Here´s one of the small moons of Saturn we don´t get to see too much of, named Helene. Helene is pretty small as moons go, only 20 miles across. Cassini did a pass at just a bit more than 1,300 miles and that is about as close as the spacecraft has come to the little
Posted by Tom's Astronomy Blog
The Cassini spacecraft recently passed very near the tiny moon Helene and returned amazing pictures of it. Helene is a dinky iceball, only about 36×32x30 km (22×19x18 miles) in size (this picture has an incredible resolution of about 113 meters (103 yards) per pixel). It circles Saturn in the same orbit as the much larger Dione,
Posted by Bad Astronomy
From time to time this blog has wondered about Black Holes within our solar system. From deep within Saturn's Ring system, our Cassini spacecraft has captured the closest views yet of the mysterious moon Prometheus. Prometheus and Pandora are called shepherd moons because they appear to hold F Ring in place. At one time the Rings were thought to exist inside a mathematical "Roche Limit." Outside this limit moons could form, and inside they would break up tidally to form Ring fragments. Prometh
Posted by GM=tc^3
The folks at Cassini almost got me almost. I saw this image as a thumbnail and was thinking gee that´s Janus, seems awful big?. A second look and the little moon stood out pretty easily against the larger moon Rhea and behind the rings. I especially like this particular look at the rings.
Posted by Tom's Astronomy Blog
The Cassini mission keeps churning out the hits, and here's a collection of some of the latest stunning images released by the CICLOPS (Cassini Imaging for Central Operations) team. Above, the small moon Janus is almost hidden between the planet's rings and the larger moon Rhea. The northern part of Janus can be
Posted by Universe Today
Newly released images from last November's close flyby over Saturn's icy moon Enceladus the Cassini spacecraft reveal geyser jets spraying all along the prominent fractures, or "tiger stripes" that cross the moon's south polar region. Additionally, a new detailed temperature map of one fracture reveals warmer temperatures than what was expected. "Enceladus continues
Posted by Universe Today
On November 21, 2009, the Cassini spacecraft sliced past Saturn's moon Enceladus, shaving the iceball at a distance of 1600 km (1000 miles). From that distance, the view was astonishing…It's been known for some time that the south pole of Enceladus is lousy with geysers, erupting water into space (though the ultimate source of the
Posted by Bad Astronomy
fyi:More images from Enceladus flyby last Nov. 21 2009.–BenForest of JetsCassini's close flyby of Enceladus last Nov. 21 revealed a forest of new jets spraying from the prominent fractures crossing the south polar region and yielded the most detailed temperature map to date… http://ciclops. org/view_event/129/Forest_of_Jets
Posted by Slacker Astronomy
If you've ever wondered what it would be like to hang out near the Cassini Saturn spacecraft and get the same view it does, the put on your red/green glasses and check out this anaglyph of the moon Prometheus:Mmmm, threedeealicious. Click to enjovianate. Prometheus is a bit weird. OK, it's a lot weird. It's an irregularly-shaped
Posted by Bad Astronomy
On February 13, 2010 the Cassini spacecraft made a close pass at the Saturn moon Mimas. The image above was taken from about 70,600 km (~ 43,680 miles). The main feature that just sticks out is the huge impact crater called Hershel, so named for William Herschel the discoverer of Mimas (on September 17, 1789). Mimas
Posted by Tom's Astronomy Blog
Cassini is headed towards that small moon. That's no small moon, That's a Space Station!oh wait, yes it is just a small moon.–Ben=====================================****** Forwarded Message Follows *******February 15, 2010Dear Friends and Colleagues,Latest images from Cassini's flybys of Saturn's Death Star' moon, Mimas, and one of its small moons, Calypso, are now down on the ground. If
Posted by Slacker Astronomy
Today CICLOPS, the Cassini Imaging Central Laboratory for Operations released the latest images from NASA´s Cassini spacecraft of Saturn's moons, Mimas and Calypso. Mimas is best known for its enormous crater on one side, which astronomers have calculated was just a little smaller than would have been necessary to completely destroy the moon. The images are available
Posted by SpaceNut
On February 13, 2010, Cassini flew by Saturn's moon Mimas, coming as close as 9,500 km. It passed directly over Herschel, a giant crater whose creation almost shattered the moon ... and which, in its appearance in some earlier images, earned Mimas the nickname "Death Star", after the iconic Star Wars prop. The Cassini team has just
Posted by Universe Today
Of all the moons in the solar system, Mimas is one of the most recognizable. And new pictures from Cassini show us again just why. On Saturday, February 13, the Saturn probe dipped low over Mimas, sliding past the small moon at a distance of just 15,000 kilometers (9000 miles). For comparison, the Earth is about
Posted by Bad Astronomy
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