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T16 RADAR SAR Swath, Land o' lakes
volcanopele
post Jul 24 2006, 09:33 PM
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Much to my surprise, a chunk of the T16 Sar swath as been released:

http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA08630

An abundance of lakes can been seen. Some appear to be crater lakes (or sinkholes), like the lake at far left on the top cutout. That lake appears similar to Crater Lake in Oregon, with a little island in the middle (you can kinda see the attenuation of the signal surrounding the island as the methane gets deeper). Some lakes appear quite distinctive from the surrounding terrain, like the features on the right part of the bottom cutout.


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belleraphon1
post Jul 24 2006, 11:50 PM
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Agree here with Rob...

Close up monitoring of the seasonal changes is paramount. Will methane follow the dark..... evaporate in the sun and unleash brief methane monsoons at the lower latitudes until a new
equilibirum is reached at the southern pole as it retreats into a winter darkness...... ??????

This really speaks to an extended CASSINI mission as a precursor to future Titan missions.

Craig
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Bjorn Jonsson
post Jul 25 2006, 12:26 AM
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Now Titan is even more interesting than before, an extended mission even more important than before and as before, almost too many interesting targets to explore at Saturn. And probably at least 15-20 years until a new mission gets launched towards Saturn.

Will the northern lakes disappear and if so, when? Will lakes form near the south pole when it recedes into darkness and if so, when?

Hopefully Cassini lasts years beyond its primary mission, enabling it to observe seasonal changes (Titan and Saturn's blue northern hemisphere).
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JRehling
post Jul 25 2006, 03:37 AM
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QUOTE (Bjorn Jonsson @ Jul 24 2006, 05:26 PM) *
Hopefully Cassini lasts years beyond its primary mission, enabling it to observe seasonal changes (Titan and Saturn's blue northern hemisphere).


If attitude control propellent is truly the life-limiting factor for Cassini, then the variable in our control is the number of pointing operations (under current operational norms, the number of flyby observations) per unit time. Even if Titan were the only object under consideration, the choices would be, at the extremes, dozens of flybys at the current rate, obtaining more RADAR (especially) and VIMS coverage, but only lasting a couple of years (going just past equinox) or a more languid rate of coverage, making few observations (perhaps many "blind" flybys with few or no observations), but lasting well into the next Titanian seasons. Obviously, flybys of the other satellites would subtract from the Titan observations.

These lakes might relegate Iapetus, aside from its late-primary-mission closeup, to "see you next mission" status. Enceladus will still hold its own as an extended mission candidate, but the other icy moons are looking forgettable in comparison.
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qraal
post Jul 25 2006, 11:36 AM
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Hi All

Lacustrine wannabes at last!

QUOTE (JRehling @ Jul 25 2006, 03:37 PM) *
These lakes might relegate Iapetus, aside from its late-primary-mission closeup, to "see you next mission" status. Enceladus will still hold its own as an extended mission candidate, but the other icy moons are looking forgettable in comparison.


Hate to say it, but there's nothing as interesting as Titan and Enceladus amongst the rest. Titan we're more likely to learn much, much more about by an extended mission.

Has anyone looked into aerobraking Cassini into a survey orbit around Titan?

Adam
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Bjorn Jonsson
post Jul 25 2006, 11:38 AM
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QUOTE (qraal @ Jul 25 2006, 11:36 AM) *
Has anyone looked into aerobraking Cassini into a survey orbit around Titan?

This has been discussed here before (I don't remember where) and it is not possible.
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Guest_AlexBlackwell_*
post Jul 25 2006, 05:43 PM
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QUOTE (Bjorn Jonsson @ Jul 25 2006, 01:38 AM) *
This has been discussed here before (I don't remember where) and it is not possible.

This questions pops up so frequently on discussion boards that there should be an FAQ posted somewhere. I posted a brief note in another thread on this issue. And as you note, the short answer is no, Cassini is not designed to aerobrake.
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Posts in this topic
- volcanopele   T16 RADAR SAR Swath   Jul 24 2006, 09:33 PM
- - AlexBlackwell   QUOTE (volcanopele @ Jul 24 2006, 11:33 A...   Jul 24 2006, 09:39 PM
|- - JRehling   QUOTE (AlexBlackwell @ Jul 24 2006, 02:39...   Jul 25 2006, 03:25 AM
|- - AlexBlackwell   QUOTE (JRehling @ Jul 24 2006, 05:25 PM) ...   Jul 25 2006, 06:15 PM
|- - volcanopele   QUOTE (AlexBlackwell @ Jul 25 2006, 11:15...   Aug 1 2006, 04:42 PM
|- - JRehling   QUOTE (volcanopele @ Aug 1 2006, 09:42 AM...   Aug 8 2006, 05:51 PM
|- - volcanopele   QUOTE (JRehling @ Aug 8 2006, 10:51 AM) D...   Aug 8 2006, 06:26 PM
|- - Sunspot   QUOTE (volcanopele @ Aug 8 2006, 07:26 PM...   Aug 8 2006, 09:56 PM
- - volcanopele   Was that me? I forget now But to be honest, the...   Jul 24 2006, 09:42 PM
|- - AlexBlackwell   QUOTE (volcanopele @ Jul 24 2006, 11:42 A...   Jul 24 2006, 09:45 PM
- - ugordan   Wow, this is it! Finally here we have a body ...   Jul 24 2006, 09:47 PM
- - David   This is fantastic stuff. I'd be even happier ...   Jul 24 2006, 09:48 PM
- - djellison   The largest body in the top right actually has som...   Jul 24 2006, 09:59 PM
- - The Messenger   Can it be stated with certainty that these are not...   Jul 24 2006, 10:02 PM
- - volcanopele   They do get radiometry at the same time they acqui...   Jul 24 2006, 10:20 PM
- - belleraphon1   To quote Emily from her Planetary Society blog ...   Jul 24 2006, 11:18 PM
|- - AlexBlackwell   QUOTE (belleraphon1 @ Jul 24 2006, 01:18 ...   Jul 25 2006, 01:23 AM
|- - David   QUOTE (AlexBlackwell @ Jul 25 2006, 01:23...   Jul 25 2006, 01:25 AM
|- - AlexBlackwell   QUOTE (David @ Jul 24 2006, 03:25 PM) Whe...   Jul 25 2006, 01:30 AM
|- - JRehling   QUOTE (David @ Jul 24 2006, 06:25 PM) Als...   Jul 25 2006, 11:45 AM
|- - David   QUOTE (JRehling @ Jul 25 2006, 11:45 AM) ...   Jul 25 2006, 12:00 PM
|- - The Messenger   QUOTE (David @ Jul 25 2006, 06:00 AM) Hm....   Jul 25 2006, 01:35 PM
||- - ljk4-1   QUOTE (The Messenger @ Jul 25 2006, 09:35...   Jul 25 2006, 01:53 PM
|- - JRehling   QUOTE (David @ Jul 25 2006, 05:00 AM) Hm....   Jul 25 2006, 03:36 PM
- - Rob Pinnegar   Okay. Let's assume that these are lakes. The...   Jul 24 2006, 11:31 PM
- - belleraphon1   Agree here with Rob... Close up monitoring of th...   Jul 24 2006, 11:50 PM
|- - Bjorn Jonsson   Now Titan is even more interesting than before, an...   Jul 25 2006, 12:26 AM
|- - JRehling   QUOTE (Bjorn Jonsson @ Jul 24 2006, 05:26...   Jul 25 2006, 03:37 AM
|- - qraal   Hi All Lacustrine wannabes at last! QUOTE (J...   Jul 25 2006, 11:36 AM
||- - Bjorn Jonsson   QUOTE (qraal @ Jul 25 2006, 11:36 AM) Has...   Jul 25 2006, 11:38 AM
||- - AlexBlackwell   QUOTE (Bjorn Jonsson @ Jul 25 2006, 01:38...   Jul 25 2006, 05:43 PM
|- - Holder of the Two Leashes   QUOTE (JRehling @ Jul 24 2006, 10:37 PM) ...   Jul 25 2006, 07:08 PM
|- - AlexBlackwell   QUOTE (Holder of the Two Leashes @ Jul 25 200...   Jul 25 2006, 09:09 PM
|- - Holder of the Two Leashes   QUOTE (AlexBlackwell @ Jul 25 2006, 04:09...   Jul 25 2006, 09:37 PM
|- - AlexBlackwell   QUOTE (Holder of the Two Leashes @ Jul 25 200...   Jul 25 2006, 09:43 PM
- - Decepticon   Does this radar swath go over the north pole? I...   Jul 25 2006, 01:00 AM
- - volcanopele   Unfortunately, it is very difficult to search for ...   Jul 25 2006, 02:08 AM
- - volcanopele   Note: South is up in both cutouts in the release, ...   Jul 25 2006, 02:19 AM
- - Olvegg   And what about translucency of luiqud for radar be...   Jul 25 2006, 05:08 PM
- - Myran   When UMSF got so slow yesterday I wondered if some...   Jul 25 2006, 09:00 PM
- - Matt   Just imagine what it would be like to be walking t...   Jul 25 2006, 10:07 PM
|- - Stu   QUOTE (Matt @ Jul 25 2006, 10:07 PM) Just...   Jul 25 2006, 10:19 PM
||- - JRehling   In terms of Titanian skygazing, note that the rati...   Jul 25 2006, 10:41 PM
|- - AlexBlackwell   QUOTE (Matt @ Jul 25 2006, 12:07 PM) Just...   Jul 25 2006, 10:22 PM
- - Thorsten   I’m a little puzzled by the latest News Release on...   Jul 28 2006, 08:25 AM
|- - ugordan   QUOTE (Thorsten @ Jul 28 2006, 09:25 AM) ...   Jul 28 2006, 09:04 AM
|- - tty   QUOTE (ugordan @ Jul 28 2006, 11:04 AM) T...   Jul 28 2006, 10:33 AM
|- - angel1801   Just one simple question. When will we able to see...   Aug 8 2006, 02:55 PM
- - volcanopele   Best case scenario would probably be in October, e...   Aug 8 2006, 02:59 PM
|- - Sunspot   QUOTE (volcanopele @ Aug 8 2006, 03:59 PM...   Aug 8 2006, 06:17 PM
- - Big_Gazza   QUOTE (JRehling @ Jul 26 2006, 08:41 AM) ...   Aug 9 2006, 02:59 AM
|- - Thorsten   QUOTE (Big_Gazza @ Aug 9 2006, 04:59 AM) ...   Aug 9 2006, 06:19 AM
- - Bill Harris   I wonder how long twilight lasts on Titan? On Ear...   Aug 9 2006, 01:02 PM
|- - JRehling   QUOTE (Bill Harris @ Aug 9 2006, 06:02 AM...   Aug 9 2006, 03:10 PM
- - Rob Pinnegar   More importantly, Titan turns on its axis only onc...   Aug 9 2006, 05:53 PM
- - ngunn   Bill's question is interesting. As he refers ...   Aug 10 2006, 09:57 AM
- - Matt   Anybody know anything about T17 yet? It sounds li...   Aug 27 2006, 10:30 AM
- - Thorsten   Apologies if this has been posted before, but ther...   Aug 31 2006, 11:57 AM


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