The expected lifetime of the Hubble Space Telescope coupled with the ultraviolet capabilities, sampling times which differ from those available at single earth-based observatories, and the increased, consistent spatial resolution of the resolved solar system objects provide many otherwise unavailable opportunities for increasing our understanding of the solar system.
The short-term weather disturbances in the atmospheres of Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Neptune and possibly Uranus can be monitored. Ultraviolet capability will provide constraints on models of stratospheric circulation. Questions concerning the influence of global dust storms on Mars' atmospheric structure can be addressed. The ability to monitor global variations of ozone and water vapor should provide additional constraints on dynamical models.
Observations of Saturn's rare equatorial storm and planned observations for the period when reflected light and obscuration by the rings will be at a minimum will be combined in an effort to understand seasonal variations and energy balance in this giant smoggy atmosphere.
The ability to explain the surprising difference in Uranus' and Neptune's atmospheres remains a challenging problem. Although groundbased data has revealed that cloud systems in Neptune's atmosphere may be short-lived, the consistent, increased spatial resolution of WFPC-2 will provide more definitive data. Whether the difference in these atmospheres is due to differences in the internal structure of the planets remains to be answered.
It remains to be seen whether Jupiter's response to the impact of the fragments
of Shoemaker-Levy 9 will generate data that will contribute significantly to our
understanding of the circulation and energy balance of the planet. However, the
planned observations, when combined with Cycle 1-5 data, will generate a
self-consistent data set that will provide a basis for comparing the limited
Galileo data with the Voyager data. The Galileo probe will enter Jupiter's
atmosphere at about 6
N in December of 1995. The probe data and limited
remote sensing data will be acquired by Galileo when Jupiter is too close to the
sun to observe with HST, thus, although simultaneous data will not be possible,
HST data which brackets the period will be integrated into the final analysis.
Although problems such as monitoring volcanic activity on Io or the freezing out of Pluto's atmosphere as it recedes from the sun are obvious examples of significant problems that require temporally sampled data sets, there is another set of equally significant problems that can be explored by HST. The possibility of improving our knowledge concerning significant characteristics of asteroidal bodies and of obtaining more information about the primitive ices in cometary nuclei will allow us to place additional constraints on the manner in which our solar system formed. Thus, although HST was billed to ``see to the end of the universe'' it is also a powerful tool for dredging up more information about our nearest neighbors.