Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Posting-Version: version B 2.10.2 9/18/84; site ritcv.UUCP
Path: utzoo!linus!philabs!prls!amdimage!amdcad!amd!vecpyr!lll-crg!seismo!rochester!ritcv!djs5345
From: djs5345@ritcv.UUCP (David Smith)
Newsgroups: net.astro
Subject: Re: StarDate: September 19 Neptune's Moon Triton
Message-ID: <8920@ritcv.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 23-Sep-85 18:56:59 EDT
Article-I.D.: ritcv.8920
Posted: Mon Sep 23 18:56:59 1985
Date-Received: Fri, 27-Sep-85 07:22:50 EDT
References: <738@utastro.UUCP>
Organization: Rochester Institute of Technology, Rochester, NY
Lines: 41

> 
> A remote moon in our solar system may have an ocean on its surface.
> More -- after this.
> 
> September 19  Neptune's Moon Triton
> 
> Far from the sun, in the deep freeze of the outer solar system, there's
> a large moon of the planet Neptune that may have its own liquid ocean.
> 
> The ocean couldn't be water.  At Neptune's distance from the sun, water
> would freeze.  But nitrogen -- a gas in Earth's atmosphere -- may be a
> liquid or a solid on Triton, Neptune's large moon.  Triton may have a
> liquid ocean of nitrogen -- at least some inches thick -- and probably
> much thicker.
> 
> This moon with a possible ocean -- Neptune's moon, Triton -- is about
> the same size as Earth's moon.  It's a fascinating world that tilts on
> its axis with respect to the sun -- so that Triton has seasons.
> Neptune's orbit around the sun is very long, and Neptune carries Triton
> with it.  Right now Triton's southern hemisphere is having winter --
> and 82 Earth-years will pass before Neptune has moved to the other side
> of the sun -- to bring summer to Triton's southern hemisphere.
> 
> Voyager 2 is scheduled to fly through the neptunian system in 1989 --
> if it survives past this winter's encounter with a more inward planet,
> Uranus.  The visit to Neptune and its moons will be Voyager's final
> mission in the solar system -- which is why flight engineers plan to
> send the craft within eight thousand miles of Triton's surface.  It'll
> get sharper pictures of Triton than we have of any but a few worlds in
> our solar sytem.  Voyager may transmit images of craters eroded by the
> weather on Triton -- or sunlight glinting off Triton's nitrogen sea.
> 
> 
> Script by Deborah Byrd.
> 
> (c) Copyright 1984, 1985 McDonald Observatory, University of Texas at Austin

Sorry about the reprinting (it was fascinating anyway). What's the deal going
to be with Voyager after leaving our Solar System?? What are we hoping to gain
and what is the probability that Voyager will survive after Uranus and Neptune??
If I am asking ridiculous questions, please satisfy my ignorance anyway.


Brought to you by Super Global Mega Corp .com