Grand Finale part 1, F ring orbits |
Grand Finale part 1, F ring orbits |
Nov 29 2016, 11:03 PM
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#1
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Senior Member Group: Members Posts: 3516 Joined: 4-November 05 From: North Wales Member No.: 542 |
With its second to last swing by Titan the curtain has now opened on Cassini's final act. What wonders will we see in the rings?
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Mar 9 2017, 01:10 PM
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#46
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Merciless Robot Group: Admin Posts: 8784 Joined: 8-December 05 From: Los Angeles Member No.: 602 |
Astonishing. Looks like a cutaway view of a nut covered in chocolate. Accreted ring material around the equator, I presume.
-------------------- A few will take this knowledge and use this power of a dream realized as a force for change, an impetus for further discovery to make less ancient dreams real.
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Mar 9 2017, 02:08 PM
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#47
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Solar System Cartographer Group: Members Posts: 10186 Joined: 5-April 05 From: Canada Member No.: 227 |
Fantastic images... and one little correction. As you say, Ian, north is to the upper right in the first view you posted, so the partially illuminated bulge at lower left is the southern hemisphere. The other views show the northern hemisphere, not the southern. Pan has the same seasons as Saturn, and now the north is more fully illuminated.
Phil -------------------- ... because the Solar System ain't gonna map itself.
Also to be found posting similar content on https://mastodon.social/@PhilStooke Maps for download (free PD: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/comm...Cartography.pdf NOTE: everything created by me which I post on UMSF is considered to be in the public domain (NOT CC, public domain) |
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Mar 9 2017, 02:15 PM
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#48
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Member Group: Members Posts: 423 Joined: 13-November 14 From: Norway Member No.: 7310 |
Lots of cracks or faults, is it experiencing a lot of stress?
On another note, it looks as if the bulge might not be much less cratered than the main body. -------------------- |
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Mar 9 2017, 03:37 PM
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#49
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Member Group: Members Posts: 715 Joined: 3-January 08 Member No.: 3995 |
It looks like a miniature version of Saturn.... or a pork tenderloin sandwich.
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Mar 9 2017, 04:02 PM
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#50
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Newbie Group: Members Posts: 17 Joined: 8-September 15 Member No.: 7773 |
amazing! Rings must be quiet thin (tens of meters) and with a stable vertical position relative to Pan.
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Mar 9 2017, 04:09 PM
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#51
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Senior Member Group: Members Posts: 4252 Joined: 17-January 05 Member No.: 152 |
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Mar 9 2017, 05:19 PM
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#52
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Senior Member Group: Members Posts: 2090 Joined: 13-February 10 From: Ontario Member No.: 5221 |
Crisscrossing fractures like Miranda, and visible craters on the ridge (so it's not just puffy dust), and 'sharp' corners to it. What a bizarre place nature has come up with! It looks ridiculous, but I love it!
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Mar 9 2017, 09:44 PM
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#53
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Senior Member Group: Members Posts: 1441 Joined: 26-July 08 Member No.: 4270 |
Could some of these "fractures" be caused by a layer of surface regolith being pushed across a more solid core by the weight of parts of the equatorial bulge? Also, it looks like the bulge is thicker in some places than others -- could this be evidence of a reorientation of the moon in the past? Or are local surface gravity variations a more plausible explanation?
-------------------- -- Hungry4info (Sirius_Alpha)
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Mar 9 2017, 11:42 PM
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#54
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Senior Member Group: Members Posts: 3516 Joined: 4-November 05 From: North Wales Member No.: 542 |
It looks to me like the ridge is emplaced as a fairly steep-sided feature which suffers occasional slumps. Even in its fresh state it is unlikely to be as narrow at its base as at the rim.
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Mar 10 2017, 01:13 AM
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#55
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Member Group: Members Posts: 890 Joined: 18-November 08 Member No.: 4489 |
slumps ? i do not know
the ridge dose look to be extruded -- think of a "Cream Puff" with the top and bottom smooshed together but with gravity pulling the "cream" out |
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Mar 10 2017, 04:55 PM
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#56
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Senior Member Group: Members Posts: 2530 Joined: 20-April 05 Member No.: 321 |
This reminds me of something I've seen in New England, on occasions when it snows very heavily with almost no wind. Snow can pile up on thin solid bodies, like signs, twigs, and power lines, in thin, tall stacks, almost like a playing card standing on its edge. What's remarkable here is how absolutely close to zero the lateral forces must be. That also implies that the primary component of velocity is also quite modest.
It's useful to keep in mind that electric fields may play a role here, too. For most solar system objects, gravity and Newton's laws are the only factors worth considering, but with tiny particles, electric fields can have an important effect. There's some literature on electric fields and Saturn's rings, and these closeups of Pan are likely to stimulate more. |
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Mar 10 2017, 05:08 PM
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#57
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Senior Member Group: Members Posts: 1585 Joined: 14-October 05 From: Vermont Member No.: 530 |
It looks to me like the ridge is emplaced as a fairly steep-sided feature which suffers occasional slumps. Even in its fresh state it is unlikely to be as narrow at its base as at the rim. My bet would be those slopes are pretty much at the angle of repose. (If I recall correctly, these looking like big cliffs is exactly akin to Verona Rupes on Miranda) Pretty awesome. |
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Mar 10 2017, 05:11 PM
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#58
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Lord Of The Uranian Rings Group: Members Posts: 798 Joined: 18-July 05 From: Plymouth, UK Member No.: 437 |
As you say, Ian, north is to the upper right in the first view you posted, so the partially illuminated bulge at lower left is the southern hemisphere. The other views show the northern hemisphere, not the southern. Pan has the same seasons as Saturn, and now the north is more fully illuminated. Thanks for the correction, Phil — I've gone back and corrected my posts with the correct info. -------------------- |
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Mar 11 2017, 07:29 AM
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#59
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Member Group: Members Posts: 808 Joined: 10-October 06 From: Maynard Mass USA Member No.: 1241 |
Pan is very fractured and is probably tidally locked to Saturn?
The main body appears to be 'basically' round? The accretions of the fine 'dust apron' seem to be made from electrostatics and serendipity at Pan's 'equator' relative to the Enke Division? The first image is the clearest and deconvoluted. The second is annotated, I propose what it shows is that a 'fractured plate' (in red) slide out of place and caused a bulge in the dust apron at the right and caused dust to slide to create the bulge to the left? (or the asymmetrically fracture was there for quite some time and caused the bulges) It would be great if we could get an image with the sun angle reversed to see the cracks on the edge of the alleged 'plate slide'. as always, your mileage may vary. -------------------- CLA CLL
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Mar 11 2017, 01:44 PM
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#60
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Member Group: Members Posts: 655 Joined: 22-January 06 Member No.: 655 |
Fascinating little moon, and congratulations to the Cassini team for spot-on pointing sequences.
Hopefully the encounter with Atlas early next month will be equally well-targeted (it's a closer flyby) and some direct comparisons can be made. It's great to get these images of Pan, as it was the last body larger than ~2km in diameter inside of Iapetus' orbit that we didn't previously have good views of. Great processing of the raws everyone btw. |
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