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Palomar

Member

From: USA

Registered: 2002-05-30

Posts: 9,734

Re: Which of these missions would you prefer - take a pick

in much the same way that tomatoes were determined to be vegetables and not fruits.

...you say to-may-to and I say to-mah-to...

Maybe you should try growing tomatoes in those flower pots, instead of strawberries. 

--Cindy

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We all know [i]those[/i] Venusians: Doing their hair in shock waves, smoking electrical coronas, wearing Van Allen belts and resting their tiny elbows on a Geiger counter...

--John Sladek (The New Apocrypha)

Nirgal82

Banned

From: El Paso TX, USA

Registered: 2002-07-09

Posts: 112

Re: Which of these missions would you prefer - take a pick

I just visited the Cassini-Huygens website and here's the instrument that will make images during the decent into Titan's atmosphere:Descent Imager/Spectral Radiometer

(DISR): 
  This instrument will make a range of imaging and spectral observations using several sensors and fields of view. By measuring the upward and downward flow of radiation, the radiation balance (or imbalance) of the thick Titan atmosphere will be measured. Solar sensors will measure the light intensity around the Sun due to scattering by aerosols in the atmosphere. This will permit the calculation of the size and number density of the suspended particles. Two imagers (one visible, one infrared) will observe the surface during the latter stages of the descent and, as the probe slowly spins, build up a mosaic of pictures around the landing site. There will also be a side-view visible imager to get a horizontal view of the horizon and the underside of the cloud deck. For spectral measurements of the surface, a lamp that will switch on shortly before landing will augment the weak sunlight. 

We may get some panoramas afterall...
-Matt

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"...all matter is merely energy condensed into a slow vibration.  We are all one consiousness experiencing itself subjectively.  There is no such thing as death, life is only a dream and we are the imagination of ourselves."  -Bill Hicks