Cassini-Huygens *2* - ...more Saturn/Titan...

Palomar · 2004-11-10 22:20:41

http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/gs2. … =image]The Storms Continue

*What a pretty "little" squiggle (top, near-center of pic).

Dated Sept 18, "a bright storm that appeared in mid-September at the latitude of one of the rare westward jets on Saturn." Refers to Storm Alley again.

--Cindy

Shaun Barrett · 2004-11-11 01:56:19

I was interested to read that if Huygens lands on a hard surface, it will have about 30 minutes of 'life' to send back data. But if it lands in a sea of liquid hydrocarbon, it will have only a few minutes before its instruments are flooded.
I hadn't heard about this difference before. I'd assumed the probe was built to cope with a liquid surface just as well as a solid one.

Now, of course, nobody seems able to tell whether the Titanian surface is solid, liquid, or slush .. or even if it might have the consistency of drifts of powdery snow!
I find it amazing that a probe like Cassini, bristling with every remote scanning instrument known to science, can get up close and personal with a body like Titan and still be baffled as to its surface composition.

Now I suppose Huygens will disappear when it reaches the surface of Titan and nobody will be able to determine what happened to it.
Captain Kirk and Mr. Spock never had this kind of trouble analysing a celestial object.

Palomar · 2004-11-11 06:50:42

Now, of course, nobody seems able to tell whether the Titanian surface is solid, liquid, or slush .. or even if it might have the consistency of drifts of powdery snow!

*I think chances are good it'll land on a solid surface. I'd be willing to lay a bet on it.

I find it amazing that a probe like Cassini, bristling with every remote scanning instrument known to science, can get up close and personal with a body like Titan and still be baffled as to its surface composition.

*Well, C-H simply flew past it. Another person posted recently about the "poor quality" of the images returned. Considering C-H didn't orbit Titan but merely flew by, IMO the results returned are very good. I can't recall C-H's traveling speed, but it's clipping right along and yet returned some quality data and images (considering).

Captain Kirk and Mr. Spock never had this kind of trouble analysing a celestial object.

*Capt. Kirk and Mr. Spock always had the luxury of beaming down to planets with perfectly breatheable atmospheres and just the right amount of gravity. :laugh: Wow, what a hospitable universe! :;):

--Cindy

Shaun Barrett · 2004-11-11 06:57:04

Hold the phone!
I just realised there's another Titan flyby on Dec. 13th, at an altitude of 2400 km. Perhaps they'll get a better idea of the surface conditions then.

Incidentally, there's a good update on science returned from Cassini lately at http://skyandtelescope.com/news/article_1386_1.asp]THIS SITE.
(Apologies in advance to those who know about it already. )

SpaceNut · 2004-11-11 07:50:52

Crunch, squelch or splash? Titan still offers all possibilities for the Huygens probe landing

A first look at the measurements of Titan's atmosphere during the fly-by suggest that the "Atmosphere Model" we developed and used to design the Huygens probe is valid and all looks good for the probe release on Christmas day and descent to the surface on 14th January 2005.

Just one of the landing senerio's depending on surface density. Will it be a hard landing, soft and ozzy or will it take a swim. Well will find out in the months to come.

C M Edwards · 2004-11-11 14:13:26

I believe we'll see a damp environment, with soil. No soggier or squishier than anything you would see in your own front yard here on Earth (a place that is also damp, with soil). Water won't be the "damp" part at those temperatures, though. It's more likely to be the soil.

I hope the stromatolites don't spoil the view...

Yang Liwei Rocket · 2004-11-12 03:55:10

this has been a great mission, let's hope it continues doing well :band:

Palomar · 2004-11-12 12:25:59

http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/gs2. … =image]The Storms Continue
*What a pretty "little" squiggle (top, near-center of pic).
Dated Sept 18, "a bright storm that appeared in mid-September at the latitude of one of the rare westward jets on Saturn." Refers to Storm Alley again.
--Cindy

http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/gs2. … mage]*This storm a candidate source for LIGHTNING?* (Is a different pic from the one linked to in the quote box above)

This Cassini view shows a bright storm that appeared in Saturn's southern hemisphere in mid-September and continued to evolve afterward. This type of storm is a good candidate source for lightning because of its sudden appearance and high level of activity.

:up:

Other storms as well (the dark ovals). Moon Enceladus can be seen in the pic too.

--Cindy

Palomar · 2004-11-12 19:30:31

*Move over, Mars!(?)

Images of the medium-sized moon *IAPETUS* taken from more than 100,000 kilometers away show several white peaks poking high above dark terrain on the moon's leading hemisphere. Preliminary analysis by Tillman Denk (Freie University, Germany) and colleagues suggests some of these peaks might be 10 to 20 kilometers high, which would rival or perhaps even exceed Mars's giant volcano Olympus Mons for being the highest mountains in the solar system. Scientists will have to wait until the September 2007 close Iapetus flyby to nail down the altitudes.

:band:

*Also have found a huge cloud of hydrogen atoms which extends 45 Saturnian radii from its equator.

*Also Iapetus has 3 large impact basins.

*Rings estimated to be young, maybe only few hundred million years old. Their overall structure has changed little since Voyagers 1 & 2.

*Confirmation that major Saturnian storm systems (see post above this one) "spark powerful electrostatic discharges" (lightning).

http://skyandtelescope.com/news/article … asp]Entire article here -- more good stuff (A "must-read"!!)

Palomar · 2004-11-16 06:50:00

http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/s … .html]Hint of Unseen Moons in Saturn's Rings

*Article nicely complements most recent (posted above).

--Cindy

::edit::

But whether or not every one of the dozen or so gaps in Saturn's rings have embedded moons is an important question the Cassini spacecraft is designed to answer...
***
"The fluctuations we see can be explained by the recent destruction of small moons within the rings and by wave action in the rings that dredges fresh material onto the surfaces of the ring particles," Esposito said. "This indicates that the material in the rings is continually recycled from rings to moons and back."
Porco said the study of Saturn's rings and moons could pay off in an unexpected way.
The system is similar to the disk that is typically left orbiting a star after its formation, and out of which planets form. Determining how Saturn's moons and moonlets develop, collide, and sometimes end up in odd-shaped orbits could shed light on the formation of planetary systems.

Palomar · 2004-11-16 14:18:34

http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/gs2. … nteresting bit about Giovanni Cassini

*Iapetus' Cassini Region. Have already posted a previous pic or two of Iapetus. Am posting this one because it's the dark leading hemisphere and also:

This image shows the dark, leading hemisphere of the mysterious moon Iapetus. The dark area is the Cassini region, named for Giovanni Cassini, who discovered the moon in 1672. The diameter of Iapetus is 1,436 kilometers (892 miles).
Cassini noted that he was able to see the moon on one side of its orbit around Saturn, but not on the other side. From this, he correctly deduced that one hemisphere must be dark while the other is much brighter.

*It never ceases to amaze me that someone was able to discover Iapetus -- let alone -any- Saturnian moon -- with optics in 1672! And nevermind that this moon is only bright on one side of it. :-\ Wow.

--Cindy

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

::EDIT:: (Nov 17) Have posted similar pic or two before http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/gs2. … ge]>Click<

But here's the really interesting part:

The planet's shadow stretches all the way across the main rings in this view. *--->The shadow has an oval shape at present, but over the next few years will become more rectangular as the planet orbits the Sun and the angle at which sunlight strikes the rings decreases.<----* For an example of this from NASA's Voyager mission, see (http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA00335)

SpaceNut · 2004-11-19 07:03:31

This is the first I have heard of this It's only rock 'n' roll, but we launched it to boldly blast rock 'n' roll music where none has been heard before. Three track of music, wow...

The US-European vessel, run by NASA, the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Italian space agency, is carrying a 14-minute CD loaded with music from two little-known French artists who will have the honour of having their tracks broadcast to any alien ears that may be listening.
The only condition the ESA put on the musicians was for them to come up with tracks that had no words.
The first, "Lalala", gives the basic chords of rock and was inspired by photos provided by ESA, Civange said.
The second track, "Bald James Deans", refers to the separation of the Cassini and Huygens probes on Christmas Eve, conjuring up dual visions of the US film icon speeding off in different directions in the stellar void.
The Huygens probe is to descend on to Titan's surface January 14 by parachute to carry out its experiments while the Cassini probe continues its fly-by of Saturn's 30-odd moons.
The third track on the CD, "Hot Time", is an artistic piece meant to reflect the exploration of Titan while the last tune, "No Love", channels Civange's preferred sci-fi author Philip K. Dick by evoking questions about what space travel means.

Palomar · 2004-11-19 10:57:03

This is the first I have heard of this Its]http://www.spacedaily.com/2004/041119043052.6g5bcvf3.html]It's only rock 'n' roll, but we launched it to boldly <a href="www.music2titan.com" target="_blank">blast rock 'n' roll music</a> where none has been heard before. Three track of music, wow...

*Yeah, I read about that a few months ago...but considering it's not Baroque music I didn't post about it, IIRC. :;):

http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/gs2. … ge]Flowing along

*Image dated Sept. 24. Part of C ring (sheer lines) and Ring shadows can be seen. Non-color "upclose" pics of Saturn's cloud bands like this one always reminds me of a homecooked marshmallow and chocolate frosting a wonderful old lady (named Astrid!) back home use to smear on her chocolate cakes. Yum. Teehee.

-*-

http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/gs2. … mage]Mimas is soooooo tiny

*Wish they'd comment as to the -size- of that storm.

Although the east-west winds on Saturn are stronger than on Earth or even Jupiter, the contrast in appearance between these zones is more muted, and the departures of the wind speeds from east to west are lower.

--Cindy

Palomar · 2004-11-22 11:53:46

http://www.saturntoday.com/news/viewsr. … 70]Cassini significant events for Nov 11 - Nov 17

*Results from Titan-a flyby. Titan-b flyby will occur on Dec. 13; Dione flyby on Dec. 15. Also mentions Cassini "outreach" educational efforts.

--Cindy

Palomar · 2004-11-22 12:39:53

http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/gs2. … image]Best pic of Rhea yet

*Beautiful! Looks like a big navel orange. And that "bright rayed crater" is so remarkable. It's a star-kissed moon -- that's it!

Cassini will image this hemisphere of Rhea again in mid-January 2005, just after the Huygens probe landing on Titan - with approximately 1-kilometer (0.6-mile) resolution.

--Cindy :up:

Palomar · 2004-11-23 08:46:18

http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/gs2. … age]Saturn looming over Tethys

*Yeah, that's a beautiful vista all right. Stunning. Imagine being in a spaceship and traveling under that, towards Tethys. What a trip.

Usually I wait for incoming pics to accumulate and post 2 or 3 at a time, but this is a worthy exception.

--Cindy

Cobra Commander · 2004-11-23 09:02:44

*Yeah, that's a beautiful vista all right. Stunning. Imagine being in a spaceship and traveling under that, towards Tethys. What a trip.

Somehow I get the feeling that seeing that view close up, coupled with zero G could be a rather disconcerting experience if not prepared for it.

Not that it would bother me any.

hubricide · 2004-11-23 22:39:18

*Yeah, that's a beautiful vista all right. Stunning. Imagine being in a spaceship and traveling under that, towards Tethys. What a trip.
Somehow I get the feeling that seeing that view close up, coupled with zero G could be a rather disconcerting experience if not prepared for it.
Not that it would bother me any.

I might vomit. It would still be amazing. And someday, it will happen.

Palomar · 2004-11-24 10:19:58

http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewsr.htm … 591]Tethys again..."battered and grooved"

*Large pic. Is a mosaic of "two footprints." This is its natural color: Neutral hue. Indications are it's likely mainly composed of water ice.

Having passed closer to Tethys than the Voyager 2 spacecraft, Cassini has returned the best-ever natural color view of this icy Saturnian moon.

--

http://www.spacedaily.com/news/cassini- … tml]Mosaic of 9 images -- most detailed of Titan

*Available as a desktop too. From Titan-a flyby (October). Article includes information about final pre-separation test on Huygens.

--Cindy

::EDIT:: This arrived later in the day:

http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/gs2. … e]Hyperion: Oddball Moon

*Yes, intriguing light/dark features going on there.

Yang Liwei Rocket · 2004-11-25 10:19:06

that desktop image of Titan looks great, what a great looking moon it really is more like a Planet

Palomar · 2004-11-25 18:23:14

that desktop image of Titan looks great, what a great looking moon it really is more like a Planet

*Agreed, LR Rocket.

http://www.universetoday.com/am/publish … 4]Gorgeous Dione

*Another "best yet" pic of a Saturnian moon. Those streaks are something else; will be imaged at higher resolution in via close flyby in mid-December.

Truly stunning images rolling in...go Cassini!

I'm hoping for a closer look at Hyperion too.

--Cindy

GraemeSkinner · 2004-11-25 22:53:35

Can't wait for the high res pictures of those streaks on Dione. There's been some nice images, hopefully plenty more to come. So far Hyperion looks more like an asteroid than a moon - I'm sure it'll all become clearer when we get better images :;):

Graeme

Palomar · 2004-11-26 07:54:58

So far Hyperion looks more like an asteroid than a moon - I'm sure it'll all become clearer when we get better images :;):
Graeme

*Yes, that's what I was thinking (asteroid). Funny markings on it (photo I posted Nov 24): Looks like a one-eyed vampire with a pronounced widow's peak. But maybe I've been watching too much of Dark Shadows. :laugh:

Is a cute and pudgy little satellite.

--Cindy

Yang Liwei Rocket · 2004-11-26 15:49:13

So far Hyperion looks more like an asteroid than a moon - I'm sure it'll all become clearer when we get better images :;):
Graeme
*Yes, that's what I was thinking (asteroid). Funny markings on it (photo I posted Nov 24): Looks like a one-eyed vampire with a pronounced widow's peak. But maybe I've been watching too much of Dark Shadows. :laugh:
Is a cute and pudgy little satellite.
--Cindy

Indeed, its very nice looking what a strange moon maybe the Cassini mission will reveal where its origin is from

The Cassini-Huygens probe seems to be doing well, and there is also some good news for those who want to know more about the complex nature of life. It seems water is not really needed, maybe Titans rich chemical mix in its hyrdocarbon atmosphere with propane , ethyne and ammonia will help us understand how the ingredients for life came about
and maybe push our understanding of the secrets of life in our galaxy even more.

http://www.esa.int/SPECIALS/Cassini-Huy … D1E_0.html

http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewpr.htm … ?pid=15568

I hope the probe does well, it would be great ! However going to another moon or planet isn't easy, no body needs to hear about the risk and possible failures like the Mars polar lander and Beagle fail.

This mission has been doing great so far, let's hope it does great !!

:band:

:up:

GraemeSkinner · 2004-11-29 02:50:47

http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/gs2. … age]Saturn looming over Tethys

Nice higher res pick at http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/image/ … g.jpg]APOD :up:

Graeme

New Mars Forums

Announcement

#76 2004-11-10 22:20:41

Re: Cassini-Huygens *2* - ...more Saturn/Titan...

#77 2004-11-11 01:56:19

Re: Cassini-Huygens *2* - ...more Saturn/Titan...

#78 2004-11-11 06:50:42

Re: Cassini-Huygens *2* - ...more Saturn/Titan...

#79 2004-11-11 06:57:04

Re: Cassini-Huygens *2* - ...more Saturn/Titan...

#80 2004-11-11 07:50:52

Re: Cassini-Huygens *2* - ...more Saturn/Titan...

#81 2004-11-11 14:13:26

Re: Cassini-Huygens *2* - ...more Saturn/Titan...

#82 2004-11-12 03:55:10

Re: Cassini-Huygens *2* - ...more Saturn/Titan...

#83 2004-11-12 12:25:59

Re: Cassini-Huygens *2* - ...more Saturn/Titan...

#84 2004-11-12 19:30:31

Re: Cassini-Huygens *2* - ...more Saturn/Titan...

#85 2004-11-16 06:50:00

Re: Cassini-Huygens *2* - ...more Saturn/Titan...

#86 2004-11-16 14:18:34

Re: Cassini-Huygens *2* - ...more Saturn/Titan...

#87 2004-11-19 07:03:31

Re: Cassini-Huygens *2* - ...more Saturn/Titan...

#88 2004-11-19 10:57:03

Re: Cassini-Huygens *2* - ...more Saturn/Titan...

#89 2004-11-22 11:53:46

Re: Cassini-Huygens *2* - ...more Saturn/Titan...

#90 2004-11-22 12:39:53

Re: Cassini-Huygens *2* - ...more Saturn/Titan...

#91 2004-11-23 08:46:18

Re: Cassini-Huygens *2* - ...more Saturn/Titan...

#92 2004-11-23 09:02:44

Re: Cassini-Huygens *2* - ...more Saturn/Titan...

#93 2004-11-23 22:39:18

Re: Cassini-Huygens *2* - ...more Saturn/Titan...

#94 2004-11-24 10:19:58

Re: Cassini-Huygens *2* - ...more Saturn/Titan...

#95 2004-11-25 10:19:06

Re: Cassini-Huygens *2* - ...more Saturn/Titan...

#96 2004-11-25 18:23:14

Re: Cassini-Huygens *2* - ...more Saturn/Titan...

#97 2004-11-25 22:53:35

Re: Cassini-Huygens *2* - ...more Saturn/Titan...

#98 2004-11-26 07:54:58

Re: Cassini-Huygens *2* - ...more Saturn/Titan...

#99 2004-11-26 15:49:13

Re: Cassini-Huygens *2* - ...more Saturn/Titan...

#100 2004-11-29 02:50:47

Re: Cassini-Huygens *2* - ...more Saturn/Titan...

Board footer

Re: Cassini-Huygens 2 - ...more Saturn/Titan...

Re: Cassini-Huygens 2 - ...more Saturn/Titan...

Re: Cassini-Huygens 2 - ...more Saturn/Titan...

Re: Cassini-Huygens 2 - ...more Saturn/Titan...

Re: Cassini-Huygens 2 - ...more Saturn/Titan...

Re: Cassini-Huygens 2 - ...more Saturn/Titan...

Re: Cassini-Huygens 2 - ...more Saturn/Titan...

Re: Cassini-Huygens 2 - ...more Saturn/Titan...

Re: Cassini-Huygens 2 - ...more Saturn/Titan...

Re: Cassini-Huygens 2 - ...more Saturn/Titan...

Re: Cassini-Huygens 2 - ...more Saturn/Titan...

Re: Cassini-Huygens 2 - ...more Saturn/Titan...

Re: Cassini-Huygens 2 - ...more Saturn/Titan...

Re: Cassini-Huygens 2 - ...more Saturn/Titan...

Re: Cassini-Huygens 2 - ...more Saturn/Titan...

Re: Cassini-Huygens 2 - ...more Saturn/Titan...

Re: Cassini-Huygens 2 - ...more Saturn/Titan...

Re: Cassini-Huygens 2 - ...more Saturn/Titan...

Re: Cassini-Huygens 2 - ...more Saturn/Titan...

Re: Cassini-Huygens 2 - ...more Saturn/Titan...

Re: Cassini-Huygens 2 - ...more Saturn/Titan...

Re: Cassini-Huygens 2 - ...more Saturn/Titan...

Re: Cassini-Huygens 2 - ...more Saturn/Titan...

Re: Cassini-Huygens 2 - ...more Saturn/Titan...

Re: Cassini-Huygens 2 - ...more Saturn/Titan...