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The Planetary Report • March/April 1992
Voyager 2 at Neptune
On the Cover: From the edge of our planetary system, the spacecraft <i>Voyager 2</i> transmitted back to Earth images of Neptune, its large moon Triton, its strange ring system and its retinue of small satellites. In this montage constructed from high-resolution images, the south pole of Triton dominates, with cloud-streaked Neptune in the background. The flyby of Neptune in 1989 was the last <i>Voyager</i> planetary encounter. These two doughty spacecraft opened up the outer solar system for scientific exploration, and we shall not see their like again.
Features
4 The Elusive Rings of Neptune: Carolyn Porco tells the story of the pursuit of Neptune's rings.
10 The Magnetosphere of Neptune: S. M. Krimigis compares the magnetic fields of Earth and the gas giants.
14 Triton: Voyager's Finale: R. H. Brown showcases one of the solar system's most amazing, perplexing, and beautiful objects.
18 The Clouds and Winds of Neptune: Reta Beebe reveals what Voyager 2 has taught us about the atmosphere of Neptune.
22 Neptune's Small Satellites: Peter Thomas looks at Neptune's retinue of moons.
Departments
3 Members' Dialogue Space station Freedom; Earth impact hazard.
25 Society Notes See Mars Observer launch; Gene Roddenberry's last gift.
26 World Watch Monitoring Russia's Mars program; NASA's budget.
28 Q&A How do you fly into outer space?
The Planetary Report • March/April 1992
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