O-> O-> O-> O-> O-> O-> O-> O-> O-> O-> O-> O-> O-> O-> O-> O-> O-> O-> O-> . --. THE INTERNATIONAL MARS WATCH ELECTRONIC NEWSLETTER . ..../ | -------------------------------------------------- :::::: :::::: Volume 1; Issue 1 (file imw.jan94) :::: 7 January 1994 <-O <-O <-O <-O <-O <-O <-O <-O <-O <-O <-O <-O <-O <-O <-O <-O <-O <-O <-O SUBJECT Line Number ------------------------------------------------------- ------------ Introductory remarks 21 Observing deadlines and facility instrument status 51 Observing plans 72 Ephemerides and/or Satellite Orbital Elements 134 Recent Results 184 Ongoing controversies 251 ************************************************************************ INTRODUCTORY REMARKS ************************************************************************ This is the first issue of the International Mars Watch Electronic Newsletter. The purpose of this newsletter is to foster improved contact and cooperation between researchers conducting either telescopic or spacecraft observations of Mars and its satellites at all wavelengths. We are modeling this effort based on the highly successful International Jupiter Watch (IJW) e-mail information system. Initial response to the announcement sent out by the DPS was about 50 people. Each newsletter will be divided into different sections based on the following subjects: * Observing deadlines and facility instrument status * Observing plans * Ephemerides and/or Satellite Orbital Elements * Recent Results * Ongoing controversies Additional subject areas can be added if necessary, or these subject areas can be subdivided. Suggestions will always be appreciated. Contributions can be e-mailed or faxed to the current IMW Newsletter editor (Jim Bell, NASA Ames, address below). Back issues of the Newsletter and contributed information available for public use will be stored in an archive on the machine marswatch.arc.nasa.gov and can be emailed to you or others by request. Eventually, I hope to set up anonymous ftp access to this archive. If anyone can come up with a better/snazzier header logo, let me know... ************************************************************************ OBSERVING DEADLINES AND FACILITY INSTRUMENT STATUS ************************************************************************ ----- I am most familiar with observing deadlines at Mauna Kea, and some upcoming deadlines for non-University of Hawaii observers are listed below. Can someone provide information on proposal deadlines at other facilities? Observatory Deadline Telescope and Time Period ----------- ----------- -------------------------------------------- MKO January 31 U. Hawaii 2.2m and 0.6m, for Apr-Jul 1994 March 1 CFHT, for Aug. 1994 to Jan. 1995 March 31 UKIRT and JCMT, for Aug. 1994 to Jan. 1995 April 1 NASA/IRTF, for Aug. 1994 to Jan. 1995 April 30 CSO, for Jul-Dec 1994 ----- Q: Has anyone yet used the IRTFs NSFCAM, and if so, how does its performance and operation compare to ProtoCAM? ************************************************************************ OBSERVING PLANS ************************************************************************ Several people submitted short descriptions of their observing plans for the upcoming opposition, and they are paraphrased here: ----- From: marty@radarsun.jpl.nasa.gov (Marty Slade) Goldstone Solar System Radar is planning for ground-based radar observations of Mars during the 1995 Opposition (~Dec.94-Feb.95) when Mars is closer than ~1 AU. Typically about 1 track per week will be done. Some of this time is already devoted to observations for MESUR, but generally any scientist with peer-reviewed Mars funding can request track(s) focused on well-thought-out scientific objectives. ----- From: walter@troy.uchicago.edu (Walter Wild) We are going to install an adaptive optics system on a 40" telescope at Yerkes Observatory, and it is ideally suited for planet observations. Our interest and the vast quantity of time that we have available with this telescope, and our ability to make high resolution observations in the visible and near IR should enable us to make useful observations of Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, and hopefully Uranus. [...] I think that [Mars] may be close to ideal for this adaptive optics system (called the WCE) because it is bright enough and not "too big", which Jupiter is, to cause potential problems with the wavefront sensor (in regards to its extended source mode operation). With the demise of the Mars Observer one should continue the ideas of Jim Beletic as much as possible and try to do observations over as much of the Mars year as possible to get a good long term data base on dust storms and polar cap evolution. (Jim Beletic proposed doing this with speckle observations.) On a one meter telescope, though modest, we should be able to get close to the 0".1 diffraction limit -- this is a very high bandwidth adaptive optics system that the DoD gave to us -- which is not too bad. Further, we will have substantial amounts of telescope time unlike most other observatories where time is at a premium. It has been my hope to see this unused 40" become a world-class instrument, and adaptive optics can do that (at least for a while). [Additional details can be emailed on request] ----- From: U32FE@lepvax.gsfc.nasa.gov (Fred Espenak) I'm PI of a ground based program to measure Mars ozone from the NASA IRTF atop Mauna Kea. I'm currently reducing observations from three observing runs made during the last (1992-1993) Mars opposition. I will probably propose to make another set of observations in late 1994. ----- From: jimbo@anarchy.arc.nasa.gov (Jim Bell) I am trying to establish some collaborations with amateur observers during the 94-95 Mars opposition. There are many amateurs out there who have very good quality telescopes and CCD cameras and who would love to be able to do some substantial science in their spare time. I'm trying to get them to use standard filter sets, such as UVBRI or maybe a standard set of narrowband filters. The problem is that the amateurs typically have very limited budgets. Can anyone provide me with some names of companies that manufacture relatively inexpensive ($50-$100) standard astronomical filters in 1" or 2" sizes? Is this impossible? ************************************************************************ EPHEMERIDES AND/OR SATELLITE ORBITAL ELEMENTS ************************************************************************ ----- Fred Espenak (NASA/GSFC) has kindly provided a 1994 geocentric ephemeris for Mars generated on a DEC 11/783 using the JPL DE200. The ephemeris is stored in the IMW archive and can be emailed to you on request. The ephemeris is calculated for 1 day intervals and includes: Date Calendar Date (day month) RA Right Ascension (Mean Epoch & Equinox) Dec Declination (Mean Epoch & Equinox) Delta Geocentric distance of planet (A.U.'s) Rho Heliocentric distance of planet (A.U.'s) RV Geocentric radial velocity of planet(kmm/s) V Apparent visual magnitude of planet Diam Apparent angular diameter of planet (arc-sec) Ls Planetocentric longitude of Sun from its ascending node CML Geocentric central meridian longitude of planet Elng Geocentric angular separation between planet and the Sun ----- Jim Bell (NASA Ames) has produced an ephemeris program written in FORTRAN for a Sun/Sparc that uses JPL DE202 and many of the JPL/NAIF calling routines. The ephemeris can be tailored for any observing site and any time interval and currently calculates: RA Right Ascension RA Rate RA rate, for tracking purposes (arcsec/sec) DEC Declination DEC Rate DEC rate, for tracking purposes (arcsec/sec) E.Dist Earth-Mars distance (AU) S.Dist Sun-Mars distance (AU) Diam Apparent diameter of planet (arcsec) Air Airmass Phase Phase angle SE Lon Sub-Earth longitude SE Lat Sub-Earth latitude SS Lon Sub-Solar longitude SS Lat Sub-Solar latitude Sun PA Position angle of the sub-solar point NP PA Position angle of the North Pole All coordinates are in the same convention as the published values in the Astronomical Almanac. A copy of the latest version of the code and the binary data files (about 10 Mbytes total) is available by request; alternately, I'd be glad to run the program for you for any specific time interval, object, or observatory and email you the ephemeris. ************************************************************************ RECENT RESULTS ************************************************************************ ----- Mars Special Session at the 1993 Fall AGU Meeting A special session titled "Mars at the Threshold of a New Era of Exploration" was held at the recent AGU meeting in San Francisco. 11 oral papers and 5 poster papers were presented on subjects including spacecraft observations and analyses (Mars Observer, MESUR, Phobos-2, and Mars-94/96), groundbased observations, and general discussions of Martian geophysics and atmospheric dynamics. The session was well attended and the abstracts have been published in EOS, vol. 74, pp. 382-384. ----- Recent (late 1993) Mars-related papers from Icarus and JGR (suggestions for other journals to check...?) ICARUS: "An Assessment of Volatile Release from Recent Volcanism in Elysium, Mars", J.B. Plescia, Icarus, 104, 20-32, 1993. "Groundbased Imaging Spectroscopy of Mars in the Near-Infrared: Preliminary Results", J.F. Bell III and D. Crisp, Icarus, 104, 2-19, 1993. "Chronology, Eruption Duration, and Atmospheric Contribution of the Martian Volcano Apollinaris Patera", M.S. Robinson et al., Icarus, 104, 301-323, 1993. "First Detection of Ozone in the Middle Atmosphere of Mars from Solar Occultation Measurements", J.E. Blamont and E. Chassefiere, Icarus, 104, 324-336, 1993. "The Dust Torus Around Phobos Orbit", K.V. Kholshevnikov et al., Icarus, 105, 351-362, 1993. "Gravity, Tides, and Topography on Small Satellites and Asteroids: Application to Surface Features of the Martian Satellites", P.C. Thomas, Icarus, 105, 326-344, 1993. "Spatial Variations in the Spectral Properties of Bright Regions on Mars", S. Murchie et al., Icarus, 105, 454-468, 1993. "Meteoroid Impacts as Seismic Sources on Mars", P.M. Davis, Icarus, 105, 469-478, 1993. "Topography of Small Martian Valleys", J.M. Goldspiel et al., Icarus, 105, 479-500, 1993. "Solstitial Temperature Inversions in the Martian Middle Atmosphere: Observational Clues and 2-D Modeling", B. Theodore et al., Icarus, 105, 512-528, 1993. "If Martian Ice Caps Flow: Ablation Mechanisms and Appearance", D.A. Fisher, Icarus, 105, 501-511, 1993. JGR-PLANETS: 40 papers related to the "Mars Surface and Atmosphere Through Time" study project were published in JGR, 98, nos. E2 and E6, 1993. "Quantitative Analysis of the Extensional Tectonics of Tharsis Bulge, Mars: Geodynamics", P.G. Thomas and P. Allemand, JGR, 98, 13097-13108, 1993. "Wrinkle Ridges of Arcadia Planitia, Mars", J.B. Plescia, JGR, 98, 15049-15060, 1993. "Helium in the Martian Atmosphere", V.A. Krasnopolsky et al., JGR, 98, 15061-15068, 1993. "Compressional Tectonism on Mars", T.R. Watters, JGR, 98, 17049-17060, 1993. "Assumptions About the Presence of Natural Glasses on Mars", V. Bouska and J.F. Bell III, JGR, 98, 18719-18726, 1993. "The Nanophase Iron Mineral(s) in Mars Soil", A. Banin et al., JGR, 98, 20831-20854, 1993. "Redistribution of Subsurface Neutrons Caused by Ground Ice on Mars", W.C. Feldman et al., JGR, 98, 20855-20870, 1993. "An Improved Gravity Model for Mars: Goddard Mars Model 1", D.E. Smith et al., JGR, 98, 20871-20890, 1993. ************************************************************************ ONGOING CONTROVERSIES ************************************************************************ ----- The Mars Observer failure investigation board has just released its report, and it points to ruptured propellant lines as the most likely cause of the loss of the spacecraft. Apparently, substantial leakage could have occurred past the check valves that should have kept the two propellant mixtures separated. Similar concerns are being voiced about the propellant systems on Galileo that will be activated next year. ----- Does anyone besides me get irked when you hear the dark regions of Mars described as "gray"? Certainly they are less red, but gray?? Any ideas about where this terminology came from? ************************************************************************ Editor: Jim Bell NASA Ames Research Center Space Sciences Division, M/S 245-3 Moffett Field, CA 94035-1000 phone: 415-604-0324 fax: 415-604-6779 email: jimbo@anarchy.arc.nasa.gov ---------------------------END--------------------------------------