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Posted by: ugordan Sep 20 2007, 12:18 PM

Some http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/multimedia/images/raw/raw-images-details.cfm?feiImageID=127798 raws of Enceladus of what appears to be the moon entering Saturn's http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/multimedia/images/raw/raw-images-details.cfm?feiImageID=127803. Solar System Simulator confirms this:
http://space.jpl.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/wspace?tbody=10&vbody=602&month=9&day=19&year=2007&hour=9&minute=00&fovmul=1&rfov=30&bfov=30&porbs=1&showsc=0 - http://space.jpl.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/wspace?tbody=10&vbody=602&month=9&day=19&year=2007&hour=10&minute=00&fovmul=1&rfov=30&bfov=30&porbs=1&showsc=0

When exactly did Enceladus' eclipse season start?

Posted by: elakdawalla Sep 20 2007, 03:49 PM

Nice catch, ugordan!

--Emily

Posted by: tedstryk Sep 21 2007, 12:19 PM

We are approaching the ring plane crossing of 2009, so things like this should become more common.

Posted by: edstrick Sep 22 2007, 08:53 AM

Random note: At the moment of solar ring plane crossing (which given the presence of ring-warp, and the 3 arc-min solar diameter, is a somewhat extended moment), illumination of ring topography and "atmospheres" (dust, whatever) will be very faint except at the directly illuminated ring edge. Saturn light on the rings will largely swamp ultra-oblique solar illumination. The best place for grazing incidence illumination studies of the rings is where the rings enter and exit Saturn-shadow. Ringlight on the planet's nightside, will be very low at that time.

An inclined orbit is called for to make those observations. What other tradeoffs on other observations and their preferred orbits will be, I don't know.

Posted by: pat Sep 26 2007, 04:28 PM

QUOTE (edstrick @ Sep 22 2007, 09:53 AM)

Random note: At the moment of solar ring plane crossing (which given the presence of ring-warp, and the 3 arc-min solar diameter, is a somewhat extended moment), illumination of ring topography and "atmospheres" (dust, whatever) will be very faint except at the directly illuminated ring edge. Saturn light on the rings will largely swamp ultra-oblique solar illumination. The best place for grazing incidence illumination studies of the rings is where the rings enter and exit Saturn-shadow. Ringlight on the planet's nightside, will be very low at that time.

An inclined orbit is called for to make those observations. What other tradeoffs on other observations and their preferred orbits will be, I don't know.

The extended mission tour has already been chosen, with the usual uncertainties we know where the spacecraft is going to be until July 2010. this sort of this was considerd and decided on in January (I think)

Posted by: edstrick Sep 27 2007, 07:55 AM

"The extended mission tour has already been chosen, with the usual uncertainties we know where the spacecraft is going to be until July 2010. .."

I know. I just don't recall much discussion, certainly no detailed discussion, of the sorts of observations planned at the time of solar ring-plane crossing, or what orbit the spacecraft will be in at that time. Most discussion centered on the Titan and Enceladus flybys, and dropping 1 Enceladus flyby to get some really good data on the other inner sats.

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