Cassini-Huygens - NASA/ESA Saturn orbiter & Titan lander

Palomar · 2005-04-29 05:07:15

http://www.spacedaily.com/news/cassini- … ml]50-mile diameter impact crater on Titan

*Has been visualized again via Cassini. Composite image included with article. Of course this crater is 50 times the size of the famous Meteor Crater in Arizona (1 mile in diameter).

Discusses the advantages of combining instruments (Cassini's rad

Palomar · 2005-05-02 06:59:30

http://www.saturntoday.com/news/viewsr. … 400]Sounds of Enceladus

*The two short paragraphs are self-explanatory. I can't get it to download, though.

::! bangs on the computer//OPEN IT!! !:: :laugh:

http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/multimedia/v … D=86]Maybe -this- link will work

If it doesn't for me, hopefully it will for you.

--Cindy

::EDIT:: http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/news/feature … 0429.cfm]A Ringside Seat

Cassini is about to begin a new phase of its mission: Extensive (5 months') study of the Rings. Sounds wonderful to me.

Scientists think the rings did not form out of the initial cloud of gas and dust that surrounded Saturn as it formed, but are actually much younger than the planet.

Can't imagine Saturn without those Rings.

alan · 2005-05-02 07:50:42

new mosiacs from huygens
http://www.lpl.arizona.edu/%7Ekholso/]h … %7Ekholso/

alan · 2005-05-02 18:47:28

Closeups of Titan for T5
http://ciclops.lpl.arizona.edu/view_event.php?id=21

Palomar · 2005-05-05 05:16:29

http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewsr.html?pid=16490]Big impact basin on Rhea

*Another pic of Rhea. Tirawa looks like a pond whose ripple rings have been frozen after a rock was dropped into it. Must have been a smaller/slower impact than what hit Mimas.

-*-

http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewsr.htm … 1]Daybreak on Dione

Nice.

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http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewsr.htm … 492]Rubble moon?

Epimetheus has a mean density that is less than that of water, suggesting that it might be somewhat porous.

Saturn's Rings in the pic are in the distance. Glad they mentioned that particular in the caption; it's sometimes difficult to know if the Rings in pics like these are in the foreground or background.

-*-

http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/multimedia/i … eID=848]Ah, look at all the lovely details

Mentions the new phase of exploration Cassini is about to begin: Concentration on the Rings (my post dated May 2). Three moons visible in the pic, along with "several knot-like features" in the F Ring.

I'm hoping we'll get more information on "spokes" in the Rings. I've not yet seen anything pertaining to them from the Cassini mission, unless my memory is going kaput. I've posted images of "spokes" in the Rings from Voyager. Maybe the "spokes" phenomenon was short-lived for some strange reason when Voyager flew past. Guess we'll find out, huh?

-*-

http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap0505 … agnificent Saturn

--Cindy

Palomar · 2005-05-06 06:30:23

http://www.spaceflightnow.com/cassini/0 … l]Channels on the Tangerine-Sky World?

*Cassini imaging specialists and scientists have sharp eyes, apparently. These images remind me of hospital/clinic x-ray films: Murky, subtle shading and silhouettes -- yet the pros can pick out features I don't quite see. :hm:

Anyway, the "photo" on the left is actually a mosaic of 5 images obtained in March. The pic on the right was obtained during the most recent flyby.

The resolution is somewhat degraded in this frame due to the low contrast of the terrain, but several narrow, dark and branching features, which are suggestive of channels, can be discerned.

--Cindy

Palomar · 2005-05-06 14:20:43

http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/multimedia/i … {HONK!!}}}

Hyperion's "Nose." It -does- resemble a face. Also looks like Victorian-style hair on a man, with a wide part in the middle on the "top" of Hyperion. Only an upcurling, waxed moustache is missing. :laugh:

Craters, yes...and the "nose" is perhaps a mountain. Tiny Hyperion is a favorite of mine.

http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/science/moon … eID=6]More about Hyperion (factoids)

...is the largest irregularly shaped natural satellite ever observed, even though it is one of the smaller moons of Saturn...The irregular shape of Hyperion and evidence of bombardment by meteors makes it appear to be the oldest surface in the Saturn system...The largest crater on its surface is approximately 120 kilometers (75 miles) in diameter and 10 kilometers (6 miles) deep.

Tough little cookie of a moon.

--Cindy

Shaun Barrett · 2005-05-06 20:11:56

Cindy:-

Also looks like Victorian-style hair on a man, ..

Yes, and it looks like he has a black eye, too. Perhaps he was just a little too 'forward' in pressing his attentions upon a demure young Victorian maiden .. and was given his just desserts!

And I see what you mean about the lack of clarity with those linear markings on Titan. It looks like a system of roads to me!

Palomar · 2005-05-07 21:59:42

And I see what you mean about the lack of clarity with those linear markings on Titan. It looks like a system of roads to me!

*I don't even see that in the photos. :-\ You must have sharp eyes. -grin- Wait a minute...went back and looked closer. I can make out extremely faint lines which look like veins, in the pic to the right. That's what you're referring to? ???

-*-

http://www.saturntoday.com/news/viewsr. … 04]Amazing Icy Moons

Splendid photo. From left to right: Mimas, Dione and Rhea. Saturn's Rings nearly edge-on. Yes, can see the "wispy markings" on Dione and Rhea. Obtained March 15; 1.5 million miles from Saturn. I seldom complain, but I do wish that photo were in color.

-*-

http://www.saturntoday.com/news/viewpr. … 850]Phoebe: Retrograde Renegade

They've determined (apparently) that Phoebe is an interloper from the Kuiper Belt. "Battered"...that's an apt description. They're calling it "Saturn's retrograde renegade" -- I like that. :up:

"Phoebe was left behind from the solar nebula, the cloud of interstellar gas and dust from which the planets formed," said Dr. Torrence Johnson, Cassini imaging team member at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. "It did not form at Saturn. It was captured by Saturn's gravitational field and has been waiting eons for Cassini to come along." ...
Phoebe has a density consistent with that of the only Kuiper Belt objects for which densities are known.

--Cindy

Shaun Barrett · 2005-05-08 00:03:43

I can make out extremely faint lines which look like veins, in the pic to the right. That's what you're referring to?

Yep! They don't call me ol' eagle eyes for nothing.
Actually, come to think of it, they don't call me ol' eagle eyes at all !!

Palomar · 2005-05-09 07:37:24

*Saturn moon count: Currently 46. From space.com's "Astronotes," which is in a continually updating columnar format; must copy and paste:

May 6
A Dozen New Moons Found Orbiting Saturn
A dozen small moons have been discovered orbiting Saturn, bringing that planet's total known count to 46.
The discoveries were made with Japan's Subaru telescope in Hawaii in an ongoing project led by David Jewitt at the University of Hawaii.
The moons are estimated to range in diameter from 2 to 4 miles (3 to 7 kilometers). They are provisionally named S/2004-S7 through S/2004-S18. All but one of them orbits Saturn in the opposite direction of the planet's spin. This retrograde motion, as it is called, is common of small moons around the outer planets and indicates the rocky objects may be captured asteroids, scientists say.
The discoveries were made last December and announced this week.

Excellent.

--Cindy

Palomar · 2005-05-10 11:16:10

http://www.saturntoday.com/news/viewsr. … 6567]Globe, ring shadows, moon: May 5

*Stunning like always. Wish we'd get a few more color photos.

-*-

http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/multimedia/i … D=1519]New photo of Hyperion: March 19, 2005

[Maybe it read what Shaun and I said about it, and turned its face away from the camera...We've hurt its feelings? No, that'd be impossible; photo taken long before then. ]

At the top is a 130-kilometer-wide (80-mile) crater seen in some NASA Voyager spacecraft images. Detecting specific features is the first step in trying to understand the current rotation state of Hyperion, compared to that at the time of Voyager...
This is the second-closest view of Hyperion obtained by Cassini so far.

--Cindy

alan · 2005-05-10 17:17:38

Another new moon found in the Keeler gap
http://ciclops.lpl.arizona.edu/view.php … hp?id=1071
http://ciclops.lpl.arizona.edu/view.php … hp?id=1074

Palomar · 2005-05-11 06:10:54

Another new moon found in the Keeler gap
http://ciclops.lpl.arizona.edu/view.php … hp?id=1071
http://ciclops.lpl.arizona.edu/view.php … hp?id=1074

*Hi Alan.

http://www.spaceflightnow.com/cassini/0 … tml]S/2005 S1: Wave maker

As Alan mentioned, it's in the Keeler Gap (which is inside the A Ring's outer edge). This moon has a diameter of 4 miles. They're saying it's still too early to know the precise shape of its orbit, but its motion suggests it is very near to the exact center of the Keeler Gap. Was discovered May 1. Of course Cassini is now focusing on the Rings.

Article mentions Pan as well.

--Cindy

::EDIT:: http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/multimedia/i … 1521]Movie of S/2005 S1

Palomar · 2005-05-13 04:58:38

http://www.universetoday.com/am/publish … 252005]Did Iapetus "eat" one of Saturn's rings?

*This ranks as one of -the- best stories/mysteries yet to come from the Cassini mission. They've been studying "The Rindge" (that's how THEY are spelling it) -- that high "seam" running along half of Iapetus' equator. Estimates are it is 12 miles high. Planetary geologists speculate the seam is volcanic in origin but Paulo C.C. Freire thinks Iapetus may have collided with one of Saturn's rings (when it orbited closer to Saturn in the remote past) and "gobbled it up." :-\

There was also a change in Iapetus' orbit.

An impact with a ring also suggests this changed orbit had a perisaturnium at the outer edge of the Roche Zone, where rings can exist for longer periods of time. This is a clue that Iapetus was quite probably much closer to Saturn than its present orbit. "The existence of the rindge suggests the orbit of Iapetus at the time of the collision was equatorial" says Freire, "otherwise, with its present inclination a collision with a ring would not produce a sharp edge, but something more like a wispy dark coating of the leading hemisphere."

Might also explain why half of Iapetus is bright and the other side of it is a full magnitude darker.

"...this ridge and the dark coating of the hemisphere on which it lies are intimately interlinked and are the result of a collision with the edge of a primordial Saturnian ring, ultimately caused by a sudden change in the orbit of Iapetus". Says Freire, "Because of its unique nature, we will henceforth refer to the equatorial ridge of Iapetus simply as 'the Rindge' to mean that this feature is not a ridge in the usual sense of the term

Amazing.

--Cindy

Shaun Barrett · 2005-05-13 06:56:25

Cindy:-

Planetary geologists speculate the seam is volcanic in origin but Paulo C.C. Freire thinks Iapetus may have collided with one of Saturn's rings (when it orbited closer to Saturn in the remote past) and "gobbled it up." :-\

Dadburnit!! I was still hoping it was the seam of an artificial 'Death Star' left there by aliens a billion years ago! :bars2: [ ]

Palomar · 2005-05-13 10:23:31

*Hi Shaun. No such luck, apparently! That's Mimas... :;):

http://www.universetoday.com/am/publish … 2005]Dione & Tethys

Dione (upper moon) occulting a portion of Ring. Caption mentions it definitely looks smoother than Tethys.

--Cindy

::EDIT:: Rheas]http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/multimedia/images/image-details.cfm?imageID=1526]Rhea's "Great White Splat"

Seems star-shaped to me. Interesting how Dione also has white streaks on it. Those streaks seem unique to the Saturn system. I wonder WHY? The topsoil of those moons are obviously darker than the soil beneath them. Enceladus apparently has a close relationship with the Rings, as sediment transfer goes. It's not the only one?

http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/science/moon … ID=14]More on Rhea

-*-

Titans]http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/news/press-release-details.cfm?newsID=571]Titan's atmosphere revealed by new NASA observation

Some is info seen previously.

Palomar · 2005-05-13 13:10:31

http://www.universetoday.com/am/publish … 005]Mosaic of Titan from ESA/Huygens

*They've stitched the triplets together to form this mosaic. Huygens landing site (YAY!! I'm still thrilled over Huygens' spectacular success: Titan's mysterious shroud, finally penetrated!) is outlined.

The nature of the light and dark areas in the southern region are still unknown.

Some features have been mentioned before and we've seen the photos: River deltas and ice boulders. They're also seeing sand bars and mud flats.

Glad to get another press release from ESA on Huygens.
:band:

--Cindy

Palomar · 2005-05-20 10:59:17

http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/multimedia/i … encil-thin Rings

*Can see Enceladus in the pic. Ironically, they also point out that if all the material within the Rings could be compressed into a ball, they'd make up a moon aprox 80% the size of Enceladus. Rings are only as thick as a 2-story building "in most places." That's still weird to think about, considering how WIDE they are. Fabulous photo and wouldn't I love to be there? ::sigh::

-*-

http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/multimedia/i … eID=1533]F Ring Edges & Dione

Can see the whitish markings on Dione.

Researchers using NASA's HST noticed during the 1995 Saturn ringplane crossing that the brightness of the rings when viewed nearly edge-on was dominated by the F ring. In this image, the near and far edges of the F ring form the bright upper and lower boundaries of the rings. The dark strip in between is not empty (otherwise Dione would likely be visible there), but rather represents the material in the A and B rings.

-*-

http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/multimedia/i … eID=1534]I want to go for a walk...

:;):

Such odd but lovely shades/hues of color in the Rings.

--Cindy

Palomar · 2005-05-21 13:30:56

*I wish they'd get us a video clip of Cassini orbiting around to the night-side of Saturn, showing the Sun "disappearing" behind its globe.

--Cindy

Palomar · 2005-05-23 09:49:28

http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewsr.htm … 4]Dramatic Saturn View

*Obtained May 16.

-*-

http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewsr.html?pid=16695]Pan in the Rings

Glide on, little moon. Obtained May 19.

-*-

http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewsr.htm … Prometheus caught up in the Rings

-*-

http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewsr.html?pid=16693]A view to die for

And they simply entitled it "Backlit Moon." :-\ Obtained May 5.

-*-

http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/multimedia/i … 1535]Mimas & Rings

Nice! Herschel crater is a standout in this shot.

--Cindy

Palomar · 2005-05-24 05:33:33

http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewpr.htm … 34]Cassini Radio Signals Decipher Saturn Ring Structure

*Have discovered 40 density waves in Ring A. Lots of new info about Ring B, which has "eluded" previous robot explorers. B is apparently very different from its neighbors, Rings A and C.

Marouf said that at the lower end, particles of about 5 centimeters (roughly 2 inches) in diameter or less seem to be scarce in ring B and inner ring A. In rings C and outer ring A, particles of less than about 5 centimeters (2 inches) in diameter seem to be abundant. Cassini found that the inner and outer parts of ring B contain rings that are hundreds of kilometers wide (hundreds of miles) and vary greatly in the amount of material they contain. A thick, 5,000-kilometer-wide (3,100-mile) core contains several bands with ring material that is nearly four times as dense as that of ring A and nearly 20 times as dense as that of ring C.
The dramatically varying structure of ring B is in sharp contrast to the relatively flat structure of ring A or the gentle, wavy structure of ring C, where many dense, narrow and sharp-edged ringlets permeate its outer part.

They've also detected a "major" density wave in B.

--Cindy

Palomar · 2005-05-24 20:41:49

http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewsr.htm … 2]Sunlight reflecting off the Rings

*The first photo of its kind.

When you look at this photo (starting at its center) and begin gently moving your eyes very slowly back and forth, does it seem like the Rings are undulating? Like a seeable, actual slight rippling effect? Yes, I know it's an optical illusion, and an enjoyable one at that.

It does for me -- always has since Cassini began returning photos similar to these; yet no one else has ever mentioned they see this effect too.

-*-

http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/multimedia/i … 1]Feathery striations & small-scale waves

Haven't seen a photo of Saturn's globe in a while. Nice change of pace.

Feathery striations in the lower right appear to be small-scale waves propagating at a higher altitude than the other cloud features.

Constantly changing clouds...video, please?

--Cindy

I

Saturn

Palomar · 2005-05-25 11:12:49

http://www.saturntoday.com/news/viewsr. … Epimetheus

*Lumpy, bumpy space rock. Distance from Cassini aprox 348,000 miles. Obtained May 20.

-*-

http://www.saturntoday.com/news/viewsr.html?pid=16727]F Ring

From May 20. It is certainly irregular. Can see what appears to be tufts and wisps of material at some of the "edges."

-*-

http://www.saturntoday.com/news/viewsr. … 6728]Janus

Rather nondescript. Also obtained May 20.

--Cindy

::EDIT:: http://www.universetoday.com/am/publish … ?2552005]A bend in the Rings?

Cool optical effect. :up:

Palomar · 2005-05-26 05:40:14

Titans]http://www.space.com/imageoftheday/image_of_day_050526.html]Titan's weird red spot

*This image from April 16th flyby. They're going to have Cassini fly over the area again, utilizing the same instruments as used in this photo, on July 2, 2006 at night, to see if this red spot glows in the dark. They're speculating it's either from an impact event (disrupted soil?) or might be warm material flowing from a cryovolcano.

The red spot is 300 miles in diameter and lies SE of the Xanadu region.

Will be looking forward to that 2006 flyby.

--Cindy

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