Cassini-Huygens - Cassini-Huygens Discussion

Josh Cryer · 2004-07-12 03:53:11

Kind of disappointed that Cassini isn't skimming the rings like a madman, trying to get super close-up pictures (I believe the closest picture we got was while it pased through the gap in the rings). I was looking at the orbital plan and as far as I can tell, we're not going to get any close passes like I'm wanting. Hopefully at the end of Cassini's life, we will.

I like to live large, heheh.

The pictures we've recieved so far are absolutely magnificiant, of course. And I am not complaining at all here, just making a general statement. The fact that we can literally witness fluid dynamics outside of our own planet is just absolutely astounding. We are literally looking at the movements of creation.

Yang Liwei Rocket · 2004-07-12 06:37:01

Kind of disappointed that Cassini isn't skimming the rings like a madman, trying to get super close-up pictures (I believe the closest picture we got was while it pased through the gap in the rings). I was looking at the orbital plan and as far as I can tell, we're not going to get any close passes like I'm wanting. Hopefully at the end of Cassini's life, we will.
I like to live large, heheh.
The pictures we've recieved so far are absolutely magnificiant, of course. And I am not complaining at all here, just making a general statement. The fact that we can literally witness fluid dynamics outside of our own planet is just absolutely astounding. We are literally looking at the movements of creation.

Yes I agree the pictures of Saturn and the Rings have been absolutely magnificiant, some wonderful shots of the Planet.

Josh Cryer, getting those pictures have been wonderful but you should also note this. When Cassini went for its burn and the orbital insertion it was taking a risk. It was do or die time for the mission, things could have gone nasty and you see can how close the craft got by looking an the little ring particles still stuck on the camera lens. The Saturn Insertion which brought it into the face of the wonderful rings was the last and most critical manoeuvre performed by the spacecraft to achieve its operational orbit. If it had failed, the spacecraft would have just flown past Saturn and got lost in the darkness of Space and all those years of wrok and the seven year journey would have been for nothing.

Other very important parts of the mission have now come to play such as the imaging of pheobe, the analysis of Rhea, collection information on the magnetosphere, getting info on Saturn's rotation, picturing the cloud formations in the northern hemisphere, finding a measure of the radiation zones, capturing data on the Moon Iapetus, and of course getting that hidden surface of that alien world on the moon known as Titan.

I would have loved to have seen the probe stay and take more great pictures of the rings but Saturn has so many things going on in its system so these will have to be dealt with also. The mission will continue for many years so hopefully we will be more great pictures of those wonderful rings but we might have to wait a little while.

you can check out the various paths the Cassini-Huygens craft will be taking on the esa 'Where is Cassini-Huygens now'
web page

http://www.esa.int/export/SPECIALS/Cass … QUD_0.html

Sometime in the future , it looks like the craft will be in some good positions to take more great images of those wonderful rings, but sadly as you say 'we're not going to get any passes as close as the orbital insertion' . Let's hope we can still get some good pics of those rings

REB · 2004-07-12 07:28:21

http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/multimedia/i … 5.jpg]Good picture of Dione

Palomar · 2004-07-12 11:44:10

http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/c … ml]Barrage of particles

*Short article ties in some previous information and includes sound bytes; Cassini hears a solar storm and you can listen to the myriad "dust hits."

--Cindy

Josh Cryer · 2004-07-13 02:06:02

Thanks so much for that link, Yang Liwei Rocket.

It looks like the orbits do indeed get closer by 2008/toward the end of their orbital plan. I absolutely cannot wait for the images that will come back from those orbit levels.

Palomar · 2004-07-15 06:38:16

http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewsr.html?pid=13386]The view from Mimas

*An "old" pic from May, prior to orbital insertion and passing through the rings. Pic is enlarged to better show Mimas near Saturn's south pole.

I'm imagining being on Mimas -- looking UP and seeing Saturn and its majestic rings overwhelming the sky. Talk about a mind-blowing view.

--Cindy

Palomar · 2004-07-16 09:31:32

http://www.spacedaily.com/news/cassini-04zza.html]More on Iapetus

"...the trailing hemisphere is composed of highly reflective material, while the leading hemisphere is strikingly darker.

This sets Iapetus apart from Saturn's other moons and Jupiter's moons, which tend to be brighter on their leading hemispheres."

-also-

"It is less dense than many of the other satellites, which suggests a higher fraction of ice or possibly methane or ammonia in its interior."

***

http://www.spacedaily.com/news/saturn-t … ml]Huygens in perfect health :up:

Checkup after passing through the rings twice with Cassini:

"...mission specialists at the European Space Operations Centre in Darmstadt, Germany, were already feeling confident yesterday, when the probe check-out data started to pour in at 18:43 CEST. The transmission from the spacecraft continued until past midnight (00:18 CEST on 15 July) and comprised data from Huygens' on-board computers and all six scientific instruments. All of them underwent the standard cruise check-out procedures, which returned excellent results."

--Cindy

Yang Liwei Rocket · 2004-07-20 07:33:17

posted this before in the wrong place

here goes if anyone want to see another nice view of those rings

great pic of those rings
http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/multimedia/i … ...348.jpg

Palomar · 2004-07-20 07:44:22

posted this before in the wrong place
here goes if anyone want to see another nice view of those rings
great pic of those rings
http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/multimedia/i … ...348.jpg

*Yep, that is one very lovely photo.

Even in non-color pics Saturn and its rings are absolutely stunning; I can't say that about any other celestial entity. And that crisp, well-defined edge of the rings...fabulous.

Looks like the ultimate rainbow.

--Cindy

Palomar · 2004-07-21 07:29:49

http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap040721.html]Rings and Shadow

*Stunning.

I especially enjoy pics of the shadow of Saturn's globe seeming to take a "bite" out of the rings. Total eye candy.

Note Epimetheus in the pic (I had to turn my monitor's brightness and contrast up full-blast).

--Cindy

::EDIT::

http://www.space.com/imageoftheday/imag … 1.html]New View of Rhea Taken at a distance of 615,000 miles. Is 2nd largest of Saturn's moons; 950 miles in diameter. Evidence of water frost. Cassini's closest fly-by will be 26 November 2005 at a distance of 311 miles.

GraemeSkinner · 2004-07-21 09:37:41

http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/astropix.html]Rings and Shadow
*Stunning.

That sums it up pretty well, a colour version would have been even better :;): but I'll take whatever comes, Epimetheus showed up rather well on my laptop, but not so well on the desktop (one day I'll try and calibrate them to show the same thing ).

The November '05 flyby sounded like such a long time to wait - then I realized its only next year, 311 miles seems like a strange distance, why not 300 or 310?

Graeme

Earthfirst · 2004-07-21 15:12:59

I can't wait for the next picture of titan, and the other monns.
Statern is much a great place.

Palomar · 2004-07-22 07:20:12

311 miles seems like a strange distance, why not 300 or 310?

*Hi Graeme. That's a good question. :-\

http://www.universetoday.com/am/publish … 004]Tethys

*Erm...this pic looks remarkably similar to that of Rhea. ???

Says pic was taken 7/3 at a distance of 1 million miles. Tethys' diameter is 659 miles. It has a "huge fracture" covering 3/4 of the surface, not seeable in this pic.

I'm going to compare this image with Rhea's when I get done posting this. :-\ Maybe no big surprise they could look a lot alike at the angle in which the pics were taken and etc., etc. but it almost looks like the same pic.

--Cindy

::EDIT:: Okay, there's a definite difference in crescent size. But the cratering pattern looks very similar. Hmmmmmm.

Palomar · 2004-07-22 13:25:25

http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewpr.htm … 651]Nature is the Painter

*Natural-color photo just released. Delicate pinks, grays and a hint of brown. Gorgeous! The rings seem to actually shimmer as I look at the photo.

Snapped June 21st - few days prior to orbital insertion. Distance of 4 million miles.

--Cindy

P.S.: Recently-released photo and info about moon Tethys in post above this one.

GraemeSkinner · 2004-07-24 00:59:37

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/392 … ]Lightning on Saturn - hope they get some pics of it sometime.

Graeme

Palomar · 2004-07-24 05:26:26

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/392 … ]Lightning on Saturn - hope they get some pics of it sometime.
Graeme

*Great article. Given the mission will go on for at least 4 years, I'd be amazed if they don't capture images of the lightning. Speculation about lightning on Titan too.

Also, particularly noticed this:

"Cassini's magnetospheric imager has also detected a new radiation belt around Saturn's rings.

The planet's main radiation belt extends far outside the main ring system. The new belt sits within the rings and extends right around the planet."

--Cindy

Palomar · 2004-07-24 07:28:27

http://www.universetoday.com/am/publish … 372004]Icy Enceladus

*Pic taken July 3 at a distance of 1.6 million miles. Diameter is 310 miles. The 1st of 4 flybys will occur on 17 February 2005.

They're calling it one of Saturn's most enigmatic moons ("this moon was the source of much surprise during the Voyager era"). It's covered with water ice and is also one of the Solar System's most reflective objects; it reflects 90% of light which strikes it ("Saturn's brilliant jewel").

"Enceladus exhibits both smooth and lightly cratered terrains that are crisscrossed here and there by linear, groove-like features."

Cool.

--Cindy

REB · 2004-07-26 09:41:08

Good picture of http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/gs2. … mage]Mimas, the Death Star

Palomar · 2004-07-26 10:30:16

Good picture of http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/gs2. … mage]Mimas, the Death Star

http://www.universetoday.com/am/publish … etoday.com article

*Aw dang...REB beat me to it! It's my day off.

It is one crazy, funky-looking moon.

"Cassini will get a better view on August 2, 2005, when the spacecraft makes a distant flyby of heavily cratered moon."

--Cindy

hubricide · 2004-07-26 14:16:40

That's no moon, it's a space station!

REB · 2004-07-28 10:20:36

http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/gs2. … =image]New picture of Titan

And if you look close enough, you can see a blue sky up above the haze (This is a true color picture). Imagine floating in Titan's blue sky with the orange clouds (haze?) below you and Saturn on your horizion.

Palomar · 2004-07-30 11:28:02

http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewpr.htm … 4713]Titan: Two separate haze layers

*Interesting. From data obtained during Cassini's first flyby on July 3. Is one of the mysteries of Titan scientists hope to solve.

::EDIT:: "Above the orange disc are two distinct layers of atmospheric haze that have been brightened and falsely colored violet to enhance their visibility. It is not currently understood why there are two separate haze layers. This and other questions await answers as the four-year Cassini tour continues, with many more planned flybys of Titan. --->The upcoming October 2004 flyby of Titan will be 30 times closer than that of July 2.<---[!!]"

--Cindy

Palomar · 2004-08-04 14:00:48

http://www.universetoday.com/am/publish … ]Structure of Saturn's South Pole

*Pic taken July 13, distance of 3.1 million miles.

"As you move north, the clouds have wavy edges of turbulence as the edges of the bands interact with each other...

wavy patterns are evident, resulting from the atmosphere moving with different speeds at different latitudes."

--Cindy

Palomar · 2004-08-05 12:45:36

http://www.universetoday.com/am/publish … 04]Cassini sees lightning on Saturn

*And other new information too!:

"In orbit around Saturn for more than a month now, the Cassini spacecraft has been sending back mountains of scientific data. It's now detected flashes of lightning, a new radiation belt, --->and a glow around Titan,<--- Saturn's largest moon. The spacecraft's radio and plasma wave science instrument is detecting the lighting, which varies from day to day; a dramatically different situation from what the Voyagers found 20 years ago. The new radiation belt is just above Saturn's cloud tops and extends around the planet, yet the radiation particles are able to "jump over" the planet's rings..."

*More about effects of rings shadows on weather:

"'We are detecting the same crackle and pop one hears when listening to an AM radio broadcast during a thunderstorm,' said Dr. Bill Kurth, deputy principal investigator on the radio and plasma wave instrument, University of Iowa, Iowa City. 'These storms are dramatically different than those observed 20 years ago.'

Cassini finds radio bursts from this lightning are highly episodic. There are large variations in the occurrence of lightning from day to day, sometimes with little or no lightning, suggesting a number of different, possibly short-lived storms at middle to high latitudes. Voyager observed lightning from an extended storm system at low latitudes, which lasted for months and appeared highly regular from one day to the next.

The difference in storm characteristics may be related to very different shadowing conditions in the 1980s than are found now. During the Voyager time period when lightning was first observed, the rings cast a very deep shadow near Saturn's equator. As a result, the atmosphere in a narrow band was permanently in shadow -- making it cold -- and located right next to the hottest area in Saturn's atmosphere. Turbulence between the hot and cold regions could have led to long-lived storms."

Awesome!!

--Cindy

P.S.: Cool illustration: Too bad not an actual photo.

Palomar · 2004-08-09 14:55:18

http://www.universetoday.com/am/publish … 4]Detailed Pic of Stormy Saturn

*And Cassini is still 3.2 million miles away from it. :-\ Pic taken July 13.

"Details in Saturn’s southern polar region highlight the often turbulent nature of the interfaces that separate the cloud bands on this swirling gaseous globe."

--Cindy

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