Cassini's Extended-Extended Mission, July 2010-June 2017 |
Cassini's Extended-Extended Mission, July 2010-June 2017 |
Feb 6 2009, 03:35 AM
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Senior Member Group: Moderator Posts: 3241 Joined: 11-February 04 From: Tucson, AZ Member No.: 23 |
Perhaps now would be a good time to start a new thread on the Extended-Extended Mission.
http://www.space.com/news/090127-cassini-m...-extension.html -------------------- &@^^!% Jim! I'm a geologist, not a physicist!
The Gish Bar Times - A Blog all about Jupiter's Moon Io |
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Jan 28 2010, 12:17 AM
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Junior Member Group: Members Posts: 30 Joined: 30-May 05 Member No.: 396 |
The magnetometer did not actually pick up hints of activity at Dione. It has detected a field deformation that could occur if newly produced ions (e.g. ionized products from an exosphere around Dione) are added to the surrounding plasma flow. The inference of activity is based on the lack of direct evidence that a substantial exosphere exists around Dione, and from theoretical calculations suggesting/(confirming?) that surface sputtering from plasma cannot account for any considerable exosphere around that moon.
So practically, what was detected were hints of mass addition near the moon. The origin of this mass addition is still undetermined, but the favored scenario is that there is activity. On the other hand, we now know that around the period of the flyby, Dione was immersed in a new radiation belt (produced after a solar storm impacted Saturn) , the presence of which could have modified the sputtering rates and have produced a transient exosphere... One flyby is never enough... |
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Jan 28 2010, 12:23 AM
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Senior Member Group: Moderator Posts: 3241 Joined: 11-February 04 From: Tucson, AZ Member No.: 23 |
One flyby is never enough... 69 days, 4 hours, 53 minutes and 17 seconds until D2 -------------------- &@^^!% Jim! I'm a geologist, not a physicist!
The Gish Bar Times - A Blog all about Jupiter's Moon Io |
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