What’s new in the last week at http://spacescience.nasa.gov :
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During an unplanned rendezvous, the Ulysses spacecraft found itself gliding
though the immense tail of Comet Hyakutake back in 1996, revealing that
comet tails may be much, much longer than previously believed. Ulysses is
a mission launched in 1990, primarily to study the Sun’s magnetic fields,
solar winds and cosmic rays near its North and South Poles. Interesting
science at http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/releases/2000/ulyssesmeetscomet.html ,
Ulysses page at http://ulysses.jpl.nasa.gov/
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True “Face on Mars” believers may never accept that the Cydonia region
landforms are best explained as natural features. But all we can do is put
the images out for inspection. Mars Global Surveyor Mapping Phase images
(from 1999 and 2000) of the Cydonia region have been compiled and released,
and are available at http://www.msss.com/mars_images/moc/4_5_00_cydonia/
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The European Space Agency has decided to delay shipment of the Cluster II
spacecraft, currently scheduled for launch in June, until a concern with
the propulsion system is resolved. We provided several scientific
instruments for each of the four Cluster spacecraft, which will work
together to study Earth’s magnetic field and electric surroundings in three
dimensions.. The ESA announcement is available at
http://sci.esa.int/missions/newsitem.cfm?TypeID=8&ContentID=9991
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On Saturday, April 1, NEAR fired its thrusters for 36 seconds and began
gradually descending into position to start a 62-mile (100-kilometer) orbit
around asteroid Eros on April 11. http://near.jhuapl.edu/
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MSNBC has provided some nice coverage of the Astrobiology Conference that
was held earlier this week. They say: “The search for life in the universe
begins in your back yard.” I dunno, my lawn wouldn’t provide much
evidence. http://www.msnbc.com/news/388962.asp?cp1=1
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Scientists using Yohkoh report that shock waves launched from solar flares
can cause Coronal Mass Ejections (enormously powerful explosions on the
Sun) elsewhere in the solar corona. Story at
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2000/04/000404122024.htm , Yohkoh page
at http://www.lmsal.com/SXT/
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Another Sun story: like blood pulsing in an artery, newly discovered
currents of gas beat deep inside the Sun, speeding and slackening every 16
months. Scientists are hopeful that this pulse can help them unravel the
origin and operation of the 11-year solar cycle. Story and pics at the
SOHO page, http://sohowww.nascom.nasa.gov/
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A technique that uses an advanced sensor developed at the Jet Propulsion
Laboratory is being tested for use in monitoring the effectiveness of
cancer treatment. http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/releases/2000/danafarber.html
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Finally, a bit of housekeeping… recently, OneList (the folks who maintain
this list for me) merged with eGroups, another list maintenance service.
As a result, the url for the list has changed to www.eGroups.com, and I’ve
changed all of the other references too, like the directions below for
subscribing and unsubscribing. No big deal, just thought I’d better
mention it.
Cheers!
Subscribe: send blank e-mail to oss-update-subscribe@eGroups.com
Unsubscribe: send blank e-mail to oss-update-unsubscribe@eGroups.com
Archives: http://www.eGroups.com/messages/oss-update
Space Science home: http://spacescience.nasa.gov/
