Teletext Recovery - 30/09/1990

P568 ORACLE 568 Sun30 Sep C4 2352:11  . .. * 1/6  . . : .  * .. . * by Simon Hardeman MAGELLAN'S SPECTACLE Despite wobbles, computer hitches and communications breakdowns, Venus radar mapper Magellan has sent back spectacular pictures. Once enhanced, the view shows a landscape scarred by vast craters, huge lava flows and fractures. The features are more jagged than might be expected on Earth because there is no smoothing, erosive water on the planet. After unveiling the latest views on Tuesday, NASA scientists predicted a "blockbuster" season to come. more > Buzz Index 560 Buzz Line 569 SURVIVAL GAMES. CASH PRIZES p180 Buzz Line Beat Box Kids Diversions

P568 ORACLE 568 Sun30 Sep C4 2358:09  . .. * 2/6  . . : .  * .. . * by Simon Hardeman THE BALLOON IS UP A French-made Mars balloon was tested in the California desert this week. The helium and nitrogen filled mylar envelope is designed to hop across the Martian surface, rising when heated during the day and drifting until it cools after sunset, and touches down. A gondola suspended from the balloon will carry a TV camera and atmospheric instruments. Two such ballooons will be deployed by the USSR's 1994 Mars missions. Scientists hope they will last for 10 days and cover between 1,000 and 1,500 kilometres. more follows > Buzz Index 560 Buzz Line 569 Buzz Line Beat Box Kids Diversions

P568 ORACLE 568 Sun30 Sep C4 2353:37  . .. * 3/6  . . : .  * .. . * by Simon Hardeman BRIEFS...1 ■ China's fifth satellite launch is planned for mid-October. A Long March 2 rocket is scheduled to carry a geological survey satellite aloft from the Jiuquan space centre. ■ US shuttle Discovery and solar Euro-probe Ulysses are set for a Saturday, October 6, launch. This is "a little success-oriented and dependent on not encountering any unusual problems" said director Bob Crippen. ■ Eighty-three potential leaks have been identified on grounded shuttle Columbia. "Any combination could be the culprit", said a spokesperson. more > Buzz Index 560 Buzz Line 569 Buzz Line Beat Box Kids Diversions

P568 ORACLE 568 Sun30 Sep C4 2351:01  . .. * 4/6  . . : .  * .. . * by Simon Hardeman BRIEFS...2 ■ Two asteroids whizzed past the Earth this week - one just 15 million kilometres away and the other five million further. Astronomers say it is yet more proof that they cannot discount the possibility of one striking the planet soon. Such a collision could destroy a city and cause severe environmental problems. ■ A globally-important US weather satellite, NOAA-11, is now down to its last controlling gyro. Two gyros have failed on the orbiter, which circles pole-to-pole. more follows > Buzz Index 560 Buzz Line 569 Buzz Line Beat Box Kids Diversions

P568 ORACLE 568 Sun30 Sep C4 2351:24  . .. * 5/6  . . : .  * .. . * by Andrew Houghton THE NIGHT SKY...1 Mercury is moving back towards the Sun after reaching greatest elongation last week. It will disappear from the pre-dawn sky after the first week of October, not to be seen again this year from Britain. Venus is also harder to see as it approaches superior conjunction on November 1 (when it will be on the opposite side of the Sun to the Earth). It is very bright (mag -3.9) but only just rising above the eastern horizon before vanishing in the dawn sunlight. It will have gone by mid October, to return as an evening object at the end of December. more follows > Buzz Index 560 Buzz Line 569 Buzz Line Beat Box Kids Diversions

P568 ORACLE 568 Sun30 Sep C4 2357:53  . .. * 6/6  . . : .  * .. . * by Andrew Houghton THE NIGHT SKY...2 Jupiter, like Mars, is approaching opposition and brightening as it does so. This weekend it is close to the star cluster Praesepe (also called The Beehive) which can be seen with the naked eye in the constellation Cancer. Binoculars will show some of Praesepe's 350-plus stars. It may be related to the Hyades cluster in Taurus, as it behaves in a similar way. To find Praesepe and Jupiter look for Cancer, which rises in the northeast at around 01.30 BST. more follows >  THE 568 WEEK   MONDAY-FRIDAY: Computers (daily)   WEEKEND: In Orbit - space news  Buzz Index 560 Buzz Line 569 Buzz Line Beat Box Kids Diversions

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