Cassini and Saturn's moons - Page 18

mantiss · #**511** (**permalink**) 15-September-2006, 05:42 AM

Another beautiful view of ring wakes created by Daphnis

01101001 · #**512** (**permalink**) 20-September-2006, 04:28 AM

Quote:

Wispy fingers of bright, icy material reach tens of thousands of kilometers outward from Saturn's moon Enceladus into the E ring, while the moon's active south polar jets continue to fire away.

This astonishing, never-before-seen structure is made visible with the sun almost directly behind the Saturn system from Cassini's vantage point. The sun-Enceladus-spacecraft angle here is 175 degrees, a viewing geometry in which structures made of tiny particles brighten substantially.

These features are very likely the result of particles injected into Saturn orbit by the Enceladus geysers. Those injected in the direction of the moon's orbital motion end up on larger, slower orbits and trail Enceladus in its orbit, and those injected into the opposite direction end up smaller, faster orbits and lead Enceladus. (Orbital motion is counter-clockwise.) In addition, the configuration of wisps may hint at an interaction between Saturn's magnetosphere and the torrent of particles issuing from Enceladus.

Planetary Photojournal

Kullat Nunu · #**513** (**permalink**) 20-September-2006, 08:54 PM

If you look carefully at the image, you can see the shadow of Tethys in the E ring!

Blob · #**514** (**permalink**) 26-September-2006, 08:10 PM

This lake is part of a larger image taken by the Cassini radar instrument during a flyby of Saturn's moon Titan on Sept. 23, 2006. It shows clear shorelines that are reminiscent of terrestrial lakes. With Titan's colder temperatures and hydrocarbon-rich atmosphere, however, the lakes likely contain a combination of methane and ethane, not water.

Centred near 74 degrees north, 65 degrees west longitude, this lake is roughly 20 kilometres by 25 kilometres across. It features several narrow or angular bays, including a broad peninsula that on Earth would be evidence that the surrounding terrain is higher and confines the liquid. Broader bays, such as the one seen at right, might result when the terrain is gentler, as for example on a beach.

Credit NASA

Blob · #**515** (**permalink**) 26-September-2006, 08:12 PM

This Cassini radar image shows two lakes "kissing" each other on the surface of Saturn's moon Titan.

The image from a flyby on Sept. 23, 2006, covers an area about 60 kilometres wide by 40 kilometres high.
This pass was primarily dedicated to the ion and neutral mass spectrometer instrument, so although, the volume of radar data was small, scientists were amazed to see Earth-like lakes. With Titan's colder temperatures and hydrocarbon-rich atmosphere, however, the lakes likely contain a combination of methane and ethane, not water.
In this image, near 73 degrees north latitude, 46 degrees west longitude, two lakes are seen, each 20 to 25 kilometres across. They are joined by a relatively narrow channel. The lake on the right has lighter patches within it, indicating that it may be slowly drying out as the northern summer approaches.

Credit NASA

Blob · #**516** (**permalink**) 26-September-2006, 08:19 PM

T18 Flyby (1.03mb, PDF).

Launch window · #**517** (**permalink**) 03-October-2006, 02:38 AM

Albers' Planetary Maps ( some updated maps on Saturn's Moons )
http://laps.noaa.gov/albers/sos/sos.html

Spacemad · #**518** (**permalink**) 04-October-2006, 01:04 PM

The image of the lakes "kissing" each other is a really fantastic image from the surface of Titan! How many more great images like these will Cassini show us in the following close flybys. I'm on tender hooks to see the results from successive flybys!

Blob · #**519** (**permalink**) 04-October-2006, 04:36 PM

This image shows Enceladus' south polar region.

Expand (63kb, 962 x 512)
Credit NASA

This is the region of Enceladus that is known to be presently geologically active. At right are clearly visible ridges and troughs thought to be caused by compressional stresses across the icy surface.
The image was taken in polarised green light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on Sept. 9, 2006 at a distance of approximately 66,000 kilometres from Enceladus and at a Sun-Enceladus-spacecraft, or phase, angle of 104 degrees. Image scale is 396 metres per pixel.

Source

Blob · #**520** (**permalink**) 05-October-2006, 04:51 AM

Cassini spacecraft flyby of Titan on October 9, 2006.
Read more (1.1mb, PDF).

Blob · #**521** (**permalink**) 05-October-2006, 05:57 PM

This image of Saturn was taken by the Cassini spaceprobe on September 15, 2006, when it was approximately 1,997,032 kilometres away.

The image was taken using the IR3 and CL2 filters.

Credit NASA

Blob · #**522** (**permalink**) 05-October-2006, 06:00 PM

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This false-color mosaic of Saturn shows deep-level clouds silhouetted against Saturn's glowing interior. The image was made with data from Cassini's visual and infrared mapping spectrometer, which can image the planet at 352 different wavelengths.
This mosaic shows the entire planet, including features like Saturn's ring shadows and the terminator, the boundary between day and night.

IMAGE (31kb, 825 x 763)
Credit NASA

Read more

01101001 · #**523** (**permalink**) 13-October-2006, 06:34 AM

Titan's Great Lakes?

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The large dark patch seen on this image, at high latitudes surrounding Titan's north pole, is most likely a hydrocarbon lake. Several dark channels can be seen; the longest one at the left meanders over almost 100 kilometers (62 miles), and appears to drain into the lake. Some dark channels are remarkably straight, suggesting possible faulting in the subsurface. The bright landforms jutting into the lake indicate that old, eroded landforms may have flooded.

Lakes and More Lakes

Quote:

In this image taken by the Cassini radar system, a previously unseen style of lakes is revealed. The lakes here assume complex shapes and are among the darkest seen so far on Titan.

The lake at the left is reminiscent both in form and scale of the flooded drainage system, Lake Powell in Utah and Arizona. However, the Titan lake has been filled with liquid methane and ethane rather than water. In the lake at right, older terrain may have been deeply cut by river valleys before it was flooded by the embaying lake.

Blob · #**524** (**permalink**) 13-October-2006, 11:38 PM

Quote:

Flooded rivers and more lakes have been spied on Saturn's moon Titan in new images by the Cassini spacecraft. The features are all likely filled with liquid methane or ethane, providing insight into a methane cycle analogous to the hydrological cycle on Earth.

Blob · #**525** (**permalink**) 17-October-2006, 12:17 AM

The brightest spot on Saturn's moon Titan has been seen brightening and growing, suggesting it might be an active volcano, a controversial analysis of images from the Cassini spacecraft suggests. If so, it would be the first indication of current volcanic activity on the giant moon.
Scientists are interested in whether Titan is volcanically active because volcanoes could help supply the large amount of methane seen in its atmosphere. The methane is quickly broken down by sunlight, so it must be getting replenished somehow.

Read more

Blob · #**526** (**permalink**) 26-October-2006, 07:40 PM

The Cassini spacecraft provides this dramatic portrait of Janus against the cloud-streaked backdrop of Saturn.

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Credit NASA/JPL

Blob · #**527** (**permalink**) 12-December-2006, 06:46 PM

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This composite image shows a massive mountain range running just south of Titan's equator. Near the center of the image, the mountain range runs from southeast to northwest. It is about 150 kilometers long (93 miles) and 30 kilometers (19 miles) wide and about 1.5 kilometers (nearly a mile) high. This range, and smaller ranges to the west and east of the main range, probably results from material welling up below as the crust of Titan is pulled apart by tectonic forces.

Read more

Credit: NASA/JPL/University of Arizona

Spacemad · #**528** (**permalink**) 14-December-2006, 11:55 AM

This is certainly a spectacular discovery on Titan. Till now little had been know of possible mountain ranges but now the combined radar & infrared images give a lot more data.

I think we can look forward to seeing more spectacular images like these that combine two different data sets to give a more informed view of this "worldlet"

Cugel · #**529** (**permalink**) 14-December-2006, 01:03 PM

Of course, this feature being a mountain range is just an interpretation.
It is probably the best, or most likely, interpretati