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#176 2005-02-26 08:38:41

Palomar
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From: USA
Registered: 2002-05-30
Posts: 9,734

Re: Cassini-Huygens III - Continued from previous

Saturns]http://www.spacedaily.com/news/cassini-05zd.html]Saturn's Uniquely Complex Magnetosphere

*Titan loses some of its atmosphere "in the mix."  While the plasma around Earth is derived from our atmosphere and the solar wind, and our Moon contributes basically nothing to it...

In contrast, icy moons, rings, and the atmosphere of the giant moon Titan all contribute to Saturn's swirling plasma

Dynamically, the Saturnian magnetosphere is similar to that of Jupiter's...but

in places it chemically resembles water-based plasmas surrounding comets

Plasmas within about 15,000 miles of Earth rotate with it. Saturn's planetary rotation controls the flow of plasma out to nearly a million miles. Within that volume is Titan, the majority of the icy moons and the rings, all of which turn out to be strong suppliers of plasmas of varying compositions.

Saturn possesses 3 types of plasma sources which Earth does not have (they say our magnetosphere is boring by comparison...sounds that way, teehee).

In addition, these plasmas interact both chemically and electromagnetically. One of the consequences is that the surfaces of the icy moons and rings are re-coated by the chemical mix.  Another is that some of Titan's atmosphere gets stolen.

Remember that recent photo of Titan I posted last week, of it backlit?  And that odd atmospheric feature above its northern pole region -- looks like an overlapping?  I wonder if the "stolen" portions of Titan's atmosphere isn't "leaking" through that area.

--Cindy

::EDIT::  (Hours later)  This just in at spaceref.com:

http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewpr.htm … 42]Cassini captures 1st-ever photographs of Saturn's radiation belts  :up:

That probe is worth its weight in platinum.  smile

::EDIT 2::  New pics rolling in this afternoon:

http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewsr.htm … Peek-a-boo on the rings (Prometheus)

http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewsr.htm … Sandwiched between the rings (Pandora)

http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewsr.htm … 593]Always a slightly different look with this moon (Hyperion)


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)

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#177 2005-02-28 07:01:21

Palomar
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From: USA
Registered: 2002-05-30
Posts: 9,734

Re: Cassini-Huygens III - Continued from previous

http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2005 … m]Rainbows on Titan

*This is a must-read article, IMO.  Some is rehashed you might already be familiar with.  The article discusses (briefly) the possibility of future manned missions to Titan (that is still such a wildly fantastic thought to me...not saying it's impossible, but it is a bit more difficult to fathom).

Anyway, discusses rainbows made of methane droplets.  Such rainbows would be larger than water rainbows. 

Visible rainbows on Titan might be rare, but infrared 'bows might be common.  The article suggests folks might have to utilize something similiar to night-vision goggles to see Titanian 'bows.

Includes a photo of an infrared rainbow here on Earth, taken in 1971.

Excellent article.  :up: 

Also discusses -boating- on Titan and includes a chart comparison of "Physical Data:  Liquid methane vs liquid water."

--Cindy

P.S.:  They quote Christian Huygens' speculations about "Water and Clouds" on other planets, in 1698.  He said this: 

"...Every Planet therefore must have its own Waters of such a temper not liable to Frost."

The article's author says: 

Huygens discovered Titan in 1655, which is why the probe is named after him. In those days, Titan was just a pinprick of light in a telescope. Huygens could not see Titan's clouds, pregnant with rain, or Titan's hillsides, sculpted by rushing liquids, but he had a fine imagination...Methane, on the other hand, is a flowing liquid, of "a temper not liable to Frost."

What a brilliant mind that Mr. Huygens had.  yikes

::EDIT::

Jonathan Lunine, a professor at the University of Arizona, is a member of the Huygens mission science team.  He and his colleagues believe that Huygens landed in the Titan-equivalent of Arizona, a mostly-dry area with brief but intense wet seasons.


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)

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#178 2005-02-28 18:11:41

Palomar
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Re: Cassini-Huygens III - Continued from previous

http://www.saturntoday.com/news/viewsr. … 99]Cassini mystery photo

*They don't yet know what it is.  {{Twilight Zone music}}  Looks like part of a "halo" to me.

--Cindy


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)

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#179 2005-03-01 04:12:33

Shaun Barrett
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From: Cairns, Queensland, Australia
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Posts: 2,843

Re: Cassini-Huygens III - Continued from previous

That 'Rainbows on Titan" article is very revealing about possible conditions on Titan. It's interesting to consider the different physical characteristics of a liquid methane lake, as compared to our more familiar watery ones. What a weirdly alien world Titan must be, while being oddly familiar at the same time!
    Sadly, I'll have been pushing up daisies for a very long time before humans set sail on a Titanian cryo-sea.  sad

[Ah well, maybe in my next life ..  :;):   smile  ]


The word 'aerobics' came about when the gym instructors got together and said: If we're going to charge $10 an hour, we can't call it Jumping Up and Down.   - Rita Rudner

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#180 2005-03-01 06:40:41

Palomar
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Re: Cassini-Huygens III - Continued from previous

http://www.saturntoday.com/news/viewsr. … 99]Cassini mystery photo

*They don't yet know what it is.  {{Twilight Zone music}}  Looks like part of a "halo" to me.

--Cindy

Heres]http://www.saturntoday.com/news/viewsr.html?pid=15599]Here's a better photo of it

*Either that, or it's my eyes.  Looks like a "shadow" of Saturn to me.  The vague outline of a globe and a protrusion -- as if shadowing the rings themselves.  But what could the shadow be projected against? 

Shaun:  It's interesting to consider the different physical characteristics of a liquid methane lake, as compared to our more familiar watery ones

Yeah, especially what specifics pertaining to boating the article touched on. 

Sadly, I'll have been pushing up daisies for a very long time before humans set sail on a Titanian cryo-sea.

At the rate things are going, the great-great-great grandkids of people aged 5 today will be pushing up daisies for a very long time.  :-\

But how interesting to speculate on it.  We need an orbiting probe around Titan, and a couple of rovers too.  I am so grateful, appeciate and thankful for Huygens.  Sure has whet the ol' appetite for more.  smile

--Cindy


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)

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#181 2005-03-01 08:48:08

Yang Liwei Rocket
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Posts: 993

Re: Cassini-Huygens III - Continued from previous

The Saturn data has been fantastic, great pictures  big_smile


3 of Saturn's ring moons in a single view. From left to right, the moons seen in this view are Pandora (84 kilometers, 52 miles across), Janus (181 kilometers, 113 miles across) and Prometheus (102 kilometers, 63 miles across).

http://ciclops.lpl.arizona.edu/media/dr … 1707_1.jpg


smile


'first steps are not for cheap, think about it...
did China build a great Wall in a day ?' ( Y L R newmars forum member )

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#182 2005-03-02 13:48:47

Palomar
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Re: Cassini-Huygens III - Continued from previous

The Saturn data has been fantastic, great pictures  big_smile


3 of Saturn's ring moons in a single view. From left to right, the moons seen in this view are Pandora (84 kilometers, 52 miles across), Janus (181 kilometers, 113 miles across) and Prometheus (102 kilometers, 63 miles across).

http://ciclops.lpl.arizona.edu/media/dr … 1707_1.jpg


smile

*Hi YL Rocket:  Everything about Cassini (and Huygens) has been superb.  And we've got 3-1/2 years (at least) to go.  Here's more:

http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/multimedia/i … 1394]Storm Factory?

Region may be spawning vortices -- or swirling storms?  Hmmmmm.  More about this in the 3rd link.

To understand the nature of activity taking place in a region on Saturn, imaging scientists often compare views of the same region taken at different times.

-*-

http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/multimedia/i … 5]Splendid Saturn

Even in non-color she's mighty beautiful.

-*-

http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/multimedia/i … =1407]Such Great Heights

Two vortices interacting?  Bright clouds casting -- ah, they used the very words which also make up the title of one of my favorite TV shows -- Dark Shadows.  I'll have to share this with my galpals on Alondra's group, LOL.  Barnabas?  Is that you?  Whoops...

:;):

--Cindy


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)

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#183 2005-03-03 06:18:22

Palomar
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Re: Cassini-Huygens III - Continued from previous

*Cassini belts out more great pics:

http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewsr.html?pid=15645]A Moon & Saturn's Rings Edge-On (1)

I can never get over how THIN the rings are, from this vantage point.  Considering how WIDE they are.  ::shakes head:: 

-*-

http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewsr.htm … 46]Edge-On (2)

Looks like Modern Art (extreme abstract).  Says -- like other pics of this nature -- the image hasn't been validated nor calibrated.  Does that account for the compact circle-shaped "shadow" or whatever towards the lower right-hand corner?  ???  Seems like photo artifact.

-*-

http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewsr.htm … 47]Edge-On (3)

A closeup.  Can see that circle-shaped "thing" again.

--Cindy

::EDIT:: 

http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/multimedia/i … D=1408]Ice Orbs

Tethys (can see indications of Ithaca Chasma on it) and Enceladus.  The rare double-moon photos like these (relatively upclose and not involving the rings) are especially enjoyable.


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)

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#184 2005-03-04 06:37:20

Palomar
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Re: Cassini-Huygens III - Continued from previous

http://www.saturntoday.com/news/viewsr. … 57]Another "adjectives fail" moment

*Can't pass that up. 

Also, there's an animation of a Dione-Rhea occultation.  I can't lift the animation, but it's viewable at the http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.c … ni-Huygens homepage.

Currently it's on the front page, but soon will move to the "Latest from Saturn" section -- which contains older images as newer ones arrive.

--Cindy


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)

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#185 2005-03-08 10:01:42

Palomar
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Re: Cassini-Huygens III - Continued from previous

http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/multimedia/i … 415]Drapes & kinks

*The F ring and Prometheus' influence.  From January 19.

-*-

http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/multimedia/i … 19]Closest flyby of Enceladus

Will happen tomorrow, March 9.  At closest approach will be only 310 miles above the surface.  Includes map.

--Cindy


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)

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#186 2005-03-09 18:50:10

Yang Liwei Rocket
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Posts: 993

Re: Cassini-Huygens III - Continued from previous

http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/multimedia/i … 19]Closest flyby of Enceladus

Will happen tomorrow, March 9.  At closest approach will be only 310 miles above the surface.  Includes map.

--Cindy

some info on Encleadus, during Cassini's closest-ever approach to Enceladus on 9th of March  2005.

http://ciclops.lpl.arizona.edu/media/ir … 2049_1.jpg

http://ciclops.lpl.arizona.edu/media/ir … 2044_1.jpg

Titan images of Cassini's fly by of were the Cassini-Hujygens has already landed

http://ciclops.lpl.arizona.edu/media/ir … 1928_0.jpg




close-up views illustrate that a variety of processes have shaped the surface of Titan, just as diverse geologic processes are responsible for what we see on Earth's surface.

Image (a) shows a prominent bright-dark boundary near the western edge of the Xanadu region which exhibits a sharp, angular edge between the materials. Three bright, discontinuous circles can be seen (two near the top of the image and another near the lower left). These may be large impact craters; the upper two are approximately 30 kilometers (30 miles) in diameter and the lower one is approximately 50 kilometers (20 miles) in diameter. Titan's thick atmosphere will screen out small projectiles, but if the surface were as old as Titan itself, it should have many more craters of these sizes. Therefore, Cassini scientists think that, like Earth's surface, Titan's surface has been modified more recently by other geologic processes.


http://ciclops.lpl.arizona.edu/media/ir … 1925_0.jpg

big_smile


'first steps are not for cheap, think about it...
did China build a great Wall in a day ?' ( Y L R newmars forum member )

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#187 2005-03-10 09:17:55

Palomar
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Re: Cassini-Huygens III - Continued from previous

*Hi YL Rocket:  Thanks for posting those images. 

Let's send a probe and rover to Titan's southern polar region!  And I wish ESA would release more data soon.

Have just read an article (link below) which mentions the discovery of a 930-mile long river on Titan.  Also, super-rotation:  Titan's winds move faster than Titan itself rotates (the opposite is true on Earth).  Titan's super-rotation was predicted "a decade ago" via computer simulation.

Titan's winds are measured by watching its clouds move. Clouds are rare on Titan, and those that can be tracked are often too small and faint to be seen from Earth. Ten clouds have been tracked by Cassini, giving wind speeds as high as 34 meters per second (about 75 miles per hour) to the east -- hurricane strength -- in Titan's lower atmosphere.

Most cloud activity on Titan as observed by Cassini has occurred over the south pole.

Other items of interest too. 

http://www.universetoday.com/am/publish … 05]Article here.

--Cindy

::EDIT::  Regarding Enceladus, this portion of a caption from NASA's homepage: 

Scientists believe Enceladus is the source of Saturn's E-ring.


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)

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#188 2005-03-11 22:10:57

Yang Liwei Rocket
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Re: Cassini-Huygens III - Continued from previous

Let's send a probe and rover to Titan's southern polar region!

great idea, I wonder what this mission would be like ?




some info at Saturntoday
http://www.saturntoday.com/news/viewsr. … ?pid=15748

image was taken on March 09, 2005 and received on Earth March 09, 2005. The camera was pointing toward ENCELADUS at approximately 28,987 kilometers away, and the image was taken using the CL1 and GRN filters. This image has not been validated or calibrated. A validated/calibrated image will be archived with the NASA Planetary Data System in 2005.

http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/multimedia/i … ...055.jpg

N00030192.jpg was taken on March 09, 2005 and received on Earth March 10, 2005. The camera was pointing toward TETHYS at approximately 196,659 kilometers away, and the image was taken using the CL1 and IR3 filters. This image has not been validated or calibrated.

http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/multimedia/i … ...192.jpg
camera was pointing toward TETHYS at approximately 206,481 kilometers away, and the image was taken using the RED and CL2 filters.

http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/multimedia/i … ...228.jpg

camera was pointing toward ENCELADUS at approximately 14,462 kilometers away

http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/multimedia/i … ...091.jpg



The irregularly shaped moon Janus (181 kilometers, 113 miles across) and the small ring moon Atlas (32 kilometers, 20 miles across) had just emerged from the darkness of Saturn's shadow when Cassini caught this view of the two moons.

The bright A ring is largely overexposed in this view, but several other ring details are nicely visible. The image shows two bright regions within the B ring (at right), ringlets of material within the dark, narrow Encke Gap and kinks in the F ring.

http://ciclops.lpl.arizona.edu/media/dr … 1692_1.jpg

smile


'first steps are not for cheap, think about it...
did China build a great Wall in a day ?' ( Y L R newmars forum member )

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#189 2005-03-12 12:07:35

Palomar
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Re: Cassini-Huygens III - Continued from previous

The irregularly shaped moon Janus (181 kilometers, 113 miles across) and the small ring moon Atlas (32 kilometers, 20 miles across) had just emerged from the darkness of Saturn's shadow when Cassini caught this view of the two moons.

The bright A ring is largely overexposed in this view, but several other ring details are nicely visible. The image shows two bright regions within the B ring (at right), ringlets of material within the dark, narrow Encke Gap and kinks in the F ring.

http://ciclops.lpl.arizona.edu/media/dr … 1692_1.jpg

smile

*Hi YL Rocket:  Terrific pics.  Enceladus is "something else" (Tethys is great too, of course):  Round craters; irregularly-shaped craters; some crater edges look as though they've had a comb scraped gently against them (a fanning pattern); grooves; scatches; cracks running mostly perpendicular to the grooves and scratches.  Looks like some gargantuan cosmic cat had gotten hold of it as a toy.   :;):

I can't get the last pic to download (my connection is too slow I guess, and that's a large pic it seems), but I recognize the caption.

http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/multimedia/i … =1418]Same pic as YL Rocket's last link  in his post -- smaller, for slower computers.  :up:

And now Mr. Stevie Wonder will serenade us as we pause to further adore Saturn and all her lovely Moons:

Isn't she love--ly?
Isn't she won-der-ful?
 

--Cindy


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)

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#190 2005-03-12 19:31:09

hubricide
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Re: Cassini-Huygens III - Continued from previous

How do you figure that Saturn is female?

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#191 2005-03-12 21:43:43

Palomar
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Re: Cassini-Huygens III - Continued from previous

How do you figure that Saturn is female?

*Ah.  One of those "simple" questions which could swiftly lead to things going off-topic.

Brief "detour":

Hubricide, why did the guys here at New Mars figure 2 robots on another mission are female ("she, her") even while I persisted with referring to them in the masculine gender?  (After weeks of my persistence, I finally "gave in" and went with consensus sentiment -- theirs).  Did you ask them?  If not, why direct a gender-referenced question at me?  These are rhetorical questions, by the way (no need to answer, just trying to make a point).

Are you wondering if I'm a feminist?  If so, the answer is no.  I'm a humanist, for all people.

Jupiter is often referred to as King of the Planets.  Fine.  To my mind, Saturn is Queen of the Planets.  Actually planets and robots aren't gendered, as we both know.  I've often referred to Saturn as "it" as well.

I'm flattered you asked, but this thread isn't about my preferences or anyone else's.

Let's please stay on-topic and discuss the science and discoveries of Cassini and Huygens.

--Cindy  smile


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)

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#192 2005-03-12 22:54:13

hubricide
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Re: Cassini-Huygens III - Continued from previous

It seems to be natural for people to want to humanize everything..  Personally though I don't think Saturn is a he or a she, it's a huge planet that is mind-bogglingly beautiful, implausibly so.  Spirit and Opportunity are 'it's, and so are the Sun, the Moon, the Earth, my left foot..

Ultimately it doesn't make a whole lot of difference, but  regardless the whole assignment of genders to things will always perplex me.  I'll be more than willing to agree that non-living things have genders once they engage in sexual intercourse and reproduce..  and I'll bet you $400 trillion that will never happen.

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#193 2005-03-14 08:21:42

Palomar
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Re: Cassini-Huygens III - Continued from previous

http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/multimedia/i … 426]Saturn -and- Titan in the photo

*Nice details.  Rhea and Enceladus also visible.  Ring shadows against northern hemisphere -- and of course the rings themselves.  Details of cloud bands.

Wish this one were in color.  Would be nice to contrast Saturn's colors to the orange smudge of Titan.  smile

--Cindy


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)

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#194 2005-03-14 12:46:29

Palomar
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From: USA
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Re: Cassini-Huygens III - Continued from previous

*Additional information about Titan, via Cassini flyby.  First link is data obtained from 2 July 2004 distant flyby.

http://www.saturntoday.com/news/viewsr. … 27]Tracing surface features on Titan

South polar region.  Double images (right-hand side traced in red).  They're speculating these "features" are either surface channels and/or deep crust structures such as faults.  Longest is 930 miles and as narrow as 6 miles.  Possible impact crater visualized (bottom left).  Includes scale bar.

-*-

http://www.saturntoday.com/news/viewsr. … rutinizing Titan's surface

Lots of info in here.  From data obtained during Oct. and Dec. 2004 flybys.

These close-up views illustrate that a variety of processes have shaped the surface of Titan, just as diverse geologic processes are responsible for what we see on Earth's surface.

-*-

Titans]http://www.saturntoday.com/news/viewsr.html?pid=15723]Titan's Variety (brightness map)

Data collected from C-H's initial approach to the Saturnian system and all flybys. 

The patterns seem to vary with latitude. Close to the equator there is more contrast in the large-scale bright and dark features, with some strikingly linear boundaries that are suggestive of geologic processes at work within Titan's crust. The southern-middle latitudes are more uniformly bright, whereas there is more dark material near the south pole. The very bright features near the south pole are clouds. High northern latitudes are not illuminated during the current season on Titan, which is southern summer.

Cassini-Huygens scientists are investigating what causes the latitudinal variation in brightness. One possibility is that, similar to Earth, some parts of the surface receive higher amounts of precipitation than others over Titan's long year (29.5 Earth years), resulting in different amounts of erosion across the surface.

One Titan year = 29.5 Earth years. 

--Cindy


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)

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#195 2005-03-16 01:15:04

Yang Liwei Rocket
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Re: Cassini-Huygens III - Continued from previous

Some info on the Saturn satellites

http://www.esa.int/SPECIALS/Cassini-Huy … ZTD_0.html

Epimetheus (116 kilometers, 72 miles across) was captured by Cassini in this view.

http://ciclops.lpl.arizona.edu/media/dr … ...239fa4c


'first steps are not for cheap, think about it...
did China build a great Wall in a day ?' ( Y L R newmars forum member )

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#196 2005-03-16 07:03:50

Palomar
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From: USA
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Re: Cassini-Huygens III - Continued from previous

Some info on the Saturn satellites

http://www.esa.int/SPECIALS/Cassini-Huy … ZTD_0.html

Epimetheus (116 kilometers, 72 miles across) was captured by Cassini in this view.

http://ciclops.lpl.arizona.edu/media/dr … ...239fa4c

*Epimetheus and Rings...very nice.

Found this at the bottom of your first link:

There are another 13 moons without official data. Their names are: Ymir, Paaliaq, Siarnaq, Tarvos, Kiviuq, Ijiraq, Thrym, Skadi/Skathi, Mundilfari, Erriapo, Albiorix, Suttung/Suttungr and S/2003 S1.

Other cultures reflected in the names.  :up:

Still amazing to me, as well, how the astronomers of old (17th century especially!) could have seen -any- of Saturn's moons with the telescopes they had back then.  :-\

--Cindy


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)

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#197 2005-03-16 14:41:22

REB
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Re: Cassini-Huygens III - Continued from previous

http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewpr.html?pid=16407]NASA Cassini Finds an Atmosphere on Saturn's Moon Enceladus

Who would have thought such a small moon would have an atmosphere? With a surface gravity around 0.0079 an atmosphere will not hang around for long. It is being replenished.

I have suspected that this moon has a liquid interior. It is like a big ball of water/ammonia covered with ice. It must have been a much bigger world in the past, and it is now slowly loosing it water to space.

Eventually it will probably be a small round little asteroid a few miles across- unless we can find a better use for its resources then letting them get blown into space.


"Run for it? Running's not a plan! Running's what you do, once a plan fails!"  -Earl Bassett

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#198 2005-03-16 16:09:29

Palomar
Member
From: USA
Registered: 2002-05-30
Posts: 9,734

Re: Cassini-Huygens III - Continued from previous

http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewpr.html?pid=16407]NASA Cassini Finds an Atmosphere on Saturn's Moon Enceladus

Who would have thought such a small moon would have an atmosphere? With a surface gravity around 0.0079 an atmosphere will not hang around for long. It is being replenished.

I have suspected that this moon has a liquid interior. It is like a big ball of water/ammonia covered with ice. It must have been a much bigger world in the past, and it is now slowly loosing it water to space.

*Hi REB, you must have snuck in through the side door.  wink  I just now saw your post in this thread, just as it's about time to get off-line.  How did I miss that article today?  ???

The need for such a strong source leads scientists to consider eruptions, such as volcanoes and geysers. If such eruptions are present, Enceladus would join two other such active moons, Io at Jupiter and Triton at Neptune. "Enceladus could be Saturn's more benign counterpart to Jupiter's dramatic Io," said Dr. Fritz Neubauer, co-investigator for the Cassini magnetometer, and a professor at the University of Cologne in Germany.

Since the Voyager flyby, scientists have suspected that this moon is geologically active and is the source of Saturn's icy E ring. Enceladus is the most reflective object in the solar system, reflecting about 90 percent of the sunlight that hits it. If Enceladus does have ice volcanoes, the high reflectivity of the moon's surface might result from continuous deposition of icy particles originating from the volcanoes.

Knew about the likely E-ring correlation and high reflectivity.

Great to see the picture is becoming sharper, so to speak.  :up:

Interesting about magnetic field, oscillations and ionized water vapor:

The observations showed a bending of the magnetic field, with the magnetospheric plasma being slowed and deflected by the moon. In addition, magnetic field oscillations were observed. These are caused when electrically charged (or ionized) molecules interact with the magnetic field by spiraling around the field line. This interaction creates characteristic oscillations in the magnetic field at frequencies that can be used to identify the molecule. The observations from the Enceladus flybys are believed to be due to ionized water vapor.

"Saturn's Snowball." 

--Cindy


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)

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#199 2005-03-17 03:59:55

Yang Liwei Rocket
Member
Registered: 2004-03-03
Posts: 993

Re: Cassini-Huygens III - Continued from previous

http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewpr.html?pid=16407]NASA Cassini Finds an Atmosphere on Saturn's Moon Enceladus

Who would have thought such a small moon would have an atmosphere?

An atmosphere, great discovery  big_smile



Here is some more Saturn info and pics of Enceladus

As if drawn by an artist, this sublime scene speaks of the powerful beauty in the outer solar system: the domain of giant planets encircled by rings and orbited by small cratered moons of ice. In this view, Dione (1,118 kilometers, 695 miles across, at left) and Enceladus (505 kilometers, 314 miles across, at right) orbit the mighty ringed planet, while two bright storms swirl in the atmosphere below.

http://ciclops.lpl.arizona.edu/media/dr … 2012_1.jpg

surface of Enceladus is as white as fresh snow. Still, an impressive variety of terrain is revealed in this contrast enhanced image. At a resolution of about 30 meters per pixel, the close-up view spans over 20 kilometers - recorded during the touring Cassini spacecraft's March flyby of the icy Saturnian moon.
Astronomy Picture of the Day

http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap0503 … 50317.html

Extending through the center of this image, a system of 3-kilometer (2-mile) wide rifts and 20-kilometer (12-mile) wide lanes of grooved terrain separate two distinct geological provinces on Enceladus.

http://ciclops.lpl.arizona.edu/media/dr … 2066_1.jpg

Cratered terrain dominates most of the scene. The relatively dense accumulation of impact craters implies that this terrain is among the oldest on the moon’s surface. Near the bottom of the picture is a 20-kilometer (12-mile) wide crater with a prominent dome-shaped structure in its center.

http://ciclops.lpl.arizona.edu/media/dr … 2070_1.jpg

cool


'first steps are not for cheap, think about it...
did China build a great Wall in a day ?' ( Y L R newmars forum member )

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#200 2005-03-17 11:35:51

REB
Banned
From: Houston, Texas
Registered: 2004-04-07
Posts: 555
Website

Re: Cassini-Huygens III - Continued from previous

http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA06208]Cool Picture! of Enceladus.

The dome in those craters are probably from water pushing up on the ice where it is the thinnest.

I am betting Enceladus is a smaller version of Europa. But its tidal generated heat is probably more like IO's


"Run for it? Running's not a plan! Running's what you do, once a plan fails!"  -Earl Bassett

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