New kinds of organic compounds, the ingredients of amino acids, have been detected in the plumes bursting from Saturn’s moon Enceladus. The findings are the result of the ongoing deep dive into data from NASA’s Cassini mission. Source: https://phys.org/news/2019-10-compounds-enceladus-ice-grains.html…
Tag: Cassini
Shapeshifting robots for Saturn’s moons
NASA is testing a 3D-printed prototype of unusual mini robots that can roll, fly, float and swim, then morph into a single machine. They’re called Shapeshifters. The team envisions them as a way to explore Saturn’s moons. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/shapeshifting-robots-for-saturns-moons…
Are Saturn’s rings young or old?
Cassini data suggested that Saturn’s rings were only 10 to 100 million years old. A new study suggests that a “ring rain” onto Saturn makes the rings look younger than they really are, and that in fact Saturn’s rings date back billions of years. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/saturn-rings-eject-material-young-or-old…
Did underground explosions create Titan’s lakes?
The lakes on Saturn’s moon Titan are filled with liquid methane, not water, and some are surrounded by steep rims. A new study suggests these features might have been caused by explosions of warming nitrogen, which created Titan’s lake basins long ago. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/did-underground-explosions-create-titans-lakes…
New models suggest Titan lakes are explosion craters
Using radar data from NASA’s Cassini spacecraft, recently published research presents a new scenario to explain why some methane-filled lakes on Saturn’s moon Titan are surrounded by steep rims that reach hundreds of feet high. The models suggests that explosions of warming nitrogen created basins in the moon’s crust. Source: https://phys.org/news/2019-09-titan-lakes-explosion-craters.html…
Yellowstone’s Steamboat geyser breaks record
With 33 eruptions as of August 27, Steamboat Geyser in Yellowstone National Park is having a very active year. Source: https://earthsky.org/earth/steamboat-geyser-yellowstone-breaks-eruption-record…
Have astronomers found a hyper-volcanic exomoon?
Astronomers have found evidence for a possible exomoon orbiting a gas giant planet 550 light-years away. If they’re interpreting the evidence correctly, this moon would be a place of destruction, even more volcanically active than Jupiter’s famous volcanic moon, Io. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/volcanic-exomoon-exo-io-wasp-49b…
Image: Night into day on Saturn’s rings
In this image by the international Cassini spacecraft, Saturn’s shadow is captured creeping across the rings. The bottom half of the image shows the bright rings reflecting sunlight from their icy particles, whereas the top is partially obscured in shadow from the gas giant. Source: https://phys.org/news/2019-09-image-night-day-saturn.html…
40 years ago today: Pioneer 11 swept past Saturn
Pioneer 11 was the first spacecraft ever to encounter Saturn. A true pioneer, it paved the way for 2 more sophisticated missions – the 2 Voyagers in 1980 and ’81 – and Cassini from 2004 to 2017. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/this-date-in-science-pioneer-11-swept-past-saturn…
A brief history of Saturn’s amazing rings
New analyses of Saturn’s rings reveal how and when they were made, from what, and whether they’ll last. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/history-saturns-rings…