Cassini-Huygens - Cassini-Huygens Discussion

Palomar · 2004-04-09 05:39:44

*As Cassini is due to rendezvous with Saturn in a few months and more data is pouring in exclusive to Cassini, I'm creating this thread for Cassini's mission to Saturn. (Huygens will soon be parting company with it anyway, as it treks onward to Titan).

[http://www.space.com/imageoftheday/imag … 40409.html]Storms Merge on Saturn

*Unlike storms here, which tend to dissipate, storms on the Gas Giants tend to -merge-. Here are some images of recent storms on Saturn.

--Cindy

TJohn · 2004-04-09 06:39:02

Are there any probes being dropped into Saturn?

Palomar · 2004-04-09 06:48:44

Are there any probes being dropped into Saturn?

[http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/index.cfm]Cassini Mission -Details-

*Hi TJohn. Not that I'm aware of. Check link above (especially "Overview" section). Says Cassini will orbit Saturn and some of its moons for 4 years.

--Cindy

bolbuyk · 2004-04-13 15:11:31

Are there any probes being dropped into Saturn?

No.

However, Galileo did this in Jupiter nearly ten years ago.

Palomar · 2004-04-15 09:59:09

[http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewpr.html?pid=14030]New Cassini Image: Prometheus, Pandora, and the F-Ring

*A fantastic article. These two moons are called "shepherding" moons. A few quotes:

"Pandora prevents the F ring from spreading outward and Prometheus prevents it from spreading inward. However, their interaction with the ring is complex and not fully understood. The shepherds are also known to be responsible for many of the observed structures in Saturn's A ring." [A few weeks ago -- prior to starting this thread -- I posted a related article in the "New Discoveries *3* thread, in the Science & Technology folder].

"One of the goals for the Cassini mission is to derive more precise orbits for Prometheus and Pandora. Seeing how their orbits change over the duration of the mission will help to determine their masses, which in turn will help constrain models of their interiors and provide a more complete understanding of their effect on the rings."

Article also discusses their chaotic orbits, which can "change unpredictably" when the moons are close. This will be fabulous to keep tabs on.

--Cindy

Palomar · 2004-04-18 17:02:53

[http://www.jupitertoday.com/news/viewpr.html?pid=13018]Cassini "detour" [Jupiter]: December 29, 2000

*I don't know why it took them this long to release these images of -Jupiter-, but whatever. :-\ Taken during Cassini's closest approach to Jupiter (en route to Saturn of course). Lovely, stunning images! Cool how the white cloud formations towards the bottom are nearly perfectly -round-.

"Jupiter really is a planet of clouds," said Dr. Ashwin Vasavada, a Cassini imaging team associate and planetary scientist at the University of California, Los Angeles, who composited the mosaic. "You can stare for hours at the different forms, patterns, and colors on this image. Bright, white thunderstorms punctuate several of Jupiter's bands, while the Great Red Spot, a vortex big enough to swallow Earth, leaves a large, turbulent wake behind it. Jupiter shows us what an atmosphere is capable of on the grandest scale."

"These images were taken at a little over ten million kilometers (6.2 million miles) from Jupiter, but once we get into orbit at Saturn, the spacecraft's distance from Saturn never gets as large as that, so our images taken in the Saturnian system should be absolutely spectacular," said Robert Mitchell, Cassini project manager at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif.

*Cassini is scheduled to reach Saturn's orbit July 1. Yep, I'm counting on the Saturnian images being *spectacular*, considering the "sneak peeks" we've gotten already!

--Cindy

TheMadCap · 2004-04-19 16:27:12

Indeed those photos will be spectacular, I have been stoked about this mission since I heard about it prior to launch in 1997. And I think it is fitting that they named the probe after one of the most influential and enlightened minds of all time....Constantijin Huygens...

Palomar · 2004-04-27 12:57:18

http://www.spacedaily.com/upi/20040423- … ml]Cassini expected to rival MERs

*Yeah baby Anticipating flood of info once Cassini arrives (July 1) -- and what additional mysteries we'll be pondering. Article outlines stuff we already know, such as (some of these are refreshers of info for me):

--Its stunning rings are 185,000 miles in diameter -- more than twice the size of Jupiter -- but only about a half-mile thick... the rings orbit Saturn at varying speeds. They are so big they would fill three-quarters of the distance between Earth and the moon.

--Saturn has an extremely stormy atmosphere, outclassing even Jupiter, with winds clocked at more than 1,100 miles per hour near its equator. [I'm not sure I knew this...amazing!]

-- Saturn has the distinction of being the only known planet that is less dense than water. That means if it could be placed in a gigantic bathtub it actually would float. [Yep...read that a long, long time ago].

--Although popular satellite images show only five main rings -- named "A" through "E" -- and a secondary, "F" ring, there really are hundreds of rings...

--Cindy

remcook · 2004-04-29 07:49:15

And then there's also Titan, which is a whole fascinationg world on its own.

Palomar · 2004-04-29 08:49:20

And then there's also Titan, which is a whole fascinationg world on its own.

*Yes, and we already have a http://www.newmars.com/forums/viewtopic … 570]thread established for Titan (Huygens).

I'm hoping we can keep the two separate, as indeed they will soon be two separate missions; especially considering the veritable diluge of information we're going to get about both.

--Cindy

::EDIT:: http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewpr.htm … 16]Cassini image 27 March 2004

What's so special about this pic? "This is the last single 'eyeful' of Saturn and its rings achievable with the narrow angle camera on approach to the planet. From now until orbit insertion, Saturn and its rings will be larger than the field of view of the narrow angle camera."

Imagine drawing closer and closer to THAT! I want to be overwhelmed by Saturn's majesty!!

Can see 4 of its moons too.

remcook · 2004-04-30 05:58:19

ah yes... I saw that Titan thread. But I just wanted to emphasise that it's not just Huygens that is going to visit Titan I guess....

Palomar · 2004-05-06 14:31:38

ah yes... I saw that Titan thread. But I just wanted to emphasise that it's not just Huygens that is going to visit Titan I guess....

*Yep...and I think it's going to get REALLY tricky, especially now that http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/c … ml]Cassini itself is reporting back information on Titan. Not to mention that Cassini will also do a fly-by or two (?) of Titan itself. ::sigh:: I should have initially created 1 thread for both of them, I guess...what the heck. I'm here to learn, share, and have fun with my fellow astronuts.

Anyway, the article is about Xanadu. Check out the images of Titan by -Cassini- taken in mid-April.

***
"We have at last glimpsed the surface of the fabled world, Titan, Saturn's largest moon and the greatest single expanse of unexplored territory remaining in the Solar System today," said Carolyn Porco, Cassini imaging team leader at the Space Science Institute.

"A large, bright region in one of the pictures is the area previously named Xanadu. It could be a mountain range, a giant basin, a smooth plain or some combination of these, scientists say. It is certainly not a blissful locale from a human perspective. The average temperature on Titan is minus 289 degrees Fahrenheit (-178 Celsius)."
***

--Cindy

P.S.: Xanadu...what is it about that name, anyway? So recurring.

bolbuyk · 2004-05-13 07:06:19

And I think it is fitting that they named the probe after one of the most influential and enlightened minds of all time....Constantijin Huygens...

Yes, flying Dutchman to Titan!!! :;):

Palomar · 2004-05-14 08:40:49

http://www.saturntoday.com/news/viewpr. … 8]**Wow!**

*Latest release (April 16) re: Cassini. Saturn is gorgeous and stunning even in black/white pics. So, so beautiful.

Lots of good info in this article, including the dark spot at the south pole, two white spots above it, and an oblong-shaped cloud feature they're keeping tabs on (along with everything else, ha ha).

Can see Mimas to the left of the south pole.

Saturn radiates more energy than it receives from Sol.

They're speculating about finding more moons within (embedded) Saturn's rings.

Cloud bands (turbulence)...

...orbital insertion June 30. Get along, Cassini.

--Cindy

Yang Liwei Rocket · 2004-05-17 19:19:12

it looks like after making a colony on Mars Titan could be our next colony pit stop before Alpha Centauri

http://ciclops.lpl.arizona.edu/PR/2004/ … 7final.jpg

Palomar · 2004-05-17 21:23:35

it looks like after making a colony on Mars Titan could be our next colony pit stop before Alpha Centauri
http://ciclops.lpl.arizona.edu/PR/2004/ … 7final.jpg

*Hi.

We already have a couple of threads established regarding Titan; one regarding terraforming it (in the Terraformation folder), and another relating to the Huygens probe to arrive at Titan later this year (also in the Unmanned Probes folder).

It seems your post is a bit out of context.

--Cindy

Yang Liwei Rocket · 2004-05-17 21:31:25

Wow ecrasez_l_infame I didn't know the Cassini-Huygens spacecraft was such a big hit on this site, I'll take a better look around next time.

I never thought Titan would be so popular on a mars website

We should put our terraforming efforts into Mars, get a base or colony established in the near future and get the Mars job done
way before we even dream of sending men to Titan.

:band:

Palomar · 2004-05-17 21:39:56

Wow ecrasez_l_infame I didn't know the Cassini-Huygens spacecraft was such a big hit on this site, I'll take a better look around next time.
I never thought Titan would be so popular on a mars website
We should put our terraforming efforts into Mars, get a base or colony established in the near future and get the Mars job done
way before we even dream of sending men to Titan.

:band:

*Proves New Mars is full of all sorts of wonderful and delicious surprises, huh? :laugh:

Here are the threads regarding Titan:

http://www.newmars.com/forums/viewtopic … rraforming Titan thread

http://www.newmars.com/forums/viewtopic … 70]Huygens Probe to Titan

Hope this helps

--Cindy

Palomar · 2004-05-24 15:36:03

"On May 18, Cassini officially entered the Saturn planetary system. This event marks when the gravitational pull of Saturn began to overtake the influence of the Sun and the probe crosses the outer limits of the most distant group of Saturnian moons, only weakly bound to Saturn and located tens of millions of kilometers from the planet."

(Thanks Cassini...I'll consider it a birthday gift). :laugh:

--Cindy

http://www.saturntoday.com/news/viewpr. … 79]Article here

Palomar · 2004-05-25 07:35:06

http://www.space.com/imageoftheday/imag … html]Rings & Moons

*New image from Cassini.

First stop, Phoebe! "Early next month, the spaceship will make its closest approach to Phoebe, the largest member of the outer moon population and perhaps a captured asteroid..."

You go, Cassini!

--Cindy

REB · 2004-05-25 09:17:25

I just read that Phoebe will be visited on June 11. I marked my calendar!

Ian Flint · 2004-05-25 17:54:15

Just the other night I looked at Saturn for the first time through my own telescope. It's just a little 70mm refractor, but Saturn was a beautiful sight. I hate to speak ill of Mars, but Saturn has to be the most breathtaking planet viewed through a telescope!

On the same night I also saw the cresent of Jupiter and the quickly fading Mars. I can't believe I didn't get into astronomy sooner.

Palomar · 2004-05-25 19:25:44

Just the other night I looked at Saturn for the first time through my own telescope. It's just a little 70mm refractor, but Saturn was a beautiful sight. I hate to speak ill of Mars, but Saturn has to be the most breathtaking planet viewed through a telescope!
On the same night I also saw the cresent of Jupiter and the quickly fading Mars. I can't believe I didn't get into astronomy sooner.

*Yep...Saturn is the crown jewel of the Solar System, IMO. I can't wait for the flood of data the science web sites are promising will soon be rolling in from Cassini.

[Regarding Jupiter: It never appears as a crescent from our vantage point; you must have been looking at Venus. Jupiter is always a *full* face-on disc.

But amateur astronomy (I've been into it since childhood) is a tad bit off-topic for this thread, and http://www.newmars.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=3018]we have a thread for discussion of amateur astronomy, telescopes, etc., *here.* ]

--Cindy

remcook · 2004-05-26 01:27:07

have you noticed the caption of the rings image?

image of the DAY !

Ian Flint · 2004-05-26 09:28:23

[Regarding Jupiter: It never appears as a crescent from our vantage point; you must have been looking at Venus. Jupiter is always a *full* face-on disc.

I could have sworn it was Jupiter. It seemed to be too high in the sky to be Venus, and on the radio some science guy said Jupiter was the brightest thing in the sky...
But anyway, I guess only planets inside Earth's orbit can look like crescents, huh.

Ok, I hereby, henceforth and forever, having been duly admonished by Cindy (the mini-moderator), do solemnly swear to stay on topic. (In this thread at least. :;): )

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Re: Cassini-Huygens - Cassini-Huygens Discussion

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