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Friday, February 14 2025 @ 08:02 pm EST

Science at Saturn - Cassini Delivers

The Cassini/Huygens spacecraft currently in orbit around Saturn has begun to send back spectacular images along with some early science results. After successfully entering orbit on the evening of June 30/July 1, Cassini has been busily imaging Saturn along with it's beautiful ring system and some of it's moons. The spacecraft skimmed a mere 11,200 miles above the cloud tops of Saturn, less than one-sixth of Saturn's diameter. This Orbital Insertion maneuver brought Cassini to its closest proximity to Saturn of the entire four-year mission.

During this maneuver, Cassini was aimed to pass through a narrow gap in Saturn's Rings known as the Encke Division. (the outermost, thin gap seen here)

While passing through the ring-plane, the craft's main antenna was positioned to absorb the brunt of the impacts of anything that might have been located within that seemingly empty gap. It was hardly empty! During the passage Cassini recorded more than 100,000 impacts in less than 5 minutes from tiny particles ranging in size from those of smoke particles to others perhaps as large as talcum powder. Cassini sustained little damage from this passage through the ring-plane.

Close-up of the Encke Division

While making this historic maneuver Cassini wasn't idle. Its cameras were constantly imaging the area through which it would pass and delivered some truly stunning pictures.

Details within the rings were seen as never before, including irregularities in the rings believed to have been caused by ultra weak pressure waves from Saturn's magnetosphere. As more information is gathered there may be evidence of other forces at work to impart the distortions seen in the rings. Cassini is scheduled to make some 74 orbits of Saturn over the next four years.

Other science at Saturn included imaging and spectroscopic studies of two of Saturn's moons, distant Phoebe and mighty Titan, Saturn's largest moon and the second largest of all known moons in our solar system. When passing by Phoebe at a distance of approximately 8,000 miles, Cassini used its visible light and spectroscopic cameras to capture dozens of images. Phoebe is an oddity at Saturn in that it orbits the planet in the "wrong direction" or opposite the directional orbits of all other Saturnian moons. This combined with some of the newest images from Cassini are reinforcing the idea that Phoebe may be a captured asteroid. (see Phoebe close-up image in our Gallery of Science Photos) One crater in particular reveals layering of lighter and darker materials at the lip of the crater. It is believed that this may be the evidence expected from an overall icy body which has been covered over by darker materials, indicating a possible non-original object of the Saturnian system.

Later, through other wavelengths of light, Cassini was able to map the surface composition of Phoebe revealing many known elements such as carbon dioxide, water ice and ferrous iron, along with some unknown elements as well. What else will Cassini deliver from Phoebe as its mission continues?

Titan was also in the Cassini spotlight as it raced above the clouds of Saturn. Here, wavelengths of light in the visible, infrared and ultraviolet portions of the spectrum revealed some of the best ever surface features on Titan. Previously, powerful radar waves were aimed at Titan from Earth and delivered limited resolution of Titan's surface through its super thick layers of methane and nitrogen clouds. The image below shows a combined-light view of Titan's surface. As the time draws nearer to release Cassini's piggybacking Huygens probe this coming Christmas Day, what wondrous sights will Huygens relay to Cassini for transmission back to Earth as it descends into the thick atmosphere while taking up to 1,100 images on the way down to the surface? It's a safe bet that more new and mysterious discoveries awaits scientists here on Earth as that time approaches.

Saturn holds so many more haunting and spectacular secrets for Cassini to see and analyze as this mission unfolds. We have a ring-side seat for one of the most interesting missions to another world ever attempted and AOAS will bring you as much of the important highlights as possible over the course of the next four years, or more, if the mission is extended.

Pull up a seat and enjoy the show!!!

For more images, go to our gallery of Science Photos, or visit the Cassini/Huygens Home Page at: http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov
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