Cassini/Huygens Mission Update Thread

[remcook]

there's already some discussion about that in the SSA forum (i think in the 'lifting Titan's veil' thread). The answer is no

 

[Leovinus]

<i>This false color image of two density waves in Saturn's A ring was made from the stellar occultation observed by Cassini's ultraviolet imaging spectrograph when the spacecraft was 6.8 million kilometers (4.2 million miles) from Saturn.<br /><br />Bright areas indicate the denser regions of the rings. The bright bands in the left part of the image are the "peaks" of a density wave caused by gravitational stirring of the rings by Saturn's moon, Janus. A smaller density wave in the right half of the image is produced by the moon Pandora. The ultraviolet imaging spectrograph observed the brightness of the star Xi Ceti as the rings passed in front of it, and the flickering of the starlight was converted into the ring density depicted by the image. The image represents a distance of about 724 kilometers (450 miles), and the smallest features are about one-half mile across. </i> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

 

[silylene old]

that's pretty! <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature" align="center"><em><font color="#0000ff">- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -</font></em> </div><div class="Discussion_UserSignature" align="center"><font color="#0000ff"><em>I really, really, really miss the "first unread post" function.</em></font> </div> </div>

 

[Leovinus]

<i>This Cassini image shows a bright storm that appeared in mid-September at the latitude of one of the rare westward jets on Saturn. This latitude band has come to be called "Storm Alley" by Cassini imaging scientists because of the large amount of activity seen there during 2004.<br /><br />The image was taken with the Cassini spacecraft narrow angle camera on Sept. 18, 2004, at a distance of 8.3 million kilometers (5.2 million miles) from Saturn through a filter sensitive to visible blue light. The image scale is 49 kilometers (30 miles) per pixel. The mottling in the image is an artifact. </i> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

 

[ilbasso]

This is a fascinating image - the interplay of the rings and their shadows - and a small moon (Mimas?) superimposed on the scene. Very art nouveau!<br />http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/multimedia/images/raw/casJPGFullS05/N00023939.jpg

 

[decepticon]

I don't understand why the cassini team releases such low res images of the moons.<br /><br />There is this amazing image of Tethys yet to be released on the main web page. http://www.planetary.org/saturn/images/tethys_cassini_041028_raw_p0-uv3_254k_579x689.jpg<br /><br />Most surfers would not even know of it.<br /><br />It was brought forward buy News sites and RAW Image fans. <br /><br /><br />I like the way this site brings news and images to the public. http://www.planetary.org/saturn/

 

[volcanopele2]

It takes a little bit for an image meant for release to make it down the pipeline from the ISS team (which process the special release images) to CICLOPS (which processes the daily release images and packages and prepares all images for release) to JPL (which actually releases the images). So the images being released today were actually ready to go a week ago (though some special releases, particularly those associated with press conferences) can be essentially fast-tracked. so some of the really raw images are noticed and are being worked on. It just takes a bit for them to actually be released. Just be patient.

 

[Leovinus]

<i>This image shows the dark, leading hemisphere of the mysterious moon Iapetus. The dark area is the Cassini region, named for Giovanni Cassini, who discovered the moon in 1672. The diameter of Iapetus is 1,436 kilometers (892 miles).<br /><br />Cassini noted that he was able to see the moon on one side of its orbit around Saturn, but not on the other side. From this, he correctly deduced that one hemisphere must be dark while the other is much brighter.<br /><br />The image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow angle camera on Sept. 24, 2004, at a distance of 7.4 million kilometers (4.6 million miles) from Iapetus and at a Sun-Iapetus-spacecraft, or phase, angle of 51 degrees. The image scale is 45 kilometers (28 miles) per pixel. The image has been magnified by a factor of four to aid visibility. </i> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

 

[Leovinus]

<i>aturn hosts its own miniature solar system, with an entourage of more than 30 moons. This image shows Saturn's A and F rings, along with three of the moons that orbit close to them.<br /><br />From innermost to outermost, tiny Atlas (32 kilometers, or 20 miles, across) orbits just outside of the bright A ring and is seen above center in this view. Prometheus (102 kilometers, or 63 miles, across) is visible near lower right. Prometheus and its smaller cohort, Pandora, shepherd the thin, knotted F ring. Finally Janus (181 kilometers, or 112 miles, across) can be seen near lower left. Janus shares its orbit with the moon Epimetheus.<br /><br />Density waves due to Janus cause some of the bright bands seen in the A ring in this image. Prometheus and Atlas also produce waves in the rings, but their wave regions are too narrow to be seen here. The interactions of the moons with each other and the rings are a major target of study for the Cassini mission.<br /><br />The planet's shadow stretches all the way across the main rings in this view. The shadow has an oval shape at present, but over the next few years will become more rectangular as the planet orbits the Sun and the angle at which sunlight strikes the rings decreases. For an example of this from NASA's Voyager mission, see http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA00335.<br /><br />The image was taken with the Cassini spacecraft narrow angle camera on Oct. 6, 2004, at a distance of 6.4 million kilometers (4 million miles) from Saturn through a filter sensitive to wavelengths of visible red light. The image scale is 38 kilometers (24 miles) per pixel. </i> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

 

[Leovinus]

<i>Saturn's moon Rhea shows off the moon equivalent of a black eye -- a bright, rayed crater near its eastern limb.<br /><br />Rhea is about half the size of Earth's moon. At 1,528 kilometers (949 miles) across, it is the second-largest moon orbiting Saturn.<br /><br />The image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow angle camera on Oct. 24, 2004, at a distance of about 1.7 million kilometers (1 million miles) from Rhea and at a Sun-Rhea-spacecraft, or phase, angle of 40 degrees. The image scale is approximately 10 kilometers (6 miles) per pixel. Cassini will image this hemisphere of Rhea again in mid-January 2005, just after the Huygens probe landing on Titan - with approximately 1-kilometer (0.6-mile) resolution. </i> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

 

[Leovinus]

<i>This dazzling view looks beyond gigantic storms near Saturn's south pole to the small but clear disc of Tethys (1,060 kilometers, or 659 miles, across). Clouds and ribbons of gas swirl about in the planet's atmosphere in the foreground, while a tremendous chasm is visible on the icy moon.<br /><br />The image was taken with the Cassini spacecraft narrow angle camera on Oct. 18, 2004, at a distance of 3.9 million kilometers (2.4 million miles) from Saturn and at a Sun-Saturn-spacecraft, or phase, angle of 61 degrees. The view is in wavelengths of visible red light centered at 619 nanometers. The image scale is 23 kilometers (14 miles) per pixel. </i> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

 

[backspace]

What a VIEW!<br /><br />Seriously, that's a great angle.

 

[Leovinus]

<i>This image reveals the odd shape of Saturn's moon Hyperion and an intriguing variation in brightness across its surface. The diameter of Hyperion is 266 kilometers (165 miles).<br /><br />The image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow angle camera on Oct. 20, 2004, at a distance of about 2.2 million kilometers (1.4 million miles) from Hyperion and at a Sun-Hyperion-spacecraft, or phase, angle of 50 degrees. The image scale is 13 kilometers (8 miles) per pixel. </i> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

 

[mah_fl]

"OTM-6 was successfully completed on the spacecraft Saturday, November 20.<br />This maneuver, performed near Rev-A apoapsis, targets Cassini to Titan for<br />the Tb flyby."<br /><br />Titan here we come !<br /><br />http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/news/press-releases-04/20041126-ws-a.cfm<br />

 

[thechemist]

PIA06141: Hovering Over Titan<br />"<i>A mosaic of nine processed images recently acquired during Cassini's first very close flyby of Saturn's moon Titan on Oct. 26, 2004, constitutes the most detailed full-disc view of the mysterious moon.</i>" <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <em>I feel better than James Brown.</em> </div>

 

[thechemist]

Battered and Grooved<br />"<i>Having now passed closer to Tethys than the Voyager 2 spacecraft, Cassini has returned the best-ever natural color view of this icy Saturnian moon.</i>" <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <em>I feel better than James Brown.</em> </div>

 

[thechemist]

Crisscrossing Streaks<br />"<i>A gorgeous Dione (1118 kilometers, 695 miles across) poses for Cassini, with shadowed craters and bright, wispy streaks first observed by the Voyager spacecraft 24 years ago. The wispy areas will be imaged at higher resolution in mid-December 2004. Subtle variations in brightness across the surface of this moon are visible here as well.</i>"<br /><br />PS. Yes, it's raining and I'm in no mood to work <img src="/images/icons/wink.gif" /> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <em>I feel better than James Brown.</em> </div>

 

[alokmohan]

Tell me if surface of titan is full of methane seas?

 

[centsworth_II]

I believe the thinking now is that if there is liquid on the surface of Titan, it is in the form of lakes rather than large seas or oceans. Of course we haven't gotten a close enough look to tell if there are large <b>ice-covered</b> seas. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

 

[Leovinus]

<i>In a splendid portrait created by light and gravity, Saturn's lonely moon Mimas is seen against the cool, blue-streaked backdrop of Saturn's northern hemisphere. Delicate shadows cast by the rings arc gracefully across the planet, fading into darkness on Saturn's night side.<br /><br />The part of the atmosphere seen here appears darker and more bluish than the warm brown and gold hues seen in Cassini images of the southern hemisphere, due to preferential scattering of blue wavelengths by the cloud-free upper atmosphere.<br /><br />The bright blue swath near Mimas (398 kilometers, or 247 miles across) is created by sunlight passing through the Cassini division (4,800 kilometers, or 2,980 miles wide). The rightmost part of this distinctive feature is slightly overexposed and therefore bright white in this image. Shadows of several thin ringlets within the division can be seen here as well. The dark band that stretches across the center of the image is the shadow of Saturn's B ring, the densest of the main rings. Part of the actual Cassini division appears at the bottom, along with the A ring and the narrow, outer F ring. The A ring is transparent enough that, from this viewing angle, the atmosphere and threadlike shadows cast by the inner C ring are visible through it.<br /><br />Images taken with red, green and blue filters were combined to create this color view. The images were obtained with the Cassini spacecraft narrow angle camera on Nov. 7, 2004, at a distance of 3.7 million kilometers (2.3 million miles) from Saturn. The image scale is 22 kilometers (14 miles) per pixel. </i> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

 

[Leovinus]

I want that picture blown up to poster-size and hung on my office wall. What a beauty! <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

 

[dmaries12]

Agreed. This image is spectacular. **big sigh.....**

 

[eric_apollo]

Subject: User Name: Mental_Avenger<br /><br />To Whom It May Concern,<br /><br />The above person, user name Mental_Avenger has continued to purposely spread lies and disinformation about the International Space Agency and Mr. Rick Dobson.<br /><br />This person has taken a number of user names on Space.Com and on other Space Message Boards, to spread their lies and disinformation.<br /><br />This person has, and is, working either with, or on the behalf of, some unknown organization or group that has been conducting a focused smear and propaganda campaign now for a number of years against the International Space Agency and Mr. Rick Dobson.<br /><br />This person has been baiting people, and entering posts which the International Space Agency has made, with the "specific purpose" of slandering, causing trouble, and spreading lies & disinformation. And to specifically disrupt and derail these positive posts, and to chase people away. This persons malicious and vindictive actions have been constant and very threatening.<br /><br />We are asking that these slanderous and illegal acts be stopped, and that we obtain the personal information of this person for legal action for criminal defamation of character and slander, and to report this person to Law Enforcement for making terroristic threats against the Chairman & CEO of the International Space Agency, Mr. Rick Dobson. This person "Mental_Avenger" has been making a number of terroristic threats against the Chairman & CEO of the International Space Agency, Mr. Rick Dobson.<br /><br />The International Space Agency or Mr. Dobson has never done anything wrong on Space.Com, and has never been anything less than positive, or has presented anything other than uplifting and factual information to the Space.Com community and posting board.<br /><br />It is criminal to allow this person "Mental_Avenger" to defame, smear, and attack legitimate organizations and people with impunity. This is not a freedom of speech issue, as th

 

[Leovinus]

<i>Cassini pierced the ring plane and rounded Saturn on Oct. 27, 2004, capturing this view of the dark portion of the rings. A portion of the planet's atmosphere is visible here, as is its shadow on the surface of the rings.<br /><br />The image was taken with the Cassini spacecraft wide angle camera on Oct. 27, 2004, at a distance of about 618,000 kilometers (384,000 miles) from Saturn through a filter sensitive to wavelengths of infrared light centered at 1001 nanometers. The image scale is 33 kilometers (21 miles) per pixel. </i> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

 

[vegemite]

That image is so clear it almost looks computer generated.