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 13 2017, 08:34 PM
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#2
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Senior Member Group: Members Posts: 2090 Joined: 13-February 10 From: Ontario Member No.: 5221 |
Can't distant observations right now pin the location down better? Like optical navigation for any approach to a small body...
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Mar 14 2017, 09:14 PM
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#3
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Member Group: Members Posts: 655 Joined: 22-January 06 Member No.: 655 |
Can't distant observations right now pin the location down better? Like optical navigation for any approach to a small body... Cassini doesn't operate like this (i.e. onboard autonomous navigation) during a flyby. The observation sequences are written weeks (months?) in advance based on opnav images previously obtained, plus an exquisite knowledge of the spacecraft's trajectory. The fly-in-the-ointment with the smaller ring moons is a not-quite-perfect knowledge of their masses, the effects of drag by nearby rings, and the gravitational effects and resonances with nearby moons. During a close-encounter (say less than 40,000km) small discrepancies may cause the moons to start to slide out of the field-of-view of the narrow-angle camera depending on the trajectory of the approach. This has happened with imaging plans for Helene, Atlas, Daphnis and Aegaeon (Aegaeon was missed completely during its very close encounter) I imagine it's as challenging as looking through a pea-shooter at night and trying to keep a firefly in view. This said, I think all would agree that an incredibly comprehensive reconnaissance of the Saturn system has been achieved in no small part by those responsible for writing the imaging sequences and those controlling Cassini's trajectory through the Saturn system. |
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Lo-Fi Version | Time is now: 6th June 2024 - 09:47 PM |
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