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NASA Analyzes Forgotten Galileo Data from Flyby of Ganymede

posted by martyb on Wednesday May 02 2018, @04:38AM   Printer-friendly
from the all-that's-old-is-new-again dept.

takyon writes:

NASA dusts off FORTRAN manual, revives 20-year-old data on Ganymede

NASA scientists have made some new discoveries about Jupiter's giant moon Ganymede, thanks to a dedicated team, an elderly VAX machine and 20-year-old data from the long-defunct Galileo probe.

Fifteen years after Galileo (no, not that one) ended its days with a plunge into the atmosphere of Jupiter, NASA scientists have resurrected the 20-year-old datasets and added more detail to the puzzle of Ganymede's magnetosphere.

The new data, published in Geophysical Research Letters [DOI: 10.1002/2017GL075487] [DX], paints a picture of a stormy environment, with particles blasted off the moon's icy surface by incoming plasma raining down from Jupiter.

Ganymede is the solar system's largest and most massive satellite, but has slightly lower surface gravity than the Moon (0.146g vs 0.165g). Like many other icy objects in the solar system, Ganymede may have liquid oceans capable of supporting life. ESA's Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (JUICE) will fly by Ganymede, Callisto, and Europa before eventually orbiting Ganymede. It may also include a Russian-built Ganymede lander.

Also at NASA.

Original Submission

 
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  • (Score: 3, Funny) by kazzie on Wednesday May 02 2018, @08:13AM (4 children)

    by kazzie (5309) Subscriber Badge on Wednesday May 02 2018, @08:13AM (#674492)

    I have in front of me a copy of VAX FORTRAN (V4.7) on seven track tape which I recently saved from being thrown into a skip. However I don't have anything to read said tape with.

    There's a moral to this story here...

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  • (Score: 2) by kazzie on Wednesday May 02 2018, @08:17AM (1 child)

    by kazzie (5309) Subscriber Badge on Wednesday May 02 2018, @08:17AM (#674493)

    Correction: it's probably a nine-track rather than a 7-track, given its age (1987). Still 1/2" diameter, anyhow.

    • (Score: 2) by RS3 on Thursday May 03 2018, @02:38AM

      by RS3 (6367) on Thursday May 03 2018, @02:38AM (#674889)

      You meant 1/2" wide, not diameter.

      Yes, 9-track (8 data bits, 1 parity) 1/2" is quite common and there are still many functioning tape drives in the world.

  • (Score: 3, Funny) by c0lo on Wednesday May 02 2018, @09:22AM

    by c0lo (156) Subscriber Badge on Wednesday May 02 2018, @09:22AM (#674503) Journal

    There's a moral to this story here...

    Yeah, you're a hoarder. (grin)

    --
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford

  • (Score: 5, Insightful) by SomeGuy on Wednesday May 02 2018, @01:06PM

    by SomeGuy (5632) on Wednesday May 02 2018, @01:06PM (#674545)

    There's a moral to this story here...

    Yea, that copyright needs to be revised so you don't have to keep the tapes hidden under a rock for another hundred years before you are legally allowed to share a copy with us.