― Ned Raggett (Ned), Friday, 14 January 2005 20:04 (8 years ago) Permalink
― Dominique (dleone), Friday, 14 January 2005 20:05 (8 years ago) Permalink
Higher up than the midrange shot:
More photos and reports soon.
― Ned Raggett (Ned), Friday, 14 January 2005 21:53 (8 years ago) Permalink
― Gator Magoon (Chris Barrus), Friday, 14 January 2005 22:36 (8 years ago) Permalink
A 360 view from about 8 kilometers up.
A smaller section of same:
And the first color ground image.
― Ned Raggett (Ned), Saturday, 15 January 2005 15:28 (8 years ago) Permalink
― Michael Daddino (epicharmus), Saturday, 15 January 2005 15:35 (8 years ago) Permalink
― Ned Raggett (Ned), Saturday, 15 January 2005 15:40 (8 years ago) Permalink
― Michael Daddino (epicharmus), Saturday, 15 January 2005 16:28 (8 years ago) Permalink
I guess you can say you weren't disappointed!
― Ned Raggett (Ned), Monday, 17 January 2005 04:41 (8 years ago) Permalink
Another view of that 'coastline' area:
ihttp://esamultimedia.esa.int/images/cassini_huygens/huygens_land/press_release_050120/HRICoastLineMoasic_H.jpg
― Ned Raggett (Ned), Friday, 21 January 2005 15:38 (8 years ago) Permalink
― Ste (Fuzzy), Friday, 21 January 2005 15:50 (8 years ago) Permalink
― Gator Magoon (Chris Barrus), Friday, 21 January 2005 16:05 (8 years ago) Permalink
― Ned Raggett (Ned), Friday, 21 January 2005 16:12 (8 years ago) Permalink
― Yr3k (dymaxia), Friday, 21 January 2005 16:13 (8 years ago) Permalink
"In total, the core of our team has invested something like 80 man years on this experiment, 18 of which are mine," Atkinson wrote. "I think right now the key lesson is this — if you're looking for a job with instant and guaranteed success, this isn't it."
― Ned Raggett (Ned), Friday, 21 January 2005 16:14 (8 years ago) Permalink
The 440km-wide circular feature resembles a large crater or part of a ringed basin, either of which could have been formed when a comet or asteroid tens of km in size slammed into Titan. This is the first impact feature identified in radar images of Titan. (Image: Nasa/JPL)
― Ned Raggett (Ned), Thursday, 17 February 2005 17:39 (8 years ago) Permalink
http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/multimedia/videos/video-details.cfm?videoID=99
― Lingbertt, Wednesday, 19 October 2005 06:17 (7 years ago) Permalink
― Bill A (Bill A), Wednesday, 19 October 2005 09:12 (7 years ago) Permalink
― robster (robster), Thursday, 20 October 2005 10:39 (7 years ago) Permalink
― Ned Raggett (Ned), Wednesday, 16 November 2005 19:11 (7 years ago) Permalink
― Ned Raggett (Ned), Wednesday, 16 November 2005 19:23 (7 years ago) Permalink
― Ned Raggett (Ned), Saturday, 11 March 2006 02:22 (7 years ago) Permalink
― Ned Raggett (Ned), Friday, 5 May 2006 19:00 (7 years ago) Permalink
...s on the surface.
― DOQQUN (donut), Friday, 5 May 2006 19:11 (7 years ago) Permalink
― latebloomer (latebloomer), Friday, 5 May 2006 19:17 (7 years ago) Permalink
Titan's all cold and stuff!
― Ned Raggett (Ned), Friday, 5 May 2006 19:18 (7 years ago) Permalink
I was kind of disappointed about "earth-like" comparisons in the narrative. Dudes, it's METHANE RAIN and -180 degrees. It ain't earth. (OR IS IT??)
― rrrobyn (rrrobyn), Friday, 5 May 2006 19:28 (7 years ago) Permalink
― Ned Raggett (Ned), Friday, 5 May 2006 19:29 (7 years ago) Permalink
― rrrobyn (rrrobyn), Friday, 5 May 2006 19:29 (7 years ago) Permalink
It's ROCHESTER, NY!
― DOQQUN (donut), Friday, 5 May 2006 19:30 (7 years ago) Permalink
― Ned Raggett (Ned), Friday, 5 May 2006 20:10 (7 years ago) Permalink
― robster (robster), Friday, 5 May 2006 21:41 (7 years ago) Permalink
― Lingbert, Saturday, 3 March 2007 19:38 (6 years ago) Permalink
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/6908190.stm
another moon, only 2km in diam. are these really worth classing as moons i ask yer. Aren't they just spin-offs from the ring of rocks?
― Ste, Friday, 20 July 2007 15:33 (5 years ago) Permalink
Well but they're special rocks.
― Ned Raggett, Saturday, 21 July 2007 00:24 (5 years ago) Permalink
special as in olympics?
― StanM, Saturday, 21 July 2007 00:25 (5 years ago) Permalink
Images coming in from yesterday's close flyby of Iapetus
― Elvis Telecom, Wednesday, 12 September 2007 00:05 (5 years ago) Permalink
― Elvis Telecom, Wednesday, 12 September 2007 00:06 (5 years ago) Permalink
these are kind of creepy.
― 31g, Wednesday, 12 September 2007 02:40 (5 years ago) Permalink
More evidence for Titan having a subsurface ocean
― Ned Raggett, Friday, 21 March 2008 03:45 (5 years ago) Permalink
Late late mission barnstorming over Saturn
Although the first mission extension for Cassini hasn't officially been approved yet by NASA Headquarters (which strikes me as being kind of silly, since the primary mission comes to a close in less than two months!!), the mission is already trying to figure out what to do beyond the two-year proposed Extended Mission. Last week there was a meeting of the Outer Planets Assessment Group, and Cassini's Deputy Project Scientist, Linda Spilker, gave a presentation on what to expect from the extended missions (here it is, in PDF format, well worth a look). There was a lot of stuff about the science to be expected from the extended mission, and a proposal for an extended-extended mission, but the real stunner was a scenario she presented for Cassini's end-of-life: to spend the very, very last phase of the mission in an orbit that threads Cassini between Saturn's cloud tops and the innermost D ring.Folks, the gap between Saturn and the D ring is only about 3,000 kilometers wide. I suppose for a mission to a place like Mars, 3,000 kilometers of leeway is quite a lot. But Saturn is 120,000 kilometers across, and the main ring system extends another 60,000 kilometers or so above Saturn; Cassini would have to do an orbital maneuver to majorly drop its periapsis (closest approach point) to right in between the planet and its rings, leaping over the main ring system in the process. The idea seems totally crazy.
Folks, the gap between Saturn and the D ring is only about 3,000 kilometers wide. I suppose for a mission to a place like Mars, 3,000 kilometers of leeway is quite a lot. But Saturn is 120,000 kilometers across, and the main ring system extends another 60,000 kilometers or so above Saturn; Cassini would have to do an orbital maneuver to majorly drop its periapsis (closest approach point) to right in between the planet and its rings, leaping over the main ring system in the process. The idea seems totally crazy.
― Elvis Telecom, Sunday, 13 April 2008 02:30 (5 years ago) Permalink
Crazy... and AWESOME
― Jimmy The Mod Awaits The Return Of His Beloved, Sunday, 13 April 2008 02:49 (5 years ago) Permalink
That needs to happen. (Like they've got anything to lose!)
― Ned Raggett, Monday, 14 April 2008 05:04 (5 years ago) Permalink
god that would be incredible
― strgn, Monday, 14 April 2008 05:55 (5 years ago) Permalink
beautiful thread btw
Go for another two years
The US space agency (Nasa) has extended the international Cassini-Huygens mission by two years.The unmanned Cassini-Huygens spacecraft entered orbit around Saturn in 2004 on a mission that was supposed to come to an end in July this year.The two-year mission extension will encompass some 60 extra orbits of Saturn and more flybys of its moons. These will include 26 flybys of Titan - its biggest moon - seven of Enceladus, and one each of Dione, Rhea and Helene
The unmanned Cassini-Huygens spacecraft entered orbit around Saturn in 2004 on a mission that was supposed to come to an end in July this year.
The two-year mission extension will encompass some 60 extra orbits of Saturn and more flybys of its moons. These will include 26 flybys of Titan - its biggest moon - seven of Enceladus, and one each of Dione, Rhea and Helene
― Elvis Telecom, Wednesday, 16 April 2008 17:06 (5 years ago) Permalink
Looking for life in Enceladus’ plume
Now in press at Astrobiology is a look at the possibilities of life on Enceladus that holds out hope for detecting biomarkers with data gathered during a Cassini flyby. That’s an exciting possibility, depending as it does not on an orbiter or lander mission from an indefinite future but on equipment we’ve currently got in Saturn space. And the Enceladus picture remains fascinating because of the possibility that some microbial systems on Earth that operate far beneath the surface may offer examples of how life could evolve on a cold and distant moon of Saturn.We’ve already found a dozen icy particle jets coming out of Enceladus’ south polar regions, all pumping material into a plume that extends for thousands of kilometers. A 2005 Cassini flyby revealed, among other things, water vapor, methane and simple organic compounds, even as other Cassini instrumentation showed the moon’s south polar region to be anomalously warm. If there is liquid water under the south polar region, could life have evolved there? If so, the paper raises the possibility that methane may be a biomarker. For that matter, could life have come there from elsewhere? The paper argues both are possible:
We’ve already found a dozen icy particle jets coming out of Enceladus’ south polar regions, all pumping material into a plume that extends for thousands of kilometers. A 2005 Cassini flyby revealed, among other things, water vapor, methane and simple organic compounds, even as other Cassini instrumentation showed the moon’s south polar region to be anomalously warm. If there is liquid water under the south polar region, could life have evolved there? If so, the paper raises the possibility that methane may be a biomarker. For that matter, could life have come there from elsewhere? The paper argues both are possible:
― Elvis Telecom, Wednesday, 16 July 2008 20:39 (4 years ago) Permalink
Also, http://twitter.com/CassiniSaturn
― Elvis Telecom, Wednesday, 16 July 2008 21:48 (4 years ago) Permalink
TWITTER HAS GONE TOO FAR
― Ned Raggett, Wednesday, 16 July 2008 21:50 (4 years ago) Permalink