International Planetary Patrol Program
Open-knowledge reference entry
The NASA International Planetary Patrol Program consists of a network of astronomical observatories to collect uninterrupted images and observations of the large-scale atmospheric and surface features of the planets. This group was established in 1969, and consisted of the Mauna Kea Observatory, the Mount Stromlo Observatory, the Perth Observatory, the Republic Observatory, the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory, the Magdalena Peak Station of the New Mexico State University, and the Lowell Observatory. The activities were coordinated by William A. Baum of Lowell Observatory.
In the years from 1975 to 1981 the San Vittore Observatory (Bologna) Italy also participated with observations of Mars, Jupiter and Saturn.
For Mars, they monitored clouds and dust storms, as well as the seasonal fluctuations in the climate. The martian dust storms of 1971 and 1973 were extensively covered. They also observed changes in the Jovian atmosphere, including the Great Red Spot. Venus has been monitored for circulation of the cloud deck.
“International Planetary Patrol Program” enters the record as open-knowledge reference entry. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what International, Planetary and Patrol can confirm, complicate or overturn.
Why this record matters
“International Planetary Patrol Program” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, International, Planetary and Patrol provides the most credible route into that argument.
The citation trail is more important than the brevity of the summary: it shows where individual claims can be examined in context. The source revision retrieved here is dated Dec 26, 2025. The linked authority identifier is Q6052451. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1969, 1975, 1981 and 1971.
The absence of detail may reflect summary conventions rather than a lack of surviving documentation. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
- Subject orientation
- Search vocabulary
- Locating named sources
The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “International Planetary Patrol Program”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow International Planetary Patrol Program primary sources, International Planetary Patrol Program archive and International research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “International Planetary Patrol Program”?
- What terminology or title could unlock a more precise catalogue search?
- Which institution is responsible for the underlying evidence?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “International Planetary Patrol Program” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.