Vocapedia > Space > Solar system > Planets

Saturn - sixth planet from the Sun

Cassini--The Mission Continues

As Saturn advanced in its orbit toward equinox

and the sun gradually moved northward on the planet,

the motion of Saturn's ring shadows

and the changing colors of its atmosphere

continued to transform the face of Saturn

as seen by Cassini in this image

from the mission's fourth year.

Cassini has been orbiting Saturn

for five Earth years as of June 30, 2009.

That's about one sixth of a Saturnian year,

enough time for the spacecraft

to have observed seasonal changes in the planet,

its moons and sunlight's

angle on the dramatic rings.

This captivating natural color view

was created from images

collected shortly after Cassini began

its extended Equinox Mission in July 2008.

The mosaic combines 30 images--10 each

of red, green and blue light

taken over the course of approximately two hours

as Cassini panned its wide-angle camera

across the entire planet and ring system

on July 23, 2008, from a southerly elevation of 6 degrees.

http://www.nasa.gov/images/content/365640main_PIA11141_full.jpg
http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/imagegallery/iotd.html

The Guardian        p. 1        25 May 2005

Orbital mechanics

NYT

April 20, 2010

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/20/science/space/20cassini.html

http://www.nytimes.com/imagepages/2010/04/20/science/space/20cassini_graphic.html

The Strangest Sights Cassini Saw: Postcards From Saturn        NPR        13 sept. 2017

The Strangest Sights Cassini Saw: Postcards From Saturn        Video        NPR's SKUNK BEAR        NPR        13 Sept. 2017

YouTube

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=90&v=a6y01PSb6qU

Dark Oceans: Surveying Saturn’s Moons        NYT        Out There        Oct. 28, 2015
 

Dark Oceans: Surveying Saturn’s Moons        Video

By JASON DRAKEFORD, JONATHAN CORUM and DENNIS OVERBYE

NYT | Oct. 28, 2015 | 9:48

After 11 years orbiting Saturn,

NASA’s Cassini spacecraft

has changed our understanding of liquid water

in the outer solar system.

http://www.nytimes.com/video/science/space/100000004003105/saturn-cassini-enceladus-moons.html

Storm Chasing on Saturn        NYT        6 August 2014

Storm Chasing on Saturn        Video        Out There | The New York Times        6 August 2014

The sun is slowly rising over Saturn’s north pole,

exposing an immense six-sided hurricane.

The storm, big enough to swallow four Earths,

was first spotted by the Voyager missions in the early 1980s.

Produced by:

Dennis Overbye, Jason Drakeford and Jonathan Corum

Read the story here: http://nyti.ms/1ofCpZC

Watch more videos at: http://nytimes.com/video

YouTube

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LcmNMWG9vqA&list=UUqnbDFdCpuN8CMEg0VuEBqA

Saturn        UK / USA

Adorned with thousands of beautiful ringlets,

Saturn is unique among the planets.

All four gas giant planets have rings

-- made of chunks of ice and rock --

but none are as spectacular

or as complicated as Saturn's.

Like the other gas giants,

Saturn is mostly a massive ball

of hydrogen and helium.

Distance from the sun:

About 900 million miles,

nearly 10 times as far

as Earth is from the sun.

Year: About 29 Earth years.

Day: About 10.7 Earth hours.

Diameter:

About 72,000 miles,

nine times the size of Earth.

Effective temperature:

- 288 degrees Fahrenheit.

Atmosphere:

Hydrogen, helium.

https://www.nasa.gov/saturn - 11 March 2020

https://www.nasa.gov/saturn

https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/missions/cassini/overview/

https://www.npr.org/2021/07/29/
1021856014/saturn-opposition-where-and-how-to-look

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/21/
science/saturn-titan-moon-exploration.html

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/18/
style/self-care/jupiter-and-saturn-conjunction-christmas-star.html

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/
science/exploring-the-solar-system.html - July 30, 2020

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/10/
science/saturn-titan-moon.html

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/15/
science/saturn-cassini-return.html

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/14/
science/cassini-grand-finale-saturn.html

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/09/14/
science/cassini-saturn-images.html

https://www.youtube.com/
watch?time_continue=90&v=a6y01PSb6qU - 13 September 2017

http://www.npr.org/2017/09/13/
550711289/saturns-strangest-sights-as-captured-by-a-doomed-spacecraft

http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/09/08/
549448180/cassini-spacecraft-prepares-for-a-fiery-farewell-in-saturns-atmosphere

http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/04/26/
525696238/cassini-spacecraft-starts-weaving-between-saturn-and-its-rings

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/21/
science/cassini-nasa-saturn.html

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/21/
science/cassini-nasa-saturn.html

https://www.nytimes.com/video/science/space/
100000004003105/saturn-cassini-enceladus-moons.html - April 2017

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/04/21/
science/space/cassini-inside-saturns-rings.html

http://www.nytimes.com/video/science/space/100000004003105/
saturn-cassini-enceladus-moons.html - Oct. 28, 2015

http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2015/10/27/
452299131/nasa-spacecraft-skims-past-saturns-icy-moon

http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2015/06/10/
413416716/saturns-dark-and-mysterious-outer-ring-is-even-bigger-than-expected

http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2015/03/28/
395378994/a-days-a-day-the-world-around-but-shorter-on-saturn

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/12/science/space/the-view-from-saturn.html

http://www.theguardian.com/science/2013/nov/11/saturn-cassini-photograph

http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2010/05/checking_in_on_saturn.html

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/20/science/space/20cassini.html

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/22/science/space/22prof.html

http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/gallery/2009/jun/24/
saturn-cassini-royal-observatory?picture=349285972

http://www.usatoday.com/tech/science/space/2007-03-27-saturn-
hexagon_N.htm

Saturn > NASA's Cassini spacecraft > Lightning Flashing on Saturn        USA

https://www.nasa.gov/
mission_pages/cassini/multimedia/pia12576.html

Voyager close to leaving solar system

on 35th anniversary of launch        UK        5 September 2012

Spacecraft launched in 1977

to explore Jupiter and Saturn

on the verge of entering new frontier

in the Milky Way

http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2012/sep/05/
nasa-voyager-1-leave-solar-system

Boston Globe > Big Picture

Checking in on Saturn        2010

http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2010/05/
checking_in_on_saturn.html

Boston Globe > Big Picture

Saturn / Saturnian system at equinox        2009        USA

http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2009/10/
saturn_at_equinox.html

Saturn's twin auroras during rare equinox        UK

http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2010/feb/11/
hubble-space-telescope-saturn-auroras

Saturnian system        UK

http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2009/oct/07/
saturn-ring-nasa

Saturn rings        UK / USA

http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/04/26/
525696238/cassini-spacecraft-starts-weaving-between-saturn-and-its-rings

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/21/
science/cassini-nasa-saturn.html

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/04/21/
science/space/cassini-inside-saturns-rings.html

http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2015/06/10/
413416716/saturns-dark-and-mysterious-outer-ring-is-even-bigger-than-expected

http://www.theguardian.com/science/2013/nov/11/saturn-cassini-photograph

http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2009/10/saturn_at_equinox.html

http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2009/oct/07/saturn-ring-nasa

http://www.theguardian.com/science/2004/jun/04/
spaceexploration.starsgalaxiesandplanets

Saturn's true colours        UK

http://www.theguardian.com/science/2013/nov/11/
saturn-cassini-photograph

Original Caption Released with Image:

Saturn's moon Tethys with its prominent Odysseus Crater

silently slips behind Saturn's largest moon Titan

and then emerges on the other side.

Tethys is not actually enshrouded

in Titan's atmosphere.

Tethys (1,062 kilometers, or 660 miles across)

is more than twice as far from Cassini than Titan

(5,150 kilometers, or 3,200 miles across) in this sequence.

Tethys is 2.2 million kilometers (1.4 million miles) from Cassini.

Titan is about 1 million kilometers (621,000 miles) away.

See PIA07774 to learn more about Titan's atmosphere.

These two color views

were captured about 18 minutes apart,

with the view on the right taking place first.

These images are part of a mutual event sequence

in which one moon passes close to or in front of another

as seen from the spacecraft.

Such observations help scientists

refine their understanding of the orbits of Saturn's moons.

Images taken using red, green and blue spectral filters

were combined to create this natural color view.

The images were obtained

with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera

on Nov. 26, 2009.

Image scale is 6 kilometers (4 miles) per pixel on Titan

and 13 kilometers (8 miles) per pixel on Tethys.

The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA,

the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency.

The Jet Propulsion Laboratory,

a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena,

manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate,

Washington, D.C.

The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras

were designed, developed and assembled at JPL.

The imaging operations center is based

at the Space Science Institute in Boulder, Colo.

NASA > Jet Propulsion Laboratory > Photojournal

http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA12528

Saturn's moons        UK / USA

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/21/
science/saturn-titan-moon-exploration.html

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/15/
science/saturn-cassini-return.html

https://www.nytimes.com/video/science/space/
100000004003105/saturn-cassini-enceladus-moons.html - April 2017

http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/04/13/
523756092/signs-of-hospitality-to-life-found-on-saturns-moon-enceladus

http://www.theguardian.com/science/2015/apr/28/
saturn-moon-hyperion-nasa-cassini-space-probe

http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2007/oct/14/
spaceexploration.starsgalaxiesandplanets

https://www.theguardian.com/science/2005/aug/30/
spaceexploration.internationalnews 

https://www.theguardian.com/science/2004/sep/10/
starsgalaxiesandplanets.sciencenews

Janus,

one of Saturn's smaller moons        USA

http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2009/10/
saturn_at_equinox.html

Saturn's outers moons > Hyperion        UK

http://www.theguardian.com/news/gallery/2015/apr/28/
photo-highlights-of-the-day#img-6

Saturn's moon > Enceladus        UK / USA

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/09/
science/enceladus-stripes-moon.html

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/15/
science/saturn-cassini-return.html

http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/04/13/
523756092/signs-of-hospitality-to-life-found-on-saturns-moon-enceladus

http://www.theguardian.com/science/2015/oct/30/
nasa-cassini-images-enceladus-saturn-moon

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/29/
science/space/in-icy-breath-of-saturns-moon-enceladus-cassini-hunts-for-life.html

http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2015/10/27/
452299131/nasa-spacecraft-skims-past-saturns-icy-moon

http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2015/03/12/
392296706/researchers-think-theres-a-warm-ocean-on-enceladus

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/04/
science/space/a-moon-of-saturn-has-a-sea-scientists-say.html

http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2009/10/
saturn_at_equinox.html 

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/10/
science/space/10saturn.html

Saturn's moon > Tethys        USA

http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA12528

http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2009/10/saturn_at_equinox.html

embedded moon > Daphnis

http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2009/10/saturn_at_equinox.html

Saturn's moons > Prometheus

http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2009/10/saturn_at_equinox.html

Saturn's moons > Mimas

http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2009/10/
saturn_at_equinox.html

Saturn's large moon Rhea

http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2010/nov/25/
oxygen-saturn-moon-rhea

http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2009/10/
saturn_at_equinox.html

Oxygen found on Saturn's moon Rhea        November 2010

Nasa's Cassini probe

has scooped oxygen

from the thin atmosphere of Rhea

– the first time

the gas has been detected

directly on another world

https://www.theguardian.com/science/2010/nov/25/
oxygen-saturn-moon-rhea

Saturn and its largest moon, Titan,

in an image made by NASA’s Cassini spacecraft in 2015.

Photograph: JPL/NASA

Why Didn’t Saturn Eat Titan, Its Biggest Moon?

New simulations explain how the ringed planet ended up

with one giant moon that domineers its tinier siblings.

NYT

March 10, 2020

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/10/
science/saturn-titan-moon.html

Titan

one of Saturn's 31 known moons / Saturn's largest moon

Titan fascinates scientists

because it's so similar to our own planet

— even though it's far colder

at -300 degrees Fahrenheit.

Like Earth, it has clouds,

lakes and rivers.

On Titan, however,

these are made of liquid methane

instead of water.

https://www.npr.org/2019/06/27/
736722760/nasa-will-send-a-drone-to-buzz-around-saturns-largest-moon

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/21/
science/saturn-titan-moon-exploration.html

https://www.npr.org/2020/06/29/
884907920/-octocopter-set-to-explore-titan-saturns-very-cool-moon

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/10/
science/saturn-titan-moon.html

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/03/
science/titan-saturn-map.html

https://www.npr.org/2019/09/17/
760649353/meet-the-nuclear-powered-self-driving-drone-nasa-is-sending-to-a-moon-of-saturn

https://www.npr.org/2019/06/27/
736722760/nasa-will-send-a-drone-to-buzz-around-saturns-largest-moon

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/15/
science/saturn-cassini-return.html

http://www.theguardian.com/science/2014/jun/22/
mystery-object-lake-saturn-titan-scientists-nasa

http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2012/apr/25/uk-boat-oceans-saturn-moon-titan

https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA12528  

http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2009/10/saturn_at_equinox.html

http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2009/10/saturn_at_equinox.html

http://www.usatoday.com/tech/science/space/2008-07-31-saturn-titan-liquid_N.htm

Saturn's gravitational field

NASA's Cassini spacecraft / space probe

https://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/ 

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/15/
science/saturn-cassini-return.html

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/14/
science/cassini-grand-finale-saturn.html

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/09/14/
science/cassini-saturn-images.html

https://www.youtube.com/
watch?time_continue=90&v=a6y01PSb6qU - 13 September 2017

http://www.npr.org/2017/09/13/
550711289/saturns-strangest-sights-as-captured-by-a-doomed-spacecraft

http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/09/08/
549448180/cassini-spacecraft-prepares-for-a-fiery-farewell-in-saturns-atmosphere

https://www.nytimes.com/video/science/
100000005343498/cassini-burns-into-saturn.html - September 2017

http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/04/26/
525696238/cassini-spacecraft-starts-weaving-between-saturn-and-its-rings

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/21/
science/cassini-nasa-saturn.html

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/04/21/
science/space/cassini-inside-saturns-rings.html

http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/04/13/
523756092/signs-of-hospitality-to-life-found-on-saturns-moon-enceladus

http://www.theguardian.com/science/2015/apr/28/
saturn-moon-hyperion-nasa-cassini-space-probe

http://www.theguardian.com/science/2013/nov/11/saturn-cassini-photograph

http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2009/10/saturn_at_equinox.html

http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2009/04/cassinis_continued_mission.html

The Guardian        p. 9        6 November 2004

The Cassini-Huygens spacecraft

is still four months

and millions of miles from Saturn,

but it's already close enough

to send a stunning postcard of the ringed giant.

It's expected to send weekly snapshots

as it nears it's July 1, 2004 arrival date.

This image was captured

on February 9 by Cassini's narrow angle camera,

when the spacecraft was about 69 million kilometers

(43 million miles) away.

A series of exposures through different filters

were combined to form the color image.

The icy moon Enceladus is faintly visible on the left.

Image Credit:

NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute

Corpus of news articles

Space > Solar system > Planets >

Saturn - the sixth planet from the Sun

Oxygen found

on Saturn's moon Rhea

Nasa's Cassini probe has scooped
oxygen from the thin atmosphere of Rhea
– the first time the gas has been detected directly
on another world

Thursday 25 November 2010
19.00 GMT
Guardian.co.uk
Ian Sample, science correspondent
This article was published on guardian.co.uk
at 19.00 GMT
on Thursday 25 November 2010.
A version appeared on p6
of the Main section section of the Guardian
on Friday 26 November 2010.
It was last modified at 11.28 GMT
on Friday 26 November 2010.

A spacecraft has tasted oxygen in the atmosphere of another world for the first time while flying low over Saturn's icy moon, Rhea.

Nasa's Cassini probe scooped oxygen from the thin atmosphere of the planet's moon while passing overhead at an altitude of 97km in March this year.

Until now, wisps of oxygen have only been detected on planets and their moons indirectly, using the Hubble space telescope and other major facilities.

Instruments aboard Cassini revealed an extremely thin oxygen and carbon dioxide atmosphere that is sustained by high-energy particles slamming into the moon's surface and kicking up atoms, molecules and ions.

Astronomers have counted 62 moons orbiting Saturn. At 1500km wide, Rhea is the second largest and is thought to be made almost entirely of ice.

"This really is the first time that we've seen oxygen directly in the atmosphere of another world," said Andrew Coates, at UCL's Mullard Space Science Laboratory, a co-author of the study published in the journal Science.

"Active, complex chemistry involving oxygen may be quite common throughout the solar system and even our universe," said team leader Ben Teolis of Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio, Texas. "Such chemistry could be a prerequisite for life. All evidence from Cassini indicates that Rhea is too cold and devoid of the liquid water necessary for life as we know it."

Rhea's atmosphere makes it unique in the Saturn system. Only Rhea and Titan, the largest Saturnian moon, have enough mass to hold on to an atmosphere with their gravity. Titan, however, has a very thick nitrogen and methane atmosphere, with very little carbon dioxide and oxygen.

Astronomers have previously used telescopes to detect oxygen in the atmospheres of Jupiter's moons Europa and Ganymede, but similar searches drew a blank on Rhea because the concentration of the gas was so low.

According to instruments aboard Cassini, every cubic metre of Rhea's atmosphere contains around 50bn oxygen molecules and 20bn carbon dioxide molecules.

The carbon dioxide may come from dry ice trapped within the moon, or be produced by high-energy particles striking water ice on Rhea. Another source could be carbon-rich materials deposited by tiny meteors that have bombarded Rhea's surface.

Oxygen found on Saturn's moon Rhea,
G,
25.11.2010,
https://www.theguardian.com/science/2010/nov/25/
oxygen-saturn-moon-rhea

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