Cassini-Huygens III - Continued from previous

Palomar · 2005-02-17 08:30:29

*We've seen lots of pics of rings, the shadow of Saturn's globe against the rings, etc. But http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/multimedia/i … =1363]this photo is unique, IMO.

The shadow looks like a black bar plowing up and through the lighter areas. Nice "placement" of moons too.

Saturn's shadow carves a dark, diagonal swath across the ring plane, even occulting the outer edge of thin, knotted F ring.

--Cindy

::EDIT::

http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/multimedia/i … 1362]Mimas beneath the swath of rings

What views...(Pandora in the pic too)

Julius Caeser · 2005-02-18 02:28:43

First time i glimpsed at new pics from Enceladus flyby,i thought i was looking at Europa and wondered what that has to do with Cassini mission!Similar processes going on on Enceladus???Any explanations for similar geologic features? ???

Yang Liwei Rocket · 2005-02-18 05:19:32

ecrasez_l_infame

We've seen lots of pics of rings, the shadow of Saturn's globe against the rings, etc. But this photo is unique, IMO

very good

Yang Liwei Rocket · 2005-02-18 05:23:17

Some more pictures and information on Enceladus.

http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/multimedia/i … ...194.jpg

http://ciclops.lpl.arizona.edu/media/ir … 1850_1.jpg

and Titan

Does Titan Rain Methane?

http://www.astrobio.net/news/modules.ph … ...thold=0

Titan's surface and atmospheric features are shown here in this processed visible light image taken by Cassini.
Cassini's visible light spectral filter is sensitive to a broad range of light, from ultraviolet to near-infrared. Imaging scientists normally use a narrow-band filter centered at 938 nanometers to look at Titan's surface and cloud features

http://ciclops.lpl.arizona.edu/media/ir … 1821_1.jpg

Palomar · 2005-02-18 06:07:39

*Spectacular.

http://www.space.com/imageoftheday/imag … html]Titan backlit: February 15, Titan 3 Flyby

The most recent backlit image -- always a favorite of mine. Check out the haze above Titan's North Pole.

a detached haze layer is clearly visibly over the entire Titanian globe, though it appears that the haze layer above the moon’s North Pole (top) has an unusual structure. Cassini imaging researchers have spotted the feature during the spacecraft’s past Titan flybys, but still don’t understand it.

Cool.

--Cindy

::EDIT:: YL Rocket (thanks!):

Some more pictures and information on Enceladus.
http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/multime....1 … ...194.jpg
http://ciclops.lpl.arizona.edu/media/ir … 1850_1.jpg

It's interesting how the grooves can go from right to left then from up to down so abruptly, and sometimes right next to each other. I wonder how that happened? And a few of those depressions look almost squarish. :hm: Enceladus looks relatively smooth from a distance -- except for being pockmarked by the larger craters...it is a bit of a surprise (at least to me) that the close-ups of the terrain reveals such an abundance of grooves especially.

::EDIT 2::

http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/multimedia/i … 364]String of Moons?

Is similar -- yet different -- to another image posted weeks ago. As the caption says, looks are deceiving. The upsweep of the rings... -::sigh::- Thank you, Cassini.

Palomar · 2005-02-19 06:19:15

*Titan has http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/news/press-r … ID=543]cat scratch fever?

A new release from the Cassini-Huygens homepage. The upper portion of the article is a rehash of info pertaining to that giant impact crater. Something new, though, at the bottom of the article:

Cat]http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/multimedia/images/image-details.cfm?imageID=1371]"Cat Scratches" (this page obtained by clicking on the photo in the link above).

A second radar image released today shows features nicknamed "cat scratches". These parallel linear features are intriguing, and may be formed by winds, like sand dunes, or by other geological processes

-and-

Also, some of what is seen may in fact be below the surface, revealed as the radio waves penetrate overlying, radar-transparent material.

--Cindy

Palomar · 2005-02-19 22:17:01

*It's the end of a long day, so will mostly copy and paste. A http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewpr.html?pid=16193]new article pertaining to Titan, posted some time late this afternoon at spaceref.com (since I've last been online).

Additional speculation regarding ammonia and Titan's atmosphere.

"I think what's clear from the data is that Titan has accreted or acquired significant amounts of ammonia, as well as water," Lunine said. "If ammonia is present, it may be responsible for resurfacing significant parts of Titan."
He predicts that Cassini instruments will find that Titan has a liquid ammonia-and-water layer beneath its hard, water-ice surface.

Article also discusses cryovolcanism.

Scientists believe that Titan has a rock core, surrounded by an overlying layer of rock-hard water ice. Ammonia in Titan's volcanic fluid would lower the freezing point of water, lower the fluid's density so it would be about as buoyant as water ice, and increase viscosity to about that of basalt, Lunine said. "The feature seen in the radar data suggests ammonia is at work on Titan in cryovolcanism."

Also touches on Titan's orbit, which they describe as "eccentric rather than circular" and a possible explanation for this. Aren't most orbits elliptical? Why the special note that it's not circular? They say the orbit can be explained by "the moon's subsurface liquid layer." Hmmmmm.

"One thing that Titan could not have done during its history is to have a liquid layer that then froze over, because during the freezing process, Titan's rotation rate would have gone way, way up," Lunine said. "So either Titan has never had a liquid layer in its interior -- which is very hard to countenance, even for a pure water-ice object, because the energy of accretion would have melted water -- or that liquid layer has been maintained up until today. And the only way you maintain that liquid layer to the present is have ammonia in the mixture."

Fascinating.

'Night all.

--Cindy

Shaun Barrett · 2005-02-20 08:20:20

This is all news to me.
I don't remember much talk of ammonia on Titan until now.
In agreement with you, Cindy, and to quote a certain alien with a rather mobile upturned eyebrow: "Fascinating." :;):

Palomar · 2005-02-20 12:33:38

This is all news to me.
I don't remember much talk of ammonia on Titan until now.
In agreement with you, Cindy, and to quote a certain alien with a rather mobile upturned eyebrow: "Fascinating." :;):

*Hi Shaun: Marvelous, isn't it? They're going to have to go sub-sub-subspeciality in trying to unravel all the info pouring in.

I went back and checked YL Rocket's most recent links pertaining to Enceladus, to be sure I'm not reposting stuff. This is new:

http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewsr.htm … ]Enceladus Mosaic

Fantastic. I'm still surprised it has so many grooves and roughness. But it's rather gentle folding (or seems to be). Area is approx 200 miles across.

...shows the myriad of faults, fractures, folds, troughs and craters that make this Saturnian satellite especially intriguing to planetary scientists. More than 20 years ago, NASA's Voyager spacecraft gave hints of a surface cut by tectonic features, and subsequent images of other icy moons have revealed many different ways that stresses have acted on icy moon crusts.

The work required to unravel their origins, their formation sequence, and the implications for the evolution of icy solar system bodies is just beginning.

Yep. Article says Cassini's resolution is 10 times better than that of Voyager.

-*-

http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewsr.htm … 513]Impact crater (Titan) with ejecta blanket

This isn't the Iowa-sized crater; it's a different and smaller one. 37 miles in diameter. They speculate is the result of a hit either by an asteroid or a "hypervelocity" comet perhaps 3 to 6 miles in diameter. Check out the info as to the lack of a central peak within the crater.

-*-

You know, Sundays used to be rather boring as astronomy news went until Cassini-Huygens. New stuff keeps rolling in, yay!

How]http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewsr.html?pid=15515]"How thin were my rings"

Hard to believe they're that thin, in comparison with Saturn's globe, especially when seen from above or below. Can see ring shadows too.

-*-

http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewsr.html?pid=15516]Whoa!

A truly unique photo; awesome. Rhea and rings.

-*-

http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewsr.htm … 5517]Dione and Titan

I feel like a kid in a candy store. :band: Excellent image.

--Cindy

Shaun Barrett · 2005-02-21 05:22:24

[I know what I'm about to post here should probably be over at 'Intelligent Alien Life', but at least it is about the Saturnian System. (Take it with a pinch of salt.)]

I suppose you all realize Richard Hoagland has made another breakthrough discovery concerning alien visitations to our Solar System in the distant past?!
He's discovered that the Saturnian moon, Iapetus, is actually an artificial body, constructed God knows where and parked in orbit around Saturn God knows when. He bases this revelation on the irregular shape of the moon, which is most unusual for a body this big, and on the existence of that 1300 kilometre 'seam' running along its equator.

Mr. Hoagland quotes a paper written in 2000 by various authors including, he maintains, some Cassini Team members:-

Iapetus: Shape, Craters, Dark Side
T. Denk, G. Neukum, T. Roatsch, K-D Matz, U. Wolf, R.J. Wagner, R. Jaumann (DLR)
Limb-fitting analyses of Voyager data show that the shape of Iapetus can be described by an ellipsoid with half-axes of 750 km x 715 km, somewhat larger than the IAU radius (718 km). However, note that Iapetus' shape is irregular rather than ellipsoidal, containing large depressions and bulges. Measured radii vary between 700 km and 780 km. An irregularly shaped, Iapetus-sized body is something quite unusual in the solar system. It suggests that Iapetus was already cold, brittle and geologically dead before most craters were formed, presumably very early in the solar system's history.

He backs up his assertion with the following pictures (among others):-

Deathstar-Comp2.1.jpg

Mr. Hoagland believes NASA should cancel the previous plans for Cassini and take steps to investigate this 'artificial moon' more thoroughly.
He states:-

But, getting back to Iapetus will not be as easy as it sounds – both for technical and political reasons.
Of all the moons of Saturn (except for tiny, distant Phoebe), Iapetus has the most inclined orbit. All the other major moons lie essentially in the plane of Saturn’s equator and its rings, and are relatively close to Saturn. Iapetus’ orbit is tilted 15 degrees to these other orbits … and lies more than 2 million miles away (below) ….

All of the above, of course, is featured in detail at http://www.enterprisemission.com/]The Enterprise Mission Website, in case you're interested.
Naturally, I don't necessarily place any faith in this stuff at all but that Richard Hoagland never fails to give us interesting food for thought, don't you think? :;):

Edited by moderator 2022/07/01

GraemeSkinner · 2005-02-21 07:33:43

All of the above, of course, is featured in detail at http://www.enterprisemission.com/]The Enterprise Mission Website, in case you're interested.

I could not look at the site too long as for some reason when they desgined it the idea of using small white type on a black star covered background must have been a really cool idea. However it just gives me a bad head.

Naturally, I don't necessarily place any faith in this stuff at all but that Richard Hoagland never fails to give us interesting food for thought, don't you think? :;):

I'm pleased you don't put any faith in the theories on RH's website, I'd start to worry if you did.

From the images you supplied, the large pic of the moon shows obvious signs of irregular cratering, when would you have a manufactured moon with irregular cratering on it? But then the website also has a large picture of the supposed 'face on Mars'!

Graeme

Shaun Barrett · 2005-02-21 08:11:31

Graeme:-

.. when would you have a manufactured moon with irregular cratering on it? ..

Well, exactly!
Evidently, according to Richard Hoagland, the artificial moon was steered into orbit around Saturn billions of years ago, before the end of the major cratering epochs of the early Solar System.
This creates many questions. Who built it? Where did they come from? Why did they choose to settle in a dangerous and unstable young star system, where enormous chunks of rock were careering around in all directions? Why choose a frozen gas giant like Saturn instead of one of the more amenable, rocky inner planets? How did they tolerate the incredible noise and vibration of impactors smashing into the hull of their vessel? Where are the builders of this massive object now?

This is usually the trouble with R.H.'s amazing hypotheses; when you look for background logic, 10 times out of 9 there isn't any. His revelations, while often intricately constructed in themselves, have to stand alone, without a corroborating evidential framework of any kind.
I'm on record as finding the human/leonine features of the Face on Mars intriguing, especially since Hoagland predicted that duality before the later images were released. But that certainly doesn't mean I think the mesa was deliberately carved by alien intelligences. It's just an intriguing shape, that's all - at least to me personally.
But the Face on Mars is it! That's all there is. There are no roads, no 'other buildings', no other corroborating mega-structures which might provide support to the 'alien civilization' theory. And, in general, the better the imaging resolution, the less artificial-looking R.H.'s structures start to appear.

No. I don't have much time for Mr. Hoagland's fantasies. I just thought I'd show whoever might be interested what he's been up to lately and how much effort he puts into these things. I think it's good entertainment value!

Palomar · 2005-02-21 11:50:25

http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/multimedia/i … D=1370]*On first sight, it seems to be another view of Enceladus's surface

-- but nothing more extraordinary than previous images, so why would it deserve its own Image?

It's clouds on Saturn, with an "unusual 3-dimensional structure," near the day/night boundary. Taken Jan 16.

I would never have guessed that. I wonder how tall the clouds are?

At this location on the planet, the Sun is at a very low angle, causing vertical relief to become apparent.

--Cindy

alan · 2005-02-21 17:08:25

This is so cool (Reply 3)

http://mer.rlproject.com/index.php?show … wtopic=711

djellison · 2005-02-22 04:42:14

Hoagland is nothing but a fraud and a scientific vandal.

He tells nothing but lies simply to extract popularity and thus money from people stupid enough to believe him.

He's pathetic.

Doug

Shaun Barrett · 2005-02-22 05:05:03

Doug, you've got to stop holding everything back the way you do.
It's important that you learn to say what you feel; repression is just so damaging. :bars2:

Let it out, Doug .... let it all out!! :;):

djellison · 2005-02-22 10:08:59

Oh, my genuine desires w.r.t. Hoagland involve heavy artilery, pointy things, and a very hungry tiger.

Doug

Palomar · 2005-02-22 12:45:16

This is so cool (Reply 3)
http://mer.rlproject.com/index.php?show … wtopic=711

*I've been waiting for that image to be posted at one of the astronomy/space exploration web sites. It just now came through today [the image in your link isn't marked at all]:

http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewsr.htm … 5538]Dione eclipses Tethys

--Cindy

Shaun Barrett · 2005-02-22 21:14:36

Doug:-

Oh, my genuine desires w.r.t. Hoagland involve heavy artilery, pointy things, and a very hungry tiger.
Doug

That's more like it!!

Palomar · 2005-02-23 16:23:00

http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/multimedia/i … D=1392]Pic of Mimas...

*...similar to two others (previous), but the caption has an especial item of interest. Yes, how -does- Cassini return such fine, crisp images while traveling so swiftly? And capturing an occultation of one moon by another recently? Incredible. She was traveling in excess of 13 km per second when this was taken.

-*-

http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/multimedia/i … 1383]Slice of Tethys

Large craters visible...yipes. Looks like fingerholes on a bowling ball. :laugh:

Image rotated so that north is up.

These craters have fanciful names such as Phemius, Polyphemus and Ajax. The moon's massive rift-like canyon system, Ithaca Chasma, is in the darkness to the west.

-*-

http://www.saturntoday.com/news/viewsr. … 5539]Mimas against outer rings

A different and wider view/angle from a previous pic. That's quite an image.

-*-

http://www.saturntoday.com/news/viewsr. … 5542]Janus

It's got "captured asteroid" written all over it. Pic taken Feb 18.

--Cindy

Palomar · 2005-02-24 13:28:40

http://www.universetoday.com/am/publish … 22005]More cooperation

*Article concerns Titan. Collaboration of Earth-based 'scopes and Cassini-Huygens. :up: Is a long article, enjoy.

--Cindy

Palomar · 2005-02-24 18:28:42

http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewsr.htm … 5566]Looks mighty strange

*Is Janus, backlit by Saturn. Taken Feb 23.

-*-

http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewsr.html?pid=15567]Moon cliques

What's this about the Cassini-discovered "trailing moon" called Polydeuces? Maybe I've been asleep; that name is new to me. Detailed info about moon companions (to other moons), etc.

-*-

http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/multimedia/i … D=1399]The Dragon Storm

A must-read. :up:

--Cindy

Palomar · 2005-02-25 07:10:03

A]http://www.saturntoday.com/news/viewpr.html?pid=16233]"A" ring has oxygen

Data from the Cassini-Huygens satellite showing oxygen ions in the atmosphere around Saturn's rings suggests once again that molecular oxygen alone isn't a reliable indicator of whether a planet can support life.

But in Saturn's atmosphere, molecular oxygen was created without life present, through a chemical reaction with the sun's radiation and icy particles that comprise Saturn's rings.

"That means you don't need biology to produce an O2 atmosphere," Waite said. "If we want indicators to use in the search for life on other planets, we need to know what to look for. But oxygen alone isn't it."

--Cindy

::EDIT:: http://www.spaceflightnow.com/cassini/0 … rs.html]24 of Phoebe's largest craters...have been given official names by the International Astronomical Union. The names chosen come from "the legend of the Argonauts." :up:

"We can't say that our participating scientists include heroes like Hercules and Atalanta, but they do represent a wide, international spectrum of outstanding people who were willing to take the risk of joining this voyage to a distant realm in hopes of bringing back a grand prize”.

Includes images with arrows pointing to the newly-named craters.

-*- -*-

http://www.spaceflightnow.com/cassini/0 … ]New-found treasures in moons and rings

Will comment later.

Palomar · 2005-02-25 20:21:24

Shes]http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/cassini/multimedia/pia06193.html]She's our Crown Jewel

*All Hail the Queen of the Solar System.

This is considered -- to date -- the best photo image of Saturn yet obtained.

While cruising around Saturn in early October 2004, Cassini captured a series of images that have been composed into the largest, most detailed, global natural color view of Saturn and its rings ever made.
This grand mosaic consists of 126 images acquired in a tile-like fashion, covering one end of Saturn's rings to the other and the entire planet in between. The images were taken over the course of two hours on Oct. 6, 2004, while Cassini was approximately 6.3 million kilometers (3.9 million miles) from Saturn. Since the view seen by Cassini during this time changed very little, no re-projection or alteration of any of the images was necessary.

The smallest features seen here are 38 kilometers (24 miles) across. Many of Saturn's splendid features noted previously in single frames taken by Cassini are visible in this one detailed, all-encompassing view: subtle color variations across the rings, the thread-like F ring, ring shadows cast against the blue northern hemisphere, the planet’s shadow making its way across the rings to the left, and blue-grey storms in Saturn's southern hemisphere to the right.

There's been lots of news rolling in regarding Saturn today, but I haven't been able to get to half of it. :-\

Anyway, the subject of Saturn's global colors was brought up last week. This mosaic shows all.

--Cindy

Shaun Barrett · 2005-02-26 05:54:43

Cindy:-

This is considered -- to date -- the best photo image of Saturn yet obtained.

Stunningly beautiful.

New Mars Forums

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#151 2005-02-17 08:30:29

Re: Cassini-Huygens III - Continued from previous

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