Arabbit.294 net.space utcsrgv!utzoo!decvax!ucbvax!mhtsa!rabbit!sjb Mon Mar 1 22:15:21 1982 Pioneer's Birthday Tomorrow, Pioneer 10, the first space probe to reach and pass Jupiter, will celebrate is 10th birthday in space. Launched on 2, March, 1972, Pioneer successfully crossed the asteroid belt and then Jupiter's radiation belt and is now traversing out of the solar system, around 3.5 light hours away from Earth. Since its launch, it has transmitted back invaluable data and is now studying the boundaries of the sun's atmosphere, created mostly by the solar wind. It would also prove valuable in finding a possible 10th planet, out beyond Pluto, if one existed. Radio contact with Pioneer is expected to last until the craft is about 5 billion miles away, or thoughout the decade. ----------------------------------------------------------------- gopher://quux.org/ conversion by John Goerzen of http://communication.ucsd.edu/A-News/ This Usenet Oldnews Archive article may be copied and distributed freely, provided: 1. There is no money collected for the text(s) of the articles. 2. The following notice remains appended to each copy: The Usenet Oldnews Archive: Compilation Copyright (C) 1981, 1996 Bruce Jones, Henry Spencer, David Wiseman.