Cassini/Huygens Mission Update Thread

[Leovinus]

Another one. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

 

[Leovinus]

Maybe it's just glare on the lens. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

 

[larper]

Zodiacal light, maybe? <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><strong><font color="#ff0000">Vote </font><font color="#3366ff">Libertarian</font></strong></p> </div>

 

[jimblewit]

oopoo, I'm pretty sure both N00023482.jpg and N00023470.jpg are close ups of a portion of Titan's surface. They were taken around 80000km away with the narrow-angle camera (N00...) - basically point-blank range - and are part of the detailed mapping. I doubt they make much sense to us Joe Publics without precise positioning information to assemble what was undoubtedly a multi-shot scan of Titan. <br /><br />images with explanation:<br />http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/multimedia/images/raw/raw-images-details.cfm?feiImageID=25814<br />http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/multimedia/images/raw/raw-images-details.cfm?feiImageID=25802

 

[Leovinus]

<i>This radar image of the surface of Saturn's moon Titan was acquired on October 26, 2004, when the Cassini spacecraft flew approximately 1,600 kilometers (994 miles) above the surface and acquired radar data for the first time.<br /><br />Brighter areas may correspond to rougher terrains and darker areas are thought to be smoother. This image highlights some of the darker terrain, which the Cassini team has dubbed "Si-Si the Cat." This nickname was chosen after a team member's daughter, Si-Si, pointed out that the dark terrain has a cat-like appearance. The interconnected dark spots are consistent with a very smooth or highly absorbing solid, or could conceivably be liquid.<br /><br />The image is about 250 kilometers (155 miles) wide by 478 kilometers (297 miles) long, and is centered at 50 N, 54 W in the northern hemisphere of Titan, over a region that has not yet been imaged optically. The smallest details seen on the image vary from about 300 meters (984 feet) to 1 kilometer (.62 mile).<br /><br />The data were acquired in the synthetic aperture radar mode of Cassini's radar instrument. In this mode, radio signals are bounced off the surface of Titan. The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Cassini-Huygens mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The instrument team is based at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. </i> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

 

[chmee]

A little off topic, but how much mass is contained in the rings of Saturn? In other words, how "big" of a moon was the precursor object that was destroyed to form the rings?<br />

 

[Leovinus]

This web site has the masses of the rings. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

 

[volcanopele2]

Those images are our regional mapping and high resolution observations. To guard against smearing, we used short exposure times but took multiple images at the same footprint. We have software to enhance those, as have been released, but we can do more than that, and that's what I'll be working on from now till Tb.

 

[trockner]

*Deleted* (too dumb and obvious)<br /><br />

 

[Leovinus]

<i>The inner edges of Saturn's rings arc gracefully across the top of this image from Cassini. Thin shadows cast by the rings are visible at upper right through the optically thin C ring.<br /><br />The image was taken with the Cassini spacecraft narrow angle camera on Sept. 15, 2004, at a distance of 8.5 million kilometers (5.3 million miles) from Saturn through a filter sensitive to wavelengths of infrared light centered at 727 nanometers. The image scale is 50 kilometers (31 miles) per pixel. </i> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

 

[Leovinus]

<i>Cassini spied the moon Enceladus in the distance beyond Saturn's south pole in this image from Sept. 19, 2004.<br /><br />This view was taken in wavelengths of ultraviolet light where gas molecules in Saturn's high atmosphere scatter a great deal of sunlight. Since Enceladus (499 kilometers, or 310 miles, across) has an unusually high reflectivity, its surface reflects even more of the light falling on it than Saturn does, making the moon appear very bright compared the planet. Enceladus was dimmed in brightness by a factor of three during processing of the image, in order to make its brightness comparable to that of Saturn.<br /><br />The image was taken with the Cassini spacecraft narrow angle camera at a distance of 8.3 million kilometers (5.2 million miles) from Saturn. The image scale is 49 kilometers (30 miles) per pixel. </i> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

 

[bobw]

I like this image of Prometheus stealing material from the F ring. <br /><br />http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99996614 <br /><br />Sorry I can't find it on the planetary photojournal or anything.<br /> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

 

[Leovinus]

<i> The Cassini spacecraft took this image of another eclipse as the Sun disappeared behind Saturn's largest moon Titan.</i> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

 

[decepticon]

Can we expect any more Radar data from the 1st Titan data?<br /><br />Or was that all radar data obtained during that flyby?

 

[Leovinus]

<i>Dione shows Cassini some of the bright wispy streaks that cover much of the moon's trailing hemisphere. The streaks are thought to be deposits of icy material that has been extruded onto the moon's surface from the interior. Dione's diameter is 1,118 kilometers (695 miles) across.<br /><br />The image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow angle camera on Sept. 28, 2004, at a distance of 7.3 million kilometers (4.5 million miles) from Dione and at a Sun-Dione-spacecraft, or phase, angle of 79 degrees. The image scale is 44 kilometers (27 miles) per pixel. The image has been magnified by a factor of four to aid visibility. </i> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

 

[Leovinus]

I have not seen any other data yet. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

 

[Leovinus]

<i>This close-up of Saturn's atmosphere shows turbulent activity on the ragged edge of the equatorial cloud band. The turbulence is a direct result of internal heat from the planet and absorbed sunlight, and is generally lower in Saturn's bland atmosphere than in the atmospheres of Jupiter and Earth. The lower level of turbulence on Saturn may account for its higher wind speeds, compared to Jupiter and Earth.<br /><br />The image was taken with the Cassini spacecraft narrow angle camera on Sept. 25, 2004, at a distance of 7.7 million kilometers (4.8 million miles) from Saturn through a filter sensitive to wavelengths of infrared light centered at 889 nanometers. The image scale is 92 kilometers (57 miles) per pixel. </i> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

 

[chew_on_this]

Pardon my ignorance, but why the the wait to drop Huygens?

 

[bushuser]

You will recall that the original plan was to separate Huygens months ago. The big screwup with the radio frequencies [specifically, they forgot to account for Doppler shift between Huygen's transmitter and Cassini's receiver, traveling at different velocities] led to a change in mission profile. By dropping off Huygens on a different orbit in December, they think the path/speed of the two spacecraft will minimize Doppler shifting and allow Cassini's radio to "hear." <br /><br />Pray this adjustment works.

 

[alokmohan]

Landing or splashing is the question.

 

[peteb]

Actually, by the original plan the probe would have been released today with entry on November 27.

 

[Leovinus]

<i>Saturn's moon Titan shows a sharp contrast between its smooth and rough edges in a new false-color radar image.<br /><br />To provide a better perspective of the surface features, the color image is shown alongside a black and white image that was previously released. To read the full caption for the black and white image click here.<br /><br />In the new color image, brighter areas may correspond to rougher terrains, slopes facing the radar, or different materials. The pink colors enhance smaller details on the surface, while the green color represents smoother areas. Winding linear features that cut across dark areas may be ridges or channels, although their nature is not yet understood. A large dark circular feature is seen at the western (top left) end of the image, but very few features on Titan resembling fresh impact craters are seen.<br /><br />The area shown is in the northern hemisphere of Titan and is about 150 kilometers (93 miles) wide by 300 kilometers (186 miles) long. The image is a part of a larger strip created from data taken on Oct. 26, 2004, when the Cassini spacecraft flew approximately 1,200 kilometers (745 miles) above Titan's surface. </i> <br /><br />Full resolution image <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

 

[Leovinus]

<i>This image from Cassini shows details in the alternating light and dark bands in Saturn's southern hemisphere. Visible details in this image are a dark, curved ribbon near upper left, and an elliptical dark spot with attached streamers above and left of center.<br /><br />The image was taken with the Cassini spacecraft narrow angle camera on Sept. 25, 2004, at a distance of 7.7 million kilometers (4.8 million miles) from Saturn through a filter sensitive to wavelengths of infrared light centered at 727 nanometers. The image scale is 46 kilometers (29 miles) per pixel. </i> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

 

[Leovinus]

<i>This view of Saturn's second-largest moon, Rhea (1,528 kilometers, or 949 miles, across), shows some of the large craters that cover its surface. There is a bright feature near the moon's right limb, possibly a large, rayed crater or bright icy material exposed by internal processes.<br /><br />The image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow angle camera on Sept. 26, 2004, at a distance of 7.1 million kilometers (4.4 million miles) from Rhea and at a Sun-Rhea-spacecraft, or phase, angle of 75 degrees. The image scale is 43 kilometers (27 miles) per pixel. The image has been magnified by a factor of four and contrast-enhanced to aid visibility. </i> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

 

[vegemite]

Does cassini have enough fuel to go in orbit around Titan if they wanted? That's where I'd put the thing.