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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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Astrometric observations of the satellites of the outer planets. I - The Galilean satellites in 1977

Astrometric observations of the Galilean satellites of Jupiter performed around the opposition of 1977 with a 67-cm photovisual refractor are reported. The measurements are reduced to absolute and intersatellite positions by two different methods: a linear least-squares plate-constant solution to the AGK3 reference-star frame and the trail-scale method of Pascu (1977). Results of a plate-constant reduction are also presented for two observations of JV (Amalthea). Comparison of the data with Liske's (1978) theoretical predictions for the intersatellite positions indicates no systematic bias in the data; a probable scatter of about 15 arcsec in both right ascension and declination is estimated.

Ianna, P. A.↗

The Martian satellites - 100 years on

Studies of Phobos and Deimos, the two satellites of Mars, may provide the best observations yet of the material populating the asteroid belt. Viking observations of Phobos showing crater chains and striations are analyzed, and Mariner-9 photometry exhibiting the albedo of the satellite is discussed. A mass determination for Phobos results in a value of 1.1 times 10 to the 19th power g; the mean density of the satellite is set at about 2 g per cu cm, a value suggesting formation of the satellite from material in the asteroid belt.

Hunt, G. E.↗

Saturn's E ring

Observations of the tenuous E ring of Saturn made by an earth-based CCD system at the time of the ring-plane crossing of March 1980 are presented. The observations were made with the CCD system attached to the 1.8-m Perkins reflector at Lowell Observatory using a pupil mask behind a focal plane mask to suppress telescopic diffraction. Photometric analysis of the CCD images reveal the edge-on brightness profile of the ring, beginning at a distance of 3 Saturn radii, to peak sharply in the vicinity of the orbit of Enceladus at about 4 Saturn radii, then decrease to a distance of over 8 Saturn radii. In addition, beyond Enceladus, the edge-on width of the ring is observed to increase with radial distance, reaching nearly 5 arcsec at 7 Saturn radii. Observations suggest, on the one hand, that the E ring is associated with Enceladus and possibly represents material ejected from the satellite, and on the other, that the ring is at an early stage in its evolution.

Baum, W. A.↗