Search

Research at the University of California, Berkeley, was supported by NASA through subcontract LRI-99-101 from the Lunar Research Institute.

Le Voyage dans la Lune is a video work inspired by the homonymous film by French director George Melies and realised by visual artist Daniela de Paulis, in collaboration with CAMRAS, a team of radio enthusiasts based at the Dwingeloo radio telescope in The Netherlands. The video is composed of 26 ‘moonbounced’ images of the lunar phases, offered for the project by British astronomer Michael Oates (Manchester Astronomical Society). The images have been transmitted to the moon by a radio station in Brazil and have been received back a few seconds later by the Dwingeloo radio telescope. The technology required for the project is called Visual Moonbounce and has been developed by the CAMRAS team and the artist especially for a series of creative applications.

After 1700, astrology lost the respect it once commanded in medical circles. But the belief that the heavens influenced bodily health persisted – even in learned medicine – until well into the nineteenth century. The continuing vitality of these ideas owed much to the new empirical and mechanical outlook of their proponents. Taking their cue from the work of Robert Boyle and Richard Mead, a number of British practitioners amassed statistical evidence which purported to prove the influence of the Moon upon fevers and other diseases. Such ideas flourished in the colonies and in the medical services of the armed forces, but their exponents were not marginal men. Some, like James Lind, were widely respected and drew support for their views from such influential figures as Erasmus Darwin.

Analysis of Lunar Laser Ranging observations of the Moon’s 3D rotation (physical librations) indicates that the dissipation acting on lunar rotation is surprisingly large for a period of one month. The LLR computations for dissipation have been based on a solid-body tidal dissipation model. An additional model is now implemented which allows for dissipation at a liquid-core/solidmantle interface. Also, for the solid-body tides, the dependence of dissipation on period is explored. Tidal dissipation at one year is weakly detected, and roughly half of the monthly dissipation could be due to turbulent core/mantle interaction (core radius = 300 km).

Periodicity in predatory activity was observed in overwintered females of Typhlodromus pyri Scheuten (Acari: Phytoseiidae). Chronobiometrical analysis revealed that an approximately circabiseptan (about-14-day) rhythm is statistically significant, with a striking depression around the full moon.

Impacts of meteoroids on the Moon should cause detectable optical flashes1, but the population of objects that are big enough is very low, and hitherto no unambiguous impact flashes have been recorded. The flux of meteoroids associated with the Leonid meteor shower of 18 November 1999 was predicted to produce observable flashes on the night side of the Moon2. Here we report the unambiguous detection of five such impact flashes, three of which were seen simultaneously by other observers3. We also observed a possible impact flash on 16 July 1999. All of the flashes were of very brief duration (

Early adherents of Rudolf Steiner, the founder of the anthroposophical movement, tend to be born and to die during the dark half of the lunar month. There is significant correlation (P = 0.03) between the distributions of the lunar elongation at birth and at decease. However, this correlation does not operate at the level of individuals, suggesting that the effects of birth date and death date are statistically independent.

Lunar spherules are small glass beads that are formed mainly as a result of small impacts on the lunar surface; the ages of these impacts can be determined by the 40 Ar/ 39 Ar isochron technique. Here, 155 spherules separated from 1 gram of Apollo 14 soil were analyzed using this technique. The data show that over the last ∼3.5 billion years, the cratering rate decreased by a factor of 2 to 3 to a low about 500 to 600 million years ago, then increased by a factor of 3.7 ± 1.2 in the last 400 million years. This latter period coincided with rapid biotic evolutionary radiation on Earth.

The effect of moon light and lunar periodicity on the light trap catches of cutworm, Agrotis ipsilon (Hufn.) was studied during the active periods of 1986/87 and 1987/88 at Agriculture Research Farm of the Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi. In the light traps a mercury vapour electric bulb of 160 watt was used as the source of light. The moths caught in the traps were correlated with the light illumination of different days of a lunar cycle and it showed that trap catches were consistently very low on moonlit nights around full moon. The significant linear and negative correlation between degree of moon phase and light trap catches was observed. On an average, the response was higher in descending phase (full moon to no moon) as compared to the ascending phase (no moon to full moon). Zusammenfassung Wirkung des Mondlichtes und der Mondphase auf die Lichtfallenfange von Agrotis ipsilon (Hufn.)-Faltern Die Untersuchungen wurden in den beiden Aktivitatsperioden 1986/87 und 1987/88 an der Agriculture Research Farm der Banares-Hindu-Universitat in Varanasi, Indien, durchgefuhrt. Die Lichtfallen waren mit 160-Watt-Quecksilberdampflampen versehen. Die Zahl der gefangenen Falter wurde zum Mondlicht in den verschiedenen Phasen des Mondzyklus in Beziehung gesetzt. Dabei zeigte sich, das die Fallenfange durchweg in Mondnachten um den Vollmond herum sehr gering waren. Es bestand eine lineare negative Korrelation zwischen der Mondphase und dem Lichtfallenfang-Ergebnis. Der Fallenfang war eindeutig in der abnehmenden Mondphase starker und in der zunehmenden geringer.

I. Les eaux primordiales - « fons et origo » de la Creation : predominance de l'element liquide ; une mer matricielle sous le signe du lunaire ; images de cycle et serpent cosmique. II. La creation de la terre - actualisation d'un mode d'etre du cosmos : en prelude a la Creation, un acte exemplaire et integral : l'union sexuee ; l'ambivalence de toute hierophanie, substance du sacre ; du virtuel a l'actuel : le choix d'une forme. III. Le cylce cosmique - un hymne a la vie : « Soupe a la tomate » et vie totale ; l'elan vital ; la Vie plus que reelle.

The inside of Shackleton Crater at the lunar south pole is permanently shadowed; it has been inferred to hold water-ice deposits. The Terrain Camera (TC), a 10-meter-resolution stereo camera onboard the Selenological and Engineering Explorer (SELENE) spacecraft, succeeded in imaging the inside of the crater, which was faintly lit by sunlight scattered from the upper inner wall near the rim. The estimated temperature of the crater floor, based on the crater shape model derived from the TC data, is less than ∼90 kelvin, cold enough to hold water-ice. However, at the TC's spatial resolution, the derived albedo indicates that exposed relatively pure water-ice deposits are not on the crater floor. Water-ice may be disseminated and mixed with soil over a small percentage of the area or may not exist at all.

Estuaries are increasingly being used for recreational purposes. The Lune estuary at Lancaster, for example, is a centre for water skiing and jet skiing. Such sports can only be done at high-water, which unfortunately coincides with the discharge of sewage effluent into the estuary from Lancaster’s effluent treatment works (ETW). There is a risk, therefore, of exposure to high levels of faecal microorganisms with the consequent risk of disease3,6,8. We have shown that Campylobacter occurs in the Lune estuary at levels above the infective dose, especially in winter and autumn4. In the past, water sports were almost exclusively a summer pastime, nowadays however, such activities continue throughout the winter, when bacteria survive for longer.

A brief review of lunar base structural concepts is presented. The subject of risk and reliability for lunar structures is introduced and critical issues deliberated. A tensile structure is considered as an example in order to become more specific on the general introductory comments.

Multispectral images obtained during the Galileo probe's second encounter with the moon reveal the compositional nature of the north polar regions and the northeastern limb. Mare deposits in these regions are found to be primarily low to medium titanium lavas and, as on the western limb, show only slight spectral heterogeneity. The northern light plains are found to have the spectral characteristics of highlands materials, show little evidence for the presence of cryptomaria, and were most likely emplaced by impact processes regardless of their age.

During the explorations of Pourquoi-Pas?, commanded by Jean Baptiste Charcot, in the Southern Ocean in the period 1908–1910, Ensign R.-E. Godfroy collected, between latitudes 64°09'S and 70°05'S, eleven samples of air, according to instructions given by Muntz and Luné (1911) for measuring the concentrations of CO2 in the atmosphere. The samples were later analysed in the laboratories of the Conservatoire des Arts et Metiers, Paris using basically the same methods as for the samples collected by the French First Polar Year expedition 1882–1883 (Baker 2009). The maximum concentration of CO2 was 255 ppm, the minimum 145 ppm (the sample taken at sea at 69°30'S) and the mean 205 ppm. The average of the concentrations in the samples made by the French first IPY expedition at Bahia Orange was 256ppm and the minimum was 231 ppm.

Le calendrier et les debuts de l'astronomie a l'epoque neo-babylonienne : l'importance de la lune et des ceremonies cultuelles regulieres.

The surface of the moon would be an excellent location for astronomical telescopes, and, if a lunar base were to be established, the construction and maintenance of instruments would become feasible. The prospects are reviewed, with particular attention given to large optical aperturesynthesis instruments analogous to the Very Large Array of the National Radio Astronomy Observatory. Typical parameters for a particular system are presented.

The altitudes of the Sun and Moon have been calculated for the 541 great earthquakes (those with magnitude ⩾ 7.5) that occurred between 1897 and 1985. There is a tendency for more earthquakes to occur when the Sun or Moon is at an altitude of 30–50° above the horizon than would be expected by chance. Though neither the lunar nor the solar result is of high significance in itself, the experiments are independent so they may be combined, when they yield a significant result.

O artigo destaca o uso da linguagem cinematográfica para a formação da figura do cientista no imaginário das pessoas. Mostra que já na primeira obra lançada no cinema em 1902, Le Voyage dans la Lune – Viagem à Lua, do francês Georges Méliès, aparecem as primeiras representações distorcidas sobre os cientistas. A autora, através de uma amostra de filmes, demonstra a diversidade de papéis que o cientista representou no cinema ao longo de um século. Apresenta também algumas pesquisas que analisaram a extensão da influência que esses filmes tiveram no entendimento do público sobre a ciência e como ajudaram a construir as representações da sociedade sobre os cientistas. This article highlights the use of cinematographic language for the constitution of the scientist’s image in people’s imagination. It shows that in the first motion picture in 1902, Le Voyage dans la Lune – A Trip to the Moon, by the Frenchman Georges Méliès, distorted representations of scientists already appeared. Using motion picture samples, the author shows the diversity of roles that the scientist has played in cinema during one century. Researches that analyzed the extent of the influence that those motion pictures had on the audience’s understanding of science and how they helped to constitute the representations of scientists in the society are also presented.

We propose that a reported flash photographed against the surface of the Moon on May 23, 1985 was actually caused by sunlight reflecting from an inoperative artificial Earth satellite. This conflicts with the suggestion of a natural origin for the flash and points out that space debris should be considered in the investigation of sky flash discoveries.

Dans certaines cultures africaines de chasseurs-cueilleurs (les Khoisan et les Hadza), les relations entre hommes et femmes sont apparemment fondees sur une categorisation mutable et paradoxale des sexes. Pendant le rituel d'initiation, les filles acquierent des caracteristiques masculines, telles que des penis et des armes de chasse : les garcons sont traites comme sujets a la menstruation. Les modeles anthropologiques hierarchisant le 'masculin' v. le 'feminin' en fonction du sexe biologique ne sont pas en mesure de predire de telles inversions. Les modeles alternatifs de categories de genre multiples ne rendent pas compte des similarites structurelles entre les initiations mâles et femelles, qui ont tendance a unifier les categories sexuelles quel que soit le sexe biologique. Sur la base de donnees sur les rituels et mythes Khoisan et Hadza avec des illustrations d'art rupestre d'Afrique du Sud, un 'modele indigene' des oppositions symboliques des categories sexuelles est presente. Selon ce modele, les categories sexuelles sont mutables a travers le temps et sont associees a la puissance du rituel et non au sexe biologique ; de ce fait, le modele est a l'appui des predictions faites par la theorie qui attribue les origines de la culture a la 'greve sexuelle'.

Presentation A.72 yeat old lady fel l heavily onto her left hip in February 1993. she complained of pain over the sacrum and buttock region and down both anterior and posterior aspects of the left thigh. She had a history of carcinoma of the breast treated 5 years previouslyAcupuncture over trigger points in the buttock and hip, plus Bladder 40 and 50, Call bladdet 36, Larye intestine I and Livet 3, gave considerable improvement, reducing pain from 70% to 30% on a visual analogLre scale. After 4 treatments she was well enough to go on a holiday which involved considerable walking. ln lune she became much worse and was re{erred to an orthopaedic surgeon who diagnosed "merclgia paralytica" and advised only acupuncture. This was continued for a further 3 sessions with only moderate improvement unti i August 1993.

This “personal history” covers the period from about 1954 to the present, beginning with the time that I witnessed the start of the U.S. space program triggered by the launch of Sputnik, and includes my experience as Project Scientist for Pioneers 1, 2, 5, and Explorer 6, my service at NASA headquarters as Chief of Lunar and Planetary Sciences, followed by my role in organization of the NASA Ames Space Sciences Division, and in 1973, I formed the Dept. of Planetary Sciences at the University of Arizona.

The last century has seen enormous developments in methods of determining the composition of celestial bodies. Remote analysis using atomic emission and retrieval of samples for analysis on Earth have been superceded by the in situ application of methods such as γ-ray spectrometry and X-ray fluorescence.

Let F, f be the continuous solutions of the following system of difference-differential equations: F(u) = F0(u), 0 < u ≦ α; f(u) = f0(u), 0 < u ≦ β; (uκF(u))′ = κuκ − 1f(u − 1), (uκF(u))′ = κuκ − 1F(u − 1), u > β; where κ, α, β are constants and F0, f0 are “initial” functions. Many important functions in number theory can be represented by F and f, if a special choice of α, β, κ, F0, f0 is made, for example, Selberg's function σ, Buchstab's function w, Dickman's function ϱ (for definitions see Halberstam and Richert (“Sieve Methods,” Academic Press, London, 1974)), the functions F, f of the κ-dimensional Rosser-sieve (Iwaniec, Acta Arith. 36 (1980), 171–202), the functions F, f of the κ-dimensional iterated Selberg-sieve (Iwaniec, van de Lune, and de Riele, Indag. Math. 42 (1980), 409–417). In this paper a new representation of F, f is given which allows, for example, an easy calculation of these functions. The case κ = 1, α = 3, β = 2, F0(u) = 2eγu, f0(u) = 0 was treated in a paper of Richert and the author (J. Number Theory, in press).

The change in the eccentricity of the AES orbit of the type 1963-30D as a result of one passage through the Moon's shadow is estimated, and it has been shown that the effect is not negligible.

A new mechanism for lunar transient phenomena is proposed. Electrodynamic effects associated with rock fracturing seem to be able to account for sporadic optical pulses seen near certain lunar features from Earth. Only mild seismic activity or perhaps thermal cracking is required.

Summary Nitrogen-fixing strains of the Enterobacteriaceae are the most numerous nitrogen-fixing bacteria in the waters and sediments of the Lune estuary. However, their contribution to the nitrogen status of the sediments has been questioned as they have been shown to be intolerant of sea-water salinities. Results presented here show that salinity-tolerant strains of Klebsiella pneumoniae are common and are capable of fixing nitrogen (acetylene reduction) in the sediments.

Ejecta block characteristics observed on Phobos, Deimos, and the moon are examined. The analyzed source craters on Deimos are 0.8-2.3 km in diameter, those on Phobos are 1.5-10 km, and the lunar craters are between 0.2-3.5 km in diameter. The size and radial distribution of the ejecta blocks for the three bodies are compared. It is observed that the size distribution of the ejecta blocks surrounding craters on the three objects are basically similar, and the radial distribution of the blocks for Phobos and the moon are the same (within 2 radii of the crater center); however, the ejecta on Deimos are more dispersed (greater than or equal to 2 radii from the crater center).

SUMMARY. — The study of the Zodiac, that section of the celestial sphere, 12° wide, in which the planets are seen to move, or that oblique great-circle which the Sun seems to describe, was a major step in the development of Greek astronomy. The signs of the Zodiac, geometrized into dodecatemories, acted as a frame of reference for positioning the stars in the heavens. The time it took them to complete their ascension provided a way of measuring and dividing up the night. The eccentricity of the circle which the Sun describes, far below that of the Zodiac, explains the inequality of the astronomical seasons. The relative positions of the Sun and the Moon with respect to the Earth account for eclipses, whose apparent locus coincides with the median circle of the signs., RÉSUMÉ. — L'étude du zodiaque, lieu de la sphère céleste, large de 12°, où nous voyons se déplacer les planètes, ou grand cercle oblique de la sphère que semble parcourir le Soleil, a joué un rôle déterminant dans les progrès de l'astronomie grecque. Les signes du zodiaque, géométrisés en dodécatémories, servaient de repères pour situer les astres dans le ciel ; leur durée d'ascension permettait de mesurer et de diviser la nuit. L'excentricité du cercle que parcourt le Soleil, bien au-dessous du zodiaque, explique l'inégalité des saisons astronomiques ; la place relative du Soleil et de la Lune par rapport à la Terre rend compte des éclipses, dont le lieu apparent coïncide avec le cercle médian des signes., Aujac Germaine. Le zodiaque dans l'astronomie grecque.. In: Revue d'histoire des sciences, tome 33, n°1, 1980. pp. 3-32.

Modern computers enable us to obtain realistic values for the present tidal torque between the Moon and the oceans; those values agree with the observations. In principle, computations for distant geological epochs are possible as well and have been performed. However, the very complex eigenperiod spectrum of the oceans today precludes a continuous reconstruction of the tidal torque for an essential part of the Earth’s history. Hence the original state of the Earth-Moon system is still uncertain. We emphasize the importance of results for intermediate timescales.

Summary The springhare, Pedetes capensis, was studied in the Kalahari Desert, Republic of Botswana, from August 1971 to August 1974 inclusive. Night censuses totalling 253 h provided data on springhare habitat selection, social grouping, activity pattern and the effect of moonlight and weather on activity. Utilization of dry lakebeds (pans) by springhares was 2.3-3.4 times greater than on the surrounding habitats. Springhares were strictly nocturnal. The population, as a whole, exhibited one activity peak every 24 h. Group size and distance from burrows were directly related to time after sunset. Low temperatures and moderate to heavy precipitation both reduced springhare activity, while moonlight reduced the distance to which springhares moved out onto pans. Except for adult males, all sex/age classes of springhares participated in group formation to the same extent. Apparently little social cohesion existed within groups. Territoriality was not observed but may occur in the area immediately around the burrow. Resume Le lievre sauteur (Pedetes capensis) fut etudie dans le desert du Kalahari, au Botswana, de aout 1971 a aout 1974. Un total de 253 heures de recensements nocturnes a fourni des donnees sur le choix de l'habitat chez le lievre sauteur, son organisation sociale, ses types d'activites et l'effet du clair de lune et du temps sur celles-ci. L'utilisation du fond des lacs esseches (pans) par ces animaux est de 2.3 a 3.4 fois plus important que les habitats avoisinants. Les lievres sauteurs sont strictement nocturnes. L'ensemble de la population presente une activite maximale toutes les 24 heures. La taille du groupe et la distance au terrier sont en relation directe avec le temps ecoule apres le coucher du soleil. Des temperatures basses ou moderees ainsi que les grosses precipitations reduisent l'activite des lievres sauteurs, alors que le clair de lune limite la distance que l'animal parcourt sur les pans.

Вычuсляеmся nрецессuонно-нуmaцuонныŭ моменm nрuлuвообрaзующuх сuл ом Луны в зaвuсuмосmu оm nосmоянных Сmоксa Землu. Выясняеmся оmношенuе uн¶rt;uвu¶rt;уaльных членов эmого моменma к nрuлuвообрaзующеŭ сuловоŭ функцuu.

Observations realisees pres de Tucson, Arizona, montrant que divers rongeurs du desert augmentent leur activite sous les buissons et la reduisent en espece decouvert, au cours des periodes de forte lumiere lunaire

Diurnal variations of occurrence hours and the period of Pi2 pulsations at Choutuppal (India) for nearly half a solar cycle are presented. Maximum occurrence is noticed to be around local midnight in all the seasons. Shorter periods are observed in the late afternoon hours in E-and J-seasons. Lunar influence on the occurrence of Pi2 pulsations at this station is inferred with the occurrence due to this influence peaking in the vicinity of the lunar phase4.

The results of simultaneous and homogeneous reduction of 8 libration series are presented. On this basis all 6 free libration constants have been estimated using some new formulae.

An international research laboratory can be established on the Moon in the early years of the 21st Century. It can be built using the transportation system now envisioned by NASA, which includes a space station for Earth orbital logistics and orbital transfer vehicles for Earth-Moon transportation. A scientific laboratory on the Moon would permit extended surface and subsurface geological exploration; long-duration experiments defining the lunar environment and its modification by surface activity; new classes of observations in astronomy; space plasma and fundamental physics experiments; and lunar resource development. The discovery of a lunar source for propellants may reduce the cost of constructing large permanent facilities in space and enhance other space programs such as Mars exploration.

We present photographic evidence of a very short duration, strong flash from the surface of the Moon (near an irregularly shaped crater in Palus Somni). The flash covered a region roughly 22 by 18 km wide with a total energy of the order of 10 17 erg. The event is established to be slightly above the surface of the Moon. An explanation is proposed involving outgassing and a subsequent electrical discharge caused by a piezoelectric effect.

A hydrobiological field course for undergraduates in the Department of Biology, University of Salford has proved useful in investigating river pollution, and parts of the course may be suitable for upper school studies. The course compares the Lancashire rivers Lune, Ribble and Irwell, but could be adapted for still waters. The water quality was assessed by simple chemical methods and the bacteriological quality by multiple tube and membrane filtration techniques. These assessments were then related to the benthic inverte-brates in the rivers—dipteran larvae, oligochaete worms, leeches, molluscs, stoneflies and mayflies. The Irwell was found to be grossly polluted, the Ribble mildly polluted and the Lune relatively unpolluted.

The effects of lunar light on the activity of old-field mice, Peromyscas polionotus, were determined by tracking in outdoor enclosures. Surface activity was inhibited by about 70% in full moon, 56% in three-quarter moon, 32% in half moon and 23% in quarter moon. The mice shifted their activity from the open area to cover during moonlit periods, thus inhibition in open areas was greater than indicated above. Activity patterns were not related to proximate foraging requirements, as food was provided ad libitum in the centre of the enclosures.