Re: [guide-user] Question for the group

Bill J Gray Jun 5, 2004

Hi Roger,

SOHO is "close, but not exactly" at the L1 point. I believe it's
referred to as a "halo" orbit, one in which it circles around the
L1 point.

Guide can show you the solar system from the viewpoint of a few
probes, such as Galileo, Cassini, the Voyagers, some Pioneers,
and so on. Unfortunately, SOHO isn't currently on the list.
Perhaps someday...

Incidentally, the ability to view the solar system from the
above probes is documented only at

http://www.projectpluto.com/useless.htm#odd_viewpoints

The ability to duplicate the view from Cassini may be of
particular interest, so I should warn you that this isn't _exactly_
right. The trajectory has been updated, in part to allow for some
changes in priorities and in part to get around a communications
problem between Cassini and Huygens; the new trajectory delays
Huygen's arrival at Titan by a bit. The problem is that I got the
initial trajectory from JPL's _Horizons_ system, and that system
no longer will provide Saturnicentric orbital elements. The
trajectory in Guide is pretty close, though.

-- Bill