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ULYSSES MISSION STATUS, 8 November 1994
The Ulysses spacecraft, the first probe to explore the sun's
environment at high latitudes, continues to perform well, transmitting
data on energetic particles and solar phenomena occurring in regions
never before studied.
It recently completed a pass over the southern solar pole, ending the
first phase of its primary mission.Over the next four months, Ulysses
will be heading for its nearest approach to the sun's equator, which
will occur on March 12, 1995. At that time Ulysses will fly within 1.3
astronomical units (192 million kilometers, or 120 million miles) of
the sun's equator and begin its northern ascent to traverse the sun's
northern pole beginning on June 19, 1995.
The spacecraft is traveling at a heliocentric velocity of about 90,000
kilometers per hour (57,000 miles per hour) and is carrying nine
scientific instruments that have been continuously measuring the solar
wind, magnetic field, energetic particles and radio and x-ray emissions
from the sun. Using its unique vantage point in space, Ulysses is also
measuring the characteristics of the flow of matter (atoms, ions, dust
and energetic particles) and gamma radiation, which pass through the
solar system from the outer reaches of the galaxy.
All spacecraft operations and science experiments continue to go well.
Ground controllers are tracking Ulysses 24 hours a day to ensure that
an onboard control system continues to keep the spacecraft stabilized
and pointed at Earth while Ulysses' axial boom is illuminated by the
sun. Minor power reconfigurations, such as turning off instrument
heaters, have also been performed now that the spacecraft is getting
closer to the sun.
As the spacecraft leaves an area of high scientific interest, project
scientists have reported some early findings, including:
* In the Sun's polar regions, the solar wind -- a very hot, ionized
flow of gases and energetic particles emanating from the Sun -- was
found to be flowing at a very high velocity of about 750 kilometers per
second (about two million miles per hour), nearly double the speed at
which the solar wind is known to flow at lower latitudes.
* The way that Ulysses sees the Sun's magnetic field is very different
from the way it is seen by observations from Earth. Measurements from
Earth show the Sun having a magnetic field with magnetic poles that are
not the same as the Sun's north and south poles; as the Sun rotates,
the magnetic poles go around. Ulysses, however, found a uniform
magnetic field at the Sun and did not detect any magnetic poles.
* Cosmic ray intensity in this high latitude region increased, but not
nearly to the extent that scientists had predicted.
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- T o d d E. V a n H o o s e a r -
``'''vanhoose@lalaland.cl.msu.edu - vanhoose@msu.edu - vanhoose@lalaland.cl.msu.edu
(._.) Michigan State University - East Lansing, MI USA
(_) Computer Laboratory - Department of Communication
`---' <A HREF="http://lalaland.cl.msu.edu/~vanhoose/">My Home Page</A>
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