- Release Notes for SAO/PROS Patch 2.3.1 -- June 1994 ---
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
I) Setting up to use the XRAY package
----------------------------------
required packages:
IRAF V2.10.1 or higher
(iraf.noao.edu -or- 140.252.1.1)
TABLES 1.3.1
(stsci.edu -or- 130.167.1.2)
PROS 2.3
(sao-ftp.harvard.edu -or- 128.103.42.3)
optional packages:
EUV (cea-ftp.cea.berkeley.edu -or- 128.32.154.12)
>>> Users must rerun the "mkiraf" task and answer 'yes' to the <<<
>>> 're-initialize uparm?' option before running. <<<
II) New TASKS in this release (PROS 2.3.1)
--------------------------------------
QPCALC (xproto) -> This task runs on QPOES and is based on the
TCALC task in iraf.tables. It evaluates an arbitrary expression
that includes event-attribute names, constants, and operators, and
creates a specified event-attribute in the QPOE --- or overwrites
an existing event-attribute if the specified name already exists.
Variables in the expression are event-attribute names in either case.
HXFLUX (xspectral) -> New task to compute the flux of a ROSAT HRI
observation from an input QPOE. It runs qpspec, fit, and xflux
in a macro task.
ECD2PROS (xdataio.eincdrom) -> This task will retrieve Einstein data
from any of the CD-ROM archives (including the new IPC unscreened
archive). This task replaces the now obsolete tasks qp_get and
fits_get.
EFITS2QP (xdataio) -> New task to convert any Einstein FITS file
(containing BINTABLE extensions) to an RDF IRAF/PROS QPOE file.
ECDINFO (xdataio.eincdrom) -> This task retrieves information about a
particular Einstein observation and displays the observation title,
livetime, field center, etc.
EINDATADEMO (xdataio.eincdrom) -> Demo task for Einstein screened and
unscreened data. Optional Einstein distributed data files
installation required.
III) Major modifications to existing TASKS in this release (PROS 2.3.1)
------------------------------------------------------------------
RARC2PROS, RFITS2PROS, UPQPOERDF (xdataio) -> These tasks have been updated
to run QPGAPMAP when the input data are ROSAT/HRI. The detector
coordinates (DETX/DETY) are computed by applying the gapmap to the
Raw coordinates (RAWX/Y) and they are added to the event-list.
QPSPEC (xspectral) -> This task was updated to eliminate any restrictions
on the geometry of source regions. Removed the 'extended' task
parameter. Updated the region descriptor processing to provide prompt
feedback about syntactic or semantic errors in region descriptors
provided to qpspec.
Replaced particle_bkgd.tab to match Plucinsky et al paper,
updated ros_pi_offar.ieee to maintain consistency with PROSCON v2.3.
Added bal26.0tab.
QPLINTRAN (ximages) -> This task was updated to allow re-dimensioning and
re-blocking when making QPOE-> QPOE conversions (already implemented
in QPOE -> IMAGE conversions)
QPGAPMAP (xdataio) -> This task was updated to write the recentered
optical axis coordinates in the output QPOE header.
APPLY_BARY (xtiming.timcor) -> An intermittent crash error was fixed,
RA/DEC no longer read from command line (read from correction table
header), rationalized warning messages and time units.
Replaced scc_to_utc table with latest version from MPE.
IMCONTOUR/TVIMCONTOUR (xplot) -> Fixed source display error. Sometimes
a source was missing when plotting an ascii source list. Now all
sources are displayed.
IV) PROS Packages and Tasks
-----------------------
The xray package contains the following sub-packages and tasks
(note that:
* denotes a new task,
+ major modifications made to a task,
$ task has been given a new name,
- task has been moved from one package to another):
package tasks description
--------- ------------ ------------------------------------------
xdataio * efits2qp convert Einstein FITS event list to qpoe
+ fits2qp fixed alignment problem for ASCA SIS data
fixed memory problems for IRIX port
+ rfits2pros added upqpoerdf
+ rarc2pros added upqpoerdf
+ qp2fits updated to write new rdf keywords tlmin/tlmax
+ upqpoerdf added call to qpgapmap when ROSAT/HRI data
- qpgapmap added update to recenter optical axis position
in the output qpoe header
eincdrom
* ecd2pros reads data from eincdroms data to disk
* ecdinfo retrieves info on an Einstein observation
* eindatademo demo of Einstein screened and unscreened data
xspatial
detect + lbmap updated soft/hard/broad limit of pha
xtiming + fft fixed totcnts to avoid accumulated round-off
errors
timcor + apply_bary updated screen display, read ra/dec from
input table headers, debugged intermittent
segv error.
xspectral * hxflux computes the flux from a ROSAT/HRI QPOE
+ qpspec offaxis angle update, accept ASCA data,
eliminated restrictions on source regions,
added prompt feedback to regions errors
xplot + imcontour/
tvimcontour fixed source display when ascii input
+ tabplot updated for compatibility with TABLES 1.3.1
ximages + qplintran added 2 new parameters (xdim,ydim) to allow
specifying the output QPOE dimension
xproto * qpcalc qpoe calculator
xlocal (tasks supported locally, i.e., at SAO)
+ mpc.mpcspec updated to write RDF-style spectral tables
--------- ------------ ------------------------------------------
V) Test Data Files
---------------
The test data files in xdata$ are upgraded to RDF format with task
UPQPOERDF as part of this installation. See Section VII below for
information on other existing QPOE files.
VI) Calibration Data Files
----------------------
The file ros_pi_offar.ieee in the data directory xspectraldata,
used by QPSPEC, has been modified to replace zero values of effective
area in the first seven pi channels with ones. The change was
necessitated by modifications in PROSCON v. 2.3, which now requires
256-channel spectra as input.
Changed comments and table values in xspectraldata$particle_bkgd.tab
to match the final published version of the Plucinsky et al paper.
This file had been based on a preprint; both variable names and values
had changed in the final paper.
The most recent scc_to_utc.tab file from MPE is included.
Added the Einstein IPC response matrix for the BAL value of 26.0,
bal26.0tab, used by xspectral.fit.
VII) PROS User's Guide (PUG)
-----------------------
The PROS USERS GUIDE has been revised from the June '93 (PROS vs 2.2)
edition. It now corresponds to the current PROS release, 2.3.1 and
will be available as an html version accessable via xmosaic as well
as the conventional ftp latex and postscript editions. A forthcoming
H&P will provide the details.
VIII) Some answers to related IRAF/PROS Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs):
--------------------------------------------------------------------
1) Now that PROS has been updated to support RDF, are my existing QPOE
files compatible?
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
PROS supports data in both old (REV0) and new (RDF) format, but will
always write files in RDF. The PROS ROSAT FITS readers (rfits2pros,
rarc2pros) will do any required conversions automatically. However, any
EXISTING PROS QPOE files (on disk pre PROS2.3 - dec93), must be converted
manually by the user, with the task UPQPOERDF.
> xdataio
> upqpoerdf
2) How can I verify old results before moving to the new poisson error
calculations in PROS?
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Poisson error approximations are the default in PROS 2.3 (Dec 93).
Some user's may want to run with gaussian errors to verify old results
before moving to the new default. The following procedure will change
the QPOE header keyword POISSERR from T (true for POISSON errors) to
F (false for GAUSSIAN errors).
a) verify current value
> imhead rh110267.qp long+ | match POISSERR
POISSERR= T
b) change T to F (Note the value is boolean, so DO NOT use quotes)
> qphedit rh110267.qp POISSERR F
rh110267.qp,POISSERR (T -> F): y
rh110267.qp,POISSERR: T -> F
continue ? (yes):
rh110267.qp updated
b) verify update
> imhead rh110267.qp long+ | match POISSERR
POISSERR= F
Also, see 'help explain_errors' for a description of error calculations.
3) The syntax used to specify detector coordinates is cumbersome, is there
a better method?
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
IRAF 'key' syntax has been updated to use real event-attribute names:
New syntax -> key=(detx,dety)
Old syntax -> key=(s16,s18) ... obscure and cumbersome
i.e. the following example will display a map using detector coords
> xdisplay foo.qp[key=(detx,dety)]
4) How can I access recent PROS documents?
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
In the IRAF/XRAY package:
Type 'help revisions' in XRAY to display these notes.
Type 'help pros' for an overview of PROS help documents.
J. De Ponte
ABOUT HINTS & POINTERS
As the provider of the PROS software package ("xray" in IRAF), the
ROSAT Science Data Center (RSDC) at SAO distributes HINTS & POINTERS
to PROS Users via email. When we find answers to often asked
questions, or when we have implemented new software solutions to
longstanding problems, we will send this information directly to our
users. These messages will also be available via anonymous ftp*, but
to receive the email version, you should register with us. If your
username is the one associated with your site registration, you are
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users (even at the same sites) to register.
Mailings will be sent as the need arises, perhaps every month or so.
If you would like to suggest items for future issues of H&P or add
your name to our distribution list, please contact us at the following
address:
**************************************************************************
Internet - [email protected] RSDC MS-3
DECnet - CFA::RSDC (6699::RSDC) Center for Astrophysics
UUCP - ...!harvard!cfa!rsdc 60 Garden St. Cambridge MA 02138 USA
BITNET - rsdc@cfa tel: (617) 495-7134 FAX: 495-7356
**************************************************************************
* to access our anonymous ftp service:
o ftp -i sao-ftp.harvard.edu # node address: 128.103.42.3
[Name: anonymous]
[Password: <yourusername@yoursite>]
ftp> cd pub/pros/Hints
N.B.: you can also obtain your own copy of the PROS USERS GUIDE by
anonftp from subdir /pub/pros/PUG.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
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