Cassini Solstice Mission. Cassini Images of Seas on Titan. Cassini Spacecraft Images Seas on Saturn's Moon Titan Instruments on NASA's Cassini spacecraft have found evidence for seas, likely filled with liquid methane or ethane, in the high northern latitudes of Saturn's moon Titan. One such feature is larger than any of the Great Lakes of North America and is about the same size as several seas on Earth. Cassini's radar instrument imaged several very dark features near Titan's north pole. Much larger than similar features seen before on Titan, the largest dark feature measures at least 100,000 square kilometers (39,000 square miles). Image right: A comparison view of a lake on Titan and Lake Superior. "We've long hypothesized about oceans on Titan and now with multiple instruments we have a first indication of seas that dwarf the lakes seen previously," said Dr.
The imaging cameras, which provide a global view of Titan, have imaged a much larger, irregular dark feature. Cassini Virtual Tour. Cassini Virtual Tour [Editor's note, March 2011: for expanded development of this project, please see [Editor's note, July 2010: The data that drives the "Mission Mode" of CASSIE was made available through the first days of July 2010. It was deemed cost prohibitive to update, so this page and CASSIE itself remains active as an archive reference until a suitable replacement becomes available.] If this is the first time you've tried CASSIE, when you click on the button below it will automatically download and install the needed software (a free plug-in to your web-browser) and real Cassini mission data. The initial download is about 9 megabytes so it should only take a minute or two. When CASSIE appears in your web browser, click on one of the three Modes located in the large tab along the bottom of the screen.
Windows and Mac OS only Further description. Cassini-Huygens: Kids Space-Amazing Stories. KIDS SPACE - Amazing Stories - DVD with signatures on way to Saturn As it makes its long, lonely journey through the solar system, the Cassini-Huygens spacecraft is carrying more than just science instruments and sophisticated cameras. Keeping the spacecraft company is the result of a NASA campaign-- a DVD disk placed onboard the spacecraft containing the signatures of more than a half million well-wishers from 81 nations. These signatures of 616,420 people were recorded onto the disk, then strategically tucked into the side of the Cassini spacecraft. The disk is sandwiched by two pieces of aluminum and covered by a specially decorated patch of protective thermal material. To send signatures into space is not a new concept, but it has never been done on such a widespread scale.
Traditionally, spacecraft have carried thin aluminum plates containing scaled down signatures of scientists and engineers involved in creating the project. The public loved the idea. Cassini Equinox Mission. Cassini's continued mission. NASA's Cassini spacecraft is now a nearly a year into its extended mission, called Cassini Equinox (after its initial 4-year mission ended in June, 2008). The spacecraft continues to operate in good health, returning amazing images of Saturn, its ring system and moons, and providing new information and science on a regular basis. The mission's name, "Equinox" comes from the upcoming Saturnian equinox in August, 2009, when its equator (and rings) will point directly toward the Sun.
The Equinox mission runs through September of 2010, with the possibility of further extensions beyond that. Collected here are 24 more intriguing images from our ringed neighbor. This natural color mosaic was acquired by the Cassini spacecraft as it soared 39 degrees above the unilluminated side of Saturn's rings. Views From Cassini at Saturn (HD FULL) Cassini movie shows blazing trails in Saturn’s F-ring.
Cassini movie shows blazing trails in Saturn’s F-ring Blazing trails in Saturn’s F-ring seen by Cassini 24 April 2012 New images from the Cassini spacecraft reveal rogue kilometre-sized objects punching through Saturn’s F-ring as the source of ‘mini-jets’ seen emanating from the ring. Saturn’s narrow F-ring is already known to host a variety of dynamic features including channels, ripples and ‘snowballs’ that are created by the gravitational influence of nearby moon Prometheus. While some snowballs are likely broken up by collisions and tidal forces, the new images reveal five hundred separate cases where small surviving fragments punch through the F-ring, dragging icy ring particles with them.
The objects collide with the ring at low speeds of around two metres per second, resulting in ‘mini-jets’ that extend between 40 and 180 kilometres from the ring. In some cases the snowball impacts occur in groups, creating exotic patterns as they drag through the ring.