From: rwmurphr@uokmax.ecn.uoknor.edu (Robert W Murphree)
Subject: Solar System Journal
Summary: The Solar System as Best I Remember It
Keywords: planets, humor, NASA, politics
Organization: Engineering Computer Network, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK, USA
Date: Wed, 12 Aug 1992 20:33:05 GMT


Title:  Memoirs of a planet nut, or the solar system as best I remember it.
Author:  Robert W. Murphree
Description: A sort of Gonzo journalism travelouge of the last 30 years
of planetary exploration.  
Warning:  Probably of no interest if you haven't seen at least 3 different
planets in photos for at least 3 years.
Index:  These are in order of a) sun to outer solar system b) large to small
bodies and c) past to present missions.  
Apology to planetary researchers:  If I made fun of your planet I'm sorry.
if I made fun of NASA politics or manned space, tough nooghies
Warning:  probably ALL the NASA color planetary pictures have had their
colors altered for greater entertainment value.

SUN

memorable pictures:  Skylab movies of solar flares/prominances

comments:  The perfectly ordinary object has the greatest mystery.
The deeper you go into it, the deeper the mystery gets.


MERCURY

Memorable pictures ++ NASA PR/POLITICAL bottomline:
conversation of JPL technical person to NASA PR person:
"Well, at least we tried"

comments:  Just enough interesting differences from the moon to hold
your interest for several hours.  Intellectually, not a bad planet.
Pictorally, a letdown.



VENUS  

Memorable pictures ++ NASA PR/POLITICAL bottomline:
conversation of NASA PR person to JPL adminstrator:
" Thank goodness for those pictures making the clouds visible,
Give the guy who put the Ultraviolet Camera on Mariner 10 a promotion."

comments:  the longer I look at those Venera lander pictures, the
more impressive the science and engineering and human drama of them
becomes.

Magellan:  As far as exploration, this is the real thing.  The first
"New" planet since Neptune.  Like Viking, probably it will take 5 years
just to figure out what the questions we should be asking about the 
surface of Venus are.  Then the real science will began.  NASA is going to
shut off the spacecraft a year from now.  This is proof that NASA's
real business is PR and aerospace company patronage, not science.


EARTH

memorable pictures:  too many to mention, any whole earth picture.

comments:  The unknown familiar.  The ultimate focus of planetary 
science may be to get perspective on home. Its fragility from space
stays with you.


LUNA 

memorable pictures:  videos of landings.  Any astrophotographers
whole moon shot. One of my profs and I remarked, "the landings looked
surealistic, like a movie set"  They weren't though.

comments:  Finally, I'm getting a little recognition of basic lunar
landforms.  Lava tubes, wrinkle ridges on lava flows, frozen melt lakes,
this is NOT a TOTALLY alien world.  Comment on the regolith, "its really
like snow, isn't it".  Caption to the earthrise picture "wish you were here".


METEORITES AND MOON ROCKS

I don't know if I could recognize a rock with chrondrites in it. 
Breccias, yes.  Basalts, look, -sigh- , a little like cement..



MARS

memorable pictures and NASA PR/POLITICAL bottomline:
My advice to the PR people is your best bet with planetary imagery is
either a whole planet scene or else something that includes the limb with
a noticeable curvature.  Always make it look like a science fiction
movie, never use a vertical down shot like it was just geology.

comments:  The geological earth analogy angle.  I'm not a geolgist, 
but it might be that mars principle value to science it as a "second
experiment" with Venus as a third.  I always remember that Mars has
enough seperate geologic processes going on to make it seem like an
earth rerun.  Yes, single plate tectonics/no plate movement, so sad.
Mars is a laboratory to rerun earth's geolgic processes.

water on mars:  message to S.F. fans:  when are you going to get over
the "early life on mars" fixation and the colonzation fantasy.  Grow up.

Viking:  the best press possible.  Its the bicentennial on Mars, and
"You are There".  Too bad the geologically meaningful instruments and
experiments were crowded out by the biolgy experiments.  We could have
gotten the same information and lots more besides.

Phobos and Deimos:  So this is what an asteroid looks like. Still, its
alot like the asteroids in star wars I, or was is star wars II?




Land of the outer solar system, Voyager, of thee I sing


JUPITER 

Memorable photo experiences:  Higher resolution of Jupiter than
through a telescope, nice but "so what".  I guess Caltech's Dr. Ingersoll had
a good time.  I guess you had to be a meteorologist to enjoy it.
I'm slowly learning enough meteorology to appreciate planets with.

Magnetosphere:  this is a BIG planet

CALLISTO

total number of obviously different geologic processes: 2-3
redeeming PR shots:  Valhalla Basin.  Good work, crater naming team.



EUROPA

Proof, to those of you who don't live in the real world, that God's a good 
painter


GANYMEDE

After I'd gotten the explanation, obvious signs on large and small scales
of ice tectonism.

IO

Asimov was right, geologically active bodies were a BIG surprise.
Wierdest body of the solar system.





SATURN

Rings:  Best PR shots.  But also best example, to the most casual reader,
of the scienctific method at work:  you could watch the earth observation to
theory to flybye observation to more theory.  What will higher resolution
by Cassinni do to our ring theories?  Never could get into rings though.  

Titan:  Mystery deepens.  Our children's robots will have to explore this one.

Other moons:  Each one seemed to have just one geologic process or feature
(besides cratering) going for it.  Titan is the last really distinctive moon
until you reach Triton.  


URANUS 


Most boring planet award.  NASA PR memo to JPL " thanks for the Miranda
shots they saved our ****".  A planet whose interior model is its most
interesting point is very, very dull.  

Moons other than Miranda:  mostly of the Saturnian, one geologic trick
per planet variety.  Yeah, I know the approach geometry didn't give 
very much time for closest approach picture taking.  

Rings:  yes, Virginia you actually have to go there to find out.


NEPTUNE

memorable images:  Beautiful blue ball with great cloud movies-- 
a relief after the Uranus disapointment.

Triton:  at last, another moon surface with CHARACTER.
NASA PR memo to JPL:  well done, we went out with style, couldn't
have done better if we'd planned it.  

Rings:  rings are pretty interesting and odd aren't they?  

PLUTO

the only unexplored planet in the solar system? who cares?  give me
orbit and landing on comets, asteroids, or mercury any day.
The eclipes with Charon data and the occultion data were enough for now.    


COMET HALLEY

despite the disapointing failue of Giotto's camera pointing mechanism 
to capture maximum resolution pictures, a very sucessful first look.
Not very visually exciting, but the discovery of CHON  composition 
dust and other in situ measurements were maybe good science.


COMET GRIGG-SJKELLERUP

Despite its being mostly a particles and fields experiment, its lots
better to have 3 comets with 3 different gas production rates than
2.  Clever of the ESA to keep Giotto asleep for so long with no 
monitoring.  Good look with fuel and budgeting for number 4 comet.


GASPARA

first for sure asteroid.  Lower resolution pictures: no surprises,
higher resolution pictures:  no surprises.  Well I guess they dated
it didn't they?  Hope galileo december data dump delivers deligtful
delicacies(sorry about that).


GALILEO AT JUPITER IN 1995

Probe:  The in situ probe of the atmostphere is the best possible
human participative experiencer for me.  Just read me the isotopic,
elemental, molecular abundances with altitude profile.  I'll make a
poster of it and put it on my wall.

Jovian Moons:  Wait and see.  NIMS geochemical mapping may be dynamite.

Magnetosphere:  Will our knowledge take a big leap?