EDITORIAL INFORMATION

In Volume 2 of this Atlas, the consecutive sequence of the close-encounter images of the nucleus and the coma of comet Halley obtained by the imaging experiments on board the Vega 1 and 2 spacecraft are presented, and the most important scientific results obtained from these images are described.

(Extracted from the preface).

GENERAL TABLE OF CONTENTS

-Note from the Editors.

-The Vega Imaging Team.

-Contents.

-Preface.

-Conventions Used in This Volume.

-1. Scientific Background.

-2. The Vega Mission to Halley's Comet.

-3. The Imaging System on board the Vega Spacecraft.

-4. In-Flight Operations and Perfomance.

-5. Calibration on the Ground and in Space.

-6. Processing of Near-Nucleus Vega Images.

-7. Analysis of the Coma Images.

-8. Discussion of the Scientific Results Derived from the Near-Nucleus Images.

-9- The Catalogue of Images.

-10- Exposure Parameters of Images.

-11- Table of Image Identification Numbers.

-Glossary and List of Acronyms.

-List of All Vega TVS Publications.

OUR REVIEW

Although some of the most spectacular images of the Halley comet were obtained by the European probe Giotto in 1986, also other craft participated that year in the adventure of uncovering its secrets. Among them, two Soviet probes coming from the planet Venus, which, from a different perspective, photographed the comet from a larger distance, contributing a very valuable graphic information that is now presented in the second volume of the publication SP-1127 of the European Space Agency. The first volume is devoted to the images taken by the camera of the Giotto, whereas the second portrays those taken by the Vega probes.

In the introductory chapters we are updated on the mission of the spaceships, their trajectories, the characteristics of their photographic equipments, and the results obtained. Finally, a complete catalogue is included, with the most important images taken by both spaceships. No doubt, this is a work that will remain for the posterity and that now can be purchased together with the volume devoted to the Giotto, in a magnificient box that gathers all of them together.