017463   Saranathan E;Anbazhagan S;Loveson V J (Sch of Civ Engng, SASTRA Deemed Univ, Thanjavur) : Remote sensing mapping for assessing land unit changes of mining environment: a case study from magnesite mines, Salem. Indian J Geomorph 2003, 8(1-2), 135-42.

Remote Sensing is one of the effective tools to monitor the environmental changes caused by mining activity. An attempt has been made to illustrate the role of Remote Sensing technique in mapping and monitoring the geomorphology and land use / land cover changes over a period of time through a case study carried out from magnesite mining area in Chalk hills, Salem.

6 illus, 1 table, 7 ref

017462   Ravindra B (Udaipur Sol Obs Dewali Badi Rd Udaipur-313 001, , , Email: ravindra@mithra.physics.montana.edu) : Evolution of magnetic fields in the solar atmosphere. Bull Astr Soc India 2005, 33(3), 333-6.

Sun affects the terrestrial climate and weather as well as near Earth space by its high energy radiation and particle emissions. It is now becoming clear that the solar magnetic field, which controls all the physical processes in the solar atmosphere, is the driver for these two processes. Studied the role of the evolution of magnetic fields in the production of enhanced high energy radiation and particle emission from the Sun.

1 table, 6 ref

017461   Ramu K R (Superintending Surveyor (Retired), , ) : Digitisation of cadastral survey maps. Indian Surveyor 2005, 59(2), 32-3.

Need for hav ing digital data base of all Cadastral Survey Maps covering the Bangalore Metropolitan Area was felt, in view of the revision of the comprehensive Development Plan. A Plan as evolved to collect all the Cadastral Survey Maps and have them digitised on a uniform scale and to maintain the data in the form of Hard and Soft copies. The data would be utilised for other planning purposes as well.

017460   Rachkovsky D N;Tsap T T;Lozitsky V G (NO, Crimean Astrophysical Obs, Nauchny, Crimea, UA-98409, Ukraine) : Small-scale magnetic field diagnostics outside sunspots: comparison of different methods. J Astrophys Astr 2005, 26(4), 435-45.

Analyses different observational data related to the problem of intrinsic magnetic field strength in small-scale fluxtubes outside sunspots. Concludes that the kG range of fluxtube fields follows from not only classical line ratio method, but also from other old and new techniques. For the quiet regions on the Sun, the most probable mode of such fields has a magnetic field strength of 1.2-1.5 kG assuming the rectangular field profile. To best interpret the observations, a weak background field between fluxtubes should be assumed, and its magnetic field strength is expected to increase with the filling factor fluxtubes. The alternative point of view about subkilogauss fluxtube fields is critically examined, and possible sources of different conclusions are presented.

3 illus, 1 table, 44 ref

017459   Puravankara M (NO, Inter-University Cent for Astr and Astrophys, Pune-411 007, Email: manojp@iucaa.ernet.in) : Star formation: circumstellar environment around young stellar objects. Bull Astr Soc India 2005, 33(3), 327-31.

Detailed study of the evolution of young circumstellar disks from the early pre-main sequence phase to the main sequence phase has been undertaken. Used several observational diagnostics of the disks such as emission-lines, infrared excess and polarization, and have followed their evolution in time. From study, it shows that the accretion activity in intermediate mass young stars declines rapidly and is terminated in about 3-5 Myr. The inner disk is found to dissipate on similar time scale. Further, shown that the optical depth of the circumstellar dust disks decreases steadily with increasing stellar age from the early pre-main sequence phase to the late main sequence phase.

17 ref

017458   Pandey J C;Singh K P;Drake S A;Sagar R (NO, Aryabhatta Res Inst of Observational Sci, Nainital-263 129, Email: jeewan@aries.ernet.in) : Unravelling the nature of HD 81032 - a new RS CVn binary. J Astrophys Astr 2005, 26(4), 359-76.

BVR phototometric and qusi-simultaneous optical spectro-scopic observations of the star HD 81032 have been carried out during the years 2000-2004. A photometric period of 18.802 ± 0.07d has been detected for this star. A large group of spots with a migration period of 7.43 ± 0.07 years is inferred from the first three years of the data. Hα and CaII H and K emissions from the star indicate high chromospheric activity. The available photometry in the BVRIJHK bands is consistent with the spectral type of K0 IV previously found for this star. Also examined the spectral energy distribution of HD 81032 for the presence of an infrared colour excess dusing the 2MASS JHK and IRAS photometry, but found no significant excess in any band above the normal values expected for a star with this spectral type. Also analyzed the X-ray emission properties of this star using data obtained by the ROSAT X-ray observatory during its All-Sky Survey phase. An X-ray flare of about 12 hours duration was detected during the two days of X-ray coverage obtained for this star. Its X-ray spectrum, while only containing 345 counts, is inconsistent with a single-temperature component solar-abundance coronal plasma model, but implies either the presence of two or more plasma components, non-solar abundances, or a combination both of these properties.

9 illus, 3 tables, 39 ref

017457   Misra K;Resmi L;Pandey S B;Bhattacharya D; Sagar R (NO, Aryabhatta Res Inst of Observational Sci, Manora Peak, Nainital-263 129) : Optical observations and multiband modelling of the afteglow of GRB 041006: Evidence of a hard electron energy spectrum. Bull Astr Soc India 2005, 33(4), 487-97.

Presents the CCD Cousins R band photometric observations of the afterglow of GRB 041006. The multiband afterglow evolution is modelled using an underlying 'hard' electron energy spectrum with a p₁ <126> 1.3. The burst appears to be of very low energy (E<126>10⁴⁸ ergs) confined to a narrow cone of opening angle 0<126>2.3°. The associated supernova was compared with SN1998bw and is found to be brighter.

3 illus, 4 tables, 35 ref

017456   Mekkaden M V;Pukalenthi S;Muneer S;Bastian A B (NO, Indian Inst of Astrophys, Bangalore-560 034) : The nature of chromospheric active regions on V410 Tauri. Bull Astr Soc India 2005, 33(4), 433-46.

Spectroscopic observations in the region of Hα and Li I lines of the weak emission T Tauri star V410 Tau obtained over 1999/2000, 2002/2003 and 2003/2004 seasons has been presented. The emission strength showed rotational modulation during the 1000/2000 season in such a way that the emission strength is maximum at light minimum and vice versa. This indicates that the photospheric and chromospheric active regions overlap over shorter durations of time and the lifetimes of chromospheric active regions are far shorter than the photospheric active regions. But the observations obtained during the 2003/2004 season do not follow the trend observed at earlier seasons. This can be due to the change in the location of chromospheric active regions. Another possibility is the occurrence of a major change in the photospheric active regions that have caused a redistribution of photospheric as well as chromospheric active regions. The Li I EW does not show any appreciable change over the four-year period.

7 illus, 1 table, 17 ref

017455   Mehta M (NO, VP & RPTP Sci Coll, Vallabh Vidyanagar-388 120, Email: meghdhanusha@yahoo.co.in) : Solar coronal rotation and phase of solar activity cycle. Bull Astr Soc India 2005, 33(3), 323-5.

Solar rotation continues to be observed by several techniques. Study coronal rotation using radio observations. Coronal rotation and its variation with height in solar atmosphere are studied. For this, 11 different frequencies of radio emissions were used. Also tried to look at dependence of rotation period on phase of solar cycle. The period of analysis is four solar cycles (cycle 19 to 22). The results of analysis do not show systematic relationship between coronal rotation period and phase of solar cycle.

8 ref

017454   Kamesewara Rao N (NO, Indian Inst of Astrophys, Bangalore-560 034, Email: nkrao@iiap.res.in) : Aspects of prehistoric astronomy in India. Bull Astr Soc India 2005, 33(4), 499-511.

Some archeoastronomical aspects regarding the development of observational astronomy in India during prehistoric times has been described. A plea is made for the preservation of megalithic monuments of possible astronomical significance.

6 illus, 19 ref

017453   Joshi S (NO, Aryabhatta Res Inst of Observational Sci (ARIES), Manora Peak, Nainital 263 129) : Studies of chemically peculiar stars. Bull Astr Soc India 2005, 33(3), 317-21.

Framework of the "NainiTal-Cape Survey" programme for searching photometric variability in chemically peculiar stars, initiated in 1997 at the ARIES, NainiTal, India, in collaboration with the South African Astronomical Observatory, Cape Town and ISRO, Bangalore. Presents the corresponding results. The Am stars HD 98851, HD 102480, HD 13079 and HD 113878 were discovered to exhibit a δ Scuti type of variability. Photometric variability was also discovered in HD 13038, for which the type of peculiarity and variability is not yet fully explained. The null results obtained in the survey has been also presented and discussed, as they provide an interesting data reference for upcoming studies.

18 ref

017452   Jain K;Lakkad J (Civ Engng Dep, Indian Inst of Technol Roorkee, Roorkee, Email: kjainfce@iitr.ernet.in) : GPS augmentation services using SBAS technology. Indian Surveyor 2005, 59(1), 59-69.

Accuracy, integrity and availability are the main issues for current GNSSS (Global navigation satellite system) technology. On a standalone GPS receiver user is not sure of what accuracy will be achieved. As current GPS system is under Department of Defence, USA it can start SA (Selective Availability) any time. These aspects made it near impossible to use GPS in critical applications like flight landing support system, urban mapping and life saving services. To overcome these hurdles concept of SBAS (Space Based Augmentation System) was brought into existence, which broadcasts correction to GPS signals and also work as GPS satellite, thus building confidence of user by improving accuracy and increasing availability of GPS signals. Paper discusses issue related to implementation and performance of space based augmentation services in existence. It will also briefly describe GBAS (Ground Based Augmentation Systems) technology.

5 illus, 1 table, 9 ref

017451   Hasan P (IUCAA, , Post Bag 4, Ganeshkhind, Pune-411 007, Email: priya@iucaa.ernet.in) : Near infrared photometry of the young clusters NGC 1960, NGC 2453 and NGC 2384. Bull Astr Soc India 2005, 33(3), 311-15.

Infrared observations of young star clusters provide vital clues to the star formation process and evolution of stars. This brief report gives a brief description of the observations and analysis of the young star clusters NGC 1960, NGC 2453 and NGC 2384 observed in the near infrared bands at the Mt. Abu Infrared Observatory, Gurushikhar in February 2000. Estimates of distance and age for these clusters for the first time using JHK data have been obtained. The observed data was compared to that obtained by 2MASS.

2 illus, 1 table, 14 ref

017450   Das S (SNBNCBS, , Block-JD, Sector-III, Salt Lake City, Kolkata-700 098, Email: sbdas@bose.res.in) : Analytical studies of standing shocks in accretion flows around compact objects. Bull Astr Soc India 2005, 33(3), 307-10.

Shocks in advective flows around black holes have become essential ingredients in explaining wide variety of observed features. It has first analytically study the properties of shocks in the speical case when viscosity and other dissipative processes are negligible. Compared analytical results with those obtained numerically. The agreement is generally good. In the course of development of the accretion disk models study the effects of viscosity and different types of cooling mechanisms, such as bremsstrahlung and synchrotron coolings, in succession. It has identified the region of parameter space which produces multiple sonic points and shocks separately in presence of heating and colling effects. It has quantify two critical viscosity parameters and a critical cooling factor which separate the flow topologies.

3 illus, 10 ref

017449   Choudhury M (Natn Cent for Radio Astrophys, T.I.F.R., Pune-411 007, Email: manojendu@ncra.tifr.res.in) : Hard X-ray and soft gamma ray properties of cosmic sources. Bull Astr Soc India 2005, 33(3), 303-6.

Microquasars provide a unique laboratory to study the accretion process in a compact object, coupled to the ejection of matter in the form of jets. Provided a phenomenological perspective on the accretion-ejection mechanism based on the multi-wavelength observational features covering long term evolution of various sources exhibiting apparently diverse types of characteristics, with special emphasis on the enigmatic X-ray binary system Cygnus X-3.

6 ref

017448   Chakraborty P;Das H K;Tandon S N (NO, Inter Univ Cent for Astr and Astrophys (IUCAA), Post Bag 4, Gaeshkhind, Pune-411 007) : Exposure time calculator for IFOSC and sky background estimation. Bull Astr Soc India 2005, 33(4), 513-35.

Describes a spectroscopy exposure time calculator for the faint object spectrograph, the "IUCAA Faint Object Spectrograph" (IFOSC). It is intended to provide reasonable estimates of exposure times for observations. The background sky brightness is modeled for different phases and angular distance from the moon. The code automatically calculates the Lunar Ephemerides from the date and time of observations and uses it for sky brightness computations. Adopts a new technique of scaling the Rayleigh and the Mie scattering functions, according to the corresponding extinction terms. This estimation of the sky brightness with moonlight fits reasonably well with the observed sky brightness measured at the IUCAA telescope site. A simple component model is used for the optical elements. Each component is described by simple wavelength dependent extinction tables. At present, a blackbody/power-law spectrum is chosen as the input spectrum. Model or actual spectrum can also be used. The input blackbody spectrum is computed using the stellar "Spectral type" and scaled by the apparent V magnitude of the star. The programme is easily configurable for different sites and instruments. The code is written in ANSIC and thus portable to any system. A graphically interactive interface using HTML-cgi script has also been developed.

6 illus, 25 ref

017447   Bhat M V (Surv of India, Surveyor General's Office, Dehradun) : GIS for utilities. Indian Surveyor 2005, 59(1), 76-83.

017446   Alladin S M;Ballabh G M (Dep of Astr, Osmania Univ, Hyderabad-500 007, Email: gm_ballabh@yahoo.com) : Dynamics of the Sun-Earth-Moon system. Resonance 2005, 10(80), 6-24.

The dynamics of the Sun-Earth-Moon system is discussed with special attention to the effects of Sun"s perturbations on the Moon's orbit around theEarth. Important secular effects are the regression of the nodes, the advance ofthe perigee and the increase in the Moon"s mean longitude. Discusses the relationship of the first with the occurrence of eclipses, the second with the fluctuations in the moon"s synodic period, and the third with the slowing down of the Earth"s rotation due to tidal friction. The Sun-Earth-Moon system is compared with regard to the intensity of tidal effects.

5 illus, 11 ref

017445   Acharyya K;Chakrabarti S K (NO, Cent for Space Phys, Chalantika 43, Garia Station Rd, Kolkata-700 084) : Recombination efficiency of molecular hydrogen on interstellar grains and its effect on production of H<. Bull Astr Soc India 2005, 33(4), 473-85.

Studies the efficiency of molecular hydrogen recombination on grain surfaces using both the rate equation (which tracks the average number of species and the master equation (which tracks the expectation values of the species). Incorporats Langmuir-Hinselwood rejection term in obtaining the efficiency. Used this result to compute H² production rates as a function of the grain temperature and accretion rate of atomic hydrogen. The general conclusion is that the H² formation efficiency is very much dependent on the grain temperature and the accretion rate of the atomic hydrogen on grains. Provides tables of H² production rates which could be readily used for future calculation of production of more complex molecules in the gas phase.

5 illus, 5 tables, 14 ref

016409   Zhi-Jian Y;Li-Chang L;Yung-Chun L;Guang-Liang D (NO, Beijing Inst of Tracking and Telecommunications Technol, P.O. Box 5131, Beijing 100 094, China, Email: csaspace@163bj.com) : Space operation system for Chang'E program and its capability evaluation. J Earth Syst Sci 2005, 114(6), 795-9.

Space operation for China's first lunar exploration program, Chang'E will be provided by the S-band aerospace Telemetry, Tracking and Command (TT&C) network designed for China's manned space program. This is undoubtedly a great challenge to the ground TT&C system. The largest antennas of China's S-band aerospace TT&C network has an aperture of only 12 m. A series of technical measures have been taken into the designing of the spacecraft-ground TT&C system to ensure that such antennas can communicate with Chang'E-1 lunar probe 400,000 km away. These include installation of high-gain directional antennae and medium-gain omni-directional antennae for the probe, adding channel encoding to the downlink channel, using both high and low data rates for information transmission and upgrade and design of ground equipment terminals. Among them, the omni-directional antenna will operate in the earth-ground transfer orbit phase and the directional antenna will operate in the lunar orbit phase. These measures satisfy the spacecraft-ground link and program design requirements. To provide accurate navigation for the probe during its Earth-Moon flight and initial lunar orbiting flight, China's VLBI system designed for astronomical observations, will also be used besides the ranging and range rate measurement capabilities of the S-band TT&C network. The purpose is to provide 100 m accuracy in position determination during lunar orbit. The paper describes the system design, technical challenges, solutions and capability evaluation of space operation for Chang'E-1.

1 illus, 1 table

016408   Taylor S R (Dep of Earth and Mar Sci, Aust Natn Univ, Canberra, Australia, Email: Ross.Taylor@anu.edu.au) : Lunar science. J Earth Syst Sci 2005, 114(6), 587-91.

Before spacecraft exploration, facts about the Moon were restricted to information about the lunar orbit, angular momentum and density. Speculations about composition and origin were unconstrained. Naked eye and telescope observations revealed two major terrains, the old heavily cratered highlands and the younger mostly circular, lightly cratered maria. The lunar highlands were thought to be composed of granite or covered with volcanic ash-flows. The maria were thought to be sediments, or were full of dust, and possibly only a few million years old. A few perceptive observers such as Ralph Baldwin concluded that the maria were filled with volcanic lavas, but the absence of terrestrial-type central volcanoes like Hawaii was a puzzle. The large circular craters were particularly difficult to interpret. Some thought, even after the Apollo flights, that they were some analogue to terrestrial caldera, formed by explosive volcanic activity and that the central peaks were volcanoes. The fact that the craters were mostly circular, was difficult to accommodate if they were due to meteorite impact, as meteorites would hit the Moon at all angles. The rilles were taken by many as definitive evidence that there was or had been, running water on the lunar surface. Others such as Carl Sagan thought that organic compounds were present.

^iia28 ref

016407   Sorensen T C;Spudis P D (NO, Univ of Kansas, Lawrence KS, USA, Email: sorenst@ku.edu) : The clementine mission- a 10-year perspective. J Earth Syst Sci 2005, 114(6), 645-68.

Clementine was a technology demonstration mission jointly sponsored by the Department of Defense (DOD) and NASA that was launched on January 25th, 1994. Its principal objective was to use the Moon, a near-Earth asteroid, and the spacecraft's Interstage Adapter as targets to demonstrate lightweight sensor performance and several innovative spacecraft systems and technologies. The design, development, and operation of the Clementine spacecraft and ground system was performed by the Naval Research Laboratory. For over two months, Clementine mapped the Moon, producing the first multispectral global digital map of the Moon, the first global topographic map, and contributing several other important scientific discoveries, including the possibility of ice at the lunar South Pole. New experiments or schedule modifications were made with minimal constraints, maximizing science return, thus creating a new paradigm for mission operations. Clementine was the first mission known to conduct an in-flight autonomous operations experiment. After leaving the Moon, Clementine suffered an onboard failure that caused cancellation of the asteroid rendezvous. Despite this setback, NASA and the DOD applied the lessons learned from the Clementine mission to later missions. Clementine set the standard against which new small spacecraft missions are commonly measured. More than any other mission, Clementine has the most influence (scientifically, technically, and operationally) on the lunar missions being planned for the next decade.

20 illus, 39 ref

016406   Shylaja B S (Jawaharlal Nehru Planetarium, Bangalore Ass for Sci Educ, High Gounds, Bangalore-560 001, Email: taralaya@vsnl.com) : Determination of lunar surface ages from crater frequency-size distribution. J Earth Syst Sci 2005, 114(6), 609-12.

Crater size-frequency distribution is one of the powerful techniques to estimate the ages of planetary surfaces, especially from remote sensing studies. This has been applied to images of the Moon obtained from Clementine mission in 1994. Simple techniques of measurement of the diameter of the craters (in pixels) are used and converted into linear dimensions. Among the several maria studied, the results of Mare Humorum and the central region of Mare Imbrium are reported. The results are compared with age estimates from other sources.

11 ref

016405   Shivakumar M;Bhandari N (NO, Phys Res Lab, Ahmedabad-380 009, Email: shiva_astro@yahoo.co.in) : Capture of interplanetary bodies in geocentric orbits and early lunar evolution. J Earth Syst Sci 2005, 114(6), 601-7.

During the accretion of planets such as Earth, which are formed by collisional accretion of plantesimals, the probability of capture of interplanetary bodies in planetocentric orbits is calculated following the approach of Hills (1973) and the n-body simulation, using simplectic integration method. The simulation, taking an input mass equal to about 50% of the present mass of the inner planets, distributed over a large number of planetoids, starting at 4 My after the formation of solar system, yielded four inner planets within a period of 30 My. None of these seed bodies, out of which the planets formed, remained at this time and almost 40% mass was transferred beyond 100 AU. Based on these calculations, it has been concluded that <126>1.4 times the mass of the present inner planets was needed to accumulate them. The probability of capture of planetoids in geocentric orbits is found to be negligible. The result emphasizes the computational difficulty in 'probability of capture' of planetesimals around the Earth before the giant impact. This conclusion, however, is in contradiction to the recent observations of asteroids being frequently captured in transient orbits around the Earth, even when the current population of such interplanetary bodies is smaller by several orders of magnitude compared to the planetary accumulation era.

2 illus, 2 tables, 29 ref

016404   Robinson M;Riner M (Cent for Planetary Sci, Northwestern Univ 1850 Campus Drive, Evanston, IL 60208. USA, Email: robinson@earth.northwestern.edu) : Advances in lunar science from the Clementine mission-a decadal perspective. J Earth Syst Sci 2005, 114(6), 669-86.

Clementine spacecraft orbited the Moon and acquired science data for 10 weeks in the Spring of 1994. During this time, it collected global 11-band multispectral images and near global altimetry. Select areas of the Moon were imaged at 25 m/pixel in visible light and 60 m/pixel in thermal wavelengths. From these datasets a new paradigm for the evolution of the lunar crust emerged. The Moon is no longer viewed as a two-terrane planet, the Apollo samples were found not to represent the lunar crust as a whole, and the complexity of lunar crustal stratigraphy was further revealed. More than ten years later the Clementine datasets continue to significantly advance lunar science and will continue to do so as new measurements are returned from planned missions such as Chandrayaan, SELENE, and Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter. The paper highlights the scientific research conducted over the last decade using Clementine data and summarizes the influence of Clementine on ther understanding of the Moon.

6 illus, 148 ref

016403   Ramanan R V;Madan Lal (Aerospace Flight Dynamics Grp, Vikram Sarabhai Space Cent, Thiruvananthapuram-695 022, Email: rv_ramanan@vssc.org) : Analysis of optimal strategies for soft landing on the Moon from lunar parking orbits. J Earth Syst Sci 2005, 114(6), 807-13.

Optimal trajectory design of a probe for soft landing on the Moon from a lunar parking orbit by minimizing the fuel required is obtained. The problem is formulated as an optimal control problem with the thrust direction being the control variable. Using the maximum principle of Pontryagin, the control variable is expressed as a function of co-state variables and the problem is converted into a two-point boundary value problem. The two-point boundary value problem is solved using an optimization technique, i.e., controlled random search. The strategies such as direct landing from a lunar parking orbit using powered braking, direct landing from an intermediate orbit using powered braking, by executing powered braking in two phases: through horizontal braking and vertical landing are analyzed and an optimal strategy that achieves the goals is suggested. Also, appropriate design parameters are selected using this analysis.

6 illus, 3 tables, 6 ref

016402   Ramanan R V;Adimurthy V (Aeronautics Entity, Vikram Sarabhai Space Cent, Thiruvananthapuram-695 022, Email: rv_ ramanan@vssc.org) : An analysis of near-circular lunar mapping orbits. J Earth Syst Sci 2005, 114(6), 619-26.

Numerical investigations have been carried out to analyse the evolution of lunar circular orbits and the influence of the higher order harmonics of the lunar gravity field. The aim is to select the appropriate near-circular orbit characteristics, which extend orbit life through passive orbit maintenance. The spherical harmonic terms that make major contributions to the orbital behaviour are identified through many case studies. It is found that for low circular orbits, the 7th and the 9th zonal harmonics have predominant effect in the case of orbits for which the evolution is stable and the life is longer, and also in the case of orbits for which the evolution is unstable and a crash takes place in a short duration. By analysing the contribution of the harmonic terms to the orbit behaviour, the appropriate near-circular orbit characteristics are identified.

7 illus, 3 tables, 7 ref

016401   Mizutani H;Fujimura A;Tanaka S;Shiraishi H; Nakjima T (NO, Inst of Space and Astronautical Sci Japan Aerospace Explor Ag, Yoshinodai 3-1-1, Sagamihara, Kanagawa 229 8510, Japan, Email: mizutani@planeta.sci.isas.ac.jp) : Lunar-A mission. J Earth Syst Sci 2005, 114(6), 763-8.

The scientific objective of the Lunar-A, Japanese Penetrator Mission, is to explore the lunar interior by seismic and heat-flow experiments. Two penetrators containing two seismometers (horizontal and vertical components) and heat-flow probes will be deployed from a spacecraft onto the lunar surface, one on the near-side and the other on the far-side of the moon. The data obtained by the penetrators will be transmitted to the earth station via the Lunar-A mother spacecraft orbiting at an altitude of about 200 km. The spacecraft of a cylindrical shape, 2.2 m in maximum diameter and 1.7 m in height, is designed to be spin-stabilized. The spacecraft will be inserted into an elliptic lunar orbit, after about a half-year cruise during which complex manoeuvering is made using the lunar-solar gravity assist. After lunar orbit insertion, two penetrators will be separated from the spacecraft near perilune, one by one, and will be landed on the lunar surface. The final impact velocity of the penetrator will be about 285 in/sec; it will encounter a shock of about 8000 G at impact on the lunar surface. According to numerous experimental impact tests using model penetrators and a lunar-regolith analog target, each penetrator is predicted to penetrate to a depth between 1 and 3 m, depending on the hardness and/or particle-size distribution of the lunar regolith. The penetration depth is important for ensuring the temperature stability of the instruments in the penetrator and heat flow measurements. According to the results of the Apollo heat flow experiment, an insulating regolith blanket of only 30cm is sufficient to dampen out about 280K lunar surface temperature fluctuation to <60>3K variation. The seismic observations are expected to provide key data on the size of the lunar core, as well as data on deep lunar mantle structure. The heat flow measurements at two penetrator-landing sites will also provide important data on the thermal structure and bulk concentrations of heat-generating elements in the Moon. These data will provide much stronger geophysical constraints on the origin and evolution of the Moon than has been obtained so far. Currently, the Lunar-A system is being reviewed and a more robust system for communication between the penetrators and spacecraft is being implemented according to the lessons learned from Beagle-2 and DS-2 failures. More impact tests for penetrators onto a lunar regolith analogue target will be undertaken before its launch.

2 illus, 24 ref

016400   Kubota T;Kunii Y;Kuroda Y (NO, ISAS/JAXA 3-1-1, Yoshinodai, Sagamihara, Kanagawa 229-8510, Japan, Email: kubota@nnl.isas.jaxa.jp) : Japanese lunar robotics exploration by co-operation with lander and rover. J Earth Syst Sci 2005, 114(6), 777-88.

Unmanned mobile robots for surface exploration of the Moon or planets have been extensively studied and developed. A lunar rover is expected to travel safely in a wide area and explore in detail. Japanese lunar robotics exploration is under study to conduct an unmanned geological survey in the vicinity of central peaks of impact craters for investigation of the sub-surface materials. This is expected to give key information to study the lunar inner structure and understand the Moon's origin and evolution as well as to investigate the evolution of magma ocean and later igneous processes. To carry out the geological exploration in the central peak, lander and rover co-operative exploration is proposed. The working group has been conducting feasibility study of advance technologies. The paper addresses an overview of lunar exploration with lander and rover and also enumerates future technologies to be established. The rover R&D group has developed an innovative science micro rover with a new mobility system and a lightweight manipulator. The design and implementation of a science rover for the near future lunar missions requiring long traverses and scientific observations are described and some experimental results are presented.

12 illus, 3 tables, 11 ref

016399   Krishna A;Gopinath N S;Hegde N S;Malik N K (Control and Mission Area, ISRO Satellite Cent, Bangalore-560 017, Email: akrishna@isac.ernet.in) : Imaging and power generation strategies for Chandrayaan-1. J Earth Syst Sci 2005, 114(6), 739-48.

The Chandrayaan-1 mission proposes to put a 550 kg luuarcraft into Geostationary Transfer Orbit (GTO) using the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) which will subsequently be transferred into a 100 km circular lunar polar orbit for imaging purposes. Certain aspects of mission strategies which will allow optimum power generation and imaging of the lunar surface have been described. The lunar orbit considered is circular and polar and therefore nearly perpendicular to the ecliptic plane. Unlike an Earth orbiting remote sensing satellite, the orbit plane of lunar orbiter is inertially fixed as a consequence of the very small oblateness of the Moon. The Earth rotates around the Sun once a year, resulting in an apparent motion of Sun around this orbit in a year. Two extreme situations can be identified-concerning the solar illumination of the lunar orbit, noon/midnight orbit, where the Sun vector is parallel to the spacecraft orbit plane and dawn/dusk orbit, where the Sun vector is perpendicular to the spacecraft orbit plane. This scenario directly affects the solar panel configuration. In case the solar panels are not canted, during the noon/midnight orbit, 100% power is generated, whereas during the dawn/dusk orbit, zero power is generated. Hence for optimum power generation, canting of the panels is essential. Detailed analysis was carried out to fix optimum canting and also determine a strategy to maintain optimum power generation throughout the year. The analysis led to the strategy of 180° yaw rotation at noon/midnight orbits and flipping the solar panel by 180° at dawn/dusk orbits. This also resulted in the negative pitch face of the lunarcraft to be an anti-sun panel, which is very useful for thermal design, and further to meet cooling requirements of the spectrometers. In principle, the Moon's surface can be imaged in 28 days, because the orbit chosen and the payload swath provide adequate overlap. However, in reality it is not possible to complete the imaging in 28 days due to various mission constraints like maximum duration of imaging allowed keeping in view the SSR sizing and payloads data input rate, time required for downlinking the payload data, data compression requirements and visibility of the lunarcraft for the Bangalore DSN. In each cycle, all the latitudes are swept. Due to the constraints mentioned, only 60° latitude arc coverage is possible in each orbit. As Bangalore DSN is the only station, half of the orbits in a day are not available. The longitudinal gaps because of non-visibility are covered in the next cycle by Bangalore DSN. Hence, in the first prime imaging season, only 25% of the prime imaging zones are covered, and an additional three prime imaging seasons are required for a full coverage of the Moon in two years. Strategy is also planned to cover X-ray payload coverage considering swath and orbit shift.

16 illus, 4 tables, 6 ref

016398   Kiran Kumar A S;Roy Chowdhury A (NO, Space Applics Cent ISRO, Ahmedabad-380 015, Email: kiran@sac.isro.gov.in) : Hyper Spectral imager in visible and near-infrared band for lunar compositional mapping. J Earth Syst Sci 2005, 114(6), 721-4.

India's first lunar mission, Chandrayaan-1, will have a Hyper-Spectral Imager in the visible and near-infrared spectral bands along with other instruments. The instrument will enable mineralogical mapping of the Moon's crust in a large number of spectral channels. The planned Hyper-Spectral Imager will be the first instrument to map the lunar surface with the capability of resolving the spectral region, 0.4 to 0.92 μm, in 64 continuous bands with a resolution of better than 15 nm and a spatial resolution of 80 m. Spectral separation will be done using a wedge filter and the image will be mapped onto an area detector. The detector output will be processed in the front-end processor to generate the 64-band data with 12-bit quantization. The paper gives a description of the Hyper-Spectral Imager instrument.

4 illus, 1 table, 1 ref

016397   Kiran Kumar A S;Roy Chowdhury A (NO, Space Applics Cent ISRO, Ahmedabad-380 015, Email: kiran@sac.isro.gov.in) : Terrain mapping camera for Chandrayaan-1. J Earth Syst Sci 2005, 114(6), 717-20.

Terrain Mapping Camera (TMC) on India's first satellite for lunar exploration, Chandrayaan-1, is for generating high-resolution 3-dimensional maps of the Moon. With this instrument, a complete topographic map of the Moon with 5 m spatial resolution and 10-bit quantization will be available for scientific studies. The TMC will image within the panchromatic spectral band of 0.4 to 0.9 μm with a stereo view in the fore, nadir and aft directions of the spacecraft movement and have a B/H ratio of 1. The swath coverage will be 20km. The camera is configured for imaging in the push broom-mode with three linear detectors in the image plane. The camera will have four gain settings to cover the varying illumination conditions of the Moon. Additionally, a provision of imaging with reduced resolution, for improving Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR) in polar regions, which have poor illumination conditions throughout, has been made. SNR of better than 100 is expected in the ±60° latitude region for mature mare soil, which is one of the darkest regions on the lunar surface. The paper presents a brief description of the TMC instrument.

4 illus, 1 table, 3 ref

016396   Kasturirangan K (NO, Natn Inst of Advd Sci, Indian Institute of Science Campus, Bangalore-560 012) : New space-based observatory to explore the universe. Ann Indian Natn Acad Engng 2005, 2(Dec), 1-8.

Most of the space astronomy observatories are dedicated to a particular wavebond e.g. X-ray, UV etc. Therefore, multiwavelength studies usually have to be made from coordinated observations with different satellites. Despite a large number of such multiwavelength observation campaigns, very few sources, have so far been studied over a wide spectral band. The most efficient and effective way of multiwavelength studies is to have a dedicated satellite mission which will carry several instruments covering the desired spectral bands so that simultaneous observations in all the desired wavebands can be made from the same mission. ASTROSAT is an Indian multiwavelength Astronomy Satellite that was conceived to meet the long need for such a mission. Unlike any other previous astronomy missions, the uniqueness of ASTROSAT lies in its wide coverage extending over visible, ultraviolet, soft x-ray and hard X-ray regions. ASTROSAT will have four instruments sensitive in the X-ray band and one instrument in the UV and Visible bands. It will provide an opportunity for the Indian astronomers to carry out cutting edge research in the frontier areas of X-ray astronomy and ultraviolet astronomy and allow them to address same of the outstanding problems in the high energy astrophysics.

2 illus, 1 table, 6 ref

016395   Kamalakar J A;Bhaskar K V S;Laxmi Prasad A S; Ranjith R;Lohar K A;Venketeswaran R;Alex T K (Lab for Electro-Optics Systems, Indian Space Res Organization (ISRO), Bangalore-560 058, Email: kamalakar@leosisro.com) : Lunar ranging instrument for Chandrayaan-1. J Earth Syst Sci 2005, 114(6), 725-31.

Lunar Laser Ranging Instrument (LLRI) proposed for the first Indian lunar mission Chandrayaan-1 is aimed to study the topography of the Moon's surface and its gravitational field by precisely measuring the altitude from a polar orbit around the Moon. Altimetry data close to the poles of the Moon would also be available from the instrument, which was not covered by earlier missions. This instrument supplements the terrain mapping camera and hyper-spectral imager payloads on Chandrayaan-1. The instrument consists of a diode pumped Nd:YAG pulsed laser transmitter having 10 nsec pulse width and a receiver system. The receiver system features 17cm diameter Ritchey-Chretien collecting optics, Si Avalanche Photo Detector (APD), preamplifiers, constant fraction discriminators, time-of-flight measurement unit and spacecraft interface. Altimeter resolution of better than 5 m is targeted. The received signal strength of LLRI depends on laser pulse backscatter from the Moon's surface. Moon's surface being a poor reflector, the choice of receiver size and its type and the selection of detector play an important role in getting a good signal-to-noise ratio and in turn achieving the target resolution. At the same time, the spacecraft puts a limitation on payload size and weight. The paper discusses the proposed LLRI system for Chandrayaan-1 and signal-to-noise ratio estimation.

8 illus, 2 tables, 6 ref

016394   Ji W;Dihui L;Xiaohui Z;Jingshan J;Altyntsev A T;Lubyshev B I (NO, Cent for Space Sci and Appl Res Chin Acad of Sci, P.O. Box 8701, Beijing 100 080, China, Email: wuji@center.cssar.ac.cn ) : Microwave brightness temperature imaging and dielectric properties of lunar soil. J Earth Syst Sci 2005, 114(6), 627-32.

Among many scientific objectives of lunar exploration, investigations on lunar soil become attractive due to the existence of He³ and ilmenite in the lunar soil and their possible utilization as nuclear fuel for power generation. Although the composition of the lunar surface soil can be determined by optical and γ/X-ray spectrometers, etc., the evaluation of the total reserves of He³ and ilmenite within the regolith and in the lunar interior are still not available. Author has given a rough analysis of the microwave brightness temperature images of the lunar disc observed using the NRAO 12 meter Telescope and Siberian Solar Radio Telescope. Results of the microwave dielectric properties of terrestrial analogues of lunar soil have been presented and some basic relations between the microwave brightness temperature and lunar soil properties have been discussed.

5 illus, 10 ref

016393   Ivashkin V V (NO, Keldysh Inst of Appl Math Miusskaya Sq. 4, Moscow 125 047, Russia, Email: Ivashkin@Keldysh.ru) : Low energy trajectories for the Moon-to-Earth space flight. J Earth Syst Sci 2005, 114(6), 613-18.

The Moon-to-Earth low energy trajectories of 'detour' type are found and studied within the frame of the Moon-Earth-Sun-particle system. These trajectories use a passive flight to the Earth from an initial elliptic selenocentric orbit with a high aposelenium. The Earth perturbation increases the particle selenocentric energy from a negative value first to zero and then to a positive one and therefore leads to a passive escape of the particle motion from the Moon attraction near the translunar libration point L₂. This results in the particle flight to a distance of about 1.5 million km from the Earth where the Sun gravitation decreases the particle orbit perigee distance to a small value that leads to the particle approaching the Earth vicinity in about 100 days of the flight. A set of the Moon-to-Earth 'detour' trajectories is defined numerically. Characteristics of these trajectories are presented. The 'detour' trajectories give essential economy of energy (about 150 m/s in Delta V) relative to the usual ones.

6 illus, 18 ref

016392   Huixian S;Shuwu D;Jianfeng Y;Ji W;Jingshan J (Cent for Space Sci and Appl Res (CSSAR), Post Box 8701, Beijing 100 080, China, Email: shxian@nc.poac.ac.cn) : Scientific objectives and payloads of Chang'E-1 lunar satellite. J Earth Syst Sci 2005, 114(6), 789-94.

China plans to implement its first lunar exploration mission Chang'E-1 by 2007. The mission objectives are to obtain a three-dimensional stereo image of the lunar surface; to determine distribution of some useful elements and to estimate their abundance; to survey the thickness of lunar soil and to evaluate resource of ³He and to explore the environment between the Moon and Earth. To achieve the above mission goals, five types of scientific instruments are selected as payloads of the lunar craft. These include stereo camera and spectrometer imager, laser altimeter, microwave radiometer, gamma and X-ray spectrometers and space environment monitor system. In order to collect, process, store and transmit the scientific data of various payloads a special payload data management system is also included.

11 illus

016391   Galimov E M;Krivtsov A M (V.I. Vernadsky Inst of Geochemistry and Analyt Chem, Russian Acad of Sci, Kosygin str., 19, Moscow 119 991, Russia, Email: galimov@geokhi.ru) : Origin of the Earth Moon system. J Earth Syst Sci 2005, 114(6), 593-600.

7 illus, 4 tables, 17 ref

016390   Galimov E M (NO, V.I. Vernadsky Inst of Geochemistry and Analyt Chem Russian Acad of Sc, Kosygin Str., 19, Moscow 119 991, Russia, Email: galimov@geokhi.ru) : Luna-Glob project in the context of the past and present lunar exploration in Russia. J Earth Syst Sci 2005, 114(6), 801-6.

The Russian Luna-Glob project has been conceived with a view to understand the origin of the Earth-Moon system. The objectives and main features of the Luna-Glob mission, which will mainly study the internal structure of the Moon by seismic instruments, are described in the context of the past and current program of lunar exploration in Russia.

3 illus, 4 tables, 4 ref

016389   Foing B H Et Al (ESA Res and Scientific Support Dep, ESTEC/SCI-SR, Postbus~299, NL-2200 AG Noordwijk, Holland, Email: Bernard.Foing@esa.int) : SMART-1 after lunar capture: first results and perspectives. J Earth Syst Sci 2005, 114(6), 689-97.

SMART-1 is a technology demonstration mission for deep space solar electrical propulsion and technologies for the future. SMART-1 is Europe's first lunar mission and will contribute to developing an international program of lunar exploration. The spacecraft was launched on 27th September 2003, as an auxiliary passenger to GTO on Ariane 5, to reach the Moon after a 15-month cruise, with lunar capture on 15th November 2004, just a week before the International Lunar Conference in Udaipur. SMART-1 carries seven experiments, including three remote sensing instruments used during the mission's nominal six months and one year extension in lunar science orbit. These instruments will contribute to key planetary scientific questions, related to theories of lunar origin and evolution, the global and local crustal composition, the search for cold traps at the lunar poles and the mapping of potential lunar resources.

10 illus, 5 tables, 15 ref

016388   Dao-An D;Ya-Tian Y (NO, Lanzhou Inst of Phys, 730 000 Lanzhou, Gansu, China, Email: dadaoan@sohu.com) : Escape of atmospheric gases from the Moon. J Earth Syst Sci 2005, 114(6), 637-44.

Based on the assumption that the rates of emission and escape of gases attain equilibrium, the ratio of molecular number densities during day and night, n_0d/n_0n, can be explained. The plausible emission rate of helium and radioactive elements present in the Moon has also been calculated.

1 table, 2 ref

016387   Cooper B L;Sharpe B;Schrunk D;Thangavelu M (Oceaneering Space Systems, , Houston, Texas, USA, Email: bcooperl38@houston.rr.com) : Telerobotic exploration and development of the Moon. J Earth Syst Sci 2005, 114(6), 815-22.

There has been a debate for the last thirty years about the relative merits of human versus robotic systems and it has been argued here that both are essential components for successful lunar exploration and development. The author has examined the role of robots in the next phases of exploration and human development of the Moon. The historical use of robots and humans in exploration is discussed, including Apollo-era exploration, International Space Station, and deep-water petroleum exploration. The technological challenges of lunar operations are addressed in the context of how robotic systems can be designed for robust and flexible operations. System design recommendations are given based on the lessons learned from terrestrial and space robotics.

4 illus, 3 tables

016386   Burke J D (NO, , The Planetary Society, 65 N. Catalina Ave., Pasadena, CA 91106, USA, Email: jdburke@its.caltech.edu) : Energy conversion evolution at lunar polar sites. J Earth Syst Sci 2005, 114(6), 633-5.

Lunar polar environments have many advantages from the standpoint of energy supply to robotic and human surface bases. Sunlight is nearly continuous and always horizontal at peaks of perpetual light, while waste heat rejection is aided by the existence of cold, permanently shadowed regions nearby. A possible evolution of lunar polar energy systems have been described, beginning with small robotic photovoltaic landers and continuing into the development of increasingly powerful and diverse energy installations to provide not only electric power but also piped-in sunlight, air conditioning and high-temperature process heat.

1 illus, 9 ref

016385   Bhardwaj A Et Al (Space Phys Lab, Vikram Sarabhai Space Cent, Trivandrum-695 022, Email: anil_bhardwaj@vssc.org) : Low energy neutral atom imaging on the Moon with the SARA instrument aboard Chandrayaan-1 mission. J Earth Syst Sci 2005, 114(6), 749-60.

The paper reports on the Sub-keV Atom Reflecting Analyzer (SARA) experiment that will be flown on the first Indian lunar mission Chandrayaan-1. The SARA is a low energy neutral atom (LENA) imaging mass spectrometer, which will perform remote sensing of the lunar surface via detection of neutral atoms in the energy range from 10 eV to 3 keV from a 100 km polar orbit. In this report the author has presented the basic design of the SARA experiment and various scientific issues that will be addressed have been discussed. The SARA instrument consists of three major subsystems: a LENA sensor (GENA), a solar wind monitor (SWIM), and a digital processing unit (DPU). SARA will be used to image the solar wind-surface interaction to study primarily the surface composition and surface magnetic anomalies and associated mini-magnetospheres. Studies of lunar exosphere sources and space weathering on the Moon will also be attempted. SARA is the first LENA imaging mass spectrometer of its kind to be flown on a space mission. A replica of SARA is planned to fly to Mercury onboard the BepiColombo mission.

10 illus, 2 tables, 45 ref

016384   Bhandari N (Planetary Sci and Explor Program, Phys Res Lab, Navrangpura, Ahmedabad-380 009, Email: bhandari@prl.ernet.in) : Chandrayaan-1: Science goals. J Earth Syst Sci 2005, 114(6), 701-9.

The primary objectives of the Chandrayaan-1 mission are simultaneous chemical, mineralogical and topographic mapping of the lunar surface at high spatial resolution. These data should enable us to understand compositional variation of major elements, which in turn, should lead to a better understanding of the stratigraphic relationships between various litho units occurring on the lunar surface. The major element distribution will be determined using an X-ray fluorescence spectro meter (LEX), sensitive in the energy range of 1-10 keV where Mg, Al, Si, Ca and Fe give their Kα lines. A solar X-ray monitor (SXM) to measure the energy spectrum of solar X-rays, which are responsible for the fluorescent X-rays, is included. Radioactive elements like Th will be measured by its 238.6keV line using a low energy gamma-ray spectrometer (HEX) operating in the 20-250 keV region. The mineral composition will be determined by a hyper-spectral imaging spectrometer (HySI) sensitive in the 400-920 nm range. The wavelength range is further extended to 2600 nm where some spectral features of the abundant lunar minerals and water occur, by using a near-infrared spectrometer (SIR-2), similar to that used on the Smart-1 mission, in collaboration with ESA. A terrain mapping camera (TMC) in the panchromatic band will provide a three-dimensional map of the lunar surface with a spatial resolution of about 5 m. Aided by a laser altimeter (LLRI) to determine the altitude of the lunar craft, to correct for spatial coverage by various instruments, TMC should enable preparation of an elevation map with an accuracy of about 10 m. Four additional instruments under international collaboration are being considered. These are: a Miniature Imaging Radar Instrument (mini-SAR), Sub Atomic Reflecting Analyser (SARA), the Moon Mineral Mapper (M3) and a Radiation Monitor (RADOM). Apart from these scientific pay loads, certain technology experiments have been proposed, which may include an impactor which will be released to land on the Moon during the mission. Salient features of the mission are described. The ensemble of instruments onboard Chandrayaan-1 should enable to accomplishment of the science goals defined for the mission.

1 table, 35 ref

016383   Adimurthy V;Ramanan R V;Tandon S R;Ravikumar C (Aeronautics Entity, Vikram Sarabhai Space Cent, Thiruvananthapuram-695 022, Email: v_adimurthy@vssc.org) : Launch strategy for Indian lunar mission and precision injection to the Moon using genetic algorithm. J Earth Syst Sci 2005, 114(6), 711-16.

Indian lunar mission Chandrayaan-1 will have a mass of 523 kg in a 100 km circular polar orbit around the Moon. The main factors that dictate the design of the Indian Moon mission are to use the present capability of launch vehicles and to achieve the scientific objectives in the minimum development time and cost. The detailed mission planning involves trade-off studies in payload optimization and the transfer trajectory determination that accomplishes these requirements. Recent studies indicate that for an optimal use of the existing launch vehicle and space craft systems, highly elliptical inclined orbits are preferable. This indeed is true for the Indian Moon mission Chandrayaan-1. The proposed launch scenario of the Indian Moon mission program and capabilities of this mission are described, highlighting the design challenges and innovations. Further, to reach the target accurately, appropriate initial transfer trajectory characteristics must be chosen. A numerical search for the initial conditions combined with numerical integration produces the near accurate solution for this problem. The design of such transfer trajectories is discussed.

3 illus, 3 tables, 9 ref

014246   Rai B;Tiwari A;Dubey V S (The Indian Planetary Soc, 404 Gorai Herumb Bldg, L T Road, Borivali(W), Mumbai, Email: drbasudeo_rai@yahoo.co.in) : Identification of groundwater prospective zones by using remote sensing and geoelectrical methods in Jharia and Raniganj coalfields, Dhanbad district, Jharkhand state. J Earth Syst Sci 2005, 114(5), 515-22.

Study was undertaken to evaluate the groundwater prospective zones in study area. Landsat-5 Multi Spectral Scanner (MSS) data of band 2 and band 4 and false colour composite (FCC) of band 2, 3, 4 were interpreted visually to differentiate different hydromorphogeological units and to delineate the major trends of lineaments. The different geomorphic features identified are linear ridges, residual hills, and pediplain, buried pediment and dissected pediplain, besides lineaments. The study shows that the pediplain and buried pediments are promising zones for groundwater prospecting. The occurrence and movement of groundwater is restricted to the unconsolidated material, weathered and fractured rocks. For the selection of tube well sites, geoelectrical resistivity investigations have been carried out at the sites, which were found suitable based on hydrogeomorphological and hydrogeological studies. Twenty-six Vertical Electrical Soundings (VES) have been carried out by using Schlumberger electrode configuration, which have brought out 3 to 7 layered sub-surface layers. The resistivity of water-bearing weathered/fractured rocks varies from 120-150 ohm m. The integrated studies have revealed that the blue colour zones are most promising for groundwater -exploration and dug wells may be dug up to depths of 30 ± 5m.

7 illus, 1 table, 16 ref

013206   Almleaky Y M;Sharaf M A;Basurah H M;Malawi A A;Shaltout M A M (Astr Dept, Sci Fac, KAAU, Jeddah 21589, KSA) : Temperature increasing trend due to solar activity during recent four decades at Saudia. Bull pure appl Sci-Sect D 2004, 23(2), 149-62.

Effect of solar activity on climate has been discussed on regional bases. Data analysis of the air temperature for Saudi Arabia (16-32 North and 36-50 East) will be given. Some statistics are provided for the smoothed values of the mean daily variation of air temperature. Addressed some graphical representations, e.g. histograms, daily variations with their fitting equations. Changes in the air temperature of all stations are clearly evident for the available data which, in some stations, ranges from 1970-2004. A preliminary conclusion indicates that there is a general increasing trend in the average temperature during the recent thirty four years for all stations in the Kingdom, reaching up to 2 degree Celsius in certain cities.

8 illus, 14 ref

011037   Krishna Reddy K;Kozu T;Ohno Y;Jain A R; Narayana Rao D (NO, Inst of Observational Res for Global Change (IORGC)/Japan Ag for Marin, Yokosuka, Japan) : Estimation of vertical profiles of raindrop size distribution from the VHF wind profiler radar Doppler spectra. Indian J Radio Space Phys 2005, 34(5), 319-27.

The paper describes research on a new form of gamma drop size distribution (DSD) model that employs two arbitrary moments as free DSD parameters to enhance the flexibility in studying the characteristics of gamma DSD model to fit the spectrum. The validity of a DSD model is evaluated in terms of the stability in solving non-linear least-squares (NLLS) problem and the accuracy in DSD moment estimates. The microphysical [i.e., raindrop size distributions (DSD)] parameters are retrieved during stratiform precipitating cloud system passed (on 23 Oct l997) overhead of 33-MHz VHP wind profiler radar at Gadanki. The retrieved rain integral parameters were compared to the corresponding disdrometer data and a reasonably good agreement between the measurements has been found, lending credence to the VHF wind profiler radar retrievals of DSD parameters. Wind profiler radar estimated DSD during stratiform precipitation has been compared with the lognormal Indian climate model. It is observed that the pattern of DSD agrees closely with both models.

7 illus, 2 tables, 28 ref

011036   Kane R P (NO, Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas Espaciais, C.P. 515, 12245-970,Sao Jose dos Campos, SP, Brazil) : Patterns of long-term variations of cosmic ray intensities. Indian J Radio Space Phys 2005, 34(5), 299-304.

Recovery of cosmic ray intensity has been earlier reported to have followed two distinct patterns, slow recovery during odd solar activity cycles 17, 19, 21, and fast recovery during even cycles 18, 20. Further analysis shows that the recovery in cycle 22 was fast and fitted this pattern. However, it was noticed that the sunspot number pattern also was different in even cycles as compared to the odd cycles in cycles 17-22, with step functions almost similar for sunspots and cosmic rays in even cycles. Thus, the differential effects on cosmic rays in alternate cycles could be related to sunspot activity itself. In addition, it was noticed that the correlations improved still further if solar indices in the corona, like coronal green line intensity index, were considered instead of the sunspot numbers. Hence, the hypothesis that the cosmic ray patterns might have been caused by solar polar magnetic field reversals may not be necessary.

2 illus, 21 ref