Snows of Enceladus |
Snows of Enceladus |
May 24 2011, 11:23 PM
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#1
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Member Group: Members Posts: 207 Joined: 6-March 07 From: houston, texas Member No.: 1828 |
new blog and new video of a possible snow-covered area on Enceladus. Of course,
the snow is really fine particles falling out from the massive plumes . . . ! http://stereomoons.blogspot.com http://www.youtube.com/user/galsat400?feat...u/0/dYHuPlwWJIQ sorry for the short report from the Enceladus wrkshop but gotta head home tonite -------------------- Dr. Paul Schenk, Lunar and Planetary Institute, Houston TX
http://stereomoons.blogspot.com; http://www.youtube.com/galsat400; http://www.lpi.usra.edu/science/schenk/ |
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May 24 2011, 11:29 PM
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#2
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Merciless Robot Group: Admin Posts: 8783 Joined: 8-December 05 From: Los Angeles Member No.: 602 |
...Alright, "Poul", now you gotta write "The Snows Of Enceladus"...I wanna read it!
-------------------- 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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May 25 2011, 01:40 AM
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#3
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Administrator Group: Admin Posts: 5172 Joined: 4-August 05 From: Pasadena, CA, USA, Earth Member No.: 454 |
Paul, the concerns about Apollo astronauts getting swallowed up by Moon dust turned out to be unfounded. But given the unconsolidated nature of this stuff and the low gravity on Enceladus (which wouldn't tend to pack the stuff with depth), would a lander (or hapless astronaut) just sink right in to Enceladus' surface and get swallowed up by snow, as though it were quicksand? Could our hypothetical astronaut "swim" out?
-------------------- My website - My Patreon - @elakdawalla on Twitter - Please support unmannedspaceflight.com by donating here.
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May 25 2011, 02:14 AM
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#4
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Member Group: Members Posts: 207 Joined: 6-March 07 From: houston, texas Member No.: 1828 |
Paul, the concerns about Apollo astronauts getting swallowed up by Moon dust turned out to be unfounded. But given the unconsolidated nature of this stuff and the low gravity on Enceladus (which wouldn't tend to pack the stuff with depth), would a lander (or hapless astronaut) just sink right in to Enceladus' surface and get swallowed up by snow, as though it were quicksand? Could our hypothetical astronaut "swim" out? We've been thinking about that and will post more in a few days. But think of the consistency of ash after a campfires been going all night. It would probably hold up to some degree . . . More later -------------------- Dr. Paul Schenk, Lunar and Planetary Institute, Houston TX
http://stereomoons.blogspot.com; http://www.youtube.com/galsat400; http://www.lpi.usra.edu/science/schenk/ |
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May 25 2011, 03:09 AM
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#5
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Senior Member Group: Members Posts: 1417 Joined: 26-July 08 Member No.: 4270 |
A large number of boulders don't seem to have a problem staying "afloat." I suspect a lander wouldn't either. Though I don't know what the difference in size would do to affect the outcome.
-------------------- -- Hungry4info (Sirius_Alpha)
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May 25 2011, 05:26 AM
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#6
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Senior Member Group: Moderator Posts: 3230 Joined: 11-February 04 From: Tucson, AZ Member No.: 23 |
Worst case scenario, I would imagine astronauts could just wear snowshoes... Similarly a lander may need to have wider landing pads to spread its weight out, like a boulder as Hungry4info mentioned.
-------------------- &@^^!% Jim! I'm a geologist, not a physicist!
The Gish Bar Times - A Blog all about Jupiter's Moon Io |
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Guest_Sunspot_* |
May 25 2011, 07:22 AM
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#7
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Guests |
Sounds like an episode of Dr Who
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May 25 2011, 03:01 PM
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#8
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Member Group: Members Posts: 903 Joined: 30-January 05 Member No.: 162 |
Does anyone know offhand the 'R' value of similarly fluffy snow versus consolidated ice? Would this 'help' what ever heat source inside Enceladus to concentrate it's effects in the plume region?
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May 25 2011, 06:48 PM
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#9
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Member Group: Members Posts: 593 Joined: 20-April 05 Member No.: 279 |
Interesting idea - but the vacuum just above that fluffy snow is the best insulator there is. I'm not sure whether the presence of the snow (or not) would affect things greatly.
Andy |
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May 25 2011, 11:12 PM
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#10
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Member Group: Members Posts: 699 Joined: 3-December 04 From: Boulder, Colorado, USA Member No.: 117 |
Actually, the surface can radiate into the vacuum of space fairly efficiently, so the insulating properties of the regolith can be quite important in determining temperatures below the surface- a deep, fluffy, regolith will make for higher temperatures at depth if, like Enceladus, there's a lot of heat coming from below. There's a limit to the effect, though, because if the regolith is too good an insulator, it get quite warm at its base, and the ice starts to evaporate and recondense and fill in the pores, making the regolith less insulating.
John |
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Jun 23 2011, 05:13 AM
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#11
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Member Group: Members Posts: 706 Joined: 22-April 05 Member No.: 351 |
The case for an ocean gets stronger: JPL press release
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Oct 3 2011, 07:16 PM
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#12
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Senior Member Group: Members Posts: 1887 Joined: 20-November 04 From: Iowa Member No.: 110 |
Enceladus weather: Snow flurries and perfect powder for skiing
http://www.europlanet-eu.org/outreach/inde...51&Itemid=1 Article includes link to plume deposition map http://www.europlanet-eu.org/outreach/imag..._press-maps.jpg A few years ago someone here was posting results of a simulation of the deposition from plumes near the pole. Is he still around? Were the results similar? |
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