PLEASE NOTE:
*
CCNet, 38/2003 - 8 April 2003
------------------------------
"In public discussions of the President's in-space nuclear
power and propulsion
system initiative, the issue of environmental safety can be
expected to arise even
though extensive past experience has shown that such systems are
extremely safe.
Nuclear safety is a matter of great public concern that we share.
However, we would
also like to point out that the likely application of these kinds
of technologies
to a future NEO deflection system will also mitigate against the
possibility of a
much greater environmental hazard: that of a NEO impact itself.
Thus, from an
environmental perspective, there may be much to be gained in the
application of these systems to the NEO collision problem."
--Michael Belton and the Mitigation Workshop team, 4 April 2003
(1) RUSSIAN SCIENTISTS GO ON METEORITE-HUNTING EXPEDITION TO
SIBERIAN TAIGA
Russian News Agency Novosti, 6 April 2003
(2) A SOLAR SYSTEM WITH 118 MOONS? IT'S LUNACY!
Cox News Service, 7 April 2003
(3) MITIGATION LETTER TO NASA
David Morrison <david.morrison@nasa.gov>
(4) SUN'S ROLE IN CLIMATE CHANGE CONTINUES TO SPARK CONTROVERSY
Jacqueline Mitton <aco01@dial.pipex.com>
(5) MAINE CRATER RELATED TO DINO-KILLER IMPACT?
Philippe Claeys <phclaeys@vub.ac.be>
(6) SAFEGUARDING AUSTRALIA
Michael Paine <mpaine@tpg.com.au>
(7) AND FINALLY: "ASTEROIDS JUST MIGHT HAVE USEFUL
PURPOSE"
Chicago Sun-Times, 7 April 2003
=======
(1) RUSSIAN SCIENTISTS GO ON METEORITE-HUNTING EXPEDITION TO
SIBERIAN TAIGA
>From Russian News Agency Novosti, 6 April 2003
http://en.rian.ru/rian/index.cfm?prd_id=160&msg_id=3155431&startrow=11&date=2003-04-06&do_alert=0
IRKUTSK, April 6 /Alexander Batalin, RIA Novosti Correspondent/ -
Scientists from the Siberian city of Irkutsk went on an
expedition Sunday to search for traces of a large meteorite that
crashed into taiga, Siberia's wooded wilderness, in the north of
the Irkutsk region last September.
Astronomer Sergei Yazev, the expedition's research chief, told
RIA Novosti the prime objective for the effort was to find and
collect samples of meteorite dust. But with the forest still
under a thick blanket of snow, fragments of the meteor itself
aren't likely to be discovered until warm weather sets in, he
said.
The scientists today flew to Mama, a district center and the
nearest airstrip to the site. They will travel the remainder of
the way to the site on Buran snowmobiles and then by ski.
The search party consists of six men from three institutes of the
Irkutsk Research Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences'
Siberian Division, which pursue studies in geochemistry, the
Earth's crust, and solar and earth physics. The researchers all
have experience in working in the tough conditions of Siberian
taiga, and are hopeful they will be able to accomplish the
mission.
The expedition will last around 10 days, Yazev said.
© 2001 RIA Novosti
============
(2) A SOLAR SYSTEM WITH 118 MOONS? IT'S LUNACY!
>From Cox News Service, 7 April 2003
http://coxnews.com/cox/news/National/story/2168
By Michael Alicea
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - Once upon a time, there was just the
moon. One moon -- ours.
In 1610, Galileo complicated the whole scheme of the universe by
spying four large dots orbiting the grand planet, Jupiter. Since
then, scientists have been spotting moons all over the place. In
fact, the official number has jumped to 118, and most scientists
think this number may double -- even triple -- in just a few
years.
Before the moon count gets outrageously long, here are the moons
we have spotted so far (Mercury and Venus are moonless):
* Mars (2): Phobos and Deimos are considered by many astronomers
to be captured asteroids. These unstable, heavily cratered, and
odd-shaped rocks are actually falling towards Mars and will hit
the planet thousands of years from now.
* Jupiter (52): Jupiter is the king of planets. It's no wonder it
has the most moons so far. But this is mainly due to the lack of
lunar size guidelines. Some of the latest discoveries are just
over half a mile wide and orbit the planet every which way. On
the other hand, Jupiter also hosts the largest moon in the solar
system, Ganymede (3,270 miles in diameter, over twice as big as
Pluto); the most geologically active, Io; and two moons, Europa
and Callisto, which may be hiding deep salty oceans under their
icy crusts.
* Saturn (30): Saturn is another gas giant with a wide influence.
It has managed to aquire a spectacular system of rings, (which,
unfortunately, are destined to spiral into the planet within a
few hundred million years), and a whole slew of rocks. Like
Jupiter, some rocks are less than a couple of miles wide and
orbit erratically around the golden orb. Saturn's largest moon,
Titan (3,200 miles in diameter), is the only moon discovered so
far with a substantial atmosphere. It also may have oceans of
organic materials rolling around its surface. Next year the
Cassini mission will explore Saturn and catalog any new moons.
Cassini isn't alone, however. A secondary probe, Huygens, will
launch off the probe and plunge into the thick Titan atmosphere
toward the surface to investigate the alien environment.
* Uranus (21): Uranus, named after a patriarch of Greek
mythology, is the only planet to host moons whose names are taken
from sources other than classical mythology. The Shakespeare and
Pope-inspired moons, including oddball Miranda, tiny Ariel and
dark Oberon, form three distinct classes: small and dark inner
moons, normal "regular" moons, and small irregular
moons orbiting at great distances from the planet.
* Neptune (11): Neptune's largest moon, Triton (1,680), is the
coldest place in the solar system, with an average temperature of
391 degrees below zero. It is a moon covered in nitrogen and
methane frost, appearing pinkish in some spots. Although it is a
relatively large body, its retrograde orbit (an orbit in which a
body moves in the direction opposite to its host planet),
suggests to astronomers that it was captured by Neptune.
* Pluto (1): Pluto and Charon are just plain weird. To many
scientists, Pluto isn't a planet and Charon isn't a moon. Charon
is half the size of Pluto, making it the largest moon in relation
to its parent planet we know so far. But that's not the weirdest
part. Charon isn't really orbiting Pluto at all. They are, in
essence, orbiting each other, around a center of gravity between
both bodies, making this system a double planet -- if you want to
call (them, it, whatever!) a planet at all.
* But wait! The "unofficial" moon count doesn't include
only the major planets. The asteroid belt may be found to host
many moons too. Ida, a 35-mile wide rock in the main belt between
Jupiter and Mars, was the first asteroid discovered to possess a
moon, Dactyl. Since this discovery in 1994, Earth-bound
telescopes spotted moons circling asteroids Eugenia and Pulcova,
among others.
Michael Alicea writes for the Palm Beach Post.
© Cox Newspapers
=============
(3) MITIGATION LETTER TO NASA
>From David Morrison <david.morrison@nasa.gov>
NEO News (04/07/03) Mitigation letter to NASA
>From Michael Belton and the Mitigation Workshop team
Mr. Gary L. Martin
NASA Space Architect
Room 9F44
NASA Headquarters
Washington, D.C., 20546-0001
April 4, 2003
Dear Mr. Martin,
The Columbia tragedy has triggered a public discussion of the
future of the space station, space station science, and the
utilization of humans in space. The outcome that we expect from
this activity is an endorsement of a program of human space
flight at NASA - perhaps returning to the goal enunciated by
President Reagan in 1988: "To expand human presence and
activity beyond Earth-orbit into the solar system" -
accompanied by a prolonged and, possibly, divisive debate on the
utility of the space station for science. As space scientists, we
believe the latter can be avoided by adding a new, exciting, and
affordable goal for human spaceflight and the use of the space
station. This is the inclusion of "mitigation" or
"NEO deflection studies" (i.e., how to prepare for a
comet or asteroid that is found on an Earth-threatening path), as
one of NASA's primary goals. This goal, which we believe can
combine the best of robotic and human space capabilities, can
also be thought of as a precursor to another future
endeavor (e.g., see the discussion in Scientific
Requirements for Human Exploration, Space Studies Board, 1993) -
that of a manned mission to explore Mars. Also, such a goal can
be thought of as logical extension of the congressionally
mandated survey, currently being conducted in the Office of Space
Science, to find any potentially hazardous near-Earth objects
(NEOs) larger than one kilometer.
In a recent workshop for NASA's Office of Space Science, we
developed a roadmap for attaining the "Scientific
Requirements for Mitigation of Hazardous Comets and
Asteroids" (www.noao.edu/meetings/mitigation/report.html).
This roadmap shows that to gain the basic knowledge needed for
some future mitigation technology, a new NASA program is needed
consisting of many novel robotic missions to acquire detailed
geophysical information on the physical diversity, the
subsurface, and the deep interiors of a variety of near-Earth
objects. In addition, NASA and DoD will need to work together to
"learn" how to apply deflection technologies including
the application of low thrust devices, the application of novel
in-space power sources, and/or the rapid application of large
amounts of energy on small solar system bodies. We expect that a
mix of both human and robotic missions to objects in near-Earth
space and new uses for the space station will be required to test
these technologies. The Space Science Board has already noted
that there is a need for an optimal mix of human and robotic
activities in such endeavors in their Scientific Opportunities in
the Human Exploration of Space (Space Studies Board, 1993).
All of this leads us to propose a new goal for human and robotic
space flight: Show how humans and robots can work together on
small objects in near-Earth interplanetary space to: 1)
accomplish new fundamental science on planetary objects; 2)
aspire to previously unimaginable technical achievements on
objects in interplanetary space; and, 3) protect the Earth from
the future possibility of a catastrophic collision with a
hazardous object from space. Since these activities would allow
human spaceflight to cross the threshold into interplanetary
space, they could also be thought of as a precursor activity to
provide the essential technical and medical experience for that
more distant, but even more challenging, goal - a human
exploratory mission to Mars.
We also note that among the recent NRC Solar System Exploration
"Decadal" Survey recommendations is one that exhorts
NASA "to make significant new investments in advanced
technology in order that future high priority flight missions can
succeed." Particular stress was put on in-space power and
propulsion systems such as advanced RTG's, in-space fission
reactor power sources, nuclear electric propulsion (NEP) and
advanced ion engines.In the President's 2004 budget proposal, NEP
figures strongly in connection with a future mission to the icy
satellites of Jupiter as part of the goal to understand the
origins and extent of life in the solar system.
"Mitigation," or even the gathering of the specific
knowledge that will be needed as a prerequisite for such an
activity, was not dealt with in the Survey, since it is a
technical goal and not an exploration or scientific goal. But it
is now clear, as a result of the mitigation workshop, that low
thrust propulsion and the application of in-space power systems
to collision avoidance may now be the best way to proceed. It is
a small leap to imagine an experiment to deflect a small
near-Earth asteroid though the application of thrust from a NEP
system (or an advanced SEP) fueled by an advanced power source.
Moreover it is an objective that resonates with your agency's
newly stated objective of "...Protecting the Home Planet...
As only NASA can!" In short, we see an important coupling
between the requirements for the long-term future of solar system
scientific exploration, as expressed by the Decadal survey, the
needs of planetary protection, and a worthwhile program that
utilizes humans, the space station, and robots in near-Earth
interplanetary space.
In public discussions of the President's in-space nuclear power
and propulsion system initiative, the issue of environmental
safety can be expected to arise even though extensive past
experience has shown that such systems are extremely safe.
Nuclear safety is a matter of great public concern that we share.
However, we would also like to point out that the likely
application of these kinds of technologies to a future NEO
deflection system will also mitigate against the possibility of a
much greater environmental hazard: that of a NEO impact itself.
Thus, from an environmental perspective, there may be much to be
gained in the application of these systems to the NEO collision
problem.
A cogent new goal is needed for human space flight and
significant investments and experimentation are required to
develop in-flight power and propulsion systems for future solar
system exploration. In addition, a new program needs to be
started at NASA to create an adequate scientific basis for a
future mitigation system and, simultaneously, to learn how to
apply future collision mitigation technologies. There is a
nexus between these goals and objectives that we believe should
become the basis of a new thrust for NASA as it emerges from the
analysis and public discussion surrounding the Columbia tragedy.
We advocate, and strongly believe, that by adopting this goal the
United States can go forward with human spaceflight utilizing the
space station with productive, well-supported and meaningful
objectives.
We are, sincerely yours,
Michael J. S. Belton, Ph.D.
Belton Space Exploration Initiatives, LLC, Tucson, AZ
Donald K. Yeomans, Ph.D.
JPL/Cal Tech, Pasadena, CA
Steven Ostro, Ph.D.
JPL/Cal Tech, Pasadena, CA
Piet Hut, Ph.D.
Inst. Advanced Study, Princeton, NJ
Clark Chapman, Ph.D.
Southwest Research Inst., Boulder, CO
Derek Sears, Ph.D.
Univ. of Arkansas, AR
Michael F. A'Hearn, Ph.D.
Univ. of Maryland, MD
Russell L. Schweickart
Apollo 9 Astronaut,
Chairman, B612 Foundation
Nalin Samarasinha, Ph.D.
National Optical Astronomy Observatory, Tucson, AZ
Daniel Scheeres, Ph.D.
Univ. of Michigan, MI
Michael Drake, Ph.D.
Univ. of Arizona, AZ
Keith Holsapple, Ph.D.
Univ. of Washington, WA
Erik Asphaug, Ph.D.
Univ. of California at Santa Cruz, CA
Mark Sykes, Ph.D.
University of Arizona, AZ
Alberto Cellino, Ph.D.
Astronomical Observatory of Torino,
Italy
Lucy McFadden, Ph.D.
Univ. of Maryland, MD
Donald R. Davis, Ph.D.
Planetary Science Institute, Tucson, AZ
Timothy D. Swindle, Ph.D.
University of Arizona, AZ
Stephen M. Larson, Ph.D.
University of Arizona, AZ
Larry A. Lebofsky, Ph.D.
University of Arizona, AZ
Mark Trueblood
Winer Observatory, AZ
Beatrice E.A. Mueller, Ph.D.
National Optical Astronomy Observatory, Tucson, AZ
Joseph Spitale, Ph.D.
Lunar and Planetary Lab., Tucson, AZ
Tod R. Lauer, Ph.D.
National Optical Astronomy Observatory, Tucson, AZ
Robert Farquhar
Johns Hopkins University
Applied Physics Laboratory,
Laurel, MD
Daniel Britt, Ph.D.
Univ. of Central Florida, FL
Elisabetta Pierazzo
Planetary Science Institute, Tucson, AZ
Kevin Housen
The Boeing Co., Seattle, WA
Thomas D. Jones, Ph.D
Planetary Scientist and Former Astronaut, Oakton, VA
Ronald Fevig
Univ. of Arizona, AZ
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
NEO News is an informal compilation of news and opinion dealing
with Near Earth Objects (NEOs) and their impacts. These opinions
are the responsibility of the individual authors and do not
represent the positions of NASA, the International Astronomical
Union, or any other organization. To subscribe (or unsubscribe)
contact dmorrison@arc.nasa.gov.
For additional information, please see the website http://impact.arc.nasa.gov.
If anyone wishes to copy or redistribute original material from
these notes, fully or in part, please include this disclaimer.
============
(4) SUN'S ROLE IN CLIMATE CHANGE CONTINUES TO SPARK CONTROVERSY
>From Jacqueline Mitton <aco01@dial.pipex.com>
ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY PRESS NOTICE
31 March 2003 Ref. PN 03/14 (NAM6)
Issued by: RAS Press Officers
Dr Jacqueline Mitton
Phone: +44 (0)1223-564914
Fax: +44 (0)1223-572892
E-mail: jmitton@dial.pipex.com
Mobile phone: +44 (0)7770-386133
Peter Bond
Phone: +44 (0)1483-268672
Fax: +44 (0)1483-274047
E-mail: PeterRBond@aol.com
Mobile phone: +44 (0)7711-213486
National Astronomy Meeting Press Room (Dublin, Ireland):
Phones: (+353) 1 6777608 and +353 1 6777683 FAX
(+353) (1) 677 7566
RAS Web site: http://www.ras.org.uk
UK/Ireland National Astronomy Meeting Web site:
http://star.arm.ac.uk/nam2003/
CONTACT DETAILS FOR THIS RELEASE ARE AT THE END
**************************************************************************
SUN'S ROLE IN CLIMATE CHANGE CONTINUES TO SPARK CONTROVERSY
Has an increasing trend in the Sun's brightness contributed to
global warming over the last few decades? One study published
recently says it has but Judith Lean will tell a joint session of
the UK/Ireland National Astronomy Meeting and Solar Physics
Meeting in Dublin that a different study has come to the opposite
conclusion when she tackles the controversial topic of the
relationship between our climate and the Sun on Tuesday 8 April.
Earth's climate records feature many fluctuations apparently
linked to solar activity but the physical processes at work
connecting the Sun and climate are not yet properly understood.
Satellites have measured how the Sun's brightness has changed in
the past two decades, and these data can be compared with high
precision records of Earth's temperatures over the same period to
throw light on the problem. But it is difficult separating solar
effects from other factors influencing our climate over different
time-scales, such as major volcanic eruptions and the increase in
greenhouse gases in the atmosphere due to human activities. For
example, the most recent increase in the Sun's activity on its
regular 11-year cycle corresponded with a rise of 0.1 degree C.
By comparison, the eruptions of El Chichon and Pinatubo cooled
Earth by 0.2 degree C for a short time.
A new study proposes that, on top of the change due to its
11-year cycle, the Sun has brightened steadily during the past
two decades. If true, the suggested trend of 0.05% per decade
would account for half or more of the 0.3 degrees warming
currently attributed to greenhouse gas increases since 1980.
"This study is very controversial," says Judith Lean.
"It relies on splicing together solar irradiance datasets
made by different instruments flown on various spacecraft.
Because the datasets do not have the same absolute scale, they
must be cross-calibrated to construct the long-term record needed
for studying climate change. Drifts in the instrument
sensitivities
must be properly clarified as well, to avoid mistaking spurious
trends for real solar brightness changes. For this purpose, the
recent study used observations previously reported to suffer from
known instrumental effects but did not take these effects into
account."
Dr Lean then cites another study, which brought together the
various solar brightness datasets in a different way and
compensated for instrumental drifts. It concluded that there was
no general brightening of the Sun over the past two decades. This
result is consistent with what solar physicists would expect from
their understanding of the Sun's magnetism. Sunspots and faculae,
both magnetic features on the Sun's surface, respectively reduce
and enhance the Sun's overall brightness and independent records
of sunspots and faculae show no underlying upward trends during
past decades. The same is true of numerous other indicators of
the Sun's behaviour that have been closely monitored. This
alternative study concluded that long-term solar brightness
changes are not a significant cause of recent global warming.
"Other claims in recent years have also exaggerated the role
of the Sun in climate change" warns Judith Lean. As an
example, she quotes a study published in 1991 that reported a
close tie between the actual length of the solar cycle (which
averages 11 years but varies from 9 to 15 years) and surface
temperatures in the Northern Hemisphere throughout the entire
twentieth century. If true, it would mean that human influences,
such as increasing concentrations of greenhouse gases, have
contributed little or nothing to the approximately 0.8 degree C
warming of Earth¹s surface since 1885. But subsequent
examination of additional data gathered over a longer period of
time, including the pre-industrial era, have made the real
connection between solar brightness and climate change clearer.
"Temperature changes in concert with solar activity are
indeed apparent during the past millennium," reports Dr
Lean, "but are typically of order 0.2 to 0.5 degrees C on
time scales of hundreds of years. Since 1885, global warming in
response to changes in the Sun's brightness is now thought to
have been less than 0.25 degrees C."
"To really resolve the controversies, we need longer and
more precise monitoring of the solar brightness to determine
whether or not there are long-term trends," she concludes.
To that end, a new generation of solar radiometers was launched
into space in January 2003 on board the Solar Radiation and
Climate Experiment (SORCE).
CONTACT
Dr Judith Lean, E. O. Hulburt
Center for Space Research Naval Research Laboratory, Washington
DC 20375
Phone: (+1) (202) 767-5116 Fax:
(+1) (202) 404-7997
e-mail: lean@ssd5.nrl.navy.mil
Dr Lean will be at the NAM in Dublin from 7 to 11 April
NOTE
More information about the SORCE mission is available at
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Library/SORCE/
and http://lasp.colorado.edu/sorce/
============================
* LETTERS TO THE MODERATOR *
============================
(5) MAINE CRATER RELATED TO DINO-KILLER IMPACT?
>From Philippe Claeys <phclaeys@vub.ac.be>
When is Dallas Abbott going to stop finding impact craters all
over the place, always speculations never a hint of any data.
Prof. Philippe Claeys
Vrije Universiteit Brussel
Dept. of Geology, Building G, 6th floor, room 308
Tel: 32-2-6293394
Fax:32-2-6293635
phclaeys@vub.ac.be
http://we.vub.ac.be/~dglg/
============
(6) SAFEGUARDING AUSTRALIA
>From Michael Paine <mpaine@tpg.com.au>
Dear Benny
The following is from http://www.engaust.com.au/enews/apr04.html.
I presume that they are intending to talk about man-made
explosions but it is interesting that bollide airburst explosions
(and greater) would raise similar concerns.
regards
Michael Paine
Forum on safeguarding Australia
Engineers Australia is still looking for people to present their
research and/or case studies at its Safeguarding Australia forum
on 15 April in Canberra. Current presentation topics include:
# technology road map for explosives security information
technology
# NSW critical infrastructure risk assessments
# strengthening of masonry buildings against blast damage
# vulnerability assessment of transport networks
# an innovative risk assessment of the capability to safeguard
Australia's infrastructure
# vulnerability assessment of buildings.
Members who would like to make a presentation can download the
presenter's registration form
www.ieaust.org.au/SafeAustralia/research.html.
============
(7) AND FINALLY: "ASTEROIDS JUST MIGHT HAVE USEFUL
PURPOSE"
>From Chicago Sun-Times, 7 April 2003
http://www.suntimes.com/output/quicktakes/cst-nws-qt07.html
"The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development
Global Science Forum Workshop on Near Earth Objects estimates
there is one chance in 5,000 of the Earth being hit during the
21st century by an asteroid large enough to cause "the
destruction of an entire region (e.g., Europe)," which would
seem to be one solution."
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