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#51 2005-05-26 08:37:10

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

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

(Check out another article regarding Titan in the post above this one)

http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewsr.htm … 6749]Titan crater in 3 views

*Cool.  Interesting about the "halo":

In radar, the faint halo surrounding the blanket of material is quite similar in appearance to the rest of the ejecta blanket.

...

It shows the faint halo to be slightly bluer than surrounding material. That the material is bluer than its surroundings, while also being darker, suggests that the faint halo is somewhat different in composition. This suggests that the composition of Titan's upper crust varies with depth, and various materials were excavated when the crater was formed.

-also-

The same structure appearing so different to different instruments illustrates the importance of multiple instruments studying such phenomena. The Cassini spacecraft, being the most interdisciplinary spacecraft ever flown, strongly embodies such an approach.

Yep.  :up:

--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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#52 2005-05-27 02:07:19

Shaun Barrett
Member
From: Cairns, Queensland, Australia
Registered: 2001-12-28
Posts: 2,843

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

Thanks again for keeping us up to date with some very interesting stuff about Titan, Cindy.  :up:
    That red spot is a fascinating thing.
    If it is actually a cryovolcano, fuelled by an upwelling of deeper warmer material, I'd be interested to know if its latitude is 19.5 degrees.
    O.K., O.K., I know this is just navel-gazing on my part but I'm still intrigued by the fact that Earth's , Mars', and Jupiter's biggest surface disturbances are all 19.5 degrees from their equators!
                                                            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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#53 2005-05-27 05:38:32

Palomar
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From: USA
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Posts: 9,734

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

*In connection/cooperation with the Cassini mission:

Astronomers using NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory to observe Saturn were amazed on January 20, 2004, when the planet lit up in an X-ray flash much like a solar flare. Indeed, it was a solar flare--or, at least, the reflection of one...

Saturn acted like a giant mirror, reflecting an M6-class solar flare from a medium-sized sunspot. Curiously...the body of the planet was a better mirror than the rings.

http://chandra.harvard.edu/photo/2005/s … jpg]Photos

Information being hosted by spaceweather.com.

On January 20, 2004 a large flare erupted on the Sun. The flare lasted for 36 minutes and was detected by radio and optical telescopes, as well as an X-ray telescope (lower panels) aboard GOES-12, one of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites.

About two hours and 14 minutes later, Saturn was observed by Chandra to brighten in X-rays. This time delay corresponds to the difference in time it takes for X-rays, or any other form of light, to make the trip from the Sun to Saturn and back to Earth as opposed to traveling directly from the Sun to the Earth.

At this time, Cassini-Huygens were nearing Saturn.

--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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#54 2005-06-02 12:12:26

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

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

http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/multimedia/i … esmerizing

*Bewitching, shimmering, faintly undulating.

Some regions are described as "wave-like" ... other areas are more "chaotic."  Image obtained April 26, '05.

This image shows (from top to bottom) the A ring with the Encke gap, the Cassini Division, and the B and C rings.

-*-

Saturns]http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/multimedia/images/image-details.cfm?imageID=1548]Saturn's Derby

Shadow of globe across the Rings.  Mimas, Janus and Enceladus in the photo.  Photo taken April 25, '05.

--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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#55 2005-06-03 11:36:03

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

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

http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/multimedia/i … =1551]Best photo of the Rings yet

*Nothing short of spectacularcool

--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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#56 2005-06-08 11:43:11

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

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

*How did I miss these?  Have checked homepage every day.

http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/multimedia/i … D=1556]Map of Titan in infrared

Obtained from 26 October 2004 flyby.  Can see volcano (more on that to follow in next image, same date)...

-*-

http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/multimedia/i … 1557]Titan volcano in several infrared wavelengths

Details of the circular feature, which scientists think is an ice volcano, which could be a source of methane in Titan's atmosphere

Looks as though the layers are rather flattened.

-*-

http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/multimedia/i … 8]Geologic map of Titan volcano

This geologic map shows that the circular feature has what appear to be several series of flows, as shown by the black lines. The flows represent episodes of activity on the volcano. A dark central pit, called a caldera, is similar to vents that appear above reservoirs of molten material on Earth's volcanoes.

The colors on the map represent the brightness of features. Yellow and light green represent bright patches. Blue represents dark patches. Red represents mottled material. The yellow area is where the volcano lies.

cool  (Directions/area markers included).

-*-


http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/multimedia/i … 1555]Mimas engulfed in "ribbons"

--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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#57 2005-06-10 06:12:59

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

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

http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/multimedia/i … D=1561]One of the most unique and dramatic

*...of photos from Cassini yet, IMO.  Can see thin edges of Rings F & A.  Three moons in the photo (top to bottom):  Titan, Epimetheus and Tethys.

Titan's smoggy atmosphere evident in the photo.

--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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#58 2005-06-13 14:03:59

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

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

http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/multimedia/i … 3]Embedded Atlas

*Obtained February 18 at a distance of 568,000 miles from Atlas.  Is embedded within Rings A and F.  Tiny Atlas a mere 20 miles across. 

Also:

When viewed from the dark (unlit) side, the rings are essentially an inverse of their familiar appearance (see From the Dark Side and Rings from Afar to compare the different views).

-*-

http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/multimedia/i … 1565]Titan and Rings

Rather dramatic photo.  Obtained March 25.  Titan appears to be only 1/10 a degree above the Ringplane.

The Sun is below the rings in this image, so light that makes it to Cassini is that which has been diffusely transmitted through the rings. Thus, the densest parts of the rings appear dark in this image, and the dusty gaps in the rings, such as the Cassini Division, appear bright.

--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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#59 2005-06-20 10:52:13

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

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

http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/multimedia/i … =1569]Four views of the F Ring

*...taken mere hours apart.  Sometimes kinky, sometimes smooth.  They believe either depends on the proximity of the shepherding moons (Pandora and Prometheus) to that particular portion of the F Ring at the time of each photo. 

-*-

Pandoras]http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/multimedia/images/image-details.cfm?imageID=1570]Pandora's flocks

Captured here are several faint, dusty ringlets in the vicinity of the F ring core. The ringlets do not appear to be perturbed to the degree seen in the core.

I wonder why?  ???  But is easy to see how the portions of the Ring furthest away from Pandora are smooth, and the section closest is distorted.

Pandora's entire shape can be seen due to reflected Saturnian light (illuminating Pandora's dark side).  They mention a "hint of a crater."  I presume on the moon's upper right-hand limb?  Pandora looks like an egg lying on its side in that pic.

-*-

http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/multimedia/i … 8]Funhouse Atmosphere

Truly a unique image.  :up:  Saturn is endlessly compelling.

-*-

http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/multimedia/i … 71]Probing Saturn's Atmosphere

Pics taken 10 minutes apart. 

Several turbulent storms are visible in both images, indicating that these features extend from fairly deep to fairly high in the weather layer. The visible part of Saturn's atmosphere, where such storms and swirls churn, represents only a thin skin in the outermost part of the giant planet.

--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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#60 2005-06-20 19:53:07

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

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

images and video - Titan in 3D from the Cassini Huygens Lander#

http://sci.esa.int/science-e/www/object … ctid=37603

Five months after landing on the surface of Titan scientists are steadily uncovering some of the moon's secrets. In recent weeks a number of interesting results have been published based on measurements made by the Huygens probe.


'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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#61 2005-06-23 05:20:02

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

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

http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/multimedia/i … =1572]From Saturn's night side

*Dione in the foreground; other moon is Epimetheus.  Article mentions tectonic forces on Dione.  Fault lines; also a large impact basin.

Although this crater's diameter has not yet been measured by imaging scientists, it appears to be wider than 250 kilometers (155 miles), which would make it the largest impact structure yet identified on this moon.

Pic obtained May 5.

-*-

http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/multimedia/i … 1573]Dione skating on a ring

Well...it sort of looks that way.  :;):  Storms across Saturn. 

Notable near the upper right is the turbulent southern boundary of Saturn's bright mid-equatorial zone. Cassini measured wind speeds at the altitude of the high, bright clouds north of this boundary to be 250 to 300 meters per second (560 to 670 miles per hour).

Is that all?  yikes  :;):

--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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#62 2005-06-28 05:04:20

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

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

http://www.saturntoday.com/news/viewsr. … =17138]You want Hyperion?  We've got Hyperion.

*Three views.  Images obtained June 12.  Distance of 539,506 miles from Cassini. 

-*-

Photonegative]http://www.saturntoday.com/news/viewsr.html?pid=17035]Photonegative]http://www.saturntoday.com/news/viewsr.html?pid=17035]Photonegative]http://www.saturntoday.com/news/viewsr.html?pid=17035]Photonegative]http://www.saturntoday.com/news/viewsr.html?pid=17035]Photonegative]http://www.saturntoday.com/news/viewsr.html?pid=17035]Photonegative]http://www.saturntoday.com/news/viewsr.html?pid=17035]Photonegative]http://www.saturntoday.com/news/viewsr.html?pid=17035]"Photonegative" Rings

Cassini's climb to progressively higher elevations reveals the "negative" side of Saturn's rings. As the Sun shines through the rings, they take on the appearance of a photonegative: the dense B ring (at the center) blocks much of the incoming light, while the less dense regions scatter and transmit light.

Two moons (Mimas and Prometheus) visible in the pic too.  From April 15.

-*-

http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/multimedia/i … 1576]Janus has "spots"

They speculate may be due to the exposure of dark material via impacts.  Mentions the possible contrast to Phoebe (light beneath dark).

-*-

Pans]http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/multimedia/images/image-details.cfm?imageID=1575]Pans]http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/multimedia/images/image-details.cfm?imageID=1575]Pans]http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/multimedia/images/image-details.cfm?imageID=1575]Pans]http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/multimedia/images/image-details.cfm?imageID=1575]Pans]http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/multimedia/images/image-details.cfm?imageID=1575]Pans]http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/multimedia/images/image-details.cfm?imageID=1575]Pans]http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/multimedia/images/image-details.cfm?imageID=1575]Pan's influence

--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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#63 2005-06-28 12:27:53

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

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

http://www.universetoday.com/am/publish … 62005]Even in x-rays, Saturn is beautiful

*This is from Chandra, but of course complements the Cassini-Huygens mission. 

These X-rays are created by solar X-rays striking the ice particles in Saturn's rings, and being refracted towards the Earth. Astronomers aren't exactly sure why these flashes are happening, but one theory is that they're caused by micrometeorites striking through Saturn's rings and causing a brief puff of ice particles which can cause a more irregular scattering of X-rays from the Sun.

Also mentions spokes:

Spokes, which appear as radial shadows in the rings, are due to transient clouds of fine ice-dust particles that are lifted off the ring surface, and typically last an hour or so before disappearing. It has been suggested that the spokes are triggered by meteoroid impacts on the rings, which are more likely in the midnight to early morning hours because during that period the relative speed of the rings through a cloud of meteoroids would be greater.

Cool.  An explanation I've been searching for.

-*-

http://www.universetoday.com/am/publish … 2862005]Is this a lake on Titan?

Near the south pole.  A tiny red + marks the SP.  The brightest features in the photo are methane clouds.  There's also a movie available of the development of bright clouds in this region. 

they've found an intriguing dark patch on the moon's surface that could be an open body of liquid. This photograph is a view of Titan's southern pole, a region that often has storm clouds, so it's an ideal candidate for an open lake. If it isn't a lake, the region could be a large hole that filled with solid, dark hydrocarbon "snow".

--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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#64 2005-06-29 08:40:34

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

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

http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/multimedia/i … 581]Clouds in the distance -- Titan

*Storm clouds and possible methane rain in southern polar region.  This is an animation of cloud development over the area; 2 hours' worth, obtained June 6.  They're also speculating that footprint-shaped depression might be a sinkhole or volcanic caldera.  Beggars can't be choosers, but I wish we could have had more hours' worth of images for a longer animation.  :-\

-*-

http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/multimedia/i … =1583]Tiny Pandora

One of the closest photos yet of this shepherding moon.  This side of Pandora faces away from Saturn. 

-*-

http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/multimedia/i … 84]Upclose Epimetheus

Impact craters mentioned.  (http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/multimedia/images/image-details.cfm?imageID=1501]Here's a better photo of them.  That photo has been posted previously, btw)

--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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#65 2005-06-30 10:03:23

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

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

http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/multimedia/i … 585]Toward the Dayside

*Now -that- is glorious.  A truly unique photo.  Thank you, Cassini, for being our eyes and allowing us to witness such majestic splendors.

-*-

http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/multimedia/p … x.cfm]VOTE!

Which is your favorite?  Let them know.  "Nature's Canvas" got my vote.  The results and winning photo will be announced in mid-July.

--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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#66 2005-06-30 10:26:38

Josh Cryer
Moderator
Registered: 2001-09-29
Posts: 3,830

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

"Nature's Canvas" is truly amazing. I voted for it too. It reminds me of these surrealist space paintings (well, prints, the artists originals were way expensive) I once had. The difference being that this is real. Amazing.


Some useful links while MER are active. [url=http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.html]Offical site[/url] [url=http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/nasatv/MM_NTV_Web.html]NASA TV[/url] [url=http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/mer2004/]JPL MER2004[/url] [url=http://www.spaceflightnow.com/mars/mera/statustextonly.html]Text feed[/url]
--------
The amount of solar radiation reaching the surface of the earth totals some 3.9 million exajoules a year.

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#67 2005-06-30 11:44:48

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

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

"Nature's Canvas" is truly amazing. I voted for it too. It reminds me of these surrealist space paintings (well, prints, the artists originals were way expensive) I once had. The difference being that this is real. Amazing.

*Thanks for voting, Josh.  That photo -- of all of them -- stands out the most in my mind.  I figured it would be one of the options.  Actually I can think of two others which should have been included as well, but they do have a terrific overall mix to choose from.

Hard to believe an entire year has passed already.   

--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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#68 2005-07-02 07:02:29

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

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

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

great picture  cool




some more stuff here,
sorry if any of it was posted before

view of Titan’s south polar region reveals an intriguing dark feature that may be the site of a past or present lake of liquid hydrocarbons.

http://ciclops.org/media/ir/2005/1161_2 … 2748_1.jpg

team of European and US scientists, using Cassini-Huygens data, have found that Saturn’s smoggy moon Titan may have volcanoes that release methane into the atmosphere.

http://www.esa.int/SPECIALS/Cassini-Huy … U8E_0.html


view shows the Encke Gap (325 kilometers, 200 miles wide) whose center is 133,590 kilometers (83,010 miles) from Saturn.

http://ciclops.org/media/dr/2005/1146_2 … 2743_1.jpg


dark regions on Titan
http://ciclops.org/media/ir/2005/874_19 … 1927_1.jpg


'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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#69 2005-07-05 12:25:49

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

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

*Hi YL Rocket.  Thanks for posting.  smile  The latest in from Titan has been especially compelling, huh? 

http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/multimedia/i … 1588]Mimas:  Not quite round

Can see Herschel.  That crater doesn't look quite as deep from this viewpoint.  :hm:  Mimas has low density; speculation is it's made mostly of ice. 

The moon's equatorial dimension is nearly 10 percent larger than the polar one due to the satellite's rapid rotation.

Caption points out, though, that Mimas' oblateness in the pic is exaggerated by the viewing angle.

-*-

http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/multimedia/i … 1589]Looks like a big orange

Except it's not orange.  :laugh:  Points out old impact basin, etc.  A crater named Penelope (I like that name), thought to be a young crater. 

--Cindy

::EDIT::  http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/multimedia/i … 7]Resonant Effects


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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#70 2005-07-05 17:06:35

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

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

http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/multimedia/i … 1589]Looks like a big orange

Except it's not orange.  :laugh:  Points out old impact basin, etc.  A crater named Penelope (I like that name), thought to be a young crater. 

--Cindy

::EDIT::  http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/multimedia/i … 7]Resonant Effects

Great information big_smile




more of Saturn and the Cassini-Huygens info
Moons
http://ciclops.org/media/dr/2005/1116_2 … 2641_1.jpg
Cassini-Huygens going down on Titan -  high-res image
http://esamultimedia.esa.int/images/cas … ...m_H.png
Hyperion fly by Movie
http://www.hardyboys-uk.com/hyperion_mo … _movie.gif
Rhea
http://ciclops.org/media/dr/2005/1085_2 … 2633_1.jpg

Mimas High res
http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/multimedia/i … ...587.jpg
Moon makes waves
http://esamultimedia.esa.int/images/cas … 6237_H.jpg
Epimetheus
http://ciclops.org/media/dr/2005/1143_2 … 2741_1.jpg


'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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#71 2005-07-07 06:11:28

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

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

http://www.space.com/imageoftheday/imag … Perplexing Tethys

*This moon in the featured news of many space web sites. 

Focus is on the crater Odysseus and the canyon network Ithaca Chasma.  They're speculating the impact which created Odysseus also contributed to the formation of IC. 

Cassini will do another flyby of Tethys in September.  Hopefully will get some info/clues regarding the dark band running along Tethy's equator.

--Cindy

::EDIT::  Just saw post beneath this one.  Fixed it.  I apparently didn't double-check the link after posting it (rarity!).  Sorry...


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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#72 2005-07-07 19:02:35

hubricide
Banned
Registered: 2004-07-26
Posts: 49

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

That's not perplexing Tethys, that's Dunes.

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#73 2005-07-08 16:37:21

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

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

Saturn Ring system

This sweeping view of Saturn’s rings offers a look at how the planet’s moons help shape and maintain this structure, making Saturn the jewel of the Solar System.

Some of the bright lanes seen here within the main rings are due to resonances with moons like Mimas and Atlas, whose gravity nudges the orbits of the ring particles. These resonances can also cause dark gaps in the rings, like the Cassini Division.

Clumps are visible in both the thin, outer F ring and the ringlets within the Encke Gap; the latter is maintained by the presence of tiny Pan (20 kilometers, 12 miles across at left of center). The clumps result from gravitational interactions of ring particles with the small moons that orbit nearby. The structurally complex F ring is maintained by the presence of Prometheus and Pandora

http://ciclops.org/media/dr/2005/1124_2 … 2744_1.jpg


Titan pic
http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/multimedia/i … ...747.jpg

The camera was pointing toward TITAN at approximately 1,253,677 kilometers away, and the image was taken using the CL1 and CB3 filters. This image has not been validated or calibrated.

http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/multimedia/i … ...746.jpg

The camera was pointing toward TITAN at approximately 1,253,706 kilometers away, and the image was taken using the IRP0 and CB3 filters. This image has not been validated or calibrated.

http://ciclops.org/media/dr/2005/1130_2 … 2745_1.jpg
Three of Saturn’s icy moons are seen here, along with the magnificent water-ice rings and the cold gaseous envelope of the planet’s atmosphere. Saturn’s dark shadow stretches completely across the rings.

At nine and a half times farther from the Sun than Earth, Saturn inhabits the deep cold of the outer Solar System. The Sun appears only 1 percent as bright there as it appears at Earth, creating an environment where ice dominates over rock.

The icy Moons visible here, from left to right: Janus (181 kilometers, 113 miles across), Enceladus (505 kilometers, 314 miles across), and Epimetheus (116 kilometers, 72 miles across).


'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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#74 2005-07-11 16:36:10

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

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

more from the Cassini-Huygens mission
big_smile
N00036767.jpg was taken on July 08, 2005 and received on Earth July 08, 2005. The camera was pointing toward SATURN-RINGS at approximately 2,314,031 kilometers away, and the image was taken using the CL1 and CL2 filters.
http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/multimedia/i … ...767.jpg

http://www.esa.int/SPECIALS/Cassini-Huy … QUD_0.html
This animation shows the journey, key events
http://huygens.esa.int/science-e/www/ar … fareaid=12
A NASA/ESA/ASI mission to explore the Saturnian system. The ESA component consists largely of the Huygens probe, which entered the atmosphere of Saturn's largest moon, Titan, and descended under parachute down to the surface. The Cassini spacecraft is currently undertaking a four year exploration of the Saturnian system



http://ciclops.org/media/dr/2005/1148_2 … 2732_1.jpg

Rhea (1,528 kilometers, 949 miles across) displays two large impact features here, along the terminator, plus a superb rayed crater to the east.

The northern basin, named Tirawa, was discovered in Voyager images. This ancient impact site is approximately 360 kilometers (220 miles) across. Another, perhaps larger basin sits to the south of Tirawa and is partly covered in shadow.

This view shows principally the leading hemisphere on Rhea; north is up and rotated about 10 degrees to the left.

http://ciclops.org/media/dr/2005/1148_2 … 2732_1.jpg




This movie sequence provides the record of Cassini’s first close brush with Hyperion, Saturn’s chaotically tumbling moon. As the spacecraft whizzes past, Hyperion’s unusual shape is most apparent. The jagged outlines are indicators of large impacts chipping away at Hyperion's shape as a sculptor does to marble.

Hyperion's irregular dimensions are 164 by 130 by 107 kilometers (102 by 81 by 66 miles).

These Cassini images are the best views yet of one of the large, low density objects that orbit Saturn. Hyperion is close to the size limit where, like a child compacting a snowball, internal pressure due to the moon's gravity will begin to crush weak materials like ice, closing pore spaces and eventually creating a more spherical shape.

:band:

However, this moon has a very irregular shape and preliminary estimates of its density show that it is only about 60 percent as dense as solid water ice. This suggests that much of its interior (40 percent or more) must be empty space.

The low density further suggests that Hyperion is mostly made of water ice, with a low rock and metal content. If the moon had significant higher density components, its implied porosity would be significantly higher than 50 percent. The dark material on the surface is therefore likely a minor component, possibly originating from impacts of dark material, as seen on Iapetus.

Hyperion’s elliptical orbit and irregular shape influence its chaotic tumbling. Further, because it is in a resonance orbit with the giant moon Titan, impact debris ejected with sufficient energy does not come to rest again on Hyperion. Instead, debris is tugged gravitationally into Titan’s orbit, where it impacts the large smoggy moon.

This series of 25 images was taken over a period of nearly two and a half days, between June 9 and June 11, 2005, as Cassini’s orbit took it close to Hyperion.

Cassini will have one close, targeted flyby of Hyperion on September 26, 2005.

At the beginning of the movie Cassini was approximately 815,000 kilometers (506,000 miles) from Hyperion; at the end, the spacecraft was 327,000 kilometers (203,000 miles) distant. The closest image was acquired from a distance of 168,000 kilometers (104,000 miles). The images were taken using the narrow angle camera and a spectral filter sensitive to ultraviolet wavelengths centered at 338 nanometers. Image scale ranges from 5 kilometers (3 miles) per pixel at most distant to 1 kilometer (0.6 mile) at best. The images have been enhanced to improve the visibility of surface features.

http://ciclops.org/media/ir/2005/1192_2 … 2791_0.gif
http://ciclops.org/media/ir/2005/1192_2 … 2791_1.gif

N00036832.jpg was taken on July 10, 2005 and received on Earth July 10, 2005. The camera was pointing toward SATURN-RINGS at approximately 1,927,057 kilometers away, and the image was taken using the CL1 and CL2 filters.
http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/multimedia/i … ...832.jpg

Hyperion pops into view in this stereo anaglyph (or 3D view) created from Cassini images. Images taken from slightly different viewing angles allow construction of such stereo views which are helpful in interpreting the moon’s irregular shape.

Hyperion's unusual dimensions are 164 by 130 by 107 kilometers (102 by 81 by 66 miles).

http://ciclops.org/media/ir/2005/1193_2 … 2793_1.jpg
cool
N00036822.jpg was taken on July 10, 2005 and received on Earth July 10, 2005. The camera was pointing toward SATURN-RINGS at approximately 2,045,127 kilometers away, and the image was taken using the CL1 and CL2 filters.
http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/multimedia/i … ...822.jpg


'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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#75 2005-07-11 20:36:59

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

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

http://ciclops.org/media/dr/2005/1148_2 … 2732_1.jpg

Rhea (1,528 kilometers, 949 miles across) displays two large impact features here, along the terminator, plus a superb rayed crater to the east.

The northern basin, named Tirawa, was discovered in Voyager images. This ancient impact site is approximately 360 kilometers (220 miles) across. Another, perhaps larger basin sits to the south of Tirawa and is partly covered in shadow.

This view shows principally the leading hemisphere on Rhea; north is up and rotated about 10 degrees to the left.

*Hi YL Rocket.  What a ton of info rolling in, huh?  That rayed crater is so remarkable.  :up:  Rhea sure is riddled with craters.  :-\

Hyperion is one of the weirdest Saturnian moons, IMO.  It always looks so different from photo to photo.  The movie won't play on this computer; I'll try it tomorrow on my other computer.  WEIRD moon.  40% (or more) of its interior "must be empty space"...hmmmmm.  And fascinating interaction with Titan. 

Flyby of Hyperion coming 26 September 2005.

--Cindy  smile

::EDIT::  Didn't see this yet posted [maybe it's my eyes, LOL]:

http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/news/events/ … ]Enceladus flyby:  July 14

Cassini will pass within 175 km/109 miles of E's surface.


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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