Cassini/Huygens Mission Update Thread Pt. 2

[munkin]

Honestly, I don't think what we are seeing in the new radar images are craters. They look more like *calderas*. The rims are too eroded and irregular. The interior of the calderas seem to be multiple fresh dome shaped features. Very little erosion is evident (in relation to the rim)<br /><br />The *calderas* are also perched on top of high terrain and materials have seemed to flow down the rims and create an almost glacial effect on the lower slopes. Those cat scratches look almost like crevasses.

 

[anoolios]

A couple new articles on the uanews website:<br /><br /> Titan's Atmosphere Comes from Ammonia, Huygens Data Say <br /><br /> Cassini's Cameras View Titan in a Different Light <br /><br />

 

[Leovinus]

<i>Cassini offers this lovely, crisp view of Saturn, which shows detail in the planet's banded atmosphere, as well as the delicate ring system.<br /><br />The image has been rotated so that north on Saturn is up; the Sun illuminates Saturn from below. Saturn's tilt throws ghostly shadows of the rings onto the northern hemisphere during the current season.<br /><br />The image was taken with the Cassini spacecraft wide angle camera on Jan. 23, 2005, at a distance of approximately 2.8 million kilometers (1.7 million miles) from Saturn through a filter sensitive to wavelengths of infrared light centered at 728 nanometers. The image scale is 166 kilometers (103 miles) per pixel. </i> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

 

[Leovinus]

<i>For this movie, Cassini pointed its cameras toward Saturn's moon Dione to witness its distant sibling moon Rhea briefly pass behind in a series of 32 individual frames taken over 17 minutes. Four individual frames from the eclipse are shown at bottom.<br /><br />Rhea (1,528 kilometers, or 949 miles across) is larger than Dione (1,118 kilometers, or 695 miles across), but also is farther away as seen here, which explains why the two moons appear to be roughly the same angular size.<br /><br />The view shows principally the anti-Saturn side of Dione, and the Saturn-facing side of far-off Rhea.<br /><br />The images in this movie were taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on Feb. 20, 2005, at a distance of approximately 1.5 million kilometers (900,000 miles) from Dione and about 2.3 million kilometers (1.4 million miles) from Rhea. The image scale is approximately 9 kilometers (6 miles) per pixel on Dione and 14 kilometers (9 miles) per pixel on Rhea. </i> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

 

[bobw]

I have never seen anything like that before. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

 

[Leovinus]

That makes two of us. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

 

[telfrow]

Simply amazing. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <strong><font color="#3366ff">Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will to strive, to seek, to find and not to yeild.</font> - <font color="#3366ff"><em>Tennyson</em></font></strong> </div>

 

[teije]

Absolutely beautiful.

 

[Leovinus]

<i>This map of the surface of Saturn's moon Enceladus illustrates the regions that will be imaged by the Cassini spacecraft's second very close flyby on March 9, 2005. At closest approach, the spacecraft is expected to pass approximately 500 kilometers (310 miles) above the moon's surface. This is Cassini's closest planned approach to Enceladus during the four-year primary mission. Enceladus is 505 kilometers (314 miles) across.<br /><br />The colored lines delineate the regions that will be imaged at differing resolutions, listed in the legend at the bottom.<br /><br />The new high-resolution coverage will reveal details on the anti-Saturn facing hemisphere of Enceladus, which is the transition region between the moon's leading and trailing hemispheres.<br /><br />A high-resolution mosaic was produced following Cassini's previous close Enceladus flyby, which occurred on Feb. 17, 2005. The mosaic showed areas that appeared to be relatively smooth in images from NASA's Voyager spacecraft actually are heavily wrinkled and fractured.<br /><br />The map was made from images obtained by both the Cassini and Voyager spacecraft. The Cassini images used here include data acquired during the previous flyby on Feb. 17, 2005. </i> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

 

[vogon13]

IIRC, Cassini took a very similar time lapse of earth's moon passing through field of view showing earth during one of its' gravitational boosts from earth.<br /><br />Hubble also did a time lapse of a couple Galilean satellites and their shadows cavorting across the face of Jupiter. Pretty sure I saw these on NASA TV.<br /><br /><br />Amazing thing to watch. JPL site also has time lapse of Mimas gliding serenely along edge of ring system at Saturn. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><font color="#ff0000"><strong>TPTB went to Dallas and all I got was Plucked !!</strong></font></p><p><font color="#339966"><strong>So many people, so few recipes !!</strong></font></p><p><font color="#0000ff"><strong>Let's clean up this stinkhole !!</strong></font> </p> </div>

 

[Leovinus]

From the Raw Image gallery:<br /><br /><i> N00029831.jpg was taken on March 07, 2005 and received on Earth March 07, 2005. The camera was pointing toward TETHYS at approximately 1,460,637 kilometers away, and the image was taken using the CL1 and CL2 filters. This image has not been validated or calibrated. A validated/calibrated image will be archived with the NASA Planetary Data System in 2005. </i><br /><br />Don't ask me which one is Tethys and what the other one is. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

 

[chew_on_this]

Some items of interest:<br /><br />MEDIA RELATIONS OFFICE<br />CASSINI IMAGING CENTRAL LABORATORY FOR OPERATIONS (CICLOPS) SPACE SCIENCE INSTITUTE, BOULDER, COLORADO http://ciclops.org media@ciclops.org<br /><br />Preston Dyches (720) 974-5823<br />CICLOPS/Space Science Institute, Boulder, Colo.<br /><br />For Immediate Release: March 9, 2005<br /><br />CASSINI IMAGES REVEAL AN ACTIVE, EARTH-LIKE WORLD<br /><br />Saturn’s hazy largest moon, Titan – a body long held to be a frozen analog of early Earth – has a surface shaped largely by an Earth-like interplay of tectonics, erosion by fluids, winds, and perhaps volcanism. <br />So reports the Cassini imaging team in today’s issue of Nature, in their first published presentation of findings from images of Titan gathered since last July.<br /><br />Titan is about the same size and density as Jupiter's largest moon, Ganymede. Unlike Ganymede, though, it probably has not undergone tidal heating – a well-known internal engine for modification of planetary surfaces. For these reasons, Titan was expected to have a surface at least as old as Ganymede’s and pocked with at least as many large craters. Over the past billion years, Titan should have accumulated as many as a hundred craters, 20 kilometers (12 miles) wide and larger, across its entire surface.<br /><br />Yet, that is not what is seen in the images of this world Cassini has obtained so far.<br /><br />Dr. Elizabeth Turtle, imaging team associate in the Lunar and Planetary Lab at the University of Arizona in Tucson (and co-author on the paper in Nature) said, “We’ve only just begun exploring the surface of Titan, but what’s struck me the most so far is the variety of the surface patterns that we’re seeing. The surface is very complex, and shows evidence for so many different modification processes.”<br /><br />Images collected over the last eight months during a distant flyby of the south polar region a

 

[Leovinus]

<i>Cassini conducts a successful close flyby of Saturn's icy moon Enceladus (en-SELL-uh-duss) at 500 kilometers (310 miles) from its surface today. Enceladus is the coldest of the Saturnian moons and the brightest object in the solar system. Scientists believe Enceladus is the source of Saturn's E-ring.</i> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

 

[scottb50]

I would think it is more a product of the E-ring, accumulating mass as it travels through the ring. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

 

[ktotam]

tethys is in the upper right; in the lower left is dione

 

[ktotam]

old map of Titan..

 

[ktotam]

..and new one

 

[retro555]

Great pictures of the Enceladus flyby are posted on the Planetary Society Web site. An incredibly bright white icy surface.<br /><br />http://www.planetarysociety.org/news/2005/cassini_enceladus_0311.html

 

[jmilsom]

Excellent link Retro555! I've taken the liberty of copying your link to the Enceladus discussion thread in the Space Science and Astronomy forum. Thanks! <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

 

[Leovinus]

<i>Saturn's biggest and brightest moons are visible in this portrait by Cassini.<br /><br />Titan (5,150 kilometers, or 3,200 miles across) is Saturn's largest moon and appears at the lower left. Note that some details in the moon's smoggy atmosphere are visible here. Rhea (1,528 kilometers, or 949 miles across) is the planet's second largest moon and is seen above center. Enceladus (505 kilometers, or 314 miles across) has the brightest surface in the solar system, reflecting nearly all of the sunlight that falls upon it. Enceladus is just above the rings, left of center.<br /><br />Titan was on the far side of the planet at the time of this exposure, while the other moons were on the near side, much closer to Cassini.<br /><br />Also seen here are details in the cloud bands of Saturn's mostly hydrogen atmosphere, variations in brightness across the dazzling rings and magnificent ring shadows cast upon the northern hemisphere.<br /><br />The image was taken with the Cassini spacecraft wide-angle camera on Feb. 5, 2005, at a distance of approximately 3.4 million kilometers (2.1 million miles) from Saturn through a filter sensitive to wavelengths of infrared light centered at 728 nanometers. The image scale is 200 kilometers (124 miles) per pixel. </i> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

 

[thechemist]

What a beautiful image !<br /><br />http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/multimedia/images/image-details.cfm?imageID=1437 <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <em>I feel better than James Brown.</em> </div>

 

[vogon13]

Groovy man! Psy-co-dellllllllic! <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><font color="#ff0000"><strong>TPTB went to Dallas and all I got was Plucked !!</strong></font></p><p><font color="#339966"><strong>So many people, so few recipes !!</strong></font></p><p><font color="#0000ff"><strong>Let's clean up this stinkhole !!</strong></font> </p> </div>

 

[Leovinus]

Take a look at this cool Death Star eclipse movie: http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/multimedia/images/moons/images/PIA06211-br402.gif <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

 

[yurkin]

I was wondering…<br />Since it’s pretty clear now that the rings of Saturn formed from what used to be a moon. Is there a name for that destroyed moon? I don’t think there is but there definitely should be.<br />

 

[vogon13]

How about Elaine?<br /><br />Or Evelyn? <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><font color="#ff0000"><strong>TPTB went to Dallas and all I got was Plucked !!</strong></font></p><p><font color="#339966"><strong>So many people, so few recipes !!</strong></font></p><p><font color="#0000ff"><strong>Let's clean up this stinkhole !!</strong></font> </p> </div>