Cassini: Mission to Saturn Special Report

The mission is a $3 billion, 4-year tour of the ringed planet. Catch
the latest astounding discoveries, plus our new Expert Guide,
including an updated FAQ, graphics and more...

http://www.newscientistspace.com/channel/s...cassini-huygens

Perhaps somebody can explain this:

http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/multimedia/imag...7/W00012977.jpg

Bob Shaw

Well, if there were a few electron/positron spirals, I would say it is a cloud chamber negative. Is there any province with the imagas? Date>where?

This is obviously a very long exposure that is not pointed towards any solid object. My guess is that the diagonal line running from left to center is the "apsa" of the outermost rings, and all of the other blurry stuff is due to light leaks.

It's from the last batch up on the Cassini public images site, and the pointing details say nothing much as they reveal that the camera was pointing at just about *everything*. There's a whole bundle of them, too...

Bob Shaw

Hmm. Looks like the E or G ring, along with a lens flare from a bright object just out of the FOV, presumably a moon given that it's staring at an outer ring.

Could it be that they're just recalibrating the cameras with these apparently random shots? That's been mentioned on these forums before.

The Huygens landing: one year on

One year ago this week, on 14 January 2005, ESA’s Huygens probe
reached the upper layer of Titan’s atmosphere and landed on the
surface after a parachute descent 2 hours and 28 minutes later.

http://www.esa.int/SPECIALS/Cassini-Huygen...VB6MZCIE_0.html

Though these articles are not available for free online, I thought the members ought to know what New Scientist has released in print.

SATURN SPECIAL:

RINGING IN THE CHANGES

Saturn is the jewel of the solar system. Its beautiful rings make
the second largest planet unique. Together with its diverse
collection of moons and unusual magnetic field, they put the entire
planetary system high on space scientists' itinerary to explore. And
now we are getting the chance. The Cassini spacecraft arrived at
Saturn 18 months ago after a seven-year journey. It is armed with a
massive arsenal of instruments that cannot help but batter answers
out of Saturn. And so far it has not disappointed: Cassini has
already scrutinised many facets of this marvellous world and is
overturning much of what we thought we knew about it...

http://www.newscientistspace.com/channel/s.../mg18925341.100

IN THE LOOP

Saturn's rings are among the greatest puzzles in the solar system.
And they are certainly the gaudiest of their kind, far outshining
the faint trails of dust that circle the other giant planets. The
Cassini spacecraft is now giving us a remarkable view of the rings,
revealing far more than their static beauty. Over the past 18
months, the spacecraft's cameras have captured dynamic changes,
watching as the rings are teased into fantastic shapes by passing
moons. The deepest mystery Cassini must help to solve is the origin
of these iconic rings...

http://www.newscientistspace.com/channel/s.../mg18925341.200

MOTLEY CREW

Compared with the appropriately named Titan, Saturn's other moons
are small fry. Roll them all together and you would get a sphere
only around 2000 kilometres across, much smaller than our moon. And
yet these little moons are not just boring lumps of ice and rock.
Each is a miniature world, with its own character and story to tell.
Why does Iapetus look like a walnut? Why did most of Saturn's moons
all form 4.5 billion years ago? Why is the pocket-sized landscape
of Enceladus so twisted and fractured? And how did Saturn end up
with such a ragtag bunch of moons anyway?

http://www.newscientistspace.com/channel/s.../mg18925341.300

TOUCHDOWN ON TITAN

Titan is too good to be a moon. If it were set free to orbit the sun
instead of Saturn, it would be considered one of the most remarkable
planets in the solar system, far more engaging than that dreary
dustball Mars. Yet 18 months ago we knew almost nothing about
Saturn's largest satellite - the second biggest in our system after
Jupiter's Ganymede. Now planetary scientists are discovering that
Titan is surprisingly Earth-like, with prominent riverbeds and
dunes, hills and muddy plains. But there's a twist...

http://www.newscientistspace.com/channel/s.../mg18925341.400

If that origin includes where the energy is coming from to power all the out-gasing from Enceladus I would be prone to agree.

A close second would be: What on earth is the surface of Titan made out of?