Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.1 6/24/83; site utastro.UUCP Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!mhuxl!ihnp4!zehntel!hplabs!hao!seismo!ut-sally!utastro!nather From: nather@utastro.UUCP (Ed Nather) Newsgroups: net.followup Subject: Re: Alternate Energy & Microwaves Message-ID: <396@utastro.UUCP> Date: Wed, 15-Aug-84 15:25:54 EDT Article-I.D.: utastro.396 Posted: Wed Aug 15 15:25:54 1984 Date-Received: Sat, 18-Aug-84 02:14:35 EDT References: <3082@ut-sally.UUCP> Organization: UTexas Astronomy Dept., Austin, Texas Lines: 39 [] >On putting astronomers in the space station: > >Actually, the planned space station will be in low earth orbit, >quite a ways below geosynchronous orbit, which is the most likely >place for power satellites. The astronomers would at least not >have to contend with Earth's atmosphere, but they'd still have >the power satellites in plain view. The space station is mostly >for industrial research, anyway. You are so right. Note that SPACE TELESCOPE is to be in the *same* dumb orbit. Why? Because it has to be carried aloft by the shuttle. But ... couldn't we use another booster, and get it into synchronous orbit where it would be *much* more useful, Sir? Go away, kid. You bother me. >A useful place for astronomers would be the L2 Terra-Luna libration >point, which is a (more or less) stable point above the far side of the >moon: no atmosphere, no interference from most light sources on earth >or in most likely earth orbits. This is preferable to an observatory >on the lunar far side itself because of ease of access. Or at least >I'd think so. Another nifty location is at the lunar poles -- down in a crater, where the sun *never* shines! That way, it's dark 24 hours a day (at L2 it's *light* all the time, unless you provide your own shadowing) and you can see half the Universe all the time. It goes around once every 28 days or so. What about the other half? Well, another telescope at the other pole will do the job. Hey! Is NASA interested in this? ...I said, go *away*, kid! > Doubtless some opinions from astronomers will follow up.... >-- >John Quarterman, CS Dept., University of Texas, Austin, Texas 78712 USA *sigh* -- you know us too well, John. -- Ed Nather {allegra,ihnp4}!{ut-sally,noao}!utastro!nather Astronomy Dept., U. of Texas, Austin