Cassini/Huygens Mission Update Thread

[crowing]

Wow,really there's no comparison in the distances of the two fly-bys.<br />Should be good!

 

[crowing]

I wonder what really is on the surface.<br />Hope the probe does help when it's released.Great piccies though.<br />

 

[Leovinus]

<i>Cassini caught a hint of Rhea's heavily cratered surface as it sped rapidly away from the moon on its first orbit of Saturn. There is a noticeable brightening near the left limb of the icy moon. Cassini will have its first flyby of Rhea in November 2005.<br /><br />The image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow angle camera on July 20, 2004, from a distance of 5.9 million kilometers (3.6 million miles) from Rhea, and at a Sun-Rhea-spacecraft, or phase angle of 91 degrees. The image scale is 35 kilometers (22 miles) per pixel. The image has been magnified by a factor of four to aid visibility. </i> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

 

[alokmohan]

Most of the moos are highly cratered.Once they were geologically active.Are the now so?

 

[najab]

It is also possible that the cratering is a result of bombardment early in the history of the Saturnian system.

 

[Leovinus]

<i>This Cassini spacecraft narrow angle camera view of Saturn's southern polar region features a bright white spot, or storm, surrounded by faint, darker swirls of clouds.<br /><br />The image was taken on July 22, 2004, from a distance of 6.7 million kilometers (4.2 million miles) from Saturn, through a filter sensitive to wavelengths of infrared light. The image scale is 39 kilometers (24 miles) per pixel. Contrast was slightly enhanced to bring out features in the atmosphere. </i> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

 

[alokmohan]

Not a god touring spot at all.Icancel my tour .Such storms I dont like.

 

[alokmohan]

Enceladus is a bright chap.Its albedo is highest probalby similar to moment when life was born in earth.

 

[Leovinus]

<i>The dark material that coats one hemisphere of Saturn's moon Iapetus is very dark, as these two processed views of the same image demonstrate.<br /><br />The image on the left has been cleaned of cosmic rays and magnified; in this otherwise un-enhanced view, only a small part of the moon's surface, at the bottom, is visible because it is part of the bright side of Iapetus. (Only the right hand side of Iapetus is illuminated by sunlight.) The same image, shown on the right, has been contrast-enhanced to make visible the part of the illuminated side of Iapetus that is coated with dark material.<br /><br />The image was taken in visible light, with the Cassini spacecraft narrow angle camera on July 19, 2004, from a distance of 2.9 million kilometers (1.8 million miles) from Iapetus, and at a Sun-Iapetus-spacecraft, or phase angle of 89 degrees. The image scale is 17 kilometers (11 miles) per pixel. The image has been magnified by a factor of four to aid visibility. </i><br /><br />FYI: This is my favorite satellite in the Solar System. Read "2001 - A Space Odyssey" to find out why. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

 

[Leovinus]

<i>This view of Saturn's southern polar region is dotted with flecks of bright cloud and several ominous dark spots. Remarkably fine details are visible.<br /><br />The image was taken with the Cassini spacecraft narrow angle camera on July 24, 2004, at a distance of 6.8 million kilometers (4.2 million miles) from Saturn, through a filter sensitive to wavelengths of infrared light centered at 938 nanometers. The image scale is 40 kilometers (25 miles) per pixel. Contrast was slightly enhanced to bring out features in the atmosphere. </i> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

 

[odysseus145]

Every image of Saturn I've seen before shows planet that looks somewhat peaceful. But from these images, it is obviously not. I can only wonder what more will come out of Cassini. <img src="/images/icons/smile.gif" /> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

 

[Leovinus]

<i>The varying temperatures of Saturn's rings are depicted here in this false-color image from the Cassini spacecraft.<br /><br />This image represents the most detailed look to date at the temperature of Saturn's rings. The image was made from data taken by Cassini's composite infrared spectrometer instrument.<br /><br />Red represents temperatures of about 110 Kelvin (-261 degrees Fahrenheit), and blue 70 Kelvin (-333 degrees Fahrenheit). Green is equivalent to 90 Kelvin (-298 degrees Fahrenheit). Water freezes at 273 Kelvin (32 degrees Fahrenheit). The spatial resolution of the ring portion of the image is 200 kilometers (124 miles).<br /><br />The data show that the opaque region of the rings, like the outer A ring (on the far right) and the middle B ring, are cooler, while more transparent sections, like the Cassini Division (in red just inside the A ring) or the inner C ring (shown in yellow and red), are relatively warmer.<br /><br />The temperature data were taken on July 1, 2004, of the unlit side of the rings. In order to show the full breadth of the rings, a strip of temperature data was mapped onto a picture of the lit side of the rings taken with the Cassini narrow angle camera on May 11, 2004, a little over a month before Saturn orbit insertion. Cassini is too close to the planet and hence no pictures of the unlit side of the rings are available, so the temperature data were mapped onto a picture of the lit side of rings. Saturn is overexposed and pure white in this picture. Saturn's moon Enceladus is visible below the rings, toward the center. The original picture and caption are available at http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA05410. </i> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

 

[rybanis]

<blockquote><font class="small">In reply to:</font><hr /><p><b>FYI: This is my favorite satellite in the Solar System. Read "2001 - A Space Odyssey" to find out why.</b><p><hr /></p></p></blockquote><br /><br />Tee-hee. That was an errie point in the book. The "eye". <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

 

[alokmohan]

Saturns rings are cool.

 

[alokmohan]

Now possibly cassini chapter 1 closed.We have chapter 2 on Titan.New thread may come up.This tread is becoming too long.

 

[backspace]

strange to find a picture other than the same polar shots turn up in the "Latest 500" section of the raw images, but this is a pretty nifty shot of the e-ring... <br /><br />http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/multimedia/images/raw/casJPGBrowseS03/N00015685.jpg<br />

 

[backspace]

Anyone have any good theories on why there's only one encounter planned for Mimas and it's so far away?<br />Mimas August 2, 2005 45,100 km (28,030 mi)

 

[Leovinus]

<i>Saturn wears a halo of four moons in this wide angle camera image taken by the Cassini spacecraft on August 18, 2004.<br /><br />Satellites visible in this image are (clockwise from upper left): Tethys (1060 kilometers, or 659 miles wide); Dione (1118 kilometers or 695 miles wide); Enceladus (499 kilometers or 310 miles wide); and Mimas (398 kilometers or 247 miles wide).<br /><br />The image was taken in visible red light at a distance of 8.9 million kilometers (5.5 million miles) from Saturn. The image scale is 529 kilometers (329 miles) per pixel. </i> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

 

[najab]

It all comes down to timing.

 

[thechemist]

Leo, this must be a really provocative image, if it takes you more than an hour to approve it yourself <img src="/images/icons/smile.gif" /> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <em>I feel better than James Brown.</em> </div>

 

[Leovinus]

It is a cool image, but I forgot to go approve it. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

 

[crowing]

That picture of saturn and the four moons leo is certainly cool!!

 

[Leovinus]

<i>Lonely Mimas swings around Saturn, seeming to gaze down at the planet's splendid rings. The outermost, narrow F ring is visible here and exhibits some clumpy structure near the bottom of the frame. The shadow of Saturn's southern hemisphere stretches almost entirely across the rings. Mimas is 398 kilometers (247 miles) wide.<br /><br />The image was taken with the Cassini spacecraft narrow angle camera on August 15, 2004, at a distance of 8.8 million kilometers (5.5 million miles) from Saturn, through a filter sensitive to visible red light. The image scale is 53 kilometers (33 miles) per pixel. Contrast was slightly enhanced to aid visibility. </i> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

 

[Leovinus]

<i>Flecks of bright cloud and several dark storms dominate Saturn's southern polar region in this Cassini spacecraft narrow angle camera image taken on August 18, 2004. The bull's-eye pattern near the bottom of the planet marks the south pole.<br /><br />The image was taken at a distance of 8.9 million kilometers (5.6 million miles) from Saturn through a filter sensitive to wavelengths of infrared light. The image scale is 54 kilometers (33 miles) per pixel. </i> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

 

[anoolios]

BBC has a new story up, one or two more moons may have been found along with another ring!<br /><br />http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/3641112.stm <br /><br />Allso at the Cassini home page now: http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.cfm