Comments on: A panoply of moons and rings

By: Messier Tidy Upper

Messier Tidy Upper — Sun, 30 Oct 2011 07:55:08 +0000

@ ^ Henrik : Great image. Cheers.

By: Henrik

Henrik — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 21:23:43 +0000

I like this image too: Gets 5 moons in there:

http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/photos/imagedetails/index.cfm?imageId=4358

By: Messier Tidy Upper

Messier Tidy Upper — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 05:11:11 +0000

@ ^ The Math Skeptic : Provided the camera is pointing at Saturn &/or its moons and rings that is! If the camera is pointing out into the Black beyond, then not-so-much! [/Pedant.]

By: The Math Skeptic

The Math Skeptic — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 20:04:50 +0000

21. Dragonchild Says:
October 25th, 2011 at 6:33 am

Cassini is still ranging over a very huge area with limited amount of fuel. Any beauty shots would have to be determined to be reasonably within its orbital path.
——
It’s also orbiting Saturn, arguably the most picturesque object in our solar system. I’d wager that it’s pretty hard to snap a picture from anywhere along Cassini’s orbit and not end up with a pretty amazing image.

By: Chris Winter

Chris Winter — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 17:56:49 +0000

JurijD: Nice quote from Moby Dick. I’ll have to read it again.

Up from Earth’s Centre through the Seventh Gate
I rose, and on the Throne of Saturn sate;
And many a Knot unravel’d by the Road;
But not the Master-knot of Human Fate.

– The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam, Verse XXXI
http://www.therubaiyat.com/first.html

There’s also a novel by Allen Drury, The Throne of Saturn, that deals with the U.S. space program.

And to think the Cassini mission almost got cancelled…

By: JohKir

JohKir — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 17:06:10 +0000

I love this example of the different planes the rings and the larger moons have as they orbit Saturn. I still don’t know why they aren’t moving in the same plane. But with so many moons, I’m sure some are captured, some are effected by their own neighbors or even (extra solar?) passers-by, and I suspect Saturn’s own shifts in its magnetosphere, if possible.

By: Moons and rings… | Blog, by Shannon

Moons and rings… | Blog, by Shannon — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 13:33:10 +0000

[...] at: A panoply of moons and rings | Bad Astronomy | Discover Magazine. GA_googleAddAttr("AdOpt", "1"); GA_googleAddAttr("Origin", "other"); [...]

By: Messier Tidy Upper

Messier Tidy Upper — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 12:55:14 +0000

Take four moons, some rings, a schoolbus-sized spacecraft, and mix them together. What do you get?

An awful lot of crushed ice and rock with traces of shattered spaceprobe?
(Sorry.)

Great pictures – Cassini never fails!

@16. JurijD : Interesting quote & reflections upon it – thanks.

PS. Thanks to everyone else (except the trolls) esp. the regulars (you know who you are) who comment on this blog too. Y’all provide some great food for thought and amusement – thanks. Hope I do likewise for y’all too.

By: Dragonchild

Dragonchild — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 12:33:28 +0000

@8. CoffeeCupContrails -
Scientists don’t learn much, if anything, from shots like these. However, interplanetary missions are funded by the public these days, most of whom have little interest in helping out with the mundane number crunching, so pretty pictures is a form of giving back to the community. It’s also a necessary part of the process; without stuff like this to ogle over, public interest in funding these missions would decline. (It’s an uphill battle as it is.)

As for modeling them in advance, I’m not part of NASA but I’m sure they are. If anything, that’s a certainty and the real question should be how far in advance. The Mars rovers were physically roaming a surface (given Mars HAS a surface) at low speed for a LONG time so they had plenty of chances to view the scenery. New Horizons will be a single high-speed flyby so every second is precious; the beauty shots are being planned months in advance to avoid wasting fuel or compromising primary mission objectives. Cassini lies in the middle, I’d say. Despite the longevity of the mission, Cassini is still ranging over a very huge area with limited amount of fuel. Any beauty shots would have to be determined to be reasonably within its orbital path.

By: M.E. Anders

M.E. Anders — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 12:11:25 +0000

Stunning shot – not even a graphic designer or photographer could match its magnificence.