O-> O-> O-> O-> O-> O-> O-> O-> O-> O-> O-> O-> O-> O-> O-> O->

      THE INTERNATIONAL MARSWATCH ELECTRONIC NEWSLETTER
      -------------------------------------------------
                     Volume 7; Issue 5
                     29 September 2005
                      Circulation: 748 

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(1) Opening Remarks
(2) Ephemerides
(3) DPS Meeting Mars Notes
(4) Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter
(5) Mars on Earth project

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OK, so it seems that September has just breezed by and I pretty much
missed getting a newsletter out.  At the beginning of the month there
was the meeting of the Division for Planetary Sciences of the American
Astronomical Society (DPS) and I spent the last part of August preparing
for it and the start of classes here at Rowan University.  However
there are all kinds of things happening on Mars and I took some time
to process all my notes from the DPS meeting and figured this time
around I'd just publish those in this newsletter.  This is the cutting
edge of Mars research results and although much of it has not yet
been published in the peer reviewed journals, I still think it makes
for an interesting read.  My one caveat is this: if there are any
errors, they are most likely mine which cropped up somewhere between
taking my notes at the meeting sessions and finally writing them up
into real sentences and paragraphs.

Clear Skies!
      Dave

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The following table was generated using JPL's online ephemerides site.
Times are all UT.  Dates and times are given for Mars rise (r), 
transit (t), and set (s) although these will only be approximate for
any specific place.  The N, A and * in the second column stand for 
nautical and astronomical twilight and day light, respectively.  Ob-lon 
is the longitude on Mars facing the observer (commonly called CM); 
Ob-lat is the corresponding latitude.

 Date_(ZONE)_HR:MN     R.A._(ICRF/J2000.0)_DEC  APmag  Ang-diam Ob-lon Ob-lat
 2005-Sep-29 00:55  r  03 25 44.58 +16 22 05.2  -1.63   17.577  152.19 -10.89
 2005-Sep-29 07:55  t  03 25 46.08 +16 22 48.5  -1.63   17.616  254.52 -10.89
 2005-Sep-29 14:54 *s  03 25 47.28 +16 23 21.8  -1.64   17.652  356.62 -10.90
 2005-Sep-30 00:51  r  03 25 51.37 +16 24 14.3  -1.65   17.705  142.07 -10.90
 2005-Sep-30 07:51  t  03 25 51.81 +16 24 54.8  -1.66   17.744  244.41 -10.91
 2005-Sep-30 14:50 *s  03 25 51.94 +16 25 25.2  -1.66   17.780  346.51 -10.91
 2005-Oct-01 00:47  r  03 25 54.54 +16 26 13.7  -1.67   17.832  131.97 -10.92
 2005-Oct-01 07:47  t  03 25 53.91 +16 26 51.4  -1.68   17.871  234.31 -10.93
 2005-Oct-01 14:46 *s  03 25 52.98 +16 27 18.9  -1.69   17.906  336.41 -10.94
 2005-Oct-02 00:43  r  03 25 54.07 +16 28 03.3  -1.70   17.959  121.87 -10.94
 2005-Oct-02 07:43  t  03 25 52.36 +16 28 38.2  -1.70   17.997  224.22 -10.96
 2005-Oct-02 14:42 *s  03 25 50.35 +16 29 02.8  -1.71   18.032  326.32 -10.97
 2005-Oct-03 00:39  r  03 25 49.93 +16 29 43.1  -1.72   18.084  111.79 -10.98
 2005-Oct-03 07:39  t  03 25 47.14 +16 30 15.2  -1.73   18.122  214.14 -10.99
 2005-Oct-03 14:38 *s  03 25 44.05 +16 30 36.9  -1.73   18.157  316.25 -11.00
 2005-Oct-04 00:35  r  03 25 42.11 +16 31 13.2  -1.74   18.208  101.73 -11.02
 2005-Oct-04 07:35  t  03 25 38.24 +16 31 42.4  -1.75   18.245  204.08 -11.03
 2005-Oct-04 14:34 *s  03 25 34.06 +16 32 01.2  -1.76   18.280  306.19 -11.05
 2005-Oct-05 00:31  r  03 25 30.60 +16 32 33.4  -1.77   18.330   91.68 -11.06
 2005-Oct-05 07:31  t  03 25 25.64 +16 32 59.8  -1.77   18.367  194.03 -11.08
 2005-Oct-05 14:30 *s  03 25 20.38 +16 33 15.8  -1.78   18.401  296.15 -11.10
 2005-Oct-06 00:27  r  03 25 15.39 +16 33 43.9  -1.79   18.451   81.64 -11.11
 2005-Oct-06 07:26  t  03 25 09.36 +16 34 07.4  -1.80   18.487  183.75 -11.13
 2005-Oct-06 14:26 *s  03 25 03.01 +16 34 20.6  -1.80   18.520  286.12 -11.15
 2005-Oct-07 00:22  r  03 24 56.51 +16 34 44.6  -1.81   18.569   71.37 -11.18
 2005-Oct-07 07:22  t  03 24 49.39 +16 35 05.4  -1.82   18.605  173.73 -11.20
 2005-Oct-07 14:22 *s  03 24 41.96 +16 35 15.6  -1.83   18.638  276.10 -11.22
 2005-Oct-08 00:18  r  03 24 33.95 +16 35 35.6  -1.84   18.686   61.35 -11.24
 2005-Oct-08 07:18  t  03 24 25.75 +16 35 53.6  -1.84   18.721  163.72 -11.27
 2005-Oct-08 14:18 *s  03 24 17.25 +16 36 00.9  -1.85   18.753  266.09 -11.29
 2005-Oct-09 00:14  r  03 24 07.74 +16 36 16.9  -1.86   18.800   51.35 -11.32
 2005-Oct-09 07:13  t  03 23 58.49 +16 36 32.1  -1.87   18.834  153.48 -11.34
 2005-Oct-09 14:13 *s  03 23 48.92 +16 36 36.6  -1.87   18.865  255.86 -11.37
 2005-Oct-10 00:09  r  03 23 37.92 +16 36 48.6  -1.88   18.911   41.12 -11.40
 2005-Oct-10 07:09  t  03 23 27.60 +16 37 00.9  -1.89   18.944  143.50 -11.43
 2005-Oct-10 14:09 *s  03 23 16.97 +16 37 02.6  -1.89   18.975  245.88 -11.45
 2005-Oct-11 00:05  r  03 23 04.50 +16 37 10.6  -1.90   19.019   31.15 -11.49
 2005-Oct-11 07:04  t  03 22 53.16 +16 37 20.2  -1.91   19.052  133.29 -11.52
 2005-Oct-11 14:04 *s  03 22 41.49 +16 37 19.0  -1.92   19.081  235.67 -11.54
 2005-Oct-12 00:00  r  03 22 27.57 +16 37 23.1  -1.93   19.124   20.95 -11.58
 2005-Oct-12 07:00  t  03 22 15.17 +16 37 29.9  -1.93   19.156  123.33 -11.61
 2005-Oct-12 14:00 *s  03 22 02.47 +16 37 25.9  -1.94   19.184  225.72 -11.64
 2005-Oct-12 23:55 Ar  03 21 47.14 +16 37 26.0  -1.95   19.226   10.75 -11.68
 2005-Oct-13 06:55  t  03 21 33.73 +16 37 30.0  -1.95   19.256  113.14 -11.71
 2005-Oct-13 13:55 *s  03 21 20.02 +16 37 23.2  -1.96   19.283  215.53 -11.75
 2005-Oct-13 23:51 Ar  03 21 03.26 +16 37 19.3  -1.97   19.324    0.82 -11.79
 2005-Oct-14 06:51  t  03 20 48.84 +16 37 20.6  -1.98   19.353  103.21 -11.82
 2005-Oct-14 13:50 *s  03 20 34.17 +16 37 11.0  -1.98   19.379  205.36 -11.86
 2005-Oct-14 23:46 Ar  03 20 16.03 +16 37 03.2  -1.99   19.418  350.65 -11.90
 2005-Oct-15 06:46  t  03 20 00.63 +16 37 01.8  -2.00   19.446   93.05 -11.94
 2005-Oct-15 13:46 *s  03 19 44.96 +16 36 49.4  -2.00   19.471  195.44 -11.98
 2005-Oct-15 23:41 Ar  03 19 25.49 +16 36 37.7  -2.01   19.507  340.50 -12.02
 2005-Oct-16 06:41  t  03 19 09.14 +16 36 33.5  -2.02   19.534   82.89 -12.06
 2005-Oct-16 13:41 *s  03 18 52.52 +16 36 18.3  -2.02   19.558  185.30 -12.10
 2005-Oct-16 23:37 Ar  03 18 31.69 +16 36 02.6  -2.03   19.593  330.60 -12.15
 2005-Oct-17 06:36  t  03 18 14.44 +16 35 55.7  -2.04   19.618   72.75 -12.19
 2005-Oct-17 13:36 *s  03 17 56.89 +16 35 37.8  -2.04   19.640  175.16 -12.23
 2005-Oct-17 23:32 Ar  03 17 34.77 +16 35 18.2  -2.05   19.673  320.47 -12.28
 2005-Oct-18 06:31  t  03 17 16.62 +16 35 08.6  -2.06   19.697   62.63 -12.32
 2005-Oct-18 13:31 *s  03 16 58.16 +16 34 47.9  -2.06   19.718  165.03 -12.36
 2005-Oct-18 23:27 Ar  03 16 34.79 +16 34 24.5  -2.07   19.749  310.34 -12.42
 2005-Oct-19 06:26  t  03 16 15.75 +16 34 12.2  -2.08   19.771   52.51 -12.46
 2005-Oct-19 13:26 *s  03 15 56.42 +16 33 48.8  -2.08   19.790  154.92 -12.51
 2005-Oct-19 23:22 Ar  03 15 31.84 +16 33 21.5  -2.09   19.819  300.24 -12.56
 2005-Oct-20 06:21  t  03 15 11.95 +16 33 06.6  -2.10   19.840   42.40 -12.61
 2005-Oct-20 13:21 *s  03 14 51.78 +16 32 40.4  -2.10   19.858  144.82 -12.65
 2005-Oct-20 23:17 Ar  03 14 26.03 +16 32 09.4  -2.11   19.884  290.14 -12.71
 2005-Oct-21 06:16  t  03 14 05.33 +16 31 51.8  -2.12   19.903   32.31 -12.76
 2005-Oct-21 13:16 *s  03 13 44.35 +16 31 23.0  -2.12   19.919  134.72 -12.80
 2005-Oct-21 23:12 Ar  03 13 17.48 +16 30 48.3  -2.13   19.943  280.05 -12.86
 2005-Oct-22 06:11  t  03 12 55.99 +16 30 28.1  -2.13   19.961   22.22 -12.91
 2005-Oct-22 13:11 *s  03 12 34.25 +16 29 56.7  -2.14   19.975  124.64 -12.96
 2005-Oct-22 23:07 Nr  03 12 06.31 +16 29 18.3  -2.15   19.996  269.97 -13.02
 2005-Oct-23 06:06  t  03 11 44.09 +16 28 55.6  -2.15   20.012   12.14 -13.07
 2005-Oct-23 13:05 *s  03 11 21.66 +16 28 21.8  -2.16   20.024  114.32 -13.12
 2005-Oct-23 23:02 Nr  03 10 52.67 +16 27 39.8  -2.16   20.043  259.90 -13.18
 2005-Oct-24 06:01  t  03 10 29.75 +16 27 14.6  -2.17   20.057    2.08 -13.23
 2005-Oct-24 13:00 *s  03 10 06.64 +16 26 38.4  -2.17   20.067  104.26 -13.28
 2005-Oct-24 22:57 Nr  03 09 36.71 +16 25 53.0  -2.18   20.083  249.84 -13.35
 2005-Oct-25 05:56  t  03 09 13.14 +16 25 25.4  -2.19   20.095  352.02 -13.40
 2005-Oct-25 12:55 *s  03 08 49.39 +16 24 46.8  -2.19   20.104   94.20 -13.45
 2005-Oct-25 22:52 Nr  03 08 18.58 +16 23 58.1  -2.20   20.117  239.79 -13.52
 2005-Oct-26 05:51  t  03 07 54.41 +16 23 28.2  -2.20   20.127  341.97 -13.57
 2005-Oct-26 12:49 *s  03 07 30.13 +16 22 47.5  -2.21   20.133   83.91 -13.62
 2005-Oct-26 22:47 Nr  03 06 58.47 +16 21 55.5  -2.21   20.144  229.74 -13.69
 2005-Oct-27 05:45  t  03 06 33.80 +16 21 23.6  -2.22   20.152  331.68 -13.75
 2005-Oct-27 12:44 *s  03 06 08.94 +16 20 40.6  -2.22   20.156   73.87 -13.80
 2005-Oct-27 22:41 Nr  03 05 36.59 +16 19 45.8  -2.23   20.164  219.46 -13.87
 2005-Oct-28 05:40  t  03 05 11.38 +16 19 11.7  -2.23   20.170  321.65 -13.93
 2005-Oct-28 12:38 *s  03 04 46.09 +16 18 26.9  -2.24   20.172   63.59 -13.98
 2005-Oct-28 22:36 Nr  03 04 13.04 +16 17 29.1  -2.24   20.176  209.43 -14.05
 2005-Oct-29 05:35  t  03 03 47.39 +16 16 53.1  -2.25   20.180  311.62 -14.11
 2005-Oct-29 12:33 *s  03 03 21.69 +16 16 06.4  -2.25   20.180   53.56 -14.16
 2005-Oct-29 22:31 Nr  03 02 48.07 +16 15 06.1  -2.25   20.181  199.40 -14.23
 2005-Oct-30 05:29  t  03 02 22.10 +16 14 28.4  -2.26   20.183  301.35 -14.29
 2005-Oct-30 12:27 *s  03 01 56.04 +16 13 40.0  -2.26   20.181   43.30 -14.34
 2005-Oct-30 22:26 Cr  03 01 21.87 +16 12 37.2  -2.27   20.179  189.38 -14.42
 2005-Oct-31 05:24  t  03 00 55.59 +16 11 57.9  -2.27   20.179  291.33 -14.47
 2005-Oct-31 12:22 *s  03 00 29.23 +16 11 08.0  -2.27   20.174   33.28 -14.53
 2005-Oct-31 22:21 Cr  02 59 54.67 +16 10 03.1  -2.28   20.169  179.36 -14.60

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The 37th Annual Meeting of the Division for Planetary Sciences was
held in association with the 31st Annual Meeting of the Historical
Astronomy Division on 4--9 September 2005 in Cambridge England.
Below are my notes from the full day of Mars realated talks.  -- Dave

The Mars day was opened with a talk on the history of martian dust storms.  
He noted that the first documented storm was by Maraldi in 1704 and the first 
planet-encircling dust storm was documented in 1909.  One of the interesting 
points of his talk was that although there was much speculation at the time 
on what the observations meant (e.g.\ Lowell), that all observers appear to 
be quite faithful in recording their data.  This means that we can use their 
observations in trying to understand Mars of the past.

There were several talks presenting results from the Mars Exploration Rovers.  
As of Sol 596, Spirit had reached the summit of Husband Hill (thus it was at 
an altitude of about the height of Statue of Liberty, or Big Ben, above the 
local plains) and was looking around for a path down the other side where 
there are some interesting areas.

The big result is that both of the rovers have found evidence for aqueous 
and sedimentary processes---that is liquid water must have been involved and 
on the surface of Mars at some point in the past.  In Gusev, Spirit discovered 
six distinct chemical classes of rocks on the surface, each one named for the 
first of its type discovered.  Among them are a few that show evidence of 
water alteration such as Clovis, a highly oxidized  basaltic glass which is 
interpreted as being aqueously altered impact ejecta.  Peace is a finely 
layered rock class containing pyroxene and magnetite with some calcium and 
magnesium bearing minerals which is interpreted as being a basaltic sandstone 
that was briefly wetted.  These rock types have been analyzed not only through 
the PanCam images, but also with the MiniTES instrument.  The most common rock 
in the plains of Gusev crater have an olivine component, showing that it is 
a fairly unweathered rock.  Wishstone class rocks low on Husband Hill are 
dominated by plagioclase feldspar, although the Peace class also appear in 
this region.  Along with the multiple classes of rocks, it was discovered that
the soil seems to fall into two classes, one of which is less red and shows 
evidence of water alteration. 

At the Opportunity site the rocks show evidence that water played a roll not 
only in the formation of the minerals, but also in the their deposition.  Most 
of the sedimentary rocks were lain down by wind processes, but there are rocks 
with rippled layers from which it is concluded that they were lain down by 
running water.  The minerals show chemical alteration by groundwater.  Most 
of this seems to predate the ages of all the craters explored by the rover.  
However, there are features that are younger than the impacts which also show 
some degree of water alteration.  These rock coatings however suggest processes 
involving either low amounts of water, or contact with water over shorter 
periods of time.  This seems to indicate that over time, Mars become a dryer, 
and colder, planet.

Of course, there were all kinds of wonderful pictures, including many showing 
a multitude of dust devils!  The dust abundance in the atmosphere can be 
measured by the rovers by imaging the Sun throughout the day.  For any given
day, it seems that the dust optical depth is fairly constant.  However as the 
seasons progressed into southern spring and summer, dust activity and amounts 
in the atmosphere picked up  The dust devil activity also picked up through 
these seasons.  On average, these dust devils can be tens of meters in diameter
and up to 1.5 km high.

Images from the first 1.5 years of images from the Mars Express (MEX) High 
Resolution Stereo Camera  (HRSC) have been used to interpret the volcanic 
history of Mars.  In general, it was concluded that most of the volcanism on 
Mars ended about 1.5 billion years ago (1.5 Ga) except for areas on Elysium 
and the Tharsis plateau.  On Elysium, the most recent flows appear to be only 
100 million years old (100 Ma) whereas on Tharsis there are flows that appear 
to be 500 Ma and some that are as young as 2 Ma!  Further, the flow features 
imply that overall Mars became a dry planet about 3.5 Ga although there are 
regional areas which show evidence of water at around 1.5 Ga and even perhaps 
500 Ma.

Another instrument on MEX is the OMEGA imaging spectrometer which operates 
in the visible to near-infrared.  So far they have found that the much of the 
surface is mostly olivine and pyroxene showing little water alteration.  Clay 
minerals (phylosilicates) are detected in very limited regions, mainly in 
old and eroded terrains.  All of this indicates that water alteration is 
something of the distant past on Mars.  However an area on the northern scarp 
of Olympus Mons seem to indicate non-volcanic movement and an enhancement of 
hydrated minerals --- those with OH chemically attached to them --- which 
could be due to underground ices.  Based on models, this ice could be stable 
for most of the martian year.  Other areas with sulfates and clays appear in 
Valles Marinaris, Nili Fossae, and Meridiani.

A third MEX instrument is SPICAM which has a ultraviolet spectrometer which 
can measure emitted light by excited atmospheric molecules.   Results included 
the finding NO on the night side of Mars and the as well as localized aurora!  
The aurora occur over an area where the crustal magnetic field is a maximum 
and have been seen based on UV emissions of CO at an altitude of about 129 km.  
The SPICAM spectra also show absorptions which are indicative of ozone, 
although the amounts measured are not quite in agreement with the current 
state of modeling predictions.  Finally, SPICAM has been used to look at the
limb of Mars to study the atmospheric structure and look at clouds.  About 
60% of the detections show that the cloud layer is detached, and often clouds 
appear in multi-layer structures.  Some of the clouds seen are very high 
(about 100 km) where the temperature is 10--30 K less than the CO_2 --- this 
cloud may be made of dry ice!

A couple studies were presented that are measuring the atmospheric circulation. 
One used accelerometer data from the aerobreaking phases of MEX, MGS, and 
Mars Odyssey.  These data are combined with the Mars General Circulations 
Model (GCM) to look at seasonal differences.  In particular it was found 
that the circulation between the northern and southern hemispheres is stronger 
during perihelion than during aphelion.  The second used Odyssey Gamma-Ray 
Spectrometer (GRS) data to measure atmospheric argon.  In the southern 
hemisphere, over the pole, there is an enhancement of Ar through the autumn,
which is expected as the CO_2 begins to condense, however as winter arrives, 
the concentration of Ar drops.  This could be indicative of some method of 
atmospheric motion which is moving Ar out of the area; this could be due to 
winds coming off of Hellas basin.

There were also two studies measuring water vapor in the martian atmosphere.  
One of them used data from the MEX OMEGA instrument.  Using the near-infrared, 
in much the same way as the Viking orbiters from the 1970's, they were able 
to create maps of water vapor amounts and compare them to the Viking and MGS 
results.  Over the seasonal period L_S=94 to 115 degrees in low, mid, and 
high northern latitudes finds very high agreement.  In general the amounts 
were 20--25 pr. micron at low latitudes, 30--50 pr. micron in mid latitudes, 
and about 75 pr. micron at high latitudes.  Note that a pr. micron is a 
unit of abundance that is the depth the water would be at the surface of 
the planet if it were condensed out as a liquid.  The second is a ground-based 
study using measurements from the Very Large Array (VLA) of radio telescopes 
in Socorro, New Mexico.  This technique is useful for measuring the vertical 
extent and distribution of the water vapor and it is  found that the water 
is very well mixed throughout its vertical extent.

Another set of studies presented looked at the distribution of ozone in the 
Mars atmosphere.  In general ozone abundance decreases as water vapor abundance 
increases, and vice versa.  This anti-correlation follows changes in both 
season and latitude.

Last year several groups announced the discovery of methane in the atmosphere 
of Mars; two of them were ground-based telescopic observations, the third 
was from the MEX.  This year there was an update on one of the ground-based 
studies to refine the abundance measurements.  The methane is not well mixed, 
but shows latitudinal variation ranging from about 63 parts per billion near 
the disk center of the images dropping to 52 and then 45 parts per billion 
moving northward.  A complementary study this year looked into details of 
possible sources and sinks of methane.  Since methane can only survive about 
600 years in the atmosphere before being destroyed by UV light or oxidized, 
there would need to be about 126 tons/year created to account for the amounts 
seen.  Delivery by a comet seems to be less viable a source---it would have 
had to impacted in the past 500--2000 years and be 0.3--1 km in size.  This 
kind of event only happens once every 62 million years according to currently 
measured impact rates.  Another solution is that it could be biotic in origin, 
as is most of the methane here on Earth.  This study looked at a possible
source that does not require biology but rather through mineralogical 
chemistry.  It is possible if basalt can be weathered to the mineral serpentine 
which over time could chemically mix with CO_2 and H_2O (from water).  Over 
time this could make about 10^{15} kg of methane, about 2000 times more 
than needed.

If you visit the MarsWatch web site (see below) you can downlaod a
PDF version of just this report from the Newsletters page.

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Since its launch last 12 August, things have been going quite well for
the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO).  It is officially in its cruise
mode and as it moved off, it looked back to snap a picture of home
which you can see at http://marsprogram.jpl.nasa.gov/mro/gallery/calibration/

On 27 August it fired all six main thursters for 15 seconds for a
trajectory adjustment.  After the successful burn, MRO returned
to cruise mode with a new speed, relative to the Sun, of 32856 m/s
(or 73497 mi/hr).  A tad bit faster than my Chevy Malibu.

There was a minor scare on 7 September when the Sun shot out a flare
that was larger than anything seen in the last 15 years.  These events
stream high speed particles away from Sun and they can damage many
modern electronic systems.  For MRO this could be anything from
resetting its computer to the desctruction of its entire electrical
subsystem.  Fortunately, MRO is some 160 million km (99 million miles)
from the Sun, and getting further every minute---the damage potential
drops significantly with distance!  Also, this flare happened on a
side of the Sun not facing the Earth or MRO.  Therefore, all is
fine for our intrepid interplanetary explorer!

You can keep up with all the latest MRO information at their web site 
http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/mro/.

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The research station at Haughton for the Mars on Earth project closed
down for the year as of 10 August and planning has begun for next year.
In the mean time they will be analyzing their field work and posting
reports to their web site.  They did leave the Arthur Clarke Mars
Greenhouse up and running as it is automated.  They even have a
couple webcams set up so the experiments there can be monitored.

You can keep up with the lastest at their web site is at
http://www.marsonearth.org/

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Questions, comments, concerns, and contributions to:

David R. Klassen
Department of Physics & Astronomy
Rowan University
201 Mullica Hill Road
Glassboro, NJ 08028
klassen@rowan.edu